Clan Militia in Central Somalia Seizes Cache of Illicit Arms Associated with President Mohamud's Allies

by: Horn Observer Contributor | 16 July 2024 14:15

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Clan Militia in Central Somalia Seizes Cache of Illicit Arms Associated with President Mohamud's Allies

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) - Clan militia in central Somalia looted a cache of illicit arms and ammunition reportedly smuggled into the country from Djibouti via the Ethiopian border on Monday afternoon.

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Clan militia in central Somalia looted a cache of illicit arms and ammunition reportedly smuggled into the country from Djibouti via the Ethiopian border on Monday afternoon.

MOGADISHU, Somalia (HORN OBSERVER) - Clan militia in central Somalia looted a cache of illicit arms and ammunition reportedly smuggled into the country from Djibouti via the Ethiopian border on Monday afternoon.

Abudwaq clan elders and security officials in Galmudug confirmed that local militia intercepted the weapons after a clash with Somali National Intelligence Agents (NISA) who were escorting the illicit arms at Shiir Madow near Abudwaq town.

The Marehan militia stopped two large trucks transporting the weapons at Shiir Madow on the Ethiopian border before the clashes erupted, resulting in several deaths.

Elder Mohamed Ahmed of the Marehan clan condemned the violence and called for locals to show restraint while confirming the seizure of the weapons, which were allegedly imported by security officials associated with the federal government of Somalia.

"I condemn the incident at Shiir Madow. We demand an explanation from the federal government and the Galmudug administration," he said.

The Marehan elder also warned against a possible attack being planned by the federal government to retake the weapons looted by the locals.

Galmudug Deputy Security Minister Ali Baashe confirmed the local militia took over two trucks. "This is a huge cache of weapons, enough for the militia to fight for a long term," he said, noting that no Galmudug army members were involved in the escort, but NISA agents were.

Locals who seized the weapons reported that the two trucks contained 150 to 200 DsSHK heavy machine guns, 500 PK general-purpose machine guns, 200 to 260 M16 sniper rifles, over 2,200 AK-47 rifles, more than 800 pistols with silencers, and a large quantity of ammunition. As a result, the price of guns fell dramatically on Tuesday, with AK-47s selling for as low as USD 100 in black markets.

Galmudug officials believe the arms, though entering from Ethiopia, were supplied from Djibouti with the involvement of businessmen and arms dealers, including Abdinasir Ali Adoon, a Hawiye businessman and business partner of President Hassan Sheikh. Abdinasir was a chief financier of President Mohamud's election campaign in May 2022.

Local militia in central Somalia loot catch of weapons entering from Ethiopia.

Two others implicated are Liibaan Ahmed Hassan (Libaan Shuluq), the chief head of logistics for Somali government forces in Galmudug and a presidential candidate for Galmudug State, and Sadaq Omar Hassan (Sadaq John), a Somali Parliament member and former NISA and police chief in Mogadishu, who is also the son-in-law of Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh.

None of the three individuals responded to queries for comments.

Liibaan Shuluq's aide stated that Liibaan returned to Galkayo, city in central Somalia, yesterday from a trip and could not immediately comment.

Local militia in central Somalia loot cache of weapons entering from Ethiopia.

Concerns Raised

Opposition groups warned about the security threat posed by this cache of arms. Somalia is currently struggling with threats from terrorist groups like al-Shabaab and ISIS, as well as deadly intra-clan conflicts across the country. Abudwaq is among the areas affected by those clan conflicts.

Abdirahman Nuur Abukar, director of communications for the Himilo Qaran Party, said it would be a major risk if these arms were utilized by terror groups.

"These weapons will not only pose a threat to Somali people but also to foreign embassies in our country and our neighbors, Ethiopia and Kenya," he said. Mr. Abukar added that they had received reports that RPGs and advanced shoulder-fired rockets were among the looted weapons.

Opposition lawmaker Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, head of the Wadajir Party, stated that the heads of the executive branch of the Federal Government, the President, and the Prime Minister must explain to the Somali people why such a large cache of weapons ended up in the hands of the public. "It is not acceptable for the Government to hide from the failure of its responsibility of that magnitude," he said.

In December 2023, the UN Security Council partially lifted the Somalia arms embargo despite warnings from civil society and security experts.

Mr. Abdishakur suggested that the Somali Parliament could no longer turn a blind eye to this issue and proposed the appointment of an independent committee to investigate the incident and clarify responsibility.

Villa Somalia did not comment on the matter, and there was no immediate response from the Djibouti government.