SANAA, Yemen — Yemeni authorities deployed security forces and armored vehicles across the port city of Aden Wednesday, as protesters were expected to take to the streets in the latest in a series of protests over hours-long electricity outages caused by a shortage of fuel for power stations.
In recent weeks, electricity outages reached up to 10 hours a day in Aden or up to 20 hours in neighboring Abyan province, according to residents. However, outages lasted only eight hours on Wednesday. The cause of the outages is a shortage of diesel fuel for power stations, the spokesman for Aden’s electricity corporation, Nawar Akbar, said in a Facebook post Sunday.Southern Transitional Council
The government in the south pays up to $1 billion a year to seven private companies to import fuel, but is behind on payments. Moammar al-Eryani, the information minister and government spokesperson, did not immediately respond to requests for comment by The Associated Press.