Shabwa’s Journey to the Center of a Regional Proxy Conflict

The struggle between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and the Emirati-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) — allies turned rivals in the anti-Houthi coalition — has become the main political dividing line in the governorate in recent years. [...] And in late June, tension between Yemeni government forces and STC supporters protesting house raids and the arrests of several senior STC officials in the governorate throughout the month prompted the STC to suspend its already weak communication with Saudi officials and other factions of the Yemeni government as well as its engagement in implementing the Riyadh Agreement. [...] The commander of the Shabwa Special Forces is close with Islah, as is Gahdal Hanash al-Awlaqi, commander of the 21st Mika Brigade, which is responsible for protecting oil-rich areas in the governorate and played a key role in resolving the battle of Ataq in the government’s favor. [...] This can partly be attributed to the fact that the UAE does not have any significant presence in Marib beyond the passive loyalties of some tribal sheikhs, while the Emirati presence in Shabwa is active and is represented by more than loyalties 6 | SHABWA’S JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF A REGIONAL PROXY CONFLICT Despite the defeat of its local allies in August 2019, and the broader pullout of the UAE f. [...] The UAE also continues to pay the salaries of more than 7,000 members of the Shabwani Elite forces, some of whom fought against government forces in the August battles for the governorate.