Yemen: Situation Update

Yemen

Rome [ENA] On 3 September 2022 the Government of Yemen issued a statement on the Houthi’s obstruction of fuel entry into Hudaydah port. According to the Statement since 10 August 2022, The Houthi militias have been forcing companies and traders of oil derivatives to violate the established laws and mechanisms put in place to regulate the import of oil derivatives through the ports of Hudaydah and have been in effect since the announcement of the truce on 02 April 2022. This led to obstructing the entry of oil derivatives’ ships on a regular basis in accordance with the terms of the ongoing truce and created a manufactured fuel crisis.

The Government of Yemen has informed the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen and and the countries sponsoring the political process of the danger of the militias’ attempt to bypass the established mechanism in an effort to facilitate the import of smuggled oil and prohibited materials, and to enable the private companies affiliated with Houthi leaders to directly import fuel, as well as to revitalize the black market from which the Houthis profit substantially. The Government of Yemen affirms to the international community and all Yemeni citizens, especially those in areas under control of the Houthi militias, that there are no changes or special restrictions, neither old nor new, imposed

by the Government of Yemen on the import of oil derivatives through the ports of Hudaydah. The Government of Yemen further affirms that the laws and regulations governing the import of fuel remain the same since the announcement of the truce and that they are applied across all ports of Yemen. The Houthi militias are seeking to manufacture an artificial fuel crisis with the aim of pumping the stored quantities of oil derivatives that were imported during the truce, into the black market with the aim of profiteering and doubling its profits. During the truce, 35 fuel ships offloaded its cargo in the Hudayday port, representing all the companies that applied for entry permits during the truce and contained a total of 963,492 MT.

Despite the Houthi militias collecting all the revenues from Hudaydah ports, including taxes, customs fees and other revenues, they are creating this crisis to deprive the citizens of oil derivatives the same way they are depriving civil servants from their salaries as stipulated in the Stockholm agreement, violating the provisions of the ongoing truce, and paying no regard to the humanitarian consequences on the people of Yemen. The Houthi militias have consistently attempted to evade its obligations towards the ongoing truce, starting from its unjustified rejection to opening the roads and lifting the siege on Taiz in accordance with the terms of the truce, as well as disrupting the meeting of the military committee held in Amman under

auspices of the Office of the Special Envoy, and its recent attempt to block the last lifeline route to the City of Taiz by launching an attack on Al-Dhabab area, in addition to its flagrant violation of the Stockholm agreement and the truce by redeploying and mobilizing forces and holding military parades, the latest of which was held in Hudaydah, not to mention the daily military violations in Yemen, in which drones and ballistic missiles were used.

The Government of Yemen holds the Houthi militias responsible for any crisis resulting from the shortage or price hikes of oil derivatives and affirms to the people of Yemen and the international community its stern commitment to the terms of the truce; and calls for obligating the Houthi militias to end the manufactured crisis and stop its absurd practices of forcing companies and traders of oil derivatives to violate the established measures and regulations applied in all ports of Yemen.