March 29, 2016: French Navy Frigate FS Provence has intercepted a huge weapons shipment in dhow sailing towards Somalia. The weapons’ smugglers were spotted by a French helicopter on routine surveillance in the Northern Indian Ocean.
Several hundred machine guns, anti-tank weapons and AK-47 assault rifles were among the weapons seized from the dhow that wasn’t registered to any country.
According to the commanding officer of the Provence, the weapons believed to have been destined for Somalia were seized under the UNSC mandated arms embargo that authorizes interdiction on the high seas of illicit weapons destined for Somalia.
The seizure is a success towards stabilizing the region (that has been terrorized by al shabaab militants that are affiliated to al Qaeda) as well as the Combined Maritime Forces Operation to which French has rendered its invaluable contribution.
The seizure comes barely a month since an Australian naval ship intercepted another cache of weapons that included 1989 AK-47 rifles and 100 rocket-propelled grenades.
Who is supplying these weapons, what nationalities were the crew on board ? Why is there so little information about this. For each find there are probably many more that get through, so its really important that they find the suppliers