STC militia imposes illegal fees on gas tankers

ABYAN, March 15 (YPA) – Drivers of transport liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tankers ended their open sit-in at the Hassan checkpoint in Abyan governorate after several days of protesting the illegal fees imposed on the tankers by the militias of the  UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC).

The spokesperson for the protesting drivers, Houmi, said that the sit-in ended after discussions with the Yemeni Gas Company, represented by its director Mohsen Waheit, and an agreement was reached, the details of which have not been revealed yet.

Houmi pointed out that some of the checkpoint collection points in Abyan governorate were temporarily removed, but he clarified that the collection points extending from Safer to Shabwa governorate are still imposing illegal fees, which the drivers reject and are demanding to be permanently removed.

He added that the cost of one trip for a gas tanker from Safer to Aden reaches 375,000 riyals, which is forcibly collected by the checkpoints spread along the road, burdening the drivers and impacting the prices of domestic gas.

The tanker drivers had started their sit-in last week in protest against the continued imposition of fees, despite previous decisions to stop them, amid increasing demands for the concerned authorities to intervene and put an end to these practices completely.

@E.Y.M