Riyadh cancels fuel grant for Aden electricity

ADEN, Feb. 17 (YPA) – Saudi Arabia on Thursday canceled an emergency fuel grant en route to the port of Aden in a move that could deepen the crisis with the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council  (STC) , the city’s de facto authority.

Sources at the port revealed that the cancellation of the Saudi program docked a ship carrying a quantity of fuel for the electricity sector in the port of Aden following an attack by STC gunmen at the gate of the port of Aden on Saudi officials who were on their way to receive the shipment.

Informed sources pointed out that the STC’s prevention of officials from entering the port prompted Riyadh to cancel the shipment, pointing out that this step by the STC came in protest against cutting the salaries of its forces.

Saudi Arabia recently stopped granting private fuel to Aden electricity due to the STC’s reluctance to pay its exorbitant costs.

It was not clear whether the ban on Saudi officials in charge of the King Salman relief program was in response to Saudi Arabia’s decision to disable the port or a natural reflection of anger over the delay in the arrival of  the fuel in light of the suffering of the people, but its timing indicates the widening of the crisis between Riyadh and the STC.

E.M