Yemeni Government Forces Retake Hadramout and al-Mahra From STC

# Yemeni Government Forces Retake Hadramout and al-Mahra From STC

Yemeni government troops backed by Saudi Arabia have retaken the governorates of Hadramout and al-Mahra from the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, according to the supplied evidence, in the latest turn of a volatile struggle for control of southern Yemen.

The developments were reported on the date of 2026-01-04, after fighting intensified over several days and the internationally recognized government said its forces had regained major military and security positions. The key prize in Hadramout was Mukalla, the provincial capital and an important eastern port, which the government said had fallen back under its control after the operation.

The evidence describes the operation as a significant reversal for the STC, which had seized parts of both provinces in early December. Together, Hadramout and al-Mahra account for nearly half of Yemen’s territory and share a border with Saudi Arabia, making them strategically important far beyond the immediate battlefield.

Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, said Saudi-backed Homeland Shield forces had achieved what he called “record success” in retaking positions in the border province. Local reporting cited in the packet said control of all districts in Hadramout and al-Mahra had shifted back after STC forces withdrew.

The fighting came with a heavy human cost. An STC official told AFP that at least 80 STC fighters had been killed, with 152 wounded and 130 captured. The evidence also says Saudi warplanes struck an STC camp west of Mukalla, showing that air power was part of the effort to dislodge the secessionist group.

The situation remains unstable even after the reported gains. The government accused the STC of restricting movement into Aden, the southern port city that remains an STC stronghold, and said people trying to enter, including families and patients seeking medical care, had been blocked or detained. The STC, meanwhile, said Saudi Arabia’s offer of dialogue could be a “genuine opportunity” to safeguard southern aspirations.

Flights have partially resumed at Aden International Airport after a closure that both sides blamed on each other, but restrictions in other parts of the south continue. The U.S. embassy in Yemen said it had received reports of closures and diverted flights involving Socotra, underscoring how quickly the conflict has spilled into civilian life.

The latest shift does not settle Yemen’s wider power struggle. Instead, it shows that the contest between the Saudi-led government camp and the UAE-backed STC is still capable of changing the map on the ground in a matter of days.