Press conference for government agencies most affected by lack of oil derivatives

The Deputy Prime Minister for Services and Development, Dr. Hussein Maqboli, held the United Nations fully responsible for the environmental and health disaster caused by the blockade and the detention of oil derivatives vessels.

“The continued detention of oil derivatives vessels threatens to have catastrophic consequences for various sectors, especially the health sector, power plants and the suspension of hygiene,” Maqboli said at a press conference in Sana’a on Tuesday.

“We are on the verge of a real and major disaster because of the detention of oil derivatives ships by aggression and its unjust blockade for five years,” he said. “Demanding the lifting of the blockade of hodeidah port, which has no legal justification.”

The Deputy Prime Minister for Services and Development noted that the United Nations had become a partner and accomplice to the aggression in the detention of oil derivatives vessels. He pointed out that the detention of oil derivatives and preventing them from entering ports is a war crime against humanity.

“We are surprised that the United Nations has reneged on its commitments, so we hold it fully responsible for the health disaster that threatens the Yemeni people, especially in the midst of the outbreak of the Corona pandemic,” he said.

Dr. Ali Jahaf, undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for the therapeutic medicine sector, said all hospitals in Yemen rely mainly on oil derivatives and within days may be closed and turned into first aid facilities.

The continued detention of oil derivatives vessels would compound the suffering and portend a real catastrophe, he said.

“We have 3,500 patients in dialysis centers that rely on laundry and are at risk of dying within days if the washing machines are cut off due to lack of fuel,” he also said.

Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Water and Environment Abdul Salam al-Hakimi said the amount of water expected to be affected by the lack of oil derivatives is about 500,000 cubic liters, more than eight million people will be affected and nearly 23,000 water and sanitation projects will be halted as a result of the lack of oil derivatives.

The director general of the General Telecommunications Corporation, Engineer Sadiq Musleh, stressed that without oil derivatives, the foundation cannot continue to provide telecommunications services to the Yemeni people.

Many telecommunications sites are about to run out of derivatives, he said, as sites in Amran and Dhamar have begun to leave service.

Khaled Rashid, director general of the General Electricity Corporation, said power plants that run drinking water and sanitation are at risk of being shut down within days.

He noted that 165,000 kilowatts are threatened with suspension. The aggression coalition and the United Nations were held fully responsible for a disaster achieved within days.

Walid al-Wadeai, head of the General Authority for The Regulation of Road Transport Affairs, said more than 80,000 cargo carriers and 70,000 transport vehicles will stop due to the lack of oil derivatives.

Agricultural products would be piled up and damaged by the lack of transportation as a result of the detention of oil derivatives vessels, he said.

The General Union of Traders and Importers of Petroleum Derivatives issued a statement condemning the continued aggression in the detention of oil derivatives vessels and preventing their entry into the port of Hodeidah. He said this would lead to catastrophic repercussions and increase the suffering of the Yemeni people.