Because of it, the Houthis bombed Abu Dhabi.. Who are the giants brigades that changed the military landscape in Yemen?

The balance of power in Marib Governorate (east of the capital, Sanaa) changed in favor of government forces, while the Houthi group bombed Saudi Arabia and the UAE, bringing the Yemen war back to the fore.

This happened a few days after the UAE-backed Giants Brigades arrived in Shabwa Governorate, southeast of Yemen, and regained its three districts that were under the control of the Houthis, and moved their operations square to the south of Ma'rib Governorate.

The advance of the Giants' forces angered the Houthi group, who immediately responded with retaliatory attacks on the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, according to previous statements by their officials.

The forces of the giants came from the western coast of the country after they carried out a repositioning operation in mid-November 2021, and withdrew from the outskirts of the city of Hodeidah to the south by about 90 km along the coastal strip.

Some link the Salafi giants forces to the armored forces brigades led by the brother of former President Ibrahim al-Hamdi in the seventies, but the matter is nothing more than a similarity of names only, as the two forces have no connection.

How did the forces of giants appear?

According to a source in the leadership of the Giants Brigades - who preferred to remain anonymous as he was not authorized to speak to the media - these forces were formed from the Salafi youth who fought the Houthis in the city of Aden in mid-2015 until they took control of the city of Mocha, in the west of the country, in early 2017.

The source told Al Jazeera Net that control of the city of Mocha and the expansion of military operations were imposed on the Salafi fighters who were fighting under the leadership of Emirati officers, the bloc in 5 brigades, and Hamdi Shukri Al-Subaihi and Abdul Rahman Al-Lahji emerged as the most prominent leaders.

Subsequently, the Giants Brigades were united under the leadership of Abu Zara'a al-Muharrami, a graduate of the Dar al-Hadith Salafi Institute in Dammaj, Saada.

According to press reports, Al-Mahrami was working as a honey seller in the city of Aden, and his name emerged when he led confrontations against the Houthis.

Despite this, Al-Muharrami has only a few pictures in the media, does not deal with the press, and is satisfied with data only, and Al-Jazeera Net has tried to communicate with him repeatedly, but he does not respond.

Are giants forces become a threatening force?

The Giants forces appeared to be a striking force and soon advanced along the western coast, and were on the verge of controlling the strategic city of Hodeidah, before the attack halted the UN-sponsored Stockholm Agreement between the Yemeni government and the Houthis at the end of 2018.

The forces of the giants expanded further, and according to the source, they currently include 13 military brigades, and the brigade includes between 3,600 to 1,800 soldiers, most notably the First, Second and Fifth Brigades.

These forces were financed militarily by the coalition and mainly from the Emirates, but the situation changed after Abu Dhabi established the National Resistance Forces led by the nephew of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Tariq Saleh, who became the favorite force in Abu Dhabi.

The Giants forces were forced to join the National Resistance and the Tihama Resistance under the umbrella of the joint forces command of the Emirati forces in mid-2019, in the city of Mocha, despite their initially reluctance to ally with Tariq Saleh, who fought them during his alliance with the Houthis before the alliance broke up in December 2017.

To whom do the forces of giants owe allegiance, and to whom are they financed?

The source in the leadership of the Giants Forces says to Al Jazeera Net that a very large percentage of the leaders and members of the Giants forces only recognize the legitimacy of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, as he is the guardian, and his obedience to the leadership and members of those forces is indisputable.

He added, "We receive orders from the coalition and the UAE as allies of necessity, as they provide us with all military and logistical funding, give us heavy weapons and artillery, and support us with air strikes."

According to the source, the Giants forces see that the only enemy of the Yemenis is the Houthis only, as they are a "tyrant group."

The relationship of the Giants Forces was not without conflict with the Emiratis, most notably the refusal of its brigades to engage in the leadership of the joint forces, and the dismissal of its general commander, Abu Zara'a Al Muharrami, before the UAE returned him in mid-2020, which caused the resignation of the prominent commander Abdul Rahman Al-Lahji, commander of the Third Brigade.

The Giants Brigades have also repeatedly tried to be unique in their decision, and another source in those brigades cites in a previous interview with Al Jazeera Net the attempt of the Giants’ forces to advance in the Durayhimi district, south of Hodeidah, at the end of 2018 without the approval of the Emiratis, but these forces were subjected to a Houthi ambush and the Emiratis refused to help them by air, which It caused a catastrophe of dead and captives.

What strengthens the forces of giants?

The Giants forces inflicted the Houthi group with great defeats in the governorates of Shabwa and Marib, and according to the source in the Giants Brigades, this is due to the combative doctrine of its members.

He told Al Jazeera Net, "We fight with strength and courage, in addition to the good armament that we possess and the unified leadership, and we are fighting without any prior agenda, disagreement or conflict with other powers, and we have no political ambition, and when the war ends, we will return to our mosques and our businesses."

According to the source, the forces of the Second Brigade, led by Hamdi Shukri, are the striking force in the Giants, who have retaken the Harib district, and are currently engaged in battles against the Houthis in the southern front south of Marib, in addition to the forces of the First and Third Brigade.

Al Jazeera Net tried to communicate with Hamdi Shukri or the leaders of the giants, but this was not possible, and according to those close to them, all the leaders are on the front lines of the Harib district, in which the communication network and the Internet were cut off.

Yemeni researcher Adnan Hashem believes that the rapid progress of the giants in Shabwa and Marib is due to an Emirati-Saudi agreement to stop the Houthis' advance, so the military operations are proceeding in coordination with full air cover.

He told Al Jazeera Net, "The rapid progress is also due to the attrition of Houthi fighters during the past two years, especially in Marib, without achieving their desired goals, so the presence of an organized and well-armed force such as the Giants Brigades changes the map of the war imposed by the Houthis in their favor during the past year."

Will the giants' forces penetrate into governorates other than Shabwa and Marib?

The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council, which seeks to separate southern Yemen from its north, says that these forces will control only the districts of Shabwa Governorate, which was considered a southern governorate before the unification of Yemen in 1990.

Ali Al-Kathiri, a spokesman for the Transitional Council, said in a statement yesterday, Wednesday, that the "Cyclone of the South" operation had fully achieved its goals, without giving further details, but referring to the restoration of control over the districts of Shabwa governorate.

The Giants Brigades said in a statement that the restoration of the Harib district in Marib is a security for the Ain district of Shabwa, and that the operation was a complete success, hinting that the operation had ended.

But the source in the Giants Brigades said that this represents only the first stage of the military operation, and that "the second stage, as planned, is progress in Al-Bayda and other provinces."