Rising Fuel Prices Stoke Tensions In S. Yemen

ADEN (Yemen), May 21 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Yemen's government on Thursday raised petrol prices amid worsening fuel supply pressures and rising import costs, triggering protests as public anger deepened over deteriorating living conditions and prolonged electricity outages.

The decision increased the price of a 20-litre jerrycan of petrol from 29,500 Yemeni rials (about US$19) to 36,000 rials, a local official at the state-run oil company in Aden confirmed to Xinhua.

Hours after the increase took effect, demonstrations erupted in the southeastern oil-producing province of Hadramout, where residents blocked roads and burned tyres to protest worsening services, recurring blackouts and the growing fuel crisis.

Local activists said security forces later moved to disperse protesters and opened fire following the demonstrations. No casualties were immediately reported.

Despite being one of Yemen's key oil-producing regions, Hadramout has witnessed growing public frustration in recent months over declining public services and worsening economic hardship.

Local officials linked the latest fuel price increase to mounting supply difficulties and rising global fuel costs driven by ongoing regional instability.

In the southern port city of Aden, where the Saudi-backed Yemeni government is based, frustration has continued to grow amid worsening economic conditions and electricity outages that residents say now last up to 18 hours a day in some districts.

Petrol remains a vital commodity across Yemen, powering transportation, private electricity generators, water pumps and much of the country's commercial activity amid the collapse of public infrastructure caused by years of conflict.

Yemen's conflict began in late 2014, when Houthi forces seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the Yemeni government.

The prolonged conflict has devastated the country's economy and infrastructure, contributing to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, according to the United Nations. 

--BERNAMA-XINHUA