Aden (South24)

Today, protesters in Aden staged the first protest in front of the newly-formed Yemeni Presidential Council headquarter, in Aden, South Yemen.

Academics and professors at the University of Aden organized a protest near the gate of Maashiq Palace, where the eight members of the Presidential Council reside.

The protesters demanded that they settle their financial situation at the university, after they were appointed academically for many years without financial support.

This is the first protest in Aden since the formation of the Presidential Council on April 7.

In an exclusive statement to "South24", Ali Al-Qahtani, the head of the Academic Appointed Committee at the University of Aden, demanded that the issue of the appointees to be resolved urgently.

Al-Qahtani said: "I call on the Presidential Council to solve our issue completely and give us justice. Otherwise, the academics revolution will start and no one will be able to stop it."

The most prominent demands are to return the salaries of university faculty members to their value in hard currency, after the continuous tragical collapse of the Yemeni riyal currency.

Academics are also calling for the payment of their financial dues, allowances, housing, food and transportation allowances, and the adoption of land plots that have been allocated to them and to protect it from looting.

South24 Center for News and Studies

Photo: Academic protesters near Maashiq Palace, Wednesday, May 11, 2022 (official)