Pro-Saudi forces close Aden Al Orudh Square to block protest over disappeared persons
ADEN, May 24 (YPA) – Pro-Saudi forces closed all roads leading to the parade ground in the Khor Maksar district of Aden city, turning the area into what observers described as a closed military zone.
These measures came to prevent the holding of a protest that was planned to demand disclosure of the fate of the abducted and forcibly disappeared detained in secret prisons inside the city.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Coordination of Civil and Human Rights Forces said security personnel blocked demonstrators from reaching the protest site and threatened organizers and participants with arrest, describing the measures as repressive practices that violate freedom of expression.
The group also accused Saudi-funded factions of tearing up photographs of the abducted and forcibly disappeared, calling the act “provocative and humiliating” to the families and mothers of victims who have waited years for information about their relatives.
The coordination held the government and the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council fully responsible, accusing them of pursuing policies of “selectivity and marginalization” while prioritizing political arrangements over humanitarian concerns.
It argued that remaining silent on the issue of secret prisons amounts to “indirect complicity in burying the issue.”
The statement further questioned the legitimacy of authorities that suppress the families of abductees in Aden while claiming to uphold justice, describing the crackdown as a “desperate attempt to silence the voice of truth.”
Despite the restrictions, the coordination stressed that such actions would not deter calls for accountability, announcing plans to escalate public action through broader protests addressing enforced disappearances, corruption, political assassinations, human rights violations, and the deterioration of public services.
It added that the popular movement intends to expose all alleged abuses affecting residents of Aden and other areas controlled by Saudi-backed local forces.