Shabwa (South24)

At least 6 soldiers were killed and others wounded, including civilians, in violent clashes today in Shabwa governorate, South Yemen.

According to local sources who spoke to "South24", clashes erupted in the city of Ataq, the capital of the governorate, after the latest decisions to dismiss the pro-Islah commander of the Special Security Forces.

According to the sources, units of the Shabwa Defense Forces (formerly the Shabwani Elite) and soldiers from the Southern Giants Brigades clashed with armed men from the Special Forces and Ataq military axis with heavy, medium and light weapons.

The clashes resulted in the killing of Major Ahmed Lashqum Al-Awlaki, the commander of the Emergency and Rapid Intervention Brigade in the Ataq axis, according to official sources. 

Lashqum is one of the most prominent Islah-affiliate military commanders in the governorate.

According to the sources, the pro-Islah military forces are currently holed up in a number of government buildings in Ataq, after deploying snipers on the roofs and balconies of government and civilian buildings.

The Shabwa Defense Forces and the Giants Brigades control Ataq International Airport and most of the city, except for the southern entrance and some nearby military camps where members of the Special Forces are deployed.

So far, none of the parties has resolved the battle with intermittent renewal of clashes, with reports of mediation efforts.

In an emergency meeting regarding the events in the governorate, the Presidential Council dismissed senior military and security commanders in Shabwa.

The decision included the dismissal of the commander of Ataq axis , Aziz Al-Atiqi, Shabwa police director, Awad Al-Dahboul, commander of the Special Security Forces, Abd Rabbo Lakab, and the commander of the Second Brigade of the Shabwa Defense Forces, Wajdi Baoum, according to Saba news agency.

Shabwa's Governor Awad Al-Awlaki had issued decisions two days ago dismissing the commander of the Special Security Forces Abd Rabbo Lakab and a number of other senior commanders after their forces prevented an assigned security commander from entering their military camp.

The situation in Ataq had begun to become tense since mid-July when the clashes erupted between the Shabwa Defense Forces and the Special Forces leading to several dead and wounded including civilians.