Domestic gas crisis sparks angry protests in Saudi-influenced Hadramout

HADRAMOUT, Aug. 22 (YPA) – A worsening domestic gas crisis sparked on Saturday angry protests in Mukalla, the capital of oil-rich Hadramout province, after the price of a gas cylinder reached unprecedented levels amid severe shortages.

Residents took to the streets, blocking major roads with empty gas cylinders to protest the worsening crisis, with prices exceeding 25,000 Yemeni riyals, which equals $105.45, and supplies largely unavailable on the market, further deepening the hardship faced by residents.

Protesters condemned the inaction of the Saudi-backed government and local authorities in Hadramout, demanding measures to ease the crisis and calling for the removal of Governor Salem al-Khanbashi, who was appointed by Riyadh.

The protesters also accused Saudi Arabia’s Special Committee and the Islah Party of contributing to a series of ongoing crises, including electricity and water outages and the severe shortage of domestic gas, amid deteriorating living conditions and continued salary disruptions.

Meanwhile, the gas company in Marib’s Safar area, which is controlled by the Islah Party, allocated four gas tankers per day to Hadramout after announcing last Tuesday that it had reduced the company’s production quota by 6,000 barrels per day without providing a reason.

The acute domestic gas shortage has spread across oil-rich Hadramout and as far as Aden and other Saudi-controlled provinces, with residents facing prolonged searches for gas and long queues outside filling stations, sometimes for several days, without managing to obtain a single cylinder.

AA