The new commanders in southern Yemen have failed to tackle Houthi smuggling, paving the way for the blockade of the Red Sea, a former spokesman for the country's southern movement has told The National.
Security and counter-terrorism operations in southern Yemen have been controlled since January by the Saudi Arabia-aligned National Shields, who forced southern movement’s forces to withdraw.
But smuggling from the Horn of Africa to Houthi-occupied northern Yemen has grown within that time, according to Amr Al Bidh, of the dissolved Southern Transitional Council.
This vacuum has “empowered” the Iran-backed Houthis, who control northern Yemen and its capital Sanaa and announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia this week.
“It was a strategic mistake for Saudi Arabia to intervene,” Mr Al Bidh told The National. “It really empowered the Houthis and other terrorist groups. We lost the deterrence option against the Houthis and the balance of power is not there.”
There are also concerns for Yemen’s city of Mukalla in the central province of Hadhramaut, where the movements of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) are becoming “more apparent”, and Somali Islamist extremists Al Shabab are known to conduct smuggling operations that feed into Houthi networks.
“Now you see [AQAP] moving around easily,” Mr Al Bidh said.
The STC’s forces led counterterror operations in parts of the south for more than a decade following the start of Yemen’s civil war. It was forced to cede control to allies of Saudi Arabia, which thwarted the STC's attempted takeover of the southern regions late last year.
The Riyadh-backed command structure is still being developed to fill the security vacuum, largely recruiting from loyalist tribes. The first division that holds the fronts against the Houthis is led by Ali Al Shami and Rashid Alwan, according to research by the former STC.
In Hadhramaut, Anan Zariq al Qamishi has led the second division since March 2026. He succeeded Fahd Bamoumin but the research said the situation was unchanged.
The STC was expelled from Yemen’s internationally recognised government in Aden following its attempted takeover, but Mr Al Bidh says support for the southern cause is stronger than ever on the ground. The STC maintains that the government forces are ineffective in dealing with Yemen's security problems.
