Armed tribesmen block main road in Shabwa gas tankers heading to Marib

SHABWA, July 07 (YPA) – Armed tribesmen blocked the main road, on Monday, to gas tankers owned by members of the Ubaida tribes in areas under the control of Emirati factions in central Shabwa Governorate.

A local source in the governorate confirmed that gunmen from the Khalifa Bani Hilal tribe detained dozens of gas tankers heading to Marib, in response to the killing of one of its members and the wounding of another by gunmen from the Al-Oushan al-Damashqa tribe in mid-June in Marib.

He explained that the Khalifa Bani Hilal tribes in Shabwa had exhausted all peaceful means and methods with the authorities loyal to the coalition to arrest the accused from the Al-Oushan family of killing the gas tanker driver, Hassan Awad al-Harshi al-Khulaifi, and wounding his companion, Abdul Rahman Saleh Jalom al-Khalifi.

He pointed out that Khalifa sheikhs had detained a number of gas tankers owned by the sons of merchants from Ubaidah in Marib to pressure them to hand over those accused of killing the driver, “Al-Khalifi,” after they carried out a tribal protest, preventing the passage of gas and oil tankers heading to Aden and the southern governorates.

The areas under the control of the coalition factions in Shabwa and Marib are witnessing unprecedented security chaos, leading tribesmen to fight among themselves, amid accusations against the faction leaders of fueling tribal conflicts to serve foreign agendas.