A tribal source in Al-Jawf told Sheba Intelligence that an African migrant smuggling cell is allegedly attempting to move ancient inscriptions and bronze statues through routes close to the Yemeni-Saudi border.

     A tribal source in Yemen’s northern governorate of Al-Jawf told Sheba Intelligence that information he obtained points to the presence of around 80 antiquities in the possession of African migrants who are suspected of attempting to smuggle them through areas near the Yemeni-Saudi border.

According to the source, the suspected items include ancient inscriptions and bronze statues, types of artifacts that have long been associated with looting and smuggling from archaeological areas in Al-Jawf, Marib and other parts of Yemen.

The source said a long-running antiquities smuggling network has relied for years on African migrants to transport and conceal artifacts. He also claimed that some of these migrants have links to suspicious activities involving leaders in armed groups, including the Houthis.

The source called on the Yemeni government to move urgently and coordinate with security and military forces in areas close to smuggling routes to prevent the artifacts from leaving Yemen. He stressed that antiquities smuggling is not only a material loss, but also an attack on Yemen’s historical memory and civilizational identity.

The information comes amid growing warnings over the expansion of smuggling networks in northern and eastern Yemen, where irregular migration routes increasingly overlap with trafficking corridors used for weapons, drugs and antiquities. Sheba Intelligence previously highlighted the risks posed by African migration routes into Yemen across the Red Sea, warning that the route has become a border-security challenge as trafficking networks and armed groups exploit instability and weak monitoring in some areas.

Al-Jawf is one of Yemen’s most sensitive governorates in the antiquities file, given its historical connection to ancient Yemeni kingdoms, including Ma’in and the wider Sabaean sphere. Yemeni antiquities researcher and expert Abdullah Mohsen has repeatedly warned of the looting and smuggling of artifacts from Al-Jawf, noting that archaeological sites in the governorate have been exposed to illegal excavation, looting and, in some cases, military use.

Mohsen has also referred to unofficial estimates suggesting that around 23,000 Yemeni artifacts have been smuggled during the years of war, including funerary stelae, statues, stone and wooden inscriptions, bronze objects, jewelry and ancient coins.

Warnings by antiquities experts show that the danger does not lie only in the movement of Yemeni artifacts into foreign markets, but also in the loss of their historical and scientific context once they are removed from their original sites. Specialists say every artifact taken out of Yemen loses part of its meaning when it is separated from its archaeological layers and surrounding historical environment.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia has shown growing interest in supporting efforts to protect Yemen’s heritage. In January 2026, the Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen signed a memorandum of understanding with UNESCO to support the protection of Yemeni heritage and build institutional capacity in culture, heritage and education. Earlier Saudi-supported efforts have also included the restoration of Seiyun Palace and the digitization of manuscripts at Al-Ahqaf Library in Tarim.

Observers say any move to prevent the suspected Al-Jawf artifacts from being smuggled will require swift coordination between the Yemeni government, local authorities, security and military forces, as well as border-level cooperation with Saudi Arabia. Once such pieces leave Yemen, they may enter foreign markets or disappear into cross-border antiquities trafficking networks.