PARTLY FALSE: These are not images of a ship carrying weapons in Mogadishu in 2024.
The four images are different events in the past.
This Facebook post with images purportedly claiming to show a ship carrying weapons docked at Mogadishu port in September 2024 is PARTLY FALSE.
The post features four images showing ships, military vehicles, and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud alongside other people pointing at something inside what appears to be a seaport.
The Somali text accompanying the images states, “A ship loaded with weapons belonging to the government of Somalia has docked at the port of Mogadishu last night, and the weapons were transported to the weapons stores belonging to the federal government. This weapon includes weapons the Egyptian government donated to Somalia.”
An Egyptian warship carrying a second major cache of weapons docked at Mogadishu seaport on 22 September 2024 after the two countries signed defense agreement in 2024, as seen here, here and here.
On 20 September 2024, weapons arrived in Puntland State from Ethiopia, which the federal government of Somalia condemned.
The Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) performed a Google reverse image search on the four images, which returned that the photos are unrelated to the weapon shipment that arrived in Mogadishu in September.
A reverse image search using TinEye on image one shows that it has been on the internet since 2018.
The photo is from an article published on 12 August 2018 titled, “Mogadishu port starts working at nighttime.”
A Google reverse image search on the second image returns that the image was initially posted by Zona Militar in a 19 August 2024 article titled, “The Ethiopian Armed Forces equip their Chinese-origin 6×6 WZ551 APC vehicles with Soviet 122mm D-30 artillery cannons.”
A further search using Yandex on the third image showed that the image was not taken in Somalia.
The Maritime Executive used the photo in a 3 January 2022 article titled, “UAE-Flagged Ro-Ro Seized by Houthi Rebels off Yemen.”
The image description reads, “Images of the military equipment the Houthis said they captured.”
Another Google reverse image search on the fourth image in question established that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visiting Mogadishu port in November 2022.
The Mogadishu Times website used the image alongside several other images from the President’s visit to the port in a 22 November 2022 article titled, “Photos: What did Hassan Sheikh see today at Mogadishu port?”
Although Egypt confirmed sending a new arms shipment to Somalia, all four images are unrelated to the weapon shipment that arrived in September 2024.
The Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) has looked into a Facebook post with images purportedly claiming to show that a ship carrying weapons docked at Mogadishu port in September 2024 and finds it to be PARTLY FALSE.
This fact-check was produced by Federation of Somali Journalists (FESOJ) under the African Fact-Checking Incubator programme, with support from PesaCheck, Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, and the African Fact-Checking Alliance(AFCA).
