WASHINGTON — Hizbullah recruited nearly 1,000 Al Qaida-aligned
Sunnis to fight Israel in the war in Lebanon in mid-2006.
A United Nations report said at least 720 Sunnis from Somalia were
recruited by Hizbullah to fight Israel in the 34-day war that ended on Aug.
14. The report said Hizbullah brought the insurgents to Lebanon in July 2006
at the start of the war, Middle East Newsline reported.
"In exchange for the contribution of the Somali military force,
Hizbullah arranged for additional support to be given by the governments of
the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic, which was
subsequently provided," the report said.
The 86-page report provided details of Hizbullah's relationship with Al
Qaida-aligned Sunni insurgency groups in the war against Israel. The report
said the Somalis were paid at least $2,000 each to fight in Lebanon.
The families of Somalis killed in the war were given as much as $30,000
each. The report said financing came from Hizbullah's patron, Iran, as well
as other Middle East states.
Israel has never reported the use of non-Lebanese Sunnis to fight
Israel. The military reported the deployment of hundreds of soldiers from
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during the war.
On July 27, the UN said, Hizbullah sent 200 Somali fighters from Lebanon
to Syria. The report said the Hizbullah fighters received training in Syria.
The report, scheduled to be discussed on Nov. 17 by the Security
Council, asserted that Egypt and Syria have also aided Somali fighters. The
UN has sought to maintain an arms embargo on Mogadishu since 1992.
Hizbullah provided training to the Somalis, the UN said. The report,
authored by four experts, also said Iran tried to obtain uranium from
Somalia in exchange for weapons.
"At the time of the writing of this report, there were two Iranians in
Dusa Mareb engaged on matters linked to the exploration of uranium in
exchange for arms," the report, dated Oct. 16, said.
The UN said the leader of the Al Qaida-aligned Council of Islamic
Courts, Aden Hashi Farah, selected about 720 experienced fighters in
mid-July 2006. The report said the Somalis traveled to Lebanon where they
fought alongside Hizbullah.
In September, Farah ordered at least 100 Somalis to return from Lebanon,
accompanied by five Hizbullah operatives. The rest of the Somali contingent
stayed in Lebanon and received advanced training.
The report said Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Syria
were also supplying Al Qaida-aligned forces in Somalia. The UN report said
the Somalis have received anti-aircraft missiles, grenade launchers and
other advanced weapons.