Yemen Restores Internet Access After Coalition Strike On Telecoms Tower

DOHA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th January, 2022) Internet access was restored in Yemen on Tuesday, four days after an Arab coalition airstrike on a telecommunications tower in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah caused a nationwide blackout.

The rebel-run communications ministry said through its news outlet, Al-Masirah, that initial repairs had restored internet services in all provinces. Sources in both Houthi- and government-held territories confirmed this to Sputnik.

"We have internet again," said Abdallah Ashok, a businessman in the eastern Hadhramaut region, which is under the control of the internationally recognized administration.

Angela Abu Asba, the head of the Sanaa-based Angela Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response, said internet access had been restored in the Houthi-held capital.

The Houthis, who overran Sanaa and much of northern Yemen in 2014, said in a statement that internet services required advanced equipment. They asked the United Nations to organize its delivery and make sure that the Saudi-led coalition did not target telecoms infrastructure.