Battle of Zinjibar
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Zinjibar is a battle during the 2011 Yemeni uprising
between forces loyal to Yemen
i leader Ali Abdullah Saleh
and Islamist militant forces, possibly including elements of al-Qaeda
, for control of the town of Zinjibar
and its surroundings as part of the wider insurgency in the self-declared Islamic Emirate of Abyan. Many of the Islamist forces operating in Abyan province refer to themselves as Ansar al-Sharia ("Partisans of Sharia
").
On 28 May, the militants consolidated their control of Zinjibar by capturing six army tanks and several armored vehicles. The military clashed with the alleged Islamist fighters outside the city and shelled the outskirts of the town. By late on 29 May, the militants still had full control of the city. Some opposition figures and activists charged that President Saleh allowed the capture of Zinjibar by the supposed Islamists to support his claims that the country would not be able to survive without him.
On 30 May, the military hit Islamist positions in the city with air strikes while the Army was hitting the outskirts of Zinjibar with artillery.
On 31 May, heavy street fighting and shelling was still going on with the military attempting to enter the city but still being holed up by the militants on Zinjibar's outskirts. At least one militant was killed in the city by the artillery. 15 soldiers were killed during overnight fighting, of which five were killed and 23 others wounded in a suicide car-bombing that targeted a military convoy, two others were killed in a rocket attack near a barracks and six were killed and two mortally wounded in an attack on a military checkpoint around a kilometre from Zinjibar in which the attackers set fire to 10 military vehicles. At least two militants were killed during the fighting on the outskirts. Three civilians were killed during the air-strikes.
On 7 June, the military made another attempt to storm the city. During the fighting, 30 militants, 15 soldiers and two civilians were killed and at least 12 soldiers and four militants were wounded.
On 11 June, the Yemeni Ministry of Defence reported that government troops had killed 18 militants in Zinjibar and three in nearby Lawdar
in addition to destroying a weapons and ammunition cache in Zinjibar. The militants in Zinjibar died when they attacked the base of the 25th Mechanised Brigade during which nine soldiers were killed. Militants also killed five government soldiers and destroyed three vehicles in an ambush on a convoy headed to Lawdar. The next day, three government soldiers, including a colonel, were reportedly killed by militants in Zinjibar.
On 19 June, officials reported that the government shelled militants in the Dufas area of Zinjibar, killing 12 and wounding three. In response, Islamic militants released the names and ranks of 12 military officers that they planned to kill in retaliation. The government also had shelled and launched airstrikes against militants hiding out in the area, killing an unknown number. Two government soldiers were also killed in the fighting.
By 20 June, government forces had killed five more fighters as they continued their offensive against Islamist militants in the city, losing five of their own men and suffering 21 wounded in the process. Officials claimed that they were "on the verge of completely cleansing Zinjibar" of militants, though this claim was not independently confirmed.
Despite the military claim of being on the verge of re-taking Zinjibar, the very next day, on 21 June, the 119th and 201st Artillery Brigades were forced to withdraw around three kilometers from positions they previously held in what the Army called a "tactical move".
During the morning, on 29 June, the Yemeni air force conducted air-strikes against militant positions in Zinjibar killing 10 militant fighters. During the bombing raids, one strike hit a civilian bus on the road to Aden. Five civilians on the bus were killed and 12 were wounded. Later during the day, militants attacked a stadium near Zinjibar, from where the military was conducting attacks against militant positions. 26 soldiers and 17 militants were killed in the fighting and the militants eventually took control of the stadium. This left a nearby military base, which was used as a main staging ground for military raids against Zinjibar, totally exposed on the eastern side. Because of this, the military quickly organised a counter-attack to take back the stadium. The counter-attack continued well into the night without any clear result.
The next day, the military claimed they had beaten back the militants and retaken the stadium. At least least one more militant was reported to had been killed. The military suffered 35 soldiers dead during two days of fighting for the stadium. Six civilians were also killed during the clashes. However, just two days later, it was confirmed by civilian witnesses that the stadium was still in the hands of the militants. The military also stated that 50 of their soldiers were missing after the stadium takeover.
On 3 July, 15 militants and 10 soldiers were killed during fighting outside the main military base.
On 4 July, the militant attacks on the base continued with 13 more militants and 6 soldiers killed.
On 5 July, the military claimed that 40 militants were killed in massive air-strikes against fighters who were trying to storm the military base. Two soldiers were also reportedly killed in the fighting. However, the claim could not be independently confirmed because most of the area was still under militant control. Four civilians were also killed in one botched air-strike on a house of a top parliamentarian on the outskirts of the city.
On 6 July, one soldier and seven militants were killed in clashes near Zinjibar. Two militants were also captured and arrested in the fighting, in which militants attempted to attack an army base.
On 17 July, government forces and armed tribespeople launched a large offensive against militants in Zinjibar. Responding to pleas for support from the 25th Mechanised Brigade, which had been pinned down under siege for over a month, the Defence Ministry sent extra tanks, rocket launchers, and 500 new soldiers in a renewed effort to reestablish control over the city and the surrounding area. The offensive opened up with a renewed landborne thrust against Islamist positions besieging the 25th Brigade, backed by hevay tank shelling and naval rocket strikes. According to one official, 15 militants were killed and dozens injured in the attack, while the government only lost two soldiers. Local tribespeople sent 450 fighters to support the effort, marking a change in loyalties for the tribes of the region. Many tribes had previously had close ties with the militants, but began supporting government troops in their efforts to dislodge Islamists from Abyan after an estimated 54,000 civilians were forced to flee their homes as militants tried to establish control over Zinjibar and Abyan province. The same day, a military spokesperson stated that four soldiers and 10 militants had been killed in fighting near the base of the 25th Mechanised Brigade. Government troops also destroyed a weapons cache belonging to the militants thatd had been found near the base.
On 19 July, a government official stated that Hassan Basanbol (alias Abu Issa), a suspected leader of al-Qaeda in the Abyan province, had been killed in combat with government soldiers in Zinjibar on 18 July. Meanwhile, armed tribespeople cleared Islamist militants from the nearby towns of Shuqrah
and Wade'a
without a shot fired. However, militants remained in control of Lawdar, even after local tribal leaders asked them to leave the town. Zinjibar and the area of Jaʿār to the north also remained under control of local Islamists.
On 21 July, government officials reported the death of another Yemeni al-Qaeda leader, Ayad al-Shabwani, in fighting near Zinjibar on 19 July. The official news agency also reported the death of another al-Qaeda leader, Awad Mohammed Saleh al-Shabwani.
On 22 July, a source affiliated with the local tribes stated that armed tribespeople intercepted a convoy of militants headed to Zinjibar near the town of Mudiyah
, killing one militant, wounding another, and arresting ten. Tribespeople had also succeeded in securing the road from Shabwa Governorate to Shuqrah, the source said. In addition, an official from Zinjibar stated that the army had succeeded intaking control of a local sports stadium in ongoing clashes with militants in the city. Two soldiers were killed and four wounded in clashes near the entrance of Zinjibar as government forces continued their efforts to enter the town, bringing the week's death toll for government forces to 10.
On 25 July, 10 militants were killed while attacking a military camp outside of Zinjibar.
On 30 July, 40 pro-government tribal fighters were killed in a friendly-fire incident in which government forces accidentally launched airstrikes on their positions. 28 soldiers had also been killed in heavy fighting during the previous two days. The next day, a new round of air-strikes killed 15 militants and destroyed a captured army tank and several artillery positions held by the Islamists in the Dufas area near Zinjibar.
On 11 August, local officials reported that four militants had been killed when government artillery struck their positions in the villages of Al-Khamla and Bajdar, located outside of Zinjibar. Fierce clashes also erupted the day before between Islamists and the 25th Mechanised Brigade.
On 16 August, armed tribesmen arrested seven militants, including two Saudi citizens, in the village of Shuqrah, according to the head of security for the Wadhi region. The next day, however, the village was reported by tribal sources to have fallen back into Islamist hands after government forces put up little resistance to a militant convoy advancing from a nearby town.
The Yemeni Army's 119th Brigade, which had defected to the opposition, launched a joint operation with 31st and 201st brigades which were still loyal to Saleh and retook the city from militants on 10 September, relieving besieged army units in the process. Still, fighting continued in the area around the city.
On November 13, Yemeni army and tribal fighters kill 9 suspected Al-Qaeda militants in fighting in Zinjibar.
2011 Yemeni uprising
The 2011 Yemen Uprising followed the initial stages of the Tunisian Revolution and occurred simultaneously with the Egyptian Revolution and other mass protests in the Middle East in early 2011. In its early phase, protests in Yemen were initially against unemployment, economic conditions and...
between forces loyal to Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
i leader Ali Abdullah Saleh
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Field Marshal Ali Abdullah Saleh is the first President of the Republic of Yemen. Saleh previously served as President of the Yemen Arab Republic from 1978 until 1990, at which time he assumed the office of chairman of the Presidential Council of a post-unification Yemen. He is the...
and Islamist militant forces, possibly including elements of al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
, for control of the town of Zinjibar
Zinjibar
Zinjibar is a port and coastal town in south-central Yemen, the capital of Zinjibar District and the Abyan Governorate. It is located next to the Wadi Bana in the Abyan Delta. From 1962 to 1967, it was the administrative capital of the Fadhli Sultanate, although the royal residence remained at...
and its surroundings as part of the wider insurgency in the self-declared Islamic Emirate of Abyan. Many of the Islamist forces operating in Abyan province refer to themselves as Ansar al-Sharia ("Partisans of Sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
").
The Battle
On 27 May, about 300 Islamic militants attacked and captured the coastal city of Zinjibar (population 20,000). During the takeover of the town, the militants killed seven soldiers, including a colonel, and one civilian.On 28 May, the militants consolidated their control of Zinjibar by capturing six army tanks and several armored vehicles. The military clashed with the alleged Islamist fighters outside the city and shelled the outskirts of the town. By late on 29 May, the militants still had full control of the city. Some opposition figures and activists charged that President Saleh allowed the capture of Zinjibar by the supposed Islamists to support his claims that the country would not be able to survive without him.
On 30 May, the military hit Islamist positions in the city with air strikes while the Army was hitting the outskirts of Zinjibar with artillery.
On 31 May, heavy street fighting and shelling was still going on with the military attempting to enter the city but still being holed up by the militants on Zinjibar's outskirts. At least one militant was killed in the city by the artillery. 15 soldiers were killed during overnight fighting, of which five were killed and 23 others wounded in a suicide car-bombing that targeted a military convoy, two others were killed in a rocket attack near a barracks and six were killed and two mortally wounded in an attack on a military checkpoint around a kilometre from Zinjibar in which the attackers set fire to 10 military vehicles. At least two militants were killed during the fighting on the outskirts. Three civilians were killed during the air-strikes.
On 7 June, the military made another attempt to storm the city. During the fighting, 30 militants, 15 soldiers and two civilians were killed and at least 12 soldiers and four militants were wounded.
On 11 June, the Yemeni Ministry of Defence reported that government troops had killed 18 militants in Zinjibar and three in nearby Lawdar
Lawdar
Lawdar is a town and seat of Lawdar District in south-western Yemen. It is located in the Abyan Governorate. It is served by Lawdar Airport.-History:...
in addition to destroying a weapons and ammunition cache in Zinjibar. The militants in Zinjibar died when they attacked the base of the 25th Mechanised Brigade during which nine soldiers were killed. Militants also killed five government soldiers and destroyed three vehicles in an ambush on a convoy headed to Lawdar. The next day, three government soldiers, including a colonel, were reportedly killed by militants in Zinjibar.
On 19 June, officials reported that the government shelled militants in the Dufas area of Zinjibar, killing 12 and wounding three. In response, Islamic militants released the names and ranks of 12 military officers that they planned to kill in retaliation. The government also had shelled and launched airstrikes against militants hiding out in the area, killing an unknown number. Two government soldiers were also killed in the fighting.
By 20 June, government forces had killed five more fighters as they continued their offensive against Islamist militants in the city, losing five of their own men and suffering 21 wounded in the process. Officials claimed that they were "on the verge of completely cleansing Zinjibar" of militants, though this claim was not independently confirmed.
Despite the military claim of being on the verge of re-taking Zinjibar, the very next day, on 21 June, the 119th and 201st Artillery Brigades were forced to withdraw around three kilometers from positions they previously held in what the Army called a "tactical move".
During the morning, on 29 June, the Yemeni air force conducted air-strikes against militant positions in Zinjibar killing 10 militant fighters. During the bombing raids, one strike hit a civilian bus on the road to Aden. Five civilians on the bus were killed and 12 were wounded. Later during the day, militants attacked a stadium near Zinjibar, from where the military was conducting attacks against militant positions. 26 soldiers and 17 militants were killed in the fighting and the militants eventually took control of the stadium. This left a nearby military base, which was used as a main staging ground for military raids against Zinjibar, totally exposed on the eastern side. Because of this, the military quickly organised a counter-attack to take back the stadium. The counter-attack continued well into the night without any clear result.
The next day, the military claimed they had beaten back the militants and retaken the stadium. At least least one more militant was reported to had been killed. The military suffered 35 soldiers dead during two days of fighting for the stadium. Six civilians were also killed during the clashes. However, just two days later, it was confirmed by civilian witnesses that the stadium was still in the hands of the militants. The military also stated that 50 of their soldiers were missing after the stadium takeover.
On 3 July, 15 militants and 10 soldiers were killed during fighting outside the main military base.
On 4 July, the militant attacks on the base continued with 13 more militants and 6 soldiers killed.
On 5 July, the military claimed that 40 militants were killed in massive air-strikes against fighters who were trying to storm the military base. Two soldiers were also reportedly killed in the fighting. However, the claim could not be independently confirmed because most of the area was still under militant control. Four civilians were also killed in one botched air-strike on a house of a top parliamentarian on the outskirts of the city.
On 6 July, one soldier and seven militants were killed in clashes near Zinjibar. Two militants were also captured and arrested in the fighting, in which militants attempted to attack an army base.
On 17 July, government forces and armed tribespeople launched a large offensive against militants in Zinjibar. Responding to pleas for support from the 25th Mechanised Brigade, which had been pinned down under siege for over a month, the Defence Ministry sent extra tanks, rocket launchers, and 500 new soldiers in a renewed effort to reestablish control over the city and the surrounding area. The offensive opened up with a renewed landborne thrust against Islamist positions besieging the 25th Brigade, backed by hevay tank shelling and naval rocket strikes. According to one official, 15 militants were killed and dozens injured in the attack, while the government only lost two soldiers. Local tribespeople sent 450 fighters to support the effort, marking a change in loyalties for the tribes of the region. Many tribes had previously had close ties with the militants, but began supporting government troops in their efforts to dislodge Islamists from Abyan after an estimated 54,000 civilians were forced to flee their homes as militants tried to establish control over Zinjibar and Abyan province. The same day, a military spokesperson stated that four soldiers and 10 militants had been killed in fighting near the base of the 25th Mechanised Brigade. Government troops also destroyed a weapons cache belonging to the militants thatd had been found near the base.
On 19 July, a government official stated that Hassan Basanbol (alias Abu Issa), a suspected leader of al-Qaeda in the Abyan province, had been killed in combat with government soldiers in Zinjibar on 18 July. Meanwhile, armed tribespeople cleared Islamist militants from the nearby towns of Shuqrah
Shuqrah
Shuqrah is a coastal town in southern Yemen. It was the capital of the Fadhli Sultanate until the capital moved to Zinjibar in 1962, although the royal residence remained in Shuqrah....
and Wade'a
Al Wade'a District
Al Wade'a District is a district of the Abyan Governorate, Yemen. As of 2003, the district had a population of 23,400 inhabitants....
without a shot fired. However, militants remained in control of Lawdar, even after local tribal leaders asked them to leave the town. Zinjibar and the area of Jaʿār to the north also remained under control of local Islamists.
On 21 July, government officials reported the death of another Yemeni al-Qaeda leader, Ayad al-Shabwani, in fighting near Zinjibar on 19 July. The official news agency also reported the death of another al-Qaeda leader, Awad Mohammed Saleh al-Shabwani.
On 22 July, a source affiliated with the local tribes stated that armed tribespeople intercepted a convoy of militants headed to Zinjibar near the town of Mudiyah
Mudiyah
Mudiyah is a village in south-western Yemen. It is located in the Abyan Governorate.-External links:*...
, killing one militant, wounding another, and arresting ten. Tribespeople had also succeeded in securing the road from Shabwa Governorate to Shuqrah, the source said. In addition, an official from Zinjibar stated that the army had succeeded intaking control of a local sports stadium in ongoing clashes with militants in the city. Two soldiers were killed and four wounded in clashes near the entrance of Zinjibar as government forces continued their efforts to enter the town, bringing the week's death toll for government forces to 10.
On 25 July, 10 militants were killed while attacking a military camp outside of Zinjibar.
On 30 July, 40 pro-government tribal fighters were killed in a friendly-fire incident in which government forces accidentally launched airstrikes on their positions. 28 soldiers had also been killed in heavy fighting during the previous two days. The next day, a new round of air-strikes killed 15 militants and destroyed a captured army tank and several artillery positions held by the Islamists in the Dufas area near Zinjibar.
On 11 August, local officials reported that four militants had been killed when government artillery struck their positions in the villages of Al-Khamla and Bajdar, located outside of Zinjibar. Fierce clashes also erupted the day before between Islamists and the 25th Mechanised Brigade.
On 16 August, armed tribesmen arrested seven militants, including two Saudi citizens, in the village of Shuqrah, according to the head of security for the Wadhi region. The next day, however, the village was reported by tribal sources to have fallen back into Islamist hands after government forces put up little resistance to a militant convoy advancing from a nearby town.
The Yemeni Army's 119th Brigade, which had defected to the opposition, launched a joint operation with 31st and 201st brigades which were still loyal to Saleh and retook the city from militants on 10 September, relieving besieged army units in the process. Still, fighting continued in the area around the city.
On November 13, Yemeni army and tribal fighters kill 9 suspected Al-Qaeda militants in fighting in Zinjibar.