Hadhramaut: Security forces attack fishermen in "Shihr" and prevent them from fishing near Al Rayyan Airport

Today, Saturday, security forces assaulted a number of fishermen in the Shihir area of Hadhramaut Governorate, southeast of Yemen, by beating them, and detained others, preventing them from fishing on a beach near Al-Rayyan Airport.

A fisherman told the Yemeni Youth Net website that a group of fishermen tried today to enter an area rich in fish wealth near Al-Rayyan Airport in Al-Mukalla, but security forces, who are said to receive their orders from Emirati officers, opened fire on them and assaulted some of them using rifle butts, and prevented them from entering the area.

The source added that the security forces arrested a fisherman named Sabri Dahdah and his son yesterday, Friday, and assaulted them before releasing them on Saturday evening. They also detained another fisherman named Mohammed Ghaleb Barashid for hours today before releasing him.

It is noteworthy that the fishermen of the Shihir area, affiliated with the Ghayl Bawazir Directorate, had announced last November the opening of the sea by force after eight years of the ban imposed by the UAE forces stationed at Al Rayyan Airport.

This came after organising protests and sit-ins to demand that they be allowed to return to fishing, which is their only source of income.

For about eight years, the UAE forces have imposed strict restrictions on the fishermen of Shihr, preventing them from fishing on the coasts of the region.

Fishermen also faced many violations and attacks during that period, which prompted them to escalate their protests in an attempt to regain their rights and livelihood.