Battle of Lawdar (2012)

The Battle of Lawdar was a major assault by Ansar al-Sharia, an Islamist group linked to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, in an attempt to capture Lawdar, a city in Abyan Governorate. Prior to the battle, Ansar al-Sharia already had control over several cities in Abyan, including its capital, and likely sought to take over Lawdar due to its strategic significance.

The battle started on 9 April with an assault on the barracks of the 111th Infantry Brigade, in the area of the local power station. The militants initially drove off the army and seized their equipment, but were forced to retreat after fighters from the Popular Committees, local civilian groups formed to protect against the militants, intervened and reinforced the army. Later on 11 April, Ansar al-Sharia launched a three-pronged offensive to capture the city from the power station, Zara Mountain and Jebel Yasuf. The effort was quickly stalled however, as government forces re-opened a major road linking Lawdar to al-Bayda and captured the Zara mountain and village by 13 April. Clashes continued to take place throughout the rest of the month.

On 15 May, coinciding with the launching of a military offensive across all of Abyan, government forces pushed into Jebel Yasuf and forced Ansar al-Sharia to withdraw, eventually securing the entire mountain by 16 May. The loss of Jebel Yasuf, where the militants had set up significant strongholds, eventually resulted in them retreating from the power station area, which had seen the heaviest fighting of the battle. By the next day, government officials confirmed that Ansar al-Sharia had completely fled Lawdar.