Painful images: Saudi Arabia pushes Aden back to the age of donkeys and camels for fetching water and firewood

ADEN, Aug. 28 (YPA) –Life in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden has returned to the Middle Ages due to Saudi policies, as a deepening services crisis has compounded residents’ suffering and forced many to search for firewood and water.

Activists circulated shocking images of a camel pulling a cart loaded with firewood for cooking through residential neighborhoods in Aden, underscoring the scale of the humanitarian deterioration amid what residents describe as a “war on services” and a systematic starvation policy imposed by the Saudi “Special Committee,” which oversees Aden and other southern and eastern governorates.

The severe cooking gas shortage gripping Aden and surrounding areas has worsened after the Safer Gas Company in Islah-controlled Marib reduced daily allocations by 6,000 barrels, equivalent to 20 tankers, without explaining the move.

The cooking gas shortage coincides with rolling blackouts exceeding eight hours daily. The power cuts have crippled municipal water pumps, compelling households to haul water on donkeys amid worsening living conditions and three consecutive months of unpaid public sector salaries.

Political figures and activists from Aden and surrounding areas have accused Saudi Arabia’s “Special Committee” of deliberately weaponizing basic service shortages against the southern population to force submission and suppress growing calls to end foreign tutelage and interference.

@E.Y.M