Somalia [Archive] - It's Happening Forums

Petronas

05-14-2005, 12:41 AM

Counterterrorism chief tackles Somalia
Friday, May 13, 2005 Posted: 2:02 PM EDT (1802 GMT)

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- Somalia is a safe haven for terrorists in East Africa and the government-in-exile is needed to restore law and order to the Horn of Africa nation, the commander of a U.S. counterterrorism task force told The Associated Press on Friday. U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. Samuel Helland, the commander of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, said in an interview from his headquarters in Djibouti that U.S. troops were working with Somalia's neighbors to improve their border security since U.S. pressure on the al Qaeda terrorist group in Pakistan and Afghanistan may force some members to seek refuge in East Africa.

"Somalia is a safe haven, it is ungoverned space," Helland said. "We, the international community, have to do something to take away that safe haven." He said that it was imperative that the government-in-exile successfully asserts itself inside Somalia and introduces law and order. Somalia's government has been based in neighboring Kenya since it was formed in 2004 because the capital, Mogadishu, is considered unsafe.

On Thursday, the African Union authorized the deployment of 1,700 peacekeepers to Somalia to help secure the transitional government as it heads home. The Ugandan and Sudanese troops will be deployed in the towns of Baidoa and Jowhar, where the government will operate temporarily, according to the AU's Said Djinnit.

Somalia has been without a central government since clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Warlords then turned on each other, plunging the nation of 7 million into anarchy.

The government is opposed by Islamic extremists and some of the dozens of warlords in the country. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told the AP on Thursday that an al Qaeda terror cell was "very active" in Mogadishu, but that a Somali government was the best bet for dealing with the problem. Helland spoke to the AP as he prepared to end his one-year command of the task force.

The Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, set up in Djibouti in 2002, is responsible for fighting terrorism in nine countries around the Horn of Africa: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Somalia in Africa and Yemen on the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula. He described the task force's methods as unconventional warfare because they concentrate on waging peace. The force works "to enable partner nations to conduct the fight against terrorism by building their capabilities."

"We're doing things unconventional because I don't have a conventional force," Helland said. "I have a security force. I have well-diggers. I have engineers. I have construction folks. I've got civil affairs, veterinarians, doctors and all those things that are the unconventional side of the fight against terrorism." Among the task force's recent successes were training Kenyan coast guard units so they can identify, board and search suspicious vessels on their own as well as working with Yemeni soldiers to improve their counterinsurgency operations and training border security forces in Ethiopia and Djibouti, Helland said.

The international character of the task forces also continues to expand, with officers from Britain, the Netherlands and Pakistan expected to become observers or full participants. He said the next step would be to help organize joint training exercises among the different forces in the region. In addition to helping Horn of Africa nations to improve their border security and counterterrorism abilities, the force's mission includes operations to repair schools and hospitals and provide medical and veterinarian services to remote areas where terrorists could hide. Helland said Muslim communities were initially suspicious but that they had warmed to the U.S. forces after almost three years of work.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/05/13/africa.terrorism.ap/index.html

pixikill

05-14-2005, 12:45 AM

i used to make a somalia dessert for the oldies at a local nursing home...
wait...thats, 'semolina'
sorry.

Casey

09-23-2005, 01:07 PM

Al-Qaeda operatives arrested in Somaliland

Ali Musa Abdi | Hargeisa, Somalia

23 September 2005 03:31

Authorities in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland said on Friday they have arrested a senior al-Qaeda operative allegedly in the region to organise attacks on local leaders and foreigners.

Somaliland Interior Minister Ishmael Aden said police arrested "an internationally known" Afghan-trained leader of Osama bin Laden's network along with two other al-Qaeda members after an overnight shootout in the capital, Hargeisa.

"We have captured two members of al-Qaeda and about four others fled the area," he said. "Their leader, who was among those we arrested, is an internationally known fighter for al-Qaeda who has been in Pakistan and Afghanistan."

Aden later said that a massive manhunt by security forces netted a third man about 120km east of Hargeisa, and that he is a suspect in the killing of an Italian aid worker in 2003 in Somaliland.

Officials declined to name any of the suspects for security reasons, but Aden said he plans to call a news conference on Saturday to announce details of the operation, including the identities of those arrested.

Aden said three police officers were wounded in the firefight that erupted when they raided the group's hideout in central Hargeisa and that authorities recovered a large cache of weapons and communications equipment during the raid.

"We captured heavy anti-tank weapons, rifles, other assorted ammunition and high-frequency communication equipment," he said.

A senior Somaliland police officer said the members of the alleged al-Qaeda cell put up fierce resistance when confronted by authorities in the raid that began at about midnight and lasted for four hours.

"They are dangerous and well-trained, considering the way they fought back," the official said on condition of anonymity. "They were about six against a large number of policemen."

Aden said authorities believe the cell had travelled to Somaliland from Mogadishu several days ago to mount attacks on local leaders and foreign aid workers to disrupt the region's September 29 elections.

"They came to harm or kill the leaders of Somaliland, international expatriates working here, and to disrupt the democratic elections in Somaliland," he said, adding that the raid was launched after a tip-off from local residents.

"We also recovered a video in which the leader of the group complains that Somaliland has become a haven for foreigners," Aden said.

In addition, he said the cell aimed to break into a prison and free 10 inmates now standing trial for alleged involvement in the 2003 murders of an Italian aid worker and a British husband-and-wife team of schoolteachers in Somaliland.

"We suspect they wanted to free the men who are in prison on suspicion of killing the aid workers," Aden said, adding that the third alleged al-Qaeda detainee will be tried for the murder of the Italian.

Police said they have stepped up security around the Hargeisa prison to thwart any breakout attempt.

Somaliland, in north-western Somalia, unilaterally declared independence from the rest of the country after the 1991 ouster of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre plunged the Horn of Africa nation into anarchy.

It is not internationally recognised, but is seen widely as an island of relative stability in the lawless country that Western intelligence agencies fear has become a haven for Muslim extremist groups, including al-Qaeda.

In July, a respected international policy think tank said a group of al-Qaeda-affiliated fighters led by an Afghan-trained militia leader had secured a foothold in Mogadishu and threatened to push Somalia deeper into anarchy.

"The threat of jihadi terrorism in and from Somalia is real," the International Crisis Group said in a report that described the group as "a new, ruthless and independent network with links to al-Qaeda". -- Sapa-AFP

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=251862&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/

experiencediz

09-24-2005, 12:19 AM

Last Update: Friday, May 6, 2005. 8:00am (AEST)

US Marines hunt terrorists in Somalia
By Africa correspondent Zoe Daniel

US Marines are said to have arrived on the shores of Somalia in search of suspected terrorists.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200505/s1361150.htm

Just for the record US soldiers have been stationed there for a long time, If intrested please pay attention to my links. The main reason I want to post this is to show why GW Bush keeps failing to protect the US, While he chases some freak in Somalia he is also helping breed three others!

Long before 9/11 there were thousands of US soldiers in Ethiopia training Ethiopian officers. Their presence is untold because of local politics since most of the E. African allies that the US provides training and weapons are no better than Saddam!

"...The new DoD Counter-Terrorism Fellowship Program (http://www.senate.gov/~armed_services/statemnt/2005/March/Abizaid%2003-01-05.pdf) pg 50(CTFP) is also an
important cooperative program. CTFP provides counter-terrorism education and
training to selected military and paramilitary leaders of our regional
partners. This training facilitates improved techniques, processes and
procedures for defeating terrorists. It also fosters regional collaboration
for countering terrorist threats. FY 05’s CTFP allocation allowed USCENTCOM
to emphasize training for Jordan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Oman, Yemen,
Kenya, Ethiopia and most of the Central Asian nations. CTFP is an important
new program for building counter-terrorism competence in the region, thereby
increasing regional capacity for self-reliance. We strongly support its
continuation and expansion...."

Ethiopia Crucial to Fight Against Terrorism (http://www.ethioembassy.org.uk/articles/Newsletter%20February%202004.htm)

Have More...

U.S. troops train Ethiopian troops (http://hrw.org/doc?t=africa&c=ethiop)

"From 1995-2000, the US provided some $1,835,000 in International Military and Education Training (IMET) deliveries to Ethiopia. Some 115 Ethiopian officers were trained under the IMET program from 1991-2001. ...

"For 2002 and 2003, Ethiopia received some $2,817,000 through the IMET and Foreign Military Sales and Deliveries programs. The US also equipped, trained and supported Ethiopian troops under the Africa Regional Peacekeeping Program (http://flag.blackened.net/pipermail/infoshop-news/2004-November/004164.html). Ethiopia has remained a participant of the IMET program in 2000-2004. In August 2003, the U.S. committed $28 million for international trade enhancements with Ethiopia."

The tyrant Zenawi (http://www.ethiomedia.com/release/can_one_accuse_a_tyrant_in_ethiopia.html) is killing his own citizens (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4074822.stm) with weapons bought and paid for by the United States of America. But he needn't worry about a cut-off in military or economic aid: Zenawi was warmly welcomed (http://www.whitehouse.gov/president/africa/12.html) to the White House by President Bush in 2002 and 4-5 months ago after killing hundreds (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4074822.stm).

Casey

09-25-2005, 05:27 AM

Outsiders told to leave Somaliland

AAFP, HARGEISA, SOMALIA

Sep 24: Authorities in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland on Saturday warned outsiders without legitimate business there to leave immediately following the arrests of several alleged Al-Qaeda operatives.

In a crackdown ordered after the arrests of five suspected members of Osama bin Laden's network during a shootout with police on Friday, Interior Minister Ishmail Aden said non-Somalilanders illegally in the region would be deported.

"Those who have commercial interest here may stay as long as they respect the laws of the land but others must leave as soon as possible," he told a news conference. "This is strictly a security issue."

"The activities of outsiders and suspect (Somalilanders) will be scrutinized further for security purposes," Aden said, adding police in the region had arrested a total of five alleged Al-Qaeda members on Friday.

On Friday, he said three suspected extremists, including "an internationally known" Afghan-trained Al-Qaeda leader, had been detained after police raids in the capital Hargeisa that followed tips from local residents.

Three police officers were wounded in the shootout and Aden had said he would identify the suspects on Saturday but declined to do so while telling reporters that all five detainees were cooperating with police.

http://independent-bangladesh.com/news/sep/25/25092005ap.htm#A24

Casey

10-13-2005, 02:34 PM

Somalian cleric vows Islamic state
U.S. fears that the country could become a terrorist haven
By Chris Tomlinson
The Associated Press

Somalian fundamentalist leader Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys speaks to the Associated Press during a telephone interview Wednesday, while a man rests in the background next to his rifle inside a mosque. (Wally Santana/The Associated Press)

NAIROBI, Kenya - An influential religious leader and alleged al-Qaida collaborator vowed in an interview Wednesday to establish an Islamic state in Somalia, a lawless Horn of Africa nation the United States fears could grow into a major base for Islamic terrorists.
''The Western world should respect our own ideas in choosing the way we want to govern our country, the way we want to go about our own business. That is our right,'' said Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, a key figure in a growing religious camp vying with secular factions for control of Somalia.
Despite peace talks and the formation last year of a transitional government, Somalia remains a patchwork of heavily armed clan fiefdoms - with no government to provide such basics as schools, hospitals, phone service, even traffic lights.
Earlier this year, the parliament and Cabinet split into two factions. As a result, fundamentalists offering Islam as a solution have drawn support in Somalia, and there are concerns that Awey's followers pose a military threat to the transitional government.
U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed concern that Somalia, which has not had a central government since warlords ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1992, could become an Islamic terrorist haven.

Investigations have shown that terrorist attacks on Kenyan soil in 1998 and 2002 were launched from Somalia.
Speaking by telephone from a mosque in northern Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, Aweys told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his enemies invented allegations he is a terrorist and that non-Muslims too often think that all fundamentalist Muslims are terrorists.
''I would advise the Western world to change their mind, because all of the time they call the Islamic countries, the Islamic people, terrorists, which is not true,'' he said. ''That is one of the things that has been pulling Islamists and the Western world apart.
He said he and his followers, who include armed militiamen, would not rest until they had established an Islamic government in Somalia.

http://www.sltrib.com/nationworld/ci_3110651

experiencediz

10-13-2005, 03:24 PM

Somalia is a Muslim country,with or without a government. Problem is the current generation, which hasn't seen a government for several years is used to the current way of life and that is a main ingredient to attract extremists. British and Italian Somalilands unified under Maj. Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre who also introduced the "Great Somalia" the star on their blue flag was the key theme |The 5 points in the star indicate countries Somalia had a border dispute with|and backed by the US invaded Ethiopia,and that kept the people unified till the Ethiopian army backed by the USSR and Cuba crushed his forces in 1978.

Somalia

People
Nationality: Noun--Somali(s). Adjective--Somali.
Population (2002 est., no census exists): 9.6 million (of which an estimated 2-3 million in Somaliland).
Annual growth rate (2001 est.): 3.48%.
Ethnic groups: Somali, with a small non-Somali minority (mostly Bantu and Arabs).
Religion: 99.9% Muslim.
Languages: Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English.
Education: Literacy--total population that can read and write, 24%: male 36%; female 14%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--123.97/1,000 live births. Life expectancy at birth--total population: 46.6 yrs.
Work force (3.7 million; very few are skilled workers): Pastoral nomad--60%. Agriculture, government, trading, fishing, industry, handicrafts, and other--40%.

•Somalia (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2863.htm)

Petronas

11-14-2005, 12:24 PM

Islam, the religion of tolerance and peace... Modern and tolerant Muslims, and there must be many, need to be much more vocal in speaking out when fanatics like these blacken the name of Islam.

Fight over cinemas kills at least 12
By Mohamed Ali Bile in Mogadishu, Somalia
November 14, 2005

HEAVY fighting apparently sparked by an Islamic militia's moves to close cinemas and video stores in the lawless Somali capital has killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 21. Clashes between gunmen loyal to Mogadishu's Islamic courts and local militia defending the densely populated Yaqshid district began yesterday and flared again today. "The Islamic courts' militia are trying to close all entertainment centres of the district," one local resident Ahmed Dhuhulow said.

Three people died yesterday and another nine today in clashes that caused inhabitants to flee the area and shops to close, witnesses said. Heavy firing could be heard from all over Mogadishu, home to one million of Somalia's 10 million people and scene of frequent street battles during 14 years of anarchy. "We have not opened the schools this morning, because of the shooting and heavy bullets which are falling down," said school teacher Abdullahi Hassan.

At least two civilians hit by stray bullets, as well as militiamen, were among the 12 dead, witnesses said. The wounded included a child hit by a bullet in the chest.

Leaders of Mogadishu's influential Islamic courts oppose Western and Indian films which they say promote immorality in the mainly Muslim nation.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17237703%5E1702,00.html

Petronas

12-23-2005, 03:40 PM

Savages.

Islamic terrorists shot aid couple as they watched TV
23/12/2005

A husband and wife who dedicated their lives to helping African children were murdered in cold blood by Islamic terrorists, an inquest heard yesterday. Dick and Enid Eyeington were watching television at their home in Somaliland when a terrorist linked to al-Qaeda shot them. Dick and Enid Eyeington had lived in Africa since marrying in 1963. The couple were considered "infidels" by their attackers, who wrongly believed that they were trying to convert Africans to Christianity.

Four men were involved in the attack in which a gunman wielding an AK47 put the weapon through the living room window and opened fire on Oct 20, 2003. Mr Eyeington, 62, was shot four times. He was still holding the television remote control when he was found, Westminster coroner's court heard. Mrs Eyeington, 60, died from a single shot to the head.

The aid workers, originally from Co Durham, where they were childhood sweethearts, had lived in Africa since marrying in 1963 and worked with poor children in Tanzania, Swaziland and Somaliland. Mr Eyeington became headmaster of Waterford School and his wife worked with people suffering from HIV. Despite their families' worries, they took up an offer three years ago to set up a new school for the charity SOS Village in the village of Sheikh, in Somaliland, a country in which violence is widespread. Their daughter Louise, 37, a solicitor from London, told the hearing that her father, a Sunderland supporter, had run football clubs in Africa and her mother had set up outreach health centres. "Dick and Enid dedicated most of their lives to the education of underprivileged African children," she said. "They had great courage, commitment and honesty and the world is a poorer place without them."

The authorities in Somaliland asked the Metropolitan Police for help and officers flew from Britain to collect evidence and to help in the investigation. There was a breakthrough in March last year when a German aid worker and his Kenyan girlfriend were attacked. A man was arrested and he confessed to killing the Eyeingtons.

Det Chief Insp Jill Bailey told the hearing that last month four men, including Mohammed Ali Essa, who fired the AK47, had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death by firing squad. The terrorists shouted "Allah Akbar" (God is Great) after being sentenced and are still awaiting execution. Miss Bailey said the men were part of a terrorist cell called El Itihad which had killed an Italian nun a week earlier. She also said that Essa's brother-in-law, Adan Ayro, who owned the house in which Essa was captured, could have had links to al-Qa'eda. A plan to blow up an Ethiopian airliner and bomb-making manuals were uncovered during the investigations.

"The defendants did not recognise their actions as crimes," Miss Bailey said. "They felt justified in murdering infidels who they believed were offending Muslim fundamentalism." Recording a verdict of unlawful killing, the coroner, Dr Paul Knapman, said: "This is a terrible tragedy in which two people who had dedicated their lives to improving the lives of underprivileged African children were murdered in cold blood and appear to be victims of terrorism abroad."

http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/23/nmission23.xml

Petronas

02-25-2006, 11:55 AM

I recently had the privilege of hearing Col. McKnight, who commanded the 3. Ranger Battalion in Mogadishu, speak about the "Blackhawk Down" episode. He is convinced, from personal observation, that some of the better trained fighters opposing the rangers on that occasion were not Somali militias but Arab Al Qaeda fighters sent to Mogadishu for practical training in killing Americans.

Somali Violence Spotlights Fundamentalists
February 23, 2006

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - A recent upsurge in violence in Somalia's capital has focused attention anew on the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the chaotic Horn of Africa state. The violence had killed at least 22 people and wounded more than 140 since Saturday. Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, said by the United States to be linked to al-Qaida, is prominent among the fundamentalists increasingly projecting themselves as an alternative to the numerous armed groups running the clan-based fiefdoms that comprise Somalia. Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew the government and then began fighting each other.

Wednesday, Aweys pledged to keep fighting a new alliance arrayed against him in Mogadishu, the Somali capital. Mogadishu was calm Thursday as elders sought to mediate. Aweys described his rivals as "forces of evil" supported by Western powers.

His rivals, meanwhile, describe the fundamentalists as terrorists, accusing them of killing moderate intellectuals, Muslim scholars and former military officials in a string of unexplained murders. Islamic militias have set up their own courts in some parts of Mogadishu, where they shut down bars and destroy shops that reproduce or sell pirated DVDs and music cassettes.

Counterterrorism experts in the U.S. and elsewhere have long worried that al-Qaida could find a haven in Somalia, taking advantage of its instability and perhaps finding hosts among men like Aweys. The United States linked Aweys, who has vowed to establish an Islamic state, to al-Qaida shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Aweys has said such allegations were invented by his enemies.

Last year, U.N. experts monitoring an arms embargo on Somalia reported that Islamic hard-liners were importing heavy weapons and establishing military training camps. Among them were members of Al-Ittihad al-Islami, which wants to impose Islamic law in Somalia and allegedly has ties to al-Qaida. Also last year, the International Crisis Group reported the emergence of a Mogadishu extremist cell led by a young Somali militant trained in Afghanistan, where al-Qaida was once based.

The International Crisis Group, a private think tank which tracks conflicts around the world, noted that al-Qaida contributed to attacks on U.S. and U.N. peacekeepers in Somalia in the early 1990s and used the country as a transit zone for attacks in neighboring Kenya and later as a hiding place for some of its leading members. Saturday, a coalition of warlords and businessman announced they were taking a stand against the fundamentalists. They said in a statement they would "eradicate the extremists, terrorists and their supporters so as to pave the way for a peaceful country for the Somali children." The emergence of the coalition is evidence the warlords see the fundamentalist as a serious threat. With stakes high on both sides, it could signal the start of a significant deterioration in security in an already lawless land.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-af/2006/feb/23/022302544.html

Petronas

03-25-2006, 09:59 AM

Islamic Militiamen Attack Somali Port
Mar 25, 2006

Hundreds of heavily armed Islamic militiamen launched an offensive Saturday to try to capture a key port and airstrip on the northeastern outskirts of Somalia's capital, witnesses said. About 300 fighters loyal to a group of radical Islamic clerics attacked a rival militia force in control of the main road leading to El Maan port and the Issaley airstrip, militia commanders said. There were reports of deaths, but an exact toll was unknown because intense fighting was continuing. Saturday's clash appeared to represent some of the heaviest of four days of bloodshed between the rival factions, which has killed at least 73 people.

The Islamic fighters are seeking to boost the power of a group of fundamentalist clerics who have recently tried to assert themselves as an alternative military and political force in the lawless country. Seeking to curb their growing power, a group of businessmen and warlords formed an armed alliance last month, and the two groups have battled for control of parts of the capital. Somalia has had no effective government since 1991, when warlords ousted a dictatorship and then turned on each other, carving the nation of 8.2 million into a patchwork of fiefdoms.

Saturday's battle involved fighters armed with rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns, rocket-propelled grenades, assault rifles and trucks mounted with heavy weapons. At least 300 Islamic militiamen were involved in the assault, witnesses said. At least seven civilians were caught in the crossfire and were treated at the Medina and Shifo hospitals, doctors said. The heaviest fighting appeared to be on the road leading to the airstrip. "I even heard the sound of guns that I have never heard during the past 15 years of civil war," said Abdulrazak Aden Abukar, a resident of the area.

Hussein Gutale Ragheh, a spokesman for the militia force defending the airstrip from the Islamic fighters, said reinforcements were being deployed to the battle zone. He said he expected the fighting to escalate further.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1767145

Petronas

03-27-2006, 10:00 AM

Somalis Bury Dead, Brace for Battle
Monday, March 27, 2006

Radical Islamic militiamen and rivals buried their dead Sunday and brought in more fighters during a lull after four days of combat on the outskirts of Mogadishu, witnesses said. So far, at least 93 people have died and nearly 200 have been wounded in the violence. A prominent moderate Islamic scholar appealed to the warring sides not to restart the fighting, which ranks among the deadliest in recent years in the nominal capital of this Horn of Africa country. "I offer the warring sides a venue for them to talk to resolve their differences," Sharif Sheik Muhidin said.

Somalia has been without a working government for 15 years. The recent battles involve a militia supporting hard-line Islamic clerics who are trying to expand their influence and fighters loyal to businessmen and Somali warlords who have formed an alliance to oppose the religious movement. Only junior commanders in the Islamic militia responded positively to Muhidin's call. Key leaders in the group remained silent, and the rival warlords and businessmen were wary of the offer. The two sides have been fighting for supremacy in the city's northern and northeastern outskirts since Wednesday.

On Saturday, 300 Islamic militiamen staged a pre-dawn attack to capture the area's only working port, El Maan, and an airstrip on Mogadishu's northeastern outskirts. At least 20 people were killed in the fighting, but the attackers failed to reach the port and airstrip. With the lull Sunday, combatants buried dead comrades and repaired their vehicles while the groups sent in more fighters with weapons and ammunition, witnesses said.

Somalia has had no effective government since 1991, when warlords ousted a dictatorship and then turned on each other, carving the nation of 8.5 million people into a patchwork of fiefdoms. The International Crisis Group, a nonprofit organization that tracks conflicts, said al-Qaeda contributed to attacks on U.S. and U.N. peacekeepers in Somalia in the early 1990s. The group also said al-Qaeda used the country as a transit zone for terrorist attacks in neighboring Kenya and as a hiding place for some leading members.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/26/AR2006032600767.html

keith

05-09-2006, 02:03 PM

Heavy fighting for Somali capital

Fighting has intensified in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on the third day of clashes, which have killed 49 people.
An alliance of warlords and an Islamist militia are battling with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns in northern districts.

One man told the BBC that a shell had fallen on his brother's house, killing a family of four, including a baby.

This is the second round of the city's most serious fighting in a decade and there was also a clash in the south.

EYEWITNESS
About 20 Islamist militiamen just passed me. They warned me to not go any nearer to the green line
Ahmed Mohammed Fardolle
Teacher, Mogadishu

In March, clashes between the two sides killed at least 90 people.

The fighting started late on Sunday, when an alliance of warlords attacked the vehicle of a group allied to the Islamic courts, according to eyewitnesses.

'Inferno'

The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says that a convoy of trucks with fighters belonging to one of the warlords clashed with rival gunmen operating a roadblock on the K4 junction in the south, leaving two dead.

The clash happened as they tried to get to the north of the city, where the fighting is taking place.

Hundreds of people have fled the CC district of north Mogadishu, where the fighting broke out.
Khaliif Jumale, 37, loaded his wife and three children onto a donkey cart early on Monday and said he was taking them to Afgoye, 30km (29 miles) north of Mogadishu.

"There is no reliable place here when it comes to our security," he said.

"Every corner of the city, the militias of the same rival groups have taken up positions to prepare for more lethal fighting... there is no cold place in an inferno."

The Islamic courts have restored order to some parts of the city by providing justice under Sharia - Islamic law.

The alliance of warlords recently created the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism.

It accuses the Islamic courts of sheltering foreign al-Qaeda leaders, while the courts say the alliance is a pawn of the United States.

Last week, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf accused the US of funding the coalition of warlords.

The US government says it does support efforts to restore stability to Somalia but refuses to give details on who it backs and how, the BBC's East Africa correspondent Adam Mynott says.

It has an anti-terror task force based in nearby Djibouti.

Somalia has not had an effective national authority for 15 years after the ousting of President Siad Barre in 1991.

Mr Yusuf was named president in 2004 but only controls a small part of the country.

His government, temporarily based in the city of Baidoa, appealed for an end to the fighting saying it was preventing their relocation.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4753807.stm

Published: 2006/05/09 13:07:42 GMT

© BBC MMVI

keith

05-10-2006, 01:03 PM

Mogadishu ceasefire collapses, nearly 100 dead
By Mohamed Ali Bile
1 hour, 46 minutes ago

Heavy militia battles erupted in Mogadishu on Wednesday after a brief truce collapsed, bringing the death toll to almost 100 after four days of fighting in the Somali capital.

At least 200 people have been wounded in the worst combat in Mogadishu for years.

The latest battle is the third round of fighting this year between gunmen allied to Islamic courts and militia from a self-styled anti-terrorism alliance of powerful warlords.

Analysts say the upsurge of fighting suggests the failed Horn of Africa state has become a new proxy battleground for Islamic militants and the United States, which is widely believed to be funding the warlords.

Around 80 people had been killed in the run-down Siisii area before a ceasefire was declared late on Tuesday, Islamic militia leader Siyad Mohamed said.

But residents said new fighting broke out in the neighborhood on Wednesday and battles had also erupted in Islamic strongholds in the north of the capital.

"At least 14 people have been killed today," local elder Abdullahi Hussein told Reuters.

Although 12 of those killed on Wednesday were fighters, most victims have been civilians, including women and children. A mortar late on Tuesday struck the Shifa hospital, killing a boy already being treated for a wound from earlier fighting.

"Even in the hospitals, the bullets are the biggest risk," Nurto Hussein, the boy's mother, told Reuters.

Resident Abdifatah Abdikadir said a stray mortar struck a house where a man, his wife and four children were sitting down for lunch. "They were all badly injured. It was awful," he said.

Somalia descended into lawlessness in 1991, when warlords ousted former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Diplomats believe the clashes have been fueled by U.S. support for the warlords, who are reviled by many Somalis after 15 years of being robbed and terrorized by their militias.

Many residents of Mogadishu say the Islamic courts, which have created a semblance of order in the lawless city of 1 million by providing justice under sharia, Islamic law, want to fight any move to undermine their authority.

Washington has long viewed Somalia, without an effective central government since 1991, as a terrorist haven.

Somalia's interim President Abdullahi Yusuf said last week Washington was backing the warlords, who called their coalition the "Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism" in what some see as a ploy to win U.S. backing.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in response to the allegations that Washington would "work with responsible individuals ... in fighting terror. It's a real concern of ours -- terror taking root in the Horn of Africa. We don't want to see another safe haven for terrorists created."

Some diplomats and security officials say there are a handful of al Qaeda-linked operatives working around Mogadishu, but Somalis do not generally support hardline views of Islam and are distrustful of most foreigners.

The violence shows how little control Somalia's fledging government -- the 14th attempt to restore rule in 15 years -- has over the nation of 10 million people.

Formed in Kenya in 2004, the administration has little power in all but a few areas of the country.

(Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed in Nairobi)

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malum

05-10-2006, 01:24 PM

and so it comes full circle... just like haiti :sad_01:

mez31

05-10-2006, 01:25 PM

Better them than us...however if we continue to support these militia's there we will only be overextending our funds and resources. Not to mention the up coming proxy war in Nigeria (if not begun already) that will necessitate our funding and supplies.

keith

05-10-2006, 02:20 PM

In the end, I think it is cheaper to payoff a warlord(s) and keep our problems busy far overseas rather then to allow them to gain a foothold and then having to face them head on.

mez31

05-10-2006, 02:28 PM

In the end, I think it is cheaper to payoff a warlord(s) and keep our problems busy far overseas rather then to allow them to gain a foothold and then having to face them head on.

I agree, all i am saying is to not overextend our resources for too long. Remember the fall of the Soviet Union was by a proxy war going on in Afghanistan funded by the U.S. They were there 10 years fighting and in the end they lost and the USSR's economy fell with it. What is not to say that China, Iran, North Korea or gasp Russia is not funding the muslim opposition
In this proxy war?
:happy_12:

keith

05-10-2006, 02:53 PM

Very true, but sadly, I believe Russia is already funding some of the Muslims in these proxy fights (selling SAMs to the Iranians and military satellites to the Israelis), seeking to draw us in the middle of another and larger conflict. I guess it is a little payback for the Afghanistan war. Although I think I am veering off this topic, now.

keith

05-11-2006, 03:49 PM

Death toll rises, fighting spreads in Somalia
Thu May 11, 2006 12:36 PM ET

By Mohamed Ali Bile

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - The death toll in Somalia's worst fighting for a decade rose to more than 120 on Thursday, as militias battled for control of the capital with mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns.

Hundreds of people were wounded as shells crashed into their homes in Mogadishu's overcrowded northern shanty town of Siisii. Many more fled to escape the fighting, which spread to neighboring heavily populated areas on Thursday.

Hospitals said at least 27 people were killed in fighting that continued overnight as gunmen manned makeshift checkpoints and raced through the streets in pickup trucks mounted with heavy guns.

That brought the death toll from five days of fighting in the failed Horn of Africa state to at least 121. Residents said more people had died during daylight fighting on Thursday, although chaos in Mogadishu made it difficult to obtain details.

The fighting is the third round of Mogadishu street battles this year between gunmen allied to Islamic courts and militia from a self-styled anti-terrorist alliance of powerful warlords widely believed to be funded by Washington.

Most of the dead were civilians and the latest fatalities included a pregnant woman and three children whose house was hit by a mortar.

In another incident, one witness said he saw mortars hit a house twice, killing five members of the same family, including two children.

"Siisii has been turned into a battleground. So many houses have been shelled and hundreds of residents are fleeing. It's a catastrophe," said Siyad Mohamed, a militia leader linked to the Islamic side. "The death toll will definitely rise."

Farhan Gure, a resident living near Siisii, said: "Many people fear there will be worse fighting on Thursday night ... we have never witnessed such a battle before."

PROXY BATTLE

Analysts view the fighting as a proxy battle between Islamic militants and Washington, which has long viewed Somalia as a terrorist haven.

Some diplomats and security officials say there are a handful of al-Qaeda-linked militants around Mogadishu, but Somalis do not widely support hardline Islamists.

The Islamic courts have used sharia law to provide a semblance of order in the city of 1 million, where a power vacuum has fueled endemic violence for the last 15 years.

Ali Nur, a member of the warlords' militia, said the fighting could go on for days. "It looks like we will continue until a clear winner emerges," he said.

Aid workers said they feared more casualties as fighting spread to the Karan and Yaqshid districts.

Residents say neither side has gained the upper hand in heavy fighting that underlines the anarchy that has gripped Somalia since warlords ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 before turning against each other.

A fledgling interim government led by President Abdullahi Yusuf has lacked the authority or resources to make a difference to the lives of ordinary Somalis since it was formed in 2004 and is too weak to return to Mogadishu from its base in Baidoa.

Undermined by internal splits, Yusuf's government includes some Mogadishu warlords and some allies of the Islamic courts.

Influential Somali Islamist Sheik Dahir Aweys, whose name appears on a U.S. list of most wanted terrorists, has accused Washington of backing the warlords to avenge the killing of American soldiers in Mogadishu in the 1990s during a U.N. peacekeeping mission that ended in humiliation.

U.N. monitors said in a report to the Security Council on Wednesday they were investigating an unnamed country's violation of an arms embargo through clandestine support for the warlord "Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism".

Although the monitors did not identify the country, Yusuf has named the United States as the warlords' backer.

(Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed in Nairobi)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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keith

05-12-2006, 08:15 PM

Somalia street battles rage for sixth day
By Mohamed Ali Bile
Fri May 12, 12:15 PM ET

Hundreds of terrified residents fled a barrage of rockets and mortars in Mogadishu on Friday as Islamic fighters and warlord militias fought pitched battles for control of the Somali capital.

Inhabitants of the battered city said at least 12 more people had died overnight and into Friday, pushing the death toll from six days of fighting to at least 133.

Close-quarter street battles spread beyond Mogadishu's northern shanty town of Siisii into the neighboring district of Yaqshid, in the worst violence in the lawless capital for more than a decade.

Warlord spokesman Hussein Gutale Rage said the death toll had reached 150 but this could not be immediately verified.

Clutching a few possessions, many Mogadishu inhabitants fled to safer parts of the city and looters ransacked empty houses, undeterred by a barrage from artillery, mortars and anti-aircraft missiles.

Some were unable to escape.

"Around 600 civilians are trapped in storm drains with bullets and mortars flying over them, they can't get out because heavy fighting is still going on," said Ali Nur, a member of the warlords militia.

Many seriously wounded civilians, including women and children, lay in the city's Madina hospital with heavy head, chest and limb wounds.

Hundreds of people have been wounded in the clashes, with shells regularly hitting houses and killing many civilians.

"We have decided to leave because the fighting looks like it will go on for a long time," Ahmed Jimale said as he fled with his children from Siisii.

"Those who have cars have driven off with essential goods while the rest are fleeing on foot," Siyad Mohamed, a militia leader linked to the Islamic side, told Reuters by telephone.

Hundreds of militiamen roared into battle on the backs of "technicals" -- pickup trucks mounted with heavy guns which are their favorite mobile weapon.

Others, armed with assault rifles and rocket launchers massed in a barren field near the battle zone.

By evening, Mohamed said the fighting had eased after the fighters paused for Muslim Friday prayers, but he expected it to be a short break.

Analysts view the fighting in the failed Horn of Africa state as a proxy battle between al Qaeda and Washington, which is widely believed to be funding the warlords.

FIGHTING INTENSIFIES

This week's Mogadishu battles were the third round this year between gunmen allied to Islamic courts and militia from a self-styled anti-terrorist alliance of powerful warlords.

Many residents say the Islamic courts, which have created a semblance of order in the lawless city of 1 million by dispensing justice under sharia law, are fighting to repel a determined warlord offensive to take areas under their control.

Ali Nur said: "No group seems to be winning, it's a very close battle with so many fatalities, it will definitely continue for days until one group is weakened.."

Resident Abdifatah Abdikadir said the Islamic side was broadcasting radio messages urging residents to take up arms.

Washington has long viewed Somalia, without an effective central government since the 1991 ousting of former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, as a terrorist haven.

Somalia's interim President Abdullahi Yusuf accuses Washington of backing the warlords' "Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism."

The fighting in Mogadishu shows how little control Somalia's fledging government -- the 14th attempt to restore rule in 15 years -- has over the nation of 10 million.

(Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed in Nairobi)

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keith

05-13-2006, 11:14 AM

Somali militia battle enters seventh day
By Mohamed Ali Bile

Mortars, machine guns and rockets pounded Mogadishu on Saturday in a seventh day of fierce militia fighting that has killed at least 138 people so far and which looks set to intensify.

As the street battles dragged on in rundown areas of the Somali capital, the interim government -- powerless to stop the shooting and unable to enter Mogadishu -- called for foreign intervention to end the worst fighting there in years.

At least five civilians were killed overnight and into Saturday as gunmen from a powerful alliance of warlords engaged in close-range firefights and artillery duels with militiamen backed by the city's influential Islamic courts.

"Both sides are still firing mortars at each other. Fighting went on through the night," Islamic militia leader Siyad Mohamed told Reuters by telephone.

Analysts view the fighting in the failed Horn of Africa state as a proxy battle between al Qaeda and Washington, which is widely believed to be funding the warlords.

The warring parties were massing militiamen and another warlord, Mohamed Dheere, was said by residents to be on his way to Mogadishu from his stronghold in Jowhar to join the battle, foreshadowing more combat.

"The coalition is planning to attack the Islamic court militia from other fronts," warlord Ali Nur said.

By Saturday, the battle was in the northern residential area of Karan, having spread beyond the neighbouring shanty towns of Siisii and Yaqshid, and some aid workers said they feared more civilian casualties as munitions kept striking homes.

"Anxiety is high in Mogadishu. It looks like the worse is yet to come because their is a very high chance of fighting engulfing the whole city," resident Abdifatah Abdikadir said.

Most of the dead and many among the hundreds who were wounded were non-combatants. Residents continued to flee the battle zones, taking basic possessions with them.

CALL FOR FOREIGN HELP

The interim government, now based in the southern city of Baidoa because it is unable to exert much control in the country of 10 million, appealed for humanitarian aid for the victims.

"We ... call upon and invite the international community to intervene and get involved in the crucial situation in Mogadishu by ... cooperating fully with the Somali transitional federal government to rescue the innocent suffering people," Information Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir said in a statement.

Already, the perception of a foreign hand in Mogadishu -- namely the United States -- has stoked the fighting between the Islamic militias and the warlord coalition, which dubbed itself "Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism."

Interim President Abdullahi Yusuf and Islamic leaders have accused Washington of financing the warlords.

But the top U.S. diplomat in Africa on Friday said she did not know if anti-terrorism warlords battling for control of Mogadishu got U.S. backing.

"But our policy is very clear. We will work with those elements that will help us to root out al Qaeda and to prevent Somalia becoming a safe haven for terrorists, and we are doing it in the interests of protecting America," Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer told Reuters.

Warlord Omar Finnish said Islamist militias were harbouring terrorists sheltering in Somalia's vacuum of anarchy.

"We decided to remove these elements who are on the run. We did not form this alliance in order for Somalis to kill each other," Finnish told Reuters by telephone.

"These people (Islamic militias) shelter them, feed them and protect them and are even fighting now to protect them," Finnish, also the religious affairs minister, said.

The Islamic side has denied that, but diplomats say they are sympathetic to a handful of al Qaeda operatives, some believed to be training and fighting alongside their militiamen.

The United States has long seen Somalia, without a central government since warlords ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, as a likely hideout for terrorists.

(Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed)

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mez31

05-13-2006, 11:35 AM

Where have I heard this concept before??? hmmmm......

"But our policy is very clear. We will work with those elements that will help us to root out al Qaeda and to prevent Somalia becoming a safe haven for terrorists, and we are doing it in the interests of protecting America,"

Oh yeah now i remember....

Capitalizing on people’s fears of encroaching communism, McCarthy launched a public campaign aimed at eliminating the supposed communist infiltration of government and foreign policy. His pronouncements catapulted him to national prominence and provided a strong platform for his re-election.

and here....

President Dwight Eisenhower and Vice-President Richard Nixon put forward the 'domino theory. It was argued that if the first domino is knocked over then the rest topple in turn. Applying this to South-east Asia he argued that if South Vietnam was taken by communists, then the other countries in the region such as Loas, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia, would follow.

but maybe this time we will get it right, one never knows!!!

keith

05-15-2006, 01:25 PM

Somali peace holds, but militias deny truce
By Mohamed Ali Bile
Mon May 15, 7:12 AM ET

Peace held in the Somali capital on Monday after the worst fighting in a decade killed around 150 people, but residents feared violence could erupt again as rival militias denied they had agreed a truce.

Eight days of heavy fighting, which sent hundreds of civilians fleeing from mortars, rockets and heavy machine guns, came to a halt on Sunday after clan elders demanded a truce, saying if either side broke it, they would support the other.

Most of the dead and wounded were civilians caught in artillery duels between gunmen for a self-styled anti-terror coalition backed by powerful local warlords, and militia allied to Mogadishu's Islamic courts.

"We have not agreed anything with them (Islamic courts), they stopped shooting at us and that's why there is calm now," Hussein Gutale Rage, spokesman for the warlords' alliance, told Reuters by telephone on Monday.

Siyad Mohamed, a militia leader linked to the Islamic courts, said his side had accepted the elders' call to halt fighting but had not signed a truce.

"There is no deal that was signed between the Islamic courts and the alliance," he said.

"Our officials asked us to stop fighting and said any Islamic courts' militiaman who fails to heed the call will be held accountable for his actions."

Analysts view the fighting in the failed Horn of Africa state as a proxy battle between Islamist militants and Washington, widely believed to be funding the warlords.

The Islamic courts say U.S. money is pouring into Mogadishu to fuel a drive against them, while the alliance says their opponents have links to al Qaeda.

The past week's battles were the third and by far the fiercest the two sides have waged since February.

GOVERNMENT MEETS IN OLD WAREHOUSE

Mohamed said clan elders had put into place a neutral force in the rundown Siisii area, where the fighting had started.

"None of the combatants can start fighting now," he said. "Dead bodies are being retrieved from the rubble."

Both sides had massed fighters along major roads in and out of the capital and sent in reinforcements during the week.

Despite the lack of fighting on Monday, residents said they feared more violence.

"It's calm now, but we can't trust these people, they say one thing and do the opposite, many people fear fighting will erupt again," resident Yassin Osman said.

Somalia's interim government, the 14th attempt at restoring central rule since the 1991 ousting of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, cannot move to Mogadishu because of insecurity there.

It is based in the southern city of Baidoa, meeting in a former grain warehouse.

President Abdullahi Yusuf and his administration on Saturday called for foreign intervention to stop the fighting, echoing a request he made for foreign peacekeepers to pacify the country shortly after taking office in late 2004.

Yusuf and Islamic leaders have accused Washington of backing the warlords, who have called themselves the "Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism" in what some say is a cynical ploy to get U.S. cash.

The United States -- which considers Somalia a likely terrorist hideout -- has never directly answered the allegations, but has made clear it will work with anyone it considers an ally in fighting terrorism.

Both the warlords and the businessmen backing the Islamists want control of lucrative ports, airfields and road checkpoints where militiamen collect tolls at gunpoint.

Residents say the Islamic courts, which have imposed order on parts of the anarchic city through traditional Islamic law, oppose any threat to their authority.

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keith

05-17-2006, 01:53 PM

Islamist raid breaks Somali truce

At least five people have been killed in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, when Islamist gunmen attacked a warlord, breaking a three-day truce.
The attack coincided with a rally intended to call for peace, following the death of at least 140 people.

Hundreds of demonstrators, guarded by Islamist gunmen, started chanting anti-US slogans, accusing the US of backing the alliance of warlords.

Some civil society groups boycotted the event, saying it had been "hijacked".

A compound belonging to warlord Mohamed Omar Habeb Dheere north of Mogadishu was overrun by the Islamist gunmen.

Reuters news agency reports that Mr Dheere had arrived from his base in Jowhar at the weekend to back up the warlords' Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism.

The US says it has not violated the arms embargo on Somalia but has said it would work with those who can help "prevent Somalia becoming a safe haven for terrorists".

Reports suggest two of those warlords may soon be sacked from the interim government.

The government is based in the small town of Baidoa, three hours from the capital, Mogadishu.

It has not moved to Mogadishu because of security concerns, and controls only a small part of the country.

British international development minister Hilary Benn has met the president and prime minister there in a previously unannounced visit.

Mr Benn says he will be offering international support for attempts to end the anarchy.

Somalia has not had an effective national authority for 15 years since the ousting of President Siad Barre in 1991.

SOMALIA'S THREE RIVAL GROUPS
Transitional government
Gets arms from: Ethiopia, Italy (Source: UN report)
Islamic courts
Gets arms from: Eritrea (Source: UN report)
Anti-terror alliance of warlords
Believed to get support from US

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4990610.stm

Published: 2006/05/17 15:30:20 GMT

keith

05-19-2006, 12:29 PM

Somali MPs want warlords charged with war crimes
19 May 2006 11:45:00 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Guled Mohamed

NAIROBI, May 19 (Reuters) - Warlords involved in Somalia's worst fighting in a decade should be sacked as government ministers and charged with war crimes, members of the country's fledgling parliament said on Friday.

Around 150 people, many of them civilians, died last week in Mogadishu during pitched battles between Islamic fighters and warlord militias, which many analysts and Somalis believe are funded by the United States.

The fighting has recently died down but the lawless capital remains tense. Hundreds of Mogadishu residents chanting anti-U.S. slogans demonstrated against the violence this week.

Members of parliament meeting in a warehouse in the southern city of Baidoa asked Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi to dismiss warlords from the cabinet, saying they broke ceasefire accords signed in Kenya during the formation of the government.

The warlords include Security Minister Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, Commerce Minister Muse Sudi Yalahow, Religious Affairs Minister Omar Mohamed Mohamud and Militia Disarmament Minister Bootan Isse Alim.

"The warlords have committed genocide," lawmaker Asha Abdallah told Reuters from Baidoa, a provincial town where Yusuf's interim government is based.

"Their treacherous acts have caused so many civilian deaths, they should be charged with war crimes against humanity."

Mohamed Hassan, another Somali lawmaker, said: "The ministers should be sacked, stripped off their immunity and then charged with crimes against humanity."

U.S. CONCERN

But a warlord spokesman dismissed the threats and said the militias were protecting Mogadishu from a fundamentalist Muslim takeover.

"The warlords are still in the government and are engaged in the crucial job of preventing extremists from taking over the city," Hussein Gutale Rage told Reuters from Mogadishu.

The interim Somali parliament met inside the country for the first time on Feb. 26.

But the warlords had formed an "Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism" a few days before in what many Somalis saw as an attempt to undermine the new government.

The interim administration of President Abdullahi Yusuf, the 14th attempt at restoring central rule since the overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, is powerless to control fighting in Mogadishu or even move to the capital.

Another MP, Ali Bashi, cautioned against confronting the warlords, saying the government was still too weak.

"They have formed a political party and are heavily armed now," Bashi said. "We need to tread carefully."

Washington has never responded directly to accusations it is backing the warlords but said earlier this week it was concerned foreign fighters, including members of al Qaeda, were operating in the failed Horn of Africa state.

"We want to make sure that al Qaeda does not in fact establish a beachhead in Somalia," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

The warlords are fighting militants linked to powerful Sharia courts which have imposed order on parts of the lawless city and so become popular with many residents.

AlertNet news is provided by

keith

05-22-2006, 02:49 PM

Understanding Somali Islamism

By Anouar Boukhars

The security situation in Somalia flared up dramatically in the past few weeks, following a number of acts of provocation between Mogadishu's newly-formed coalition of warlords, dubbed the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, and gunmen allied to the Islamic Courts Union. As these provocations escalated into fierce clashes, hundreds of people have been wounded and some 120 people killed. There is widespread concern that Somalia is rapidly becoming a new proxy battleground between Washington—the warlords' alleged supporter and benefactor—and what the UN Security Council describes as "Islamic extremists." The United Nations has warned of the rising influence of Islamic radicals as a "third force" in the country, competing with the transitional government and an alliance of warlord groups that constantly violate the current arms embargo and enrich themselves from selling fishing licenses and exporting charcoal. Rumors abound that the fear of a rising and formidable Islamist threat has pushed Washington to side with the warlords, who have portrayed themselves as capable of defeating the Islamists and their alleged foreign al-Qaeda members.

The challenges ahead are formidable and the threat of jihadi Islamism is real (Terrorism Monitor, January 12). Jihadi Islamism in Somalia has a history and a character of its own. Attempts to lump all Islamic movements in Somalia together as an inherently violent monolith are reductive and fail to take account of the diversity of Islamist movements. There are major differences between Islamists like Jama'at al-Tabligh and the Salafiyya Jadiida, whose motives are non-political and missionary in character, and those that have religious political motives like Harakaat al-Islah and Majma' 'Ulimadda Islaamka ee Soomaaliya, whose goal is either the adoption of a Sharia-based system of government or the application of a certain interpretation of Islam within a modern, democratic framework of government. The third group of Islamists in Somalia are Salafi-Jihadists like al-Itihaad al-Islaami and the new al-Qaeda-linked jihadi network of terror led by Aden Hashi 'Ayro, a protégé of Sheikh Hassan Aweys, the once notorious leader of al-Itihaad's military wing. Somali Islamism is thus composed of three distinct types of activism: political, missionary and jihadi.

Rise of Somali Islamism

Somali Islamism can be traced to a common source, the Waxda al-Shabaab al-Islaami and the Jama'at al-Ahl al-Islaami (also known as the al-Ahli group). These Muslim Brotherhood-inspired groups developed in the 1960s and strove to be key players in liaising with the state and the setting of its mixed ideological agenda [1]. The rise to power of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1969, however, deprived the Islamists of their status. Al-Ahli was forced to disband and al-Wahdat and other Islamist groups went underground or fled to the oil-rich states of the Gulf to join the Somali diaspora.

By the 1980s, the Somali Islamist movement had grown considerably. Nevertheless, it was the ouster of the Barre dictatorship that gave a major boost to Islamic associations and organizations. This growth has been less linear and more of a hybrid product of multiple intellectual traditions. Artificial constructs of Somali Islamism as a linear descendant of one particular intellectual tradition ignore the internal and historical variations of the Islamic movement in Somalia. Even when looking at political Islam and not the religion, the differences between Islamists in religious views, political conceptions and social orientations should not be overshadowed by lumping all Islamic movements together as an organizing principle in the war on terrorism.

I. Political Islamism

A. Harakat al-Islah

Harakat al-Islah originated in the late 1970s as a loose network of affiliated underground groups [2]. Today, al-Islah publicly professes its commitment to the basic tenets of democracy and cultural pluralism. Its stated commitment to this philosophy of inclusion is enshrined in the organization's social make-up and mode of action. The organization's forward-looking views on religion and politics and attempts to reconcile the tenets of Islam with the modern notions of democracy are apparent in its internal structure, where members of its "High Council" are elected by the Majlis al-Shura for a maximum of two terms. Al-Islah's leading members include the organization's chairman, Dr. Ali Sheikh, president of Mogadishu University [3]. Prior to the demise of the Barre regime, the organization operated as a clandestine integrated structure of clusters under the leadership of Sheikh Mohamed Garyare, Dr. Ali Sheikh and Dr. Ibrahim Dusuqi.

With the overthrow of the Barre dictatorship and hence the elimination of the organization's main enemy, al-Islah came out of the shadows and was operated exclusively for the promotion of social and humanitarian activities. Al-Islah members play prominent roles in the state's educational apparatuses. Their domination of Mogadishu University and other educational institutions like the Formal Private Education Network in Somalia (FPENS) has prompted fears that the organization is laying the groundwork for the gradual Islamization of society by using education as a tool to propagate its worldview and recruit cadres [4].

Al-Islah has always been suspected by Somali and foreign security services of involvement in radicalism and association with al-Itihaad. There is much evidence, however, of a power struggle between and within al-Islah and al-Itihaad's competing ideological authorities about the relationship between religion and politics. There are also ideological differences and strong divergences on strategies, tactics and religious interpretations. Al-Islah's leaders, for example, condemn violence and takfir (declaring as an infidel) as un-Islamic and counterproductive. They have long called for building a shared future that transcends the extremism and bigotry embodied in al-Itihaad's and Takfir wal-Hijra's Salafi-Jihadist ideology [5].

B. Ahlu Sunna wal Jama'a

Ahlu Sunna wal Jama'a (ASWJ) is another modern Islamist group created in 1991 as an offshoot from Majma' to counter the influence of the most radical Islamist trends. The movement brings together politically motivated sheikhs whose primary goal is to unify the Sufi community under one unified leadership capable of consolidating the powers of the three primary Sufi Tariqas—the Qadiriyya, Salihiyya and Ahmadiyya—into one front whose sole mission is the rejuvenation of the "traditionalist" interpretation of Islam and the de-legitimization of the beliefs and political views of al-Ittihad and other radical Islamic movements.

C. Majma' 'Ulimadda Islaamka ee Soomaaliya

Majma' 'Ulimadda Islaamka ee represents, as its name denotes, an assembly of Islamic scholars who follow the Shafi'i madhhab and whose main goal is the establishment of a Sharia-based government. The organization has been led by Sheikh Ahmed Abdi Dhi'isow since the death of its founding chairman, Sheikh Mohamed Ma'alim Hassan, in 2001 [6].

There are differences of views among Majma' 'Ulimadda Islaamka ee, Ahlu Sunna wal Jama'a and Harakat al-Islah about the nature of the state, but a general consensus seems to have developed among the different factions about the need to apply a certain interpretation of Islam within a modern framework of government.

II. Missionary Islamism

Missionary Islamists largely eschew political activism—even if their brand of activism has some political objectives and implications. The movement is represented by Salafiyya Jadiida (the new Salafis) and the most structured movement in Somalia, Jama'at al-Tabligh.

A. Salafiyya Jadiida

The Salafiyya Jadiida current is best exemplified by Sheikh Ali Wajis, an example of a prominent Salafi ideologue who has gone from supporting and briefly leading al-Itihaad to opposing its violent dogmatic theology. Wajis' qualified repudiation of the irrational jihadi ideology of Salafi-Jihadists and his re-examination of its theoretical position in light of a rational reassessment of Islamic rules of warfare and the prevailing realities on the ground exemplify the fractures rocking the jihadi and Islamist movements. It is also an encouraging sign of the debate occurring within the new Salafis and Salafi-Jihadist circles about the need for contextualized understanding of the issues of jihad and political violence.

B. Jama'at al-Tabligh

The Tabligh movement, launched in India in 1926 by the Jama'at al-Da'wa wal-Tabligh (Group for Preaching and Propagation), as an apolitical, quietist movement constitutes the largest group of religious proselytizers in Somalia. Tablighi missionaries' aggressive and dedicated peaceful and apolitical preaching tactics are part of the reason for the explosive growth of Tablighi sympathizers and supporters. This notable success in recruitment and significant increase in membership left the movement wide open to infiltration and manipulation by radical groups. Out of the 500 to 700 foreign sheikhs present in Somalia, many are from the Arab world but they also come from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Chechnya and other countries [7]. Given the size and heterogeneity of the movement, its infiltration by jihadi elements should come as no surprise. What is troubling, however, is the denial of the movement's leadership of any such infiltration despite mounting evidence of the group's involvement in murdering foreign aid workers in Somaliland. The movement, as the International Crisis Group reported, "lacks any system of screening its members for prior involvement in jihadism and so is poorly equipped to respond to allegations that some may be involved in fomenting extremism and violence" [8].

Jihadi Islamism

The jihadi tendency is the third type of Islamic activism. Unlike the political and missionary current, jihadi activists are committed to violence and armed resistance against what they perceive as the continuing onslaught of the enemies of Islam. This form of Islamic activism has very few sympathizers, although it is actively involved in trying to recruit or infiltrate missionary organizations like Salafiyya Jadiida and the Tabligh movement. The Jihadi movement has had its fortunes ebb and flow during the last decade [9].

Conclusion

Since the collapse of the government in 1991, the Islamic activist movement has expanded throughout Somalia. Islamic organizations like Harakat al-Islah are entrenched at both Somali universities and major educational centers; popular sympathy for the movements appears strong. It would be a grave oversimplification, however, to paint Islamism as a fixed ideological monolith and a dangerous and destabilizing force. There is still a disposition among some observers of Somali Islamism to identify Islamic activism with extremism or terrorism. This mistaken belief derives, in large part, from a failure to recognize the clear distinctions between different forms of Islamisms and appreciate not only the opposition of the majority of Somalis toward terrorism as a form of political action, but the fragmentation that plagues the jihadi and Islamist movements.

By far, the most dangerous militant groups are those composed of jihadi Islamists, such as the now-defunct al-Itihaad al-Islaami and the new, elusive independent jihadi network headed by Aden Hashi 'Ayro. Other Islamist entities like the Islamic Courts Union, whose gunmen are involved in the current fighting with the alliance of warlords, "have more complex agendas," and "appear to exist for chiefly pragmatic purposes." The danger remains, however, that as the courts grow in influence and strength, they may begin "to advocate an increasingly ideological agenda—one that jihadi Islamist elements in the court system will no doubt attempt to define" [10].

The best way for the United States to fight jihadi Islamism in the horn of Africa and sway the hearts and minds of Somalis is to recalibrate its approach. Without public support, the United States would fail to make more than a modest dent in jihadi forces. The threat of terrorism from Somalia remains a major concern for the United States and its East African allies. This danger, however, can only be effectively tackled through the establishment of a legitimate and functional government in Somalia. The temptation to empower one faction over another or deploy foreign troops in the country might only exacerbate the true source of the problem.

Notes

1. Roland Marchal, "Islamic political dynamics in the Somali civil war," in Alex de Waal (ed.), Islamism and Its Enemies in the Horn of Africa (Indiana University Press, 2004), p. 119.
2. Andre Le Sage, "Al-Islah in Somalia: An analysis of modern political Islam," unpublished manuscript, pp. 7-8.
3. Alain Charret, "Mouvements islamiques somaliens soupçonnés d'être liés au terrorisme international," Les nouvelles d'Addis 8ème année—bimestriel—n°51—
January 15-March 15, 2006.
4. Mogadishu University "instructs several thousand students in seven faculties—four taught mainly in English and three in Arabic. A significant proportion of the student body is female." ICG Report "Somalia's Islamists," Africa Report N. 100—December 12, 2005, p. 16.
5. Abdurahman M. Abdullahi, "Recovering Somali state: The Islamist factor," unpublished draft.
6. Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos, "Des ONG sans gouvernement: mouvements islamiques et velléités de substitution à l'État dans la Somalie en guerre," Colloque organisé dans le cadre du programme MOST (UNESCO), en partenariat avec l'IRD, le CEDEJ, le CEPS d'Al Ahram. March 29-31, 2000 au Caire.
7. ICG Report "Somalia's Islamists," p. 19.
8. Ibid.
9. Anouar Boukhars, "Somalia: Africa's Horn of Anarchy," Terrorism Monitor, Volume 4, Issue 1 (January 12, 2006).
10. ICG Report "Somalia's Islamists," p. 22.

Alli

05-22-2006, 02:53 PM

Rumors abound that the fear of a rising and formidable Islamist threat has pushed Washington to side with the warlords,You've GOT to be effin kidding me! :mad:

keith

05-22-2006, 09:22 PM

Yeah, it looks like we broke out our "Cold War" playbook and substitued the term "Terrorist" in the place of "Communist."

keith

05-23-2006, 11:09 AM

US says helps Somalia, but not to blame for fighting
By Guled Mohamed

The United States helps Somalia through aid and has encouraged groups to fight terrorism, but is not responsible for the worst fighting in Mogadishu in years, the U.S. ambassador to Kenya said on Tuesday.

In a letter to Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper, U.S. Ambassador William Bellamy said some reports had "wrongly blamed" three recent bouts of fighting in the Somali capital on his country.

"The real story of American involvement in Somalia is a much different one," Bellamy, also responsible for Somalia, wrote, referring to reports Washington had backed one side of the combatants as part of its counter-terrorism war.

"It is true the U.S. has encouraged a variety of groups in Somalia, in all corners of the country, and among all clans, to oppose the al Qaeda presence and reject the Somali militants who shelter and protect these terrorists," he wrote.

Bellamy's letter listed several U.S. aid programs, including $81.4 million in food aid, peace initiatives, support for non-governmental organizations and backing for the country's struggling interim government.

"Lost in the diplomacy and politics is the fact that the U.S. is reaching out in many ways to help improve the lives of ordinary Somalis," Bellamy wrote.

Militias from a coalition of warlords calling itself a counter-terrorism alliance and gunmen backed by Mogadishu's influential Islamic courts have been locked in fierce battles that have killed more than 250 people since February.

The Islamic courts say U.S. money is pouring into Mogadishu to support their enemies, while the warlords say their opponents have links to al Qaeda.

The perception, real or otherwise, that U.S. money funded the warlords has turned fighting laced with commercial and political motives into a proxy war between Islamist militants and Washington.

Bellamy did not specifically address the question of warlord funding, but Washington has been consistent in saying it will work with any individual, government or group it considers a counter-terrorism ally.

'TURNING SOMALIA INTO IRAQ'

Asked to comment on Bellamy's letter, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a leading Islamist on America's list of most wanted terrorists, said the courts do not harbor foreign militants.

"That's pure propaganda," Aweys told Reuters by telephone from Mogadishu. "There are no terrorists here. They (Americans) are only looking for a reason to turn our country into another Iraq ... We will continue fighting as long as they attack us."

The United States believes there are al Qaeda-linked militants in Somalia. Independent analysts and diplomats have said a handful of al Qaeda operatives are there, and have set up training camps.

"It's not the Americans who are turning Somalia into another Iraq, it's the terrorists," U.S. embassy spokesman Bob Kerr said. "We are saving a lot of lives through our food aid programs and the like. The terrorists are not saving any lives."

The United States has long considered anarchic Somalia, without an effective government for 15 years, a sanctuary for al Qaeda in east Africa.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

keith

05-23-2006, 08:37 PM

Somalia : TNG reiterates call for foreign peacekeepers

May 24, 2006,
By Andnetwork .com

Somalia's transitional government has renewed a call for foreign peacekeepers in the lawless nation, setting the stage for a new fight in parliament where members physically attacked each other during debate on the matter last year.

The step taken at the weekend by Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's fledging and largely powerless administration endorses the deployment of troops from Sudan and Uganda as part of a new National Security Plan, officials said.

Government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said that the plan to deploy an east African peacekeeping force, adopted twice before by the cabinet but rejected by parliament, was approved by 34 of the 42 cabinet members who met on Sunday.

"The troops are not going to interfere with Somali internal affairs, but rather secure government facilities and help run the country," he said at the government's temporary home of Baidoa on Monday.

The decision came as the capital of Mogadishu remains tense after a third explosion of deadly violence in the city this year between Islamic militia and a US-backed warlord coalition and is likely to draw fierce opposition.

Four of the eight ministers missing from Sunday's meeting are Mogadishu warlords and alliance members who have thus far defied Gedi's orders to rejoin the cabinet in Baidoa, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest.

They immediately rejected the cabinet move, saying that it would complicate the already volatile situation in Somalia and scuttle the efforts of their Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT).

"The call for foreign troops is lacking wisdom and a misreading the political realities at home," said Mohamed Afrah Qanyare, a powerful warlord, founding member of the ARPCT and national security minister.

"We are calling on the governments of Uganda and Sudan not to send their troops to Somalia to interfere in our internal affairs," he said from Mogadishu. "They will have no support and they will be seen as aggressors.

"In addition, they will under undermine and complicate the fight against terrorism," said Qanyare, whose alliance has fought three pitched battles with Islamists since February in which more than 225 people have been killed.

Mogadishu's 11 Islamic courts, accused by the ARPCT and the United States of harboring extremists, also oppose the deployment of foreign troops and have vowed to mobilize their militia against any such force in Somalia.

While agreeing in principle to provide troops for the mission in the past, both Kampala and Khartoum have also said that they will not participate if they are not welcome and reacted nervously to clear divisions in the Somali parliament.

The 275-member assembly last considered the proposal in March 2005 when it was still based in Nairobi and the debate disintegrated into fistfights on the floor, with Kenyan police making several arrests.

Somalia has been without a functioning central authority for the past 15 years since the ouster of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre plunged the Horn of Africa nation of 10 million into anarchy.

Gedi's government is the latest in more than a dozen attempts to restore stability but has been wracked by infighting and unable to control vast swathes of the country.

Source : ME Times

http://www.andnetwork.com/index?service=direct/1/Home/recent.titleStory&sp=l35874

keith

05-25-2006, 12:46 PM

Battle intensifies for Mogadishu

Islamic militiamen have taken key points in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, as fighting intensifies with their rivals, a secular grouping of warlords.
Militiamen loyal to the Islamic Courts have isolated the warlords in the north and south of the city in fighting that claimed at least 30 lives on Thursday.

The latest upsurge in violence comes despite a truce agreement between the two groups 10 days ago.

More than 140 people died in eight days of fighting earlier this month.

The Islamic Courts grouping has gradually been gaining the upper hand. Civilians have been hiding in their homes or fleeing the fighting.

Its fighters have now cut the north-south road along the coast, taking a key crossroads known as K4 and an important nearby hotel, the Sahafi.

In earlier fighting the Islamic Courts also took an airstrip north of the capital and a road to the port.

This has left the warlords of the Anti-Terrorism Alliance with only a small pocket of support in the centre of the city, correspondents say.

In the latest fighting, the two sides pounded each other with heavy machine-gun fire, rockets, artillery and mortars as fighting spread from the north of the city to the south.

"There are so many people dead, I saw nearly 30 dead and over 40 wounded," K4 resident Abdifatah Abdikadir told Reuters news agency.

"People are being carried on wheelbarrows to the hospital with broken limbs and gunshot wounds. It's going from bad to worse."

Anti-Terrorism Alliance member Ibrahim Maalim told Reuters: "The fighting is very heavy... I have never seen such a heavy exchange. Mogadishu is blazing with fire."

Resignations

Much of the fighting on Wednesday was around the CC neighbourhood in north Mogadishu.

Despite the truce brokered by local elders on 14 May both sides had amassed troops there, believing they had a right to control the area.

Elders said they had tried to contact commanders with a view to a new truce but reported neither side willing to relent.

The Anti-Terrorism Alliance includes eight warlords, among them four ministers in the current government.

Correspondents say the fighting has been fuelled by a belief that the US is backing the warlords.

The US merely says it will support those trying to stop "terrorists" setting up but stresses its commitment to the country's transitional government, which functions from Baidoa, 250km (155 miles) north-west of the capital.

Somalia has had no full government since the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991 but this year's clashes have been the worst in the capital for more than a decade.

Several ministers involved in the fighting are reported to have resigned from the transitional government, saying that others in the administration had not been doing enough to stem the unrest.

Reports say their resignations came as they failed to meet a government ultimatum to join the rest of the ministers in Baidoa.

But Security Minister Mohammed Qanyare Afrah later denied he had resigned.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/5015152.stm

Published: 2006/05/25 14:01:55 GMT

© BBC MMVI

keith

05-29-2006, 03:13 PM

Somalia tense after weekend violence

May 29, 2006,

By Andnetwork .com

Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, was calm but tense on Monday after a fresh outbreak of violence during the weekend left at least 12 people dead and hundreds more displaced.

"It is calm right now," a local observer said on Monday, "but the militia are still facing each other, and the tension is high. Large numbers of people continue to flee Mogadishu."

Violence flared up on Saturday rocking the city again only two days after what was termed the "deadliest" fighting to hit the city in years.

The fighting, like the previous clashes, pitted militiamen allied to the Islamic Courts against those loyal to the newly formed coalition to fight international terrorism, the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism.

Fighters from the both sides indiscriminately pounded parts of Mogadishu with artillery, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar fire. The fighting was most intense in Galgalato District and around "77", a complex of former military barracks between Daynille and Keysane districts.

"We were awoken by sounds of gunfire and mortars. A mortar hit my neighbour's house - it killed her son and seriously wounded two other people in the house," said Asha Ali, a terrified resident of Daynille. "We are waiting for the fight to subside so that we can leave for safer areas."

Most of the casualties were taken to Keysane Hospital, run by the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) and adjacent to one of the main battle areas. Medical personnel at the hospital confirmed that four persons, including a 14-year-old girl and a two-year-old boy, succumbed to their wounds on Sunday. Officials at the medical facility also indicated that two stray mortars hit the hospital during Saturday's fighting, prompting the SRCS to appeal to both warring sides to spare the hospital and other medical centres. A 10-year-old girl also died at Medina Hospital on Sunday.

Eyewitnesses also reported seeing at least five bodies lying at the battlefields in Daynille District and two in Galgalato. "I saw five dead bodies lying not very far from where the fighting was taking place, near the road to Daynille airport," said Mohammed Lamane, from Daynille. "The bodies were there since Saturday, and people fear to be attacked when collecting them."

Since clashes first erupted on 18 February, there have been more than 300 deaths. Some 1,500 wounded have been treated in hospital, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the SRCS said in a statement. Most of the casualties in the recent fighting have been civilians, caught in the crossfire or killed inside their houses by stray mortars and artillery.

Following the clashes, doctors at different hospitals in Mogadishu said they were overwhelmed by the high number of people seeking treatment. Some of the casualties were brought into the hospitals on wheelbarrows. Medical personnel indicated that many patients were dying from treatable wounds because the clinics had run short of drugs and blood and because they lacked specialists to perform more complicated tasks.

"We are running short of facilities to cope with the huge number of wounded patients seeking treatment, and currently there are more than 100 of them at the hospital," said Sheikh Doon Salad Elmi, director of Medina Hospital. "A 24-year-old boy who had a bullet lodged in his brain just died in front of me because I could do nothing to save his life. We are mainly administering conservative treatments to patients."

A local analyst indicated that the fighting was started on Saturday by warlords from the anti-terror coalition who were trying to retake areas seized from them on Thursday. The analyst also interpreted Sunday's brief lull as a period during which both sides were regrouping and amassing weapons.

Hundreds of people fled their homes at the weekend, adding to the thousands who had already been displaced over previous days. Fleeing predominantly to the north, the displaced have reached towns as far as 150km from Mogadishu, including Bulo Mareer, Owdhegle, Kuntuwarey, Sablaale, Wanlaweyn and Afgoy. They are reportedly living in deplorable conditions, lacking basic necessities like food, water and shelter. Elders in Lower Shabelle region, accommodating a group of newly displaced people, appealed for assistance to support the new arrivals.

Meanwhile, a peace delegation comprising two cabinet ministers and a member of parliament from the Transitional Federal Government arrived in Mogadishu on Saturday, in a bid to convince the warring groups to halt the fighting and observe a ceasefire. Public Works Minister Osman Ali "Ato" leads the delegation and reportedly met representatives from the Islamic courts on Sunday.

"The mediation effort is ongoing, but has not led to a tangible result so far," a local observer said on Monday. "They are expected to meet the anti-terror coalition today."

Reacting to Saturday's clashes in Mogadishu, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan backed the calls by numerous local and international officials for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and deplored the deaths and suffering caused by the renewed violence. "The Secretary-General calls on both sides to enter into an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, as appealed for by the people of Mogadishu, clan leaders, and the international community, including his special representative for Somalia," Annan's spokesman said in a statement.

The clashes between the two sides that started in February threaten Somalia's fragile transitional government, which is struggling to impose its authority on the anarchic nation. The Islamist fighters, backed by influential Sharia courts, have gradually taken over larger parts of the city each time they have clashed with the warlords-led coalition. They have so far captured an airport; K4, a strategic junction; and the famous Sahafi hotel, all of which were previously under the control of the anti-terror coalition.

http://www.andnetwork.com/index?service=direct/0/Home/older.titleStory&sp=l36641

Petronas

05-30-2006, 01:54 AM

SOMALIA: AL-QAEDA RECRUITING IN MOGADISHU, REPORT SAYS
May-29-06 17:28

The provisional Somali cabinet confirmed on Monday a report that terror network al-Qaida has recruitment centres in the capital Mogadishu, Kuwaiti news agency KUNA reported on Monday. Palestinian magazine al-Manar claimed, citing anonymous sources, that Islamic militants arrive in the capital from all over the country to join al-Qaeda. The militants are reportedly first recruited by a local network linked to Osama bin Laden's organisation before training in Mogadishu. US secret service agents are in Somalia to monitor the recruitment centres, the Palestinian magazine also said.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. Today's administration, the 14th attempt to establish a cabinet since 1991, has no civil service or government buildings and faces a formidable task in attempting to bring reconciliation to a country divided into clan fiefdoms.

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.304023916&par=0

keith

05-31-2006, 04:29 PM

Somalia: Fresh fighting breaks out in Mogadishu

May 31, 2006,

By ANDnetwork .com

At least five people were killed and a dozen others wounded when fighting between Islamic court militiamen and forces loyal to an alliance of secular leaders erupted in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, early on Wednesday.

Witnesses said militia allied to the Islamic courts raided the Maslah area in northern Mogadishu's Huriwa District and engaged fighters loyal to Botan Isse Elmi, a local leader and a member of the newly formed coalition, the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism. Forces of the anti-terror group were driven out of the Maslah area, and a large garage they had occupied was taken over by court loyalists. Scores of people were seen fleeing from Maslah as the fighting raged.

"At least five dead bodies are lying in the battle area, and about a dozen others are wounded," said an area resident via telephone. "The Islamic court [militia] have driven Botan Isse's militiamen out of the area they occupied in the livestock market, near Maslah road. The area captured includes Orfano garage." The witness wished to remain anonymous for safety reasons. The court loyalists, who arrived in the battle area by public transport, seized five armed vehicles from Botan Isse's men, he said.

Wednesday's fighting broke three days of tentative calm in the city, following a clash on Saturday during which at least 12 people were killed.

The two sides have engaged in intermittent warfare in Mogadishu since 18 February. More than 300 people are believed to have died in the violence, and some 1,500 others have been wounded. On Monday, an armed group occupied a major hospital that offers surgical services to civilians wounded in the fighting in north Mogadishu, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Somali Red Crescent Society.

The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Eric Laroche, has expressed concern over the targeting of civilians and medical facilities during the fighting and warned that "any deliberate attempt to prevent wounded or civilians receiving assistance and protection during fighting in the city may constitute elements of future war crimes."

Laroche said the fighting had the potential to spread to other areas of southern Somalia and cause more hardship to populations affected by the recent prolonged drought. He said it was "ethically unacceptable" that people could fight in Mogadishu at a time when southern Somalia was experiencing a humanitarian emergency

Source: IRIN

http://www.andnetwork.com/index?service=direct/0/Home/recent.titleStory&sp=l36972

keith

05-31-2006, 10:22 PM

Warlords or Counter-Terrorists: U.S. Intervention in Somalia

05/31/2006 - By Andrew McGregor (from Terrorism Focus, May 31) - As the insurgencies in Afghanistan and Iraq continue to dominate headlines, a new front in the war on terrorism has opened in Somalia. At a brutal cost to Mogadishu's civilian population, once-discredited warlords have reinvented themselves as "counter-terrorists," seeking and apparently gaining U.S. support by characterizing their Islamist opponents as agents of al-Qaeda. The warlords have grouped together as the Anti-Terrorism Alliance (ATA) and insist they are dedicated to expelling foreign al-Qaeda members they allege are sheltered by the Islamic Court Union (ICU). Although nearly all the ATA warlords are cabinet ministers in the new Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) located in Baidoa, they have abandoned the TFG to pursue an unauthorized war against their Islamist rivals in Mogadishu. Allegations of U.S. funding for the unpopular ATA leaders are undermining U.S. efforts to stabilize the region.

Thus far, the efforts of the ATA have not been met with success. No "terrorists" have been detained, and ATA forces have not fared well in combat against the Islamists who continue to control most of Mogadishu. Ethiopia is reported to be sending convoys of weapons in violation of the UN embargo to re-equip beleaguered ATA fighters (Shabelle Media Network, May 24). ATA warlord and TFG Trade Minister Musa Sudi Yalahow has declared that the fighting in Mogadishu will continue until "African and Asian" terrorists have been removed from Somalia, while maintaining in reference to ATA funding that "nobody gives us anything" (Puntlandpost, May 19).

Muhammad Dhere, an important ATA leader, claims that Arab and Asian al-Qaeda members have been joined in Mogadishu by members of Ethiopia's Oromo Liberation Front, offering the observation that some fighters were covering their faces, obvious "proof" of their foreign origins (HornAfrik, May 19). The warlord also accuses numerous members of parliament of being al-Qaeda members, and further claims that 70 MPs are agents of hostile foreign countries (Shabelle Media Network, May 19). Increasingly, accusations of al-Qaeda links have become a common way for the warlords to discredit political opponents.

Former CIA Director Porter Goss is alleged to have visited Kenya in February to coordinate a campaign against al-Qaeda with Somali warlords (the U.S. embassy in Nairobi simply states that it has "no information" about such a visit). According to the TFG and Kenyan security sources, this visit was followed by a CIA mission to Mogadishu that distributed as much as US$2 million in funding to ATA warlords (Daily Nation, Nairobi, May 11). Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer stated that she did not know if the ATA warlords were receiving U.S. assistance, but made clear that "We will work with those elements that will help us to root out al-Qaeda and to prevent Somalia becoming a safe haven for terrorists, and we are doing it in the interests of protecting America" (Reuters, May 13).

TFG frustration with the United States is growing. The president, the prime minister, the speaker of parliament, and the minister of health (Abdiazziz Shaykh Yusuf) have all accused the United States of illegal intervention in Somalia through military and financial support of the ATA. President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad and Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Gedi insist that the United States deal solely with the TFG rather than cut deals with the warlords. Abdiazziz Shaykh Yusuf adds that Somalis "view the [Islamic] courts as the product of clan elders, and they have a good reputation compared to the warlords" (Midnimo.com, May 17).

The already fragile TFG is in danger of collapse due to Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Gedi's failure to force the return of cabinet ministers engaged in the Mogadishu fighting. Members of Parliament have called for his resignation, while other MPs accuse the United States of taking revenge on Somalia for U.S. losses in Mogadishu in 1993 (HornAfrik, May 17). The absent ministers are close to being dismissed from the government, which would effectively destroy any chance of the TFG establishing itself as an accepted government.

ATA warlord Muhammad Qanyare has complained that the TFG has "no respect for the [counter-terrorist] work we are doing." Qanyare explains the absence of the ATA warlords from their cabinet posts by noting that "we are busy fighting with terrorists now. We don't have time for the government" (Shabelle Media Network, May 24, May 25). Both the TFG and Somali popular opinion hold that the ATA is a collection of paid agents of the United States government. The presence of U.S. warships off Mogadishu and evening flights over the city by U.S. reconnaissance planes has tended to reinforce these perceptions (Haatuf News, Somaliland, May 10).

With the dictates of counter-terrorism in conflict with the methods of nation-building, Somalia is on the verge of another collapse. The battle in Mogadishu is spilling over into a wave of assassinations, grenade attacks and gunfights throughout Somalia. In the capital itself, firing tends to be indiscriminate and thousands of civilians are once more fleeing for safety. U.S. food aid programs are not enough to offset the belief of U.S. responsibility for this new round of misery. If the United States has indeed thrown its support behind the ATA, its efforts appear to be counter-productive. Most ATA fighters battle for pay and the promise of loot. Any serious setbacks or an exhaustion of ATA funds are likely to result in the rapid dissolution of the "anti-terrorist" coalition and a triumph for Mogadishu's Islamists.

Posted By: Jamestown

http://www.jamestown.org/news_details.php?news_id=182

NYer

06-01-2006, 08:05 AM

Col. Ralph Peters writes on Terror's New Homeland. (http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/69344.htm)

A movement fronted by Somali-Muslim judges and clerics is gobbling up Mogadishu. It's the Taliban, Somali-style.

Check the déjà vu block: The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan after the Americans walked away.

The Islamists may be able to seize control of all Mogadishu. Or they may agree to a truce to digest what they've devoured so far. Time to buy more support and make more converts. While the bloodied warlords wonder how to cut a deal, the "government" wrings its hands and begs for international peacekeepers.

We haven't disengaged entirely from the region. Our Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, based in nearby Djibouti, is a success story - American troops working wonders on a shoestring, sending out small teams that do everything from training to veterinary work. They're welcomed and respected.

But those troops don't set foot in Somalia. They're forbidden to enter the country. I suspect we've run some black ops. But they're not going to be enough.

So our troops will go back to Somalia. Eventually. The longer it takes to realize it, the more we'll have to send. Yes, we're busy. We've made things tough on ourselves, with the Rumsfeld Pentagon's willful incompetence. But we don't get to call a time-out.

Meanwhile, the remains of al Qaeda dream of building a new Afghanistan in Somalia. A terrorist organization our military smashed is being allowed to rebuild itself.

There's a vital lesson here: In the War on Terror, you've got to finish what you start. America quitting Somalia after suffering less than two dozen dead in the course of a battle won was the biggest single boost the terrorists ever received. The Clinton surrender in Mogadishu pointed al Qaeda straight toward 9/11.

keith

06-02-2006, 12:28 PM

Thousands demonstrate against US in Somalia
By Mohamed Ali Bile

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Mogadishu on Friday angrily condemning the United States for supporting warlords involved in clashes with Islamic militias that claimed 16 more lives overnight.

"America is responsible for the death of our children and the elderly," Sheikh Nur Barud, a respected cleric in Mogadishu, told the crowd chanting anti-American slogans.

"We are ready to defend our religion from the big American evil," read a banner held high by Mogadishu resident Ureji Yusuf at the rally protected by Islamic militia armed with machine guns, anti-aircraft missiles and rocket-propelled grenades.

Tens of thousands of people surged through Tarbuunka square in the Somali capital, voicing support for Islamic courts whose fighters have been engaged in vicious clashes with a coalition of warlords many say are funded by the United States.

Some 350 people have been killed in three bouts of heavy fighting since the start of the year in the fighting that had focused on the capital but has now moved beyond Mogadishu.

Fresh gun battles overnight in a remote village 15 km (9 miles) north of Mogadishu killed 16 people, witnesses said.

"At least 16 have died from both sides and several others were wounded," Ibrahim Moallim, a member of a so-called anti-terrorism warlord coalition, told Reuters.

"I saw one of our dead militia."

Sources said the fighting had subsided by noon on Friday. But residents said three people were killed in a blast after a motorcycle passed a road in Bondere district of north Mogadishu.

"It's not clear whether it was a bomb or a mine," said Abdi Osman, a resident who spoke to family members in Bondere.

"Three people were killed instantly, among them a woman and children. Body parts were scattered all over the place."

Although also fueled by commercial and political motives, such fights in and around Mogadishu are seen by many Somalis as a proxy war between Islamists and the United States.

Somali officials say the United States is funding the warlord coalition in return for attacks on Islamists it thinks are allied with or sheltering al Qaeda suspects.

Washington has not commented except to say it welcomes support in its "war on terror."

The U.S. government has long viewed Somalia, without a central government since the 1991 ouster of former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre as a haven for terrorists.

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keith

06-04-2006, 11:25 AM

Islamic militia capture key Somalia town, 9 killed
By Mohamed Ali Bile

Islamic court militia seized a strategic town outside Mogadishu on Sunday, dislodging a member of the anti-terrorism warlord coalition in fierce fighting that left nine people dead, officials and residents said.

The town of Balad, 30 km (19 miles) north of Mogadishu, fell to the Islamic courts after two hours of intense battle.

"Balad is in our hands. The enemy has escaped from the town," said Islamic courts militia leader Moallim Hashi Mohamed, whose forces have been fighting those of warlord Muse Sudi Yalahow.

There was no immediate comment from Muse Sudi side, but witnesses reported seeing his forces heading toward Jowhar town.

Residents who emerged after the clash counted bodies.

"I saw seven bodies lying on the ground inside the town," said one resident. Another said he saw two bodies at a check point outside Balad.

The small town is strategic because it lies on the route connecting the capital to the fertile agriculture areas of Middle Shabelle and Lower Shabelle.

Residents said capturing Balad was the biggest victory for the Islamic courts since the start of the war between fighters loyal to clerics advocating strict sharia law and warlords who formed an anti-terror coalition many believe is funded by the United States.

Hundreds of people have died in a series of battles since the start of the year. Some Mogadishu residents say the violence is the worst they have seen in Somalia's troubled capital.

Washington has not commented on accusations it backed the warlords except to say it welcomed support in its declared war on terrorism.

Officials, meanwhile, said international and local aid workers based outside Mogadishu were leaving Somalia over fears the fighting would spread to other regions.

Islamic forces have now taken over the villages of El Iffid, Ali Yaale, Garas Bintow and a military camp of Hiilweyne, 7 km (4 miles) outside Balad town, witnesses said.

Residents said National Security Minister Mohamed Qanyare and his heavily armed forces left their base in Daynile in Mogadishu on Saturday night.

They were believed to have moved toward Balad to offer support to Muse Sudi, who is also the commerce minister in Somalia's transitional government.

Residents say the latest fighting has involved some of the worst violence ever seen in Mogadishu.

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keith

06-06-2006, 04:14 PM

Militia vow to make Somalia Islamic state
By Mohamed Ali Bile

Islamic militia vowed to turn Somalia into a religious state on Tuesday, pushing north to take more territory after winning a three-month battle for Mogadishu.

But thousands of Mogadishu residents protested against the takeover and defeated warlords said they would fight back. Clan elders warned the Islamic side against more advances.

Fighters loyal to Sharia courts seized the lawless capital Monday from a self-styled anti-terrorism coalition of warlords widely believed to be backed by Washington.

Some 350 people, mostly civilians, have died since February in fighting for Mogadishu interspersed by tense lulls. The United Nations says about 1,500 civilians were wounded in the close-quarter battles using mortars and anti-aircraft guns.

It was the first time the warlords had been dislodged from Mogadishu since ousting former ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

"Until we get the Islamic state, we will continue with the Islamic struggle in Somalia," Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, chairman of Mogadishu Islamic courts, told a rally of hundreds.

"This is a long Islamic struggle and it will continue until the whole country comes under Sharia law," Fuad Ahmed, a militiaman loyal to the Islamic side, told Reuters. "We are ready to shed our blood in order for that struggle to succeed."

Supporters of the warlord coalition packed the shattered Benadir stadium in northern Mogadishu at a counter-rally.

"We have to continue fighting the terrorists in Mogadishu. We will remain in Mogadishu," warlord Bashir Raghe, who lost control of an airstrip and a port in March, told Reuters.

"The Islamic courts cannot dislodge us from here."

Warlord Muse Sudi Yalahow, who lost the strategic town of Balad on Sunday, was also at the rally.

Somalia's interim prime minister, Mohamed Ali Gedi, earlier congratulated the Islamic side on their victory over warlords who many Somalis believe tried to undermine the government.

"They were hurting reconciliation, stabilization and pacification of Somalia," Gedi told Radio France Internationale.

"All those forces who joined their efforts together were the pillars of the victory and the government has congratulated them," he said.

ISLAMIC SIDE PUSHES NORTH

The Islamic fighters advanced on Tuesday toward the warlord stronghold of Jowhar, about 90 km (56 miles) north of Mogadishu.

"Our forces are in the village of Qalimoy, 20 km south of Jowhar. We are just waiting for orders from our leaders to capture it," militia leader Siyad Mohamed, who is allied to the Islamic courts, told Reuters from Balad on the road to Jowhar.

Ali Nur, a warlord coalition militiaman, said clan elders threatened to mass militia against Islamic forces if they attacked Jowhar.

Nur said the Islamic side told the warlords to hand over weapons but their fighters were preparing an assault to regain lost Mogadishu strongholds, notably the Kilometre Four area.

But resident Fahran Gure said he did not expect violence.

"We feel there is a big change, peace is in the air, no gunshots can be heard. It is calm, businesses are fully operational. People are now moving freely everywhere."

Aid workers fear the violence may have exacerbated an existing humanitarian crisis in drought-hit Somalia. Some 400,000 displaced already live in squalid conditions across Somalia but scores had fled Mogadishu during fighting.

The United States has refused to discuss persistent reports it is covertly funneling $100,000 a month to the warlords but has said it will work with anyone combating terrorism.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States had serious concerns about the presence of "foreign terrorists" in Somalia where he said al Qaeda was active.

"We also have an interest, as well as the rest of the world, in combating the presence of foreign terrorists in that Horn of Africa region," said McCormack.

"It's a tragic situation for the Somalian people. It's a real source of concern for the international community," he added.

(Additional reporting by Sue Pleming in Washington, Guled Mohamed in Nairobi)

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keith

06-06-2006, 04:19 PM

Thousands rally in capital of Somalia
By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN, Associated Press Writer

Thousands of Somalis took to the streets of their capital Tuesday, some demonstrating for Islamic militiamen who claimed control of Mogadishu a day earlier and others calling for the radical militia to get out.

Mogadishu has been convulsed for months as the Islamic Courts Union, which has alleged links to al-Qaida, strengthened its grip on this lawless country. Their advance Monday came despite U.S. support for a secular alliance of warlords that was opposing them.

The militia's growing power has raised fears that Somalia could fall under the sway of al-Qaida. But Tuesday's protests show it may be difficult to keep control of the capital, and that the Courts Union likely still has to negotiate with the clan leaders who have run the city for more than a decade.

The city's largest and historically strongest clan, the Abgals, came out in force Tuesday and drew about 3,000 people to the northern part of the city, shouting "We don't need Islamic deception!" and "We don't want Islamic courts, we want peace!"

"If the so-called Islamic courts don't stop invading our territories ... the country will return to civil war," said Sheik Ahmed Kadare, an Abgal clan elder. The clan did not give a timetable for a potential attack.

Somalia has been without a real government since largely clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, dividing this nation of 8 million into rival fiefdoms.

The Abgal rally appeared to be an attempt to redefine the conflict in the capital as a competition among clans, rather than a religious battle, to build support for continued fighting if the Islamic militants do not retreat.

The Abgal leaders promised to set up new, clan-based courts in northern Mogadishu to replace those that the Islamic extremists have operated in recent years to raise money and goodwill for the militiamen's bid to take over the country.

The Islamic militia kept defensive positions about a mile from the Abgal protest and did not try to stop it. It held its own rally nearby, vowing to keep fighting until Islamic law was enforced.

"Until we get the Islamic state, we will continue with the Islamic struggle in Somalia," Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, chairman of Islamic Courts Union, told the crowd of about 500.

The Courts Union has said a government based on Islamic law will restore order to Somalia, and accused the secular alliance of warlords of being puppets of Washington and working for the CIA. Members of the alliance — most of whom were on the run after Monday's defeat — said the Courts Union had links to terrorists.

U.S. officials said recently that Islamic leaders in Mogadishu are sheltering three al-Qaida leaders indicted in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. The same al-Qaida cell is believed responsible for the 2002 suicide bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya, which killed 15 people, and a simultaneous attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner over Kenya.

The U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, have confirmed cooperating with the secular warlords. The Bush administration has not confirmed or denied giving money to the alliance, saying only that it supports those who fight terrorism.

The battle between the militia and the secular alliance had been intensifying in recent months, with more than 300 people killed and 1,700 wounded — many of them civilians caught in the crossfire of grenades, machine guns and mortars.

The two sides began competing for influence in earnest after a U.N.-backed interim government began to gain international recognition. But the government has not even been able to enter the capital because of the violence. Instead, it's operating out of Baidoa, 155 miles from Mogadishu.

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keith

06-06-2006, 05:03 PM

Profile: Somalia's Islamic Courts

The Islamist militia that now controls Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, has emerged out of a judicial system funded by the powerful business community to try and bring some law and order to a country without a government.

But over the past two years, the Union of Islamic Courts has emerged into Somalia's strongest fighting force - forcing the warlords who have controlled the capital for the past 15 years into retreat.
There are 11 autonomous courts in Mogadishu, some of which have periodically tried to clamp down on robbery, drugs and what they say are pornographic films being shown in local video houses.

At first they concentrated on petty crime but by the mid 1990s they had progressed to dealing with major crimes in north Mogadishu.

Thieves had their limbs amputated and murderers were executed.

Editor of the BBC Somali Service Yusuf Garaad Omar says that despite protests from human rights bodies, north Mogadishu residents were pleased to enjoy law and order - in stark contrast to south Mogadishu, where crime was rampant.

The system has since further expanded and the Islamic courts also validated transactions such as the purchase of houses and cars.

They also oversaw weddings and divorces and expanded their authority across most of the capital, while staying out of politics.

"They were really trusted by the people, who had no other institution to go to," Mr Garaad says.

Clan courts

The Islamic courts say they want to promote Islamic law rather than clan allegiance, which has divided Somalis over the past 15 years.

However, all but one of the 11 courts is associated with just one clan - the Hawiye, who dominate the capital, but they are divided into sub-clans.

In order to avoid accusations of clan bias, each court would try members of their own sub-clan, wherever the alleged crime was committed.

Some clan elders in north Mogadishu have now set up their own court, independent of the union.

Al-Qaeda links?

The union's public face is its chairman Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, a moderate who sought to assure Somalis and the international community this week that the Islamic Courts were no threat and only wanted order.

But the union does contain radical elements.

Two of the 11 courts are seen as militant; one is led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, on an American list of terrorism suspects because he used to head al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, which was linked to al-Qaeda.
Mr Aweys says al-Itihaad no longer exists and also denies accusations from some western diplomats and observers that there are training grounds for Islamic fighters in Somalia.

He is, however, strongly critical of the United States and its "war on terror".

Western diplomats are also concerned by Afghanistan-trained militia commander Adan Hashi Ayro, whose militiamen have been implicated in numerous killings of Somali nationals, as well as five foreign aid workers and a BBC producer, Kate Peyton.

Hated

But Somalia is a strongly Islamic country and many people support the courts.

During the years of warfare and anarchy, many Somalis have increasingly turned to their faith for some sort of stability.

One visible sign is that before the civil war began in the 1980s, very few women wore headscarves in Mogadishu.
Now, almost every woman wears a headscarf and an increasing number are wearing veils covering their faces, with just narrow slits for the eyes.

Even those Mogadishu residents who are wary of Islamic extremism may welcome a single group being in control of the capital for the first time in 15 years, saying there will at least be some authority.

And most will prefer Islamic preachers to the warlords who have repeatedly fought over and in many cases systematically looted the city since 1991.

BBC Somali analyst Yusuf Garaad Omar says the warlords were hated - even more so because of the widespread belief that they were being backed by the US.

The US has not been well thought of in Somalia since its humanitarian intervention went disastrously wrong - leading to the death of maybe 1,000 Somalis and 18 US troops in 1993.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/5051588.stm

Published: 2006/06/06 17:02:20 GMT

© BBC MMVI
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keith

06-06-2006, 05:10 PM

Somalia: Is it over for Mogadishu's warlords?

June 6, 2006,
By ANDnetwork .com

The Islamic courts in Somalia may have taken control of the capital, Mogadishu, but they face immediate challenges of whether to set up an administration in the city or hold talks with the Baidoa-based transitional government, analysts said.

"They are not immune from Somali politics," said Suliman Baldo, Africa programme director for the International Crisis Group (ICG). "In the past, they have been hardline. It is doubtful that they have become more moderate. For them, the hard part is just beginning."

With most of Mogadishu under the control of the courts, the city's residents were cautiously optimistic on Tuesday that the days when "warlords" held sway over the strife-torn Horn of Africa country were, at last, coming to an end. One such warlord, Mohammed Qanyare Afrah - a key member of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, which was ousted from Mogadishu on Sunday - declined to discuss the alliance's loss of the Somali capital when reached by IRIN via telephone.

Qanyare was said to be in the town of Jowhar, 90km north of Mogadishu. He was one of four powerful Mogadishu-based faction leaders serving as ministers in Somalia's transitional government who was sacked on Sunday by Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi. The sackings came as alliance forces were being beaten back from Mogadishu.

Militias loyal to the Islamic courts have been fighting against the secular faction leaders since February. More than 300 people are believed to have died in the violence, some 1,500 others have been wounded and many thousands displaced.

The end of the fighting has brought respite to Mogadishu residents. "Everybody is happy. If the business community, the Islamic courts and the civil society come to a consensus on how to restore and maintain law and order, then there will be no return to warlordism," said Abdulahi Shirwa, the head the Somali Peace Line, a local advocacy group. Shirwa cautioned, however, that "security in Mogadishu is still fragile. If the the Islamic leaders go around claiming that they are the victorious group, then we could see the return of the warlords."

Baldo, however, said the development did not necessarily mark the end of warlordism, partly because some of the Islamic court leaders have their own agendas. "Even the [faction leaders] who have been defeated still have forces and command clan loyalty," he said. "Therefore, it is not excluded that they may try to organise a comeback. Only when we have a broad-based effective government throughout Somalia [the end of warlordism] can happen."

The power of the Islamic Courts is not absolute in Mogadishu, however, with members of the Abgal sub-clan of the larger Hawiye group holding a rally in north Mogadishu on Tuesday, during which they declared that their community would not accept the authority of the courts. The protestors, numbering several hundred, chanted, "We will defend northern Mogadishu from any attack," and "We want our own Islamic courts," sources said. Defeated faction leaders Musa Sudi Yalahow and Bashir Raghe Shirar also insisted the anti-terrorism alliance was still strong.

The sources said hundreds of heavily armed militiamen allied to the Islamic courts had taken up defensive positions in the event that gunmen loyal to the faction leader who controls Jowhar, Mohamad Dheere, decided to launch a counter-attack on the capital. "Things appear to be taking a clannish dimension again," commented a member of a civil society organisation, who requested anonymity for security reasons. "The Abgal are complaining that they have lost land [to the Islamic court supporters of the Habr Gedir clan]," he told IRIN by telephone from Mogadishu. "They want to establish their own Islamic court independent of the other courts," he added, warning that the court leaders could fail if they chose to resolve this through force.

Baldo, however, said this was unlikely. "Much will depend on how they will go about this, if they try. But they are a very heterogenous group and have so far said this is not what they want to do."

Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has called for talks with the Islamic court leaders to chart a way forward, but observers say this could prove difficult because President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed is perceived as having an anti-Islamist agenda. "The TFG had very little to say during the fighting," Baldo said. "It played safe and only congratulated the winner. By calling for talks, they have taken a wise decision, but it may be difficult to actually hold talks until both sides overcome mutual suspicion."

In the United States, a State Department spokesman told reporters, "We do not want to see Somalia turn into a safe haven for foreign terrorists." African Union chairman, Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo, discussed the situation on Monday with President George W Bush. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged those concerned to resolve their differences through talks in accordance with the country's Transitional Federal Charter.

The Islamic courts are trying to promote Islamic law rather than clan allegiance, which has divided Somalis since the fall of the government of Siyad Barre 15 years ago, observers say.

"The courts moved quickly because they wanted to assert control before the alliance could consolidate itself," Baldo said. "They will probably want to consolidate authority outside Mogadishu, unless they talk with the TFG."

Source: IRIN

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keith

06-07-2006, 12:57 PM

The Islamist Courts have confirmed a war against secular infidels, and the US has confirmed they are supporting the Anti-Terror organization.

Somalia : Islamists declare war on 'infidels'

June 7, 2006

By ANDnetwork .com

Islamic militia in Somalia's capital Mogadishu have declared war on "infidels" further hightening tensions in the country. Mogadishu has become the focus of recent fighting between Islamic militia and the US-backed warlord alliance leaving many in doubt as to whether peace will ever fully prevail in the country.

Islamic militia, who are controlling much of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, have declared war on "infidels”, raising fears of new clashes between militia and the battered US-backed warlord alliance. The warning was issued on Wednesday.

With the opposing forces locked in a tense standoff outside the alliance's last remaining stronghold north of Mogadishu, elders from both sides appealed frantically for peace.

Islamic militia and members of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT) however showed no signs of backing down from positions that have resulted in hundreds being killed in the last four months fighting.

Mogadishu's most senior Muslim cleric, Sheikh Nur Barud, called on Somalis to crush secular resistance to the imposition of Sharia law, and to reject warlord efforts to gain support by appealing to clan and tribal loyalties.

“All Somalis must defend the Islamic courts because this is not about inter-clan fighting, but about war with the infidels," he said in an address aired by local radio stations.

"We are against those who want to make this war appear like inter-clan fighting," Barud said.

"This fighting is between those who support Islam, and godless invaders and those who support them."

Barud referred to the ARPCT and the United States, which has provided financial and intelligence support to the warlords to track down Islamic extremists, including suspected Al Qaeda members.

On Tuesday US President George W Bush expressed concern over the fall of Mogadishu to Islamic forces a day earlier, and said that Washington would ensure that Somalia does not become a haven for terrorists.

US expresses concerns

"The first concern, of course, would be to make sure that Somalia does not become an Al Qaeda safe haven, and that it doesn't become a place from which terrorists can plot and plan," Bush told reporters in Texas.

Although the alliance has lost nearly all its key positions in the capital, the warlords are relying on support from the powerful Abgal sub-clan.

The Abgal sub-clan has pledged to fight to the death to defend their last stronghold of Jowhar; about 90 kilometres north of Mogadishu, from hundreds of Islamist fighters camped outside the town.

"If we see movement among the Islamic militia, we will attack," said alliance commander, Jendayi Dheere, the brother of a founding member of the ARPCT.

"We will not wait to be attacked first. We will defend our town to the death," said Dheere.

Clan elders tried in vain to defuse tensions that have already killed at least 347 people and wounded more than 1 500 since February, 2006.

"We are trying to see how we can start peace talks to avoid another war that will kill thousands of people," said mediator Mohamed Farah Jumale.

"But now we have no agreement and it's possible the warlords will re-group and start fighting under clan lines," he said.

The US government believes three terror suspects, including Al Qaeda members involved in attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, an in the bombing of an Israeli owned hotel in Kenya in 2002, are being harboured in Somalia.

America sent a small contingent of troops to Somalia to support the United Nations in the 1990's, but withdrew after suffering significant casualties in fighting in Mogadishu. America has confirmed its financial support for the warlord alliance in an effort to stop the spread of Islamic extremists in the country.

Middle East Times

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keith

06-07-2006, 10:28 PM

A definitive battle could be in the making.

Somalis flee warlord stronghold
By Mohamed Ali Bile
Wed Jun 7, 4:47 PM ET

Scores of Somali residents fled the warlord stronghold of Jowhar on Wednesday fearing a bloody offensive for control of the town by Islamic militia who took Mogadishu two days ago.

Gunmen loyal to sharia courts seized the capital on Monday from a self-styled anti-terrorism coalition of warlords, widely believed to be backed by Washington. Their victory came after fierce fighting that had killed 350 people since February.

Locals said the warlords were preparing to defend their last redoubt of Jowhar, 90 km (55 miles) north of the capital, including an advance line outside the town.

"There are so many fighters and weapons in Jowhar but most of them have been taken to the Congo military camp 5 km away," Abdi Warsame, a farmer, said by telephone.

Fighters loyal to Jowhar warlord Mohamed Dheere had been reinforced by allies defeated in Mogadishu and the strategic town of Balad, on the road north, which fell on Sunday.

"Some people have started fleeing Jowhar for fear of the fighting," Warsame said. "Most people are saying they have no option but to support whoever takes over Jowhar."

He said some warlord militia were leaving for Mogadishu after not being paid.

Islamic militiamen said their men, camped south of Jowhar, have been ordered to prevent planes from landing at the town's airstrip to block any escape by the warlords.

Political analysts say if the Islamic militia captures Jowhar, they will control most of the south of Somalia, raising questions about whether they will help install a weak interim government in the capital or set up a rival administration.

The government, too weak to enter Mogadishu, has been based in the provincial town of Baidoa since February.

ISLAMIC COURTS

Mogadishu resident Ali Abdikadir said a family member of a senior Islamic cleric told him they had a government in waiting.

"The day they take over Jowhar they will announce their government," Abdikadir said. "I don't think they plan to cooperate with the interim government. Some of them even said the government should surrender to the Islamic courts."

The Islamic victory dislodged warlords from Mogadishu for the first time since they ousted military ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, but clan fighters vowed to reclaim lost ground.

Ali Nur, a warlord fighter, said a new war against the Islamic side would be waged by the Sa'ad clan of slain warlord Mohamed Farah Aideed. A disastrous attempt by U.S. troops to capture him in 1993 was depicted in the film "Black Hawk Down."

"We are strengthening our defenses, digging trenches and putting up sand bags, preparing for war as a clan and not as the coalition," Nur said in a clan district of Mogadishu.

The United States said on Wednesday it might be open to dealing with the Islamic militia, possibly signaling a new approach to Somalia which Washington fears may become a base for terrorists.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington the administration would "reserve judgment" about the group.

"I think that as a matter of principle that we would look forward to working with groups or individuals who have an interest in a better, more peaceful, more stable, secure Somalia...who are also interested in fighting terrorism," he said when asked if Washington would deal with the militia.

President George W. Bush had expressed concern about Somalia, saying he wanted to ensure it did not become a safe haven for al Qaeda.

Washington, which has shied away from direct involvement since a humiliating 1994 exit of U.S. and U.N. troops, has refused to discuss reports that is funneling $100,000 a month to warlords, but says it will support anyone fighting terrorism.

The chairman of the Mogadishu Islamic courts, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, appeared on Wednesday to back away from comments made at a rally in which he vowed to turn Somalia into an Islamic state.

"Socialism was tested as a way of ruling the world but failed, democracy has been tested and is failing, the only way now is to try Islam. But it's up to the people to decide," he told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed and Wangui Kanina)

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keith

06-08-2006, 12:39 PM

Warlords advance toward Somali capital: residents
By Guled Mohamed

Warlords driven out of Mogadishu by Islamist militia are advancing back toward the Somali capital from their last stronghold of Jowhar, residents said on Thursday.

The residents, reached by telephone, told Reuters the Islamists were pulling back toward the town of Balad, which fell on Sunday and is on the road to the capital.

They said Jowhar warlords, reinforced by allies defeated in Mogadishu and Balad, had moved into positions south of the town that were previously occupied by the militia loyal to Mogadishu sharia courts.

"The (warlord) coalition has moved forward to Qalimoy, where the Islamic courts militia were yesterday. While the Islamic militia have moved back and are now in Gololey, which is 20 km (12 miles) from Balad," said local farmer Abdi Warsame.

"I think they moved back because their leaders are busy meeting in Mogadishu and they want to tighten their defenses there."

The warlords have vowed to win back the capital.

Earlier, Islamic courts chairman Sheikh Sharif Ahmed said his forces would not push into Jowhar unless they were attacked.

Scores of residents had fled Jowhar fearing an Islamist offensive. They had stopped leaving on Thursday.

"The town is much calmer. Residents are happy the Islamic militia have moved back," Warsame said.

He said hundreds took to the streets there to support U.S. President George W. Bush's statement of concern that Somalia should not become an al Qaeda safe haven.

"Local administration leaders vowed to continue fighting what they called 'al-Qaeda in Somalia'," Warsame said.

The Islamic militia won control of Mogadishu on Monday from a self-styled anti-terrorism warlord coalition, widely believed to be backed by Washington, after fierce fighting that had killed 350 people since February.

GOVERNMENT HEADING TO MOGADISHU

Awad Ashara, a member of parliament, told Reuters the country's interim government was planning to meet the Islamists.

"The government will in the coming days be sending cabinet members, lawmakers as well as influential traditional elders to Mogadishu. They will try to achieve reconciliation between the Islamic courts and the other groups," he said.

Ashara said the government wanted the Islamists to open Mogadishu's main seaport and airport, closed since 1994.

"The government urged the Islamic courts to take immediate necessary measures of establishing law and order in Mogadishu until the government comes and to work out voluntary disarmament," he said

The interim government, too weak to enter Mogadishu from its base in the provincial city of Baidoa, has welcomed the defeat of warlords widely believed to have undermined it.

The Islamist victory dislodged warlords from Mogadishu for the first time since they ousted military ruler Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, but clan fighters vowed to reclaim lost ground.

Ali Nur, a warlord fighter, said his Sa'ad clan was boosting defenses in its areas of Mogadishu.

"They have agreed to fight the Islamic courts. We will not attack them now but if they attack us, we will repel them and repossess our territories," he said.

Washington said on Wednesday it might be open to dealing with the Islamic militia, possibly signaling a new approach to Somalia.

It has long viewed the failed state as a potential shelter for international terrorists. But its reported covert funding of the defeated warlords has drawn domestic criticism.

Some analysts believe the defeat of the warlords, who ran their fiefdoms in Mogadishu with private armies for 15 years and are despised by much of the population, could create an opening for peace in the anarchic country.

Washington, which has shied away from direct involvement in Somalia since a humiliating 1994 exit of U.S. and U.N. troops, refused to discuss reports it funnelled $100,000 a month to warlords, but says it will support anyone fighting terrorism.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060608/ts_nm/somalia_dc_15

keith

06-08-2006, 12:49 PM

Somalia Islamic leaders meet interim gov't
By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN, Associated Press Writer

Islamic militia leaders who seized Somalia's capital this week and are accused of harboring al-Qaida fugitives started discussing the future of the lawless country Thursday with its largely powerless U.N.-backed government.

The meeting came a day after the Bush administration sounded a surprising conciliatory note toward the militia.

The aim of the Islamic Courts Union, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters, "is to try to lay the foundations for some institutions in Somalia that might form the basis for a better and more peaceful, secure Somalia where the rule of law is important."

"I think that as a matter of principle that we would look forward to working with groups or individuals who have an interest in a better, more peaceful, more stable, secure Somalia ... who are also interested in fighting terrorism," he said.

The statement was a surprising turnaround for the United States, which had been waging a proxy fight against the militia, said John Prendergast, a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group. However, he said, it was important that the United States work with powers on the ground in Somalia to bring stability to the country.

"It's a bit schizophrenic," Prendergast said. "The overriding imperative now is to bring together Somalia's warring parties into a process of state reconstruction that will provide our best antidote against extremism."

Somali government spokesman Abdirahman Nur Mohamed Dinari said two ministers from the interim administration were meeting with "top leaders of the Islamic Courts Union on Thursday" in Mogadishu.

The Islamic militia captured the capital and surrounding areas when it defeated a U.S.-backed alliance of secular warlords after weeks of bloody fighting that killed at least 330 people, many of them civilians caught in the crossfire.

Meanwhile, the weak interim government, wracked by infighting, has not been able to move into the capital because of the violence, instead operating 155 miles away in Baidoa.

Nearly 2,000 people took to the streets of Mogadishu demanding that the militia get out, showing how difficult it will be for the Islamists to hold the capital.

The growing power of the Islamic militia raised fears that Somalia could fall under the sway of Osama bin Laden's terrorist group. U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, have confirmed cooperating with the secular warlords in an attempt to root out terrorists.

U.S. officials said recently that Islamic leaders in Mogadishu are sheltering three al-Qaida leaders indicted in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. The same al-Qaida cell is believed responsible for the 2002 suicide bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya, which killed 15 people, and a simultaneous attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner over Kenya.

In a letter to the United States and other governments, the chairman of the Islamic Courts Union said Washington bore some blame for the bloodshed.

"The alleged support of the U.S. government to these warlords has contributed considerably to the recent fighting in Mogadishu and the killing of the Somali people who have suffered so long in the hands of these warlords," according to a letter dated Wednesday and signed by Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.

McCormack confirmed that the Islamic Courts Union had sent a letter to the United States.

Somalia has been without a real government since largely clan-based warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, dividing this nation of 8 million into a patchwork of rival fiefdoms.

The interim government includes several members allied with the Islamic courts. As the court militia gained power, four government Cabinet members loyal to the secular alliance were fired, further weakening it.

Its remnants were trying desperately to regroup in Jowhar, their last remaining stronghold, about 60 miles from the capital. If militiamen capture Jowhar and consolidate power in Mogadishu, the Islamic Courts Union will effectively control all the major towns in southern Somalia.

___

Associated Press reporters Les Neuhaus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Michael Weissenstein in New York contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060608/ap_on_re_af/somalia_1

keith

06-08-2006, 08:36 PM

Somalia warlords defy the Islamists

08jun06

MOGADISHU: Heavily armed Islamic gunmen and fighters loyal to a US-backed alliance of warlords faced each other in a tense standoff in Somalia yesterday after Muslim militia claimed control of the lawless capital.
Video: Islamic militias take Mogadishu

A day after the Islamists declared victory, following four months of bloody battles with the alliance for control of Mogadishu, the city was fractured along clan lines, with remaining warlords vowing not to bow to demands to surrender.
The two camps held rival rallies in the city as hundreds of Islamic fighters camped outside the warlords' last stronghold of Jowhar, about 90km north of Mogadishu, awaiting orders to attack the town, witnesses said.

About 500 Muslim militiamen backed by more than 100 utility vehicles fitted with mounted machineguns were about 10km south of Jowhar in Kalinow village, they said.

A short distance away at the Kongo military base, an equal number of gunmen loyal to Mohamad Dheere - the warlord who controls Jowhar - were preparing for a potential onslaught, they said.

"The two groups are about three kilometres apart," said one elder, stressing that both sides were under heavy pressure not to attack. "The alliance is ready to defend Jowhar but it is unlikely they will fight soon."

Jowhar is the most significant remaining position held by the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, but holdout warlords in the capital refused to accept the fall of Mogadishu.

Although there was no fighting, clan elders in northern Mogadishu voiced support for the alliance and warned militias affiliated with the city's 11 Islamic courts to steer clear of their territory.

Resistance was being led by the Abgal sub-clan, a faction of the larger Hawiye tribe to which most people living in Mogadishu belong, which controls the northern part of the city.

About 1500 people gathered in a stadium in Abgal territory to protest against the Islamists, chanting "We will defend northern Mogadishu from any attack" and "We want our own Islamic courts", witnesses said.

At the rally, warlords Musa Sudi Yalahow and Bashir Raghe Shirar, two of the three holdouts, insisted the ARPCT was alive and well despite its apparent military defeat at the hands of the Islamists.

"We shall never support the courts in Mogadishu and we demand a complete withdrawal of Islamic militia from our territory," Yalahow said.

At the far northern edge of Mogadishu, hundreds of Muslims gathered to hear Islamic leaders demand the immediate surrender of Yalahow and Shirar and restate their intention to bring the entire city under sharia law.

Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the leader of Islamic courts, vowed to push for an imposition of sharia across Somalia.

The warlord alliance was created in February with US support in an attempt to curb the growing influence of the Islamic courts, hunt down the extremists they are accused of harbouring and disrupt possible plans for terrorist attacks.

The ARPCT immediately began battling the Islamists, who declared a holy war against the warlords. At least 347 people have been killed and more than1500 wounded in the past four months.

The courts have repeatedly denied any links to extremists or al-Qa'ida but have denounced the alliance and its US patrons as the "enemy of Islam".

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19400648-31477,00.html

NYer

06-09-2006, 09:04 AM

National Review Online has a Somalia Symposium Here. (http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ODE2YTA0NmMyNjE5MGNhMDFkOGY4MTNlMGVjZDkwN2U=)

keith

06-09-2006, 01:06 PM

U.S. officials blast CIA's Somalia plan

June 9, 2006

By ANDnetwork .com

A covert effort by the Central Intelligence Agency to finance Somali warlords has drawn sharp criticism from American government officials who say the campaign has thwarted counter-terrorism efforts inside Somalia and empowered the same Islamic groups it was intended to marginalize.

The criticism, expressed privately, flared even before the apparent victory this week by Islamist militias in the country dealt a sharp setback to American policy in the region, according to U.S. government officials with knowledge of the debate.

The officials said the CIA effort, run from the agency's station in Nairobi, Kenya, had channeled hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past year to secular warlords inside Somalia with the aim, among other things, of capturing or killing a handful of suspected members of al-Qaida believed to be hiding there.

Officials say the decision to use proxies was born in part from fears of committing large numbers of American personnel to counterterrorism efforts in Somalia, a country that the United States hastily left in 1994 after attempts to capture the warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid and his aides ended in disaster and the death of 18 American troops.

Money for militias

The American effort of the last year has occasionally included trips to Somalia by Nairobi-based CIA case officers, who landed on warlord-controlled airstrips in Mogadishu with large amounts of money for distribution to Somali militias, according to American officials involved in Africa policymaking and to outside experts.

Among those who have criticized the CIA operation as short-sighted have been senior foreign service officers at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

Earlier this year, Leslie Rowe, the embassy's second-ranking official, signed off on a cable back to State Department headquarters that detailed grave concerns throughout the region about American efforts in Somalia, according to several people with knowledge of the report.

Around that time, the State Department's political officer for Somalia, Michael Zorick, who had been based in Nairobi, was reassigned to Chad after he sent a cable to Washington criticizing Washington's policy of paying Somali warlords.

One American government official who traveled to Nairobi this year said officials from various government agencies working in Somalia had expressed concern that American activities in the country were not being carried out in the context of a broader policy.

The details of the American effort in Somalia are classified, and American officials from several different agencies agreed to discuss them only after being assured of anonymity. The officials included supporters of the CIA-led effort as well as critics. A agency spokesman declined to comment, as did a spokesman for the American Embassy in Kenya.

'Blown up in our face'

Some Africa experts contend the United States has lost its focus on how to deal with the larger threat of terrorism in East Africa by putting a premium on its effort to capture or kill a few high-level suspects.

Indeed, some of the experts point to the American effort to finance the warlords as one of the factors that led to the resurgence of Islamic militias in the country. They argue that American support for secular warlords, who joined together under the banner of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counterterrorism, may have helped to unnerve the Islamic militias and prompted them to launch pre-emptive strikes. The Islamic militias have been routing the warlords, and on Monday they claimed to have taken control of most of the Somali capital.

"This has blown up in our face, frankly," said John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit research organization with extensive field experience in Somalia.

"We've strengthened the hand of the people whose presence we were worried most about," said Prendergast.

Source : Chron

http://hornofafrica.andnetwork.com/index;jsessionid=692CF9E79C7AFD1C282FAA96A8D8346B? service=direct/1/Home/recent.titleStory&sp=l38278

keith

06-09-2006, 01:10 PM

Kenya vows to continue crackdown against Somali warlords

June 9, 2006
By ANDnetwork .com

Kenya vowed Thursday to continue crackdown against Somali warlords, warning that those who use Kenya's territory to destabilize a neighboring state would find its soil a "hostile ground."

The latest warning came a day after the east African nation launched a fresh crackdown against Somali warlords, accusing them of using Nairobi as a haven to organize illegal activities and receive funding to advance the war in Mogadishu.
Government spokesman Alfred Mutua told a news conference that Kenya is negotiating with the members of the regional peace mediation body, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to slap travel sanctions against Somali warlords and desist supporting any factions fighting against the nascent administration based in Baidoa, about 250 km southwest of Somali capital Mogadishu.

"Kenya government reiterates that whoever wants to support any group in Somalia should do so through the internationally recognized Transitional Government of Somalia," Mutua told reporters.

The Kenyan Foreign Affairs Ministry announced the total ban on Somali warlords responsible for the latest vicious fighting in Mogadishu from entering Kenyan territory Tuesday night, saying they were undermining Nairobi's peace efforts in Somalia.

"The government of Kenya, has with immediate effect, imposed a total ban on all forms of travel into Kenya by Somali warlords and their associates," said a statement .

Somali warlord Abdirashid Hussein Shire, whose Sahafi Hotel in Mogadishu was allegedly used as the command center for the latest atrocities in the volatile capital, was arrested hours after the ban was announced and deported.

Kenya, which chairs IGAD, said it had engaged the members of the peace body, including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda and Djibouti, to impose similar travel bans.

Kenyan officials say the ban covers the warlords, some of who are serving ministers in the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and their associates.

Kenyan officials say the travel ban would help curb the effects of the latest flare up in fighting from spilling over to Kenya.

"We are not seeing a spillover effect from this war to Kenya but we want to incapacitate the warlords so that we curtail this fighting from creating too many refugees," Mutua said.

Somali Islamic Courts, which claimed to have won the battle for Mogadishu against a Somali warlord alliance, issued a statement Wednesday, denying that they supported terror groups.

The Islamic militia is gaining ground just as the UN-backed interim government struggles to assert control outside its base in Baidoa.

The Islamists have set up new Sharia law courts in the lawless Mogadishu on Thursday in and around the city.

Despite assurances they will not forcibly impose strict Islamic rule on the Horn of Africa nation's largely moderate Muslim population, Islamists reportedly created at least three new Sharia courts in formerly secular areas since Wednesday.

Source : Xinhua

http://hornofafrica.andnetwork.com/index;jsessionid=692CF9E79C7AFD1C282FAA96A8D8346B? service=direct/1/Home/recent.titleStory&sp=l38306

keith

06-09-2006, 07:48 PM

Somali president's compound hit

Gunmen have attacked the compound of Somalia's interim President Abdullahi Yusuf in the central town of Baidoa.
At least 10 people were killed in heavy fighting when a local clan militia attacked the area reportedly angry at moves to dismantle their roadblocks.

The unrest comes as the government discussed a response to the Islamist victory this week in the capital.

Militia of the Islamic courts seized Mogadishu from warlords, who had controlled the city for some 15 years.

The central town of Baidoa, some 200km from Mogadishu, is the temporary base of President's Yusuf's fledgling administration, which has not moved to Mogadishu because of security concerns.

There are some 3,000 militiamen operating in Baidoa who extort payment from the scores of checkpoints that line the route to Mogadishu.

Roadblock anger

The BBC's Hassan Barise in Mogadishu says the gun battles broke out in the centre of Baidoa on Friday morning.

Among the dead included a well-known leader of the Geledleh clan, Malaq Somow Abdi Garrun, whose militia led the attack. MP Mohamed Hussein Afaraleh was among the wounded.

President Yusuf was in his compound at the time of the fighting.

Our correspondent says the battle may have been a sparked by an attempt by the president's militia to disband an illegal roadblock set up by local Geledleh militia on a road into Baidoa.

In retaliation, the clan militias attacked the presidential compound, which is heavily guarded, our correspondent says.

The fighting forced all business in the town to come to a halt.

The building which houses the parliament is only 200m from the presidential compound and clan elders and MPs attempted to intervene to calm the situation.

By the afternoon the fighting had eased, with only sporadic gunshots being heard in the area.

Tensions

Correspondents say although the clashes appear to be unrelated to the fighting in Mogadishu, they add to the heightened sense of tension in southern Somalia and the killing of a clan elder could see an escalation of the violence in Baidoa.

Ministers and MPs in the town have been discussing their response this week to the change of power in Mogadishu.

On Wednesday, a senior interim minister said he expected the Union of Islamic Courts to eventually join them in government.

The deputy head of the government, Ismail Mahmoud, said contacts had been taking place.

BBC Somali Service editor Yusuf Garaad Omar says the Islamists are generally more popular than the warlords, who are hated for their role in Somalia's civil war.

The transitional government only controls a small part of Somalia, which has not had a functioning national authority for 15 years.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/5064312.stm

Published: 2006/06/09 17:35:50 GMT

© BBC MMVI

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5064312.stm

keith

06-10-2006, 07:30 PM

Somalia's future hinges on victors' laws
By CHRIS TOMLINSON, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jun 10, 2:41 PM ET

Islamic militants in Somalia have succeeded where the United Nations, the United States and a gallery of warlords and clan elders failed: They have, for now, brought peace to Mogadishu.

But having defeated a U.S.-backed alliance of secular warlords, they must unite a country whose political, religious and clan divisions have rendered it lawless, destitute and a hideout for al-Qaida terrorists and criminals for 15 years.

Success may depend on who prevails among the victors themselves: religious moderates who want to restore traditional Somali society or those seeking a strict, Taliban-like Islamic republic.

"These guys are battling internally to decide whether to go for a draconian, sharia law-based administration or whether they're going to be generally laissez faire," said John Prendergast, a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group, which monitors conflict zones.

"If they come down hard on social and political rights, you're going to see a backlash against them."

The country they are fighting over is in dire shape.

Mogadishu — the capital where an estimated 1.2 million people live and made famous by the book and movie "Black Hawk Down" — has degenerated into a huge, looted shanty town since the last effective central government collapsed in 1991.

Public buildings have been dismantled brick by brick, and people live in improvised tents on the old foundations after being driven from their homes by often senseless violence.

Most families cannot afford to send their children to the few formal schools that exist, so they attend ad hoc training led by local Islamic clerics. An entire generation has little knowledge of the outside world.

What they do know of the outside world may be what their elders have told them about Western intervention, some of it disastrous. Identity is based on family and clan, with little national allegiance.

For Mogadishu's young men, many of whom are illiterate, a career as a freelance gunman working for a warlord has been the best way to guarantee a regular meal and a ration of khat, an addictive, semi-narcotic plant chewed by many Somalis. These militiamen strike terror in average Somalis, sometimes robbing, raping and killing with impunity.

Public support for the Islamic Courts is high because they have brought a semblance of justice and security, though some worry about the consequences.

"I like the Islamic courts because they work on creating a secure environment for our business," local trader Abdirahman Mohamud Ahmed said. "But I am worried that they might come up with too much taxation ... they're stubborn because they think everything they say is a holy thing from God."

The fundamentalists have raided bars and destroyed video halls showing risque films. The death penalty has been imposed for a variety of offenses.

Most Somalis welcome the stability brought by the Islamic militants, but they also support the weak, U.N.-backed transitional government currently struggling to assert its authority. They see it as a way to rejoin the international community, which most Somalis consider the best opportunity for prosperity.

Leaders from the Islamic Courts Union and the Transitional Federal Government have begun talks, but both sides have widely condemned each other in the past, leaving many wondering if they will reach a consensus or start another civil war.

"Now things are quiet in Mogadishu, but I am worried what will come next," said Jamila Issac, a woman's rights activist in Mogadishu. "If the Islamic Courts install law and order and establish an Islamic state in Mogadishu, then this means there is no transitional government and the worst case scenario is looming."

Analysts are also keeping a close eye for schisms between the 11 men who lead the Islamic Courts Union.

The chairman, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, is a moderate member of the Abgal clan. An extremely influential founder is Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, a member of the Ayr clan who the Bush administration says was an associate of Osama bin Laden in the early 1990s and allegedly harbors al-Qaida bombers under indictment in the United States.

Sheikh Ahmed initially promised an Islamic republic, but has recently backtracked.

"We do not want to impose sharia law, we will accept the views of the Somali people," he said Saturday. "Somalis should decide what they want."

He also denied that any al-Qaida suspects were being harbored by union members.

Omar Jamal, an expatriate Somali who has daily contact with Somalia's leaders and is director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, Minn., said there is fierce debate within the union along ideological and clan lines. He said he expects the United States to try to exploit these differences so the moderates will prevail.

Most Somali clerics practice the mystical Sufi form of Islam, which is anathema to the radical Wahabi sect, the austere brand of Sunni Islam most prevalent in Saudi Arabia and promoted by Islamic extremists, including the Taliban. Each group advocates Islamic law, but define it differently.

"The moderates in the Islamic Courts Union, who follow the old school of thought, were only interested in kicking out the warlords and turning the city over to the transitional government," Jamal said.

"The radicals, mostly educated in Saudi Arabia, however, enjoy most of the power right now" and want a strict Islamic government.

The radicals see clan politics as their biggest obstacle to Taliban-style rule, Jamal added.

For example, secular warlord Muse Sudi Yalahow, while defeated militarily, has been able to rally his Abgal clan in northern Mogadishu to denounce the Islamic courts as just another clan-based militia, not a religious order. Abgal elders have called on Sheikh Ahmed to quit the union and "rejoin his clan."

Competition for power and resources between the dozens of clans and sub-clans has been the cause of most of Somalia's problems since rebels overthrew dictator Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991.

The deaths of 18 American soldiers in 1992, made famous in "Black Hawk Down," were the result of a U.S. attempt to prop up a U.N.-backed government by taking out a powerful clan warlord.

The United Nations withdrew from Somalia in 1995, leaving the warlords to divide up the country and to extort as much money as possible from its 8 million citizens. After the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. agents began working informally with some of the secular warlords to monitor terrorist activity and snatch al-Qaida suspects using the country as a rear base for attacks on Western targets in Kenya and Tanzania.

U.S. officials said recently that Islamic leaders in Mogadishu are sheltering three al-Qaida leaders indicted in the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. The same al-Qaida cell is believed responsible for the 2002 suicide bombing of an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya, which killed 15 people, and a simultaneous attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner over Kenya.

Earlier this year, though, the United States covertly began cooperating with an alliance of secular warlords fighting the Islamic militia in an attempt to root out terrorists. But now that the Islamic militia controls nearly all of southern Somalia, the United States has adopted a more conciliatory tone.

The United States said Friday it was inviting European and African countries to a meeting in New York next week on ways to deal with the Islamic militias. The gathering will mark the inaugural meeting of what will become a permanent mechanism for interested nations to devise common strategies on Somalia, known as the Somalia Contact Group.

Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer will head the U.S. delegation to the meeting. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said a goal of the meeting will be to support the transitional government.

Jamal and Prendergast both agree that this is the only way the United States can engage Somalia without provoking more of the anti-American sentiment created by U.S. cooperation with the warlords. With the secular warlords struggling to maintain enough forces to merely survive, the transitional government offers the only substitute for a radical Islamic republic in Somalia.

___

Associated Press reporters in Mogadishu, Somalia, contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060610/ap_on_re_af/somalia_how_islamic_1

keith

06-10-2006, 07:36 PM

No sharia law for Somalia- Ahmed

June 10, 2006

By ANDnetwork .com

Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the leader of an Islamic militia that has seized control of Mogadishu yesterday denied having plans to implement Sharia law.

Ahmed also further denied U.S allegations that they were harbouring terrorists. Islamic Courts Union led by Ahmed defeated secular alliance of warlords backed by the Americans last week to take control of the capital.

"American concerns are based on misconception," the 41-year-old leader said. "Islamic courts do not harbour foreign terrorists."

Ahmed added: "We do not want to impose sharia law. We will accept the views of the Somali people."

The growing power of the Islamic Courts Union has forced the U.S. and other world powers to take notice amid concerns that radical Islam could be taking hold.

The United States supported a secular alliance of warlords that was fighting the Islamic militia in an attempt to root out those it considers terrorists. But that plan backfired, with most alliance leaders now in hiding after weeks of fighting that killed at least 330 people.

The Islamic Courts Union, itself a fragile alliance of radical and moderate Muslim groups from different clans, has kept quiet about its plans as its power has increased - a tacit acknowledgement, perhaps, that there's little desire for a fundamentalist theocracy in a society whose Islam is relatively tolerant.

But in the past, the group has said strict Islamic state is the only way out of more than a decade of anarchy in Somalia.

The U.S. said it was inviting European and African countries on short notice to a meeting in New York next week on ways to deal with gains by the Islamic militia. The group has control of nearly all of southern Somalia, including the capital.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack had no information on the precise location of the meeting or the identity of the participants. The haste with which the meeting is being convened reflected the concern in Washington about the tightening grip of the militias on Mogadishu and other population centres in Somalia.

Some Somalis see a single force in control of the capital as better than nothing in a country of eight million that has been fractured into rival clan fiefdoms by 15 years of civil war. Indeed, the capital has been relatively calm since the militia seized Mogadishu.

Somalia has been without a real government since largely clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and turned on each other, creating rival fiefdoms.

The United Nations helped set up an interim government during talks two years ago, but the government - based in Baidoa, 250 kilometres from Mogadishu - has been unable to enter the capital because of the violence, and has failed to assert control.

By AND/Agencies

http://www.andnetwork.com/index?service=direct/0/Home/top.titleStory&sp=l38578

NYer

06-13-2006, 10:52 AM

Islamic Courts fear getting the Zarqawi treatment. (http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/somalia/articles/20060613.aspx)

Alli

06-14-2006, 09:32 PM

Never fear, the State Department and NY Times are here :rolleyes:

Setback in Somalia

TODAY'S COLUMNIST
By John B. Roberts II
June 13, 2006

Two-and-a-half years ago, I first learned of the CIA's covert program to use secular warlords to contain al Qaeda in Somalia. As early as 2002 intelligence officials concluded that al Qaeda had re-established an operational network in Somalia after being routed in Afghanistan. Some reports even suggested that Osama bin Laden crossed the Arabian Sea in a dhow and found sanctuary in Somalia after escaping the noose in Tora Bora.
Until now, I refrained from writing about the Somali front in the war on al Qaeda because of its extreme sensitivity and its vital importance. Regrettably, State Department career officials, in order to condemn the program, have now confirmed to the New York Times the existence of the covert operation being run by the CIA station in Nairobi, Kenya. This is an unconscionable breach of security that ought to outrage us all.

more:
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20060612-093253-7262r.htm

mez31

06-26-2006, 01:56 PM

Does this sound familiar?? Wanting to implement Sharia law? Just in from the BBC southern somalia is now in control by muslim forces.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5118612.stm

Somali radical seeks Islamic law
The Somali cleric named to head a new legislative council says he wants any new government to rule according to Islamic law, or Sharia.
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, on the US list of those with links to al-Qaeda, also denied being a terrorist.

Mr Aweys' Islamist group, which controls much of southern Somalia, is to hold talks with the weak interim government next month.

Interim President Abdullahi Yusuf strongly opposes political Islam.

The two groups last week agreed not to fight each other, amid fears of renewed conflict in Somalia, which has not had an effective national government for 15 years.

Stonings

"Somalia is a Muslim nation and its people are also Muslim, 100% - therefore any government we agree on would be based on the holy Quran and the teachings of our Prophet Muhammad," Mr Aweys told the AP news agency.

If strictly following my religion and love for Islam makes me a terrorist, then I will accept the designation
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys

He was speaking to the media for the first time since being named as head of the legislative council of the Somali Supreme Islamic Courts Council - the new name for the Union of Islamic Courts.

In the town of Jowhar, controlled by the Islamists, five people have gone on trial accused of serious offences such as rape and murder, for which they could be stoned to death if found guilty.

Stonings and amputations for thieves are not uncommon in areas run by the Islamic courts.

Mr Aweys is seen as being a hardliner, compared to the more moderate Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who has led the group since its took control of the capital, Mogadishu, from an alliance of warlords.

Mr Ahmed is head of a new executive committee and it is not clear which man is more powerful.

Some correspondents speak of a power struggle between the two factions.

Mr Ahmed has said the group does not want political power.

US call

The US fears that a Somali run by Islamists could be used by Islamic fighters linked to al-Qaeda.

Such fears will be heightened by the apparent promotion of a man who used to lead al-Itihaad al-Islamiya, a group which the US described as "terrorist".

But Mr Aweys told the AFP news agency he had never killed anybody.
"I am not a terrorist. But if strictly following my religion and love for Islam makes me a terrorist, then I will accept the designation."

President Yusuf defeated al-Itihaad in the 1990s, chasing it out of the northern region of Puntland, which he used to head.

The US is widely believed to have backed the defeated Mogadishu warlords, as part of its war on terror.

It has neither confirmed nor denied the reports but says it will support those working to prevent "terrorists" from setting up in Somalia.

Last week, a senior US official urged the Islamic courts to hand over three men it wants in connection with previous attacks in East Africa, blamed on al-Qaeda sympathisers - the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2002 attacks on Israeli tourists in Kenya.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/5118612.stm

Published: 2006/06/26 16:59:41 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Sooner or later somalia will have to be revisited by U.S. forces, our proxy war seems to be failing. Interesting to see what will come of the meetings.
:happy_12:

al-Canine

07-03-2006, 07:49 AM

Night Falls on Mogadishu
The individuals that now control much of southern Somalia can be directly linked to al Qaeda.

by Dan Darling
07/03/2006

ON JUNE 5th, Islamist fighters loyal to the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) seized the Somali capital of Mogadishu. The ICU's sudden consolidation of power has increased concerns that the anarchic African nation may serve as a terrorist haven similar to that of Afghanistan under the Taliban. But while a great deal of ink has been spilled on this subject since the fall of Mogadishu, entirely too much of it has been devoted to criticizing alleged American support for the secular Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT). The individuals that now control much of southern Somalia are the real story here, given that a number of key figures in the ICU can be directly linked not only to al Qaeda but also to the killing of a number of U.S. servicemen during Operation Restore Hope in Somalia--an act that forms a major component of the original 1998 US indictment of Osama bin Laden.

Estimates of the actual al Qaeda presence in Somalia are, alarmingly, rather varied. On one hand, the former head of the CIA's bin Laden unit, Michael Scheuer, recounts in his book Through Our Enemies' Eyes how "bin Laden expended sizeable amounts of time, money, and manpower to expand there [Somalia] after he returned to Afghanistan," and that "anywhere from a dozen to several hundred of bin Laden's Afghan Arabs remained in and around Mogadishu after U.N. and U.S. forces departed." Quoting extensively from the Arab newspaper al-Sharq al-Aswat, Scheuer argues:

Over the past several years, bin Laden's Somalia-based force reportedly has risen to between four hundred and two thousand fighters, and there are reports of senior bin Laden lieutenants--most frequently the IG's Mustafa Hamza--visiting the country to survey al Qaeda's progress in Africa and the needs of its Somali allies. In May 1999, al-Sharq al-Awsat said al Qaeda was setting up a camp near the coastal town of Ras Kamboni and was installing sophisticated communications there. In addition, bin Laden's fighters reportedly have built "structures and training camps in the region of Gedo, near the border between Somalia and Ethiopia," and possibly are trying to acquire uranium deposits in northern Somalia. Al Qaeda also appears to use Somalia as a base for dealing with the Eritrean Islamic Jihad, taking advantage of the unstable politics yielded by the 1998-1999 Great Lakes War to contact Islamists in Central Africa and supplying weapons to al Qaeda operatives in Kenya ... According to al-Awsat, the August 1996 Ethiopian raids on AII "almost broke its back;" the Ethiopians also claimed to have "apprehended ... a number of 'Afghan Arabs' who were financed by Osama bin Laden" and who were serving with the AII. After this setback, the AII joined the two above-mentioned groups to form the UF, which was created "with the recommendation of Osama bin Laden," who also "facilitated the arrival of a group of his followers in southern Somalia and financed their purchase of sophisticated weapons" to assist the UF's organizational efforts. Bin Laden's aid, according to al-Awsat, has been effective to the point where "the Islamic groups ... have indeed regained their strength."

A March 2005 United Nations report provided a similar picture of al Qaeda in Somalia, describing the nation as a harbor for a large force of jihadi fighters supported by no less than 17 terrorist training camps. A more comforting analysis of the situation comes from the respected International Crisis Group (ICG). The ICG describes jihadism as an "unpopular, minority trend among Somali Islamists" and argues that the military wing of Al-Itihaad Al-Islamiya (AIAI), the primary al Qaeda associate group in Somalia, has been "largely dismantled" as a result of Ethiopian military intervention during the mid-1990s. Furthermore, they found that "the new jihadi network's effective membership is in the tens rather than the hundreds, and the number of ranking al-Qaeda operatives in Somalia probably number less than half a dozen." Needless to say, these are two extremely contrasting views on the scope of the terror network in Somalia.

Regardless of which assessment presents a more accurate picture of the current situation, the current leadership of the ICU is alarming enough on its own right. The newly appointed leader of the group's consultation committee, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, is a long-standing al Qaeda confederate, his current denials notwithstanding. A former army colonel, Aweys has been involved with AIAI since its inception and served as the commander of the group's military wing during the formative stages of both its alliance with al Qaeda and its combat operations against U.S., and later Ethiopian, forces. Contrary to the current conventional wisdom--i.e.,that it was the American support for the secular warlords that led to the current status quo in Somalia--Aweys has been declaring for well over a year now his intention to establish an Islamist theocracy in Somalia through violence. In May 2005, he claimed that "democracy is contrary to Islamic teachings." That September, Aweys told SomaliNet's Hassan Ali in an exclusive interview that he was preparing for war against the Jowhar-based interim government, stating that "We [the ICU] have been mobilizing all of our assets in the past few months and we are ready to die for saving Somalia." While US support for the secular Somali warlords may well have been the proximate cause for the recent fighting, it must also be noted that Aweys was preparing his followers to fight for control of Somalia regardless of this alleged U.S. interference. Most likely it was only a question of when, not if, violence would erupt once again in war-torn Mogadishu.

To illustrate that the ICU's leader has abandoned none of his prior ties to international terrorism, it is only necessary to examine the role played by Aweys's young protégé, Aden Hashi 'Ayro. The commander of one of the ICU militias, 'Ayro is reputed to have inherited his mentor's ties to al Qaeda and even traveled to Afghanistan to receive terrorist training there on the eve of Operation Enduring Freedom. Under 'Ayro's leadership, Somali Islamists have desecrated Italian cemeteries, murdered NGO workers, and killed BBC journalist Kate Peyton. It would also be a definite mistake to view the religious extremism of Aweys and 'Ayro as being a merely local variety: on June 6, Knight-Ridder reported that "U.S. officials said the Islamists are hosting the al-Qaida planner of the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and two organizers of a failed 2002 bid to down an Israeli passenger jet in Kenya." ARPCT spokesman Hussein Gutale Ragheh went even further, claiming that Arab, Pakistani, and Oromo Islamists had been killed alongside ICU fighters during the battle for control of Mogadishu. While harboring at least three senior al Qaeda operatives should be reason enough to view the ICU as a danger to the region, if the ARPCT accounts have even a kernel of veracity to them it would seem to indicate that the more alarmist accounts of al Qaeda activity in Somalia may, in fact, be accurate.

The effect of the ICU's rule over Mogadishu is already coming into focus. From closing down makeshift cinemas, to preventing Somalis from viewing the World Cup, to making the celebration of New Year's a capital offense, the closer one looks at this regime the more it begins to resemble the Islamist theocracy that once dominated Afghanistan. While some observers have compared the rise of the ICU in Somalia to the Taliban conquest of Afghanistan, a better analogy might be the early rise of the Taliban in Kandahar in 1994, when the movement was still in the process of consolidating its power. At that time, the West chose to ignore the threat, a decision that had tragic consequences for so many. Whether or not we repeat that same mistake, only time will tell.

Dan Darling is a counterterrorism consultant.

Weekly Standard (http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/396gitqe.asp)

keith

07-07-2006, 11:40 AM

Pray or die, Somali sheikh tells Muslims
By Guled Mohamed and Mohamed Ali Bile

A leading Mogadishu sheikh said on Friday Muslims who do not pray five times a day should be put to death -- the latest sign of a fast-emerging hardline face to Somalia's newly-powerful Islamists.

The sheikh's statement -- which he confirmed to Reuters after it was broadcast on local media -- caused consternation among residents and will fuel foreign fears the Islamists are planning a hardline Taliban-style rule.

"He who does not perform prayer will be considered as infidel and our sharia law orders that person to be killed," said Sheikh Abdalla Ali, who runs a sharia court in the Somali capital which the Islamists took last month.

After kicking out the U.S.-backed warlords from Mogadishu on June 5, the Islamists took a large swathe of southern Somalia from the coastal capital to near the border with Ethiopia.

The Islamists initially sought to project a moderate face.

But in recent weeks, a hardline cleric on international terrorism lists has risen to their most senior position, strict sharia law such as whipping has been increasingly applied to criminals, and zealous militia have broken up World Cup viewing.

An elder in the Gubta area of Mogadishu, which is the base of the sheikh who pronounced on the prayers, said he did not approve of the strict sharia punishments, "We are very sorry at these kinds of activities," said Aw Ahmed Jilacow.

VIDEO "FABRICATED"

The Islamists' hardline leader, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, said a video purportedly showing foreigners fighting alongside local militants was fabricated to discredit his movement, according to remarks published on Friday.

The potentially explosive tape circulating in Mogadishu this week appears to show foreign radicals alongside local Islamist militiamen during the recent battles against warlords.

If true, that would puncture the Islamists' claim to be an entirely home-grown movement, and fuel fears in Washington and elsewhere that their rise could make the Horn of Africa nation a magnet for Muslim extremists.

"This tape is fabricated and fraudulent and aims to harm the reputation of the Islamic Courts," Aweys, who is on a U.N. and U.S. terrorism list, told London-based Asharq al-Awsat daily.

Separately, Islamist militiamen faced off with a group vowing to fight Mogadishu's new rulers on Friday as residents feared another flare-up after a month of relative peace.

Manning checkpoints and driving pick-ups mounted with heavy guns, rival militias stood just 150 meters (yards) apart in the Kilometer Four area of Mogadishu.

Seeking to cling to an enclave in Kilometer Four, the warlord-linked Sa'ad sub-clan has boosted its defenses and refused to hand over weapons, as well as briefly seizing a vehicle from the pro-Islamist Ayr sub-clan, residents said.

"There are fears of fighting in Kilometre Four between Islamic Courts Union and the Sa'ad," resident Abdikarim Ahmed said. "The Sa'ad took over a vehicle owned by the Ayr and held it for several hours. They took several guns from the vehicle and later released it."

Warlord fighters linked to the Sa'ad last month vowed to regain territory they lost in the fight for Mogadishu, which killed 350 people in close range artillery duels.

(Additional reporting by Heba Kandil)

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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keith

07-07-2006, 12:17 PM

Somali gov't appoints regional governors to spur reconciliation

July 7, 2006, 17 minutes and 27 seconds ago.

By ANDnetwork .com

The transitional government of Somalia said on Friday it has appointed Mohamoud Mohamed Aden the new governor for the Bay region in central Somalia as part of the United Nations-backed reconciliation and peace-building efforts.

A statement from the Nairobi-based UN Development Program (UNDP) said Aden's appointment was a result of the joint Somali Transitional Federal Institutions/international community District-based Peace-building and Reconciliation Project, backed by a cross-section of the Somali community.

"This is really a milestone for us in this region. This is a process that consults the people on the kind of administration that they want and that they feel will best address their needs," said Aden who took office on Thursday.

He said the people of Somalia should know the people who they have selected to represent them in the council to provide them with a sense of ownership of their local administration.

UN officials said the reconciliation and peace-building talks brought together various opinion leaders including traditional elders, the civil society, political, religious groups, women, young people and intellectuals to work towards re-establishing representative local administrations.

"The five districts in the region convened district-level reconciliation conferences out of which District Council Commissioners were elected, police chiefs appointed and District Development Councils formed," the UN office for Somalia said in the statement.

The council representatives have now elected a governor and two deputies for the region.

"There is no substitute for representative governance," said Special Envoy of the Italian government Senator Mario Raffaelli.

"We have seen it all over the world. When people feel that they have a stake in the political process, they will participate and work towards the betterment of their communities," Raffaelli noted.

The establishment of the local administrations is provided for in Chapter 4, article 11 of the Somali Charter, which mandates the transitional government to promote the development of regional authorities.

"The establishment of the Bay Region administrations is now complete and the transitional federal government is considering a rapid expansion of the project to five other regions," the UNDP said.

"It is absolutely critical that we all support these local administrations in the delivery of visible and concrete services to the people they represent," said Eric Laroche, UNDP resident representative.

He said the process was critical to consolidate the peace process, which in turn sets the ground for job creation and provision of better healthcare and schools.

"We cannot squander this chance and I request all Somalis in the country and in the Diaspora, as well as the international community to take these administrations seriously," he added.

The Horn of Africa nation has had no effective central government since 1991 and has appealed to the international community to deploy foreign peacekeepers to enable the fledgling government stamp its authority on the Somali soil.

Xinhua

MB/JB

http://hornofafrica.andnetwork.com/index;jsessionid=ED7F177213FD45E2E3DD6C1460249F6D? service=direct/1/Home/recent.titleStory&sp=l43367

keith

07-09-2006, 06:07 PM

21 dead in Somali violence

From: Agence France-Presse From correspondents in Mogadishu
July 10, 2006
HARDLINE Somali Islamic militants today declared "absolute" victory over the remaining warlords in the lawless capital, Mogadishu, after clashes that claimed at least 21 lives, spelling the end of the notorious warlords' rule in the Indian Ocean city.

"We have absolutely won the fighting that started in Mogadishu this morning. We now control the whole city after we seized the last territory from warlord Qeydiid," said Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, the deputy secretary of defence for the Islamic courts.
Fighters allied to the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia ousted their rivals loyal to warlord Abdi Hassan Awale Qeydiid, who with warlord Hussein Aidid had refused to surrender and hand over their weapons to the Islamists, who routed the other warlords from the capital on June 5.

At least 21 people were killed, including civilians, in artillery duels in southern Mogadishu, while dozens were wounded and taken to the capital's Medina and Banadir hospitals, doctors, witnessess and militia said.

Witnesses said warlords' fighters fled from their positions, which they had held for many years, as Islamic militants on battlewagons - pickup trucks equipped with machine guns - established their bases, marking the end of the warlords' rule in the capital.

Sporadic gunfire could be heard as the vanquished militiamen fled for safety led by Qeydiid himself, according to an AFP correspondent. Aidid, also deputy prime minister in the transitional administration, was in the seat of government in Baidoa, about 250 km north-west of the capital.

Advertisement:

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Militia sources said the toll could be much higher as several wounded civilians had been taken to hospitals and dispensaries with critical injuries. Hundreds of terrified civilians fled battlefields and stray rounds of fire tore through the air.

"Since the Islamists have a policy of not revealing their battlefield losses, we believe the overall toll could be as high as 43," said an Islamic militiaman, who requested to remain unamed.

The Islamists, who routed the US-backed warlords from the capital on June 5 and now control large swaths of southern Somalia, vowed to rid the country of warlords and other faction chiefs who have ruled since the government of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991.

Apart from Qeydiid and Aidid, other defeated warlords either fled or defected to the Islamic courts.

Aidid was not part of the now-vanquished US-backed Alliance for Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT), but kept his fighters in the lawless capital.

The latest unrest brings the toll to at least 381 dead and more than 2000 wounded in the fighting, which erupted on February 18 when Washington bankrolled the warlords grouped under the ARPCT to curb the growing influence of the Islamists, who are accused of links with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network and habouring foreign fighters.

The Islamists have flatly rejected the charges while starting to impose strict Sharia law across the overwhelmingly moderate Muslim country in what many see as a direct challenge to Somalia's largely powerless transitional government.

US officials have repeatedly described their victory as "creeping Talibanisation" as Sharia law has increasingly taken hold, with public executions, banning of bands at wedding parties and lashing of offenders in public and well as the outlawing of televised World Cup matches and Western and Indian films.

In addition, the Islamists have warned that Muslims who fail to perform daily prayers will be killed in accordance with Koranic law.

The requirement to observe the five-times daily ritual under penalty of death was announced last week and appears to confirm the hardline nature of the courts.

Last month, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a hardline cleric designated a terrorist by the US, was named as the Islamists' supreme leader, deepening fears that Somalia is becoming a haven for terrorists.

The courts are due to meet senior government officials next week in Sudan but remain deeply at odds with the administration on several key issues, including the planned deployment of international peacekeepers which they maintain would jeopardise efforts to restore stability.

keith

07-10-2006, 11:51 AM

Fighting flares in Mogadishu, at least 60 dead
By Guled Mohamed

Fighting surged in Mogadishu on Monday between Islamist militias and fighters loyal to the city's last warlords, pushing the death toll over two days to at least 60 and pounding a key hospital with artillery and gunfire.

Residents feared the death toll would climb even further in the most ferocious fighting in the capital since the Islamists seized it a month ago from an alliance of U.S.-backed warlords.

Witnesses said the renewed fighting, which erupted in the afternoon after a morning lull, intensified throughout the day as fighters exchanged rocket, artillery and machinegun fire.

"The hospital is under very heavy mortar and artillery attack and stray bullets are hitting. Chaos is everywhere in the hospital and staff are running away," Abdikadir Sheikh, a medical official at Mogadishu's Madina Hospital, told Reuters by phone as artillery and gunfire crackled behind him.

Sheikh and residents of Mogadishu's Kilometre Five area said the death toll had risen by at least 40 and nearly 100 had been wounded since heavy street battles broke out at dawn on Sunday in the neighboring Kilometre Four area.

Witnesses said artillery and mortar shells rained down on Kilometre Five as the battle shifted areas and cut many victims off from Madina.

"The number of dead will be more than 60 because so many of the injured cannot go to the nearest hospital," a Kilometre Five resident who refused to give his name said.

Residents said the streets were empty as militiamen traded automatic weapons fire, and "technicals" -- pickup trucks mounted with heavy weapons that are Somalia's version of tanks -- rolled forward with their guns blazing.

TALKS IMPERILLED

The battles broke out on Sunday when the Islamists set a daybreak ambush in Kilometre Four for fighters loyal to Hussein Aideed, an interior minister in the interim government, and another warlord, Abdi Awale Qaybdiid.

Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, leader of the executive arm of the Islamists, urged the enemy militiamen to lay down their guns.

"We are calling upon Abdi to end the problems he is bringing to the people of Mogadishu. He shall go the same way the other warlords went," Ahmed told a press conference.

Qaybdiid's side accused the Islamists of starting the fight.

"If they stop the offensive, we will cease fire. But as long as they are firing at us, we have no option but to fire back in defense," Qaybdiid aide Dahir Abdullahi told Reuters.

The Islamists have taken control of most of the coastal capital and a key swathe of Somalia, posing a serious threat to the interim government, which is too weak to enter Mogadishu and is now based in the south-central town of Baidoa.

Both sides are due for a second round of talks in Khartoum on Saturday, but the fighting appeared to imperil that.

Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi told the BBC on Monday that the government would not meet hardline Islamists -- repeating comments made to Reuters two weeks ago -- nor those who broke the ceasefire agreed on at talks in June.

The Islamists want to impose sharia law across the country and oppose the deployment of foreign peacekeepers, which interim President Abdullahi Yusuf says is essential to get his government on its feet and pacify the Horn of Africa country.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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keith

07-11-2006, 11:53 AM

Somali warlord Qaybdiid surrenders to Islamists
By Mohamed Ali Bile and Guled Mohamed

One of Mogadishu's last holdout warlords surrendered to powerful Islamists after losing most of his territory in two days of fighting that killed more than 140 people, militia sources said on Tuesday.

"It has become necessary to surrender and give peace a chance," a militiaman loyal to warlord Abdi Awale Qaybdiid told Reuters.

Qaybdiid is the last of an alliance of U.S.-backed warlords who called themselves an anti-terrorism group. He kept fighting after the Islamists routed the other warlords and seized the Somali capital last month.

Displaying weapons seized from Qaybdiid, the Islamists said their victory was a turning point for Mogadishu -- one of the world's most dangerous cities -- and called on remaining rival fighters to surrender.

"From today onwards, we promise the world that this city is safe," moderate Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed said.

"We need to overcome tribalism and the Somali enemies. There are so many enemies and in order to defend ourselves against them we need to unite."

The Islamists, trying to take complete control of Mogadishu, ambushed Qaybdiid's fighters and those loyal to Interior Minister Hussein Aideed, a deputy prime minister in the weak interim government, on Sunday.

The fighting with heavy artillery, mortars and machineguns killed at least 140 people, and hospital sources expected the toll to rise.

"Approximately 140 people have died and 150 others were injured. It was a very heavy exchange with most of the people dying outside of hospital," Ali Moallim, a senior administrator at Madina hospital, told Reuters.

"To kill your brother is not victory," said Maimuna Farah, a Mogadishu resident, speaking near the hospital.

"GLAD IT'S OVER"

Militia sources said Qaybdiid agreed to hand over his weapons after talks between the Islamists and elders from the warlord's sub-subclan. Scores of his fighters did the same.

"When I saw that we will end like this, I decided to switch over in order to save my life," said Abdullahi Abdi, a former Qaybdiid fighter.

Qaybdiid's allies would not discuss his whereabouts.

Scores of curious Somalis visited the site of the fierce gun battles on Tuesday.

"We came to see what happened here and see family members who were caught in the fighting," Abdi Omar, 22, said. "I am glad it's all over now. They shelled so many houses."

Witnesses said Qaybdiid's surrender meant the Islamists now control nearly all of Mogadishu except for a small area near the presidential palace, which is overseen by Aideed's fighters.

"Mogadishu has fallen to the Islamists except the Villa Somalia," Aideed aide Mohamed Abdilahi said, adding that the building could be the Islamists' next target.

Aideed is based in Baidoa but his militia guard the Villa Somalia, the residence of past presidents until Aideed's father and other warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and ushered in an era of anarchy.

The Islamists, headed by hardline cleric Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, went on after capturing Mogadishu on June 5 to take other towns across a swathe of southern Somalia.

That has challenged the slim authority of the internationally backed interim government, formed at peace talks in Kenya in 2004 and based in Baidoa because it is too weak to go to Mogadishu.

Tension between the two sides has arisen over the issue of foreign peacekeepers, which the government wants to help it establish its authority and the Islamists have refused.

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Petronas

07-15-2006, 08:52 PM

SOMALIA: ISLAMISTS RE-OPEN MOGADISHU'S AIRPORT
Jul-14-06 17:10

The Union of the Islamic Courts (UIC), the Islamist group which last month took control of the Somali capital Mogadishu have re-opened the city's airport to international air traffic for the first time in 11 years. Somali sources, who asked to remain anonymous, told Adnkronos International (AKI) that a flight carrying an Arab League delegation landed in Mogadishu on Friday. No foreign plane had landed at the Somali capital's airport since 1995, when American and UN peacekeeping forces pulled out of the country.

According to the sources, the Arab League's delegation is visiting Mogadishu to try and mediate between the UIC and the Somali provisional government headquartered in Baidoa, north of Mogadishu. The deployment of an Arab League's delegation to Somalia was made necessary by the refusal of the provisional government to take part in peace talks with the Islamists promoted by the Arab League and scheduled to start on Saturday in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

After seizing Mogadishu's harbour earlier this week, which had also been closed for 11 years, the UIC have now taken complete control of all the communication lines leading to and from the Somali capital.

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.321123543&par=0

keith

07-18-2006, 05:06 PM

Mogadishu's Ports to Provide Significant Funding for Somalia's Islamists

On July 11, Somalia's Islamic Courts Union (ICU) established control over Mogadishu's sea port after a two day battle in which over 100 people died and 200 were wounded. With the capture of the port, the ICU now controls most of the city, which had been broken into fiefdoms under the control of warlords during the past 15 years. Yet, this state of affairs ended with the emergence of the Islamic courts and their victories in the city and the nearby towns.

Militiamen loyal to Mohamed Jama Furuh, the Transitional Federal Government's (TFG) deputy minister of ports, who had controlled the port for several years, handed control of the lucrative port to the ICU on July 12. The port had been officially closed for 15 years following disagreement among the warlords over who should run it. While the port was still used unofficially, it was not under any central control, making its use unpredictable.Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, the head of the executive committee of the Islamic Courts Council (as the ICU now calls itself) and other top leaders of the ICU have described this as a monumental, progressive development (Shabelle Media Network, July 12). The port falling into the hands of the ICU is a positive development for the group, which now plans to re-open it and profit from its commercial activities. The ICU will be better able to facilitate arms imports through control of the ports (the port of El Maan and Marka are associated with the Mogadishu port), and will be able to generate revenue through a thriving Qat trade, the livestock trade, a profitable charcoal business and the control of the fishing trade on the Somali coastline.

The international community's greatest fear is that arms shipments will flow through the ports. In the past, the smaller port of Marka, less than 100 kilometers from Mogadishu, had been used for arms imports. Sheikh Yusuf Mohamed Siad (known as Yusuf Indha'adde) had received arms shipments from Eritrea through the port (Somaliland Times, May 20; Terrorism Focus, July 11). In the beginning of March, for instance, a dhow carrying ammunition for the Islamists arrived from Eritrea and allegedly docked at El Maan (UN Monitoring Group on Somalia, April 5). According to a report by a UN panel of experts on Somalia, the arms market in Somalia is supplied by both external and internal sources. Mogadishu's ports are seen as a good point for trans-shipments, especially for arms that are allegedly being received from Yemen and Eritrea. The Islamic courts are believed to be receiving arms from Eritrea and from private businessmen in Yemen. The UN report outlines the process by which businessmen in Yemen obtain weapons and ammunition from the general population, which are then shipped to Somalia where the demand and prices are much higher (Somalinet News, June 15).

Yet to finance their expansion, the courts are planning to profit from the various trades that will move through the ports, one of which is the lucrative Qat (Khat) trade. In Mogadishu in 2003, it was estimated thattrade in the Qat drug plant, whose twigs are chewed as a stimulant, provided significant revenue for the Somali warlords. It was estimated that flights to Mogadishu raised an estimated US$6,000 per day or $170,000 per month. This revenue has gone to the warlords. From this point forward, the revenue will be collected by the ICU. Most of the Qat sent to Somalia comes from Kenya and Ethiopia. It grows naturally in Kenya and is exported to Somalia from Nairobi's Wilson Airport on a daily basis, landing at various small airstrips throughout Somalia. The reason Qat flows into Somalia is due to its huge domestic demand. Additionally, once Somalis import the drug, it is often shipped to the Gulf states due to Somalia's cultural and religious linkages with the Middle East, and also due to the convenience of shipping it there. The ICU will now be able to profit from this trade.

Alongside the Qat business are exports of livestock to the Gulf states. In the past, Mogadishu's ports have failed to ship thousands of animals due to the chaos in the city. For example, 3.2 million heads of cattle were exported through the port of Berbera in northern Somalia in 1997 and more that $100 million in annual cargo was imported to Somalia from Dubai Creek (http://www.reliefweb.int). Now it will be possible for the ICU to continue this trade out of the Mogadishu ports.

Another source of income for the ICU will be the charcoal trade. In the past, the Gulf states have provided a market for charcoal which is transported by sea to Saudi Arabia. In the Gulf, the profit from charcoal bags is enormous, with traders earning more than $6 profit for an 80-90 kilogram bag. Traders, for example, purchase a bag of charcoal for 35,000 Somali shillings ($3-$4) and sell it for $10 in Saudi Arabia.

The fishing trade will also help to fund the ICU's operations. The warlords generated funds through the issuance of fishing licenses, and used the money to pay their militias. Those caught fishing without a license often fell victim to the pirate patrols skimming the coastline. Now, with the warlords having been defeated, the ICU will be able to oversee the fishing trade and earn money through the issuance of fishing licenses.

With the new Islamist authority in control of Mogadishu's ports, the ICU will likely impose taxes on trade traffic. The money earned from this trade will help to fund the Islamists' operations, and also make it easier for them to receive arms shipments. Additionally, ICU control over the ports will help to stabilize trade traffic through Mogadishu and restart a lucrative economic artery.

Sunguta West is an independent journalist based in Nairobi.

www.jamestwon.org

keith

07-19-2006, 02:28 PM

Somali government on alert at Islamist advance
By Guled Mohamed and Mohamed Ali Bile
25 minutes ago

Heavily armed Islamist militia who control the capital advanced toward the seat of Somalia's interim administration on Wednesday, stoking fears of conflict and leading the government to put its troops on alert.

"We see it as aggression toward government-controlled areas and the people who support us," Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi told Reuters from the government's provincial base in Baidoa.

Somalia has had no central rule since the 1991 ouster of a military dictator, and the Western-backed interim government's hopes of moving to Mogadishu were frustrated when the Islamists seized the capital last month from U.S.-backed warlords.

The militia move to the town of Buur Hakaba on Wednesday inflamed the already high tension with the government, which many Somalis fear could boil over into a war for supremacy in the Horn of Africa nation of 10 million.

Islamist militiamen, riding on heavily armed pickup trucks known as "technicals," arrived in Buur Hakaba in the morning, the closest they have come to Baidoa from Mogadishu.

Islamist officials said their militia went to the hilly town -- 60 km (37 miles) from Baidoa -- to receive 150 government troops switching allegiance, then headed back with them on the road to Mogadishu late in the day.

Whether they had gone any way beyond Buur Hakaba, on the road to Baidoa, could not be independently confirmed.

Gedi said the Islamists had breached an agreement signed with the government last month to stop military campaigns: "We call upon the Islamic courts to stop fighting. We hope they will end those acts and take part in peace efforts in our country."

"There is nobody who can take over Somalia by force."

WAR FEARS

The government, which despite its international recognition has no real authority on the ground beyond Baidoa, said it had received reports the Islamists were 35 km (22 miles) from them.

President Abdullahi Yusuf was not in Baidoa but in his home region and stronghold Puntland, government sources said.

The Islamists confirmed their move to Buur Hakaba.

"It's true that 150 government forces have joined the Islamic courts. I am with them and I'm bringing them to Mogadishu," Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, a senior Islamic official in charge of defense, told Reuters.

Residents in Buur Hakaba town said the militiamen arrived in a convoy of more than 20 technicals, Somalia's version of tanks.

An Islamist source in Mogadishu, who asked not to be named, insisted there were no plans to attack Baidoa.

Two days ago the Islamists opened a sharia court in the government-controlled Bakol and Bay area, where Baidoa is located. It was the first time they had set up a court in an area they do not yet control since taking Mogadishu.

Both analysts and diplomats feared conflict might break out.

"My prediction is that there is going to be war," said Omar Jamal, a U.S.-based Somali exile who heads an advocacy group. "The Islamic militia want to take over Baidoa, that will bring Ethiopia in, then the suffering of the Somali people will just continue."

Another expert, based in Nairobi, said there was a "50:50" chance of conflict in Somalia in the coming weeks.

He cited Islamist military expansion, an attack by gunmen loyal to Yusuf on Mogadishu, or intervention by Yusuf's powerful ally, Ethiopia, as possible triggers.

Up to 2,000 Ethiopian troops and several tanks crossed the border into Somalia last week to join about 2,000 soldiers already there, diplomats, officials and analysts have said.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060719/wl_nm/somalia_dc_3

keith

07-22-2006, 01:39 PM

Ethiopia 'seizes new Somali town'

Ethiopian troops have reportedly moved into another town in south-western Somalia, two days after entering the country to protect the weak government.
Eyewitnesses say about 200 Ethiopian soldiers took control of the airstrip outside Waajid early on Saturday.

There is no confirmation from either the Ethiopian or the Somali government.

The Union of the Islamic Courts (UIC), a militia which controls the capital and much of the south, has vowed to drive out Ethiopian troops.

The Ethiopians moved into Somalia on Thursday and have been seen in Baidoa, where the beleaguered interim government is based.

'Holy war'

Eyewitnesses quoted by the Associated Press news agency say Ethiopian soldiers seized the airport at Waajid, about 70km (43 miles) to the north, before dawn on Saturday.

The town had been controlled by a local militia. It is unclear whether there was any fighting.

Other residents told Somali media that they had seen Ethiopian soldiers in the town centre.

The UIC has pledged to wage a "holy war" to drive out Ethiopian troops.

The Islamic militia drove the warlords from the capital, Mogadishu in June, saying they wanted to restore law and order.

The UIC has since consolidated its power over many parts of southern Somalia.

But Ethiopia is strongly opposed to the militia and has repeatedly warned that it will send its army into Somalia if the government is attacked.

Ethiopia has been a long-term ally of President Abdullahi Yusuf.

UIC leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys has accused him of being "a servant of Ethiopia".

A UN report earlier this year said that Mr Aweys had been getting significant military aid from Ethiopia's rival, Eritrea - a claim Eritrea has denied.

Mr Aweys has denied US accusations that he and the UIC have links to al-Qaeda.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/5205634.stm

Published: 2006/07/22 10:26:40 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Anybody who sides with Ethiopia will be considered a traitor
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
Senior UIC leader

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5205634.stm

keith

07-28-2006, 11:54 AM

Somali minister assassinated at mosque
By Guled Mohamed

Gunmen shot dead a Somali minister outside a mosque on Friday at the fragile interim government's provincial base Baidoa in what a cabinet colleague called a "terrorist action."

Witnesses said assailants opened fire on Constitution and Federalism Minister Abdallah Deerow Isaq as he left prayers -- an attack sure to heighten tensions in the violence-plagued Horn of Africa nation which many fear is sliding toward war.

Police later caught one suspect, but gave no more details.

"They shot him as he was leaving the mosque then ran off," Information Minister Mohamed Abdi Hayr told Reuters from Baidoa.

"It looks like an organized assassination. ... We are very sorry and are condemning this terrorist action."

Formed in 2004 in the 14th attempt to restore central rule to Somalia since the 1991 ousting of a military dictator, the government's authority has been challenged by the rise of an Islamist movement that took Mogadishu and other towns in June.

Borne out of sharia courts created from the mid-1990s to restore some order to Mogadishu during a period of anarchy and violence, the Islamists defeated U.S.-backed warlords in Mogadishu and have since expanded to take other towns.

With Ethiopian troops now said to be in Somalia to support the government, and Eritrea believed by many to be arming the Islamists, many Somalis are bracing for full-scale conflict.

A man suspected to be involved in the shooting was arrested mid-afternoon in Baidoa, Minister Hayr said, without giving further details. Other sources there, however, said he was a young Muslim fundamentalist based at the same mosque.

CONFUSION AND TENSION

Shocked diplomats and analysts said the killing could have been by an Islamist militant or linked to internal divisions within the government. A no confidence motion on Prime Minister Ali Gedi is due to be debated in parliament on Saturday.

"The situation is so confused and tense in Baidoa, it looks like someone wanted to deepen this," said a Western diplomat.

Omar Jamal, a U.S.-based Somali exile who heads an advocacy group, said sources in Baidoa indicated militants were to blame.

"The only organizations that can carry out such well-thought out plans in Somalia now are organizations affiliated to al Qaeda," he said.

A Baidoa hospital nurse told Reuters that Isaq, a former schoolteacher, came in with four bullet wounds in the heart and chest. After his death, the government blocked roads leading out of the town and protesters took to the streets, witnesses said.

In Mogadishu, another mysterious plane landed on Friday, fuelling suspicions the Islamists were receiving weapon deliveries. Their militia blocked roads near the airport as unidentified cargo was unloaded on to waiting trucks.

"The Islamists are arming themselves and now we have to wait for fighting," said resident Abdullahi Ali.

On Wednesday, a cargo plane delivered goods an Islamist aide said were sewing machines. But the government pointed the finger at Eritrea, which it said was secretly arming the Islamists.

In what government sources say were moves to draw the Islamists into peace talks and avert war, 18 ministers and other top officials quit the government on Thursday and lawmakers sought to oust the prime minister.

Government officials and analysts say offering the prime minister's job and some other ministerial posts to the Islamists in a power-sharing pact could be the only way to secure peace.

(Additional reporting by Mohamed Ali Bile in Mogadishu and Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Nairobi)

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060728/wl_nm/somalia_dc_21

Atlas

07-28-2006, 11:57 AM

Sewing machines delivered by air:add09:

keith

07-28-2006, 12:05 PM

Riots as Somali minister killed

Riots have broken out in the Somali town of Baidoa after a minister in the transitional government was shot dead.
Minister Abdallah Isaaq Deerow was killed outside a mosque in Baidoa, where the government is based.

On Thursday, at least 19 members of the transitional government - which controls only a small area - resigned.

In another development, a second cargo plane has landed in Mogadishu, fuelling allegations that the Islamic forces who control the city are receiving arms.

Mr Deerow, minister of constitutional affairs, was killed after Friday prayers at the mosque.

Later on Friday, hundreds of people took to the streets of Baidoa in protest at his killing, burning tyres and looting shops.

Mr Deerow was not among the group of ministers who resigned on Thursday.

Obstacle

The resignations were prompted by some ministers' dissatisfaction that Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi had failed to make progress in talks with the Union of Islamic Courts, which controls Mogadishu.

Public Works Minister Osman Ali Atto said he came back from the capital to the government's base with an agreement from the Islamic courts that fresh talks be held.

But he said that Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi was "an obstacle to progress" and had refused to listen.

Some MPs are planning a motion of no confidence in the government.

They are opposed to the deployment of foreign peacekeepers and the presence of Ethiopian troops who are in Baidoa with the blessing of the transitional goverment.

More resignations are expected and observers say that the transitional government is looking increasingly fragile.

President Abdullahi Yusuf's government has little influence outside its base in Baidoa, but has the diplomatic support of the United Nations and the African Union (AU) and the strong backing of neighbouring Ethiopia.

Many Somalis, including the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) which controls much of southern Somalia, are opposed to the presence of Ethiopian troops on Somali soil.

Mystery flight

The arrival of a second flight at Mogadishu airport amid strict security has fuelled speculation that the Islamists are receiving weapons in violation of a UN arms embargo.

According to witnesses, the aircraft that touched down in Mogadishu was an Iluyshin-76 - a massive transport plane capable of carrying more than 50 tons of cargo.

Troops loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts in control of the capital chased away onlookers, although at least six trucks were seen loading cargo from the aircraft.

The plane is the same one that touched down in Mogadishu on Wednesday and credible sources said that flight originated in Eritrea carrying anti-aircraft guns, uniforms, AK47s and several senior Eritrean officers.

Both Eritrea and the Mogadishu authorities have denied the claim.

The flights have raised fears amongst security sources and diplomats that the rivals in Somalia are now preparing for open conflict, the BBC's Peter Greste reports from Nairobi.

Both Ethiopia and Eritrea have been warned not to interfere in neighbouring Somalia by the United Nations and United States.

There are fears that Somalia could end up a battleground between Ethiopia and Eritrea - who fought a two-year border war between 1998 and 2000.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/5224108.stm

Published: 2006/07/28 15:19:13 GMT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5224108.stm

experiencediz

07-28-2006, 02:03 PM

Israel in Lebanon
Ethiopia in Somalia...
same time...
Yes,it was all planned!

The Axis of Intervention
John Feffer, IRC | July 27, 2006
Editor: Emily Schwartz Greco, IPS

There is a new force in foreign policy: the “axis of intervention.” Two allies are official members: the United States and Israel. With its recent invasion of Somalia, Ethiopia has joined the grouping. A fourth nation, Japan, is petitioning for membership.

The Bush administration has not attacked any countries recently. But in President George W. Bush's first five years in office, the United States has established a dangerous precedent in international affairs. The attack on Afghanistan launched a war against not only a state (the Taliban-led government) but also a paramilitary organization (al-Qaida). The intervention into Iraq was the first example of a “preventive” war—a campaign not just to preempt an imminent attack but also to prevent any potential conflict in the future. And finally, the United States has introduced the concept of a “war without end.” The United States is fighting an unknown number of terrorists. If one organization surrenders or is destroyed, another will inevitably take its place.

Israel has matched these U.S. policies. The current interventions in Lebanon and Gaza target paramilitary organizations (Hezbollah, Hamas) and sovereign entities (the Lebanese government, the Palestinian National Authority). The attacks were a direct response to the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers, but formed part of a broader effort to prevent any future offensives from their hostile neighbors. Both conflicts are but the latest in a half-century war. And just as the U.S. invasion of Iraq has produced more terrorists than it has suppressed, Israel's bombing of its enemies only generates more ill will toward the country. If Israel doesn't begin to take negotiations seriously, its very own war without end will spiral further out of control.

Ethiopia sent its troops into Somalia on July 20 to prop up a weak government. Ethiopia is desperate to prevent the growing power of the Islamic Courts, a militant Islamic movement that has its own militias. But the intervention is also part of the longstanding conflict with Eritrea, which Ethiopia accuses of supporting the Islamic Courts. The intervention, however, only further radicalizes the Islamic Courts and boosts Somali public opinion in their favor.

Japan signaled its interest in joining this axis of intervention by putting the military option onto the table in its dealings with North Korea. After Pyongyang's launch of seven missiles on July 4, leading Japanese government spokesman Shinzo Abe said, “If we accept that there is no other option to prevent a missile attack, there is an argument that attacking the missile bases would be within the legal right of self-defense.”

Unlike the United States, Israel, or Ethiopia, Japan was until recently the furthest thing from an aggressive power. It enjoyed five decades of a “peace constitution.” Its military was restricted to defense. It had very little capacity to attack another country.

Now Japan wants to have a “normal” military. In today's world, “normal” unfortunately translates into a capacity to launch ill-advised military interventions. Japan is acquiring an in-air refueling capacity that will allow long-range bombing missions. It is changing its constitution to permit a wide range of military operations. Some Japanese officials have even broken the taboo and discussed Japan's potential need for nuclear weapons. And Japan has been one of the closest supporters of recent U.S. military campaigns, including the endless war on terrorism.

It's bad enough that the world's most prominent proponent of state pacifism has renounced its tradition. What will happen to global security when the world's second richest country joins the arms race and begins to contemplate long-range bombing campaigns? China and South Korea have raised the alarm about Japan's new militarism. But the Bush administration has a very short historical memory.

The new axis of intervention targets not only sovereign states like North Korea and non-state actors like Hezbollah and the Islamic Courts. With the news of Israeli attacks against Red Cross vehicles and a clearly marked UN observation post in Lebanon, the real target of the axis of intervention becomes clear: the institutions of international law. By resorting to military force and scorning diplomacy, both Israel and the United States have undermined the United Nations and key global agreements such as the Geneva Conventions. It remains to be seen whether Japan and Ethiopia will sign on to this larger agenda.

The possibilities of global cooperation opened up by the end of the Cold War have come to a dead-end. The axis of intervention promises a future that resembles the distant past, what the English theorist Thomas Hobbes called the “war of all against all.” It is a world, ironically, where both aggressive countries like the United States and Israel and aggressive non-state actors like al-Qaida and the Islamic Courts will feel right at home.

While the events of recent weeks have been indeed disturbing, the world hasn't slid entirely down the slippery slope. Interventions have taken place, but internationalism is not dead. As the stunning front page of The Independent (http://www.zaman.com/?bl=international&alt=&hn=34984) graphically represented, the world community has united in favor of an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon—the only dissent comes from the United States, Britain, and Israel. Japan's threat to launch a preemptive attack on North Korea has generated nothing but criticism in the region and has not found much favor with the Bush administration either. Indeed, all the key countries continue to scramble to find a multilateral solution to North Korea's nuclear problem. And if the current transitional government in Somalia can persuade Ethiopia to leave—with some pressure exerted from the outside by a superpower or two—Islamic militias will be much more disposed to participate in UN-brokered talks.

The United States government, with John Bolton still in place as its envoy to the United Nations, is no fan of multilateralism. The Bush administration remains strongly on the side of intervention. But with an international reputation that sags ever more precipitously and a military capability stretched well beyond sustainability, the United States might have no other choice than to accept multilateral solutions on an ad hoc basis.
Such ad hoc multilateralism is not ideal. But it's better than an ever growing axis of intervention.

John Feffer is the co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus (online at www.fpif.org) for the International Relations Center (www.irc-online.org (http://www.irc-online.org)).

The Axis of Intervention (http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/3389)

experiencediz

07-28-2006, 03:14 PM

More:

Ethiopia says Eritrea "actively supports" al Qaeda
28 Jul 2006 16:33:56 GMT
Source: Reuters

NAIROBI, July 28 (Reuters) - Ethiopia accused its neighbour and foe Eritrea on Friday of "actively supporting" al Qaeda, in its strongest attack yet on Asmara over the escalating crisis in neighbouring Somalia.

Diplomats believe Ethiopia and Eritrea -- who went to war in 1998-2000 and still wrangle over their border -- are using the standoff between Somalia's interim government and newly powerful Islamists as a proxy conflict for their own feud.

Addis Ababa has sent troops into Somalia to protect the government, according to witnesses, while Asmara is believed by regional diplomats to be arming the Islamists who took Mogadishu and other southern towns from U.S.-backed warlords last month.

Addis Ababa regards the Islamists as terrorists linked to both al Qaeda and the Somali radical group al-Itihaad al-Islaami, which was all but obliterated by Ethiopian forces in the 1990s.

"The Eritrean government is actively supporting the al-Itihaad and al Qaeda extremist leaders who oppose the widely accepted and recognized transitional government," an Ethiopian Ministry of Information statement said.

"If there is anyone who is reluctant to support peace and stability in Somalia, it is only the Eritrean government that is trying to disturb the region by allying itself with extremist elements," the statement added.

Addis Ababa denies its troops are in Somalia, while Asmara denies funnelling military aid to the Islamists.

Ethiopia says Eritrea "actively supports" al Qaeda (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L28800645.htm)

keith

07-29-2006, 02:20 PM

The US and Ethiopia may have their work cut out for them.

Somali PM links murder to "international terror"
By Guled Mohamed

Somalia's prime minister on Saturday accused Libya, Egypt, Iran and Eritrea of fomenting extremism in his country, and said the killers of a cabinet minister had links with "international terrorists."

His comments came after hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of Constitution and Federalism Minister Abdallah Deerow Isaq, who was gunned down outside a mosque in the latest flare-up of violence in the Horn of Africa nation.

"He was killed by criminals linked to international terrorism," Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said in Baidoa, seat of the interim government and site of the murder.

"It's unfortunate that some countries who we thought were our friends have united to destroy the transitional federal government. Such countries include Libya, Egypt, Iran and Eritrea who together are fuelling terrorism in Somalia."

Gedi gave no more details of his accusations, nor did he specifically accuse any of those countries for the murder.

His government's standoff with a burgeoning Islamist movement, which took control of Mogadishu and other southern towns last month, is fast turning into a regional crisis.

While Ethiopia has sent troops to protect the fragile government at its provincial base, according to witnesses, Eritrea is widely believed to be arming the Islamists.

Experts believe the Islamists are harboring a small number of foreign extremists, and their top leader, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, is on U.S. and U.N. terrorism lists.

Protesters outraged at the minister's assassination burned tires and looted shops on Friday, but calm returned on Saturday.

"The man who did that was a professional assassin. There's no way he would be an amateur," said resident Abdi Ali.

Across Baidoa, an old agricultural and trading town surrounded by bushland, security was tight. Vehicles were stopped at checkpoints, and guards with AK-47 rifles stood at hotels where lawmakers and ministers stay.

PM VOTE POSTPONED

President Abdullahi Yusuf and other top government figures led mourners at the early morning funeral, witnesses said.

In honor of the minister, a scheduled parliamentary debate on a no confidence motion on prime minister Gedi was postponed from Saturday to Sunday, lawmakers and officials told Reuters.

Ministers and lawmakers in Somalia's interim authorities -- set up in 2004 in the 14th bid to end anarchy and restore central rule since 1991 -- are split on Gedi's fate.

Those who want him out see it as a way to draw the rival Islamists into a power-sharing pact by offering them his post.

The alternative, many fear, is war.

Diplomats are urging a return to peace talks in Sudan.

"We can't drag them to the table, but I believe there is a lot we (the international community) can do to convince them," African Union envoy to Somalia, Muhammad Ali Foum, told Reuters.

Police said six men had been arrested for Friday's killing.

"We know this is not the first such case of shooting. Several other cases are still being investigated," regional police chief Ibrahim Hashi Gabow told reporters.

Foreign sources in Baidoa, who asked not to be named, said they believed those detained were young Muslim fundamentalists.

Mogadishu's Islamist rulers, whose power base comes out of sharia courts and their militia set up since the mid-1990s to restore order to the capital, deny involvement.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Cawthorne, Jack Kimball and Tia Goldenberg in Nairobi)

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060729/wl_nm/somalia_dc_28

keith

07-29-2006, 08:18 PM

Stay out of Somalia, US tells Eritrea and Ethiopia By Pascal Fletcher
Sat Jul 29, 2:05 PM ET

The United States sent its most explicit warning yet to Horn of Africa foes Eritrea and Ethiopia on Saturday to stay out of the escalating crisis in Somalia where they are believed to be backing rival sides.

"There are many foreign elements in Somalia right now," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer said, citing reports Ethiopia was sending troops to back the interim government and Eritrea arms for rival Islamists.

"Neither the Union of Islamic Courts nor the Transitional Federal Government can take the high ground by saying the other is violating Somali sovereignty...they've all invited in foreigners, all been backed by foreign forces," she added.

Frazer, speaking to reporters on a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo to monitor elections there, said it was crucial to stop Somalia becoming a regional crisis.

"You want to keep Ethiopians and Eritreans out of Somalia, that they don't take their border conflict and move it into the Somalia venue," she said.

Diplomats believe Addis Ababa and Asmara, which went to war in 1998-2000 and still argue over their border, are using Somalia's government-Islamist standoff as a proxy for their own feud.

Ethiopia has sent several thousand troops to back the government at its provincial base Baidoa, witnesses say.

Eritrea has armed the Islamists in the past, according to the U.N., and is believed by many to be still sending arms and probably advisers to their stronghold in Mogadishu.

Addis Ababa fears a hardline Islamist state as its neighbor, accuses Mogadishu's new rulers of being terrorists, and also fears their possible aspirations to incorporate ethnic Somali regions such as Ethiopia's Ogaden.

Asmara, on the other hand, is motivated primarily by spite for Ethiopia, analysts believe.

"It's conceivable there are Ethiopians in Somalia and it's also reported the Eritreans are arming the Union of Islamic Courts and perhaps even putting military advisers in," Frazer said.

"BEST HOPE IS DIALOGUE"

Adding to a highly volatile situation, some foreign Muslim militants are also believed to be in Somalia.

And despite its high tone, the U.S. government is accused precipitating the crisis by sending money to a self-styled "anti-terrorism" coalition of warlords earlier in the year, inflaming public sentiment in favor of the Islamists.

Frazer said the international community must remain focused on supporting the interim government, which was set up in 2004 in a Western- and African-backed peace deal for Somalia.

"The situation is extremely volatile and I think that the best hope for the people of Somalia is that they come together in a dialogue...to try to decide their future," she said.

"If it (the government) is in fact undermined it will set the Somali people back many, many years and probably ensure a future of chaos, they've had 15 years (already)," she said.

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keith

07-30-2006, 11:43 AM

Fists fly in Somali assembly over vote
By Guled Mohamed

Some Somali lawmakers threw punches and wrestled on the floor after Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi survived a crucial confidence vote that could have led to the collapse of his government.

Armed police entered parliament to separate four brawling members of parliament and escort Gedi out during several minutes of chaos after he survived the censure motion, witnesses said.

Gedi won 88 votes to his opponents' 126 -- short of the two-thirds majority they needed to censure him in an old grain store converted into Somalia's temporary parliament.

Defeat would have sparked the dissolution of the interim government's executive, already in some disarray over the threat from an Islamist movement that has taken the capital, Mogadishu, and a large part of southern Somalia.

"Whatever we were accused of we will try to rectify," Gedi told about 200 supporters who celebrated later outside his home.

"I thank those who brought the motion because they proved that we have democracy," he added in a conciliatory tone.

The anti-Gedi faction had argued his performance was incompetent and his removal necessary to create a post for Mogadishu's new Islamist rulers to come into government.

However, the Islamists' top leader said machinations within government did not affect their position of refusing talks until pro-government Ethiopian troops leave Somali soil.

"We don't care whether it's a single soldier or a whole battalion ... as long as they are in our country, we will not attend," Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys told Reuters of efforts to get both sides to a negotiating table in Sudan.

TRADITIONAL ENEMY

The Islamists took Mogadishu and other southern towns last month from U.S.-backed warlords, denting the Western-backed government's aspiration to restore central rule to Somalia for the first time since the 1991 overthrow of a dictator.

Based in the provincial town of Baidoa, a former agricultural and trading town set in flat bushlands, the internationally-recognized but effectively powerless government was set up in 2004 to try to end anarchy in Somalia.

Some anti-Gedi members of parliament and cabinet members are also angry at him for the government's controversial ties to Ethiopia -- Somalia's traditional enemy -- which is believed to have sent hundreds of soldiers over the border.

President Abdullahi Yusuf has long been close to Ethiopia, and Gedi is accused by some of "selling out" to Addis Ababa too.

Sunday's brief brawl was not the first time Somali legislators had turned violent on the job: a 2005 parliamentary session at a Nairobi hotel degenerated into chair-throwing.

As he comes from the same clan as many of the Islamists -- and thus occupies the position agreed to be given to that clan in the interim government -- Gedi's position had long been seen as the one most likely to attract them into government.

The Islamists, however, have not said if they even want power-sharing. And some fear they seek a complete takeover by military means to create an Islamic state based on sharia law.

Surviving the censure gives Gedi a much-needed boost.

His executive began unraveling last week with the resignation of 18 ministers and assistant ministers, who said they were stepping aside to promote the Sudan peace talks.

Then gunmen shot dead a cabinet minister outside a mosque on Friday, which sparked riots and ratcheted up tension in Baidoa.

In a separate development, the first conventional passenger plane in 15 years landed at Mogadishu's recently reopened international airport on Sunday, residents said.

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keith

07-30-2006, 12:12 PM

Somali militants free 25 kidnapped sailors B
y DUGUF FARAH, Associated Press Writer
Sun Jul 30, 5:05 AM ET

Twenty-five sailors who were taken hostage in April off Somalia's lawless coast were released Sunday after more than $800,000 in ransom was paid, a Somali militia commander said.

The sailors were headed to the Seychelles islands off the coast of Africa, the commander, Abdi Mohamed, told The Associated Press. He did not say who paid the ransom.

A South Korean official in Africa, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to media, said Saturday the hostages were eight South Koreans, nine Indonesians, five Vietnamese and three Chinese.

The militants have claimed that they seized the boat, operated by Dongwon Fisheries Co. Ltd, while defending their waters from illegal fishing. South Korea had said the pirates seized the vessel in international waters and later took it to Somalia's waters.

Somalia has had no coast guard or navy since 1991, when warlords ousted longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other.

Piracy rose sharply last year, with the number of reported incidents at 35, compared with two in 2004, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The bandits target both passenger and cargo vessels for ransom or loot. Somalia's 1,860 mile coastline is Africa's longest.

The increase in piracy included attacks on vessels carrying food aid for Somalis, hindering U.N. efforts to provide relief to drought victims. Pirates also have attacked a cruise ship.

___

Associated Press writer Kwang-tae Kim contributed to this report from Seoul, South Korea.

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keith

08-02-2006, 01:07 PM

More Somali officials quit in protest at PM
By Hassan Yare

Somalia's interim government unraveled further on Wednesday with the resignation of another four top officials who cited as their reason the prime minister's reluctance to reach out to a rival Islamist movement.

The departure of four junior ministers brought to 34 the number of senior officials to have left the Western-backed but virtually powerless government in less than a week.

"We have resigned because the prime minister has refused reconciliation to go on between the government and the Islamic courts and all the Somalis," said Hirsi Adan Roble, an assistant minister who quit.

The latest batch of resignations came a day after 12 ministers and assistant ministers also walked out in a move that may ultimately clear the way for the newly powerful Islamists to take ministerial posts, analysts and government sources say.

The Islamists, however, have not indicated whether they are interested in power-sharing, and some fear they are bent on taking all of Somalia and imposing hardline sharia law.

Eighteen ministers and other top officials also resigned last Thursday from their posts in Baidoa, the provincial seat of the interim government set up in 2004 in the 14th attempt to restore central rule to Somalia since 1991.

A cabinet colleague was shot dead there last week.

With Ethiopia sending troops across the border to help the government, according to witnesses, and Eritrea said to be arming the Islamists, diplomats are worried the Somali crisis could become a regional conflict.

The resignations leave Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi looking increasingly vulnerable, although he did survive a no confidence vote in parliament at the weekend.

Gedi dismissed allegations he was not talking to cabinet ministers, and said the resignations had had little impact.

"It's not affecting the possibility of the government to run the country," he told BBC radio, speaking in English.

MOGADISHU MOVE?

Gedi has come under increasing pressure from opponents who have criticized his "incompetent" performance and argued his removal was necessary to create a post for the Islamists, who took Mogadishu from warlords in early June.

One diplomatic source said the resignations should not be interpreted as the implosion of the government, but as a deliberate attempt to marginalize Gedi, who is seen as an obstacle to talks with the Islamists. Gedi has called for Sudan-hosted talks to be postponed.

Many Somalis also blame Gedi for Ethiopian troops on Somali soil and accuse him of betraying his home -- Mogadishu -- and his Hawiye clan, to which many Islamists belong.

"This has nothing to do with the melting down of the TFIs (transitional federal institutions)," the source said.

He said the walkouts were a calculated move, supported by President Abdullahi Yusuf and the parliamentary speaker, to open up ministerial posts, with which to woo the Islamists and ensure the eventual return of the government to Mogadishu.

"Time is against the TFIs. The more the Islamic Courts Union develops Mogadishu, the more it will become a real capital and Baidoa will be emptied of its significance," he added.

The resignations came as a senior U.N. official met the Islamists to discuss ways of securing aid supplies to Somalis.

"We wanted to clarify with Islamic courts about their position on women, human rights, women's education, HIV/AIDS, and the practicality of implementing these activities," said U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia Eric La Roche.

(Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed in Mogadishu and Katie Nguyen in Nairobi)

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keith

08-09-2006, 12:04 PM

Somalia Islamists take key town

Islamic militia have taken control of the central Somali town of Beletuein.
The strategic town changed hands after fighting erupted in between the town's previous pro-government rulers and the militia of a local Islamic court.

Tension is high in central Somalia as the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) that controls much of southern Somalia tries to spread its influence further north.

Earlier, two were injured in Galkayo in a protest led by clerics who say the UIC's brand of Islam is too militant.

Strategic

The BBC's Hassan Barise in Mogadishu says no one was injured in the short battle in the strategically important town of Beletuein, some 300km north of the capital.

The reason for the fighting is believed to have been related to a dispute over the administration's relationship with Ethiopia, he says.

The administration was appointed by the interim government based in Baidoa, which the local Islamic court accuses of being a puppet of Ethiopia.

The town is now calm and residents applauded the victory of the Islamic court, which is allied to the UIC.

Our reporter says Beletuein is especially important for the Islamists, as they can now move their militias and supplies from south to north without hindrance.

It indicates that the courts are trying to spread their influence throughout the country, he says.

Scuffles

Meanwhile, correspondents say residents in Galkayo, 600km north west of the capital, are divided about whether to support the UIC.

Galkayo borders Puntland, an effectively autonomous region believed to be against the courts.

Hundreds of people carrying placards and shouting anti-UIC slogans took part in the demonstrations before scuffles broke out, Somalia's Shabelle website reports.

UIC militia are reported to be controlling a main road outside Galkayo.

They have sent representatives into the town to see about setting up an Islamic court there.

In Baidoa, Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi is attempting to form a new 31-member cabinet after the previous cabinet was dissolved on Monday.

President Abdullahi Yusuf has given him a week to form a new government.

The two agreed on Monday to put aside their differences, after divisions on the question of possible talks with the Islamists sparked a crisis in the government.

The interim cabinet originally had more than 100 members, not all of whom had been approved by parliament.

Over the past two weeks some 40 ministers quit their posts in protest at the prime minister's opposition to peace talks with the UIC, and Mr Ghedi narrowly survived a parliamentary vote of no confidence.

The weak interim government remains split about holding talks with the UIC.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

The UIC has been credited with success in bringing stability since June to the capital, Mogadishu, for the first time in 15 years.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/4775753.stm

Published: 2006/08/09 13:52:52 GMT

© BBC MMVI

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4775753.stm

Petronas

08-12-2006, 10:32 AM

Thousands in Somalia rally for holy war
Friday, August 11, 2006; Posted: 9:13 a.m. EDT (13:13 GMT)

More than 2,000 people gathered after Friday prayers for a pro-Lebanon rally organized by Mogadishu's new fundamentalist rulers, calling for holy war and chanting "Down with the enemies of Islam, wherever they are!" Yusuf Ali Siad, one of the organizers, said the protest was sparked by the monthlong conflict between Israel and Lebanon that has killed more than 800 people, mostly in Lebanon.

"We must sympathize with our brothers in Lebanon," Siad told The Associated Press. "It is compulsory to join the holy war." The demonstrators also shouted slogans against the United States and neighboring Ethiopia, which is Somalia's longtime enemy.

A similar protest was held in neighboring Kenya, drawing about 300 people to Nairobi's main mosque. The protesters, most of them young men, carried signs saying "Israel Stop Killing Our Brothers and Sisters" and "End America's Terrorism of Army Invasion in Iraq."

Somalia has not had an effective central government since warlords toppled longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, plunging the country into anarchy. As Islamic militants seized the capital and much of southern Somalia in recent months, the country's virtually powerless official government could only watch helplessly. The Islamists have been imposing strict religious courts, raising fears of an emerging Taliban-style regime. The United States accuses the group of harboring al Qaeda leaders responsible for deadly bombings at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

The conflict in Somalia has sent an average of 100 Somali refugees streaming into Kenyan refugee camps every day, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. "If the current rate of arrival continues, we can expect another 12,000 refugees by the end of the year," the UNHCR said in a statement. The Dadaab camps in northeast Kenya already have some 134,000 refugees, mostly Somalis. Somalia's government was formed two years ago with the support of the U.N., but it has failed to assert power outside its base in Baidoa, 255 kilometers (150 miles) from Mogadishu.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/08/11/somalia.islamists.ap/index.html

keith

08-17-2006, 01:42 PM

Somali Islamists ask warlords back to fight Ethiopians
August 18, 2006

MOGADISHU: The powerful Islamic militia in Somalia has urged warlords who were ousted from the capital to return and help oppose the deployment of Ethiopian troops helping the weak transitional Government.
The Islamists said they had forgiven more than a dozen warlords, who were grouped under the Alliance for Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism and backed by Washington to resist the Islamists.

"This is the time to forgive each other," said Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, head of the executive committee of the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia. "We are calling those members of the ARPCT to come and take the opportunity and be forgiven, talk to their people, demand forgiveness from Allah," he said.

In June, Islamic militia ousted the main warlords from Mogadishu and outlying townships after more than five months of fighting that claimed at least 360 lives and wounded more than 2000 others, mostly civilians, andstarted installing sharia law.

Later, the Islamists took over territories in southern and central Somalia. The warlords fled to Ethiopia and parts of Somalia not under Islamist control. Sheik Ahmed asked the warlords to oppose the deployment of Ethiopian troops to protect the weak transitional Government of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed that is based in Baidoa, about 250km west of the capital.

"To fight Somalia and help the enemy is not justified as any problem among us will be dealt with in accordance to our religion," he warned.

"Let us fight for our country and respect the commands of Allah and the teaching of his prophet," Sheik Ahmed said from southern Mogadishu, where he has set up a new Islamic court.

Sheik Ahmed said Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi had betrayed the people of Somalia, who helped him fight dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in the 1980s until he was toppled in 1991.

"You are aware that Ethiopian troops are in Somalia and digging trenches inside our country. The idea is to make it unstable and divide us in order to annex our country to Ethiopia," he said.

Ethiopia's intervention is widely seen in Somalia as a move to stem Islamic influence that might ignite unrest in its ethnic Somali-dominated southeast Ogaden region, which the two nations have twice fought over.

Somalia, a nation of 10 million, has been racked by interclan fighting since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991. Warlords subdivided the nation into a patchwork of fiefdoms.

More than 14 internationally backed attempts to restore a functional government in Somalia have failed.

AFP

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20167380-2703,00.html

Petronas

08-17-2006, 10:21 PM

A bad situation. Enmity between Somalia and Ethiopia goes back decades if not longer. Ethiopian support for the government will drive many patriotic Somalis, even those who are not fundamentalist Muslims themselves, to support the Taliban-like "Union of Islamic Courts" movement.

Islamist fighters take control of key Somali port
August 16, 2006, 1:08 PM (GMT+02:00)

The militia entered the central Somalia town of Hobyo early Wednesday, Aug. 16, without facing opposition from forces loyal to a local warlord. The Islamists are extending their base of influence outward from the capital Mogadishu, and now control large areas from the coast toward Ethiopia.

The interim government of President Abdullahi Yusuf, which is based in the provincial town of Baidoa, has a small militia. It is vulnerable to the larger Islamist force but is being protected by Ethiopia.

http://www.debka.com/

keith

08-20-2006, 11:57 AM

Ethiopia troops head for Baidoa

Ethiopian troops are approaching the Somali town of Baidoa, seat of Somalia's transitional government.
Ethiopia is the Somali government's main ally against the Islamic militia who control the capital, Mogadishu.

The Somali government has meanwhile declared support for an Eritrean rebel group, accusing Eritrea's government of supporting the Somali Islamists.

Regional rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea have both denied accusations that they are fighting a proxy war in Somalia.

Ethiopia has however said it would intervene if Baidoa came under attack.

The Ethiopian troops entered Somalia at the border town of Dolow about 0400 local time (0100 GMT) on Sunday, the BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan says.

They were later seen with 11 armoured vehicles in the town of Awdinle, 30 km from Baidoa.

A spokesman for the Somali transitional government denied the presence of Ethiopian troops on Somali soil, and said the reports were Islamist propaganda.

In June, militia loyal to the Union of Islamic Courts took control of Mogadishu, which had been divided among rival warlords for 15 years.
In the past month the Islamist militia have moved northwards into central Somalia.

The transitional government, established in 2004, has not managed to extend its control beyond a relatively small area around Baidoa.

Controversy over proposed peace talks with the Islamic courts prompted a political crisis, with mass resignations from the government during July.

The courts have rejected calls for the deployment of a regional peacekeeping force in Somalia, and have refused peace talks with the government as long as Ethiopian troops are in Somalia.

Eritrean rebels

In another development, the Somali government's special envoy to the European Union, Yusuf Mohamed Ismail, and foreign secretary of the rebel Eritrean Liberation Front, Yohannes Zeremaria, met in Geneva and pledged co-operation.

"They agreed that co-ordination between the democratic forces in the different countries of the Horn (has) become now an urgent obligation," according to an official Somali statement sent to AFP news agency.

The meeting follows allegations - denied by Asmara - that Eritrea is supplying arms to Islamic militia in Somalia.

Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a costly border war that ended in 2000, but tensions remain high as Ethiopian troops remain in the disputed town of Badme, which international arbitrators awarded to Eritrea.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/5268868.stm

Published: 2006/08/20 15:04:10 GMT

© BBC MMVI

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5268868.stm

keith

08-23-2006, 11:50 AM

Somali Islamists open militia camp
By Mohamed Ali Bile

Somalia's powerful Islamist movement opened a militia training camp on Wednesday with trainers from Eritrea, Afghanistan and Pakistan, witnesses said.

The presence of foreign trainers points to what many fear is a growing internationalization of a crisis that has split the Horn of Africa nation and threatened the slim authority of its interim government.

The Islamists' hardline leader, Shiekh Hassan Dahir Aweys, attended the opening of the camp for more than 600 Islamist militiamen at Hiilweyne, north of Mogadishu.

"You will study military tactics, because you will defend your country with Islamic morality," Aweys told the recruits.

Witnesses identified foreign trainers from Eritrea, Pakistan and Afghanistan at the camp.

Diplomats fear Somalia could become a proxy battleground for Ethiopia and Eritrea, and have said that more players like Libya, Iran and Egypt have quietly entered the fray.

Eritrea has long denied any involvement in Somalia, but a U.N. Security Council report said it has sent weapons to the Islamists repeatedly in a bid to frustrate rival Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, the Islamists said Ethiopian soldiers and a warlord ally of the government had taken a town along the Ethiopian border, stoking fears of new clashes.

"Ethiopia and its allied militia have seized Bandiradley," Islamist spokesman Sheikh Mohamed Agaweyne told Reuters by telephone, referring to Somali warlord Abdi Awale Qaybdiid.

No independent confirmation could immediately be obtained.

Bandiradley is about 30 km (18 miles) west of Qaybdiid's hometown Galkaayo, and about 25 km (15 miles) from the border.

Ethiopia has repeatedly denied sending soldiers into its anarchic neighbor, saying such reports are Islamist propaganda.

But witnesses say thousands have entered the country since July to support the government, and Ethiopia has made no secret of the fact it has massed troops along the Somalia border.

The Islamists, who seized the capital Mogadishu and key southern territories in June after routing U.S.-backed warlords, have refused to negotiate with the government until the Ethiopians leave.

Qaybdiid was one of the last warlords to surrender his militias to the Islamists in a clan-brokered deal in July.

But tensions have been running high in Galkaayo since he returned there two weeks ago with more fighters and dozens of "technicals" -- pickup trucks mounted with heavy weapons.

Qaybdiid is opposed to the Islamists setting up in the town, some 750 km (465 miles) north of Mogadishu.

"We are scared the fighting could hit residential areas where there are many women and children," one local elder said.

The Islamists oppose the interim government, based in the provincial town of Baidoa because it does not have the military strength to go to Mogadishu.

In the capital, the Islamists also held an official opening ceremony for Mogadishu International Seaport -- closed since 1995 -- boosting their claim to be restoring normality.

"From now on, Mogadishu seaport is open and all Mogadishu businessmen should use it," a senior Islamist leader, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, told the gathered crowd.

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keith

08-25-2006, 08:15 PM

Somali woman flogged
August 26, 2006

MOGADISHU: A woman received 11 lashes yesterday for selling cannabis, the first female to receive such punishment since the Islamic fundamentalist rulers took over the capital in June.
The woman, who throughout the beating insisted she was innocent, was flogged alongside five men at the Yassin Square in Mogadishu in front of several hundred people. The small bundle of cannabis, worth about $US1 ($1.31) on the streets, was burnt before the crowd.

"We want to stop people selling and using drugs," explained security official Sheik Omar Hussein. "We believe, as Islamists, that people should stay away from drugs."

The imposition of religious rule has sparked fears of a Taliban-style regime. The Islamists stepped into the vacuum in Mogadishu and most of southern Somalia left by years of warlord rivalry, promising stability.

On Tuesday, Islamic militiamen raided a hall in Mogadishu and beat up people watching an Indian film. Like the Taliban, they appear to see any secular entertainment as un-Islamic.

AP

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20255942-2703,00.html

Petronas

08-29-2006, 01:40 AM

Somalia: 'Withdraw Or Be Ready for-Full Scale War' - Aweys to Ethiopia
August 26, 2006

"We call on Ethiopia to withdraw its forces from Somalia, otherwise be ready for full-scale war," Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, leader of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) of Somalia, warned on Thursday. Ethiopia, despite numerous witnesses who say they have seen its troops in Somalia, has denied the statements.

Aweys' statement comes a decision made one week ago by defense chiefs from the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), that the first deployment of a nearly 7,000 African peace support force is to assemble in northeast Kenya near the Somali border late September. The troops are to be comprised of Sudanese and Ugandan soldiers.

"We say again that Ethiopian intervention in Somalia will never be accepted, no one can dare divert us onto a path other than Sharia law," added Aweys during an inauguration ceremony that saw the opening of Mogadishu's International seaport.

The Mogadishu International Port was closed in 1995 after rival warlords fought to control its revenues, but has reopened despite many claims by these same warlords the port was not operational due to piracy.

The first ship arrived at the port from Kenya on Thursday reportedly carrying coffee. Meanwhile, Eritrea has opposed the deployment of a peace support mission to Somalia, claiming that it would derail efforts by the UIC to restore calm and order in the country.

"Yet, instead of encouraging this internal initiative, various attempts are being made to pave the way for external military intervention so as to obstruct the aforementioned developments," Eritrea's ministry of information said in a statement published on its Website. The statement added: "One of such attempts is the ridiculous proposition about the need of a peacekeeping mission in Somalia being advocated in the name of IGAD and the African Union, the latter being an organization that had uttered not a word during the Somali people's 16-year long plight."

Eritrea also said that the IGAD initiative would only serve Ethiopia's motive to invade Somalia. "The only task this so-called peacekeeping mission will accomplish is to implement the [Ethiopia's ruling party's] own agenda and nothing more."

On Thursday several hundred gun men went into a town called Doul, some 40 kilometers south of Galkayo bordering Somaliland. There are reports that the UIC militia are preparing to fight the warlords in Bandiiradley, and expand their territory further north into Galkayo and the semi-autonomous north-eastern region of Puntland. Warlords that were defeated and chased out of Mogadishu by the UIC are also bracing themselves for battle in Doul, according to reports from the residents of Galkayo. ...

http://allafrica.com/stories/200608280261.html

keith

09-05-2006, 01:31 PM

African leaders push Somalia peacekeeping plan
By Wangui Kanina
2 hours, 1 minute ago

East African leaders pushed ahead on Tuesday with a contested plan to send peacekeepers to Somalia, despite a military deal between the country's rival powers that appeared to block foreign intervention.

The regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which led talks that produced Somalia's interim government in 2004, urged the African Union to speed approval of the proposed peacekeeping mission, release funds and help raise more money to support the deployment of troops.

IGAD also called on the U.N. Security Council to meet "urgently" to consider lifting its arms embargo on Somalia, torn apart by factions fighting for control of the Horn of Africa nation since warlords ousted Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Late on Monday, Islamist and government delegates meeting in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, agreed in principle to join their military forces if they could agree on sharing political power.

The pact stressed that neither side would accept military interference inside Somalia by neighboring countries.

Somalia's foreign affairs minister said, however, the Khartoum deal was contingent upon a future political agreement and did not preclude peacekeepers.

"There is nothing now. We cannot say that what happened yesterday can be considered an obstacle for the deployment of troops into Somalia," Ismail Hurre Buba said in Nairobi, setting up yet another possible conflict between the two sides.

The Islamists, whose power now eclipses that of the government, vehemently oppose peacekeepers and say Somalia can handle its own security.

IGAD's plan drew hundreds of Somalis to the streets of Mogadishu on Tuesday in a protest orchestrated by the Islamists, who fought their way to power in June by defeating U.S.-backed warlords in Mogadishu.

"If Ethiopia and these other foreign troops are deployed in our country, I will definitely join the student warriors," said student 20-year-old student Hassan Adan. "I will fight to defend my country."

BREWING CRISIS

With limited authority and military strength, the fragile but internationally recognized interim government has been unable to prevent the Islamists from capturing a key swathe of southern Somalia including lucrative air and sea ports.

Experts fear the crisis could spill across Somalia's borders and destabilize east Africa. Washington fears an Islamist-controlled Somalia could provide a base for militants to attack in eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

The Khartoum deal, diplomats said, and the lack of a waiver of a U.N. arms embargo appeared to have frustrated a push by Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda to get the troops deployed quickly and help contain the crisis.

Yusuf's Ethiopian-backed government, without money to field its own real army, supports the IGAD plan to help it get out of its sole outpost in Baidoa -- and from under the protection of Ethiopia.

Addis Ababa, which has denied witness reports it has troops in Somalia, has promised to crush any attack on the government by the militarily superior Islamists.

That presence is blocking any progress on the political front, the head of the Islamist delegation in Khartoum, Ibrahim Hassan Addow said.

(Additional reporting by Katie Nguyen in Nairobi, Guled Mohamed in Mogadishu and Opheera McDoom in Khartoum)

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060905/wl_nm/somalia_dc_7

Petronas

09-10-2006, 07:54 PM

Somalia: We Accept No Constitution Other Than Islamic - Islamic Courts
September 6, 2006

Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts has indicated on Wednesday that the Islamists are never intending to make a deal with the Somalia federal government led by President Abdulahi Yusuf over non-Islamic constitution.

Islamic Courts' first vice chairperson A/Rahman Mohomood Jinikow said, "We will only approve a constitution based on theology, because an Islamic constitution is the only one that serves all of us justly". Mr. Jinikow told Shabelle Radio in Mogadishu the government's current man-written constitution has nothing to do with Islam

"Secular constitution, whether it is democratic or any other, is never fair and right, and Muslims have only one constitution which is entirely based on Allah's Kora'n that will avail all Muslims in the world now and the Hereafter", Sheik Jinikow said.

The Union of Islamic Courts has always stated that they would govern Somalia with the Islamic Shara'ih. ...

http://allafrica.com/stories/200609070009.html

Petronas

09-14-2006, 12:46 AM

This is very similar to how the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, where initially they rode on a wave of popular support when the people were willing to pay almost any price to restore order and security after decades of war and anarchy.

Somalia's Islamic militants advance
Wed Sep 13, 5:54 PM ET

Militiamen loyal to the fundamentalist Islamic group that appears determined to rule Somalia are advancing on one of the last remaining commercial ports outside of their control, an official said Wednesday. Several hundred militiamen loyal to the Islamic group have been seen traveling in trucks mounted with machine guns to Kismayo, some 310 miles south of the capital Mogadishu, the official and witnesses said.

Abdikarin Farah, the Somali ambassador to the African Union, said the Islamic courts were 90 miles away from Kismayo and were still marching to the city. "The Islamic union is not going to succeed by choosing military means; it has to renounce this option," Farah said on the sidelines of an AU meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, held to discuss the deployment of peacekeepers to the country. Kismayo, Somalia's third city and an important business center, is controlled by fighters loyal to the Juba Valley Alliance, which is allied with neither Somalia's weak government nor the Islamic group.

Bile Abdile Ali, a spokesman for the Juba Valley Alliance, said they were aware that fighters loyal to Islamic militias were traveling to the port but they did not expect fighting to erupt. "There is no fear of fighting in Kismayo," he told The Associated Press by telephone. However independent journalists working in the region said alliance fighters had been put on alert.

An AU official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his comments, told The Associated Press the 130 trucks mounted with machine guns and an unknown number of militiamen were heading for the seaport. The official said an attack could take place in the coming days.

Somalia has not had an effective central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, pulling the country into anarchy. The current government was established two years ago with the support of the United Nations, but it has failed to assert any power outside its base in Baidoa, 150 miles from the capital, Mogadishu.

The Islamic group seized the capital and much of southern Somalia starting in June, and has imposed strict religious rule in its territory. It is credited with bringing a semblance of order to the country after years of anarchy, but some of its leaders have been linked to al-Qaida and there are fears of an emerging, Taliban-style regime.

The government has appealed for outside help, and neighboring nations have responded with a plan to send in Sudanese and Ugandan peacekeepers. The Islamic group vehemently opposes foreign interference. A senior AU official said Wednesday the 53-member body has earmarked $19 million for the mission, under which the first troops were to be deployed by the beginning of October. AU officials from the body's Peace and Security Council met later Wednesday at their headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and endorsed the deployment, the official added.

But the peacekeeping mission, drawn up by the seven-nation east African regional body, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, is unlikely to become reality anytime soon. The U.N. must lift an arms embargo on Somalia that has been in place for more than 10 years before peacekeepers can enter. The mission is also expected to cost $34 million a month.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060913/ap_on_re_af/somalia;_ylt=Ap1tNm2SIbK9tLSQqp1A0n1vaA8F;_ylu=X3o DMTA0cDJlYmhvBHNlYwM-

Petronas

09-20-2006, 11:43 PM

Somalia sees Al-Qaeda behind first-ever suicide bombing
September 20, 2006

Somalia's weak government has sought help in probing the country's first-ever suicide bombing, an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the interim president that officials pin on Al-Qaeda. Authorities boosted security around the government seat of Baidoa where wreckage from two car bombs, at least one of which was driven by a suicide attacker, still littered the street outside parliament.

In the aftermath of Monday's blasts and an ensuing gunbattle that killed 11 people and wounded 18 but left President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed unscathed, officials said they were convinced Al-Qaeda was behind the attack. And with such accusations flying, tensions soared between the administration in Baidoa and Somalia's powerful hardline Islamist movement that controls much of the south of the country, including the capital Mogadishu.

Meanwhile, neighboring Ethiopia, a strong ally of Yusuf's government that fears the rise of so-called "jihadists" in Somalia, condemned the attack and vowed "to do whatever is necessary" to protect the administration. The UN refugee agency said it was concerned that the assassination bid would prompt a new surge in already rising numbers of Somalis crossing the border into Kenya.

Security forces interrogated two presumed attackers captured after Monday's assault, but government spokesman Abdirahman Mohamed Nur Dinari said foreign expertise was needed to investigate the suspected Al-Qaeda link. "Our local investigators are already probing the attack, but we really need international help and expertise in the whole exercise," he told AFP in Baidoa, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of Mogadishu.

If Al-Qaeda was involved, "we really do not have the expertise to uncover the (details of the) attack that was well-organised by the same groups that are carrying out attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan," Dinari said. He said a massive security presence had been deployed in and around Baidoa to search for an unknown number of attackers believed to have escaped in the chaos after the blasts.

Officials stopped short of publicly blaming the Islamists for the incident that killed five members of Yusuf's entourage, including his younger brother, and six attackers, but said privately they appeared to be involved. "I am sure the Islamic courts are behind it," one senior government source said, adding there had been intelligence information from Mogadishu four days earlier about two explosive-laden cars being driven to Baidoa. "We secured government buildings, but unfortunately we didn't believe that they would hit parliament and target the president," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi blamed the attack on "terrorists" organised within the country that has been wracked by anarchy and without a functioning central administration for the past 16 years. Other officials say the attack was carried out by the same group responsible for the weekend murder of an elderly Italian nun in Mogadishu, an ambush amid fury over Pope Benedict XVI's comments about Islam. But in the capital, the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS) denied any responsibility for Monday's attack or the nun's slaying, and said they were the work of the "enemies of Somalia."

Some senior members of the Islamist movement, notably its supreme leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys who is designated a "terrorist" by the United States, have been accused of Al-Qaeda ties and harboring extremists. They deny the charges but US officials maintain that at least three men who participated in the 1998 Al-Qaeda bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania are living in Somalia under the protection of the Islamists. Fears of a Taliban-style takeover of Somalia have been rising since the Islamists seized Mogadishu in June after months of fierce battles with a US-backed alliance of warlords and have since rapidly expanded their territory.

Osama bin Laden himself has hailed the activities of Somali Islamists, praising them for driving out US and UN peacekeepers sent to the lawless Horn of Africa nation in the mid-1990s. In July, an audiotape attributed to bin Laden warned the world against sending troops to shore up the government's limited authority, something the administration has repeatedly called for over the objections of the Islamists.

http://www.terra.net.lb/wp/Articles/DesktopArticle.aspx?ArticleID=306575&ChannelId=4

Petronas

09-23-2006, 09:46 PM

The next Afghanistan...

Islamic militia to open 'holy war' camps in Somalia
POSTED: 3:24 p.m. EDT, September 19, 2006

The hard-line Islamic militia that controls much of southern Somalia said Tuesday it will open training camps in schools to prepare students for holy war, an ominous development amid fears that a Taliban-style regime is emerging in eastern Africa. The militia -- accused by the United States of having links with al Qaeda -- is challenging Somalia's virtually powerless government for authority in this restive African nation. Tension between the two sides has increased over the past two days after an assassination attempt on the president and the slaying of an Italian nun in the capital.

Tuesday's announcement of holy war training camps was the militants' latest attempt to discourage foreign interference in the country. Last month, seven African countries, known by the acronym IGAD, endorsed a plan to send 3,500 Ugandan and Sudanese soldiers here.

"Our policy is to fight against countries in IGAD who are our foes," said Fuad Mohammed Kalaf, the Islamic group's education official. He said the training camps in high schools will be established soon but officials were still working out the details. "There is nothing wrong with our plan to train students," he said. "There are a lot of countries in the world that carry out such exercises." ...

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/09/19/somalia.camps.ap/index.html

mez31

09-27-2006, 09:00 AM

The cancer is begining to metastasize, terrorism and AQ have begun to open a new front in this war on terror. :happy_12:

Somali Islamists in war warning
The Islamist group that has seized much of southern Somalia has said Ethiopia has declared war by sending its troops to help the interim government.
Ethiopia supports the government but denies sending troops to help them against the Union of Islamic Courts.

On Sunday, the UIC took control of the key port of Kismayo after the defence minister's forces fled the town.

The prime minister has appealed for international help against "al-Qaeda" and "terrorist" expansion.

The UIC have repeatedly denied having any links to al-Qaeda and say they are restoring security and stability to Somalia, which has not had an effective national government for 15 years.

High alert

"The incursion of Ethiopian troops into Somali territories is a declaration of war on Somalia," said UIC national security chairman Sheik Yusuf Indahaadde.

"We call on the international community to urge Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from Somalia. If that doesn't happen the consequences of insecurity created by Ethiopia will spread to neighbouring countries and to East Africa as a whole."

But Somali government spokesman Abduraman Dinari denied that any Ethiopia had crossed the border and said the reports were being fabricated by the Islamists to distract attention from their advance into Kismayo.
Eyewitnesses have reported that hundreds of troops wearing Ethiopian military uniforms have crossed the border and are in a military camp just outside Baidoa - the only town controlled by the internationally recognised government.

A security official in Baidoa told the BBC that his forces were on high alert and were ready to defend the town against any Islamist attack.

The UIC say they took Kismayo to prevent it being used to bring foreign peacekeepers into the country, as requested by the interim government.

On Monday, they fired at demonstrators, reportedly killing three people.

The Islamists have now imposed a curfew in the town, after a further demonstration.

Hundreds of people are fleeing from Somalia into Kenya every day, the World Food Programme says.

It says that 24,000 have crossed the border this year.

Speaking after the takeover of Kismayo, Somalia's interim Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi appealed for aid soon for his beleaguered government.

"I would appeal to the governments of the region to join our efforts and protect the region from the expansion of this al-Qaeda network, these terrorists."

Running away

Mr Ghedi also said the takeover of Kismayo had been a "violation" of a ceasefire agreed between the UIC and the interim government.

Earlier this month, the African Union agreed to a request by Somalia's transitional government to send in a regional peacekeeping force.

Thousands of people are reported to have fled the city in recent days.

The UIC has steadily increased its hold on Somalia since its fighters took control of the capital, Mogadishu, in June.

Mr Ghedi's government was set up in 2004 after more than two years of talks designed to give Somalia its first effective national government since 1991.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/5380226.stm

Published: 2006/09/26 14:41:51 GMT

© BBC MMVI

mez31

10-09-2006, 07:08 PM

More to come...

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-10-09T142748Z_01_L09210549_RTRUKOC_0_US-SOMALIA.xml

Somali Islamists declare "jihad" on Ethiopia
Mon Oct 9, 2006 10:27am ET

By Guled Mohamed

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's powerful Islamists on Monday declared holy war against Horn of Africa rival Ethiopia, which they accused of invading Somalia to help the government briefly seize a town controlled by pro-Islamist fighters.

Both sides confirmed the takeover of Buur Hakaba, the first military counter-strike by President Abdullahi Yusuf's interim government since the Islamists took Mogadishu in June and went on to grab much of Somalia's south.

"Starting from today, we have declared jihad against Ethiopia," Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told a news conference, wearing combat fatigues and clutching an AK-47 assault rifle.

Ahmed, usually viewed as a more moderate voice among the Islamists, appeared angry as he addressed reporters.

"Heavily armed Ethiopian troops have invaded Somalia. They have captured Buur Hakaba. History shows that Somalis always win when they are attacked from outside," he said.

Residents of Buur Hakaba, seen as a potential flashpoint because it had put the Islamists within 30 km (20 miles) of the government's base in Baidoa, said Ethiopian troops accompanied government fighters who took the town early on Monday.

A government militia commander in Buur Hakaba denied that, and Addis Ababa has consistently said it has not sent any soldiers except for military advisers.

The Islamists, unaccustomed to losing since their spectacular rise, said the government move was the first salvo in a longer -- and long-expected -- conflict. Continued...

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

Petronas

10-16-2006, 03:08 PM

Somalia: 4 jihad registration centers opened in Hiran region
15 Oct 15, 2006, 09:35

At least 4 centers for jihad registration have been opened in Beletwein, the capital of central Somalia's Hiran region, a day after the regional Islamist chief declared jihad on Ethiopian troops inside Somalia. Abdurahman Farole, an Islamist official in charge of jihad offices, told local media Sunday that jihad registration has officially started in Beletwein, even though he declined to give details of the exact number of people who signed up.

Yesterday, a large anti-Ethiopia rally was held in Beletwein, attracting hundreds of locals and featuring speeches by the region’s Islamist leaders. Sheikh Farah Moallim Mohamud, chairman of Hiran region’s Islamic court, encouraged supporters at Saturday’s rally to prepare for jihad against the invading Ethiopian army. Top Islamist officials in Mogadishu have repeatedly called for jihad against Ethiopia, a staunch ally of the Baidoa-based interim Somali government.

http://www.garoweonline.com/stories/publish/article_5479.shtml

Petronas

10-22-2006, 06:43 PM

Somalia bans swimming for women at beach
Fri Oct 20, 1:27 PM ET

An Islamic court has banned women from swimming at the main beach in Somalia's capital, the latest step to impose strict religious rule that has sparked fears of an emerging, Taliban-style regime. Sheikh Farah Ali Hussein, chair of a northern Mogadishu Islamic court, said Friday that the ban applies only to the northern Mogadishu Leedo beach, where families usually go on weekends to play and relax. "We stopped women from swimming because it is against the teaching of Islam for women to mingle with men, especially while they are swimming," Hussein said.

Since sweeping to power over much of southern Somalia in June, the Islamists have banned movie viewing, publicly lashed drug users and broke up a wedding celebration because a band was playing and women and men were socializing together. They also have introduced public executions.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061020/ap_on_re_af/somalia_beach_ban_3

Petronas

10-27-2006, 01:52 PM

Somali Islamists recruit for jihad against Ethiopia
October 25, 2006

Somali Islamists have begun recruiting thousands of young fighters to fight a jihad against Ethiopia, officials said Wednesday, amid fears of all-out war across the lawless Horn of Africa nation. A day after claiming to have captured an Ethiopian military officer in fierce weekend battles with a militia allied to Somalia's weak government, the Islamists said that at least 3,000 people had enlisted for combat in the holy war.

Many of the new recruits have signed up in the last two days, since the supreme leader of the powerful Islamist movement announced the start of a threatened jihad against Ethiopian troops alleged in Somalia, officials said. "We have at least 3,000 young fighters who have now registered to fight the enemy of Allah," a senior official with the Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SICS) official said in Mogadishu.

The newcomers, including women, will join what the Islamists claim are tens of thousands of battle-hardened gunmen who seized Mogadishu in June from warlords and now control most of southern and central Somalia. "We have trained them to fight and that is religious obligation," said Sheikh Abdinur Farah, a senior Islamist commander who runs a jihad recruitment center in Qoryoley, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Mogadishu.

"Ethiopia has made clear its intention: that is a war against us," he said from the town. "So we are calling an open war against Ethiopia and every young fighter is welcome to join the jihad against the Ethiopian invaders." Ethiopia and the Somali government have repeatedly denied eyewitness accounts of Ethiopian soldiers in Somalia, although Addis Ababa has said several times that it has sent trainers and advisors. But mainly Christian Ethiopia has vowed to protect itself and the Somali government from the jihadists, whom, together with the transitional government, it accuses of links with Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda network.

On Tuesday, the Islamists claimed to have seized the Ethiopian officer in clashes that killed at least 51 people north of the southern port of Kismayo. Ethiopia has not yet responded to the alleged capture of the officer who was not identified by name or rank.

On Monday, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, chief of the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia (SICS) and a hardline cleric designated a "terrorist" by the United States, urged Somalis to take up arms against Ethiopian troops. Several recruits from Qoryoley Wednesday said that they had been inspired to join the jihad by Aweys' speech in which he vowed that the graves of Ethiopian troops would "be littered everywhere in Somalia."

"I have been looking for somewhere to devote my passion for my religion and country," said 23-year-old Abdullahi Sidow Hassan. "Now that the righteous jihad has started, I have found it. Fadumo Isaq Duale, 20, a female student, echoed that sentiment. "I am ready to die for my religion because it is a religious obligation on every Muslim, be it man or woman," she said. "We have nothing to lose because Ethiopia is violating our religion and our land."

Soaring tensions between the Islamists and the government and worsening security in south and central Somalia have forced tens of thousands to flee into neighboring Kenya and added to concerns of widespread conflict. The deteriorating situation threatens to scupper a planned third round of Arab League-mediated peace talks between the government and the Islamists set to begin October 30 in Khartoum.

Somalia has been without a functioning central administration since 1991 and the government, formed in neighboring Kenya in 2004, has been wracked by infighting and unable to assert control over much of the country.

http://metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20061025-090639-1467r

Petronas

10-28-2006, 12:57 PM

Somalia's Islamists take key town
Thursday, 26 October 2006, 12:14 GMT 13:14 UK

Fighters loyal to Somalia's Islamic courts have taken control of a key trading town from the transitional government without bloodshed. They drove into Sakow on Wednesday evening moving closer to the seat of the interim administration in Baidoa.

Islamists are reported to be massing to the east of Baidoa, where government troops have been seen building defences with the aid of Ethiopian soldiers. The opposing sides are due to meet in Sudan next week for peace talks.

Somalia has been in the grip of warlords and militias for years and has not had a functioning national government since 1991. The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) has consolidated its control over much of southern Somalia after seizing the capital, Mogadishu, in June. The UIC was set up by businessmen who wanted to impose law and order, and their gunmen have become Somalia's strongest fighting force.

"It was simple because we did not encounter any fighting when we entered the town," Sheikh Hassan Derow, an Islamist commander told AFP news agency. Residents of the town which is 170km south-west of Baidoa, said pro-government forces fled to the north.

The BBC's East Africa correspondent Adam Mynott says the pressure is building towards a confrontation between the two sides. But the UIC said it dids not intend to attack the transitional government but would defend itself against Ethiopian forces.

"The Courts' forces are still in their positions to defend the town (Baidoa) against the Ethiopian troops which began to move towards the Courts' forces," leading Islamic Courts offical Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad told the BBC. Ethiopia has said that its only forces in Somalia are there for training purposes.

Eritrea, which is deeply hostile to Ethiopia, is also alleged to have sent troops to Somalia to reinforce the UIC. Observers fear that Somalia could become engulfed in a wider war for control of the Horn of Africa.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6087850.stm

keith

11-02-2006, 04:29 PM

Somali rivals prepare for war after talks collapse
By Marie-Louise Gumuchian
Thu Nov 2, 1:12 PM ET

The Horn of Africa slipped closer to war on Thursday after intense efforts failed to revive peace talks between Somalia's powerful Islamists and the interim government.

"The international community needs to act fast and clearly to avoid a disastrous war that could turn the region into an Iraq-style situation," a Western diplomat said.

"We should look for the tiniest shred of hope to avoid this prospect."

The United States warned its citizens that Kenya and Ethiopia could become targets of suicide attacks by "extreme elements" from Somalia and urged them to be vigilant and use extreme caution when going to prominent public places.

Earlier on Thursday, Somalia's interim government rebuffed efforts to reorganize peace talks on November 15 after they failed this week in Khartoum.

"The government delegation has refused to set a date and a place," delegation member Ahmed Omar Gagale told Reuters after diplomats said mediators were trying to persuade the two sides to return to the table in the middle of the month.

The Islamists said they were ready for talks.

"We are always ready and prepared to go into negotiations," the head of the Islamist delegation Ibrahim Hassan Addow told reporters in Khartoum.

On the ground, Islamist sources said the movement was sending more fighters to the flashpoint town of Buur Hakaba.

It lies between the government's headquarters in Baidoa and the Islamist base in the capital Mogadishu. Both sides have tested guns in recent days.

"Given the situation on the ground, the proximity of the forces and the artillery duels of the last few days, an escalation is likely," regional analyst Matt Bryden said.

"It could be hours, it could be days, it could be weeks."

Both sides are blaming each other for the failure of a third round of Arab League-sponsored negotiations seen as the best way to avert a conflict which could quickly widen into a regional proxy war drawing in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

ETHIOPIAN TROOPS

The Islamists, who took Mogadishu and a swathe of the south in June, say they cannot talk while Ethiopian troops are on Somali soil to help President Abdullahi Yusuf's government and have called for an international fact-finding mission.

The government says the Islamists want to take Somalia by force and perhaps invade other ethnically Somali regions of neighboring countries.

Ethiopia said the Islamists were never serious in the Khartoum talks. "They are using the talks to buy time and making conflict inevitable," said Solomon Abebe, the director for information in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But some analysts felt war talk might be a bluff despite the military build-up.

"How real is the wish of the two parties to go into war?" the Western diplomat said. "The fact the talks didn't completely collapse but were sort of re-scheduled points to the fact that we are still in a heavy posturing position."

The government delegation head, deputy premier Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail, said talks would have "no meaning" unless Islamists withdrew from areas seized since the last discussions.

War would be a nightmare for inhabitants of the Horn of Africa, already among the world's poorest people and buffeted by successive conflicts in recent decades.

Somalia has been mired in anarchy since the 1991 ouster of a dictator by warlords. Eritrea, accused of arming the Islamists, and Ethiopia, which openly backs the Yusuf government, fought a war in 1998-2000 and remain bitter foes.

War in Somalia may draw in foreign Muslim radicals on the Islamists' side, analysts say, and would divert resources urgently needed for humanitarian aid and social services.

The U.S. embassies in Kenya and Ethiopia said they issued their warning to U.S. citizens in response to reports of "terrorist threats emanating from extremist elements within Somalia which target Kenya, Ethiopia and other surrounding countries."

"These threats specifically mention the execution of suicide explosions in prominent landmarks within Kenya and Ethiopia," said the message.

In Mogadishu, hundreds of former Somali soldiers joined the Islamists and vowed to fight any Ethiopian aggression.

"They (Ethiopian troops) are in many regions including Gedo, Hiiraan and Bayi," Islamists leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed said at a ceremony where he welcomed the new recruits.

(Additional reporting by Andrew Cawthorne in Nairobi; Guled Mohamed and Sahal Abdulle in Mogadishu, Tsegaye Tadesse in Addis Ababa)

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061102/wl_nm/somalia_dc_24

keith

11-03-2006, 11:03 AM

Somali Islamists test rockets
By Guled Mohamed
Fri Nov 3, 7:05 AM ET

Somali Islamists test fired rockets on Friday and prepared for war with the government as the United States warned of possible suicide attacks against neighboring countries.

Tension has mounted rapidly in recent weeks and rose another notch after this week's failure to bring together the Islamists, who control the capital and most of southern Somalia, and the weak, Western-backed interim government for peace talks.

Both sides' fighters are now facing off just 30 km (19 miles) from the administration's sole outpost, Baidoa town. The Islamists say they are also facing thousands of Ethiopian troops who had invaded to prop up government forces.

"The onus is on us to start the fight. We will be the first to strike," one senior Islamist commander, Maalim Hashi Ahmed, told Reuters by telephone.

"If someone takes your shirt, it's upon you to repossess it. That is what we plan to do," he said. "Ethiopia has invaded us so it is our responsibility to remove them from our land. We intend to carry out this obligation as soon as possible."

Residents of Buur Hakaba, a strategic hill town near the frontlines, said hundreds more Islamist fighters were deployed overnight, and fired heavy weapons early on Friday.

"The Islamic troops tested missiles this morning," one local, Yusuf Hassan, told Reuters. "It was really terrifying."

SUICIDE ATTACKS

The U.S. Embassies in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia warned their citizens the two countries could be targets of suicide attacks by "extremist elements" from Somalia.

"These threats specifically mention the execution of suicide explosions in prominent landmarks within Kenya and Ethiopia," the embassies said in a statement on Thursday.

It said the message was issued in response to reports of "terrorist threats emanating from extremist elements within Somalia" and urged American citizens to be vigilant and use extreme caution when going to well-known public places.

Washington accuses the Islamists of harboring al Qaeda militants and has asked for them to be handed over.

The U.S. warning came amid growing fears of a regional war after the Islamists and government failed to meet face-to-face during three days of talks in Sudan. The negotiations were postponed on Wednesday with mediators urging both sides to exercise maximum restraint.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called on all sides involved in Somalia not to escalate tensions. Ethiopia's enemy Eritrea has been accused of arming the Islamists.

"There are concerns that the situation, the current situation in Somalia, might lend itself to wider violence in the region. And we're doing everything we can to see that that does not happen," McCormack said.

But confrontation appeared increasingly likely in Somalia, where one Baidoa resident said hundreds more Ethiopian troops were seen heading for the frontlines by truck.

"The Ethiopians are waiting for the Islamists to make a move," he said. "If fighting starts, we will definitely suffer."

An Islamist source at Baledogle, Somalia's biggest military airfield, said his forces had also been put on high alert.

"All the troops have been told to prepare to fight," he told Reuters. We have been waiting for this for very long. We are raring to go and are ready to remove our enemy from our land."

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061103/wl_nm/somalia_dc_25

keith

11-03-2006, 11:06 AM

Somali Islamists deny suicide order, vow to fight enemies of Allah
Fri Nov 3, 3:29 AM ET

Somalia's powerful Islamic movement denied US allegations its supreme leader had authorized suicide attacks in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia.

The Islamists, some of whom are suspected of links with Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, said the "baseless warning" from Washington was part of a pro-Zionist, Israeli propaganda aimed at destabilizing the Muslim world.

"We know that America never favors Islamic movements anywhere in the world and such statements are part of a incorrect Zionist-inherited ideology," said Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, the Islamists' deputy defense chief.

"Islam does not harm people," he told AFP. "The warnings issued by the American embassy issued are baseless and we never attack neighboring countries."

"America misleads its own people by giving such baseless warnings but we will never falter because we stand ready to defend our religion and people from the enemy of Allah," Robow said.

On Thursday, the US embassies in Nairobi and Addis Ababa warned of the threat of suicide attacks against "prominent" targets in Kenya and Ethiopia and urged Americans to use "extreme caution" in the two countries.

"These threats specifically mention the execution of suicide explosions in prominent landmarks within Kenya and Ethiopia," they said in notices sent to US citizens in the two countries.

Embassy officials said the warning was prompted by postings on Somali websites purported to come from Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the Islamists' supreme leader, in which he authorizes suicide attacks in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Aweys, a hardline cleric designated a "terrorist" by the United States for alleged Al-Qaeda ties, could not be reached for comment about the statements attributed to him.

He has in the past denied any connection to terrorism and rejected US accusations the Islamists are harboring Al-Qaeda suspects wanted for the deadly 1998 bombings of its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

The US warning came as the Islamists have declared "jihad", or holy war, on neighboring Ethiopia for allegedly sending thousands of troops to Somalia to back the country's weak government and accused Kenya of siding with Ethiopia.

It also comes the Islamists and the government gird for war after the collapse of peace talks in Khartoum this week.

Both Kenya and Ethiopia favor the deployment of regional peacekeepers -- vehemently opposed by the Islamists -- to help the government, whose limited authority is increasingly threatened.

Earlier this year, a covert US program to support Somali warlords battling the Islamists for control of Mogadishu failed disastrously when the capital fell in June after months of fierce fighting.

The Islamists have since rapidly expanded their territory to include most of southern and central Somalia, where they have imposed strict Sharia law, fuelling concern of a Taliban-style takeover of the lawless country.

Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061103/pl_afp/somaliaunrestusattackskenyaethiopia_061103082350

keith

11-03-2006, 11:09 AM

Somalia: Col. Barre Hiral's Militia Leader Threatens Invasion Against Islamists

Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)

November 2, 2006
Posted to the web November 2, 2006

Aweys Osman Yusuf
Mogadishu

As Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts commanders have admitted killing Col. Barre Hirale's wounded militias who were being treated at a hospital in Bu'ale under the Islamist control, Abdulahi Sheik Ismail known as Fartag has told Shabelle Radio in Mogadishu, in an interview, that they would take a reprisal attack against the Union of Islamic Courts that seized control Middle Jubba and Lower Jubba provinces, including the port city of Kismayu in southern Somalia.

Fartag, who is in Bardhere, Gedo province, has admitted that they lost 20 vehicles including 6 battlewagons to the Islamists in their latest fight in Bu'ale.

"We are going to attack Jubba provinces and we have vowed that we will once again take control of Jubba regions and Kismayu", Fartag said, accusing the Islamic Courts fighters of murdering wounded militias.

He said Islamic extremists from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Arab countries were fighting along side Somalia's Islamist fighters, claiming his militias had killed some of those foreign fighters and that he has documents showing the presence of the world's most wanted extremists in Somalia.

Fartag has denied that his militias were supported by Ethiopian troops and rebuffed that Islamic Courts had captured Ethiopian officers fighting along side Barre Hirale's militias.

Fartag's remarks came as there were rumors indicating he was killed in skirmishes that went between his militias and Islamists.

Somalia has had no functioning government since 1991 when warlords overthrew former president Siad Barre.

.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright © 2006 Shabelle Media Network. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). Click here to contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200611020325.html

keith

11-12-2006, 12:27 PM

Clashes in Somalia kill eight

By Sahal Abdulle
1 hour, 55 minutes ago

Eight people were killed when troops from a powerful Somali Islamist movement clashed on Sunday with fighters allied to the interim government a day after it rejected a peace initiative.

The fighting near the semi-autonomous northern Puntland region is the second duel between the sides since Monday, and the latest sign of tensions that could bring full-blown war.

"The government troops ambushed us," Islamist spokesman Abdirahman Ali Mudey said. "They forced us to take their biggest base in Bandiradley, near Galkaayo."

The government denied its base had been seized.

"The Islamists attacked us but they were successfully repelled," Information Minister Ali Ahmed Jama "Jangali" told Reuters. "The fighting is still going on."

A resident of Bandiradley said the skirmishing took place about 3 km (1.4 miles) north and south of the town, and that the Islamists were in control.

"The local residents are fleeing, afraid that the alliance might attack the city again," businessman Farah Abdi told Reuters by radio telephone.

There was no independent confirmation of the casualties which Islamist sources put at eight in total from both sides. Bandiradley is 690 km (429 miles) north of Mogadishu.

The clash could signal the growth of a second frontline in what many fear will become an all-out war that will suck in Horn of Africa rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea, who are backing the government and Islamists respectively.

Mudey said the government forces were led by warlord Abdi Awale Qaybdiid, whom the Islamists ejected from Mogadishu in July after defeating him and his U.S.-backed allies who had controlled the capital for years.

FLIGHTS BANNED

The government on Saturday rejected a deal to restart collapsed talks to avert war with the Islamists, brokered by parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan.

Arab League-led negotiations failed two weeks ago, and diplomats had said they believed Adan's initiative was the last best hope at avoiding war in the nation of 10 million.

Islamist troops and fighters in the government alliance are just kilometers (miles) apart in a frontline near the government base in Baidoa, and also near the Puntland border.

Security experts told Reuters on Friday that 11 nations have been sending arms and military equipment to both sides at a dizzying rate since June, even by the standards of a country awash with weapons.

In yet another sign of the spillover effect many fear the war will have in the Horn and east Africa, Kenya on Saturday banned all scheduled flights in and out of Somalia.

Somalia's Western-backed and internationally recognized government is holed up in Baidoa. The Islamists, who have imposed sharia law across most of the south, have all but dashed government plans to impose central authority on a nation mired in anarchy since a dictator was deposed in 1991.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061112/wl_nm/somalia_dc_3

keith

11-16-2006, 05:16 PM

Somali khat protester shot dead

Islamist fighters in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, shot at a crowd angered at shortages of the mild narcotic khat, killing one person, say eyewitnesses.

Khat vendors were protesting about loss of revenue since a ban on Kenyan flights to Somalia on Monday, that has led to a shortage of imported khat.

The Islamists have subsequently burned two big khat consignments which were flown in from elsewhere this week.

The Islamic courts have tried to outlaw khat since they rose to power in June.

The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) that now rules the capital says khat encourages immorality.

Most khat, chewed by many Somali men - especially the gunmen who have fought for control of the country for the last 15 years - was flown in from neighbouring Kenya.

Kenya banned all flights to Somalia, citing security fears.

There were six flights a week from Nairobi to Mogadishu and services to three other towns and many more khat flights each day.

Curfew

The khat protesters were burning tyres and throwing stones before shots were fired.
"We were demonstrating... [when] they opened fire on us," protester Nur Aden Wajishe told AFP news agency.

Other eyewitnesses described seeing a person die of bullet wounds and several others injured in the shooting.

"A 13-year-old boy was killed," resident Ali Suleiman told Reuters news agency.

"I saw an injured man lying on the ground, he was bleeding profusely," he said.

The BBC's Hassan Barise in Mogadishu says a dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed on the city.

The consignment of khat burned on Tuesday at an airport 50km south of Mogadishu was estimated to be worth $40,000 and to have originated from Ethiopia, local media reports.

Wednesday's shipment was incinerated because it landed at Mogadishu's main airport where khat imports are not allowed, officials say.

Mosque attendance

The Islamists have taken control of most of southern Somalia since seizing the capital in June.

Many Mogadishu residents have welcomed their rule as they have brought law and order to the city after years of anarchy.

Khat has not been officially banned in the capital as it has by Islamist hardliners in Kismayo, south of Mogadishu.

But according to the Union of Islamic Courts' website, Kenya's flight ban has seen mosque attendance rise at prayer times.

In some parts of the country, Islamists have been closing public cinemas and, according to some residents, enforcing strict dress codes.

There are fears of a regional conflict starting in Somalia, as Ethiopia backs the weak interim government based in the city of Baidoa and its rival Eritrea is accused of arming the Islamists.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6155796.stm

Published: 2006/11/16 19:43:27 GMT

© BBC MMVI

keith

11-16-2006, 05:20 PM

Powers 'stoking Somali conflict'

Ten countries have been violating a United Nations arms embargo to send weapons to Somalia, according to a UN-commissioned report.

Seven countries - among them Iran and Syria - have supplied military personnel and weapons to the Union of Islamic Courts militia.

While three countries are helping arm Somalia's weak interim government.

The report is due to be discussed by a UN Security Council committee on Friday.

The countries arming the Islamists are Syria, Iran, Eritrea, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya and Saudi Arabia, according to the report.

Ethiopia, Uganda and Yemen are named as the countries supplying Somalia's interim government.

The report, by experts monitoring the embargo, also suggests that Iran may have tried to trade arms for uranium to further its nuclear ambitions.

Ethiopia and Eritrea are named as the biggest violators of the arms embargo in Somalia, where there has not been a proper government for more than 15 years.

"There is the distinct possibility that the momentum towards a military solution inside Somalia may spill over into a direct state-to-state conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as acts of terrorism in other vulnerable states of the region," Reuters news agency quoted the report as saying.

Many of the countries named in the report reject the accusations.

In Nairobi, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has appealed to the transitional government and the UIC to resume peace talks "very quickly".

"We have a very serious situation in Somalia," he told the conference on climate change.

UIC representatives are expected to meet regional leaders at an economic summit summit in Djibouti later.

'Plane-load'

What is most striking about this report is the detailed links between countries such as Iran, Syria and Lebanon and the Islamic Courts Union, says the BBC's Laura Trevelyan at the UN in New York.

For example, the authors say 720 Somali fighters went to Lebanon to help Hezbollah fight Israel in July.

Syria is said to have sent an aircraft full of guns to the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Iran is reported to have sent three shipments of arms to Somalia between July and September.

One paragraph in the report says two Iranians were in Somalia looking into getting uranium in exchange for supplying arms.

No further details are offered. Iran wants uranium to further its nuclear programme, which it insists is peaceful, while western countries suspect Iran of wanting a nuclear bomb.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6149276.stm

Published: 2006/11/15 11:03:41 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Petronas

11-20-2006, 08:17 PM

10 days ago I had the pleasure of meeting the representative (and future ambassador, should the U.S. recognize his government) to the United States of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia, Koshin Mohammed. I learned a few interesting facts:

The TFG has few funds, certainly not enough to provide the services for the Somali people to convince them that it is a viable and preferable alternative to the Taliban-like Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). The European Union is supposedly prepared to help the TFG but waiting for a lead from the U.S. before taking any action.

Not surprisingly, there currently is a confirmed Al Qaeda presence in the region controlled by the UIC. Two months ago suicide bombers unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate the TG President. He survived, though his brother and others were killed in the attack. Suicide bombings had not been used previously in the decades long conflict in Somalia. Independently, I know that Al Qaeda has been present in Somalia at least since the "Blackhawk Down" incident, where Al Qaeda forces engaged the U.S. rangers.

Ethiopia has relinquished its historic claim on the Ogaden province, over which Somalia and Ethiopia fought a war during the cold war, giving the inhabitants of the Ogaden the right to decide which country they want to belong to. It appears that they prefer to stay with Ethiopia. The TFG has friendly relations with Ethiopia, though a lot of public education will probably have to take place before the image of Ethiopia as the ancestral enemy is erased among the common people. UIC propaganda uses Ethiopian military support for the TFG.

The geographically large northern regions of Puntland and Somaliland are basically self governing. They are separated by the UIC controlled areas from the TFG capital of Baidoa, and have not yet fallen under the control of the UIC, though UIC influence may be spreading there.

While the TFG has relinquished the traditional Somali claims to the Ethiopian province of Ogaden, the former French colony of Djibouti and areas on Northern Kenya bordering Somalia, the UIC has not done so and has as its avowed goal to eventually 'liberate' these lost provinces. This explains otherwise perhaps puzzling calls to jihad by the UIC against not only Ethiopia but also Kenya.

Somalis traditionally have not embraced a very strict version of Islam. For example, the women have traditionally been unveiled (not today, of course, in the UIC controlled areas). As elsewhere, the baneful effect of Saudi financing of Wahabbi mosques, imams and literature is felt in Somalia, where it provides an undercurrent helpful to the UIC and Al Qaeda, rather than a secular democratic government.

My own view is that those who tell the TFG to negotiate with the UIC probably are uninformed nitwits, unless they want to foster a new haven for Al Qaeda in the Horn of Africa. While I am sure that TFG President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed is not perfect by far, he currently seems to be the only alternative to an African reincarnation of the Taliban. Thus, we would be well advised to give his government the recognition and support that would allow the TFG to convince a majority of the Somali people that there is a viable alternative to the UIC that can provide internal security and basic services. We should probably also support Ethiopia, to the extent necessary, to allow that impoverished country to provide the military aid to the TFG to contain and attempt to eventually push back the UIC.

Petronas

11-22-2006, 12:43 AM

A surprising and most unfortunate development.

Sharia instituted in Somalia's Puntland
November 21, 2006

Somali Jihad Update. "Somalia region leader to use Islamic law," by Mohamed Olad Hassan for The Associated Press:

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The president of a semiautonomous region in northeastern Somalia said Monday he will rule according to Islamic law, a surprising announcement in an area that has resisted the spread of Islamic militants who control much of the country's south. Puntland President Gen. Addeh Museh did not cite a reason for his decision, but it comes amid increasing fears that the Council of Islamic Courts will try to seize his territory.

The move also isolates Somalia's official government, which has watched helplessly as the Islamic movement steadily gained ground since June. The U.N. envoy to Somalia tried to bolster the fragile administration Monday, urging leaders to restart peace talks with the Islamists in order to avert a war.
[...]
Puntland, which declared itself an autonomous state within Somalia in 1998, has generally been spared the violence that has wracked much of the rest of the country. But radicals within the Islamic courts have vowed to take over.
"I set up a committee of scholars and traditional leaders to implement sharia law," Museh said in his presidential decree. Puntland usually enforces a secular penal code, even though the region's charter says it is based on sharia law.

That arrangement is similar to that of Somaliland, another breakaway region in the north of Somalia. Its constitution sets up a democratic government, but contains the same "Sharia time bomb" (see Ch. 1, Article 5) as the constitution of Afghanistan (see Ch. 1, Article 3), which can be cited to override secular law at any time. Then, this decision by Puntland puts pressure on both the territory of Somaliland, and its legal ability to resist the erosion of existing democratic institutions by creeping Sharia law.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/014129.php

Petronas

11-26-2006, 11:06 AM

Kenyan paper says Islamist letters led to US alert
26 Nov 2006 14:39:44 GMT

A U.S. warning of possible suicide attacks in Kenya and Ethiopia was prompted by the discovery of two letters signed by Somalia's most influential hardline Islamist leader, a Kenyan newspaper said on Sunday. Washington issued its warning to U.S. citizens on Nov. 2, in response to what it said were "terrorist threats emanating from extremist elements within Somalia". But a State Department spokesman gave no details on how those threats were presented.

The Sunday Nation newspaper said it had obtained two letters purportedly signed by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who appears on U.S. and U.N. terrorism lists, but it could not establish the authenticity of the documents. The newspaper said the letters called for the assassination of 17 prominent Kenyans and Somalis, an uprising by ethnic groups in Kenya and Ethiopia and for Shabab militia fighters to mass along the Kenya-Somali border. "The letters made specific threats against public targets in Ethiopia and Kenya and called for suicide attacks," said U.S. embassy spokeswoman in Nairobi Jennifer Barnes, adding that the letters led to Washington's advisory.

U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were the target of truck bombs in 1998 that killed more than 200 people. Kenya has in the past expressed concerns that one of the alleged masterminds of the attack was sighted in the Somali capital Mogadishu and may be operating inside Kenya.

The U.S. warning came two weeks after Somalia's interim president, Abdullahi Yusuf, addressed a meeting of U.S., European and African diplomats in which he cited a document, described as an order by Aweys approving both his and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's assassination.

A diplomat who follows Somalia said the letters quoted in the Nation appeared to be the same ones that were passed around the International Contact Group meeting in Nairobi last month. "We don't believe them," the diplomat said, referring to the letters. The leaked documents have surfaced amid increasingly belligerent rhetoric and heightened fears that a standoff between the interim government and rival Islamists may spiral into a regional war, sucking in neighbouring countries.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L26696352.htm

Petronas

11-27-2006, 01:20 AM

keith

11-27-2006, 04:41 AM

Somali militia puts troops near Ethiopia
By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN, Associated Press Writer
Sun Nov 26, 7:41 PM ET

The Islamic militia that controls much of southern Somalia dispatched thousands of troops Sunday to within nine miles of the border with Ethiopia, heightening fears that fighting would break out between the two sides.

A local reporter also said the Islamists were recruiting people for a holy war against Ethiopia, a largely Christian nation that is concerned about the emergence of a neighboring Islamic state and supports Somalia's fragile government.

"All our troops in the region are now ready at the front lines to face their enemy," said Mohamed Mohamud Agaweine, the military commander for the Council of Islamic Courts in central Somalia. He said thousands of Islamic fighters were in the region around the town of Abud-waq, but did not give an exact figure.

The Islamic council has been steadily gaining ground since seizing the capital of Mogadishu in June, while Somalia's two-year-old interim government has failed to assert control anywhere except the town of Baidoa.

Experts have warned Somalia has become a proxy battleground for Somalia's neighbors, Eritrea and Ethiopia. A confidential U.N. report obtained last month by The Associated Press said there were 6,000 to 8,000 Ethiopian troops in Somalia or near the border. The report also said 2,000 troops from Eritrea were inside Somalia supporting the Islamic movement.

Ethiopia has acknowledged sending military advisers to help the Somalian government, but Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has repeatedly denied sending troops, despite widespread witness accounts.

Ahemd Isse Gutaale, a reporter for local radio station HornAfrik, said the Islamists were using loudspeakers Sunday to call for people to join the holy war against Ethiopia.

"They were enrolling new volunteers and asked people to stand for the defense of their country," Gutaale said.

On Saturday, Meles said he expected legislators to back a resolution giving him authority to use military force against Somali extremists if they attack Ethiopia. He also said Ethiopia would not seek approval from the U.N. Security Council or any other body to defend itself militarily, saying it was Ethiopia's "sovereign right."

Somalia has been without an effective central government since warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, carving much of the country into armed camps ruled by violence and clan law.

A government was established two years ago with the support of the U.N. to serve as a transitional body to help Somalia emerge from anarchy. But the leadership, which includes some warlords linked to the violence of the past, wields no real power outside Baidoa.

The United States has accused the Islamic council of sheltering suspects in the 1998 al-Qaida bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which the group denies.

Also Sunday, a Somali reporter was arrested in Baidoa, said Mowlid Hagi Abdi of the Somali Broadcasting Corp. It was not clear why the reporter was arrested. The government's information minister did not immediately answer his phone.

Several journalists have been arrested recently for reporting about Ethiopian troops in the country, but they have been released after a few days.

___

Associated Press Writer Salad Duhul contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061127/ap_on_re_af/somalia_3

keith

11-27-2006, 04:53 AM

Report: Over 700 Somalis fought with Hizbullah
Nov. 15, 2006 8:05

According to a UN report released Tuesday and published by The New York Times, more than 700 Somali nationals fought alongside Hizbullah guerillas against Israel in the Lebanon war this past summer.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1162378401353&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

There was some concern over the accuracy of the report.

Accuracy of New UN Report on Somalia Doubtful

By Andrew McGregor

A report by the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia leaked to the Washington Post on November 14 has set off a wave of denials and denunciations from various countries alleged to be fueling the conflict in Somalia. Djibouti, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Iran, Syria and Lebanon's Hezbollah are all cited as supplying arms, troops or other military materials to the warring sides in Somalia, which consist of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the coalition of Islamist rebels known as the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). The report also warns of the adoption of Iraq-style tactics by the ICU, including suicide bombers, assassinations and other types of terrorist activities. The Monitoring Group intelligence team responsible for the report consists of a Colombian finance expert, a Kenyan maritime expert and arms experts from Belgium and the United States. Their 86-page document is based on interviews, investigations and information supplied by various embassies in Nairobi.

The report accurately describes the leading roles of Ethiopia and Eritrea in arming Somalia's militias. Ethiopia already has as many as 6,000 troops in Somalia supporting the TFG and has supplied TFG militias with a variety of arms. Eritrea is accused of supplying 2,000 troops and arms to the ICU, including portable surface-to-air missiles. Surprisingly, the report does not even mention allegations (widely accepted as reality within Somalia) that the United States was the chief supplier of arms and cash to the ill-fated "Anti-Terrorist Coalition" of anti-ICU warlords (Terrorism Focus, May 31). Eritrea's information minister suggested a political bias to the document: "We know these statements are coming from Washington" (Gulf News, November 15).

Iran is alleged to have sent three payloads of medicine, physicians, ammunition and arms, including surface-to-air missiles, M-79 rocket-launchers, machine guns and landmines. They are also said to have supplied an aircraft to carry 40 wounded Somalis back to Somalia from Lebanon. Iran said such reports were "in line with the wishes of hostile enemies" (IRNA, November 17).

Egypt was accused of offering military training to the Somali Islamists. An Egyptian denial expressed "great surprise and anguish" at the report, saying that it was prepared by "Western experts whose political affiliations are not known" (Associated Press, November 17). Egypt is deeply involved in diplomatic efforts to avert war in the Horn region. The report also described Libyan arms supplies to the ICU, training for 100 fighters and financial aid. A Libyan Foreign Ministry spokesman described the allegations as "incredible" (Reuters, November 17). Syria has also denied sending an air shipment of arms to the ICU.

Uganda was said to have provided military materials and an unspecified number of soldiers in support of the TFG. Ugandan Defense Minister Chrispus Kiyonga announced that Uganda will complain to the United Nations over the report, describing it as "trash" (Reuters, November 17).

The most startling revelation in the report deals with 720 Somali fighters who are alleged to have traveled to Lebanon to join the fighting against the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) last July. There were no reports from the IDF during or after the war regarding any "Africans" observed, captured or killed in the fighting. UN observers and journalists also failed to mention Somali fighters. In exchange for the fighters, Hezbollah is said to have shipped arms to Somalia and arranged for further supplies from Syria and Iran.

The fighters were allegedly chosen by Adan Hashi Ayro, the right-hand man to ICU leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys. Presumably, they were from Ayro's own command, as it is hard to see him being able to separate another coalition leader from his fighters in the middle of an intensifying conflict. With an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 trained fighters in the ICU, the decision to send fighters to Lebanon would have stripped the Somali Islamists of nearly a third of their best men. Hezbollah did not even commit its reserves during the fighting with Israel, yet according to the report, Hezbollah shipped arms, which it needed in the middle of a war, to Somalia in exchange for foreign fighters that it did not need. According to the UN document, 600 Somali fighters remained in Lebanon and Syria for further training, while five Hezbollah military advisers went to Somalia to help the ICU. A Hezbollah representative described the allegations as "incorrect and silly" (Daily Star [Beirut], November 16). After several days of silence on the matter, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Dan Gillerman, issued a surprising statement claiming that Israel "had been aware" of 700 Somali fighters in Lebanon (Israel Insider, November 18).

Hezbollah's effectiveness is in large part due to its own security and intelligence network, based on intimate knowledge of its members. While Palestinian movements are riddled with informers, Israeli intelligence has had great difficulty penetrating Hezbollah. It is unlikely that Hezbollah would attempt to integrate 700 unknown Somalis in the midst of military operations against Israel.

One of the report's additional surprising claims concerns Iranian attempts to secure Somali uranium in exchange for arms. Somalia is estimated to have 6,600 tons of recoverable uranium, which is difficult and expensive to extract. In 1984, a Brazilian/Somali joint venture attempted to develop the Somali uranium resources, but the effort collapsed due to financial and logistical problems. There have been no mining activities since as a result of ongoing security difficulties and high recovery costs that would make operations in Somalia uneconomical. Iran has opened 10 uranium mines since 1988. Proven reserves total about 3,000 tons, a sufficient amount to fuel Iran's nuclear program.

ICU Deputy Security Chief Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Abu-Mansur described the report as "a matter of laughing," suggesting that the ICU would be quite rich if it were actually in the uranium business. The sheikh added: "How can we receive arms from Arab countries while American warships patrol the Somali coastline and the planes landing [in Somalia] are also under tight surveillance?" (Garowe Online, November 16). ICU leader Sheikh Aweys warned that the United Nations risked losing its legitimacy by issuing "baseless propaganda" (Shabelle Media Network, November 16). The report's claims are remarkably similar to accusations that appeared in the U.S. National Intelligence Estimates of September 2002, during the build-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The UN report mixes legitimate concerns about arms supplies to both sides of Somalia's latest incarnation of its civil war with recycled allegations from the campaign against Saddam Hussein and what can only be regarded as politically manipulated "intelligence," creating a vast international conspiracy between unlikely partners. The failure of the report to even examine information of U.S. support to the failed "Anti-Terrorist Coalition" is a major blow to its authority. Its suggestion that Iran might find a source of uranium for its nuclear program in Somalia appears outlandish under present conditions. Much of the material simply reiterates unsupported allegations involving Iran, Egypt and Libya issued by TFG Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Gedi in July. Most surprising is the ease with which so many countries were apparently able to transport arms and men back and forth without interference from the U.S. naval force off Somalia and last summer's air and sea blockade of Lebanon by Israel.

A closed-door discussion by the Somali sanctions committee on November 21 will decide whether to send the report to the UN Security Council for further consideration.

http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2370213

keith

11-27-2006, 06:00 AM

We can be seeing an opening in the new front on the "War of Terror."

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP

Somalia Conflict Risk Alert

Nairobi/Brussels, 27 November 2006: The draft resolution the U.S. intends to present to the UN Security Council on 29 November could trigger all-out war in Somalia and destabilise the entire Horn of Africa region by escalating the proxy conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to dangerous new levels.

Instead of siding with one party in the civil conflict – the weak and fragmented Ethiopia-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) – the Council should apply maximum pressure on both it and the Eritrea-backed Council of Somali Islamic Courts (CSIC) to resume negotiations without preconditions.

The proposed resolution, which has the backing of African members of the Security Council, would authorise deployment of a regional military force (IGASOM) in support of the TFG and exempt that entity and troop contributing countries – Ethiopia, Uganda and possibly Kenya, amongst others – from the existing UN arms embargo. While its objectives are to strengthen the TFG, deter the CSIC from further expansion and avert the threat of full-scale war, it is likely to backfire on all three counts.

Crisis Group has consistently opposed deployment of a regional intervention force – especially one involving front-line states such as Ethiopia – unless it has the consent of all warring parties, and called for more robust enforcement of the UN arms embargo. The UN Monitoring Group, which reported on 16 October, similarly cited the dangers of such a deployment and urged instead strengthening the arms embargo through surveillance of all Somali borders.

Despite international recognition, the TFG has never enjoyed broad support or legitimacy within Somalia, and the TFG parliament split badly when it debated the issue of foreign troops in March 2005. Actual deployment would likely fracture the parliament beyond repair and reinforce the impression that the TFG is simply a proxy for Ethiopia. The loss of legitimacy in the eyes of the Somali public would be irreversible.

The CSIC, which controls most of south central Somalia, has repeatedly declared that it will wage a “jihad” against any foreign troops on Somali territory, including the Ethiopians already deployed there. It would likely perceive Security Council passage of the resolution as tantamount to a declaration of war. Rather than wait for the TFG to arm itself, it might well launch a pre-emptive attack on its seat in Baidoa. The CSIC is viewed as a danger to its neighbours because of its irredentist views, and support for international terrorist elements and cross-border Ethiopian rebel groups. In addition, it threatens to unseat the internationally recognised TFG. Instead of prioritising military protection of the TFG against the CSIC – which is itself receiving military support from as many as eight external countries – the international community should challenge the CSIC to reform its stance on each of these points and work towards a negotiated solution with the TFG.

The TFG and CSIC are scheduled to meet in Khartoum in mid-December for a third round of Arab League facilitated peace talks. Although previous talks made little headway, more effective international pressure on the parties, including a more active involvement from the UN Secretary General via his Special Representative, would increase the likelihood of success. Without this, the resolution would give the CSIC an excuse to withdraw altogether and would kill any hope of a negotiated ceasefire. Military confrontation would be the only remaining option.

Instead of authorising deployment of a regional force, the Council should push both parties to resume peace talks immediately. First on the agenda should be a comprehensive ceasefire covering:

disengagement of opposing forces;
withdrawal from Somalia of all foreign troops and military trainers; and
deployment of an International Verification Mission to monitor compliance with the agreement.
Any UN-sponsored military deployment should be designed to support an agreed ceasefire, not undermine efforts to achieve such a ceasefire, and should be made up of forces acceptable to both parties. If either party fails to demonstrate genuine commitment to this process, the Council should impose travel bans on its leaders, freeze assets and authorise economic sanctions against business interests.

As so often in Somalia, the consequence of an ill-considered intervention is likely to be more conflict, not less. Military measures must remain a weapon of last resort.

keith

11-30-2006, 04:20 AM

Getting it wrong in Somalia, again
By John Prendergast and Colin Thomas-Jensen | November 29, 2006

ALREADY NOTORIOUS as the world's only state without a functioning government, Somalia may be about to deteriorate even further. The country is rapidly sliding back toward war. As an Islamist militia, the Council of Somali Islamic Courts, consolidates control over large swathes of southern Somalia, neighboring Ethiopia has sent thousands of troops over the border, and both sides are preparing for a showdown. A return to war could bring about the same horrific famine conditions that precipitated a US military intervention 14 years ago, and damage rather than advance US counter terrorism objectives in a vulnerable region.

Unfortunately for Somalis, the United States and other members of the UN Security Council are taking actions that make war more likely, not less. The State Department wants to loosen a UN arms embargo and allow deployment of a regional peacekeeping force, a move that will be viewed as an act of war by the Council of Somali Islamic Courts, or CSIC. The Bush administration must resist the urge to tackle political problems with military solutions, roll up its diplomatic sleeves, and engage in a multilateral effort to negotiate an agreement between the Ethiopian-backed Somali transitional government and the Council of Somali Islamic Courts, the de facto authority in much of southern Somalia.

Terrorists, including those associated with Al Qaeda, have preyed on the lack of a functioning central government to smuggle weapons through Somalia's porous borders, unguarded ports, and uncontrolled airstrips. Somalia has consequently been a terrorist staging ground and a haven for the perpetrators of Al Qaeda bombings against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the bombing of a beachfront hotel in Kenya, and a failed attempt to bring down an Israeli passenger aircraft off the Kenya coast. Al Qaeda's activities in Somalia were aided, abetted, and protected by elements of the Council of Somali Islamic Courts, and the Courts' rise to power poses a security threat to the region.

The US policy response, understandable at first glance, has been to focus overwhelmingly on capturing terrorists, neglecting in the process Somalian appeals for assistance in building a functioning state. But state building and counter-terrorism are not mutually exclusive, and the US approach of supporting warlords that served its interests has been shortsighted.

This past spring, pitched battles between the CIA's warlord proxies and militias loyal to the militia killed hundreds of Somali civilians in the capital, Mogadishu, and injured or displaced thousands more. Ill-advised financial support to some of the predator warlords who have caused Somalia's anarchy -- committing crimes from extortion to rape -- only increased the popularity of the council as it became synonymous with law and order.

The rise of the militia corresponds with the political implosion of an internationally backed transitional government located in the town of Baidoa. Government officials have defected en masse, leaving behind a vulnerable institution that lacks the military muscle to face the CSIC alone. Ethiopia, the Bush administration's chief counter-terrorism ally in the region, has responded by deploying forces to protect what is left of the transitional government. Ethiopia does not like the kind of Islam the Council is promoting, and fears a strong Council could destabilize parts of Ethiopia.

As battle looms, the hyenas are closing in. A UN investigation presented to the Security Council this month suggested that no fewer than nine outside actors -- including Ethiopia and its enemy Eritrea -- are funneling weapons to either the transitional government or the militia. By doing so, they are breaking the 14-year UN arms embargo and priming the country for war.

While many Somalis don't want their personal freedoms restricted and reject the Islamist extremism preached by the militia, they are even more opposed to foreign intervention. The militia has painted its jihad in nationalist colors, and this has led to an outpouring of popular support.

UN investigators recommended strengthening the arms embargo and freezing the assets of all Somali-owned and operated businesses linked to arms trade. It also warned that the entire region could explode into conflict unless the international community makes diplomatic efforts to contain the spillover.

Rather than heed this advice, the United States is pushing for just the opposite by tabling a resolution in the UN Security Council to partially lift the arms embargo to allow a regional peacekeeping mission to protect the government in Baidoa. In effect, this would bring the UN into the coming conflict on the side of Ethiopia and give a green light to Ethiopia's deployment in Somalia.

The United States should focus on averting a war, not triggering one. Before endorsing a military solution, the United States should work multilaterally to apply targeted sanctions to parties that violate the arms embargo and economic pressure to the council's business partners.

It should also invest in a peace process, which means getting involved in promoting a power-sharing deal between the weak transitional government and the council. Rebuilding a government in Somalia is the only viable way to combat the terrorist threat and prevent violent Islamist extremism from expanding. Delicate diplomacy is required to reconstitute this transitional authority as a government of national unity. Only then will the United States help create an effective counterbalance to the Islamists and an eventual partner in the international struggle against terrorism.

John Prendergast is a senior adviser and Colin Thomas-Jensen is the Africa advocacy and research manager at International Crisis Group.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/11/29/getting_it_wrong_in_somalia_again/

Petronas

12-02-2006, 02:39 PM

Somalia on the brink as suicide attack hits government seat
Thu Nov 30, 5:10 PM ET

Somalia teetered on the brink of all-out war after an Islamist-claimed suicide attack on the seat of government, and neighboring Ethiopia's decision to authorize action against any Islamist incursion. Somali police said at least 12 people were killed when two explosives laden vehicles detonated at a checkpoint on the eastern edge of Baidoa, but witnesses said only one, a Toyota saloon car carrying four people, had blown up.

Islamist commanders in Mogadishu and the Bay region where Baidoa is located said the attack was aimed at an Ethiopian military position and that between 24 and 40 Ethiopian soldiers had been killed.

"There were two suicide cars full of explosives," Somali police commander General Ali Hussein told AFP, adding that 12 people were killed in the blasts, including one of his officers, the bombers and occupants of a nearby vehicle. He denied any Ethiopian troops had been involved, saying that aside from the police officer and the bombers, the other casualties were all Somali civilians.

Witnesses at the scene, however, said they believed the death toll was higher and insisted only one car had actually detonated, destroying two other vehicles. "The suiciders were only using one car, the other two cars were victims of the blast," said Mukhtar Hassan, who lives near the Boynunay checkpoint. "I was near the checkpoint and before we knew what was going there was some kind of fire and then a huge blast from a Toyota Mark II," he told AFP. The checkpoint is closely guarded by Somali authorities who keep close watch on those entering and leaving Baidoa, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of Mogadishu and the only town held by the weak national government.

Security has been tight there since a failed mid-September attempt to assassinate Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, which was believed to be Somalia's first-ever suicide attack. The government has blamed the September 18 incident on the Islamists, who denied responsibility but have since declared holy war on Ethiopian troops protecting the government.

General Hussein said the car had been driven to Baidoa from Mogadishu but made no further comment about who might have been behind the attack. The Islamist commander in Bay region, Mohamed Ibrahim Said Bilal, told AFP the attack was the work of "Islamic suicide bombers" and claimed that some 40 people had been killed. There was no immediate reaction from government officials or from Addis Ababa.

The attack came hours after the Ethiopian parliament adopted a resolution that called the Islamists a "clear and present danger" and authorised the government to take "any legal action against any invasion coming to our country." ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061130/ts_afp/somaliaunrest_061130174046

NYer

12-03-2006, 09:00 PM

The Head of Foreign Relations for the Islamic Courts Union is an American. (http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/185556.php)

http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/Ibrahim-Hassan-Addow.jpg

... An American citizen is the Foreign Minister for the Taliban-like Islamic Courts Union of Somalia. We asked readers to find out anything they could about Professo Ibrahim Hassan Addow. We wondered if it could possibly be true that an American would be a high ranking official in a government that has ties to al Qaeda, which is exporting jihad, and which calls for death to America?

Thanks to Vonski we've learned some more about the American traitor, Ibrahim Addow. It seems that the problem with finding information was in the spelling of his name. The more common spelling of his name is Ibrahim Hassan Addou.

It seems that Professor Addou used to work at The American University in Washington, D.C. Newsvine:

Addou...worked as an administrator at American University in Washington, D.C., before returning to Somalia in 1999.

Petronas

12-06-2006, 09:09 PM

Gedi: Somalia Troops Prepared for War
December 5, 2006

Somalia's troops are ready for an imminent and inevitable war with the Islamic militia that has taken over much of the country and surrounded the internationally backed government, the country's prime minister said.

Somali Prime Minister Ali Gedi told The Associated Press he believed the most radical leaders within the Islamic movement were in control and would not take peace talks seriously. The Islamic movement has overrun much of Somalia, including the capital, in recent months, increasingly sidelining the weak government and vowing to bring Islamic law to the whole country.

The radicals within the movement ''are the decision makers now,'' Gedi said in the interview late Monday. ''Those who believe that the situation in Somalia will be solved through dialogue and talks are wrong.''

But he said his government will continue to take part in all peace efforts while preparing to defend itself against attacks by the Council of Islamic Courts, as the movement that has taken over most of southern Somalia is known.

''We have already mobilized our forces, we have trained a few thousand troops, they are ready,'' Gedi said during a visit to Ethiopia's capital. Ethiopia has backed Gedi's government, angering the Islamic movement which sees it as interference from Somalia's traditional rival.

Somali's rainy season is coming to an end and roads will be passable again for military vehicles in the next two weeks, he added.

The United States has said the Islamic movement has links to al-Qaida, an accusation Islamic leaders have repeatedly denied.

Gedi said the Islamic forces included more than 3,000 foreign fighters, echoing similar statements made by a U.N. panel investigating violations of an arms embargo that has been in place since 1992, when the last effective central government in Somalia collapsed.

Gedi's government is the 14th attempt to restore the rule of law in Somalia. But his parliament and Cabinet, made up of former warlords and civic leaders, has struggled to expand out of Baidoa, a key town 150 miles northwest of Mogadishu.

From within this power vacuum, a disparate group of Islamic leaders have banded together to create the Council of Islamic Courts, driving out warlords and installing clerical rule in the areas it now controls.

The militia declared itself in control of the southern town of Dinsor on Saturday, a seizure that effectively surrounds the weak, transitional government in its fortified base in Baidoa.

The international community has sponsored several rounds of peace talks to bring Gedi's government and the courts together. Gedi pointed out that after each round of talks, the Islamic courts returned to Mogadishu and dispatched troops to capture additional territory, despite promises to stop their expansion.

Ethiopia, a largely Christian country that fears the possible rise of Islamic fundamentalism on its borders, has acknowledged sending military advisers to Baidoa and has trained Somali troops to protect the government.

Gedi said several thousand Somali troops recently trained and equipped in Ethiopia had arrived and would able to defend Baidoa. The government has so far intentionally avoided any direct confrontation with the Islamic courts.

A confidential U.N. report recently obtained by The Associated Press said there were up to 8,000 Ethiopian troops in the country supporting the government. Ethiopia's parliament has authorized military action if attacked by the Islamic movement, which has declared holy war on Ethiopia over its troop incursions.

The U.N. report said Ethiopia's regional rival, Eritrea, had 2,000 troops in the country backing the Islamic movement, raising the specter of Eritrea and Ethiopia fighting a proxy war in Somalia.

On Friday, the United States introduced a U.N. resolution to partially lift the arms embargo on Somalia to allow for regional peacekeepers.

U.S. officials say that by providing the government with peacekeepers, the Islamic courts will have a greater incentive to pursue peace talks, rather than a military solution.

Gedi said his government needs international support in order to survive against what he calls the terrorist forces within the Islamic courts. He said the draft resolution should allow any country to provide troops to protect his government.

He said recent suicide bombings in Baidoa were contrary to Somali culture and proof that foreign fighters had come to Somalia.

''Suicide bombings was transferred to Somalia from elsewhere,'' Gedi said. ''It will not stop in Somalia, it will spread out.''

The United States has issued a travel advisory for Somalia's neighbors Kenya and Ethiopia, warning that extremists in Somalia could launch suicide attacks in those countries.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Somalia-Prime-Minister.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

keith

12-07-2006, 07:03 AM

The count down begins.

Rage and delight at Somali peacekeeper move
By Sahal Abdulle
Thu Dec 7, 3:02 AM ET

Somalia's powerful Islamist movement said on Thursday that U.N. endorsement of an African peacekeeping force will "add fuel to the fire" in the Horn of Africa nation that many fear is on the verge of all-out war.

But the interim government -- whose aspirations of restoring central rule to Somalia were dented by the rise of the Islamists this year -- welcomed the prospect of military support and cited resolution promoter the United Sates for thanks.

The U.N. Security Council endorsed the peacekeepers on Wednesday to help prop up the Western-backed government of President Abdullahi Yusuf. But it also urged the authorities to pursue peace talks with their Islamist rivals.

After pressure on Washington from the European Union, the final resolution barred peacekeepers from border states, whose presence in Somalia was viewed as potentially inflammatory.

"The U.N. authorizing new weapons is like adding fuel to the fire," Islamist spokesman Abdirahman Ali Mudey told Reuters.

Ibrahim Hassan Addow, the Islamists' de facto foreign minister, said his militarily strong movement would forcibly resist any peacekeeping forces.

"Somalia is at peace now and we see this as an attack and introducing destruction back to Somalia," he said. "We see this as an invading force and we will have to defend our country.

Diplomats, however, see any actual arrival of peacekeepers as still a long way off, saying the U.N. resolution may be designed more for political than practical impact at the moment.

Let alone unresolved issues of funding and other logistics, fears that peacekeepers may attract foreign jihadists to Somalia may also make the African Union baulk at sending in soldiers.

Al Qaeda head Osama bin Laden said soon after the Islamists' June takeover of Mogadishu that any deployment of foreign forces in Somalia would be seen as an anti-Muslim "crusade."

SOMALI GOVERNMENT THANKS U.S.

Government officials in Baidoa, the only town it controls in Somalia, praised the U.N. move and thanked its main backers, the United States. The government's bid to restore central rule for the first time since 1991 has been dented by the Islamists' rise and takeover of a swathe of southern Somalia including the capital Mogadishu since June.

"We welcome this decision and we are thanking all the members of the Security Council, especially the American government which tabled the resolution," Deputy Defense Minister Salad Ali Jelle told Reuters.

"This will bring solutions not war."

U.N. special envoy to Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, said the east African inter-governmental body IGAD and the AU would now flesh out the plans.

"All that is left is to determine the financing," he said.

The Islamists and government had been due to meet in Sudan next week for talks. But that looks unlikely now due to the controversy over the peacekeeping issue.

(Additional reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Nairobi)

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061207/wl_nm/somalia_un_dc_4

Petronas

12-07-2006, 07:08 PM

This is consistent with Wahhabi doctrine, which holds that external actions and following the Qur'anic rules is what makes a good Muslim, and that anyone who does not is an apostate

Somalia Town Threatens to Behead People Who Don't Pray 5 Times Daily
Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Residents of a southern Somalia town who do not pray five times a day will be beheaded, an official said Wednesday, adding the edict will be implemented in three days.

Shops, tea houses and other public places in Bulo Burto, about 124 miles northeast of the capital, Mogadishu, should be closed during prayer time and no one should be on the streets, said Sheik Hussein Barre Rage, the chairman of the town's Islamic court. His court is part of a network backed by armed militiamen that has taken control of much of southern Somalia in recent months, bringing a strict interpretation of Islam that is alien to many Somalis.

Those who do not follow the prayer edict after three days have elapsed, "will definitely be beheaded according to Islamic law," Rage told The Associated Press by phone. "As Muslims we should practice Islam fully, not in part, and that is what our religion enjoins us to do." He said the edict, which covered only Bulo Burto, was being announced over loudspeakers throughout the town.

Somalia's Islamic courts have made varying interpretations of Koranic law, some applying a more strict and radical version of Islam than others. Some of the courts have introduced public executions, floggings of convicts, bans on women swimming in Mogadishu's public beaches and on the sale and chewing of khat, a leafy stimulant consumed across the Horn of Africa and in the Middle East.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,234817,00.html

Vancouver

12-09-2006, 06:29 AM

http://www.muslm.net/vb/showthread.php?t=191170
The poster, "Sniper of the (Arabian) Peninsula", says that a battle is underway between maybe 500 Ethiopian troops, with tanks, and 100 or more "mujahideen" on the Somali side, in Puntland.

edit:
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/12/08/ethiopia.somalia.ap/index.html

keith

12-09-2006, 11:06 AM

One of the possible Peacekeepers.

Controversy in Ugandan government over sending troops to Somalia
Aweys Osman Yusuf

Mogadishu 09, Dec.06 ( Sh.M.Network) –Deploying Ugandan troops in Somalia sparked a controversy in Ugandan government. Officials of the government have been debating about the decision to deploy Ugandan troops to a foreign soil, while some officials opposed the decision of letting Ugandan troops enter the war-ravaged country Somalia.

According to Reuters, Ugandan president Yuweri Mussavani and small number of the government officials have approved sending troops to Somalia while the rest of the Ugandan officials are concerned about the decision.

Somalia’s Union of Islamic Courts vowed they would fight any foreign soldier who sets a foot in Somalia. Demonstrations against foreign peacekeeping troops took place in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Friday.

Ugandan parliament in majority has to approve sending troops to Somalia, but opposition MPs allege that most MPs in Ugandan parliament are president Mussaveni’s backers.

Senior Ugandan diplomats have indicated that US government has promised funding the Ugandan military action in Somalia, adding that US government prepared military planes like C17 and C30 to transport soldiers to Somalia.

The African troops that are supposed to come to Somalia will land at Baidoa, the only settlement, the Somali weak government administers.

Ugandan military officers say they fear attacks against them would be carried out by Islamic Courts that has already blamed Ugandan government for having several hundred military troops in Somalia.

Flex Koleiji, a Ugandan military officer, has urged Ugandan authorities to assess the developments in Somali deeply before embarking up on sending troops to the war shattered country.

http://www.shabelle.net/news/ne1830.htm

keith

12-09-2006, 11:09 AM

HORN OF AFRICA COUNTRIES
Second day of clashes in Somalia
12/09/2006

Somali Islamists and pro-government soldiers shelled each other in a second day of fighting on Saturday, witnesses said, in a major escalation of violence many fear will erupt into all-out war.
Government forces backed by Ethiopian troops have clashed for a second day with Islamic militiamen near a village in southern Somalia, officials said Saturday. Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, an Islamic courts official, said that the government had launched a counterattack at Rama'addey village, while Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said that Islamic militiamen had attacked government positions.

The battle at Rama'addey village, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of the government's headquarters of Baidoa is at a front line between the Islamic courts and transitional government forces.

Residents said that in the past two days there has been increased movement of military personnel in Baidoa, raising tensions in the town, which is 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu. The residents said that on Friday they saw President Abdullahi Yusuf dressed in military uniform in a pickup mounted with machine guns that was part of a military convoy of 16 vehicles.

“The Ethiopian troops along with government troops have counterattacked our militia ... The fighting is going on,” said Bilal, an Islamic courts official of the Bay region where the village is located.

http://www.eitb24.com/portal/eitb24/noticia/en/international-news/horn-of-africa-countries-second-day-of-clashes-in-somalia?itemId=B24_24652&cl=%2Feitb24%2Finternacional&idioma=en

Petronas

12-18-2006, 04:14 PM

U.S. says al Qaeda behind Somali Islamists
Thursday, December 14, 2006; 9:30 PM

Somali Islamists are under the growing control of an al Qaeda cell in East Africa, a U.S. diplomat said on Thursday, as Washington condemned their threat to attack Ethiopian troops backing Somalia's interim government.

"The Council of Islamic Courts is now controlled by al Qaeda cell individuals, East Africa al Qaeda cell individuals. The top layer of the court are extremists. They are terrorists," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer told reporters.

"They are killing nuns, they have killed children and they are calling for a jihad (holy war)," she added.

The Islamists, who seized the Somali capital Mogadishu in June and are vying with the weak transitional government for control of the lawless country, have denied having foreign fighters in their ranks.

The defense chief for the Mogadishu-based Islamists on Tuesday issued a threat to attack Ethiopian troops backing Somalia's interim government unless they leave within days. He said Ethiopia had sent more than 30,000 troops to bolster the Somali government in Baidoa, the only town it controls in the country.

Addis Ababa said it only had a few hundred trainers with the Somali government, which is backed by the West in a 14th attempt since 1991 to restore central rule to the conflict-riven nation.

U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Jennifer Barnes said from Washington's Nairobi mission, responsible for Kenya and Somalia: "The United States regrets the irresponsible 'ultimatum' issued by the Islamic Courts. Given the existing heightened tensions in Somalia, this ultimatum further destabilizes the situation and undermines international and regional efforts to encourage credible dialogue between Somali parties."

The Islamists' December 19 deadline for Ethiopian withdrawal has heightened fears of all-out war in Somalia, where skirmishes have taken place between reconnaissance teams from government and Islamist troops close to each other near Baidoa.

A senior leader of the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) said in Yemen it would only hold talks with Ethiopia when Addis Ababa withdrew its troops. "Otherwise their fate will be defeat and we will fight them until we evict them from Somalia," Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told the state-owned Yemeni satellite channel from Aden. Since taking Mogadishu, the Islamists have expanded across south Somalia.

Washington believes at least three of the plotters behind the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya are in Somalia. The head of the Council of the Islamic Courts, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, is on U.N. and U.S. terrorist lists.

Fighters from the religious movement effectively flank the government on three sides, and rival soldiers are just a few kilometers apart at a slim front line near Baidoa.

"If the so-called Islamic Courts and their alliances are determined to spark war in Somalia then it is inevitable to happen -- but the government is ready to defend," Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi told reporters in Nairobi.

Diplomats fear any fighting could spill into a regional war as Ethiopia openly supports the government while its arch foe Eritrea is accused of sending arms and fighters to help the Islamic Courts. Foreign nations are urging the Somali rivals to return to peace talks, which stalled in Khartoum last month.

However a U.N. resolution endorsing an African peacekeeping mission -- which the government wants, but the Islamists have sworn to fight -- has made a quick resumption of talks unlikely. Despite its own disastrous intervention in Somalia in the 1990s -- depicted in the Hollywood film "Black Hawk Down"" -- Washington argues the arrival of a formal African peacekeeping force to protect the government would pave the way for an exit of Ethiopian and Eritrean forces in Somalia.

African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Omar Konare backed that view at a regional summit in Kenya. "If we do not do this now, then we must prepare ourselves for the emergence of ethnic republics and religious republics in the coming years," he said. Eritrea called for a special meeting of east African inter-governmental body IGAD to discuss the resolution.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/14/AR2006121401377.html

Petronas

12-20-2006, 11:04 PM

SOMALIA: RESIDENTS FLEE FIGHTING NEAR BAIDOA
Dec-20-06 16:35

Source IRIN - Scores of people were fleeing their homes near the southern Somali town of Baidoa on Wednesday after fighting broke out between forces of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), officials from both sides said. The fighting, which began on Tuesday, coincided with the arrival on Wednesday of the European Commissioner (EC) for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, who is in the country to mediate between the two sides.

Michel led an EC delegation to Baidoa, where the TFG is based, for talks with President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi. He later travelled to the capital, Mogadishu, for discussions with the UIC leadership. Michel's spokesman, Amadeu Altafaj, said from Baidoa that Michel was "deeply concerned about the current escalation of violence, its effects on civilians and its impact on the whole Horn of Africa region". On the talks in Baidoa, he added: "They were positive towards the initiative of Commissioner Michel of a memorandum establishing a ceasefire and resumption of talks.

"The situation on the ground does not provide for much optimism on Michel's initiative, which is supported by IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development] and the League of Arab States, as well as our EU member states," he added. "But this was also an objective of this mission: to check the degree of commitment of all parties to political dialogue."

The fighting, which erupted as Michel met the president and prime minister, continued on two fronts on Wednesday - in Iidale village, 55 km south of Baidoa, and later in Buulo Jadid, 23 km north of Baidoa, according to a local resident in Buur Hakaba, 60 km north of Baidoa. "We are seeing people arrive in Buur who fled areas close to the fighting," he said.

Spokesmen for both the UIC and the TFG claimed they had an upper hand in the fighting. "I confirm to you that fighting is going on as we speak," Sheikh Abdulkadir Ali, the UIC Vice-Chairman, told IRIN on Wednesday. "Our forces were attacked by a combined force."

The TFG deputy defence minister, Salad Ali Jelle, said: "We are fighting on two fronts [south and north of Baidoa]. It is now an open war and our forces have been given orders to attack on all fronts." He blamed the UIC for starting the fighting.

Neither the UIC nor the TFG gave any casualty figures but admitted the numbers of dead and wounded could be high. The UIC said it had taken control of the strategic village of Daynuunay to the north of Baidoa.

A resident of Baidoa, who requested anonymity, said other skirmishes erupted when "two reconnaissance teams clashed". He added: "It is now an all-out war. They are now trading heavy weapons fire." The heaviest fighting, he added, was taking place in Manaas, 30 km southwest of Baidoa, and in Bullo Jadid.

Humanitarian agencies have warned that an all-out war in Somalia would have disastrous consequences, especially when the country is facing the impact of flooding. Up to 454,500 people are estimated to have been displaced by floods countrywide, particularly in the Juba and Shabelle riverine regions, after heavy rains in September-November in Somalia and Ethiopia.

The TFG was installed in late 2004 in an effort to bring peace and security to the Horn of Africa country, which has not had an effective government for 16 years. In June this year, the UIC defeated the warlords who had controlled Mogadishu since 1991, after the collapse of the regime led by Muhammad Siyad Barre. The UIC has since extended its authority to large areas in the south and central regions of the country.

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.370632015&par=0

keith

12-21-2006, 09:44 AM

Somali Islamists say at war against Ethiopia
By Hassan Yare

Somalia's Islamists are at war against Ethiopia not the government, a hard-line Islamist leader said on Thursday, as fighting raged for a third day between his forces and pro-government troops.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who was speaking to Reuters by telephone, also accused Ethiopia of attacking the Islamists in southern Somalia.

Three days of fighting with rockets, artillery and machineguns have increased fears of a devastating Horn of Africa war that could suck in rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea, who diplomats say are conducting a proxy war there.

The most sustained combat so far for control of a nation in anarchy since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, follows two months of increasingly violent skirmishes along a frontline snaking across Somalia.

Aweys's declaration came hours after he called the fighting around the government's encircled stronghold, Baidoa, "a small incident" and a top European Union envoy said the two sides had agreed to stop fighting and resume peace talks.

Thursday's shelling seemed to scuttle the shuttle diplomacy mission by EU aid chief Louis Michel, who flew into Baidoa and later to Mogadishu to try to push the two sides back to the bargaining table.

"The Somali government and the Islamists do not have heavy artillery pieces -- that shows Ethiopia is at war with us," said Aweys, whom Washington says has links to al Qaeda. "If we are attacked we are not going to sit back."

The Somali government had no immediate comment.

ETHIOPIA DENIAL

Ethiopian Information Ministry spokesman Zemedhun Tekele again denied there were any Ethiopian combat troops in Somalia, despite witness reports they have fought in the latest battles.

"These are baseless allegations which Aweys has been saying all along to mislead international public opinion," he said.

Military experts say Ethiopia has sent 15,000-20,000 troops into Somalia, while Eritrea has sent about 2,000 to back the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC).

Asmara denies any involvement and Addis Ababa says it has only a few hundred military trainers in Somalia but has vowed to crush any attack against them.

The fighting started late on Tuesday, the deadline the SICC had given Ethiopian troops protecting the government to leave the country or face holy war.

The latest round of clashes started early on Thursday near Dinsoor, 100 km (62 miles) southwest of Baidoa.

Dinsoor store owner Dayow Hassan told Reuters the rocket, mortar and artillery fire appeared to be moving south, away from Baidoa toward SICC positions.

"I'm hearing heavy artillery shelling, and it sounds like it's coming closer and closer to us," he said by telephone.

Witnesses in Baidoa said an Ethiopian helicopter had flown out of the city on Thursday, and an unmarked C-130 airplane believed to be flying surveillance runs circled the dusty trading post that is the government's only safe ground.

In Mogadishu, a Reuters witness saw a dozen trucks load more than 100 troops and head toward the front.

Troops of the SICC, which controls most of southern Somalia by military might and the strict use of sharia law, and the fragile, Western-backed government have been fighting near Baidoa since late on Tuesday.

No independent casualty figures were available. Government officials said their soldiers had killed hundreds of Islamists, but made no mention of their own casualties.

Islamist deputy spokesman Sheikh Ibrahim Shukri said the Islamists had killed "70 plus, mostly Ethiopians" and had only seven killed and 22 wounded in Wednesday's fighting.

(Additional reporting by Bryson Hull in Nairobi and Sahal Abdulle in Mogadishu)

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061221/wl_nm/somalia_conflict_dc_10

keith

12-22-2006, 08:09 AM

It's gametime!

Ethiopian tanks roll toward Somali battlefront
By Hassan Yare
1 hour, 4 minutes ago

Ethiopian tanks rolled to the battlefront on Friday as Somali Islamists and Somalia's pro-government troops pounded each other with artillery and rockets in a fourth day of clashes edging closer to all-out war.

The Islamists said they would send ground troops to attack en masse on Saturday, as opposed to fighting from a distance with heavy weapons as the two sides have done so far, ignoring a European peace initiative.

"Our troops have not started to attack. From tomorrow the attack will start," Islamist deputy spokesman Ibrahim Shukri told a news conference.

Witnesses near the fighting on two fronts near the government's encircled stronghold of Baidoa in south-central Somalia said they heard the rumble of armor before dawn.

"I was awakened this morning by heavy sounds of tanks. I woke up and saw seven Ethiopian tanks heading toward Daynunay," Baidoa resident Abdullahi Ali told Reuters.

An Islamist fighter near one of the fronts in Daynunay said the tanks had attacked his unit, and he was awaiting anti-tank weapons to fight back.

"We can see Ethiopian tanks. They have started firing heavy shells at us," the fighter, who declined to give his name, told Reuters by telephone.

The Ethiopian government declined to comment.

If confirmed, the involvement of the tanks in the battle would raise the stakes in what is already the most sustained combat so far in a fight many fear could mushroom across the Horn of Africa, sucking in rivals Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Daynunay is the government's forward military base about 20 km (12 miles) southeast of Baidoa. Ethiopia has said it has military trainers there, but not combat troops.

The other front, Idaale, is 70 km (44 miles) southwest of Baidoa, a southern agricultural trading post which is the only town the government controls.

NEW FRONT?

The Western-backed, but ineffective, government and the Somali Islamic Courts Council (SICC) say they have killed hundreds of each other's troops across the brushy flatlands around Baidoa. The figures could not be independently verified.

Fighting began late on Tuesday, as an SICC deadline for Ethiopian troops to leave Somalia or face a holy war passed.

By Wednesday night, it was clear the European Union's announcement the same day that the two sides had agreed to restart peace talks and stop fighting had begun to ring hollow.

The SICC has taken control of most of southern Somalia by dint of its military might and imposition of strict sharia law.

Washington and what it considers to be its top counter-terrorism ally in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia, say the SICC is led by an al Qaeda cell, which the military-religious movement denies.

The SICC says it has the popular support the government lacks, bringing law and order to a nation convulsed with anarchy since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991.

The SICC said Ethiopian troops were moving by air and ground toward Galkaayo, a strategic central Somali town held as a forward defense base by government-allied Puntland fighters.

"We hope fighting will simultaneously start there too. We call upon the Somalis to rise up and join in the jihad," SICC Secretary Ibrahim Suley told reporters.

Ethiopia and Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf, a Puntland native, are keen to keep the relatively stable, semi-autonomous Puntland region and its strategic ports out of SICC hands.

A Puntland fighter said by telephone from near Galkaayo: "There is a lot of troop movement. From the way things are going, fighting can start any time."

(Additional reporting by Bryson Hull in Nairobi, Guled Mohamed and Sahal Abdulle in Mogadishu, Ibrahim Mohamed in Jowhar, Somalia)

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061222/wl_nm/somalia_conflict_dc_15

NYer

12-22-2006, 09:13 AM

AQ offensive repulsed. (http://www.afrol.com/articles/23455)

The Political Secretary at Somali Mission to the United Nations has said that Somalia's transitional federal government repulsed the offensive by warmongering jihadists of al Qaeda in Somalia. Omar Jamal's comments came on the heels of a heavy artillery fighting that ensued between militia loyal to the Islamic Courts Union and forces of transitional government yesterday.

keith

12-23-2006, 10:23 AM

Somalia Islamists call for help

The Islamist militia that controls much of southern Somalia has said the world must help it combat Ethiopia, which it has accused of invading the country.

Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said the international community must help it fight what he described as Ethiopian interference.

The Islamists' defence chief meanwhile urged Muslims worldwide to join a "holy war" against Ethiopia.

Ethiopia denies its forces have taken part in recent heavy fighting.

Ethiopia said the Islamists' call for foreign volunteers proved the group had links to extremists.

Addis Abbaba has not formally acknowledged sending troops to back Somalia's transitional government in the town of Baidoa.

It has however demanded that the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) militia stop its offensive there.

The Somali government has said its own fighters - rather than Ethiopian soldiers - have been fending off an advance by the Islamist militia.

Dozens of people have died and analysts fear the fighting could escalate into full-scale war.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the escalation of conflict would "have disastrous consequences for civilians".

Islamist defence chief Sheikh Yusuf Mohamed Siad "Inda'ade" - who is regarded as a hardliner - urged foreign Muslims to join the "holy war" against Ethiopia.

"Our country is open to Muslims worldwide. Let them fight in Somalia," Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.

Long-standing tensions

The UIC controls the capital, Mogadishu, and has advanced towards the Ethiopian-backed transitional government's base in Baidoa.

Clashes have been reported in Idale and Dinsoor, south-west of Baidoa, and Daynunay, east of the town.

At least 200 wounded fighters have managed to reach local hospitals, our analyst says.

BBC regional analyst David Bamford says that if the claims by both sides about hundreds of dead are even partly true, it shows that the fighting has been the most serious in the country since the fall of Mogadishu to the UIC six months ago.

Ethiopia - a mainly Christian nation - and Somalia have a history of troubled relations, and the Islamists have long called for a holy war against Ethiopian troops in Baidoa.

On Thursday a leader of the Union of Islamic Courts said they were in a state of war with Ethiopia.

Ethiopia denies its forces are battling the advancing Islamist militias, but admits to having some military trainers in Somalia.

A BBC correspondent earlier reported seeing a huge convoy of Ethiopian military armour near Baidoa.

The UN estimates that at least 8,000 Ethiopian troops may be in the country, while rival Eritrea is said to have deployed some 2,000 troops in support of the Islamic group.

However, Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki denied his country had troops deployed in Somalia.

"The Somali problem lies now in the Ethiopian interference first and foremost," he told the Al-Jazeera television channel.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6206081.stm

keith

12-23-2006, 10:45 AM

Links are in the actual article.

The War in Somalia Expands as Islamists Promised
The battle for control of Somalia by the Islamic Courts Union has spilled over into an international conflict with Ethiopia and poses a significant threat to the entire Horn of Africa region. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross has posted on some of the details of the military activities.

Yesterday Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the ICU leader most closely indentified with al Qaeda and bin Laden, said Somalia was now at war with Ethiopia and that “All Somalis should now take part is this struggle against Ethiopia.” The statement came the day after an EU envoy happily proclaimed that both sides had agreed to negotiate an end to the hostilities and that peace was at hand. Someone must be living in an alternate universe where pledges made by radicals with a history of duplicity are viewed binding.

The spread of this war is by design, not accident. In his statement earlier this week (as translated by Laura Mansfieldal Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahiri went out of his way to signal support for the Islamist movement in Somalia, saying “Brothers in Islam and jihad in Somalia, know that you are the southern garrison of Islam, so don’t allow Islam to be attacked from your flank and know that we are with you and the entire Muslim Umah is with you.”

The conflict is designed not only to establish a space that can be defined as the beginning of the Islamist Caliphate, a necessary physical space from which to launch succeeding holy wars against the unbelievers. It is also aimed at creating widespread instability in a fragile region in East Africa, rich in mineral resources with weak and corrupt central governments.

Osama bin Laden has spoken in the past of the need to open a “third front” with a ground war that will bleed the U.S. military dry. He has argued that the al Qaeda front in Iraq, coupled with the front in Afghanistan/Pakistan, has stretched the U.S. military to its limits. A third front would make triumph in the other two more likely.

The stark disinterest of the United States and most European powers, or serious efforts by other African nations to face the consequences of an Islamist triumph in Somalia is striking and dangerous. The consequences of a regional war are difficult to calculate, but they will be serious.

Ethiopia is going to wade into the conflict in significant ways, but U.S. intelligence has been alarmed by the flow of sophisticated weapons in recent months to the ICU, including surface-to-air missiles, heavy anti-tank weapons and mines, and small arms. The ICU also appears to have at least three Russian helicopter gunships, operating with hired crews, to put into operation.

It may be more than Ethiopia can handle alone, and the conflict has already drawn hundreds of foreign jihadists to Somalia. Thousands more will follow if the region becomes part of the global jihadi battleground.

The jihadists have in the paste been unconcerned with governance in the areas they conquer. Sharia law, based on the Quran, is all that is needed. So they do little to consolidate bureaucratically or in a civil governance sense and unencumbered by the desire to establish a functioning government that could be recognized by the outside world. They simply move on to the next conflict, and let sharia law take care of the rest.

In conversations with U.S. officials recently, several expressed the opinion Somalia was of little interest because it has no strategic importance to the United States. It is a backwater with few natural resources and no government. My response is: What was Afghanistan in the years before 9-11? A failed state with few natural resources of international interest and little preceived strategic value.

posted by Douglas Farah

http://www.douglasfarah.com/

keith

12-24-2006, 05:26 AM

Ethiopian planes bomb Somali areas: witnesses
By Hassan Yare
1 hour, 57 minutes ago

Ethiopian planes dropped bombs and fired missiles on two locations in Somalia on Sunday, witnesses said, as fighting between Somali Islamists and their Ethiopian-allied rivals raged for a sixth day.

There was no immediate word from Ethiopia, the Somali interim government or the Islamists.

Resident Abdirashid Hassan said he saw planes drop bombs on the outskirts of Baladwayne, 190 miles from the capital Mogadishu. "The Ethiopians have started bombing," he said by telephone.

Another witness, businessman Farah Osman, said two Ethiopian planes fired missiles on the outskirts of Bandiradley, 435 miles

north of Mogadishu.

If confirmed, the use of foreign attack aircraft would raise the stakes in the most sustained combat yet between the Ethiopia-backed interim government and Islamists.

The Islamists took power in Mogadishu and a swathe of southern Somalia in June, challenging the Western-backed interim government's aim to restore central rule for the first time since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991.

This week's clashes have heightened fears of a major regional war that would ensnare Horn of Africa rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea and trigger possible suicide bombings in East Africa.

Fighters loyal to both sides started firing shells, rockets and machine guns at each other shortly after dawn, witnesses said, in battles that spread to four fronts.

Military experts estimate Ethiopia has 15,000-20,000 troops in Somalia, while Eritrea has about 2,000 behind the Islamists.

Asmara denies the accusation, while Addis Ababa admits only having a few hundred military trainers in Baidoa.

"Fighting is going on from one part of the country to the other. The Islamic Courts have ignited the war they promised yesterday," Information Minister Ali Ahmed Jama "Jangali" told Reuters from the encircled government base Baidoa.

"They will lose in this fighting."

Both sides say they have killed hundreds since the fighting began on Tuesday, although aid agencies report dozens of dead.

An Islamist fighter close to the semi-autonomous Puntland region, north of Baidoa, said: "Now there is a full-blown war."

Heavy fighting was reported round Daynunay, the government's forward military base about 20 km (12 miles) southeast of Baidoa. Battles also broke out in Manas to the west, Kalaber to the north and Bandiradley, close to the border with Puntland.

A hospital source, declining to be identified, said medical teams were waiting to treat troops from the front.

"The fighting is getting nastier. There must be a lot of casualties," the source said.

On Saturday, the Islamists urged foreign Muslim fighters to join their "holy war" against Ethiopia. They accuse Christian-led Ethiopia, a key U.S. ally in its war against terrorism, of invading Somalia.

(Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed and Sahal Abdulle in Mogadishu)

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061224/wl_nm/somalia_conflict_dc_25

keith

12-24-2006, 10:19 PM

Ethiopia says forced into war with Somali Islamists
By Hassan Yare
Sun Dec 24, 3:28 PM ET

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Sunday he was waging war against Somalia's Islamists to protect his country's sovereignty, intensifying a conflict that threatens to engulf the Horn of Africa.

It was Ethiopia's first public admission of military involvement in Somalia, where for the first time it sent warplanes on Sunday to pound the Islamist fighters now encircling the weak interim government.

Ethiopian officials have said the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC), which now controls most of Somalia except for the government-held town of Baidoa, is a terrorist group backed by Ethiopia's enemy, Eritrea.

"Ethiopian defense forces were forced to enter into war to the protect the sovereignty of the nation and to blunt repeated attacks by Islamic courts terrorists and anti-Ethiopian elements they are supporting," Meles said in a televised address.

"Our defense forces will leave as soon as they end their mission."

Despite the military campaign, Meles said Ethiopia supported talks between the two sides to set up a joint administration.

RIVAL CLAIMS

Earlier, Ethiopian Information Minister Berhan Hailu said the operation had targeted several sections of the battle front including Dinsoor, Bandiradley and Baladwayne and the town of Buur Hakaba, close to Baidoa. Fighting on the front has now raged for six days.

Somalia's ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdikarin Farah, said government forces had killed 500 Islamist troops, most of them Eritreans, in two days of heavy fighting, but there was no independent confirmation of the death toll.

The Islamists, armed with machine-guns and mortars, say they have killed hundreds of pro-government troops, but aid agencies put the total number of dead at dozens.

The Islamists claim broad popular support and say their main aim is to restore order to Somalia after years of warlord rule and anarchy.

They said Ethiopia, which has also sent tanks toward the front in the last few days, had used MiG fighters and helicopters against their forces. Somali witnesses reported that the aircraft had been firing missiles.

Ethiopia's Farah said the Islamists had killed 10 government soldiers and wounded 13. He said the government had taken 280 prisoners, including Pakistanis, Afghans and Sudanese.

Diplomats fear the war will not only suck in Ethiopia and Eritrea but also attract foreign jihadists answering the Islamists' call for a holy war against Christian-led Ethiopia.

Ali Dahir Horow, a resident of Baladwayne, 190 miles (300 km) north of Mogadishu, said one airstrike had killed two people.

"People started fleeing once the planes fired at the town," he said, adding that most of the missiles nearby hit Ceel Jaale, which many people escaped to after last month's heavy flooding.

DISASTER FOR FLODD VICTIMS

U.N. aid agencies said the conflict would have disastrous consequences for efforts to supply food and aid to 1.4 million people suffering from the floods.

The European Union condemned the bombardments and exchanges of artillery fire, and urged both sides to return to talks.

But the war against old foe Ethiopia has roused the support of many Somalis.

In the Islamist-controlled port city of Kismayu, women and children waved goodbye to 1,000 men who had volunteered for the frontline. Dressed in ragged fatigues, the men sped off in camouflage trucks to the chants of "Victory is ours."

Further north in Mogadishu, women and children gathered in a market to badger men walking along the streets to join the war.

"They told me to wear their clothes if I will not go to war," said Abdi Rashid. "They said I'm not a man, because all men are on the frontline, so I should wear women's clothes."

The SICC captured Mogadishu and a swathe of south Somalia in June, frustrating the Western-backed government's aim of restoring central rule for the first time in 15 years.

Somalia analyst Matt Bryden said he did not expect either side to win the war decisively.

"The Ethiopians are trying to hit the Islamists hard enough that they will come to the negotiation table," he told Reuters. "But they run the risk that the war will become a protracted and unwinnable conflict."

Military experts estimate Ethiopia has 15,000-20,000 troops in Somalia, while Eritrea has about 2,000 behind the Islamists.

Eritrea denies it has sent troops.

(Additional reporting by Guled Mohamed and Sahal Abdulle in Mogadishu, Sahra Abdi in Kismayu, Tsegaye Tadesse in Addis Ababa and Wangui Kanina in Nairobi)

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061224/ts_nm/somalia_conflict_dc_31

Heads_On_Pikes

12-25-2006, 11:39 AM

Ethiopian fighter jets bomb Mogadishu airport

Strike marks first direct attack on Somali Islamic movement headquarters

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Ethiopian fighter jets bombed Mogadishu International Airport in the middle of Somalia’s capital on Monday, witnesses said, in the first direct attack on the headquarters of an Islamic movement attempting to wrest power from the internationally recognized government.

An Associated Press reporter who arrived shortly after the strike saw one wounded woman taken away. There were reports of two people killed. The runway and one building used by the Islamic forces were damaged. Islamic officials were not immediately available for comment.

Ethiopia’s prime minister announced Sunday night that his country was “forced to enter a war” with Somalia’s Council of Islamic Courts after the group declared holy war on Ethiopia.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16343382/

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/25/news/somalia.php

Good for Ethiopia!

NYer

12-26-2006, 06:33 AM

Islamic Fighters Quitting Somalia Front. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061226/ap_on_re_af/somalia)

Islamic fighters retreated from the main front line early Tuesday, witnesses said, a day after Ethiopian fighter jets bombed the country's two main international airports. Troops loyal to the Council of Islamic Courts withdrew more than 30 miles to the southeast from Daynuney, a town just south of Baidoa, the government headquarters. The Islamic forces also abandoned their main stronghold in Bur Haqaba and were forming convoys headed toward the capital, Mogadishu, residents in villages along the road told The Associated Press by telephone. "We woke up from our sleep this morning and the town was empty of troops, not a single Islamic fighter," Ibrahim Mohamed Aden, a resident of Bur Haqaba said.

NYer

12-26-2006, 10:07 AM

Ethiopian troops advancing on Mogadishu. (http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/ethiopian-troops-advance-on-mogadishu/2006/12/26/1166895296725.html)

Petronas

12-28-2006, 01:10 AM

Somalia government advances on capital
Dec. 27, 2006, 10:38PM

Clan leaders considered abandoning Islamic militias who control the Somali capital and throwing their support to government forces, which advanced to within striking distance of this beleaguered city Wednesday. Islamic courts fighters in Mogadishu, meanwhile, were seen changing out of their uniforms into civilian clothes. Women selling qat _ the popular leafy stimulant banned by the militias _ crowded the streets.

The Council of Islamic Courts seized the capital in June and went on to take much of southern Somalia, often without fighting. They were later joined by foreign militants, including Pakistanis and Arabs. The Islamic movement seemed invincible after capturing the capital, but they are no match for Ethiopia, which has the strongest military in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopian forces crossed the border Sunday to reinforce the internationally recognized Somali government, which was bottled up in the town of Baidoa, 140 miles northwest of Mogadishu.

The U.N. Security Council failed for a second day on Wednesday to agree on a statement calling for an immediate cease-fire in Somalia because Qatar insisted the council demand the immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces. The 14 other council members refused to demand the immediate pullout of Ethiopian and other troops, diplomats said.

On Wednesday, Ethiopian and Somali government troops drove Islamic fighters out of Jowhar, the last major town on the northern road to Mogadishu. As troops entered Jowhar, an independent radio station began blasting Western music, which the militias had banned.

In Baidoa, government officials introduced journalists to a dozen soldiers who said they were forced to fight on behalf of the militias. "I was in school before the war, but the Islamic courts forced me into their army," said Mohamed Hussein Mohamed, 15. The U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday it was "particularly concerned about reports of civilians, including children, being forcibly recruited to join the fighting." In the past, refugees from Somalia had complained of forced enlistment by the Islamic Courts Union, UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said in Geneva.

Mogadishu residents close to Abgal clan leaders said those leaders were considering whether to drop their support for the Islamic movement and side with the government, in an effort to avoid a struggle for the capital that could cause extensive casualties. The residents discussed the issue on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from Islamic militias, who want to rule Somalia by the Quran.

Government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari confirmed that talks for the peaceful surrender of Mogadishu were under way. "Elders, scholars and civil society members have contacted us and they told us that they don't need bombardment or attack," Dinari said. "We will not attack Mogadishu. ... Islamic courts militias are already on the run and we hope that Mogadishu will fall to our hands without firing a shot."

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said he aims to severely damage the courts' military capabilities and allow both sides to return to peace talks on as equals.

But one Islamic courts official said his forces were preparing for a new phase in their battle. "Our snakes of defense were let loose, now they are ready to bite the enemy everywhere in Somalia," said Sheik Mohamoud Ibrahim Suley. He did not elaborate, but some Islamic leaders have threatened guerrilla warfare including suicide bombings in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

Kenneth Menkhaus, professor of political science at Davidson College in North Carolina, said the war will likely be "prolonged, inconclusive, low-intensity and asymmetrical." "This is a war that will not end any time soon," he said. "Neither side has the capacity to defeat the other."

Somalia's complex clan system has been the basis of politics and identity here for centuries. But fighting between clans has prevented Somalia from having an effective government since 1991. That's when clan-based warlords overthrew a dictator and turned on one another. Competition for control of Mogadishu since 1991 has involved the Abgal and Habr Gadir clans, who joined to support the Islamic council earlier this year. If Abgal elders switch sides, probably in return for key government posts, urban warfare between the Abgal and Habr Gadir clans seems certain to resume.

The Islamic courts tried to supplant the influence of the clans by appealing to Somalis as Muslims. Many Somalis were grateful for the order the courts' militias imposed.

Dinari, the Somali government spokesman, said soldiers were heading toward the small village of Balad, about 18 miles from Mogadishu. Mohammed Abdi Hassan, a resident of the village, told The Associated Press by phone that the Islamic fighters had fled, leaving no one in control.

But many also chafed at the movement's strict enforcement of Islamic codes. "Since the Islamic courts have taken control, people are walking instead of hiring a taxi," said Hussein Mudde, a taxi driver in Mogadishu. "They don't have money because the Islamic courts closed the cinemas and music halls. Poets and artists and performers have been jobless."

Meles, the Ethiopian prime minister, said Tuesday he had been given unconfirmed reports that as many as 1,000 people had died and 3,000 were wounded since the fighting began on Saturday. The Red Cross reported 850 people injured at hospitals supported by the relief agency in Mogadishu and Baidoa, but had no figure for fatalities.

The U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday it was readying staff, trucks and emergency relief items in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia for up to 50,000 fleeing Somalis. The agency said it had received reports of thousands of displaced civilians within Somalia fleeing the fighting.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4429742.html

NYer

12-28-2006, 07:09 AM

From Rantburg ... Islamic Courts Hang It Up (http://somalinet.com/news/world/Somalia/6223)

The top leaders of Islamic Courts Union in the capital have announced on Wednesday that they resigned and are ready to hand over the administration to the people in Mogadishu to avoid destruction and bloodshed in the city.

After having crucial and urgent meeting tonight in the capital, the leaders of executive and Shura councils of Islamic Courts Union and deputy leader of executive council of ICU, Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed and Sheik Abdirahman Janaqow resigned and issued a joint press statement over the current situation in Somalia particular in Mogadishu.

Petronas

12-28-2006, 08:49 AM

Somali government troops enter Mogadishu outskirts
Dec 28, 2006

Somali government troops entered the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu on Thursday after Islamist rivals abandoned the city to chaos in the face of an Ethiopian-backed advance. "People are cheering as they wave flowers to the troops," said resident Abdikadar Abdulle, adding that scores of military vehicles had passed the Somalia National University.

Parts of Mogadishu shook with the sound of gunfire and outbreaks of looting after the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) fled their base to avoid advancing government fighters backed by Ethiopian tanks and jets.

"We have been defeated. I have removed my uniform. Most of my comrades have also changed into civilian clothes," one former SICC fighter told Reuters. "Most of our leaders have fled." The SICC had brought a semblance of stability to Mogadishu by imposing sharia, Islamic law, after chasing U.S. backed warlords from the city in June. Islamists and residents said order had collapsed with their departure.

"We have withdrawn all the leaders and members who worked in the capital," Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told Al Jazeera television. "Mogadishu is now in chaos."

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi confirmed Somali government and Ethiopian troops had reached the outskirts of the capital and said they would pursue the Islamist leaders. "We are discussing what to do so that Mogadishu will not descend into chaos. We will not let Mogadishu burn," Meles told reporters in Addis Ababa.

Government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said earlier the government had some way to go toward taking over. "We are taking control of the city and I will confirm when we have established complete control," he said. He said the Islamists had fled to the southern port city of Kismayu and the administration controlled 95 percent of the Horn of Africa country.

"Our forces already effectively control Mogadishu because we have taken over the two control points on the main roads outside the city," he said. "Within two to three hours we will capture the whole city." Later he told Al Jazeera the government had declared a state of emergency "to control security and stability."

The SICC chairman said his side's hasty withdrawal was a tactical move in a war that began last week against Ethiopian troops defending Somalia's weak, Western-backed government.

A joint force of Ethiopian armor and government fighters has pushed to within a few kilometers of the capital, routing Islamist defense lines before them. Pro-government militias who once held sway in the capital said they had captured several key buildings early on Thursday, including the former presidential palace.

Witnesses reported looting late on Wednesday and the sound of gunfire in a sign that one of the world's most dangerous cities may be sliding back to the rule of the gun. "Uncertainty hangs in the air," said Mogadishu resident Muktar Abdi. "My worst fear is the capital will succumb to its old anarchy. The government should come in now and take over -- this is the best chance they have before the city falls into the hands of the warlords again."

CHAOS, GUNFIRE AND LOOTING

Ahmed said the Islamists were united and determined to push out Ethiopian forces, but retreated to avoid more bloodshed. By fleeing, the Islamists appeared to have averted the risk of becoming embroiled in the fierce street fighting that forced the U.S. military from Mogadishu more than a decade ago in a humiliating episode captured in the film "Black Hawk Down."

Dinari said President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi remained in the government's south-central base Baidoa and would move to Mogadishu at the earliest opportunity. The government has long viewed Mogadishu as too dangerous to move to, but its return is a key step in achieving greater legitimacy as the 14th attempt to restore central rule since the 1991 ouster of a dictator.

The government maintained an amnesty offer to all Islamist fighters who laid down their arms, Dinari said, adding that the Islamists had opened their weapon stores before fleeing Mogadishu. "They want to create chaos," he said.

More than a week of mortar and rocket duels between the Islamists and the Ethiopian-backed government spiraled into open war that threatens to engulf the entire Horn of Africa.

Ethiopia says the Islamists are supported by Al Qaeda and its arch foe Eritrea, and says it has taken foreign prisoners. The SICC has depicted the conflict with Christian-led Ethiopia, which has one of Africa's most effective armies, as a holy war against "crusaders," tapping into decades of rivalry between the two neighbors.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2756173

NYer

12-29-2006, 11:05 AM

Somali PM enters Mogadishu (http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-12-29T141750Z_01_L28741526_RTRUKOC_0_US-SOMALIA-CONFLICT.xml&WTmodLoc=IntNewsHome_C1_%5bFeed%5d-2)

e Minister Ali Mohamad Gedi swept into Mogadishu in an armed convoy on Friday a day after his Ethiopian-backed forces drove Islamist rivals from the city they had ruled for six months.

Gedi's arrival in a 22-car convoy including six pick-up trucks mounted with heavy weaponry symbolically crowned a dramatic turnaround in the Horn of Africa country following the intervention of Ethiopian troops and air force.

Heads_On_Pikes

01-01-2007, 09:33 AM

Somali PM: Islamic Stronghold Captured

PM: Somali, Ethiopian Forces Capture the Last Major Stronghold of Militant Islamic Movement

By NASTEEX DAHIR FARAH

KISMAYO, Somalia Jan 1, 2007 (AP)— Somali government troops backed by Ethiopian tanks and fighter jets captured the last major stronghold of a militant Islamic movement Monday, while hundreds of Islamic fighters many of them Arabs and South Asians were seen fleeing the town.

Hundreds of gunmen, who apparently deserted from the Islamic movement, began looting the warehouses where the Council of Islamic Courts had stored supplies, including weapons and ammunition.

Gangs skirmished in the streets and the southern coastal city was descending into chaos, businessman Sheik Musa Salad said.

"Everything is out of control, everyone has a gun and gangs are looting everything now that the Islamists have left," he said.

Well-armed troops drove into Kismayo after clearing roads laced with land mines that had been left by Islamic fighters fleeing a 13-day military onslaught by government troops backed by Ethiopian tanks and MiG fighter jets.

"We have entered and captured the city," Maj. Gen. Ahmed Musa told The Associated Press while riding aboard a truck into Kismayo, where an estimated 3,000 hardline Islamic fighters had vowed to make a last stand but melted away under artillery fire.

<snip>

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2763136

Vancouver

01-02-2007, 03:45 AM

About the capture of Kismayo:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/01/world/main2318639.shtml

Excerpt: "Among those sought were three al Qaeda suspects wanted in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies who were being sheltered by the Islamic group. The government hoped to catch them before they slipped out of the country. The three are Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan and Abu Taha al-Sudani."

Here are two of those three, and there could be one or two others on the run with them:
http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/nabhan.htm
http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/termohammed.htm

NYer

01-05-2007, 03:46 PM

http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/07.01.02.SomalFront-X.gif

Vancouver

01-06-2007, 05:41 AM

There is some indication that the final wipeout of the Islamic Courts is underway:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/01/05/somalia.assault.ap/index.html

Excerpt:
"Today we will launch a massive assault on the Islamic courts militias. We will use infantry troops and fighter jets," said [Somali defense minister] Shire, who left for the battle zone on Friday. "They have dug huge trenches around Ras Kamboni but have only two options: to drown in the sea or to fight and die."

Petronas

01-07-2007, 03:26 PM

Al-Qaeda urges suicide attacks in Somalia
January 05, 2007 01:20pm

OSAMA bin Laden's top aide has urged Somali Islamists to launch an Iraq-style guerrilla campaign of suicide and other forms of attacks against Ethiopian forces in Somalia.

Ayman al-Zawahri put out the call in an audio tape posted on the internet today. "As happened in Iraq and Afghanistan, when the world's strongest power was defeated by the campaigns of the mujahideen troops going to heaven, so its slaves shall be defeated on the Muslim lands of Somalia," al-Zawahri said. You must ambush, mine, raid and (carry out) martryrdom campaigns so that you can wipe them out," said Zawahri, al-Qaeda's deputy leader.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21015114-401,00.html

Vancouver

01-08-2007, 04:57 PM

The Somali government tells AP that the capture of Ras Kamboni is nearly complete, after 2 days of heavy action and serious casualties to both sides.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,242334,00.html

Vancouver

01-08-2007, 07:10 PM

An American gunship has fired into the Ras Kamboni group, and the targets were 2 al-Qaida personnel, says CBS:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/08/world/main2335451.shtml
:happy_12:

NYer

01-08-2007, 07:19 PM

An American gunship has fired into the Ras Kamboni group, and the targets were 2 al-Qaida personnel, says CBS:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/08/world/main2335451.shtml
:happy_12:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c12/mystery-ak/060516-F-9712C-432.jpg

NYer

01-08-2007, 09:22 PM

AC-130 Airstrikes (http://austinbay.net/blog/?p=1590) in Somalia

Austin Bay:

StrategyPage’s Jim Dunnigan and I discussed the “Ethiopian blitz” last week on StrategyTalk. We’re near-certain the US has provided intelligence data to the Ethiopians (probably real-time Predator imagery and target analysis for airstrikes). We rated it as “highly likely” US Special Forces and other special operations units were (are) on the ground, if only to coordinate with the naval vessels. In my mind the AC-130 attack and another reported helicopter attack confirm the presence of special ops forces — the AC-130 is a special ops airframe and typically special ops troops “in the area” help coordinate the AC-130 strikes.

Another tv follow-up — Fox is reporting that there are casualties in the area struck by the AC-130. This may be one of those rarities, a victory over Al Qaeda that will have releaseable television footage.

... Al Qaeda called for jihad in Somalia. Looks like it got it.

keith

01-09-2007, 03:26 AM

Islamic Courts plannng doc from 95, provided by http://www.wikileaks.org/news.html

Petronas

01-10-2007, 01:01 AM

Helicopters Strafe al-Qaida in Somalia
January 09, 2007 11:40 PM EST

Attack helicopters strafed suspected al-Qaida fighters in southern Somalia on Tuesday, witnesses said, following two days of airstrikes by U.S. forces - the first U.S. offensives in the African country since 18 American soldiers were killed here in 1993. In Washington, a U.S. intelligence official said American forces killed five to 10 people in an attack on one target in southern Somalia believed to be associated with al-Qaida. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the operation's sensitivity, said a small number of others present, perhaps four or five, were wounded. ...

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has arrived off Somalia's coast and launched intelligence-gathering missions over Somalia, the U.S. military said. Three other U.S. warships were conducting anti-terror operations. U.S. warships have been seeking to capture al-Qaida members thought to be fleeing Somalia by sea after Ethiopia's military invaded Dec. 24 in support of the interim Somali government. The offensive drove the Islamic militia out of much of southern Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu, and toward the Kenyan border.

President Abdullahi Yusuf, head of the U.N.-backed transitional government, told journalists in Mogadishu that the U.S. "has a right to bombard terrorist suspects who attacked its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania." ...

http://enews.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20070109/45a32150_3ca6_1552620070109-970943483

Vancouver

01-12-2007, 04:10 PM

Ras Kamboni, the last place controlled outright by the Islamic Courts, has been captured by the Baidoa government, or so their defense minister says:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/12/world/main2357125.shtml

NYer

01-13-2007, 12:41 PM

Eritreans have apparently also entered the fight - supporting Al Qaeda. (http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/01/eritrea_sides_with_alqaeda_in.php)

Petronas

01-13-2007, 03:18 PM

Eritrea has fought several wars against Ethiopia, so it is not surprising that it should support Ethiopia's enemies in this conflict.

Vancouver

01-18-2007, 12:37 PM

Salman al-Ouda's Arabic site says there is a report that Sheikh Sharif Ahmed (ICU #2 honcho) has been captured in Kenya. He says the KSA embassy in Kenya is looking into the report. No English language link at the moment.

NYer

01-21-2007, 09:40 AM

Top ICU Commander held in Kenya. (http://ethiomedia.com/addfile/islamist_commander_arrested.html)

Kenya is holding Americans (http://www.washtimes.com/national/inring.htm) as well.

Vancouver

01-22-2007, 01:15 AM

Dunno yet about Ahmed Sheikh Sharif. The Wahhabi witch doctor Salman al-Ouda said that Sharif was captured, but I don't know of any corroboration from Nairobi or anywhere reasonably reliable. Anyhow, just in from al-Jazeera:
===========
Kenya has flown 34 suspected Islamic courts fighters to Somalia after arresting them near the countries' border.
Those held include four foreigners - a Canadian and three Eritreans - Harun Ndubi, a Kenyan lawyer told Reuters news agency.
The men were among scores of suspected fighters rounded up by Kenyan forces ...

NYer

01-22-2007, 08:18 AM

More on Sharif. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6286015.stm)

Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, seen as a moderate, surrendered in the north-eastern Kenyan town of Wajir, the policeman said.

What's a moderate Islamist?

Vancouver

01-24-2007, 07:09 AM

Washington Post Foreign Service reports a second American AC-130 gunship attack against al-Qaida in Somalia.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16781023/

Vancouver

01-24-2007, 08:09 PM

Some details on both of the AC-130 strikes:
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/01/24/somalia.us.strike/index.html

NYer

01-25-2007, 08:22 AM

http://www.globalspecops.com/gallery/ac130hflaregold_1.jpg

Casey

02-10-2007, 01:35 AM

Somali protesters threaten foreign troops
February 09 2007 at 08:06PM
By Guled Mohamed

Mogadishu - Hundreds of Mogadishu residents took to the streets after Friday prayers to protest, burn flags and threaten attacks against a proposed deployment of African peacekeepers in the Horn of Africa nation.

Nearly 800 people took part in two demonstrations at the central Tarbuunka Square and in a north Mogadishu neighbourhood that had been a stronghold for the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC) during its six-month rule of the city.

Masked men led the protest in that area, some threatening to greet a potential African Union (AU) peace force with violence.

Most of the demonstrators appeared to be sympathisers of the Islamists, who were toppled in a two-week joint offensive by Somali government and Ethiopian troops in late December.

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=87&art_id=qw1171028701976B254

Casey

02-10-2007, 01:37 AM

GROUP CLAIMS ATTACKS ON GOV’T FORCES

Economy and Politics, Brief

The ‘Movement for Raising the Somali People’ (MRSP) is a new group that has claimed for the first time a series of attacks against the forces of the Somali transition government and Ethiopian forces in Mogadishu said local sources to MISNA.

They noted that the MRSP presided over two demonstrations in the capital against the government of president Abdullahi Yusuf and the deployment of an African peacekeeping force in Somalia. “I swear in the name of God that we shall continue the attacks until the Ethiopians leave...we have risen to deliver our people from Ethiopia’s occupation and from the so-called transition government.”

So said one Abdirisak, alleged spokesman for the MRSP, who read a note while surrounded by a dozen men with covered faces in the background. The MRSP launched a particular warning to owners of the hotels, who have been advised not to host government members, Ethiopians or any supporter of the transition government.

Having claimed responsibility for all the attacks of the past weeks, Abdirisak warned of more violence asking the people to leave areas around structures or camps used by government or Ethiopian troops. He also threatened potential African peacekeeping troops, should they arrive in Somalia. For its part, the government continues to blame militias tied to the Islamic Courts for the attacks of recent weeks, and president Abdullahi Yusuf believes there are at least 3,000 such militias in the Mogadishu area. [AB]

http://www.misna.org/default.asp?IDLingua=1

Ono

02-10-2007, 02:35 AM

AQ raising it's ugly head?

NYer

02-14-2007, 02:12 PM

Ex-Texan Charged (http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2873355) with aiding terrorists.

Petronas

03-11-2007, 12:24 PM

Islamists claim missile attack on peacekeepers
March 10, 2007 05:44am

ISLAMIST fighters fired missiles overnight at a plane carrying Ugandan peacekeepers which caught fire on landing at Mogadishu airport, accoridng to a bulletin posted on a Jihadist website. If confirmed, it would be the third attack on the African Union peacekeepers since Tuesday when they started arriving in Mogadishu, one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

"Today, March 9, 2007, we destroyed a military plane at Mogadishu airport," read a statement on Qaadisiya.com. "The plane carrying the last invading troops was hit by two missiles at the centre of the aircraft," it added on a website used to issue death threats to AU peacekeepers.

The plane, which was carrying six AU peacekeepers from Uganda and their equipment, caught fire as it landed on the runway of Mogadishu International Airport on Friday morning, but there were no casualties, officials said. Mogadishu airport was briefly closed after the fire, which officials claimed was due to a technical fault.

A senior army official earlier brushed off reports from local residents that the plane was hit by a surface-to-air missile. "The claims are pure lies and the defect was technical," the official said.

Ugandan Deputy Defence Minister Ruth Nankabirwa said investigations were underway to determine the cause of the fire, but that an onsite probe indicated that a technical fault sparked the fire. "The airport was combed, so if somebody says that he attacked the aircraft, it does not add up to the situation that was on the ground. But if it comes to be true, then we shall handle it then," Ms Nankabirwa said. She said Ugandan forces used sand to put out the fire. Witnesses said the plane appeared to have suffered severe damage.

The AU peacekeeping force began deploying in Somalia on Tuesday, amid continuing insurgent attacks. Around 1000 Ugandan soldiers have already arrived in the Somali capital. The Ugandans are the initial deployment of about 8000 forces African Union forces in Somalia to bolster the weak government's attempts to govern the country effectively.

The Islamists, driven out of Mogadishu by the interim government and Ethiopian forces in December, have vowed to fight foreign forces and are thought to be behind almost daily attacks in the city that have claimed dozens of lives.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21356933-401,00.html

Petronas

04-01-2007, 01:11 AM

SOMALIA: CLASHES RAGE ON IN MOGADISHU
Mar-30-07 12:24

Fighting broke out for a second straight day in the Somali capital on Friday morning with reports that an Ethiopian military helicopter was shot down near the city. Some 25 people were killed in the clashes, the Al Jazeera satellite television reported. It was not immdiately clear how many people were on board the downed helicopter or whether anyone had died or been injured.

Heavy exchange of machine guns and artillery resumed in Mogadishu at around 6:30 am local time near the city's main football stadium where Ethiopian forces and Somali insurgents were digging trenches and facing each other few metres away, Somali broadcaster Radio Shabeller reported. The sound of heavy artillery could be heard in all parts of the capital city from which thousands of panic stricken civilians have been fleeing over the last few days.

At least 30 people were killed - including Ethiopian soldiers - while many more were wounded in Thursday's fighting which was the fiercest since Ethiopian soldiers helped the transitional federal government move to Mogadishu after driving out the Islamists.

According to a Somali internet news site, Waagacusub, Islamists claim to have captured in Thursday's fighting 13 Ethiopian soldiers including a general identified with the name al-Heily.

In another sign of the deteriorating situation in the Horn of Africa nation, Belarus has begun evacuating its citizens from Somalia. A total of 10 Belarussians were taken from the Somali capital Mogadishu to the Balidoogle military base airfield Thursday by a convoy of troops of the African Union, the Itar-Tass newsagency reported quoting the Belarussian Foreign Ministry.

African Union peacekeepers also delivered the bodies of 11 Belarussians who died March 23 when the Ilyushin-76 cargo jet belonging to the Belarussian airline Transaviaexport they were travelling on was shot down.

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.400426462&par=0

Petronas

04-03-2007, 06:38 PM

Somalia Fighting Has Killed Nearly 400
Monday, April 2, 2007; 3:01 PM

Fierce fighting between Ethiopian-backed government forces and Islamic insurgents in Somalia's capital has killed nearly 400 people _ mostly civilians _ in the past four days, a Somali human rights group said Monday.

The fighting abated long enough Monday to allow thousands of people to flee the ruined coastal city on foot and in donkey carts, cars and trucks. Some 47,000 people _ mainly women and children _ have abandoned their homes in the last 10 days, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Since February, nearly 100,000 people have fled the violence, the agency said.

Monday's lull appeared to follow a truce between Ethiopian forces and insurgents, brokered by the capital's dominant clan. But Deputy Defense Minister Salad Ali Jelle said the accord was "null and void," and warned residents to go because the fighting could resume at any time to "clean al-Qaida elements from Mogadishu."

Ethiopian troops were seen reinforcing close to insurgent strongholds in the southern part of the city. Around 4,000 Ethiopian troops are in Mogadishu, said Western diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because the information related to security matters.

The casualty figures were the first to be compiled since the battles began Thursday, said Sudan Ali Ahmed, chairman of the Elman Human Rights Organization.

The group said 381 people were killed and 565 were wounded in the fighting, which started when Ethiopian troops with tanks and attack helicopters launched an offensive to crush insurgents linked to an Islamic group driven from power in December. The tolls were calculated from hospital figures, local groups and burials but do not include Ethiopian soldiers that may have been killed, he said. The numbers may be much higher as bodies have not been collected from the dusty alleyways and backstreets in the south of the capital.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Somalia said many of the wounded still need help. "Trapped by the fighting, many wounded are unable to access medical facilities and lie unattended in the streets," the agency said.

Ethiopia claims it has killed more than 200 insurgents during the offensive; the figure could not be independently confirmed.

On Monday, Gen. Abdullahi Ali Omar, the commander of Somalia's army, narrowly escaped a roadside bombing as he drove in a government convoy from his hotel, a clear sign the insurgency is still strong. One soldier was injured in the blast, said presidential spokesman Hussein Mohamoud Hussein. "An al-Qaida cell was behind the explosion," he said. "They want to kill key government officials. They want to do here what they are doing in Iraq."

International efforts were under way to resolve the crisis, with European, African, Arab and U.S. diplomats expected to meet in Cairo on Tuesday. In Eritrea, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was holding talks on the fighting with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. Eritrea is accused of backing the Islamic movement that was driven from power in December by its rival, Ethiopia, along with U.S. special forces. The U.S. has accused the courts of having ties to al-Qaida.

On Saturday, a Ugandan member of the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia was killed by a mortar. Uganda has about 1,400 troops in the force, the only contributing country so far.

The Islamic movement stockpiled thousands of tons of weapons and ammunition during the six months they controlled Mogadishu. The militants have long rejected any secular government and have sworn to fight until Somalia becomes an Islamic emirate. The country has been mired in chaos since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned each other. A national government was established in 2004, but has failed to assert any real control.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/02/AR2007040200260.html?nav=ft_world

Vancouver

06-02-2007, 08:20 AM

An American warship has attacked a target at the extreme tip of the Horn of Africa.
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/06/01/somalia.strike/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,277212,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6714473.stm
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/02/world/main2877536.shtml

Petronas

08-11-2007, 02:46 PM

Heavy fighting erupts in Mogadishu
Saturday, August 11, 2007

MOGADISHU: At least four Somalis were killed on Friday as heavy fighting broke out in the capital Mogadishu between insurgents and the Ethiopian-backed government forces, police and witnesses said. An AFP reporter in Mogadishu described the clashes as among the most intense since April, when the interim government wrested final control of the city from an Islamist militia that briefly held large parts of the country. The latest bout of fighting erupted in southern Mogadishu at around midnight and lasted for an hour and a half, witnesses said, adding that no further clashes were reported on Friday morning. The worst fighting took place around the Holwadag police station, which insurgents attacked with machine guns and rocket launchers. “We suffered no casualties but a civilian in a nearby house was killed,” policeman Mohammed Farah said. Witnesses said insurgents also launched a mortar and rocket attack against a Somali security position near a milk factory, killing two soldiers. An officer who wished to remain anonymous said the burials were already under way and added that a number of other government forces were wounded in the incident. Fighting was also reported near an Ethiopian army post in the Ali Kamin district, where the dead body of a civilian was later found. “I saw the body of a man who was shot in the head... but nobody knows who killed him,” local resident Siyad Adan Fiyore said. A grenade also struck a civilian home in the southern neighbourhood of Shirkole, wounding three brothers, according to the victims’ sister. Since being defeated by the Ethiopian army and their Somali allies, insurgents have carried out almost daily hit-and-run attacks but sustained direct clashes have been rare. The latest violence brings to at least 11 the number of people killed in Mogadishu violence over the past 48 hours.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\08\11\story_11-8-2007_pg7_51

Petronas

10-15-2007, 08:55 PM

Breakaway Somali republic advances into Somalia
15 Oct 2007 13:07:40 GMT

Troops from the breakaway Somali republic of Somaliland on Monday seized a village inside a rival region loyal to the interim Somali president, killing at least 10 people, witnesses said. Somaliland, which broke off from Somalia when civil war erupted in 1991 and has governed itself since, ran troops from the neighbouring Puntland region out of the village of Las Anod and had threatened to move further east into Puntland.

"Ten dead people are lying in the streets of Las Anod," radio operator Mohamed Abdullahi told Reuters from the village which had until Monday been under Puntland's control since 2002.

Puntland, a semi-autonomous province, is allied to the fractious transitional federal government that is struggling to impose central rule over the Horn of Africa nation.

"Somaliland troops have captured the entire village and 100 Puntland troops. Somaliland has warned that if Puntland troops try to come back, they would not mind going deep into Puntland territory," a security official who tracks Somalia said.

The latest battle between the rival regions further complicates the fortunes of President Abdullahi Yusuf, who was president of his native Puntland before his election to national office in late 2004. Somaliland's leaders detest Yusuf, a former warlord who invaded their capital Hargeisa in the late 1990s, and have refused to join his government -- now mired in a persistent insurgency and political split that has paralysed it. Puntland and Somaliland for years have fought over their border, which was made when Britain took Somaliland as its colony and Italy the rest of what is now modern-day Somalia.

There were conflicting reports on whether Somaliland troops had advanced further into Puntland toward its capital Garowe, about 90 km (56 miles) to the east. Somaliland's Defence Minister Abdillahi Ali told reporters that Somaliland troops had control of the checkpoint on the road to Garowe. A diplomat that tracks Somalia from Nairobi told Reuters Somaliland had advanced 25 km east of Las Anod.

Puntland officials had no comment except to say Puntland President Adde Muse was flying back to Garowe from Djibouti. Puntland's military strength has waned since Yusuf took many of its militias for security since returning to Somalia in 2005.

Somaliland argues it should be given its own sovereignty since it has held democratic elections and done what most of the rest of Somalia has not since 1991 -- provide stability and relative security.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15414410.htm

keith

06-28-2008, 07:23 PM

Emerging Cracks in Somalia’s Islamist Insurgency
By Sunguta West (http://jamestown.org/terrorism/analysts.php?authorid=356)
http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/uploads/2406SomaliMilitary1.jpg (http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/uploads/2406SomaliMilitary1.jpg)
Somali soldiers sit atop a pickup truck

Serious cracks have emerged in the alliance of Somali Islamists who have been waging a holy war against Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) since 2006. In Djibouti, some Islamists regarded as moderates and led by Shaykh Sherif Shaykh Ahmad, chairman of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), signed a truce with the TFG on June 9 with the backing of influential clan leaders. The agreement becomes effective 30 days after signing and can be renewed after an initial 90 days. A UN-chaired Joint Security Committee will oversee the implementation of the truce (AFP, June 9).

Some analysts say the deal signed by Shaykh Ahmad, who headed the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) before its ouster by a combined force of Ethiopian army and TFG soldiers in 2006, will do little to bring peace in the troubled country. The agreement calls for the deployment of United Nations peacekeepers to Somalia—excluding troops from neighboring states—120 days after the truce begins. Ethiopian troops will “withdraw its troops from Somalia after the deployment of a sufficient number of UN Forces” (Shabelle Media Network, June 13). It may prove difficult to have all parties agree to what constitutes a “sufficient number of UN forces.”

In the Eritrean capital of Asmara, Islamists viewed as hardliners challenged the accord. These forces are led by Shaykh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is designated as a terrorist by the U.S. government for suspected links to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network. Aweys said the UN-brokered Djibouti truce agreement was aimed at derailing jihad in Somalia, stressing the insurgency would continue until Somalia is liberated from the enemies of Allah (Hiraan Online, June 10; Daily Nation [Kenya], June 11).

In the middle of the ARS conflict, the militant Islamist youth movement, al-Shabaab, is taking orders neither from Shaykh Ahmad nor Shaykh Aweys and is continuing its insurgency against the TFG. Al-Shabaab’s new leader, Shaykh Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki—another terrorist suspect wanted by the United States—rebuffed the accord while urging his fighters to intensify the war. Sources say the group is treating ARS divisions as a private matter separate from their insurgency (Mareeg.com, May 30).

In rejecting the accord, Shaykh Hersi al-Turki was choosing to strengthen the insurgency. Al-Shabaab’s rejection was followed by the killing of five policemen and one civilian in an attack on Mogadishu (Reuters, June 11). Al-Turki and Aweys have both encouraged insurgents to continue attacks on the transitional government and its Ethiopian military allies (Somali Net, June 11).

Since the killing of al-Shabaab leader Shaykh Aden Hashi Ayro by a U.S. air strike in April, the insurgents have intensified attacks on Ethiopian and TFG bases. Less than a week into the agreement, bloodshed continues unabated in Mogadishu. Five civilians were killed in the shelling of an airport in a June 12 attack that came minutes after TFG President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad had taken off to Djibouti (al-Jazeera, June 12). A further five civilians were killed in Mogadishu the next day.

Al-Shabaab and the ARS leaders agree that the most urgent issue at hand is to liberate Somalia, but the former is said to be unhappy with the moderates in the ARS, who they accuse of disregarding their stand on rejecting peace talks until Ethiopian troops are withdrawn (Mareeg.com, May 30).

After their defeat at the hands of Ethiopia and the TFG army, many ICU leaders fled to Asmara, where they formed ARS as part of a new strategy. This, however, alienated them from al-Shabaab, which believes only jihad can drive away the Ethiopians.

Al-Shabaab is keen to sustain jihad and apply it to drive out the Ethiopian army, which they believe is fighting a proxy war funded by the United States. The fighters believe they are adopting jihad as a self defense mechanism, but the moderates do not speak of jihad but rather of “liberation,” which involves talking and negotiating with Ethiopia.

In Asmara, reports say the divisions within the ARS have turned into open conflict with the Shaykh Aweys faction seeking to remove Shaykh Ahmad from the group’s leadership.

Aweys supporters say they are acting because Ahmad agreed to participate in UN efforts to initiate peace talks with Somalia’s Ethiopian-backed interim government. The hardliners in the ARS insist that Ethiopia must withdraw its forces before peace talks can begin (Mareeg.com, May 30).

Some leaders believe the moderates can influence al-Shabaab to stop fighting. A source who spoke to this writer, but did not wish to be named, said the moderates believed the United States is the country that could end the Somalia conflict—the problem is that most American support was going to Ethiopia instead of the TFG.

Shaykh Aweys and Shaykh Ahmad are not known to be friends. When the ICU was still active in southern and central Somalia, the two were known to have had an uneasy relationship. Nevertheless, when the ICU was ousted from Somalia, the two fled together to Eritrea, where they established an opposition movement which eventually became known as the ARS. From the Eritrean capital of Asmara, the ARS led a bloody anti-Ethiopian and anti-government insurgency until these recent cracks in the alliance began to emerge.

Shaykh Ahmad is now believed to have moved with other moderates to Djibouti, while Shaykh Aweys remains in Eritrea. This suggests the emergence of a new pair of rival alliances: One between Eritrea and Aweys and another between Shaykh Ahmad, Ethiopia, Djibouti and possibly the United States.

http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2374262

Vancouver

08-22-2008, 08:32 PM

The al-Shabaab ("youth") group seems to be in control of Kismayo. That's a port through which weapons and ammo could be brought in.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7576307.stm

The photo below, probably less than 24 hours old, appeared on Shabaab and other al-Qaida-friendly websites. The logo is that of Shabaab. The weapon is a 50-calibre Chinese "Dashika" anti-aircraft gun.

Vancouver

09-08-2008, 08:23 PM

http://www.garoweonline.com/artman2/publish/Somalia_27/Unidentified_warship_captures_14_Somali_pirates_-gov.shtml

Unidentified warship captures 14 Somali pirates -gov
7 Sep 7, 2008 - 3:00:57 PM

BOSASSO, Somalia, Sept 7 (Reuters) - A warship off pirate-ridden Somali waters captured 14 pirates and destroyed their boat, the fisheries minister for the northern Puntland region said on Sunday.
[continues]

I hope the warship that arrested them was this Canadian one, which is on pirate-busting duty off Somalia:
http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/villedequebec/home/index_e.asp

NYer

09-08-2008, 11:15 PM

Mystery warship identified.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f218/sono001/Untitled-1copy.jpg

Ship's captain, J.T. Kirk, was unavailable for comment.

Hound

09-08-2008, 11:42 PM

Mystery warship identified.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f218/sono001/Untitled-1copy.jpg

Ship's captain, J.T. Kirk, was unavailable for comment.

Well you know the NSA is gonna pull that pic down quick. And I'm not gonna make a copy either, the neighbors are still talking about all the unmarked cars from last time when I posted this...

Thank God for FOIA!

American_Jihad

07-27-2009, 09:06 PM

Shabaab al-Muhajideen Bans 3 UN Agencies
7/2709

Shabaab al-Mujahideen Press Release:
“Regarding Various Non-Governmental Organizations
and Foreign Committees Working in Somalia”

Released on: July 20, 2009

[This document is the transcript of a statement obtained and translated by NEFA investigators on behalf of the NEFA TerrorWatch subscription service. This transcript is provided for educational and informational purposes only. For more information on the Shabaab al-Mujahideen, see NEFA Senior Investigator Evan Kohlmann’s Special Report, “Shabaab al-Mujahideen: Migration and Jihad in the Horn of Africa" at http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/nefashabaabreport0509.pdf]

“1 - We are officially announcing the formation, beginning today, 27 Rajab 1430, corresponding to July 20, 2009, of the Office to Supervise the Affairs of the Foreign Committees. This office will be charged with following the movements of non-governmental organizations and foreign committees operating in the country. Coordination of their operations will be handled through this office...”

“All of the non-governmental organizations and foreign committees are required to immediately contact the Office to Supervise the Affairs of the Foreign Committees in each Islamic state under the control of the Movement where the non-governmental organization of foreign committee wants to work. They will be informed of the conditions and restrictions that are imposed on them to continue their work in the country.”

“Any non-governmental organization or foreign committee with [sic] proven involvement in conducting projects against Islam and Muslims in Somalia or aimed at disrupting the formation of an Islamic State in the country will have their offices closed immediately and will be subject to the full extent of punishment in accordance with Sharia law.”

“2 - Beginning from the publishing of this announcement, a number of non-governmental organizations and foreign committees currently operating in Somalia have had their offices completely closed permanently because they are considered to be hostile to Islam and Muslims. They are the following:”

Nine Eleven / Finding Answers (NEFA) Foundation – ©2009
http://www.nefafoundation.org

www.nefafoundation.org – info@nefafoundation.org 2
UNDP - the United Nations Development Program
UNDSS - the United Nations Office for Peace and Security
UNPOS - the United Nations Political Office for Somalia

“The decision for closure ad expulsion has already been made for these committees after a precise examination of their activities and the true motivations behind their presence in Somalia. Their involvement in activities hostile to Islam and Muslims and their attempts to preclude the formation of an Islamic state in parts of Somalia have already been proven. Among the evidence of their hostility towards Islam, is their aid to the apostate government in Somalis and their participation in supplying and training militias to fight the Mujahidiin, in addition to fundraising and lobbying on behalf of the mercenary African forces in Mogadishu.”

“It has also been confirmed that they aided remnants of the apostate militia as they regrouped in border areas adjacent to Islamic states with the goal of disrupting security and stability in these states.”

“Note that previously, all of the offices of the two organizations 'imc' and 'care' were closed after we stumbled onto evidence that showed their participation in activities hostile to Islam and their involvement in intelligence activities on behalf of the United States of America - the head of world infidels. Some of these activities led to the assassination of Sheikh Abu Muhsin Al Ansari Adam Airo - May Allah have mercy on him.”

The Office of Political Affairs and Regional Administrations
“This and what comes after our [sic] remarks from the publishing of this statement from this office. A battalion of the al-Hesbah Army left the city of Baidooa and went to the offices of the United Nations. All of the funds and equipment and tools there were confiscated. From another side, the al-Hesbah Army in a city located in the state of Bakool did the same thing at the same time and gave the state a mandate for United Nations employees to leave the areas belonging to the Islamic State, and the matter happened as spoken. Praise and thanks and glory be to Allah.”

“O God, Revealer of the book, Disperser of the clouds, Defeater of the parties, defeat the Crusaders, and their apostate allies!”
“O God, make them and their equipment easy booty for Muslims!”
“O God, destroy them and shake them!”
“O God, You are the one who helps us and the one who assists us, with Your power we move and by Your power we fight!”

Nine Eleven / Finding Answers (NEFA) Foundation – ©2009
http://www.nefafoundation.org

www.nefafoundation.org – info@nefafoundation.org 3

“God is Great!”
“But honor belongs to Allah, and thus to His Messenger, and to the Believers; but of this the hypocrites are not aware.”
(Partial Koranic verse; Al-Munafiqun 63:8)
The Media Section of the Mujahidin Youth Movement
Al-Usra Army in Somalia
July 20, 2009

http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/nefa_shabaab0709.pdf

http://www.rightsidenews.com/200907275701/global-terrorism/shabaab-al-muhajideen-bans-3-un-agencies.html

keith

11-28-2009, 03:43 PM

US encouraged Ethiopian invasion of Somalia: UN meeting memo with Jenday Frazer, Secretary of State for African Affairs, 2006

Released November 26, 2009
Summary
This is a memo written from an official with the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2006 detailing a meeting with Jenday Frazer, the Bush Administration's Assistant Secretary of State for African affairs. It is interesting in that it undercuts Bush administration officials' later assertions that they did not encourage Ethiopia to invade Somalia in 2006. It also reveals a bias on the part of Frazer in favor of Ethiopia and against Eritrea that many including former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton believe set back difficult negotiations on the border dispute between the two countries. The document has not been released until now. It will be of interest to people who follow US policy in the Horn of Africa.

DOWNLOAD/VIEW FULL FILE FROM fastest (Sweden) (http://88.80.16.63/leak/frazer-somalia-memo-2006.pdf), current site (http://wikileaks.org/leak/frazer-somalia-memo-2006.pdf), slow (US) (http://88.80.13.160.nyud.net/leak/frazer-somalia-memo-2006.pdf), Finland (http://wikileaks.fi/leak/frazer-somalia-memo-2006.pdf), Netherlands (http://wikileaks.nl/leak/frazer-somalia-memo-2006.pdf), Poland (http://wikileaks.pl/leak/frazer-somalia-memo-2006.pdf), Tonga (http://wikileaks.to/leak/frazer-somalia-memo-2006.pdf), Europe (http://wikileaks.eu/leak/frazer-somalia-memo-2006.pdf), SSL (https://secure.wikileaks.org/leak/frazer-somalia-memo-2006.pdf),

Tor (http://gaddbiwdftapglkq.onion/leak/frazer-somalia-memo-2006.pdf)http://wikileaks.org/leak/frazer-somalia-memo-2006.pdf

American_Jihad

07-15-2010, 05:31 PM

Al Qaeda-linked militants threaten 'new tide of terror'
7/15/10

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/8930/alshabaab01.jpg (http://img16.imageshack.us/i/alshabaab01.jpg/)
Women pose with weapons at an Al-Shabaab demonstration against the Somali government in Mogadishu.

(CNN) -- Al-Shabaab, the Somali militant group allied to al Qaeda which claimed responsibility for Sunday's deadly bombings in Uganda, has promised to "unleash a new tide of terror."

"This is only the beginning," the group said in a statement on the internet Thursday.

Al-Shabaab, meaning "the youth" in Arabic, claimed responsibility for the bombings at two locations in the Ugandan capital of Kampala that killed 76 people.

The attackers struck an Ethiopian restaurant in a neighborhood dotted with bars and popular among expatriates. Two other bombs exploded at a rugby center.

Police in Uganda have reported arrests in connection with the bombings, which also wounded dozens of people.

Al-Shabaab had said it is waging war "against 6,000 collaborators," a reference to the African Union peacekeeping force that includes Ugandan troops and warned Ugandans to refrain from involvement in Somalia.

The Islamic militant group has been fighting Somalia's U.N.-backed transitional government and has previously threatened attacks on Uganda.

It is believed to number up to 7,000 armed men, with a main force of around 3,000 fighters with well-honed guerrilla skills, according to Agence France-Presse.

Do Somali militants pose a new terror threat?

But the weekend bomb attacks in Kampala marked the first time the group has claimed responsibility for an operation beyond the Somali border, apart from sporadic attacks across the border into northern Kenya.

It advocates a strict, often brutal, Saudi Arabian-inspired Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. It emerged in 2005 as the militant youth wing of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which briefly controlled much of the Horn of Africa nation before being ousted in 2006 by troops from neighboring Ethiopia.

While most of the ICU's leaders fled, Al-Shabaab fighters under leader Ahmed Abdi Godane remained behind to wage a guerilla-style war against the invading force, winning control of much of central and southern Somalia. Somalia has had no effective administration since Mohamed Siad Barre's regime collapsed in 1991.

Links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terror network also gave Al-Shabaab valuable manpower and resources. The group is also alleged to have benefited from piracy off the coast of Somalia.

In March last year bin Laden issued a statement calling for Muslims everywhere to "help the Somali mujahedeen fight until Somalia is an Islamic state."

According to the transitional administration in Mogadishu the burgeoning relationship with al Qaeda led to an influx of militant fighters from abroad.

Senior U.S. administration officials who briefed reporters on Tuesday about the attack said the group has threatened the United States and committed violent acts in Somalia since it was formed. It has conducted assassinations of peace activists, aid workers, prominent officials, and journalists.

As well as ties with al Qaeda, officials said people from Al-Shabaab have contacts with other al Qaeda-linked groups in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsular.

"Its agenda is very similar to al Qaeda's agenda," an official said.

Senior African Union military figures say the signs of al Qaeda's hand in the fighting are visible through the use of Improvised Explosive Devices, or IEDs, and suicide bombings.

The group has also become particularly adept at using the media in this way to announce details of attacks that it has carried out.

Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, once a moderate figure in the ICU, told CNN in April that Al-Shabaab had reached out to the Somali diaspora living in the West, radicalizing young Muslims via the Internet and encouraging them to move back to the country to join the "Jihad."

In Nairobi, the Kenyan government said on Thursday that a Ugandan national who had been working with Al-Shabaab gave himself up to police in recent days.

It's unclear whether he had any ties to the bombing but said he didn't want to work with the militants anymore. Authorities handed him over to Ugandan authorities on Tuesday, a government spokesman said.

Kenya said it also bolstered its troop presence along the Somali-Kenyan border in the aftermath of the Kampala attack. Kenya borders Uganda and Somalia.

U.S. officials said that U.S. law enforcement agencies are well aware of Al-Shabaab. But they said there had been no "advance warning" of the attacks in Kampala.

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/07/15/somalia.uganda.threat/?fbid=_2-lRetRVhn