Yemen’s President ‘Ali ‘Abdallah ‘Salih instructed the Yemenite government to lower prices of petroleum-related products after violent protests against a government decision to cut fuel subsidies claimed lives last week.
‘Salih met with politicians and heads of tribes in Yemen’s capital ‘Sana this week to discuss the decision and appease the public.
Yemen decided to cut subsidies on fuel-related products on July 20 as part of a reform plan to improve its economy. Nearly half of Yemen’s population lives beneath the poverty line and one in five is undernourished, according to World Bank figures.
The cut increased prices of petroleum products, including petrol, by up to 100 percent.
But opposition parties were against the cut, claiming the country’s poor would carry the main burden of this action, and that it will widen the gap between rich and poor.
Ensuing riots turned violent and according to government figures, at least 22 people, including security personnel, were killed. Some news reports put the death toll at 39. At least 300 people were injured in the riots.
Yemen is located south of Saudi Arabia and has a population of 19 million.