Yemenis in Sanaa and other Houthi-held towns have been suffering from a shortage in oil byproducts for three weeks in a row due to a crisis generated by the Iran-backed coup militias. The oil crisis had hit vital sectors and paralyzed them.
While the fuel crisis has largely impacted the livelihoods of thousands of Yemenis, Houthis continued their policy on profiting from selling oil on the black market and saving large stocks of it to give to its loyalists and to pump into its war effort.
Yemen's Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani warned against the social repercussions entailed if Houthis continue to propagate the fuel crisis.
The Yemeni minister, in official statements, referred to video footage documenting hundreds of oil convoys being seized and held by Houthi gunmen.
“The fuel crisis generated by the Iranian mercenaries (Houthi militias) is aimed at blackmailing the international community to achieve political gains. It also targets the savings of Yemenis living in areas of their control and looks to revive the black market,” al-Eryani said.
He demanded the international community and the United Nations to stand against Houthi practices given that they fall under a policy of impoverishment and starvation of the public.
Al-Eryani called for pressuring Houthis into allowing the flow of humanitarian relief such as food aid and oil byproducts into areas of their control.
Informed sources in Sanaa reported that most private and governmental sectors in the Houthi-held capital and other cities have become almost paralyzed as a result of the militia-instigated fuel crisis.
While most of the stations in Sanaa are struggling to find fuel, a source working for the militia-controlled oil company revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Houthi group had allocated stations to supply the cars of its leaders and loyalists with fuel without trouble or hardship.