The Review

Operation Linda Nchi: The War That Should Not Have Been!

2011-12-17T05:22:00.000-08:00

On 13th September 2011, a British couple, the Tebbutts, holidaying on a Kenyan island in the Indian Ocean are attacked by what was widely reported, without sufficient evidence, as Somali gunmen. David Tebbutt, is killed and his wife Judith is kidnapped. And, then, on 13th October, two Spanish aid workers with medical charity MSF are abducted near Dadaab refugee camp. Suddenly, there was panic! Kenya's chief foreign exchange earner was being threatened and Al-shabab were fast becoming the main suspects and, with Kenya never being involved in wars, few predicted what was to come next.

Just five days after the last abductions, on 18 October, Kenya invades southern Somalia in a two-pronged offensive it claims will defeat al-Shabaab. That is simple enough, isn't it? Al-shabab commits abductions in Kenya and the latter is going to get rid of the former to secure its land and protect its money-making tourist industry. However, that doesn't seem to be the case.

What was being sold to us as an impromptu reaction to the recent abductions seems to have been on the table from as far back as 2010. According to The Guardian, "several sources agree that the Kenyan intervention plan was discussed and decided in 2010, then finalised with input from western partners, including the US and to a lesser extent France", with Nairobi using the kidnappings "as an excuse to launch an operation ready and waiting." On 27 October Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua said that the incursion had been planned months in advance and that the operation had been "going on for quite some time".

And, in a leaked 2010 cable detailing a meeting between the TFG and the United States government states that "president Sharif offered a qualified "yes" when asked if he supported the [Government of Kenya's (GOK)] Lower Juba initiative" and that he "told the GOK that the TFG did not want to see Somalia further divided[. ..] The GOK had reassured the TFG that it also did not want to see Somalia divided and that it intended to use the troops now being trained in Kenya for a national not a regional mission."

Another evidence pointing to this war being months, if not years, in planning is this report in which The Daily Nation reported that "the government gave the National Security Intelligence Service Sh13 billion three months before the military offensive, in a controversial decision that saw Security minister George Saitoti grilled in Parliament." This report is no longer available on the Nation website, for whatever reason, but there are other sites that carry a copy. Or, perhaps, I could not just find it. Anyway, since funds were made available for the war three months before the series of kidnappings took place, it's safe to say that the war is, by no means, a reaction to the abductions.

And, whether Al-shabab were behind it or not is open to question. In the first place, if we agree that the abductions didn't provoke the war and that the Kenyan government was merely using them as an excuse for the war (as stated in the Guardian report), we can safely assume that whoever carried them out was in collusion with the government. Now, I don't know about you, but, I wouldn't bet a penny on Al-shabab helping Kenya with anything. Plus, Al-shabab are well known for proudly and promptly claiming responsibility for anything they do, however atrocious - from bombing innocent children in schools to digging up graves. Surely, they wouldn't hesitate to claim this one. In fact, they've gone out of their way in denying it in a way that is very unshabab-like. Recently, they have taken to twitter and, along with the odd mischievous jab at the
KDF, this is what they had to say about the reasons for the war:

"LindaNchi was not in response to kidnapping of aid workers & tourists, as falsely alleged, but rather to
subjugate the people of Somalia".

I wouldn't go so far as agreeing with the last part of that statement but I certainly do agree with the first.
Whatever the motive, this is a war doomed from its inception. A war Kenya could very well do without, a large chunk of taxpayer shillings going down the drain at a time when patients are dying in the hospitals with doctors downing their tools, clamouring for better pay. Even though the doctor crisis is almost resolved, more civil unrest is set to follow as inflation bites. War is the last thing Kenyans needed. The same could be said for the much more war-hardened Somali population. They have had more than their fair share of wars and droughts. Time to give them a breather, for once.

It looks like the elusive Iraqi 'weapons of mass destruction' all over again. Only this time, it is Kenya dolling out the lies.

Kenya's Somali Adventure turning into a nightmare

2011-12-17T02:36:00.000-08:00

Kenya's first foreign war, which began triumphantly in October with embedded reporters sending breathless reports from the front, is coming off the rails. "The military operation is going nowhere," says Rashid Abdi, a Somalia analyst with the International Crisis Group. "I'm not sure it has really damaged the Shabaab."

He says that the Kenyan-TFG forces have moved no more than 70km into the country and only control the main roads. Kenya has had to admit that it cannot afford to fight on its terms. The war is costing an estimated £140m a month, which the country can ill afford amid soaring inflation and public sector strikes. Last week it was forced to ask the African Union to take over its operation in the hope that the international community would pick up the bill, as it does for the African peacekeepers guarding Mogadishu.

The consequences of the misadventure have already blown back across the border, where previously an uneasy peace reigned between the Islamists and their southern neighbours. Kenyan towns are coming under increasing attack from al-Shabaab assassination squads and roadside bombs.

The Kenyan defence forces, unprepared to fight a counter-insurgency, have in many cases turned on their own population. In Mandera, across the border from Beled-Hawo, another Kenyan soldier was killed by a roadside bomb last Sunday and four more were injured. Each time a bomb has gone off the army has gone house to house in the area doling out punishment beatings to local Kenyan-Somalis.

Abdi, who cannot give his real name for fear of reprisals, was among those beaten after an explosion in Mandera this year. He suffered serious head injuries, including a fractured eye socket, when soldiers smashed their way into his home and beat him in front of his wife. He spent two months in hospital.

"To them, Somalis are Somalis. It doesn't matter that we're citizens," he says. "They can beat us when they like."

An eight-year-old boy had his arms broken and a pregnant woman miscarried in similar assaults more recently.

Abdi worries that the beatings, in a town where the population is overwhelmingly Kenyan-Somali, will push some people into supporting al-Shabaab. Many in Mandera don't know who to be more scared of, the Kenyan soldiers or al-Shabaab insurgents. Death squads have carried out targeted killings and one community elder known to be critical of the militants was shot six times at close range as he left the mosque last month.

As the human and financial costs of the war mount it has started to fade from Kenyan television sets. A local journalist who photographed wounded Kenyan and TFG soldiers in the northern town of Garissa last week – after a battle which authorities had denied happened – was arrested and had his images deleted. That desperate attempt at damage limitation points to a war that had been forced down the throats of unsuspecting Kenyan taxpayers in the midst of the financial trouble the country is going through, a war whose stated goals are not being met, a war that should not have been.

Adapted from The Independent.

Kenya-Shabab War Goes Online.

2011-12-13T14:15:00.000-08:00

Last October, Kenya did something it had never done before: it went to war. Its army was never known for victorious exploits in wars, something its next door neighbour, Ethiopia, can lay claim to, yet it dared to tread where the seasoned warrior so shamelessly fled from.The Kenyan army is well known for beign a class of priviledged people; getting paid really well, having access to duty-free goods, exempted from taxation and fed well enough to show their might during public holidays, at least in the eyes of ordinary Kenyans. They really had a few things to do, if anything and certainly aren't war-material, many Kenyans would agree.

Apparently, it is not just Kenyans who believe that!! Just some six days ago, Al-shabab jumped on the twitter bandwagon (tweeting as @HSMPress) to give their side of the confusing and tragic Somali story. As of the time of writing this article, the Shabab Twitter account had just over 3,000 followers. And true to their guerrilla spirit, the Shabab follow no one. Through Twitter, what has so far been an actual battle between Kenya and al-Shabab, seems to be turning into a war of words. Here are a few exchanges between Al-shabab and the KDF spokesman Major Emmaneul Chirchi (@MajorEChirchir) :

HSMPress: @MajorEChirchir 50,000 Ethiopian troops couldn't pacify Somalia; you think a few disillusioned & disinclined Kenyan boys are up to the task?

MajorEChirchir: @HSMPress Whatever the name, time is up for chopping inovative somali hands.

And, on the news that the KDF will be merged with the AU forces,

HSMPress: Unable to foot the bill, the young & temperamental #KDF joins the fatigued & timid #AMISOM in a turbulent marriage of convenience.

Quite clearly, Al-shabab shows a lot of contempt for the KDF dismissing it as an ineffective force. And in another tweet:

Assets are worthless without men; your inexperienced boys flee from confrontation & flinch in the face of death.
And, in a similar vain, the Shabab make fun of the KDF 'fleeing' the battle field. They write:
Your boys are a grotesque parody of an army! They can outpace ur world-class runners by far. Indeed, they ‘Run like a Kenyan’

When Kenyan forces went into Somalia, Major Chirchir tweeted the names of the Somali towns which would be targeted, warning people to leave. "Any large concentration and movement of loaded donkeys will be considered Al Shabaab activity," he wrote.
@HSMPress responded: "Like bombing donkeys, you mean! Your eccentric battle strategy has got animal rights groups quite concerned. Major. ". This one is particularly hilarious!
The Major, clearly rattled, responded: "Life has more meaning than denying women to wear bras..RT in support of Somalia women."

And, this is what Al-shabab thinks of the motive behind the Kenyan incursion:

PR: #LindaNchi was not in response to kidnapping of aid workers & tourists, as falsely alleged, but rather to subjugate the people of Somalia

This is just a snapshot of a raging exchange that is sure to develope as time goes by. Watch this space.

Looks like Somalia's never-ending war is being fought on another front. This time, though, quite luckily, no lives will be lost. Maybe, a few ribs will be cracked, though.

By guest writter:

Muaad Abdirahman

Ethiopia in Somalia again

2011-12-01T08:47:00.000-08:00

Compiled by: Abdikarim

It is a noose tightening on the Somalia’s Islamist rebels as second round of Ethiopia’s troops enters Somalia. It was December 2006 when thousands of Ethiopian troops invaded neighbouring Somalia and helped overturn a fundamentalist Islamic government.

Somalia became the region's sole concern for the U.S. government when in early 1990s. U.S. troops, sent to Somalia as part of a peacekeeping and humanitarian mission, withdrew in 1994 after a failed attempt to capture a clan leader led to the deaths of 18 U.S. soldiers in 1993. The incident was later amplified and exaggerated in the book and movie Black Hawk Down.

Somalis are notoriously xenophobic as far as outside interference in their own affairs is concerned, and Somalis view Ethiopia as a historical arch nemesis. Ethiopia’s entering of Somalia in 2006 was a unifying factor for all Somali sects. They all took up arms and rose against Ethiopia.

Cost of the war

The cost of the war was colossal and huge numbers of Somalis were displaced and Ethiopia had to go through the trouble of giving them shelter. By late 2008, the total number of refugees in Ethiopia needing humanitarian support was 1.4 million, with 600,000 in the Ogaden.

Ethiopia’s invasion of Somalia equally has been marked by high civilian deaths. Ethiopian forces pushed through Somalia entirely unrivalled as the Islamists who had taken over nearly the whole country rushed to take cover. Ethiopian forces, aided by government forces, quickly took over control of Mogadishu and Baidoa, the major cities.

Although the Ethiopian troops were able to dislodge the Islamist from Mogadishu and triumphantly returned Abdullahi Yussuf to Mogadishu for the first time, there was a lot for them in the offing. It was not long before the Islamist regrouped and they rebelliously vowed they would never surrender and began to carry out attacks on the Ethiopian forces, including head-on suicide attacks.

The Islamists resorted to attacks on key areas in Mogadishu like the markets. They planted roadside bombs that claimed several civilian lives. As the resistance grew tougher, Ethiopian forces became equally haphazard in their attacks.

In April 2007, Mogadishu residents suffered a nine day long heavy bombardment. Many numbers of civilians in hundreds were reportedly killed, as a result of the indiscriminate shelling. Shops and homes were destroyed; thousands fled the city as the violence spread to adjacent peaceful areas.

Brunt of the war

When the Ethiopian troops saw they were bearing the brunt of the fighting in Somalia, they turned their anger and vendetta on the innocent Somalis living in their country, the Ogaden region. Reprisals and hostility attacks was the outcome.

Civilians in Ogaden region were subjects of execution, torture and rape. In other words, an atrocious counterinsurgency campaign was what Ethiopia was carrying out.

According to Human Rights Watch, villages were burnt down. In addition to that, nightly beatings with gun barrel, public executions and the burning of entire villages were widespread. Local militia forces were forcibly recruited without any training and sent to battle fields culminating in heavy casualty rates. Similar accounts of violence were also reported by other aid agencies like Medicines Sans Frontiers, MSF.

Ethiopia’s invasion has brought about other ills which has become endemic in the Somali society. Somalis started to flee and migrate to neighbouring countries like Yemen. Many have died in these dangerous journeys using derelict and insecure boats.

The piracy issue

There was a rapid growth of piracy in the horn of Africa region. This has resulted from the escalation of violence owing to the Ethiopia’s invasion in Somalia. Pirates business flourished and they started to demand huge ransom from international shippers after capturing shipping vessels off the coast of Somalia. The pirates use speedboats with powerful outboard motors. In this lawless nation, piracy has become profitable with a reported total ransom figure of $50 million in 2008 (“Somali Pirates”, 2008).

It appeared then that Ethiopia has learnt the bitterness of invading another country but it hasn’t. Ethiopia has its own problems of deplorable human rights and living conditions, which its government is trying to cover up. Muzzling of the press is one such act that is tolerable in Ethiopia

Crowds gathered and jubilantly cheered as the Ethiopian troops pulled out of their position in 2008. Ethiopia bruised itself without having won the war. Meddling in troubled Somalia’s affair apparently happened too dangerous for Ethiopia. Long after Ethiopians were gone, Somalia still remained fractious and humanitarian situations worsened.

The withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops from Somalia in 2009, after a two-year sojourn, paved the way for the election of Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.

Somalia may need peace urgently but Ethiopia’s invasion may always push the prospect of peace further by providing a common ground for the Somali militias and factions.

Second round

The second round of Ethiopia’s invasion was not perceived as the one in 2006. Al-shabab posed as nationalist and waged the war under the banner of fighting the Ethiopian crusaders, thereby receiving approval and support of clan elders who in turn helped them to recruit fighters. The picture has become different and tables have turned. Al-shabab became veracious in their interpretation of the Sharia and their hunger for power and greed surfaced. Somalis now welcome anyone regardless of their identity as long as they will help them remove Al-shabab from Somalia.

Despites the want of the Somali people to flush out Al-shabab who is ruling with iron fist, there are concerns that clan feud may return after Al-shabab’s exit. Ethiopians may bring with them the issues of clan fiefdoms and puppets who only do as the Ethiopians tell them.

Somalis got a glimpse of the Al-shabab menace when they denied and banned humanitarian agencies from accessing their areas in the face of the world’s worse famine in Somalia. Drought was hit worst in areas controlled by Al-shabab in which over 2 million Somalis were affected mostly in the Southern part of the country. The government of Somalia with the overwhelming support of the African peacekeeping forces in have secured many parts of the country mostly Mogadishu. People are moving in large numbers to the areas controlled by the government to get the much needed aid.

Al-shabab’s barbarism has reached to the extent that they dig out graves of the most respected Suffi saints. In addition to banning the listening of Music and dancing, they have closed down and confiscated equipments from FM radio and TV stations. They are eroding the Somali tradition, in the words of a 42 year old Guled Barre who fled from Baidoa.

They have imposed and interpret a very strict Sharia law which commands women to wear heavy hijaab, although recommended by Islam, but not as imposed by Al-shabab. Women are lashed if found wearing light clothes in public places.

Blood-sucking the people evident in their heavy taxation of the businessmen and in controls are just but a few of their vandalism.

These, coupled with many harsh treatment that is full of Unislamic practices, has made the Somali public to turn against Al-shabab and want them removed from Somalia. Ethiopia may well be resented but they are the lesser of the two evils.

Doing things at your own peril

2011-11-17T00:31:00.000-08:00

By: Abdikarim

Dear Al-shabab,

Allow me to give you some advice which I know you won’t entertain. But I will be prudent in outlining some points. You are desperate people knocking down the gates of nowhere.

In the popular imagination, you are people who conjure up memories of hands and body parts being cut off. Your name would mean amputation.

Islam aspires to hold high morality but I don’t understand where you borrowed the moral bankruptcy that has become rife in your circus.

But let that not worry you because my words won’t deter you from practicing it, anyway what good will it do you?

I vividly remember the platform in which you ascended and received both national and international recognition. It was when you defeated the warlords. The Somalis cheered and applauded you, giving you support. You turned Mogadishu into a safe haven of peace. But, did it last?

Surely your bad practices outweigh your good ones!

You entice young people with money and make them bomb themselves with promises of heavenly reward in the afterlife. You make them go against their parent’s wish. You turn parents against their children and children against their parents! Which religion on earth stipulates such practices? Oh! God forbid it is not Islam.

However, if my understanding of Islam is correct, the young people were never lured with money at the time of the prophet to carry out Jihad activities. Not at one time in the lifetime of the prophet did he order someone to go to Jihad while their parents were alive, let alone doing that against the parents’ will. Which prophet are you following his teachings?

Your norm has become an extreme one such that you simply kill on the basis of accusation. How many people have gone down the drain just because you suspected them? Is accusation a basis for taking the life of someone?

You are a concoction of people who are mainly triggered by settling long-held vendettas. You kill and do all manners of evils attributing it to Islam. Surely you have no knowledge of the basic Islamic tenets. Otherwise you wouldn’t have a hand in any unislamic practices.

Your prurient interest in power and wealth is one that is not accepted by Islam.

You are in a better position to understand the apparent and dramatic drop in your number of followers because people are tired of hanging around and beating drums for people hell bent on destroying them. Why do you receive scathing criticism if you stand for what you say you stand for?

You were a group, I would say, not found on ideals, Ideals that would have stood for the greater good of the people, clear interpretation of the religion Islam. But you depicted Islam as a violent religion.

You are guilty people who should not be allowed to walk free on earth. You will never be exonerated of your crimes. There will be no clemency or leniency on the part of the Somali people. Yours is unbridled criminality which won’t call for mercy.

It would go days on end to narrate your atrocities and there will still be more to tell about you. You are doing everything at your own peril. God help you!

Some War-Weary Somalis Find Respite at the Beach

2011-11-08T04:24:00.000-08:00

MOGADISHU, Somalia — After years of surviving under the yoke of fundamentalist Islamist militants, Somalis here are getting their swagger back.

Over the weekend, an unexpected sight could be seen along the shores of the capital, Mogadishu. In a city known for shelling, suicide bombs, Shariah law and public executions — and in a country where famine is widespread in the south — hundreds were out enjoying the scenery and sunning themselves at the beach.

“For the first time in years,” said Mohamoud Abdi, who came to Mogadishu’s Lido Beach on Friday with his two sons. “People are feeling delightful.”

In a city torn by fundamentalism and fighting, a return to the beach is a symbol of how far peace seems to have come, as government forces and African peacekeepers have pushed Islamist rebels out of the capital over the last several months.

Mogadishu is a museum of war. Its buildings look like old ruins, except that the city has not eroded slowly over millennia, but in 20 bullet-packed years. For many residents, the last five have been spent under a particularly oppressive regime, the militant Islamist group known as the Shabab, which rose up in 2006 as a popular nationalist movement to kick troops from Ethiopia out of the country.

But the Shabab soon turned against Somalis themselves, and it became evident that its brand of Islam wasn’t congruent with Somali culture. The group banned music, soccer and even bras; it swore allegiance to Al Qaeda. As for going to Mogadishu’s idyllic beaches to play in the sand, or for a romp in the water — between radical Islamist laws (women were banned from swimming there in 2006) and constant fighting, such an outing was akin to exercising a death wish.

No more. Since the Shabab largely retreated from Mogadishu in early August, the city has slowly and cautiously been stirring to life. Vendors are moving back into the central market. People dine in outdoor cafes.

Maybe most cathartically, they are going back to the beach — men and women alike.

“I had never thought of coming here,” said Said Yare, rolling in the sand at Lido.

Going to Lido Beach on Friday used to be a weekly pastime for Somalis, young and old, families and friends. Before the fall of President Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991, Lido Beach was packed with clubs and cafes. Somalia has the longest coastline on the continent of Africa, and Mogadishu was known as the “pearl of the Indian Ocean.”

But civil war gutted leisure activities, and by 2005, with Mogadishu carved up under the control of competing warlords, Lido Beach was a veritable ghost of its former self. Then came an Islamist government; then fighting with Ethiopian soldiers; then the Shabab; then fighting with African Union peacekeepers. Somalis started returning to Lido only last month.

The African Union peacekeeping mission in the country has taken the opportunity to promote Lido Beach’s resurgence as a testament to the peacekeeper’s triumphs over the Shabab.

“Roads are being repaired, homes rebuilt and markets reopened,” the peacekeeping mission said in a statement.

But in a country used to war, it is unclear how long the respite will last. “Al-Shabab is down but not out,” says EJ Hogendoorn, a Horn of Africa analyst for the International Crisis Group.

As for the Shabab, Mr. Hogendoorn says, the group has reverted to “guerrilla warfare.”

That means Mogadishu still is not safe. Two suicide bombers, one believed to be American, blew themselves up at an African Union peacekeeping base last month, killing an untold number of people. In early October, a suicide bomber killed roughly 100, many students, at the Ministry of Education. As for going to the beach, some still profess caution.

“We are finally back to our homes; now we are trying to test the delicacy of peace,” said Shankaron Mohamoud, a young woman at Lido.

“Think about this beach,” she said. “It is something that drives me to wonder, seeing people around after many years.”

Mohamed Ibrahim reported from Mogadishu, and Josh Kron from Nairobi, Kenya.

Kenya invades Somalia, A big gamble

2011-10-28T02:16:00.000-07:00

Source: The Economist

SINCE Kenya became independent in 1963, its foreign policy has been determinedly non-interventionist. Its armed forces have seen little action at home and even less abroad. That changed this week when several thousand Kenyan troops invaded neighbouring Somalia.

The Americans claim that the offensive took them by surprise. That is hard to believe, especially since several of the missiles fired at jihadist fighters hidden in the mangrove swamps on the Somali side of the border seem to have been fired from American drones or submarines. France is also reported to have bombarded settlements near the Somali port of Kismayo, a base for the al-Qaeda-linked Shabab militia. The French were outraged by the recent kidnapping in Kenya of a disabled French woman and her subsequent death in Somalia, presumably at the Shabab’s hands, as well as by the capture of one its spies in Somalia two years ago.

Kenya is frank about its military aim. It says it wants to push on from its positions in the Somali towns of Afmadow and Ras Kamboni to attack Kismayo from the west and south. It hopes to “inflict trauma and damage” on the Shabab.
And then what? The answer is fuzzier. Should Kenya take control of Kismayo or should it bash it and then leave quickly, in the hope that other Somali groups will then knock out the Shabab militants? No one knows how disciplined the Kenyans will be, nor how the Somalis will react to their presence. The Kenyan army has been accused of human-rights abuses at home. Some think it is soft and corrupt.
Even if it proves such sceptics wrong, it will have a bloody fight on its hands. Recent rains have made many tracks in southern Somalia impassable. Despite threats of air raids, Shabab insurgents could cut off Kenyan lines. If the Kenyans humble the Shabab within Somalia, the jihadists may well carry out a vengeful series of suicide-bombings in Kenya and beyond.
That campaign may already have begun. On October 24th two grenade attacks were carried out in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, killing one person and wounding dozens of others. Kenyans are frightened. Ethnic Somalis, who include some 2m Kenyan citizens, have begun to suffer checks and harassment.
The kidnapping and killing of foreign tourists has temporarily wrecked Kenyan tourism. A flood of refugees from Somalia, particularly to the Dadaab camp, has begun to pose a risk for Kenya. For some months Kenyan citizens and soldiers have been shot at and kidnapped along the border. A buffer zone was clearly needed. The government’s decision to take direct action against the Shabab across the border may have been irresistible.
Oxfam and other international charities say that 750,000 Somalis are at immediate risk of dying from hunger. Such numbers are open to dispute. But an upsurge in fighting may make more people in southern Somalia hungry. Many Somalis, not just Islamist ones, suspect that the Kenyan authorities want a semi-autonomous state in the south—a “Jubaland initiative”.
The Somalis’ fear that Somalia will break into more bits has already caused the president of its transitional government, Sharif Ahmed, to denounce the presence of Kenyan troops inside Somalia, even though the Kenyans say they crossed the border only at the invitation of his government. After all, Somaliland in the north has already broken away and Puntland, in the north-east, is tenuously connected to the rump of Somalia. The transitional government holds the capital, Mogadishu, while the Shabab still runs a swathe of territory around it.
The invasion will certainly hit commerce. Kenya profitably exports qat, a leaf stimulant chewed by Somali men, into Jubaland. Kenyan officials benefit from that trade and from turning a blind eye to the import of Somali cattle for slaughter in Nairobi. In any event, the Kenyan assault on the Shabab is a high-stakes gamble.

Grenade attack in Lafey, Mandera leaves four dead, Officials confirm

2011-10-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

Aggregate story by: Abdikarim
At least four civilians have been killed by unidentified attacker who assailed a vehicle with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns near the Kenya-Somali border, police in Mandera say.
The attack occurred on Thursday in Mandera, in Kenya's sparsely populated northeast, close to the porous borders with Ethiopia and Somalia.

"The vehicle was carrying eight people but four of them have died," a police officer in the region said on condition of anonymity.

The vehicle was reportedly carrying education and security officials transporting secondary school examination papers. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack. But the blame and suspicion obviously goes to the insurgents in Somalia who have been battling the weak and western-backed transitional federal government of Somalia.

"We have just received reports that a grenade was hurled at a government vehicle, which was leaving Lafey and coming here to Mandera," a teacher at a Mandera school, who did not wish to be named, said.
Three other Mandera residents confirmed the incident adding they had heard reports of four deaths. A Kenyan Red Cross spokeswoman, said agency personnel who went to the site of the attack confirmed the number of casualties.
Kenyan authorities have tightened security after Somalia's al-Shabab threatened to attack the country in retaliation against its military offensive against them.

Nairobi was rocked this week by two grenade attacks that killed one person and wounded dozens. Kenyan security officials suspect al-Shabab, who have not claimed responsibility.
A Kenyan suspect arrested after two grenade blasts earlier this week in Nairobi admitted in court on Wednesday that he was involved in one of the attacks, and said he is a member of the Somalia-based armed group al-Shabab.
Elgiva Bwire Oliacha, 28, also known as Mohammed Seif, pleaded guilty to nine charges, including involvement in Monday's explosion at a busy bus stop which left one person dead and several more injured.

As a result of the security threats and the insurgent's vow to carry out retaliatory attacks on Kenya, the security personnels have started operations in Mandera to nab suspects. Many people inluding prominent clerics have been arrested in Mandera.
It’s becoming apparent that the attacks in Kenya are gaining intensity while the insurgents did not claim responsibility in the latest attacks.

Statement of Clarification

2011-10-27T00:39:00.000-07:00

26 Oct - Source: Ministry of Information Posts, & Telecommunications, TFG.

First of all, we need to underline the following:

• Kenya and Somalia have a long history of friendship and cooperation, and that continues today. • Kenya has long been an active supporter of peace and stability in Somalia. • The Transitional Federal Charter that created the TFG was agreed to in Kenya, and Kenya has long been a leading advocate of having the international community assist in the stabilization and rebuilding of our country.

Secondly, we thank Kenyan government for its working together with Somali transitional federal government to stabilize Somalia and for training good number of Somali soldiers as well as hosting huge number of Somali refugees.

In fact, the people of Somalia as well as many of friends in the region including Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, etc. have suffered at the hands of Al-Shabaab from their violence. We all share the need to defeat and destroy Al-Shabaab. No one wants to see demise of Al-Shabaab more than the people of Somalia. We also share the attitude that Al-Shabaab constitutes a common enemy to both countries and in this regard, the sovereignty and the Territorial integrity of both Somalia and Kenya should be respected. Therefore, to evolve a common security strategy, we agreed with our brothers Kenyan government on the following:

• Cooperation in undertaking coordinated security and military operations spearheaded by TFG soldiers trained by Kenyan government. • Cooperation and collaboration in sharing and exchange of information that is relevant to the fight against cross border crimes and operations. Somali Prime Minister is assigned to this issue and he is going to appoint a joint security committee led by the prime minister himself that will work with their Kenyan counterparts. We also need to clarify that as part of NSSP endorsed by the stakeholders the TFG will do the following:

Liberating the whole country from the tyranny of al-Shabaab with the help of AMISOM, IGAD and friendly countries.
Stabilizing all areas freed from Al-Shabaab.
Establishing - in accordance with the Transitional Federal charter - local administrations in the liberated areas to avoid a vacuum.

We call on the international community to redouble its efforts to help those most in need once these territories are freed from the tyranny of al Shabaab.

Once again we welcome the support of the International Community in defeating Al-Shabaab and wish to emphasize the need to do this while respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.

Somali govt's call to halt advance dismays allies

2011-10-26T01:45:00.001-07:00

Source: Associated Press (AP)

American and European officials on Tuesday joined some Somali residents in expressing dismay over comments from Somalia's president that called on foreign military allies to stop twin advances against Islamic insurgents.

The remarks called into question President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed's commitment to fighting his former allies — Islamist militants.

Ahmed on Monday publicly told Kenya to halt its military advance in southern Somalia. Diplomats say he also privately asked African Union troops not to move beyond the Deynile neighborhood of Mogadishu, where they are fighting al-Shabab militants for control.

The dual offensives have forced the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab to defend itself on two fronts and helped put the weak U.N.-backed Somali government in its strongest position in years. The government, backed by 9,000 African Union soldiers, now holds almost all the capital.

A U.S. official said there was concern and dismay over Ahmed's comments. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press.

Officially, both African Union and Kenyan officials are tightlipped in their response to Ahmed.

'We are not responding to him in the media,' said Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua. He said the speech would not change Kenya's military plans in southern Somalia, which aim to capture the port city of Kismayo, the main source of revenues for the insurgency.

Kenyan troops drove across the barren scrubland of the Kenya-Somalia border earlier this month after a string of kidnappings by Somali gunmen on Kenyan territory. Kenya's government has been calling for more than two years for a buffer state to be established along the border to help improve security.

On Tuesday, gunmen kidnapped a 32-year-old American woman, a 60-year-old Danish man and their Somali colleague working for the Danish Demining Group in the northern Somali town of Galkayo.

A spokesman for the African Union force, Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda, declined to comment on the reports that Ahmed had asked the AU troops to stop their advance.

American and European officials in Nairobi said they were dismayed by the president's remarks, although they declined to be named because the matter was diplomatically sensitive. The U.S. and the EU are the two biggest financial contributors to the AU mission. Neither is directly financially supporting the Kenyan operation although Kenya receives military aid from both powers.

Not all Somalis welcomed his comments, either.

'If he does not want Kenya's help does he want al-Shabab to stay on?' asked Hakima Abdi, a teacher from Kismayo who fled when militants banned her from teaching at her school. 'That kind of comment is moving us toward further fighting and lack of genuine government. My view is that we need all help from the world to eliminate the ruthless al-Shabab.'

Ahmed's words seemed to contradict an agreement between the Kenyan and the Somali government last week to coordinate their security operations, a British official said.

They also appeared to catch his Cabinet by surprise. A senior Somali official said Somalia's American-educated prime minister was not consulted before Ahmed spoke, but the official speculated that the president might be trying to take a popular public stand amid concerns that Kenyan bombing raids are causing civilian casualties and damaging Kismayo's port.

Ahmed is a quietly spoken former teacher who rose to become an insurgent leader by fighting Ethiopian troops who invaded Somalia in 2006. He joined the government two years ago as part of a peace deal and many officials speculate he is under pressure to demonstrate to his political base — conservative politicians backed by Middle Eastern nations — that he can control the Kenya advance.

Burundian soldiers have been fighting hard to take Deynile, and lost between 30 and 50 soldiers in a single day last week, a Somali official said. The AU has only publicly acknowledged 10 deaths, but the fighting is continuing.

At least 95 Burundian troops have been wounded, a security official told The Associated Press from Mogadishu.

On Monday, al-Shabab published a statement claiming to have killed 150 Burundians and calling on them to leave the country. The group routinely exaggerates the number of soldiers it has killed.

After taking Deynile, AU soldiers would most likely press on toward the heavily populated Afgoye corridor, home to one of the world's largest camps of displaced people and an al-Shabab command headquarters. As long as al-Shabab controls that territory, it can still launch suicide attacks on the capital.

The reason for the president's request to halt the AU advance was unclear. He is believed to be in talks with some al-Shabab leaders, one Nairobi-based official said. The government has long invited insurgent leaders to hold peace talks, but more are said to be coming forward now as the military pressure increases.

President Sharif’s remarks spark angry demonstrations in Southern Somalia

2011-10-26T01:38:00.000-07:00

By: Abdikarim

In a surprise statement that startled many, the president of Somalia has on Thursday expressed his dissatisfaction with the Kenyan military presence in Somalia adding his government does not allow such penetration.

The president is feared to have links with his former allies of the Islamist militias. The AP news agency reported that the president secretly asked the AU forces to halt the fight and not to move beyond Dayniile.

The statement created a split within the government casting doubts on the legitimacy of the Kenyan military operation against Al-shabab. The Kenyan military started to crack down on Somalia’s Al-shabab first under the impression that they have the inherent right to defend their country. This was following a string of abductions carried out inside Kenya on foreign elements. Kenya blamed the insurgents for the incidents and vowed to protect its country.

The Kenyan military moved into Somali hardly more than two weeks pushing into the lawless country hundreds of kilometres. Under bad weather conditions, the military’s move was hampered, dragging them into their tenth day inside Somalia.

The Kenya and Somali defence ministers met in Mogadishu and there was some semblance of an agreement that suggested the two countries are in complete harmony in the fight against Shebab and that the Somali government approved the Kenyan military infiltration into Somalia.

But this was not to be. In another version of the story, after Somali president opposed the incursion, the Kenyan foreign minister Watengula said they have gone into Somalia to support the TFG. Although not popularly known, Kenyan is for the idea of establishment of a buffer state along the border to help maintain security.

In Dhoobley and other parts of Southern Somalia, hundreds of Somalis opposed to president Sharif’s remark took to the streets carrying placards and burning effigies of the Somali president.

“We want Kenya and Somalia to fight Al-shabab in every nook. We do not have another other hope for life” one Gedi Farah said.

On the other hand, the moderate Ahlu Sunna sufi sect in Somalia has also criticised the president’s remarks. If the president does not want the ouster of Al-shabab from Somalia, then he should leave others to do so, the militia’s spokesperson said.

At the office of the Somali Prime Minister, the words of the president came as a surprise to Abdiweli Mohamed. On the contrary, some Somali lawmakers hailed the president’s statement and said it’s illegal for Kenya to engage inside Somalia.

The American and European officials in Nairobi have also expressed their dismay in the president’s remarks that called on Kenyan military advance to stop.

It’s still unclear what triggered the president’s remarks apart from the speculations circulating in the media. Or maybe the government’s hand is itching for internal rows as storm comes after calm.

Somali president changes tune on Kenya military incursion

2011-10-25T05:52:00.001-07:00

The president of Somalia visited the frontlines of Dayniile in Somalia where operations have been ongoing. In attempts aimed at securing the capital Mogadishu, the AMISOM, in support of the Somali National Army, launched an operation on Thursday to clear the remains of the Somali insurgents.

While speaking during the visit to Dayniile, the president disapproved of the Kenya military incursion into Somalia.

“The AMISOM forces are in our country by the approval of the Somali government and its people as well as the acceptance of the AU, UN and IGAD”, president Sharif Said.

“Kenya supports us in terms of training and logistics and we are appreciative of that, but we are opposed to their military presence inside Somalia” he added.

The president also stated that he talked to Kenyan authorities about some issues he was disappointed in.

“The Somali National Army is fit to tackle the insurgents alone. There is no need for intervention”, the president said.

It took the president more than a week to respond to the foreign incursion into Somalia while the operations by the Kenyan tanks and aircrafts have gone into the second week.

The statement by the president contradicts with an agreement signed a week ago by the Kenya and Somali defence ministers in Mogadishu to undertake sustained security and military operations to take out the insurgents.

It is feared the president’s remarks and his opposition to the Kenyan military presence is deeply rooted in the establishment of semi-autonomous region in Somalia’s Jubaland.

Somali president opposes Kenyan military incursion

2011-10-25T05:24:00.000-07:00

While visiting the frontlines of the battle in Dayniile where recently the government forces backed by AMISOM engaged fierce fighting, the president of Somalia Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed gave the following speech:


President of Somalia Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed

First, I would like to express my gratitude and happiness with the success of the Somali National Army and the AMISOM forces in making tangible gains in the battle against the insurgents. Actually things were a lot different a month ago. We thank Allah for that. These progresses were attained after blood and sweat we shed by the gallant AMISOM and Somali forces. This was done in order to free Somalia from the jaws of Al-shabab. What we are striving for here is the attainment of total peace and sovereignty in Somalia which is objected by the insurgents.

Our joint forces are not only in Mogadishu, but we also have presence in Gedo and Juba regions. There are other operations which are going on in the Juba regions which I would like to shed more light on. As you remember when the government was formed, we asked our neighbouring countries particularly Kenya to help us in training our soldiers. They willingly accepted and our soldiers were trained. This was solely meant for the stabilization and bringing peace in the country.

We are thankful to Kenya government for their training and logistical supports but there are other things which we disapprove. We talked to Kenya government about this issue. We disapprove the entering of the Kenyan forces into Somalia. The Somali people do not allow that neither does our government.

The presence of the AMISOM is with the acceptance of the Somali government as well as the Somali people and at the same time the approval of the international community like the UN in its mandate, AU and the regional actors like IGAD. They are not here by chance and by mistake.

We talked to Kenya and specified the help they should give us which is the provision of logistical support and training. Our soldiers are fit and able to carry out operations on their own to flush out Al-shabab.

We are sorry that the Al-shabab and Al-Qaeda have targeted Kenya. We need Kenya’s cooperation on security matters but not incursion into the country without the government’s approval. Kenya should respect the neighbourliness we have with her so that we work together in the stability and safety of the region. It should refrain from anything that would blur and distort the relationship with us.

We are ready to cooperate with Kenya in every aspect. Kenya has been helping us for 21 years which it should take the credit for that. We have never complained about Kenya since time immemorial but this issue has raised eyebrows and we urge Kenya to abstain from any actions that can jeopardise its relationship with us.

On the other hand, there is news that has been propagated by the Al-shabab. We actually know that there are casualties in the line of the Burundi forces. The insurgents claim they have killed over 70 Burundians but we know that is not true. Our brothers have lost 10 soldiers and dozens of others were wounded. Some of their dead were put into AMISOM clothes and they claimed they are Burundians. It’s pathetic!

Tears of Somalia

2011-10-11T02:29:00.000-07:00

BY RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PM

Somalia is suffering from the most severe drought and famine in the last 60 years, which has already resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people and endangers the lives of 750,000 more Somalis. This crisis tests the notion of civilization and our modern values. It reveals, once again, that it is a basic human obligation to pursue international cooperation and solidarity to provide solace for those suffering from natural and man-made disasters.

It is not realistic to consider Somalia's plight as caused solely by a severe natural disaster. We cannot ignore the fact that, in addition to the drought, the international community's decision to leave Somalia to its own fate is also an underlying factor causing this drama. Twenty years of political and social instability, lawlessness, and chaos have added enormously to the problems in Somalia.

The horrifying truck bombing of the Transitional Federal Government's ministerial complex on Oct. 4 is just the latest evidence of this. The international community must not respond to this act of terrorism by retreating from Somalia, but by redoubling its efforts to bring aid to its people.

Nobody with common sense and conscience can remain indifferent to such a drama, wherever on Earth it may be and whichever people have to bear it. Our urgent intervention as responsible members of the international community can contribute to the alleviation of the Somali people's distress. However, the establishment of lasting peace and stability will only be possible through long-term, far-reaching, and coordinated efforts.

Turkey mobilized last month to help end this suffering. We consider this solidarity a humanitarian obligation toward the people of Somalia, with whom we have deep historical relations. Many of our institutions, NGOs, and people of all ages have made an extraordinary effort to alleviate the suffering of women and children in Somalia. We are proud of the sensitivity and cooperation displayed by the Turkish people during the holy month of Ramadan. In the last month alone, approximately $280 million worth of donations for Somalia were collected in Turkey. The Turkish people's generosity has served as an example to other donor countries as well as the international community, offering hope for the resolution of the crisis in Somalia.

The Turkish government has also moved decisively to help alleviate this humanitarian crisis. Turkey took the initiative to hold an emergency meeting of the executive committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the ministerial level on Aug. 17. At this meeting, which was attended by the president of Somalia and high-level representatives from 40 member countries of the OIC, $350 million was committed to help relieve the famine in Somalia, and the participants agreed to increase this amount to half a billion dollars. The Turkish Red Crescent is also standing shoulder to shoulder with international aid organizations and is working to meet the needs of those in all the camps in the Mogadishu region.

Following the emergency meeting of the OIC executive committee, I -- along with a number of Turkish ministers, some members of parliament, bureaucrats, business people, artists, and families -- visited the country on Aug. 19 to tell the people of Somalia that they are not alone. We visited the camps. We tried to give hope and encourage people who live in very different conditions from ours. We took note of the lack of such a high-level visit from outside of Africa to Somalia for the last 20 years, and informed the international community of this fact.

Turkey has decided to launch a major humanitarian effort to help restore normalcy to Mogadishu. To this end, we are preparing to provide assistance in the fields of health, education, and transportation. We will inaugurate a 400-bed hospital, provide garbage trucks for the streets of Mogadishu, build a waste-disposal facility to burn the accumulated garbage in the streets, pave the road between Mogadishu's airport and the city center, renovate the parliament and other government buildings, dig water wells, and develop organized agricultural and livestock areas. Our embassy, which will be opened in Mogadishu shortly and headed by an ambassador who is experienced in the field of humanitarian aid and familiar to the region, will coordinate these activities.

By supporting the restoration of peace and stability efforts, we will work with the Transitional Federal Government and other institutions in Somalia in order to launch the development process of this shattered country. To this end, we expect all Somali authorities to demonstrate an extraordinary effort in unity, integrity, and harmony.

The success of aid operations is directly linked to the establishment of security. The withdrawal from Mogadishu of armed elements in the al-Shabab organization is clearly a positive development for security in the region. But this is not sufficient. Moving the Somali-related U.N. offices currently located in Nairobi to Mogadishu will be a positive step to support this process and one that should be taken without delay.
Neighboring countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya bear a special responsibility regarding the restoration of peace and stability in Somalia. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the African Union will also share this responsibility, and Turkey supports them in their tasks. In line with the Djibouti peace process, Somalia's Transitional Federal Government should intensify efforts at reconciliation by maintaining dialogue with all fighting groups and pledge prosperity, brotherhood, order, and prosperity in return for peace.
The military contribution provided by Uganda and Burundi within the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to prevent chaos and terror deserves appreciation. With this opportunity, I would like to issue a call to all neighboring countries, including Eritrea, to increase their existing efforts for the establishment of peace and security in Somalia and to enhance long-term regional stability.
In Turkish culture, it is believed that something good will come out of all bad experiences. In Somalia, too, this disaster can mark the beginning of a new process by focusing international humanitarian efforts and global attention on the plight of the region. However, this situation will only be sustainable if we continue to be sensitive to the needs of the Somali people.
The tears that are now running from Somalia's golden sands into the Indian Ocean must stop. They should be replaced by hopeful voices of a country where people do not lose their lives because of starvation and where they express their eagerness to develop and restore peace and stability. Regardless of which culture we come from or where we live, I am confident that our common heritage as human beings will motivate us to ease the suffering of Somalia.

Iftaar program prepared by the Youth for social Development and Relief Program

2011-08-17T05:07:00.000-07:00

In a meeting which was well prepared and organized by the Youth for Social Development and Relief program was held at Nomad Palace Hotel in Eastleigh. Many prominent clerics and intellects have participated in the meeting. The meeting was meant to mobilize and sensitize the youth to help the needy Somalis in bid to alleviate the suffering of the Somali people. Prominent Sheikhs spoke at the occasion like Sheikh Barut, Sheikh Abdirizak Garane among others.

Here is the function in pictures:

Somali government declares Islamist defeated

2011-08-07T02:55:00.000-07:00

Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed said on Saturday his military had defeated Islamist rebels battling to overthrow his Western-backed government after the al Shabaab group began withdrawing fighters from the capital Mogadishu. Rejecting Ahmed's claim to have quashed al Shabaab's four-year insurgency, the militants' spokesman, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, said their retreat was tactical only and they were holding their positions elsewhere in the anarchic country. A 9,000-strong African peacekeeping force and Somali government forces had been steadily wrestling control of rubble-strewn Mogadishu from the militants this year.

Al Shabaab's pullout followed a string of fierce gun battles late on Friday.Somalia has been without effective central government since the fall of Mohamed Siad Barre 20 years ago. Al Shabaab's retreat from the Somali capital Mogadishu signals an acceptance it cannot militarily defeat a government propped up by foreign muscle and firepower, but raises the spectre of an escalation in al Qaeda-inspired raids. Winning Mogadishu might expand the government's prison capital a little, but it is unlikely to bring any tangible peace to the rest of the Horn of Africa country. "It was not the strength of al Shabaab that kept them in Mogadishu for so long, it was the incompetence and weakness of the (Somali government)," said Afyare Elmi, a professor at Qatar University's International Affairs department. "I'm worried the (government) may not be able to step into the vacated areas and other clan militia step in. The challenge ... is to expand into these areas and install law and order." President Ahmed urged those who had fled their homes not to rush back to the city neighborhoods now empty of militants until they had been cleared of explosives. The government said the rebels had retreated as far as 100 km (62 miles) from the capital. "The Somali government welcomes the success attained by the Somali government forces backed by AMISOM who defeated the enemy of al Shabaab," Ahmed told a news conference at his residence. Al Shabaab has never previously entirely left Mogadishu, raising questions over whether deep rifts among the al Qaeda-affiliated group's senior commanders had finally led to a split. One faction prefers a more nationalist Somali agenda and wants to impose a harsh Islamic programme on the nation. Another more international wing aims to promote Jihad (holy war) and is bent on overthrowing a government they see as a Western stooge as well as forging closer ties with regional al Qaeda cells. This faction had gained clout with the influx of foreign fighters. Those divisions became sharper as a series of military offensives in Mogadishu exerted a heavy toll on the rebels. One rebel told Reuters the divisions had seen each side retreat from Mogadishu separately over the past few days, culminating in a massive exit by the rebels on Friday night.

"We understand there is disagreement among their top leaders," Farhan Ali, who lives in what was an al Shabaab controlled neighbourhood, told Reuters. "They were not displaced by force." Similar sentiments were expressed by Somalis with links to al Shabaab in other parts of the country, including in the southern port city of Kismayu, the nerve centre of al Shabaab's operations in the south of the country. "We have abandoned Mogadishu but we remain in other towns," Rage said on the al Shabaab-run Andalus radio station. "We aren't leaving you, but we have changed our tactics. Everyone of you will feel the change in every corner and every street in Mogadishu. We will defend you and continue the fighting," Rage said. Witnesses said convoys of al Shabaab "technicals" -- open-top 4x4s mounted with machine guns -- headed south from Mogadishu towards the al Shabaab-controlled town of Baidoa, 250 km southwest of the capital. "I saw 50 armed al Shabaab vehicles heading towards Baidoa shortly after morning prayers," Aweys Sharif said by telephone from the town of Afgoye, 30 km south of Mogadishu. Residents in Mogadishu's northern districts watched from the streets as the rebel fighters, many covering their faces with masks, left with the families. Today is a different day. We never dared watch them and their families like this. But still we are afraid to enter their bases. We cannot dance or rejoice yet," said Ali.

Al-Shabaab has abandoned Mogadishu

2011-08-07T02:42:00.000-07:00

The Shabab Islamist rebels abruptly pulled out of the bullet-ridden capital of Somalia on Saturday, leaving the entire city in the hands of the government for the first time in years and raising hopes that aid groups could now deliver aid to more famine victims unfettered. Witnesses described truckloads of heavily armed Shabab fighters driving away under the cover of darkness and the beleaguered residents of the capital, Mogadishu, pouring into the streets to cheer and jeer their departure. “We have been dreaming of this day for the last three years,” said Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Somalia’s new, Harvard-educated prime minister. The Shabab’s notoriously brutal brand of Islamism had tormented Mogadishu residents for years, but more recently the rebels have also blocked many international relief groups from bringing food to victims of the famine that swept southern Somalia this summer.

Aid groups hope that the Shabab retreat will allow them access to more parts of Mogadishu, where more than 100,000 famine victims are waiting for help. But the Shabab still control large parts of southern Somalia that have been the worst hit by drought and famine, and it is not clear when Western aid groups will be able to get into these areas. The famine represents the most serious crisis Somalia has faced since the central government collapsed in 1991 and plunged the country into chaos. United Nations officials estimate that tens of thousands of Somalis have died, and that more than half a million children are on the brink of starvation. The rebels said Saturday that they had “completely vacated Mogadishu for tactical purposes,” according to Ali Mohamud Rage, a Shabab spokesman. He said that the Shabab would change their strategy to “hit-and-run attacks.” “We will be back soon,” he warned. The Shabab, who have pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda, has imposed a brutal reign in areas they control, chopping off hands of petty thieves, lashing women for showing their ankles and beheading anyone deemed a spy. They also banned music, television, gold teeth and bras, branding them un-Islamic. But in the past few months, the Shabab have taken a beating in steady urban fighting against a better-armed, 9,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force. Many analysts have said the Shabab were growing weaker by the day, riven by infighting and nearly out of cash. The rebels have also been divided over whether to let in Western aid organizations to relieve the famine. As the toll continues to mount, pressure has built on Shabab leaders, especially those with connections to local clans. The Shabab have also blocked starving people from leaving their territory and have even set up a displaced persons camp about 25 miles from Mogadishu where families are essentially imprisoned. Those who have escaped have painted a bleak picture of entire villages emptied by famine.

The rebels’ departure from the capital offers no guarantee that Somalia’s weak transitional government, which has let innumerable other opportunities slip through its fingers, will be able to gain control of Mogadishu, or that the city’s population will rally behind the government. The Transitional Federal Government has been propped up by millions of dollars of Western financing, including American military aid, but its leaders remain ineffectual, divided and by many accounts corrupt.

“Unfortunately, I entertain no delusions that the T.F.G. will rise to the occasion,” said J. Peter Pham, Africa director at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based policy institute. “The only exploiting that will be taking place will be whatever schemes its ministers will hatch to profit from increased aid flows.”

As the nation faces one of the worst droughts in 60 years, many analysts are pessimistic that the government will be able to meet even the needs of the people in the capital. On Friday, government troops looted sacks of grain and killed several people during a riot over emergency food in a refugee camp. Not since 2007 has the government had such an opportunity to assert itself in Mogadishu. In late 2006, Ethiopian troops stormed into Somalia and pushed out a grass-roots Islamist movement that was ruling much of the country, and for a brief spell the transitional government was in control. But within months the Shabab were waging hit-and-run attacks, and by 2008, they had seized several towns across the country and neighborhoods in Mogadishu.

The Shabab have imported lethal Qaeda-like tactics to Somalia, including roadside bombs and suicide bombs. But Fazul Abdullah Mohamed, one of the key Shabab commanders and a wanted Qaeda agent, was recently killed in a shootout in Mogadishu, dealing the Shabab a serious setback. The United States has also inflicted casualties on the rebels in a recent drone attack. Mogadishu residents interviewed on Saturday were happy the Shabab were gone, but tentative about what it meant. “They were very oppressive,” said Mohamed Yare, who was arrested by the Shabab a week ago for talking about soccer. “But the government must come with policies to restore the security of the area abandoned by the Shabab, and if the government forces start looting cellphones and other properties,” which has happened before, “the Shabab might get a vacuum to return.” Major Paddy Ankunda, a spokesman for the African Union troops in Somalia, told Agence France-Presse that the peacekeepers were cautious “because it could be a trap,” and that it was possible that Shabab fighters had simply hidden in the city’s population. Until Saturday, the Shabab had controlled about a third of the capital, though their slice had diminished in recent months. Most of the famine refugees in the capital have been camping out in the government-controlled areas, not those the Shabab just left. Witnesses said Shabab fighters were heading south toward Merca, Brava and other towns under their control, and that the withdrawal seemed organized. In late 2006, the militant wing of the Islamist movement that had ruled Mogadishu made a similar escape, driving all the way to the Kenyan border, where it melted into the bush, only to regroup a few months later. Mogadishu residents said that emissaries of various warlords were beginning to identify bases in the neighborhoods that the Shabab had just vacated, which could spell another problem for the troubled government.

In Somalia, new famine born of out of old failures

2011-08-01T00:42:00.000-07:00

By Nuruddin Farah
If the past is anything to go by, TVs the world over will show heart-wrenching pictures of malnourished Somali babies with distended kwashiorkor bellies; of flies feeding on their eyes; of mouths sucking at milkless breasts. Environmental experts will pontificate on the recurrent droughts in Somalia. Aid organizations will canvass the world’s rich to find the funds to feed the starving. Governments will make promises they won’t keep. What has been a tributary of refugees leaving Somalia and entering neighboring Kenya will become a flood. This will be channeled into refu¬gee camps, which will overflow with rivers of human misery.

A couple of years ago, I was visiting my good friend Abdullahi Mohamed Shirwa, a respected civil society leader based in Mogadishu. He wondered aloud if the country would continue to exist, given the prevailing circumstances. A week ago, I received a call from him. He described the situation as “disastrous, almost beyond repair.” He asked: “Why are our people being left to die, starving — decade after decade?”
Nearly 170,000 Somalis have arrived in the refu¬gee camps since January, according to the United Nations. Yet the suffering humanity fleeing the famine is indicative of the catastrophe awaiting an even larger multitude of Somalis. I am talking about those who have stayed behind, those from whom death harvests its daily dividend. After all, they are in worse need, desperate for help that they are not likely to receive. This is because humanitarian agencies are not allowed to reach these unfortunates. Access is being prevented by al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda-linked hard-line religionists who claim divine sanction — and who are declaring death on the cut-off hordes.
In a way, the current situation in Somalia is much worse than the one in 1992. During the famine then, warlords held the nation hostage. Millions of Somalis were caught in the middle, and hundreds of thousands died of hunger. In response to the crisis, the United States sent in the Marines to do “God’s work,” as President George H.W. Bush put it. But that intervention was a half-measure, and the unfinished mission led directly to the calamity we’re living today.
The U.S. military action in Somalia resulted in the deaths in 1993 of 18 American service members; thugs supporting the warlord whom the Americans were hunting dragged corpses through the dusty alleys of Mogadishu. Humiliated, the United States withdrew. Al-Qaeda claimed credit for the attack and went about the business of recruiting terrorists nearly undisturbed, and was able to launch attacks on the U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya five years later.
By withdrawing, the Americans played into the hands of the disrupters of peace, ultimately privileging the terrorists. The United Nations rewarded the warlords with undeserved honor, describing them as leaders instead of treating them as criminals. The warlords were invited to a series of national reconciliation conferences to form a government, and Somalis equated this bizarre turn of events to the notion of entrusting a flock of sheep to hyenas. Only a fool thinks that no harm will come to his sheep.
After the United States left Somalia, the rest of the world stood by, leaving the warlords to profit from their criminality. Al-Qaeda strengthened its presence in the country. Foreign vessels entered Somali waters and engaged in illegal fishing, which caused piracy to balloon into an ugly reality. Somalia lived on mortgaged time, leased out to criminals of one sort or another, an ideal world for terrorists to flourish.
If we had had foresight and acted upon it; if the Marines had disarmed the warlords; if the U.N. Security Council had issued arrest warrants for the warlords early on, stopping them from prolonging the failure of the state; if the Security Council had dealt with the warlords — who had denied millions of starving people access to food — decisively, in the same way it dealt with the genocidal regimes in Serbia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Sudan, then al-Qaeda would not have established a secure base from which to plan terrorist attacks. Our country would not have been hamstrung by the enormity of our problem, nor would it have become the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.
For two decades, many alliances known by different names and belonging to different interest groups, all of them harmful to Somalia, have collaborated to destabilize the country. The Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen has said that famines are easy to prevent and that they often disappear with the establishment of a multiparty democracy, a free press and an active political opposition. These elements of a democratic society can guard against famine or mitigate its disastrous consequences.
We don’t have any of that in Somalia. Instead, we know that the recurrence of droughts stems from political collapse — the failure of the governing class to deal with impending catastrophes, which often take years to materialize.
By the time drought is upon us, it is often too late. On my last visit to Somalia in February and March of this year, one could already see terrible times coming, a rainless season on the horizon. People were studying the arid desert winds for signs. Many people I spoke to couldn’t help forecasting a famine. The word, in fact, was on everybody’s lips in Galkayo, in the central region of the country. There, the wells had dried up, and wars were being waged over the right of the nomads to water their beasts.
To date, the world has taken only piecemeal steps to deal with the Somali people’s plight. So far, none has worked. It is time that the Security Council referred Somalia to the International Criminal Court for an in-depth investigation, as happened with other recent humanitarian disasters in Sudan and Libya, for example. Only the high-profile nature of such a prosecution could ensure that justice is done and Somalia can become a governable country.
The alternative is for the international community to prepare to return to Somalia in 10 or 20 years. Then, humanitarian agencies will have to negotiate for access to millions of starving Somalis with some new group of criminals bent on the physical elimination of their people, knowing that, as in the past, they can pursue their goal with impunity.
Nuruddin Farah, a Somali-born novelist, divides his time between Cape Town, South Africa, and Minneapolis, where he holds the Winton Chair in the college of liberal arts at the University of Minnesota. His novel “Crossbones” is forthcoming in September.

Somali PM forms Disaster Management Agency

2011-08-01T00:21:00.000-07:00

The Prime Minister of Somalia Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali having considered the urgent need to manage disaster, the Government's responsibility towards the droughts situation and the people fleeing from their homes due to the current famine stage. The Prime Minister having assessed the current famine situation in the country and the proposals of setting up Disaster Management Agency from the humanitarian assistance ministerial committee decided to set up Disaster Management Agency.

The Prime Minister appointed individuals that are well known within the community and have the confidence of the people to lead the agency. These individuals also have the knowledge, and the experience to leading the agency. The names of the management team of the agency are as follows:

Abdullahi Mohamed Shirwa - Chairperson of the Disaster Relief Agency
Jamal Mohamed Barrow - Deputy Chairperson for Programs
Abdihakim Ahmed Guled - Deputy Chairperson for Management
Ali Abdirahman Ahmed - Head of logistics

The Prime Minister wishes for the above team to fulfill their duties, roles and responsibilities to the best of their abilities with patriotism, honesty and integrity. The agency is expected to manage all disaster issues within the country, and in particular the current famine situation in the country. The Disaster Management Agency is an independent agency and above individuals are from civil society groups.

Somali government takes the fight to the militants

2011-07-28T04:27:00.000-07:00

Heavy fighting broke out on Thursday in the Somali capital Mogadishu, after government forces backed by African Union troops launched an assault against strongholds of Alshabab insurgents.
The fighting which started in the early hours of the day, spread to several fronts among them Bakara market and the Northern districts of the City.
Gen Abdullahi Ali Aanood, one of the TFG military officers told state owned Radio Mogadishu that the TFG and AMISOM forces made a considerable gain in today’s fight.

“The fighting started at 5:30 AM (local time) under the Presidents order, we will continue until we secure the whole Mogadishu from the militants,” said Gen Aanood.
He added that TFG forces are close to taking the control of Bakara market which is believed to be a stronghold for Alshabab militants.
In the offensive, the government took control of parts of Hamr bile area, Junction 30, Towfiq, Suq ba’ad and other areas in the early Thursday attack. Military officials in Mogadishu said they are intending to seize control of all most all districts in Mogadishu, which are currently under Al-Shabaab militia.
African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) tanks are seen taking part in the assault according to eye witnesses in the district of Abdi-Aziz, North Mogadishu.
Reports say that AMISOM unknowingly shelled TFG military base in Mogadishu and at least 15 soldiers were killed in the shelling.
Somalia is battling its worst drought in 60 years, sending tens of thousands walking for days into both Kenya and Ethiopia in search of food and water.

Welcome Ramadan!

2011-07-28T00:32:00.000-07:00

O People! The month of Allah (Ramadan) has approached you with His mercy and blessings. This is the month that is the best of all months in the estimation of Allah. Its days are the best among the days; its nights are the best among the nights. Its hours are the best among the hours.

This is a month in which he has invited you. You have been, in this month, selected as the recipients of the honors of Allah, the Merciful. In this holy month, when you breathe, it has the Sawab/thawab (heavenly reward) of 'Tasbeeh' (the praise of Allah on rosary beads), and your sleep has the thawab of worship.

Your good deeds are accepted in this month. So are your invocations. Therefore, you must invoke your Lord, in right earnest, with hearts that are free from sins and evils, that Allah may bless you, observe fast, in this month, and recite the Holy Qur'an.

Verily! The person who may not receive the mercy and benevolence of Allah in this month must be very unfortunate having an end as bad (in the Hereafter). While fasting, remember the hunger and thirst of tomorrow in Qiyamat. Give alms to the poor and the needy. Pay respects to your elders.

Have pity on those younger than you and be kind towards your relatives and kinsmen. Guard your tongues against unworthy words, and your eyes from such scenes that are not worth seeing (forbidden) and your ears from such sounds that should not be heard by you.

Be kind to orphans so that when your children become orphans they also may be treated with kindness. Do invoke that Allah may forgive your sins. Do raise your hands at the time of Salat (Prayers), as it is the best time for asking His mercy. When we invoke at such times, we are answered by Him, when we call Him, He responds, and when we ask for anything, it is accepted by Him.

O People! You have made your conscience the slave of your desires; make it free by invoking Him for Istighfar (repentance/forgiveness). Your back is breaking under the heavy load of your sins, so prostrate before Him for long intervals and make it lighter.

Do understand fully well that Allah has promised in the name of His Majesty and Honor that He will not take to task such people who fast and offer Salat in this month and perform 'sajda' (prostration), and will guard their bodies against the Fire of Hell on the Day of Judgment.

O People! If anybody amongst you arranges for the 'Iftar' (food for the ending of the fast) of any believer, then Allah will give him a reward as if he has set free a slave. He will forgive his minor sins.

Then the companions of the Prophet (S.A.W.) said: "But everybody amongst us does not have the means to do so?"

The Prophet told them: - Keep yourself away from the Fire of Hell, by inviting for 'Iftar', though it may consist of only half a date or simply with water if you have nothing else. O People! Anybody who may cultivate good manners in this month will walk over the 'Siraat' (Bridge) in 'Qiyamat', though his feet may be shaking.

Anybody who in this month may take light work from his servants (male or female), Allah will make easy his accounting on the Day of Judgment.

Anybody who does not tease others in this month, Allah will keep him safe from His wrath in Qiyamat. Anybody, who respects and treats an orphan with kindness in this month, Allah shall look at him with dignity in Qiyamat. Anybody who treats well his kinsmen, in this month, Allah will bestow His mercy on him in Qiyamat, while anybody who maltreats his kinsmen in this month, Allah will keep him away from His mercy, in Qiyamat.

Whoever offers 'Sunnat' (Recommended) prayers in this month, Allah will give him a certificate of freedom from Hell. Whosoever offers one 'Wajib' Salat in this month, for him the Angels will write the rewards of 70 such prayers, which were offered by him in any other months.

Whosoever recites repeatedly 'Salat and salam' on me, Allah will keep the scales of his deeds heavy, when in Qiyamat the scales of others will be tending towards lightness.

Whosoever recites in this month only one 'Ayat' (verse of the Holy Qur'an), he will be rewarded in a manner as if he had recited the full Qur'an in the other months.

O People! The Gates of Paradise remain opened in this month. Do invoke that the gates may not be closed on you, while the Gates of Hell are closed. Do invoke that these gates may never be opened. During this month Shaytan (Saten) is imprisoned so ask your Lord not to let him have power over you.

Kenyan policeman killed in bomb attack

2011-07-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

Mandera, Kenya, July 27 - A Kenyan policeman was killed near the Somali border on Wednesday in a bomb attack by the same rebels who are being blamed for blocking food aid to Somalia's famine victims, government officials said.Three other policemen were injured in the attack when a remote-controlled device was detonated beside a tree where they stop for a break at the same time every day."We have lost one of our officers in Mandera this morning at around 11.30am and three have sustained injuries," Philip Ndolo, commissioner of Kenya's northeastern province police, told Reuters.Ndolo said the bomb was triggered by mobile phone from the A heavy contingent of Kenyan security forces have been deployed at the border and analysts say they may be planning a joint offensive with the Somali government against al Shabaab rebels hiding in the area, which is now government-controlled.The drought gripping the region straddling Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia is the worst for 60 years, some aid groups say, and is affecting more than 12 million people. In the worst-hit areas in Somalia, famine has been declared and 3.7 million people are at risk of starvation in the country.Much of southern and central Somalia is controlled by the al Shabaab Islamist who imposed a ban on food aid in 2010. They have since lifted the ban but maintained the embargoes on the U.N food agency and several other aid agencies.About 1,500 refugees a day are streaming over the Somalia border and into Kenyan refugee camps in search of food.

$500 million pledge for drought-stricken Horn of Africa region by World Bank

2011-07-25T05:31:00.000-07:00

The World Bank on Monday pledged more than $500 million (348 million euros) to aid the drought-strickenHorn of Africa region, as United Nations aid chiefs met in Rome to discuss ramping up relief efforts.
The bulk of the money will go towards long-term projects to aid livestock farmers while $12 million will be for immediate assistance to those worst hit by the crisis and facing starvation, the World Bank said in a statement.
"The recurring nature of drought... calls not only for immediate relief from the current situation but also for building long term drought resilience," Obiagelii Ezekwesili, World Bank vice president for Africa, was quoted as saying.

The worst drought in the region in 60 years has triggered a famine in two regions of southern Somalia and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
The dry spell has hit hardest in war-torn Somalia but has also wreaked havoc for farmers across the region in Djibouti,Ethiopia,Kenya and Uganda.
"This food crisis... is another startling example of why international partners need to put food first," World Bank presidentRobert Zoellick said.
"Agriculture is more vulnerable to climate change than any other sector. We need a major international effort to address this challenge now," he said.
The World Bank said in April that rising food prices have pushed 44 million people into poverty since June 2010.
It has called for action to support small holder farmers with seeds, fertiliser, better weather forecasting and improved access to markets.

Location of Dadaab Camp in Kenya

2011-07-25T01:26:00.000-07:00

WFP considering food to be dropped for starving Somalis

2011-07-25T00:45:00.000-07:00

World Food Programme (WFP) says it cannot reach more than two million Somalis facing starvation in the famine-struck country where Alshabab militants control much of the worst-hit areas.

WFP officials said they were considering food drops from aircraft into some areas controlled by the al Qaeda-linked Alshabab, which imposed a ban on food aid in 2010.

“There are 2.2 million people yet to be reached. It is the most dangerous environment we are working in the world. But people are dying. It’s not about politics, it’s about saving lives now,” Josette Sheeran, WFP’s executive director, told agency staff and reporters in northeastern Kenya.

Sheeran said WFP will start airlifts within days into Mogadishu to get vital supplies of special nutritious foods for the malnourished children who so desperately need it.

“The situation in Somalia is critical,” she said and added at one of our feeding sites in Mogadishu, where we are supplying food for hot meals, “I met a woman who had lost children as they trekked out of the famine area in search of food.”

The UN, however, says $300 million is needed over the next two months and $1.6 billion to sustain programs beyond that.

But Alshabab says the U.N. declaration of a famine is simply “propaganda.”

Alshabab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage on Thursday accused the U.N. of exaggerating the crisis for political reasons. He said Alshabab will allow increased aid only from foreign agencies currently working in its strongholds, not from organizations it has banned. But he did not specify which organizations.

CEF, the UN agency that focuses on children, child malnutrition rates in southern Somalia have doubled in a single month – in some places to 55 per cent, and infant deaths have increased to six per day.

Some 3.7 million children in Somalia are facing starvation, the agency says, with another 6.3 million in other countries in the Horn of Africa affected by hunger.