STC launches counter-offensive against Hadi’s forces in Abyan

ABYAN, Aug. 19 (YPA) -The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council  (STC)’s mlitias  on Wednesday launched a counter-offensive against Hadi’s forces in Abyan, in a move that could end the steps achieved by the Riyadh agreement.

Local sources said that since the morning, the STC have been carrying out a large-scale attack on Hadi’s forces in the villages of Al-Tairyah and Sheikh Salem.

The attack coincided with the council pushing large reinforcements to the front lines, amid reports that it had been given the green light to storm the city of Shuqrah, Hadi’s last stronghold in Abyan on the outskirts of Shabwah province.

The developments come after a bloody day for the STC, in which three of his fighters were killed and 13 others wounded in an attack by Hadi’s forces on their positions on the Zinjibar district.

It also coincides with the rejection of Saudi arrangements to remove its factions from Aden as part of the implementation of the military part of the Riyadh agreement.

E.M