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Houthis Close Gas Stations, Boost Black Market

Fuel sold in Sanaa via street vendors (EPA)
Fuel sold in Sanaa via street vendors (EPA)
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Houthis Close Gas Stations, Boost Black Market

Fuel sold in Sanaa via street vendors (EPA)
Fuel sold in Sanaa via street vendors (EPA)

Fuel prices tripled in Yemeni areas held by coup militias following Houthi orders to shutdown official gas stations and to drive up the value of the black market. What further aggravated the crisis was the allocation of available fuel stock for the insurgency’s war effort.

Seeking to bolster the oil black market, Houthi militias have been responsible for triggering a fuel crisis back in June.

This has doubled the suffering of Yemenis who have to endure poor living conditions while Houthis also violated the agreement achieved on the policy of importing fuel to Hodeidah ports.

Houthis have raided the private bank account which receives port revenues in the coastal governorate.

Yemeni locals in Sanaa and other Houthi-held cities complained to Asharq Al-Awsat about the surging oil prices at the black market which has expanded greatly over the recent period.

A 20-liter canister of fuel now runs for 20,000-28,000 Yemeni rials, registering an approximate 10,000 Yemeni rials increase from September.

A US dollar sells at approximately 600 Yemeni rials.

The surge has exacerbated the already tragic living, humanitarian and health conditions suffered by Yemenis who accused Houthi leaders of directly being responsible for driving the prices of oil up.

Residents in Sanaa, Ibb, Dhamar, Amran, Hajjah, Al Mahwit, and Rayma governorates, all of which fall under Houthi control, have blasted Houthi militias for generating a crisis that spilled over into the basic commodities and services sectors.

They also renewed their accusations of Houthi militias stockpiling fuel that is enough to satisfy market needs for months to come.

The hike in oil prices has trickled down to disturb other vital social sectors in Houthi-held areas, such as public services, health, electricity, and transportation.

Houthis continue to tighten their hold on fuel supplies to strengthen their market monopoly and drive prices up and down as they please. They also have secured dominance over the oil black market.

This is in line with the Iran-backed group’s longtime policy of exploiting oil and gas by products in areas under their control.

Prices have seen a gradual increase since early June, 2020.

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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah

Cyprus stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war, the top Cypriot diplomat said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own past experience both with helping rid Syria of chemical weapons 11 years ago and its own ongoing, decades-old search for hundreds of people who disappeared amid fighting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s and a 1974 Turkish invasion, The AP reported.

Cyprus in 2013 hosted the support base of a mission jointly run by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove and dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.

“As a neighboring country located just 65 miles from Syria, Cyprus has a vested interest in Syria’s future. Developments there will directly impact Cyprus, particularly in terms of potential new migratory flows and the risks of terrorism and extremism,” Kombos told The AP in written replies to questions.

Kombos said there are “profound concerns” among his counterparts across the region over Syria’s future security, especially regarding a possible resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS in a fragmented and polarized society.

“This is particularly critical in light of potential social and demographic engineering disguised as “security” arrangements, which could further destabilize the country,” Kombos said.

The diplomat also pointed to the recent proliferation of narcotics production like the stimulant Captagon that is interconnected with smuggling networks involved in people and arms trafficking.

Kombos said ongoing attacks against Syria’s Kurds must stop immediately, given the role that Kurdish forces have played in combating extremist forces like the ISIS group in the past decade.

Saleh Muslim, a member of the Kurdish Presidential Council, said in an interview that the Kurds primarily seek “equality” enshrined in rights accorded to all in any democracy.

He said a future form of governance could accord autonomy to the Kurds under some kind of federal structure.

“But the important thing is to have democratic rights for all the Syrians and including the Kurdish people,” he said.

Muslim warned that the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani, near Syria’s border with Türkiye, is in “very big danger” of falling into the hands of Turkish-backed forces, and accused Türkiye of trying to occupy it.

Kombos said the international community needs to ensure that the influence Türkiye is trying to exert in Syria is “not going to create an even worse situation than there already is.”

“Whatever the future landscape in Syria, it will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the region, the European Union and the broader international community,” Kombos said.