Tareq Afash sends military reinforcements to ” Turbah City” to reinforce Abu Al- Abbas Brigades in Taiz

Last updated Aug 22, 2019 11:12 AM

TAIZ, Aug. 22 (YPA) – Residents of the southern city of Turbah in Taiz province were surprised on Tuesday morning by the presence of military pickups carrying pictures of Ahmed Ali and Tariq Afash roaming the streets of the city with dozens of gunmen on board.

The emergence of Tariq Afash’s military pickups came in the wake of a state of war and violent clashes that have been ongoing for nearly a week between both al-Islah party militias and the Abu Al-Abbas Brigades.

After taking control of the Omari camp and abruptly expelling the Hadi forces in the middle of last week, Tariq Afash appears to have been assigned a new mission by the UAE leadership.

Salafist leader Hamdi Shukri al- Subaihi arrived in the city of Turbah on Tuesday with 30 military personnel, who are a part of the UAE-backed Giants Brigades, which were established by the coalition and stationed on the West Coast Front.

The Turbah city has being witnessing violent clashes between Abu Al-Abbas and al-Islah militias since the beginning of last week, in which more than 40 people were killed and wounded from both sides.

According to military experts, the Giants Brigades and forces led by Tariq Afash, nephew of former Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh, are moving to strengthen the militias of the Abu Al-Abbas and the so-called 35th Brigade in the area.

These units are reportedly aiming to expel the Islah party militias from the Turbah region, after the success of the Southern Transitional Council forces in expelling the Saudi-backed troops from the occupied province of Aden.

The Abu Al-Abbas militia is engaged in a retaliatory battle against the Saudi-backed Islah party (Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood) in response to the humiliation it had suffered at the hands of the al-Islah militia in Taiz.

Abu al-Abbas promised to return to Taiz, backed by UAE-supported troops from the Giants Brigades and Tariq Afash, after been forces to leave Taiz on April 27.

E.M