Abyan (South24) 

Today, the police forces in Abyan Governorate, South Yemen, took over their headquarters in the city of Zinjibar, the capital of the governorate, days after the deployment of the Southern forces in the central regions of the governorate.

The police forces led by Brigadier General Ali Nasser Al-Kazmi arrived in accompany with prominent military commanders in the STC's Southern forces which controls the city.

On the fifth day of the "Eastern Arrows" operation which was announced by the PLC member Major General Aidrous Al-Zubaidi to eradicate "terrorist" groups, the Southern forces continued their deployment and took over more military positions.

According to Southern military media, the Southern forces continued their deployment on the international road and the coastal strip extending from Zinjibar to Ahwar.

"The redeployment started since receiving the first security checkpoint from Shabwa, after combing and securing the city, and the Qashaa checkpoint for the Security Belt forces on the coast of Abyan," the website reported

On Tuesday, the Southern forces entered the city of Shuqra, which is controlled by the Abyan military axis, after nearly three years of military tension caused by the August 2019 events.

Upon its arrival, units from the Security Belt and Southern Brigades were deployed in the coastal line of Abyan and a number of areas and districts in the center of the governorate, which suffer from the spread of extremist organizations.

Southern alignment  

Mutual understandings in Abyan and recent security arrangements have enjoyed popular and official satisfaction in Abyan governorate and other Southern governorates.

In a statement, Abyan Security Department said that it had started its work from the governorate capital in a step that came "in implementation of the Riyadh Agreement and instilling the principle of reconciliation, tolerance and unity."

Abyan Security Director, Brigadier General Ali Al-Kazmi, called for "turning the page on the past and beginning a new page whose goal is construction and not demolition."

He added: "Abyan has suffered the woes of conflicts and it is time to renounce violence through concessions." Al-Kazmi stressed that the priorities of the security forces he commands are to "establish security and stability in all Abyan districts."

In a tweet, the STC Assistant Secretary-General Fadel Al-Jaadi said that the file of the past in Abyan was closed, "and the military tasks were handed over in peace and a high patriotic spirit."

Senior STC official Salem Thabet Al-Awlaki congratulated Southerners on the "political successes" that had been achieved. Al-Awlaki said: "The STC was founded on the principle of reconciliation and tolerance, and now it is transforming slogans into culture and behavior on the ground."

In a video speech, the senior military commander in the Southern forces, Mukhtar Al-Nubi, stressed the national and popular cohesion in Abyan and all of South. "We promise the Southerners that we will be united until the liberation of all of our land," he added.

Major General Fadl Baish, commander of the Special Forces in the districts of [Aden - Lahj - Abyan - Al-Dhalea] welcomed the arrival of the Abyan police forces led by Al-Kazmi to Zinjibar, Abyan.

Southerners considered the recent rapprochement in Abyan as a practical response to the attempts to split their ranks and provoke divisions within it.

Last week, the Qatari channel Al-Jazeera broadcasted two episodes of the "Al-Motahhari" program, which is being prepared by a Northern journalist, on historical Southern events that took place 36 years ago.

In a separate context, local sources confirmed to "South24" that the Houthis blew up on Thursday a road linking the governorates of Abyan and Al-Bayda, just days after its opening.

According to the sources, the group blew up "Al-Halhal" road linking the regions of Lauder (Abyan) and Mukiras (Al-Bayda) in light of the international truce calling for the opening of roads in the governorates.