Friends of South Yemen
The name of Shabwah is referred to the name of the historic city of Shabwah, which was the capital of ancient Hadhramaut that was known as a trade centre for gum (Luban) and incense, and station from which trade convoys were travelling towards the rest of Arabian Peninsula and the Mediterranean regions.
Shabwah Governorate is one of the eastern governorates of Yemen that extend from the Arabian Sea Coastal in the South to the Rub Al Khali Desert in the North. The Governorate is bordered by Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden in the South, Hadhramaut Governorate in the East, Rub Al Khali Desert in the North, and governorates of Marib, Al Bayda and Abyan in the West, with an area of 42,584 square kilometres (13.3% of the country area) and a population size of 619,000 as the per 2016 projection (2.3% of the country population) with a sex ratio of 1.07 male: 1 female.
Administratively, the Governorate consists of 16 districts, Arma, Dhar, Jardan, Usaylan, Al Talh, Ain, Bayhan, Merkhah As Sufla, Merkhah Al Ulya, Nisab, Ataq (that includes the City of Ataq, the capital of the Governorate), Ar Rawdah, Hatib, As Said, Habban, Rudum, and Mayfa’a. Ecologically the Governorate is desert in the north, plateaus in the centre, coastal lowland in the south, and with a chain of mountains in in the west close to maintains of the neighbouring Governorate of Abyan.
The Governorate has a desert climate of hot summer and mild winter tend to be cold during the night. Spring and summer are the rain seasons for Shabwah, and on the other hand, the Governorate receives large amounts of the floods from the mountains of neighbouring governorates at the West. The minimum temperature in the Governorate winter is ranged from 3 degree Celsius, and the maximum in summer is around 31 degree Celsius.
Shabwah Governorate contains 181 health facilities (16 hospitals, 29 health centers and 136 health units), however, 15% of these facilities are not functional due to the current conflict.
Agriculture, apiculture, fishing and fish canning, and oil extraction are the most important economic activities in the Governorates. However during the last two years, these sectors were negatively affected by the conflict.
(Source: Relief Web)
The Abyan region was historically part of the Fadhli Sultanate. It was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army militant group. Its capital is the city of Zinjibar. This governorate is noted for its agriculture, in particular the cultivation of date palms and animal husbandry.
During the PDRY’s internal conflicts, groupings in Shabwah and Abyan often fought alongside against those in Lahij, but also competed with one another. For example, the 1978 conflict pitted factions from lowland, coastal Abyan against those of the midland jol (plateau). Shabwah’s Marib-Balhaf gas pipeline and small oil fields aside, both governorates are economically dependent on agriculture and artisanal fisheries. The governorates are mostly inhabited by tribal people, and include significant numbers of farmers from low-status groups.
After Aden, Shabwah and Abyan are the main focus of conflict between the STC and the government – one of the many indicators that the STC is dominated by leaders, and receives most of its support, from Lahij and Al Dali. Shabwah is strategically important because it is adjacent to Al Bayda and Marib, and is a key access point for eastern governorates such as Hadhramaut and Al-Mahrah. The STC and the IRG blame each other for attempting to take control of Shabwah’s hydrocarbons. Shabwah’s Elite Force, a group trained by the UAE with the ostensible goal of protecting the governorate from jihadist groups, remained active until September 2019, when the IRG drove its 6,000 fighters out of most of the governorate. By early 2020, the IRG controlled most, if not all, of Shabwah – partly with the help of the most influential figures there, including Mohamed Saleh bin ‘Adyu, governor of Shabwah, and General Ali bin Rashid al-Harthi, whom the US accuses of being a member of al-Qaeda. In 2017 Shabwah experienced more US raids against al-Qaeda than any other governorate.
Abyan was home to one of the first strongholds al-Qaeda established in Yemen, as well as of some of the first jihadist organisations established in Yemen, such as the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army. In 2012 extremist militants took over two districts in Abyan (Ja’ar and Zinjibar), prompting the government to launch a military campaign to retake the areas. In 2015 some of coastal Abyan temporarily came under jihadist influence once again – but most of the governorate is now under STC control. Abd al-Latif al-Sayed, leader of the Abyan Security Belt and allegedly a former member of al-Qaeda, has survived four assassination attempts since he defected to the STC in 2017. His men control much of Ja’ar, Zinjibar, and parts of Ahwar. The fact that Sayed received medical treatment paid for by the UAE after one assassination attempt indicates his value to the Saudi-led coalition – although that value has fallen since then, due to a conflict in Abyan between his forces and those led by the UAE. Minister of Interior Ahmed al-Maisari asked Sayed to join the IRG after the last round of fighting between the IRG and the STC in August 2019 but, so far, he has remained loyal to his Gulf patrons.
In contrast to Shabwah, Abyan has only a small Islah presence. Abu Bakr Hussein Salem – who was appointed governor of Abyan in 2017 – is one of the few Islah-backed IRG figures who has retained a degree of influence there since the STC’s partial takeover of the governorate.