Shabwah province, controlled by Saudi-Emirati-backed mercenaries, has become a hub for criminal gangs smuggling African migrants and detaining many of them to extort their families to pay ransom in exchange for their release.
Since the beginning of 2024, kidnapping gangs have intensified operations across Shabwah province – controlled by UAE-backed aggression mercenaries – abducting African migrants and holding them in secret detention sites.
These criminal networks exploit the security vacuum to extort exorbitant foreign-currency ransoms from victims’ families for their release.
In a concerning development, Twenty-five abducted individuals – including four Ethiopian women – were recently released in Ataq, the capital of Shabwah province, following the payment of substantial ransoms, highlighting the continued operation of these criminal networks with complete impunity.
The coasts of Shabwah have become a hub for smuggling African migrants, with dozens of overcrowded boats departing toward Radoum’s shores under the facilitation and complicity of UAE-backed mercenary leaders.
Reliable reports indicate that these mercenary figures receive substantial payments from smuggling gangs in exchange for turning a blind eye—or even actively enabling—these illicit operations.
The danger of African migrant smuggling to Shabwah’s shores is further compounded by the presence of terrorist group operatives across multiple areas – particularly in Al-Maseenah district of As-Saeed – who have recruited hundreds of migrants into their ranks amid escalating terrorist operations in past months.
According to observers, the recruitment, enlistment, and training of African migrants by terrorist groups in Abyan and Shabwah constitutes a ticking time bomb for the region. With thousands continuing to be smuggled into these areas, urgent action is needed to dismantle these criminal networks before it’s too late.
