Shabwa (South24) 

Today, Tuesday, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia took control of the districts of Beihan and Ain in Shabwa governorate, South Yemen, and Harib junction in Marib, North Yemen, within hours, after a mass escape of pro-Islah Yemeni forces.

According to "South24" field sources, the group's fighters reached the "Naqoub area" in Shabwa, which is only tens of kilometers away from Ataq, the capital and administrative center of Shabwa.

Houthi fighters seize a government camp in Beihan district after the "Islah" forces fled September 21, 2021 (activists)

Local sources had confirmed the withdrawal of dozens of military vehicles and vehicles belonging to the Ataq military axis from the city towards other areas in the governorate.

Houthi fighters in Beihan district, September 21, 2021 (activists)

On the other hand, locals and tribal members called to fight against the Houthis, and clashed with them in a number of areas, considering what happened on their land as a "conspiracy and a deal" to hand it over, between Islah and the Houthis.

Southern activists and politicians shared video clips that they say were of members of the government forces and the Houthis exchanging greetings and chanting Houthi slogans [Allah is Greater, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse on the Jews, Victory to Islam], or the "chant" as the group's followers call it. The politicians asked, "For the benefit of who is what going on in Shabwa?"

In conjunction with the events in Shabwa, special sources confirmed the arrival of military supplies to the Houthis in Al-Bayda Governorate, which the group had completely dropped in the past weeks after government forces fled from it.

Through Al-Bayda, the Houthis launch another attack on the Lauder district in Abyan governorate, where the Southern resistance and tribes are intertwined.

Aidrous Al-Zubaidi, STC President in Aden, had announced, on Wednesday, a state of emergency and general mobilization in the Southern governorates to "fight the Houthis and the forces of terrorism, and defend South."

It should be noted that Shabwa governorate includes a large number of brigades and military units that owe allegiance to the "Muslim Brotherhood" affiliated Yemeni Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who fought the Shabwani Elite Forces in August 2019 with Saudi support.

These forces are also deployed in the oil-rich Wadi Hadramout, which reinforces fears of a recurrence of the Al-Bayda scenarios, and the Shabwa areas, according to observers. 

South24 Center for News and Studies

Government military vehicles fleeing northern Shabwa areas, coinciding with the Houthis' advance, September 21, 2021 (activists)