A Yemeni court in the southeastern coastal city of Mukalla on Sunday sentenced three Albanians to six years in prison for smuggling arms and explosives into the country, the Defense Ministry said.

The court specialized in terrorism cases sentenced the three for their roles in trying to smuggle a number of ammunition in a ship into the country in an operation foiled by the Yemeni police in December, 2012, according to the ministry.

The defendants said they will appeal the verdict, a court source said.

The impoverished Arab country, which also struggles to combat an active branch of al-Qaida and a growing separatist movement in the south, has recently witnessed several cases of illegal weapons shipments off its coasts.

In November 2012, Yemen seized an illegal arms shipment from Turkey of hand guns hidden in packages of biscuits. Endi

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