Saudi-Emirati Occupied Al-Mukalla Witness Popular Protests, Power Outage

Angry protesters set fire, Sunday, to the main gate of Al-Mukalla State Radio, located in Al-Salam neighborhood, in protest against the power outage. Dozens of protesters in the city of Mukalla closed roads and set fire to rubber wheels, objecting to the continued power outage, high prices, and deteriorating economic and living conditions.

The Hadhramaut Coast Electricity Corporation accused the US-Saudi aggression of cutting off service to the city of Mukalla, blaming the so-called “legitimate government” located in Riyadh and the Saudi-backed militants responsible for running out of fuel.

The Coast Electricity indicated that the trucks carrying diesel fuel subsidized by the Petromasila company were stopped and their access to the power stations was prevented, warning that the entire electrical system would be out of service.

It attributed the power outages to the neglect of the coastal electricity by the government of the so-called “Muin Abdulmalik” and the competent authorities, which it did not name.

It is noteworthy that the city of Mukalla is under the control of the so-called “Hadrami Elite” of the UAE-backed Transitional Council, and also controls its airport and oil port (Al-Daba port).

For its part, occupied southern governorates are witnessing a tragic situation, high crime levels, currency deterioration, and rising prices. They have witnessed protests and sit-ins during the last period, due to the worsening humanitarian and economic conditions.

The Yemeni riyal exchange rates continued to deteriorate significantly against foreign currencies in the occupied governorates, as the exchange rate of one US dollar exceeded the barrier of 1500 riyals, in Aden and Hadramout provinces, while remaining stable at 602 riyals  in governorates under the Salvation Government rule.

The deterioration of the local currency comes as a result of the pro-Saudi government printing one trillion and 800 billion riyals of illegal currency without a cash cover last year, in addition to its acquisition of all fuel revenues in the southern governorates, and their transfer to a special account with the National Bank in Riyadh.