South24 Center (Aden)

A video circulated on Sunday (August 23) showed several prominent southern military commanders attending a reception in Abu Dhabi, marking their first documented public appearance since the military developments in Hadramout in early January.

The video showed Brigadier General Mohsen Al-Wali, Commander-in-Chief of the Security Belt Forces. Also appearing alongside him were Brigadier General Raed Al-Habhi, commander of the First Southern Giants Division, and Brigadier General Nabil Al-Mashwashi, commander of the Third Support and Backup Brigade.

Accounts that published the video said it was filmed at the Yafa Majlis in the United Arab Emirates during a reception for Sultan Nawaf bin Fadl Al-Afifi, the Sultan of Yafa Bani Qasid.

Al-Afifi assumed the traditional position in December 2021 following the death of his father, Sultan Fadl Mohammed bin Aidarous Al-Afifi.

South24 Center could not independently verify the exact date on which the video was recorded.

Al-Wali’s appearance is particularly significant as he had remained out of public view since the military and political crisis that unfolded in Hadramout and Aden in late December 2025 and early January 2026.

On January 8, Saudi military spokesman Al-Maliki said contact had been lost with Al-Wali and former Aden Governor Ahmed Hamed Lamlas, noting that they were among the figures who had recently met Southern Transitional Council (STC) President Aidarous Al-Zubaidi.

Al-Maliki alleged at the time that Al-Zubaidi had left Aden by sea, travelled to Somaliland, and subsequently flown to Abu Dhabi with Emirati assistance.

The January crisis followed the STC’s military operation in Hadramout and Al-Mahra in December 2025. Saudi Arabia later carried out airstrikes against STC positions, while local forces aligned with Riyadh regained control of Mukalla and other parts of Hadramout in early January.

The confrontations reshaped the military balance in eastern South Yemen and exposed widening differences between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over their respective Yemeni allies.

Al-Wali had led the Security Belt Forces since an STC decision formally appointed him to the position in June 2021. The forces were renamed the “National Security Forces” as part of a Saudi-supervised restructuring process announced in January 2026.

Major General Abdulsalam Al-Jamali was appointed to lead the restructured forces, replacing Al-Wali.

Al-Habhi, who also appeared in the video, continues to be identified as commander of the First Southern Giants Division.

Al-Mashwashi, meanwhile, is one of the earliest commanders associated with the Security Belt formations. He previously served as their first commander before being appointed Chief of Staff of the Security Belt and Support and Backup Forces, while retaining command of the Third Support and Backup Brigade.

The joint appearance of the three commanders in Abu Dhabi provides the clearest public indication to date of the whereabouts of Al-Wali and several southern military leaders who had largely disappeared from public view following the January confrontations.