Yemeni tribe attacks crude oil pipeline

A crude oil pipeline in Yemen was blown up on Tuesday 25 May, after an airstrike targeting an al Qaeda operative missed its target and accidentally killed the deputy governor of Yemen’s Marib province and five of his bodyguards.

According to a Yemeni news website, the strike was carried out by a US drone. US forces helping Yemen fight al Qaeda have used drones in the past, however, it is unknown whether the US was involved in this attack.

The strike provoked clashes between the army and members the Abida tribe, to which al-Shabwani belonged, which led to the tribe blowing up the main pipeline that carries crude oil from Safir to the Ras Eissa port on the Red Sea.

There is concern that the strike could heighten anti-US sentiment in the country and broaden al Qaeda's appeal among some influential Yemeni tribes.

Al-Shabwani, who was also the brother of the leading al-Qaeda figure Ayidh al-Shabwani, was on a mission to negotiate the surrender of the al-Qaeda operative Mohammed Saeed bin Jaradan. He was killed instantly in a strike on his car while it was stopped at a farm, housing bin Jaradan in Marib, 190 km northeast of Sana’a.

Clashes with the mediator's tribe spread from the countryside to Maarib town, where dozens of tribal gunmen opened fire on government buildings. The army returned fire and at least seven people were injured.

Shipping companies have confirmed that there has been no impact on exports as a result of the attack on the pipeline.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/26052010/yemeni_tribe_attacks_crude_oil_pipeline/