MOGADISHU — Sitting on a mat at home between taking orders for arms on his two mobile phones, Osman Bare gives thanks for the riches flowing from Somalia's war. "I have only been in the weapon business five years, but I have erected three villas. I have also opened shops for my two wives," said the 40-year-old, one of about 400 Somali men operating in Mogadishu's main weapons market. "Peace means bankruptcy for us." Despite a U.N. arms embargo on Somalia, the Horn... (GunPolicy.org)

TURMI — Zuga Sherdo grew up in a community that was constantly fighting its neighbours in southern Ethiopia. As a young Malee man, he lived through conflict between his community and the Bena, Tsemai and Ari, in which his uncle's family killed his brother and his father's clan killed his mother's relatives. "My community was always in bloody [conflict] with neighbours," he said. "I was born from a Bena mother, but was fighting members of that community." This year,... (GunPolicy.org)

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia will boost arms production to cut weapons imports and save its dwindling foreign exchange, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said. "Our main objective is to reduce our defence expenditure and its pressure on availability of foreign exchange," Meles told reporters late Monday, without giving details. "In order to do that, we have to reduce our imports and improve our exports. The objective is to take care of our defence requirements, primarily in... (GunPolicy.org)

A security operation has been launched in North Eastern Province to curb the influx of illegal fire arms from Somalia and Ethiopia. Speaking to the Nation on phone on Monday, Internal Security assistant minister Orwa Ojodeh said the operation started two days ago. "We have ordered an operation in Mandera to flush out dealers in illegal arms from the neighbouring Somalia and Ethiopia," he said, noting that immigrants had taken the local residents hostage. But the... (GunPolicy.org)

NAIROBI — All firearms in the Great Lakes Region, East Africa and the Horn of Africa will soon be marked with country codes, force code and serial numbers in the fight against the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. A workshop organised by the Regional Centre on Small Arms and held recently on Kenya's South Coast was told that 12 manual arms-marking machines have already been purchased through funding from the US government and will be distributed to each... (GunPolicy.org)

ADDIS ABABA — The Ethiopia Authorities today said, they have set 13,000 illicit small arms on fire which are recovered by the police over the past year in an on going effort to curb the proliferation of illegal weapons in the horn of Africa and the Great lakes region. Addis Ababa police, in a statement released on Friday, said the fire arms have been recovered from criminals, gang groups and from voluntarily surrendered by members of the public. Addis police... (GunPolicy.org)

Ethiopia last week burned 7,000 guns as states in East Africa, the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa continued their efforts to rid the region of illegal arms. Ethiopia's action brings to 87,500 the number of arms destroyed in the region over the past three years. The executive secretary of the Regional Centre on Small Arms (Recsa) Francis Sang told The EastAfrican that after harmonisation of laws on firearms in all the 12 members of the Centre, the stage is... (GunPolicy.org)

Illegal Arms Trafficking and Control Office Representative with the Federal Police Commission Commander Yemane Gessesew said yesterday that controlling the trafficking of small arms and light weapons is instrumental in effecting development and ensuring peace and stability. Speaking at a day-long capacity building workshop organized at the Sheraton Addis to sensitize senior management of the police force on the trafficking of small arms and light weapons, the Commander... (GunPolicy.org)

NAIROBI — The Government and its Ethiopian counterpart will today start direct radio communication between Nairobi and Addis Ababa to improve security along the border. The move is part of an agreement reached by delegates from the two countries after attending a three-day meeting to find a solution to raids in Moyale. The border incursions have left several people dead and hundreds others injured. A joint communique was released after the meeting, held at Mt... (GunPolicy.org)

ADDIS ABABA — Two men, aged 20 and 22, who tried to hijack an internal Ethiopian Airlines flight were shot dead on Sunday by national security agents on board, Radio Ethiopia reported. One of the plane's two stewards was slightly injured during the attempted hijacking, the official radio said quoting Ethiopian civil aviation security chief Bekretsion Habte. The hijackers tried to seize a plane that had taken off from Bahir Dar in the northeast for Addis Ababa at... (GunPolicy.org)