Yemen: Oil shipments to be allowed into Hudaydah

A number of ships carrying petrol will be allowed to enter Hudaydah port in Yemen in an effort to alleviate the humanitarian situation in Yemen, the government announced.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak took to Twitter to say: “The Yemeni government has again allowed a number of vessels carrying oil shipments to enter Hudaydah port with the aim of alleviating the current humanitarian situation.”

Bin Mubarak explained that this comes “despite the Houthis’ continuous violation of the Stockholm Agreement and their ongoing aggression on Marib,” in reference to the truce in Hudaydah in place since 2018.

The Yemeni minister did not mention the number of ships that were authorised for entry or other details.

On 14 April, the Yemeni government announced that a number of oil ships would be allowed to enter the port of Hudaydah for “humanitarian reasons”.

READ: Houthi leader dismisses US sanctions, warns of expanded attacks

In response, spokesman for the Houthi movement, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said in a tweet that “allowing the entry of an oil ship from time to time to confer a favour to the Yemeni people and consider it an achievement despite the violations is an unrivalled absurdity.”

Abdulsalam added: “The delivery of medications, food and oil derivatives to the Yemeni people is a guaranteed right without restrictions or conditions in all circumstances, and no barter or blackmail is accepted when it comes to human rights that are guaranteed to all human beings.”

This comes a day after the UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths called for removing the obstacles that prevent Yemenis from obtaining food and basic commodities

The Houthi-controlled areas suffer from an overwhelming shortage of fuel, with the movement accusing both the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government of confiscating oil ships and preventing vessels’ entry to the port.

The Yemeni government requires that all revenues of ships entering Hudaydah be deposited in a separate account that is not controlled by the Houthis, to be used to pay the salaries of civil servants throughout the county.

Yemen has been engulfed by war for nearly seven years, with more than 80 per cent of the population of about 30 million dependent on aid to survive what the UN has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.