SANAA, Yemen, April 14 (NNN-SABA) – Yemen is facing severe fuel shortage and rising food prices, and the crisis is crushing the starving population.
The United Nations is struggling to save a peace deal, seen as a hope to end the country’s four-year civil war, which is grinding into its fifth year and has pushed more than 20 million to the brink of famine.
Frustration is growing in the rebel-held capital Sanaa, as the crisis is deepening pains of the residents.
Moftah Mohammed, a taxi driver, said he had been queuing for four hours, to reach the gasoline pump.
“I’m working with a school and I need to fill my car’s tank in order to transport the students … Yesterday I was waiting in line for more than five hours and when I approached the fuel pumps, they said the gas ran out,” he complained.
Abu Qaid Hatim, also a taxi driver, said, he has to wait in the long queue to fill his tank, so he can work and earn cash for his children.
“We want to live a normal life … I hope the fuel crisis and war end very soon,” he added.
Thousands of state employees have turned to work as taxi drivers, to make a living and feed their families after being unpaid for nearly three years.
The fuel crisis in Sanaa was not the first of its kind. The crisis has hit the country repeatedly.
According to local authorities, only two petrol stations were open in Sanaa this week, while nearly 200 others ran out of fuel. Queues of waiting cars extend to more than three miles (4.83 km) in front of fuel stations.
Many drivers return home with empty tanks. Thousands of vehicles died off the road. They have either to wait two to three days in front of petrol stations or buy the fuel from black market for double the price.
Ibrahim al-Khayat, an official at the Houthi-controlled oil ministry, said, the reason behind the fuel crisis is that, “nine oil tankers were denied clearance to enter Hodeidah port.”
However, the Yemeni internationally-recognised government said, it had permitted some oil tankers, which submitted “required documents on their shipments,” while some other oil shipments did not provide the “necessary documents” to get clearance to enter the port.
The ongoing fuel crisis also disrupts functioning of hospitals in the rebel-held cities, which depend on generators, normal transportation, humanitarian aid and food relief.
Fears soar that the fuel crisis could trigger another wave of cholera epidemic, which threatens the lives of millions of severely malnourished children.– NNN-SABA
