War Makes Life Costlier in Yemen: Houthis Raise Petrol Price by 10%, First Time in Four Years

Families in Sanaa are bracing for higher food and transport prices, after the first fuel price rise in four years. On Monday, the Houthis announced an increase of about 10 percent in the price of petrol — from 4,750 to 5,250 Yemeni rials (from about $8.90 to $9.80) per tank, in the areas they control, Al Jazeera reports.

Ahmed Yahya, 28, a taxi driver in Sanaa, says that until the start of the week he paid 4,750 rials to fill his tank. “When I heard the announcement of the new fuel price, I was shocked and disappointed. We are barely surviving, and this increase will make survival even harder,” he said, describing the rise as another “painful surprise for an already devastated people” after years of economic misery.

The Houthis’ capture of Yemen’s southern Red Sea coast last week, as well as attacks on Saudi Arabia, played a major role in the price rise, according to Al Jazeera.

The increase hits a country where 18 million people already face acute food shortages, and is expected to make the food supply chain and public transport more expensive in one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Source: Al Jazeera