Marib plunges into darkness amid worsening service, living conditions

MARIB, Aug. 31 (YPA) – Activists have released shocking video footage highlighting the scale of the worsening services crisis in the city of Marib, which is under the control of the Saudi-backed Islah Party.

In a video circulated late Sunday, they said Marib was being plunged into darkness due to power outages, while the Islah authorities had also cut off fixed-line internet services. He pointed to shortages of cooking gas and rising fuel prices as further burdens on residents.

The activists described the city as having effectively become a large prison for its residents, saying living conditions had reached a critical and tragic level.

The Islah Party controls Marib city as well as the Safer oil and gas facilities, whose revenues are estimated in media reports at nearly 1.5 trillion Yemeni riyals annually, including around 280 billion riyals from gas revenues at present.

The Party has been accused of diverting revenues from the Safer facilities to serve organizational interests, distributing portions among some of its leaders while failing to provide even basic development services for the people of Marib. It has also refused in recent years to transfer the share of the Saudi-backed Shaya Al-Zindani government to the Aden-based Central Bank account.

AA