Wednesday, February 10, 2010

War is Boring: Somali Forces Prepare Counter-Islamist Offensive

Forces belonging to the U.S.- and U.N.-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Somalia have mobilized for a major offensive against Islamic militants who control much of southern and central Somalia. On Friday, a local journalist who spoke with World Politics Review reported seeing government forces, as well as peacekeepers from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), preparing for battle."In the last 24 hours, we have seen many convoys, including tanks from the AMISOM bases," reported the journalist, who requested anonymity to protect him from Islamist reprisal. "I can see the logistics [convoys] of AMISOM troops going through the city -- especially around their bases." He added that he also saw TFG troops deploying north of Mogadishu, in areas of the city dominated by al-Shabab, an Islamic group that in recent years has aligned itself with al-Qaida, particularly the terrorist network's Yemeni branch.In the last year, the 5,000-strong AMISOM contingent has assumed a more active role in Somalia's civil war. Ugandan tanks and mortars provide heavy firepower for the peacekeepers and the TFG. Exchanges of mortar and gunfire between al-Shabab and pro-government forces killed more than 250 Somali civilians in January, according to the U.N., making it the bloodiest month since August for the war-torn country. On Jan. 26, al-Shabab attacked an AMISOM hospital in Mogadishu, killing one peacekeeper and at least four civilians. Some reports indicated the attacker was a suicide bomber. Al-Shabab began adopting al-Qaida-style suicide tactics four years ago; such bombings are now common. A suicide attack on Mogadishu's Shamo Hotel in December killed scores of people attending a medical school
graduation. Several government ministers and reporters died in the blast. Another local journalist, Mohamed Omar Hussein, was at the scene and narrowly avoided injury.The preparations for major combat come just days after Kenyan Vice President Steven Musyoka made the rounds in Washington, warning of the growing threat from Somali Islamists. "As a result of what is going on in Afghanistan, some of these [Afghan] extremists are leaving for Somalia," Musyoka claimed during an interview at the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank. "Unless the rest of world looks at Somalia as a peace challenge, it may be too late."

"This is a wake-up call," Musyoka said.

Kenya has long struggled with the spillover of Somalia's 20-year civil war. Hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees live in Kenyan camps administered by the U.N. Somali pirates, who have thrived in their home country's political chaos, are reportedly buying up property in Mombasa, Kenya's major seaport. Kenya has reinforced its border with Somalia amid reports that al-Shabab was concentrating in the region, perhaps in order to defend against the TFG-AMISOM offensive. Kenyan troops and al-Shabab fighters traded gunfire two weeks ago. No casualties were reported.Uganda is similarly vexed by Somalia's chaos. In a bid to relieve pressure on the Ugandan government, Washington agreed in January to resettle to the U.S. around 6,000 Somali refugees living in Ugandan camps. The resettlement program will take until September, as the U.S. State Department must carefully screen refugees for ties to Islamic groups.The U.S. has ramped up its involvement in the Somali civil war, reflecting Washington's growing concern over Somalia's potential as a terror haven. In 2008, several dozen Somali-American youths living in Minnesota sneaked back into Somalia to join al-Shabab. Several died; others returned to the U.S. and were promptly snatched up by the FBI on charges of supporting a terrorist group. Trials are ongoing. In September, U.S. Special Forces killed al-Qaida operative Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan in a helicopter raid, but most U.S. involvement in the country is more subtle. U.S. Army Africa, based in Italy, oversees efforts to train up Ugandan and Burundian troops for AMISOM. The so-called "Africa Contingency Operations Training and Assistance" program is managed and funded by the Department of State. "ACOTA is designed to improve African ability to respond quickly to crises by providing selected militaries with the training and equipment required to execute humanitarian or peace-support operations," Maj. Gen. William Garrett, U.S. Army Africa commander, told World Politics Review. The Pentagon and State Department also underwrite the TFG's burgeoning security force. U.S. government funding accounted for much of the roughly $200 million that international donors pledged to the TFG in 2009. As recently as late 2007, U.S. contractors operated out of Mogadishu's international airport, managing logistics for AMISOM and, by extension, the TFG military.Somalia's Islamists have apparently made their own moves to counter the growing alliance against them. In late January, there were reports that fighters from Ras Kamboni, one of the smaller Islamic groups, had flocked to join al-Shabab. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweis, leader of Hizbul Islam -- the second-most-powerful Islamic group and at times a rival of Al Shabab -- reportedly opposed the union, as did Ras Kamboni chief Sheikh Ahmed Madobe. nternal schisms have plagued Somalia's Islamists. It's not uncommon for the groups to fight each other over territory and influence, a discord that could prove fatal in the face of escalating TFG and AMISOM attacks.

David Axe is an independent correspondent, a World Politics Review contributing editor, and the author of "War Bots." He blogs at War is Boring. His WPR column, War is Boring, appears every Wednesday.
Photo: A "technical" in Mogadishu at the time of the UNOSOM mission, 1992-1993 (CT Snow, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License).

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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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