Somalia thread for the week ending October 11

October 9, 2006

Somalia's powerful Islamists have declared holy war against Horn of Africa rival Ethiopia, which they accused of invading Somalia to prop up the shaky interim government.

"Starting from today, we have declared jihad against Ethiopia," Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told a news conference, while wearing combat fatigues and clutching an AK-47 assault rifle.

Sheikh Ahmed, usually viewed as a more moderate voice among the Islamists who took Mogadishu in June and now control much of Somalia's south, appeared angry as he addressed reporters.

...

"Somalis in and outside the country are obliged to defend their country and their religion. You should be ready for an order and execute it as you will be told," Sheikh Ahmed said.

October 3, 2009

St. Paul, Minn. — The president of Somalia said today he believes that recruiters who lured Minnesota men to fight with a terrorist group remain in the United States.

President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has been meeting non-stop this weekend with Somali-American community leaders in Minnesota as well as elected officials, including Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

...

Through a translator, Ahmed expressed sympathy for the young Minnesota men who returned to Somalia to fight. Six are believed dead.

"I'm very sorry about these people and how they're misled," he said. "The problem, I believe, is these people have little education about their religion. They have been misinformed. They do not know what is happening on the ground in Somalia. And the people who are providing this information to them are misleading them, and intended to do so."

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Mareeg Online: Warplanes seen flying in low level in Mogadishu

Warplanes have been seen flying in low level in the Somali capital Mogadishu, witnesses said on Monday. Residents said, the warplanes were flying all Sunday afternoon in north Mogadishu.

Locals said two warplanes flew over Mogadishu’s north districts of Heliwa and Dayniile, where al Shabaab militants have military bases and training camps.

The people in these districts in Mogadishu have expressed fear about these planes which were flying in very low level over their houses in the city.

The motive behind these planes is not known. US spy planes fly over Mogadishu and its outskirts most of the time.

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Press release from Phoenix Intelligence Support Inc.

Phoenix Intelligence Support Inc. Signs Agreement To Train Up To 5,000 Police Officers For Somalia

Amman, JORDAN - Phoenix Board Member and regional representative Dr. Mohamed Zayed , announced today that Phoenix Intelligence Support Inc., has signed a one year renewable, contract with Amman Jordan based Eastern International Training Academy (a Jordanian British partnership) to train up to 5,000 Somali Police Officers beginning this December 2009.

Dr. Zayed also stated that Phoenix is very proud of the fact that all certifications for police officers will have accreditations and certifications from the United Kingdom Eastern Academy Partner Firm, and as such, the trainees will have the highest certification standards of any training program currently taking place in the Middle East.

Phoenix, through its agreement with Eastern International Training Academy in Amman Jordan, is proud to support Somali President Sheik Sharif Ahmed's call for training support during his address at the United Nations General Assembly, as well as at the European Union Policy Chief Javier Solano recent statements which echoed the same sentiment regarding third country, training initiatives.

Dr. Zayed noted that the initiative is consistent with current authorizations between Phoenix and the Somali TFG established in August 2009 (which includes support for Somali Police, Coast Guard, National Security Training equipment, development and capacity building, intelligence support, lobbying and other critical tasks related to efforts to stabilize Somalia).

In addition to the special counterterrorism and police unit training initiative, anti piracy and coast guard training will also be included in the initiative. Dr. Zayed expressed that such efforts are currently being coordinated through their Jordanian office in Amman operated by former Senator Aref Rteimah and others who have excellent relationships with the Jordanian government and other Gulf Arab States.

Dr. Zayed stated that: with the leadership of Senator Mr. Aref Rteimah at our Jordanian Office, we feel confident that the funding for the training initiative will be approved and will have oversight of Price Waterhouse Cooper in Nairobi Kenya, once the Transitional Federal Government of the Somali Republic presents our initiative for funding support.

From a June 26th PR also sourced to Mr. Zayed

Phoenix Intelligence Support Inc. - Anti Piracy Unit Strengthens Ties with Somalia

CAIRO, June 26 /PRNewswire/ -- In a Telephone Interview with Mr. William Bo' Fielding, Managing Director of Phoenix Intelligence Support Inc. - Anti Piracy Unit, Mr. Fielding discussed the outcome and results of a 30 day trip to Africa and The Middle East that took him, together with his delegation of experts, through Jordan, Egypt, Dubai and Mogadishu, Somalia.

Mr. William Bo' Fielding, the Managing Director of Phoenix Intelligence Support Inc. - Anti Piracy Unit, is somewhat of a modern day pioneer, leading an initiative that combines Specialized Private Security Companies together with private sector financial and industry leaders to solve the security and socioeconomic issues affecting developing countries and, in particular, Somalia and the Horn of Africa Region.

Mr. Fielding explained that after leading the expedition on May 19, 2009 together with a team of delegates of Phoenix Intelligence Support Inc. - Anti Piracy Unit, and other experts in the Fields of security, training, naval and military strategies, political policy and strategies, infrastructure, socio-economics, healthcare and education.

They all started their journey by visiting the Kingdom of Jordan in Amman, where Phoenix Participated as a Platinum Sponsor of the Grand Opening of KASOTC (King Abdullah's Special Operation Training Center), an event that lasted 3 days. Mr. Fielding stated that during the 3 day event, senior members from Special Operation Commands from across the world participated in discussions and competitions at the centre during which the Anti Piracy initiatives and other services of Phoenix Intelligence Support Inc. was well received and fully supported by the other participants.

Mr. Fielding said: "During the course of this important event, I was able to speak to many important officials from various defense departments, including General David H. Petraeus commander of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), discussions were held on cooperative agreements for training between Phoenix Intelligence Support Inc., and KASOTC for training special operations officers and civilian police officers, specialized law enforcement, counter-terrorism, anti piracy and marine interdiction skills, whom have contracted Phoenix Intelligence Support Inc. to offer training support in such fields."

Mr. Fielding explained that, after leaving from Amman, Jordan, the delegation continued to Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt, where Phoenix Intelligence Support Inc. organized the Cairo International Summit on Anti Piracy Strategies and Policies, which took place on May 27, 2009 and there they met with delegates from across the world including Military Attaches and other Diplomats from 25 World Nations, Arab League Representatives, United Nations Contact Group Members, including the 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Somali Prof. Abdulrahman Aden Ibrahim "Ibbi" and the Ambassador of Somalia to Egypt.

Mr. Fielding said: "Discussions were held and near terms solutions were found, and further to these solutions, a delegation was organized, consisting of a group of experts led by Phoenix, that included security experts from the United States, South Africa, France, England, Egypt and other experts from International Consulting LLC, a private company which is focused in financial support, natural resources, healthcare, education, nation branding, nation building and legal system support, all of which are the primary multifaceted elements of the core problem affecting the Horn of Africa and Somalia in particular, however, we all kept at the forefront the immediate near term issue of National Security Capacity and building and training the Somali Coast Guard, Civilian Police, Port Authorities, Anti Piracy Operations and related Security Counter-terrorism and Law Enforcement issues."

Mr. Fielding stated that: "The delegation did reach Mogadishu - Somalia on June 6, 2009 and after having met with the Prime Minister of Somalia Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, the 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Somali Prof. Abdulrahman Aden Ibrahim "Ibbi," The National Security Chief, the Defense and Naval Ministers, Officials representing the Fisheries and Marine Resources, Police, Army and Maritime Coast Guard trainees and their Commanders, operating under the command of the Transitional Federal Government of the Somali Republic (recognized and backed by the United Nations) and other important Government Officials over 2 days travel throughout the area."

Mr. Fielding said: "It was clear that the potential and talent is there in Somalia to create a strong professional coast guard, civil defense and national security force, and to rebuild all of the vital institutions which are necessary to maintain a unified peaceful Somalia for the benefit of the entire international community who's trade and commerce are currently threatened by the scourge of piracy and stability in the Horn of Africa."

Phoenix Intelligence Support Inc., pledges to supply training, equipment and human resources in accordance with the United Nations rules and resolutions to support the reconstruction, training and deployment of the Somali Coast Guard.

Mr. Fielding indicated that, in this regard up to 750 security experts, advisers, trainers and other human resources are available to execute such tasks as mentioned above and to guard any Embassy Staff, United Nations Employees, NGO's, Private Sector Businessmen, or other officials which wish to return to Somalia and reopen their offices in the near future once the terrorist groups "Al Shabbab" and others have been suppressed, in or around the Capital of Mogadishu.

Mr. Fielding also stated that: "Phoenix Intelligence Support Inc., and its coalition of partner companies, can also assist in creating a hardened 'Green Zone' in the Capital City of Mogadishu, similar to the one which allowed the Transitional Government in Iraq, to operate over the past several years, without making some of the mistakes that occurred during the learning process in that country, such a zone will contain all the vital Transitional Federal Government Operations United Nations and other Critical International Community Offices."

Mr. Fielding said: "Strong international partnerships, will produce the effective multilateralism required to solve the problems of Somalia and will create security and stability in the Horn of Africa which will make piracy, a thing of the past."

He also stated that, dozens of Shipping Companies and several Governments have contacted Phoenix Intelligence Support Services Inc. for Anti Piracy training, Onboard Security Teams and other specialized support in the Horn of Africa and the region, both on land and at sea and Mr. Fielding stated that the consensus reached at the Cairo Summit and the delegation to Mogadishu, was that a strong public-private partnership between specialized security firms, defense contractors, industry and finance leaders from the private sector and other experts who have the skills and resources to cure the near term core problem, which is primarily the absence of a Coast Guard to protect the waters in the coast line of the UN backed Government, must be organized with their efforts keenly directed towards supporting the Transitional Federal Government of the Somali Republic, with training, equipment, human resources and support to enable them to defend themselves and to protect global commerce from the impending threat of terrorism in the Horn of Africa and intensified violent piracy which torments the world's most critical waterway and threatens global trade and commerce on a near daily basis.

Lastly, Mr. Fielding and his delegation, after leaving from Mogadishu on June 8, 2009, departed to a 3 days final trip to Dubai before returning back to his home country, USA.

In Dubai a final summary meeting was held, together with some important business people and diplomats, who all agreed to take further actions in the development of activities for the immediate term and other activities for the medium term, in which the subject of "Sustainable Development" began to take hold enabling large scale foreign direct investment to begin to flow in and fund the Nation's building efforts of the Somali people, creating a unified and peaceful Somalia with vibrant trade and commerce, as it had in the past. Mr. Fielding remains confident in the future of a safe and stable Somalia and Horn of Africa Region.

May 20, 2009 PR announcing PIS's Cairo International Anti Piracy Summit

Cairo Anti Piracy Summit Marks the Beginning of the End of Piracy

Notice the earlier name in the lead

CAIRO, May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Phoenix Intelligence Support Services, Inc. - Anti Piracy Unit, Managing Director Mr. William "Bo" Fielding, announced today that...

Looks like they shortened Phoenix Intelligence Support Services, Inc to Phoenix Intelligence Support, Inc.

Someone probably decided that PIS makes a better acronym than PISS...

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Two interesting bits from a one-sided article published in The Media Line, Kenya's Increasingly Dangerous Neighbors.

In early July, leaders from the Horn of Africa, met with heads of the African Union in Sirte, Libya, to discuss an appropriate strategy against Al-Shabab. The mandate for the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia was changed to allow Kenyan troops into Somalia, overturning a previous agreement by neighboring states to avoid military intervention and act as mediators for the 2004 power-sharing government, led by President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed.

Following president Ahmed’s ousting in 2008, the deteriorating situation in Mogadishu and Al-Shabab’s rising influence, current Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Al Shamarke spent several months holding talks with senior Kenyan officials to discuss the possibilities of the multi front assault against Al-Shabab.

...

So far, it is not clear if Kenya is sending troops into Somalia, although Nairobi has set up military bases to train some 10,000 Somali soldiers within Kenya.

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An article Wednesday in Nairobi's Daily Nation describes claims of Kenyan youth being clandestinely recruited by the Kenyan military to fight in the various militia groups aligned w/ Sheikh Sharif's TFG.

Somalia war: Kenya on the spot over secret enlisting

Tension gripped Garissa Town on Wednesday following claims that hundreds of youths were being recruited secretly to fight in Somalia.

But before joining the army of Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the youths, it was further claimed, were first being taken for military training at Manyani Paramilitary Camp in Mombasa.

A group of parents who alleged that their sons had already been recruited, raised the alarm. They said that more than 300 youths aged between 18 and 30 years had secretly been recruited in six locations of Garissa District.

However, North Eastern provincial commissioner James ole Serian dismissed the claims as rumours. “I heard the rumours. I think this came about due to the ongoing relocation of Somali refugees, who are mainly youths, to Kakuma. Nevertheless, we shall investigate the matter,” the PC said.

...

The Al-Shabaab, alongside other militia groups, has been fighting to oust the fragile Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, which is supported by the US and other Western powers. Garissa mayor Mohamed Gabow said he had personally witnessed the recruitment.

“It has been going on. The boys who have been recruited have talked to us. They say they have been promised a $600 (Sh44,000) monthly salary,” Mr Gabow told the Nation by telephone. He claimed that those carrying out the recruitment were senior military officers, adding that the hiring was done in the cover of darkness.

“There are several National Youth Service and military trucks which ferry the recruits,” the mayor said. He alleged that the recruitment had been carried out in Medina, Masalani, Riig, Adan and Iftin villages — all in Garissa Town.

The civic leader noted that the last batch of 95 recruits was confined at Bula Shabah, at the outskirts of Garissa Town, before being ferried to Manyani. But the Department of Defence (DoD) denied any involvement in the recruitment of youth to fight in Somalia.

On Wednesday in Nairobi, DoD said it had information that Somali militia groups had been engaging in massive recruitment of fighters within refugee camps in the country.

...

In Garissa, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights northern region coordinator Hassan Abdille Abdi said the commission had received numerous complaints from locals on the secret hiring. “It is suspicious to carry out recruitment secretly without informing residents and local leaders,” Mr Abdi said.

Speaking to reporters during the close of a two-day regional consultative forum on security sector reforms in northern Kenya, Mr Abdi urged the government to clear the air on the matter. Mr Gabow, who was flanked by other civic leaders from the region, blamed the government for acting blindly to the whims of donors.

“If our youth take part in the fighting in Somalia, there is a possibility that Al-Shabaab insurgents will retaliate by attacking Kenya,” the mayor said. Garissa deputy mayor Ismail Mohamed Garad said the government should create jobs for the youth in the region instead of taking them to fight in a lawless country.

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Garowe Online: Al Shabaab suffer 'heavy losses' in new battles

KISMAYO, Somalia Oct 7 (Garowe Online) - Renewed armed clashes in southern Somalia between Islamist rival factions continued again on Wednesday, with Al Shabaab hardliners reportedly suffering heavy losses, Radio Garowe reports.

Two separate clashes took place near Janay Abdalla village in Lower Jubba region, inside sources said. The first attack took place around 4am local time when Al Shabaab fighters were ambushed and forced to retreat.

The second attack was an "all-out battle" between Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam groups that erupted around noon, the sources added.

"Al Shabaab suffered heavy losses, lost control of their military post and had their supply trucks captured," said a well-informed source, who was describing the two-hour-long battle.

There were no reliable reports of casualties, but sources in Kismayo, Afdamow and Nairobi said Al Shabaab fighters were "forced to scatter in a state of confusion" as Hizbul Islam reinforcements rushed in to battle.

Somali government sources in Mogadishu confirmed that a heavily armed convoy of Hizbul Islam fighters left Mogadishu and Afgoye town en route to Lower Jubba region using the main road through Jilib and other towns controlled by Al Shabaab.

...

Also Wednesday, Al Shabaab's political and regional relations head, Sheikh Hussein Ali Fidow, told Mogadishu-based media that a "committee" has been established to "investigate the conflict between Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam."

He noted that Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam leaders have "reached a preliminary agreement" and promised to present the terms to the media once the final agreement is signed.

Somaliweyn Media Center: Al-Shabab Martyrs exposes agreement with Hizbul-Islam

The head of the political affairs and regional relationship of Al-Shabab martyrs Sheikh Hussein Ali Fidow has in a press conference said that they have signed an agreement with their rivals Hizbul-Islam.

“Today on Wednesday we are hereby clearly and loudly informing our Muslim brothers
that we have signed significant agreement with our brothers Hizbul-Islam are the Points of the agreement we have signed are as follows” said Sheikh Fidow.

1- To set a committee to resolve what has happened.

2- To bring all faults before the Islamic Sharia law.

3 – To jointly fight against the enemy of Allah, and to avoid their conspiracy.

There are no comments coming out from the officials of Hizbul-Islam regarding about these points which Al-Shabab officials are saying

It was on Monday when Hizbul-Islam has displayed 3 conditions towards Al-Shabab

1-to confess that they have deliberately attacked Kismayo town

2- To give out apologise regarding about their attacks in Kismayo and its surrounding locations.

3- To sign truce and not to claim the control of Kismayo town.

There is nothing like ceasefire in this latest agreement read by sheikh Fidow to the press.

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Ecoterra International report Wednesday, building on an article in Somaliweyn Media Center,

Again 3 Somali fishermen missing, was reported today from Somalia

Great anxiety has gripped the coastal district town of Brava in Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia over the fate of three missing men.

The families and relatives of 3 Somali fishermen are greatly worried concerning the whereabouts of their three fishermen, who nobody has seen or heard of in the last 10 days.

Their last report said that NATO troops had opened fire on them, while they were doing their ordinary fishing.

Days after the fishermen have gone missing the boat they were fishing with drifted ashore in Brava district - showing clearly bullet holes.

“My husband has never told me that one day he will be a pirate - we used to share all thoughts, jokes and laughter - he tells me whatever he has in his heart, and I don’t think that he will join piracy, since it is such a risky mission. He merely likes going for fishing, nothing beyond. But I am now very worried about his whereabouts and his status,” said Halima Yussuf, the wife of one of the missing fishermen speaking to Somaliweyn radio.

Halima has appealed to all naval forces in the Somali waters to provide information concerning the fate of her husband and in case he was captured to release him immediately, since he is a nonviolent man and the breadwinner of their family.

Naval forces around the Horn of Africa have repeatedly and in several cases indiscriminately opened fire on boats of fishermen, who regularly also carry arms for self-protection.

The biggest problem is that nobody controls these navies independently and that they often do not even report to their allied command centres, if there was anything they can not be proud of. Such incidences then are just reported to their national headquarters, which remain tight-lipped and do neither report to the UN nor the Somali Government.

Though a Special Envoy for Anti-Piracy from the Somali governmental side was appointed and serves also as liaison to the international navies, non of the navies operating in the zone do report any incidence to Ismail Haji Noor, he says. Even if he has information from the ground reporting incidences to him, the naval command centres only reluctantly confirm what he knows already. But if there are no survivors the case is closed for the navies, it seems.

By not being transparent and conducive in their reporting, the navies are clearly violating the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

It looks as if Somalia is a test-case how far the military super-powers can go in violating the sovereignty of a state before other states realize what actually is going on. So far only countries like China and Indonesia or Malaysia seem to have understood the threat which comes out of the Somalia exercises also for the future sovereignty of their own countries.

The fate of at least 328 Somalis, who went out to sea in 2008 and 2009 but never came back and are now on the missing list, is not yet clarified. This figure does not include cases, where the families knew that their sons and daughters went on the refugee trail and which is another huge list of missing persons from Somalia.

The undisclosed involvement of naval forces in the death or abduction of many of these Somalis certainly is an international human rights scandal without precedence in which the naval armada, the clueless TFG government and the silent nations, who are supposed to hold the charters high, stand accused.

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AFP: Russia to help France train Somali soldiers

PARIS - Russia will join France in helping train Somali soldiers at the French base in Djibouti, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Wednesday.

Kouchner told the parliament foreign affairs commission that he made the proposal to Russia last week during his visit to Moscow and that “they will do it.”

“There will be Russians training Somali soldiers in Djibouti,” said Kouchner.

France had agreed to train a battalion of 500 Somali troops but Europe minister Pierre Lellouche has complained that it was a heavy burden for Paris to shoulder on its own.

Germany and Spain have hinted that they too may be ready to take part in the training programme to build up Somali troops and shore up Somalia’s weak government.

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Reuters: UN: little pledged aid paid up for Somali security

Less than one-third of the aid that international donors pledged six months ago to help Somalia's government boost security and fight piracy has been received, U.N. officials said on Thursday.

The donors agreed at an April 23 conference in Brussels to provide almost $214 million to help the embattled interim government end 18 years of lawlessness in the east African country and off its coast.

The aim was to build up a police force of some 10,000 personnel and a security force of 5,000, and to bolster the African Union AMISOM peacekeeping mission in Somalia, which currently stands at 5,000.

But U.N. officials said less than $70 million had been received so far. They could not immediately say which countries had failed to pay up.

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AFP: France offers more training for Somali forces

France has offered to train 3,000 Somali security forces as part of a European Union mission to combat high-seas piracy and restore stability to Somalia, the defence ministry said Friday.

Defence Minister Herve Morin made the offer in a letter sent earlier this week to the Swedish EU presidency and said other European countries could take part in the new initiative.

...

France is "committed to actively take part in this European mission, in particular by providing training and logistical support," said Morin in the statement.

"A robust training of Somali operational and security forces could lead to an efficient stabilising action," he said.

France's minister for Europe, Pierre Lellouche, was in Djibouti on Friday for talks with his EU counterparts about the anti-piracy Operation Atalanta launched in December.

Germany, Spain and Russia are considering taking part in the French training programme, according to French officials.

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Mareeg Online: Prime Minister meets with UN official in Mogadishu

Somalia’s Prime Minister, Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, has met with the UN under secretary-general for Safety and Security Gregory B. Starr in Mogadishu, an official said on Friday.

Abdulkadir Walayo, the spokesman of the Somali Prime Minister said the Prime Minister Sharmarke and the UN official discussed ways to push forward the reopening of UN offices in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

Walayo said the Somali government and the United Nations will focus on how UN offices can be reopened in Mogadishu.

Gregory B. Starr is the highest ranking UN official that visits in Mogadishu for the last ten years.

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Some items from the 6197th Meeting of the UN Security Council

[Craig Boyd, Director of the United Nations Support Operation to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM),] said the current military strength of AMISOM in Mogadishu stood at about 5,200 troops, or 65 per cent of the mandated force of 8,000 troops. Burundi and Uganda had each deployed three battalions and both countries had offered to provide a fourth battalion, which, along with the offer of Djibouti to contribute a special-forces unit of 400 troops, would bring the Mission close to its mandated strength.

The General Assembly, he said, approved funding of $139 million for the support package which had so far provided fresh food to AMISOM troops in Mogadishu, concluded a fuel contract that would commence delivery shortly, and nearly concluded procurement for aero-medical evacuation services. United Nations contracts were already in place with various hospitals in Nairobi, Kenya. Contracts for Mission headquarters, a medical facility and prefab structures and other needs should be approved shortly. He explained that those arrangements would replace support that had previously been received from an unnamed Member State and its vendor.

In addition, he said, a strategic communications network had been established for AMISOM and maritime vessels had been contracted to provide sea freight services between Mombasa and Mogadishu, with around $7 million of United Nations equipment brought to Mogadishu on those vessels, including field defence stores, critical medical supplies, an airport fire-fighting vehicle and a range of engineering equipment. All that equipment would be put to immediate use. He thanked the International Maritime Task Force for the assistance in that area.

...

In regard to security, he said that each of the four maritime vessels that had transported support to AMISOM had been attacked. In addition, four AMISOM soldiers lost their lives during a mortar attack on the centralized food storage and refrigeration facility established by the United Nations Support Operation to AMISOM. He stressed that the Department of Field Support was fully committed to supporting AMISOM but Mogadishu was currently a very challenging environment and attacks would potentially slow the full delivery of the mandated support package. In recent months, limited numbers of United Nations international staff members had visited most AMISOM sites for short periods. The United Nations Support Operation to AMISOM would maximize its use of AMISOM military personnel to assist in the delivery of essential support services until the security environment allowed more effective use of United Nations contractors and civilian staff.

In conclusion, he saluted AMISOM for the commitment and resilience of its personnel and stressed the close working relationship his office had with the mission. He also thanked the Government of Kenya for its cooperation and provision of land for a logistics support base.

Also from that session,

Remarks by Ambassador Rosemary A. DiCarlo, U.S. Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs, during a Security Council Briefing on Somalia, in the Security Council Chamber

Al-Shabaab and other extremist groups, fueled by outside actors, have caused numerous deaths and violated the rights of Somali citizens with impunity—including by assaulting, detaining, and illegally arresting civilians.

The issue of outside actors is a serious one. The Somalia Sanctions Committee’s Monitoring Group has reported that Eritrea has provided political, financial, and military support to armed opposition groups in Somalia. Efforts by the international community to engage the Eritrean government on its regional relations have been rebuffed. It is time for the international community to consider ways to address Eritrea’s destabilizing impact on Somalia and the region.

Mr. President, against this backdrop, support for the TFG and AMISOM should be central to our support for the Somali peace process. AMISOM has demonstrated an impressive ability to protect strategic positions under sustained attack by insurgents, and we commend its personnel for their heroism. The United States strongly supports funding a logistical support package for AMISOM, and my government will continue to provide equipment and training to AMISOM troop-contributing countries.

At the same time, we must work to improve Somalia’s domestic security sector. The Secretary-General’s report highlighted the need to harmonize the content and duration of training for TFG troops. With this in mind, we recommend greater coordination of international efforts to train and equip the TFG’s security and police forces to ensure stronger, more effective forces.

Did you expect anything less that such pompous hypocrisy and dissembling from the U.S. here? Could they be so delusional they don't even realise how contradictory the entire passage is. Shameful.

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Xinhua: Islamist rebels vow to attack UN offices in Mogadishu

Somalia's Hezbul Islam rebel group on Saturday threatened to attack UN offices planned to be reopened in Mogadishu, and ordered local and international non-governmental organizations to register with it, officials of the Islamist group said.

The group, which controls parts of central and southern Somalia, said it would carry out attacks on UN offices once the plan to reopen them in Somalia's capital was carried out.

The Somali government and UN officials this week discussed ways of relocating the UN Somalia office, currently in Nairobi, Kenya, to Somalia's capital Mogadishu. They agreed that the offices will be reopened after expert advice on the issue was considered.

Spokesman for Hezbul Islam, Mohamed Osman Arus, said his faction would target the UN offices in Mogadishu and "escalate" the attacks against the Somali government forces and African Union(AU) peacekeepers in Mogadishu if the offices of the UN was relocated to the capital city.

The group accuses the UN of supporting the Somali government and the nearly 5,000 AU peacekeeping soldiers deployed in Mogadishu, which the rebel group considers as an invasion force.

The UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and other UN agencies that support the fragile Somali government have their offices and staff in neighboring Kenya because of the deteriorating security situation in Somalia.

The Islamist group also asked local and international non-governmental organizations operating in areas under their control to register within 15 days with the movement's "Office for Social Affairs" in Mogadishu.

Hezbul Islam said it was issuing the order so as "to follow the work of the NGOs and what they are doing for the people" in areas under the movement's control.

The group threatened any organization who fails to register that "its status will be reconsidered".

Earlier this year, Al-Shabaab, another Islamist rebel movement that controls much of southern and central of Somalia banned the operations of four UN agencies in areas under its control.

The group accused the UNPOS, the UN Development Program (UNDP),the UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) and UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), of being an enemy of Islam and Muslims.

On that latter statement regarding the humanitarian organizations, Somaliweyn Media Center reports

“We are hereby informing the entire humanitarian organizations which are operating in Somalia to register within a period of 15 days, at my office” said Sheikh Salman Sahal Muse the head of the community affairs speaking to Somaliweyn radio.

Mr. Salman has added that why they are doing like this is to monitor the activities of the humanitarian organizations, to observe what they are giving out, the amount they are giving out and as well the quality.

Salman has also added that this new rule will be effective as from today October 10, 2009 till the 25th, and which ever organization does not register will see the consequence, and there will be no more collaboration.

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Garowe Online: 15 killed in renewed Islamist clashes near Kismayo

The fighting erupted overnight Friday and again on Saturday morning in Bulo Haji, a village located 70km southwest of the port of Kismayo.

Al Shabaab hardliners who control Kismayo attacked Bulo Haji village, which is under the authority of fighters loyal to Hizbul Islam.

Many wounded Al Shabaab fighters are currently being treated at the Kismayo hospital, according to reliable sources.

Hizbul Islam fighters claimed to have killed a senior Al Shabaab figure identified as Farah Dahir Warsame, although the reports could not be independently confirmed.

The conflict is now spreading into Mogadishu:

Garowe Online: 3 Hizbul Islam members assassinated in Mogadishu area

Three militia officers with Somali rebel outfit Hizbul Islam were gunned down during a thirty-minute span on Friday, raising concerns of an assassination spree by a rival Islamist faction, Radio Garowe reports.

A Hizbul Islam militia commander, identified as Ahmed Taliban, was killed after unknown gunmen opened fire on his vehicle in Elasha Biyaha area along the road connecting the capital Mogadishu to the agricultural town of Afgoye. Three other people inside the car were also killed in the spray of bullets, according to local sources.

Elasha Biyaha, where most of Mogadishu's displaced civilians have fled since 2007, is the headquarters of Hizbul Islam chief Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys.

Mr. Taliban was a well-known militia commander and a “close associate” of Sheikh Aweys, the sources added. The masked attackers escaped in a Renault sedan, witnesses reported.

Two other Hizbul Islam militia officers were gunned down Saturday. One victim was a Hizbul Islam militia commander who was shot and killed in Afgoye town, while the second victim was a Hizbul Islam officer in charge of finances, who was killed in Mogadishu’s sprawling Bakara Market.

The separate assassinations were carried out within minutes of each other. No group has claimed responsibility for the assassinations, but the killings come at a time of growing military tension between Hizbul Islam and Al Shabaab hardliners.

Meanwhile, Hizbul Islam fighters and armed trucks have reinforced the checkpoint at Sinka Dheer area in southern Mogadishu, which leads to Elasha Biyaha and Afgoye area.

Sources said there are concerns of an Al Shabaab attack on Elasha Biyaha and the Hizbul Islam reinforcements were sent to Sinka Dheer as a defensive position.

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Ecoterra International's coverage of the reports of the French marines firing on Somalis to defend tuna boats

Conveniently timed together with the sub-regional meeting to progress the implementation of the Djibouti Code of Conduct 8-12 Oct in Seychelles: French marines fire at alleged Somali pirates in Indian Ocean

French marines providing protection on board French fishing vessels in the Indian Ocean early on Saturday fired on alleged pirates to repel a dawn attack, first reports said.

"Three small launches... (which were) nearly invisible and that we had on the radar at the last moment, chased us," a member of the crew of the FV DRENNAC, one of two French fishing vessels approached by the pirates, told AFP by telephone.

The French marines on board to provide protection "at first fired warning shots, then they fired at the target," he added.

The French military said the marines had first fired flares then "warning shots in the air and across the bows of the pirates' boats", before finally, when the pirates opened fire "probably with Kalashnikovs", aimed at the skiffs, which "immediately stopped pursuing" their target.

Where exactly?

The incident first was said to have taken place 195 nautical miles (350 kilometres) north of the Seychelles and AFP reported that there were no casualties on the French side.

It, however, can not be ruled out that the 195nm "positioning" was conveniently chosen, because is would be inside the 200nm EEZ of the Seychelles, where a Somali-flagged vessel not necessarily would have a permission to fish or to carry arms.

EU NAVFOR HQ refused to provide an exact position of the incident.

The latest attack on FV Drennec, fishing in tandem with FV Glenan, took place some 20 nautical miles (36 kilometres) from the place where pirates last week attacked a cargo vessel, a source told AFP.
In a later report Reuters stated that the attack took place some 350 km (220 miles = 195nmiles) from the Seychelles.

It seems to be clear that the French marines on board of re-flagged French vessels now sailing under the flag of the Seychelles have the authority to use military force and firearms inside the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Seychelles. Some maritime lawyers however foresee legal complications with the use of firearms by the French against Somali nationals in Somali vessels.within or outside the Seychelles EEZ

"The French military fired on pirates in the Indian Ocean on Saturday to protect two tuna fishing vessels," the spokesman for France's armed forces Christophe Prazuck confirmed to Reuters. The Somalis didn't fire back.

"If it was in in international waters, the Somali seafarers have the same rights to fish and to carry arms as the French or anybody else and since the French fired first it then would have been an attack by France against Somalia, which normally would also have serious diplomatic consequences," a political analyst remarked in Nairobi. Several Ambassadors of coastal states have stated in the corridors during the last UN Security Council session that such law-bending examples could be used as precedence by several naval powers to also show similar aggression off their coasts.

"French soldiers opened fire on two small launches that were trying to approach the vessels bearing the French ensign. No one was injured on the tuna ships, which are based at Concarneau, in southern Brittany, the spokesman said. There were shots ... it lasted half an hour and at one point they turned around," the captain of one of the tuna vessels, Christophe Guyader, told France Bleu Breizh Izel radio.
The report was confirmed to AFP by a "western source sailing in the same area". He said that the pirate skiffs that came under fire returned to a mother ship of some 30 metres (90 feet) in length. "Likely an old Asian long-liner, like the Win Far, which has been under surveillance for the past several months when it was anchored off the Somali coast.

Mothership nabbed ?

This could be a vessel of the notorious Taiwanese WIN FAR fleet regional observes confirmed.

Naval surveillance planes were dispatched to locate the attackers and several warships involved in the Atalanta operation headed into that zone following the attempted attack on the French fishing vessel.
A Seychelles coastguard vessel, the Topaz, immediately gave chase to the mother ship and was closing in on it around midday, the same source said.

Latest informations from the Seychelles and from other fishing vessels in the area stated that the Seychelles coastguard actually has captured the mothership, while other sources maintain that a group of naval ships surrounded the mothership and only called in the Seychelles coastguard to take over for legal reasons, now stating again that it was within the area, which belong to the 200nm EEZ of the Seychelles.
Coast guard officials from the Seychelles reportedly disabled the engine of a boat believed to be with pirates involved in the attack, Jacqueline Sherriff, chief press officer for the maritime unit of NATO in Northwood, outside London, told AP.

No other details of that confrontation were immediately available and no clear identity of the alleged mothership was provided.

The NATO spokeswoman says 11 suspected pirates have been captured and she confirmed that the coast guard of the Seychelles captured one boat with eight suspects on board. She says three men were discovered aboard another boat believed to be their mothership. The Seychelles' coast guard is holding the 11, whose nationality was not known to her, she added as reported by AP.

Protection or Aggression ?

It is the first time that the French soldiers, who have been providing protection since July 1 on board about 10 French fishing ships off the Somali coast, have opened fire on alleged pirates.

"There were no casualties aboard the French boats, the Drennac and the Glenan and it proves that this measure (having soldiers on board) works," the western source told AFP. All those aboard the French boats were unharmed but it was not clear if any pirates were injured, the French navy told AP.

"Isn't it wonderful how this "sailing Western source" - which only can mean a naval vessel - had this morning apparently no idea that there would be a "pirate-mothership" in the area," Somalia's Anti-Piracy envoy remarked. "Until today the international armada of naval vessels has not a single time arrested or averted any vessel fishing illegally in the Somali waters, though there are plenty of documented cases." Ishmail Haji Noor asked.also how many unauthorized fishing vessels are in the area in addition to the 3,450 "authorized" vessels currently listed by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) with 28 different flags in the record, but the navies would not tell him.

The tuna fishing industry is worth up to $6 billion annually across the Indian Ocean region.

FV Glénan and Drennec belong both to the fleet of the Breton fishing company Cobrepêche, based at Concarneau in Brittany (western France) and form together with the Spanish purse-seiners a fleet of the worlds largest tuna hunters, which currently have come together in the Indian Ocean. The world largest tuna-hauler, the 115 m long Spanish flagged FV ALBATUN TRES, which can take around 3,000 tons in one go and was chased away from it's looting sprees around Kiribati last year by a joint resolution of Pacific Island States, is now also further depleting the dwindling stocks of yellow-fin tuna in the Indian Ocean off Somalia.

Some 60 marines are involved in this French protection measure, which was put in place at the request of ship owners and is distinct from both the European Union and NATO anti-piracy operations in the region - this most likely in order to avoid that they have to report to a neutral body or a non-French command.

Spanish fishing vessels operating in the same region have called for the same protection measures but Madrid has so far refused, saying Spanish law does not allow it and in any case there are not enough troops available.

...

Marines or Mercenaries ?

Like the fishing vessels cable-laying ships have used on-board military escorts as well. Ships pay the price tag of such operations. While they don't pay soldiers' base salaries, they do pay for extras including airline tickets and hotels, French naval spokesman Prazuck confirmed to AP, thereby once again showing that naval forces do rent out their services to private ventures - a practice which the navies tried to keep for a long time secret.

Prazuck declined to give specifics about the number of soldiers stationed aboard such boats and their weapons, but he said they were equipped with firearms strong enough to give them an advantage over the pirates' arms of choice, Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.

French Defence Minister Herve Morin said Saturday the presence of the marines aboard trawlers "is planned to continue throughout the fishing season to ensure as much security as possible to fishermen."

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Somaliweyn Media Center: Al-Shabab sends warning signal to Kenyan Authority

The Martyrs of Al-Shabab in Gedo region in southern Somalia, has warned the Kenyan government to give extra precautions in training Somali youths who hail from Northeastern the Somali dominated region in Kenya, to bolster the Somali Transitional Federal Government Soldiers.

“We have reliable sources that the Kenyan government is providing military training to young Somalis in Northeastern Kenya, and if the Kenyan government does not immediately stop this action we shall raid them, and let them prepare themselves for war instead of peace” said Daud Mohamed Garane the Chairman of Al-Shabaab in Gedo region in southern Somalia.

The Chairman has also added that Somalia has along territory with Kenya, and they are smart enough to carryout any action against it right in the center in the big Kenyan towns such as Nairobi, Mombassa, Kisumu and Nakuru.

The chairman has on Saturday delivered this statement in front of a huge crowd in the town of Bardere in Gedo region.

AP: Somali Islamists Threaten to Attack Kenya

The Islamist insurgency in Somalia may attack targets in neighboring Kenya, an Islamist official said Sunday.

The insurgency's appointed governor of Gedo region, Sheik Da'ud Mohamed Garane, made the threats on behalf of the al-Shabab militia following reports that Kenya's military was stepping up recruitment of ethnic Somalis who are Kenyan citizens.

"Our intelligence sources have already confirmed that Kenya is giving training and military equipment to Somali men in three different areas along its border with Somalia," he told a crowd of some 200 people in southwestern Somalia. "These men are being prepared to attack the peaceful positions we control. But let me tell Kenya that we will do all we can to prevent that to happen."

Garowe Online: Kenya ‘closes’ Somalia border after Al Shabaab threat

The Kenyan government has closed its border with Somalia following threats by Somali insurgents, Radio Garowe reports.

Local sources the Kenyan border towns of Mandera and Wajer have reported the arrival of Kenyan troops and ongoing military movements in the region.

“This [Sunday] morning, we were refused to cross the Kenyan border and we saw many students denied to attend schools in Mandera,” said a Somali businessman in Beled Hawo, a town in Gedo region in southwestern Somalia adjacent to Mandera.

The spokesman for Al Shabaab insurgents, Sheikh Ali “Dheere” Mohamud, told Mogadishu media that Kenya is a target for insurgent attacks.

“Kenya’s plan to defeat the Mujahideen is a failure and the troops it [Kenya] is recruiting will support the group that was forced out of Kismayo recently,” Sheikh Ali Dheere said, while referring to Hizbul Islam rebels loyal to Sheikh Ahmed “Madobe” Mohamed.

There are widespread reports that the Kenyan government is actively recruiting Somali youth in parts of Kenya inhabited by ethnic Somalis, with the intention of sending the new soldiers to fight insurgents in Somalia.

It is not the first time Kenya has closed off its porous border with Somalia for security reasons.

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Garowe Online: Hizbul Islam attack government forces in central Somalia

Hizbul Islam rebels in central Somalia attacked a government military outpost on Friday, with emerging reports saying that at least one soldier died in the attack, Radio Garowe reports.

The attack took place in Mataban district, the central Hiran region, where Somali government forces expelled from the Hiran provincial capital Beletwein last month were regrouping and had reportedly established a control checkpoint.

It is not clear which road Hizbul Islam fighters used to reach Mataban, especially since Somali government forces are based at Kala-Beyr junction north of Beletwein on the main north-south highway. Unconfirmed reports said there are Ethiopian troops at the Kala-Beyr junction.

Meanwhile, Hizbul Islam fighters have established base at the El Gal military camp i the outskirts of Beletwein where Somali government forces used to be based. Military tensions remain high in Hiran region as different groups undertake military maneuvers.

Beletwein remains calm under the control of Hizbul Islam rebels.

Mareeg Online: Ethiopian troops cross into central region

Ethiopian troops with armed trucks have reportedly crossed the border and were deployed near Beledweyne in central Somalia, witnesses say.

This comes as the Islamist rebels took over Beledweyne from government soldiers and advanced to near by towns in the region.

Locals say the Ethiopian troops are accompanied by many of pro government soldiers with armed vehicles and started search operations in the area.

Residents say the Ethiopian troops detained more civilians in their search operations, but they have later released when they asked questions.

The Ethiopian troops have also cut the telecommunication in those areas they have entered early on Sunday.

Shabelle Media: Ethiopian troops reported to enter villages in central Somalia

Ethiopian troops are reported to have established bases in villages to the west of Beled Weyne town, Hiiraan Region.

According to reports from Baar Buyaac, Wagada, Ali Ganay and other villages less than 50-km to the west of Beled Weyne yesterday afternoon hundreds of Ethiopian troops and Somali militia with military vehicles arrived in the area.

On arrival, they surrounded the villages and started searching the houses although there are no reports of weapons being found there.

The reports further say that the Ethiopian troops seized a number of people and questioned them only to release some later.

The Ethiopian troops also cut off telephone links in the villages and established a base on the outskirts.

In the past few days, residents in the area have been complaining about Ethiopian troop movement along the border with Hiiraan Region.

In addition, the Ethiopian troops are said to have imprisoned 15 youth from Beled Weyne who were on their way to the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia.

AFP: Ethiopian army crosses into Somalia: residents

Several hundred Ethiopian soldiers crossed into neighbouring Somalia at the weekend, arresting dozens of villagers linked to hardline Islamists, elders and residents told AFP on Sunday.

The Ethiopian forces, accompanied by Somali pro-government clan-based militias, entered three villages west of Beledweyn, some 300 kilometres (186 miles) north of Mogadishu, on Saturday afternoon.

"I saw dozens of armed vehicles belonging to the Ethiopian army with some Somali militias, they entered Wagada village and detained several people before getting out of the village this morning," Husein Farah Gomey, an elder near Beledweyn told AFP by phone.

Mohamed Nur Adan, another elder in a nearby village also said that his cousin was among dozens detained for questioning by the Ethiopian forces.

"Hundreds of them entered the area late Saturday, they detained 13 people including my cousin but they later released him after questioning him for several hours," he said.

The residents said that while the Ethiopians let some of their detainees go, they took others with them.

Local Islamist officials in the region also confirmed the cross-border raid by the Ethiopian forces.

"It is not the first time they have carried out such raids inside Somalia taking innocent civilians with them, but we tell them that such provocation will only breed bloodshed," Sheik Abdurahman Sheik Mohamoud, a senior Hezb al Islam commander said.

Some of the residents told AFP the Ethiopian forces crossed from the border town of Ferfer tracing members from the Ogaden rebel group that fighting the Ethiopian government.

Ethiopian troops have entered the Beledweyn area on several occasions, with the most-recently reported raid being the end of August when they and Somali government troops drove Islamist rebels from the town.