Houthi blackmail the United Nations of Sanaa airport
English - Monday 07 September 2020 الساعة 05:07 pm
Sanaa, NewsYemen, Exclusive:
On Sunday, the Houthi militia announced in Sana'a its intention to close Sanaa International Airport to international flights and international organizations during the next few days, due to what it said was "the depletion of the amount of oil products allocated to the airport."
The Houthi militia hinting at the closure of Sanaa airport in the face of international flights came at a time when Sanaa and its neighboring provinces are witnessing a remarkable recovery in the black market for oil derivatives.
On a large scale, stations for filling petroleum products from the black market have spread on the streets and roads of the capital, Sanaa, at prices ranging from 8,000 to 9,500 riyals, for 20 liters of petrol, in exchange for a reduction in filling times at the stations of the oil company at a price of 5900 riyals for 20 liter.
Abdulbaqi Sharaf, a retailer, considered the Houthi militia's hinting to close Sanaa International Airport to UN flights and international organization flights as mere blackmail in the context of what he described as the group’s common conflict and corruption with international organizations on many issues related to food and medical aid, as well as oil derivatives.
In his interview with "NewsYemen", Abdulbaqi believes that if the Houthi militia were keen to reduce the burden on the citizens and eliminate the crisis, it would allow tankers of oil derivatives coming from the southern and eastern governorates to enter Sanaa and unload their shipments at prices compatible with the global decline in the oil market.
He pointed in this context to the Houthi militia's insistence on waiting for Hodeidah port ships that belong to Houthi leaders that trade in oil derivatives, because they feed the black market with these materials, considering the increase in the appearance of the black market in the recent period as the best proof of that.
Meanwhile, the government's Economic Council accused the Houthi militia of fabricating the crises of oil derivatives to strengthen the black market and achieve financial profits, noting that "the Houthis' promotion of the black market in the fuel trade led to an increase in its value in their areas of control by more than 150% of the normal price."
A recent report by the Economic Council said, "Yemen's imports of fuel increased during the last period by about 13% compared to the period of the previous year 2019 - a total of 3,260,443 tons, the share of the areas under the control of the Houthi militia was about 53%, with an amount of 1,742,991 tons."
The report pointed out that imports of fuel that entered the Houthi-controlled areas "through the port of Hodeidah amounted to 73% of that quantity and through land roads at a rate of 27%."
Earlier, the Yemeni government confirmed its keenness to facilitate the arrival of oil derivatives through the port of Hodeidah, despite the Houthi coup militia violating the mechanism previously agreed upon with the Office of the United Nations Secretary-General's Envoy to Yemen, by withdrawing more than 40 billion riyals of oil derivatives revenues from the special account in the central bank branch in Hodeidah designated for the payment of civil servants' salaries throughout Yemen.
The Houthi militia refuses to enter oil derivatives trucks coming from the southern and eastern governorates, the owners of filling stations told Newsyemen that they would contain the oil derivatives crisis and reduce the burden on citizens in terms of low global selling prices.
A specialized parliamentary committee in Sana'a noticed that the oil company in Sana'a was closing some stations and still had quantities of petroleum products available in light of the continuing queues of citizens' cars in front of those stations, which implicitly means the oil company’s involvement in stoking oil derivatives crises in Sanaa and the neighboring provinces. .
A parliamentary report indicated a remarkable spread of the black market through the presence of large quantities of petroleum products being sold in the neighborhoods and streets of the capital.
The report accused the oil company run by the Houthi militia of misleading parliament and public opinion, and providing false information about the number of filling stations and hours of operation.
