Digital Rights |SAM Organization, in cooperation with the "Inter News" Foundation, issued a report on the reality of the infrastructure of the Yemeni telecommunications sector, and the destruction it suffered during the seven years of war, citing detailed figures and statistics.
The report, titled (Yemeni Telecommunications Sector in the Shadow of War... Fragile Infrastructure and Exorbitant Losses), stated that the war that has been raging for seven years had repercussions on all levels, including the telecommunications sector, which had the largest share of futility and destruction, due to its extreme importance. The warring parties, as a huge economic resource, as well as its military and intelligence importance.
The report stated that "the fate of the Yemenis caught in the net of this war was represented in their being mere means of bargaining between the parties to the conflict," adding that the horrific realities of the war were reflected in the Internet and the communications infrastructure.
The report indicated that the telecommunications sector has become an arena for battles to extend influence and control, and has been exploited to serve military goals, which has caused millions of Yemenis to be deprived of their rights to communicate, access and exchange information.
The report said that the conflicting parties - especially the Houthi group - exploited Internet services to promote their narratives, block opposition websites, and impose unprecedented censorship on content published on the Internet, in a way that many citizens saw as undermining their right to freely express their opinions, as well as their right to access information and news. .
The report issued by SAM indicated that all parties to the conflict targeted and destroyed the communications infrastructure, directly and indirectly, causing severe damage to it, citing statistics and figures on the destruction that affected the sector (32% of the infrastructure was directly destroyed, while 24% was destroyed). partially).
The report considered that the size of the international capacity of the Internet owned by Yemen (does not exceed 130 gigabytes) exacerbated the suffering of Internet users in the country, and made their access to the network fraught with problems, adding that telecommunications in Yemen occupies the lowest ranks in international rankings.
The report pointed out that the warring parties targeting the infrastructure of the telecommunications sector caused the sector a loss estimated at $6.45 billion over the seven years, until April 2022, and affected 14 million users, who suffered from poor communication and internet services.
The report concluded that targeting the communications infrastructure is a crime by all standards, which requires holding those involved accountable and punishing them, and there is no justification for "turning" the communications sector into a battlefield and a military target for the belligerents, stressing the need to oblige the parties to the conflict not to use the "communications sector" as a stage for liquidation. Political and military calculations, and it should take concrete measures that would distance communications from its conflicts.
To download the report "The Reality of the Infrastructure of the Yemeni Telecommunications Sector", click here
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