Chapter
9:
Case
studies
in
Ta’izz
Locals
said
that
when
electricity
service
came
to
the
village
in
2013,
Uqf
started
using
electric
pumps
to
withdraw
water
from
their
own
wells,
which,
in
the
opinion
of
Qihaf,
caused
some
of
their
wells
to
dry
up.
9.3.3
B:
Conflict
description
In
end
of
2012,
Person
93
from
the
Uqf
village,
located
opposite
to
Qihaf
with
the
wadi
in
the
middle,
started
drilling
a
well
higher
in
the
valley
only
220
meters
away
from
the
Qihaf
well.
He
dug
three
wells
and
could
not
find
any
water.
Then
he
attempted
to
dig
another
well
that
was
only
170
meters
away
from
Qihaf
well.
The
Qihaf
villagers
represented
by
Abdujabbar
Mokred
filed
a
complaint
at
the
security
services,
and
paid
for
soldiers
to
come
and
deal
with
the
situation.
The
security
did
nothing
and
Uqf
continued
to
dig
the
well.
Eventually,
the
villagers
of
Qihaf
ran
down
the
valley
and
buried
the
new
well.
Person
93
and
his
men
shot
at
them.
Mokred
reported
the
situation
to
the
prosecution
but
he
said
there
was
no
response
and
no
action
was
taken
to
the
digging
of
the
new
well.
End
of
January
2013,
the
security
referred
both
parties
to
prosecutor’s
office.
The
prosecution
put
Ghamen
and
Mokred
in
jail
in
addition
to
Abdullah
Adhamari,
the
acting
Akel
of
the
Uqf
village
who,
according
to
Mokred,
helped
escalate
the
situation.
The
prosecution’s
office
deputy
talked
to
both
parties
and
then
visited
the
side
and,
according
to
Mokred,
said
that
the
people
of
Uqf
and
Person
93
have
no
right
to
dig
a
new
well.
Instead
he
suggested
“arbitration”.
Mokred
and
the
Qihaf
villagers
refused
arbitration
because
they
cannot
compromise
when
it
comes
to
the
only
water
source
they
have.
According
to
them,
Uqf
has
at
least
12
water
wells
that
they
use
for
drinking
and
for
irrigating
their
qat
farms.
The
Qihaf
villagers
had
no
problem
with
Uqf
digging
a
well
as
long
as
they
observes
the
Water
Law
regulating
a
minimum
500
meters
distance
between
wells.
Also,
the
Uqf
women
come
and
use
the
Qihaf
well
to
wash
their
clothes
and
Qihaf
never
attempted
to
stop
them.
To
Qihaf,
the
traditional
rule
is
that
everyone
has
the
right
to
use
water
for
drinking
or
home
consumption.
Mokred
also
reached
out
to
NWRA
Ta’izz
who
sent
a
lawyer
to
the
prosecution’s
office,
but
nothing
happened
to
resolve
the
dispute.
The
Qihaf
villagers
already
spent
YR450,000
(approximately
$2,100)
for
transportation,
paying
security
to
come
to
the
site,
and
other
expenses
to
process
the
case
against
Person
93
and
Uqf
with
no
results.
Currently,
Person
93
stopped
digging
the
well
but
he
might
resume
the
digging
any
time.
The
dispute
remains
unaddressed
and
open
to
escalation.
9.3.4
C:
Dispute
Resolution
Mechanisms
The
Akels
resolve
minor
conflicts
within
their
communities
(rather
than
between
communities).
The
Akel
in
this
case
was
jailed,
because
he
was
partisan
and
taking
the
side
of
Uqf
where
he