Aden: A contractor sets his car on fire in front of the Ministry of Water building in protest over unpaid dues.

On Sunday, a contractor named Ali Mohammed Al-Maliki set his car on fire in front of the Ministry of Water in the interim capital, Aden, in protest against the non-payment of dues for projects he had previously completed.

In a widely circulated post, contractor Al-Maliki said he set his car on fire in front of the Ministry of Water in Aden in protest against the lack of response from relevant authorities regarding the payment of dues for projects he implemented, in accordance with the agreement signed with the ministry and UNICEF. The agreement stipulates that the amounts due be paid upon completion of projects implemented in Taiz Governorate.

He explained that he had been demanding the $242,000 dues for months to no avail, representing the cost of two projects, the first of which was delivered on November 11, 2023, and the second on April 16, 2024.

Al-Maliki indicated that he burned his car as a form of protest, due to what he described as "procrastination and delay," noting that he was subjected to "racism, marginalization, fraud, and deception," as he put it.

He pointed out that the aforementioned amount was withdrawn from UNICEF's account in Sana'a, and fictitious numbers and amounts were transferred to the International Bank of Yemen in Aden, despite the relevant authorities' knowledge of its bankruptcy. He noted that he had asked them to transfer the amount to the Solidarity Bank, to no avail.