Border Guard patrols along Saudi Arabia's rugged mountain frontier with Yemen report mounting interceptions of hashish, weapons and other contraband. Over the past nine months, interceptions at the Najran border post alone netted four tons of hashish, as well as explosives, hand grenades, firearms and ammunition. Some 250 smugglers and 25,000 "infiltrators" were also detained at the post, and several vehicles impounded. But Border Guard officials admit that on several occassions the smugglers got away into the wilderness, with agents firing after them. At the Wadi post, to the east of Najran, border guards last month confronted six "infiltrators," killing five and capturing the survivor. Four tons of hashish were confiscated along the border just during the holy month of Ramadan, which ended with the Eid al-Fitr festival July 28—possibly because smugglers thought patrols would be slacking off. On the contrary, Saudi forces beefed up patrols.
Border control is a growing concern in the Saudi kingdom, with war raging both in Yemen to the south and Iraq to the north. Saudi authorities are continuing to investigate a mortar attack on the Jadida Arar post along the Iraqi border in early July. In late July, guards on the Jordanian border claimed to have confiscated almost a quarter of a million Captagon pills, as well as quantities of amphetamine. (Arab News, Aug. 8; SPA, Aug. 5; Asharq Al-Awsat, July 29; KUNA, July 7)
With all eyes on the ISIS take-over of northern Iraq, civil war is escalating in Yemen. On Aug. 13, clashes between Houthi Shi'ite rebels and tribal fighters loyal to the conservative Sunni Islah party left at least 15 dead in Yemen's northern al-Jouf governorate, bordering Saudi Arabia. Both sides used heavy weaponry, including tanks that were previously captured from the army. At least 200 people were killed and more than 35,000 displaced in July when Houthis overran Amran, just 50 kilometers north of the capital Sanaa. (Reuters, Al Manar, Aug. 13)
We may be sure that all sides in the multi-sided Yemeni conflict are turning to the hashish trade—although with greater hypocrisy for the jihadist forces, who share the Saudi state's ultra-puritanical stance on cannabis. In northern Iraq, ISIS is said to be taking in $1 million a day in sales of black-market oil plundered from facilities they have seized. Saudi Arabia is the real prize in the region—both for its vast oil resources and its stewardship of Mecca and Medina, revered by all the sectarian Islamist factions. The rulers of sparsely populated Saudi Arabia are clearly worried about their security forces being stretched very thin.
Cross-post to High Times and Global Ganja Report
Yemen: Houthi rebels enter capital
Houthi rebels have pushed into Yemen's capital Sanaa after clashing with government-allied forces in the city's northwest outskirts.The advance comes after weeks of unrest in the city where the Houthis have blocked the road to the main airport and staged anti-government sit-ins at ministries. Several hundred rebels are now in the capital, and the state TV headquarters has come under attack. (Al Jazeera, AP, Sept. 19)
Yemen’s government resigns
Yemens' government and Houthi rebels signed an agreement aimed at ending the political crisis which has gripped the country for weeks. Under the deal, a new government will be formed and the Houthis and southern separatists will nominate a new prime minister within three days. It comes hours after the prime minister quit amid clashes between rebels and pro-government forces in the capital. Scores of people have died and hundreds fled as clashes escalated in Sanaa. (BBC News, Sept. 21)
Yemen: dozens dead in twin suicide blasts
At least 47 people were killed in a suicide attack on supporters of the Houthi rebels who had gathere in Sanaa's Tahrir Square. Later, a suicide bomb attack on an army checkpoint in the eastern province of Hadramawt left 20 soldiers dead. (BBC News)
Sectarian war mounts in Yemen
Fighting between Houthi rebels and Qifa tribesmen for town of Radda in Yemen's central Bayda governorate has left at least 250 dead over three days of clashes, security officials said Oct. 27. (Al Arabiya)
Yemen Houthi rebels join government
A new cabinet has been formed in Yemen, in an effort to defuse mounting political tensions. The new administration, headed by Prime Minister-Designate Khalid Bahah, includes Houthi rebels who seized Sanaa in September. Rebel leaders had said they would withdraw their fighters from Sanaa once the cabinet was formed. The move came as the UN imposed sanctions on Yemen's ex-President Ali Abdallah Saleh and two Houthi leaders. subjecting them to an asset freeze and global travel ban. (BBC News)