-Caveat Lector- http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/today/news_b394a405f34431dc005c.html Page 1/A Section July 9, 2001 SOMALIA: Amid war, famine, selling guns 'guarantees my family will be fed' SPECIAL REPORT: SMALL ARMS, MASS DESTRUCTION Margaret Coker - Staff Monday, July 9, 2001 Mogadishu, Somalia --- Like most small business owners, Ali Shalia counts and cleans his inventory before opening his shop each morning. Standing under a corrugated tin roof that provides shade for his wooden kiosk, he grabs a rag and a can of oil and rubs down the nozzles and carbines of a dozen or so assault rifles. Next, he builds displays of ammunition in neat stacks by caliber. "I'm a businessman. I sell whatever I can move, and guns are something that's always in demand," said Shalia, a lanky 31-year-old father of three who runs one of many stalls that sell used weapons in Mogadishu's Bakhar market. "This is one of the few businesses that guarantees my family will be fed." The Somali capital, located on Africa's northeast coast on the Indian Ocean, is a post-apocalyptic landscape straight out of "Road Warrior." Toyota pickups careen through rutted dirt streets lined with bullet-riddled homes and bombed-out buildings. The rusty vehicles brim with teenage gunmen whose main accessories are braids of ammunition draped around their necks and a stem of the local narcotic, a leafy plant called qat that resembles green basil, hanging from their mouths. War has rocked this country for nearly half of Shalia's life. The intervention of a U.N. peacekeeping force in 1992 to protect relief supplies and a disastrous U.S. attempt to eliminate the country's top warlord that left 18 U.S. Rangers dead 10 months later weren't enough to restore order. Today, the country is still controlled by warlords and their private militias, armed mostly with Russian-made weapons. Most of these arms have been circulating in Somalia since the Soviet era, but aid officials say new Kalashnikovs are arriving, despite international sanctions, in private shipments from neighboring countries like Ethiopia. Many of these guns end up at the Bakhar market or another of Somalia's many open-air bazaars where weapons can be found alongside consumer goods and car parts. Listening to Shalia list the goods he has sold the last couple of months is like hearing a roster of attractions at an international weapons show: AK-47s from Russia, North Korea and Yugoslavia, hand-held rocket launchers, 24 mm anti-aircraft guns, anti-tank mines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Although the country is constantly beset by famine in one region or another, Shalia, who prefers to dress in baggy jeans and button-down shirts, says he can't remember a time when guns or bullets were ever in short supply. "The warlords used to get their weapons from us, here at the market, but now they have international contacts to buy from. When they sell off their old guns, they still come to us," he said. The average cost for a Russian-made Kalashnikov at the Bakhar market is $200, while a Russian-made collapsible AK-47 goes for $250. (In legal markets elsewhere, such weapons sell for as much as 10 times that much.) North Korean versions are slightly cheaper at $230. A used, American-made M-16 sells for $100. "There aren't as many American guns here," Shalia said. "We don't think they are as good as the Russian weapons." Most days, Shalia says he makes a sale. A typical buyer, he said, isn't interested in just one Kalashnikov. People routinely purchase 15 or 20 assault rifles at a time. The United Nations estimates that 90 percent of Somalia's population owns a gun, a statistic that reflects the traditional value placed on weapons as well as the vital need for self-protection. "Our business is an essential part of life in Mogadishu. I'd gladly sell something else if there was peace, but for now, I'm providing a service my people need," Shalia said. > ON THE WEB: Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies: www.cast.ru BLACK MARKET ARMS SALES: WHAT WEAPONS AND WHERE? The black market for weapons is estimated at $8 billion per year -- a quarter of the amount of legal arms sales. The most deadly weapons sold are assault rifles. Below are the most common makes, information about them and countries that manufacture them. FN-FAL RIFLE Weight: 9.5 pounds. Caliber: 7.62 mm. Rate of fire: 600-700 rounds per minute. 5-7 million made MAIN MANUFACTURER: BELGIUM Other manufacturers: 11 countries, including Argentina and Brazil. AK-47 RIFLE Weight: 9.5 pounds. Caliber: 7.62 mm Rate of fire: 600 rounds per minute. 40-50 million made MAIN MANUFACTURER: RUSSIA Other manufacturers: More than15 countries have the license, including China, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Egypt. HECKLER & KOCH G3 RIFLE Weight: 9.7 pounds. Caliber: 7.62 mm. Rate of fire: 500-600 rounds per minute. 7 million made MAIN MANUFACTURER: GERMANY Other manufacturers: 12 countries including Britain and Turkey. COLT M-16 RIFLE Weight: 6.4 pounds. Caliber: 5.56 mm. Rate of fire: 700-950 rounds per minute. 8 million made MAIN MANUFACTURER: UNITED STATES Other manufacturers: Six countries, including South Korea and the Philippines. RPG-7 PORTABLE ROCKET LAUNCHER Weight: 14 pounds. Grenade caliber: 85 mm. Number made unknown MAIN MANUFACTURER: RUSSIA Other manufacturers: Six countries, including China. UZI SUBMACHINE GUN Weight: 7.7 pounds. Caliber: 9 mm. Rate of fire: 600 rounds per minute. Number made unknown MAIN MANUFACTURER: ISRAEL Other manufacturers: China and Croatia. AK-47 (Kalashnikov) -- THE DIFFERENCE IN QUALITY, THE DIFFERENCE IN PRICE After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Russian factory producing Kalashnikov models lost its monopoly. Now, more than 15 countries produce them. An estimated 40 million to 50 million AK-47s are in circulation, making these durable guns the most widely proliferated weapons in the world. Prices for a slightly used automatic AK-47: Maker........Legal market....Black market Russian......$2,500..........$125-$250 Ukrainian....$1,000..........$100 Bulgarian....$1,000..........$100 Chinese......$800-$1,000.... $80-$100 Sources: Jane's Infantry Weapons, Small Arms Survey, Institute for War and Peace Studies / MICHAEL DABROWA / Staff <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. 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