The Houthi militia closes the large stations of the government company in favor of the black market
English - Wednesday 28 October 2020 الساعة 06:27 pm
Sanaa, NewsYemen, Exclusive:
The Houthi militia, the Iranian arm in Yemen, suddenly stopped the stations belonging to the oil company, most notably Al-Namothijya station on 60th Street in the capital, from work since Monday, October 26.
Sources in the militia-controlled oil company told Newsyemen that despite the entry of a ship carrying petrol to the port of Hodeidah, and the company’s announcement that it had begun distributing quantities of gasoline to the markets, including the capital, Sana’a, with the aim of easing the crisis that has been going on for several months, the Houthi militia stopped operating Al-Namothijya station despite that it is the largest and most important station that supplies citizens with petrol in the capital, Sana'a, due to the large tanks and the presence of a large number of (pumps) in it compared to the rest of the stations.
The sources attributed the reason to the Houthi militia’s deliberate prolongation of the oil derivatives crisis as part of its systematic policies to fabricate crises and turn them into a means to punish citizens and preoccupy them with pursuing the requirements of their daily lives and not allowing them to take political positions against the injustice, violations and thefts practiced by the militias on a daily basis.
According to the sources, the militias seek to provide an opportunity for the expansion and spread of the black market to sell oil derivatives, which has become one of the means used by the militias to reap profits in the hundreds of millions, confirming that the militia leaders have imposed on black market traders to pay a percentage on each can of petrol or diesel they sell in exchange for allowing them to practice sale process without any harassment.
The sources indicated that the sums imposed on black market merchants by the militias differ according to the situation of the merchant and the extent of his possession of quantities for sale on the black market, so the more the merchant smuggled in large quantities, he paid a higher financial percentage.
Since the emergence of the oil derivatives crisis in the capital, Sanaa and militia-controlled areas, Houthi leaders hastened to talk about their efforts to fight the black market and their commitment to providing oil derivatives within a policy of what it called austerity, but it soon stopped the measures that it had started against black market traders and allowed them to practice their work in broad daylight.
The black market merchants are present in every part of the capital's streets and practice selling at high prices without any oversight.
The militias has made agreements with black market traders to pay money in exchange for allowing them to work.
Indeed, sources confirm that many black market traders in the capital are agents who work for leaders in the Houthi militia that exploit the oil derivatives crisis to gain and profit and reap tens and hundreds of millions.
