Shipload of Chinese Weapons Disappears from Hodeidah Port?
Update: Parliament questions al Alimi who says maybe the ship went to Somalia and the weapons will be smuggled to Yemen from there.
Original Post: Actually it makes as much sense one way or the other, whether the shipment from Faris Manna (and the Defense Ministry) ultimately goes to the rebels or al Qaeda. I wrote in 2005 that Yemen was a primary weapons supplier to jihaddi groups all over the region- from Saudi to Gaza and lots of places in Africa. Later the Yemeni government promised (!!) to stop using brokers to buy and sell weapons. It was a big announcement, warmly welcomed by the US. But like nearly every and all announcements by the Yemeni regime, it lacked substance.
Following up on our earlier post, about Sa’ada mediator Faris Manna importing a shipload of Chinese weapons with forged documements from Yemen’s Defense Ministry: they can’t find the ship. Its in the port, left the port or never entered the port, one of those.
Yemen Post The debate over a suspected ship carrying Chinese-made weapons anchored in the port of Hodeida province in western Yemen heated up on Wednesday, with Parliament setting a deadline of next Monday for the government to submit a comprehensive report on the ship.
If the report appears unconvinced then a panel will be formed to investigate the ship, after recent reports surfaced that the ship had disappeared.
During the debate attended by Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs and Minister of Local Administration Rashad Al-Alimi, MPs accused figures, believed to be in a close relationship with the regime, of involvement in arms trade and trafficking.
MPs said those traffickers and arms dealers support Al-Qaeda and militias not only in Yemen but also in the region.
The ship came to fuel terrorism in Yemen, MPs said, urging transparent answers over the ship, they argued.
In this regard, Al-Alimi told Parliament that the outcomes of investigations into the suspected ship were turned over to the competent authorities. Further investigation into the ship that may affect Chinese freight companies to know for whom the weapons were shipped are underway, he added.
However, he said that the ship never entered the country’s waters, making clear that a navigation company had just told the Defense Ministry about a ship carrying weapons for the ministry. Earlier reports said the weapons were shipped under forged documents in the name of the ministry.
The police have been placed on high alert to deal with any weapons that may be discharged in the port, he said, adding the ship has been put under an international surveillance through fleets and bases located in the area.
