Rallies in favor of the separatist STC group in South Yemen continue to grow, and while the largest have been in the city of Aden, substantial protests are being reported elsewhere, including the Shabwa Governorate capital of Ataq.
The rally in Ataq turned ugly today, however, when demonstrators were reported to have attempted to enter a building to remove the Yemeni flag from it, and pro-Saudi forces aligned with the self-proclaimed “government” opened fire on them, killing at least six.
Scores of protesters were also reportedly wounded in the incident, and the reported toll continues to rise, as the “government” attempts to revise the narrative away from silencing dissent and “dispersing” protesters to claims that the protesters were “heavily armed” and actually started the fighting.
Separatist protesters rally in Ataq | Image from X
There’s no evidence of the protesters in Ataq being armed at all, and local activists insisted the protests were entirely peaceful, with a focus on slogans calling for the withdrawal of Saudi military assets from the country.
“Government” officials also claimed the protesters were affiliated with the STC, which is a curious claim because they also insist that the STC doesn’t even exist anymore since the Saudis kidnapped their negotiating team last month and announced that they agreed to disband.
The STC, of course, maintains that they haven’t disbanded at all, and while their control over southern Yemen is tentative, as ever, the “government” in exile in Riyadh’s claims to have control over the major cities don’t appear to hold water.
Protesters complained about the use of violence by pro-Saudi forces to tamp down the protests, saying they amounted to a return to the use of the “card of religious extremist groups” to suppress popular movements.
South Yemen was independent until 1990, when it was unified with North Yemen. A separatist movement has remained active virtually constantly since then, and despite the violent crackdown today, there are no signs that the rallies are slowing.
