Thursday, October 31, 2013

Somalia’s 1st Female Central Bank Governor resigns, Aadan Abraar quit her job and Went on Shopping spree

                                              Your aid dollar's at work Gucci sunglasses,louis vuitton handbag
 
MOGADISHU (tf.sf) — Somalia’s newly appointed first female Central Bank Governor Yussur Abrar has officially resigned today on Thursday, October 31, 2013 from her position after serving a month of her appointment, terror free somalia reports.

Yussur Abrar, who is currently in Dubai, had summited her resignation letter through the Email to Somali president Hassan Sheikh and the reason of her quit remains vague.
Sources said, Abrar has met a mounting pressure since she took over the office nearly two months ago from top Somali government over illegal withdrawals of Somali money frozen in international banks and donor funds from U.S. and EU banks.
However, Somali president has yet to comment the Abrar’s resignation.
Yussur Abrar as the country’s first female central bank governor replaced Abdusalam Omar Hadliye, who resigned after a United Nations monitoring group accused him of mismanaging the government’s money. Ms.Abrar has spent the past 30 years working for international banks and insurance companies.
The Horn of African nation is rebuilding its economy from scratch after taking control of rebel-held territory over the past two years, bringing a measure of stability to the country.
Where does the foreign aid money go?

 

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Who Runs the Show in SOMALIA?The Muslim Brotherhood Salafist Movement,Elite Clan Leaders? ETHIOPIA-IGAD? UN or Somali People-Citizens?

To understand Somali issues we must think in a "controversial way" and "Manipulative way of doing POLITICS" taking into account the Long standing "Power Struggle" between different Somali   social-political-economic  forces using Somali CLANS and Sub-Clans. Some are allied to ETHIOPIA-IGAD Countries like the "Elite  Puppet Leaders"  specially with ETHIOPIA and SUDAN and Muslim Brotherhood Salafist Business Cartels/Organized crimes/Drug Traffickers ( Read my post "Who are the Business People of Somalia  Muslim Brotherhood " and. the post called" For the new PM: Lesson from a recent past"). Others are those I call the CLAN Nationalist and Moderate Islamist- who are not in power but supported by the majority of the people-citizens- who accept RULE of Law and democracy.In the Somali political murky system   there is also the Role  the so- called International Community which although united under the banner of the UN, AFRICAN UNION-IGAD, EUROPEAN  UNION-UK ,  and USA , others like Arab Nations-I mean Saudi Arabia , Qatar,Abu-Dhabi,Egypt - and TURKEY are all  still divided on the so- called "SOMALIA  CONFLICT Resolution".The countries members of AU/AMISOM Military contingent  everyone has its Policy/Agenda  toward SOMALIA as a "new colonizing" power except those countries from the West of Africa.
         
 
This short introduction will serve to prepare us on understanding the last "Timeline  of events" in Somalia specially the last three months ( when I say Somalia it encompasses all regions-  from Ras Kamboni to Ras Asser-including Puntland and SOMALILAND regions, Jubba regions etc)  and its repercussions on the "ongoing struggle" for SOMALIA  and its "resources like OIL and GAS".
       
 
  (1) Let me start first with the event of the full recognition by the US government of the Somali Muslim Brotherhood Federal Government and the consequent visit of President Hassan to USA. With the new "US policy" for Muslim Brotherhood Somalia President Hassan met with US Big  OIL Companies who are holding the concessional Rights of about 70% of Somali OIL Basins last re-signed in 1989 by the Siad Barre regime.There is the story "making the rounds" that the Somali Minster for OIL and Mineral resources resigned another time those Rights  for the US Big Companies. This  has great significance for the Sovereignty,Territorial Integrity and Unity of the Somali  Federal Republic. The so- called Elite Clan Leaders of Somaliland regions, Puntland  regions and even Jubba regions were trying all these years to give new  concessional rights for exploration to Chinese,France,Brasil and Italy companies on those old OIL and GAS Basins under the guise of so- called sovereignty of CLAN-ENCLAVES- self declared States- Pseudo Self-Determination Rights.( Read my post OIL and GAS,Mini CLAN ENCLAVES,ETHIOPIA-IGAD HEGEMONY and the post called (" The pseudo Self- Determination Rights of Somali Clan Enclaves" of July 2014).. The US government promised to fully participate in the Institution Building of the Somali Federal State and specially in the rebuilding of the National security services like the Army,Intelligence. and Police. But the most important is the" recognition that Somalia could not be sub-divided in CLAN ENCLAVES based on Sub-Clan Blood Lineage" and . the Sovereignty of Somalia is fully represented by the Somali Federal Republic.My Question is how the US new Policy will be seen by ETHIOPIA and some IGAD countries? They will accept it? What about their local allies the Somali Elite-Clan Puppet Leaders and the Salafist Movement specially the Salafist Business Cartels/Organized crimes groups who control the Economy of all Somalia?
       
 
 (2) UN Security Council came to Mogadishu in a Historic visit including all 15 members. They met with the Muslim Brotherhood Somali Federal Government including the President,PM and his Cabinet, Somali civil society groups and two of the so-called regional Leaders like the Chairman of Jubba regions  and Galmudug.region.
The UN Security Council fully endorsed what the Somali government calls the "NEW VISION PLAN" (benchmarks) which together with UN and IGAD is to remake all the Somali regions- based on the last 18 made by the Siad Barre regime- as a new Institutions  made in a new Federated regional governments as a devolution of power and more sharing of National Resources between regions.. This new  Plan is made also with the End game of having National and local  Elections, presidential, Parliamentary elections  including a Referendum for the New Constitution,  in all  the Somali Republic by Middle 2016. Did the IGAD countries, AMISOM  and ETHIOPIA, Elite Clan puppet Leaders,Salafist Movement  fully Cooperate with the Re-establishment of the Somali (Federal) Republic? Where all Clans- Communities are Equal in front of the Law,  all people-citizens of a country where the Rule of the Law is supreme and the people- citizens  elect their own Leaders? I do not believe the ETHIOPIA -IGAD group ha given up its Plans to sub-colonize Somalia and subdivide it in CLAN-ENCLAVES.
         
 
(3) Mr. DR.Abdiweli Ali Gaas-President of the so- called regional State of Puntland refused to meet the UN Security Council members when they came to Mogadishu and afterwards left for ETHIOPIA for the usual "consultation".He also had a problem with.the Muslim Brotherhood Somali Federal government  because "he sees his region as a  Clan Enclave which is sovereign State and part of a Confederate Somalia".He would like to have Somalia subdivided in "Would be Con-federal Republic where Puntland region is one of the Constituent States".He got the support of the ETHIOPIA-IGAD group in the Region all this years.How the UN,US EU Turkey,Arab Nations who are those  stand for Somali Nationhood and UNITY,Sovereignty will deal with this Clan Enclaves Separatism?.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Top al-Shabab commanders al-Qaeda linked group al shabaab killed in drone attack

clapping




















Al-Shabaabs Top Explosives Expert Anta Among Dead in Baraawe Southern Somalia

US Drone strike has killed two top al-Shabab commanders in southern Somali town of Jilib -114 km north Kismayu, witnesses said on Monday.
terror free somalia sources revealed that the two killed militants were Ibrahim Ali Abdi and Warsame Balle.Residents said the strike hit a Pajera car they were traveling with on their way to remote village in the area to solve clan dispute.Ibrahim Ali was a key al-Shabaab trainer and was one of the view explosives experts in the militant group, according to the sources.
Warsame was also a top individual, but we couldn’t immediately find his role among the fighters.
The al-Qaeda linked group has not yet commented on the attack.
United States has carried out many drone attacks in Somalia,  U.S. officials confirm to CNN.and foxnews
 Air strike kills two senior members of Islamist group al-Shabab in southern Somalia, local residents tell BBC

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Norway's PST tried to stop mall gunman from travelling to Somalia THREE YEARS ago after discovering his jihadi beliefs ,also British links to al-Shabab revealed

Norway's PST tried to stop mall gunman from travelling to Somalia THREE YEARS ago after discovering his jihadi beliefs... - Daily Mail

British links to al-Shabab revealed

FBI "intent on ending terrorist ties between Somalia and Minnesota

For FBI agents in Minneapolis, combating al-Shabab's efforts to radicalize Somali-Americans is their top priority.
 

Monday, October 21, 2013

The Power of Hindsight; Lessons from The Past






 
 
 

Somali President (1969-1991)
“We shall go and stand before a mirror, look and reflect on ourselves. Let as ponder and ask ourselves what our interests, the interests of our children, and the interest of our people are? What kind of honor and dignity are we striving for to have in the world? ... The gun bullets you hear are not anyone’s interest. Guns are only made to take life and not to rear life.” Mohamed Siyad Bare 1991.


 “We drive into the future using only our rearview mirror” Marshall McLuhan.
George Bernard Shaw said that we learn from history that we learn nothing from history. This is indeed true reflection of the present day Somalia. January 26, 1991 Mohamed Siyaad Bare was ousted from power by armed clan-based opposition. Little did anyone knew, what was lurking beyond his ouster. This is not, to say the least to engage in any blame game; but rather, to reflect on the past objectively, with hindsight advantage.
next January 26, 2014 marks twenty four years since Mohamed Siyaad Bare left Mogadishu en route to his birth place in southern Somalia; notwithstanding, the military regime of Siad Barre, was it the right decision in ousting him? What went wrong in the aftermath of the collapse of Siad Barre’s regime? And you, our readers, if you knew what were to follow suit in the aftermath of the collapse of the military regime, would you have taken a different approach then? And to pose to the younger generation, what are you doing or not doing in order to bring an end to this protracted and intricate conflict? His last speech, while leaving the Mogadishu, President Mohamed Siyad Bare spoke heartily to the citizens and those responsible of the 'violence' as he called upon them, he said those words which speak to us all directly today as if spoken yesterday.
 “…We should understand what our interests are?  We should understand who we are, and what we want as people? 
 "Affluent man, who is either here or abroad, should not be killing the poor by arming one another with guns. Even uglier, very embarrassing, those looting the wealth of the citizen
 “I wonder, I can’t understand why should anyone enter government offices and pour the government papers on the streets. Where is he going (what is he doing)? What is he benefiting of that action? Who is he giving (those government files)? Even more painful, uglier, the poor Somali citizen running away from those looting and bullets, fleeing,  hungry  and scattered,  along the way (roads that exit- out of Mogadishu).

“You belief in Islam, you are Muslims, You are Somali, you used to have pride and dignity.
 If you must (destroy) throw what is yours, do not destroy everything, and do not destroy all. Reaching a level where you act beyond the Islamic principle is forbidden” 
(Listen to the whole speech in Somali, link below)
  
Twenty two years ago these words were spoken, yet, still they echoed, without either their meaning or their target audience, being worn-thin by time.
Twenty years later and we are still unable to comprehend these words of wisdom, we can forget past, as we can’t go back and change it. The past is a history for our admiration, atonements or ability to acquire understanding and experience. But the future is unclaimed and ahead of us with indefinite potential opportunities it present.
We can’t change the past but we can learn from it and alter the course of history in the future. Through our actions and decision we can write our history by claiming our future, our nation’s future depends on the collective effort of all of us, so let us all work towards that goal of altering and shaping our future

Commemorating the 44th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre . Our late great leader... When Somalia saved Uganda from war (ARTICLE OF THE WEEK) ...


ONCE upon a time, Somalia was stable and Uganda was at war. Its leader, Siad Barre, brokered the peace deal between Uganda and Tanzania, which were on a war path. Today Uganda is in Somalia trying to keep a fragile peace. Ivan Lukanda digs into the history between the two countries July 11 will go down in the minds of Ugandans as the day Al Shabaab vested their anger on them. Over 70 middle-aged football fans watching the finals of the 2010 World Cup were killed in a bomb blast."Al Shabaab, a terrorist group linked to Al Qaeda, boasted as having masterminded the heinous attack.Somalia has not had a stable government since 1991 when President Siad Barre was ousted from power by warlords.The end of his reign also marked the begining of anarchy in the horn of Africa state, which had helped to deflect tension between Uganda and Tanzania in the early 1970s.Somalia is now a haven for terrorists and a symbol of crime in eastern Africa.But back in the day, Ugandans needed Somalia to broker peace. Somalia now needs Ugandan troops to enforce order on behalf of two successive governments installed in exile (first in Kenya and then Djibouti) in the last four years.On October 7, 1972, Uganda and Tanzania signed the Mogadishu Accord, a settlement whose major purpose was to defuse the crisis between the two countries.Wanume Kibedi, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Malecela his Tanzanian counterpart and Omar Arteh Ghaleb, the Secretary of State for the Foreign Affairs of Somali Republic, signed on behalf of their countries.The agreement called for cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of all military forces to a distance not less than 10km from the common boundary not later than October 19, 1972. The withdrawal was to be witnessed by observers sent from Somalia by Jaalle Siyaad (Comrade Siad) in consultation with presidents Idi Amin and Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.It also called for a halting of hostile propaganda through radio, television and newspapers. It further called for refraining from harbouring subversive forces to operate in either country against the other.With Siad Barre’s backing in mind, on October 5, while addressing people attending the opening of a new medium wave radio transmitter at Mawagga near Mityana, Amin is reported in the Uganda Argus to have said, "We have no time for spying. We have time for developing our country."Amin also warned Ugandan girls against involving themselves in spying activities for Obote’s guerrillas in Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique.He said: "Those who regard themselves as beautiful should stay and enjoy themselves in Uganda."In their book, War in Uganda, Tony Avirgan and Martha Honey, journalists who were embedded with Tanzanian troops, say that at the Mogadishu meeting, Kibedi demanded that Tanzania turn over Milton Obote and a number of other exiles as part of the agreement.Malecela refused, arguing for the rights of refugees and prophesied that Kibedi himself might some day find himself in exile. The prophecy came to pass.Four months later, Kibedi, also Amini’s brother-in-law, fled Uganda accusing Amin of violating human rights and the rule of law.In his book, Sowing the Mustard Seed’, President Yoweri Museveni says that by "the Mogadishu Accord, Tanzania effectively recognised Amin’s regime as the legitimate government of Uganda".The agreement also tightened the relationship between Uganda and Somalia and exchange visits followed.Siad Barre at NakivuboWhile speaking at the Independence Day celebrations, October 9, 1972, at Nakivubo Stadium, Siad Barre called on African countries to pool their resources and brains together to develop their countries instead of engaging in fighting among themselves.At the Independence Day reception, Somali musicians and dancers entertained the dignitaries.Siad Barre was awarded Uganda’s highest honour — the First Class Order of the Source of the Nile "in appreciation of his conciliatory effort in the Uganda–Tanzania conflicts" at the function.At the same occasion, the commander of the Uganda Air Force, Maj. Gad Wilson Toko was promoted to the rank of Colonel.He was also awarded three honours: the Distinguished Service Order, the Military Cross Medal and the Efficiency of Operations Order.The Acting Commander of the Uganda Armed Forces, Col. Francis Nyangweso, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.Hardly two weeks after the ceremony, on October 17, 1972, the Uganda Argus reported that Tanzania had broken thepact by allowing Obote’s guerrillas to continue propaganda through radio, television and print media published in Dar-es-Salaam.Mission to Somalia On October 20, 1972, a Uganda delegation of ministers, senior government and army officials left for Mogadishu to attend the third Somali Revolution Day celebrations set for October 21, 1972. The delegation included Lt. Col. Obitre-Gama (power and communications), Wanume Kibedi (Foreign Affairs); Mr. Okware (agriculture and co-operatives), Mr. Gesa (health), Mr. Oryema (Mineral and Water resources), Mr. Zikusooka (works and housing) and Wakweya (finance).Nyerere Avoids Somalia On October 19, 1972, the government of Tanzania announced that their president would not attend Somalia’s Revolution Day celebrations.Nyerere, who had accepted the invitation at the beginning of the month, chose to abstain from the celebrations.The statement said Nyerere "will remain quietly in Dar-es-Salaam for the coming week as he has been advised to rest for a few days".The Tanzanian delegation of six ministers was led by Nyerere’s First Vice-president, Aboud Jumbe and the foreign minister, John Macelela.While Nyerere was interested in peace in the region, he had a personal dislike for Amin who had overthrown his longtime friend Obote.This was evident in his absence fromthe 1975 OAU summit chaired by Idi Amin in Uganda. Nyerere might have masked this reasoning to avoid meeting Amin who had also confirmed attending the celebrations in Mogadishu.Siad Barre’s Interest in Uganda Barre’s interest in Uganda was largely influenced by religion. Henry Kyemba,who was the acting Minister of Culture and Community Development in 1972, said Amin had a habit of looking for Muslim friends. "Barre was an ally of Idi Amin because they were both Muslims," Kyemba said. "In 1973, I led a delegation to Somalia to cement the relationship between Uganda and Somalia."Historian Semwanga Kisolo said he (Amin) had registered Uganda as a Muslim state under the Organisation of Islamic Conference to win the favours from the Arab League.Kisolo said: "King Faisal of Saudi Arabia and Gadaffi of Libya entrusted Barre with the power to broker peace between the warring parties on behalf of the Arab League."It is important to note that radical Islam was not known to many parts of the world then though terrorism existed on a small scale and was masterminded by groups such as Black September.Although it sounds logical to reason that Barre’s brokering of peace in the east African countries was based on religion, AaronMukwaya, a lecturer of international relations at Makerere University, disputes this.Mukwaya said that Barre "was the custodian of solving conflicts" because he was the chairman of the Organisation of African Unity at the time. The role Barre performed is similar to the one John Kufour of Ghana attempted to perform as chairman of African Union in Kenya when the 2007 presidential elections climaxed in bloody tribal riots."Britain was not interested in the conflict between the two counties because the success of Tanzania over Uganda would [inherently] mean the triumph of socialism over capitalism and therefore used OAU to solve the problem," Mukwaya said.Tanzania under Nyerere was socialist. The British helped (or ignored) Amin’s rise power. Mukwaya said "peace would make their business in Kenya prosper".Why Somalia collapsedTo many people, the Somali conflict surfaced in 1991 after the complete disappearance of a centralised Somalian state on January 26. But the fact is that Somalia had developed serious cracks that made the collapse inevitable. The most powerful and organised rebel groups were formed, developed and gained power much earlier, between 1978 and 1989.In his article, Perspectives of the State Collapse in Somalia, Abdurahman Abdullahi of Mogadishu University, gives a number of reasons why Somalia caved in.He says that Somalia collapsed when Soviet Union withdrew external support and yet societal demand for economic advancement and better governance had increased. This was worsened by the end of the cold war in 1989, a situation which put Somalia on drip.He says Barre’s attempt to pursue military foreign policies that resulted into conflict with neighbours that had rival claims to the Somali-inhabited territories increased pressure on the regime.His claim for a greater Somalia was unacceptable to Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti’s insistence on the principle of territorial integrity and sanctity of colonial borders. Somalia’s neighbours were prepared to defend their territories by all means even, if it meant going to war.After the 1977-78 war with Ethiopia , which destroyed the state and overthrew his regime, the porous borders became a problem as Ethiopia became home to Siad Barre’s growing number of opponents.Somalia as a state had a weak history. Abdullahi says that "there has never been a state in Somalia in the strictest sense of the term". Somalia is composed of clans brought together by basic institutions built around market exchange and later brought together by colonialists to form a state.Barre’s regime attempted to bite more than it could eat. Barre devoted a lot of attention and resources to solving colonial mistakes, which led to wars giving Somalia no time to build institutions without which no nation can survive in modern times.The suppression of Islam and clans radicalised the institutions in the late 1970s.This enabled rebel groups to rise. There are currently many factions in Somalia. These include theSomali National Front, Somali National Movement, Somali Patriot Movement, UnitedSomali Congress , Somali Salvation Democratic Front, and Somali Democratic Movement. Al Shabaab, survives under such confusion.Hansen Stig Jarle, a Norwegian researcher on Somalia, says: "It seems quite clear that without the formation of these rebel organisations, neither the breakdown process nor the full collapse of 1991 would have taken place."Any government should consider Islam, business and the nomadic nature of Somalis, if it is to survive.Barre: From police officer to president Siad Barre was born in Lugh District, Italian Somalia in 1919 to a herdsman from the Marehan clan. He went to an elementary school before joining the police force in 1941.He rose fast through the ranks and by 1950 was a chief inspector, the highest position held by a Somali at that time. He switched profession from police to the army in 1952, becoming deputy-commander in 1960 and commander in 1965.At this time Somalia was getting a lot of military aid and training from the Soviet Union. He is said to have received clandestine assistance from the Soviet Union to execute his coup in 1969 from a disorganised civilian government.He declared Somalia a Leninist state and portrayed himself as a socialist under the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party.His regime scored some achievements, especially in the field of literacy where it encouraged writing the Somali language. It set up several co-operative farms and factories that promoted mass production of sugar and meat.wth increasing Soviet military support, however, Barre’s regime got lost in thought of acquiring territory occupied by ethnic Somalis from Ethiopia.Barre launched the attack in 1977 but the Soviet Union chose to support Ethiopia under Mengistu and Somalia was defeated.From then on, Barre’s regime struggled to retain power as clan rivalries intensified. Like most regimes under this situation, Barre’s human rights abuse intensified.In 1991, Barre fled in a tank to survive a rebel attack mounted by Mohammed Farah Aideed’s men. He went into exile in Nairobi and later Nigeria leaving a dreadful legacy of civil war and famine in a country that Uganda once looked to for her peace. He died on January 2, 1995 in Lagos of heart attack.
The Power of Hindsight; Lessons from The Past

Great Videos. then we were the masters of Africa : Somalia embarassed ,Russia,
yemen,Cuba (video) The Capture of Jigjiga (Jijiga) in the 1977 War Between
Ethiopia and Somalia


siad Barre was the lion of Africa....Interview with former Somali President Siad
Barre - 1978


Somalia: The Ethiopian Factor part # 3




Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre departing words to the Somali people









 Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre His own avenue in Uganda

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Al Shabab 101: What is the Somali terrorist group?

Al Shabab has long fomented violence and radical Islam in Somalia, helping keep its reputation as the poster child for "failed states." The involvement of the Al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group in the September 2013 attack on Kenya's Westgate mall as well as other attacks now appears to have put the group in the cross hairs of terrorism experts, and prompted the US Navy SEALs raid that was unsuccessful in its effort to capture one of its commanders.
 
Chances are, you'll hear alot more about it in the future...more Al Shabab 101: What is the Somali terrorist group?

French court jails Somali pirates for nine years

A French court has sentenced three Somali pirates to nine years in prison each for the hijacking of a yacht in which the skipper died four years ago.
The men were part of a group that boarded the French sailboat Tanit off the Somali coast in April 2009.
French commandos stormed the yacht in an attempt to free skipper Florent Lemaçon, his wife, their three-year-old son and two crew members.
They killed two pirates and captured three but they also accidentally shot Lemaçon dead.
The three accused - Mohamed Mahamud, Abdelkader Osman Ali and Mahamud Abdi Mohamed, aged between 26 and 31 - claimed that extreme poverty had forced them to turn to piracy and expressed regret for their actions.
"We weren't arguing that poverty justifies piracy," said defence lawyer Fabian Lahaie. "But there are the facts. When the pirates they were in utter poverty. The people who went them out to sea to attack boats didn't provide enough petrol to get back to shore, so they had to get a result to survive."
Lawyer Arnaud Colon de Franciosi, representing the survivors, said they were not looking "for vengeance" but that the accused should be "held responsible" for their acts.
The families believe the French government of authorised the operation to try and frighten potential pirates and did not pay sufficient attention to the hostages's safety.
"I believe that Florent Lemaçon died for reasons of state," Colon de Franciosi. "This operation was meant as a powerful signal to the Somalis, the hostages were a secondary consideration."
The sentence came as British director Philip Greengrass's film Captain Phillips, which stars Tom Hanks and is about the hijacking of the MV Maersk Alabama off the Somali coast, hit screens around the world.

Suicide bomber kills 19 at restaurant in central Somalia:

A suicide bomber killed at least 19 people outside a restaurant popular with Ethiopian and Somali troops in the town of Baladweyne in central Somalia on Saturday, a local politician said.
More than 10 people were also wounded in the blast near a military base, Dahir Amin Jesow told Reuters over the phone from Baladweyne.
update

.BREAKING: claim responsibility for the Baladweyne attack. They say target was the Ethiopian troops.19 people died so far

Death toll from Beled Weyne suicide bombing climbs to 19,

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Aidan Hartley: How Muslim militants and Western jihadis wrecked enchanting Somalia

Al- Shabaab celebrating the Westgate attack in Somalia. They have brand new 4x4s

inland from the little Somali port of Barawe bewitched a person to come to them by banging a nail into a tree and chanting his name. ‘He comes no matter how far away he may be,’ wrote Gerald Hanley in Warriors, his unrivalled classic about Somalia — for him a place of ‘swirling sandstorms, heat and billions and billions of flies’. But I need no nail in a tree to return to Barawe, which to me is a paradise I once aimed to make my home.
I first saw Barawe from the high, red dunes of the hinterland. It glittered white against the azure Indian Ocean: beautiful houses and mosques, a colonial Italian lighthouse ringed by a necklace of surf. It was 1998 and I had never seen anywhere so exotic, populated by very light-skinned descendants of Portuguese, Arabs and Shirazis. They spoke a northern form of Swahili called Chimbalazi and were full of poetry. The perfume of incense and halwa sweetmeats drifted through sandy streets. I swam off a white sand beach and found Amharic inscriptions in the ruins of an old fort. I was made a guest at a four-storey mansion where a banquet of delicacies was prepared in the courtyard below and then hoisted up by a coconut rope on huge copper trays.
Barawe, in those days an island of beauty and sophistication amid the horrors of Somalia, was birthplace of the eponymous Sufi Sheikh Uways al-Barawi. This great religious leader promoted a tolerant form of Islam that so many Somalis still worship by today. Al-Barawi was murdered on the orders of the Mad Mullah, Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, a fanatic who fought Britain for 22 years and left nothing good except poetry extolling ultra-violence. That tension, between extremism and decency, has been played out again in Barawe’s recent history.
I noticed that some of the most delightful Bravanese houses were abandoned. I was told that clan militias had used the town as a battleground. They menaced the prominent families so much that they fled — overseas and along the Kenyan coast, where they continued to hand-weave their wonderful cloth with its geometrical designs that told a secret story. For now, Barawe was calm, and I did not want to go.
‘What if I were to live in Barawe,’ I asked. ‘What if I were to buy a house?’ ‘Certainly,’ replied my host. He revealed that the title deeds were held by the elders — in Minnesota and London’s East End. If my offer was accepted, I could settle down. The price of a very fine house was no more than £7,000. I was not the first Westerner to own a home in Barawe. My host showed me one lovely place that allegedly belonged to Graham Hancock, author of great books like Lords of Poverty.
I tried to pursue my purchase, dreaming that I might cut myself off from the outside world, learn Chimbalazi dialect and fish for yellowfin tuna. But I found myself in Yemen, and then London. One day an intricately carved camphor chest arrived on a flight, with best wishes from my host in Barawe, and this sits at home today. Meanwhile, Somalia’s civil war flared again, hiding the bright horizon of Barawe from the world once more.
A few years ago militants of Al-Shabaab seized Barawe. They murdered local inhabitants. They beat Sufi worshippers and desecrated their saints’ shrines. They imposed huge taxes on the people, denied them vaccines or poetry, music or even football. The place became a base for the most vicious of all the Al-Shabaab fighters — foreign jihadis known as the muhajireen. Some of them were probably from Britain and other western countries. In stolen lovely houses they designed suicide vests, truck bombs and massacres. In 2009 American special forces in helicopters ambushed and killed a senior al-Qa’eda leader a little way inland from the huge red dunes.
In June this year two of the nastiest factions of Al-Shabaab began liquidating each other — as they do — in Barawe’s streets and a number of foreigners went straight to hell. Up the road a few weeks ago, Omar Hammami, an American known as the ‘rapping jihadist’ because of his YouTube jingles, together with Osama al-Britani, a British bomber and allegedly father of Samatha Lewthwaite’s two younger children, also died during internecine feuding. It appears that Barawe became the place where plans were developed for the vile attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall last month.
On 5 October, special forces of the American SEAL Team 6 launched a night raid on Barawe from the ocean, in a bid to kill or capture a man they did not get. After they withdrew into the waves, Al-Shabaab took reprisals against the local population. In London, where Islamophobic arsonists burned down the Bravanese community centre in June, these moderate, civilised people must wonder what they did to deserve all of this.
This article first appeared in the print edition of The Spectator magazine, dated

Norwegian suspected of being Kenya mall attacker named. Hawiye jihadi Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, 23yrs old from coastal town of Larvik, 75 miles south of Oslo Norway



The man being investigated by Norwegian police over the attack on Kenya's Westgate shopping centre is Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, BBC Newsnight has learned.
The 23-year-old Norwegian citizen of Somali origin is suspected of helping to plan and carry out the attack.BBC Newsnight has spoken to a relative of his in Norway who said he left the town of Larvik for Somalia in 2009.At least 67 people died in the attack in Nairobi, which the al-Qaeda linked group al-Shabab says it carried out.
Last week Norway's intelligence agency, the PST, said it had sent officers to Kenya to verify reports that a Norwegian citizen had been involved in the assault on the shopping centre, which began on Saturday 21 September and lasted four days.It is unclear how many militants were involved. Police had initially estimated that there were 10-15 attackers inside the complex, but the CCTV footage which has so far been released by the Kenyan authorities shows just four men.
Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow is believed to be one of those four, the BBC's Newsnight programme has learned from sources in Kenya and Norway.

Phone calls home




Dhuhulow was born in Somalia, but he and his family moved to Norway as refugees in 1999.

One relative, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said that Dhuhulow left for Somalia in 2009. He made infrequent, increasingly erratic, phone calls to the family, they said, the last one coming in the summer when he said that he was in trouble and wanted to return home.

On being shown the CCTV footage of the Kenya attackers by Newsnight, Dhuhulow's relative said: "I don't know what I feel or think... If it is him, he must have been brainwashed."

Reporting for Newsnight, Gabriel Gatehouse travelled to the coastal town of Larvik, 120 km (75 miles) south of Oslo, where Dhuhulow's family made their home.Morten Henriksen, one of the family's former neighbours, has not seen Dhuhulow for years. "He was pretty extreme, didn't like life in Norway… got into trouble, fights, his father was worried," Mr Henriksen said of Dhuhulow as a teenager.

When shown the CCTV footage of the four Kenya attackers he said that the one dressed in a black shirt or jacket could be Dhuhulow.
'Falling between cultures'
Forensics investigators work next to the collapsed upper car park at the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi




The deadly assault on the Westgate shopping centre lasted four days
 
 
 
Stig Hansen, an expert on security and political Islam based in Norway, told Newsnight said that he was not surprised to learn that a Norwegian citizen was suspected of taking part in the attack.
He said that an estimated 20-30 Norwegians had gone to Somalia to sign up as fighters for the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.
"The biggest problem is the so-called 'Generation 1.5', those who weren't born in Norway, but came when they were quite young, falling between two cultures," he said.
"[Al-Shabab] need people who are quite ignorant about Somalia. That is in their interest because that will give them a more internationalist agenda. And it might also make them more dangerous when they return back to their home countries," he added.
There have been reports that a Kenyan al-Shabab leader whom US commandos targeted in a raid in Somalia on 5 October, but failed to capture, may have spent time in Norway.
Norway's TV2 reported that Abdukadir Mohamed Abdukadir, also known as Ikrima, had travelled to Norway and applied for asylum in 2004 but left in 2008 before there was a decision on his application.
Norwegian officials have not commented on the claims.
Watch the full report in Newsnight on BBC Two at 22:30 BST on Thursday 17 October and on BBC iPlayer (UK only)

More on This Story BBC


 

Monday, October 14, 2013

happy eid mubarak to everybody


Eid Mubarak Eid Mubarak to Everyone!
Wishing you all very happy Eid; may Allah bring us all the pleasures and treasures of life.




On this occasion, we must not forget our brothers and sisters who are under-served or are otherwise in trouble due shabaab and Hizbul Islam  Jihadist


Once again, Eid Mubarak to Everyone!

From Minneapolis, Minnesota Mohamed Aden Habar-Gidir Hawiye Pirate Kingpin along with Mohammed Abdi Hassan, also known as Afweyneh or Big Mouth arrested in Belgium

Mr "Big Mouth" the founder of Somali Pirates and a Hawiye chief have been arrested in Belgium                Mohammed Abdi Hassan Somali pirate 'Big 
                                                                  Mouth' arrested in Belgium
I TOLD YOU SO Two Years Ago!!!
Minneapolis, Minnesota Mohamed Aden Habar-Gidir Hawiye Pirate Kingpin Acting like a Hero
 
Belgium has arrested the suspected leader of a Somali pirate group after luring him to Brussels with promises to make a documentary about his money-making life on the high seas, prosecutors have said.
 

Mohamed Abdi Hassan, known as "Afweyne" or Big Mouth, was detained when he arrived at Brussels airport on Saturday with another suspect identified as Mohamed M. A. or "Tiiceey", federal prosecutor Johan Delmulle told a news conference on Monday.
Tiiceey is a former governor of the Somali region of Himan and Heeb and is suspected in aiding Afweyne's pirate organisation, Delmulle said.
Prosecutors said they decided to involve Belgian undercover agents after it became clear that an international arrest warrant would not be successful in capturing the men.
"After patiently starting a relationship of trust with Tiiceey, and through him with Afweyne, which took several months, both were prepared to participate in this (film) project," Delmulle said.
The plan was put into action after two pirates were arrested and sentenced for the hijacking of a Belgian ship in 2009. Prosecutors decided to try to target the people behind the act, not only those who carried it out and so set up the sting.
"All too often those persons stay out of the frame and let others carry out their dirty business," Delmulle added.
'Notorious and influential'
The prosecutor said Afweyne was asked via Tiiceey whether he would be prepared to be an adviser on a film about piracy, portraying his life carrying out hijackings off the East African coast and making millions of dollars from ransom payments.
Prosecutors said it took months to reel Afweyne in and persuade him to come to Brussels, but would not provide further details about how the sting was carried out.
Afweyne said in January he had put his pirate days behind him and retired. United Nations experts have accused a former Somalian president of shielding him by issuing him a diplomatic passport.
Described last year by the UN as "one of the most notorious and influential leaders" in Somalia's pirate hub, he notably was involved in the 2008 capture of the Saudi-owned Sirius Star oil supertanker, released for a ransom of several million dollars.
In 2011, Somali piracy in the busy shipping lanes of the Gulf of Aden and the northwestern Indian Ocean netted $160 million, and cost the world economy some $7 b, according to the American One Earth Future foundation.



 Pirate chief arrested after being lured to Belgium by police posing as documentary makers
Dumb and Dumber.. there is no need for  documentary movies Captain Phillips movie Already Out in Theater.
Source:
 
Agencies
 
update Watch the video Police press conference

SNA officers resign after rejected request to give $ to families of soldiers KIA

National army officers resign following rift within the defense ministry officials

Mogadishu (tf.sf) Two senior officers of Somalia National Army announced that they have left the army after heavy rift with the leading officer of the National Army, RBC Radio reports.
Col. Abdirisak Said Hussein said he has decided to to resign after the top national army commander rejected to pay for the deceased soldiers’ families living in a very poor life.
“We have proposed the list of hundred soldiers who were killed in the line of duty, but unfortunate the commander in chief of the army rejected.” Col. Hussein told local media.
Col, Hussein argued that the national defense law gives full promise to the children and families of the deceased servicemen and servicewoman.
“We have decided to leave the service because we will be like those who were killed and the children were neglected”. he added.
The ministry of defense and the commanders of the national could not be reached for comment following the allegations from the two senior officers.

SOMALIA: WFP condemns ration card scamin in Mogadishu

mogadishu hawiye clan Crime bosses 
MOGADISHU/NAIROBI – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has condemned a recently uncovered scam aimed at defrauding displaced people in Mogadishu, and urges residents of the Somali capital to beware of the illegal scheme.
WFP has learned that individuals posing as WFP employees have been selling fake ration cards to internally displaced people (IDPs) in Mogadishu, claiming that these cards entitle the holders to receive food from WFP. These individuals do not represent WFP, the cards are not genuine, and payment is never required to access WFP assistance programmes.

“WFP is concerned about the fraudulent use of its name in efforts to cheat vulnerable Somalis, and calls on the authorities to take action against the culprits,” said Stefano Porretti, the WFP representative for Somalia. “As a humanitarian organization WFP categorically condemns those seeking to profit from the plight of the poorest people who have already lost so much. WFP never asks for money in order to be enrolled in its programs.”

WFP supports hot meal centres in Mogadishu, which provide daily cooked meals for more than 75,000 urban poor. No registration or ration cards are needed in order to receive this food, meaning anyone who shows up will be provided with a meal. The program is designed to be flexible so as to accommodate the changing number of people requiring assistance. The agency also provides specialized nutritional support to malnourished mothers and young children.
The work of WFP in Somalia aims to address basic food needs, strengthen coping mechanisms and support the efforts to achieve food security of vulnerable Somalis so they can cope more effectively with hardships.
WFP’s programmes range from relief, which is provided during emergencies, to activities designed to strengthen the resilience of households against future shocks, such as droughts and floods.
WFP is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Last year, WFP reached more than 97million people in 80 countries with food assistance.

Lampedusa Tragedy: A case against President Obama?

Last week, a boat carrying mostly Eritreans capsized off the cost of Italian Island of Lampedusa and claimed hundreds of Eritrean lives.
Following the tragedy, the Eritrean Government issued a statement holding the U.S. government, corroborated by concrete evidence, primarily responsible for the gross loss of human life.
Besides reiterating its determination to defend the rights of its citizens in appropriate forums, the statement also calls for an investigation into the current and previous reprehensive crimes by an independent body.
For an honest observer, holding the U.S. responsible for these and other related death of Eritreans might seem outlandish. However, it is suffice to look in to what President Obama have said about his administration’s involvement in the trafficking of Eritreans out of their country in collaboration with some organisations and countries in the region.
In a speech he gave at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual meeting on September 25, 2012, he said,
“I recently renewed sanctions on some of the worst abusers, including North Korea and Eritrea. We’re partnering with groups that help women and children escape from the grip of their abusers. We’re helping other countries step up their own efforts. And we’re seeing results.”
This was the first time the U.S. administration publicly admits its involvement in the human trafficking of Eritreans.
Reading between the lines, one can get the impression that, the call for renewed sanctions against Eritrea was because the administration felt Eritrea is the worst human rights abuser and so the U.S. start partnering with groups and NGOs that smuggle and kidnap women and children out of Eritrea.
The President was also admitting that he is helping other countries (like Ethiopia and Djibouti) to step up their own efforts (… in collaboration with UNHCR) by opening stations and camps to facilitate easy border crossing for these smuggled Eritreans.
A year later, President Obama start seeing “results” of his unrelenting trafficking of Eritreans. The massacre of hundreds of Eritreans in Lampedusa last week and thousands of previous similar deaths in Sinai and Malta are vivid examples of his administration’s crimes against these poor east African people and their country.
(Outsourced from Haile Abrham’s opinion on dehai.org)

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Jihadi Sympathizer Abdi Aynte in US Congressional Hearing

Senate Foreign Relations Reviews Security & Governance in Somalia
 
In light of the terror attack on Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs conducts a hearing to examine the security and governance in Somalia. Chairman Chris Coons (D-DE) hears from two panels of State and Defense department officials, along with humanitarian advocates and international policy experts, on Somalia's terrorist threat. There was a one big problem in hearing,  one of the panel member is a known Jihadi sympathizer who runs Fake Organization .
Kenya President Mr. UHURU Kenyatta made it clear that President Hassan Sh Mohamud of Somalia needs to make his house in order.

His Foreign Secretary Dr Amina Mohamed said with #WESTGATE Alshabab terror attack, we are more "determined" to defeating Alshabab Terrorist group than before.

My suggestion: They, Kenyans and Ethiopians SHOULD NOT ALLOW, transit visas through thier... respective countries to the lobbyists Like MR. AINTE of Heritage Institute whose "Spiritual" TRIBAL LEADER - who lives in Mogadishu where heritage's office is also located - has time and again praised the Alshabab Terrorist group Attack in Westgate and called it "HEROIC WORK"

"The Ainte/s are the only known Trusted THINK THANKs of President Hassan Sh Mohamud that operatis in Mogadishu" per his own explanation in the hearing.

What we know thus far:

- UN Monitoring group reported that Mr. Ainte access to media as Aljazira reporter in QADAR country's wealthy Sheekhs is what brought Somalia Pressident Sheikh Mohamaud to power.

- In the blessings of President Hassan Sh Mohamud, he is able & in his own terms started rebuilding the Somali National Musiam in Mogadish, participants important "International Somali Conference" for the rebuilding of Somalia such as that of Japan & New Beginning conference in Brussels. - A rebuilding only is seen & felt in "MOGADISHU" !

- When he is not there by President Hassan's Somalia affairs international meetings his brother, the other Mr. Ainte - who posts his articles on African Arguments - is there as if there is 'shortage' of "HAWIYE clan SCHOLARS" who can DEFEND the rights of President Hassan Sh Mohamud...! Or perhaps that of Alshabab Terrorist group!

- Using the same language as that of Alshabab Terrorist group & that of his indirect boss, - President Hassan of Mogadishu - Mr Ainte calls JND ADMINISTRATION an administration made by "KENYA" blinddlessly forgetting that there's been process of election inline with FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL that took place in Jubbaland State & welcomed by the entire community.

The jubilation & the celebration of Jubbaland State diaspora overwhelming welcomed the selection of President Ahmed Mohamed Islan (Ahmed-Madobe) as their regional President still echoes in our ears and can be found in YOUTUBEs! - Niether Mr Ainte nor President Hassan visited Kismayo, Jubbaland capital city even though, Alshabab Terrorist group is defeated parts of that area.

Like his Mogadishu Presidebt, Mr. AINTE ignored in yesterday's congressional hearing to even mention the ironed out ADDISS ABABA ACCORD between Jubbaland State vs Mogadishu that took place in just last August 27. Something similarly done by President Hassan Sh Mohamud in His OHIO state visit with the community.

My question to you, all is: When will Somalia have FEDERAL CONSTITUTION advocate THINK THANK that can SAFELY operate in Mogadishu! Now that Alshabab has one in the capital!
 
 
 
via Dheman B

Saturday, October 5, 2013

US forces target al-Shabaab leader in Somalia, seize Al-Qaeda leader in Libya

US forces carried out two major operations in Africa on Saturday, targeting an al-Shabaab leader in Somalia in connection with the recent Nairobi mall siege and nabbing an Al-Qaeda leader in Libya wanted for the 1998 bombings of US embassies.
(A) Baraawe.(Google map)
(A) Baraawe.(Google map)
A US Navy SEAL team approached a seaside house in the Somali town of Baraawe before sunrise and fired on an unidentified target, reportedly killing an al-Shabaab leader. The SEALs were forced to withdraw before the killing could be confirmed, The New York Times quoted a senior American official as saying.

The raid was reportedly in response to the recent deadly attack on a Nairobi shopping mall, which killed more than 60 people. Al-Shabaab - a Somalia-based cell of the Al-Qaeda terror network - has claimed responsibility for the siege.
“The Baraawe raid was planned a week and a half ago,” the American security official stated. “It was prompted by the Westgate attack,” the official added, referring to the Nairobi mall siege.
The Pentagon has confirmed the operation, but failed to mention whether the senior militant leader had been killed. "I can confirm that yesterday, October 4, US military personnel were involved in a counter terrorism operation against a known al-Shabaab terrorist," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said. "We are not prepared to provide additional detail at this time."
The Saturday firefight lasted over an hour and helicopters were called in for support, according to witnesses.
The Somali government was warned ahead of time about the attack, a senior Somali official confirmed.
A spokesman from al-Shabaab said that one of the group’s fighters had been killed, but that the group had won back the assault. US officials first reported that the leader of the group had been seized, but later retracted the statement.
 
 
US forces capture Al-Qaeda leader in Libya
Abu Anas el-Liby.(Photo from wikipedia.org)
Abu Anas el-Liby.(Photo from wikipedia.org)

US forces also captured senior Al-Qaeda leader Abu Anas el-Liby - wanted for his alleged role in the 1998 US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania - in the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Saturday, putting to rest a 15-year manhunt.
El-Liby was put on the US government’s most wanted list in 2000 after a New York court indicted him for his role in planning the embassy attacks. A $5 million reward was set by the FBI for information leading to his capture.
He was apprehended alive in a joint operation by the US military, the CIA, and the FBI, and is currently in American custody, The New York Times quoted an official as saying.
Senior officials in Libya’s transitional government were reportedly unaware of the planned operation. However, a US official claimed that the Libyan government was also involved in it.

Four attackers identified in Westgate mall siege

Also on Saturday, Kenya's military spokesman named four attackers involved in the four-day siege at Westgate Mall in the capital of Nairobi, which left more than 60 people dead in September.
The attackers are Abu Baara al-Sudani, Omar Nabhan, Khattab al-Kene and Umayr, confirmed Major Emmanuel Chirchir. Al-Kene and Umayr are members of al-Hijra - a Kenyan extremist group affiliated with al-Shabaab – the former head of the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia, Matt Bryden, told AP via email. He added that Nabhan may be a relative of an infamous Al-Qaeda operative, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, who was killed in a US military strike in 2009.
It was also revealed that a Sudanese man trained by Al-Qaeda was among the leaders of the mall siege, Kenya's government said.
An injured woman (C) is helped out of the Westgate Shopping Centre where gunmen went on a shooting spree, in Nairobi September 21, 2013.(Reuters / Siegfried Modola)
An injured woman (C) is helped out of the Westgate Shopping Centre where gunmen went on a shooting spree, in Nairobi September 21, 2013.(Reuters / Siegfried Modola)

Over 200 civilians were freed after the four-day bloody hostage crisis in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
Masked assailants armed with AK-47s and grenades launched their attack on the Westgate mall on September 21, reportedly targeting non-Muslims.
Аmong the victims of the attack were citizens from the US, Britain, France, Canada, Australia, China, South Korea, India, South Africa, the Netherlands, and Ghana. Five Americans were wounded.
The attack was claimed by Somalia's militant al-Shabaab group, which has links to Al-Qaeda. It said the hostage siege was a response to Kenyan military operations in Somalia. The group had previously threatened to strike the mall - a popular destination for the city’s expatriate community.
The FBI is currently investigating whether any of the attackers were US citizens, after media reports alleged that some of the names of the gunmen tweeted by al-Shabaab during the siege appeared to match up with the Twitter handles of Somalian immigrants living in the US.