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borkena
Ethiopia continues to fight the circulation of illegal firearms and smuggling. It has been regularly making headlines in state media for more than two years. The direction of movement had generally been from all directions to central Ethiopia. Regional states had at times been destinations for firearms smuggling. Firearms are sometimes smuggled from abroad.
The Tigray region, the part of Ethiopia that turned out to be a conflict zone following the TPLF attack on the Ethiopian Defense Forces Northern Command military bases, is the latest firearms smuggling story.
What were said to be AK rifles, machine guns and more than 5,500 ammunition from Bahir Dar were seized at the custom checkpoint in Woldia.
According to a state media report, it originated in Adi Gudom, Tigray region.
An ISUZU van with a license plate number Code 3-17255 was smuggling the firearms disguised as cereal. It is very rare to transport grain from Tigray to the rest of Ethiopia, perhaps that in itself was alarming to customs officials.
Three people, including the driver, are in custody and police are said to be investigating the case. However, the people for whom the delivery of firearms was arranged are not yet in custody.
With the increasing circulation of firearms, it remains a question whether the security situation in the country will not worsen.
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