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ABOARD THE USS JASON DUNHAM, Persian Gulf – The huge pile of rusted AK-47 rifles snuggles up in a corner under the USS Jason Dunham's bridge, reminding how difficult it is to capture weapons smugglers who would be supposed to pass transit weapons in Yemen.
On Thursday, US inspectors boarded the US guided missile destroyer to examine the more than 2,500 firearms seized by the crew at the end of August and determine whether it was likely that the weapons came from Iran.
US authorities have long accused Iran of smuggling weapons to Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels, who have been occupying the Sultan's capital, Sanaa, since September 2014. But they have failed to grasp the truth. 39; a handful of weapons caches in recent years, highlighting the difficulties tracking down gun traffickers working in the vast waters surrounding Yemen.
"It's a big traffic corridor," Vice Admiral Scott Stearney, commander of the US 5th Fleet, told reporters on Thursday. "It's not stuck, and it's not just lines on a map that people are not getting into."
Stearney declined to say he thought Iran was responsible for shipping, but he added that US inspectors were experts in illicit weapons from Iran, Yemen and Somalia.
USS Jason Dunham on patrol in the area noticed that large bags had been transferred from a dhow located about 70 km off the coast of Yemen in a smaller skiff. A dhow is a traditional ship that is commonly sailing in the waters of the Persian Gulf region. The navy ship intercepted the skiff and, after talking to the crew on board, determined that there was smuggling of arms.
The rifles, in packets of four or five, were wrapped in plastic and then styrofoam and concealed in green burlap bags, according to the Navy Commander. John Hamilton, Dunham Commander.
On Wednesday, a small number of journalists were allowed to see the rust-stained rifles after nearly two months at sea. The weapons had been unpacked and piled up and were ready to be inspected the next day by the police. American team.
Hamilton stated that the crew of the dhow originally told them that he was carrying flour and wheat, but that there were none on board.
Navy Captain Adan Cruz, Commodore of the Central Command of US Naval Forces, said it was likely that the weapons were shipped from Somalia to Yemen, but this has not been proven yet. US inspectors, he said, will determine the origin of the weapons and "will see the weapons enter the region."
The United States has repeatedly condemned Iran for arming the Houthis, a claim refuted by Tehran. Last December, US Ambassador Nikki Haley exposed the remains of missiles discovered in Yemen at a Maryland military base, claiming that they constituted "undeniable evidence" of the illegal activity of the island. 39; Iran. An important segment, she said, was launched at the Riyadh International Airport in Saudi Arabia.
Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has led a coalition of Arab countries backing the Yemeni government against the Houthi rebels lined up in Iran. Saudi-led airstrikes have hit schools, hospitals and marriages and killed thousands of Yemeni civilians. The Houthis fired long-range missiles into Saudi Arabia and targeted vessels in the Red Sea.
