YEMEN Press Agency

Military commander, 4 soldiers loyal to coalition killed by tribal fire in Shabwah

SHABWAH, March 25 (YPA) – A military commander loyal to Saudi-led coalition forces was killed along with a number of his soldiers by tribal gunmen in Shabwah province, local sources said on Wednesday evening.

Local sources in Shabwah province told Yemen Press Agency that al-Islah militias have created a military outpost in Markha district, with the aim of collecting the taxes imposed by militias on truck drivers and traders’ locomotives.

The sources added a dispute broke out between the commander of the military point personnel and the driver of one of the locomotives loaded with oil derivatives and his companions from the Tribe of Al-Nasisin, because of their refusal to pay the levies, which developed into an armed confrontation between the two parties.

The sources confirmed that the clashes led to the death of the commander along  with four recruits of the “163rd Brigade” forces.

The sources indicated, that the coalition forces launched a military campaign after the death of the commander against the tribe.

The sources revealed that the situation in the region is tense between the Islah militias and the Shabwah tribes.

E.M