One martyr, two wounded in Saudi coalition aggression on Saada: Source

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen Net
2 Apr 2023 00:05

The Yemeni Ministry of Industry and Trade says the industrial and commercial sectors incurred an estimated loss of $167 billion as a result of the aggression.

Yemeni fighters inspect the damage after a Saudi-led airstrike in Sanaa. (AFP)

An official source in the Sanaa government on Saturday reported the martyrdom of a Yemeni civilian by Saudi coalition artillery fire on the border district of Shada in Saada.

Earlier, official Yemeni sources reported that three civilians were injured by Saudi artillery shelling on the border district of Shada in Saada, northern Yemen.

A couple of days ago, Al Mayadeen correspondent in Saada reported the martyrdom of a Yemeni citizen who had been injured by Saudi artillery shelling on the border district of Shada.

And on Monday, one Yemeni was martyred while four others were injured in an artillery shelling by the Saudi coalition on the same region.

The border areas of Saada governorate are subjected to continuous attacks with missile and artillery shelling and direct targeting of civilians, which has resulted in deaths and injuries on an escalating basis since the beginning of the year.

The Eye of Humanity Center for Rights and Development highlighted in a recent report that the total number of martyrs and wounded over the past eight years amounted to 48,349, including 18,140 martyrs and 30,254 wounded.

Sanaa announced in October 2022 that negotiations to extend the UN armistice in Yemen had reached a dead end after Saudi Arabia refused to pay the salaries of public servants from the revenues of oil and gas produced from the Yemeni governorates.

Aggression costs industrial, commercial sectors in Yemen 167 billion dollars

The Yemeni Ministry of Industry and Trade reviewed the effects and repercussions of eight years of aggression and blockade on the industrial and commercial sectors in the country, noting that the losses of the two sectors were estimated at $167 billion.

In a press conference marking the eighth anniversary of steadfastness in the face of the aggression against Yemen, the Ministry highlighted that the private sector had incurred heavy losses estimated at more than $75 billion, as per preliminary estimates.

It said that more than 12,000 commercial establishments in the governorates had losses estimated at more than $12 billion, adding that the Saudi-led coalition aggression targeted more than 700 popular and central markets in the governorates, with losses estimated at more than one billion and 400 million dollars.

The Yemeni Ministry pointed out that the initial losses of foreign trade during the years of aggression amounted to more than 71 billion and 840 million dollars.

As for the industrial sector, the Ministry said that more than 96 large industrial facilities belonging to the public and private sectors were completely destroyed.

It added that the direct and indirect material in the industrial sector is estimated at 7 billion and 350 million dollars and confirmed that more than 460 small and medium enterprises have been affected, of which 73% are small enterprises and 27% are medium enterprises.

It also pointed out that the activity of more than 44,000 production plants and a large number of establishments has stopped as a result of the high prices of production inputs.

The Ministry explained that the basic needs of commodities and production inputs were absent due to the blockade, which negatively affected food security and the economic situation.

Elsewhere, the Yemeni Ministry of Industry and Trade noted that more than 90,000 workers in the industrial sector have lost their jobs and thousands of workers have been laid off.