MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) -Hundreds of small arms and light weapons supplied by Iran to Houthi rebels have made their way into Somalia, a Geneva-based think tank claimed in a report.
In a report, the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime said the weapons are being smuggled to Somalia through the Puntland entry point.
The think tank said its study drew on data from more than 400 weapons documented in 13 locations across Somalia over eight months and inventories from 13 dhows intercepted by naval vessels.
It is the first publicly available research into the scale of illicit arms smuggling from Yemen into the Horn of Africa country.
“Weapons originating in the Iran–Yemen arms trade are being trafficked onward into Somalia itself,” said the study, which is due to be published on Wednesday.
“Iran has repeatedly denied any involvement in the trafficking of arms to the Houthis. However, a preponderance of evidence points to Iranian state supply.”
The Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime said it documented Type 56-1 rifle as far south as Dolow in Somalia, a town bordering Ethiopia.
“The majority of Type 56-1 rifle documented in this study were found in Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in northern Somalia which has historically functioned as the gateway for illicit weapons into the country,” according to the study.
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