European Union Training Mission Somalia
PRESS SUMMARY 22nd November 2018
“In ‘Media’ stat virtus”
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SUMMARY TITLE PAGE US airstrike in Somalia against al-Shabab kills 7 extremists 2 Somali military says 13 militants killed in Marka fighting 3 Regional Economic Integration Not Good For Somalia, Claims 4 Former President BRA lacks budget plan, can’t account for $16.6m-parliamentary 5 report ICRC Staff, German Citizen Abducted In Somalia Rescued Last Night 7 Two employees of Somali telecom giant killed in Somali capital 8 Somali' gunmen abduct Italian aid worker during shootout in Kenya 9 Leadership Crisis Caused Freeze of Statebuilding Efforts in Somalia 10 We Can’t Talk Unity Till Mogadishu Changes Cause, President Bihi 14 UN police officer recognized for protecting vulnerable Somali 15 women from abuse Terrorism in East Africa 17 Siyaad Barre was a Nationalist, regardless of his shortcomings 25 Djibouti’s Mysterious Absence from Horn of Africa Reintegration: 29 Who is to blame?
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US airstrike in Somalia against al-Shabab kills 7 extremists
21 November 2018
The U.S. military says it has carried out an airstrike in central Somalia targeting al-Shabab that killed seven extremists.
The U.S. Africa Command statement says Tuesday's airstrike occurred in Quy Cad in the Mudug region. The strike was carried out a day after two other U.S. airstrikes killed 37 extremists with the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab.
Like the previous statement, this one says it believes no civilians were killed or injured.
The U.S. has carried out 33 airstrikes this year against al-Shabab, the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa. The military says the airstrikes are aimed at reducing al-Shabab's ability to plan attacks, disrupting its leadership networks and limiting its freedom of movement in the Horn of Africa nation.
Al-Shabab often targets the capital, Mogadishu, and other cities with deadly bombings. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-6414149/US-airstrike-Somalia-against-al- Shabab-kills-7-extremists.html
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Somali military says 13 militants killed in Marka fighting
21st November 2018
MOGADISHU – Somali military says its forces clashed with armed militants belonging to Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab in Marka town, some 91km southwest of Mogadishu.
The fighting broke out at Marka Jilib in the coastal town of Marka,after Somali army forces launched joint military offensive against small villages held by Al Shabaab, said in a Twitter post by the country’s military.
The military claimed to have killed 13 Al Shabaab militants during the fighting
Meanwhile, the armed group Al Shabaab denies claims made by Somali military. The group said its fighters had seized an armored vehicle during the clash.
Last month, Somali army forces backed by African Union peacekeeping forces re-captured the coastal town from Al Shabaab. https://mareeg.com/somali-military-says-13-militants-killed-in-marka-fighting/
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Regional Economic Integration Not Good For Somalia, Claims Former
President
21 November 2018
The immediate former President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has strongly criticized the ongoing regional economic and political integration process involving Mogadishu, Asmara and Addis Ababa.
He warned that President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s government against the move claiming it was not in best interest of the nation: “We cannot talk about political and economic integration with Ethiopia at the moment because our institutions are still weak. Let us first wait until we have strong government before committing ourselves to such an undertaking,” he said,
The former President advised the government to rethink the regional economic cooperation agreement adding that opening the borders in the name of business was imprudent: “We can talk about how we can do business together but opening the borders and free movement need caution,” he said.
Sheikh Mohamud is currently in Kismayo, in the Jubbaland state, to market his new political outfit, Union for Peace and Development (UPD) ahead of the 2020 presidential elections. He urged the Farmaajo administration government not to exaggerate the country’s economic growth saying the economic progress started in 2013 during his tenure as President. Sheikh Mohamud is currently on a tour of the regions across Somalia. http://somaliamediamonitoring.org/november-21-2018-daily-monitoring-report/
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BRA lacks budget plan, can’t account for $16.6m-parliamentary report
November 21, 2018
Sixteen million dollars allocated to Banaadir Regional Administration cannot be clearly accounted for since there is no documentation to demonstrate how the funds were utilized, the Lower House Budget Committee has said noting the city administration operates without a budget plan.
According to the Ali Abdi Osman led committee, Banadir Regional Administration (BRA) received $15.2 million between January and June 2018 in addition to $1.9 million it already had adding to $16.6 million the city administration had at disposal for the 2018 financial.
But revelations by the parliamentary committee indicates the manner in which these funds were spent and for what purposes cannot be clearly established since there is no documentation to support the expenditure. “Banadir administration received $ 8,575,343.24 within the period mentioned above (January-June 2018) which was expended during the same period but there is no clear evidence on how the money mentioned above was used and this indicates widespread financial mismanagement in Banadir Regional Administration,” the report says.
BRA launched a Public Finance Management programme August 2017 supported by Financial Management Information System (FMIS) ‘to automate financial management and ensure efficiency and transparency.’
However the Committee report says BRA which oversees 17 districts including the capital Mogadishu does not a budget plan. In addition, the report notes individuals and companies ‘regularly earn money from the local government without any written or agreement owned by the local authority of Banadir administration.’
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The city administration deducts 30% from its employees to pay ‘consultants’ who have not contractual obligations with the regional government, the report notes adding contracting of projects is not open to competitive bidding ‘encouraging corruption, nepotism, poor management and theft of public goods contravention of state laws’.
Between January and June 2018, the Budget Committee says, close to $6 million was withdrawn from the BRA treasury but it is not clear how the money was used.
The Committee has asked the Auditor General and Accountant General to investigate how the BRA utilized its share from the 2018 national budget and report its findings to Parliament. http://goobjoog.com/english/bra-lacks-budget-plan-cant-account-for-16-6m- parliamentary-report/
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ICRC Staff, German Citizen Abducted In Somalia Rescued Last Night
21 November 2018
Reports from Galgudug region in Galmudug state, claim Somalia’s Special Forces have rescued Sonja Nientiet, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) staff and German nurse, who was abducted in the Mogadishu capital on May 2nd 2018.
Sources told Mustaqbal Radio that Ms. Nientiet’s abductors held her in a secret location in Galgudud region all this while. Sources in the Special Forces confirmed to Mustaqbal Radio, that they had finally rescued the German nurse and will return her back to Mogadishu in the next few hours.
Ms. Nientiet was abducted on a Wednesday 2nd May 2018, in what local security officials believe was an inside job involving at least one of the personnel guarding the ICRC compound. Police and the ICRC said in a statement, that the abduction occurred around 8 pm (1700 GMT). The German has worked for the ICRC since 2014 in conflict zones, including Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. http://somaliamediamonitoring.org/november-21-2018-daily-monitoring-report/
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Two employees of Somali telecom giant killed in Somali capital
November 21, 2018
MOGADISHU (HOL) – Two employees with Somalia’s largest telecom company, Hormuud have been shot dead in the Somali capital Wednesday in string of attacks by suspected ISIS- linked militants that killed over ten employees with the company in recent weeks, officials said.
According to witnesses, gunmen have fatally shot the two employees who were heading to a mosque in Mogadishu’s main Bakara market in which the company’s headquarters is located.
The attackers have reportedly escaped the scene after the attack, parts of several attacks targeting the company’s employees in recent months.
Hormuud officials were not immediately available for comments. However, officials suspect that the deadly new attacks against the telecommunication company is linked to extortion demands by the so-called Islamic State that the company’s managers have allegedly refused to agree to.
Somalia’s main businesses continue to face pressure by different groups including al-Shabab and ISIS trying to extract extortion fees in the form of levy taxes and protection money to fund their deadly insurgency across the long-chaotic horn of Africa nation. https://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2018/Nov/161211/two_employees_of_somali_telecom_ giant_killed_in_somali_capital.aspx
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Somali' gunmen abduct Italian aid worker during shootout in Kenya
Gunmen kidnapped an Italian volunteer in southeast Kenya and shot five people late on Tuesday, police said, in the first abduction of a foreigner since a series of raids blamed on Somali Islamist militants six years ago. Men armed with AK-47 rifles attacked the town of Chakama and seized the 23-year-old woman who was working for the small Italian charity Africa Milele Onlus, the National Police Service added. The attackers spoke Somali and opened fire on people fleeing the scene, witness Chad Joshua Kazungu told Reuters by phone. "There were three attackers and they targeted the Italian lady," he said. Five people were wounded, including a 10-year-old shot in the eye and a 12-year-old hit in the thigh, police said. They were all taken to hospital. Chakama in Kenya's Kilifi region is 40 miles inland from the bustling coastal tourist resort of Malindi. Police said they had still not identified the attackers and their motives were unclear. Another unnamed witness told Kenyan TV channel KTN News that the attackers grabbed the woman as she came out of her room to find out what was going on. "Their aim was to get money but they took off with her to the river and, before leaving the village, they started shooting in the air and they shot one woman and four boys," the witness said. Tourist numbers and earnings plunged sharply from 2012 to 2016 as militants from the Al Shabaab group in neighbouring Somalia launched a series of attacks on Kenyan soil in retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia. A number of foreigners were kidnapped on the coast in 2011 and 2012 but not none has been abducted since. The Italian embassy in Nairobi declined to comment on Tuesday's abduction and referred callers to the foreign ministry in Rome. There was no immediate comment from the charity which, according to its website, was founded in 2011 by an Italian couple after they honeymooned in Africa. Chakama is nearly 300 km (185 miles) southwest of the Kenya- Somalia border. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/21/somali-gunmen-abduct-italian-aid-worker- shootout-kenya/
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Leadership Crisis Caused Freeze of Statebuilding Efforts in Somalia
November 15, 2018
Somalia is mired in out of control political and security situation created by broken electoral promises, egregious abuses, and foreign policy blunders committed by the federal government of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo. The Gulf crisis, the moratorium of the Federal Member States (FMS), and the surrender to the manipulations of divide and rule of Ethiopia have elevated public pessimism and stoked intense acrimony between federal and state leaders, which have exacerbated Somalia’s vulnerability and relapse into chaos. Federal Government could soon be isolated for directionless.
In his fierce speech in South Sudan, President Farmajo accepted the fact that the FMS are responsible for the provision of security, justice, development, political elections, social services, and humanitarian assistance to the local population but he sidestepped to add that those responsibilities are associated with or bring along powers, political clouts, and resources – external and domestic. 75% of the federal government responsibilities fall under the FMS. Complete understanding of the federal governance system could have prevented the leadership crisis that has caused freeze of statebuilding efforts in Somalia. For the past two years, the administration of President Farmajo failed to dedicate serious efforts to the highest priority of all priorities which is the completion of the Constitution, the blueprint for permanent political structure of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Instead, the administration has been obsessively focused on the recreation of security forces, court judges, foreign diplomats, civil servants, and new presidents of the FMS. The all-out campaign to either bring under or remove the incumbent presidents of the FMS through corrupt schemes has discredited the legitimate argument of holding free and fair elections on schedule.
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The “do nothing” federal parliament, the uncalled for attacks against the FMS leaders and the politicization of the security forces and justice have dramatically made impossible the already arduous task of building democratic state in Somalia. The high casualties and destruction caused by the Al Shabab attacks since 2017 with no hope of relief in sight as well as by the misuse of federal state power and resources have squandered public dependence on the federal government.
The justification for federal democratic state is quoted in the “study on decentralized political structures for Somalia: Menu of Options,” published in August 1995. The authors of the study argued, “Amongst Somalis there appears to be widespread enthusiasm to avoid the creation of any overly powerful central government, like that of former dictatorship.” Therefore, Somalis went along with the choice of experimenting a federal system aimed at distributing the sovereignty and powers of the Federal Republic of Somalia between different levels of state entities. While haggling on the federal road, the administration of President Farmajo chose to scuttle the federal democratic process that vested a counterbalancing power in the FMS. The toe to toe relation in the federal system sparked the ongoing tussle between the Federal Government and FMS which could end up with the return to authoritarian system or with the triumph of rule based democratic system of governance. The practice and promotion of democracy is frustrating but it is the only political system that can mitigate abuses of power, clan rivalries, and people’s deep seated distrust in government.
The administration of President Farmajo has been using unfair tactics to gain political advantages. First, the President and his team feed misinformation to some international powers to gain support for wrong actions against targeted leaders, social groups, critics, and political opponents. Second, President Farmajo and his team have replaced viciously former parliament speaker with their ally, have populated the Council of Ministers with members of federal parliament, and hushed other MPs with bribe. Similarly, they have packed the courts with un-vetted loyal judges. Those actions have annulled the scope and significance of oversight and accountability functions of the federal parliament and the independence and impartiality of the judiciary branch. Third, the President and his team display contempt against international partners concerned on their political follies under the misuse of “no interference in the internal affairs.” Recently, in response to press statement of the
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International Community on the unfolding crisis in Southwest State, the security advisor of President Farmajo said in twitter, “Do not interfere in the internal affairs of Somalia… this attitude is unwelcome!” This belies the obligations of mutual accountability framework between the federal government and the international community as stakeholder. Fourth, the President and his team create political crisis by fomenting internal rebellion against leaders who refuse to resign on their request. The created crisis generate the erroneous narrative of sacrificing the wrongly targeted leader for being less important.
These unfair tactics are inspired and sustained by the reliance of President Farmajo and his team on the backing of Ethiopia, the regional hegemon. In reality, the federal government of President Farmajo has surrendered itself early on to Ethiopia. It extradited Somali citizen without due process to Ethiopia. It accepts free entry of Ethiopian security and intelligence forces into Somalia. It agreed with Ethiopia the joint investment in four Somali ports followed by open border and immigration. The surprise rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea, after 20 years of military hostilities, quickly morphed into tripartite coalition of Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia that marginalized all other IGAD member states - Djibouti, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan. That disruptive initiative shows lack of genuine vision for peace and progress in the region. The unresolved territorial dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea has serious implications for the domestic politics of Somalia. The premature decision of President Farmajo to join the phony club of Ethiopia and Eritrea is fueling eeriness and agitation among the Somali people. For reasons well documented, Somalia is not yet ready for regional integration. Its short and medium priority is to unify the country and build state institutions at central and local levels capable of managing the affairs of the country, including the complex geopolitics issues. In the current global struggle for hegemony, Somalia can’t afford foreign policy blunders and useless efforts. Persistent stories are telling that Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates are behind the establishment of Ethiopian naval base and the deployment of 20,000 Eritrean military forces in Somalia. According to unconfirmed intelligence prognostication, both plans are in advanced preparation and activation.
On the other hand, Turkey has been supporting the establishment of the Somali National Army (SNA), while Qatar and Sudan have taken over the intelligence and security agency (NISA) headed by Fahad Yassin –Qatar point man, powerful boss. European countries and
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United Nations are supporting the police force. US Government trains and manages Special Forces intended for the fight against Al Shabab but sometimes used by the federal government for political purposes. Forces from Uganda, Kenya, and Burundi and other African countries are in Somalia under African Union Mission (AMISOM). The presence of these rival countries in Somalia without responsible Somali Government is highly worrisome. Prominent Kenyan leaders have encouraged President Farmajo to withdraw the case on the maritime dispute between Somalia and Kenya from the International Court. This was interpreted as a conditional move for reining in H.E. Ahmed Mohamud Islam, President of Jubbaland State. The maritime case is on the Somali people’s radar. National leaders, responsible parliamentarians, traditional leaders, politicians, academicians, women groups, civil society, religious leaders, business community, and free media, should campaign against the pivot, exit from the path for democratic system of governance. The repeal of the constitutional articles 59 (E) and 97 (3) allowing the appointment of members of the federal parliament to Cabinet positions should be one of the prime goals for restoring separation of powers between branches of government for accountability and transparency. https://www.hiiraan.com/op4/2018/nov/161138/leadership_crisis_caused_freeze_of_stat ebuilding_efforts_in_somalia.aspx
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We Can’t Talk Unity Till Mogadishu Changes Cause, President Bihi
21 November 2018
The President of the self declared state of Somaliland, Muse Bihi, has vowed to stay away from the negotiation table with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) “until Mogadishu changes its behavior”. Speaking to the residents of Burco, during his tour on the region, the Somaliland leader said the FGS had lately taken steps which dimmed the possibility of talks with Somaliland.
President Bihi blamed President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s government of what he termed as “spreading lies against my republic” at the United Nations Security Council in New York. The only condition for talks with Somalia, he said, was for Mogadishu to accept Somaliland’s autonomy.
The Somaliland leader observed that his country was stronger than ever despite setbacks over its quest for international recognition. Mr. Bihi’s reaction comes just days after Ethiopia recalled its consulate to Hargeisa in what is seen as a move by Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed Ali, to respect Somalia’s sovereignty. Talks between Hargeisa and Mogadishu have severally stalled over preconditions set by both sides. https://madmimi.com/p/929b4d?fe=1&pact=6558248-148371469-5372507253- 7dbfd956055c479e2caf1a2626426b02dc869a56
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UN police officer recognized for protecting vulnerable Somali women from abuse
21 Nov 2018 - United Nations Police Officer Phyllis Osei has been awarded the 2018 UN Female Police Officer Award, in recognition for her outstanding work with the UN Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), at a ceremony in New York on Monday.
Since joining UNSOM in February, Ms. Osei – who holds the rank of Superintendent with the Ghanaian police force – has swiftly made a direct and positive impact on the community and host state police in Jubaland.
Superintendent Osei has played an important role in enhancing the protection of women and girls, sparking initiatives to promote women’s rights in the Jubaland state police force, and successfully initiating adult literacy training for 49 female police officers: Ms. Osei also formed a Female Peacekeeper Network to support female peacekeepers working with the UNSOM and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
UN Police Adviser, Commissioner Luis Carrilho, praised Superintendent Osei for her exemplary conduct. “Ms. Osei was deployed to Somalia earlier this year in February 2018”, he said.
“By April, she had already identified and trained two [staff to tackle gender issues] in AMISOM who went on to mentor and advise police officers in the host state police. Soon after, Ms. Osei established four gender desks in the host state police, facilitated a training on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), and initiated a proposal that called for the establishment of a police post near the community thus ensuring access for SGBV survivors”.
Nominations for the Award are requested annually from all peacekeeping and special political missions where UN police are deployed. Based on criteria for high performance, a
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The Award aims to establish a role model for women police peacekeepers and to promote the UN Secretary General’s Gender Parity Strategy and DPKO’s Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy, through encouraging Member States to deploy more female police officers to peacekeeping and special political missions. https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/un-police-officer-recognized-protecting-vulnerable- somali-women-abuse
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Terrorism in East Africa
Numerous armed Islamist groups continue to plague the East African region and especially Somalia as a result of the fragmentation of the country and the lack of central authority, writes Mohamed Abdel-Wahed
The collapse of state institutions in Somalia after 1991 and the lack of a central authority capable of asserting its control over the whole of Somali territory generated a complex weave of social and economic deterioration that brought about mounting rates of poverty, unemployment and crime, lowering moral and ethical standards and adding to the lack of opportunities for dignified livelihoods and exacerbating drought and famine.
The Somali people increasingly had to eke out their lives by relying on humanitarian aid from international relief agencies together with generally paltry remittances from relatives abroad. Organised crime, the kidnappings of foreigners and piracy proliferated, as did militant jihadist groups.
Numerous Islamist groups have emerged in Somalia since the late 1960s, such as the Somali Reform Movement (or Somali Islamist Movement), the Somali Islamic Union Movement in the 1980s and 1990s, and the Islamic Youth Organisation, a proselytising organisation structurally and ideologically similar to the Muslim Brotherhood that was founded in 1969 and merged with the Gamaa Islamiya (Islamic Group) in the south of the country to form the Islamic Union in 1983.
Another group, Al-Itisam Bil-Kitab wal-Sunnah, was one of the splinter movements that emerged from the Islamic Union. The focus here is on movements that had the most powerful and direct impact on political developments in Somalia.
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The civil war and the lack of centralised state institutions and especially military and security institutions contributed to forming fertile soil for takfiri jihadist groups that exploited the rampant poverty and frequent famine in the country to spread their influence in Somali society. The Islamic Union, or Al-Ittihad Al-Islamiya (AIAI), which arose in the early 1980s out of an alliance between the Islamic Youth Organisation and the Gamaa Islamiya, initially operated as a peaceful proselytising organisation that was politically opposed to the regime led by president Siad Barre.
However, it later evolved into a militant organisation that became a party to the armed conflict that erupted following the collapse of the Somali government and state in the early 1990s. As the AIAI’s activities spread throughout the country, many parts of society came under the influence of its ideology, which combined fundamentalist notions with Muslim Brotherhood dogma and Wahhabi intolerance and aimed to establish an Islamic emirate in Somalia and expand it across the Horn of Africa or “Greater Somalia”.
The AIAI also developed relations with other radical Islamist groups, such as Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, as it stepped up its activities locally, especially in the Ogaden region, precipitating escalating confrontations with Ethiopia. In 1997, Ethiopian forces expelled the Islamic Union from the Ogaden region and destroyed its bases after accusing it of damaging security and stability in the Horn of Africa and East Africa region.
Addis Ababa charged that the AIAI had supervised camps to train Islamist fighters in Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya and Uganda in the use of light weapons, guerrilla warfare, suicide bombing, manufacturing explosives, rigging car bombs and the like.
In 1998, the organisation, with the assistance of Al-Qaeda, carried out the twin bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. By the time of the 11 September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington and the implication of Al-Qaeda in those attacks, the AIAI had become so decentralised that it had ceased its activities for fear of being targeted in the clampdown against terrorism in East Africa.
After sustaining a series of military losses, the organisation’s leadership moved to Mogadishu where it fell into infighting and divisions. Because of its military setbacks, the movement’s old guard decided to renounce violence and re-assimilate into Somali society.
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The decision was rejected by the younger generation, however, which split off to create what would become an even more radical and violent organisation.
Initially this fledging organisation remained underground as it developed its training and recruitment, especially among returnees from Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2006, it joined the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and became that movement’s military wing.
In 2007, however, it split off from the ICU and founded the Harakat Al-Shabab Al- Mujahideen, more commonly referred to as the Shabab movement. The rupture occurred following a declaration of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, espoused by Sharif Sheikh Ahmed who at the time was chairman of the ICU and who later became president of the interim government.
The Shabab opposed the new alliance’s decision to enter into UN-brokered negotiations with the Somali government.
THE SHABAB: As a Salafist movement that aims to create a state ruled by a strict interpretation of Sharia Law, the Shabab established links with Al-Qaeda through connections with the latter’s leaders in East Africa as well as through Somali returnees from Afghanistan.
Its operatives were involved in numerous terrorist attacks, including assassinations, the kidnapping of foreigners, hostage takings, car-bomb and suicide-bomb attacks, and armed assaults, and through its command of modern communications technologies the organisation was able to professionally document and publicise its terrorist operations, as well as to disseminate its extremist ideas among Somali youth and sympathisers at home and abroad.
In 2008 and 2009, the US and the UN designated the Shabab as a terrorist organisation. In 2010, Washington imposed sanctions on 10 senior Shabab leaders, including Shabab emir Mokhtar Abu Zubair (aka Ahmed Abdi Godane) and Sheikh Hassan Abdullah Al-Turki, commander of the Ras Kamboni Brigades. Many of the movement’s leaders were killed in
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In September 2014, Ahmed Omar Diriye, aka Abu Ubaidah, succeeded Zubair as emir of the Shabab. In the same year, the organisation renewed its allegiance to Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahri. Abu Ubaidah, now in his mid-40s, was born in Qalilani in the Ethiopian Somali Region and later moved to the coastal town of Kismayo, capital of Jubaland, where he worked as a Quran instructor before joining the Ras Kamboni Brigades, one of the factions of the former ICU, and was a founding member of the Shabab.
The organisation’s former emir Godane appointed him governor of the Bay and Bakool regions, and he was also a member of its governing Shura Council. Like Godane, Abu Ubaidah avoids all publicity and rarely appears among the Movement’s fighters.
The organisation has between 7,000 to 9,000 members, including native Somalis and foreigners. The latter are primarily from Arab and African countries, as well as from Pakistan. It is ideologically and organisationally affiliated with Al-Qaeda, and Al-Zawahri released a video officially announcing that the Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen had joined Al-Qaeda’s global network.
In spite of the fact that the Shabab managed to control around 80 per cent of the territory in central and southern Somalia from 2007 to 2011, it lost the popular and tribal support it once enjoyed when it fought Ethiopian forces because of its strict interpretation and implementation of Sharia Law, including by enforcing penalties such as public amputations, stonings, lashings and executions. Eventually, the peacekeeping forces of the African Union (AU) Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) succeeded in driving the Shabab out of Mogadishu and Kismayo.
Although the Islamic State (IS) group tried to penetrate the Shabab and win its allegiance, as it did with Boko Haram in Nigeria, the majority of Shabab members rejected this bid. The overtures did, however, trigger rifts, especially among the Shabab units in control of the north of the country. In October 2015, their leader, Sheikh Abdul-Kader Moemen, declared allegiance to IS and posted a recording of this on social networking sites, prompting
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Washington to add his name to its list of international terrorists with the designation “IS leader in East Africa”.
The Shabab organisation has several sources of funding, the most important of which are donations from Somali merchants, tribal leaders and ideological sympathisers abroad. Some Shabab members have engaged in extensive commercial activities themselves. Previously, it financed itself from the revenues of piracy, arms and drugs-smuggling and sales, and from the Kismayo port when it was under its control.
The movement has sustained numerous ruptures and schisms, especially following the death of Ahmed Abdi Godane. Perhaps the most damaging rupture was that of Mokhtar Robow, aka Abu Mansour, the Shabab’s former deputy leader and spokesman, who, together with a group of his fighters, surrendered to the authorities in August 2017. He subsequently fought Shabab forces in Hudur in the Bakool region, with the Somali government giving him military aid so he could sustain the fight.
Abu Mansour’s secession was preceded by many others. Given that tribal affiliations prevail over religious ones in Somalia, a breakaway commander often takes with him large numbers of his aides and disciples, most of them from the same tribe. Such ruptures could eventually severely weaken the movement, especially given that many splinter groups either join forces with the government to fight the Shabab or offer to cooperate with US counter-terrorist agencies stationed in the Horn of Africa and East Africa.
Often, they may report to the agencies’ bureau in Bosaso in the Puntland region, for example, and furnish information on the whereabouts of Shabab units or training camps. These are then targeted by US drones.
SHABAB ACTIONS: Ideological ruptures in the Shabab often trigger armed clashes, such as that which occurred after Moemen declared allegiance to IS and took with him some 300 fighters. Shabab forces eventually drove him and his followers into hiding in the mountains.
There are contacts between the Shabab in Somalia and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Yemen (AQAP). The former took advantage of the waves of migration to Yemen before
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The Shabab has staged numerous terrorist attacks in Somalia both against Somali government targets and against foreign interests. The suicide car-bombing near a crowded market in Mogadishu in October 2017 was one of the most atrocious attacks ever seen in Somalia, claiming more than 570 casualties. In 2016, the organisation attacked the Kenyan military base in Al-Adde in southwestern Somalia, killing more than 100 Kenyan soldiers, taking many of them prisoner, and seizing large quantities of munitions.
The Kenyan forces were forced to abandon their bases and retreat from Al-Adde and Badade in southern Somalia, which fell under the control of Shabab forces.
The group has also carried out terrorist attacks in neighbouring countries to boast of its power to operate abroad. Among the most salient operations have been the attack on a café in Kampala in 2010, killing 74 and wounding dozens of others, in response to Uganda’s participation in AMISOM, and the Westgate Shopping Mall attack in September 2013 in which four gunmen stormed the Mall, opened fire randomly into the crowd, and held dozens of people hostage for four days during which more than 70 people were killed.
The Shabab also carried out the Garissa University attack in 2015, in which four terrorists stormed the campus and gunned down more than 147 people, most of them students.
The government of Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, which came to power in January 2017, has pursued several avenues in order to tackle the problem of the Shabab. It has worked to rebuild the Somali military and its combat capacities in collaboration with international and regional powers involved in the war against terrorism, and it has facilitated and bolstered AMISON’s efforts to combat the group during the time it takes to reconstruct the Somali armed forces.
It has also implemented strategies to aggravate divisions among the Shabab rank and file in order to dismantle the organisation from within. It has simultaneously worked to forge tribal
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COUNTER-TERRORISM: As Washington prepared to launch offensives in different parts of the world in retaliation against the 11 September 2001 attacks, one of its chief goals was the need to uproot terrorism in Africa and to prevent the continent, long a victim of political instability and civil warfare, from serving as a safe haven for terrorist groups.
The US paid particular attention to East Africa and the Horn of Africa region in view of its strategic location overlooking the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea, through which pass much of the world’s commercial maritime traffic and oil tankers.
Among the actions Washington took to fight terrorism in cooperation with East African governments was the launching of the East Africa Counter-Terrorism Initiative (EACTI) in 2003. In addition, it rented a military base in Djibouti and stationed 3,000 US troops there, created a multinational joint counter-terrorism task force, promoted intelligence exchange among the countries of the region, and furnished them with logistical and technical support for their own operations.
The US also stepped up actions to cut the sources of funding for terrorism, freezing the assets of organisations suspected of financing terrorism such as the Taqwa, Al-Haramain and Barakat.
The US counter-terrorism strategy has had detrimental repercussions on the countries and peoples of East Africa, however. In the course of combatting terrorism, little attention has been paid to the need to address the factors that are conducive to terrorism, including security breakdown, porous borders, rampant poverty and disease, social and economic injustice, and the marginalisation of minorities. As a result, counter-terrorist measures in East Africa have not succeeded in eliminating groups suspected of terrorism. Jihadist and takfiri groups continue to exist in Somalia, some affiliated with Al-Qaeda and others with IS.
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Observers of developments in Somalia note that cultural values in the country are informed by utilitarian interests, as the Somalis, as a consequence of geography and history, primarily engage in either commerce or agriculture and animal husbandry. Tribal affiliations come second in their scale of priorities, and these have increased in importance since the collapse of the state in 1991. Third in importance come religious affiliations, in view of the fact that 100 per cent of the population is Sunni Muslim.
As a result, the rise of the Salafist groups in the country that subscribe to extremist jihadist ideology runs against the grain of Somali society. The people are particularly averse to these groups’ rigidity and their implementation of forms of punishment that seem all the crueller when practised against a destitute people.
The assertion that thousands of foreigners have enlisted in the Shabab organisation seems unrealistic precisely because of the traditions and behavioural patterns of Somalia reinforced by security conditions that make this a closed and suspicious society. The areas of the country that fall outside of government control are also extremely dangerous, not just because of the conflict and the violence but also because of widespread disease, including cholera.
Under such conditions, any significant foreign presence would be quickly detected and reported to the authorities. Counter-terrorism forces and agencies also keep close tabs on terrorist activities and carry out frequent raids and airstrikes against terrorist lairs and training camps.
It follows that Somalia does not lend itself as a safe haven to foreign jihadist operatives fleeing counter-terrorist military operations in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. However, this does not preclude the existence of some foreign elements from Yemen, Libya or elsewhere in North Africa, for example, or from some of the Sub-Saharan African countries. http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/25906.aspx
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Siyaad Barre was a Nationalist, regardless of his shortcomings
Friday, November 16, 2018
Nearly 50 years ago, October 21st was a day that will remain in our Somali psyche and will be remembered as the birth-day of the revolution; hundreds of Mogadishu residents and different parts of Somalia gathered in the streets to show support and solidarity to army forces and their leader Siyaad Barre who staged a bloodless coup. As a young boy, I felt the overwhelming enthusiasm of my parents and neighbors toward the new change of guard. We gathered near the radio to listen the news and the cheerful revolutionary songs. Many Somalis of all walks of life saw a new dawn on the horizon, but there were some pessimist in our midst who sympathized with the ousted leaders, perhaps due to either clan or political affiliation.
1943 was a time when Somali youths recognized the significance of independence and organized the first organization of Somali Youth Club (SYC), which later changed its name to Somali Youth League, better known as SYL. The British colonial officials encouraged the aspiring young leaders to form such movement in order to oppose the return of Italian colonial rule. Though SYL spread quickly to most parts of Somalia, but it was evident that divisions and disunity based on clannism were the problems hindering progress in achieving an independent Somalia. By 1960, the newly independent nation was led by leaders whose main goal was to gain power and enrich themselves through nepotism and corruption. The incumbent SYL party leaders stole the 1969 Elections by rigging the vote. The country came to the brink of civil conflict. Security and government operations were hindered by lack of confidence on Government’s ability to do justice. The straw that broke the camel’s back came when President Sharmarke was assassinated by one of his guards in Las Anod on October 15, 1969. A fierce fight for succession ensued, endangering smooth transfer of power.
October Revolution
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Against the backdrop of the dire situation of the country, Siyaad Barre with his supporting officers decided to intervene and save the country. He immediately chartered a plan to stabilize and develop the nation, create an atmosphere of trust and security, fight with corruption and tribalism. In a speech to the Army Forces on 9th of November, 1969, just 19 days after the revolution in which he elaborated the big responsibility they undertook. He said in his speech …
“We have to defend the dignity, the rights and the livelihood of every Somali person. While we are uprooting the evils that have beset on the nation, such as tribalism, favoritism, nepotism, corruption and injustice, we should train ourselves to uphold the dignity of the Somali nation, to uplift the image of the Somali nation both internally and externally”.
Some of his greatest accomplishment
Knowing the ill effects of tribalism and nepotism, He attempted to eradicate tribalism and nepotism from civil society and Government offices. He set up a strict rule of accountability and fairness. He elevated the status of minorities and people considered as lower caste. Education was expanded; built schools for primary and secondary education in all villages, towns and cities. A national university system was introduced with different faculties including medicine and veterinary. For first time, a Somali language in Latin script was instituted. School curriculum and medium of instruction were changed to Somali. 1974, the Government embarked a campaign of literacy in the countryside; schools were shut and students travelled to rural areas of all regions. UNESCO recognized the literacy project as the most successful literacy endeavor carried by any developing nation. More than 70% of the population were able to read and write.
A program of economic self-reliance was introduced. Through self-help schemes, schools, Government buildings, hospitals and housing were built. To fight against climate changes and coastal sand dunes, trees were planted near the coastal towns. The Somali army forces were rebuilt and expanded to 60,000 soldiers. An agreement with Soviet Union allowed training officers and providing the latest military hardware. Somalia became one of the strongest army in Africa, a force to be reckoned with. Somalia became a household name in international arenas, United Nations, OAU, Arab League and non-aligned countries. We assisted liberation movements across Africa (Rhodesia, Namibia and South Africa).
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International commerce reached to greater heights; banana, livestock were exported to Europe & Middle East. Government was able to generate hard currency; tax collection and revenue enabled the Government to balance the national budget. 1n 1972, a nationwide commercial bank was introduced which facilitated the commerce inside and outside the country. Under Siyaad Barre, Somalia fought for the liberation of Ogadeen region and re- unification of Somali States; Somalia at one point liberated the whole Somali inhabited areas of Ethiopia; Assisted Djibouti to gain independence from France.
Who was responsible for the Demise of the State?
No doubt, that Siyaad Barre was a patriot who wanted the goodness of his people; no doubt about his sincerity to work for the betterment of his country. At his childhood, he witnessed the clan conflicts and loss of lives. He worked for the Italians and the British and saw the injustice and cruelty subjected to the vulnerable Somalis during the colonial era and after independence, he observed the mismanagement and incompetency of the leaders of nascent nation. These motivating factors drew him to decisive action with the knowledge of the severe consequence to his life in case he fails to depose the regime. First years of his administration, Somalia achieved unprecedented progress in social, economic and political affairs which have never been seen before. His detractors will tell you he was masquerading as a good leader, but he had a malicious intent. To the contrary, he was selfless, heroic and benevolent person; no intention of benefiting for himself. Late seventies and eighties, the country went into downward spiral. It was not his own doing; we can trace some of the causes as following: 1977 war with Ethiopia was a noble cause, but was not a strategic – the western nations, particularly USA were not whole-hearted to see Somalia recovering part of its former territory and Soviet Union shifted alliance by bringing Russian armaments and Cuban military on the side of Ethiopia. Somali forces were defeated, beaten back and demoralized. Afterwards, the consequence was an economic downfall with high inflation. IMF and World Bank intervened with economic structuring that made things worse. Ordinary people were unable to buy the basic commodities. Government officials looted the meagre resource, banks overdrawn and Somali shilling was devalued and lost purchasing power. Disgruntled military officers returning from the war attempted to overthrow Siyaad barre unsuccessfully. A wave of military and civilian leaders moved to Ethiopia to organize a rebel forces to invade the towns and villages near the border. Men like Caydiid, Abdullahi Yusuf,
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Abdirahman tuur and Jees were the primary instigators for destroying of whatever left of Somali nation. These men were stooges for Ethiopian; they are the ones who are directly responsible of the demise of our nation. To know more about those traitors and their elks, read Ali Yusuf Isse’s recent article (A nation can not survice treason from within). Siyaad Barre suffered a head injury on car accident that incapacitated him - Cronies and close associates of Siyaad Barre began plundering the banks and Government treasures. Government lost control of two third of its regional territories; Mogadishu became unruly and not safe to walk or drive in the night. By January 1991, the country collapsed, people fled the cities, USC took control of Mogadishu and carried genocide – the rest is history.
Siyaad Barre was saddened by seeing the country disintegrating on his watch No one denies that reprisals against Government oppositions were carried and innocent people were victimized. Barre lost his authority, but he did’nt wish to give up on his cause – he desired to hold the nation together to avoid further destabilization or see the country he built, destroyed. In his last speech, he requested from the public to lay down arms, stop looting and he was willing to give up power if that brings peace back. To set the record straight, it’s recommended to watch this documentary “lessons learned from the revolutionary days” - we have to give the recognition Siyaad Barre deserves for all the years he served the nation and forgive for his shortcomings. Now we know, he built the nation, he didn’t destroy it. https://www.hiiraan.com/op4/2018/nov/161152/siyaad_barre_was_a_nationalist_regardl ess_of_his_shortcomings.aspx
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Djibouti’s Mysterious Absence from Horn of Africa Reintegration: Who is to blame?
November 18, 2018
The positive political changes in Ethiopia and Eritrea and the dynamism in the Somali leadership had rekindled hope that the countries in the Horn of Africa (HoA) region will make headways to collectively address challenges in security, economy, poverty and lack of development in their region. The leaders of Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea have met several times, the last being in Bahr Dar on 9-10 November 2018 and reaffirmed to work together to address the challenges facing their countries. Majority of the population of these countries who are undergoing political, security and economic transformations opted to embrace their leaders’ efforts, knowing too well the dark history between Ethiopia and Eritrea on one hand and Somalia and Ethiopia on the other. The leaders have a small window of opportunity to make their efforts succeed, given the volatility in their region. For this project to succeed, it must be expanded to include Djibouti and Kenya to make it stronger and truly regional.
Djibouti’s Regional Contributions
There were calls from many people of all walks of life in these countries that the absence of Djibouti from this new political alignment is tantamount to betrayal. Djibouti has been the lifeline of Ethiopia’s 90 million people from June 1998 until a peace agreement was finally signed with Eritrea 20 years later. Equally, Djibouti has spearheaded to lay down the foundation of reconciliation among the different warring factions in Somalia since 2000 and supported the establishment of the first internationally recognized government after many years of turmoil in Somalia. Djibouti, is therefore central to this transformation. Djibouti is also the headquarters of IGAD which Eritrea withdrew in April 2007 over Ethiopia’s
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While Djibouti is a sovereign country to decide whether or not to join the new political alignment, nonetheless, its participation cannot be dictated by others with ulterior motives. The question in everyone’s mind is, therefore, why is Djibouti absent? One doesn’t have to look far the answer. Djibouti and Eritrea had a brief border dispute in 2008 and Eritrea forcefully took over the Dumeira island and has held it ever since. Two dozen Djibouti prisoners of war are still unaccounted for. The two countries have yet to formally close this chapter and the marathon meetings in the past few months have not yielded positive results.
Ethiopia and Somalia Goodwill Diplomacy
Ethiopia and Somalia tried at different levels and forums to breach the diplomatic impasse and continue their efforts. On 06 September 2018, Foreign ministers from Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea paid a joint visit to Djibouti and held a much publicized meeting with the Djibouti foreign minister and later paid a courtesy call to president Guelleh. This was followed by another brief encounter between the president of Eritrea and Djibouti in Saudi Arabia on 17 September 2018 with some world leaders praising and calling it “historic and yet another step in the consolidation of recent peace and security gains in the HoA region”. The expectation was that the two presidents will finalize a peace agreement similar to the one between Ethiopia and Eritrea. As of this writing the issue at the center of dispute between the two countries have not been resolved. Ethiopia and Somalia have either failed to persuade their newly found friend, president Afwerki to finalize a peace agreement with Djibouti or decided to give it more time.
In addition, there were other reports that Ethiopian Prime Minister had asked the French president to help in the normalization of relations between Eritrea and Djibouti when he visited Paris in October, an indication that he doesn’t have much leverage with president Afwerki. Moreover, it was also reported that when the Somali president visited Djibouti in August, he assured his counterpart that Somalia and Ethiopia are working hard to bring to a close the dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea. It is therefore either that president Afwerki is the one calling the shots and ignoring his counterpart’s mediation efforts or there are other forces in the Arabian Peninsula that are unduly influencing the Eritrean leader.
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Moreover, there are strong concerns that Ethiopia with the dominant economy, military and regional politics is the force behind this project. Equally, Eritrea has an inherent interest to open up to the world, get the UN sanctions lifted and modernize its strategic ports. Given the chance, the Eritrean diaspora could transform their country in a very short period. It is, therefore, only fair to assume that Somalia which is facing many internal challenges is at a disadvantaged position vis-a-vis the other two countries. In this context, Djibouti would have been its natural ally. It is therefore of paramount importance for Somalia to take the lead in finding a lasting solution to the political impasse between Djibouti and Eritrea.
Finally, the leaders of HoA region including Djibouti should do everything possible for a speedy peaceful conclusion and resolution on the remaining unresolved occupation of Dumeira island by Eritrea. There can never be a true reconciliation and regional reintegration until and unless the leaders have the political courage to insist the closure of this dark chapter. Eritrea should accept peace and resolve their territorial dispute with Djibouti and let go its belligerent attitude and chose to join the international community of peace loving nations. https://www.hiiraan.com/op4/2018/nov/161175/djibouti_s_mysterious_absence_from_horn _of_africa_reintegration_who_is_to_blame.aspx
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