Shabeelle Media Network report

Vehicles carrying a consignment of military equipment donated to the Anti-Terrorism Alliance [ATA] have arrived in the town of Jowhar, the capital of Middle Shabeelle Region. The consignment was offloaded at the town’s administrative HQ.

The consignment, which reportedly came from Ethiopia, was escorted by battlewagons belonging to the Middle Shabeelle and Hiiran regional administrations.

The consignment on board the five lorries is said to include an assortment of ammunition.

The reports further add that this consignment is part of the Ethiopian government’s military assistance to the ATA, which has been engaged in difficult fighting with the Islamic courts.

These lorries passed through Hiiran [central Somalia] and other regions. The ammunition came from the district of Feerfer in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Reports say the consignment was cleared through the border by the governor of Hiiran Region, Yusuf Ahmad Hagar, aka Yusuf Dabaged.

The ammunition arrived in Jowhar last night and was offloaded at the town administrative HQ this morning.

This new consignment of weapons breaches the arms embargo on Somalia. Ethiopia is among the states that are violating the embargo.

The UN committee monitoring the Somalia arms embargo had its term recently extended by six more months.