UN monitors have found evidence that arm shipments to the Somali Government have been diverted to clan militias and in one case were destined for an Al-Shabaab rebel commander.
A confidential report by the Somalia and Eritrea
Monitoring Group, seen by AFP on Friday, found “high level and
systematic abuses in weapons management and distribution” by Somali
authorities.
In February 2013 the United Nations Security
Council voted to partially lift an arms embargo against Somalia, seeking
to help the beleaguered government in its battle against Islamist
guerrillas.
But the council imposed restrictions requiring
notification of shipments, banned certain heavy weapons and mandated the
Monitoring Group to watch how matters proceeded.
Serious Concerns
On February 6, the coordinator of the UN monitors
wrote to the chairman of the Security Council committee overseeing the
sanctions to present a report that raised serious concerns.
The report, which is not binding on UN members,
recommended a reversal of the loosening of the embargo, to try and stop
arms shipped to the Somali Government falling into the wrong hands.
“However, an alternative recommendation to the
committee would be to introduce, at the minimum, enhanced notification
and reporting requirements, if not a partial tightening,” it said.
Somalia’s government struggles to control its own
territory, despite the support of a large African Union force, and the
Al-Shabaab rebels regularly launch devastating attacks despite recent
defeats.
Since the arms embargo was made more supple last
year, Somalia’s allies Ethiopia and Djibouti have sent several large
shipments of mainly infantry weapons to government forces.
In addition, according to the US experts’ report, a
senior Somali government minister bought weapons from “a foreign
government in the Gulf” and shipped them without notifying sanctions
monitors. (AFP)
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