Sana’a: A Facebook page that promotes arms in Yemen has got thousands 'likes' from visitors seeking information about the prices of different brands of weapons.
The page is called Arms Prices in Yemen and was created eight months ago by a person who identified himself to Gulf News as Ebrahim Attwaiti, an officer at the country’s elite Special Forces.
Unlike in neighbouring countries, where weapons sales are strictly regulated, Yemenis openly make online transactions on weapons displayed on this popular page. The page is uncontested and received 36,900 so far.
“I do not get any profit from my page. I am doing free of charge service to the people who need a gun,” Attwaiti told Gulf News by telephone. “I am not doing an illegal business as weapons are everywhere in Yemen with the full knowledge of the government.”
The page gives information about the prices of many kind of weapons such as AK-47s, rifles, rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and also keeps followers updated on the changing prices of weapons.
In a recent post, the website gave the prices of 15 different brands of rifles, 13 pistols, and many kinds of bullets. The page even advertises some of Israeli- made guns.
The idea of creating the page sprang to his mind when many people contacted him on his personal page asking about the prices of weapons. “Weapons trade is profitable, but I have not been able to strike any successful deal,” he said.
Attwaiti said that he has never worked in arms trade and established the page to be a link between costumers and sellers.
But despite his strong denial that he is not knee-deep in arms trade, he does not mind receiving a commission from successful deals. He said that most of offer and questions come from Yemenis living abroad.
“Most of visitors live in Saudi Arabia. They have a lot of money and do not want to take the pain of searching for better prices. So when they settle on a kind of weapon, I guide them to Jouhana market.”
Jouhana is a district in Sana’a province and said to be the hub of arms trade in Yemen.
“A weapon is a symbol of honour for Yemeni tribesmen,” he said.
Weapons in Yemen are usually named after their country of origin, local politicians, or after political parties like the General People’s Congress, the party of the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Prices of weapons vary with, some reaching as much as $10,000.
A photo of RPG that is said to be worth YR 450,000 (Dh7,760) got hundreds of likes and dozens of comments. In another post, a follower put his AK-47 on sale for YR300,000 (Dh5,172).
“This person contacted me and asked me to put his gun on sale. I did not ask him for a commission, but I will not say no if he gave me some.”
A Russian-made hand grenade was put on sale for YR9000 (Dh155).
The page is also a platform for heated debate between supporters and opponents of weapons in Yemen. “Weapons in Yemen are [the cause of] destruction” said a visitor, another visitor replied: “Weapons are dignity and honour”.
Some gun control advocates called on the government to close the page.
Dr Fuad Al Salahi, a sociologist at Sana’a university, told Gulf News that the government should monitor pages that promote weapons instead of censoring journalists and newspapers.
“The government should close these pages instead of chasing journalists and newspapers. At the same time, the state must buy all weapons from market and close arms shops.”
