Thirty homes were destroyed in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, after a fire broke out in a fuel depot belonging to the Iran-backed Houthi militias.
The depot was used to sell the fuel on the black market and is located in a popular neighborhood in western Sanaa.
Witnesses told Asharq Al-Awsat that the fire was not the first of its kind since the Houthis’ 2014 coup, but it was the largest.
Dozens of homes were affected, with some completely destroyed despite attempts by residents to contain the blaze, they added.
Witnesses in Sanaa said the depot belonged to Houthi member, Naji al-Hakem, who like other militant leaders, is active on the black market where the militias seek personal enrichment at the expense of the impoverished Yemenis.
The witnesses said the fire broke out in the al-Sneina neighborhood, sparking panic among the people and amid a lax reaction from the Houthi-controlled civil defense teams.
No casualties have been reported yet, according to Houthis sources that claimed that the fire was under control.
Sanaa residents have slammed the incident as yet another example of the Houthis’ looting of oil derivatives to sell them on the black market. They cited a recent fuel shortage, which they said was deliberately caused by the Houthis for their personal gain.
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani slammed the fire, accusing the Houthis of storing the fuel in a residential area, with total disregard to the danger posed to the people.
He confirmed in a tweet the massive damage caused by the blaze, saying it was caused by a leak in a tank that was being stored at the residence of a black market trader.
