UAE-backed commander plans to dismantle STC factions

DHALEA, Nov. 02 (YPA) – Commanders loyal to Tariq Saleh have succeeded in partially dismantling the UAE-funded Southern Transitional Council (STC) factions by recruiting dozens of fighters from the Dhalea province, amidst escalating polarization and conflict among pro-coalition factions.

A local source familiar with matter confirmed that dozens of Security Belt Forces members had left their camps and joined the so-called “Commando Brigade”, which is affiliated with Tariq Saleh, the nephew of the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The Security Belt commander in Dhalea, Ahmed al-Qubba, ordered the arrest of dozens of defectors, who were caught at checkpoints he had set up on the roads, while they were heading to a training camp on the coast, the source added.

The source attributed the mass defection to the financial incentives offered by the Commando Brigade’s recruitment committee in Dhalea, especially given the continued suspension of salaries for STC factions for the fifth consecutive month, creating fertile ground for recruitment, indicating that armed tensions be swept through the STC camps in Dhalea.

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