BEIRUT, July 2 – A shipment said to contain military-grade communications gear from Israel was delivered to Somalia under the name of a United Nations office, according to senior regional strategic sources quoted by Al Mayadeen.
The sources said the 1,000-kilogram consignment left Tel Aviv, passed through Nairobi and reached Mogadishu on June 21. They claimed it had been logged as cargo intended for a UN office in the Somali capital.
According to the sources, the shipment carried an advanced communications system designed for military and intelligence use. They alleged it was supplied by Mer Security and Communications, an Israel-based firm headquartered in Or Yehuda.
The sources also claimed the cargo was collected by a United Nations office in Mogadishu.
Neither the United Nations, Somali authorities, Israeli officials, nor the company named in the report has publicly responded to the allegations, which AFP has not independently verified.
Separately, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, said on June 25 that the group would move against what he described as Israeli activity in Somalia.
In a televised speech, al-Houthi accused Israel of trying to establish a foothold in Somalia in order to extend its influence over the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a strategic shipping route linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
“We are monitoring with great concern the developments on the ground in Somalia and what the Israeli enemy is doing to take control of the Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandab,” he said.
Al-Houthi also urged Red Sea states to present a unified front against Israeli activity in the area, warning that Ansar Allah would “take the initiative at any time to target any Israeli activity on Somali soil.”
The claims and threats come against a backdrop of rising regional tensions tied to the war in Gaza and intensifying competition for influence along vital maritime corridors in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea.
AXADLETM
