Yemen Monitor/Newsroom
On Tuesday, heavy rains in Aflah ash-Sham district of Hajjah Governorate caused significant material damage to farms and property.
Local activists shared photos and videos of the devastating floods, including the destruction of citizens’ gold mills.
Residents attribute the destruction of the mills to the heavy rains that caused flash floods in the district’s largest wadi. They claim that dozens of gold mills were swept away or buried, along with agricultural land and vehicles.
Residents allege that the Houthi-controlled branch of the Geological Survey Authority in the governorate forcibly seized the mills from citizens last year, placing them in the path of the wadi and deliberately exposing them to danger. They claim that the owners had sold everything they owned to purchase the mills as a means of livelihood.
A tribal source told Yemen Monitor that the branch of the Geological Survey Authority in Hajjah Governorate carried out a violent raid in the month of Rajab 1445 AH, forcibly seizing the citizens’ mills with a military force of 14 vehicles and 140 soldiers, disregarding the law and the fact that the mill owners were citizens who did not require such a large military force, especially since the matter of the mills was already a subject of a court case.
The source said that the mill owners should file a lawsuit against the branch of the Geological Survey Authority for forcibly seizing the mills and placing them in the path of the wadi, deliberately exposing them to danger.
Aflah ash-Sham district is rich in natural minerals and gold mines. Experts and observers say it has the second-largest gold mine in the world and the largest in the Middle East, which has been targeted by foreign companies under the pretext that it is still under study.
