Abdul-Hafez al-Saqqaf

Abdul-Hafez al-Saqqaf is a Yemeni military officer. A general in Yemen's Special Security Forces, al-Saqqaf achieved notoriety when he defied President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi's decree to step down in March 2015, amid the aftermath of a coup d'état that split Yemen's government and military and saw Hadi establish a provisional seat of government in Aden.

Al-Saqqaf held the title of SSF Commander in Aden.[1] On 3 March 2015, Hadi issued a decree nominating Thabet Muthanna Yahya Naji Jawas to the position and reassigning al-Saqqaf as undersecretary of the Vital Status and Civil Registration Authority in Aden. Al-Saqqaf and his supporters rejected the decree, even after Hadi withdrew Jawas' nomination in favour of Adlan Saleh Al-Hattas.[2][3] The Yemen Times reported that al-Saqqaf did not view Hadi as the legitimate president, and that Hadi considered al-Saqqaf to be loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh and the Houthis.[1] Al-Saqqaf accused Hadi of wanting to give al Qaeda control over Aden.[4]

On 19 March, troops loyal to Saleh and commanded by al-Saqqaf stormed Aden International Airport, sparking a battle with police, militiamen, and soldiers loyal to Hadi and commanded by Major General Mahmoud al-Subaihi.[5] Al-Saqqaf and his forces reportedly surrendered after government troops overran the SSF base in Aden.[6][7] The following night, al-Saqqaf was reportedly in a convoy fleeing Aden toward Sana'a when gunmen attempted to assassinate him on a road in the Lahij Governorate. According to Agence France-Presse, four were killed in the ambush, including one of al-Saqqaf's bodyguards, but the general survived.[8]