Aden authorities seize hidden drone components intended for Houthis

Aden security forces seized ‘modern’ communication equipment that guided drones and were hidden inside medical equipment. (Security Belt Forces Facebook page)

• Yemeni observers believe that flow of weapons to Houthis suggests militia is preparing for operations
• The seizure of drone-related material comes nearly a week after another security force in neighboring Lahj province seized a shipment of drone components

AL-MUKALLA: Security forces in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden, the interim capital of Yemen, have seized a new consignment of drone components intended for the Iran-backed Houthis.
Security Belt Forces in Aden said in a statement that their forces recovered a number of sealed boxes containing telecommunication equipment meant to guide drones hidden in a truck in Aden’s Al-Mansoura district traveling to Houthi-controlled regions.
The cartons were disguised as medical supplies, according to security commander Jalal Al-Rubai, and the detained men admitted to loading the boxes from a warehouse for a local medical company in Aden.
The seizure of drone-related material comes nearly a week after another security force in neighboring Lahj province seized a shipment of drone components — including motors, batteries and cameras — in a van that was hidden beneath toys and covered with motorcycles.
Yemeni observers believe that the continued flow of weapons, including drones, to the Houthis indicates that the militia is preparing for military operations across the country, even as international mediators press them and the Yemeni government to renew the UN-brokered truce and reach a peace agreement to end the war.
Meanwhile, Yemeni military officials said that the Houthis launched a number of explosive-equipped and reconnaissance drones at government-controlled regions in Marib, Taiz, Lahj, and Shabwa.
Abdul Basit Al-Baher, a Yemeni military officer in Taiz, told Arab News on Monday that an explosive-laden drone fired by the Houthis shelled army positions on Han Mountain and also hit villages in Al-Dhabab, west of Taiz, on Sunday and that the Houthis have recently intensified drone and ground attacks on government troops as they repositioned new forces outside the besieged city of Taiz.
“Houthi actions demonstrate that they are not advancing toward peace but rather preparing for a more aggressive escalation,” Al-Baher said.
To counter the influx of weaponry to the Houthis through government territories, Al-Baher suggested that various military and security forces from provinces led by the government should be unified under a single command.
“Military and security formations should be merged to prevent the security lapses that permitted the Houthis to smuggle weapons into the country,” he said.