Yemen’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, operating under Houthi authority in Sanaa, has stated that cumulative direct losses to the country’s telecommunications and postal sector have exceeded USD 6.265 billion since the start of the conflict in 2015, citing damage from airstrikes, infrastructure destruction and what it describes as a deliberate blockade of international connectivity.
The figures were presented at a press conference in Sanaa on Tuesday by Taha Zabara, Undersecretary for Technical Affairs, who outlined a detailed breakdown of infrastructure damage. According to the ministry’s statement, the sector has been struck by 2,764 airstrikes, resulting in the deaths of 80 telecommunications and postal workers. The attacks are said to have hit 1,114 facilities, completely destroying 711 of them, damaging 1,694 communication stations and affecting 277 transmission towers.
The ministry said the humanitarian impact has been significant, with 114 residential areas cut off from telecommunications services, more than 1.3 million users directly deprived of connectivity, and over 14 million citizens affected by service degradation. It further claimed that nearly 951,000 students and researchers have been denied internet access, and over 6.8 million citizens cut off from postal services.
On international connectivity, the ministry alleged that three submarine cables have been blocked and that Yemeni-owned undersea cable assets have been denied operational access, effectively restricting the country’s international internet bandwidth. It also cited the seizure of 104 telecommunications stations, 20 containers of equipment and approximately 6.84 million SIM cards.
The ministry called on the International Telecommunication Union to intervene and support restoration of disrupted services, and held what it described as the aggression coalition fully legally responsible for violations of international humanitarian law.
Independent verification of the specific figures cited is not possible. Yemen’s telecommunications sector has been subject to documented damage throughout the conflict, with separate reporting from The New Arab and other independent outlets confirming Houthi control over the country’s central telecommunications infrastructure in Sanaa, including internet gateways, submarine cable landing stations and national operator networks. The internationally recognised government in Aden has separately sought to establish independent connectivity infrastructure through the Aden Net project, though analysts describe that effort as stalled.
