Local Editor
Banks and exchange companies in Yemen's Aden city will be shutdown from Monday, suspending all financial services in protest of armed robberies and demanding protection from the regime’s security forces.
The managers of more than 12 commercial banks and other financial companies urged the leadership of the country's central bank and the Saudi-backed regime forces to provide more protection.
A copy of the letter received by Xinhua Sunday also demanded the security forces in the city to arrest those involved in the armed robberies as a pre-condition to reopen the financial work in the city.
Last week, three people were killed and five others injured when gunmen stormed the National Bank's branch in Aden.
A source close to the province's police chief, said eight masked militants attacked the bank; first four gunmen wearing military uniform broke into the building, then four other gunmen started shooting randomly.
"All eight attackers escaped and three of the bank's security guards were killed while workers were evacuated to a safe place," he added.
"The gunmen armed with silenced weapons opened fire directly on the head of the bank manager who refused to follow the attackers' instructions and open the safe," the source said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the armed robbery attack, but al-Qaida gunmen and other terrorist groups have recently increased their attacks across Aden.
The southern port city of Aden is the headquarters of resigned President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his regime.
Aden witnessed several well-planned assassinations and armed attacks after Saudi-backed forces drove the Houthi rebels out from the strategic city in July 2015.
Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active regional Al-Qaida insurgencies in the Middle East.
The Yemen-based Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), also known locally as "Ansar al-Sharia," emerged in January 2009, and has claimed responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks against Yemen's army and governmental institutions.
The AQAP and the IS-linked terrorists took advantage of the security vacuum and the ongoing civil war to expand their influence and seize more territories in southern Yemen.
Security in Yemen has deteriorated since March 2015, when war broke out between the Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and forces loyal to Hadi backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
