UN Panel of Experts Report Reveals Houthi Militia’s Relationship with Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabaab Movement in Somalia

He continued, as the Houthi and Al-Qaeda organizations discussed, "the possibility that Al-Qaeda would provide support to the Houthis in attacks on maritime targets."

The report also quoted government sources as saying that "the organization's stockpiles include small arms and light weapons, related ammunition, bombs, improvised explosive devices, landmines, as well as empty rockets and converted air defense systems."

Regarding the Houthis’ relationship with the Somali Al-Shabaab Movement, the report quoted confidential sources as saying, “The Houthis are evaluating the available options to carry out attacks at sea from the Somali coast, in order to expand the scope of their area of operations. To achieve this goal, the Houthis are working to strengthen their relations with the terrorist group Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen Movement in Somalia.”

The report quoted the Yemeni government as saying, "There are increasing smuggling activities between the Houthis and the Al-Shabaab movement, most of which relate to small and light weapons, and the two groups possess weapons of the same models and with serial numbers from the same defenses."

The report said, "This indicates either the illegal supply and transfer of weapons between them, or the existence of a common supplier, or both, warning of this close cooperation between the two organizations," stressing that this cooperation between them in smuggling and illegally transferring weapons threatens peace and security in Yemen and the region.