Friday, July 16, 2010

Inside Al Shabaab

Analysis: Risdel Kasasir 16 July 2010
Kampala — Al-Shabaab, the Somali militant group that claimed responsibility for the bomb blasts in Kampala on July 11, though born and bred in Somalia, is a many-faced beast that has fed on the blood of fighters drawn from round the extremist Muslim world.Its name translates as "the youth" in English. Though acting on the sidelines at its birth, it gradually grew into the hardline role of the radical Islamic Courts Union (ICU) which briefly ruled Somalia between 2005 and 2006. The ICU had kicked out the warlords who were perpetuating a ruinous civil war, and established a semblance of order.Its name translates as "the youth" in English. Though acting on the sidelines at its birth, it gradually grew into the hardline role of the radical Islamic Courts Union (ICU) which briefly ruled Somalia between 2005 and 2006. The ICU had kicked out the warlords who were perpetuating a ruinous civil war, and established a semblance of order.But in late 2006, the Ethiopian army invaded Somalia and evicted the fundamentalist Islamists from power. The ICU split into several fighting groups but for a time they seemed harmless.The young militants, however, slowly began to forge something that would be driven by a most radical brand of Islam. By 2007, they were hell-bent on a mission to overthrow the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), which was cobbled together under the auspices of the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.Where they are in control today (mainly over a large swathe of southern Somalia), al Shabaab has banned TV and radio, ordered women to wear veils and introduced the slicing off of limbs as a form of punishment.Their war object has changed into a death race against what they call "the enemies of Islam" even as they seek to impose a harsh form of Sharia law which analysts say will turn Somalia into a 7th century Islamic state.


Courting al Qaeda
That objective while intimidating enough, took on sinister proportions when al Shabaab's leaders started to court the international terrorist network, al Qaeda in 2007. The courtship was consummated into a deadly union of anarchists when the group's leadership was usurped by the foreign jihadists, most of whom fled the NATO onslaught after the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan.Today, the African Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (Amisom) is aware of Pakistanis, Saudi Arabians, Yemenis and Sudanese acting as the puppet masters of this estimated 4,000-strong outfit.Amisom Spokesperson, Uganda's Maj. Barigye Ba-Hoku says their leader, Sheikh Ahmed Abdi Godane, is a Yemeni national. It is hard to imagine that at one time this fearsome organisation took direction from the current Somali president, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, who was head of the ICU. Today, Sheikh Sharif and his TFG government are high value targets for the al Shabaab.Sheikh Godane took over from Abu Mansoor, the man he used to advise. Mansoor was eliminated in an airstrike carried out by American forces in 2009. Godane has organised the terror outfit with a recognisable chain of command not unlike al Qaeda.AMISOM intelligence indicates that there are individuals assigned to financing operations; people charged with recruiting, training and preparing suicide bombers; the necessary intelligence gathering arm is also very active and coordinates with a network of operations and training advisers.Abu Sulaiman Al-Babadir, a Yemeni, heads intelligence. Abu Musa Mombasa, a Pakistani, runs security operations. He replaced Salah Ali Nabhan in 2009, who was killed in US aerial raids; Abu Nasur Al-Maliki is the moneyman who manages the payroll of foreign fighters. He is a US citizen. Others are Mohammed Mujajir, a Sudanese national who heads recruitment of suicide bombers; Sheikh Mohamed Abufaid, a Saudi, is the chief of finance and Fazul Abdul Mohamed, a Yemeni, is adviser of the leader.Some security assessments profile Fazul as the most dangerous man in the East African region. He is said to have planned a recent suicide attack that killed three TFG ministers at a graduation party in Mogadishu.

The al Shabaab appears to relish its membership in the international brotherhood of jihadi groups. From 2008, it launched a fevered campaign of self promotion in cyber space.Since then, al Shabaab has had the ingredients to turn itself into more of an international threat: a savvy communications operation; an expatriate Somali population from which to recruit; charismatic figures it could send out to attract followers; and a proven capacity, after this weekend, to operate in foreign countries. The Kampala attack might represent a bid by more ambitious members of the group to ally it more closely with Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda's affiliates.
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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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