Yemen monitor / Ataq / private
Local sources said that forces belonging to the Southern Transitional Council blew up an oil pipeline on Monday in Shabwa province in the eastern of Yemen.
The blast was directed at the pipeline responsible for transporting crude oil from the Jannah Hunt oil field in the Usaylan district, the source said on condition of anonymity. This pipeline stretches to the Nushima export port located on the Arabian Sea in Shabwa.
Correspondence and documents “Yemen Monitor” have a sight of it indicated that reports from the Southern Resistance Brigades to the leader of the STC, Aidrus Al-Zubaidi, demanding him and the oil companies of the overdue payments in exchange for protecting the pipelines which extends from Sector 5 in Usaylan to Oyaz and they were given a timelimit until December 31 to respond to the demands, otherwise “they will step up” and disclaim their responsibility “for what will happen after the deadline expiry.
A senior official in Usaylan Directorate told Yemen monitor that the STC battalions have imposed their forces in the area, while the protection is supposed to be the responsibility of the first brigade defense of Shabwa.
The schedualed protection of oil pipelines and official institutions is officially mandated by the minister of defense, which did not happen in the case of STC forces supported by the UAE.
It is worth noting that the Southern Transitional Council has been in control of Shabwa province since 2022 after fighting with government forces.
Yemen’s crude oil export operations have been severely disrupted due to the ongoing conflict between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group.
The recent pipeline attacks only exacerbate an already dire situation, further undermining the country’s infrastructure and economic stability.
