Coalition-backed loyalists kill Yemen protesters demanding end of 'Saudi occupation' in Mahra province

Yemeni soldiers allied with a Saudi-led coalition have killed at least three protesters and injured four at a demonstration in the eastern province of Mahra.

The New Arab's Arabic-language service reported on Wednesday, citing local sources, that the troops opened fire on dozens of protesters demanding the end of Saudi military presence in the region.

Initially two were reported killed but sources told the service another died of wounds sustained in the shooting later.

Mahra residents have been holding demonstrations for months against what they call Saudi military occupation of the area.

The governor of Mahra, Rageh Bakrit, said on Tuesday that a security checkpoint was attacked by gunmen and warned that "anyone threatening stability would be dealt with firmly".

Sources told  Al Jazeera that Bakrit ordered security forces to open fire at protesters and that Riyadh sent military reinforcements to the region this week.

Nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the Saudi-led coalition joined the Yemen conflict in 2015 to bolster President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, triggering what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Earlier this year, protests broke out on the Yemeni island of Socotra over the UAE's growing influence on the island, leading some islanders to accuse the Gulf state of "occupying" the world natural heritage site.

The UAE is a major pillar in a Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's rebels known as Houthis.