Sana'a: Business has been booming at Jihana, one of Yemen's biggest weapons markets. When deadly feuds erupt between local tribes, fighters from both sides rush to stock up on weapons.
"We stay open past midnight sometimes to cope with the demand," said arms trader Mohammad Qubban. Trade is brisk and when a pick-up carrying four masked men arrives, Qubban and other traders are on their feet to sell guns and ammunition.
"They're from one of the warring tribes," said Saleh, another trader at the market, 30km east of Sana'a. "When the fighting is going on, they rush to the market and don't even bother to negotiate prices."
Rampages
Yemen's gun culture is ingrained. As well as wearing curved daggers at their waist, it is not unusual for Yemeni men to carry AK-47 assault rifles, hunting rifles and pistols.
Yemen is known for its spiralling political violence. This year the country has seen bloody rampages by Al Qaida militants, another round of conflict with northern Al Houthi rebels and rising brutality in the secessionist south. Fears are growing that the southern Arabian Peninsula country could be so damaged by these conflicts that it will turn into a failed state, threatening regional security and that of its neighbours.
Political stability
But Yemen's social violence poses an equal danger to the country's political stability, analysts say. Tribal clashes, most often caused by water and land disputes, claim thousands of lives each year and are set to worsen as the impoverished country struggles to cope with dwindling natural resources.
With an estimated average of about one gun for every two citizens in its 23 million strong population, the sheer scale of small arms availability in Yemen is a serious cause for concern, Small Arms Survey said in a report published in October.
"A wide range of anecdotal evidence suggests that recourse to arms to resolve conflict is increasingly common and that the proliferation of weapons is strongly associated with the rapid escalation of disputes," the report said.
The weapons stem from Yemen's violent past when warring factions battled each other and arms are still actively smuggled in. Many Yemenis bear arms from an early age with family honour and blood revenge traditional cultural cornerstones.
About 4,000 people die in land rows every year, according to the report which cites unpublished data from Yemen's government, but the figure is probably much higher and is expected to grow because of problems associated with a booming population.
Rainfall declines
Harvests are shrinking as rainfall declines and groundwater dries up causing social tensions over water and food. Sana'a will be the first capital city to run dry, by 2050, experts say.
"The weapons issue must be dealt with through raising awareness and changing people's attitudes ... [towards thinking] the Yemeni is a man without a firearm," Yemeni anti-weapons activist Abdul Rahman Al Marwani said.
But changing Yemen's culture is no easy task. At weddings and social events, Yemeni men proudly display their weapons, firing bursts of gunfire into the air. The abundance of weapons in Yemen also creates ample opportunity for militants to arm themselves.
