Armies of Liberation

Armies of Liberation covers all Yemen related topics. The reverse magnetic field in the Gulf of Aden has spawned theories that it is a) a worm hole opening b) aliens or c) an underwater military base. These wacky theories are augmented by the international attention to the area including China’s first naval excursion in a century, Iran’s ships and the many western countries that are patrolling the Bab al Mendab for piracy. However the reason for the reverse magnetism is much more likely its this:

Gulf of Aden axial magnetic anomaly and the Curie temperature isotherm
Nature.com, D. Tamsett & R. W. Girdler

School of Physics, The University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK

The main features of magnetic anomalies over ocean ridges have been explained1 as a corollary of seafloor spreading and geomagnetic reversals. Oceanic crust is formed in a narrow region, becoming magnetized in the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field as its temperature falls through the Curie point of the magnetic minerals present. The Gulf of Aden was one of the first places where reversely magnetized sea floor was recognized2. The seafloor spreading direction and latitude are such that the anomaly due to normal magnetization is negative and slightly skewed.

Positive anomalies were also observed suggesting the presence of reverse magnetization. A short wavelength magnetic anomaly which frequently occurs superimposed on the axial magnetic anomaly in the Gulf of Aden is now described. Various interpretations are considered; the preferred involves a dramatic shallowing of the Curie temperature isotherm close to the seafloor spreading centre. The interpretation has implications for models of the generation of oceanic lithosphere and for locating possible geothermal areas in rifted regions.

NATO disputes the claim saying there’s no evidence; Yemen has many islands including Perim, which is in the middle of the Bab al Mendab. Somali pirates have long received logistical assistance, intelligence and other support from Yemeni authorities and citizens.

Euro news: LONDON (Reuters) – Somali pirates have been using Yemen’s remote Horn of Africa island of Socotra as a refuelling hub enabling their attack craft to stay restocked for longer periods at sea and pose a greater hazard to shipping, maritime sources say.
(Read on …)

In Feb, 2009, the French were earlier talking about an anti-piracy base on the island.

WT: The Yemeni Coast Guard said it was building a base in the Bab Al Mandab strait, a target of Somali pirates. On June 27, the coast guard said the base was located on the Miyoun island and would protect commercial shipping that links Asia and Europe. (Read on …)

This article is about a week old, but overall the timeline on Midi is very interesting. An earlier post has links to older posts which follow up on the fishing boats that started exploding in May. (Read on …)

That’s it, the little one. Its not actually a ship, now is it? It looks like a fishing boat. Not that anyone should be smuggling anything into (or out of) Yemen, but the story is overly hyped. A refresher from Radio Free Europe:

On 26 October an Iranian-crewed ship allegedly carrying weapons was seized by Yemen. This provided Yemeni authorities with an apparent direct link between the insurgents and their Iranian supporters, whom the Yemeni government referred to as “religious institutions.”… According to the Yemeni navy, the ship was intercepted in the Red Sea, west of Midi, a port in the northwestern province of Hajjah that adjoins the territory controlled by the insurgents. Confirming that five Iranians on board the ship were arrested by Yemeni security forces,

One of the Saudis recent bombing runs was quite near Midi Island. Also see this.

Yemen Tribune HAJJA, 16 Nov — Saudi fighter jets Monday night bombed a number of targets near the port of Midi in Hajja, the Islamist website, Alsahwa said quoting sources at Yemen’s coastguard in Midi. The sources said “the air strikes hit targets in Yemen’s Small Ashaq island near the Saudi Large Ashaq island,” adding “the shelling hit some areas near the island of Midi and intelligence officers from the Political Security Organization and military intelligence rushed to the scene to investigate.”

The intelligence officers were probably all running to see if their illegal contraband got hit.

Iran drop shipping missiles to Sudan re-spun by the regime as Eritirea, which is a nasty little country in its own right. Man, thats complicated. Ah, better in English from the Gulf News

Earlier on Monday, the independent paper Al Ahali said that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards train Al Houthi rebels in training camps in neighboring Eritrea. The paper also said that the Iranian revolutionary guards transport the weapons through the Eritrean harbour of Asab, from where it is transported to Yemen’s Midi Harbour.

More from MEMRI about Midi Island and Eritrea: (Read on …)

Update: Iran denies ship seized.

The last report we had was about a purported Iranian missile shipment from the Sudan prior to the outbreak of the sixth war. Now theres news of a new shipment, not to be confused with the ship with the Chinese weapons. Mohammed Sudaam is the Reuters reporter which raises several red flags, and the question of how big was the boat if it only had six crew. This story could be a diversion for the weapons sent on the Chinese freighter, which may be a weapons shipment to al Qaeda by Yemeni govt officials. But on the other hand, it could true.

al Motamar Local sources I n Hajah province said the Yemeni nay caught an Iranian suspect ship loaded with weapons offshore Midi in Hajah province, to the remotest north-west part of Yemen.

The sources said the ship is thought o be smuggling weapons to the Houthi elements of sabotage and its crew was composed of five Iranians and an Indian one.

According to the sources security apparatuses were then interrogating the ship’s crew to disclose more information about the event.

SANAA (Al Arabiya) has more: (Read on …)

Updated to include dates of Iranian warships on “piracy patrols” that landed in Yemen.

Possibly the mystery of the three recent incidents of exploding Yemeni fishing boats can be explained as Iranian missile shipments. The following article asserts Iran is shipping from an African country, likely Sudan, to Yemen. A Yemeni fishing boat also exploded in a Sudanese port and Yemen’s Midi Island is a new transit point for Sudanese refugees. Once there’s a smuggling route established for weapons, the boats often also transport refugees.

However this report is taken from a Yemeni government stooge newspaper, Akhbar al Youm, which once announced that Ayatollah Sistani and I (me Jane) wrote the 2005 Amnesty International report, so there you go… It could be spin but the part that seems truest is that Yemeni government officials facilitated the shipment’s entry to Yemen. Its equally likely the Iranian missiles, if they were off loaded in Yemen, were destined for al Qaeda as the Houthi rebels. The paper is owned by President Saleh’s half brother General Ali Mohsen al Ahmar who is in a perpetual power struggle with other elements of the family. General al Ahmar is tasked with leading the war against the Houthi rebels, and as odd as it seems, a shipload of Chinese weapons was recently imported (with forged documents from the Yemeni defense ministry), thought destined for the Houthi rebels. Its a very fractured government.

Adding some weight to the story is the January 09 incident of Israel bombing an Iranian weapons shipment headed for Gaza from The Sudan, with Yemen noted as a leg of the route. So if Iran is drop shipping weapons to Sudan, from there they could go either direction. Two Iranian warships did dock in Yemen during the time frame referenced (prior to August 09), approved by Yemen’s president. A third fleet docked in September 2009.

Yemen Tribune SANAA, 15 Oct — The pro-government daily newspaper, Akhbar al-Youm Thursday quoted ‘special’ sources as saying “Iran provided the Shiite insurgents in Yemen with advanced anti-armour missiles one month before the sixth round of war erupted between the Zaydi Shiite rebels and government forces in north Yemen.” “The information we obtained revealed the missiles were shipped through the sea via an Iranian vessel that began its journey from an African port,” said Akhbar al-Youm, adding “the Iranian missiles-laden vessel docked near Yemen’s Mydi port in Hajja where smaller boats transferred the missiles to Mydi. The missiles were then moved and stored in farms near Mydi and later were transferred to the rebels through Hajja and Hodeida.” “State officials were involved in the operation and arranged for the Iranian ship to enter Yemeni water territorial,” said Akhbar al-Youm, adding “security agencies arrested several of those officials and investigation is underway.” A few weeks ago, media reports talked about ‘mysterious’ blasts in Mydi port where boats were blown up and Akhbar al-Youm said “the blasts were the result of clashes between the coastguard and individuals aboard those boats who were delivering arms to the Shiite insurgents.”

I was concerned at the time the fishing boats were exploding about a coordinated maritime al Qaeda attack on the NATO fleet in the Gulf of Aden, that is the Yemeni signature, but this convoluted story is much more apt to be likely.