The Brotherhood is similar to Al-Houthi.. A customs port in Taiz to detain goods coming from the liberated ports
English - Saturday 24 June 2023 الساعة 04:26 pm
Taiz, NewsYemen, Exclusive:
The Brotherhood-controlled customs authority in Taiz Governorate, central Yemen, has created a new customs outlet in the Al-Hasab area, and has begun to stop and detain cargo trucks coming from the port of Aden. Amid demands to pay customs fees to allow trucks to pass towards the city, which has been besieged for 8 years by the Houthi militia - Iran's arm in Yemen.
According to local sources, the Brotherhood's military forces at the port detained a number of trucks loaded with goods, while their drivers were arrested and placed in the customs prison in Taiz, after charges were brought against them in order to blackmail merchants with goods and with the aim of forcing them to pay illegal fees under the name of customs.
This step is similar to what the Houthi militia is doing through customs outlets that it has established at the entrances to the liberated governorates, including the Al-Rahda port in Taiz, with the aim of forcing merchants to pay second customs duties on trucks of goods coming from the liberated ports.
Although the goods were subject to customs in the port of Aden and the liberated ports, the Houthi and Muslim Brotherhood authorities force merchants to pay additional customs fees to allow the passage of their goods through these customs ports.
extortion by force
According to a number of merchants in Taiz Governorate - the owners of the seized goods - that they are being subjected to extortion and the imposition of levies by force by the Taiz Customs Administration, which is stationed in the Al-Hasab area. Explaining that their goods arrived at the port of Aden and customs duties were paid there.
The merchants added: The city of Taiz is one of the liberated areas under the control of the Yemeni government, and it is not under the control of the Houthis until we are forced to pay customs fees again for the benefit of influential parties and people in Taiz.
The merchants emphasized that forcing them to pay a second customs fee will be reflected in the prices of goods that will be sold to citizens inside the besieged city, explaining that the citizen is the one who will bear the coming burdens in light of the difficult living conditions.
Serving with Houthi
For more than a week, the military forces affiliated with the Taiz axis, which is under the control of the Muslim Brotherhood in Taiz governorate, have been holding trucks on Al-Kadha Road carrying spare parts and motorcycle tires. The trucks entered in an official manner via the Al-Mokha-Al-Kadha road on their way to the city of Taiz.
The Brotherhood forces claim that there are directives from the governor of Taiz, Nabil Shamsan, not to allow shipments of goods coming from Aden to enter, while trucks coming from the port of Hodeidah, which is under Houthi control, are allowed to pass.
Salah al-Rahal, a truck driver and a spokesman for heavy truck drivers, said that spare parts dealers informed him that the forces of the Taiz military axis had stopped the entry of motorcycle spare parts into the city of Taiz before the trucks loaded with goods were seized. Stressing that the goods that were arrested are customs and are coming from the port of Aden, explaining that the military axis of Taiz, is arguing that there is a decision from the governor to prevent the entry of spare parts for motorcycles and tires, while entry is allowed coming from the port of Hodeidah, which is under the control of the Houthi militia.
Salah Al-Rahal was subjected to an arrest and detention in the customs office prison in Al-Hasab, without a legal form, adding: he was arrested and detained in the customs office prison in Al-Hasab area, after his truck and four trucks owned by merchants were seized in the city of Taiz.
Al-Rahal confirmed on his official account on Facebook, that gunmen belonging to the customs office of Taiz governorate seized his truck, along with four trucks belonging to merchants, in the Al-Hasaba area in the city center. He explained that he went to the customs office to reach an understanding with the director of customs about the problem of truck detention, after inspection procedures were taken and papers were matched according to the loaded goods coming from the port of Aden, but he was arrested.
Al-Rahal added that the director of customs, Makki Al-Shamiri, traveled outside the city of Taiz, indicating that he entered the customs prison and his freedom was detained for many hours by gunmen in the customs office.
These moves come only days after the Houthi militia issued directives to prevent the entry of any goods coming from the port of Aden to the occupied capital, Sana'a, and the rest of its areas of control.
The Brotherhood's movements in Taiz come days after the issuance of the Houthi decision, confirming the relationship of servanthood between the two parties in striking the national economy in the economic war that is being waged against the citizen.
local negation
The Brotherhood moved through the Taiz Customs Administration, out of the sight of the local authority led by the governor of Taiz, Nabil Shamsan. Where the governor hastened to issue urgent directives to release the seized trucks that had been previously collected and to submit a report on the reasons and reasons for their detention.
And the governor of Taiz issued explicit directives to the director of customs in the province to quickly release trucks that do not carry prohibited or smuggled materials, and to submit a detailed and urgent report that includes the number of trucks detained, the type of goods and fees collected, whether they were released or not, and the authority to make the decision to seize.
A source in the local authority in Taiz confirmed that what is happening at Al-Hasab customs port is far from the local authority, explaining: There are no directives to detain any cargo trucks coming from the port of Aden or the liberated ports, as some are trying to portray. He added: The Brotherhood leaders are behind the detention and extortion process that takes place against truck drivers and owners of goods coming to the liberated areas in Taiz.
The source explained that the customs in Al-Hasab imposed varying fees on the drivers of trucks loaded with goods coming from the liberated areas, and that what is earned is supplied to private accounts away from the leadership of the local authority.
illegal
In turn, the head of the Customs Authority in Aden, Abdul Hakim Radman Al-Qabati, described the Brotherhood's movements and the creation of a new customs port at the entrance to Taiz, and the start of confining cargo trucks as illegal and illegal measures.
Al-Qubati said in a brief statement that he posted on his official account on social media: There are no official customs departments or centers affiliated with the legitimate government in the city of Taiz, and no party has the right to collect fees under the name of customs.
The statements of the local authority and the Yemeni customs administration revealed the truth about the tampering and looting practiced by the Muslim Brotherhood, which controls decision-making in Taiz. The establishment of customs in Al-Hasab is a clear move that reveals the Brotherhood's intentions to separate the Taiz customs administration from the legitimate government, in a step identical to what the Houthi militia is doing in its areas of control.
