Security Council investigators reveal a possible air route to smuggle weapons to the Houthis
English - Sunday 26 February 2023 الساعة 05:31 pm
Aden, NewsYemen:
The group of eminent international experts on Yemen confirmed the continued flow of Iranian weapons and equipment to the Houthi militia, through three lines and paths, one of which is land across Yemen's eastern border with the Sultanate of Oman.
The report of the Sanctions Committee on Yemen for the year 2023 revealed developments in Yemen in 2022, with regard to the routes and paths of supplying and smuggling Iranian weapons to the Houthi militia, in light of information from a member state of the United Nations.
The report suggested the formation of a new supply route through their investigation into the "crash of a delta wing drone" that was found in the desert of the Sultanate of Oman.
Investigators said that on January 28, "a Delta Wing drone crashed in the eastern region of Oman. Initially it was reported that it was part of a wave of attacks on the United Arab Emirates."
And they added: Later, "Oman informed the team that the plane was traveling in a north-south direction and that it was not equipped for the purposes of attack or reconnaissance."
They pointed out, "The drone had similar technical characteristics to the Delta-wing drone, the 'Waeed' plane, which first appeared in Houthi-affiliated media on March 11, 2021."
The investigators continued: "The plane Waeed is a larger and technologically advanced version of the drone that was documented in the attacks on Saudi Arabia in 2019 (hitting two oil pumping stations in Dawadmi and Afif in an oil supply line, and the prominent attack on the Aramco facility in Abqaiq)."
They explained that while Waeed drones were involved in attacks on the Mercer Street tanker on July 29, 2021, and the Pacific Zirkon on November 15, 2022 in the Gulf of Oman (the tanker Pacific Zirkon flying the Liberian flag-Central Command), the team is not aware of the Houthis usage of them to launch attacks.
However, the investigators added: “However, the team inspected the incomplete wreckage of a Waeed drone that was discovered by Yemeni government forces on the Ma’rib front in September 2020 (the source posted it on his Twitter account according to the link included in the sources index), which indicates that this system of weapons was used in Yemen.”
Sanctions experts said it was possible that the drone found in the desert of Oman had crashed during a "transit flight" to Houthi-controlled territory.
They added, "It may constitute a new supply route (the team had previously received information from one of the Member States stating that drones fly to areas controlled by the Houthis), as it lands by parachute, confirming that the technical examination of the drone discovered in Oman could allow verification of this information."
The experts also confirmed that they had asked Muscat to inspect the wreckage of that drone, but were told by Oman that the wreckage had been destroyed by the Omani authorities.
The report also reviewed the results of the investigation into the smuggling of anti-tank guided missile launch containers that were seized during an attempt to smuggle them in a commercial shipment by land across the Yemeni-Omani border, which is the third route of supply lines for the Houthi militia with Iranian weapons.
