ABSTRACT
Somalia has been completely destroyed by indigenous elements armed with sophisticated weapons-including small arms and light weapons-and led by ruthless warlords whose ultimate goal is to grab power at the barrel of a gun. In Somalia, small arms have been falling into irresponsible hands since 1977, when the Ogaden War between Somalia and Ethiopia began. Immediately following the end of the Ogaden War, civil war broke out inside Somalia among tribal factions. After the collapse of the Barre regime in 1991, light anti-aircraft guns and all kinds of small arms and ammunition began to flow into Somalia, mainly from Ethiopia, the former Yugoslavia and, more recently, from Yemen. As long as these weapons remain in the hands of irresponsible elements, the tragic situation in Somalia will continue and could jeopardise the security of the entire region. This chapter discusses two proposals to tackle the problems described in Somalia.
