ADEN, Yemen, March 19 (Xinhua) -- After three years of conflicts in the war-torn Arab country, many ordinary Yemeni families in the port city of Aden strongly decry the fast-rising prices of basic commodities that badly affect their normal lives.
Aden along with other five southern provinces are controlled by the internationally-backed government and citizens there sense secure despite sporadic terrorist attacks.
But regarding the economic side, thousands of families in the government-controlled provinces feel insecure, as the prices of basic needs soar month after month.
The skyrocketing prices forced a number of Yemeni families to practice food rationing by having only one meal per day.
The cost of several daily food items sharply increased during the past weeks, creating anger and fear.
"We are unable to afford the cost of sugar and rice imported from different countries particularly in this year," said Ahmed Gamal, an employee at the General Electronics Corporation in Aden.
"There are unknown reasons behind the incredible soaring prices of the food items in Aden these days," he added.
An owner of a supermarket told Xinhua that "the main reason behind the soaring prices is the higher costs in obtaining goods from foreign countries."
He said the suppliers increased their prices under the pretext of facing the depreciation and the continuing changes of the Yemeni currency.
He added that the suppliers of important commodities like rice and sugar are forced to get U.S. dollar from the black market at high premiums due to the recent foreign currency shortage in Yemen.
Some of the citizens said that the Saudi-backed Yemeni government based in Aden has less or weak supervision on the big merchants or importers to make sure that prices are made according to the rules.
"Prices of food items are not similar in every store in the city and there is a huge difference between each one," said Saleh Saddam, a grocery owner in Aden's neighborhood of Mansourah.
"You can buy a sack of rice or flour with a specific price from this shop but you will find it with a different price elsewhere in the same neighborhood," he added.
Abdullah Ali, a marketing specialist based in Aden, told Xinhua that "the factors behind the increasing of basic commodities are all related to the recent political situation and the war taking place in the country."
"The economic situation of the country that is engulfed by a three-year of fighting is deteriorating day after day and it's normal that the prices of everything will be doubled," the specialist added.
Meanwhile, thousands of public transport passengers in Aden are complaining as bus fares are going up dramatically as a result of oil price hike in the city.
"Getting 20 liters of gasoline requires standing in a long queue in front of the gas station for about eight hours," said Hamdi Ridha, a bus driver in Aden.
"Sometimes we engage in quarrels with passengers who refuse to pay high fares and we feel helpless. We are all victims," the bus driver added.
An increasing number of students gave up going to high schools and others quitted their universities because of high public transportation fares in Aden and neighboring provinces.
"Moving to university campus and going back to your house is a bit difficult nowadays," said Tamim Shmasan, a student at Aden's Faculty of Education.
"Some of my smart colleagues don't attend the lectures anymore because their families can't afford the bus fares. Other students left the faculty to search for work instead of studying," he added.
Yemen's government, allied with the Saudi-led Arab military coalition, has for about three years been battling Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels over control of the country.
The coalition began a military air campaign in March 2015 to roll back Houthi gains and reinstate exiled Hadi and his government to the power.
The coalition also imposed air and sea blockade to prevent weapons from reaching Houthis, who had invaded the capital Sanaa militarily and seized most of the northern Yemeni provinces.
UN statistics show more than 10,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed since the coalition intervened in the Yemeni civil war that also displaced around 3 million.
