Saudi Forces Impound Yemen-bound Fuel Ship in Violation of UN Ceasefire

By Staff, Agencies

The Saudi-led coalition, in blatant violation of a UN-sponsored ceasefire agreement to end the tight siege and devastating military campaign against Yemen, banned a Yemen-bound ship carrying tons of fuel from docking at Hudaydah port.

Essam al-Mutawakel, a spokesman for Yemen Petroleum Company [YPC], said in a tweet on Monday that the Saudi-led coalition seized the ship named Princess Halima, which was carrying thousands of tons of diesel fuel, despite securing UN clearance.

Mutawakel added that the Riyadh-led military alliance forced the vessel to sail towards Jizan Port, which is Saudi Arabia's third largest, and impounded it there.

The latest incident brings to ten the number of fuel ships impounded by the coalition despite having undergone inspection, the senior Yemeni energy official noted.

Mutawakel stressed that the continued detention of Yemen-bound fuel ships will lead to substantial fines over lengthy delays in offloading the shipments, and will subsequently increase the suffering of the Yemeni nation.

The YPC spokesman held the Saudi-led coalition of aggression and the United Nations fully responsible for the adverse humanitarian and economic repercussions of the ongoing blockade.

The detention of the fuel ships and a blanket ban on their sailing towards the port of Hudaydah have further exacerbated living conditions in Yemen, Mutawakel pointed out.

Last month, the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said the extended UN-sponsored truce, running from August 2 to October 2, included a commitment from the parties to intensify negotiations to reach an expanded truce agreement as soon as possible.

Under the terms of the truce, commercial flights have resumed from the Yemeni capital of Sanaa to Jordan and Egypt, while oil tankers have been able to dock in the lifeline port city of al-Hudaydah.

Moreover, in line with the agreement, the coalition agreed to end its attacks on Yemeni soil and end a simultaneous siege that it has been enforcing against Yemen.

Yemen has, however, reported many violations of the truce by the Saudi-led forces.

Saudi Arabia launched the devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in collaboration with its Arab allies and with arms and logistics support from the US and other Western states.

The objective was to reinstall the Riyadh-friendly regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and crush the Ansarullah resistance movement, which has been running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Yemen.

While the Saudi-led coalition has failed to meet any of its objectives, the war has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.