Yemen: Government forces regain control of Abyan province   

Yemeni security sources said yesterday that forces loyal to the internationally recognised government have wrested control of the Abyan province, nearly a week after UAE-backed separatists took control of it.

On 20 August, the separatists seized two headquarters belonging to security forces in Abyan, one of which is a special security forces’ camp in the province capital Zanzibar, and the other is a camp of military police in the Kod located between the province and Aden.

Security sources said that forces loyal to the government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi made progress after the arrival of military reinforcements.

On his part, Minister of Information in the internationally recognised government, Moammar Al-Eryani, said in a post on Twitter: “The National Army & the security forces impose full control over Aden’s districts amid great public satisfaction and welcome.”

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The forces of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) withdrew to the road linking the province of Abyan with the province of Aden, the security sources said.

The progress comes after government forces took control of Ataq, the capital of Shabwa province, last week.

On 10 August, separatists seized Aden, the interim capital of the government, following clashes with government forces in which dozens were killed and wounded.

Aden became the government’s base since Houthi rebels took over the northern capital Sanaa in 2014.

The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council partially withdrew from key positions it had occupied in Aden under pressure from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, but still controls key military positions.