Armed clashes among coalition factions resume in Abyan

ABYAN, Jan. 14 (YPA) – Armed clashes renewed on Saturday in the coalition-held Abyan province, southern Yemen.

Tribal sources said the confrontations broke out between members of the security belt affiliated with the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), and tribal gunmen, in the Mudiya district, after one of the shop owners refused to pay royalties to members of the STC militias.

The clashes came after four similar clashes in the “Lawdar” district of Abyan, between the military factions funded by the UAE, and tribal gunmen and “al-Qaeda” members, which led to al-Qaeda’s control of the headquarters of the pro-UAE forces in the district.

The STC militias are subjected to a massive attrition process in the districts of Al-Mahfad, Mudiya and Lawdar, in light of their failure to fully control the province, since the launch of their military operation “Siham Al-Sharq” in early September.

AA