The threads of the suspected ships carrying Chinese-made weapons which was said to have anchored in western Yemen have started to appear after gunmen blocked a road in Mareb province in northeast Yemen.
The gunmen, believed to be gangs employed by arms dealer in the country, in the road linking Mareb city to Safer area where one of Yemen's important oil fields is located in Mareb province, have demanded the Defense Ministry to release the ship carrying weapons they had imported from China.
They are preventing cars and trucks from passing in the road, causing a real traffic disaster, local sources told the News Yemen.
Officials in the province confirmed the gunmen were supported by arms traders including an MP and a Shoura council member.
The move is aimed to create a gas shortage as the gunmen are blocking the road where gas trucks pass and to pressure the government to abandon a decision barring the ship from discharging the arms shipment in the country, they said.
Last week, Parliament gave the government until next Monday to submit a comprehensive report on the suspected ship, a move which came after reports that the ship disappeared from the Hodeida port.
Earlier, Parliament approved to summon Defense Minister over the ship that arrived in Yemen amid persistent confrontations between the army and the Houthi rebels in Saada and Amran in northern Yemen.
Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs and Minister of Local Administration Rashad Al-Alimi visited the council on behalf of the minister and affirmed the ship did not enter Yemen waters.
MPs then hinted figures in a good relationship with the regime were involved in the arms deal which was said imported with forged documents in the name of the Defense Ministry.
MPs said the shipment was imported by arms dealers and influential figures to help armed gangs and maybe Al-Qaeda in Yemen and the region.
But Al-Alimi assured the outcomes of investigations into the ship were to appear, adding further investigation would take place that may affect freight firms in China.