Incorrect: These Photos Don’t Depict Weapons Seized by Northeastern State of Somalia in September 2024
These Facebook posts featuring images purportedly showing weapons seized by Somalia’s Northeastern State regional state after militias intercepted them in September 2024 are PARTLY FALSE.
The posts claim that the arms cache was destined for the Northeastern State administration. However, the veracity of such statements is dubious at best.
In a Somali post, it states: “BREAKING: Northeastern State forces have intercepted truckloads of weapons and ammunition headed for the Northeastern State administration. Yesterday, a skirmish between Ethiopia’s Liyu police and Somali militiamen in the Bookh district of Ethiopia was halted today.”
“The armed groups tried to steal the weapons, leading to several clashes. Northeastern State security forces now have the trucks carrying the weapons, though the Northeastern State administration hasn’t officially confirmed ownership of said weapons.”
On 20 September 2024, local media reported confrontations in Ethiopia’s Somali region, specifically in the Bookh District, involving forces escorting weapons and militias attempting to seize them. See the details here, here, and here.
Somalia has accused Ethiopia of sending unauthorized arms shipments to Northeastern State state.
But, are these images legit?
A Google reverse image search of the first post’s photo indicates it is from August 2024.
The image appeared in an article from 5 August 2024 titled “Northeastern State forces seize weapons, arrest Al-Shabaab and ISIS suspects in Bosaso.”
The second post includes three images: one of weapons and two featuring Somali Regional State President Mustafa Cagjar and Northeastern State President Said Deni.
The Somali text translates to: “Update: Northeastern State has secured two truckloads of weapons from Ethiopia after an attempt by Bookh District residents to seize them last night. Two Liyu police forces escorting the weapons died and another was injured.”
“Northeastern State forces reinforced the Liyu police, ensuring the safety of the weapons. The number of militia casualties remains unknown, but there are reported injuries and fatalities.”
A reverse image search showed the first image is from 2016, depicting weapons captured in Lower Shabelle, southern Somalia. It initially appeared in a 10 March 2019 article titled, “Somali federal government forces captured weapons from Al-Shabaab.”
The second image shows Somali Regional State President Cagjar in Ethiopia, presiding over a UN meeting on 21 March 2022.
A reverse image search of the third image identified Northeastern State President Said Deni at the National Electoral Consultative Conference in Mogadishu on 22 May 2021 with federal member state presidents and the mayor of Benadir Regional Administration.
The third post falsely claims the image shows “arms and weapons transferred by Ethiopia to Northeastern State of Somalia, seized at the Somalia-Ethiopia border.” Reverse searches using TinEye and Yandex confirmed the image shows weapons captured by Australian Navy forces off the coast of Oman in 2016.
The image appeared in a Sky News article on 7 March 2016 titled “Somalia-Bound Weapons Cache Worth $2m Seized.”
The Times & The Sunday Times also used this image in a piece on the same incident.
PesaCheck has scrutinized Facebook posts with images claiming to show weapons recovered by Somalia’s Northeastern State regional state after militias intercepted them in September 2024 and concludes they are PARTLY FALSE.
This fact-check was composed by PesaCheck Fact-Checker Hassan Istiila and refined by senior copy editor Mary Mutisya and chief copy editor Stephen Ndegwa.
The article was authorized for publication by PesaCheck’s managing editor Doreen Wainainah.
Edited by: Ali Musa
Axadle international–Monitoring
