ALMUKALLA (south24)

On Monday, at least six people were wounded in South Yemen by the bullets of the Yemeni security forces in Seiyun, Wadi-Hadramawt, which is under the control of the Muslim Brotherhood and the First Military Region.

Local sources and Media said that the security forces fired live ammunition at thousands of protesters, who took to the streets this Monday noon to denounce the deterioration of services and demand salaries and better living conditions.

The protesters came out in response to an invitation from the Federation of Trade Unions and women's organizations in Wadi Hadramout.

Activists released videos, showing security forces and military vehicles firing live bullets at protesters, who were waving the flags of the former South Yemen state.

The Southern Transitional Council (STC) condemned the "repression" that the peaceful protesters were subjected to.

The council’s official spokesman, Ali Al Kathiri, said in a statement on Monday afternoon, “These condemned criminal acts are only issued by brutal occupation forces, and they are an extension of a series of crimes and violations” that these forces have been practicing against the people of Wadi Hadramout.

"We renew our full support for our people in Wadi Hadramout ... in order to enable them to run their directorates and rid them of the criminality of these usurping military forces that sponsor terrorism," he added. 

The cities of Hadramout have been witnessing for weeks, continuous protests, after the deterioration of living services and the increase in the prices of oil derivatives.

The oil-rich Wadi Hadramawt region is still controlled by forces from North Yemen, affiliated with the Yemeni Vice President, Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, who is close to extremist Islamists.

Areas in Wadi Hadramawt still harbor some Al-Qaeda affiliates, since they were expelled from Mukalla by southern and coalition forces in 2016.

Other cities in South Yemen, including Aden, Abyan and Lahj, witnessed similar protests, calling for better services and the disbursement of salaries.

In a recent meeting in Aden, the new government of the Riyadh agreement, said it was taking measures to improve services and announced the formation of an Energy Council to deal with the power outage crisis.

Activists held the Saudi-led coalition responsible for not disbursing the salaries of the security and military forces, in South Yemen, which had previously been promised.

Two days ago, the Ministry of Defense announced that it will hand over the salary for the month of October 2020 to its employees in Aden.

Yemen, a country experiencing a civil war approaching its seventh year, is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the United Nations.

In June 2020, three UN organizations said that an analysis of the situation in 133 sectors in South Yemen showed a "worrying increase" for people facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

- SOUTH24