Men from the al-Kathiry tribe have taken over a building housing the oil ministry in the east as theyventtheir anger towards the government and the presence of the military in their region following the killing of a tribal leader this month. Pro-government tribes have tried to force them out of the building but the situation degenerated to exchanges of fire.
The tribesmen from the eastern Hadramout province are unwillingly to leave the occupied building unless their demands are met.
They want the soldier who killed Said bin Habrish to be surrendered to them, the full withdrawal of the army from Hadramout and more jobs for local people. Said bin Habrish, a tribal leader, was killed at an army checkpoint when his bodyguards refused to hand over their weapons to soldiers. He had a large influence in the eastern and southern provinces of Yemen.
The government has not released a statement to reply to their demands. The staff of the ministry is reported to have been asked to evacuate the premises by the tribesmen after bringing it under control.
Yemen, one of the Arab world’s poorest countries, is struggling to restore state authority after long-serving President Ali Abdullah Saleh was forced to step down in 2011.The oil ministry is one of the most important ministries in the Yemen because the country counts on crude exports to finance almost 70% of its budget.
However, the oil pipelines are always sabotaged by people angry with government, against its policies or for reasons including demands for more employment and the release of jailed relatives. In the latest attack, at least four people, including two soldiers, were killed when army checkpoints near oilfields in WadiHadramout came under attack.
Yemen : Oil ministry taken by tribesmen
