The Sunday Times: Secret aid for al-Qa'ida in Somalia (by Saudi Arabia and Egypt)

[Up2Late]

(I guess this story slipped under the DU Radar and Lord knows, it wasn't covered by the American so-called MSM, and because I missed the 12 Hour cut-off time, I'm posting it here. Vote it up if you agree this is important.)

Secret aid for al-Qa'ida in Somalia

* Jon Swain, Johannesburg
* February 19, 2007

MIDDLE Eastern countries secretly armed and supported suspected al-Qa'ida recruits in the failed state of Somalia in a direct challenge to Western interests in east Africa, a UN report has revealed.

Hundreds of Islamist fighters were flown, with Eritrean assistance, from Somalia to Syria and Libya for military training. Others were taken to Lebanon to fight with Hezbollah, the report to the UN security council says.

UN investigators detail the military aid given to the Islamists by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Arab states purportedly friendly to the West. Iran supplied 125 shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, 80 of which arrived by sea in dhows (sic) and the rest by air.

A clandestine operation to smuggle the fighters out of Somalia began in July last year.

Evgueny Zakharov, the owner of Aerolift, an airline with a fleet of ageing Antonov and Ilyushin transport aircraft based in Johannesburg but registered in the British Virgin Islands, said in an interview: "We transported lots of men in uniform -- Arab men with masks....

(more at link) <http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21246402-31477,00.html>

[Kagemusha]

1. It is interesting. I wonder if the UN investigators are nice and certain

or if this is a lot of speculation. It wouldn't shock me though. It must've been a hell of a lot easier to get people through Eritrea than mess with the Iraq quagmire.

[Up2Late]

2. Kick n/t

:kick: