Wednesday, July 14, 2010

No Retreat, No Surrender for the UPDF in Somalia

opinion Captain Chris Magezi 15 July 2010
 Kampala -We learnt with deep sorrow, shock and sadness about the tragic terrorist attacks against our people back home in Kampala last Sunday night that resulted in many deaths and injuries. Attacks against innocent people and unarmed civilians are acts too cowardly, barbaric and backward which nobody can ever justify.
They are the work of evil and extremist forces who unfortunately continue to live among us.We pray to the Lord almighty to give the relatives of the deceased and those who were injured, the strength and serenity they need to cope with their losses.We must, at the same time, remain firm and not give in to these evil and extremist forces, however insurmountable the consequences may seem. Anything to the contrary would otherwise hand victory to these forces and make the world more unsafe than ever before.The al-Shabaab, who have claimed responsibility for the attack in Kampala, are one of such extremist and violent groups operating in the midst of our region in Somalia and are attempting to capture power there. They are allied to al-Qaeda forces fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan and share the same ideologyThey harass, intimidate and bomb the population in order to suppress them into compliance with their extremism. A multitude of brutal and terror tactics have been applied to this end. They include amputation of limbs, summary executions, desecration of burial sites, forced marriages, recruitment, abductions, assassinations, and suicide bombing.In one such suicide bombing on December 3, 2009, the al-Shabaab attacked a graduation ceremony of medical students from Banadir University at Shamo Hotel in Mogadishu, killing 24 people and wounding 60 others. Many of those killed were new medical graduates, in a country with a dire need for qualified medical practitioners.The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) and AMISOM continue to stand in the way of the extremist forces and they have grown increasingly desperate. Between June 25 and July 1, the al-Shabaab mounted a sustained assault on TFG and AMISOM position at KM0 in Mogadishu and attempted to overrun it. They were repulsed with severe losses on their side.KM0 is a key terrain overlooking the Presidential Villa and sea port which would have put the two strategic areas in direct line of hostile fire. On April 27, a truck laden with explosives and drums of petrol attempted to penetrate this position.Fortunately, our ever vigilant soldiers managed to stop it in time with a rocket propelled grenade and it exploded with a devastating ball of fire, critically injuring three of our brave soldiers. Three suicide bombers in the truck also perished.Licking their wounds from the great losses incurred in succession, a desperate suicide attack was always on the card only that few would have suspected it to be so far away from the frontline.Understandably so, out of a deep frustration after this latest attack, some voices in Uganda are now calling on the Government to withdraw UPDF from Somalia.Our people should know that this growing extremism in our midst is like a cancer which must be checked while still in infancy, to stop it gaining further ground. The good news is that this is possible.In a nutshell, the terrorist attack in Kampala should justify why the African Union Mission in Somalia should be strengthened further, perhaps with even a greater sense of urgency.Otherwise there is no guarantee that those who do not contribute troops for Somalia will be immune to future terrorist attacks. Uganda has suffered similar attacks before in the late 1990s and early 2000s. UPDF was not in Somalia at the time.The writer is the spokesman of Ugandan troops in Somalia.

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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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