News - Yemen: Several citizens were injured during angry protests on Socotra Island after being fired upon by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) militia.

Local sources reported that the STC militia used live ammunition against protesters during a nighttime demonstration in the city of Qalansiyah. The protest was organized by residents to denounce the catastrophic rise in fuel and essential goods prices. The gunfire resulted in multiple injuries among the demonstrators.

Socotra residents chanted slogans demanding the expulsion of the UAE occupation and its mercenaries from the island, holding Abu Dhabi fully responsible for the economic collapse, deteriorating living conditions, and lack of basic services.

The protesters also condemned the monopoly imposed by the Emirati company ADNOC on fuel distribution within the Socotra archipelago and called for a widespread popular uprising against the UAE occupation forces and their allied factions.

Since the onset of aggression against Yemen in 2015, Abu Dhabi has imposed complete control over the Socotra archipelago, looting its natural resources, including plants, animals, and marine wealth. The UAE has also reportedly turned parts of the island into military bases and colonies to serve the interests of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel.

Anger and popular discontent have been escalating across the southern and eastern provinces under occupation due to the collapse of essential services, including electricity. Residents blame the Saudi-Emirati-backed government for failing to provide fuel to operate power plants, leaving citizens to suffer under extreme summer conditions.

The Saudi-Emirati ambitions in Yemen have increasingly faced resistance, with Socotra becoming a focal point of anti-occupation protests. Demonstrations began earlier last year on the island of Socotra, followed by uprisings in Al-Mahra in July, where residents demanded sovereignty over their province and rejected foreign control. The protests later spread to Aden, where the UAE has stationed over 30,000 local fighters loyal to its agenda.

Analysts liken the growing resistance in Yemen’s southern provinces to the anti-British protests of the 1960s, which ultimately led to armed struggles and the eventual liberation of southern Yemen.