Leaders of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) have threatened on Monday to intervene militarily in support of the protests taking place in the city of Aden, south of Yemen.
Shallal Shaye, the commander of the so-called anti-terror forces of the STC, said on Twitter: “We will stand with all our strength to protect the demonstrators and support their demands to freedom and a decent life, where it is not possible to stand and watch our proud southern people die of starvation.”
For his part, Abbas Al-Dhalei, a southern Yemeni leader affiliated with the Islah Party, which opposes the STC and supports the Saudi-led Presidential Council, said on Twitter: “The STC funded by Saudi Arabia and the UAE is pushing its supporters to demonstrate and demand the expulsion of the Riyadh-formed Presidential Council and its government, as well as engaging in the closure of roads leading to the Ma’ashiq Palace and the burning of tyres.”
He added: “Aden is experiencing the tragedy of the absence of the state, the militia’s control, and the absence of services.”
The city of Aden has witnessed a wave of demonstrations and widespread popular protests for days, during which the main streets were cut off to demand the departure of the the Saudi-led coalition government and the Riyadh-run Presidential Council.
