Abyan (Debriefer) - The Yemeni southern governorate of Abyan saw on Sunday renewed clashes pitting the official government troops against the Emirati-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC).
The fighting erupted in the coastal area of Khabr al-Maraqisha in Ahwar district, local sources said, after STC forces attacked government military sites at international road linking Abyan to Aden.
According to STC military spokesman, the confrontations in Khabr al-Maraqisha "expanded from al-Sahila (west) to Haid Yahiya (east)."
STC-affiliated Security Belt "forces fended off an attack by government troops in the area, and carried out a number of ambushes and raids, leaving deaths and injuries among government troops," Mohamed al-Naqib added on Twitter, "despite the huge reinforcements."
In the last two days, the STC deployed military reinforcements in Ahwar district and Zinjobar city, Abyan provincial capital.
On Saturday, the STC posted an official statement on its website calling on its forces to be on full alert to challenges and keep all possibilities open at many levels."
The statement accused the government troops of assaulting the Security Belt forces in Ahwar in order to "impose a new reality on the ground."
