The fall of "Bayhan Shabwa" strangles Ma'rib and threatens the coasts of the Arabian Sea and oil and gas sources
English - Tuesday 19 October 2021 الساعة 09:37 am
Marib, NewsYemen, Private:
With the Houthi militia - the Iranian arm in Yemen - taking over the Bayhan district of Shabwa governorate at the end of last September, without military confrontations by the official authorities loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood there, the Iranian arm would have taken control of an important crossroads between the governorates of Marib, Al-Bayda, Shabwa, This is of strategic importance, which opens the door wide for the Houthi militia to achieve further expansion and control within the three governorates.
Baihan, with an area of 616 square kilometers, is located in the northwest of Shabwa Governorate, about 210 kilometers from its capital, Ataq.
On Tuesday, September 21, the Houthi militia took control of the Bihan districts in Shabwa governorate (Ain, Al-Olaya and Usaylan) after the armed factions affiliated with legitimacy withdrew without confrontations.
According to local sources who spoke to NewsYemen, the Houthi militia overthrew the three districts within one hour, taking advantage of the withdrawal of the Brotherhood's forces, before their arrival, describing what happened as "betrayal, surrender and receipt."
According to military experts, the Houthis’ control of Bayhan in Shabwa governorate - and in light of the series of legitimacy defeats and its successive escape - would open the militia’s appetite to advance south towards the coast of the Arabian Sea (the length of the coastal strip in Shabwa governorate is 300 km), and control a sea port to facilitate smuggling of shipments. The weapons coming from Iran that it uses to continue its internal wars, in addition to oil shipments used to finance its war activities, and selling another part on the black market.
The danger of the Houthi militia’s control of the Bayhan districts in Shabwa governorate also lies in enabling the Houthi militia to clamp down on the legitimate forces in Marib, by besieging the Marib governorate from the east, after it besieged it from the south, west and northwest.
Military experts see the Houthi militia’s control of Bayhan and its sub-directors (Usailan and Al-Alia) as having another strategic importance, which lies in the possession of oil and gas fields in these areas, the most important of which is the Jannah field (one of the most important Yemeni oil and gas fields located between Marib and Shabwa). controlling her.
The Houthi militias’ receipt of the Bayhan district, which was under the control of the Brotherhood forces, revealed the understandings between the two groups more clearly to the citizens and followers of the war in Yemen. against the Houthi threat.
Earlier, the United Alliance of the legitimate sons of Shabwa held the responsibility for the fall of Bayhan in the hands of the Houthis, stressing that what happened in Bayhan is a farce, which the legitimacy carried out by handing over the Bayhan districts to the Houthis without fighting or any significant resistance, despite the presence of a huge military arsenal, under its control on the fronts.
The importance of Shabwa lies in its being the third largest Yemeni governorate in terms of area, its strong tribal structure, its oil wealth, its important location in the middle of the eastern coast, and the commercial supply route towards the northern regions of the country.
The governorate includes the largest gas liquefaction company in Yemen, and 3 oil fields that produce at least 50,000 barrels per day. There are 3 airports in Shabwa: Ataq Airport, Bayhan Airport and Balhaf Airport, in addition to 3 seaports: Bir Ali Port, Qena Port and Mudaha Port.
