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Sana'a: Yemeni authorities have closed around 200 weapon shops as part of government efforts to crack down on arms trafficking, a security official on Friday said.
Yemen is a tribal society awash with weapons that are often used to settle disputes. Authorities estimate there are some 60 million firearms, or three for each citizen, in the country.
Mohammad Al Qulasi, Deputy Interior Minister, said the government campaign against weapon shops started on June 17 and is aimed at limiting the possession of weapons among citizens.
Another Interior Ministry official said the Yemeni government also has been under American pressure to curb weapons trafficking. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press.
There are no laws banning the possession of weapons in Yemen, but recently, the Interior Ministry attempted to prevent gunmen from appearing in the streets with their weapons dangling off their belts.
A recent government report estimated that Yemeni citizens spent some $55 million on the purchase of weapons in 2006-07.
Al Qaida has an active presence in Yemen, which is its leader Osama Bin Laden's ancestral homeland, despite government efforts to destroy the network. The group was blamed for the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole destroyer in the Yemeni port of Aden that killed 17 American sailors.
There is also a three-year-old Shiite rebellion raging in the northern Sa'ada province and the country was torn apart by a civil war in 1994.
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