Friday, March 29, 2013

Somalia: Talks Between Somalia Govt and Kismayo Admin 'Hit a Deadlock'


"A lot of people disappointed in Prime Minister Shirdon and dam- jadiid gang in Villa Somalia


Talks between the Somali federal government, led by Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon, and local leaders in Kismayo led by Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Ahmed Madobe) and Sheikh Mohammed Yussuf Aw-libah, the chairman of Jubbaland signatories .. have "hit a deadlock" as the two parties have disagreed over key issues, Garowe Online reports.
The discussions have been taking place for the past three days in the southern port city of Kismayo, where Prime Minister Shirdon is visiting. The two parties appointed officials to a joint committee tasked with preparing a cooperation agreement to be signed by top leaders.
Sources in Kismayo tell Garowe Online that the joint committee's discussions have "hit a deadlock" and the top leaders are expected to intervene.
According to the sources, federal government officials have demanded control of Kismayo's airport and port facilities, cancellation of ongoing Jubaland convention, appointment of a Lower Jubba regional governor by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and the deployment of Somali forces from Mogadishu to Kismayo.
Sheikh Ahmed Madobe, the political leader of Kismayo, has strongly defended Jubaland convention as a community led process to establish a state administration, in according with the Somali federal constitution. He has stated that Jubaland convention aims to reconcile local communities, establish a shared state administration, and elect leaders of the new state.
Kismayo leaders have "rejected" proposals to cancel Jubaland convention and to deploy extra troops from Mogadishu, saying Kismayo has "sufficient troops" aided by African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) contingent from Kenya, according to local reports.
"Federal officials have proposed appointed a six-month interim administration for Kismayo, but this contradicts a two-year process to establish Jubaland, thereby creating a deadlock," said one source in Kismayo familiar with the political developments.
Meanwhile on Thursday, Prime Minister Shirdon accompanied by Sheikh Ahmed Madobe toured the Kismayo port and a Somali military compound, as part of the Prime Minister's ongoing visit to Kismayo.

The PM never went to Kismayo with an open mind it was his goverment dam- jadiid gang in Villa Somalia way or no way the Jubbaland intitative will succeed 

Somalia: Deploring Murder of Somali Radio Journalist, UN Agency Chief Calls for Investigation

The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today denounced the recent murder of Somali radio journalist Rahma Abdulkadir and called for an investigation into the crime.
"I condemn the murder of Rahma Abdulkadir. Her name joins a long list of journalists who have lost their lives in Somalia," said Irina Bokova, the Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
"Media professionals must be able to work in secure conditions to fulfil their mission. Impunity for crimes against them must not be tolerated; it increases their vulnerability and compromises freedom of expression for all," she added.
Ms. Abdulkadir, 25, worked for privately-owned Abduwaq radio. She was reportedly shot and killed by unknown attackers in the capital, Mogadishu, on 24 March.
The attack was condemned earlier this week by the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, who called for an end to such "senseless" violence.
"Somalia continues to be one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to operate. This negative picture needs to change," Mr. Mahiga said, calling on the recently-formed Independent Task Force on Human Rights and law enforcement bodies to ensure that the perpetrators are brought swiftly to justice.

Somalia to get small arms after U.N. lifts embargo

(Reuters) – The Somali government expects to get its first shipment of light weapons within two months after the United Nations partially lifted an arms embargo to strengthen security forces fighting al Qaeda-linked militants, Somalia’s president said.
Aware of international wariness about sending arms to a volatile country already awash in weapons, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said he knew the world was closely watching how his government would manage a fresh inflow of arms.
“We take full responsibility. The world is looking at us and monitoring us,” Mohamud said in an interview in Doha on Wednesday after taking part in his first Arab summit focused on Syria and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
“We are not worried about getting supplies, we’re concerned about the management of these supplies,” he said, adding he expected the first shipment to arrive within the next two months.
He described as “really useful” the U.N. Security Council resolution earlier this month to allow sales of weapons such as automatic assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
While the United States had supported the move, other Security Council members were wary about completely lifting the ban on a country where al Shabaab militants are still able to launch major attacks.
Somalia’s poorly equipped military – more a collection of rival militias than a cohesive fighting force loyal to a single leader – has had the support of African Union peacekeepers as it has battled al Shabaab fighters on several fronts.
The Security Council imposed the embargo on Somalia in 1992 to cut the flow of weapons to feuding warlords, who a year earlier had ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and plunged the country into civil war. Last year Somalia held its first vote since 1991 to elect a president and a prime minister.
This month’s resolution left in place a ban on surface-to-air missiles, large-caliber guns, howitzers, cannons and mortars as well as anti-tank guided weapons, mines and night-vision weapon sights.
Mohamud said Somalia was approaching different states for the weapons, mainly small arms and ammunition. “We’re looking for equipment that is fit for … the internal security of the country. But in the future Somalia is a very big country with a long coastal line and open air, so we may need bigger arms.”
 
PIRATE ATTACKS
 
Mohamud also said he needed about $450 million to fund small development projects across Somalia’s 72 districts to help move the country from aid dependence to economic recovery.
The president is no stranger to the threat of violence that still grips Somalia. Just two days into his job last September, he survived a suicide bomb attack at a Mogadishu hotel.
As part of Mohamud’s efforts to bring back stability, he also granted amnesty to hundreds of Somali pirates and promised to help them seek new careers. But the amnesty does not included those convicted by courts or wanted by Interpol.
The number of successful pirate attacks has fallen sharply since 2011, when Somali pirates amassed about $160 million, after international navies stepped up patrols to protect marine traffic and struck at pirate bases on the Somali coast.
Mohamud said the amnesty, which applied to about 1,000 individuals, had also helped win the release of six hostages held by the pirates for three years. Somali pirates still hold four large commercial vessels, a number of fishing dhows and about 130 hostages.

Sierra Leonean forces to be deployed in Kismayo

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has announced that Sierra Leone expected to arrive in the country will be deployed to trouble-hit port city of Kismayo.
Speaking at a press conference in Mogadishu, AMISOM spokesman Col. Ali Adan Humad said the 850 soldiers contributed by the West African to serve the AU mission in Somalia will be station in Kismayo to strengthen security in the region.
On Tuesday, Sierra Leone’s leader told 850 soldiers on the eve of their deployment as part of an African Union mission to war-torn Somalia that they were on “a great journey of peace”.
President Ernest Koroma addressed the men as they took a break from intensive training in Freetown ahead of joining the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which is supporting government troops fighting the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab rebels.
He told the soldiers they were “on the brink (of embarking) on a great journey of peace, a journey of charitable gallantry, a journey to showcase how a transformed nation and its transformed military could be a force for democracy, peace and reconciliation”.
“You have an overwhelming superiority in logistics, organisation and global goodwill with the hopes and prayers of Sierra Leoneans everywhere,” he said in the televised speech.
Sierra Leone, recovering after the end of its civil war in 2002, has expressed a wish to assist in bringing peace to other countries and will deploy the battalion to Somali capital Mogadishu in early April, the Sierra Leone Television channel said.
Despite a string of losses in recent months, the Shebab remain a potent threat in Somalia, still controlling rural areas as well as carrying out guerrilla attacks in areas apparently under government control.
Ethiopian troops, the strongest military power fighting the insurgents in Somalia’s southwest since their November 2011 invasion, pulled out of the town of Hudur earlier this month, the capital of Bakool region.
In reference to the Ethiopian withdrawal from Hudur, Humad said AMISOM and Somali forces will fill the power vacuum left by the Ethiopian troops.
Security sources say the withdrawal from Hudur could signal a wider pullout of Ethiopian forces including from the key city of Baidoa, warning that if this happens, the 17,000-strong AMISOM would be hugely overstretched.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Al-Shabaab Operative Gets Prison for Helping Terror Group

 Eritrean man who admitted to receiving military training and aiding the al-Shabaab terrorist organization in Somalia was sentenced by a federal judge in Manhattan to nine years and three months in prison.Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed, 38, who pleaded guilty in June to two counts of conspiracy, faced as long as 10 years in prison under nonbinding U.S. sentencing guidelines.Ahmed, an Eritrean native who moved to Sweden as a child before going to Somalia, was arrested in Nigeria in 2009 and brought to the U.S. the following year, prosecutors said.He admitted to contributing about 3,000 euros ($3,835) to al-Shabaab and was trained to make and detonate bombs while he was in Somalia, prosecutors said.Al-Shabaab seeks to destabilize the Somali government and drive foreign troops out of the country, the U.S. said. The group has recruited foreign fighters, including some from the U.S., according to federal prosecutors.Assistant U.S. attorneys Benjamin Naftalis and John Cronan said that when Ahmed was taken into U.S. custody and interviewed by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, he admitted he wanted to “make jihad.”Prosecutors said Nigerian authorities found a copy of an al-Qaeda training manual in the room where Ahmed had been staying before his arrest. Stamps on his passport confirmed he had traveled from Sweden to Africa via Iran “in order to wage deadly jihad.”Sabrina Shroff, a lawyer for Ahmed, said her client didn’t deserve the 10-year prison term sought by the U.S. because he never engaged in terrorist acts against the U.S. and never intended to do so.“He sought training in order to participate in a military struggle against foreign occupation in his African homeland,” Shroff said in court papers.Shroff said her client never joined any fighting on behalf of al-Shabaab. She said others convicted of aiding the group have been sentenced to terms shorter than the 10-year term the U.S. had sought.The case is U.S. v. Ahmed, 10-00131, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York(Manhattan.)

Clan Cleansing in Somalia: A Book Review

Book: Lidwien Kapteijns, Clan Cleansing in Somalia: The Ruinous Legacy of 1991. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013. 336 pages.
***
“We’re going to get it on because we don’t get along.” —Mohamed Ali, Rumble in the Jungle.
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”—William Faulkner, Intruder in the Dust.
***
When the current Somali president, Hassan Sh. Mohamoud, has recently visited Minnesota, he gave what seemed to be an inspiring and upbeat speech to that state’s Somali community. Then, he committed a faux pas when he admonished the audience to forget about the past, what happened in 1991 and afterward, and not to dwell on it. The reaction of those who heard the speech ranged from those who wanted to move forward and build on the positives to those who had hard time swallowing the fact that what happened in 1991 could be readily dismissed after so many lives were lost, properties confiscated, and thousands expelled from their homes. The president was depicted as an insensitive leader bent on concealing the truth rather than seeking a judicious way of redressing the wrong. Such is the legacy of 1991 and its deleterious effect on the minds of many Somalis, even after 22 years.
Professor Lidwien Kapteijns’ book, Clan Cleansing in Somalia, exactly cautions Somali politicians not to engage in empty rhetoric about concealing and brushing off the “ruinous legacy” of 1991. Kapteijns, who teaches history at Wellesley College in the United States, is no stranger to Somali studies. She has extensively written about Somalia and speaks fluent Somali. As long as the memories, wrongdoings, and injustice of that period are not fully acknowledged and publicly addressed, she argues, Somalia will remain in a state of conflict and unable to engage in meaningful reconciliation and nation-building.
Something drastic and major happened in 1991 in Mogadishu and other parts of the south that was tragic: an unprecedented violence. Whereas Somalis had history of killing each other—a clan against clan—what took place in 1991 after the collapse of Siad Barre’s brutal regime, writes Kapteijns, was “analytically, politically, and discursively something new, a transformative turning point and key shift that has remained largely unaddressed (and has been purposefully denied and concealed) both in the scholarship about the Somali civil war and in the political efforts at social and moral repair.” Various mechanisms were used to conceal, deny or downplay the 1991 tragedies. The Western media, for instance, failed to uncover the killings and raping of innocent people in Mogadishu, and when foreign reporters visited Mogadishu at the apex of the civil war, they were chaperoned by the operatives of the United Somali Congress (USC). Kapteijns adroitly cites a case of several Western reporters reporting from Mogadishu on one fateful day whose narratives almost resembled each other. It was obvious that these journalists were in the same convoy when they were reporting the carnage in Mogadishu. The problem was compounded by poor academic and political memoir writings that failed to grasp the gravity of the situation in Mogadishu. Moreover, moderate leaders of the USC engaged in covering up the killings. It was only a decade and half later when warlord Ali Mahdi publicly admitted the atrocities committed in 1991.
This was a campaign based on collective punishment of one clan, and, hence, it was “namely that of clan cleansing, in a new political context and with a new dominant discourse.” In fact, argues Kapteijns, it was a communal violence in a way because it involved ordinary people such as friends, acquaintances, and neighbors targeting others based on being members of the wrong clan. The violence was not done randomly but instead it was carried out in a well-thought-out manner that pitted, not a government force against an organized armed group but, a common people against common people. Kapteijns, though, makes it clear that it was not clans that did the killings in Somalia but rather people who used the name of clans to kill, maim and rape.
 
Book: Lidwien Kapteijns, Clan Cleansing in Somalia: The Ruinous Legacy of 1991. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013. 336 pages.
***
“We’re going to get it on because we don’t get along.” —Mohamed Ali, Rumble in the Jungle.
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”—William Faulkner, Intruder in the Dust.
***
When the current Somali president, Hassan Sh. Mohamoud, has recently visited Minnesota, he gave what seemed to be an inspiring and upbeat speech to that state’s Somali community. Then, he committed a faux pas when he admonished the audience to forget about the past, what happened in 1991 and afterward, and not to dwell on it. The reaction of those who heard the speech ranged from those who wanted to move forward and build on the positives to those who had hard time swallowing the fact that what happened in 1991 could be readily dismissed after so many lives were lost, properties confiscated, and thousands expelled from their homes. The president was depicted as an insensitive leader bent on concealing the truth rather than seeking a judicious way of redressing the wrong. Such is the legacy of 1991 and its deleterious effect on the minds of many Somalis, even after 22 years.
Professor Lidwien Kapteijns’ book, Clan Cleansing in Somalia, exactly cautions Somali politicians not to engage in empty rhetoric about concealing and brushing off the “ruinous legacy” of 1991. Kapteijns, who teaches history at Wellesley College in the United States, is no stranger to Somali studies. She has extensively written about Somalia and speaks fluent Somali. As long as the memories, wrongdoings, and injustice of that period are not fully acknowledged and publicly addressed, she argues, Somalia will remain in a state of conflict and unable to engage in meaningful reconciliation and nation-building.
Something drastic and major happened in 1991 in Mogadishu and other parts of the south that was tragic: an unprecedented violence. Whereas Somalis had history of killing each other—a clan against clan—what took place in 1991 after the collapse of Siad Barre’s brutal regime, writes Kapteijns, was “analytically, politically, and discursively something new, a transformative turning point and key shift that has remained largely unaddressed (and has been purposefully denied and concealed) both in the scholarship about the Somali civil war and in the political efforts at social and moral repair.” Various mechanisms were used to conceal, deny or downplay the 1991 tragedies. The Western media, for instance, failed to uncover the killings and raping of innocent people in Mogadishu, and when foreign reporters visited Mogadishu at the apex of the civil war, they were chaperoned by the operatives of the United Somali Congress (USC). Kapteijns adroitly cites a case of several Western reporters reporting from Mogadishu on one fateful day whose narratives almost resembled each other. It was obvious that these journalists were in the same convoy when they were reporting the carnage in Mogadishu. The problem was compounded by poor academic and political memoir writings that failed to grasp the gravity of the situation in Mogadishu. Moreover, moderate leaders of the USC engaged in covering up the killings. It was only a decade and half later when warlord Ali Mahdi publicly admitted the atrocities committed in 1991.
This was a campaign based on collective punishment of one clan, and, hence, it was “namely that of clan cleansing, in a new political context and with a new dominant discourse.” In fact, argues Kapteijns, it was a communal violence in a way because it involved ordinary people such as friends, acquaintances, and neighbors targeting others based on being members of the wrong clan. The violence was not done randomly but instead it was carried out in a well-thought-out manner that pitted, not a government force against an organized armed group but, a common people against common people. Kapteijns, though, makes it clear that it was not clans that did the killings in Somalia but rather people who used the name of clans to kill, maim and rape.
The 1991 violence was not created out of vacuum. It was Barre who started using political violence to punish entire clans. The government’s policy was “using clan sentiment to exacerbate competition, conflict and grudge among Somalis.” Two incidents stand out. First, it happened in 1978-1982 in the Mudug, northeast, and Nugaal regions. Barre’s forces killed innocent people in those regions, poisoned wells, and starved thousands of people. There is also the incident that involved the killings of 82 high- ranking military officers in Jigjiga during the Ethiopian War, an act overseen by Barre’s minions; General Mohamed Ali Samantar and General Mohamed Nur Galaal. This happened after a failed military coup, aptly called “the Majertein coup,” which led to the execution of 17 officers. Oddly, 16 of the 17 killed were Majertein. The other non-Majertein conspirators, interestingly, had their sentences commuted to prison terms.
Second, it was the well-written and widely-covered violence of 1988-1989 in the northwest and Togdheer regions when the regime bombed cities, killing and dislocating thousands of Isaac people.
When Barre was overthrown, the USC, according to Kapteijns, adopted a policy that “defined as mortal enemy of all Somalis encompassed by the genealogical construct of Daarood, which also included the president.” Many of those targeted by the USC and its allies (the SNM and the Rahanwein-based SDM), argues Kapteijns, had nothing to do with the Barre regime, but their crime was they shared the president the same clan. On the other side of the coin, the 1991 violence also had another dimension: some high-ranking officials in Barre’s regime were spared after the defeat of the dictator. Kapteijns mentions individuals such as Hussein Kulmiye Afrah (vice president), Abdiqassim Salad Hassan (interior minister), General Jilicow (head of security in the Benadir region) Mohamed Shaikh (finance minister), Abdullahi Adow (minister of presidency and former Somali Ambassador to the United States) who had largely benefited from their long association with Barre, found themselves unharmed and, in fact, were embraced by the leaders of the USC, whereas persons who belonged to Barre’s clan but never benefited from his regime got killed, robbed, or expelled because they were from the wrong clan.
Kapteijns chronicles the atrocities committed against minority groups such as, for instance, the Bravanese, that had suffered tremendously in the hands of both the USC and the Daarood-based SNF. A resident of Brava, a coastal town in the south, complained about how the rule in his hometown had changed hands on numerous occasions. “One group leaves then the next group comes,” he lamented. “They loot and take away your possessions. I can’t tell one from the other; they are like ants of the same color.”
Lidwien Kapteijns’ book is an important addition to Somali studies. She uses popular poems, radio broadcasts, and extensive oral interviews to analyze the genesis, fomenting, and perpetuation of hate speech, and the employment of code words. The book is at its strongest when Kapteijns delves into the use of poetry and oral recordings to explain the violence that had engulfed Somalia in early 1990s. This is a-must-read book for every Somali who wants to know what happened in 1991. It is especially important for Somali leaders who want to bring a lasting change to Somalia because the process of uncovering the truth and dealing with it is only the beginning of the healing process.
Hassan M. Abukar

Email: Abukar60@yahoo.com
 

American Jihadi From Seattle Imprisoned by al-Shabaab

American Jihadi From Seattle ImShabaab will eventually betray you and kill you.
Shabaab will throw you in Shabaab jail…(Even worse than being in a U.S. or foreign partner prison.)
Shabaab thought Omar Hammami was being a showboat narcissist refuting them on Twitter and YouTube.  But, it increasingly seems like Omar is not the only foreign fighter to be disavowed and imprisoned by Shabaab.  Omar’s talk of a rift between local Shabaab members and the foreign fighter (“Muj”) seems more and more genuine each day.  And, Omar is not the only foreign fighter or even American being imprisoned by Shabaab.  Today, Omar revealed that the other American foreign fighter imprisoned by Shabaab may be Said Fidhin – an American from Seattle, Washington who was an essential conduit for the recruitment of Americans to Shabaab and from the Isaaq clan. Here’s a note on Fidhin from the Star Tribune:

Those who worked on the receiving end of the pipeline in Somalia, according to witnesses, are: Abshir’s uncle, Said Fidhin, a former resident of the Seattle area known as “Samatar” or “Adair,” and a taxi driver in Somalia known as “Uncle Barre.”

Here’s Omar’s update on Twitter:

So there you go foreign fighters!  Head off to Somalia, join the call for Shabaab’s jihad.  If the environment, Ethiopia, Kenya, the Somali government, or the West don’t kill you, Shabaab may, and if they don’t kill you they’ll at least throw you in jail.  Wow, jihad sounds so appealing.  You might go to a meeting in Barowe, find out its a set up and get thrown in Shabaab jail.  As I mentioned in a previous post on Omar and the movie The Godfather, if Shabaab calls you to a private meeting, don’t show up!

Also note above that Shabaab now says that, “anyone who writes on twitter is a spy.”  Too funny, Shabaab, once heralded for being groundbreaking in their use of new media, now just as scared as Western governments about leaks and trying to do information control.  Shabaab claims to be boasting a pure form of Islam right?  What is there to hide Shabaab – your tweets make it seem like everything is wonderful?prisoned by al-Shabaab

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

U.S. offers $5 million bounties for American terrorists in Somalia

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The State Department has put a multimillion-dollar bounty on the heads of two Americans who the United States claims belong to an al Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, CNN has learned.
Posters and matchbooks in Somali and English emblazoned with the names and pictures of Omar Shafik Hammami and Jehad Serwan Mostafa tout rewards up to $5 million each for information leading to their arrest or conviction. Both men are on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists List.
The rewards are being offered through the State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program.
Hammami and Mostafa are members of Al-Shabaab, the al Qaeda affiliate in Somalia, and “have made significant contributions to this terrorist organization’s media and military activities,” according to a State Department statement on the rewards, obtained by CNN. They are both are believed to be in Somalia and speak English, Arabic and Somali.
A senior FBI official said the United States has information that both men “had a persistent interest in targeting U.S. interests” and are “believed to be involved in planning attacks on U.S. persons or property.” But it is unclear what specific attacks against Americans, even ones that have been thwarted, these men have taken part in. Officials said that information is classified.
Hammami, a 29-year-old Alabama native, moved to Somalia in 2006. The State Department claims he joined Al-Shabaab there and received training from Islamic militants, rising through the organization’s ranks to command a contingent of foreign fighters. Officials say he was also a “propagandist” for the group, helping to recruit English-speaking youth through writings, rap songs and video statements.
An Alabama court indicted him in 2009 on charges of providing support to a terrorist group.
In July 2011, the Treasury Department placed him on a blacklist prohibiting Americans from doing business with individuals and groups threatening stability in Somalia.
Hammami has been engaged in a public rift with Al-Shabaab over the past year. Last March, he first expressed concern about his safety in an extraordinary Web video. He has since criticized the group’s leaders for corruption and living extravagant lifestyles with money fighters collect from Somali residents, and for fighting only in Somalia while ignoring global jihad.
Hammami’s family has said they fear for his life.
But the senior FBI official told CNN that Hammami’s current status with the group is “immaterial” and that the reward is based on the actions he has already taken to threaten U.S. interests.
“We still believe he is an individual of great significance to the activities that are going on in Somalia with Al-Shabaab,” the official said.
Mostafa is believed to be either 27 or 32. He was born in Wisconsin before moving California, where he attended college. He traveled to Somalia in 2005, where officials say he led foreign fighters for Al-Shabaab and served as a media expert and recruiter. He was indicted in California on charges of providing material support to Al-Shabaab.
Al-Shabaab was labeled a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department in 2008. The group was responsible for the July 2010 suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, that killed more than 70 people, including a U.S. citizen, gathering to watch a World Cup final soccer match. Al-Shabaab is also believed to be responsible for numerous other attacks in Somalia that have killed international aid workers, journalists, civilian leaders and African Union peacekeepers.
In February 2012 the group’s leader, Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamed and al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri released a video announcing the alliance of the two organizations. The Rewards for Justice Program is already offering up to $7 million for information on seven other Al-Shabaab leaders.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton approved the rewards before leaving office. Officials said they hope the rewards will generate new leads from both Somalia and in Somali-American communities in the United States. In addition to the posters and matchbooks, U.S. officials will be talking with local media in Somalia to reach people that may have information about the men’s whereabouts.
It is rare for the United States to offer a reward for an American citizen. The most notable previous reward offered for an American was $1 million for Adam Gadahn, who has served as senior operative and spokesman for the core al Qaeda organization.
Officials said that in addition to their leadership roles with a terrorist group, the men are of great interest because of their work trying to recruit other English-speaking youth.
“Anytime we have U.S. citizens who are trying to affiliate with groups to obtain experience and training and have the opportunity to bring back that lethal experience back to the United States, it’s a concern,” a State Department diplomatic security official said. “There is no question the cases against these two guys are based on their activities to date. However, we have a continuing interest in terrorist activates in Somalia right up to now. And these men serve as very powerful images for radicalization and recruitment.”
The new bounties raise the question of what the United States will do with the men once they find them. The Obama administration drew fire from Congress and human rights groups for killing two Americans who belonged to the al Qaeda branch in Yemen. In September 2011, U.S. drone strikes killed Anwar al -Awlaki, a firebrand preacher from New Mexico who began running propaganda for al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula and rose to become a senior operative in the group, and Samir Khan from North Carolina, who created an English-language Internet magazine for the group
Both officials said the Rewards for Justice Program — administered by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security — is not involved in drone programs and the intent of the reward is to obtain information that will lead to the men’s apprehension and prosecution.
“The purpose of the program is to gather information to bring these guys back lawfully,” the senior FBI official said. “We want to bring these people before a court.”
The Rewards for Justice Program pays large sums of money for information that leads to the arrest or conviction of anyone who plans, commits or attempts international terrorist acts. Earlier this year, President Obama expanded the program to include payments for information about people involved in transnational organized crime or foreign nationals wanted by any international criminal tribunal for war crimes or genocide.
The program has a track record of gaining actionable intelligence. Since its inception in 1984, the program has paid more than $125 million to more than 80 people who provided information that put terrorists behind bars or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide. The program was central to the capture of Saddam Hussein’s sons Odai and Qusai; Ramzi Yousef, convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; and others.
Under the Rewards for Justice Program, a $25 million reward was offered for information leading to the capture of Osama bin Laden.

Warlordism is back. General Indhocade tries to capture Mogadishu Airport



Warlordism is back. General ? Indhocade tries to capture Mogadishu Airport
 
Ex Warlord "indhacadde"Ex jihadi was  arrested and detained after he tried entering the Mogadishu airport with an armed militia.-  Indhacadde,a notoriouse warlord, belong to  Hawiye - Sup-clan Har-Gidir  Sup-clan Cayr . He was taken handcuffed in an armoured  Amison vehicle.

update.. warlord King H2 indha ade was released on bail from culusow.. this morning he was handcuffed & arrested Ex Warlord "indhacadde"Ex jihadi Yusuf Indha'ade.

At least ten people killed by car bomb in centre of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu ( Exclusive Pictures )

A BBC reporter in the city says a loud explosion was heard near the National Theatre.
Security has improved in Mogadishu over the past year following the withdrawal of the al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab group. A new Somali government was formed last year tasked with ending instability. "We've counted at least eight dead so far. It was a car bomb attack near the National Theatre," said police official Mohamed Duale, AFP news agency reports
A witness, Hassan Salad, said the dead included passengers in a minibus that was hit by the blast, AFP reports. "This is a disaster, there is smoke and dead bodies thrown all around," he is quoted as saying.No group has said it carried out the attack. The BBC's Mohammed Moalimu, who is at the scene, says ambulances are rushing the wounded to hospital.The huge explosion damaged nearby buildings, but not the National Theatre, he adds. Al-Shabab was forced out of Mogadishu in August 2011 following an offensive by African Union (AU) troops. However, bombings and assassinations have continued in the city.
Pro-government forces have also seized control from al-Shabab of most of the urban centres in southern and central Somalia. The Islamist group still dominates many rural areas.
A new government backed by the UN came to power last September.

Somali has seen more than 20 years of conflict, with clan-based warlords, rival politicians and Islamist militants battling for control of the country.
 

Friday, March 15, 2013

Al-Shabaab's latest online magazine exposes weaknesses

The third issue of al-Shabaab's online magazine Gaidi Mtaani attempts to depict the militant group as united and prospering, but also offers insight into its growing weaknesses, Kenyan security analysts say.
Al-Shabaab released the third edition of its online magazine Gaidi Mtaani on March 3rd. [File]

Published on March 3rd in English and Swahili, the 42-page issue portrays democracy as incompatible with Islam, interprets accidents as divine intervention, and offers crash courses on topics ranging from mobile phone security to making a Molotov cocktail.
The cover shows a photo of Sheikh Aboud Rogo Mohammed, a charismatic cleric and supporter of al-Shabaab who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Mombasa on August 27th, with the headline "Catalyst of Change".
Al-Shabaab attempts to inspire Rogo's followers in Kenya to join its ranks by re-printing a statement the group released on the day of his killing and a publishing a feature story only in Swahili.
The statement urges Kenyan Muslims to "stand united" and "take all necessary measures to protect their religion, their honour, their property and their lives from the enemies of Islam".
The story blames the Kenyan government for colluding with Western countries in the cleric's death and legalising the killing of Muslims in the Coast region, which has long had grievances with the central government over development and allocation of funding.

Forging alliances to appear relevant

Gaidi Mtaani also goes so far as to accept an alliance between al-Shabaab and the Kenyan secessionist group Mombasa Republican Council (MRC).
"By joining MRC, al-Shabaab is hoping to have a partner in crime to replace the losses it suffered in desertions and defeats," said Coast Police Chief Aggrey Adoli. "It may also be seeking to be hosted by the MRC."
Adoli told Sabahi that security forces would crack down on criminal activities in the region, dismissing the magazine's allegations that Muslims have been persecuted as unsubstantiated.
"The group is using every propaganda tool to disrupt the harmonious co-existence of different faiths in the country, but we are alert to the fact," he said.
Wilberforce Onchiri, a Nairobi-based security consultant and retired army major, said the militants are attempting to exploit poor people who may be persuaded by reading the magazine to engage in violence because they feel disenfranchised.
"The group is targeting individuals who may be frustrated in any way … To al-Shabaab, it does not matter whether the killing is carried in the name of jihad or disgruntlement. Any mass killings will do just fine for them," he told Sabahi.
People such as these can afford to make the home-made bombs featured in the issue because they can be made from inexpensive and easily available materials, Onchiri said.
The tutorials show that al-Shabaab no longer enjoys safe havens and cannot conduct training sessions as easily as it used to.
"The bombs crash course is testimony that they do not have a place to train [recruits] and are willing to use anyone, regardless of their motivation, to cause instability," Onchiri said. "Their aim is to spark chaos of any kind and claim responsibility to show that they matter and have influence. They want to remain relevant."
The article about mobile phone security also indicates that the group is feeling the pressure from security forces, he said.

Al-Shabaab's growing desperation

The magazine's new issue continues al-Shabaab's string of public relations initiatives that aim to counter reports about infighting and financial challenges that plague the group and undermine its leadership.
On December 26th, the Muslim Youth Centre (MYC), which claims to be al-Shabaab recruiting arm in East Africa, released a press statement titled "Inciting and Inspiring Jihad: MYC in 2012", in which it boasts about the Kenyan mujahideen's supposed successes.
On February 18th, an unknown author who claimed links to al-Shabaab released a document titled "Turning away from the truth won't make it disappear: Demystifying the Abu Mansur saga". The document aims to discredit American-born jihadist Omar Hammani, also known as Abu Mansour al-Amriki, a former spokesman for al-Shabaab who has recently become publicly critical of the group.
On February 25th, al-Shabaab's media arm al-Kataib Foundation released a recruitment video called "Mujahideen Moments", which tried to underscore the group's message that all is well between local and foreign jihadists.
The latest edition of Gaidi Mtaani also takes issue with democracy, a day before Kenya's general elections on March 4th, making the case that elections and the parliamentary system are incompatible with Islam.
Yet Sheikh Mohammed Hassan, chairman of the National Muslim Forum's Wajir branch, said al-Shabaab is twisting the definition of democracy to suit its purpose of terror and take advantage of those who do not know any better.
Hassan pointed out that al-Shabaab defines democracy as granting man absolute power to make laws. "Owing to this, it has made him a god besides God and a partner concerning the right of legislating for the creation," the magazine says. "Democracy, with its parliaments and elections, is nothing but a deception which drugs the Islamic capacities."
But Hassan rejected al-Shabaab's depiction of democracy. "Politics and religion are very different," he told Sabahi. "No one is worshipped in politics to warrant the comparison with God. People participate in electing leaders so that they can have people to steer them to development."

Al-Shabaab lacking leadership

The first edition of Gaidi Mtaani, or "Terrorist on the Street", was published in April 2012 and mocked the Kenya Defence Forces' Operation Linda Nchi (Protect the Country) by changing the name to Operation Protect Islam. The second edition, published in July, focused on Kismayo, the militant group's last remaining major stronghold at that time, which it lost in September.
Eight months later, al-Shabaab's waning influence has left it with little choice but to ratchet up the propaganda, said Nairobi-based security consultant Reuben Ngugi.
"This third issue is all about reacting to events rather than providing the much needed leadership to the demoralised group," he told Sabahi.
The magazine's inconsistent frequency shows that al-Shabaab's military capability has weakened and it is desperately seeking new recruits, he said. In addition, its sustained rebuttals clearly reveal internal rifts.
"Where are the so called al-Shabaab leaders like [Ahmed] Godane at this moment when they are most needed to provide [leadership]? Why are the bigwigs delegating their roles to the foot soldiers to deliver calls to action? It can only mean that the group lacks clear leadership," Ngugi said
By Bosire Boniface in Wajir

Mafia President, Mafia Prime Minister, Mafia Top Security Officers & the Most Corrupted Parliament



Dear Somalis, World Human Rights Organizations,

Mogadishu: On Friday March 15, 2013 Somali Transparency (ST) hereby officially inform you t...hat the Somali Prisons Force let the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency Officers to remove three innocent people from the Somali Prison in Mogadishu on March 12, 2013 then they took to secret destination then on Morning March 13, 2013 the three innocent people have been executed by the Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency Officers who received special command to assassinate them urgently during the night then they dumped the dead bodies in Mogadishustreets as sign for terrorizing other in the streets and in the Prisons.

Who were responsible Top Authority for National Security?

1. Director of the Director of the Somali National Security & Intelligence Agency (NISA)
2. The Chief of Somali Police

 
3. The Chief of the Somali Police/Criminal Investigation Department (CID)

It is true that these top Security Officers are the most corrupted and committed heinous crimes against humanity while arresting innocent journalist Abdiziz Abdinur “Koronto” the rapped victim, many other innocent people in Mogadishu prisons.

Surely, the President of the Republic of Somalia H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamed was, is and will be the most corrupted leader who even cheated his academic credentials, his own father's name and worked with the Tribal Faction of United Somali Congress (USC) as financial manager during the civil war which was led by General Mohamed Farah Aideed.

How about his hand picked Prime Ministers H.E. Abdi Farah Shirdon who has been fugitive from the Somali Military Government led by President General Mohamed Said Barre since 1986 until 1991 before the civil war broke out. Prime Ministers H.E. Abdi Farah Shirdon who was administrative assistant at the Somali Ministry of Finance in 1986 has stolen and swindled $ 3 million dollars to Kenyan Banks where he founded his first International Organization which still works in the Republic of Kenya so, once a thief is always a thief!

How a war lord financier? How How a fugitive robber from the Government of the Republic of Somalia in 1986 became the Prime Minister of Somalia? Are we all in psychiatric home care? Let's stop these corrupted leaders and their useless more dirtier top security officers who are not following and abiding by the the Federal Charters of the Republic of Somalia.

How about the so-called Somaliland Tribal Administration supporting and funding Al-qadea operatives in the Republic of Somalia? Do Somaliland criminal politicians think that making forgery currencies, passports and money will give them a recognition to separate Somalia?

How about the stupid Puntland Administration signing illegal contracts for mercenary companies to exploit our natural resources without parliamentary approval in consultation with the Executive Brand and the entire people of the Republic of Somalia.

Why are Somali warlords not at the ICC since 1991 until now?

Somalis are fed up with these corrupted leaders and external corruptions which are being carried out by NGOS in Somalia.

By the Somali Civil Societies

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

State-Building in Somalia: For Whose Benefit?

 
 
Resolution 2093 adopted by the UN Security Council on March 6, 2013 endorses a long overdue partnership mission between the Federal Government of Somalia and the international community in the pursuit of peace and state-building. It is somewhat more significant than previous resolutions for a number of reasons. For one, it ends more than two decades of avoidance on the part of the international community in addressing the problem of statelessness of Somalia in comparison to other African failed states.
It reaffirms the commitment of the US government towards stability and peace in Somalia. It merges the conflicting strategies pursued by the individual or group members of the international community for their self-interests while moving supervision of Somalia’s peace-building agenda from the regional level to the global through the United Nations. When one looks closely at the Resolution, it addresses five key issues: the African Union forces in Somalia (AMISOM), the human rights and protection of civilians, the lifting of an arms embargo imposed on Somalia from 1992, the role of the United Nations in Somalia, and the violations of the ban on the charcoal export.
While the Resolution is ambitious in scope and provides concrete endorsement on the part of the international community in stabilizing the country, some of the principal challenges may actually come from the international community itself. The Federal Government must also a take a more active role and hold itself accountable if Somalia is to become successful in state-building.
Resolution 2093 provides hope in realigning the efforts on the part of the international community to support the Somali government. The US Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Susan E. Rice stated that it answers President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed’s call for “one door to knock on.” The Resolution dissolves the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and establishes a full United Nations Mission headquartered in Mogadishu with the responsibilities of supporting Somali ownership of the state-building agenda and the efforts of the Federal Government to manage and coordinate the international assistance, particularly on security sector reform. The AMISOM forces’ deployment has also been renewed until March 6, 2014, in which troops are ordered to carry out their tasks in the name of the sovereignty, political independence and unity of Somalia while enforcing accountability. There is a call for more action to protect against human rights abuses of civilians, especially the protection of women, children and journalists, and requires the Federal Government to implement all signed action plans to end the use of child soldiers, increase women’s participation in decision making bodies, enforce the prohibition of forced displacement of civilians in any part of the country, and to afford justice to all victims.
Some structuring and deadlines have been made clearer for progress in Somali security issues. In regards to lifting of the arms embargo, the international community is urged to provide increasingly coordinated support to the Federal Government so that it can implement the internationally approved Somali National Security Sector Reform Plan (SNSSRP).
According to some reports, six Somali military brigades of roughly 11,000 forces have been trained under the European training program conducted in Uganda or under programs offered by Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Sudan, Italy and other countries. These forces will need command and control centers, buildings, training, uniforms, modern arms, regular salaries to continue with facilitating the departure of foreign forces from Somalia before March 6, 2014. The arms embargo remains on all non-state actors and forces not under the Federal Government’s jurisdiction and control. As far as violations of the charcoal exports ban is concerned, the Resolution orders the full cooperation with a Task Force appointed by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The Council awaits the recommendations of the Federal Government of Somalia based on the findings of the Task Force for resolving the charcoal issue.
There is no doubt that the Resolution is ambitious, and while the UN Security Council created and passed it with the best intentions, there are still limits to what the international community can do, and whether or not its actions benefit the Somali people. Different nations with different interests in Somalia could bring more hindrance than help in state-building efforts. Cedric de Coning’s commentary entitled “Understanding Peace-Building as Essentially Local,” explains the dilemma facing the Federal Government in dealing with the powerful international partners and explains how “each international partner acting independently and rationally according to its own self-interest contributes to undermining the resilience of the local government that the partner wants to support.”
It has been reported that most of the energy and time of the Federal Government is spent catering to the needs of the international community rather that the needs of the Somali people. There is also a lack of significant international financial support tailored to the urgent priorities assigned to the Federal Government, which means international support has yet to transform into financial contributions for implementing the interdependent components of the state-building mission. The limited financial and human resources capacity of the Federal Government to produce strategic political, economic, institutional and security plans quick and large enough to encompass the preferences of each nation involved in the state-building effort is a great obstacle.
UN Resolution 2093 outlines what the international community will do in coordination with the Somali government, but more importantly, it offers a chance to unite the people if the government becomes more accountable in state-building. Somalia has its fair share of domestic turmoil, such as the tension between tribalist federalists and national federalists, the ambiguity of federal member states, secession claims of the Northern Regions, and clan power-sharing in the Federal Government.
While the international community can assist with the state-building, the country should not be held hostage to the disastrous past political power abuses which deserve investigation and determination of culpability, punishment and compensation. The Federal Government must continue to tackle the reconciliation among Somalis with an honest political dialogue, and implement policies and actions with the aim of achieving the shared goal of one nation, one people. In his unique constitutional responsibility, the President of the Federal Government in collaboration with other leaders must strive to secure the unity, social harmony, political integration, national defense and respect of the rule of law throughout the country.
In state-building, the value of citizenship, which in turn grows into patriotism, freedom, equality, justice, sense of altruism and respect of the Islamic values, must be instilled in the conscience of all Somalis by Somalis for a better future

Ciidamo ka Tirsan kuwa Dowlada ee ku sugnaa Qeybo ka mid ah Gobolka Gedo oo gaarey magaalada Kismaayo iyo Jabhadda Raaskaambooni oo imaanshaha ciidamadaas wal-wal xoog leh ka muujiyay (Xog culus)



Ciidamadan oo ku hubaysan gawaarida Dagaalka ee loo yaqaano Teknikada ayaa waxay labadii maalmood ee ugu dambeeyey ay ka kala tageen Deegaanada Faafaxdhuun, Ceelcade, Buusaar iyo Geriley oo mudooyinkii ugu dambeyey ay ku sugnaayeen. Ciidamadan oo ay horey u soo tababartey Dowlada Kenya iyo Ethiopia  ayaa Saaka aroortii waxay gaareen Magaalada Kismaayo, waxayna fariisimo ka sameysteen Garoonka Diyaaradaha ee Magaaladaasi.
 
Ciidamadan oo Cadadkoodu uu badan yahay, kuna hubaysan noocyada kale gedisan ee Gawaarida dagaalka ayaa markii ay soo gaareen Kismaayo waxaa markiiba imaanshahooda ka biyo diiday Jabhadda Raaskambooni iyo hogaamiyahooda Axmed Madoobe oo bilaabay abaabul dagaal, iyagoona Dowlada Kenya u sheegay in Ciidamadani ay xariir la leeyihiin Alshabaab, si sharci daro ahna kusoo gaareen deegaanka, waxaana markiiba raaskambooni ay ciidamo soo dhoobeen hareeraha Garoonka.

Xog ogaal ku sugan Kismaayo ayaa Warbaahinta u sheegay in Dowlada Kenya oo dhamaan Ciidamadan horey tababar ugu sameysay dalkeeda mudo haatan laga joogo ilaa 2 sano ay ku gacan seyrtey eedeymaha Raskambooni iyo Axmed Madoobe, iyadoona sheegtay in ay Ciidamadaan dhamaan yihiin kuwo Soomaali ah oo gacan saar la leh Kenya, isla markaana ay u aragto kuwa ka qeyb qaadanaya Xoreynta Dalka.
Sarkaalka ugu sareeya Ciidamada Kenya ee Gobolada Jubbooyinka oo la kulmay Ciiidamadaasi iyo saraakiisha hogaaminaysa aya sheegay hubka iyo Qalabka ay wataan Ciidamadan in ay yihiin kuwii ay horey u bixisey Dowlada Kenya, isagoona amar ku bixiyey in la dejiyo xiisada, isla markaana ay isku dhafi doonaan dhamaan Ciidamada Dowlada ee ku sugan Goblada Jubbooyinka, loona sameyn doono Nidaam ay ku wada shaqeeyaan, waxuuna ka digey abaabulo dagaal oo laga abuuro Kismaayo.
Hadalka kasoo baxay saraakiisha Dowlada Kenya ayaa waxaa si weyn u soo dhaweeyey qeybaha kale duwan ee Bulshada ku dhaqan Magaalada Kismaayo iyo dowlada Soomaaliya.

Xaalada Magaalada Kismaayo oo barqanimadii maanta u muuqatey mid kacsan, isla markaana laga baqayey xiisado dagaal ayaa haatan u muuqata mid degan.

Somalia:A look back at What Has Gone Wrong in Jubbaland.-Goobaale Delegation: An Insult to People of Jubbaland

The Somali government’s recent delegation led by former Jubba Valley Alliance Leader, Goobaale,a seasoned warlord who headed the now defunct Jubba Valley militia, which had caused immense suffering and bloodshed in Jubbaland not so long ago and in the days before Shabab control, accompanied by the AMISOM spokesman, the Djiboutian colonnel, Ali Hamud, whose country is strongly opposed to the creation of Jubbaland administration among other officials, was an insult to the peace loving

people of Jubbaland.

The Somali presidency is following the misguided path of allowing outsiders to meddle in the affairs of Jubbland where they do not hail from and in which they committed crimes against the local people. If it goes on,this blatant interference of internal matters in contradiction of Somalia’s federal constitution is sure to kill the pacification effort of the country and the good will of the local population towards the new Somali government.

Crimes Against Humanity

The interim Jubbaland authority made a wise decision in refusing warlord Goobaale’s entourage access to Kismanyo city. Had they allowed them in, they would have denied justice to the hundreds of thousands of victims of warlord Goobaale’s marauding militia from Gulgudud region in central Somalia, which occupied Jubbaland in the years before the terrorist takeover. Jubbaland under warlord Goobaale, the late warlord Seerar and his ally Barre Hirale,another warlord from central Somalia, was the scene of daily killing of innocent civilians, rape of women and girls, kidnapping for ransom, looting of property and torching of buildings belonging to the local people.
The notorious Jubba Valley Alliance militia set fire to residential buildings and business premises in Dhobley, Taabto,Qooqaani,Diif, Hagar,Gadudey and Afmadow towns, to name but a few, when the local people opposed their criminal activities.In the same fashion, they expropriated land and extorted money and produce from peaceful farmers whose land they invaded in Jilib,Marerey,Kabsuma,Moganbow, Sanguni and Jamame towns all situated on the Mogadishu Kismanyo HighWay. Many people perished in the process and many more fled their homes and are refugees in neighboring Kenya.This is the man the Federal Somali goverment sent to Kismanyo to represent it at the Jubbaland Conference aimed at creating an all inclusive regional administration that caters for the interests of all the residents of the province under the

new Federal Constitution dispensation.

Why send Goobaale of all people at this crucial period when the injuries and scars his militia inflicted have not yet healed? Why not send more appealing Somali officials of high calibre and dignity including those from Goobaale’s own clan whose past is not tarnished by criminal record? Surely, there are hundreds of more qualified citizens of our country from across the political spectrum who could have represented the Federal Goverment at the Kismanyo Meeting. This action has only one name. It is a desire to abort the peace initiative taking hold in the region, prevent the residents from rebuilding their homes and perpetuate the suffering of the innocent masses of Jubbaland who are so eager to quench their thirst for peace and stabilty in their home province in particular and their country in general.This decision by the Somali government was an affront to the decent people of Lower and Middle Jubba areas and as such the regime in Mogadishu owes an apology to the local population if it needs to win back their trust.

Growing Drugs

One of the legacies of the militia occupying Jubbaland is the planting of illicit drugs and running drug exporting ventures. It is an open secret that the Jubba valley Alliance militia of warlord Goobaale and his predecessor warlord Osman Ali Atto dealt in the growing of cannabis and other drugs to finance their armed adventures. They did so on land they confiscated from the local riverine people who mainly rely on it to produce their own food. This caused widespread suffering among the affected rural communities who had no any other sources of livelihood. The result was widespread movement of hungry people from Jubbaland to refugee camps across the border in Kenya in which they are exposed to the elements and live on a poor unhealthy diet.
Jubbaland has seen the worst ever form of land expansion and misuse in Somalia by militias of Goobaale which visited unprecedented destruction and chaos on the local way of life and social cohesion. They divided people on clan background and created mythical ethnic boundaries which were allien to the residents before their arrival from south central Somalia.They established ethnic fiefdoms for those who shared in the pillage of minority property, inviting and rewarding more warlords to consolidate their hegemony. In a nutshell,they plunged the region into a deep gorge from which it is yet to come out.

The victims of this illegal use of Somali land still languish in man-made poverty and mayhem in which thousands lost their lives. It is a bleeding wound still fresh on the minds of the Jubbaland people. The only way to compensate for it is delivering justice to the victims. It starts with allowing them to steer the destiny of their battered and abused homeland in accordance with Somalia’s constitution, letting them elect their own local representatives in a regional assembly whose seat should be Kismanyo city, the capital, and enforcing the rule of law strictly and consistently so that there is never a repeat of what the region’s residents went through over the last two decades.

New Economic Reality

Conversely,thwarting the ambition of Jubbaland civilians to affect change in their home province will only make matters worse for Somalia as a whole. It directly goes against the new economic reality that a unitary government that concentrates resources in Mogadishu cannot effectively govern Somalia again-not since the debacle of the military regime of President Siad Barre, which made Mogadishu a heaven on earth and neglected the rest of the country, much to the chagrin of the Somali people, the spark that ignited the Somali conflagration in the first place.We categorically say no to that even if it puts the unity of Somalia in jeopardy, for there is no greater potential for fragmentation of the nation than the absence of equity and fairness in the sharing of the national cake.
Federalism in Somalia is an idea whose time has come. It is in line with the new world governance trend of devolving power and resources to the grass roots communities so that an equitable distribution of the national wealth is achieved. Anyone who tries to impede its progress in Somalia is bound for failure since local communities are more aware of their rights and determined to find local solutions to their social woes. People are fed up with outsiders trying to impose themselves on the managment of their home regions dynamics.They do not care if you build world class roads and hospitals in Mogadishu or renovate airports and schools elsewhere as long as they are not in their home towns and villages. It is a matter of bread and butter and not one big man show nationalist idealogy.

The Djibouti Factor

To be fair to the AMISOM spokesman, Col. Ali Hamud, his country’s president is an outspoken critic of forces of anarchy and lawlessness in Somalia. Djibouti, a tiny impoverished country in the horn of Africa, is a nation whose people and government want an end to the suffering of the innocent Somali population with whom they share common ancestry. It sent several army contingents to Somalia as part of AMISOM and even is in full control of peace enforcing in Hiiraan Province.The colonnel,himself, has performed his military peace-enforcing job quite well by being the mouth that communicates official statements to the Mogadishu people on account of his Somali ethnicity and fluency of the Somali language.
However, his government is speaking out of both sides of the same mouth.On the one hand, the Djibouti government is clearly determined to contribute to the restoration of peace and stabilty in Somalia.On the other hand, it opposes the implentation of Somalia’s new federal constitution by sabotaging the creation of Jubbaland regional government on the whims of centralist politicians from Mogadishu such as the former President Sheikh Sharif sheikh Ahmed and the current Somali president,Hassan sheikh Mohamud. The Djibouti religious affairs minister,Hamoud Abdi Suldan, even went as far as chiding the Inter-Govermental Authority on Development (IGAD) support for the local based peace plan for Jubbaland. This tendency by the Djibouti government to favor certain political groups in Somalia in violation of Somalia’s constitution and AMISOM protocol renders it unfit for impartial conflict resolution partner status.
Therefore, the Djibouti government cannot constructively contribute to the Jubbaland stabalization process in any manner. On the contrary, it is leaving no stone unturned in its attempt to scuttle the province’s bid to propel itself to a more realistic governance style in which the local people have more say in enforcing the rule of law.The Jubbaland people have no faith in President Geele’s government and they should stay clear of their region.

The Federal Somali government should be more realistic in its dealing with the provinces. They have to understand that it is not business as usual. We are in a new permanent national governance structure which needs to be consilidated with the input and support of local communities who wield more power now than before.They cannot go far without cooperation from these people.At the same time, they cannot import law and order to them. They have to listen and work with regional authorities.The mandate of the government is clear and unambiguous. It is the sole authority in the country as far as national defence, foreign affairs, federal governance etcetra are concerned. They should not transgress and take the road that took so many others before them to the journey to zero.
Mohamed A Dubet
Email:ugasnadif@gmail.com

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Security Council authorizes African Union peacekeepers in Somalia for another year

6 March 2013 – The Security Council today extended for another year the mandate of the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, as it continues to consider a revised United Nations presence there, and partially lifted the 20-year-old arms embargo imposed on the country.
In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council also requested Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to continue the UN logistical support package for the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which will continue its tasks until 28 February 2014.
Created and operated by the AU in January 2007, AMISOM received a UN mandate from the Security Council the following month, and has been renewed ever since. It is mandated to conduct peace support operations in Somalia, which has been affected by conflict for more than two decades but which has recently made some significant political gains.
In today’s resolution, the Council also partially lifted the weapons ban for one year to boost the Government’s capacity to protect areas recovered from the militant group Al-Shabaab and defend against fresh attempts by such groups to destabilize the country.
It decided that the arms embargo, originally imposed in 1992, would not apply to arms or equipment sold or supplied solely for the development of the Government’s security forces, but it kept its restrictions in place on heavy weapons, such as surface-to-air missiles.
In addition, the Government would be required to notify the Council’s sanctions committee at least five days in advance of any such deliveries and provide details of the transactions. Alternately, Member States delivering assistance may make the notification after informing the Government of its intentions in that regard.
The resolution also welcomed the review by the Secretary-General of the UN’s presence and engagement in Somalia which includes the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and the UN Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA).
Discussions are under way on a revised UN presence in Somalia to support recent political gains and to address the urgent ongoing humanitarian and human rights situations. The new mission would include good offices, advice and assistance on security, peacekeeping and state-building, the preparation of elections, human rights and the rule of law, and assistance for the coordination of international assistance.
The 15-member body “agrees with the Secretary-General that UNPOS has fulfilled its mandate and should now be dissolved, and further agrees that UNPOS should be replaced by a new expanded special political mission as soon as possible.”
It also agreed with the Secretary-General that “the conditions in Somalia are not yet appropriate for the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping operation,” and requested that he keeps this under review, including through the setting of benchmarks for when it might be appropriate to deploy a UN peacekeeping operation.
Meanwhile, the Council decided that UNSOA shall be integrated within the framework of the new UN mission, with the head of UNSOA continuing to report to the Department of Field Support (DFS) on the delivery of the AMISOM logistical support package.

Jihadi Work Accident update -Al-Shabaab militants accidentally killed by own explosives

 Somali security agents look at the remains of a car after a suicide bomb in Somalia's capital Mogadishu May 24, 2009. Up to 15 militants have been killed in a suicide bombing mission in Central Somalia gone wrong.                           
 
Up to 15 Al-Shabaab fighters were killed when a vehicle laden with explosives went off in a house in Buloburte town, some 200 km north of the capital Mogadishu.
It was not clear if the militants died while packing the car with bombs for a suicide mission or if it went off afterwards while they were in the vicinity.
Resident said that they believed 20 more were wounded, local media houses in Mogadishu reported.
"The militants were most likely packing the vehicle with explosive devices or in the house when the deadly incident occurred," said a resident who asked the media not to release their name.
Residents said the militants were on Tuesday busy burying the dead while keeping the scene of the blast sealed off from the general public.
It is not the first time vehicles being assembled for suicide missions in Somalia have exploded while still under the care of the militants.
On some occasions, residents in the affected areas, especially in Mogadishu, said that foreign jihadists (holy warriors) were among those killed or injured.Sometimes landmines have also blown up while being planted by the militants.In another development, the government of Seychelles Monday handed nine convicted pirates to Puntland State, a semi-autonomous authority in north-eastern Somalia.Mr Said Mohamed Raghe, the Puntland Minister for Ports and Anti-Piracy, said that his authority had long advocated for the transfer of the pirates to finish their sentences in their home country."We would like hundreds of sentenced Somali pirates repatriated so that they serve their jail terms in prisons in Somalia,” said Minister Raghe.
Puntland officials indicated that the nine were part of the 25 pirates held in the Seychelles and looked forward to receiving the others.

U.S. government resumes deportations to Somalia

As Somalia begins to stabilize, there is a downside for a small number of Somalis who have run afoul of the U.S. immigration system.For years, Somali immigrants whose deportations were ordered had nowhere to go. There was no functioning government in Somalia to accept them.In January, the United States recognized the government in Somalia for the first time in more than 20 years, and the U.S. has quietly resumed deportations to Somalia.The two countries have not restored full diplomatic relations. But Immigration and Customs Enforcement did get enough cooperation last year to begin returning some detainees who have been convicted of serious crimes while in the United States. ICE officials declined to be interviewed for this story, but a spokesperson confirmed that 24 people have been deported from Minnesota and other states so far.There was no big announcement of the policy change, said Marc Prokosch, an immigration attorney in Bloomington and chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association – Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter. Detainees found out when they were taken into custody after showing up for their regular check-in with immigration.
“It seems that the first wave — if you wanted to call it “wave” since there were only a handful — were people who would be seen as an ongoing threat to public safety, because of, for example the criminal sexual conduct convictions,” Prokosch said. “But we’ve been hearing of non-sexual crime convictions being taken into custody, for example, felony assault.”
Not all people with deportation orders have committed crimes. Some have been denied asylum. Prokosch said often those cases are because the detainees lack the documents to prove their identities. ICE does have prosecutorial discretion, Prokosch said. If someone has been law-abiding for years and is raising a family, deportation could be postponed further.
People who have been ordered deported but don’t have a country to return to are given work permits and check in periodically with immigration authorities.
Deportations to Somalia have been fraught with problems for years. More than a decade ago, the Advocates for Human Rights challenged the legality of returning people to a country without a functioning government. The repatriation techniques the U.S. was using raised red flags, attorney Michele Garnett McKenzie said.
“We just can’t sort of airlift people in and parachute them in without the country’s permission. That violates sovereignty and also more critically, it puts those people’s lives at risk,” Garnett McKenzie said.
The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled the U.S. did have the right to return the detainees. But after a costly and failed attempt to send back a detainee in 2005, the U.S. put deportations to Somalia on hold.
While it may be difficult for someone to leave after many years, at least there is an orderly process now, Garnett McKenzie said.
“We hoped that the government of Somalia would form and stabilize and that human rights conditions would improve to the point that people could safety be returned, so people would not remain in limbo forever,” Garnett McKenzie said.
The stabilizing government in Somalia has not just affected detainees. Entrepreneurs and relatives from the Somali diaspora have taken advantage of the improved security situation to travel back.
Ahmed Samatar, professor of international studies at Macalester College, returned from Somalia in October after running for president there. Samatar said the resumption of deportations does not appear to be a big topic in Minnesota’s Somali community, perhaps because the number of people affected is quite small.
“Cases like that do happen but I think the vast majority of Somalis … are very, very busy with how to become successful people in the localities in which they’ve been received,” Samatar said.
ICE has not publicized its recent deportations or the criteria being used, although it is likely to be a topic at the next quarterly roundtable federal officials hold with the Somali community.