Fourth Day of Rage: The Al-Mashhari Storm Hits the Brotherhood in Taiz
Mass protests continued on Sunday in Yemen’s Taiz province, condemning the crimes of the Islah Party, the Muslim Brotherhood’s local branch, the latest of which was the assassination of Iftihan Al-Mashhari.
Al-Mashhari, a Yemeni social activist and academic who headed the Taiz Cleaning and Improvement Fund, was gunned down by armed men on a motorcycle in the city center. Initial investigations suggest her killing was linked to disputes with powerful figures whose interests were harmed by her reform efforts and anti-corruption measures.
The demonstrations, now in their fourth day, were held in response to calls from political parties and families of victims slain by gunmen loyal to Islah. Protesters condemned the organization’s crimes against defenseless civilians and demanded justice.
Thousands of people from both Taiz city and surrounding rural areas flooded into Wadi Al-Qadi and Gamal Abdel Nasser Street, marching toward the headquarters of the Brotherhood-affiliated party to demand the handover of Al-Mashhari’s killers and those responsible for other victims murdered by Brotherhood militants.
The demonstrators chanted slogans denouncing the security breakdown gripping Taiz, accusing the Brotherhood of shielding murderers whose hands are stained with the blood of dozens of civilians.
For more than four hours, they shouted: “Leave, gang of thugs… you’ve turned Taiz into ruins,” rejecting the Brotherhood and framing the march as a popular referendum against turning Taiz into a battleground for eliminating opponents.
The city had already been shaken last Thursday by the assassination of Al-Mashhari, which triggered a wave of public outrage.
For four consecutive days, protesters have blocked major streets and roads in Taiz, calling on Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council and government to take urgent action to end the assassinations and chaos plaguing the province for years.
Yemeni political activist Mohammed Al-Huraibi said: “Today’s mass protests express solidarity with the families of victims who lost their loved ones and demand that the killers be handed over to justice.”
He noted that “the catastrophic security failure in Taiz has allowed assassinations to proliferate at the hands of gangs operating with impunity under the protection of institutions controlled by the Brotherhood.”
Al-Huraibi urged the authorities to take swift and firm measures to apprehend the criminals, restore state authority, and uphold the rule of law — including arresting those involved in Al-Mashhari’s assassination.
Political activist Abdel Halim Sabr added: “Taiz has not witnessed anything like this in decades — such momentum, such anger, such unity against the gangs of looting, killing, and destruction that have robbed the city of its identity.”
He stressed that “the people’s mobilization is a referendum, and the Presidential Leadership Council must choose between standing with the people or accommodating the gang,” in reference to the Brotherhood.
