Somali pirates have acquired sophisticated weaponry, including mines and shoulder-held missile launchers from Libya, and are likely to use them in bolder attacks on shipping, a senior maritime security analyst said on Thursday.
"We found that Libyan weapons are being sold in what is the world's biggest black market for illegal gun smugglers, and Somali pirates are among those buying from sellers in Sierra Leone, Liberia and other countries," said Judith van der Merwe, of the Algiers-based African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism.
"We believe our information is credible and know that some of the pirates have acquired ship mines, as well as Stinger and other shoulder-held missile launchers," Van der Merwe told Reuters on the sidelines of an Indian Ocean naval conference.
By: Brant
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2 comments:
...although Libya didn't have any Stingers. It did have lots of SA-7s, and some SA-24s (although the latter may have only been supplied with vehicle mounts, and not the gripstocks for use as MANPADS).
Still, as we've seen from Mali, a lot of ex-Libyan small arms and light weapons have clearly entered Middle Eastern and African black markets.
You know how I can tell I've been away from the action for too long?
When I see "HOA," I think Homeowners' Association instead of "Horn of Africa."
I'm getting *far* too domesticated.
-- Guardian
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