UN trying to discover origin of arms found off Yemen coast

pulse

October 26, 2018 8:31 PM

A Yemeni soldier loyal to the Shiite Huthi rebels mans a turret in the back of a pickup truck in the capital Sanaa on October 16, 2018: the UN says it is inspecting a shipment of thousands of AK-47 rifles intercepted en route to the conflict zone

UN experts are working to establish the origin of a weapons shipment seized off of Yemens coast by a US Navy vessel, the United Nations said Friday.

"UN experts with responsibilities in the area have carried out an inspection of the weapons seized and will report to their respective Security Council Sanctions Committees in due course," a UN spokesman said.

The Washington Post had earlier reported that the stash of some 2,500 Kalashnikov assault rifles was seized in late August in the Gulf of Aden, off of Yemen's southern coast. The newspaper, which had a reporter aboard the US navy vessel, did not identify the ship carrying the arms.

The United States has repeatedly accused Iran of providing military aid to Yemen's Huthi rebels, who in 2015 forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa and into the southern part of the country.

Tehran says it has only provided political backing to the Shiite rebels. The UN has identified missiles used by the Huthis as Iranian-made, but has not established proof that Tehran delivered them.

The war has left more than 10,000 people dead since it broke out three years ago, according to UN figures.

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