News - Yemen: The people of Socotra have complained about the continued deterioration of the living situation due to the high prices of all goods and service fees, which have increased since the UAE-backed "transitional" militia took control of the island.

The people of Socotra explained that the rise in prices has become their most prominent daily concern, especially since they suffer from poverty and unemployment, stressing that the UAE and the so-called "transitional council" are the cause of that suffering.

They pointed out that the Emirati Khalifa Foundation, which controls all economic activities on the island, sells relief aid provided to the people at exorbitant prices.

They explained, the "Dexim Power" company, which monopolizes the electricity sector in the Yemeni island, has raised the selling price of billing tariffs significantly, and that it only accepts payment in UAE dirhams.

Recently, the Ministries of Human Rights and Social Affairs and Labor held a press conference on the severe deterioration of the living situation as a result of the siege of the US-Saudi aggression on Yemen.

"The siege of US-Saudi aggression caused the suspension of the salaries of more than one and a quarter million government employees," the Ministry of Human Rights, Ali Al-Dailami, said.

Al-Dailami pointed out that the continuation of the siege has caused the cost of living to rise by more than 90% than it was before the aggression as a result of a serious deterioration in the level of income. He explained that the US-Saudi aggression prevented more than 40,000 traditional fishermen from practicing the fishing profession on the coasts of the Red Sea.

Al-Dailami pointed out that the blockade has caused families to be unable to obtain sufficient financial resources for basic needs, at a rate of more than 92% of the population. He stressed that half of the number of children in Yemen under the age of five are at risk of acute malnutrition, after the number of injured reached nearly 2.3 million children.

Al-Dailami indicated that the blockade suspended the provision of truce agreement on flights to and from Yemen and Egypt, and during the truce period, flights through Sana’a airport contributed only 2% of the total patients in need of treatment abroad.

Saudi Arabia, backed by the United States and regional allies, launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, claiming the goal of bringing the government of former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi back to power.

The US-Saudi aggression continues to target neighborhoods and populated areas and destroy the infrastructure and capabilities of the country, in light of a suspicious international silence.

The war has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead and displaced millions more. It has also destroyed Yemen’s infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases there.