By Yara Bayoumy
DOHA (Reuters) – The Somali government expects to get its first shipment of light weapons within two months after the United Nations partially lifted an arms embargo to strengthen security forces fighting al Qaeda-linked militants, Somalia’s president said.
Aware of international wariness about sending arms to a volatile country already awash in weapons, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said he knew the world was closely watching how his government would manage a fresh inflow of arms.
“We take full responsibility. The world is looking at us and monitoring us,” Mohamud said in an interview in Doha on Wednesday after taking part in his first Arab summit focused on Syria and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
“We are not worried about getting supplies, we’re concerned about the management of these supplies,” he said, adding he expected the first shipment to arrive within the next two months.
He described as “really useful” the U.N. Security Council resolution earlier this month to allow sales of weapons such as automatic assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
While the United States had supported the move, other Security Council members were wary about completely lifting the ban on a country where al Shabaab militants are still able to launch major attacks.
Somalia’s poorly equipped military – more a collection of rival militias than a cohesive fighting force loyal to a single leader – has had the support of African Union peacekeepers as it has battled al Shabaab fighters on several fronts.
The Security Council imposed the embargo on Somalia in 1992 to cut the flow of weapons to feuding warlords, who a year earlier had ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and plunged the country into civil war. Last year Somalia held its first vote since 1991 to elect a president and a prime minister.
This month’s resolution left in place a ban on surface-to-air missiles, large-calibre guns, howitzers, cannons and mortars as well as anti-tank guided weapons, mines and night-vision weapon sights.
Mohamud said Somalia was approaching different states for the weapons, mainly small arms and ammunition. “We’re looking for equipment that is fit for … the internal security of the country. But in the future Somalia is a very big country with a long coastal line and open air, so we may need bigger arms.”
PIRATE ATTACKS
Mohamud also said he needed about $450 million to fund small development projects across Somalia’s 72 districts to help move the country from aid dependence to economic recovery.
The president is no stranger to the threat of violence that still grips Somalia. Just two days into his job last September, he survived a suicide bomb attack at a Mogadishu hotel.
As part of Mohamud’s efforts to bring back stability, he also granted amnesty to hundreds of Somali pirates and promised to help them seek new careers. But the amnesty does not included those convicted by courts or wanted by Interpol.
The number of successful pirate attacks has fallen sharply since 2011, when Somali pirates amassed about $160 million, after international navies stepped up patrols to protect marine traffic and struck at pirate bases on the Somali coast.
Mohamud said the amnesty, which applied to about 1,000 individuals, had also helped win the release of six hostages held by the pirates for three years. Somali pirates still hold four large commercial vessels, a number of fishing dhows and about 130 hostages.
Reuters
believe me this man will bw much much worse than Siyaad Barre Afweyne, who all most people agree was pure evil whose action resulted in somalia become the number failed state for twenty three years in a row. Those who know him closely will tell you you he is extremely clanish person, who would arm his hawiye clan to the teeth, and will allow them to commit atrocities and even genocides against other communities. many fear that he already paved the way for that. For example, early one day last week, the gevernment weapon and ammunition stores were found empty. They were apparently looted by his subclan.
we've got a score to settle.
LOOOL, how is your Isaaq wife, are on with another wife? Let me guess, she is also Isaaq, uh?
PuntlandGeezer the Cracker. Laughing my Ass Off !!!!! hahahahahahahaha
LOOOL, how is your Isaaq wife, or are U on with another wife? Let me guess, she is also Isaaq, uh?
PuntlandGeezer the Cracker. Laughing my Ass Off !!!!! hahahahahahahaha
This guy Hassan sheikh culusow reminds me of the laughing cow by the way let him add more fuel to the fire we will see whos the losers at the end of the day.
@ xaji gaidh
No need to be Spiteful. What will personal attacks do for you??
Long live President Mahamud !
Inchallah we Will get a disciplined SNA.
inshaalah ! You need a good army so you can kick out the foreigners and protect your own people instead of raping them. Amiin !
All these weapon are light, so do not panic. no heavy weapon.
Hawiye iyo marexaan oo is hubeeynaya. Gaalkacyo iyo kismaayo daruurihi dagaal baa dulhoganaya.
mareexan waa dad darood ah you stupid.
Mareexaan are and where always on the side of the Government. They are not tribal as some majeerteen are or Odanens. They are the ones against the Raskamboni men and those behind them. I salute them for being real men instead of no brainer's who are tribal like you
Odanens=Ogadens**
Iron fist leader 🙂 this government is different than all previous ones, Shirdoon being the first Somali PM ever set a foot on Kismayo since the collapse of Somali central Gov, every single nominated president for the past 20 yrs carry his bag and leaves no legacy…. Let's give President Hassan Sheikh a chance and Inshaallah the next president will be a female….
lol inshaAllah I like youre optimism
The SNA is long gone, who are they kiddding,. The so called SNA now is Mooriyaan with Macawis, These guys were criminals and their loyalty belongs to anyone that provides cash and to Hawiye Abgaal. I heard to be part of the SNA you would have to spell your clan first. It won't be too long before Haiye and Daarood will start killing each other again.
@ Wadani
This is not 1991 where Hawiyes were the only well armed clan. This is 2013 Harti Darood (Puntland) alone has 15,000 active fighters and 90,000 reserve fighters and the other Darood subclans can easily raise tens of thousands of fighters as well. We do not want war with Hawiye but if they attack us then we will be ready for them.
Mate Puntland will not have an Army of their own after 4 years. The army will be nationalised and mix, meaning in Puntland there will be a non Majeerteen army loyal to the government instead to of a majeerteen one who is loyal to the clan. Not only n Puntland but everywhere will be like that
@Truth10,
Unacceptable, we are an autonomous region we govern ourselves and make our own policies and will forever maintain our own security forces. There is no way we will allow another clan militia or security force to operate in our land.
LOL
Imagine Abgaal troops in Gerowe protecting Faroole?
The reality is Searre-leone Troops are going to control Jubaland. The next tactic will be to find troops to control Gaalkaciyo perhaps South Congo troops?
Hassan Mahamoud will have foreigners controlling his country in a form of AU-TRUST territory fashion. Federalism will be dismantled slowly piece by piece.
@ Buuxiye,
I think you have been smoking something Mr. Buuxiye or perhaps chewed too much Khat.
How can Abgaal troops protect Faroole in Garowe when they can't even protect their own Abgaal "president" in MORGUEdishu a city with over 80% Abgaal population?. They need foreign mercenaries for security that's how brainless they are. Federalism will never be dismantle because your Hawiye cousins know this is not 1991.
@Buuxiye,
I think the Hawiye government in MORGUEdishu are more of a threat to Isaaq than us. They can easily arm the opposition clans who oppose you such as Dhulbahante and Warsangeli or even the Gadabursi as some of them demand their own Awdal state within a federal Somalia. I don't think the Hawiye will ever recognize you people.
Ismail Farax i think you misunderstood me?
My comment was nothing more then a mockery of the person before me who claimed that Hassan Mahamoud will bring Troops to Gerowe.
I do not believe Gerowe will ever allow Abgaal to bring troops to their Independent Province.
Who is against Federalism?
– Hawiye 39%
– Marexaan 7%
– Minority 9.4%
– D&M 31.3%
Who supports Federalism?
– Majeerteen 13.3%
The Numbers might not be accurate but the relative proportions is indicative of the reality. If Hawiye choose to abandon the Federal system than it is a dead concept. The Hawiye understand the power of their numbers and that power is Magnified 10-fold if there is no Somaliland to worry about.
The real problem is for Darood, only because they are scattered across the region in 4-different countries… Somaliweyn was most beneficial to Darood because it would unite them under a single country.
I understand why it is better for Darood to Fight for the UNION of somaliland & somalia but to the Hawiye it makes no sense. why the hell would Hawiye fight to keep the 1960Union?
It is like Isaaq fighting for Puntland to break away from Somalia to join Somaliland. Which means more Darood population in Somaliland… 🙂
@ Buuxiye,
Sorry for misunderstanding you, i worked long hours shift last night i should have rested first then respond to your comment.
Somalis are one of the most tribalist people on Earth. They don't like each other and do not trust each other so given all these problems i think it would be a good idea for Somalis to accept federalism because it would give us a breathing space and if implemented properly it could solve most of Somalia's problems.
Now why do Hawiye fight to support the 1960 union?
Well, the say they are Somali patriots and nationalists, now we all know this is BS because if this was true would they have been killing and being on each others throats for 20 plus years?.
The real reason is they want to form a strong central Somali government similar to the 1969-1991 government and to do so they need Darood support and by recognizing Somaliland would be up upsetting Darood and that is something they want to avoid.
Sorry, on my last sentence i meant to type "that is something they have been avoiding"
THE AMOUNT OF EVIL IN THE WORLD.. Now why would Darood and Hawiye kill each other? Haven't we learn anything in 22 years of history or we are practicing the problem of the past? rather Darood and Hawiye will put their differences aside and will work together for the sake of Somalia.
Isaaqs better listen to this carefully especially near the end 22:08
so what
Depends on how the war affected YOU
Irir,
The only thing you know is to copy and paste. It is better to express what your mind beleives than what other peoples' minds express and say. You fool
Caydiid left the impression that he wanted to be fair to the people of Somaliland-Republic. When you compare
Caydiid -Vs- Mahdi
Caydiid was happy to accept the wishes of the Somaliland-republic unfortunately When the USA invaded they chose to support the puppet Abgaalo Ali Mahdi who was intent on continuing an unfair policy of denying the EQUAL rights of 2-STATES. To this day in the Somalia political arena ONLY those who are anti-Somaliland have a chance of becoming a President. Many external powers are investing a lot of money and effort to deny the 1960-Union and such a strategy will forever create a division which can be exploited and sustain a conflict between the two brotherly States.
Egypt, Libya have influenced the majority of the Arab-league to deny any strategy to establish a lasting peace agreement.
USA, EU are concerned about the creation of an accountable leadership which is not possible from Muuqdishu in the foreseeable future.
Caydiid interview where he acknowledged the Right of Somaliland for Recognition and his acceptance of the choice of the people of Somaliland.
@Dhaliye
copy and paste is evidence especially when it's coming from the horses mouths you're one of those person that rely on he said she said but unfortunately my brother the world doesn't run like that.
@Buuxiye
I knew that long time ago but don't say Somaliland but the wishes of the SNM secessionist 1 of his major flaws (it was like they put a spell on him) and 1 of the reason he lost the presidency to Mahdi who in turn by the way chose an Isaaq as Pm.
Now don't get me wrong the people of Somaliland deserve a referendum but what i'm against is how it is done.
For example how the SNM illegally declared themselves independence and then the way the referendum of 2001 was done without the participation of the IC and even Mogadishu observers to see how fair and genuine it was.
🙂 You are encouragingly funny.
SNM liberated Somaliland-republic.
When Koonfur Your people liberated Somalia instead of a proper dialogue and reconciliation Cali-Mahdi and Caydiid began a turf war for who would be President and as Cali-Mahdi declared himself Unilaterally the President in Muuqdishu there was no further HOPE of a Somali-Republic.
What you Wanlaweyn and remnants of the Somalia-Italia colonization fail to understand is that you do not own nor control either of the 2-states that joined to become the Somali-Republic.
You people have been so brain washed you even confuse the meanings of:
– Somali-republic (2-states)
– Somalia (1-state)
– Somaliweyn (5-states)
Do you think it was acceptable to allow Cali Mahdi to become the NEW dictator of the Somali-republic?
What do you think were the options available to Somaliland-Republic?
Negotiate with Cali Mahdi and accept another 30years of conflict?
When the USC captured Muuqdishu they did not plan to share a country with anyone, they chose to murder and rape grandmothers and chase the majority of muuqdishu residents to NFD & Kilil.
Here you are 22-years later selling us your regurgitation of the vomit infused into your pea brain about Cali Mahdi choosing a Somalilander as his PM 🙂
We do not want nor need your nonsense and 22-years have shown us that we are better off without you as there has been more development being unrecognized then 30-years of Union.
8-More years and 90% of Somaliland population will have been born under the Somaliland-Republic flag there are less each day that remember the Stupid Union 🙂
The future is bringth.
A well equipped SNA scares those who want to continue the civil war that plagued Somali people for decades, those who want to divide this country and its people into tribal fiefdoms and those who has an aggressive and illegal tribal agenda for land expansion. How long do you think it will take to end the squabble between the savage camel herders without strong national security forces? To disarm the tribal militias that have mushroomed in every corner of Somalia and to restore law and order, the SNA has to be armed effectively.
There is no chance of JUSTICE under your perspective. 2-sovereign states attempted to make a 5-state Union and if that 5-state union is not possible then each state must have the legitimate territorial integrity to continue it's God given self determination.
Otherwise the territorial wars will continue till the end of time. Those that will benefit will be the agents of war and in essence the losers will continue to be the poor civilians. Dadaab, Dolo ado and the refugee status along with further tahriib will continue for the foreseeable future.
There is no benefit of a 2-state union… If a Union is possible Djibouti would be the first to create a Union with Muuqdishu government and the rest would consider it. Otherwise every state will continue on it's own path.
Your perspective will push people apart and thios will enrich Kenya, Ethiopia and those that benefit from the endless conflicts.
Somaliland took down siyad with nothing more than starved teenagers willing to save their people. Now we are even more hungry because we have seen the promised land and tasted its sweet milk. So if these people think for one second that some arms from the un is going do anything to Somaliland they have another thing coming.
We have all heard this before. The Isaaq wont last, they are a small population, we (daroods) have more of a population blah blah blah…..There are also more insects on this earth the humans….hows that working out for the insects? The population bit is also propaganda, if that were the case Somaliland wouldn't be where it is now.
another crazy isaaq looking for post-apocalyptic violence, it wont surprise if he gets one. brag too much did you forget the whole somali nation was fighting aganist siyaad barre even those within his own army. abdullahi yusuf fought aganist siad barre, now make the fight seem it was isaaq vs darood.
Somalia to get small arms for what? to finish off what's left of them? crazy!
I bet the first batch of weapons will be used against the provisional government, Even with the embargo, Somalia was awash with weapons, this won't make a blind bit of difference. Be careful what you wish for, there are other priorities, but I guess the Hawiye and Darod want to arm themselves, and I bet they will use it on each other. Somalia is indeed a "Banana Republic"