Arrest campaign targets activists in Hadramout amidst popular protests

HADRAMOUT, Aug. 11 (YPA) – Emirati forces launched an arrest campaign on Monday evening, targeting a number of activists participating in popular protests in the city of Ashihr in Hadramout province, eastern Yemen, local sources said.

According to the sources, “security support elements” detained several young demonstrators, including Mahmoud Al-Rabaqi and Ahmed Awad Barami, and took them to secret detention centers.

The sources clarified that these arrests follow two weeks of ongoing protests where demonstrators demanded improved living conditions and public services. They indicated that the arrest orders were issued by the governor of Hadramout, Mabkhout bin Madi, who recently returned to the province after being held in Riyadh for four months.

The sources also stated that the arrest campaign included other activists, among them a female activist from the Fowa area of Mukalla city.

The campaign was considered part of a retaliatory effort against the protesters who have called for the withdrawal of the UAE-backed factions from the Hadramout coast and the removal of “bin Madi.”

YPA