"A CCTV footage shows one of the DusitD2 hotel attackers. The incident took place on January 15, 2019. PHOTO | COURTESY
- With police reports that the guns used by terrorists in
Nairobi’s DusitD2 hotel complex attack belonged to Somalia government,
Somaliland now wants any sale, or donation of military equipment to
Mogadishu subjected to serious scrutiny.
In
a letter to the United Nations Security Council President Francisco
Antonio Cortorreal, Somaliland Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperation Minister Yasin Hagi Mohammed took issue Qatar’s donation of
armoured vehicles to Somalia.
Mr
Mohammed said that the diversion of weapons and other military equipment
to terrorist and criminal groups “whether by design or neglect,”
represents a violation of the current arms embargo on Somalia besides
posing a threat to Somaliland as well as the security of neighbouring
nations like Kenya.
PROTRACTED CONFLICT
The
minister said: “Violating the UN Security Council resolution will
escalate the protracted conflict with devastating consequences for
Somalia and fuel further instability across the region including
Somaliland.”
Mr Mohamed said that the
UN resolution 2444 condemns any transfer of defence materials. He said
that these arms often end up in the hands of Al Shabaab and affiliates
linked to the Islamic State terrorist organisation.
Somaliland’s
concern comes just days after Kenyan police confirmed that three out of
the five guns used in the terrorist attack on Nairobi's DusitD2 hotel
complex were initially bought by the Federal Government of Somalia.
MILITARY EQUIPMENT
In
November last year, the UN warned that military equipment purchased by
Somali Federal Government were being diverted to the armouries of rebel
movements.
The arms, the UN continued, included many from a consignment received in mid-2017.
The arms are believed to be in the hands of arms dealers in Mogadishu and Baidoa.
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