U.N.: Missing weapons in Somalia pose risk

Robert Windrem Senior investigative producer • E-mail

NEW YORK - A United Nations report on violations of the arms embargo against warring factions in Somalia paints a portrait of nation states and private dealers arming the now deposed Islamic Courts Union with a rich variety of arms, big and small.

Although Ethiopian forces captured a lot of the weaponry when they invaded Somalia in December, much of it remains unaccounted for — in a region the U.S. fears could become a new terrorist haven.

The report says that more than 700 Somali Islamists were sent to Lebanon last summer to fight with Hezbollah against Israel as an apparent quid pro quo for military support.

The 83-page “Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia” was written in November 2006 before Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia and scattered the Islamic Courts Union. But in the months before the movement collapsed, the report stated that it had received “aggressive support from seven states,” including several that had fought Islamist insurgencies in their own countries. The U.S. quietly assisted the Ethiopian military in their invasion, “synchronizing” operations so that the U.S. could track down suspected al-Qaida terrorists as they tried to escape from the Ethiopians.

“Behind the scenes, large cargo aircraft and ocean-going dhows have been clandestinely delivering arms and other forms of military support from states, arms trading networks and others, almost on a daily basis,” reported the monitoring group, adding that the list of weapons included “surface-to-air missiles — military materiel, motor vehicles — trucks and land cruisers used as mobile weapons platforms.”

The monitoring group cited suspected embargo violations by the governments of seven states, several of which are allies of the U.S. The report describes in detail violations by Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran and its client, Hezbollah, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Syria. The most aggressive in supplying arms, according to the report, was neighboring Eritrea, which has fought several wars with Ethiopia, which in turn supported the rival government in Baidoa.

In page after page of detailed descriptions of arms movements that often cite aircraft tail numbers and arrival and departure information, the group listed not just the weapons systems acquired, but discussions among the Islamic Courts Union and military and political leaders in each of the countries cited. Several of the states denied violations in letters to the group.

Typical of the level of detail was this description of an arms shipment through Eritrea:

“On 20 July 2006, an Airbus A-310-300, operated by Daallo Airlines, departed from Assab, Eritrea, destined for Somalia. Onboard the aircraft were a variety of arms, as follows: B-10 anti-tank guns; heavy (large calibre) machine guns; PKM machine guns, with magazines and telescopic sighting devices; AK47 assault rifles; G3A3 assault rifles; Browning .30 calibre machine guns; 120mm mortars; rifle fired grenades.”

The report also laid out specifics regarding proposed training of Islamic militia by several of the nations, citing “the recruitment of new fighters and volunteers from foreign countries, and establishing military camps and conducting formal military training.” The report also states millions of dollars were sent to the Islamic militants by Iran and Saudi Arabia.

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