Massive Protests Erupt in Occupied Aden and Southern Provinces as Crises Worsen

Voices are rising, demanding the departure of Saudi-Emirati occupation forces and holding them responsible for the deteriorating situation in these regions.

Aden witnessed a massive popular turnout in front of the “Presidential” Palace, where thousands of protesters gathered to express their anger and frustration over the absence of basic services—foremost among them electricity and water—alongside the continuous deterioration in all aspects of life.

Protesters chanted angry slogans holding the “government of traitors” and the Saudi-Emirati aggression and occupation coalition responsible for the “systematic suffocating crisis” engulfing the southern and eastern provinces. They affirmed that citizens’ suffering has reached catastrophic and unprecedented levels due to the absence of any real solutions to the mounting problems burdening residents.

The electricity crisis tops the list of issues tormenting citizens in Aden and other occupied provinces, particularly with the arrival of summer and rising temperatures and humidity. The city is experiencing prolonged power outages that have directly impacted residents’ lives and led to the deaths of numerous patients and elderly people.

Residents complained that increasing hours of power outages in occupied Aden have exacerbated daily suffering, amid the “pro-aggression government’s” inability to provide radical and sustainable solutions to end the crisis that renews each year with the arrival of summer heat.

They added that the ongoing electricity crisis proves the administrative and economic failure plaguing areas under the aggression coalition’s control, while resources and oil and gas wealth from these occupied provinces are directed to external destinations far from serving citizens and improving their living conditions.

In a related context, the abduction of human rights and political activist Samir Al-Ibi in Aden’s Crater district sparked widespread popular and rights-based outrage, particularly after the incident followed his calls to participate in popular protests demanding improved services, salary payments, and addressing deteriorating living conditions.

This crime has exposed the “mercenary government’s” dark side regarding public freedoms and the security violations witnessed in Aden and occupied provinces, with increasing complaints about campaigns of restriction and persecution targeting activists, journalists, and opinion holders.

Parallel to the service collapse, occupied provinces face growing health challenges with the spread of fevers and epidemic diseases amid declining health institution capacities and weak medical resources needed to confront these diseases.

The death of a young girl from fevers and malaria has once again highlighted the scale of the health crisis in the southern and eastern provinces, amid continuous complaints about weak government health services and high treatment costs in private hospitals.

Health sources confirmed the registration of 18 deaths from dengue fever during the past months of 2026 in areas under the “traitor government’s” control, in addition to 4,819 infections. Occupied Aden topped the list of most affected provinces, recording 12 deaths and 1,243 infections, followed by Hadramout with 3 deaths and over a thousand infections.

Sources warned that continued deterioration of the health sector in occupied provinces could worsen the humanitarian situation, particularly as the spread of seasonal diseases expands and pressure increases on medical facilities already suffering from severe shortages of equipment, staff, and medical supplies.

On the security front, the killing of two Syrian doctors in occupied Aden continues to cast a shadow over the general scene, sparking widespread reactions and denunciation in medical and popular circles. This incident has raised numerous questions following the “hotel government’s” failure to provide security and protect citizens and workers in service and humanitarian sectors.

In Socotra, residents continue to suffer from a suffocating fuel crisis, a terrible collapse in basic services, and the suspension of flights to and from the archipelago’s airport. Local sources said the island is experiencing isolation and neglect amid the absence of necessary interventions, noting that fuel prices have reached record levels, with gasoline reaching approximately 6,000 riyals per liter.

Residents of Socotra demand the swift provision of a ship loaded with fuel derivatives to rescue the island from the worsening crisis, warning of the repercussions of continued fuel absence on citizens’ lives, transportation, and basic services.

They called for the departure of Saudi-Emirati occupation from the archipelago and all southern and eastern provinces, an end to the plundering and theft of resources, and enabling the people of these provinces to manage their own affairs and benefit from their resources to improve services and achieve stability and development.