The US State Department: The Security Belt Forces played an "important role" in the fight against terrorism in Yemen

English - Monday 20 December 2021 الساعة 08:48 am
NewsYemen, special translation:

The US State Department said that the Security Belt Forces have played an important role in combating terrorism in southern Yemen in recent years.

The Security Belt Forces are units that were formed with the support of the Emirati forces and under a decree issued by President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi in May 2016. They fought al-Qaeda in Lahj governorate near Aden, and expelled the terrorist organization from the governorate in 2016.

The US State Department's report on Yemen for the year 2020 said that "the Security Belt forces loyal to the Southern Transitional Council continued to play an important role in counter-terrorism efforts, when they consolidated their control over large parts of Aden, Abyan and Shabwa."

The report, which was issued last Thursday, added that ISIS, the Yemen branch, was significantly smaller and influential compared to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, but it remained operationally active and continued to claim attacks.

He stated that the number of attacks attributed to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS (the Yemen branch), decreased last year compared to 2019.

According to the US State Department, the tactics of extremist groups included suicide operations, ambushes using car bombs, improvised explosive devices, armed attacks, kidnappings and assassinations.

Coalition-backed forces operate in and around Aden and throughout southern Yemen, where they have conducted strikes against ISIS and al-Qaeda, particularly in the governorates of Lahij, Aden and Abyan.

After the expulsion of al-Qaeda from Lahj, the Security Belt forces managed to expel the terrorists from the city of Zinjibar in Abyan Governorate in August 2016.

In March 2018, the Security Belt forces launched a large-scale operation against al-Qaeda in the city of Al-Mahfad in the eastern Abyan governorate.  Senior al-Qaeda leaders were killed during the operation, including Abu Mohsen Basbreen, who was considered one of the top leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Security experts and military analysts praised the important role played by the Security Belt Forces.

"The Security Belt Forces, led by the Southern Transitional Council, played a major role in helping to expel al-Qaeda in a joint effort with US forces and the Arab coalition forces from these important areas," Irina Zuckerman, an American expert on national security affairs, told The National.

"In fact, the Southern Transitional Council was also important in the war against the Houthis," she added.

"The Security Belt forces have had an effective role in capturing many al-Qaeda cells and carrying out successful operations against al-Qaeda hideouts in southern Yemen," Zuckerman said.

And it considered that praising the security belt in the reports is not enough, but the United States should participate more directly in the close diplomatic discussions and in supporting the presence of the Southern Transitional Council and its forces in southern Yemen, to deepen the partnership in the fight against terrorism.

She said it is necessary for the United States to point out that the Southern Transitional Council is one of the important alternatives to Islamist parties, such as Islah, which feeds the extremist mentality that breeds terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda, which arose from the womb of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Noting that this requires active participation, economic support, and a clear understanding that some ideologies contribute to the problems that Yemen suffers from and need to be actively combated.

Yemeni military analysts say that the United States and the international community need to support anti-terror units and Security Belt forces that have proven effective in fighting terrorist groups.

"The Security Belt and other forces under the command of the Southern Transitional Council have proven to be a true partner of the international coalition in fighting terrorism," Major General Thabet Hussein Saleh, a Yemeni military analyst, told The National.

He added, "These forces need tangible support from the United States and the international coalition to continue the fight against al-Qaeda and ISIS in southern Yemen."