October 08, 2009

Forged Documents from Yemen's Military Used to Purchase Chinese Arms

A ship seized in Yemen's port of Hodeidah was importing weapons from China for the Houthi rebels with "forged documents" from the Yemeni Defense Ministry. The rebels are engaged in fierce battles with the Yemeni military since August 12th that have displaced 150,000 people.

Are things really that lax that any yo-yo can show up in China and buy a shipload of weapons with a forged document? Perhaps all weapon sales to Yemen should be scrutinized for similar fraud.

Is the Yemeni administration so corrupt that aspects of the military are selling weapons to their adversaries in the midst of a war? Undoubtedly. The military is so corrupt that sometimes al Qaeda trains inside military camps and military commanders oversee logistics for would be jihaddists.

The cargo was not confiscated, and the ship left the port likely bound for alternate buyers in Somalia. The sequence of events led MP's to wonder, "Who are the hidden hands behind the state?" And if it was possible that the government's mediator in the Sa'ada war, Faris Manna, is also the rebels' weapons supplier. Ya think?

The recent "blacklisting" of the arms dealer makes a little more sense now as a fit of presidential pique. Faris Manna is also the brother of the Governor of Sa'ada and he'll never see a courtroom. The perpetrators of organized criminal activity in Yemen often operate under official cover.

Note: The Yemen Observer is a government fronted stooge paper slanted strongly in favor of President Saleh's regime.

Yemen Observer: Security authorities sabotaged an attempt by arms dealers to enter a large amount of ammunition imported from China, through forged official documents. The dealers are being investigated in preparation for trial. The deal was done through forged documents on behalf of the Yemeni Ministry of Defense and it included a large amount of old manufactured ammunition, said security sources.

I see, just some old bullets, nothing to worry about. FWIW, most of the arms illegally shipped to Somalia are sold by merchants in Yemen, contributing to the instability, the UN found.