Cash crisis exposes rift within Saudi-led coalition in Yemen
SANAA, Yemen — Yemen’s Central Bank says the Saudi-led coalition is “strangling” the economy by preventing planes from flying in newly-minted cash, reflecting a struggle between the government and the United Arab Emirates, key members of the military alliance.
Both are at war with the Shiite Houthi rebels, who control much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. But the UAE is believed to be at odds with President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi over his embrace of a local affiliate of the Muslim Brotherhood group, and fighters loyal to the two sides have clashed in recent months.
In a strongly worded statement issued Sunday, Central Bank Governor Mansr al-Qaiti, who was appointed by Hadi, accused the coalition of banning 13 flights carrying money printed in Russia to the southern city of Aden, where the government is based, since April. He accused the coalition of “strangling the Yemeni economy” and denying it “needed liquidity.”
For the last two years, Hadi’s government has been confined to Aden. As the Saudi-led coalition has waged an air campaign against the Houthis and their allies, the UAE has established a military footprint across the south, partnering with local allies.