Zinjibar (Arabic : زِنْجِبَارZinjibār) 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 [1] in the Abyan Delta. From 1962 to 1967, it was the administrative capital of the Fadhli Sultanate, although the royal residence remained at the former capital of Shuqrah. At the time of the 2004 census, Zinjibar's population numbered 19,879 inhabitants. The town supports a small seaside resort and fishing industry. [2] Cotton ( Gossypium barbadense ) grown in the area is brokered in the market. [3]
Zinjibar was a long-established trading center for commerce with the Far East. [4] However, in 1163 (559 AH) the town was burned and destroyed by Abdel Nabi Ali Mahdi Yoosuf. It was rebuilt as is evidenced by 15th century Yemeni pottery at the Mazda (القريات) archaeological site, but was destroyed again in tribal warfare. In the 19th century, Fadhli Sultan Hussein bin Ahmed bin Abdullah re-established the town, also was exiled to Pune India and in the early 1920s was ordered to be returned, Sultan Saleh Abdullah bin Hussein bin Ahmed was exiled by the British to Zinzibar thous upon his return he renamed the town Zinjibar in honor of his exile.
The name Zinjibar is from Persian compound Zang-bâr (زنگبار), meaning "coast of the dark-skinned". The name Zanzibar is also of the same root.
In May 2011, the town was reported as overtaken by Islamist militants as part of the 2011 Yemeni uprising. [5] [6] On June 12, 2012, the militants were driven out by the Yemeni army. [7] On the same date, the neighboring town of Jaʿār, 15 kilometers or 9 miles to the north, was also retaken by the government forces.
Soldiers allied with the Houthis took over Zinjibar in late March 2015, driving out troops and fighters loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. The city became a target for the airstrikes of a multinational coalition intervening in Yemen on Hadi's behalf. [8] On 2 December 2015, Ansar al-Sharia captured Zinjibar, along with Jaʿār. [9]
In early May 2016, AQAP fighters withdrew from the city of Zinjibar and Jaar after negotiation with Hadi loyalists. [9] Since then, it has repeatedly withdrawn and returned. On 14 August, the cities were fully captured by pro-government forces which dislodged the militants from them. [10]
In its war on terrorism in Yemen, the US government describes Yemen as "an important partner in the global war on terrorism". There have been attacks on civilian targets and tourists, and there was a cargo-plane bomb plot in 2010. Counter-terrorism operations have been conducted by the Yemeni police, the Yemeni military, and the United States Armed Forces.
Abyan is a governorate of Yemen. The Abyan region was historically part of the Fadhli Sultanate. It was a base to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army militant group. Its capital is the city of Zinjibar. This governorate is noted for its agriculture, in particular the cultivation of date palms and animal husbandry.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP is a Sunni Islamist militant organization which seeks to overthrow the Yemeni government and establish an Islamic emirate. The group is part of the al-Qaeda network and is primarily active in Yemen and, to a lesser extent, Saudi Arabia. It is considered the most active of al-Qaeda's affiliates that emerged after the weakening of central leadership.
Jaʽar is a small town and the capital of Khanfir District in southwestern Yemen. One of the largest settlements in Abyan Governorate, it is located to the north of Al Kawd and the regional capital of Zinjibar. The town is located about 2 kilometres east of the right bank of the Wadi Bana.
The South Yemen insurgency is a term used by the Yemeni government to describe the protests and attacks on government forces in southern Yemen, ongoing since 27 April 2009. Although the violence has been blamed on elements within the southern secessionist movement, leaders of the group maintain that their aims of independence are to be achieved through peaceful means, and claim that attacks are from ordinary citizens in response to the government's provocative actions. The insurgency comes amid the Shia insurgency in the country's north as led by the Houthi communities. Southern leaders led a brief, unsuccessful secession in 1994 following unification. Many of them are involved in the present secession movement. Southern separatist insurgents are active mainly in the area of former South Yemen, but also in Ad Dali' Governorate, which was not a part of the independent southern state. They are supported by the United Arab Emirates, even though the UAE is a member of the Saudi Arabian-led coalition working to support the Yemeni government.
The Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen is an ongoing armed conflict between the Yemeni government, the United States and their allies, and al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in Yemen. It is a part of the Global War on Terror.
The Southern Movement, sometimes known as the Southern Separatist Movement, or South Yemen Movement, or Aden Movement, and colloquially known as al-Hirak, is a political movement and paramilitary organization active in the south of Yemen since 2007, demanding secession from the Republic of Yemen and a return to the former independent state of South Yemen. At present, its best-known political offshoot, the Southern Transitional Council led by Aidarus al-Zoubaidi, is the de facto leadership across many provinces of the south.
The Battle of Zinjibar was a battle between forces loyal to Yemeni leader Ali Abdullah Saleh and Islamist militant forces, possibly including elements of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), for control of the town of Zinjibar and its surroundings as part of the wider insurgency in the self-declared Al-Qaeda Emirate in Yemen. Many of the Islamist forces operating in Abyan province refer to themselves as Ansar al-Sharia.
The Battle of Dofas was a battle during the 2011 Yemeni uprising between forces loyal to Yemeni leader Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and Islamist militant forces, possibly including elements of al-Qaeda, during which the militants destroyed an Army artillery battalion of the 39th Armored Brigade in the town of Dofas, which was being used as a main base for artillery support against the militant-held towns of Zinjibar and Jaʿār.
The 2012 Abyan offensive was an offensive by the Yemeni military against Islamist militant forces, possibly including elements of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in the province of Abyan with the purpose of re-capturing the militant-held towns of Zinjibar and Jaʿār.
United States drone strikes in Yemen started after the September 11 attacks in the United States, when the US military attacked the Islamist militant presence in Yemen, in particular Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula using drone warfare.
The aftermath of the Houthi takeover in Yemen refers to developments following the Houthis' takeover of the Yemeni capital of Sana'a and dissolution of the government, which eventually led to a civil war and the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.
The Abyan campaign was a 2015 campaign for control of the Abyan Governorate of Yemen, between the Houthis and Yemen Army units loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh on one side, and militiamen and Yemen Army units loyal to Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi on the other side, supported by jihadists of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The pro-Hadi forces recaptured the Abyan Governorate on 11 August 2015, after launching an offensive on pro-Houthi forces in early August.
In early December 2015, two Yemeni towns, Zinjibar and Ja'ar, were captured by the jihadist group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). This was the second capture and occupation of Zinjibar during unrest in Yemen. The town was earlier taken by AQAP's in May 2011 and held until the summer of 2012.
The Southern Abyan Offensive refers to a 2016 offensive that AQAP launched in late February, which ended with a victory for AQAP as Yemeni tribal fighters loyal to president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi were driven out of the Abyan Governorate.
The Aden unrest was a conflict between Islamist factions, such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's Yemen Branch, against the loyalists of president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and later to conflict between UAE-backed and Saudi-backed factions within the coalition. In 2017, fighting also broke out between factions aligned with different members of the Saudi-led coalition namely Saudi Arabia-backed Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and Al-Islah and UAE-backed separatist Southern Transitional Council and Southern Movement.
The following lists events that will happen in 2016 in Yemen.
The following is a timeline of the Yemeni civil war, which began in September 2014.
The Abyan conflict was a series of clashes between forces of AQAP loyal to Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, and forces loyal to Southern Movement for the control of Abyan between 2016 and 2018.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Wikipedia articles available about the Yemeni crisis, revolution, and Yemeni civil war (2014–present).