Africa Defense Forum
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Somalia Intercepts Hardware, Explosives Bound for al-Shabaab

Voice of America

Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency seized two illicit shipments of military hardware and explosive material that were bound for al-Shabaab.

At a news conference in Mogadishu, Somalia’s then- State Minister of Defence Mohamed Ali Haga said the agency discovered the arms at Mogadishu’s port and airport, in some cases hidden within containers that appeared to be authorized imports. 

The intelligence agency said an investigation relating to the illicit shipments led to the arrest of 10 people associated with a smuggling network.

“Our agency has been following the activities of these individuals in Somalia and outside Somalia,” Haga said. “It has been following their involvement in this smuggling network. Fortunately, all of them are in custody, and none has escaped.”

The U.N. Security Council imposed an arms embargo on Somalia in 1992 because of a civil war and factional violence. However, arms continue to enter the country due to porous borders and an unguarded coastline that’s more than 3,000 kilometers long.

After the establishment of a functioning transitional government in 2012, the successive governments have been working to rebuild stability, good governance and other benchmarks that would help ease the country’s arms embargo.

In 2013, the Security Council unanimously voted to partially lift its ban on selling arms to Somalia for a year.

The resolution allowed Somalia’s government to buy small arms to help its security forces develop and fight militants, but it kept restrictions on heavy weapons. The remaining sanctions, which require requests for certain weapons to be approved, are renewed annually.

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