At least 5 killed and many injured as Yemeni security forces break up separatist protest

Five Dead in Yemen Clashes as Separatists Storm Government Building

At least five people have died in violent clashes between supporters of Yemen’s main separatist group and local security forces in Yemen’s Shabwa governorate, officials and separatists confirmed Wednesday. More than two dozen others were reported injured in the confrontation.

The violence erupted when supporters of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), Yemen’s prominent separatist movement, stormed the local administrative authority building in the city of Ataq. According to eyewitnesses Khaled al-Merfedi and Salem Lahtal, the protesters attempted to remove the Yemeni flag from the building before local security forces intervened, quickly regaining control and deploying throughout the surrounding area.

“Hope rests on the leaders, elites, youth, and women of Shabwa to resolve this tension, in which the only losers are the lives, safety, and security of its citizens,” wrote Eshraq al-Maqtari, the newly appointed legal affairs minister in Yemen’s internationally recognized government, on social media platform X. She described the events in Shabwa as “painful” and urged prioritizing the governorate’s interests “above all narrow interests.”

The STC branch in Shabwa issued a statement confirming the five deaths and accused security forces of excessive violence. “Masked members of the security and military forces opened fire on the demonstrators,” the statement claimed. It further alleged that as protesters marched toward the al-Fakhama Hotel, “security and military forces began firing directly at the protesters using light and medium weapons.”

The separatist group also accused forces affiliated with Shabwa’s local administration of storming the designated protest site, dismantling a stage, and surrounding the area with armored vehicles and troops, creating what it described as a scene “more akin to a battlefield.”

Shabwa is currently under the control of the Presidential Leadership Council, headed by Rashad al-Alimi. Forces allied with the council reportedly fired warning shots to disperse the crowd during the confrontation.

The incident marks the latest flashpoint in Yemen’s complex civil conflict, which has destabilized the country for more than a decade. The situation intensified last December when the STC made advances in the Hadramout and al-Mahra governorates, pushing out the Saudi-aligned National Shield Forces. This military action exacerbated tensions between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have backed different factions in the conflict.

Following those advances, deadly clashes erupted in southern Yemen, and while the STC announced its dissolution in the weeks that followed, protests supporting the separatist group have continued. These demonstrations frequently include calls for an independent south Yemen, reviving historical divisions in a country that was only unified in 1990.

The STC’s leader, Aidarous al-Zubaidi, is currently wanted for treason and has reportedly fled to Abu Dhabi, further highlighting the regional dimension of Yemen’s crisis.

The violence in Shabwa comes just days after a significant political development in Yemen’s internationally recognized government. Last week, al-Alimi announced a new 35-member Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shae’a al-Zandani, who also serves as foreign minister. The new government includes only two women: Afrah al-Zouba as minister of planning and international cooperation, and Ahd Jaasous as state minister for women’s affairs.

Yemen’s civil war has created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with millions facing food insecurity and limited access to healthcare. The conflict involves a complex interplay of sectarian and tribal grievances alongside the involvement of regional powers, making resolution efforts particularly challenging.

As tensions in Shabwa continue, observers worry this could trigger a new wave of instability in Yemen’s south, further complicating international efforts to bring peace to the war-torn nation.