The National Issues and Transitional Justice Working Group has resumed discussions on the topics of torture victims and political conflicts. The subjects were raised by a paper on the same topics which was earlier submitted to the group by activist and journalist Abdulkarim Al-Khaiwani.

On Monday, the Working Group welcomed a group of displaced citizens from Al-Ja’ashen village in Ibb governorate. They too submitted a paper for the group’s perusal.

In the paper, the suffering and difficulties of the displaced persons was described in detail. Many of their problems were attributed to the confiscation of their land by Sheikh Mohammed Mansour, who they claimed had sent loyal tribesmen to terrify local citizens and vandalize properties.

The paper also included a demand that the issue of displaced persons from Ja’ashen and the surrounding area be solved at the NDC. Other demands included the re-establishment of law and order in the area and the confiscation of weapons which are presently in civilian hands.

In response, members of the working group called for the accused sheikh – in addition to others involved with the matter - to be summoned and investigated in light of the displaced persons’ complaints.

Earlier, Afrah Al-Zouba, Deputy Secretary General of the NDC, urged the working group to accelerate the development of its executive plans, and also for the group’s committees to complete plans for field visits to target areas.

“The group can decide which governorates and who exactly should be targeted during field visits which are scheduled to begin next week,” she added.