Fierce clashes renew among coalition factions in Abyan

ABYAN, March 11 (YPA) – Fierce clashes renewed on Saturday among armed factions backed by the Saudi-led coalition in Abyan province, south Yemen.

Local sources said that the clashes erupted the UAE-funded militias and Islah militants in Mudiyah district and outskirts of Mukairas district.

The sources said that violent clashes took place between the two parties last night, amid news published by UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC)’s media outlets talking about “al-Qaeda sent hundreds of its members” to wage a new battle alongside the tribes against the UAE-affiliated militias in the districts of Mudiyah, Lawdar, and the outskirts of Mukairas.

The clashes in Mudiya and Mukairas coincided with the so-called joint forces affiliated with the coalition forces, led by Mustafa Mahdi Al-Kazmi, commander of the 3rd Presidential Protection Brigade last Wednesday, to launch an attack on the tribesmen of Jishan in the road linking Abyan and Bayda province, using medium weapons and mortars in the mountains of Al-Qasha’a, Al-Shatbah and Al-Awsaj, after they rejected the presence of terrorist elements from Al-Qaeda who fled from Bayda to Abyan.

On January 2, the STC had announced the launch of the “Second Arrows of the East” operation, after its armed factions were subjected to a massive attrition process, in the districts Mahfad, Mudiyah and Lawdar, in light of their failure to fully control Abyan.

Politicians loyal the STC accused Saudi Arabia of thwarting the campaign of the pro-UAE factions in Abyan province, stressing that Riyadh worked to support “terrorist groups and military components affiliated with the Islah Party” with money and weapons, which led to the sinking of the pro-UAE factions in a war of attrition in the province.

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