Tarim: Angry protests cut off int’l road to Oman denouncing collapse of services

HADRAMOUT, June 09 (YPA) – Residents of the city of Tarim in Hadramout Governorate blocked on Tuesday evening the international road linking Yemen and the Sultanate of Oman using rocks and burning tires.

This angry escalation comes in protest against the collapse of basic services and the worsening electricity crisis that has been ongoing since 2016.

The uprising in Tarim is part of a wave of popular demonstrations hitting Aden, Mukalla, and Sayoun for the third consecutive day. Protesters are demanding radical solutions to the power crisis and a reversal of the fuel price hikes imposed by the Saudi-backed government.

Protesters demanded price controls on basic commodities, which have surpassed citizens’ purchasing power amidst the local currency’s deterioration, reaching 409 Riyals against the Saudi Riyal.

The demonstrators have given the Saudi-backed authorities a three-day ultimatum to respond to their demands, emphasizing the peaceful nature of their legitimate movement while keeping all options open if their deteriorating living conditions continue to be ignored.

This escalation coincides with severe tensions following the killing of two protesters and the wounding of another by the bullets of the Saudi-backed “Dera Al-Watan” and “Emergency” forces in Aden and Sayoun on Monday.

In this context, politicians in Aden and the other southern and eastern governorates accused Saudi Arabia of pursuing a policy of “systematic collective punishment” by withholding fuel from power plants to impose its agendas, pushing power outages past 17 hours a day amidst scorching summer temperatures.

YPA