Saturday, March 31, 2012

US Freedom drone kills 18 Alqaeda Affiliate Jihadists in southern Somalia . Al Qaeda's affiliate in SomaliaAl-Shabaab loses new grounds to AU force in Mogadishu. Route linking Mogadishu to Afgoye corridor re-opens

 update on Somali rebels repel AU/government attack on airstrip near capital ( Exclusive pictures )

At least 18 Alqaeda Affiliate  Jihadists have been killed and a dozen others injured in an attack by US Freedom drones in southern Somalia, The causalities come after an unmanned aircraft fired several missiles at al-Shabab positions in the Daynile District in west Mogadishu on Saturday. Hussein Mohamed Uraag, a Somali military official, confirmed the attack, saying the aerial strike happened early in the morning. Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when Hawiye warlords overthrew Honorable Mohamed Siad Barre. SNM &USC . 

AU with  transitional government in Mogadishu has been battling  al-Shabaab  terror group linked to Al Qaeda   for the past five years and is propped up by African Union troops from Uganda, Burundi, and Djibouti.

Alqaeda affiliate in Somalia  loses new grounds to AU force in Mogadishu
The force’s deputy spokesman Gilbert Mutunga told terror free somalia  that their force has successfully managed to take over the entire district from Al-Shabaab militant fighters after a brief gun-battle in the area.Mutunga said they lost a Burundian soldier serving the AU mission in Somalia during the battle for Daynile, adding that some other soldiers were also injured.He further said they are now conducting a similar operation against Al-Shabaab militants in areas around Maslah towards the rebel-held Elasha Biyaha.Reports say the renewed fighting in the area has grounded public transportation along the road linking Mogadishu to Afgoye
Terror Free Somalia Foundation Exclusive pictures Elasha Biyaha

Route linking Mogadishu to Afgoye corridor re-opens

TF.SF  Reports from Elasha Biyaha area, a rebel stronghold on the outskirt of Mogadishu, say normalcy has returned to the route linking Afgoye to Mogadishu after it was cut off by the renewed clashes between Somali troops backed by AU forces and Al-Shabaab militias.The reopening of the route gives hope to hundreds of residents who are camping at the suburb trying to return to Mogadishu as tension looms in the area.The African Union force has hinted that it was planning to wrest control of Afgoye corridor, a rebel stronghold in the Lower Shabelle region, urging locals in the area to immediately to return to Mogadishu.

By Rahm

Somali rebels repel AU/government attack on airstrip near capital ( Exclusive pictures )

Terror Free Somalia Foundation Exclusive pictures
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's al Qaeda-linked militants clashed on Friday with African Union and Somali government troops, who are struggling to extend their control to territory beyond the capital where the Islamist rebels are still able to fire mortar barrages.
The spokesman for the Burundian contingent of AU troops said his unit had been unable to capture the airstrip in Daynile district, al Shabaab's last major stronghold at the edge of Mogadishu.
The AU force (AMISOM) and Somali government troops have to capture Daynile and its airstrip so that they can advance towards the al Shabaab-controlled towns of Afgoi, Elasha and Lafole, a short distance from Mogadishu.
"Mogadishu is in the hands of government and AMISOM, except the Daynile airstrip where al Shabaab is still fighting," said the spokesman, Ndayiragije Come.
He said 20 al Shabaab fighters had been killed in the fighting, while one Burundian soldier had died and four were wounded.
Daynile has been the scene of some of the heaviest fighting in Mogadishu. In October, the AU said it had lost 10 Burundian peacekeepers in fighting there, but Reuters witnesses said they saw a significantly higher number of bodies.
Al Shabaab's military operations spokesman said the rebels had pushed AMISOM and government troops away from the airstrip and had captured a vehicle-mounted anti-aircraft gun. Reuters witnesses said they saw government troops leave the vehicle behind.
Al Shabaab, which wants to impose its harsh interpretation of sharia, Islamic law, has been under pressure since pulling out of the capital in August and losing control of towns in southern and central Somalia to Ethiopian and Kenyan troops.
But its fighters have shown they can still carry out large-scale guerrilla attacks on government targets in Mogadishu using roadside bombs, grenades and hit-and-run raids.
The rebels have fired mortar rounds at the presidential palace over the last two weeks, killing at least seven people in the area around the palace. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the gate of Villa Somalia, as the presidential palace is known.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

British man member of al-Qaeda in east Africa ( al-Shabaab ) arrested in Somalia

The latest arrest in Somalia of a British man alleged to be a member of al-Shabaab is an unusual case, writes reporter Jamal Osman.As soon as reports of a British man’s arrest in Somalia on suspicion of links to the Islamist group, al-Shabaab, came yesterday, local government officials got excited.“A British man linked to al-Shabaab is in our hands,” police spokesman Abdullahi Barise said.For sometime now, Somalia’s transitional federal government and African Union troops have been fighting against the Somali Islamist group, which last month said that it had joined with al-Qaeda.

And the Somali government, which receives international support, thought the arrest of the British man would prove that the country is the primary destination for foreign jihadists, which might lead to further funding.But it appears they are dealing with a strange case, and can’t figure out the man’s motivations for coming to Somalia.He told reporters that he was discriminated against in Britain, where his civil liberty and human rights were abused and he “just wanted to find somewhere peaceful, sunny… and nice.”

“Ok, I’ll be honest with you,” he said. “I’ve read stories on Kenya, on Mombasa. Mombasa is a holiday Mecca for Europeans to go there, have a laugh. Ideally, I wanted to see Mombasa and overland to Kismayo. But I couldn’t get a flight there. When I was a child, that’s all I wanted to see. I wanted to travel. The flight – I couldn’t do it – so I had to do it the long hard way.”Mogadishu is certainly sunny but it is also one of most dangerous places in the world.The suspect, who travelled from the UK via Nairobi in Kenya, was named as Cleve Everton Dennis, and is still being investigated by Somali authorities.There have been other British-linked cases in the past. Jermaine Grant, from east London, was arrested in Mombasa, Kenya’s seaside city, in December and has been charged with possessing bomb-making equipment.In October last year, two 18-year-old men from Cardiff were arrested after trying to walk across the border between Kenya and Somalia.Kenyan police are also still hunting for a woman believed to be Samantha Lewthwaite, the widow of 7/7 bomber Germaine Lindsay, over her alleged connections to a bomb plot in Mombasa.

According to a recent Royal United Services Institute report, about 50 British citizens are thought to be among the-200-strong foreigners fighting with al-Shabaab .Britain considers Somalia a direct threat to its own security because of the presence of British fighters, among the group.
 

By rahm


Monday, March 26, 2012

Rethinking Kenyan incursion towards southern regions of Somalia

Kenya’s incursion of so called operation Linda-Nchi which is intended counterinsurgency air-operation in southern Somalia (Jubba valley, Bay, Bakol and Gedo regions) has wrongly been hailed as a model of intervention. The people of these regions endured inconceivable drought and famine situation that ravaged thousands of civilians coupled with extremist oppression is now paying toll on miscalculated counterinsurgency air-operations. Ostensibly, Kenya’s involvement in this mission against Al-shabab demonstrated that AMISOM-coalition remains an essential source of revenue stability; therefore to preserve this allegiance TFG proponent granted such request, mandating all necessary measures. Regrettably, TFG’s indifferent status-quo endorsed aforementioned political and economical cohesion instead of condemning these unjustifiable perpetual blind air-bombardments, committing atrocities, internal displacements, property & institution destructions (schools, houses, wells, trucks, herds) which caused new refugees to cross the border into Kenya. Critics, meanwhile, have warned that such air-raid would likely fail and, even if it succeeded, would spark destruction and economic crisis. The interim PM Dr. Abdiwali Mohamed Ali said earlier that the TFG would conduct investigation into the matter, unfortunately the strikes intensified without intervention to halt. Evidently, TFG failed the responsibility to protect its own civilians.

TFG must lead the command and control of the operation in order to prevent collateral damages by gathering intelligence surveillance, reconnaissance, precision targeting and analyzing intelligence on the ground. Kenyan military have heavily relied on air-bombardment to fight Al-Shabaab, hence Somali army officers are the logical choice to assume ground command. Apparently, it may not

possess the command structure and capabilities necessary to plan and execute complex operations, but such operations have its challenges as well, both in conception and in execution. It must examine and learn from these challenges in the same token swiftly respond to cease indiscriminate bombardment in the IDP camps and concentrated areas. Kenyan air force clearly lacked the knowledge and expertise to provide correct targeting information, if not adopting and shaping new strategic concept of “upgrading front-line countries (Ethiopia, Kenya) while downgrading Somalia into fiefdom of provinces”. AMISOM can continue to invest in their military capabilities and capacity under Somalia’s multinational-program of counterinsurgency which means investment in defense. If defense spending continues to decline or dry up, TFG will not be able to sustain success, therefore it must engage locals to have this undertaking less expense and fewer damages.

When making decisions that can have an enormous impact on people’s lives, it must listen to those closes to the issues. Currently, all inclusive and sustainable peace depends on shifting from top-down TFG approach, rather bottom-up approach to one that engages council of elders involvement in such areas, bringing tribal leaders back to pro-government camps pledging to oppose extremism. Properly trained and equipped, civilians are force multipliers, which in return provide people the tools to initiate life saving approach. TFG should engage dual phase solution, one with use of military force against these extremists; on the other hand, it must mend a program of practical cooperation and political dialogue with them across these regions. Information is power, revealing mistakes and addressing critics are difficult, and hence it will ultimately make counterterrorism mission (against Al-Shabab) more effective. If TFG wants to garner and retain its military influence, it will have to tolerate more risks and sacrifices that go along with them.


Prof. Liban A Egal is a professor at George Mason University's Engineering Dept.  Prof. Liban serves as Senior  Political  and National Security Analyst at Terror Free Somalia Foundation

 Some background/ related store
 

Kenya’s Political Failure in Southern Somalia.Related Story:Kenya troops aim to carve 'buffer zone' out of Somalia

TFG is a Fake Institution (in depth analysis)

 

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Exclusive TFG General AbdiKadir Diini Interview

 General AbdiKadir Ali  Diini  Pledges to Wipe Out Al-Shabaab

Terror Free Somalia t interviewed General Abdikadir Shiekh Ali Diini, Chief Commander of Somali National Forces General Abdukadir Diini for the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

General Abdikadir Ali Diini, thanks for giving us your time and the exclusive interview. What are the TFG military forces are planning?

 Thanks for your interview. There are a number of things we are planning to do, our first priority is to identify those strategic positions where we can operate from efficiently. It is also important to take into consideration the mobilization of Somali citizens for TFG forces work effectively with African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

  As Prime Minister Abdiweli Gaas has pledged, is it possible for TFG forces to wipe out al-Shabaab in two weeks, or will it take longer?

  Yes, definitely capability goes along with determination. As a government, we are determined to fight with tooth and nail until we restore peace and stability in the entire country. We are not solely focused on Mogadishu; we have shown great concern for other parts of the country. However, for the last two months government forces have done tangible work as far as the security of Mogadishu is concerned.

    How would you describe the readiness of TFG military forces?

 We are both morally and materially prepared to face the extremist group of al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab’s power has been exaggerated to create fear and tension in our soldiers, who are ever ready to face the enemy and die for their country.

    How many TFG military have completed training?

    It is a government secret to state troop forces, but I can say that the TFG has ultimately decided to flush out the al-Shabaab militants.

    Do you think TFG forces will destroy al-Shabaab?

    Of course; they have now realized that the victory will elude them and through several clashes they have faced stiff challenges. They have reduced their presence as usual, and that is one of their weaknesses.

    TFG forces have been accused of looting, shooting and public harassment. What do you have to say about these allegations?

    Those are false accusations aimed at assassinating the characters of the government. In other words, those are just empty words from irresponsible persons, who want to create hostility between the citizens and the government. Therefore, I encourage the citizens of Somalia to disregard those statements and see them as a disuniting factor.

    Who do you see as creating hostility between TFG and the Somali citizens?

    It is the insurgents who are extraordinarily hyperbolic, and they seek to shame the government of Somalia, just to serve their self-interest. We aware that al-Shabaab harasses, intimidates, abducts, tortures and slaughters innocent civilians. So, there is a possibility that the rebels are inciting enmity of our people.

    Lastly, what are you suggesting to the citizens of Somalia?

    I wish to sincerely state my heartfelt gratitude to the people of Somalia for their co-operation with TFG forces, and we appreciate their support. I request them to continue in the same spirit to realize our objectives as one community.

    Thanks for the time you have allocated to Terror Free Somalia .

    You are welcome.

Former Somalia’s TFG president Abdullahi Yussuf Ahmed finally laid to rest

 
The late former Somalia’s TFG president Abdullahi Yussuf Ahmed was laid to rest shortly after midday on Sunday.   The burial in his Galkayo hometown was attended by the Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and several other TFG and regional leaders from Puntland and Galmudug states of Somalia.President Sharif was among hundreds of mourners attending Yussuf’s burial at the El-Jifle cemetery in Galkayo town.The plane carrying the Coffin bearing the remains of Yussuf arrived at Adan Adde International Airport in Mogadishu on Sunday morning and was later flown to Galkayo town for burial.President Sharif led the Janaza prayer congregation, one of the Islamic burial rituals performed on the deceased persons before laying them to rest.Yussuf was accorded a State funeral with reports of unknown number of gun salutes in Galkayo during the burial procession.Yussuf died on February 23 aged 77 at Sheikh Zayed hospital in UAE after long illness.He was the first president of Somalia’s interim government after he was chosen as president by a parliament set up in 2004 after years of peace talks in the neighbouring Kenya.He resigned in December 2008 after a fierce power struggle with his then Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, who was backed by parliament after Mr .Yussuf tried to sack him.
Final Prayers for the late Abdullahi Yussuf at Aden Adde Airport, Mogadishu

 
Final Prayers for the late Abdullahi Yussuf at Aden Adde Airport, Mogadishu

On Sunday morning the airplane carrying the body of the deceased former president of Somalia Abdulahi Yussuf Ahmed, arrived at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu where a final farewell prayer was conducted.The president of Somalia Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas, ministers, members of parliament and other senior officials of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) have participated in the Janaza prayer for the deceased within the airport premises.President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed sent his condolences to the Somali people and the family members of the former president of Somalia. He asked the public to pray for the late president.The Somali Prime Minister Dr. Abdiweli, spoke highly of the late president referring to him as an individual who had shaped the history of Somalia.Sheikh Sharif expressed his gratitude to the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen who allowed the deceased to seek treatment and refuge in their countries. He pledged that the TFG would assist in catering for accrued medical expenses.The committee for the organization of the burial of late Abdullahi Yussuf was headed by the minister of trade and deputy prime minister Abdiwahab Ugaas Hussen Ugaas Khaliif who also accompanied the deceased when he was taken to Galkayo where he is to be buriedAt Galkayo airport people have been waiting for the arrival of the late president’s body, among them are the president of Puntland Administration Abdirahman Mahamad Mahamuud Faroole and other senior leaders from Puntland and Galmudug administration.The burial ceremony for the former president who died in UAE on Friday 23rd is currently ongoing in Galkayo. President Sheikh Sharif and Prime Minister Abdiweli are attending the burial in Mudug region of Galkayo.

BY Abdirahman Warsame  (Rahm)

  

Ethiopian troops aim at Al-Shabaab stronghold/Al- Shabaab's Abu Mansour Al-Amriki appears to be in trouble

.Hundreds of heavily armed Ethiopian troops advanced into a central Somali town on Saturday with the aim of attacking the main stronghold of the Al-Qaeda-linked Shabaab militia in the region, witnesses said.
A convoy of battle trucks drove into Dhusamareb, which is under the control of a pro-government Somali militia, ahead of a planned attack on the Shebab-controlled town of El Bur, 100 kilometres away, local residents said.“The Ethiopian troops in at least 50 trucks entered Dhusamareb this morning.“Their target this time seems to be El Bur district, which is the main base of the Al-Shabaab” in central Somalia, said Abdulahi Ahmed, an elder in Dhusamareb.The Shabaab commander in the region, Sheik Adan Farey, confirmed the military movement, saying his fighters were ready for the Ethiopians.“The invading Christian mercenaries from Ethiopia entered Dhusamareb. Whatever their intentions are, we will defeat them,” Farey told AFP by phone.Ethiopian troops have captured Baidoa and Hudur, two key Shabaab towns in southern Somalia, since deploying into the war-torn country in November.Ethiopia’s latest incursion is the second in five years. They toppled an Islamist movement after deploying in 2006, but they withdrew in 2009 after the group’s hardline fighters — the Shabaab — mounted a bruising guerrilla war.Now the Shabaab are facing increasing pressure from regional armies, with Kenyan troops in the far south and a 10,000-strong African Union force battling them in the capital Mogadishu.The Shabaab were ousted from Dhusamareb on Tuesday hours after they captured it from the pro-government militia Ahlu Sunna in fierce fighting.The Shabaab and other armed groups control large swathes of the south of the lawless Horn of Africa nation, which has had no effective central government since the ouster of president Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Al- Shabaab's Abu Mansour Al-Amriki appears to be in trouble

A prominent American fighter for Al Shabaab has claimed his life is under threat from fellow guerrillas due to internal disputes within the group. Omar Hammami, an American citizen from Alabama, and the only foreigner who holds a public position in Al Shabaab, joined in 2006, under the nom de guerre Abu Mansour al-Amriki.
Last week he posted a video saying he felt his life might be endangered by other members of the Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahideen "due to some differences that occurred between us regarding matters of Sharia and matters of strategy". There were reports that Hammami had been arrested near Merca following the posting of his comments on YouTube but Al-Shabaab quickly denied the allegation and promised an investigation to verify the authenticity of the video and motivations behind it. It said that it could assure "our Muslim brothers that al-Amriki is not endangered by the Mujahideen" and "still enjoys all the privileges of brotherhood."
There have been frequent reports of long-standing divisions between Al-Shabaab Somali commanders more interested in Somali affairs and those who concentrate on a more global jihad and the links to Al Qaeda. There have been claims that the former were implicated in the deaths of at least two figures closely linked to Al-Qaeda, Fazul Mohamed and Bilal al-Barjawi. The factions have accused each other of giving information to the Americans. Hammami’s video suggests that disputes over ideology and strategy are having a serious effect on the organization, and it has been described as a significant public relations setback.
The indication of more divisions near the top of the organization is likely to have a further demoralizing effect on Al-Shabaab's foreign fighters. There are believed to be several hundred of these though there were unconfirmed reports a few weeks ago that 300 of them had left Kismayo and retreated to Yemen. --MFA

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

NEWS ROUND-UP: WEDNESDAY: EXCLUSIVE REPORT Somalia’s Security Agency displays self-confessed militant sympathizers, The moderate Islamist Ahlu Sunna burying 43 bodies of dead Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab Terrorist in Dusamareb. Car bomb blast hits Somali capital, 1 injured


EXCLUSIVE REPORT ( TF.SF) Mogadishu Somalia :    Somalia’s National Security Agency has displayed three militant sympathizers including the driver of the car that exploded in the heart of the Mogadishu earlier today.Police said suspects, Abdullahi Mohamed Mohamud, Abdisamed Osman and Ali Dahir Muse Ahmed had been detained after the explosion at Mogadishu’s Maka Al-Mukarram road that links the busy Kilometer 4 road intersection with the presidential palace.Abdullahi Mohamed Mohamud, the driver of the car who spoke to the media said that he was promised $150 for parking the car at the site where it exploded. He said security officers arrested him after parking the car.In his confession, Abdisamed Osman who claimed to a government soldier attached to EX-Fiyore Station said he was compromised by the militant group to “guide” rebel mortars targeting the Somali presidential palace.The third suspect, Ali Dahir Muse Ahmed also confessed being an Al-Shabaab militant tasked with attacking Heliwaa police station last night, adding that he surrendered himself to the government troops.Security officials said the suspects will be arraigned in court as soonest possible.
The moderate Islamist  Ahlu Sunna burying 43 bodies of dead Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab Terrorist   in central Somali town of  Dusamareb

  More than 43 bodies of dead Al-Shabaab militants who were killed on Tuesday morning during a gun-battle with Ahlu Sunna militias in central Somalia town of Dusamareb were buried today, ASWJ official claimed.

Dusamareb District Commissioner, Abdirahman Ali Geda-qorow, told Terror free somalia  that ASWJ militias collected the bodies lying in and outside the town and were later buried in the area.He said normalcy has now returned to the area, with their fighters keeping vigil to make sure that public lives are never disrupted again.He further said that they lost only five combatants on their side during the yesterday fight in the area and were immediately laid to rest.Earlier on Tuesday, ASWJ claimed to have killed more than 20 Al-Shabaab militants during the battle for Dusamareb, a strategic town in the central Somalia region of Galgadud controlling a key road linking southand central Somalia to the relatively calm northern part of the chaotic Horn of African country.Few hours after the fight, Ahlu Sunna’s Guri’el district commissioner, Osman Isse Noor told Terror free somalia  that several militants were killed after attacking Dusamareb town early on Tuesday morning, adding that they lost three of their fighters on their side.He also claimed that they seized two vehicles from the militant group.The Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab militants on pickup trucks mounted with machine guns stormed the town at dawn on Tuesday, briefly seizing control of it before they were repelled.Ahlu Sunna militias regained full control of the town after regrouping outside the town which had earlier fallen off their hand and engaged in retaliatory attacks forcing militants to retreat back.Al-Shabaab militants reportedly made off with over seven privately owned vehicles which they took away from locals during their brief stay in the town before they were ousted by Ahlu Sunna fighters.Although the exact number still remains unknown, reports say there have been heavy human casualties involving both combatants and civilians during the fight, with ASWJ claiming upper hand over Al-Shabaab in the fight.Al-Shabaab militants have on several occasions attached Dusamareb, briefly taking control of it before fresh attacks from the Ahlu Sunna group rooted them out.

Car bomb blast hits Somali capital, 1 injured

MOGADISHU - A car loaded with explosives has exploded on Wednesday in the heart of Somalia’s war-torn capital, Mogadishu, wounding a passerby civilian, Eyewitnesses and police officials said.

The bomb which was parked along a road side exploded in the busy Maka Al-Mukarama road, especially Hajji Basto garage that from KM4 intersection and leads to the presidential palace. Police cordoned off the area, after they had become suspicious of the parked car. Mohammed Mohamud Garar, the police chief of KM4 area told reporters at the site of explosion that Security forces foiled a car bomb attack planned to target Somali government convoys passing in the road.
 He said police cordoned off the vicinity after the blast and arrested four suspects over the attack and taken into custody.Ahmed Mayre Makaran, the district commissioner of Waberi for Somali government stated, “car bomb attack intended to kill and sabotage the innocent civilians in Mogadishu.”No group immediately claimed responsibility for Wednesday's blast, but it comes just a day after Al-shabab said Mogadishu is a frontline zone and the group will carry out more deadly attacks against TFG and AMISOM bases in the capital

By Rahm

Hawiye / Habar Gidir sub-clan saleeban hawiye criminal Terrorist Gang Kidnapped Judith Tebbutt British Woman Is Free. Once Again British pay ransom to Habar Gidir Hawiye gang

The remote hut where British publisher was murdered and his wife kidnapped... but was pirate gang tipped off by hotel worker? UK Special Forces are now joining the hunt for Mrs Tebbutt amid fears she has been taken by Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabab.Kidnapped Briton possibly in Somalia.Kenyan police detain suspect over death, kidnap of Britons update

We condemn the payment of ransom to Hawiye / Habar Gidir sub-clan saleeban terrorist
LONDON — A British tourist seized by Somali raiders from a secluded, upmarket resort on the Kenyan coast more than six months ago in an attack that claimed her husband’s life was set free on Wednesday, ending a gripping drama that had helped fuel Kenya’s rationale for invading southern Somalia.
Judith Tebbutt, the 56-year-old captive, praised the efforts of her son, Oliver, in getting her released in an interview with Britain’s ITV News that was broadcast hours after British officials confirmed that she had been set free, apparently unharmed.
“I’m looking forward to seeing my son, who successfully secured my release,” she said. “I don’t know how he did it, but he did.”
Mrs. Tebbutt was shown wearing a purple head scarf in a blue-walled room with what appeared to be a clothes stand in the background. The precise location of the interview in Somalia was not disclosed.
British officials declined to go into detail about the circumstances of her release. “Our priority now is to get her to a place of safety,” the Foreign Office in London said in a statement. Officials said she was on her way to Kenya from Somalia.
Somalis with knowledge of Mrs. Tebbutt’s release and British news reports said that her family had met ransom demands to secure her release. British officials declined to comment. As a matter of public policy, the British government does not condone the payment of ransom or other inducements to hostage-takers.
Mrs. Tebbutt’s abduction was one of several kidnappings by Somali gunmen in Kenya last year that Kenyan officials initially cited as justification for sending troops into Somalia on Oct. 16, arguing that Kenya had to defend its tourism industry.  
But, soon afterward, the Kenyan government disclosed that the foray was planned much earlier, part of a covert strategy to penetrate Somalia and keep the violence in one of Africa’s most anarchic countries from spilling into one of Africa’s most stable. 
“I’m really happy,” Mrs. Tebbutt told ITV. “It’s just nice to be around other people. It’s been quite lonely. Seven months is a long time and under the circumstances, with my husband passing away, made it harder.”
“There were some very hard psychological moments,” she said, “but I got through it. So I’m really relieved.”
“I was moved around a bit from house to house. That started when there was some Navy SEALs successfully captured two aid workers. I think it was on the news,” she said, apparently referring to events in January when a team of about two dozen Navy SEALs rescued two other hostages — an American aid worker and her Danish colleague — held by Somali pirates since October.
“That night I was woken up and was moved around,” Mrs. Tebbutt said. “It was very disorientating. To be woken in the middle of the night and moved, and you’d stay there for a little while and then you’d move again.”
Gunmen seized Mrs. Tebbutt, and killed her husband, David Tebbutt, 58, at the $430 per night Kiwayu Safari Lodge in September in one of a series of attacks at coastal resorts near the town of Lamu, one of Kenya’s best-known tourist destinations.
The couple were the only guests at the resort and had arrived from the Masai Mara game reserve.
Mrs. Tebbutt was abducted in the middle of the night after a speedboat packed with Somali gunmen sped up to the resort, a string of 18 luxury cottages just south of the Somali border. They burst into the bungalow occupied by the British couple and fled with Mrs. Tebbutt.
Her husband was believed to have been killed when he tried to resist the attackers.
Western officials said at the time that she had been abducted by a pirate gang that was holding her deep within Somalia.
The raid was particularly alarming for both Kenyan officials and overseas visitors since it seemed to open an ominous new chapter in a saga of piracy in recent years, during which gunmen have hijacked dozens of ships and ransomed them for millions of dollars.
Worries about pirate attacks on land deepened in October when, three weeks after Mrs. Tebbutt was taken, Somali gunmen staged another brazen attack, snatching a handicapped French tourist from a beachside bungalow on Manda Island near Lamu and escaping to Somalia. The woman was later reported to have died in captivity.
Asked whether a ransom had been paid for Mrs. Tebbutt’s release, a spokesman for Prime Minister David Cameron said, “Our position is that we do not pay ransoms and we do not facilitate concessions to hostage-takers.”
The spokesman said Mrs. Tebbutt’s case had been discussed about 20 times at the government’s emergency committee, known as Cobra. The spokesman, speaking in return for anonymity under departmental rules, declined to comment on whether the British authorities had advised Mrs. Tebbutt’s family not to pay a ransom.
“All I can say is that we have been in close contact throughout,” he told the Press Association news agency. “We have obviously been providing support to the family and been in close contact with the family throughout and have been meeting regularly to discuss the case.”
Mrs. Tebbutt’s release was broadly welcomed by lawmakers, friends and others including a British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, who spent 388 days in captivity after being abducted at gunpoint aboard their 38-foot yacht near the Seychelles in October 2009.
“I hope she will have an opportunity to pick up the pieces of her life, and deal with the loss she has had,” Mr. Chandler told the BBC.
Somali pirates have yet to release captives including an American taken hostage in January and two Spanish aid workers abducted in Kenya, news reports said.
Other hostages include a French military adviser and scores of mariners from several countries taken prisoner when their vessels were hijacked at sea.
Rick Blears, a spokesman for an advocacy group supporting kidnapped seafarers, Save Our Seafarers, said that Mrs. Tebbutt’s release, while welcome, had shown that “the media spotlight is firmly on kidnapped civilians rather than any of the 233 working seafarers who are currently in captivity and have been so many months.”
“Many of them are kept in appalling conditions while slow ransom negotiations with shipping insurers take place,” Mr. Blears said. “Many of their families are just far too poor to pay any kind of ransom.”
“We also firmly believe that any move at government level to ban the payment of ransoms to pirates, as U.S. Secretary Hilary Clinton proposes, would have a massively detrimental effect and put the lives of hostages at grave risk,” he said. via NYT
 
backgrounds related  stores,

British couple's family pay ransom to Habar Gidir Hawiye gang

no wonder that NPR sucks ..Polishing fictionalised story like this... Burnsville man pivotal in freeing British couple from pirates?? This is bollshit . Mohamed Aden is the real mastermind behind..Habar-Gidir Hawiye Pirate Kingpin Acting like a Hero

Habar-gidir Hawiye Jehadist barbaric pirates,

Yacht wife held by Habar-gidir Hawiye pirates 'is suffering from scabies'

Somalia Islamist militants Mostly Gabar-gidir Hawiye Jehadest Hizbul Islam execute 2 men accused of murder and adultery in lawless country,


Monday, March 19, 2012

Exclusive Story: Somalia’s National Theatre back to life after 21 of closure since the overthrow Honourable Mohamed Siad Barre . War-riven Somalia's national theatre reopens after 21 years

All roads in Mogadishu will today lead to the Somali National Theatre where a grand performance will be held for the first time since Somalia plunged into chaos early in 1990s.The performance which will include a highly awaited local Play dubbed “Dardaaran Waalid” which literally translates to “Parent’s Advice” will be presented today by the Waberi brand and four other groups of Somali artists and performers inside the long-time forgotten National Theatre after 21 years of closure.The play “Dardaaran Waalid” which has been worked on for three months will be aired live by some of leading Somali and international TV channels including the international news agency, Al-Jazeera’s live programs department.Apart from the play, the show will also constitute various performances including songs, traditional dance, music and comedy.Somali government officials are expected to attend today’s performance which will also be attended by hundreds of locals in Mogadishu.The historical re-opening of the National Theater comes days after the Somali president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed assured Somali artists and performers who lost everything after the collapse of the central government in 1991 that the National Theater will be fully functional as part of his government’s effort to revive all public institutions in the country.

 Somalia has been without a fully functioning since 1991 Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre central government Honourable Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown by a coalition of armed factions motivated by clan hostilities.


War-riven Somalia's national theatre reopens after 21 years
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Terror Free Somalia Foundation: Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre departing words to the Somali people. Nations must learn from past mistakes in helping Somalia

Herders in Abudwak up in arms with charcoal traders


 update on Al-Shabaab Razes Somali Forests to Finance Jihad
Herders in parts of Adubwak district are warning that continued deforestation in the area will lead to severe consequences for their livestock, affecting key production sectors if it proceeds at the current rate.
They accused charcoal traders in the district for destroying forests to eke a living while at the same time destroying the livelihood of livestock keepers in the area.Mohamed Abdulle, a local herder in Birgosole area told terror free somalia  that forest resources have been increasingly exploited as people have turned to alternative means of income by chopping off trees to transform them into charcoal.He said in addition to the recent drought in the region, human activities have also contributed to the destruction of grazing lands in the entire Galgadud region.Abdulle further said that forest destruction and logging of tress has adversely affected their livelihood which is based on livestock herding.Meanwhile, Ahlu Sunna administration in the district has threatened that stern actions will be taken against people who are found felling trees in order to transform them into charcoal for commercial purposes.In a country where there is no an insufficient and cheaper alternative to charcoal, tree felling and a great dependence on charcoal are adversely affecting the environment leading to a scenario similar to the recently witnessed human tragedy in the country.

Sierra Leone to boost AU Mission in Somalia soon

Sierra Leone’s contingent of the AU’s Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) will deploy any time after June, Defence ministry spokesman Ken Jabbi told Africa Review on Saturday.At least 850 men and women have now been identified after undergoing months of pre-training exercise for deployment in the war-ravaged Horn of African nation.Sierra Leone Defence Minister Alfred Paulo Conteh last month finally signed the agreement at the AU Commission in Ethiopia for the eventual deployment.According to Sierra Leonean military spokesman, the troops, drawn from various units in the army, have just concluded their pre-African Contingent Training Assistance course with the support of the Freetown-based International Military Advisory Training Team, mainly British-led foreign forces, which have been training the Sierra Leone military since the end of the country’s 11-year civil war.“They underwent training basically on the standards of international peacekeeping operations of both the African Union and the United Nations,” Maj. Jabbi said, adding that presently they were conducting training for commanders, to be followed by a full-time training of the battalion until their departure date.
Sierra Leone, together with Djibouti, Nigeria and Malawi, had promised to send in their troops to help contain the two decade-long unrest in Somalia which has since transformed into a ‘war on terror’.
Sierra Leone which Sierra Leone promised to send its troops to Somalia to boost the AU Mission in the country is banking on their experience in the civil war which ended in 2002.
“It is going to be a challenge but it won’t be the first time our men will be exposed to such a situation,” Maj. Jabbi admitted.
Source: African Review

Somalia: Al-Shabab Militants Arrest a U.S.-Born Jihadist


 update on American Traitor Claims Shabaab Trying to Kill Him Foreign Fighters Being Arrested, Killed by al Shabaab? al-Shabaab Responds in Press Release(UPDATED:BUMPED),US fighter in Somalia says threatened by fellow militants.US-born al-Shabab fighter Omar Hamami, better known as Abu Mansoor al-Amriki 'fears for life'
Qorioley somalia  — The islamist militants of Al-shabab linked with Al-Qaeda have arrested on Monday a US-born jihadist in southern Somalia town, reports said.Sources say some Al-shabab fighters have stormed the house of Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki in the town of Marko on Sunday afternoon and taken away to Qorioley district, just 120 Km away south of Mogadishu.Omar Hamami - better known as Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki - gave the warning in an undated video posted on several Somali websites and YouTube on Saturday, saying that his life is in danger from his fellow militants."I record this message today because I feel that my life may be endangered by Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen due to some differences that occurred between us regarding matters of the Sharia (Islamic law) and matters of strategy, said Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki on the YouTube."
Al-shabab commanders provided no further details about the arrest of US-born Islamist fighter Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki so far.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Norwegian Paul Refsdal got his somali citizenship for $ 50 in Bahkora market Mogadishu within a couple hours.

Skeptical: The job of Per O. Haddal, head of NID, is to look at documents and listen to stories with skeptical eyes and ears.   But he does not rule out that Paul Refsdal new passport is genuine, technically. and he was not very surprised to hear how easily war reporter got the pass from a market in Mogadishu.  
Foto: Melisa  
Fajkovic/Dagbladet. Photo: Melisa Fajkovic / Dagbladet

(Dagbladet): Paul Refsdal would check rumors about how easy it is to obtain a passport in Somalia.
A couple of hours and $ 70 (420 million) after he had sent off a messenger with his own passport photo and personal information required, had war reporter from the area "proof" that he is a Somali citizen.
Norway's leading expert on false identity papers have examined Refsdal new passport with the latest in technical equipment. and can not exclude that the passport is so true, technically, as it is possible to document.  Pass from war-torn countries like Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan are the most difficult for ID authority over the rest of the world to know for sure about is real.  UDI would pass

Paul Refsdal got a second citizenship while he was in Mogadishu in February in connection with a documentary project. I met a friend who norsksomalisk told him to do a favor for a friend in Norway when he first was in Somalia. . He had a passport photo and $ 50. How she had understood the Immigration Directorate (UDI), she had to get a passport for his Norwegian ID, Refsdal says to Dagbladet. 

 He sent the same order for themselves to Bahkora market in Mogadishu, where there is a hall with the "artisans" who sell identity papers.
Standard price for the pass is $ 50 For security reasons, chose Refsdal to pay 20 dollars extra to get the manufacturer to bring his new passport to the hotel room in Mogadishu. . As a white man he would not take the chance to be kidnapping victim. The only thing I can guarantee is that my signature is genuine. The rest were prepared. I signed and the man pulled the plastic lamination. So I was the owner of a new passport.


As a section head in the NID (National Identity and Documentation Centre ), he was very interested in investigating the new passport to Paul Refsdal.

Air bubbles

Before the technical studies, the Haddal with the following comments after browsing through the pass with his trained eye:  
Apart from that I'd taken aback by the image of a white man in a Somali passport, there are a few reasons why I would consider pulling Refsdal into the back room for a more detailed check if I was a border guard: first, there is a small diagonal shift on the front scene.  Second, the laminate that covers the picture and personal data imprecise and contain tiny air bubbles. But none of these factors have to mean that the passport was false.  In order to conclude for sure, we need more extensive reference material, said document expert before he takes the dark green ID paper in NIDS laboratory, and the investigation does not reduce the likelihood that the passport can be a real thing that forgers have bought from corrupt officials.
Can be real

The paper may well be true. Watermarks, printing methods and UV-reaction appears authentic. With certain reservations pass formulator seems to be true in a technical sense. Nor is it found traces of changes in the variable information - that is, the ancient script below is removed. A day later, the NID had more information about how a real, Somalia should be.
What I first wanted to become skeptical about the now, is that the passport of Refsdal is a few millimeters too large in both height and time. But it is not certain that it can rule out that the passport is so-called real, says Haddal.

he stressed that Somali passports generally have low credibility, even though they technically are completely real. it may be caused by corruption, weak central authority and poor procedures for issue, underlines the ID expert

you can watch  this enter investigating reports in Norwegian

by rahm
 
TF .SF International Security Research Specialist





American Traitor Claims Shabaab Trying to Kill Him Foreign Fighters Being Arrested, Killed by al Shabaab? al-Shabaab Responds in Press Release(UPDATED:BUMPED),US fighter in Somalia says threatened by fellow militants.US-born al-Shabab fighter Omar Hamami, better known as Abu Mansoor al-Amriki 'fears for life'

American Traitor Claims Shabaab Trying to Kill Him Foreign Fighters Being Arrested, Killed by al Shabaab? al-Shabaab Responds in Press Release(UPDATED:BUMPED)


NAIROBI, March 17 (Reuters) - An influential American fighter for Somalia's al Shabaab rebels, who has in the past urged Western-based Muslims to join the group, has dismayedradical Islamists by saying his life is under threat from fellow guerrillas due to internal disputes.Experts on Somalia said the video by Omar Hammami suggested splits over ideology and strategy were weakening al Shabaab,which joined al Qaeda in February and is fighting to topple Somalia's weak interim government.Such a public disavowal by a serving member of an al Qaeda aligned militant organisation is highly unusual, and will beseen as a significant public relations setback for the movement. In a video uploaded on Friday, Hammami, who goes by the name..more

US-born al-Shabab fighter 'fears for life'
American Islamist fighter says in online video he may be in danger from fellow extremists over "Sharia...and strategy".
A US-born Islamist fighter viewed as a key foreign leader within Somalia's al-Shabab group has said he fears his life is now in danger from fellow extremists.
Omar Hamami, better known as Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, gave the warning in an undated video posted on several Somali websites and YouTube on Saturday.
"To whomever it may reach from the Muslims, from Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, I record this message today because I feel that my life may be endangered by Harakat Shabab al-Mujahideen due to some differences that occurred between us regarding matters of the Sharia and matters of the strategy," he said, speaking in English.
The bearded Amriki, dressed in a black robe and with a checked scarf, posed in front of the al-Shabab's black flag and beside an automatic rifle in the minute-long video, but did not provide a location.
He provided no further details about the threats or differences with other al-Shabab commanders.
The video adds weight to reports of growing divisions within the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab, who face pressure on three fronts by regional and pro-government forces. Al-Shabab aims to depose the weak, US-backed Transitional Federal Government in Somalia and impose Islamic law.
Brotherhood 'privileges'

Amriki had previously been seen as a key leader for foreign fighters in al-Shabab, alongside top Somali commanders Muktar Robow and Sheikh Hasan Dahir Aweys.
Some suggest Somali al-Shabab fighters view the foreign gunmen as a liability, even as potential spies, while missile strikes have targeted the foreign extremists.
However, al-Shabab spokesmen dismissed Amriki's concerns in messages posted Saturday on internet website Twitter.
"We assure our Muslim brothers that Al-Amriki is not endangered by the mujahideen, and our brother still enjoys all the privileges of brotherhood," they wrote.
"A formal investigation is just underway and HSM [Shabab] is still attempting to verify the authenticity as well as the motivations behind the video," the post added.

Guerrilla tactics

Alabama-born Amriki, who has reportedly been based in restive Somalia since late 2006 and is wanted by the United States on terrorism charges, has issued previous videos calling for foreign recruits, including singing rap songs praising jihad.
The Royal United Services Institution, a security think-tank, estimates that there are around 200 foreign fighters in the ranks of al-Shabab. African Union military commanders have said they have reports some are fleeing Somalia for Yemen.
Al-Shabab last month lost control of their strategic base of Baidoa to Ethiopian troops and pro-government Somali forces, the second major loss for the rebels in six months after the majority pulled out of the capital Mogadishu.
However, experts warn that al-Shabab fighters are far from defeated and remain a major threat, especially now they have switched to guerrilla tactics in many areas after leaving fixed fighting positions.
Omar Hamami, better known as Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, Farewell.... Goodbye....