Southern Separatists and Tribesmen in Shabwah: A Continued Enmity

Shabwah province in South Yemen continues to experience sporadic clashes between tribesmen and southern separatists, deepening the rift between the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council and the tribes in the province.

Yesterday, armed confrontations broke out between tribesmen and forces backed by the UAE in Khorah area of Merkhah As Sufla district in Shabwah, local sources said.

The sources indicated that clashes occurred when militants from the Al Abdullah and Al Dayan tribes attacked the Giants Forces, and the two sides used light and medium weapons. The clashes left material losses in citizens' property. Human losses were not reported.

Regarding the cause of the clashes, the sources said that the Giants Forces kidnapped and hid a person from a tribal area and put him in prison. All efforts aimed at releasing him failed, causing Al Dayan and Al Abduall tribes to resort to using force.

The separatist forces had kidnapped several people in Shabwah, accusing them of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood or Al-Qaeda terrorist group. The Southern Transitional Council took over Shabwah's capital in 2022 and began spreading its influence in other districts of the province. They have used force and violence to deepen their presence and silence opponents.

While political and tribal entities keep emerging in south Yemen to confront the separatists' agenda, regionalism continues to threaten the unity of the separatist groups.

 In November last year, Sheba Intelligence obtained audio recordings revealing the escalation of regional discourse among the members of the STC, which makes residents in the southern provinces recall the civil war between two factions within the Socialist Party in January 1986, in which thousands were killed.

 In January, the Preparatory Committee for the Unified Council of the Eastern Governorates (UCEP) (Hadhramaut, Shabwa, Al-Mahra, and Socotra) was announced in Sayun City, consisting of 47 individuals. It aimed to establish self-rule without the influence of powers from South or North Yemen.

Observers said establishing the new entity was a blow to the Southern Transitional Council, which has been posing as the representative of the southern and eastern provinces for the past seven years.