Aden government doubles its economic war on Sana’a by taking a new pressing step concerning mobile phone companies.

NYN | Reports and analyses:

In line with decisions to relocate the headquarters of commercial banks from Sana’a to Aden, the Aden government has taken a new economic step to pressure the Sana’a government by increasing pressure on mobile phone companies based in Sana’a to urgently relocate to Aden.

A memo from the Ministry of Telecommunications in the Aden government stated that mobile phone companies must quickly transfer their main offices “technically, financially, and administratively” from Sana’a to Aden, threatening punitive measures against companies if they do not comply with the memo.

This comes about a week after the Central Bank in Aden—run by the Aden government—announced the suspension of Al-Tadhamon Bank, Yemen Kuwait Bank, Yemen Bahrain Bank, Al-Amal Microfinance Bank, Al-Kuraimi Islamic Microfinance Bank, and Yemen International Bank, urging non-cooperation with them. This followed a decision made two months ago to relocate commercial banks from Sana’a to Aden within a two-month deadline.

Additionally, it announced the cessation of dealing with the old currency, urging “all individuals, shops, companies, and other entities and financial institutions holding old paper currency from before 2016 in various denominations to deposit them within a maximum of sixty days.”

The leader of the Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, had warned Saudi Arabia in a televised speech last Thursday that: “The Americans are trying to entrap them into pressuring the banks in Sana’a,” considering it an “aggressive step and a dangerous game,” adding: “I advise the Saudis to be cautious of being trapped by the Americans to serve the Israeli enemy,” explaining that “targeting banks in Sana’a is an economic aggression.” He said: “If the Saudis get involved to serve Israel, they will find themselves in big trouble.”

In a speech the day before yesterday, al-Houthi renewed his warning to Saudi Arabia, saying: “Any party that the Americans involve to serve Israel, taking steps that are aggressive towards our dear people to serve the Israeli enemy, will face a reaction from us, and we will not stand idly by in the face of threats to our people’s economy or military.”

The American agency “Bloomberg” reported last Thursday that the decision of the Aden government to relocate commercial bank headquarters from Sana’a to Aden was made under American guidance, adding that the economic war against the Sana’a government or what they called “the Houthis” by targeting the banking sector in their areas aims to pressure the forces of the Sana’a government to stop their attacks on Israeli navigation.

The report confirmed that Washington informed the parties in Yemen, including Saudi Arabia, that the main elements of the UN-led plan committed to in December could not proceed unless the “Houthi group” ended its hostile maritime campaign against Israeli ships.

Bloomberg’s report warned that suspending the peace agreement could break the fragile two-year truce and ignite new ground fighting between the warring factions in Yemen, potentially drawing Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries like the UAE into a new Middle Eastern conflict that would be hard to stop.

According to “Bloomberg,” the American decision regarding the UN peace plan in Yemen coincided with the Central Bank in Aden taking a series of measures against banks located in “Houthi”-controlled areas in northern Yemen, including the capital Sana’a.

Bloomberg quoted four people “directly familiar with the situation,” saying: “The Central Bank’s move is supported by the United States and Western allies, and likely received implicit approval from the Saudis, who fund the Aden government and its central bank,” according to the report.

Bloomberg quoted a US State Department official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirming that President Joe Biden’s administration supports peace in Yemen. But he emphasized that the agreements related to the so-called UN roadmap could only proceed if the Houthis stopped their Red Sea attacks, which ostensibly began in November to pressure Israel to end its war in Gaza, according to the US official.

The US Ambassador to Yemen, Steven Fagin, said during a seminar held by the Washington Institute for Policy Studies at the end of last May that: “The Yemeni government will not sign a peace agreement that gives the Houthis the upper hand, with their continued access to weapons, ballistic missiles, and drones,” considering it “impossible.”

He added: “The peace roadmap presented by Saudi Arabia to the United Nations is not an agreement in the literal sense, but a first step on a long road to reaching a solution. This roadmap, if we are realistic, will not be applicable in the near term, considering the Houthis’ intentions and motivations, and also considering the complexities of this conflict. Therefore, we must not rush, nor build unrealistic expectations.”

He continued: “I can say now that we are far from achieving that fundamental solution, but we are working on creating transitional arrangements, by taking steps to facilitate the peace process,” without specifying the nature of those arrangements, although observers said at the time that they are related to economic pressures to be exerted on the Sana’a government.