Seiyun under the grip of Muslim Brotherhood repression: mass abductions of Transitional Council activists
Leaders and cadres of the Southern Transitional Council have been subjected to an unprecedented campaign of repression by forces affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood in the city of Seiyun, the capital of Yemen’s Hadramout Valley.
The escalation targeted leaders and activists from the youth movement and the Southern Transitional Council in retaliation for their participation in the “March of Steadfastness and Resilience” held two days earlier, which, according to observers, “triggered panic among the Muslim Brotherhood in Seiyun.”
Human rights sources said that more than 24 activists were arrested by Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated military forces between Friday and Sunday evening in the city of Seiyun.
According to these sources, the peak of the crackdown occurred on Sunday afternoon, February 8, when Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated military forces surrounded the home of young leader Bassem Jamaan Duwail in the Al-Suhayl neighborhood and arrested him following clashes with local residents.
The Muslim Brotherhood also raided the home of the head of the Seiyoun Center, leader Nasser bin Shaaban, who was arrested for having read the final statement of last Friday’s popular march.
On Sunday evening, Muslim Brotherhood forces stormed the home of journalist Amjad Yaslam Sabih in the city of Tarim at gunpoint. His fate remains unknown.
Sabih serves as director of the media department within the auxiliary executive body of the Transitional Council in the Hadramout Valley and Desert.
The Muslim Brotherhood crackdown began last Friday after a peaceful demonstration was dispersed using live ammunition. It later escalated into pursuits and abductions of protesters from the streets, home raids, and the encirclement of residential neighborhoods with armored vehicles, constituting a blatant violation of all international norms and laws.
A barbaric campaign
The Southern Transitional Council in the Hadramout Valley condemned the campaign, describing it as “barbaric,” and reported nighttime raids and the intimidation of civilians in Seiyoun.
The statement affirmed that “acts of repression and attempts to break the southern will will not deter our people from their legitimate struggle,” warning against the continued arrogance of the military forces.
It stressed that the policy of “iron and fire” would drag the Hadramout Valley toward dangerous outcomes, noting that “the popular anger simmering in people’s hearts could turn into open options that no one will be able to contain.”
The statement emphasized that “self-defense and the defense of land are guaranteed rights,” asserting that the people of the valley will not stand idly by in the face of violations of the sanctity of their homes. It held the military forces fully responsible for the safety of detainees and for every drop of blood shed as a result of this reckless escalation.
A war of repression
In this context, the acting head of the Southern Transitional Council in Hadramout Governorate, Ali Al-Jafri, warned of the serious repercussions of the ongoing war of repression, brutality, and abductions carried out by Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated forces of oppression and terror against citizens in the districts of the Hadramout Valley and Desert.
In a statement, Al-Jafri said that these aggressive practices are pushing toward a widespread southern popular uprising that would be difficult, if not impossible, to contain should such arrogance continue.
He condemned the systematic arrest campaigns targeting free citizens of the South in the valley, describing them as desperate attempts to intimidate the population and deter them from adhering to the “just cause of the southern people.” He stressed that the use of brute force and military power to terrorize civilians would only lead to a popular explosion and be met with broad movements and massive popular mobilization.
Al-Jafri concluded with an urgent appeal to the international and regional community, urging them to shoulder their moral and political responsibilities regarding the blatant violations suffered by civilians, and to intervene to deter the Muslim Brotherhood militias seeking to inflame the situation and override the firm popular will.
