SOMALIA: Iran, Syria, Libya, Egypt and the Hizbullah militia in Lebanon are providing arms, training and financing to Islamic militants as they seize political and military control in the East African state of Somalia, according to a confidential UN report.
The 86-page report, prepared by a panel of UN weapons and financial experts, warned that the conflict could reignite a war between Eritrea, the chief foreign sponsor of the Islamists, and Ethiopia, which is backing Somalia's weak transitional government.
The report asserts that a huge inflow of outside military assistance, in violation of a UN arms embargo, is contributing to the emergence of an alliance of militants called the Islamic Courts Union as the first Islamic government since the US overthrew Afghanistan's Taliban in 2002.
It warns that Somalia could become the site of insurgency tactics used in Iraq, including "suicide bombers, assassinations and other forms of terrorist and insurgent-type activities".
"The strongly sustained trend toward total military, economic and political dominance by the Islamic Courts Union in central and southern Somalia continues," says the report by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia, which will be presented to the security council this week.
The report recommends that the security council tighten a UN arms embargo, impose sanctions on Somalis buying weapons and launch an international diplomatic effort to dissuade states from arming the combatants.
It detailed three Iranian consignments of arms, ammunition, medical supplies and doctors to the Islamic fighters since summer. The report also says two Iranian nationals were negotiating the possibility of selling more weapons in exchange for access to Somalia's uranium deposits.
The report asserts that Syria has trained 200 Somali fighters in guerrilla warfare tactics and that Libya has provided arms and advanced military training to a further 100.
Iran and Syria denied in separate letters to the UN team that they had shipped weapons to Somalia or trained Somali forces. Representatives from the Islamic Courts Union said the allegations that they had received illegal arms shipments were "baseless".
Several Horn of Africa analysts say claims in the report appear exaggerated and lack evidence. A diplomatic source who follows Somalia said he feared the 80-page report could become a "very useful propaganda tool" for hawks in the West.
Matt Bryden, a regional consultant to the International Crisis Group, expressed similar reservations. "We need to treat many of these claims with caution until we see firm evidence," he said.
- (LA Times/Washington Post service, Guardian service)