JEDDAH, 22 August 2003 — Saudi and Yemeni arms dealers regularly supply militants operating in Saudi Arabia despite efforts by both countries to fight weapons smuggling, a Saudi official said.
Prince Muhammad ibn Nasir, governor of Jizan, which borders Yemen, said Saudi border guards seized arms caches smuggled from Yemen on an hourly basis, but some weapons slipped through and were sold to the militants.
“This (smuggling) is no doubt a disturbing phenomenon that threatens our security, and that is why we are working with the Yemeni authorities to find and destroy the smuggling ring,” Prince Muhammed told Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News. He said he did not have exact figures for the amount of weapons seized but added: “The border guards find an arms haul every hour of the day.”
Both Yemen and Saudi Arabia have witnessed a spate of attacks in the past year which have largely been blamed on Al-Qaeda network.
In June, the two countries agreed to cooperate closely to fight weapons smuggling as part of a large-scale crackdown on terror after the May 12 suicide bombings at Riyadh housing compounds killed 35 people, mostly foreigners.
The Jizan governor pointed out that the Yemeni authorities were aware of the huge damage done to Saudi security because of the open weapons market.
Prince Muhammad said cooperation between the two countries was “good” and added the initiative for the accords came from both sides. “We expect further positive results in the future to stamp out weapons smuggling through the border,” he said.
Yemen has also worked closely with the United States in its war on terror in a bid to shed its image as a stronghold of militant groups including Al-Qaeda.
Earlier this week, Riyadh extradited four men to Yemen, including two suspected militants believed to be linked to last year’s attack on the French supertanker Limburg. Since the May bombings, Saudi authorities have arrested some 240 suspected militants.
