Turkish drones run by pro-Hadi forces have stepped up their flights over Abyan, southern Yemen, as fighting between the Islah militants and the UAE-backed Southern Council (STC) militias intensified following the Islah leader’s directives to launch an offensive on Aden.
According to local sources, several Turkish drone aircraft have flown along the battle fronts and carried out various attacks against STC forces.
On Tuesday, the sources affirmed that the clashes broke out between the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) militias and Islah militants, which are reportedly backed by ISIS and al-Qaeda elements.
The spokesman for the STC in the Abyan front, Mohammad al-Naqeeb, said that the confrontations renewed on Tuesday evening, after the Saudi-backed Hadi forces violated an earlier ceasefire.
Although Hadi’s forces have bene using Turkish drone aircraft for months, Ankara’s activity in the war otherwise has remained limited up until now.
The intensification of drone warfare at this time indicates that Turkey is already on the front lines, amid reports that the head of the Islah Party, Mohammad al- Yadoumi, has arrived in Istanbul for further talks.
The developments coincide with intensified fighting along the frontlines, in which the STC militias claimed that some 40 Hadi troops have been killed in the past hours if fighting, along with nearly 70 others being captured.
