Public anger rising against Brotherhood, Houthis in Yemen
The Muslim Brotherhood has joined forces with the Iran-backed Houthi militia against those opposing the presence of the militia around Yemen.
Opposition to the Iran-backed group
is manifested in a rise in the number of demonstrations against it and against Brotherhood
corruption.
The demonstrators blame the Houthis
and the Brotherhood for the deterioration of living and economic conditions in all
Yemeni provinces under their control.
The Brotherhood's Islah (Reform)
Party is countering by working to silence those opposing it and campaigning to
prevent its theft of Yemen's wealth.
Hadhramaut protests
On Feb. 12, the Brotherhood
suppressed thousands of demonstrators who gathered in Seiyun, a city of the
eastern province of Hadhramaut, to support the Southern Transitional Council.
The council had earlier called on
Yemenis to go out to the streets and demand the expulsion of forces allied to Mohsen
al-Ahmar which control Hadhramaut's oilfields.
The demonstrators also called for
replacing those forces with the forces of Hadrami al-Nahba, describing them as
more fit for protecting Yemen's land.
This prompted Muslim Brotherhood
militants to slap a siege around Seiyun and set up new checkpoints to prevent
the demonstrators from moving around it.
The militants also arrested dozens
of demonstrators after firing live rounds in the air and on them.
The Brotherhood collaborated with
the Houthis in cutting internet services in the city to prevent the publication
of any news about the protests.
According to Yemeni activists, there
is a major media blackout on the demonstrations in Hadhramaut against Muslim
Brotherhood presence.
The same activists said the Houthis
had lent support to the Brotherhood by cutting off the internet and
communications in Hadhramout during the protests.
This caused rejection of the
Brotherhood and the Houthis to increase.
The Presidency of the Southern
Transitional Council issued a statement, in which it praised the protests and
denounced the crackdown by Brotherhood militants against the demonstrators.
The council also called on Arab
coalition forces to intervene to save the people of Hadhramaut.
Yemeni political analyst, Mahmud al-Taher,
told The Reference earlier that corruption is eating away at all
facilities of the Yemeni state.
"This corruption is a result of
the practices of the Houthi and Brotherhood groups," he said.
