Aden (South24, Rueters)

Saudi Arabia will grant $422 million worth of petroleum products to Yemen’s internationally recognised government for power stations and to support public services as the country grapples with a fuel shortage, state news agency SPA said on Tuesday.

It said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman informed Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi of the grant under the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program in a telephone call.

Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 against the Iran-aligned Houthis who ousted Hadi’s government from the capital Sanaa and now hold most of northern Yemen. The government is based in the south.

Fuel shortages have knocked out water pumps, generators in hospitals and disrupted aid supplies in Yemen, where 80% of the population need help.

Read more at: Angry protests around the Yemeni government palace in Aden

Protest demonstrations took place in Aden and cities in South Yemen over the past days, against the local and government authorities.

Yesterday, one person was killed and 8 others were wounded by security forces' bullets in the Mayfa'h Hajar area, Hadramout governorate.

Activists said that military forces, affiliated with the local authority, shot dozens of protesters due to poor services.

#المكلا
متداول: فيديو يظهر لحظة إطلاق موكب محافظ حضرموت النيران على المحتجين في ميفع حجر، تسبب بمقتل شخص وإصابة 8 آخرين#south24 pic.twitter.com/GVpilMIeC6

— South24 (@South24_net) March 30, 2021

In a statement, the Southern Transitional Council in Hadramout called on the local authorities to respect the right to demonstrate and protest. STC held the local authorities responsible for the deterioration of services and living conditions.

In a speech broadcast by the local "Hadramawt" TV, the governor of Hadhramaut, Faraj Al-Bahsani, declared the state of emergency, starting on Wednesday morning. Al-Bahsani dismissed the director of Mukalla security and the director of security for the coast of Hadramout over the incident.

Last week Hadi’s government said it had approved entry of some fuel ships to Yemen’s Red Sea port of Hodeidah, which is controlled by the Houthi movement.

The move came after the group said it would only agree to a Saudi ceasefire proposal if the coalition fully lifts an air and sea blockade.