U.N. Says Somalis Helped Hezbollah Fighters

[ECH1969]

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 report also says Iran sought to trade arms for uranium from Somalia to further its nuclear ambitions, though it does not say whether Iran succeeded.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/world/middleeast/15nations.html?ref=world

[Lurking Dem]

1. This does not bode well.

But it also isn't all that surprising. - You fight for us/we give you weapons. You give us uranium/we give you weapons.

Sucks.

[dubykc]

2. This is no worse than what our Government...

has been doing for decades through "black ops".

[Kagemusha]

3. 700 sounds a little high!

And how would they know how to fight from inside holes?

[bemildred]

4. I want to see the report.

Some of this stuff sounds a little "yellow cakey".

[independentpiney]

5. Agreed. Not to mention

I'm fairly sure the Somalis are Sunni whereas Hezbollah is Shia. There's not lot of cooperation between the extremists of the two sects, and besides the Somalis have their own war going on, how could they spare fighters?

[bemildred]

6. Oh, it's not out of the question for them to get along.

But Iran is not generally thought to be short of Uranium, and 700 seems like a lot of mercenaries for that war. And there are some other quibbles that can be raised about this. And it all seems rather "neat".

[Behind the Aegis]

7. UN: Somalian Islamists fought alongside Hezbollah in Lebanon

A United Nations report released Wednesday said that hundreds of Somalian Islamic militants fought alongside the Hezbollah in Lebanon.

A United Nations spokesman confirmed the reports, but would give no further details. The report will be discussed Friday at a meeting of the UN Security Council.

The 86-page report was compiled by four UN-experts monitoring violations of a 1992 United Nations arms embargo on Somalia.

According to the report, Aden Hashi Farah, a leader of the Somalian guerilla group struggling for control in Somalia, personally recruited some 700 fighters to travel to Lebanon to fight on the Hezbollah's side.


more...

[Igel]

8. There have been rumors for a few months about the

Islamic Courts' backers. Some less than reliable websites have speculated. Eritrea was a prominent mention, but most of the other suspects weren't named with any certainty. This is the most reputable, and most detailed, source so far.

Rather ties it all into a neat little package, doesn't it? Plus it makes Somalia part-and-parcel with Hezbollah in many respects.

And it answers the question as to why, after over a decade of low-grade chaos, suddenly an organized group, armed and reasonably well trained, appears.

Although one question remains: Iran has U deposits of its own. Why go to Somalia? Is it perhaps simply a case of "we want you to have these weapons in any event, but let's get something out of it"? Or perhaps Iran's deposits are lower grade and harder to extract the U out of?

[independentpiney]

9. Deleted, thought i was replying to a different post

[bidiboom]

10. NYT doesn't provide the link to the actual report

I am curious what it really says about Iran trying to get uranium from Somalia. It sounds a lot like the Niger yellowcake claim before Iraq. Iran has their own uranium ore and they don't need to buy it from Somalia.

[daleo]

11. It seems like the Hezzbollah fighters had to be extremely well trained

They knew the land like the back of their hands, knew their weapons and tactics to perfection, and they had command and control that the Israelis couldn't intercept easily. I doubt 700 strangers would have fit into that type of fighting. The report seems bogus, based on everything we heard about the tactics used by Hezzbollah fighters in Lebanon.