At least 5 people were killed and many injured when Yemeni security forces dispersed a separatist protest
Aden, Yemen — At least five people were killed in clashes between supporters of the main separatist group in Yemen and local security forces, and more than two dozen others were injured, officials and separatists said on Wednesday.
Ishraq Al-Maqtari, the new Minister of Legal Affairs The internationally recognized Yemeni governmentHe wrote on the X website that Shabwa Governorate witnessed “painful events.”
The clashes broke out when supporters of the separatist Southern Transitional Council in Yemen stormed the building of the local administrative authority in the governorate in the city of Ataq, during which they tried to take down the Yemeni flag, according to eyewitnesses Khaled Al-Marfadi and Salem Lagal told the Associated Press.
They said local security forces quickly regained control of the building, secured it and deployed throughout the surrounding area.
Al-Maqtari said: “The hope is placed on the leaders, elites, youth and women of Shabwa to resolve this tension in which the only loser is the lives, safety and security of its citizens. The interest of Shabwa must be presented above all narrow interests.”
The Shabwa Transitional Council branch confirmed in a statement the killing of five protesters.
Shabwa is currently under the control of coalition forces Presidential Leadership CouncilHeaded by Rashad Al-Alimi. Forces allied with the council reportedly intervened and fired warning shots to disperse the crowd.
In December, the Southern Transitional Council announced Progress in Hadramaut and Al-Mahra governoratesWhich led to the expulsion of the National Shield forces allied with Saudi Arabia and pushed escalating tensions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi into the open. Bloody clashes broke out in the south of the country and were carried out by the separatist group Announced its dissolution In the weeks that followed, however Protests He continued to support the Southern Transitional Council He demands the independence of the south.
Yemen has been mired for more than a decade in a civil war involving a complex interplay of sectarian and tribal grievances and the involvement of regional powers. The head of the Transitional Council, Aidaroos Al-Zubaidi, is wanted on charges of treason and has fled to Abu Dhabi.
The Shabwa Transitional Council branch said in the statement that “masked members of the security and military forces opened fire on the demonstrators.”
She added: “As the massive march moved towards the Luxury Hotel… the security and military forces began shooting directly at the demonstrators using light and medium weapons, which led to deaths and injuries.”
The Southern Transitional Council accused forces affiliated with the local administration in Shabwa of storming the designated protest site, dismantling the platform, and surrounding the area with armored vehicles and troops, creating what it described as a scene “more like a battlefield.”
Al-Alimi last week Announcing the formation of a new government consisting of 35 members headed by Prime Minister Shayea Al-ZindaniWho also holds the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs. It included only two women: Afrah Al-Zouba, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, and Ahed Jassous, Minister of State for Women’s Affairs.
