The government of Somaliland, the breakaway region of Somalia, Thursday expressed its deep concern and opposition to the lifting of an arms embargo imposed on the Horn of Africa country since 1992 by UN Security Council Resolution 733 (1992).
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.
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.
“We urge the international community to take immediate steps to address this crisis and prevent further destabilisation of the region,” according to a statement by the Somaliland Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued on Thursday.
“The government of the Republic of Somaliland expresses grave concern over the alarming escalation of arms proliferation in Somalia, as evidenced by recent events” it said.
”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.
MG/as/APA