UAE forces Islah militants to withdraw from coastal area of Abyan

SHABWA, Aug. 20 (YPA) – The UAE forced Islah militants to withdraw from most of the military sites in the coastal area of Shakra in Abyan province, southern Yemen.

Local sources said that the “Eighth Brigade” militia of the UAE-funded Southern Transitional Council”, led by Homsan al-Awdhali, imposed its military control over most of the military sites in Shaqra, Qarn al-Klasi and al-Arqoub during the past hours.

The sources indicated that the STC militias forced the Al-Islah militants battalion led by Saeed bin Maili and Abu Munira Brigade to leave coastal area of Shaqra 3 years after its arrival.

The UAE excluded staying a number of “presidential protection brigades” that left Aden, following the confrontations with the STC militia in August 2019, without giving reasons.

The STC militia raised the flag of “separation” over the positions it controlled, vowing to cleanse the districts of Mudiyah, Al-Wadaya, Al-Mahfad, and the rest of Abyan’s areas from Islah.

Islah militants took control of Shakra following the August 2019 confrontations with the STC in Aden, and “special forces led by Abed Rabbo Lakab managed, since then, to expel “Shabwani Elite” backed by the UAE from the city of Ataq, the Shabwa provincial capital.

AA