STC expels military commander loyal to Hadi from Socotra

SOCOTRA, June 21 (YPA) – The UAE-Backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) militias have expelled a high-ranking military commander loyal to Hadi’s government from Socotra island, local sources reported on Sunday.

According to the local sources, the STC militias released the commander of the special forces loyal to Hadi, Colonel Abdul Rahman al-Zafeni, and was part of the first batch of deported citizens and military personnel loyal to the coalition-backed government.

The sources added that the UAE-backed militias launched arrest campaigns against citizens from the northern and eastern provinces of Mahrah, Hadhramout and Abyan, and deported them from the island.

Meanwhile, the last battalion of the 1st Marine Infantry Brigade announced its defection from the so-called Hadi forces and joined the STC’s ranks on the island.

The Naval Point Battalion in the island’s capital, Hadiboh, raised the separatist and the UAE flags at the battalion’s headquarters, according to local sources.

E.M