The UAE-backed separatist forces of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen accused of multiple violations of human rights. The local population in the Socotra Archipelago see the disturbing deterioration and clear violation of international humanitarian law, said the Geneva-based NGO.
The human right activists from the SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties say that the UAE-backed separatists violate the rights of Yemenis. Among the most recent cases are arbitrary arrests and dismissal of opponents from their jobs.
The statement issued by the human rights watchdog, says that “Southern Transitional Council militia is violating human rights on the island of Socotra since they took control of the island on June 19.”
This summer, Yemenis faced the toughest times this summer during regular armed confrontations. The STC forces took control of Socotra on the pretext that successive governments marginalized the south in development and excluded the southerners from sharing power.
“The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council militia arbitrarily arrested Dr. Ahmed Salem Al-Ameri, a professor of literature at the College of Education in Socotra, from his workplace and detained him in al-Shamil Center for five hours for publishing an opinion article on the island’s conditions,” the SAM statement reads.
The human rights watchdog underlines that the militia is committing these violations in the presence and with the support of Saudi forces.
The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains. Since 2014 when the conflict has begun, tens of thousands of Yemenis have been killed. The civil war has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis as millions remain at risk of starvation.
