Overview
- The internationally recognized government launched what it called a peaceful move to retake positions in Hadramout and installed Salem Ahmed Saeed al-Khunbashi with full military and administrative authority over Homeland Shield forces.
- The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council declared a two-year transition toward an independent southern state that would culminate in a self-determination referendum.
- STC officials said seven coalition airstrikes followed the government announcement within minutes, and a CTS military figure and medical sources later reported about 20 separatist fighters killed in Hadramout.
- Saudi sources confirmed the Saudi-led coalition conducted the strikes and said they will continue until STC forces withdraw from recently seized areas.
- Reuters sources reported government armored units moving toward the Al Khash'a camp captured by separatists in December, reflecting the deepening Saudi–UAE split over the conflict’s direction.