SANA’A – On Saturday, the Ministry of Interior  launched an anti-arms campaign to publicly end carrying weapons in Sana’a. The campaign targeted the districts of Old Sana’a, Al-Safiah and Azal.

Muneer Al-Azani, an officer participating in the campaign, said on the first day they found six men with weapons. The men were let go without warnings.

Sadeq Al-Faqeh, who was on the scene, said the interior ministry started with Old Sana’a, Azal and Al-Safiah, and it plans to expand to the districts of Al-Sabeen and Maeen. The district of Althuorah has not been targeted because armed tribesmen with divided loyalties to two opposing sheiks, Sagheer Aziz and Sadeq Al-Ahmer, are present.

Colonel Mansour Al-Makaleh, the top detective in Al-Safiah, said the campaign is to educate people about the dangers of carrying weapons and to punish those who do.

Al-Makaleh said the campaign will apply to everyone, including tribal sheiks and prominent social figures, and will continue until the capital is completely free of publicly carried weapons.

Security checkpoints in Sana’a have been provided with specialized equipment to cut assault rifles and handguns in half, thereby destroying the weapons and rendering them useless.

The ministry also plans to target the governorates of Al-Hodeida, Taiz and Ibb and to provide them with specialized equipment in the future.