Sam Ali is the pseudonym for a researcher and reporter from Yemen, whose real name is not being used given the security situation in the country.
Violent demonstrations gripped eastern Yemen's Hadhramaut governorate after thousands of angry residents demonstrated against the local government's total service collapse. Long power outages, water supply interruptions and overpriced fuel have pushed communities to the brink in a country already struggling from a decade of war. The dire situation has long plagued Yemen, as foreign interests in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi conspire with local factions to advance their interests—not local ones.
The protests initially erupted in several neighborhoods in Mukalla, the capital city of Hadhramaut's Coast region, in late July. They continued until late August, reaching almost all major cities across the largest Yemeni governorate, including Seiyun, the capital of Hadhramaut's Desert and Valley region.
According to residents in Mukalla, demonstrators erected tents and blocked main roads with burning tires to protest power outages—sometimes lasting 19 hours a day. Government buildings and private businesses shut their doors amid the chaos. In Seiyun, angry residents roamed downtown streets, blocking them with burning tires. The city witnessed general strikes and sporadic sit-ins organized at local government offices, with protesting civil servants participating.
The "ongoing manifestations of civil unrest in Hadhramaut are a natural result of polarization, silent geopolitical rivalry, multifaceted grievances, poor service delivery and tense local competition," Ibrahim al-Jalal, a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Democracy in Exile. "If unchecked through diplomatic rapprochement and genuine dialogue initiatives at a Hadhrami level, further civil unrest is likely to undermine local stability and security."
The outbreak marks a tenuous moment for Hadhramaut, where a long-lasting Saudi-Emirati rivalry is shattering the key governorate, threatening a permanent fracture in the already conflict-shattered country.
But as one local activist in Mukalla quipped in an interview, "It wasn't a quirk of fate that a fuel crisis in this oil-rich governorate has been a primary factor causing the long power outages." Hadhramis say they have been marginalized for decades amid long-denied rights while hosting nearly 80% of Yemen's oil wealth.
Hadhramis say they have been marginalized for decades amid long-denied rights while hosting nearly 80% of Yemen's oil wealth.
- Sam Ali
The crisis comes as Amr bin Habrish—chief of a large tribal bloc in the governorate—rises as a major power player, demanding greater local autonomy while commanding military forces within his bloc to protect Hadhramaut's "sovereignty, resources and endeavors." Yet, like other rival actors, bin Habrish's rise may be fueled by the long-running Saudi-Emirati rivalry in Hadhramaut, pitting them—alongside their respective Yemeni proxies—against each other.
In March 2015, Abu Dhabi joined the Saudi-led coalition that launched an aerial campaign in Yemen to roll back the Houthi Movement (Ansar Allah), a north-based faction that has largely dominated the country's civil conflict. But their relationship became confrontational, as both advanced diverging interests, backed different Yemeni political factions and military forces and wrangled for control of Yemen's southern and eastern territories.
Despite the end of the Saudi-led air campaign in Yemen and subsequent lull in hostilities since 2022 amid a U.N.-brokered truce, Hadhramaut has remained a tumultuous arena. It has witnessed a series of dramatic events since mid-last year amid Amr bin Habrish's rise, constituting the most heated round of Saudi-Emirati competition in the governorate.
Bin Habrish is Hadhramaut's Deputy Governor and the chief of the Hadhramaut Tribal Alliance and its political wing, the Hadhramaut Inclusive Conference. He rose to notoriety in late-2013 after Yemeni military forces killed his uncle, Saad Hamad bin Habrish, in Seiyun—a few months after his uncle was elected the chief of the same alliance. Saad bin Habrish led Hamoum, Hadhramaut's largest tribe, which sought greater Hadhrami autonomy via the establishment of a strong tribal bloc.
In July 2024, Amr bin Habrish deployed armed forces near Hadhramaut's major oil fields, blocking supply routes and producing the ongoing fuel crisis in the governorate and across southeast Yemen. "We seek to halt the wasting of Hadhramaut's oil and mineral treasures while the state remains paralyzed," bin Habrish told New Lines Magazine in a rare interview earlier this year.
The decision halted oil revenue streams for Yemen's Internationally Recognized Government (IRG)—already struggling amid corruption and economic dysfunction. However, since late-2022, the Yemeni government has lost billions in oil exports due to Houthi attacks on oil terminals in Hadhramaut.
Early this year, the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC)—the IRG's fractious executive body in the southern city of Aden—announced a plan to ease mounting tensions in Hadhramaut. It included building two power plants fueled by Hadhramaut's oil, integrating Hadhramis with government security forces and investigating potential corruption at PetroMasila, a state-run oil company. However, the move proved too weak to extract concessions from bin Habrish.
While its size and funding sources remain unclear, bin Habrish's growing military power continues to challenge Emirati-backed factions. As such, they launched a late-March arrest campaign, detaining dozens of military leaders with tribal ties to bin Habrish.
- Sam Ali
As such, in late-February, the tribal chief publicly unveiled the "Hadhramaut Protection Forces," a military faction comprising thousands of Hadhrami tribesmen operating independently from existing IRG military structures. During its first meeting, bin Habrish stated that these forces would protect Hadhramaut's resources—a nod to local frustrations regarding oil revenue.
By mid-March, tensions spiked when Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the president of the secessionist Southern Transitional Council (STC) backed by the UAE, embarked on a tour across southeast Yemen. Established in 2017, the STC is the strongest anti-Houthi armed faction, demanding southern independence from the north. With its armed wing—the Southern Resistance—operating alongside the UAE-funded Elite Hadhrami Forces, the STC is entrenched in Mukalla and across the Hadhramaut Coast region.
In a March 15 visit to Mukalla, Al-Zubaidi "questioned the direction" of bin Habrish's tribal bloc, claiming that the STC's broad popular base in Hadhramaut gave his faction authority there. "We possess a clear cause, and we will not give up on the rights of Hadhramis," Al-Zubaidi said.
Five days later, bin Habrish visited Riyadh, meeting with Saudi Defense Minister Khaled bin Salman. The visit highlighted the internal wrangling underway, marking a significant shift given his prior and repeated refusal to directly associate with the Saudis.
Saudi Arabia, sharing a long border with Hadhramaut, has since attempted to frustrate Emirati designs for the governorate. Riyadh established the Hadhramaut National Council in 2023—central to Saudi efforts to stifle the UAE-backed STC seeking governorate control.
Yet, the STC has failed to foster inroads in the Hadhramaut Desert and Valley region, the bastion of bin Habrish's tribal bloc. Islah—the Muslim Brotherhood's Yemen branch and Abu Dhabi's Yemeni nemesis—still holds sway there as well.
While its size and funding sources remain unclear, bin Habrish's growing military power continues to challenge Emirati-backed factions. As such, they launched a late-March arrest campaign, detaining dozens of military leaders with tribal ties to bin Habrish. Al-Jalal believes that "the establishment of paramilitary groups outside the formal command and control structures complicate matters further and challenge stabilization prospects in Hadhramaut."
By April, Hadhramaut risked falling into an armed confrontation between these groups. At the time, the STC held a large event in Mukalla to mark the ninth anniversary of its forces liberating Hadhramaut's Coast region from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). In response, bin Habrish hosted a major tribal gathering a few days later in Al-Hadaba, near Hadhramaut's major oil fields in the Desert and Valley region.
Speaking to the tribes, bin Habrish claimed that Hadhramaut preferred self-rule, emphasizing that Hadhramis must manage their affairs without interference from parties loyal to the Saudi-led coalition, while also rejecting the UAE-backed STC. Yet, conversely, bin Habrish also noted that Saudi Arabia "stand[s] with the people of Hadhramaut," his first public reference to Riyadh's support. Thus, while he always refused to associate himself or his tribal bloc directly with the Saudis and did not attend the establishment of the Saudi-backed Hadhramaut National Council, his comments indicated a potential shift amid threats from the STC and other local factions.
Political tensions continued to spike in Hadhramaut over the next two months despite international calls for calm. Hadhrami Governor Mabkhot bin Madi was missing during this period and until late July, leading angry residents to demand his removal.
However, on Aug. 9, he returned to Mukalla, supposedly from Saudi Arabia, after a four-month absence. By then, a community committee was formed in a desperate attempt to contain the crisis amid the political vacuum created by the governor's absence. The committee, established at the recommendation of Mukalla's former director-general, opened talks with bin Habrish to secure an emergency fuel shipment from his tribal bloc. As a result, electricity was restored on a rolling basis—two hours on and two hours off.
Yet, sporadic demonstrations continued through August across Hadhramaut's major cities, with protesters demanding improved public services and increased transparency from local authorities. Yet, interestingly, local analysts believe none of the rival Hadhramaut factions fueled the protests, although they have tried to capitalize on them. Tellingly, the protesters burned photos of STC leader al-Zubaidi, governor bin Madi and tribal chief bin Habrish.
"While the recent protests have underscored an unprecedented level of discord in Hadhramaut, they have also shown local unity in confronting major local players," Mohammed al-Katheri, a local peace and conflict expert, recently argued. "The depth of public discontent, while tragic, has cut across political, tribal and regional divides and is challenging political norms."
However, as Hadhramaut's rival powers remain on a collision course, the absence of a political settlement is fueling a high-stakes standoff—potentially worsening open confrontation and greater instability. As al-Jalal put it, "Hadhrami-Hadhrami dialogue is increasingly critical" to prevent a worsening calamity.
