Gunmen strangle Ataq, capital of Shabwa

SHABWA, March 28 (YPA) – The so-called “Shabwaniya Elite” gunmen cut off the international road on Monday and prevented trailers from entering the city of Ataq, the capital of Shabwa province, eastern Yemen.

Local sources reported that Shabwaniya Elite militia members, who were abandoned by the UAE, blocked the international road in front of “Bin Amer” fuel station leading to Ataq and prevented the entry of oil and gas trucks from entering the city.

The sources confirmed that the gunmen blocked the road with the aim of putting pressure on the leadership of the Emirati forces in Shabwa to pay their monthly stipends that the UAE cut in early January.

Other elements of the “Shabwaniya elite” cut the road in Dhahirat Bahaqina area in Jardan district in the province, according to the sources.

This comes after thousands of the Shabwaniya elite members announced last February their sit-in in front of Balhaf gas facility, in protest of their dispensation, the cutting of Emirati rewards, and their replacement with the “Al-Amaliqa brigades” that were brought from the western coast to Ataq city.

YPA