According to Yemeni Minister of Information and Mass Media, Dr. Mohamed Abdul Majeed Qubaty, a group of Houthi militants managed to block the Asharq Al-Awsat’s electronic web portal, in an attempt with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh to keep the citizens of Yemen in the dark.

Qubaty told Asharq Al-Awsat that the insurgents have opted to block the newspaper’s electronic edition after it had influenced a lot of people, proven its credibility, and its professional commitment. Asharq Al-Awsat had already ranked top on the Arabian regional scale.

“I wasn’t surprised when they blocked Asharq Al-Awsat’s website after it had revealed their truth, and had stood out for delivering real ground facts”, Qubaty said .

“It is desperate; just like trying to cover the sun with a sieve! Yemeni citizens are capable of distinguishing right from wrong, and it is always clear to those who are wise”, Qubaty described the Houthis’ attempt to mislead the Yemeni public.

The Yemeni Minister of Information and Mass Media said that the Yemen’s mainstream of telecommunications to the World Wide Web currently falls in the hands of the Houthis, this which has affected the mass’s culture and oppressed their freedom of speech, and movement online.

In view of that, Qubaty stressed that after shifting the Capital from Sana’a to Aden, it is of outmost importance to establish a technical and communications center in Aden, in a step to avert all Houthi wiretapping, web wide piracy and control.

In the ballpark, Houthi militias have also forced tribute on all local commercial store owners, which is approximated to be 10 thousand Yemeni Rials, in addition to a thousand Yemeni Rial cut on all labor force paychecks for the purpose of funding Houthi arming efforts.