Sana'a: The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology revealed during a press conference held Tuesday in Sana'a that the cumulative direct losses to the telecommunications and postal sector during 11 years of the US-Saudi aggression and blockade have exceeded $6.265 billion.
According to Yemen News Agency, the Undersecretary of the Ministry for Technical Affairs, Engineer Taha Zabara, explained in a presentation on the damage and losses suffered by the sector that the telecommunications and postal infrastructure was destroyed through the direct bombing of communications networks, transmission towers, and central exchanges.
He pointed out that the telecommunications sector represents a vital artery connecting all aspects of life, providing health, education, banking, social, and commercial services. He emphasized that the aggression has disrupted many systems belonging to telecommunications companies, leading to service outages for subscribers and affecting daily communication and all services for citizens.
The Undersecretary stated that the aggression has restricted international internet access by prohibiting the use of Yemeni-owned submarine internet cables, resulting in a significant decline in service availability and internet speed, and effectively isolating the country technologically from the world.
At the conference, which was attended by the Executive Director of the Public Telecommunications Corporation, Engineer Sadiq Musleh, the CEO of TeleYemen, Dr. Ali Nassari, the Director of the General Postal Authority, Ammar Wahhan, the Dean of the Telecommunications Institute, Abdulkarim Al-Ansi, and representatives from telecommunications companies, a statement issued by the Ministry of Communications and read by Abdulrahman Al-Ziyadi affirmed the steadfastness in confronting the aggression and the systematic blockade, relying on an unwavering national will and upholding the legitimate right to sovereignty and independence.
The statement indicated that, according to updated estimates, the cumulative direct losses to the telecommunications and information technology sector up to this year have reached $6,265,762,154.
He stated that Yemen's telecommunications sector has been subjected to a complex and deliberate aggression for eleven years, directly targeting its civilian infrastructure in flagrant violation of all international laws and conventions. The clear objective of this aggression is to digitally isolate Yemen and deprive its people of their right to communication and information.
He explained that, according to the latest statistics, the aggression targeted the telecommunications sector with 2,764 airstrikes, resulting in the deaths of eighty telecommunications and postal workers while they were performing their professional duties.
The statement indicated that the airstrikes hit 1,114 telecommunications and postal facilities, completely destroying 711 of them. The attacks also disrupted 862 service facilities, damaged 1,694 communication stations, and affected 277 communication towers, clearly demonstrating the direct targeting of infrastructure.
The statement indicated that the effects of the aggression have extended to the humanitarian sector, isolating 114 residential areas from the world and depriving more than 1,315,778 users of telecommunications services. Over 14 million citizens have been affected by the deterioration in service quality, in addition to 950,668 students and researchers being denied access to information, and 6,812,542 citizens being deprived of postal services.
The statement affirmed that the blockade imposed on the sector, according to the data, is being used as a systematic pressure tactic, through the blockade of three submarine cables, the seizure of 104 telecommunications stations, 20 containers of equipment, and approximately 6,840,000 SIM cards.
It stated that the US-Saudi aggression deliberately fragmented the national telecommunications network by establishing dubious entities aimed at isolating the southern governorates and damaging Yemen's international satellite internet gateway in the occupied governorates, intentionally inflicting economic, social, security, and moral damage on Yemeni society and targeting its authentic culture.
In its statement, the Ministry of Communications held the countries of the aggression coalition fully legally responsible, not only for the material damages and losses but also for the grave violations of international humanitarian law, which amount to war crimes under international law, and all the resulting catastrophic humanitarian, civilian, and economic repercussions.
The Ministry considered the continued international silence regarding these violations to be indirect complicity that contributes to prolonging the suffering and undermines the credibility of the international system in protecting civilians. It demanded the lifting of the blockade on the telecommunications sector, the opening of all ports of entry for equipment and technologies for civilian use, and the unrestricted reactivation of submarine cables and landing stations.
The Ministry stressed the necessity of completely neutralizing the telecommunications, information technology, and postal sectors and halting the fragmentation of the national network, considering it a vital civilian sector that should not be targeted or exploited, and which provides services to all citizens throughout the Republic.
The Ministry of Communications called upon the International Telecommunication Union and all relevant bodies to assume their responsibilities and take immediate action to support the restoration of telecommunications services disrupted by the aggression, thereby contributing to alleviating the suffering of the Yemeni people.
She reiterated that the telecommunications sector will remain resilient and will play its role despite all the challenges until it fully recovers its health and sovereignty.