Pro-STC leader killed in Abyan clashes

ABYAN, April 03 (YPA) – A leader in the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC)’s militia was killed on Monday in clashes that erupted among armed factions in Abyan province.

Local sources stated that Saddam Hussein al-Salhi, a commander of the “security belt” in Mudiyah district, was targeted by gunmen of pro-STC factions who came to the area during the past months, following a dispute between the faction leaders.

The sources indicated that the elements of the “security belt”, with the support of the armed tribes, launched an attack on the positions of those forces, led by Abu Ali al-Shabwani, in the al-Fareed area of Mudiyah, and surrounded them from all sides, leaving also dead and wounded.

The sources pointed out that the armed tribes cut off the main “international” road linking Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and stopped traffic in the areas of Lahmar, Khudaira and Mudiyah.

Dozens of the elements was brought in by the STC from Dhalea, Lahj, Yafea and Shabwa managed to flee in the face of the attack of Mudiyah tribesmen.

This came after the STC militias have lost dozens of its gunmen, including prominent leaders, in Mudiyah for the past seven months as a result of explosive devices, under the pretext of fighting al-Qaeda, which constitutes a real battle of attrition for the STC in Abyan.

AA