Al Kawd | |
Settlement Type: | Town |
Pushpin Map: | Yemen |
Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
Pushpin Mapsize: | 300 |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Yemen |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Yemen |
Subdivision Type1: | Governorate |
Subdivision Name1: | Abyan |
Unit Pref: | Imperial |
Timezone: | Yemen Standard Time |
Utc Offset: | +3 |
Coordinates: | 13.0886°N 45.3647°W |
Al Kawd is a town in southwestern Yemen, near Zinjibar. It is located in Abyan Governorate and lies on the Gulf of Aden, approximately 40 kilometres by road east of Aden. The Wadi Bana, a major river, flows into the sea to the east of the town.
On May 19-20, 1994, during the 1994 civil war in Yemen, rebel planes dropped two bombs near the cemetery in al-Kawd, killing four boys.
On November 15, fighters loyal to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula took over the town, a key part of the Battle of Zinjibar.[1] Yemeni troops recaptured the town on August 14, 2016.[2]
In 2019, the Security Belt Forces, a paramilitary aligned with the secessionist Southern Transitional Council, dislodged an estimated 350 pro-government forces from a military camp in Al Kawd, leading to four deaths.[3] As of 2023, the Southern Transitional Council controls much of Abyan Governorate, including Al Kawd.