The Yemeni military remains engaged in fighting al Qaeda-linked militants in Abyan governorate. A Yemeni offensive launched at the beginning of September has not yet succeeded in securing Zinjibar, Abyan’s capital city.

Fighting between al Qaeda-linked militants and Yemeni army troops in Abyan continues. Medics reported that at least four Yemeni soldiers were killed and four others were injured in fighting Monday. Military sources said that al Qaeda-linked militants ambushed a military position near Hassan Stadium next to Martyrs’ Square in the center of Zinjibar. The ensuing fighting killed 11 soldiers and injured twenty others. Airstrikes killed seven militants as they were retreating. Fighting continues in Bajdar district in Zinjibar.

The ongoing political crisis in the capital has placed the Yemeni state at risk of a broader armed conflict. Further, the Yemeni state has been undergoing fragmentation. Al Qaeda has seized control of territory in south Yemen and the current situation has increased the organization’s operating space in the country.