Eastern Marib Tribes And Islah Party Kick Off Confrontations

Amid the clashes between the militants of Al Qamad tribe and the Islah party in vicinity of a gas station belonging to the Al Qamad tribe in the Keri district of the eastern Marib, a tank and a military vehicle of the Islah party militants were demolished and at least five militants were killed and injured. Following the confrontation, the Islah Party militants raided the houses belonging to the Al Qamad tribe using Katyusha and artillery rockets.

The clashes erupt after the Islah Party deployed its militants and heavy military equipment on the eastern road to Marib with the aim of preventing the entry of Al-Dara Al-Watan militants into Marib and embarked on setting up checkpoints on that region’s paths.

Read more: Al-Dara’ Al-Watan Militants Advancing Towards Marib

The confrontations kickstarted on Saturday February 11 and came to an end following a five-day ceasefire arrangement, but the onset of the military drills by the Obaida tribes in Wadi Obaida on February 14 fueled the tensions between the tribes and the militants once again. As said by the local sources in Marib, the tribes kicked off the military drills of the tribes in Wadi Obaida region in a bid to take control of the regions as well as expel the Islah Party militants from Marib oil fields.

The root cause of the tensions come from the disputes between the officials of the resigned government of former Yemeni president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, and the leaders of the Islah party, which led to the withdrawal of the Islah party militants from Abyan Governorate and their retreatment from the city of Ataq in Shabwah Governorate. At present, the Islah Party is doing all-out efforts to uphold its positions in the north of Hadhramaut Governorate as well as the Marib city; thus, the resigned government of Yemen is attempting to decrease the power of the Islah Party backed by Saudi Arabia, where the militants of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and al-Dara al-Watan.

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