Abyan campaign (March–April 2015)

Abyan campaign (March–April 2015)
Part of the Yemeni Civil War (2015)
Date 26 March 2015 – present (1 month and 2 days) Location Abyan Governorate, Yemen Result Ongoing
Belligerents
Houthi government[1] Houthi fighters Security Forces (pro-Saleh) Yemeni Republican Guard	Hadi government Security Forces (pro-Hadi) Southern Movement Popular Committees AQAP[2] Foreign intervention  Saudi Arabia[3][4] (leader)  Bahrain[5]  Egypt[5][6]  Jordan[5]  Kuwait[5]  Morocco[5]  Sudan[5]  United Arab Emirates[5]
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Jalal Balidi[2]
Units involved
15th Armored Brigade[2]	111th Infantry Brigade[2]
Strength
Unknown	600 soldiers and 400 militiamen[2] 600 fighters[2]
Casualties and losses
49 killed[2][7]	15 killed[2]

Part of a series on the Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
Main topics Yemeni Revolution Yemeni presidential election, 2012 Houthi insurgency in Yemen al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen South Yemen insurgency 2014–15 Yemeni coup d'état Aftermath of the 2014–15 coup d'état Yemeni Civil War (2015)
Background History of Yemen Yemeni unification

The Abyan campaign (March–April 2015) is an ongoing campaign for control of the Abyan Governorate of Yemen, between the Houthis and Yemen Army units loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh on one side, and militiamen and Yemen Army units loyal to Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi on the other side, supported by jihadists of the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.^[2]

Campaign

On 26 March, the 15th Armored Brigade, based in Lawdar, announced their support to the Houthis. In turn, the 111th Infantry Brigade, based in the Ahwar District, joined forces with pro-Hadi troops five days later. In addition, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) pledged to fight alongside pro-Hadi forces against the Houthis but clarified they were not loyal to Hadi.^[2]

On 27 March, Houthi and allied army forces seized the city of Shuqrah on the Arabian Sea. The takeover gave them control of all land entries to Aden and completed their encirclement of the city where a battle was underway.^[8] However, warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition began to bedevil the Houthis as they moved their heavy armour and vehicles toward Aden, with airstrikes halting a convoy from Shuqrah early on 28 March.^[9]

On 29 March, pro-Houthi troops captured Zinjibar, the provincial capital and a center for pro-Hadi forces in the governorate. 20 people were killed during the takeover.^[10] Heavy clashes took place between tribal fighters and Houthi-allied soldiers occupying a military camp and adjacent football field in the city, which was bombed twice by the Coalition.^[11]

On 3 April, Houthi forces entered the districts of Jaar, Lawdar and Shuqrah. Pro-Hadi military sources claimed that the 111th Infantry Brigade had cut off supplies to the Houthis and their allies on 7 April, but a source in the pro-Houthi 15th Armored Brigade said they had supplies still coming from the Al Bayda Governorate to the north.^[2] Sustained fighting took place during the day in Lawdar,^[12] while pro-Hadi forces reportedly besieged the base of the pro-Houthi army brigade.^[13]

In on 25 April, at least 29 pro-Houthi fighters were killed in attacks throughout the province, according to pro-Hadi sources.^[7]

References