صراط عشق صراط عشق
SANA’A (Dispatches) – UAE-backed southern separatists in Yemen have seized a consignment of billions of riyals intended for a bank in Aden, in a further attempt to wrench control from the Saudi-backed militants since declaring “self-rule” in the south in April.
Forces loyal to the so-called Southern Transitional Council (STC) commandeered the convoy bearing the cash as it left the port, a statement by Saudi-backed militants said, warning of “dangerous consequences”.
The convoy was carrying 64 billion riyals in banknotes printed for the Yemeni bank in Russia, a source said. Another source said the cash was taken to a military base in what he said was “piracy”.
“The action is part of several measures to end sources of corruption and to prevent the use of public money in supporting terrorism,” the STC said in a statement.
This bold move could threaten a fragile peace between the STC and the Saudi-backed regime, nominal allies in a war against the Houthi Ansarullah movement.
The regime and the STC signed an agreement last year to end their power struggle in the south, but the parties failed to implement the deal on the ground.
The STC accuses the Saudi-backed regime of mismanagement and corruption, a charge it denies.
The Aden bank did not disclose how much money was taken.
The war in Yemen has devastated the economy and caused severe inflation in the long-impoverished country which is grappling with what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
The U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past five years.
The Saudi-led coalition launched more than 20 airstrikes in the Yemeni central province of Marib on Saturday, two local government security sources said.
Forces loyal to the so-called Southern Transitional Council (STC) commandeered the convoy bearing the cash as it left the port, a statement by Saudi-backed militants said, warning of “dangerous consequences”.
The convoy was carrying 64 billion riyals in banknotes printed for the Yemeni bank in Russia, a source said. Another source said the cash was taken to a military base in what he said was “piracy”.
“The action is part of several measures to end sources of corruption and to prevent the use of public money in supporting terrorism,” the STC said in a statement.
This bold move could threaten a fragile peace between the STC and the Saudi-backed regime, nominal allies in a war against the Houthi Ansarullah movement.
The regime and the STC signed an agreement last year to end their power struggle in the south, but the parties failed to implement the deal on the ground.
The STC accuses the Saudi-backed regime of mismanagement and corruption, a charge it denies.
The Aden bank did not disclose how much money was taken.
The war in Yemen has devastated the economy and caused severe inflation in the long-impoverished country which is grappling with what the United Nations describes as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
The U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past five years.
The Saudi-led coalition launched more than 20 airstrikes in the Yemeni central province of Marib on Saturday, two local government security sources said.
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