The report of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen, which covered the period from December 1, 2022, to August 31, 2023, revealed that the Yemeni government has endured massive financial losses since last year as the Houthi financial strength continues to grow.
According to the report, the Government of Yemen is losing about $1.2 billion in revenue per year because of the Houthi drone attacks that targeted the Dabbah oil terminal in October.
Besides, the shift in imports from Aden to Al-Hudaydah resulted in a massive loss of revenue of YRs 637.36 billion for the Government of Yemen from April 2022 to June 2023. The opening of Al-Hudaydah port offered the Houthis a colossal gain.
The report indicated the total loss of revenue from the Houthi ban on purchasing cooking gas from the Government of Yemen is estimated at YRs 64 billion annually.
While the government's financial losses have magnified over the past years, the Houthi group adopted several approaches to double revenues at land customs points. It started treating government-controlled areas as foreign territory for customs purposes, effectively dividing Yemen into two countries.
From February 7, 2023, the Arab coalition permitted the Houthis to import goods through their ports. That move helped the Houthis earn about $4 million from maritime services from January to July 2023. The UN document pointed out that the figure is projected to rise to $7 million by December 2023.
The report added that the continuing collapse of the economic situation in the government-controlled areas led to civil unrest in several cities and sparked a political movement demanding self-determination for the south.
As the Houthi group managed to stop the Yemeni government from exporting oil from southern provinces, it kept planning to take over the oil fields in Marib.
On November 14, a military source in the government army told Sheba Intelligence that the Houthis have a military priority at this stage of an economic nature, as they have an ambition to control the oil and gas fields in Marib province.
The source indicated that the Houthis have been mobilizing for weeks on the Al-Alam Front in Al-Jawf province to the north of Marib and Al-Juba Front in the south to repeat their attempt to seize the Safer oil fields.
The Houthis continue to refuse to engage in any dialogue with the Yemen government, and their demands for agreeing to any peace proposals have always been primarily based on economic considerations, according to the report of the Panel of Experts on Yemen.