Friday, November 10, 2006
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An unreleased U.N. report on violations to a widely flouted 1992 arms embargo on Somalia says militant groups and 11 nations are sending the government and rival Islamists a host of weapons and supplies.
Here are some highlights from the report, as given to Reuters by several security experts who recently saw the final version, which is due out next week:
WHO'S BEHIND WHOM?
* Syria, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Eritrea, Djibouti and Saudi Arabia are giving support to the Islamists, the report says. The Islamists also have links with militant Muslim groups including Hezbollah, the report says.
The Islamists have always denied such links.
* Ethiopia, Uganda and Yemen are giving military support to the interim government. Experts say other elements in Yemen are backing the Islamists.
WHO'S INSIDE SOMALIA FOR THE GOVERNMENT?
* Roughly 5,000-10,000 Ethiopian soldiers.
* Around 100 Ugandan military personnel.
* Militias from the semi-autonomous enclave of Puntland.
* Militias reconstituted by warlords who had received backing from the CIA on counter-terrorism grounds and were ejected from Mogadishu by the Islamists in June.
WHO'S INSIDE SOMALIA FOR THE ISLAMISTS?
* About 2,500 Eritrean soldiers, whom security experts say include specialists in anti-aircraft combat.
* Roughly 1,000 foreign jihadists with combat experience or volunteers with training in bomb-making and assassination.
* An unknown number of fighters with Ethiopian rebel groups Ogaden National Liberation Front and Oromo Liberation Front.
* About 6,000 students recruited from Islamic universities for training in militant action, according to the experts.
WHAT WEAPONS ARE THERE?
* Iran has provided at least 250 anti-aircraft missiles to the Islamists, the report says.
* Ethiopia has given anti-aircraft missiles to the interim government as well, which the experts say suggests that Ethiopia believes the Islamists have aircraft too.
* Uganda flew anti-aircraft guns into the interim government's sole outpost in Baidoa, along with logistical supplies to build a compound, the report says.
* Somalia was already awash in assault rifles and heavy weapons, and more similar weaponry and ammunition has come in.
* A host of countries have supplied various logistical items to both sides, including uniforms, food, fuel and other necessary items for fighting a war, the report says.
Source: Reuters, Nov 10, 2006