MOGADISHU (KAAB TV) – Former Somalia president Sheikh Sharif and members of the Somalia Federal Parliament are calling for an international investigation into the influx of illicit arms into the country, which has caused a dramatic drop in weapon prices.
On July 15, the Marehan clan militia in central Somalia intercepted the largest ever cache of weapons and ammunition entering Somalia from the Ethiopian border. The two truckloads contained thousands of rocket-propelled grenades, PK machine guns, DShK anti-aircraft guns, mortars, AK-47 rifles, sniper guns, pistols, and a significant amount of ammunition.
This interception led to a dramatic drop in the prices of guns in the local black market. In Mogadishu, the price of an AK-47 fell from $1,400 to $500, and a PKM machine gun dropped from $17,000 to $12,500.
A government official in the Southwest State reported that sniper guns found in Abudwak are now openly sold in the black market and could make its way to the Al-Shabaab militants.
Government leadership involvement
The Somali Federal Government released conflicting statements regarding the true ownership of the weapons, suggesting that illegal arms dealers might be involved, despite the weapons being escorted by officers from the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA).
The clash over the weapons resulted in the deaths of more than 15 NISA officers and clan militiamen.
Former president Sheikh Sharif accused the Somali government leadership of involvement in the arms trade with the motive of arming rival clans against regional state authorities not favored by Villa Somalia.
“In recent months, there has been an increased flow of illicit arms into the country. This is part of what is fueling the conflict and is a burden on peace and state-building,” he said during a press conference in Mogadishu on Saturday.
He criticized efforts to lift the arms embargo on Somalia by the UN Security Council, stating that the government’s failure to control arms has caused weapons to fall into civilian hands.
“And some of it is involved by the government as some government forces are involved in escorting the illicit arms. This is shocking and shows where we are today. More worse than that is the motive behind the trafficking of those illicit weapons. We know all these weapons were intended to serve wicked motives and personal interests,” former president Sharif added.
MP Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame condemned the illicit arms trafficking into Somalia, warning that it could lead to the re-imposition of a UN Security Council arms embargo on the country.
He stated, “If Somalia government institutions do not conduct an independent and honest investigation, then there will no option other than the international community to launch their independent investigation and find out the truth. That could lead the re-imposition of the arms embargo,” Warsame, who leads the Wadajir opposition party, said during his speech on the parliament floor on Monday.
Similarly, MP Hassan Abdinur accused President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of engaging with Marehan clan elders and offering cash in exchange for the weapons seized by locals in Abudwak.
He stated that the president said he wanted “his weapons back and that he would pay the locals,” suggesting that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was involved in trafficking the illicit arms into central Somalia.
“It is now more clear than ever that the president is caught red-handed on the illicit arms flow. He is the one who is calling the clan elders and offering money in return for the weapons. He is saying he wants his guns back. Mr. Speaker, this is what the local clan elders in Abudwak are saying,” MP Abdinur said.
Galmudug state authorities called for the federal government to help arrest the perpetrators, whom they described as “known criminals.”
The Somali government sent its internal security minister, Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail Fartaag, to recover the weapons, but clan elders told the media that the weapons had been dispersed by the clan militia and no gun could be found.
Meanwhile, both Puntland and Somaliland have expressed concern that the illicit arms could destabilize the already unstable region and have called for the re-imposition of the arms embargo on Somalia.