Hadramout (South24 Center)

Multiple informed sources told South24 Center, on December 23, that the Southern Nation Shield Forces have rejected what were described as “direct” Saudi pressures and orders to engage in a military confrontation with the Southern forces in Hadramout governorate, stressing their refusal to be drawn into internal fighting.

According to the sources, Saudi Arabia exerted pressure on commanders within the Nation Shield Forces to push them into fighting the Southern Armed Forces. However, Southern commanders and fighters categorically refused, affirming - according to the sources - that their enemy is the Houthi group, not any Southern party.

#Breaking

Circulating footage shows aircraft believed to be Saudi dropping illumination flares over the skies of Al-Mahrah Governorate, according to eyewitnesses#south24 pic.twitter.com/SkE6Y1CQSZ

— South24 | English (@South24E) December 23, 2025

The sources added that the pressure campaign extended to Southern tribal figures and Southern military officers, some of whom were in Riyadh while others were inside Yemen, with the aim of compelling or inciting them to participate in an internal confrontation against the Southern Forces.

The sources further alleged that the pressures included the detention of family members of some Nation Shield commanders in the city of Sharurah, including the family of Second Brigade Commander Fahd Bamoumen, in an attempt to force his acceptance of participation in local infighting.

South24 Center was unable to independently verify these claims from Saudi sources.

In a related development, informed sources told South24 that units of the Nation Shield Forces have deployed to several locations in Hadramout at the initiative of the Southern Transitional Council.

The deployment, according to the sources, comes within the framework of task distribution among the Southern forces and in coordination with local authorities, with the aim of enhancing security and stability and preventing attempts to “fish in troubled waters.”

Circulating footage shows the redeployment of forces from the Nation’s Shield in Hadramout, coordinated and initiated by the Southern Transitional Council#south24 pic.twitter.com/APwTuJ3GaR

— South24 | English (@South24E) December 23, 2025

A senior Southern political source said, the Nation Shield Forces and the Southern forces are “one army with one identity,” underscoring unity of decision and field stance, and rejecting any efforts to drag Hadramout into internal conflict.

The Nation Shield Forces are Salafi-oriented units composed mainly of several brigades of southern personnel, in addition to three northern brigades.