Dozens of northern Yemeni civilians arrested in Aden during large-scale separatist crackdown

Dozens of northern Yemeni civilians arrested in Aden during large-scale separatist crackdown

Dozens of people from the northern Yemeni provinces who work in the Crater area of Aden, southern Yemen, have been kidnapped by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) militias on Monday, local sources said.

STC militia members raided a number of shops and kidnapped dozens of workers across Crater area, and took them to detention centers on charges of helping Salafist militia leader Imam al-Noubi escape from the area, according to the sources.

In a Facebook post, southern Yemeni journalist Abdul-Rahman Anis mocked the STC militia for celebrating the arrest of workers from Taiz working in a sewing shop as a “security achievement.”

He described holding vendors and sellers as punishment for al-Noubi’s escape as “stupid behavior.”

Local sources revealed that the escape of Imam al-Noubi, was secured through a mediation led by his brother Mukhtar, who works as a leader of the STC militia in Abyan, and as such is not the fault of any local people.

The STC militia has for years engaged in repressive behaviour and discrimination against Yemenis coming from the northern provinces living in Aden and surroundings.