Over the past 35 years, Somalia has been a magnet for free flow of arms from different directions. After Siad Barre came to power in 1969, Somalia sprung to receive substantial military aid from the Soviet Union. This cosy relationship turned sour in 1977 when the Russians chose to drop their Somali allies for a close link with the new government in Ethiopia. As it was the peak of the cold war, President Barre was left with no choice but to look to the West for military equipment and U.S. was a willing supplier and started bestowing arms.

This country received millions of dollars in U.S. military assistance. Stephen Zunes, a Middle East analyst for Foreign Policy, writes “From the late 1970s until just before Siad Barre's overthrow in early 1991… United States poured in more than $50 million of arms annually to prop up the Barre regime.” After Somali-Ethiopia war, it was not only the military junta that brought in arms to the country but several insurgent movements also procured military assistance from Ethiopia and Libya.

Full scale armed conflicts engulfed the country after Barre was overthrown in January 1991, and the following 24 months alone 300,000 lives were lost but the race to import arms was not even put on pause. On January 23^rd 1992, the UN could not remain providing lukewarm aid and adopted a resolution that imposed a general and complete embargo on all deliveries of weapons and military equipment to Somalia. It was expected that the resolution would frustrate or plug up the arms supply to the region. Perplexingly, 14 years after the resolution was passed, Somalia is not short of heavy weapons and small arms that are the instruments of death and destruction, and there is no single shooter made inside Somalia.

Here is a snapshot of heart-rending events that took place during these surreal years. To avoid margins of errors and borders of incomprehension, it is appropriate to quote from UN reports about the arms embargo in Somalia in order to see the course of history in testing time.

The Secretary-General issued a report on 22 July 1992 on the progress of the implementation of the resolution. The report once again indicated that the situation regarding the flow of arms and ammunition from outside and the continuing use of military weapons on a large scale inside Somalia had not changed since the last report. (S/24343)

One may argue that this report was only six months after the resolution was passed and world body, the UN, needs for a while to implement its resolution, unless there is big power involvement. But what about 2 years after when the UN had its largest army, 37,000-strong US-led international force, present inside Somalia?

On 4 November 1994, the Security Council, deeply concerned about the continued flow of arms to Somalia, adopted resolution 954 (1994), in which it reiterated the need for the observance and strict monitoring of the arms embargo against Somalia, and requested the Committee, in particular, to seek the cooperation of neighbouring States for the effective implementation of the embargo. (S/1996/17)

In 1999, the poignant reality inside Somalia was disturbing and the UN was dithering. For example, it is difficult to get the exact number of people killed in 1999 but here are some of the tragic events that took place in that year. The first two months of the year, a fight for the control of Kismayo left many people dead. In March, Mogadishu, a war-torn city, 40 people were killed after a warlord tried to pocket monies at a roadblock in north Mogadishu. In April, it was Mohamed Qanyareh Vs Islamic courts and that clash claimed 30 civilians and almost 50 people were injured. In April, Baidoa was fought over by Hussein Aideed and RRA, which put many people on death row. If these were not bad enough, there was an armed group based in Somalia supported by Eritrea attacking Ethiopia and in return Ethiopian raided into Somalia. What did the UN do?

A letter dated 28 December 1999 from the Chairman of the Security Council Committee, Jassim Mohammed Buallay, reads “the Council expressed deep concern at recent reports of the illicit delivery of weapons and military equipment to Somalia, in violation of the arms embargo imposed by the Council in its resolution 733 (1992), which could exacerbate the crisis in Somalia and endanger the peace and security of the region as a whole.” (S/1999/1283)

In 2000, Abdulqassim Salad Hassan became the first civilian president since the civil war broke out after a Transitional National Government was inaugurated in neighbouring Djibouti. The TNG became incapable of establishing nationwide rule and between 2000 and 2001, over 600 people were killed including humanitarian workers and the UN once more could condemn only.

Another letter dated 21 December 2001 from the Chairman of the Security Council Committee says “The President on behalf of the Council strongly condemned the illegal supply of weapons to recipients in Somalia and reiterated its call upon all States, the United Nations and other international organizations and entities to report to the Committee information on possible violations of the arms embargo.” (S/2001/1259)

The terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on 11 September 2001 have let some countries to consider Somalia as a failed country, which terrorist networks use as a safe haven. There was widespread believe that Somalia was the next target for the United State after Afghanistan. But the US chose to increase its surveillance operation towards Somalia since there is no viable government that maintains the rule of the law and has power over its borders. Many countries have participated this close watch including Germany, France and Britain. Despite all the hardware and manpower that NATO could master, the flow of arms towards Somalia was unhindered. 

On 12 March 2003, the President of the Security Council issued a statement on behalf of the Council, noting with serious concern the continued flow of weapons and ammunition supplies to Somalia, and calling on all States and other actors to comply scrupulously with the arms embargo. (S/PRST/2003/2)

Over a decade, the UN feigned to be mystified and fell short to pinpoint who was violating the arms embargo and 11 November 2003, the UN named a group of experts to investigate the violations of the arms embargo covering access to Somalia by land, air and sea and to assess how neighbour countries are adhering the embargo resolution. After 6 months, the group is not in a position to divulge the mystery of arms embargo and need another 6 months to do that. Has this been prevaricating statement of the group or has the UN system rendered ineffective? However, it seems that the UN bent over backwards and chose to pass yet another resolution but this time with strong words. 

Resolution 1558 (August 2004) condemns the continued flow of weapons and ammunition supplies to and through Somalia, in contravention of the arms embargo, and expressing its determination that violators should be held accountable. (SC8169)

While the UN is busy passing resolutions and reluctant to name violators or take action against them, people are dying in large numbers and so far more than 500,000 people have died since the civil war broke out. If there is no fist behind the resolution, it is perceived that the United Nations Security Council and its enforcement mechanisms are in disarray if not in act of utter hypocrisy. The situation in Darfur, Sudan, though critical and needs an urgent attention, is yet far less acute than what has happened or happening in Somalia. This country needs resolutions that hold accountable countries, organizations and individuals that export weapons to that country and bring to justice all those who committed crimes against humanity in the past 35 years. To stop the suffering of the masses the UN must act and act quickly on these two fronts.

Mohamed Mukhtar Ibrahim

London

Email:   mohamed323@hotmail.com