Somalia, coming and going--with an Iranian nuclear link

Two takes on the same report (some good intelligence from the UN!). This is getting worser and worser.

1) Coming:

Iran, Syria, Libya, Egypt and the Hezbollah 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 U.N. report.

The 86-page report, prepared by a panel of U.N. weapons and financial experts, warned that the conflict could reignite a war between Eritrea, the chief foreign sponsor of the Islamics, and Ethiopia, which is backing Somalia's weak transitional federal government...

...[The report] underscore(s) the degree to which the United States' chief Middle East rivals, Iran and Syria, and its allies, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, are prepared to challenge U.S. interests in East Africa.

The U.N. team detailed three Iranian consignments of arms, ammunition, medical supplies and doctors to the Islamic fighters since summer. The report says one July shipment included land mines, 1,000 machine guns and M-79 rocket launchers, and 45 shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles. The report also says two Iranian nationals were negotiating the possibility of selling more weapons for access to Somalia's uranium deposits [my emphasis - MC].

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 another 100. Libya also allegedly provided $1 million to finance future training missions and to pay salaries...

2) Going:

More than 700 Islamic militants from Somalia traveled to Lebanon in July to fight alongside Hezbollah in its war against Israel, a United Nations report says. The militia in Lebanon returned the favor by providing training and — through its patrons Iran and Syria — weapons to the Islamic alliance struggling for control of Somalia, it adds.

The report, which was disclosed by Reuters on Monday, appears to be the first indication that foreign fighters assisted Hezbollah during the 34-day conflict, when Israel maintained a tight blockade on Lebanon...

The Iranian nuclear problem also gets worser and worser.

Posted by markc at November 15, 2006 05:01 PM