Skyline International Denounces Houthi Rebels Shut Down Of The Internet In Sanaa

Stockholm  10 December 2017

Skyline International denounced Houthi rebels shut down of the internet in the Yemini capital Sanaa few days ago. A number of residents in Sanaa stated that internet services has been disturbed for a long time including access to social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and Whatsapp. On Thursday night, the internet was completely shut down in the capital while access remains difficult in other cities.

Yemenis have been using proxy servers to bypass the censorship of the social networks but access remains really difficult due to slow internet services. The director general of Skyline international, Shereen Awad, said that Houthis imposed ban of internet services to implement a total media blockade on Sanaa and to prevent any footages of critical incidents from getting out online. Awad called on the Houthis to immediately restore internet access in Yemen and to resume connectivity with Yemeni citizens and to avoid civilians’ involvement in the conflict. The main internet service provider in Yemen, “Yemen Net”, which is the governmental institution, is under the control of the Houthi rebels.