Yemen Monitor / Exclusive / Shabwa:
Three soldiers from the Shabwa Defense Forces affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council (STC) were killed and seven others wounded in clashes with tribal gunmen in the Arin area of Shabwa governorate, southeastern Yemen, following a dispute over the seizure of a bulldozer belonging to local tribes.
Private sources told Yemen Monitor that Fawzi Al-Saadi, commander of the 3rd Shabwa Defense Brigade, had confiscated a bulldozer owned by a tribal resident while it was operating near the Arin military camp in Arma District, northeast of Shabwa, during tensions that erupted in the area on December 4.
The sources said the equipment’s owner attempted unsuccessfully to retrieve it through the Shabwa Defense Forces. When the bulldozer later returned to work at the site—preparing earthen barriers away from the camp—the owner and armed tribesmen stormed the area and reclaimed it.
A military vehicle belonging to the Shabwa Defense Forces attempted to pursue the tribal gunmen, triggering clashes that resulted in the deaths of three STC soldiers, injuries to seven others, and the burning of a military pickup truck.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s official military website denied reports circulated on some media outlets and social media platforms claiming that a drone strike had targeted Shabwa Defense Forces personnel.
The military-run 26 September website quoted a military source as saying that the armed forces and popular resistance had no connection to such claims, clarifying that available information pointed to clashes between Shabwa Defense Forces personnel and tribal elements in the Arin sector of Arma District over a dispute involving equipment, which led to casualties.
Pro-STC media outlets, however, attacked Marib governorate and its military units, accusing them of carrying out a drone strike in connection with the incident.
