Yemeni Coast Guard seizes arms-laden ship off coast

By Shukri Hussein

ADEN, Yemen

The Yemeni Coast Guard has seized a weapons-laden ship off the coast of the country’s eastern Al-Muhra province, according to a Coast Guard statement released on Wednesday.

The statement did not provide any information regarding the quantity or type of weapons seized, but asserted that the vessel had approached Yemen’s coast via Omani territorial waters.

The Coast Guard went on to state that the seized arms had been intended for Yemen’s Shia Houthi militia group, which for the last three years has been locked in a devastating conflict with Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

As of midday Wednesday, Houthi leaders had yet to comment on the Coast Guard’s claims.

It is not the first time for Yemen’s Coast Guard to announce the interception of an arms-laden vessel en route from Omani waters.

The Houthis, however, typically refrain from commenting on such accusations.

Yemen has been wracked by conflict since 2014, when the Houthis and allied forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh overran capital Sanaa and other parts of the country.

In March of 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and restoring Yemen’s pro-Saudi government.

Last year, the government and the Houthis held several rounds of UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait aimed at resolving the ongoing conflict, which has seen 10,000 civilians killed and 3 million others displaced, according to UN figures.