The Yemeni government calls for international pressure on the Houthi militia to stop its ongoing violations against traders

The Yemeni government called on the international community to exert real pressure on the Houthi militia to stop its ongoing violations against traders in areas under their control.

This came in a statement by the Minister of Information, Muammar Al-Eryani, on the X platform, in which he warned against the Iranian-backed terrorist Houthi militia imposing more illegal taxes, levies and fees on merchants and citizens, to increase its revenues, direct them to enhance its combat capabilities, and finance its terrorist activities that destabilize regional and international security and stability.

Al-Eryani said that these levies would exacerbate the catastrophic economic situation in areas controlled by the Houthi militia and increase human suffering.

The Minister explained that the private sector has been subjected to continuous extortion and harassment by the Houthi militia, through the closure and confiscation of hundreds of companies, factories and commercial establishments, the imposition of arbitrary and illegal levies, fees and fines, the detention of goods at ports, their disposal and sale, and the imposition of price lists, which led to the bankruptcy of companies and traders, the exodus of national capital outside the country, and the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, as part of its plan to erode the private sector and eliminate well-known commercial houses, in favor of companies and investors affiliated with it, with the aim of controlling the commercial sector and controlling the national economy.

The Minister recalled what was reported by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network ( FEWS NET ) on food security in the country, which said that the Houthi authorities continue to intensify their efforts to increase revenues and replenish depleted cash reserves through taxes imposed on imported goods.

The network confirmed in a recent report that "as of September 1, the Houthi authorities in Sana'a have significantly increased taxes on imported clothing, shoes and bags, with taxes now being imposed in the amount of 30 million Yemeni riyals (in the old currency, the dollar is equal to about 536 riyals) per commercial truck, which represents a 50 percent increase compared to 20 million Yemeni riyals per truck in 2023 and a 200 percent increase compared to 10 million Yemeni riyals per truck in 2022."

The network pointed out that "in areas controlled by the internationally recognized government, official taxes on similar commercial trucks are 97 percent lower, amounting to one million Yemeni riyals per truck in the equivalent currency."

She stressed that the Houthi authorities "continue to prevent the movement of all commercial goods into their territories that were imported through ports controlled by the internationally recognized government, in an attempt to redirect imports through Red Sea ports."

Minister Al-Eryani called on the international community, the United Nations and its special envoy to take urgent action to stop this systematic exploitation of economic sectors, and to pressure the Houthi militia to stop targeting national companies and turning them into illegal financing tools for its terrorist activities.

He also called for classifying the Houthi militia as a "global terrorist organization", and for calls to be strengthened to freeze its assets, prosecute its leaders before international courts, dry up its sources of funding, and redirect wasted revenues to pay state employees' salaries and improve the living conditions of Yemenis.