SANA’A, Sept. 5 – An oil pipeline in Marib was again exposed to acts of sabotage Tuesday night due to an attack carried out by armed men belonging to the Abida tribe.

Nasser Mohtam, a public figure in Marib, said a person named Al-Aji Kalfoot, who is from the Al-Damasheqa district in Marib, carried out the attack. He said that a fire raged in the area, and large quantities of oil leaked out.

He also said the Eastern Region Leadership, troops charged with protecting oil facilities, launched four mortars on the attacker’s village. From there, mediation intervened to find a solution and to facilitate repairing the pipeline.

For the past two months, oil exports from the Marib pipeline remained stable after the repairs from exposure to acts of sabotage during the uprising. Moreover, tribesmen had recently stopped attacking these pipelines.

Ghaleb Al-Mo’aili, oil director in Marib, said the attack happened in Abida Valley, pointing out that the pipe has yet to undergo repairs.

Al-Mo’aili said oil production in the pipeline has now stopped. He said large quantities of oil stored in oil tanks would be enough for just three days.

Al-Mo’aili confirmed that gas pipelines weren’t exposed to acts of sabotage as the media has alleged.

Sheikh Sultan Al-Arada, Marib’s governor, said he thinks the attack was politically motivated, since it coincided with the Donors Conference in Riyadh and also the thirtieth anniversary of the establishment the General People’s Congress, the party of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh and current President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi.

Al-Arada said there is mutual coordination between the governorate and the Ministry of Interior to arrest the perpetrators and to transfer them to be prosecuted.

He said the explosions affected the environment and the situation of residents.

This attack raised resentment among residents, who condemned all acts of sabotage in the governorate.

Mohammed Al-Jedasi, a journalist and an activist, said the governorate’s executive council held a meeting Wednesday to call upon security apparatuses to detain the perpetrators and to distribute their photos at all checkpoints to easier arrest them.