Tuesday, April 9, 2013

All is not well at Al-Shabaab as senior cleric survives murder bid

A senior Somali cleric has escaped an assassination bid amid reports of internal divisions in Al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda-allied militant group suspected of carrying out the attempt.

Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Salad, the chairman of the Supreme Religious Council (SRC), was targeted in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday.

An explosive device that had been planted under the seat of his car went off while Sheikh Salad was not in the car.

SRC spokesman Nur Baroud Gurhan confirmed the incident to the media, saying that the blast occurred when the cleric left the car.

"It was Allah’s choice to save Sheikh Bashir (Ahmed Salad)," said Sheikh Gurhan, who accused Al-Shabaab of being behind the assassination attempt.

"We (the moderate religious leaders) are subject to hunting (by Al-Shabaab militants),” said Sheikh Gurhan. "We are being targeted because of our advocacy of propagating the right message of Islam.

"Al-Shabaab strives to eliminate all the religiously knowledgeable persons so that its extremist ideals mislead innocent people," he added.

The assassination attempt against Sheikh Salad comes just two days after a senior Al-Shabaab official, Sheikh Abubakar Al-Zayla’i, criticised the movement’s Emir (Supreme leader) Sheikh Abdurahman Abu Zubayr.

Open letter

On Sunday, many realised there were serious differences within Al-Shabaab ranks when an open letter was published in a number of websites that support the jihadist cause.

By introduction, Sheikh Al-Zayla’i, seen as the number two in the Al-Shabaab hierarchy, addressed Al-Qaeda boss Ayman al-Zawahiri, reaffirming that the group remained engaged in a holy war, fully representing the ideals of Al-Qaeda in the region.

Employing verses of the Holy Koran, Al-Zayla’i also known as Ibrahim Afghan, cited serious internal differences that were affecting affected the unity of fellow Muslims within Al-Shabaab.

"We tried to sort out differences (within the Islamist movement) but largely in vain," said Sheikh Al-Zayla’I in a 15-page report to al-Zawahiri.

He indicated that rifts had also emerged between the local fighters and the foreign holy warriors who joined the jihad in Somalia.

The leader painted a picture of turbulent times ahead. “In recent times, there have neither been successful operations nor pretty plans to pave the way ahead,” he said, addressing the Al-Qaeda boss.

Sheikh Al-Zayla’i, a hardliner, suggested that a review of the situation was necessary, while blaming the failure to comply with Sharia (Islamic laws) by the migrant jihadists for the group's setbacks.

The senior militant said that current problems were the result of able leaders being replaced and the sidelining of knowledgeable sheikhs who had initiated the movement’s fundamentalist goals.

Criticised system

Al-Zayla’i’s message to al-Zawahiri further elaborated: "People close to the leader (Emir of Al-Shabaab) have the privileges of replacing the officials or naming religious personalities.”

He also criticised Al-Shabaab's operation of a two-tier court system. "While we cannot talk of the lower court, the upper court is dominated by the Emir," he said, suggesting poor justice ideals.

He also named weaknesses that required Ayman al-Zawahiri’s attention, which included the prison systems, the movement’s leadership and lack of religious guidance.

In reaction to the letter by Abubakar Al-Zayla’i, the SRC issued a statement Sunday calling Al-Shabaab’s extremist doctrine as one based on erroneous principles.

Since Al-Shabaab started an assassination campaign against moderate religious leaders in late 2012, SRC moderates have been issuing declarations discrediting the extremist positions held by the fanatical group.

Pressure has been mounting on the Al-Shabaab since AMISOM peacekeepers together with Somalia's army pushed its fighters out of its strategic positions including almost all regional capitals in southern and central Somalia.
Al-Shabaab fortunes have been further battered by the countering of its proclamations by moderate religious leaders, including the SRC.


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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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