Dozens of soldiers in Shabwa protest against months-long suspension of salaries

SHABWA, July 20 (YPA) – Dozens of public security soldiers staged on Sunday a protest rally in the city of Ataq city of the oil-rich Shabwa province against their deteriorating living conditions.

In the rally, the soldiers blocked the “Martyr Qatan” street and also burned tires as a result of the months-long suspension of their salaries.

The protesters held the AUE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), headed by Aidarous al-Zubaidi, responsible for dismantling official security institutions through duplication of salaries paid to STC-affiliated forces, which do not subject to the Ministries of Interior and Defense, while regular soldiers were neglected and deprived of their basic rights.

According to a local source, the soldiers said they had come out to express their anger at the marginalization and exclusion of Shabwa residents by security and military institutions.

The participants expressed their anger at the absence of the local authority, led by Shabwa governor Awad al-Awlaki, from the scene, leaving them to face their fate.

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