People are seen at a public market in Zinjibar city of the southern province of Abyan, Yemen, on Aug. 30, 2019. Following days of intense fighting that erupted between Yemen's government forces and military units of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), life has returned to several main cities in the country's turbulent south. (Str/Xinhua)
by Murad Abdo
ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Following days of intense fighting that erupted between Yemen's government forces and military units of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), life has returned to several main cities in the country's turbulent south.
The days-long fighting ended in STC military units seizing over several strategic cities in the southern province of Abyan after securing the neighboring port city of Aden.
A local military source told Xinhua that the Aden-based STC deployed heavy forces backed by armored vehicles in and around the town of Jaar, Abyan's second-largest city, and in the province's capital of Zinjibar city.
Hassan Oudaly, an Abyan-based resident, told Xinhua that his residential neighborhood was besieged because of the intense fighting and Abyan became a ghost province.
"During the past days, residents in Jaar and Zinjibar were too scared to step outside as dozens of masked gunmen were combing the cities amid street fighting," Oudaly said.
"Today, of course, the situation completely changed as many families who fled their houses returned," he said.
He added that "people went out to the streets and started shopping from the public markets after the seizure of the southern forces over their cities."
Electricity and water supply were disrupted in many southern areas including Aden and Abyan but returned after ending the fighting between the two warring rivals.
"Water supply to our house returned and we call on the STC to work on developing the basic services in the southern regions," said Mukhtar Hanash, a resident.
On Wednesday, Yemen's government forces launched a large-scale attack and attempted to retake the southern main cities including Aden, but faced strong resistance from the STC military units.
The Yemeni government forces attempted to seize Aden militarily after mobilizing heavy forces that managed to approach from the eastern outskirts of Aden.
However, the STC military units defended Aden and rapidly pushed the government forces back to the mountainous areas in Abyan.
A source of the STC confirmed to Xinhua that "Aden and the other neighboring main cities including Abyan and Lahj are completely secured by our forces after expelling the militants."
He said that "the STC forces began a security campaign to track some suspected terrorist elements who exploited the chaos and began attacking military checkpoints."
Many residents based in the country's southern main cities are still afraid that Yemen's government forces might launch a new offensive to confront the STC.
"It seems that we will witness another round of violence in the next days because the government wants to seize the southern cities back from the STC," said Alaa Fadhal, another resident.
"For us, services and safe life are more important than who is ruling our cites either the STC or the government," Fadhal added.
"Our cities are not battlefields because we want to live a peaceful life away from the politicians' conflict over seizing the southern cities," he added.
On Thursday, the governor of Abyan along with senior pro-government security officials left the local government's compound and headed to their villages with the protection of their tribal fighters after the arrival of the STC forces.
Forces of the STC completely secured neighboring Aden after aborting a large-scale military operation launched on Wednesday by the Yemeni government to retake the strategic southern city.
Aden is almost entirely under the control of the STC forces that are also allied to the Saudi-led coalition in the fighting against the Houthis.
Considered as Yemen's temporary capital, Aden is where the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has based itself since 2015.
The impoverished Arab country has been locked in a civil war since late 2014, when the Houthis overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces including the capital Sanaa.
