Yemen's President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who has resigned and fled the capital, has begun to sell the foreign exchange reserves in Aden’s central bank following his failure to pay the employees’ salaries.
According to Yemen’s Yemenat news website, Aden’s central bank has announced the selling of the US dollar reserves to Yemen’s exchange companies, banks, merchants and commercial corporations.
The news comes as the employees of Aden refinery went on strike on Wednesday for not being paid. According to an agreement between the syndicate of the refinery’s workers and local authorities, part of the salaries should have been paid.
In support of Hadi, Saudi Arabia has been pounding Yemen since March last year to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement and to restore power to him.
Nearly 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Riyadh’s military aggression which lacks any international mandate.
Hadi’s inability to pay the employees comes as Saudi Arabia, the main supporter of the former president, is facing a budget deficit of nearly $100 billion. Riyadh's deficit has been caused by Saudi Arabia’s rising military expenditure, a large amount of which is being funneled into the country’s military campaign against Yemen.
In support of the former Yemeni president, the Saudi military has been pounding its impoverished southern neighbor since March last year to undermine Houthi Ansarullah movement and restore power to Hadi.
Nearly 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in Riyadh’s military aggression, which lacks any international mandate.
The Saudi budget has been also hit hard by low oil prices for which Saudi Arabia is the main party to blame as the kingdom has been obstinately refusing to decrease its crude output in order to cause a drop in global oil price.
Saudi Arabia, once known for its lavish public spending, has adopted austerity measures, including by canceling some bonuses offered to state employees and increasing entry visa fees for residents and foreigners.