The battles in Shabwa governorate.. What is the UAE’s role in the escalation against the Yemeni army forces?

Al-Jabwani said that the legitimate state forces and the popular resistance that are fighting the Houthis are being liquidated in Shabwa, southeast of Yemen, by what he called the UAE militia called the Giants, describing what is happening today as a conspiracy to divide and fragment led by the UAE, which he accused of serving the Zionist project in the region.

Local sources had said that Abu Dhabi-backed forces had taken control of the city of Ataq, the administrative center of Shabwa governorate, after violent confrontations with government military and security forces, which resulted in deaths and injuries, including civilians.

The sources added that the so-called Shabwa Defense Forces and the Emirati-backed Giants Brigade raided the homes and offices of government military leaders.

Commenting on the role of the Presidential Leadership Council in Yemen on the escalation process in Shabwa, the former Yemeni Minister of Transport - in his speech to an episode (16/08/2022) of the "Beyond the News" program - saw that this council is just a tool in the hands of the UAE and Saudi Arabia, who accused them of Violating the institutions of the Yemeni state since 1962.

The spokesman expected that the battles between government forces and those backed by the UAE would continue, noting that the latter’s goal is to control the governorates of Shabwa and Hadramawt (southeast) and then move to Al-Mahra, and said that they are trying to empty those areas of their sons to serve their project, and it is likely that there is coordination between the UAE and Iran from In order to try to share Yemen.

While he questioned the reasons for the failure of the UN and US envoys to stop what he called the massacre committed in Shabwa governorate, the Yemeni guest said that the Yemenis are waiting for a good position from the Arabs and the United Nations, and they will continue to resist attempts to divide and fragment Yemen.

The south will not remain hostage to the situation in the north

On the other hand, Saleh Al-Noud, a spokesman for the Southern Transitional Council office in London, described the ongoing escalation in Shabwa governorate as normal, given that there are forces affiliated with the previous regime whose main concern is controlling the oil-rich governorates, not ending the Yemeni crisis by liberating the north from the Houthis.

He praised the Emirati role in Yemen, and said that this country, along with Saudi Arabia, supported the legitimacy to restore the country from the Houthi militias. He added that without the intervention of the Arab coalition aircraft, the legitimate forces would not have been able to control Marib.

Regarding the outcome of the battles in Shabwa, the spokesman for the Southern Transitional Council office stressed the need to "liberate" the region, and said that southern Yemen would not remain hostage to the situation in the north, acknowledging that the Houthi militia is the main enemy, but there are obstacles that must be eliminated first, he said.

Shabwa is one of the most important Yemeni governorates, as it is oil and contains the Balhaf gas facility, which is one of the most important economic facilities in the country.