Monday, February 15, 2010

Somalia Violence Intensifies Debate on Weapons

As insecurity persists in Somalia - on land and in the waters off its coast - a debate is intensifying within the international community on how best to deal with the violence, and whether more weapons for security are the solution or part of the problem.  Fighting involving Islamist rebels has taken place this month on an almost daily basis in the capital, Mogadishu, where the United Nations and African Union-backed transitional government controls only some neighborhoods.In the waters off Somalia's coast, several boats and their crews have been released this month.  But another ship has been seized, despite increased international patrols.  Most of the captured vessels are released after a ransom is paid.Mohamed Zayed, a security contractor working in Somalia, recommends that ships sailing off the coast arm themselves. "We have talked about the private sector hardening their targets with on board security, which I think, is important, " said Mohamed Zayed. "I think historically, all of the ships, some hundreds of years ago, were heavily armed to [these] sort [of] attacks of piracy as just a normal day's business.  But for the last few hundred years, there has not been piracy at this level.Zayed and the U.S. company he works for, Phoenix Intelligence Support Services, are also helping to train Somalia's intelligence and security forces.  He says he believes that boosting the transitional government's security is the best way to return Somalia to stability.Zayed also says he is confident in the leadership now in place in Somalia, even though it seems to be barely hanging on and that some government leaders - including President Sharif Sheik Ahmed - had been Islamist leaders fighting against Western-backed forces."The senior cabinet members, the president, the prime minister, the deputy prime minister, all of the key ministers are very credible, good people," he said. "Many of them are educators; they are not military strongmen.  They are professors, teachers.  I can guarantee you one thing; this is the best chance for a transitional government to be effective in stabilizing Somalia than we have seen in more than 20 years."But Benedicte Goderiaux, an expert on armed conflict in Africa at Amnesty International in London, sees many potential problems in the international community's support for the transitional government. "This is fine as long as it is not done at the expense of the human rights of civilians in Somalia," said Benedicte Goderiaux.Goderiaux says she worries about what she calls the opaque training of security forces by contractors in neighboring countries.  She also cautions about weapons being given to the transitional government ending up in the wrong hands. And, she says, Somali government forces should be scrutinized."Providing funding and support to a government whose forces have in the past committed very serious abuses, it poses a question of possible complicity of the international community in the commission of such abuses," said Goderiaux. "What we would like the international community to do is to ensure that they do not give this support without question.  For instance, when you have reports of civilians killed in shelling in Mogadishu, for instance, which has been occurring in the past few weeks, that the international community asks questions of the transitional government."The main rebel group, al-Shabab, has been linked to al-Qaida and the international community is concerned that Somalia could become a major haven for extremists.  Meanwhile, analysts are calling for balancing concerns over terrorism with security for Somali civilians to avoid a cycle of violence and a perpetually failing state...voa

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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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The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

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