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Yemen Forces Enter Aden after Seizure by Separatists
[AnNahar] Yemen...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... government forces entered the interim capital Aden and recaptured a nearby province Wednesday, officials said, pushing back separatists who had seized parts of the south this month. "The national army and security services reached at this moment the interim capital and begin to secure districts," Yemeni Information Minister Moammer al-Eryani said on Twitter. The main gate of the city's airport had also been secured, he added. An AFP correspondent in the east of the city witnessed shelling by advancing government forces who came fresh from their success in taking back control of Abyan ...a governorate of Yemen. The region was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army terrorist group until it dropped the name and joined al-Qaeda. Its capital is Zinjibar. In March 2011, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula declared the governate an Islamic Emirateafter seizing control of the region. The New York Times fastidiously reported that those in control, while Islamic hard boyz, are not in fact al-Qaeda, but something else that looks, tastes, smells, and acts the same. Yemeni government forces launched an effort to re-establish control of the region when President-for-Life Saleh was tossed and the carnage continues... province to the east. "Heroes of the national army and security agencies have retaken Zinjibar city, the capital of Abyan province, and complete their control over other districts of the province," Eryani said. A pro-government source told AFP that fighting had erupted in the streets of the city, as loyalist troops fanned out there. The separatists, who seek an independent South Yemen, seized Aden on August 10 following heavy festivities with government troops. That major gain saw them press on to take other strategic areas, before being pushed back. Abyan was the second southern province to be retaken by government forces in southern Yemen in days following festivities with the Security Belt, a paramilitary force loyal to the Southern Transitional Council (STC). Earlier in the week, government forces regained control of Shabwa province after beating back an attack by STC forces. Posted by: trailing wife 2019-08-29 |
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