Harsh fuel crisis in the Houthi-controlled governorates
Long lines of automobiles and vehicles in front of gas stations resurfaced at Sana’a’s oil derivatives stations, which are controlled by the Houthi militia, Iran’s arm in Yemen, signaling a new crisis that exacerbated civilians’ agony.
The Houthi oil derivatives issue occurred a month after the UN ceasefire began, under which the coalition agreed to let oil derivatives into the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah.
Despite the continued regular arrival of oil derivatives ships to the port of Hodeidah at a rate of two ships per week, Yemeni Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani believes the Houthi militia is creating a new crisis as “a continuation of its approach of trading in the the the suffering of citizens and restricting their livelihoods.”
In a press statement issued Tuesday evening, Al-Eryani said that the number of oil derivatives ships that unloaded their cargo in the port of Hodeidah from April 1 to May 8 reached (10) ships loaded with (268,911) metric tons, plus a ship loaded with (60,000) metric tons of diesel, quantities that exceed the actual needs of the Houthi militia-controlled areas for three months.
Yemen’s Minister of Information urged the international community, UN, and US envoys to denounce the terrorist Houthi militia’s activities, which are exacerbating millions of people’s suffering, and to void the UN truce’s text.
He also called for pressure on the Houthi militia to use income from oil derivatives to pay state employees’ salaries.
This manufactured crisis will intensify civilians’ poor living conditions, which are already onerous due to the ongoing conflict, the Houthi militia robbing employees’ wages for the eighth year in a row, rising unemployment, and a shortage of revenue sources.
Yemen’s Foreign Minister, Ahmed bin Mubarak, accused the Houthi militia of impeding the UN truce, saying that the militia aims to “collect money to support the war machine and enrich its commanders at the price of torturing the Yemeni people.”
During the two months of the cease-fire, the Houthi militia “reaps 90 billion Yemeni riyals from oil derivatives and evades the duty to pay employees’ wages,” according to Bin Mubarak.
