A campaign to confiscate weapons in Yemen

A Yemeni security source stated that the Yemeni security forces started on Saturday a large-scale weapons-confiscation campaign following the detonation of an explosive device in al-Kheir Mosque in Sanaa that resulted in the killing of 2 persons and the wounding of 27.

The source said the campaign, which aims at preventing Yemeni's from carrying their personal weapons in major cities, will continue until the end of May and will focus on the cities of Sanaa, Aden, Taez and al-Hudida.

Estimates by the Yemeni Ministry of the Interior said some 65 million weapons are owned by people in Yemen. In 1997, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh admitted that the Yemeni authorities have not been able to eliminate the practice of citizens arming themselves.