A web of nations and armed groups are fuelling SomaliaÂ’s march to war, according to a U.N. commissioned report that offers detailed evidence of cooperation between Somali Islamists and established Islamic militants. An advance copy of the report to the U.N. Security Council, obtained by Reuters on Monday, paints the most comprehensive picture yet of disparate foreign interests hardening into alliances with SomaliaÂ’s interim government and its powerful Islamist rivals.
Earlier reports by the experts monitoring violations of a the worldÂ’s most flouted arms ban have documented state intervention, but for the first time the panelÂ’s report gives evidence of organised intervention involving foreign militants.
| The report said about 720 Somali Islamist fighters with combat experience went to Lebanon to fight Israel alongside Hezbollah in mid-July. |
The Islamists have always denied the presence of foreign fighters in the ranks of their military, which far eclipses the government in size, strength and organisation. But the report said about 720 Somali Islamist fighters with combat experience — selected by Afghanistan-trained hardline Islamist commander Adan Hashi Farah "Ayro" — went to Lebanon to fight Israel along Hezbollah in mid-July. The fighters were paid $2,000 and as much as $30,000, to be given to their families, if they were killed, the report says. At least 100 Somali fighters returned, along with five Hezbollah members, while an unknown number stayed in Lebanon for advanced military training, it states. "In exchange for the contribution of the Somali military force, Hezbollah arranged for additional support to be given ... by the governments of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic, which was subsequently provided," it says. That included shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles, grenade launchers, machine guns, ammunition, medicine, uniforms and other supplies. Additionally, Syria hosted about 200 Islamist fighters for training in guerrilla warfare, the report says.
The report also gives a hint that Iran, locked in a battle with the West over its nuclear ambitions, may have sought help in finding uranium in the hometown of Somali Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys. |