ISS Today: Cross-border arms trafficking inflames northern Kenya’s conflict

The illicit weapons are believed to come from several sources, including the Ethiopian rebel Oromo Liberation Front . Other sources include Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab and rebel groups in South Sudan. Following the August attack, police blamed “suspected Ethiopian Borana [community] cattle rustlers” believed to have close OLF links.

Dida Galgalo, a local herdsman and former police reservist, told the ENACT organised crime project that pastoralists bartered one camel for an AK-47, and three camels for a G3 rifle. Armed pastoralists are better able to protect their families and livestock, but they are often overpowered by bandits brandishing more sophisticated weapons, which he says are too expensive for pastoralists. One machine gun or bazooka costs five or more camels.

Apart from the OLF route for illegal weapons, security experts and county officials told ENACT that criminal networks trafficked illicit small arms through two other routes. The first reaches Marsabit County through Lake Turkana from South Sudan. Unpaid soldiers and rebel fighters who remain armed after the 2018 peace agreement supply illicit arms in South Sudan.

The OLF reportedly carries out its illicit activities on Kenyan soil. Its close links to both Kenya and Ethiopia’s Borana ethnic community have received a lot of Kenyan media attention since the 1980s. Although its activities receive next to no media mention in Ethiopia, civil society organisationOver the past 50 years, the Kenyan government has tried to resolve tensions in cross-border conflict-prone counties like Marsabit by issuing arms to community members appointed as police reservists.

South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

No loadshedding expected today, rest of the week - Eskom | IOL NewsEskom has confirmed that the probability of loadshedding is low for today and the rest of the week despite the system remaining constrained and vulnerable.
Source: IOL - 🏆 46. / 51 Read more »

EVITA’S FREE SPEECH: Episode 219: Politics: here today, gone tonight (Video)ANC cadre Evita Bezuidenhout tries to expose fake news and highlight alternative facts with a weekly episode of EVITA’S FREE SPEECH.
Source: dailymaverick - 🏆 3. / 84 Read more »

International flights set to resume today, but not so for domestic flightsOperations at SAA had been shutdown by striking worker who are demanding wages increases, leaving passengers stranded and frustrated.
Source: ewnupdates - 🏆 30. / 53 Read more »

WATCH | The Bloodhound LSR reaches 1,010km/h across Hakskeen PanThe Bloodhound LSR on Sunday set a top speed of 1,010km/h at Hakskeen Pan in the Northern Cape, just next to the Namibian border
Source: TimesLIVE - 🏆 28. / 59 Read more »

Chinese factory raided after 'human trafficking' tip-off: What you need to knowA group of illegal immigrants and children were allegedly found locked up in the Johannesburg factory
Source: TimesLIVE - 🏆 28. / 59 Read more »

Two minors caught up in sex trafficking syndicate | Weekend ArgusThe syndicate operated in Table View and Bellville between 2012 and 2017, during which time they allegedly extorted as much ...
Source: IOL - 🏆 46. / 51 Read more »