Fuel shortages hit Socotra

SOCOTRA, Jan. 25 (YPA) — The Yemeni Island of Socotra is grappling with severe household gas and fuel shortages, despite media reports highlighting the arrival of the first shipments of Saudi fuel intended to operate the archipelago’s power stations.

Petroleum products are almost entirely unavailable on Socotra, with 20-liter barrels fetching more than 100,000 Yemeni riyals on the black market, as residents face shortages of essential supplies.

The crisis emerged after the UAE withdrew its fuel stations and storage facilities from the archipelago amid a power struggle with Saudi Arabia, exacerbating the population’s hardships and leaving the island in a deep living crisis, while Saudi authorities are accused of failing to provide meaningful solutions.

According to sources in Socotra, the fuel received as part of the Saudi “grant” is minimal and falls far short of the media hype, with large parts of the island still without power.

@E.Y.M