Report: Increasing Brutality of Truck Hijackers on ‘Road of Death’ in Yemen
A a London-based online news outlet sheds light on the crimes of the US-Saudi aggression militias on the road linking the governorates of Taiz and Aden, which has become known as the “road of death”, stressing that the aggression militias that commit kidnapping and murder crimes against travelers are linked to the mercenary’s security forces.
The Middle East Eye’s report touched on a recent crime committed by the militias on the Tur Al Baha road, in which Akram al-Azazi, 15, was shot dead on 2 June in Lahij while sitting in the truck driven by his father, a driver who carries goods between Taiz and Aden.
The case created fury on social media and among Yemenis everywhere, the report added. Many truck drivers protested and stopped working for a day to express their anger. Some drivers are still on strike today.
“When we drive through Tour al-Baha, we feel that we will meet our fate at any time. This has been our suffering for years,” the Middle East Eye quoted one of the truck drivers as saying.
“Although we pay thousands [of rials] each trip for the security forces [of the pro-aggression authorities] at checkpoints to secure the road, they don’t do anything. When we tell them about the hijacking of our colleagues, they say they can’t do anything.”
“Five months ago, the hijackers stopped me and put a Kalashnikov to my head. I had no option but to give them all my money and my phone. I just about convinced them to let me go with my truck,” a truck driver said.
The director of the Tour al-Baha district said in a video statement that he had provided the “security forces” in Lahij with the names of the hijackers, but that they hadn’t done anything.
He accused the “security forces” in Lahij of supporting the hijackers, saying that they chewed qat together at security checkpoints.
“Hijackers have been there for years in Lahij, but they used to loot cars, mobiles, money and other belongings. However, now they kill passengers,” he told MEE.
Another driver said that when drivers faced hijackers, they usually tied to negotiate with them to not physically harm them and just take money, but he confirmed that the new ones were much more brutal.
The main roads controlled by the Saudi-mercenaries have become horrific nightmares for travelers and citizens, as they are subjected to murder, looting and kidnapping by gunmen who are stationed on the road as “security points”. Despite the intensity and frequency of these crimes, the United Nations does not pay any attention to them, and instead focuses on the roads that the coalition of aggression wants to open for clear military purposes.