STC supporters close gate of Ma’ashiq Palace in Aden

ADEN, Feb. 20 (YPA) – The dissolved UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC)’s supporters closed the eastern gate of Ma’ashiq Palace on Thursday, coinciding with mass demonstrations demanding the expulsion of the government of Shayea al-Zindani, which recently returned from Riyadh.

The protests in front of the palace gate in Crater district escalated into direct clashes, with participants physically assaulting officers and soldiers loyal to the head of the Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi.

Eyewitnesses reported that protesters stripped an officer of his rank insignia and smashed the windows of his car after assaulting him, indicating that crowds continued to gather at the protest site amidst armed tensions that threatened to erupt.

These actions come in response to the Transitional Council’s call last Tuesday, in which it categorically rejected the government’s presence in Aden.

The protesters used regional slogans rejecting the presence of any officials from the northern governorates in Aden, especially after the arrival of Defense Minister Taher al-Aqili, following the ouster of former minister Mohsen al-Daari and putting him under house arrest in Riyadh.