Yemen: Fighting in Abyan governorate continues as anti-Houthi forces advance
Military sources in Abyan’s Lawdar district claimed on Wednesday that the 111th Infantry Brigade had cut off supplies to Houthi fighters and their allies in the governorate and had them surrounded since Tuesday. Shaker Al-Ghadir, an officer in the pro-Hadi 111th Infantry Brigade, said violent clashes with Houthi militants and their supporters in the 15th Armored brigade had killed at least 35 from either side since Tuesday.
Six-hundred men from the 111th Brigade based in Ahwar district linked up with 400 popular committee members on Tuesday and have since cut off all roads and supply lines, including the Abyan-Aden and Abyan-Shabwah roads, according to Al-Ghadir.
“On Friday the Houthis had entered the districts of Jaar, Lawdar and Shuqra. Soldiers from the brigade and members of Hadi’s popular committees are fighting them on all fronts and are winning,” he said.
Al-Ghadir also said Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader Jalal Balidi and 600 of his militants are present in Abyan, and that they have pledged to fight alongside forces aligned against the Houthis and pro-Saleh forces.