UAE-backed factions expel over 700 local recruits in Shabwa

SHABWA, June 20 (YPA) – Leadership of the UAE-backed factions in Shabwa province has carried out a mass expulsion of more than 700 local recruits, replacing them with individuals from other provinces.

According to reports from human rights and media sources, the recruits were expelled from the ranks of what is known as the “First Shabwa Defense Brigade” and replaced by members from the provinces of Dhalea, Yafa, and Lahj, who were recruited at the Al-Alam camp.

These measures were described as “racist and driven by regional favoritism” within UAE-funded factions, amid accusations of systematic exclusion and marginalization against the people of Shabwa.

The expulsion of local recruits from UAE-backed forces has sparked widespread outrage among Shabwa’s residents, with increasing demands for their return and the payment of overdue salaries.

This comes after the UAE dismissed nearly 6,000 members of the so-called “Shabwani Elite Forces” led by Mohammad Mohammed Al-Buhairi at the beginning of 2022, creating new factions called the “Shabwa Defense Forces.”

@E.Y.M