A massive demonstration took place in Al-Khokha, Hodeidah, on Monday, July 15, 2024, in support of the efforts of the Presidential Leadership Council, the government, and the decisions of the Central Bank of Yemen. The protesters voiced their backing for the measures taken to protect the banking sector from the "reckless" actions of the Houthi group, internationally designated as a terrorist organization.

According to the official Yemeni news agency "Saba," the demonstration marched through the streets of Al-Khokha, with the participation of the governor of the province, Hassan Taher, local authority leaders, executive office heads, and a large number of citizens.

In a statement released by the protesters, they affirmed their support for the Central Bank's decisions aimed at improving the economic situation. They emphasized that the national currency belongs to the people and its protection is a sovereign right of the internationally recognized government.

The protesters held the Presidential Leadership Council responsible for maintaining financial and monetary stability. They warned against succumbing to international pressure that favors the Houthi group and their manipulation of the banking sector, which impacts the lives and livelihoods of citizens.

The Al-Khokha demonstration coincided with large-scale popular protests in Taiz, where thousands of citizens participated in support of the bank's measures to protect the banking sector and regulate banks. They condemned the UN's stance, which they described as complicit with the Houthi terrorist group.

The protesters stressed the importance of strengthening economic and financial stability in the country and supporting the Central Bank's efforts to protect the financial system from external interference.

On May 30, the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden declared the temporary capital of the country, issued a decision to suspend dealings with six Yemeni banks and financial institutions. This followed a 60-day deadline for these institutions to relocate their headquarters to Aden.

Simultaneously, the bank issued another decision urging individuals, businesses, companies, other entities, and financial and banking institutions holding pre-2016 banknotes of various denominations to deposit them within a maximum of 60 days from the date of the announcement.

The Central Bank continued its measures to counter the economic actions taken by the Houthi group, internationally listed as a terrorist organization, against the banking sector. These actions have cast a shadow over the economic situation and led to a decline in the value of the Yemeni rial in areas controlled by the government.

The closure of the six banks' branches in Aden and Sana'a came hours after the UN envoy called on Yemeni parties to engage in "dialogue under the auspices of the UN between Yemeni parties to discuss recent economic developments."

"Barran Press" obtained a letter from UN envoy Hans Grundberg to the Presidential Leadership Council, in which he requested a postponement of the implementation of the recent decisions of the Central Bank of Yemen regarding the suspension of licenses for banks that failed to relocate their headquarters to Aden, declared the temporary capital of Yemen.

In the letter, Grundberg expressed concern about the Central Bank of Yemen's decision, numbered 30 for the year 2024, which "suspends the licenses of six banks and the subsequent communication with correspondent banks and the SWIFT system," stating that this "will lead to the cessation of access for those banks to correspondent banks and the SWIFT system."

The UN envoy urged the Yemeni government and the Central Bank of Yemen to "postpone the implementation of the decisions at least until the end of August," calling for "the commencement of dialogue under the auspices of the UN between Yemeni parties to discuss recent economic developments in Yemen."

In response, the Presidential Leadership Council held an "emergency meeting" to discuss Grundberg's letter. The council affirmed its "commitment to a clear agenda for participation in any dialogue on the economic file," according to the official Yemeni news agency Saba.

The Leadership Council set conditions for proceeding with any dialogue on the economic file, including "the resumption of oil exports, the unification of the national currency, the cancellation of all arbitrary measures against the banking sector, and the business community."

Last week, through decisions by Governor Ahmed Al-Ma'bqi, the Central Bank revoked the licenses of 26 exchange companies since late last month and ordered the closure of their branches indefinitely for violating bank decisions and instructions.

These decisions followed two previous decisions imposing a unified internal remittance network, prohibiting dealings with 12 unlicensed electronic payment entities, and permanently halting operations in local financial remittance networks owned by banks, financial institutions, or exchange companies operating in Yemen.