ADEN — In Yemen's southern port city of Aden,
Nawfal Al-Mojamal struggles to keep Soviet-era machinery running at the main
power plant as electricity outages fray the nerves of residents already fed up
with poor services and political wrangling.
اضافة اعلان
Only two turbines out of five at the diesel-fired Al-Hasswa
plant are still running, producing up to 50 megawatts (MW) of power in a region
where the deficit hovers around 300 MW. Piles of trash make the building seem
abandoned and dust and diesel particles fill the air.
"In its 35 years of existence, Al-Hasswa station never
had any kind of maintenance, except in 2016 ... when the two turbines were
restored," Mojamal, the plant director, said.
Aden, the interim seat of Yemen's internationally recognized
government, has seen several protests after power outages disrupted water distribution,
aid supplies and medical services.
After a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia drove out the
Iran-aligned Houthi movement from Aden in 2015, the city remains on edge and
paralyzed due to a rivalry between the Saudi-backed government and Yemen's main
southern separatist group.
The Southern Transitional Council (STC), backed by the
United Arab Emirates, had twice seized Aden and other southern areas before
Saudi Arabia brokered a power-sharing deal to focus its feuding allies on the
battle against the Houthis.
In its fight for independence, the STC has created a
parallel administration by taking over several state buildings, and used the
collapse of public services to rally anti-government protests.
STC and government forces remain entrenched in their
positions in Aden despite a deal to redeploy troops under the Riyadh pact.
City on edge
Flags of the former state of South Yemen, which was reunited
with the North in 1990, flutter above Aden's dirt-strewn streets. At night, the
lack of street lighting compounds residents' fears over the fragile security
situation.
Private power generators whir in every neighborhood, despite
fuel provisions from Saudi Arabia for Aden's power plants. Car batteries are a
must in a household to keep the lights on.
Yemen's red, white and black national colors still fly over
Al-Hasswa power plant, one of the rare buildings in the city that is still
under the government control.
A new 240-MW power plant was completed this year but the
government says it still needs a degasification unit and grid installation. The
STC says the delays aim to punish southern provinces for self-determination
demands.
"Electricity comes for one or two hours and disappears
for 5 or six every day ... that disabled all the fridges and air-conditioners,"
said Fawzia Sayf Tabet a resident in her 50s.
The multifaceted war that has entered its seventh year has
crippled Yemen's economy and divided the country, with the Houthis holding most
big urban centers, and caused what the United Nations says is the world's
largest humanitarian crisis.
In March, dozens of protesters stormed a presidential palace
in Aden demanding payment of public sector salaries. The economic crisis has
been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.
"We have an electricity problem but we also have a
salary problem, we haven't been paid for eight months now," said Shaheem
Abdullah Mastour, a government employee.
Saudi mediation
To contain rising tensions, Saudi Arabia this week hosted
talks between officials from Abd-Rabu Mansour Hadi's government and the STC to
implement the pact first agreed in 2019.
While a new cabinet was formed that includes STC members,
both sides have yet to withdraw troops outside Aden and neighboring Abyan
province.
"Hopefully, we will also agree on people to appoint as
governors for the southern provinces," said a Hadi government official who
declined to be named.
Riyadh cannot afford a new frontline in the south as the
coalition battles the Houthis in Marib, the government's last stronghold in the
north.
The United States and the United Nations are pushing for a
nationwide ceasefire needed to revive stalled negotiations to end the war. The
STC wants to include self-determination for the south in the talks.
But Western powers fear any breakaway movement would prolong
instability, sources close to the discussions told Reuters.
"The
United States and its allies, including
Saudi Arabia, have told everyone who wants to hear that an independent state in south
Yemen will not be tolerated," said one of the sources.
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