Khanfar, Abyan
Encyclopedia
Khanfar is a village that is a southern suburb of Jaʿār in the Abyan Governorate of south-western Yemen
. It is said to be inhabited by Yafa
peoples.
In the mid 1980s, the Soviets built an ammunitions factory in Khanfar, for the manufacture of light weapons and Kalashnikov
rifles. After the fall of the Soviet Union it continued to operate as a centre of weapons production, On March 28, 2011, an explosion
occurred, killing some 150 people and injuring many more, a day after around 30 armed al-Qaeda
militants raided the "7th of October" ammunition plant, stealing cases of ammunition and leaving gunpowder exposed at the site; militants took over another nearby munitions factory in Khanfar. According to Al Jazeera, the initial fire was reportedly triggered by a local resident dropping a lit cigarette while inside the looted factory, as some were checking the site for weapons, which soon led to an explosion. It was loud enough to be heard roughly 15 km (9.3 mi) from the factory, and left many charred bodies at the scene. Compiling the death toll was made more difficult as many bodies were found completely burnt through. Some of the injured people were taken to Jaʿār for treatment, while others received treatment at a hospital in Aden
.
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
. It is said to be inhabited by Yafa
Yafa
Yafa is a state in southern Yemen. Situated northeast of the city of Aden, it is composed of Upper Yafa and Lower Yafa....
peoples.
History
The business minded British had an influence in the 19th and 20th century in development with the Khanfar Development Board being financed by British loans. The British overlooked the construction of irrigation works and in 1947 the Khanfar scheme was reorganized as the Abyan Development Board, financed by credits of £170,000. Khanfar was noted for its ceramics, particularly its Rasulid glazed mustard wares.In the mid 1980s, the Soviets built an ammunitions factory in Khanfar, for the manufacture of light weapons and Kalashnikov
Kalashnikov
Kalashnikov is commonly used to refer to a type of rifle, but it and similar words also have other meanings:-People:*Mikhail Kalashnikov , Russian small arms designer*Maxim Kalashnikov , Russian writer and political activist...
rifles. After the fall of the Soviet Union it continued to operate as a centre of weapons production, On March 28, 2011, an explosion
Jaʿār munitions factory explosion
A munitions factory explosion took place on March 28, 2011, in the village of Khanfar, Abyan, bordering the town of Jaʿār in Abyan Governorate, southern Yemen.-Background:...
occurred, killing some 150 people and injuring many more, a day after around 30 armed al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
militants raided the "7th of October" ammunition plant, stealing cases of ammunition and leaving gunpowder exposed at the site; militants took over another nearby munitions factory in Khanfar. According to Al Jazeera, the initial fire was reportedly triggered by a local resident dropping a lit cigarette while inside the looted factory, as some were checking the site for weapons, which soon led to an explosion. It was loud enough to be heard roughly 15 km (9.3 mi) from the factory, and left many charred bodies at the scene. Compiling the death toll was made more difficult as many bodies were found completely burnt through. Some of the injured people were taken to Jaʿār for treatment, while others received treatment at a hospital in Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
.