Aden (South24 Center)

The National Security Forces in Aden, South Yemen, released videotaped confessions on Tuesday, October 20, from two suspects accused of working for the Houthis. In the recordings, they detailed the recruitment of Southern mercenaries into a military formation linked to former officer Amjad Khalid, along with plans to seize Aden’s port and airport and monitor the movements of security forces.

One of the detainees, who identified himself as Youssef Ali Amer Naji, stated that recruitment and training operations in the Al-Houban area of Taiz Governorate were intended to establish what he described as the “Amjad Khalid Axis,” recruiting individuals from the South for deployment to Aden.

In the recording released by the forces, formerly known as the Security Belt, he added that the plan involved taking control of the port and airport, then deploying recruits to checkpoints and military camps.

Naji said those running the camp delivered lectures urging recruits to take part in entering the South, telling them that, as locals, they had a greater claim to the region and promising to assign them military and security roles.

He also described being transported as part of a group of about 150 people to Saada Governorate, the Houthi stronghold in Northern Yemen, where they visited the Marran area and the tomb of the group’s founder, Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi. He added that they later visited a facility in Sanaa that they were told manufactured ammunition, bombs, and landmines.

In the same recording, the second detainee, Rami Ali Muhammad, a native of Aden, stated that he had recruited three individuals for the Houthis through a broker who arranged their transportation. He said he moved to Al-Houban in July or August 2025 as part of a group he estimated numbered between 30 and 35 people.

He added that, while traveling by bus, he used a mobile phone to film security checkpoints and vehicles along the Omeyra route in Lahj. The clips were then collected and sent via WhatsApp to a person responsible for coordination.

Rami mentioned payments ranging from 220 to 300 Saudi riyals, which he said were made in connection with work for the group.

The recording also included audio clips attributed to coordinators discussing sending individuals in batches and covering their travel expenses.

Amjad Khalid is the former commander of the Transport Brigade of the Presidential Protection Forces loyal to the Yemeni government. He left Aden for the city of Al-Turbah in Taiz Governorate following clashes with Southern Transitional Council (STC) forces in August 2019.

The Specialized Criminal Court in Aden sentenced him to death in absentia in May 2024 in connection with the 2021 bombings targeting the Aden governor’s convoy and the entrance to the city’s airport. He was also sentenced to death in absentia in November 2024 for the assassination of Southern military commander Major General Thabit Muthanna Jawas.

In June 2025, the Yemeni government’s Supreme Security Committee announced the dismantling of a network led by Khalid that used Al-Shamaytain District, which includes the city of Al-Turbah, as its base. The committee stated that the network was linked to Houthi leaders and involved in assassinations, bombings, and intelligence sharing.

In November 2025, South24 Center documented Khalid’s appearance in a video recording in which he announced his alliance with the Houthis and spoke of promises to provide weapons and training. At the time, the center also reported an announcement by Aden security forces that they had foiled a plot overseen by Khalid involving the recruitment of young men and their transfer to camps in Al-Houban and Saada.