United Nations Report Implicates Arab Emirates in Providing Arms to Somalia through Eritrea. Eritrea Talks with Saudis About Somalia and Sudan.

In July, “Shabait, Eritrea’s Ministry of Information news source online said, ”Eritrea’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mr. Mohammed Omar Mahmoud, held talks with the country’s Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister, Emir Sultan Bin AbdulAziz Al-Seud, on bilateral relations, the situation in Somalia and Sudan, and the Eritrean-Ethiopian border issue.”

Consider the ways in which Eritrea has been contributing arms, explosives, anti-aircraft missiles to the Shabaab in Somalia, and the talks with Saudi Arabia become more significant. The United Nations Monitoring Group’s [MG] report to the Security Council on financing of these arms, which included a statement that, regarding sale of IL-76 aircraft to a company in Eritrea—a company which, the report said, (p.9) “had purchased the aircraft as a front for the Eritrean Government. The person also indicated that a down payment of US$200,000 had been paid by Eritrean diplomats based in a Gulf Country to the seller of the aircraft.”

Was the Gulf Country Saudi Arabia? or was it the United Arab Emirates, with whom it also has close relations? Evidence points to the United Arab Emirates for assistance with other arms provision and airplane flights.

“The MG received information that in November and December 2006 a Boeing 707 aircraft, using registration number 9G-OAL, call signs FBA2515 and FBA2516, and owned by Aerogem Aviation Lt, based in Ghana, departed from the airports of Asmara and Assab, Eritrea, destined for Somalia. Furthermore, reported to be on board the aircraft, and intended for delivery to the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), were a variety of arms.

The MG was also informed that the aircraft operator had filed, in some instances, false flight plans indicating final destination of the aircraft to be Uganda or Mozambique, instead of Mogadishu. According to information in possession of the Group, the aircraft made at least 13 rotations to Mogadishu in 25 days. (pp. 9, 10)

Although Eritrea denied the flights had taken place, the “International Civilil Aviation Organization (ICAO) confirmed the flights. Mozambique said that investigations showed that the aircraft did not land in Mozambican territory.

Uganda reported to the MG that the aircraft had mad a stopover for refueling en route to Juba, Sudan. [Emphasis added.]

In response to a query, “Aerogen replied that during the period under investigation the aircraft in question had been leased to an airline company based in the United Arab Emirates. The company provided a copy of the lease agreement, flight logs, manifests, letter from the lesee and a letter from their operations office in the United Arab Emirates.” [Emphasis added]

“The call sign FBA used by the aircraft is, according to ICAO Airline Designator Guide attributed to airline company Fab Air, registered in Kyrgyzstan but operating out of the United Arab Emirates. In a letter dated jun6 June 2007, the Government of Kyrgyzstan stated tht Fab Air was closed in January 2007, because it had not complied with regulation of the Civil Aviation Department of Kyrgyzstan.” (pp. 10-11)

All page numbers in this blog entry refer to the complete United Nations Monitoring Group submitted to the UN Security Council. See blog entry below for signers and other details.