UAE moves to control Yemen’s oil, internet and transport

The United Arab Emirates is taking advantage of its role in the Saudi-led Arab coalition to control the economy in Yemen and expand its political influence in the interim capital of Aden and other areas controlled by the government.

“The UAE is fighting a war against the internationally recognised government and is trying to undermine its efforts to provide services which have led to their deterioration, especially in the sectors of electricity, water and fuel, which have witnessed a suffocating crisis. It also delays the salaries of public employees by preventing the arrival of shipments of new cash,” government sources told the London based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed news site.

The UAE is the second largest country in terms of air force participation in the Arab coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen. After retaking Aden in mid-2015 from the Houthi forces, the UAE strengthened its presence in the city.

A senior government official Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that, “the essence of the crisis between the UAE and the Yemeni government is linked to the UAE’s efforts to control the most important economic sectors including the monopoly of oil derivatives, mobile communications, internet and transportation in Aden and other areas under government control”.

The UAE is reported to have pressured the former governor of Aden, Aidarus Al-Zoubaidi,  to hand over delivering oil derivatives to an Emirati company instead of the Arab Gulf company owned by Ahmed Al-Issa which the UAE accuses of belonging to the Islamic Reform Party.

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