Tribal gunmen regain strategic sites from STC grip in Abyan

ABYAN, May 29 (YPA) – Tribal gunmen managed to seize important sites from the grip of the UAE-affiliated Southern Transitional Council (STC) factions in Abyan province, southern Yemen, on Sunday.

Tribal sources in the province said, “Militants of the Al Shama’a tribe in Al-Mahfad district expelled the forces of the First Support Brigade, affiliated with the STC, from the tribe’s lands.”

According to the sources, the STC forces were subjected to a surprise attack with various types of weapons, causing heavy losses without revealing the extent of those losses.

The sources explained that Al Shama’a militants forced the STC forces to withdraw and leave their lands, amid calm and expected caution in the area.

This comes after the UAE-affiliated factions imposed control last week on the citizens’ farms without responding to the people’s demands to leave their lands.

The UAE pushed STC’s factions to Abyan districts in August of last year, in the so-called “Siham Al-Sharq” operation, to confront terrorist elements after it took control of Ataq city, the center of Shabwa province, following fierce confrontations with pro-Islah Party factions.

YPA