Yemeni sources have revealed that military leaders have begun implementing a wide-ranging reorganization of the forces led by Brig. Gen. Tareq Saleh under the supervision of a Saudi committee, in a move aimed at restructuring armed formations and integrating them into official state institutions.
According to Yemeni journalist Ahmed Al-Shalfi, editor for Yemen affairs at Al Jazeera, Saleh has fully handed over rosters of his forces to the Saudi committee as part of a detailed audit and verification process intended to reassess the actual troop numbers and link them to the level of funding to be provided by Riyadh in the next phase. Preliminary estimates indicate that the real size of these forces is lower than previously reported figures.
Al-Shalfi said the restructuring process will involve converting Saleh’s formations into organized military divisions, which would then be incorporated into a new force structure, likely under the name National Shield Forces. These units are expected to fall formally under Yemen’s Ministry of Defense as part of a broader effort to unify various armed groups under the state framework.
He cited sources as saying the reorganization will not be limited to the Red Sea coast but will also extend to the Taiz front, where forces will be divided into independent divisions with designated field commanders. The sources added that military figure Yousef Al-Sharaji has been appointed to oversee the Taiz axis under the new structure, and that military leaders have been formally notified of the decision.
In a separate development, the sources said Saudi Arabia has issued a clear warning to Saleh against receiving any financial support from the United Arab Emirates, following recent developments in the provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahra and shifts in the political and military landscape, including the exit of the Southern Transitional Council from the scene and a reported decline in the UAE’s role in Yemen, according to Al-Shalfi.
The sources quoted Saleh as saying that the funding he had been receiving from the UAE amounted to approximately 1 billion Saudi riyals annually, underscoring the scale of previous financial support on which his forces relied.
Al-Shalfi added that Riyadh initially allowed Saleh to visit his family in Abu Dhabi before later providing him with a residence in the Saudi capital, as part of new arrangements tied to the restructuring of his forces and his relationship with the coalition.
These moves come as part of broader Saudi-led efforts to reorganize the military landscape in areas controlled by the Yemeni government, by unifying armed formations under a centralized command structure linked to state institutions, Al-Shalfi said.