Al Amalika Southern Forces said they have liberated Yemen's oil-rich province of Shabwa after a large-scale military operation that started at the beginning of January.
The troops, which are aligned with Yemen's Southern Transitional Council, set out to recapture three districts in the south-eastern province from Houthi rebels who had invaded the districts in September 2021.
“The leadership of Al Amalika Southern Forces declares Shabwa province fully liberated from the Houthi existence 10 days after the military operation [called Storm of the South] began,” Al Amalika said on Monday.
The announcement came after 10 days of deadly clashes between Al Amalika, which is backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition, and the Iran-backed rebels, who suffered big losses.
“Our forces took full control [of] Al Ain district after recapturing the infantry base of 153 brigade and Najed Al Markad between Ain district and Bayhan district,” a commander in the pro-STC forces told The National.
“Our troops will go farther into areas affiliated with the bordering province of Al Bayda to secure Shabwa from the Houthi missiles.”
During the 10-day battle, the southern forces, which were backed by coalition war planes, pummelled the rebels in the three districts.
More than 200 Houthi fighters were killed in the districts of Usailan, Bayhan and Al Ain while dozens surrendered to the southern forces.
“Their bodies were left scattered in the Al Noqob area for three days until a local NGO volunteered to bury them after residents sent appeals to do so,” Ahmed Swailem, a resident in the area, told The National.
The rebels had been pushing towards the oilfields of Marib province, the last stronghold for Yemen's internationally recognised government, and Shabwa province since February 2021.
After a lull, they resumed their offensive in September when they took over three districts in Shabwa in an effort to control its oilfields.
New offensive soon
The forces are now expected to start a new operation to liberate Mukayras district in Abyan province, near the border with Al Bayda province.
A Pro-STC official told The National that Al Amalika forces and other southern troops will launch a military operation to recapture the district.
“After securing Shabwa, our forces will move to liberate Mukayras districts in eastern Abyan because the Houthi presence there is still a threat,“ the official.
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
