US navy seizes ammunition en route to Yemen

MANAMA: The US Navy said on Saturday it had seized one million rounds of ammunition along with rocket fuses and propellant being smuggled on a fishing trawler from Iran to Yemen.

The cargo was discovered on Thursday “during a flag verification boarding,” the Bahrain-based United States Fith Fleet said in a statement, noting it was the “second major illegal weapons seizure within a month” along the maritime route.

“This significant interdiction clearly shows that Iran’s unlawful transfer of lethal aid and destabilising behaviour continues,” Vice Admiral Brad Cooper said.

“US naval forces remain focused on deterring and disrupting dangerous and irresponsible maritime activity in the region.”

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year.

A Un-brokered ceasefire that took effect in April brought a sharp reduction in hostilities. The truce expired in October, though fighting largely remains on hold.

The fishing trawler intercepted on Thursday was carrying nearly 7,000 rocket fuses and “over 2,100 kilogrammes of propellant used to launch rocket propelled grenades,” the statement said.

“The direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of weapons to the Houthis in Yemen violates UN Security Council Resolution 2216 and international law,” it added. Last month the US navy said it had scutled a boat transporting “explosive materials” from Iran to supply the Houthis, with enough power to fuel a dozen ballistic rockets.

Two months ater Yemen’s truce expired, fighting largely remains on hold but a series of atacks by Houthi rebels could have serious repercussions for a country crippled by war.

At least three drone strikes at ports on Yemen’s southern coast have disrupted oil exports, the main source of income for the Arab world’s poorest country and its government.

The strikes launched by the Iran-backed rebels sincelateoctobercausednocasualtiesbutstopped some tankers from docking at the governmentcontrolled harbours of Qena and Al Dabah.

They followed the failure to extend a Unbrokered truce that was in place for six months until Oct.2 and had brought a much-needed pause in the seven-year war.

A new truce has been hampered by rebel demands that the government pay wages for civil servants and even members of the armed forces in areas under Houthi control, including the capital Sanaa.

By atacking oil ports, Yemen’s economic lifeline, the Houthis are “pressing for their demands to be met,” Ahmed Nagi, a researcher at the Carnegie Middle East Centre, said.