SUMMARY

The Abu al-Abbas Brigades was named after its leader Adil Abduh Fari Uthman al-Dhubhani, commonly known as Abu al-Abbas. It was a Salafi group based in the city of Taizz. It was generally counted as one of the factions supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and participated in the military campaigns against the Ansarallah government of Yemen (see Government of Yemen - Forces of Hadi) as part of the Forces of Hadi (later renamed Forces of the Presidential Leadership Council). Due to its alleged ties to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and Islamic State, it was placed under United States sanctions in 2017. Despite this, it continued to participate as a part of the Forces of Hadi-coalition.

Starting in 2018, the Abu al-Abbas Brigades increasingly fought other factions within the Forces of Hadi, in particular those aligned with Islah. Islah was a Muslim Brotherhood movement which was an early linchpin of the Forces of Hadi, but has since gradually weakened under pressure from UAE-aligned groups. In 2019, a series of assassinations of government officials perceived as sympathetic towards Islah was blamed on the Abu al-Abbas Brigades. This led to the arrest of several of its members and widespread clashes between on the Abu al-Abbas Brigades and security forces of the Forces of Hadi in the city of Taizz, resulting in the expulsion of the Abu al-Abbas Brigades from the city and into the countryside of the governorate in April 2019. The expulsion of the Abu al-Abbas Brigades increased the security in Taizz city, and made Islah the predominant faction there.

In February 2020, the weakened Abu al-Abbas Brigades merged with Tariq Saleh’s Yemeni National Resistance, also a member of the Forces of Hadi.