hands in Yemen. Now they're being turned on the US-backed government

[DaLveN @CSBD]

Analyzing hours of social media video of recent clashes in southern Yemen, CNN found multiple instances of American MRAPs being used by militia groups, many of them fighting against government forces.

One of the most prominent is a group known as Alwiyat al Amalqa or "Giants Brigade" -- a predominantly Salafi, or ultra-conservative Sunni -- militia supported by the UAE. One of their videos shows a US-made MaxxPro MRAP vehicle, purportedly being driven in convoy to join the separatists' battle against government forces in the south.

A US-made BAE Caiman MRAP vehicle captured by Yemeni army forces from separatist groups in Shabwah, southern Yemen. Photographed in September 2019.The Giants Brigade did not respond to CNN's requests for comment. Earlier in the year, a senior Emirati official told CNN the Giants Brigade was "part of Yemeni forces" and under the "direct supervision" of the UAE. But the brigade has now joined the separatists in their battle against the government.Responding to the latest evidence, a UAE official said: "There were no instances when US-made equipment was used without direct UAE oversight. Except for four vehicles that were captured by the enemy."The Saudi Arabian government has not responded to CNN's request for comment on this issue.Not only is US weaponry being used directly against America's allies in Yemen, but its presence also plays into Iranian propaganda in the region. The latest example of this saw footage being broadcast on a pro-Iranian Lebanese channel that showed US-made armored vehicles being unloaded into a Yemeni port off UAE ships. It turned out this footage was not recent, but the broadcast indicates the presence of US hardware in Yemen continues to be a card played by America's enemies.

As infighting has escalated in southern Yemen, ISIS has seized the opportunity to resurface there. It claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Aden in August, the first in more than a year and a worrying sign that the conflict is creating a vacuum for extremists to flourish.US lawmakers have reacted with outrage to CNN's new findings. One of them, Senator Elizabeth Warren, a frontrunner to become the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in 2020, said: "One report of US military equipment ending up in the hands of our enemies is troubling. Two reports is deeply disturbing."Warren said she intends to pursue the findings with the Trump administration, adding: "The Defense and State Departments have not yet provided answers to questions I asked back in February and I intend to follow up."Breaking arms agreementsWorking with local journalists, CNN was able to film a number of US-made Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles that have been used by separatist militia groups led by the Southern Transitional Council (STC).One was a BAE Caiman that was used by separatists in the fight for Shabwah, southern Yemen, against government forces in August.It, like several other pieces of weaponry that CNN identified, can be traced back to a $2.5 billion arms sale contract between the US and the UAE in 2014. Like all arms deals, this contract was bound by an end user agreement which certifies the recipient -- in this case the UAE -- as the final user of the weaponry. From this evidence, it is clear that this agreement has been broken.In February, the UAE told CNN that there was no violation of end use requirements "in any manner."Inside the vehicle was further evidence of its provenance. Its air conditioning system had a serial number from American company Real Time Laboratories, indicating the part was manufactured at its facility in Mississippi.When asked whether it knew if its technology was ending up in the wrong hands in Yemen, Real Time Laboratories told CNN they had supplied the product to BAE Systems in 2010 under a US government subcontract, but "cannot comment on what the US Government may have eventually done with this vehicle."A spokeswoman for BAE Systems, which manufactured the Caiman MRAP vehicle, said the company complies with "all relevant export control laws and regulations in the countries in which we operate," and referred CNN to the Pentagon for further comment.In response to CNN's new findings, Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Carla Gleason said in September that the joint investigation by the State Department and Department of Defense into unauthorized weapons transfer in Yemen remains "ongoing."