Battle of Zinjibar (2011–2012) 2011
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 27 May 2011 – 12 June 2012 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 2011 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | Yemen | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | 2011 Yemeni revolution, Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 13.1286, 45.3805 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The battle of Zinjibar was fought between Yemeni government forces and the Islamist militant group Ansar al-Sharia in and around Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan governorate. As the state was preoccupied with the Yemeni revolution, the resultant security vacuum in southern Yemen was capitalized on by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which used a local insurgent front in Ansar al-Sharia to seize territory for the first time.
Using the nearby town of Jaar as a staging ground, Ansar al-Sharia invaded Zinjibar on 29 May 2011 and captured it relatively unopposed. Most security forces fled except for the 25th Mechanized Brigade, which was besieged at its base near the city. Reinforcements were brought in but were met with fierce resistance and a tightened siege on the brigade. The army partnered with the local tribes to launch an offensive on 17 July, which culminated in the relieving of the 25th Mechanized Brigade and the capture of eastern Zinjibar on 10 September. Clashes continued into the next year with Ansar al-Sharia maintaining control over most of Zinjibar.
In response to renewed military pressure, Ansar al-Sharia launched two raids on army installations near Zinjibar on 5 March 2012 which killed and wounded hundreds of soldiers.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Zinjibar (2011–2012) (revision 1376282374), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Browse more: battles in Yemen · Asia · Post-1945 battles