Yemen's PLC warns of economic repercussions from Houthi naval attacks

The Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) in Yemen on Sunday directed the government to take coordinated measures to tackle the repercussions of Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Yemeni news agency Saba reported that the PLC held a meeting in Riyadh, during which it discussed the significant price decline of the local currency in recent days and the worsening humanitarian suffering in the country.

“The PLC directed the government to take coordinated measures with various parties to limit the living repercussions that threaten severe bottlenecks in the supply chains of basic goods and life-saving food and medicine imports,” Saba said.

The state-run news agency also said: “The PLC reviewed the assessments of the situation regarding the repercussions of the Houthi terrorist attacks on international shipping lines, the doubling of economic burdens, the costs of insurance, maritime shipping and basic goods, and the harm to the interests of the Yemeni people".

“The PLC welcomed the American decision to re-designate the Houthis as a specially designated international terrorist entity," the report added. The PLC praised the unity of the international community regarding the Yemeni file and its unified position against the serious Houthi threats to global trade.

The PLC also expressed its hopes for more sanctions against the Houthis and welcomed the collective implementation of international legitimacy resolutions on the arms embargo.

The Council called for military support for the Yemeni government and its Coast Guard forces to protect the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab, and the Gulf of Aden, and to combat terrorism by the Houthis, ISIS, and AQAP.

The PLC also directed the government to confront the Houthis' propaganda and media campaigns linking their commercial shipping attacks to the war in Gaza. 

Today, the price of selling one US dollar reached 1,585 Yemeni riyals in unofficial trading markets in Aden and areas controlled by the internationally recognized government, amid fears of rising food prices.

In a previous report, Yemeni merchants revealed to South24 Center that the cost of shipping containers from China to local sources had tripled in recent weeks as a result of the Houthi attacks.