Shabwa battles expose opportunism of Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen

Ali Rajab

Events in southern Yemen are accelerating, with the Brotherhood entering the battle of Shabwa strongly through military support from Marib governorate, which is controlled by the Yemeni Rally for Reform Party, amid questions about the military power that went to fight the transitional council in the south while not moving to target Houthi militias.

This comes amid blatant complicity of the Yemeni Brothers against the South, and the objectives of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy to overthrow the Houthi terrorist project in Yemen.

Southern activists believe that the legitimate government is moving according to the whims and projects of the Reform Party, the “Brotherhood of Yemen”, and that the events of Shabwa confirm this.

Yemeni government forces announced on Saturday (August 24th) to tighten their control over the city of Ataq and all roads leading to it, and to secure supply lines from Marib and Wadi Hadramout, and control three camps where the forces of Shabwani elite are loyal to the Transitional Council in the vicinity of Ataq city.

A number of people were killed and wounded after clashes broke out on Sunday morning (August 25th) between government forces and gunmen from the Noman and Belabid tribes in the oil-rich Shabwa province amid confirmed reports that elite forces have retaken military positions from government forces.

Transitional movements and tribal appeals

Following the loss of the provincial council, the city of Ataq, the capital of Shabwa, the council announced the dispatch of military reinforcements to liberate areas controlled by government forces, which are predominantly formed by the Muslim Brotherhood.

The military reinforcement of the Transitional Council consists of three brigades heavily armed with heavy weapons under the command of Brigadier Saleh al-Sayyed, director of security of the province of Lahj, to strengthen and support the forces of the “Shabwani elite” of the transition and rearrange their ranks in preparation for attacking the city.

The Shabwa tribes have entered the crisis line. Noman tribes issued a statement calling on all members of the tribe who are able to bear arms to go and gather, on Sunday August 25, to the junction of Upper Egypt to join the ranks of the southern resistance and the forces of the Shabwani elite and the South Armed Forces, according to the statement.

The tribes of Noman confirmed that the battle of Ataq is a decisive battle, and a battle of breaking a bone, and will not stop at the borders of Ataq, but will liberate every inch of our precious province Shabwa to Uqla and directorates Bihan.

Why Shabwa?

Shabwa, south of Yemen, is of geopolitical importance. It is the first Yemeni governorates that rejected the constitutional declaration of the Houthis in January 2015, and it also rejects the presence of the Muslim Brotherhood, in addition to its geographical location as well as arms smuggling to the Houthis. The province includes the largest economic project in the country, which means control of the Shabwani elite in the export of crude oil.

Shabwa also produces more than 50,000 barrels of oil per day, a strategic goal for the Houthi and Muslim Brotherhood militia to control the province’s wealth.

For his part, South Yemeni political activist Ahmed al-Rubaizi, said that the southerners are able to defeat and eliminate the Brotherhood militias in Shabwa.