The human rights activist and Nobel Peace laureate Tawakkol Karman has condemned the burning of Yemeni Islamic Islah Party’s headquarters in Aden after being stormed by militants likely loyal to the separatist southern movement, describing the incident as “a reprehensible act of terrorism.”

"The storming and burning of the Islah-Party’s headquarters in Aden are intended to restrict freedoms in the country and silence free voices calling for Yemen's independence and sovereignty over all of its national territory," Tawakkol Karman said on her official Facebook page.

In a statement issued after targeting its facility, Yemen’s most widespread political party, Islah, said that gunmen wearing military uniforms carried by three vehicles broke into its headquarters last night. 

After spraying bullets and throwing hand grenades through the main gate, the attackers broke into the main office rooms and set fire to them using gasoline they took with them, according to the statement.  

The fire, the statement adds, caused considerable material damage and a state of panic among citizens living in neighborhoods adjacent to the headquarters. 

The main member of Yemeni Joint Meeting Parties, in its statement, considered the incident a miserable and reprehensible act reflexing a criminal mentality that is no different from what is being done by the coup’s militias led by ousted president and the Iran-backed Houthi militia.