Hadramout (South24) 

Hundreds of protesters in the city of Seiyun of Wadi Hadramout, South Yemen, organized a peaceful protest to demand improvement in services and living conditions and the departure of the Northern forces from their region. 

A protest march took place, in which banners directed to the Saudi-led Coalition and the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) were raised, to the government complex in the city of Seiyun, amid the deployment of the forces of the First Military District (FMD).

Activists published pictures showing an armored vehicle belonging to the FMD in Seiyun streets, coinciding with the start of the peaceful protest event's participants arriving at the Martyrs' Square.

The closing statement of the event demanded the removal of the FMD forces, most of whose members belong to North Yemen, and the deployment of the Hadrami Elite Forces in Wadi and Desert Hadramout.

The statement also called for harnessing the oil-rich resources of Hadramout to provide electricity and other services, improve living conditions and pay salaries.

The closing statement said: "We demand the declaration of self-administration for the Hadramout governorate and the cessation of the supply of the governorate's revenues to the Central Bank of Yemen."

The statement called on the PLC to assume its responsibilities regarding the service and economic deterioration, to stop the collapse of the local riyal currency, and to put pressure on the government to carry out its duties.

The statement threatened to continue the "peaceful escalation until the demands are met."

In a related context, a number of tribal sheikhs in Hadramout governorate sent a letter to Saudi Arabia and the PLC, in which they expressed their rejection of the discussions of a delegation from the governorate that arrived last May at the invitation of Riyadh.

The letter, a copy of which was shown to "South24 Center", said that the discussions "were limited to one component and political and social spectrum only, and it does not reflect all the people of Hadramout."

The Hadrami delegation arrived on May 20, at the invitation of Saudi Arabia, to discuss political, security, social and economic aspects of Hadramout governorate, according to what was announced at the time.

The delegation, led by the Governor of Hadramout, discussed many axes. The results of these discussions have not been announced in detail yet. The delegation also met European ambassadors.