A Saudi newspaper: The Houthis are working to redraw the borders that separated the south from the north
English - Monday 22 February 2021 الساعة 02:32 pm
Aden, NewsYemen:
Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper, Saudi Arabia, said on Sunday that the Houthi militia, Iran's arm in the country, is working hard to redraw the borders that separated the south from the north.
The newspaper indicated that, after the Houthis stormed the Yemeni capital Sanaa in September 2014 and seized power, the leader of the group, Abdul Malik Al Houthi, told the United Nations envoy at the time that they would take the north as the right of the group, and then they would negotiate the south.
The newspaper adds: While the group then embarked on the adventure of storming the southern governorates of Yemen, it is now, after six years of war, working hard to redraw the borders that separated the south from the north, before the establishment of the Republic of Yemen in 1990.
Residents told Asharq Al-Awsat that the militias began constructing an administrative building for Al-Dhalea governorate in Damt district, which was part of the Ibb governorate, and is considered the closest directorate to the previous border line, at a time when the group is desperate to keep confrontations in this area, three years after the attack on This corridor aims to close the main commercial road that connects the north with the south to the port of Aden.
The same applies to the borders of Al-Dhalea governorate with Taiz governorate, where the group attacked Al-Hasha district, which was part of Taiz governorate, and militias were stationed on the outskirts of this directorate at the eastern border previously, and did not attempt to advance towards any neighboring area.
In Lahj governorate, the militias, after their expulsion from Aden governorate, were keen to concentrate in the former border areas, such as Haifan district, which forms the closest border point with Lahj governorate, as well as in Al-Bayda governorate with Abyan governorate, where they are stationed in Mukairas and Aqbat Thara district, which are the former border areas When Yemen was two countries.
Now that the militias have pushed all their forces towards Marib Governorate, the quest to complete the drawing of the border borders is not far from this adventure, which also hopes from behind it to control the oil and gas sources, the main electricity station, and reach the former border areas in the governorates of Hadramout and Shabwa.
The group accompanied all this by imposing two editions of the national currency, and this was reflected in the telecommunications companies that separated their accounts in the north from the south, and no consumer in government-controlled areas can no longer pay phone or internet bills for any phone in militia-controlled areas.
In the commercial sector, after the militias imposed two editions of the local currency, one of which allowed circulation in the north, and prevented the circulation of the new edition circulating in the governorates under the control of the legitimate government, customs barriers were created at the entrances to their areas of control, through which they compel merchants to pay additional customs duties, other than They paid in the ports of the legitimate government
The group also stops the goods at these outlets for a period of ten days to two weeks under the pretext of transferring samples from them to Sana'a for examination, and to ensure that they conform to the specifications, even though these goods were entered in an official way and the Standards and Metrology Authority undertook to examine them, and make sure that they conform to the specifications, and their owners paid customs duties Legally approved.
According to what a senior official in the Sana'a Chamber of Commerce told Asharq Al-Awsat, as a result of these practices and the closure of the main roads linking the ports of Aden and Mukalla with militia-controlled areas, the cost of transporting goods increased by up to 100 percent of the cost of shipping from the country of origin to Yemeni ports.
"If the fees for transporting the container from China to Aden were one thousand dollars, the costs of transporting it to the north would reach two thousand dollars," the official said.
The militias also issued a decision to prevent cars and tankers carrying license plates issued from the southern governorates from crossing or touring in their areas of control except after paying additional customs fees, as they created large detention sites in the governorates located on the contact areas with the control of the legitimate government.
The group's delegates intercept these cars and take them into custody, and they are not allowed to leave until after the customs duties are paid again, despite the aggrieved party's lawsuit and the Administrative Court issued a ruling that this step is illegal.
