A Yemeni committee accuses the Saudi regime of smuggling drugs to Al-Mahra Governorate

The Peaceful Popular Movement Committee in Al-Mahra Governorate slammed the Saudi regime as an “occupier.” It accused its forces present in the governorate of smuggling drugs to destroy the Yemeni youth there.

The committee’s spokesman, Ali Mubarak bin Mahamed, said, “Since the arrival of the Saudi occupation forces to Al-Mahra, we have seen nothing but the destruction of its economic components, through its control of the ports, the airport and the ports; to impede development in the governorate.”

Bin Mahamed accused the Saudi forces, present in the province since 2017, of “allowing the smuggling of drugs and contraband in tons to destroy the youth, who are considered the mainstay of the future and its present.”

He wondered, “how did drugs enter Al-Mahra Governorate? Everyone knows who controls the ports, ports and airport!”

He pointed out that the incident in the Hat district last year is only a witness to that when the security services arrested a Saudi officer working in this field.

A spokesman for the peaceful sit-in committee in Al-Mahra said: “When they, the Saudis, failed to dismantle the social fabric and split the Mahri rank to achieve their ambitions, they went too far, to destroy an entire generation.”

He called on the people of Mahra, from all their segments, to stand together and thwart what is being plotted and planned against the future generations and future of the province’s people.

He stressed that there are moves by the General Council of the people of the governorates of Mahra and Socotra, with Sultan Muhammad Abdullah Al Afrar (the last sons of the Sultan of Mahra and Socotra in the past) through a program to raise awareness of those dangers.

He pointed out that the security services carry out campaigns in the governorate to reduce these risks. He called on everyone to “cooperate to preserve the security and stability of the province” and to renounce the Saudi occupation.

The Yemeni political activist considered that “the stage is dangerous and calls for vigilance and attention to preserve society and its youth from such pests.”

A protest movement against the Saudi military presence has been active in Mahra, on the border with the Sultanate of Oman, since 2017, during which confrontations between tribal fighters and Saudi forces have occurred more than once during the past years.

The Saudi forces control the Shahn and Sarfeet ports, which connect Mahra with the Sultanate of Oman, the Al-Ghaidha International Airport, and the Nishtun port on the Arabian Sea.

Saudi ambitions

From the beginning, Saudi ambitions in Al-Mahra were visible.

1- The Kingdom seeks to build militia forces that undermine legitimacy in the south of the country.

2- The Kingdom’s need to build its own oil pipeline, which would serve as an alternative and safe outlet that would enable it to secure the process of exporting its oil abroad through the Arabian Sea.

This is instead of the Strait of Hormuz, which is under the control of Iran and its groups.

3- The Kingdom believes that its unofficial ways are less costly and more accessible than legal and official obligations.

And in the few cases in which Saudi Arabia has not been able to extract what it wants from the interest in Yemen and in the way it envisions.

The matter did not push them to take into account and meet the requirements of the Yemeni side. Instead, they directly refused to accept any agreement in which they could not dictate their terms in full.

They postpone the matter, and in the case of laying oil pipelines across Yemeni territory, the matter became clear.

The former southern prime minister, Ali Nasser Muhammad, said that although Yemeni officials dealt positively with the request, the Al Saud authorities rejected the Yemeni conditions and demands.