Studies Center: Islah used legitimacy to fight the south, not the Houthis
English - Thursday 25 August 2022 الساعة 07:30 pm
Special translation, NewsYemen:
An analysis published by the American Center for Southern Yemen Studies in Washington said that the Islah Party - the Yemeni branch of the Muslim Brotherhood - focused its fight against the Southern Transitional Council and consolidated its control over Shabwa, leaving Marib and other governorates in the north without protection.
The report indicated that this cost the Brotherhood the loss of its strategic directorates in Sana'a, Sirwah and other areas in Marib and Al-Jawf Governorate in favor of the Houthis.
It stated that while the Islah party lost the lands it controlled in the north to the Houthis, the party was also losing its political and social presence in southern Yemen.
It pointed out that the Islah party was not welcomed in Shabwa, where the majority of the residents of the province considered its forces as occupying forces, noting that the Brotherhood militia launched campaigns of kidnappings against supporters of the Southern Transitional Council.
And it added, "Islah forces' use of force against the residents of Shabwa and the Southern Transitional Council in particular while allowing the Houthis to take control of three districts north of Shabwa, Bayhan, Usaylan and Ain without a fight, increased anti-group sentiment, and categorically confirmed the claims of the southerners that the Islah party was using the legitimate government's authority is to fight the south, not the Houthis."
The report said, "The Islah Party officially lost Shabwa in the recent confrontations, while the Southern Transitional Council gained new ground in the path of its struggle towards the independence of the south."
He concluded by saying that "there is no south without Shabwa, a phrase often repeated by southerners to emphasize the importance of Shabwa for southern Yemen, as it is the governorate rich in oil and gas wealth and its strategic location in the center of southern Yemen, linking its west to its east, and whoever controls the coastal strip in the governorate and the port of Qena, controls the rest of the southern provinces.
