Aden (Debriefer) - The Yemeni Attorney General on Saturday directed Aden appeal prosecution office to investigate reports on the presence of 130 containers of ammonium nitrates in the southern port of Aden.
In a letter, AG Ali al-A'aosh ordered the office to send a deputy prosecutor to Aden port and check authenticity of the reports and investigate in accordance with the law.
An existence of such a chemical in the harbor poses risks to the facility, Aden city and people, he warned.
Head of Aden appeal prosecution, Judge Qahir Mustafa, delegated the deputy prosecutor for security and criminal inspection to pay a visit to the port and investigate the issue, sources told Debriefer.
On Friday, a Yemeni journalist warned of a potential disaster similar to that experienced by Lebanon.
Since 2017, Aden container terminal has been hosting up to 4,900 tons of ammonium nitrates with no treatment, Fatehi Bin Lazraq wrote on Facebook.
In remarks to Debriefer, an official at the UN-recognized government denied the report, noting that the shipment was urea fertilizer, but not ammonium nitrates.
Later on Friday, the Yemeni Gulf of Aden ports corporation denied the presence of any shipment of the chemical held in Aden port.
"Allegations, that 140 containers of ammonium nitrate are held in Aden port for three years, alter and falsify facts," the corporation said in a statement carried by the official Aden-based Saba News Agency.
Under measures, rules and laws regulating the Aden port's works in all its facilities, it is prohibited to handle or store any shipments of explosives, flammables and radioactive materials, the statement added.
There are indeed old cargoes in the container terminal, but these "contain (46%) organic urea used as agricultural fertilizers. They are neither explosive nor radioactive materials, and it's not banned to tackle or store them," it added.
