Saudi-backed forces in Yemen face internal dispute over deployment

Shafaq News – Sanaa

Internal rifts have emerged within the Saudi-backed Dera’ Al-Watan (Nation’s Shield) Forces over reported orders to deploy toward areas near the Hadramout border, according to informed sources on Thursday.

Sources told Shafaq News that several southern commanders rejected the proposed movement, warning it could spark direct clashes with the Southern Transitional Council (STC). They stressed that the force was formed to confront the Houthis (Ansarallah) movement, not to engage in internal southern conflicts.

Formed in recent years, Dera’ Al-Watan includes more than 20 brigades and operates within broader, regionally backed security frameworks intended to bolster stability and counter security threats. The sources added that the force has previously acted under informal understandings with southern actors.

Neither Saudi Arabia nor Dera’ Al-Watan’s leadership has issued a response to the reported directives. The STC has also remained silent.

Disciplinary or organizational measures, the sources noted, may be taken against some commanders as part of efforts to reorganize deployments and enforce command authority, though no official decision has been announced.

Earlier this month, forces aligned with the STC seized large parts of Hadramout after expelling government units linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and Saudi-backed tribal fighters, following local reports of attacks on oil facilities in late November.