Angry popular protests erupted in Mukalla demanding basic services

HADRAMOUT, Sept. 10 (YPA) – Angry popular protests erupted, on Wednesday, in the streets of Mukalla, the capital of the oil-rich Hadramout Governorate under coalition control, demanding basic services, including electricity.

Protesters blocked some roads and main streets in central Mukalla, denouncing the long power outages of up to 11 hours a day amid the soaring summer heat, without any solutions from the government or coalition-affiliated authorities.

The protests spread to a number of working-class neighborhoods, including Al-Sharj, amid chants calling for the departure of Governor Mabkhout bin Madi due to the service conditions that are exacerbating their daily lives and they also demanded radical solutions to the chronic electricity crisis.

These protests come amid escalating popular anger, coinciding with the ongoing comprehensive strike by teachers in the Hadramout Coast districts since last month, who are demanding a settlement of their living conditions and an improvement in their salaries, which adds further tension to the deteriorating service situation in the governorate.

Warnings are escalating that the crisis will worsen if citizens’ demands continue to be marginalized, amid urgent calls for the relevant authorities to intervene quickly to contain popular anger before it gets out of control.

It is noteworthy that the electricity crisis represents one of the most prominent thorny issues facing the governorate, despite its oil resources and the rest of the southern governorates, amid the government’s inability to pay employees’ salaries.