How the Muslim Brotherhood turned Taiz’s gas crisis into a multi-billion extortion scheme

Well-informed sources have accused the Taiz military command, which is under the control of Al-Islah Party – the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen – of being behind the worsening domestic gas crisis in the city. The alleged aim: to impose illegal levies and increase their financial revenues to over 7 billion rials.

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According to a post by journalist Mahmoud Marzouk, shared by Al-Montasaf Net, the so-called “National Army in Taiz”, which effectively operates under Al-Islah’s directives, has been pressuring local authorities and the government to legalize the collection of excessive charges on every gas cylinder, amid deliberately orchestrated supply shortages.

Marzouk revealed that the extortion practices began in 2022, with a 100 rial fee per cylinder, implemented via a written agreement signed at the home of a deputy governor. By 2024, this fee had escalated to 500 rials, imposed by force, and was accompanied by widespread arrests of employees from the official gas company.

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Additional fees were introduced under the pretext of supporting injured army personnel, with an extra 100 rials per cylinder added. Leaks now suggest plans to impose an additional 300 rials, as part of a deliberate obstruction of gas supply to areas controlled by the legitimate government in the Taiz governorate.

Observers say these measures reflect a broader policy of the Brotherhood in Taiz, where humanitarian and public service sectors have been exploited for illicit funding, at the expense of civilians and their basic right to reliable and safe public services.

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The annual gas consumption in Taiz is estimated at around 7 million cylinders, meaning that the illegal revenues pursued by this Brotherhood-affiliated command could exceed billions of rials yearly, especially in the absence of effective oversight or accountability.

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