Armed attack causes power cut in Yemeni cities

Armed Yemeni tribesmen attacked power lines emerging from the gas-operated Maareb power station in central Yemen, cutting off electricity supply to Sanaa and other regions. The operation is believed to have come in retaliation against the Yemeni army after it bombed the residence of a tribesman accused of bombing a main oil export pipeline. Tribal sources told Arabstoday that Yemeni forces bombed the home of a tribal figure called Mohammed Hassan Kalfout, who authorities have accused of blowing up a main oil export pipeline in the Sirwah region only hours after it was repaired following a previous bombing. The same sources said the missiles launched by the army targeting Kalfout’s house had missed the residence causing no casualties. The sources said armed tribesman working for Kalfout had then opened fire on the supply lines transporting electricity generated in the Maareb gas-powered station. The station feeds the capital Sanaa as well as other regions. An official source in the government-owned electrical company told Arabstoday that an attack using light and medium weapons had hit the first and second circuits transforming electricity from the Maareb power station, causing the station to shut down and cutting power off from Sanaa and a number of other Yemeni cities. Attacks by armed tribesmen in the Maareb area have caused multiple stoppages in the export of oil and gas as a result of the recurrent attacks targeting pipelines. It has now also cut off electricity from 30 percent of Yemeni cities after shutting down the only gas-operated electricity generating station in the country. The affected power plant has a capacity of 400 megawatts.