Clashes break out between UAE-backed mercenary factions in west coast

HODEIDAH, Nov. 9 (YPA) – A number of officers and members of the southern Alamaliqa brigades, a pro-UEA faction on Yemen’s west coast, were killed and others injured during infighting in  the outskirts of Al-Khokhah, Hodeidah province.

Local sources said that clashes broke out between the forces of the 2nd Alamaliqa Brigade  and the Tariq Saleh  forces known as “Guards of the Republic”,.

The sources pointing out that among the dead were leaders of the Alamaliqa Brigade, most notably Brigadier Khaled Qahtan and Brigadier Salem Al-Daawadi along with several others.

These clashes are an extension of previous battles between the two sides that began in 2018, coinciding with the start of the UAE’s settlement of Tarek Saleh instead of the southern factions on the west coast,

But the intensity of the confrontation has escalated recently as the UAE pushes Tariq Saleh to lead the scene on the west coast as part of its efforts to find a foothold during the post-war period by creating its own territory along the coastal strip of Yemen, which extends from Bab al-Mandab to the southern outskirts of Hodeidah, enabling Abu Dhabi to control the most important international shipping line through the second most important international strait.

The confrontations were not limited to the giants, but also extended to the al-Tihamian Brigades , which indicates that Tariq Saleh is now free to get rid of his opponents who refuse to engage under his leadership.

E.M