Outside countries accused of destabilizing Somalia

An explosive UN report was released several days ago accusing ten different countries of arming the different warring parties in Somalia.

Syria, Iran, Eritrea, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya and Saudi Arabia are accused of sending weapons to the fundamentalist Islamic Courts Unions. Ethiopia, Uganda and Yemen are named as arming the internationally-recognized but weak Transitional National Government.

Ethiopia and Eritrea are named as the biggest violators of the arms embargo in Somalia, reports the BBC.

This is not surprising considering the long emnity between the two dictatorships. They are almost becoming the India and Pakistan of East Africa, though Lord help us if either ever gets nuclear weapons.

What's of further concern is evidence of detailed links between countries such as Iran, Syria and Lebanon and the Islamic Courts Union.