Aden - (Xinhua) - The Houthi group in Yemen today (Sunday) began working on an "emergency plan" to distribute oil derivatives in Sana'a and areas under their control, while the Yemeni government accused the Houthis of fabricating a fuel crisis.

The oil company in Sana'a, which is under the control of the Houthis, said in a statement that the contingency plan includes work in 17 fuel stations only, of which 6 stations are within Sana'a, and the rest are in other governorates under the group's control.

The company determined the quantity sold at "40 liters" for each car, provided that work is done according to an automated system through the vehicle's license plate numbers.

The company has also set working hours at refueling stations to eight hours per day in two shifts, four hours in the morning and the same in the evening.

The Yemeni Oil Company in Sana'a announced yesterday (Saturday) the implementation of the "emergency plan" starting this morning, accusing the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia of seizing nine ships of oil derivatives, which, according to the company, caused a supply crisis.

The company's spokesman said in a press statement that the company "has resorted to working with the emergency plan, starting today, in order to ensure that the material is delivered to all citizens and manage the remaining stock, as a result of the aggression (referring to the coalition) holding nine ships of derivatives in violation of the armistice, and this caused a supply crisis." in petroleum derivatives.

Eyewitnesses told Xinhua today that long lines of citizens' cars were seen in front of refueling stations in the streets of Sana'a.

On the other hand, the internationally recognized Yemeni government called for an end to this "artificial crisis", stressing that "there are no old or new special restrictions imposed on oil derivatives to the ports of Hodeidah" in the west of the country.

A statement by the Yemeni Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "There are no developments or special restrictions, old or new, imposed by the government on oil derivatives to the ports of Hodeidah," noting that "the procedures are the same that have been dealt with since the beginning of the truce declared on April 2, 2022." And they are exactly the same procedures applied in the rest of the republic's ports.

The statement accused the Houthi group of forcing companies and traders of oil derivatives since the tenth of last August to "violate the laws in force and the mechanism in force to import oil derivatives through the ports of Hodeidah since the announcement of the armistice, which leads to obstructing the entry of oil derivative ships on a regular basis in accordance with the terms of the current armistice and creating an artificial crisis in the region." fuel".

The statement added, "The Yemeni government has informed the UN envoy and the countries sponsoring the political process of the seriousness of the militia's attempt to bypass the established mechanism, which aims behind it to facilitate the import of smuggled oil and the entry of prohibited materials and to enable private companies affiliated with the Houthi leaders to import fuel directly, in addition to restarting the black market that earns money." The Houthis have a lot of money behind them.

The statement indicated that "the Houthi militia seeks to create an unreal oil derivatives crisis with the aim of pumping the stored quantities of oil that were entered from the beginning of the armistice as commercial quantities, to the black market in order to double the group's profits from it."

He pointed out that "35 ships were unloaded in the port of Hodeidah, which are all ships that submitted their requests during the period and carry an estimated quantity of derivatives of 963,492 tons."

The Yemeni government held the Houthi group responsible for any crisis due to the lack or high prices of oil derivatives, stressing at the same time its commitment to the terms of the armistice.

In its statement, it called on the Yemeni government to "commit the militias to end the artificial crisis and stop absurd practices to force derivatives companies and traders to violate the legal procedures followed in all Yemeni ports."

The United Nations has been sponsoring a truce in Yemen since the second of last April, and it has been extended twice, as it continues until the second of next October
The armistice agreement included allowing oil derivative ships to enter the port of Hodeidah, which has been under Houthi control since late 2014.