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'Ammonium Nitrate' Shipment at Aden Port Creates Controversy

Bags containing ammonium nitrate fertilizer (Reuters)
Bags containing ammonium nitrate fertilizer (Reuters)
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'Ammonium Nitrate' Shipment at Aden Port Creates Controversy

Bags containing ammonium nitrate fertilizer (Reuters)
Bags containing ammonium nitrate fertilizer (Reuters)

Yemeni media reports sparked widespread controversy after claiming a shipment of ammonium nitrate was stored in Aden port three years ago, twice the amount stored at Beirut port that caused the massive explosion.

Aden port authorities denied the claims, however, Yemen’s Public Prosecutor, Ali al-Awash, ordered a quick probe into reports about tons of ammonium nitrate abandoned in the city’s seaport for several years.

Judicial sources stated that Awash directed Aden’s Chief of the Appeals and a member of the Supreme Judicial Council to investigate the case, given the risks posed to the safety of the port, the city, and its residents.

The sources stated that the Attorney General ordered one of the public prosecutors to go to the port and investigate the issue in accordance with the law.

Yemeni residents expressed their concerns after recent online reports about the shipment, fearing they’d face a fate similar to Beirut, where a shipment of ammonium nitrate exploded killing over 100 and injuring thousands.

Meanwhile, the Yemen Ports Authority denied the existence of any shipment containing ammonium nitrate in the ports, according to a statement carried by Saba News Agency.

The authority's media department described the allegations of 140 containers loaded with ammonium nitrate in the port as fake news and falsifications of facts.

Under rules and laws regulating Aden port's facilities, it is prohibited to handle or store any shipments of explosives, flammables, and radioactive materials, added the statement.

The statement admitted there are old cargoes in the container terminal, but they contain 46 percent organic urea which is used as agricultural fertilizers, and are not explosive nor radioactive materials.

It asserted that storing or transporting such materials is not illegal or banned, urging everybody to seek accuracy before publicizing information, and avoid spreading panic among civilians.

On Friday, Yemeni lawmakers demanded an immediate investigation into allegations of stranded containers of ammonium nitrate.

MP Ali Ashal sent a letter to the government requesting clarifications about the presence of 130 40-foot containers of ammonium nitrate abandoned in Aden seaport, and the reasons for importing them.

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3 Members of Syrian Security Forces Killed in Clashes with Regime Remnants in Daraa

Defense ministry and security forces gather in Daraa’s town of al-Sanamayn.
Defense ministry and security forces gather in Daraa’s town of al-Sanamayn.
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3 Members of Syrian Security Forces Killed in Clashes with Regime Remnants in Daraa

Defense ministry and security forces gather in Daraa’s town of al-Sanamayn.
Defense ministry and security forces gather in Daraa’s town of al-Sanamayn.

Three members of the Syrian Internal Security Forces and a member of local armed groups were killed in clashes between the country’s new authorities and former military security forces affiliated with the ousted regime in the town of al-Sanamayn in the southern Daraa governorate.

Civilians, including women and children, were wounded in the unrest.

Military reinforcements arrived in the town on Wednesday morning to “raid outlawed armed groups,” a statement from Daraa authorities said, citing Internal Security official Abdul-Razzaq al-Khatib.

“The clashes remain intense in several buildings in the southwestern district of the city,” Khatib said, adding that a security officer was wounded in a direct gunfire attack on a checkpoint in the town on Tuesday.

Gunfights have been reported across Syria since the new authorities took power in Damascus on Dec. 8, with security officials blaming loyalists of the former regime for the unrest.

The authorities have launched security operations targeting what they describe as “remnants of the former regime,” leading to arrests, according to official statements.

Restoring and maintaining security across Syria remains one of the biggest challenges for interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, following a devastating civil war that began in 2011 and saw multiple factions involved.

The local news outlet Daraa 24 reported that the deceased were associated with a group led by Mohsen al-Himid, a former operative of the military security branch under the Assad regime.

Al-Himid’s group had been actively involved in the clashes, making them potential targets in the ongoing cycle of retaliatory attacks and factional violence in the region.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group “considers itself above the law” and has continued to defy state authority while committing serious crimes, including murder, armed robbery, theft, kidnapping for ransom, and drug trafficking.

Residents have long called for a crackdown on such gangs, particularly since the fall of the Assad regime, in a bid to rid their communities of groups that “terrorize the population, spread corruption, and destroy society,” the sources added.

The number of outlawed armed groups still operating in parts of Daraa is small, but they continue to fuel insecurity and fear among residents, sources familiar with the situation said.

“The government is determined to restore security and stability across the governorate,” one source told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that these groups are “not factions but criminal gangs.”

Most armed factions, the source noted, have already integrated into the Ministry of Defense.

The Internal Security Forces had launched a security campaign on Feb. 20 targeting remnants of the former regime, as well as drug and arms traffickers.

The operation has also sought to confiscate illegal weapons in the Daraa towns of al-Harah and Nimr, in an effort to tighten security.