Hundreds of Yemenis protest against al-Qaeda militants

Hundreds of Yemenis on Saturday staged a protest in al-Mukalla, a city of the southern province of Hadhramaut, against the presence of al-Qaeda-affiliated militants in the city.

The demonstrators, who toured some of the streets of the city, chanted slogans against the presence of militants from the al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia group in their city.

They accused the militants of looting shops and terrorising residents, saying the militants were no longer welcome in the city.

Amateur video from the scene claimed to show dozens of Yemeni men inside a mosque in the city, apparently expelling men with links to Ansar al-Sharia.

Ansar al-Sharia overran Al-Mukalla on 2 April. At the time, Ansar al-Sharia militants reportedly seized arms and sites left behind by the Yemeni army.

This was the second protest to be held in Hadhramaut against al-Qaeda.

Yemen has been in turmoil since a popular uprising in 2011 forced ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down a year later.

On 25 March, Saudi Arabia and allied Arab states, including the UAE, Jordan, Egypt and Sudan, started airstrikes against the positions of Houthi militias across Yemen.

The Houthis seized control of the capital Sanaa in September of 2014 and moved on to control other provinces.