Residents Protest, Demand the Departure of Socotra’s Governor
The Socotra Archipelago province witnessed a popular demonstration on Thursday, demanding the departure of Governor Raafat Al-Thaqli, as a result of the deteriorating living conditions on the island. Local sources said that the protesters stormed the local authority building and closed all the streets leading to the the government office in Socotra. The protesters chanted slogans demanding the departure of Governor Al-Thaqli, who is loyal to the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council. They threatened to escalate their protests if their demands were not met. The protestors said the current governor failed in all fields in light of the plundering of revenues generated from tourism, taxes, and customs.
Yemeni authorities deployed security forces and armored vehicles across the port city of Aden Wednesday, as protesters were expected to take to the streets in the latest series of protests over hours-long electricity outages caused by a shortage of fuel for power stations. For several days, hundreds of demonstrators in three central districts of Aden blocked roads and set tires on fire, protesting electricity shortages as temperatures soared to 40 degrees Celsius. On Monday and Tuesday, security forces moved in to disperse the demonstrations, beating protesters with batons and barricading the entrances of some streets, residents said. outages lasted only eight hours on Wednesday. The cause of the outages is a shortage of diesel fuel for power stations, the spokesman for Aden's electricity corporation, Nawar Akbar, said on Sunday.
The US destroyed targets in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said Wednesday. "At approximately 9 p.m. (Sanaa time) on May 14, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed four uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) in an Iranian-backed Houthi controlled area of Yemen," CENTCOM said in a statement. CENTCOM said it determined that the systems presented an "imminent threat" to US and coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region. The Red Sea is one of the world's most frequently used sea routes for oil and fuel shipments.
The International Rescue Committee said today the "scale of the crisis defies imagination" in southern Gaza as Israeli ground forces invade Rafah and mass displacement leaves people in need of food and water. At least five Israeli soldiers killed and seven wounded as ground incursion into northern Gaza faces fierce resistance from Palestinian fighters. At least 35,272 people have been killed and 79,205 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.
