Amjad Khalid, a field commander in Aden, received a warm welcome in Aden
Amjad was forced to leave Aden along with other key figures on the government side, and his brigade was relocated to Abyan. On November 22 Amjad returned to Aden, as a member of the military committee formed by President Hadi to monitor the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement. The committee members are supposed to disarm the military camps inside Aden and restructure the military according to what is stipulated in the military annex of the agreement. Upon his return to Aden, Amjad was welcomed by many, especially locals in his home district of Dar Sad, where many of his troops are drawn from. However, there has also been a notable upsurge in criticism and allegations levelled against him by STC supporters and UAE-aligned influencers. Allegations have included that Amjad supports the pro-northern regime, that he is working with the Islah Party, and that he supports terrorist groups. Salafi Sheikh Hani Bin Buraik, who is vice president of the STC and the UAE’s right-hand man in Aden, wrote to his wide following online that Amjad Khaled must be “brought to justice.” This opposition appears to have come as a result of the warm welcome he received among a considerable portion of locals, likely out of concern that Amjad can play a key role in rallying support for the government should opposition be encountered with the implementation of the agreement. Throughout the recent events, locals in Dar Sad and Sheikh Othman districts showed strong support for Amjad. He grew up in Dar Sad, and has worked in both districts for several years, having handled the security there and achieved a degree of stability, and he succeeded in unifying the various anti-Houthi resistance groups that existed in those districts. “When I act in accordance with their agenda I am a good guy, but when I act counter to their interests – which serve outsiders – then I become the bad guy,” Amjad told Almasdar Online following his return to Aden. “This is how they see us, the way they see us is tailored to their agenda not the reality or the facts.”
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