A leader of the UAE-backed Security Belt forces and his escort were shot dead on Tuesday by unidentified gunmen in Al-Mahfad district in Abyan governorate.

Unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle killed the commander, Yasser Shamlaq, near a shop in the center of Al-Mahfad at around noon on Tuesday, a source in Abyan’s security sector said.

Al-Mahfad city has witnessed ongoing clashes since October between armed factions loyal to the internationally recognized government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC). The Security Belt is aligned with the STC. 

The fatal shootings come less than 24 hours after a Yemeni army soldier was killed and three others were wounded in an attack by gunmen loyal to the STC in the same city.

In recent weeks, masked gunmen on motorcycles have assassinated a growing number of military and security forces in neighboring Aden governorate. The fighting in both Abyan and Aden coincides with the implementation of a Saudi-sponsored power sharing agreement between the STC and government forces. 

The signing of the so-called Riyadh agreement in early November halted a slide toward a broader civil war between the anti-Houthi allies, but implementation of the deal has fallen behind schedule amid obstruction from both sides.