Security and military forces prevent protesters from performing Friday prayers at Justice Square in Taiz

Yemen

Yamanat – Taiz

On Friday afternoon, December 19, 2025, security and military forces in the city of Taiz, southwest Yemen, prevented Friday prayers at Justice Square, in front of the Taiz Governorate Office, Jamal Street.

Since the morning, teams from Public Security, Rescue and Military Police have been deployed in the square, where the city’s residents have been accustomed to performing Friday prayers since the assassination of martyr Efthan Al-Mashahri on September 18, 2025.

Security forces forcibly dismantled protesters’ tents on Thursday afternoon, an hour after an explosive device detonated at the entrance to the headquarters of the Yemeni Islah party, near the sit-in square.

The family of Efthan Al-Mashahri and several families of victims of organized assassinations, perpetrated by military and security forces, are organizing a sit-in on Justice Square, in front of the governorate office, to demand that all the accused be brought to justice.

Protesters say that instead of prosecuting others accused of the killings and handing them over to court, the terrorist incident was exploited to disperse the sit-in by force, raising questions about what happened and the extent of its connection to the decision to disperse the sit-in.

Yemen