Yemen's internet service returns after four-day outage following air strike

The outage hindered money transfers by Yemenis outside the country.

Cashiers at a money transfer company wait for customers amid an internet service cut in Sanaa, Yemen on January 23, 2022.

Internet services were largely restored in Yemen on Tuesday, residents said, after a four-day outage following air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition on the Red Sea city of Hodeidah, which damaged telecoms infrastructure.

The Iran-aligned Houthi group's deputy foreign minister, Hussein al-Ezzi, in a Twitter post praised efforts to repair the damage and restore services.

"To all friends and loved ones: We missed you," he said.

Internet blockage observatory Net Blocks said at 10.00 GMT Monday that services were starting to be restored.

Seven years of conflict have divided Yemen between an internationally recognised government based in the southern city of Aden, and the Houthi group that largely controls the north.

The coalition had said its strikes on Friday were aimed at Houthi military capabilities in Hodeidah, the main landing point for the country's undersea web connection.

The outage hindered money transfers by Yemenis outside the country. The war and ensuing economic collapse has pushed millions into poverty and parts of Yemen to the brink of famine.