Thursday, November 19, 2009

Local Somalis fear terror group has lured six missing men

Young Torontonians last heard from in Kenya, across border from al Shabaab's home base

As many as six young men from Toronto's Somali community have vanished in the past two weeks, sparking fears they have slipped off to the Horn of Africa to join the outlawed al Shabaab group.An officer from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service met Wednesday night with relatives of one of the missing men, trying to determine if the former York University student had entered Somalia from bordering Kenya.Later, after the CSIS agent left her Markham home, the man's cousin told the Star the 25-year-old left Canada on Oct. 10 with his aunt to visit an ailing grandmother in Nairobi. Then last Friday she got a call from her aunt (who had raised the cousins in Canada) saying he had disappeared."At this point we have no idea," she said. "There had been nothing in his behaviour that would have worried us."Community members and the RCMP have warned there's a risk of youths from Toronto's large Somali diaspora being lured to Mogadishu through al Shabaab's online recruiting of Westerners.In the United States, as many as 20 Americans have left the Minneapolis area to join al Shabaab, which both Canada and the U.S. have designated a terrorist group. One of them carried out a suicide bombing.
Administrators of Toronto's Abu Huraira Centre, a mosque near Highway 404 and Sheppard Ave. E. where the six reportedly worshipped on occasion, contacted authorities after learning from their families and others in the Somali community of their disappearance."We are concerned," said administrator Omar Kireh, adding he is cooperating fully with authorities and offering support to the parents, whom he described as "devastated.""What we know is that a (few) guys have gone missing from the Toronto area. Where are they? And where did they go? That will come later."Kireh would not say if he knew any of the men, fearing he might "jeopardize the investigation," and refused to speculate whether they had joined al Shabaab.
"People talk about that, but right now we don't know where they are. ... As far as we know, those guys are travelling like any other person."In an effort to stop young men from becoming radicalized, Kireh said the mosque works with parents and the community. But, he added, it's not always known what goes on in the minds of young men: "You can't watch their hearts."
Ahmed Gure, who runs the Somali news website Hiiraan Online, said the families learned the six had left Canada only after the fact."Otherwise they would not allow these kids to leave," said Gure. "We heard they made a phone call from Kenya to their families. They said they are in Kenya, they're good. We cannot confirm it, but we think they're probably going to Somalia."
Ahmed Hussen, president of the Canadian Somali Congress, said he is still waiting to get all the facts about the situation, but fears the news could provoke a backlash against a community that's already vulnerable."We want to assure the rest of the Canadian society that the Somali community is a peaceful community," said Hussen, who travelled from Ottawa to Toronto to discuss the issue with local Somalis. "If it's proven that some young men have gone to fight in Somalia, then it's an issue of serious concern to us," he said.Both CSIS and the RCMP have been monitoring the Somali community since al Shabaab was created in 2006.Al Shabaab – translated as "The Youth" – was a violent offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union, which took control of Mogadishu in 2006.While the ICU brought stability to the anarchic capital after 15 years of war there were fears about the group's strict adherence to Sharia law. Comparisons were made to the Taliban, prompting Ethiopia, with U.S. approval, to invade Somalia in December 2006.
That invasion?? please.. The Invention did not quash the movement; in fact, the unpopular presence of the Ethiopian troops only bolstered al Shabaab's ranks. Even with Ethiopians gone and a new government in place, al Shabaab has started attracting foreign recruits. Earlier this year, it pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda, although evidence of direct ties between the organizations is questionable.In a recent interview with the Star, Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed conceded he was concerned about the recruiting of foreign fighters, but said he believes al Shabaab is no longer popular among war-weary Somalis.During a trip to Minneapolis, he offered condolences to the families of the American youths who had joined al Shabaab, saying they were "victims themselves while victimizing others."
With files from Paul Moloney
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/727904--local-somalis-fear-terror-group-has-lured-six-missing-men

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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