RIYADH: A source in the Yemeni presidency told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Southern Armed Forces' redeployment around Bab Al-Mandab and Dhubab was a calculated military move aimed at achieving three main objectives: protecting Aden, reinforcing the fronts in Lahj and creating the conditions to break the siege of Taiz and liberate the province.
Jaber Mohammed, a media adviser to the Yemeni presidency and former director of the office of Abu Zara'a Al-Muharrami, explained that the redeployment from the vicinity of Bab Al-Mandab and Dhubab should not be interpreted as a withdrawal in the military sense, but rather as a move to redistribute troops and reinforce positions with greater influence over the course of the fighting.
He described the redeployment as a calculated military move intended to protect Aden, strengthen the fronts in Lahj and create the conditions for lifting the siege of Taiz.
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Col. Majed Abdullah Al-Nazili said the Southern Forces' commitment to breaking the siege of Taiz represented a national stance at a particularly sensitive stage, stressing that protecting the capital, Aden, and lifting the siege of Taiz were national and moral responsibilities aimed at confronting the threat posed by Houthi militia violations.
According to observers, Aden and its neighboring provinces constitute a strategic hinterland and a major political, economic and population center.