Source: Gulf News
A ‘hunger revolution’ is expected to erupt in Sana’a as a result of the country’s economic decline, analysts say.
The Yemeni riyal, which is reportedly nearing 300 Riyals to the dollar, is lower than it has ever been. Consequently, a reported 80 per cent of Sana’a’s population is in dire need of humanitarian aid.
An official of the Commercial Bank of Yemen said the unprecedented collapse of the local currency, which was equivalent to 215 riyals to the dollar when Al Houthis seized power early last February, was unprecedented.
“Never has the Yemeni riyal experienced such depreciation,” he said, “not during the uprising of 2011, not even during the civil war that erupted in 1994.”
The official, who Al Ittihad newspaper said insisted on anonymity, warned of the consequences of the collapse of the riyal.
He said the unprecedented depreciation will likely spark a massive uprising against the Al Houthi group.
“The collapse of the riyal will double the prices of already high basic foodstuff,” he said, “this will push the population to go out to the street to topple Al Houthis.” The official added that Yemenis are also suffering because of power outages and lack of oil derivatives. “The patience will run out as they are deprived of bread.”
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