Aden -- Hundreds of residents have “Batarfi out out, Hadramawt wants freedom,” they chanted late on Sunday, referring to Khalid Batarfi, a senior Al Qaeda figure who has reportedly been named the “leader of Mukalla”.
| They then made faces, rolled their eyes and cursed mustaches... |
Sunday’s protest erupted after militants stormed a mosque following evening prayers and one pointed a gun at the imam and threatened to kill him for criticising Al Qaeda, a local official told.
“Southerners wake up. Say ‘no’ to Al Qaeda and ‘no’ to Houthis,” protesters chanted, also declaring their rejection of the Shia rebels who have seized the capital and are fighting to expand their territory in the south.
One demonstrator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the residents of Mukalla were complaining about Al Qaeda “interference in every aspect of our lives”.
The extremist militants have set up checkpoints across the city residents also accuse the group of trying to force their own strict imams into mosques across the city.
Mukalla has been largely spared fuel and food shortages that have hit other Yemeni cities affected by fighting between rebels and supporters of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Hadramawt province is the ancestral homeland of slain Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.