Somalia: Illegal weapons blamed for Mogadishu insecurity

MOGADISHU, Somalia-Mogadishu Mayor Yusuf Hussein Jimale said in an interview with VOA Somali Service that the use of illegal weapons and lack of military barracks both contributed to insecurity in Mogadishu.

Wracked by chronic instability for more than two decades, Mogadishu has witnessed a series of bombings and targeted killings carried out by Al Shabaab terror group in recent years.  

Jimale added that possession of illegal firearms has its own dangers and threw a light on rising concerns over militants disguising themselves as soldiers for criminal activities.  

“Uniformed military officers go to frontline and return to [Mogadishu]. 

It of course happens everywhere when a country is in a state of war. 

I can say we have difficulties with controlling and regulating the use of illegal weapons,” admitted Jimale.  

Moreover, he faulted absence of proper military barracks on the “organized crimes” perpetrated against the public, government officials and foreigners in volatile Mogadishu.  

UN-backed national government has failed to staunch terror infrastructures embedded by beleaguered Al Shabaab in most Mogadishu neighborhoods.

GAROWEONLINE