Somalia thread for the week ending November 1

More shelling of the Bakara Market on Wednesday

Shabelle Media: Heavy fighting and shelling kills 5, wounds 15 others in Mogadishu

at least 5 people have been killed and 15 others have been wounded after fresh fighting with heavy shelling broke out in several neighborhoods in the Somali capital Mogadishu, officials told Shabelle radio on Wednesday.

Reports say that the fighting started at Mekka Al-mukarama street, a key road that connects the presidential palace and Km4, a base for the African Union troops AMSIOM as the AU troops tried to start military movement around there and blockaded the streets which caused to spread the war into further districts like Hodan, Hawl-wadag and Waberi all in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Reports also indicate that more than 5 people died during the fighting including government officer and a teenager who was at around Dabka intersection in Mogadishu as bitter shelling from the side of the AMSIOM troops were landing into many areas in Bakara Market.

Mareeg Online adds

Reports indicate that tanks of AMISOM were seen in Dabka Street and Tripunka area in Mogadishu where they did not use to come.

Continuing with the Shabelle Media report,

Officials from Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen had claimed victory over today’s fighting in Mogadishu saying that they burnt one of the armed vehicles of the African Union troops AMISOM pointing out that they also inflicted more casualties to the allied soldiers of the TFG and the AU.

Eyewitnesses told Shabelle’s Mohamed Bashir that three passengers were also wounded at the front gate of Kulliyad Jalle Sia’d, the main base of the Burundian troops as a truck driver of a mini bus they traveling stopped there which caused the AU troops especially Burundians to open fire and wound three of the passengers while the others escaped from the accident.

Shabelle contacted with the spokesman of AMISOM troops asking why their forces blocked the streets of Mogadishu and also what military movement they did and replied that it was normal for the AMSIOM troops make movement or petrol in the areas of their bases in Mogadishu asserting that they could go further areas out the capital.

Most of the people died or wounded in the clashes between the transitional government soldiers backing by AMISOM troops and Islamist fighters were civilians and were rushed to the hospitals in Mogadishu according to Ali Muse, an official of the emergency.

An APA article reported

The fighting began when Islamist fighters attacked the African peace keepers’ base in the capital, then triggering heavy fighting followed shelling.

Residents said that heavy shelling was coming from the bases of AU peace keepers in Mogadishu after the clash.

“I witnessed three civilians were killed in the battle,” Hassan Omar, resident in bakro market said.

“They died when shell landed on the village,” he added.

“You can’t imagine what happened in early morning of this day,” he said.

Matthew Russell Lee at Inner City Press on Tuesday pointed out the blatant lying of the UN's Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Pascoe B. Lying... oops, that is supposed to read B. Lynn Pascoe, regarding last week's deadly shelling which killed dozens of civilians

On Somalia, UN's Pascoe Blames Shabaab for Marketplace Shelling

UNITED NATIONS, October 27 -- Having been turned back from Somali airspace during a mortar attack on the Mogadishu airport, the UN's political chief Lynn Pascoe on Tuesday presented to the Press a rosy picture of successful peacekeeping by Burundi and Uganda. Inner City Press asked about reports that these African Union peacekeepers fired into a marketplace and residential neighborhoods, killing at least twenty civilians.

"It depends on what kind of story you're trying to write," Pascoe answered, repeating the claim that Al Shabaab has been shelling the neighborhoods it controls in order to blame the AU peacekeepers. Video here, from Minute 12:15.

How about one that's honest and accurate, Pascoe?

As I linked in last week's thread, even CNN reported that the shelling was coming from the AMISOM compound.

Journalists saw shell fire coming from AMISOM -- the African Union Mission in Somalia -- strongholds in a fortified district of the capital and from near the airport. AMISOM is the only force in the area believed to have the firepower capable of such an intense attack.

Yet here's a top UN official telling the press that instead Harakat Al Shabaab Mujahideen actually shelled the market to turn the population against AMISOM (because everyone knows how much Somali's love foreign troops on their soil propping up a foreign-created transitional government imposed on them). I guess that "story" only works on audiences who have no idea what is actually taking place in Mogadishu, or of the long history of indiscriminate shelling of Bakara Market and the surrounding neighborhoods, and whom otherwise accept official statements at face value (read: your typical reporter these days).

And yet some still wonder why the insurgent groups are having issues with UN missionaries in Somalia.

Continuing with the Inner City Press dispatch,

Al Shabaab has threatened to target Burundi and Uganda for the incident. Inner City Press asked Pascoe if that might impact his upbeat story of a growing AU force in Somalia. "Threats and statements are just threats and statements," Pascoe said. Video here, from Minute 20:08. He said that the two countries are there because they perceive a threat from Somalia to their own peace and security.

The threat Somalia poses to Burundi is not entirely clear. Nor is the legality of Uganda's new screening of all Somalis in its territory, as an anti-terrorism measure. On that, Inner City Press asked Charles Petrie, now the deputy to Ould Abdallah at the UN's mission to Somalia, based in Nairobi, if it is true that the U.S. is withholding $50 million in food aid in connection with an internal investigation by the UN World Food Program of alleged diversions.

Petrie said to "ask the State Department," and claimed it is not really about WFP. But WFP has admitted it is investigating itself. So which is it? Petrie dismissed claims by Somalis that food is being used as a political weapon, saying that there are spoilers in Somalia who are "on lists." Video here, from Minute 21:59.

Later on Tuesday, Inner City Press asked Richard Barrett of the UN's Al Queda / Taliban Sanctions committee about this withholding of aid, and if there is any proof linking Al Shabaab to Al Qaeda. Barrett repeated what he had said in July, that Al Shabaab praises Al Qaeda. Video here. But is that the standard of proof?

These fools are certain to get stuck eventually, sticking, as they do, to their phoney narrative.

I have not come across an objective analysis of the "at your service" video Barrett is referring to, which came to light courtesy of the likes of MEMRI and the NEFA Foundation, both of which appear to be outlets for disseminating intelligence agency created propaganda, but it has plant written all over it. I've covered some of this in the threads touching on Abu Mansour al-Amriki, who does seem to have disappeared after it was reported that a little bird picked him up during Operation Celestial Balance.

WRT Pascoe's contention that Uganda and Burundi participated in AMISOM because 'they perceive a threat to their own peace and security', the reality is more likely their relationships with the US military. Neither share a border with Somalia, and each only hosts a small Somali community.

Interestingly, a commentary posted at Wardheer News on Wednesday raises another possible motive for the targeting of the Bakara Market, this one being economic:

An Atrocious act of Inhumanity at the Bakaraha Market

Yes! The claim is made that Bakaraha has transformed into the command center and the hub of Al-Shabab where all the attacks against the government are hatched up. However; the fact remains that it also serves as the nerve center of the country’s economic activity. It is indefensible to knowingly target it with the full knowledge that thousands of innocent people gather to shop and trade in the open market.

Clearly; shelling the market over and over again has not brought its collapse except of course causing utter terror and mass killing. Then what is the strategic goal or objective behind it? One can not help but suspect other motives. Could it perhaps be to eliminate the fierce competition posed by the entrepreneurial nature of the Somalis in countries donating peace keepers to Somalia?

There is no question that there is deep seated envy and jealousy of the reach and power of the Somali business people in the entire East African markets. The bargains and quality of goods Somalis offer in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda has generated a feeling of discomfort to say the least or an outright resentment often manifested in violence. Take the innumerable cases of violence committed against Somalis in South Africa and Kenya.

Now; the patrimonial relationship between the ruling elite of East Africa and the business sector is well established fact. Thus; it is not completely implausible that successes Somalis have achieved in those countries presents unwelcome competition and poses direct threat to the earning power of top ruling echelons or government officials of nations providing peace keeping forces to Somalia.

Moreover; the pervasive notion held throughout East Africa that the Somalis enjoy unfair competitive advantage as a result of the lawlessness in their country where no tariffs are paid allows them to offer cheaper bargain prices are unsubstantiated. There is also a widely circulated rumor that the Bakaraha market is the logistical hub and supply center where all goods shipped to east Africa originate.

Therefore; if the opportunity presents itself to cripple rivals who pose credible threat to diminish one’s income levels, and deal with them once and for all to drive them out of business, why not? Could this possibly explain why the market is incessantly bombarded?

Not to say that's not a motive -- a lesser motive at any rate -- but the market has been shelled somewhat consistently since the Ethiopian occupation moved into Mogadishu, while the first AMISOM forces were just beginning to arrive. A better explanation is that the shelling is simply a counterinsurgency tactic, designed to drain the water the insurgency swims in. And, of course, as we've seen many time before, when taking fire themselves, the poorly trained forces typically respond by indiscriminately retaliating against anything that moves, be it a busload of civilians, some camels, or kids playing in the street.

Which really makes one wonder about this 2007 US military public affairs story:

Airmen provide optometry care to deploying African troops

11/26/2007 - SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany (AFPN) -- Air Force optometry speicialists provided eye care to two battalions of African military members prior to the battalions leaving on a peace keeping mission in Somalia.

...

The team was sent to provide optometry and eye care because International Crisis Operations and Peace Keeping trainers reported that individual weapons qualifications and accuracy beyond 50 meters were hindered due to poor eyesight. The trainers placed a request for an eye-care team to evaluate and provide glasses for the two battalions.

The 52nd AMDS Optometry Flight was given four duty days to build their team and gather the necessary equipment to deploy into the austere environment.

...

To provide glasses to the patients, fabrication and delivery was arranged via an Army optical lab in Kuwait.

"At the end of each day, we coordinated with embassy staff to scan the prescriptions, then e-mail them to the lab," Sergeant Gonzalez said. "We got so efficient at the whole process that by the time we sent them the next day's worth of prescriptions, the lab had already made the previous day's worth."

Certainly would explain alot, except one has to take into account troop rotations. At the time I had assumed the apparently heavy demand for eyeglasses at the last moment before the Burundi troops hopped on the shuttle for Mogadishu may have signified that the soldiers were signing contracts for deployment they couldn't even read. Maybe that's another explanation for Burundi's involvement. :)

Anyway, while it wasn't Bakara Market this time, Garowe Online reported that indiscriminate shelling by AMISOM forces killed even more civilians last Sunday.

5 killed in Mogadishu shelling, military court opens

According to witnesses, the shelling started Sunday afternoon following insurgent mortars launched at the bases of Somali government forces and African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM), who responded by shelling the launching areas.

"The shells hit residential homes and I saw five dead bodies," said witness Ali Ahmed, who lives in Mogadishu's Yaaqshiid district.

Mogadishu ambulance workers said 20 wounded civilians were rushed to medical centers for treatment.

-- -- --

Michael Weinstein's latest analysis is available at Garowe Online and delves into the economic motives behind the factional disputes in Kismayo, citing a closed source in the region.
The Struggle for Kismayo and Clan-Based Islamist Warlordism

None of these tensions, of course, spells self-destruction, but only fragmentation and realignment along the lines of calculations of positional advantage by the myriad actors.

-- -- --

[A response to the anonymous comment below, posted here since there is a limit to the size of posts there:]

Welcome Anon, but fallacious trickery such as the untrue premise of "you really think that Shabaab al-Mujahideen propaganda is all created by intel agencies" won't play very well nor win you much respect. There's a web trail out there of everything I have covered on the subject over the years which clears up any misunderstanding you may have in regard to your claims.

Which leadership of which Shabaab brigade did you have in mind?

Here's Mukhtar Robow, for instance, from his March 9, 2009 al-Jazeera interview as the official spokesperson for the mvmt

Al-Jazeera: There are people who say that your group has close relations with Al-Qa'idah, what is the truth of the matter?

Abu Mansur: The relation we have with them is the same as the one all muslims have with other fellow muslims. It is an Islamic principle [quotes an Arabic phrase meaning support them or oppose them, which is to distance yourself from the unbelievers and be close to fellow Muslims and love them. That is the kind of relationship we have [with Al-Qa'idah]. They pray for us and we pray for them.

They sometimes broadcast advice on the internet which is very beneficial to us or sometimes they send us messages via the internet and we are very excited about that, last of which was the tape sent by our brother, Abu Yahya Al-Libiyi.

We are usually very pleased with such statements. There is no close relationship between our two groups in such a way that they are part of us or we are part of them, but we belong together as Muslims. They are mujahidin and our enemies are one, they fight the Americans and we fight them. They fight the other unbelievers whom we also fight. They want to implement Shari'ah law and so do we.

We are opposed to the fake borders that have been established by the colonialists banning people from Iraq to go to Jordan or the Saudi to go to Yemen. We are saying that all Muslim countries be united as one and they also want the same thing. That is all there is to it. We are not part of them but we love them very much.

A lot of ink has been spilled trying to draw up a more clandestine relationship between Robow and Al-Libiyi, but they're entirely off the page.

What Robow states in that interview, as he did in a previous lengthy al-Jazeera sitdown, is the same sentiment I have found listening to others in the Islamist mvmts in Somalia.

For instance, Hassan Turki, while not part of Harakat al-Shabaab Mujahideen himself, has appeared w/ alleged AQ affiliates yet publicly defined the limits of those relationships as along the lines of 'we are brothers but their fight is not our fight and our fight is not theirs. We do not need them in our affairs.' I don't have the transcript at hand so I am paraphrasing there, but it shouldn't be surprising if you are at all familiar w/ Turki or Awey's al-Itihaad al-Islami nationalist movement, which was also erroneously exaggerated back in the 90s to have threatening ties to AQ. Ethiopia, in particular, is very good at playing the AQ threat card and getting an influx of military and financial assistance to further their own interests. In fact, after the current transitional president Sh. Sharif was advised in his meeting w/ PM Meles to play the AQ-in-Somalia GWOT card, the former turned on a dime, suddenly screaming 'AQ is here - this is now an international conflict - send more money, troops and weapons' whereas prior to that he had strongly denied that AQ could ever take root among Somalis, for all the obvious reasons.

Are there other certain mujahideen in Somalia who get mileage out of playing up links to AQ? Of course there are. As we saw w/ the poster boy al-Amriki. And there are plenty of quotes circulating from what are described as unnamed mujahideen, claiming they're not allowed to speak on-the-record in official capacity.

Robow addresses some of that in the linked transcript as well. And he outlines the mvmts overall ambitions, certainly less fiery that what gets reported in the dailies.

But Al Shabaab is not a centralized, or even unified, homogenous entity. And even Robow himself had stretched the truth at times in briefings for various reasons, including, it appeared, nothing more than to annoy the real-life foreigners meddling in Somali affairs.

But this sure does seem to be what the US wants - a self-fulfilling illusion that if they just keep plugging away, year after year, claiming that somehow non-state ideologically-aligned political Islamists will thrive in an unstable & hostile country like Somalia and create a base from which to present a serious threat to a superpower and its numerous allies across the globe, that eventually they will succeed in shaping that reality.

the media certainly help in that regard, w/ their unquestioning boilerplate phrases in any article on the Shabaab - "which Washington says is linked to AQ".."which intelligence official says is affiliated with AQ"..and so on.

Just keep repeating the message and eventually enough people assume it's common knowledge, which may be the case w/ Barrett cited above.

As Aweys told Kevin Sites back in 2005,

"The only reason Western powers say that al-Qaida is in Somalia is because they are afraid that Somalia will become an Islamic state and they will do everything they can to stop that," Aweys says. "I believe there's not even one person in Somalia connected to al-Qaida. We are one clan, one color, one language. We would not accept foreigners (al-Qaida) here."

...

"The FBI, people like you (journalists) and other groups who are often in the shadows always say al-Qaida is in Somalia," says Aweys, dismissively.

Interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed "also said two years ago there were al-Qaida training camps here. Well, the FBI came here, journalists came here and there were no training camps. It's just not true. We all know each other in Somalia. We would know if al-Qaida was here."

Aweys says he is, however, sympathetic to "jihads" being waged against Western forces around the world.

"If you lock a cat in a room all the time," Aweys says, "what do you think it will do? It's going to fight back."

And speaking of 'locking a cat in a room', back in March of 2008, in response to being notified of the official US designation of the group as a terrorist organization, the Reuters article "Somali Islamists say US terror listing forges unity" gives an idea of what company the cat will be forced to be "affiliated" with by default

MOGADISHU, March 21 (Reuters) - Islamist insurgents in Somalia say their inclusion on a U.S. terrorism list will help recruiting and has spurred them to strengthen ties with other groups blacklisted by Washington.

"We were not terrorists," rebel commander Mukhtar Ali Robow told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location.

"But now we've been designated ... we have been forced to seek out and unite with any Muslims on the list against the United States," he said late on Thursday.

At the same time, Robow told the BBC that

"Al-Shabab feels honoured to be included on the list. We are good Muslims and the Americans are infidels. We are on the right path," he said.

But he rejected the US's accusations that members of the group are linked to al-Qaeda.

"We are fighting a jihad to rid Somalia of the Ethiopians and its allies, the secular Somali stooges," he said.

For more criticism on the US efforts to force the opposition into alignment w/ AQ, refer to the April 2008 report (pdf) by the Senlis Council.

Since that report the US has forced a change in the TFG, replacing the leadership w/ their own selections, continued to pour millions of dollars into security forces to defend that regime, including overt arms shipments, continued a propaganda campaign to shape international perceptions of the situation in Somalia, and so on. All of this strenthens the analysis that conditions have been created to push the remnants of the ICU still hostile to western meddling in their affairs toward finding themselves having more and more in common w/ the plight of Muslims in similar contexts across the globe. It's not rocket science to figure out that some figures will give voice to ideas that reinforce points made by UBL et al regarding the west's open war on Islam, nor that others are ready to exploit those at every opportunity.

I'll comment more on some of the recent stmts coming out of Somalia at a later time.

Finally, WRT to another generalization made in the comment, nobody here said anything about "simply blaming everything on the CIA" -- though the agency certainly has continuously made most things worse for the majority of Somalis for years on end -- but will keep it in mind that you take the thought so personal.

Somalia thread for the week ending October 25

Daily Nation: Muslims press [Kenyan] govt over Somali youth hiring

Kenyan Muslims are exerting strong pressure on the country’s political leaders to state their stand on the alleged recruitment of hundreds of Kenyan youth to join Somalia war where insurgency has been raging.

The government is now asked to immediately halt the ongoing recruitment of Muslim youth from Northern Kenya to fight in the troubled neighbouring country of Somalia, citing that the youth cannot be made a spent force.

Kenya Muslim leaders' call comes at a time when reports indicate that more and more youth are been recruited from Ijara and Hola districts in North-Eastern and Coast provinces respectively, despite the government denial of the existence of the alleged undercover exercise.

...

The chairman of the Kenya National Muslim Leaders Forum (NAMLEF), Sheikh Abdullahi Abdi ... said some of the recruited youth who were duped to be employed as UN officials with a monthly payment of USD600 (Ksh48,000) and Ksh 20,000 in advance have so far escaped the training at Manyani paramilitary training camp after they learnt that they were being trained to fight in Somalia.

“Several youths who thought they were been employed as UN workers have so far returned to their families after getting the information that there were plans to deploy them in the war-ravaged Somalia to fight along with the transitional government forces,” he added

Sheikh Abdi said the recruited youth were forced to surrender their ID cards and told to claim that they were from areas in Somalia and the Somali-region of Ethiopia after media reports revealed the ongoing exercise.

The religious leader said they got credible information that the recruited Kenyan youth who were before been trained at Manyani paramilitary training camp in Coast province were being transferred to the British training camp at Archers Post in Isiolo District, Eastern Province.

Mareeg Online: Former prisoners [in Libya] to become soldiers

Reports from Libya said Monday Somali prisoners who were jailed in Libyan tows were freed and are being trained as soldiers in Libya to fight for the Somali government.

Independent sources say officials from the Somali government and Libya discussed the issue and the prisoners were freed. The Somali teenagers who were jailed in Libya were immigrants fled from the endless wars in Somalia.

Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed visited Libya and met the Libyan leader Muammer Kadafi. Hassan Moallim Mohamud, the state minister of the presidential palace said earlier Libya promised for the Somali government that it would free the prisoners.

Libyan soldiers are often accused of harassing the Somalis in Libya.

-- -- --

Garowe Online: Somalia troops arrive in Mogadishu after Djibouti training

The Somali troops arrived at Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport on Tuesday, where they were welcomed by Somali Defense Minister Abdalla Haji Boss and the spokesman of the African Union peacekeeping force (AMISOM) in Mogadishu, Maj. Bahoku Barigye.

The troops were transported in a private airplane from Djibouti, with Defense Minister Boss saying that they were training to help the Somali interim government restore order, especially in Mogadishu.

Somali government officials would not confirm the exact number of soldiers and local media was prohibited from the airport, but it the first batch of Somali soldiers to arrive in Mogadishu after completing military training in Djibouti. Some reports say around 800 Somali soldiers are being trained in Djibouti.

-- -- --

Mareeg Online: Government confirms recruitment of soldiers in Kenya

MOGADISHU (Mareeg)—The commander of the Somali military forces disclosed on Wednesday that soldiers were being trained for the Somali government in Kenya.

Somali president and other government officials denied earlier that the fragile government was recruiting soldiers in Kenya.

General Hussein Yusuf Dhumal, the commander in chief of the Somali Military said 1500 soldiers are being trained in Kenya. General Dhumal added that other soldiers are also being trained for the Somali government in Sudan, Uganda, Djibouti, Burundi, and Ethiopia

SMC: President Shariff denies, Military Commander Dhumal proves!!

The Somali Military commander has on Wednesday proved that Kenyan government is recruiting young Somalis to bolster the Somali government soldiers.

General Yussuf Hussein Dhumal the Somali Military commander has frankly proved that some countries in Africa such as Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and Djibouti are giving military training to Somali soldiers.

General Dhumal has also disclosed hidden story whether the Kenyan government is providing training to Somali soldiers or not.

“I am explicitly saying that the Kenyan government is recruiting young Somali soldiers to boost the Somali government soldiers, and they are currently doing their military maneuvers inside at camps in Isiolo in Eastern province in Kenya, and Miyani in the coast, there are some others who are doing their training in Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Sudan and Djibouti, the ones in Sudan are all cadets” said the commander of the Somali armed forces Dhumal speaking to somliweyn radio.

In his first Press conference after arriving from the United States of America the President of Somalia has categorically denied that there are no Somali soldiers which the Kenyan government is providing military training.

-- -- --

More AMISOM shelling of Bakara Market on Thursday

Shabelle Media: Heavy shelling kills more than 30, injures 70 others in Mogadishu

More than 30 people have been killed and 70 others have been injured after the Islamist fighters and AMISOM troops exchanged heavy shelling in more different neighborhoods in the Somali capital Mogadishu, witnesses and officials said on Thursday.

Most of the areas landing the shelling were the neighborhoods of Hodan and Hwl-wadag districts in Mogadishu..

...

Reports say that shelling started at around the international airport of Aden Adde, a base of the African Union troops after the transitional government soldiers and AMSIOM troops had jointly blocked Mekka Al-mukara street, a key road that connects the presidential palace and Km4 in Mogadishu as TFG president Sharif Sheik Ahmed was supposed to fly from the airport.

The movement of the traffic, business and people was halted during the shelling of Thursday morning and locals said that constant shelling from the side of AMSIOM troops landed into more various sites in Hodan and Hawl-wadag district in Mogadishu like Bakara market, Kpp, Barmudo and several other zones which heavily affected the shelling that was reaction for the one which targeted to the international airport.

A shell that hit in a concrete building in Bakara market has killed at least 6 wounding 8 others as more people were hiding inside the building as the shelling re-exploded there.

Eyewitness said that the pieces of dead bodies could also be seen in many areas in the Somali capital Mogadishu which the shelling affected and murdered more civilians.

Residents said that Thursday’s shelling seemed as it was raining in Bakara market and most of the people died and wounded were in Bakara, the biggest market in southern Somalia saying that AMSIOM troops used their heavies weapons like PM for today’s shelling which resulted the greatest casualties of the civilians especially the market in the recent days.

Garowe Online:

Witnesses said the fighting erupted along Maka Al Mukarrrama Road that connects the Villa Somalia presidential compound and Mogadishu's Aden Adde International Airport.

Somali insurgents attacked the road with emerging reports saying President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's convoy was driving towards the airport.

...

AMISOM peacekeepers shelled parts of Mogadishu, including businesses and residential areas in Hodan and Howlwadaag districts. Most of the dead were civilians killed in the crossfire, including explosions at Bakara Market.

Upwards of 75 people were wounded during the fierce shelling and armed clashes between insurgents and allied Somali-AMISOM troops, accoring to medical sources.

Witnesses said 80 shells hit parts of Bakara Market and its surroundings, with residents saying that it was the "worst shelling" seen in Mogadishu in recent weeks.

CNN: Shelling kills at least 30 in Somalia

At least 30 people died and 70 were wounded in shelling on a marketplace in the Somali capital of Mogadishu Thursday, according to journalists and emergency services.

A local journalist called the rocket fire on Bakara market "unprecedented."

"This was the most brutal shelling," according to an ambulance service representative who said they had picked up 61 wounded, but expect the number to climb. Other victims were being brought to hospitals by family and friends.

The source of the shelling could not immediately be determined.

Journalists saw shell fire coming from AMISOM -- the African Union Mission in Somalia -- strongholds in a fortified district of the capital and from near the airport. AMISOM is the only force in the area believed to have the firepower capable of such an intense attack. However, AMISOM denied any involvement in the incident.

Still looking for any estimates on the number of civilians killed in Bakara Market from December 26, 1006 forward. On Monday Garowe Online reported that

At least 11 people were killed in fighting in the Somali capital Mogadishu overnight Sunday and into Monday morning, Radio Garowe reports.

The battles started after Al Shabaab insurgents attacked Somali government troops and African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) at bases around the Villa Somalia presidential compound, witnesses said.

...

Witnesses at Bakara Market said that 5 people were killed inside the market when shells slammed into a crowded area.

-- -- --

Human Rights Watch provides more details on the Kenyan govt role in recruiting fighters in this October 22nd news release

Kenya: Stop Recruitment of Somalis in Refugee Camps

The Kenyan government should immediately stop the recruitment of Somalis in refugee camps to fight for an armed force in Somalia, Human Rights Watch said today. Kenyan authorities have directly supported the drive, which has recruited hundreds of Somali men and boys in the sprawling Dadaab refugee camps as well as Kenyan citizens from nearby towns.

Since early October, Somali recruiters claiming to act on behalf of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) have operated openly in the Dadaab camps in northeast Kenya, near the Somali border, to enlist young refugees in a new force intended to fight in Somalia. But military recruitment in these camps contravenes the principle recognized in international law that refugee camps should be entirely civilian and humanitarian in character.

...

The recruitment drive is also targeting Kenyans around the towns of Dadaab and Garissa. The Somali armed group al-Shabaab has also sought to recruit fighters among Somali refugee communities and Kenyans.

Human Rights Watch investigations have found that recruiters for the new force have used deceptive practices, promising exorbitant pay and claiming that the force has United Nations and other international backing. They have urged teenage refugees to lie about their ages and to join without informing their families. Former recruits say that their cell phones were taken from them before they were transported to the training center.

Top Kenyan officials including the foreign minister have categorically denied this recruitment drive is taking place at all, but in fact it is operating with direct Kenyan support, including government transport vehicles and guards.

...

This month, Human Rights Watch researchers visited the Kenyan town of Dadaab and the three refugee camps that surround it-Ifo, Dagahaley, and Hagadera. They interviewed more than two dozen people, including young men and boys who had been approached by recruiters, parents of young men who joined the force, individuals involved in the recruitment effort, and community leaders in the camps.

...

Recruiters began circulating in the refugee camps in early October. According to local community leaders and a recruiter working in two of the camps, they have recruited at least several hundred refugees. Many recruits are promised an initial payment of between US$400 and $600 for the military training itself, to be followed with a generous monthly salary upon deployment to Somalia. Most of the recruiters are telling prospects that they will be deployed to fight alongside the transitional government's forces, either in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, or in southern Somalia.

The recruiters operating in the camps are themselves refugees who have been promised generous payments by the coordinators of the drive. Recruiters have also been operating in the town of Dadaab, seeking to enlist ethnic Somali Kenyan citizens into the same force. Residents and local officials in Garissa, the provincial capital of Kenya's North Eastern Province, and surrounding communities said that recruitment is also taking place among their own young men and boys.

The recruitment program is being coordinated by a small group of Somali nationals who are living and operating openly from a hotel in Dadaab. The team is allegedly headed by two prominent individuals from southern Somalia who had ties to the administration of the former president of the transitional government, Abdullahi Yusuf.

Recruiters hire private cars to transport young men and boys to one of at least two isolated staging locations near the town of Dadaab. From there they are loaded into Kenyan military and National Youth Service trucks and told that they are being taken to a Kenyan government facility at Manyani, near Mombasa, for military training. Two sources - a young man who went searching for a recruited relative at the Manyani training center, and a government official with knowledge of the recruitment program - told Human Rights Watch that this facility is a Kenya Wildlife Service field training school. The school provides paramilitary training to anti-poaching rangers as well as other branches of the Kenyan security forces. Police personnel for Somalia's transitional government have also undergone training at the facility in the past.

...

Many recruiters for the force have been telling young men in the camps and nearby towns that their effort is backed by the United Nations, the United States government, and the European Union. Some are even saying that recruits will be deployed as part of a new UN force in Somalia. One elderly Kenyan Somali man in Dadaab whose 20-year-old son joined told Human Rights Watch that, "My son is educated and he told me that the United Nations is recruiting an army. So I gave him my blessing and he has my total support." Officials from the UN Political Office for Somalia, the US government, and the European Commission, in interviews with or statements to Human Rights Watch, all denied involvement.

In addition to the $600 promised for undergoing the military training, most recruiters are promising a similar amount in monthly salary after the recruits are deployed to Somalia. While most recruiters tell the young men that they will be sent to fight in Somalia, some promise that they will only be incorporated into a civilian police force that will never see combat or that they will be employed as guards at UN or African Union installations.

Recruits are poorly treated. After the first leg of their journey from their homes, many find themselves stranded in an open expanse of desert without food, water, or shelter, sometimes overnight, as they await onward transport. Human Rights Watch researchers traveled to a staging area near Ege one late afternoon and found a group of nine young men who had been sitting in the scorching sand since morning waiting to be picked up. They had neither water nor food throughout the entire day.

Recruits also soon hear that salaries are to be as low as $200 a month, much less than originally promised. Human Rights Watch interviewed several young men who managed to return home after learning this. Many Somali refugee parents who sought to find their sons who had enlisted were not able to do so because they lack Kenyan government permission to leave the camps.

"Kenyan government-backed recruiters are luring young men with false claims of UN and other international support," [Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch,] said. "Getting the recruiters out of the camps and publicly dissociating the UN from any involvement are first steps to shutting the program down."

Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned that children are being recruited. Some recruiters are encouraging teenagers under 18 to lie about their age so they can enlist. Human Rights Watch interviewed boys as young as 15 who had been approached by recruiters but did not enlist. However, several recruits told Human Rights Watch that they had seen recruiters persuade boys of 14 or 15 to lie about their ages. International law to which Kenya is a party and Somalia a signatory prohibits non-state armed groups from recruiting persons under age 18.

Kenyan government officials are directly involved in the unlawful recruitment drive of refugees from the camps. Publicly, Kenyan national and provincial authorities deny any government involvement. "We are not involved in any such operation - it is propaganda," the Kenyan military spokesman, Bogita Ongeri, told Human Rights Watch, saying that only Somali militia groups working independently and illegally have been recruiting in the camps. James ole Seriani, provincial commissioner for the North Eastern province, told Human Rights Watch that the reports could not be true because, "There is no way the government can recruit people at night. We only recruit during the day." The transitional government's president, Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, has also publicly denied his government is involved in recruitment in Kenya.

However, one Kenyan government official, who asked not to be identified because he feared repercussions, told Human Rights Watch that the team has been telling Kenyan Somalis whom they recruit "not to mention they are Kenyan." The source added: "They are given the names of specific parts of Somalia and told to say those are the places they come from."

The Kenyan military actively participates in the recruitment process. After being transported in small groups to staging points between Ege and Saredo, near Dadaab, recruits are driven onward on Kenyan military or National Youth Service trucks, usually after dark. Kenyan military personnel have turned away parents of enlistees within sight of the assembled recruits. The young men who board the trucks are required to turn over their cell phones and National ID cards (in the case of Kenyan citizens) or ration cards (in the case of refugees) if they have them. However, the father of one recruit said that his son had retained his cell phone and had called from the road to Mombasa.

Human Rights Watch interviewed a few young men who had escaped from the military trucks when they stopped late at night for food in Garissa. All said that they did not feel they could leave freely by that point. One group cut through the canvas covering the back of the truck and ran into town. One young man said that he traveled to the Kenyan Wildlife Service training school at Manyani to look for a relative but was turned away and briefly detained after persisting.

Kenyan authorities have made no attempt to stop the recruitment drive in the camps or in nearby towns. Parents, deserters, and community leaders said recruitment was brazenly taking place in tea shops and other public places. UNHCR has received several such complaints in recent weeks. And while police in Hagadera camp briefly detained a group of alleged recruiters who were brought there by angry community members, they were released within 24 hours.

One recruiter interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that he had operated openly and without fear of the authorities. "I was told that the Kenyan government was aware of this and I did not have any problem with the police," he said. "Our biggest problem was the parents of the recruits, not the police."

"Rumors of recruitment in refugee camps by Somalia's warring factions have been rife for years, but a Kenyan government-sanctioned program of this magnitude is unprecedented," said Gagnon. "The government's denials of its involvement are completely implausible."

While Kenyan authorities have their own national interest reasons to be involved, it's not difficult to grasp that there are other pressures involved here as well. Unfortunately the current HRW document ignores/avoids that context.

Here is an account from the

Elder brother of a 17-year-old Kenyan recruit, who tried to fetch his brother from the Kenyan Wildlife Service training center:

"Initially the senior officers denied it. But finally they told me, ‘You are an educated man, you do understand he has been here a week, we have spent a lot of money on him for medical checkups and training and there is no way we can release him now.' They said, ‘Kenya has no involvement. This is being done by outsiders.' They said it was the Americans and the UN and other members of the international community."

-- -- --

More on the U.S. military drones being deployed in the Seychelles under the pretense of fighting piracy

connect the dots...

Press Release by the Seychelles Ministry of Foreign Affairs

VICTORIA, Mahé, October 20, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Government of Seychelles and the Embassy of the United States are pleased to announce the arrival to Seychelles of U.S. unmanned aerial vehicles which will in the near future boost counter-piracy surveillance in the Seychelles and the Western Indian Ocean. The presence of these unmanned aerial vehicles demonstrates the commitment of the United States to improving maritime safety and security in the Western Indian Ocean region and for the people of the Seychelles. In the coming days, one of these vehicles will be available for press photographs and questions about them will be answered for the press.

AP: US drones protecting ships from Somali pirates

In an effort to stem the surge [of hijacking attempts], unmanned U.S. military surveillance planes called MQ-9 Reapers stationed on the island nation of Seychelles are being deployed to patrol the Indian Ocean in search of pirates, [Robert Moeller, the deputy commander for the U.S. Africa Command,] told The Associated Press in an interview at command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. The patrols began this week, military officials said.

The 36-foot-long Reapers are the size of a jet fighter, can fly about 16 hours and are capable of carrying a dozen guided bombs and missiles. They are outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting.

Military officials said Friday the drones would not immediately be fitted with weaponry, but they did not rule out doing so in the future.

Analysts said they expected the Reapers would also be used to hunt al-Qaida and other Islamist militants in Somalia. While Moeller said the aircraft would "primarily" be used against pirates, he acknowledged they could also be used for other missions.

...

U.S. Navy vessels have used 3-foot-long drones off the East Africa coast before. But the Reapers — which have a 66-foot wingspan — represent a significant investment by the U.S. military to gather intelligence in the region. [ha ha.. read on]

...

Moeller, the U.S. commander, said good governance, rule of law and economic development are all needed in Somalia so that pirates "have an alternative lifestyle to pursue. And unfortunately, that's not the case today."

"The long-term solution to the piracy issue is basically [us] getting the conditions right in Somalia," he said.

What's in a name...

Meet the Reaper, aka Predator B

MQ-9 Reaper Hunter/Killer UAV

Reaper, (also known as Predator B) an outgrowth of the combat proven Predator A UAS, became operational in 2007 and as it began flying combat missions over Afghanistan. This Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAV overcomes most of the difficulties encountered with previous UAVs that commonly must compromise between conflicting demands for payload, speed, altitude, speed and persistence. With an operational ceiling of 50,000ft, and higher cruising speed, Reaper can cover a larger area, under all weather conditions carrying payloads of more than 1.5 tons. The aircraft is powered by a single Honeywell TP331-10 engine, producing 950 shp, provides a maximum airspeed of 260 kts and a cruise speed for maximum endurance of 150-170 kts.

The Reaper is capable of carrying maximum internal payload of 800 lbs, it will carry more advanced sensors at weight almost twice as the MQ-1. Furthermore, The Reaper can carry much more external stores, up to 3,000 pounds total – 1,500 on each of its two inboard weapons stations, or 500-600 lb. on the two middle stations and 150-200 lbs. on the outboard stations. In total, the aircraft can carry up to 14 Hellfire missiles, compared with two carried on the Predator. The Reaper can stay airborne for up to 14 hours fully loaded.

Trading off some of the missiles, Predator B can carry laser guided bombs, such as the GBU-12. MQ-9 is equipped with both Lynx II SAR and the MTS-B 20" gimbal, an improved, extended range version of the MQ-9's EO payload. The availability of high performance sensors and large capacity of precision guided weapons enable the new Predator to operate as an efficient "Hunter-Killer" platform, seeking and engaging targets at high probability of success. It is equipped with an L-3 Communications Tactical Common Datalink (TCDL).

...

The MQ-9 Reaper will employ robust sensors to automatically find, fix, track and target critical emerging time sensitive targets. In the MQ-9 the SAR was replaced with the AN/APY-8 Lynx II radar, replacing the TESAR with more advanced high resolution radar-imaging system. The ground control segment of the Predator B is common with all previous Predator systems.

The Wikipedia entry adds

The MQ-9 is the first hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance.

...

In 2008 the New York Air National Guard 174th Fighter Wing began the transition from F-16 piloted planes to MQ-9 Reaper drones, which are capable of remote controlled or autonomous flight, becoming the first all-robot attack squadron.

Then U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General T. Michael Moseley said, "We've moved from using UAVs primarily in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance roles before Operation Iraqi Freedom, to a true hunter-killer role with the Reaper."

The setup:

NYT: In Somalia, a New Template for Fighting Terrorism

Al-Qaeda is working feverishly to turn Somalia into a global jihad factory, according to recent intelligence assessments, and the way the United States chooses to respond could serve as template for other fronts in the wider counter-terrorism war. Just last month, American helicopters swept over the dusty Somali horizon to take out Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, a wanted Qaeda suspect who had been hiding out in Somalia for years and training a new bevy of killers; some of those trainees are believed to be Somali-Americans who could easily slip back into the United States and do some serious damage as suicide bombers.

In a way, the daring daylight strike against Mr. Nabhan, which was supposedly part of the Obama administration`s shift from targeting terrorists with cruise missiles that often kill civilians, was a flashback. Few in Somalia — or the American military — have forgotten Black Hawk Down, the battle in October 1993 when Somali militiamen in flip-flops killed 18 American soldiers, including members of the Army`s elite Delta Force. It was a searing humiliation for the Pentagon, which had just emerged from the first gulf war pumped up on smart bombs and laser-guided missiles, but in Somalia found itself back in a Vietnam-style quagmire where high technology was no match for local rage.

...

“Never again, that was the message,” said John Nagl, a retired Army officer who was on the team that wrote the military`s new counterinsurgency field manual.

...

Just as the United States all but forgot about Afghanistan after the Soviets withdrew with their tails between their legs in 1989, the United States all but forgot about Somalia after the American military slunk away five years later. And the same thing happened. Both countries are almost purely Muslim; in both places a grass-roots Islamist movement emerged as the panacea to disorder; and in both places, Al Qaeda was not far behind. Actually, Osama bin Laden`s men may have gotten to Somalia first; Somalia is believed to have been the staging ground for the 1998 bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

...

..“most Somalis are not anti-American,” said Afyare Abdi Elmi, a Somali-Canadian political scientist at Qatar University`s International Affairs Program. “Most Somalis are pragmatic and they do not inherently oppose America`s involvement in Somalia per se. They reject when such involvement is associated with warlords or Ethiopians. Neither condition exists now.”

This could spell an opportunity, as the Obama administration seems to think. The United States and other Western powers have provided the new Islamist government with weapons, money and diplomatic support. While terribly weak, the government has proven to be relatively moderate, vowing to repel terrorist groups, and seeking a middle path in its interpretation of political Islam.

The United States, for its part, is helping the government in a crucial way, with pinprick counterterrorism attacks like the commando raid that killed Mr. Nabhan; these presumably advance the mutual interest of eliminating Qaeda terrorists and weakening the Somali insurgency, while avoiding civilian casualties.

So a new template for fighting terrorism may be emerging as the United States shows less desire to get involved in the local intricacies of nation building and more interest in narrowing its focus to Al Qaeda. The focus so far has been precise, limited and often covert, with attacks carried out with a parallel diplomatic strategy.

American attacks along the Afghan-Pakistani border seem cut from a similar pattern, but it may be that Somalia will prove an easier place to make the techniques work.

To Mr. Nagl, in fact, Somalia is a counterterrorism planner`s dream, with its desert terrain, low population density and skinny shape along the sea; no place is more than a few minutes` chopper flight from American ships bobbing offshore. “It`s far, far harder to do counterterrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan than in Somalia,” he said.

What the two fronts have in common, he said, is that “you can`t kill or capture your way out of this problem. You have to change the conditions on the ground.”

Abstract of Jane Mayer's article in the October 26th issue of The New Yorker: The Risks of the CIA's Predator Drones: The Predator War

ABSTRACT: THE POLITICAL SCENE about the C.I.A.’s covert drone program. On August 5th, officials at the C.I.A., in Langley, VA, watched a live video feed relaying closeup footage of one of the most wanted terrorists in Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud, on the rooftop of his father-in-law’s house. The video was captured by the infrared camera of a Predator drone—a remotely controlled, unmanned plane that had been hovering, undetected, two miles or so above the house. The C.I.A. remotely launched two Hellfire missiles from the Predator, and Mehsud and eleven others died.

There was no controversy when, a few days after the missile strike, CNN reported that President Barack Obama had authorized it. However, there was widespread anger after the Wall Street Journal revealed, at about the same time, that during the Bush Administration the C.I.A. had considered setting up hit squads to capture or kill Al Qaeda operatives around the world.

Hina Shamsi, a human-rights lawyer at the New York University School of Law, was struck by the inconsistency of the public’s responses. She said of the Predator program, “These are targeted international killings by the state.”

The Predator program, as it happens, also uses private contractors for a variety of tasks, including “flying” the drones.

The U.S. government runs two drone programs. The military’s version, which is publicly acknowledged, operates in the recognized war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq, and targets combatants in support of U.S. troops stationed there. The C.I.A.’s program is aimed at terror suspects around the world, including in places where U.S. troops are not based. The program is classified as covert, and the C.I.A. declines to provide any information to the public about where it operates, how it selects targets, who is in charge, or how many people have been killed. Nevertheless, reports of fatal air strikes in Pakistan emerge every few days.

According to a new study by the New America Foundation, the number of drone strikes has gone up dramatically since Obama became President. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the defense contractor that manufactures the Predator and its more heavily armed sibling, the Reaper, can barely keep up with the government’s demand.

With public disenchantment mounting over the U.S. troop deployment in Afghanistan, many in Washington support an even greater reliance on Predator strikes. And because of the program’s secrecy, there is no visible system of accountability in place.

Peter W. Singer, the author of “Wired for War,” a recent book about the robotics revolution in modern combat, argues that the drone program is worryingly “seductive,” because it creates the perception that war can be “costless.” Cut off from the realities of the bombings in Pakistan, Americans have been insulated from the human toll, as well as the political and moral consequences.

The advent of the Predator targeted-killing program “is really a sea change,” says Gary Solis. Before September 11th, the C.I.A. refused to deploy the Predator for anything other than surveillance. Eight years later, there is no longer any doubt that targeted killing has become official U.S. policy.

The Predator program is described by many in the intelligence world as America’s single most effective weapon against Al Qaeda. But the program has stirred deep ethical concerns. According to the New America Foundation’s study, only six of the forty-one C.I.A. drone strikes conducted by the Obama Administration in Pakistan have targeted Al Qaeda.

A slight, but related, detour into either absurdity or mental illness... perhaps both

NPR: Capture Or Kill? Lawyers Eye Options For Terrorists

Today, we're exploring the issue of where the Obama administration will hold terrorism detainees who are picked up overseas. Today, on MORNING EDITION, NPR's Ari Shapiro described some of the obstacles to holding people in the U.S. or Afghanistan. Now, he reports that government lawyers are exploring more creative options.

ARI SHAPIRO: Virtually everyone interviewed for this story agreed. The United States would rather not be in the terrorist detention business. There are military, diplomatic, legal and political obstacles, no matter which option the government chooses. Columbia Law Professor Matthew Waxman handled detainee affairs at the Pentagon under President Bush.

Professor MATTHEW WAXMAN (Law, Columbia Law School): The big question mark is what is the Obama administration going to do with individuals who are captured in the future outside of combat zones like Afghanistan.

SHAPIRO: In the Bush administration, some of those detainees were housed in secret CIA prisons in foreign countries, known as black sites. President Obama closed those prisons, and when I asked the CIA whether they might ever reopen, spokesman Paul Gimigliano said, having this agency hold dangerous figures overseas, as was done before, is not an option. What the press came to call black sites are things of the past, he said. There is another option the Bush administration used that President Obama has said he will continue: rendition. In late August, President Obama's interrogation and transfer policy task force said the administration would continue sending terrorists to foreign countries as long as those governments promised not to torture detainees.

Cardozo Law Professor Vijay Padmanabhan was an attorney adviser at the State Department in the Bush administration. He says the Obama State Department is playing a major role in finding places to put terrorists.

Professor VIJAY PADMANABHAN (Law, Cardozo School of Law): They are looking to the other countries in the world, to their allies, to do more with respect to the long-term resolution of particular detention cases. So we've seen in the Horn of Africa - or the Kenyans, for example, have been called upon to detain and prosecute people.

SHAPIRO: Those agreements have to be worked out on a case-by-case basis, and they can be difficult, says John Bellinger, who was legal adviser to State under President Bush.

Mr. JOHN BELLINGER (Former Legal Adviser, Bush Administration,): The international community doesn't accept the idea that individuals can be held without trial over a long period of time. So it's unlikely that we would be able to persuade other members of the international community, particularly those in Europe, to join in holding people for any significant period of time unless they were going to be tried.

SHAPIRO: So, if the U.S. picks up 20 al-Qaida members tomorrow, and they cannot be held in the United States, Cuba, Afghanistan, black sites or foreign countries, where will they go?

Mr. KEN ANDERSON (Hoover Institution): To be perfectly blunt, I don't think that they'll pick them up at all.

SHAPIRO: Ken Anderson of the Hoover Institution has written about these issues.

Prof. ANDERSON: I think that we've actually allowed the courts to arrange the incentives to kill rather than capture.

SHAPIRO: Many national security experts interviewed for this story agree. It has become so difficult for the U.S. to detain people, in many instances, the U.S. government is killing them instead. Just last month, American forces staged a raid on a car in Somalia. The man inside the car was a suspected terrorist on the FBI's most wanted list. American troops did not seize him. Instead, helicopters fired on the car, and commandos retrieved his body. University of Michigan law professor Monica Hakimi worked at the State Department in the last administration. She does not like the idea of long-term detention. But, she says, none of the alternatives seem much better.

Professor MONICA HAKIMI (Law, University of Michigan): The benefit of capturing them is that we might be able to get from them certain intelligence that we can then use to hunt down future terrorists. The cost is that once we capture them, it's not really clear what we're supposed to do with them.

SHAPIRO: President Obama put together a task force to try to answer these questions. It was supposed to finish its work in July, but as the deadline approached, the team said it needed another six months to work through these problems.

From Ken Anderson's blog entry linked above

First, I'm delighted, of course, that the CIA post 9-11 was formulating plans to try and kill Al Qaeda leaders wherever they might be...

As for the distinction between inserting small teams or using Predators, recall that the US only began using Predators as a weapons platform in a semi-improvised way after 9-11. The obvious tactic was small team insertion, and only when it became clear that Predators could work, did the US move to that strategy.

Second, as to the international law issues involved in targeting Al Qaeda leaders, I will simply refer you over to a new paper, soon to appear as a book chapter in a volume edited by Benjamin Wittes on reforming counterterrorism policy, on targeted killing. That paper has a particular point, however. It says that of course the US targeted killings of Al Qaeda terrorists is a legal act of self defense under international law. (You can get a free pdf download, here, at SSRN, "Targeted Killing in US Counterterrorism and Law.")

The longer term question to which the paper mostly addresses itself is whether, in the face of withering international legal criticism, from UN special rapporteurs, human rights groups, academics, etc. - what we might call the international "soft law" crowd - the US, and specifically the Obama administration, will insist on the traditional doctrines of self defense, including against terrorists who find safe haven in states that are unwilling or unable to deal with them. The problem specifically for the Obama administration is that on the one hand it has - correctly in my view, for strategic, legal, and humanitarian reasons - embraced targeted killings via Predator strikes.

On the other hand, a lot of the administration's international legal apparatus is highly sympathetic to the "soft law" position, and in other circumstances would like to embrace positions that, however noble in the abstract, would effectively rule out targeted killing as the US pursues them. And particularly rule them out in future situations in which Al Qaeda is not involved, in which there is no AUMF, no Security Council resolutions, etc., to point to. ...

The paper is concerned with defending the US legal space for targeted killing undertaken as self defense, but not within the context of an armed conflict as defined under international humanitarian law. ...

Finally, the US domestic law question of assassination. The title of the article uses the word assassination. This is unfortunate, not because it is not accurate in the sense we ordinarily use the term, but because US law and regulation contains a ban on "assassination." Assassination in that specific legal sense is prohibited - but also not defined in US law or regulation. However, successive administrations dating from the 1980s have taken the position - e.g., the speech in 1989 to which the article refers - that a targeted killing is not (prohibited) "assassination" if it meets the requirements for self-defense under international law, including self defense against terrorists. As then-Dept of State legal advisor Abraham Sofaer put it, the assassination ban does not apply to otherwise "lawful killings undertaken in self defense against terrorists." I don't know if this is open access online; it was issued in the Military Law Review in 1989, and Judge Sofaer and others have told me that it was vetted with DOD and the White House as being US policy and interpretations of law. I am not aware of anything that has overturned it as US interpretation of the US assassination ban.

and from Anderson's linked "policy paper" abstract

This is a policy paper, not a law review or scholarly article, and it offers blunt advice to the Obama administration and the US Congress with a particular normative goal in mind - to preserve the legal rationales for the use of self-defense in targeted killing, whether or not an IHL armed conflict is underway, consistent with the positions taken by the United States in the 1980s, and culminating with a statement of the US position on self-defense against terrorism and targeting terrorists in third-state safe havens by then-State Department legal advisor Abraham Sofaer in 1989. The point of the paper is to urge the Obama administration, and offer it advice, on how to preserve the legal category of targeted killing as an aspect of inherent rights of self-defense and US domestic law.

...

It is frank, practical advice to the Obama administration that it must assert the legality of its practices in the face of a hostile and influential international soft-law community or risk losing the legal rationale for a signature strategy.

finally, snapping back to reality on Monday

Al Shabab Says they Will Display Gunned Down US Drone

KISMAYO, (RBC RADIO)- The Al Shabab rebels of Somalia say they have put down US drone in Kismayo in the southern Somalia, RBC Radio reports.

The US drone aircraft was flying over Kismayo, the capital of Lower Juba one of Al Shabab’s stronghold in the south of the country, RBC Radio correspondent says.

“Today our forces targeted the enemies aircraft and shot It down and we saw the plane burning, we want to show the journalists”, said Sheikh Hassan Ya’qub Al Shabab spokesman in Kismayo.

Sources in Kismayo told RBC the Islamist militia of Al Shabab fired anti aircraft artilleries and put the aircraft down on Monday noon.

“The aircraft fell into the water and our fighters are searching to relocate it from the water”, Sheikh Hassan Ya’qub said.

Local correspondents say if the Al Shabab’s claim is true then it will be the first time Al Shabab puts down US spy aircraft.

The Al Shabab administration of Al Shabab in Kismayo announced today that they will display the aircraft in the coming hours.

Reuters later wrote

Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, spokesman of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, said all its unmanned aerial vehicles had been safely recovered but could not give further details.

Somalia thread for the week ending October 18

Garowe Online is reporting yet another weapons shipment being unloaded at the port in Mogadishu

7 killed in Mogadishu, peacekeepers receive weapons

At least 7 people were killed Tuesday in the Somali capital Mogadishu after insurgents attacked African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM), with sources saying AMISOM has unloaded a weapons cache from a ship, Radio Garowe reports.

AMISOM peacekeepers in south Mogadishu were targeted Tuesday, with witnesses saying insurgents "burned" a water truck used by the African peacekeepers.

...

Mogadishu sources said AMISOM soldiers took control of neighborhoods surrounding the capital's main port on Monday, as soldiers unloaded weapons from a military ship.

It was unclear the types of weapons that were unloaded, but residents and fishermen said they were refused to go to the port or near the coast by Somali and AMISOM soldiers.

Last week, AMISOM peacekeepers unloaded weapons from a military ship under a shroud of secrecy.

-- -- --

Mareeg Online reported on Wednesday that

Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam rebels fought for the first time between them in Yaqshid district in Mogadishu overnight, witnesses say.

Residents say the fighting started after Hizbul Islam rebels attacked Yaqshid police station, where al Shabaab militias are based.

The two sides have used heavy machine guns in the fighting. Some reports suggest that al Shabaab was chased out of the police station.

The casualties of the fighting are not known since the fighting between the two groups started at night. The fighting comes their first one in Mogadishu but the two groups fought in Kismayo and near by towns before.

The day before, they reported

Al Shabaab takes control of north Mogadishu

Al Shabaab militants have taken control of north Mogadishu on Tuesday after Hizbul Islam militias pulled out from the area, witnesses say.

The Shabaab militia has reportedly captured trenches and defensive positions in north Mogadishu after Hizbul Islam left them early on Tuesday.

It is not known the motive behind the withdrawal of Hizbul Islam militias, but there have been wars between al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam in southern Somalia towns recently.

The move comes as 20 fighters with a battle wagon from Hizbul Islam defected to the government.

The government displayed the fighters from Hizbul Islam and the battle wagon they were traveling with on Tuesday in Mogadishu.

Garowe Online reported on Wednesday that

Somali insurgent faction Hizbul Islam has vacated posts in the capital Mogadishu that it has controlled in the war against the UN-recognized Somali interim government, Radio Garowe reports.

Hizbul Islam rebels have vacated posts in Mogadishu’s Wardhigley, Kaaraan, Shibis and Yaaqshiid districts in recent days, local sources reported.

There was no explanation for the sudden military movement, but inside sources said Hizbul Islam rebels are planning to reinforce themselves in Hiran region of central Somalia.

Meanwhile, the other insurgent group, Al Shabaab, has reportedly seized control of all the posts vacated by Hizbul Islam.

A day earlier they reported that

Sheikh Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma'ow, who quit the Somali interim government to join Hizbul Islam rebels in late August, told local media during a Tuesday night interview ... that he has an appointment to meet with Hizbul Islam commanders in order to join together all the forces under a single command.

Currently, Beletwein is under the control of Hizbul Islam rebels but the rebels do not have a strong chain of command structure, according to local sources.

-- -- --

More shelling of the Bakara Market

Shabelle Media: Shelling kills two, wounds 8 others in Bakara market

at least two civilians have been killed and 8 others have been wounded in Baraka market after shelling targeted to the market, witnesses and officials told Shabelle radio on Thursday.

Ali Muse, one of the emergency traffic officials confirmed Shabelle radio that they took at least 8 injured civilians to the hospitals in Mogadishu adding that several mortar shells landed into many different areas in the market.

Abshir Nor Farah ( Ba’adle), the chairman of the Somali composers’ council had talked the shelling pointing out that it was terrorizing and caused more casualties of deaths, injuries and loss of property and halted the business movement of the market.

“AMISOM paid the compensation of the Somalis’ camels which killed recently. They believe that the camel is very big so that is why they paid the costs. But the people are very small. They are nothing so that is the reason they are still continuing the bombardment to empty the people,” Abshir Ba’adle said.

How ever the case it is unclear why the AMISOM troops would not stop shelling the market, the biggest market in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Garowe Online puts the death toll at three

3 civilians killed in Mogadishu bombardment

At least three civilians were killed in the Somali capital Mogadishu in an exchange of artillery shelling between insurgents and African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM), Radio Garowe reports.

Witnesses at Mogadishu's Bakara Market said the shells killed and wounded civilians in and around the market.

“I saw two dead bodies who were men and five wounded persons,” said a Bakara trader, adding that the shells hit outside a shopping center.

Sources with Mogadishu’s Life-Line Africa ambulance service said 8 wounded civilians were wounded and transported to Daynile Hospital.

AMISOM spokesman Capt. Barigye Bahoku told reporters that the peacekeepers did not bomb Bakara Market, saying that such reports are “fabricated.”

Some businesses inside Bakara Market closed their doors and shoppers ran for their lives as the shells landed inside and outside the market, witnesses and local sources said.

Mareeg Online, despite the headline, claims five dead

Mortar shell kills two in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU (Mareeg) -- A mortar shell Thursday killed five civilians and wounded six others at a market in Mogadishu, Somalia, witnesses said.

The attack on the Bakara market, Mogadishu's largest, may have been the result of mortar shelling that the rebels fired to airport.

The shell allegedly appeared to come from African Union bases in Mogadishu. Most business centers in Bakaro were closed and people ran away from the market.

No fighting was continuing in Mogadishu at the time of the shelling. The spokesman of the AU mission in Mogadishu denied on Wednesday that their troops shell Bakaro market.

-- -- --

Mareeg Online: 500 Somali soldiers get their training finished in Djibouti

500 Somali security forces have had their training ended in neighboring Djibouti on Thursday. A well organized ceremony attended by high ranking government officials from Djibouti and Somalia has been held in Djibouti.

Forces from France and Djibouti trained the Somali government soldiers in Hassan Guled Academy in Djibouti.

...

Reports from Djibouti say new Somali soldiers are also being trained in Djibouti.

-- -- --

Michigan-based mercenary firm reportedly gets a contract to help prop up the foreign-created/foreign-backed transitional government in Somalia

The Grand Rapids Press: Ada company wins contract to protect Somali government from terrorism, pirates

A Grand Rapids-based security firm is taking on a job few would envy: Protect the transitional government of Somalia, a failed state and breeding ground for terrorism and international piracy.

According to the Somali government, CSS Global Inc. has been contracted to provide security consulting services and training for government forces.

In a statement released Wednesday, Somali special envoy H.E. Ali Hassan Gulaid said he is “confident the expertise of the CSS Global senior staff will prove to be a valuable asset to us in our efforts to establish a safe and secure Somalia for our citizens.”

CSS Global, an affiliate of Ada-based CSS Alliance, has furnished counterterrorism services in other African nations and provided security and logistics in Iraq. Its operations team comprises former military and law enforcement personnel, including Special Forces.

“It is going to be a huge challenge,” said Chris Frain, chief executive officer and co-owner of CSS Alliance. “This is a brand-new government being stood up with the help of the international community.”

Um.. Chris... you mean 'being stood up by the international community', which is why there continues to be a problem there.

Frain said he could not comment on the size of the contract or number of security forces CSS would employ because the new government is “very sensitive” to the impact that publication of that information might have on opposition forces. He said funding for the transition government comes from the Arab League and other members of the international community.

Expecting that CSS Global Inc, alongside DynCorp and whatever CIA presence is on the ground there, now make key targets for attacks on foreigners in Mogadishu, which plays nicely into fulfilling previously-exaggerated claims of 'terrorists' posing a real threat to U.S. citizens. Of course, if those citizens weren't meddling in control over Somalia's governance in the first place...

Relatedly,

ISN: Outsourcing Africa

On 11 September 2009, the US Department of State (DOS) announced the companies it has awarded to perform various services under the AFRICAP Recompete program. The $1.5 billion contract is divided by four at 375 million, awarded to Protection Strategies Inc (PSI), DynCorp International, AECOM and Pacific Architects and Engineers (PAE).

According to a DynCorp press release, the companies that have been awarded the new AFRICAP (Africa Peacekeeping) contract will “provide training and advisory services, equipment procurement, logistical support services, and construction services to African countries.”

However, when the DOS posted the contract last year through the US government’s Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) website, it explained that because the new AFRICAP program “encompasses logistics support, construction, military training and advising, maritime security capacity building, equipment procurement, operational deployment for peacekeeping troops, aerial surveillance and conference facilitation,” potential contractors would be required to “possess a broad range of functional regional expertise and logistics support capabilities [with the intent] to have contractors on call to undertake a wide range of diverse projects, including setting up operational bases to support peacekeeping operations in hostile environments, military training and to providing a range of technical assistance and equipment for African militaries and peace support operations.”

The AFRICAP synopsis also stated that the contracts will be “implemented in countries throughout the African continent, as designated by the DOS.”

Currently, the DOS is engaged with programs involving conflict resolution and stability in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU).

(Last year's MoA post on the AFRICAP announcement is here)

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."

-- -- --

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.

-- -- --

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...

-- -- --

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.

-- -- --

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.

-- -- --

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.

-- -- --

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.

-- -- --

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.

-- -- --

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.

-- -- --

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.

-- -- --

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.

-- -- --

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.

-- -- --

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.

-- -- --

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.

-- -- --

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."

-- -- --

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.

-- -- --

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.