The area of violent protests expanded on Sunday in the southern of Yemen, where citizens took to the streets in demonstrating in Lahj and arrangements in Abyan after a stormy night witnessed by the largest southern cities, most notably Aden and Hadhramaut.
This comes amid the deterioration of service and humanitarian situation, amid attempts by local forces to achieve political gains before kicking off a new round of Riyadh negotiations or comprehensive solution.
Protesters block major streets in Lahj, specifically in the administrative capital, Hawtat, protesting against power cuts and the suspension of salaries, the collapse of currency, the prices rise and the suspension of infrastructure services.
Local sources said that the protests, lasted for hours, and cut the main line connecting Aden with the cities of northern and western of Yemen.
Protesters demanded the departure of the governor, as well as the expulsion of Hadi government and the imposition of a southern fait accompli on revenues.
In the context, the “Southern Resistance” in Abyan, one of the most important transitional factions, called on citizens in Lahj province to actively participate in the upcoming demonstrations next Thursday, which aim to expel the governor affiliated with Hadi, Hussein Abu Bakr.
These factions, led by Shallal al-Sha`i, and part of them are affiliated to the conservative Southern Movement, accused Hussein of plundering revenues and spending them on the “Brotherhood” and on their battles in Marib.
Aden and Hadhramaut had witnessed violent acts in recent days, including street closures and clashes, during the chasing of security factions to participants in those protests.
Although the protests come in light of a tragic situation in which citizens live in the southern provinces, despite the passage of 3 months since the arrival of the equal government between the transitional and Hadi to Aden, and its pledge to upgrade services, but the timing of the recent moves seemed to take political dimensions with the intervention of conflicting southern powers to represent the south and another within what is called “legitimacy”.
In this context, the Southern Movement in Aden, during a meeting of its leaders at the level of southern provinces, chaired by AbdulNasser Al-Sheikh, head of the movement’s advisory body, called on his supporters and bases to participate in the human rights activities expected to escalate to demand the rights of citizens.
The movement is one of the southern forces that have been excluded from the scene, despite the social and political weight it represents, through which it tried to represent the south, but the absence of external support put it on the sidelines.
The adoption of the so-called “Southern Resistance” in Aden, led by Abu Hammam al-Yafei, to the demonstrations and its clash with other STC factions during the past hours, indicating that it is in the context of responding to Saudi pressure to leave Abu Hammam and transfer his factions to the battlefronts.
