
(Photo credit: Reuters)
On 16 June, Deputy Foreign Minister of Yemen, Hussein al-Ezzi, announced that Sanaa is willing to reconsider their stance on the extension of the UN-brokered ceasefire, which was based on the “serious promise” that the Saudi-led coalition will allow Yemen to increase the number of international flights from the country.
تم القبول بتمديد الهدنة بناءا على وعود جدية بتوسيع عدد الرحلات وإحراز تقدم في موضوع المرتبات وللأسف إلى حد الآن لم يتم الوفاء حتى بعدد الرحلات السابقة(أي رحلات ما قبل تمديد الهدنة)
إنه إخلال واضح وجسيم وأعتقد عدم المسارعة لتصحيح هذا الخلل سيعطي لصنعاء كامل الحق في مراجعة موقفها— حسين العزي (@hussinalezzi5) June 15, 2022
The Saudi-led coalition has violated the ceasefire numerous times this week. On 16 June, the coalition seized a Yemeni fuel tanker, containing thousands of tons of fuel, making this seizure their second violation of the ceasefire in just 24 hours.
According to spokesman for the Yemeni National Oil Company, Essam al-Mutawakil, the tanker had obtained necessary permits from the UN. However, that did not deter the coalition barring the ship from docking at Yemen’s western port of Hodeidah.
Alahednews reported that Al-Mutawakil said: “Persisting in its breaches of the ceasefire, the Saudi-led coalition captured a fuel tanker carrying 30,148 tons of gasoline, and would not allow it to enter Hodeidah port, despite the tanker having all the required permits from the UN.”
In a similar development, on 14 June, the Yemeni Petroleum Company (YPC) said that the Saudi-led coalition had refused to authorize the Princess Halima fuel tanker, which was carrying 23,920 tons of gas to anchor at Yemen’s western port, and was eventually seized by the coalition navy.
On the same day, the Saudi Presidency of State Security announced that “eleven entities and eight individuals” were blacklisted for their ties with Yemen’s popular Ansarallah resistance movement.
“In line with the law on combating terrorist crimes and its financing, all assets belonging to the 19 designated individuals and entities will be frozen. All transactions with them, whether directly or indirectly, are prohibited,” Saudi state security officials announced via a statement.
According to The Saudi Press Agency (SPA), those blacklisted are all headquartered in Yemen, and involved in activities that facilitate Ansarallah’s financial services.
SPA claims that some of these individuals and companies have links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and have allegedly played a part in facilitating the passage of Iranian fuel into Yemen.
In March this year, the YPC revealed that Yemen was experiencing its most severe fuel crisis since the start of the Saudi-led war seven years ago.
With the support of its regional allies and most NATO member-states, Saudi Arabia has been waging a brutal war on Yemen since 2015.
Alongside destroying Yemen’s infrastructure and killing hundreds of thousands, the Saudi-led war has been accompanied by a severe air and naval blockade that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
According to the UN, more than 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million who are suffering extreme levels of hunger.