A top leader in the peaceful sit-in protest committee in Mahrah province said that the Saudi occupation forces have brought terrorism to the province .
The deputy head of the committee, Abboud Haboud Qumsit, said that “Throughout history, there was no foothold for any terrorist groups in Mahrah, except after the occupation of Saudi Arabia.”
Qumsait accused Saudi Arabia of using the terrorism card to achieve its interests, after its failure to prove previous allegations of smuggling and distort the image of Mahrah’s people.
Last Friday, a military source affiliated with the Saudi forces in Mahrah claimed that Saudi security and military agencies had seized terrorist cells in Al-Ghaydah city, the capital of the governorate, indicating that “the operation was successful in controlling terrorist cells after the killing of three of them and the arrest of the other individuals.”
However, activists and politicians have emphasised that Saudi Arabia is in fact trying to consolidate its presence in Mahrah under the banner of combating terrorism, even though the province does not have significant terrorist activity.
They pointed out that the popular rejection of the Saudi occupation by the people Mahrah has embarrassed Riyadh.
The head of the sit-in committee in the Directorate of Shehen, Hamid Zabnout, confirmed that “talking about Al-Qaeda in Mahrah was the last of the Saudi occupation plots to market itself internationally.”
He added that Saudi Arabia is seeking to legalise its presence Mahrah by pretending to combat Al-Qaeda.