Giants Brigades discover cache of mines, explosive devices smuggled by Houthis under guise of UN aid

The Giant Brigades discovered hundreds of mines and explosive devices hidden by the Houthis in aid boxes in Harib, Marib. (Screenshot)
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  • The minister said the boxes had UN logos on them and called on the UN and relief organizations to investigate
  • He urged the international community to designate the militia as a terrorist organization

RIYADH: The Giant Brigades fighting the Houthis in Yemen have discovered a large quantity of mines and explosive devices hidden by the militia in aid boxes in Harib, Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.

The Houthi militia left the boxes, used to smuggle weapons, behind after fleeing the district in Marib province, Yemen’s information minister Moammar Al-Eryani said.

The minister said the boxes had UN logos on them and condemned the Houthi actions as “a heinous crime that reveals the ugly face of the criminal militia.”

He said the crime reveals tricks used by the militia to transport weapons and ammunition and exploit humanitarian work as a cover to continue killing Yemenis and carry out criminal activities. 

It also shows how the militia employs airports and ports to smuggle ballistic missiles and Iranian-made drones, he said. 

“We call on the UN and international relief organizations to investigate the incident and denounce the crime of using their logos as cover to transport and store mines and explosive devices used by the Houthi militia in homes, schools, mosques, markets, roads, (targeting) innocent civilians, including women, children, and the elderly,” Al-Eryani said.

He also called on the international community, and UN and US envoys for Yemen to condemn these practices and put pressure on the Houthi militia to stop its crimes against civilians.

He urged the international community to designate it as a terrorist organization and prosecute its leaders in the International Criminal Court as “war criminals.”

The discovery comes a day after the Houthis carried out a drone and missile attack on the UAE that killed three people.

The attack was condemned by the UN and the international community.