Addis Abeba — The government of Somaliland has called on the United Nations (UN) and the international community "to urgently re-evaluate their decision to lift the arms embargo" on Somalia.
"We urge the international community to take immediate steps to address this crisis and prevent further destabilization of the region," according to a statement by the Somaliland Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued on Tuesday.
Somaliland's concern followed the news earlier this week that local militias seized two truckloads of weapons from government forces in the village of Shiilamaow, about 20 kilometers northwest of Abudwak town, close to the Ethiopian border, according to a report by the VOA, which also stated the weapons included "DshK and PKM machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles, pistols, and ammunition."
Somalia's Internal Security Ministry admitted the incident and said the weapons were initially seized by government security forces from "illegal weapons traders" and were being escorted when local armed militias erected a checkpoint and intercepted the weapons.
citing a local official as saying, the news stated that "the local militias overpowered government forces after receiving reinforcements from clansmen." The incident resulted in the death of 12 people, including two soldiers.
"The Government of the Republic of Somaliland expresses grave concern over the alarming escalation of arms proliferation in Somalia, as evidenced by recent events. In the past three months, Al-Shabaab has successfully seized substantial quantities of weaponry from government forces in central Somalia. Moreover, the recent incident in Aabud Waq, where civilians and clan militias captured a large cache of weapons and ammunition from the Mogadishu government, further highlights the critical security situation," Somaliland said.
Ethiopia was among the countries that advocated for the lifting of the three-decades arms embargo. Following a two-day official visit in September 2023 to Addis Abeba by Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Ethiopia officially joined Somalia and and other countries and called upon the UN Security Council (UNSC) "to consider the request of the Federal Governments of Somalia for the lifting of the arms embargo imposed on the country for more than 30 years."
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The UN Security Council (UNSC) subsequently lifted the arms embargo on Somalia in December of the same year after 31 years. Somalia welcomed the decision and said it would enable its security forces to effectively tackle security threats including from Al-Shabaab militants.
However, Somaliland had objected to the decision from the get go, and once again repeated its position in the statement on Tuesday. "The subsequent proliferation of these captured arms, now widely documented on social media, raises serious questions about the wisdom and timing of this decision," Somaliland said.
