BY ABDI GULED

In this photo taken Sunday, July 27, 2014, African Union (AU) peacekeepers stand near a cache of weapons recovered from a garage in Mogadishu, Somalia. An official says that Somalia’s government has launched a new disarmament campaign, that has netted some 500 guns during four raids, which is being carried out because officials fear that weapons could fall into the hands of al-Qaeda-linked fighters. Photo: Farah Abdi Warsameh, AP

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — An official says that Somalia’s government has launched a new disarmament campaign that has netted some 500 guns during four raids.

Mohamed Yusuf, the spokesman for Somalia’s national security ministry, said the campaign is being carried out because officials fear that weapons could fall into the hands of al-Qaeda-linked fighters.

Gun markets have a long history in Mogadishu, a city once overtly ruled by clan warlords. A proposed disarmament law has been approved by the government’s cabinet but hasn’t yet been voted on by parliament.

Dahir Amin Jesow, a Somali legislator who heads a security committee, said that the disarmament campaign is a good solution but that perhaps the government should be buying weapons from citizens “to avoid grievances.”

source: AP