Middle East News
Blast in Yemen arms market kills four people
Dec 27, 2007, 12:43 GMT
Sana'a, Yemen - At least four people were killed and nine others injured after a powerful explosion rocked an arms market in the northern Yemeni region of Saada Thursday, witnesses said.
Witnesses said the explosion was caused by a cannon shell mishandled by a man trying to sell it at the al-Talh arms market in Saada, some 230 kilometres north of the capital Sana'a.
Al-Talh is the largest arms market in this poor country located at the south-western tip of the Arabian peninsula. Weapons are bought and sold openly in 12 markets and about 300 light weapon shops across the country.
Unofficial estimates put the number of firearms in circulation in Yemen at around 60 million. A UN-sponsored small arms survey, released last August, concluded that Yemenis own between six and 17 million firearms.
Authorities have in recent years tried to crack down on people carrying arms, but their efforts have met with little success.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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