Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Why we should expect more, not fewer, attacks from the Shabaab







By CHARLES ONYANGO-OBBO cobbo@ke.nationmedia. com  (email the author)
Posted Wednesday, December 22 2010 at 16:40

Kenyan and Ugandan security officers say Albert Olando Mulanda, the Tanzanian who is suspected to have set off an explosive that killed two people and injured 40, was likely linked to the extremist Somali group, Al Shabaab.
In July, terrorists hit two clubs in Kampala where fans were watching the World Cup. At least 74 people were killed and hundreds injured. It was Uganda’s worst such attack.
The radical Somali Islamist group, Al Shabaab, claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it was punishment for Uganda for sending troops to Somalia as part of the African Union peace-keeping force (AMISOM).Al Shabaab also said it would strike Burundi, which is the only other country to have sent troops to serve with AMISOM.The Monday night attack came barely six hours after Uganda security sent a warning that it had information that Al Shabaab was planning a Christmas attacks.So far, Burundi has been not been attacked, but a few weeks ago, bombers were intercepted at the Rwanda-Burundi border.
Kampala Coach also travels to Bujumbura via Kigali, and it is possible the destination of the grenades could have been any of these cities.Beyond the attack, it is more important to look at why Al Shabaab is carrying out these attacks.One little discussed fact is that while Al Shabaab has seen a spectacular rise in its fortunes inside Somali, there are signs that it is in decline.
In many small towns, districts and regions, Somalis fed up with the violence and the deprivations brought about by the conflict, are organising and creating their own local “governments”, and pressing back against Al Shabaab.
n Madina, one of Mogadishu’s district, a group of people frustrated by the lawlessness, organised the defence of their own area by bringing together local clans, business leaders and the local people.

Secondly, it’s a well-known fact that the vast Somali Diaspora, many of whom are quite wealthy, and Somali business people in East Africa, have backed the warring factions in the long conflict there.
Somali militants, therefore, were careful not to destabilise the rest of the region with terrorist attacks, because they feared governments could retaliate by dismantling their supply networks in East Africa.However, the rise of the Shabaab changed all that. It is not reliant on the regional Somali Diaspora cashbox, so it doesn’t care what happens to Somali-owned business in East Africa.Even if they are shut down, it won’t be crippled for its money from the Middle East will continue flowing in.
Then, knowledgeable sources say that some of Shabaab’s Qiyadah (Somali commanders) favour talks, while the foreign ones don’t.Therefore, the more attacks the Shabaab can carry out in the region, the more it will advance its goals, especially of the more hardline foreign elements withinIt is probably hoping that forcing governments to carry out a xenophobic crackdowns on Somalis would drive angry Somalis to its side.
Also, such new recruits would be more willing to embrace the virulent anti-East African line of the foreign fighters.Finally, President Yoweri Museveni unwittingly stirred up the pot when he made a surprise visit to Mogadishu in November. He was the first Head of State to visit war-torn Mogadishu (if not Somalia) in 20 years.
It was a diplomatic victory for the Transitional Federal government’s President Sheikh Ahmed, and a signal to the world that the situation is beginning to look up. The Shabaab warned then they would punish Museveni for “trespassing”.
The Shabaab need to regain the initiative, and ensure that no other foreign leader entertains ideas about visiting Mogadishu.
Fresh terrorist attacks would give them that. In that sense, then, we should expect more, not fewer, things to go boom in the dark.Nation

Our Time Is Now - By Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed | Foreign Policy

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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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