Yafa News – follow-up.
The American Center for Studies (ACSYS) said in a report that the province of Abyan has been plagued by the scourge of terrorism for many years, during which its cities and villages were destroyed, and that the launch of the southern forces’ Operation “Arrows of the East” against Al-Qaeda is the beginning of a new chapter that will restore peace and stability to the province.
The American Center report indicated that several operations were launched in the past to liberate Abyan governorate from al-Qaeda control, referring to the operations carried out by the security belt forces and said (but those achieved gains often fade due to the control of the Muslim Brotherhood, which paved the way for the return of terrorist elements to the governorates of Abyan and Shabwa, as it did in late 2019), allowing AQAP free movement and access to the camps and hideouts from which they were expelled.
The report of the American Center for Studies confirmed that the southern armed forces announced the launch of Operation “Arms of the East” on August 23, 2022, with the declared objectives of fighting terrorism, eliminating the Houthi threat, enhancing security in Aden and other southern governorates, and protecting the vital roads linking the eastern The south is in the capital, Aden. The report also said that members of the Yemeni Political Leadership Council do not support the process, especially members of the Islah Party (the Brotherhood of Yemen), who see the “arrows of the East” as a threat to their influence in Abyan.
The report added: The launch of the military operation “Arms of the East” to combat terrorism in Abyan was not a coincidence, but rather a response to the increasing terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda and Houthi cells against the southern forces and civil society.
The report, issued by the American Center for Studies, mentioned the kidnapping of five United Nations employees, one of whom is a foreigner, by al-Qaeda militants in the Arabian Peninsula, to an unknown location in mid-February in Mudiya district, east of Abyan, and they are still holding them hostage and demanding a large ransom for their release.
On March 15, the report indicated that a number of al-Qaeda terrorists attacked in a car bomb the convoy of Brigadier General Abd al-Latif al-Sayyid, commander of the security belt in Abyan, east of Zanzibar, wounding four soldiers of his companions and killing the attacking terrorist elements, and on June 22 Another bloody terrorist attack occurred on the southern forces when it targeted a convoy of the Abyan military axis in the Ahwar district, killing and injuring 17 soldiers of the southern forces.
The report also stressed that after the launch of Operation Arrows of the East, in August, al-Qaeda increased its attacks on the southern forces, and considered it an existential battle, especially after its long-term allies of the Muslim Brotherhood, who monopolized the legitimate government over the past seven years, and stripped it of its power. Complete control of the government with the formation of the Legislative Council.
Pointing out that since the start of Operation Arrows of the East on August 23, the southern forces consisting of the security belt forces, the Abyan axis, the southern counter-terrorism forces, and the southern resistance have taken control of key areas and camps. In the regions of Khanfar, Ahwar, Lawdar, Al-Wadih, Mudiyah, and Al-Mahfad, the cost of controlling Abyan was exorbitant; And the martyrdom of more than 70 soldiers from the southern forces.
At the end of its report, the American Center for Studies urged the need to protect the gains made by the southern forces in combating terrorism in the governorates of Abyan and Shabwa, calling on the Arab coalition and the United States to continue supporting and training these forces, which have repeatedly proven their effectiveness against al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups.. for other terrorists.
