In Video: Marib merchant’s outcry highlights six years of night curfew restrictions

MARIB, May 21 (YPA) – A wave of frustration has spread among business owners in Marib over the continued enforcement of nighttime shop closures by the Islah Party-held local authorities, a policy that traders say has been in place for six years under the justification of a curfew.

Merchants argued that the restrictions had severely damaged commercial activity, with some warning of growing bankruptcy risks and the departure of many investors and shop owners from the city.

In a widely circulated video, one trader described the nightly closure policy — enforced at midnight — as one of the longest-running curfew measures affecting the commercial sector.

The trader affirmed that businesses had hoped to recover losses during the Eid al-Adha shopping season after years of financial pressure linked to taxes, utility costs, customs fees, and other levies.

He also argued that Marib’s desert climate and extreme daytime temperatures make evening hours essential for commercial movement and consumer activity.

Local traders have called on authorities to temporarily ease the nighttime restrictions during the Eid period, warning that continued closures threaten livelihoods and further weaken the city’s struggling economy.

AA