Abdullatif Al-Sayed Bafaqih (1972 – 10 August 2023) was a Southern Yemeni

warlord Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...

from Abyan who played a major role during the wars against

Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

after 2012 in

Abyan Governorate Abyan ( ) is a governorates of Yemen, 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 (political), capital is the city of Zinjibar. ...

. Previously, he joined AQAP for a short period of time in 2011 before defecting from the group the same year and joining the forces of Yemen's internationally recognized President

Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi (born 1 September 1945) is a Yemeni politician and former military officer who served as the second president of Yemen from 2012 until his resignation in 2022. He previously served as the second vice president of Yemen fro ...

. Al-Sayed was part of the

Southern Movement 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 ...

secessionist movement.

War against Al Qaeda

When Al-Qaeda came to Zinjibar in early 2011, Sayed joined AQAP, as he was close to an AQAP commander in Abyan, named Abu Ali al-Hadrami. During the Battle of Zinjibar, he defected from AQAP, and his militia joined president Hadi's forces. He came in direct confrontation with al-Hadrami, as he was surrounded in his home village by Al-Hadrami's forces. Later, when the government launched the 2012 Abyan offensive, he battled his former commander, Abu Hamza al-Zinjibari, AQAP's Emir of Abyan, after a planned meeting gone wrong. During that period, he formed the Popular Committees, numbering about 7,000 fighters, which was backed by Hadi. At that point, he was the de facto ruler of Abyan, as all the Hadi loyal police and soldiers in the province, were under his command.

After 2012 war with AQAP

After the 2012 war, Sayed survived multiple assassination attempts by AQAP, losing more than 50 family members to the group, and one eye and partially a hand during these attempts. At some point after 2012, he was ranked a Brigadier General. In 2015, he was ousted by AQAP during the Fall of Zinjibar and Jaar, and fled to

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

. AQAP put an arrest warrant for him offering seven million Yemeni rials on his head. During the Abyan conflict, his forces were largely ingrained to the Al-Hizam, a force backed by

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

and the

Southern Transitional Council The Southern Transitional Council (STC; ) is a secessionist organization in southern Yemen. The 26 members of the STC include the governors of five southern governorates and two government ministers. It was formed by a faction of the Southern ...

. In April 2017, he resigned from his post as commander of Zinjibar and Khanfar, and took command of the Hizam's Rapid Deployment Force. Abdullatif Al-Sayed was killed in a mine explosion on 10 August 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Sayed, Abdullatif 1972 births 2023 deaths People of the Yemeni revolution Yemeni politicians Yemeni generals Yemeni Sunni Muslims People from Abyan Governorate People killed in action Warlords