Monday, February 10, 2014

Kenya: Al-Shabaab Leader On the Run After Two Near-Death Misses

Military strike in Somalia targeted Al-Shabaab leader, U.S. officials say update

Mogadishu — Twice in the past month, al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane has narrowly escaped death at the hands of the Kenyan and US militaries, according to local sources.
Godane, also known as Abu Mukhtar al-Zubayr, has led al-Shabaab since 2008, and is at the top of the list of most-wanted Somali terrorists with a $7 million bounty on his head.
It appears that in two recent strikes, one against an al-Shabaab base in Gedo and the other against a vehicle convoy in Lower Shabelle, Godane left the target zone only moments before the attacks ensued.On January 9th, Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa (ASWJ) officials alerted the Kenyan Defence Forces that al-Shabaab leaders were meeting in Birta Dher village, about 18 kilometres south of Garbaharey in Gedo region."We told them that al-Shabaab's most senior man, Ahmed Godane, was present at the location," Mohamed Hussein al-Qadi, spokesman for government-allied ASWJ told Sabahi. "The strike came as a result of the co-operation between us, but unfortunately the most senior man whom we wanted to kill there escaped."While Godane escaped, the airstrike killed at least 30 al-Shabaab militants, including four leaders of the group.Then on January 26th, the US military launched a drone strike against a convoy of vehicles near Barawe in Lower Shabelle. The strike killed senior al-Shabaab official Ahmed Abdulkadir Abdullahi, also known as "Iskudhuq", and three other members of the militant group.Again, Godane was believed to have been at the scene just before the strike, but somehow got away in time. According to the Voice of America Somali service, which cited unnamed sources in its January 29th report, the al-Shabaab leader was actually injured in the attack.
According to the sources, Godane had a meeting with Iskudhuq a short while before the strike, and had originally planned to travel inside the vehicle that was eventually targeted.


Godane on the run

Not much is known about Godane or where he resides, and now there are questions about how he has managed to escape multiple attempts on his life.
"Ahmed Godane invests a lot of time in his security. He is a careful man who has safety instincts, which he uses to monitor activities targeting his life," said Abdirahman Isse Addow, director of state-run Radio Mogadishu and former spokesperson for the Islamic Courts Union.
Addow told Sabahi that Godane does not even have full confidence in the Amniyat intelligence unit that defends him. "He might use such strategies as asking his security personnel to guard his location from a distance and then sneak away from while they think he is still there," he said.
Godane also stays away from modern technology, which he thinks can be used to target him, Addow said.Addow said the main reason al-Shabaab banned internet-capable mobile phones in areas it controls is because Godane is trying to prevent the people around him from using the internet to spy on him. Abdi Aynte, director of the Hawiye clan  think-tank Heritage Institute for Policy Studies, said al-Shabaab is afraid the internet will be used to target them."Telephones with internet service can be used to communicate with the international intelligence agencies that are after al-Shabaab," he told Sabahi. "They are particularly afraid of the unmanned drones that have restricted the movement of al-Shabaab leaders."


Dismantling al-Shabaab more important than killing Godane


While Godane remains at large, Addow said Somali and allied forces should focus their efforts on taking out his inner circle and other al-Shabaab leaders first, and then kill Godane with ease when he is the only one left."If the leader of the group is killed first, this could result in the escape of the other officers," he said. "However, if they are killed while they are connected to him, he can be killed with ease and the group will thus be destroyed."If Godane is killed, al-Shabaab will split into several opposing factions, infighting will ensue and some will flee to neighbouring countries, Addow said.
Others are upset, however, that Godane has survived this long and is still able to kill innocent people, and have called on Somali government forces, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and allied forces to capture or kill him as soon as possible.
"The international community should not need that much time to capture this man who is killing the people," said chairman of the Somali Justice and Development Party Mohamud Weheliye Waqa, who also served as a member of parliament under the Transitional Federal Government. "The appropriate steps have not been taken really or he could have been captured or killed a long time ago"
"AMISOM is now 22,000 in number. Why can't they go to where al-Shabaab is based and free the areas where they are mistreating people?" he asked.
Qasim Ahmed, a 27-year-old resident of Taleh neighbourhood in Mogadishu, said the priority should be bringing Godane to justice."The man has to be captured immediately and brought to court so that the people who helped him can be identified," he told Sabahi.Shuaib Dirie, a 29-year-old resident of Wadajir district in Mogadishu, said the Somali people can play a key role in Godane's capture.
"If Barawe and other places where al-Shabaab is located are attacked, Godane will flee to the rural areas and then the rural residents will tell the government where he is hiding," he said.

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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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