The Yemeni Islah Party, which is loyal to the Saudi-led coalition, had on Saturday deployed three military brigades in the vicinity of Ataq city, the capital of Shabwah province, eastern Yemen.
A local source in Ataq city said that the Islah had strengthened the so-called “special security forces” with the military brigades, in order to secure the city from popular protests that are demanding the improvement of electricity services and the payment of salaries.
The source pointed out that these so-called Special Forces have launched a large campaign of kidnappings against peaceful activists in the demonstrations.
This comes after one of the demonstrators was killed and others wounded by Islah forces, in an attempt to disperse the demonstration earlier in the day.
Last Thursday, one of the most prominent sheikhs in the oil-rich province, Sheikh Lahmar bin Ali Laswad Al-Aulaqi, accused the Islah party of plundering the wealth of the province and harnessing it for its own benefit, calling on all tribes of Shabwah to liberate the districts of the province from the Islah militants.
