The areas under the control of the Houthis in Yemen live under the weight of a new fuel crisis that affects the lives of citizens, who face one of the worst humanitarian and economic crises in the world.
Residents in Sana’a told Al -Jazeera Net that the gas stations are witnessing unprecedented crowding, with the emergence of a black market at a double price as a result of the lack of supply.
This crisis came with the decline in the amount of fuel in the areas under the control of the Houthis, which consumes more than half of the oil derivatives that reach Yemen.
This decline is caused by the decline in the quantities of fuel that arrives in the country after the destruction of the Ras Issa oil port in Hodeidah Governorate, with American raids on April 17.
Black queues and market
Helmy Al -Haidari, a taxi driver in Sanaa, says that the fuel crisis has greatly affected his work and income, especially with the lack of salaries and the decline in the movement of the market as a result of the economic recession.
He added to Al -Jazeera Net that the fuel crisis “forced us to stand in a queue for two days, and when our turn reaches, we are given only 40 liters of gasoline for 10 days, and the station takes the car data and places it in a device and is generalized on all stations.”
“This system makes us restricted to this amount for 10 days without the ability to fill from another station, which is absolutely insufficient to continue our work, we need 20 liters every day.”
He pointed out that the gasoline gallon (20 liters) is sold for 9,500 riyals (the dollar equals 535 Yemeni riyals), and this crisis led to the emergence of a black market without queues, as fuel is sold for twice the amount.
“With this crisis, the business appears to be stagnant and the private transportation fee is rising. Many citizens are traveling in public buses because of the taxi licenses, which made our lives more complicated.”
In turn, the citizen residing in Sana’a, Ghaida Abdullah, says that the capital has been in a major fuel crisis for days, amid a state of discontent with citizens.
She added to Al -Jazeera Net that the crisis complicated the lives of the residents, especially taxi owners, and motorcycles used in abundance in transporting passengers, whose owners are counting many families.
She pointed out that as a result of the fuel crisis, some streets have become almost empty, with a noticeable decline in the movement of vehicles throughout the capital.
Emergency plan to manage the crisis
The Houthi group approved this crisis, and attributed this to what it described as the American aggression that destroyed the port of Ras Issa’s oil, through which fuel is imported.
“In light of the emergency developments, we had to activate the emergency plan at gas stations, with the aim of managing the stock currently available temporarily,” said the Yemeni oil company – which is run by the Houthis in Sana’a -.
She added in a statement: “This procedure comes as a result of the continued brutal American aggression that targeted the vital facilities of the company in Ras Issa Port in Hodeidah Governorate on April 17.”
The company warned that despite the gravity of the damage, the technical team managed to restart the facilities in the port in just 5 days, and to resume work in them, before it was exposed to another series of raids on April 25, which led to their out of service again, she said.
She added, “Just one day, the American aggression targeted the same facilities, forcing the ships on the sidewalks to retreat to the port of the port.”
The future of the crisis
There is no clear horizon on the path of the fuel crisis, but its causes lies in destroying the port of Ras Issa and targeting ships in it, according to observers.
Rashid Al -Haddad, an economic researcher in Sana’a, said that there are a number of ships in the port of Ras Issa, one of which was damaged in an American raid after the crew of a Russian ship attempted to unload the oil shipment in the port.
A week ago, the Russian embassy in Yemen – through a statement – announced the injury of 3 of its citizens, who were among the crew of the ship Sevin Pearls, during a American raid that recently targeted the Ras Issa oil port in Hodeidah Governorate.
In an interview with Al -Jazeera Net, Al -Haddad attributed this crisis to “the American aggression that tried to stop all commercial, economic and service activities in the governorates under the control of the Ansar Allah movement.”
He accused America of using the fuel sheet against Sana’a in an attempt to tighten pressure on it to settle the negotiating table after they rejected several American offers over a month and a half of the start of the US President Donald Trump’s administration against Yemen.
On his view of resolving the fuel crisis, Al -Haddad pointed out that the ceasefire agreement between Sanaa and Washington included stopping the attacks on ships, and this agreement will reopen the ports, enter oil derivatives and end the crisis, a solution related to the extent of America’s commitment to its implementation.
The Yemeni researcher believes that there is an American desire to avoid the repercussions of its “aggression” and its blockade of Yemen, especially since the Houthis previously announced the ban on the passage of American crude oil in the scope of their operations in the Red Sea, in addition to the hinting of Sana’a to raise the level of economic escalation against the interests and chains of American supply.
In a sudden development of the conflict’s path, the United States announced, on Tuesday evening, its strikes against the Houthis in exchange for the group to stop targeting its ships in the region.
At a press conference with the Canadian Prime Minister, Trump announced an agreement with the Houthis, which stops targeting ships in the Red Sea in exchange for the US Air Force stopping them.
In turn, the Houthi group said – in more than one statement – that “the agreement excludes the conflict with Israel, confirming the continuation of its support operations to Gaza,” which means that if the Israeli aggression continues to the ports of Yemen, the fuel crisis may increase.
