President Al-Zubaidi Delivers Key Address to People of the South at Home and Abroad on 62nd Glorious October Revolution Anniversary
President Aidarous Qassem Al-Zubaidi, President of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), Supreme...
Abyan's struggle with terrorism during 3 decades and the victory of the southern armed forces in purification the governorate
sadaalhakika
Abyan Governorate has suffered from the specter of terrorism and terrorist organizations since 1990, after the South “People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen” was united with the North “Yemen Arab Republic.”
This unity, to which the southerners choose with pure hearts, ambition and hope of forming a modern and developed federal state, collided with the other side with malice, hatred and annexation.
Where the northerners developed a colonial scheme to control the south, and one of these colonial plans was bringing northern and Arab fighters from Afghanistan and other places, and providing them with camps in Abyan governorate, which enjoys rugged mountainous terrain, and the northern regime provided tangible and logistical support and gave them jobs and high ranks in the army, security and intelligence.
The popular southern movement in the southern governorates, which began on July 7, 2007, and its beginning was with the association of Military and Security Retired Persons who were dismissed from their work after the war to invade the south on 7/7/1994, constituted a painful blow to the northern occupation regime in Sana'a.
The demands of the Southern Movement quickly exceeded equality and restore the military and civilian demobilized, to demand independence and the restoration of the state for southern Yemen.
The northern occupation regime tried with all kinds of force to extinguish the fire of the Southern Movement, which expanded in all the southern governorates. Despite the occupation regime's use of military force, arrests, torture, chases and assassinations, it failed miserably to extinguish the fire of the Southern Movement.
Here, the northern occupation regime began using the Arab Afghans, who participated with the occupation regime in the war to invade the south in 1994. The occupation regime included all the Arab Afghans in the northern armed forces and then ordered them to invade the south, but this time by using the name of Al-Qaeda.
The northern military brigades in southern Yemen turned into warehouses for terrorism in the name of Al-Qaeda, and from those camps, the northern soldiers used to come out carrying Al Qaeda flags. From here, the occupation regime in Sana'a began handing over the southern governorates to al-Qaeda, and the first governorate to be handed over was Abyan, after the speech of the occupation president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who said that terrorism is the alternative and that the first governorates to fall into the hands of al-Qaeda is Abyan governorate .
The emergence of terrorism in Abyan:
The Islamic Jihad Movement was formed in Yemen in 1990, which initially consisted of spreading the spirit of Islamic extremism and takfiri, against the leaders of the Yemeni Socialist Party, and this Movement has lacked a clear leadership structure or a coherent organizational structure, until 1994 .
In the late eighties and early nineties, Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden began financing the jihadist movement in North Yemen, and then after achieving Yemeni unity.
In agreement with the leader of terrorism in Yemen, Sheikh Abdul Majeed Al-Zindani, who was wanted on the international terrorism list, recruits and resources were brought back from Afghanistan and directed to the governorates of southern Yemen.
Terrorism began in Abyan in an open and organized way between the years 1993-1994, when the formation of the Aden Abyan Army was announced, which then carried out assassinations against the leaders of the Yemeni Socialist Party, including the assassination attempt of the leader .
Then the attack on the headquarters of the Political Security and the Bahrain Central Prison in the city of Jaar, and the smuggling of the leaders and members of the organization who were in prison.
The emergence of the army of Aden - Abyan:
The Aden Abyan Army has appeared in the mid-nineties, that was a mixture of veterans of the Soviet-Afghan war and extreme Islamists from different countries, used guerrilla warfare.
The Aden Abyan Army began its activities in Zanzibar and Khanfar districts by spreading slogans of violence against the state and urging the killing of soldiers and jihad for the sake of God, as they put it. They used to write these slogans on the walls of citizens’ homes, government facilities and stadiums at night.
The Aden Abyan Army has also carried out several terrorist acts, whether in Abyan or Aden, including, for example, the kidnapping of 16 foreign tourists, the attack on Bahrain prison in the city of Jaar, the political security camp, and the attack on a military convoy.
In 1998, after the attack on the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the authorities dealt heavy blows to the leaders of the Aden Abyan army and arrested the leader of the organization in Yemen, as well as the leader of the organization in Abyan governorate .
Here begins a new phase, especially with the escape of a large number of al-Qaeda elements from prisons, where they were reorganized and arranged under the organization of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and the entry of Abyan governorate into a new old conflict under the name of al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda in Abyan:
Al-Qaeda appeared in Abyan governorate in particular in 1998, taking the districts of the central region in Abyan governorate, which in its terrain resembles the terrain of Afghanistan as a safe haven, in which it established training camps.
Al-Qaeda began assassinations of soldiers and officers of public security, criminal investigation, soldiers and political security officers. Then, it expanded operations that even affected traffic policemen.
Al-Qaeda also carried out robberies on the revenues of the electricity, water, post office, money changers and the education and health offices.
Al-Qaeda also blew up a number of government buildings, including the building of the municipality or the local authority in Khanfar district, and threw a number of bombs and explosives near police stations in Zanzibar and Khanfar, causing the death of a number of citizens, including children. It blew up security points, which claimed the lives of many soldiers, in addition to the kidnapping of tourists and tribesmen in Abyan who stand against the organization, and the attack on the American destroyer USS Cole was the most violent attack carried out by the organization.
The leaders of al-Qaeda in Abyan governorate were the sons of military leaders who had a strong connection to Sana’a regime, especially the old red butcher Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar and Sheikh Abdul Majeed al-Zindani.
The most prominent appearance of Al-Qaeda in Abyan..
The occupation of Lauder District:
Al-Qaeda was present in the city of Lawdar before the events of Ramadan 2010, and it stayed in the city until 2011, when the People's Committees kicked it out .
Then Al-Qaeda returned to the occupation of Lauder for the second time in April 2012 and lasted for a month and a half until mid-June 2012, then returned for the third time to occupy Lauder after the war in 2015 against Al-Houthi and left Lauder after the arrival of the Security Belt.
The strategic importance of Zanzibar and Khanfar :
Zanzibar is located on the Gulf of Aden, about 54 kilometers from Aden, east of the “strategic” Bab al-Mandab strait. “About three million barrels of oil pass through the strait daily.”
Capturing Jaar would make it easier for AQAP to bring in supplies from its former stronghold of Mukalla in Hadhramout governorate to attack Aden.
Reasons for Al-Qaeda's occupation of Abyan delta, Zanzibar and Khanfar:
The occupation regime in Sana’a tried to present an offer to the people’s committees in Abyan in order to make it a means to strike the southern movement in the governorate, as it was intended to:
1- Withdrawal of weapons from all the Southern Movement factions.
2- Paralyzing the Southern Resistance Movement.
3- The implementation of an arrests campaign of southern leaders and symbols.
4- Leaving the naming of the Southern Resistance, and adopting the naming of the Popular Resistance.
5- Declare allegiance to Yemeni unity and legitimacy.
In return, all members of the People's Committees will be included to the Yemeni army, in addition to granting its leadership all the privileges they request.
* The first occupation of Abyan delta, Zanzibar and Khanfar by Al-Qaeda:
Al-Qaeda seized Abyan delta, Zanzibar and Khanfar in March 2011 until May 2012.
* The second occupation of Abyan delta, Zanzibar and Khanfar by Al-Qaeda:
In early December 2015 to June 2016, 300 militants belonging to Al-Qaeda attacked and captured Zanzibar.
The looting of Zanzibar and Khanfar :
Al-Qaeda looted the National Bank of Yemen and the Central Bank of Yemen, as well as looted Zanzibar Post office and Jaar Post office, and looted all government facilities in a wave of looting that was not witnessed in Zanzibar and Khanfar except in the war of the south invasion in 94 by North Yemen.
* Destruction of Zanzibar :
After the occupation of the city of Zanzibar, al-Qaeda members spread in buildings, between citizens' homes, government facilities, and mosques, and exchanged artillery shelling with the 15th Meca Brigade, to which the organization's members belong. They destroyed the city, in addition to the bombing of the city, which destroyed the city in an unprecedented way.
Formation of the Southern People's Committees:
A sporadic resistance began in Abyan governorate against al-Qaeda members, and then soon the formation of what was called at the time by the People's committees, “the Southern Forces now,” was not a new experience created by the state of insecurity in these areas, but rather existed previously in the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen under the name “the militia'', which was able to protect the security of the governorate in the light of the collapse of the northern occupation authority, the Sana’a regime.
After Al-Qaeda affiliate Ansar al-Sharia occupied the city of Lawdar on April 9, 2010, a group of Lawdar’s sons gathered in the form of an armed group called “People’s Committees” that rejected the presence of al-Qaeda and entered into a war with it for a month.
On May 16, 2011, it was able to liberate the city of Lauder from al-Qaeda.
People's Committees of Lawdar were the first nucleus in the formation of Pepole's Committees in the district of Abyan Delta "Zanzibar and Khanfar", in which officers, soldiers, and non-commissioned officers of the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen were involved.
** The Southern People’s Committees in Abyan Governorate proved strength and ingenuity in the street wars against Al-Qaeda, and they gained great skill in it and outperformed the organization and were able to defeat it with the least number, equipment and with limited capabilities.
In addition to protecting the governorate security, the people's committees took care of citizens' complaints and disputes, organized traffic and organized markets, including the khat market, vegetables, fish and street vendors.
The People’s Committees “Southern Forces” were formed in 2012, and the People’s Committees fought a guerrilla war with Ansar al-Sharia, where the members of the People’s Committees used rough roads because the organization controlled the main roads in the governorate towards the east, and they walked on foot for long distances from khabar Al-Marrakesh to Yuramis and then to Bates on a journey that takes about 18 hours on foot, then they carry out their attack against the Ansar Al-Sharia organization and return to their places.
* Saving Food
People's Committees were hiding food, bread, dates and water in the cracks of the mountains in anticipation of any siege or chase with Ansar al-Sharia.
*Weapon Transfer:
Members of the People's Committees were transporting weapons and equipment on donkeys and camels to their locations.
The first battle against Ansar al-Sharia:
The first battle was between the People's Committees and Ansar al-Sharia on the 15th of Ramadan 8/15/2011.
The battle began when the martyr Abdullah Sanad Atef and his brother Alawi Sanad created a check-point at the entrance of the project neighborhood, so Al-Qaeda attacked the check-point and the battle began in the traditional irrigation project neighborhood.
The People’s Committees “Southern Forces” also had a major and pivotal role in the Battle of the Golden Swords and achieving a great victory over Ansar al-Sharia, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda.
Where the people’s committees drained the organization from the inside through attacks on the organization’s check-points in the streets of Zanzibar and Jaar, and on the main lines, which are Zanzibar Jaar line and Jaar al-Hosn Bates line, which the Pepole's Committees were able to kill important elements in the organization, including experts in the manufacture of explosives.
At the beginning of the Houthi war, the People's Committees participated a long side with the southern resistance in protecting the port of Aden, the military and security government offices in the governorate of Aden.
In 2015, under the pretext of fighting Al-Houthi, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula returned and seized Zanzibar and Jaar.
Security belt:
In March 2016, the Southern people's Committees were transformed into the Security Belt and Rapid Intervention Forces, led by Abdul Latif al-Sayed, who was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
The Security Belt, also known as the Support Forces, that is affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council, led by President Aidarous al-Zubaidi, the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and the Southern Resistance. The Security Belt helped maintain security and stability in the southern governorates, in Aden, Lahj and Abyan.
The Security Belt forces fought against the Brotherhood militias, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the Islamic State (ISIS), then the Islamic State - Yemen Province, and the Houthi militias.
The total number of the Security Belt forces in Aden, Lahj and Abyan is 13,000 fighters, of which 3,000 fighters are in Abyan governorate.
The security belt forces liberate the cities of Zanzibar and Jaar from al-Qaeda:
The Security Belt forces managed to recapture the cities of Zanzibar and Jaar from Ansar al-Sharia organization affiliated with al-Qaeda in 2017.
When the Security Belt forces entered the cities of Zanzibar and Jaar, they did not face any resistance from Ansar al-Sharia, which fled to the central Abyan districts.
Campaigns carried out by the security belts of the southern forces against terrorist groups in Abyan:
October 2017
March 2018
August 2019
Arrows of the East 2022
The scheme of terrorist operations in Abyan governorate targeted the southern forces only:
Terrorist groups did not stop targeting the southern armed forces with terrorist operations, which varied between attacks on check-points, assassinations, explosive devices, kidnappings, or shelling with mortars.
As the number of terrorist operations carried out against the southern armed forces in 2019, for example, twenty-four terrorist operations.
Despite the lack of capabilities and the failure to receive salaries regularly, the southern armed forces carried out their duty to the fullest, as they arrested many criminals, murderers and terrorists in less than 24 hours for committing crimes.
Reducing the spread of drugs:
In the field of drug control, the southern forces represented by the security belts were able to reduce the spread and promotion of drugs in the governorate by arresting drug traffickers and distributors, and striking those networks, as well as thwarting many drug smuggling operations to the governorate and to the capital, Aden, through the Dofus and Hassan check-points of Abyan security belt.
