Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Somalia : Ahlu Sunnah Split Threatens Grip on Galgadud

Sufi Militia Says Al-Shabab Planning to Attack Galgadud Region 
Ahlu Sunna forces conduct operations, capture two suspects in central Somalia
update
A growing rift between the leadership of Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa, and clan mistrust, which caused a significant group of fighters to break off, looks set to weaken the moderate Sufi-led militia and boost militant Islamist group al-Shabaab in the Galgadud region.The split over the allocation of weapons and senior leadership roles was highlighted by the ongoing UN-sponsored peace conference in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, which some ASWJ members opposed – in line with the stance of much of the Transitional Federal Government – and others said they would attend.Last week, militia from the Sade/Marehan, a subclan of the Darod, took their fighters back to their home district of Abudwaq in Galgadud. These fighters, around 30 per cent of ASWJ's estimated total force of about 2,000 (1,500 in central regions and just short of 500 in Gedo, according to ASWJ commanders and locals), were key in pushing back al-Shabaab in Galgadud and Hiran districts and helping the TFG gain control of key towns in the Gedo region. The breakaway group was angered by what they saw as an inequitable distribution of weapons Ethiopia handed out amongst clan militia in February. Daud Farah Bile, a member of the ASWJ administration in Abudwaq, told Somalia Report that a growing rift sparked by the domination of senior ASWJ posts by the Ayr, a subclan of the Hawiye, and the Dir was worsened when his clan got fewer weapons than deserved“The suspicion is how ASWJ delegates to go abroad are chosen, we are all Ahlu Sunna and need transparency within the leadership,” he said.

Split gives boost to al-Shabaab

Abdi Rashid, Horn of Africa analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Somalia Report that this split would boost al-Shabaab's chances of gaining ground in ASWJ areas.“Definitely in the last two years we have seen serious fragmentation within ASWJ ... they are no longer able to fight as a cohesive force. If there is more evidence of more fragmentation, that will compound that problem,” he said. “Al-Shabaab is a very formidable force and any weakening (of ASWJ) is definitely a good strategic gain for them.”ASWJ controls Guri-El, Dusamareb, Abudwaq, Balanbale and Herale, but al-Shabaab has built up its forces in nearby towns such as Elbur, Galhariri, Wabho, Warholo, Mahaas and Elgaras, all of which lie in the Galgadud and Hiran regions, giving it a platform to launch attacks against splintered ASWJ forces.

ASWJ leadership downplays rift

However, ASWJ head Moalim Mohamud Sheikh Hassan played down the split, saying all the fighters still shared the same ideology and enemy, which superseded clan interest.“There can be people with self interests exaggerating the rift as their wishes are being met, but what I can tell you now is that ... different opinions can arise but it is not a rift – it is one of the issues we are going to resolve at our consultative meeting,” he told Somalia Report.The leader said that the planned meeting would take place Friday, and that all of the problems would be thrashed out.“I don’t expect that all these developments within the group can endanger Ahlu Sunna unity, I hope it will be sorted out soon,” ASWJ's Gedo spokesman Shariff Abduwahid, also one of the group's seven-member executive council, told Somalia Report.Abduwahid also denied that fights over leadership were causing tensions, saying that nobody in the organization had any political aspirations.
“We are fighting for a peaceful Somalia governed by its people, I don’t think there is someone in Ahlu Sunna with ambition to be president," he said. “What we are fighting for is to be able to study our religious scriptures unmolested.”

Ethiopian links, split long time coming

The moderate Sufi group, which renounced its non-violent creed and entered the conflict after militant Islamist group al-Shabaab desecrated Sufi graves, is often accused of serving as a proxy for Ethiopia, which withdrew from Somalia in early 2009 after a two-year occupation that sparked the ongoing insurgency. As well as handing out weapons, Ethiopia has trained at least 500 ASWJ fighters on its own soil before sending them back into Somalia. Somalia Report also visited a training camp for ASWJ fighters run by three Ethiopian officials on the outskirts of Beled Hawo, Gedo region, near the border with Ethiopia and Kenya (see photographs). An official said 300 fighters were being trained, but our correspondent saw only around 90.Despite lingering associations with the unpopular Ethiopians, ASWJ still draws a lot of public support as it is seen as grassroots movement that encompassed all groups.“The main motto shared by the tribal clans was when you are divided and you see your enemy, unity comes within you,” Adan Timajilic a local tribal leader, told Somalia Report.However, this unifying force of hatred for al-Shabaab no longer seems enough to keep the group together. Many felt such a split was a long time coming, as when the group began their armed struggle in late 2008 following the desecration of Sufi graves by al-Shabaab, the collective of clan militias had many rivalries to draw on.not cohesive from the beginning,” said Rashid. “ASWJ was a shorthand for all the groups in central Somalia opposed to al-Shabaab. The Sufi aspect is often overplayed.”Rashid said that Ethiopia's support for certain clans within ASWJ, as evidenced with the arms distribution, has only helped the fragmentation.
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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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