Mareeg Online: Islamist rebels say small airstrip reopened
Hizbul Islam rebel group led by hardline cleric, Hassan Dahir Aweys, said they have reopened Ema’an port and Isaley airstrip in north Mogadishu on Monday.
Sheik Mohamed Moalim, a secretary information of the group said they reopened the small natural port of Elam’an and Isaley airstrip outside Mogadishu and informed business people to import and export goods in these two places.
“We call for the businessmen to import their business goods and export in Elma’an port and Isaley airport and we pledge that they will keep the security,” said Sheik Mohamed.
He said “the property of the people is robbed in Mogadishu port and airport” and called for the people to transfer their business operations into these two small places.
The move comes as Al Shabaab drove Hizbul Islam group out of the port town of Kismayo and this shows that Hizbul is trying to get an income from these two places if they convince the business people to use Isaley and Elma’an.
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Sheik Aweys talked reports in Isaley airstrip and accused al Shabaab of being attacking bases of his group in southern Somalia.
He added that he was deeply sorry about the renewed clashes between his party and al Shabaab in Lower Jubba region.
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The death toll from the fighting that began on Sunday rises.
Garowe Online: Heavy clashes kill 11 in Mogadishu
At least 11 people have been killed and 18 others injured in heavy fighting between Somali government forces and fighters loyal to insurgent Hizbul Islam group, Radio Garowe reports on Monday.
The clashes, which started on late Sunday and continued overnight, concentrated in the capital’s Hodan, Howlwadag and parts of Maka Al Mukarama road, where the warring sides exchanged heavy weapons including mortar shells and machine guns.
Mohammed Osman Arus, Hizbul Islam’s spokesman said that his forces carried out attacks on government and AU troops who were advancing on rebel territories, adding that they have killed several government soldiers.
“We carried out attacks on government and AMISOM troops especially Ugandans who advanced to Digfer Hospital. We forced them out of the hospital,” he told reporters in Mogadishu.
The clashes erupt[ed] after AU forces made military movement in Hodan districts especially Digfer Hospital where they briefly occupied and then vacated later in the day.
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Garowe Online: Ethiopian and Somali officials hold secret talks
Ethiopian officials have reportedly crossed the border to neighbouring Somalia to hold secret talks with former administrators of Somalia’s southern region of Bakool in the southwestern border village of Yeed, sources reported.
Reports said Ethiopian officials from Somali region led by Barey chief Daud Abdi escorted by their troops entered the village and met with Somali officials from Bay and Bakool region who were led by Col. Adan Saransor
Sources told Garowe Online that the closed-door meetings reportedly focused on strengthening Somali troops in a bid to strengthen the forces and fight with the militants, who control much of the region including strategic town of Baidoa, the capital of Bay.
“The meeting was secret and we don’t want to reveal the outcome to the media. But the two sides discussed the military cooperation,” said a Somali official who attended the meeting.
The latest meeting raised eyebrows in the village and its environs which are currently under the Somali insurgent group Al-Shabaab.
SMC: Government officers had discussion with Ethiopian Military officers
Reliable reports coming from Hudur town the headquarters of Bakool region in north of the Somali capital Mogadishu say that top ranking officer from the Ethiopian Military have arrived at Yeed district in the region, and had discussions with the Somali government officials who are fighting with the Islamist fighters who are in control much of the region.
The top agenda of the meeting between the two sides was generally based on the security situation and how to provide military tactic to the Somali military fighting against the Al-Shababs.
During the meeting between the sides there was Ethiopian Military troops who were assigned to secure the security around were the talks were taking place. So far little is known about the discussion between the two sides, because they have not addressed the press, Somaliweyn Website has reached Abdi Fatah Gessey the regional commissioner of Bay region who was among the Somali government officials who met with the Ethiopian troops, but has avoided giving out the points discussed between sides, thought he said that all is well.
This meeting comes at a time when the Somali government troop who were ousted from their respective regions by Al-Shabab are recently carrying out series of Military exerciser at their places close the territory between Ethiopia and Somalia, and vowed to retake their regions in the soonest possible time.
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ISN reports on the CSS Global contract, covered back in October.
Somalia Jumps on Private Security Bandwagon
That ASIMOM fires back through the very public it is mandated to protect reveals the missions’ frustrations to effectively combat against increasingly unorthodox and unexpected attacks by insurgents that, in comparison to what is needed to build a common security in Somalia, are inexpensive and relatively easy to orchestrate.
This has caused the government of Somalia to search for support from other willing parties, eventually awarding a US-based private military and security company (PMSC) a contract to “provide security consulting services and training for government forces.”
The company, Corporate Security Solutions Global (CSS Global), is a part of the larger CSS Alliance, a multi-faceted strategic and security solutions provider based in Ada, a township in western Michigan that contains less than 10,000 residents.
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The company will do just about anything: its “Specialized HelpTeam” even provides “valet, concierge, receiving clerk, front desk, pool attendant and additional service-oriented needs.”
Concerning the side of the business on its way to Somalia, CSS Global advertises its services proudly, selling everything from personal armed security guards, convoy security, military and police training, and evacuations and extraction operations.
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More fascinating, however, is that by securing this contract that has been awarded directly by the government of Somalia, the company now represents the first overt American presence involved with the military and security affairs of Somalia since the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, otherwise known as the infamous Black Hawk Down situation. But this time, it is not a US state-led force on the ground, but private military and security firm.
CSS Global’s latest Somali project is interesting on several levels. According to the company, the operation is being funded by “the Arab League and other members of the international community.” If the Arab League is partly funding a private, western company that has already been compared to Blackwater to deploy to a predominately Muslim Somalia, the irony is overwhelming.
One would think this story would receive major media attention given the last time US forces were in Somalia and the Black Hawk Down debacle; however, mainstream American media has been shamefully silent on these recent developments.
One might also have thought the media would have also been all over the AU statement of September 17th regarding the "suicide attack on AMISOM Force Headquarters and a DynCorp office in Mogadishu within the vicinity of the Aden Abdulle International Airport" were it not for the apparent blackout on anything involving that company's operations in Somalia.
Continuing w/ the ISN report,
Nevertheless, while this story remains absent from any mainstream coverage, the private military and security industry is watching very closely.
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More interesting, however, is that unlike many PMSCs that often make mainstream news coverage, CSS has been contracted by the government of Somalia directly.
Unlike the way in which companies such as Blackwater or Triple Canopy were awarded contracts by the US Department of Defense or State, CSS Global was requested by the government of Somalia. This dynamic concerns exactly to which party or parties the company will answer, how these operations will bolster or further erode the reputation of the industry in which it does business, and perhaps most importantly, what effect or byproduct its operations in Somalia will create for US-Somali relations in the future.
“I hope that today's war planners and strategists are thinking long and hard about what implications CSS Global could have on the strategy in Somalia. To say that PMCs or PSCs do not have an impact on strategy for this war is dangerously naive. To put it in [counterinsurgency] terms, CSS Global will be interacting with the local populations, like it or not, and [US strategy] has been deficient in addressing the impact the contracting community has on counter-insurgency. The silence on it in the think tank community is deafening,” Loe told ISN Security Watch.
“What is missing from this story is the lack of response from the media and from the war planners. When the story first came out, there was silence. This is a big story, because of the US history in Somalia. [The US is] going back there, and we are doing it in a roundabout way through a private military company, whether we want to or not,” [Matt Loe, an American private security contractor, former Marine and author of the online blog FeralJundi.com] said.
What a load of nonsense in those few paragraphs! The US has been heavily involved in Somalia for years now, a fact hardly disputed outside of those few who only get their news from the 'shamefull' US msm. It's hardly a secret that the current transitional government itself is the result of direct US influence, propped up by proxy forces supplied via pliant militaries from two strong allies, supported & trained by the US military and DoS contractors. Since the other members of the UN Security Council don't want the UN paying for it, the past months have seen efforts directed at coaxing pliable Arab regimes to continue feeding the money pit.
CSS Global was probably selected for the TFG.
While critics of the industry maintain that private military and security companies are used by governments in order to circumvent attention, responsibility and accountability for activities that are contracted to non-state entities, those within the industry see CSS Global’s Somali contract as an opportunity to repair the tarnished reputation of the industry. There is tremendous concern by those in the industry who are paying attention, and some remain curious about whether CSS Global has what it takes to help turn the situation in Somalia around.
“I have no doubt that al-Shabaab will do all they can to create another Blackhawk Down or Blackwater Bridge scenario to capitalize on. It would make for the ultimate in propaganda value. Or better yet, to create the environment for which a Nisour Square scenario could play out, where contractors kill civilians in a crossfire situation. Is CSS Global ready for that?” Loe said.
“I just hope that they are prepared for this kind of thing, because in essence, they are representing the US in that country again. Is CSS Global is the best company for the job, and do they have the capability and resources to make this work? Or did Somalia and the Arab League get suckered into contracting with a company that really doesn't have the experience for this kind of thing?”
Back in mid-October, when the story broke, I wrote that I'm
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...
Let's see - only scratching the surface of some of the baggage that "representing the US in that country" that awaits the Michigan boys setting foot inside Somalia
US funded some vicious Somali warlords, under the guise of the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism, in an effort to curtail the rise of political Islam in the void of a central governing authority, which backfired and fueled the rise to power of the ICU
US gives Ethiopia the green light (along w/ training, logistics, etc) to invade Somalia and install Yusuf's TFG in Mogadishu -- or as one interested observer acknowledged "The thing that made encouraging the Ethiopians so easy is that Somalia didn’t really have a central government in place, which made breaching its sovereignty so easy."
US bypasses democratic channels for negotiations inclusive of all the actors involved in Somalia by promoting exclusive National Reconcilliation Conferences -- "funding radio messages and designing T-shirts, stickers, and banners" -- protecting Ethiopia and the (imposed) TFG and, ultimately, pressuring for the Djibouti Agreement, Yusuf's exit and a sped-up Presidential selection of Sheikh Sharif in Djibouti earlier this year, w/ many labelling him the last best hope for Somalia
US openly acknowledges sending money and weapons to the TFG (of which it's still not clear how it could possibly fall outside of the long-standing arms embargo) while training Somali soldiers and police forces, aiding in logistics for AMISOM (courtesy of Dyncorp, AFRICOM et al), and so on
Seems obvious to me that the party getting suckered into this situation is CSS Global. Let's just hope it doesn't lead to a quick escalation of a greater overt US presence.
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Garowe Online is reporting that "according to unconfirmed reports, Museveni’s trip is scheduled on early December". Whenever he arrives, it'll be a hot time in the city, that's for sure.
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Michael Weinstein's latest analysis piece focuses in on The Political Structure of the T.F.G.'s and the Puntland State's Disaccord
With a shift from economic to political emphasis, the structural imbalance is between Puntland's functioning government (although it is currently under domestic and foreign pressures) and the T.F.G.'s notional government, which is a figment of international recognition guarded by African Union tanks. Farole is a president; Sh. Sharif is a captive. Farole feels that receiving aid vouchers from the T.F.G. is not worth sacrificing self-determination; Sh. Sharif does not want to share power in a federation of regional states, which is Farole's demand. Farah recognizes this scenario in the first point of his explanation, when he says that Sh. Sharif's "mentors" were concerned that recognition of regional authorities would degrade the legitimacy of the T.F.G. in the eyes of the international community. The mentors, indeed, were correct; it was a power struggle and the T.F.G. was fighting above its weight. If the T.F.G. has only external powers to thank for its existence, Puntland has only its political organization to count on, and that is currently under stress as external pressures and threats trigger reactions against Farole's administration domestically. Protecting the status of the Puntland state trumps economic and social development.
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The rupture in Nairobi leaves the T.F.G. weaker than ever, having lost potential support, and Puntland more isolated internationally. Farole, who had placed hope in the West and had thought that he could win a favorable deal from the T.F.G., now knows that he is on his own, which is why he has proposed by-passing the T.F.G. in the creation of a federal state that would change the present T.F.G. beyond recognition and short-circuit the donor powers' strategy of backing the T.F.G.
It is too early to tell how serious Farole is about his plan - whether it is a warning or a commitment - and whether he will have any takers for it in the southern and central regions. What it does indicate is that Farole reached the end of the rope tying him to the T.F.G. and that he has undone the knot. He has decided that the T.F.G. is not for the time being a negotiating partner and that the preservation of the state structure of Puntland is the vital interst above all others. Whether Farole is sacrificing other interests to the degree that he will subvert the vital interest through relative international isolation remains to be seen.
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Garowe Online: Puntland respond to Donald Payne’s statement
Puntland’s Good Governance and State Minister Mohammed Farah Isse Gashan termed the [Congressman's] statement as misrepresentation that has no bases whatsoever, adding that there was no misunderstanding in the recent meeting between Puntland and the US foreign affairs representatives, which was held in Nairobi, Kenya.
“The Meeting between Puntland President and Congressman Donald Payne which took place on mid November in Nairobi has ended without misunderstanding. It is unfortunate that the press statement released from the Congressman Donald Payne’s office, which did not, had any official stamp, and was focused on threats and baseless accusations such as killings of prisoners and torture claims. We are saying that it is the work of people who are in Conflict of Interest to use office of the Congressman,” said the statement from the good governance and state minister.
The Minister said Puntland government is not a dictatorial regime as claimed by the statement from the congressman, adding that its leaders were democratically elected by the people and the state is now moving to next level whereby political parties which will allow opportunities for everyone to compete for the welfare of the state, will be formed.
Congressman Payne was the main facilitate of President Farole’s recent visit to US, which allowed the international community to directly cooperate with Puntland.
On the other hand, Minister Gashan said the government of Puntland does not need the help of anybody to protect its borders, interest, politics and people, adding that the rule of law will apply to all of its citizens and foreigners.
(what's the story behind this recent trend of so many reporters in Somalia overusing the phrase "on the other hand"? Examples for Tuesday alone include Shabelle Media, Mareeg Online, SMC, and now Garowe Online!)
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In case anyone was wondering why other African nations have not succumbed to outside pressures to contribute bodies to AMISOM...
Garowe Online: AMISOM admits soldiers’ casualty
The African Union peacekeeping troops in Somalia have for the first time revealed that it has lost 80 of its soldiers in explosions and gun battle with Somali militants since deployed in the war-torn country two years ago, reveals AU envoy.
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Speaking in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya on Wednesday, outgoing AU Special Envoy to Somalia Nicholas Bwakira said Uganda has lost 37 troops while Burundi has had 43 of its soldiers killed, mainly in roadside bomb explosions.
The envoy has also revealed that the peacekeepers have not received their dues for more than seven months, putting the blame solely on the donors who had only released 30 percent of the funds they pledged in Brussels early this year.
“No country would keep its forces without payment. No democracy would do that,” he said, adding that it would have ‘a very bad impact on the morale of the troops and that of the government concerned.’
VOA has more, including a link to audio of Bwakira, though I'm getting a 'file not found' error at this time.
AU Envoy Says AMISOM Troop Payments Remain In Arrears
The African Union’s Special Representative to Somalia says contributing troops from Burundi and Uganda have not been paid since May of this year.
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“There is a sense of frustration on the part of the African Union and AMISOM. We are performing an international duty, which is the responsibility of the UN-Security Council (and) we would have expected that the international community will make financial resources available to enable us to pay the troops who are on the ground,” he said.
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Ambassador Bwakira said morale is noticeably low among AMISOM and Somali government troops.
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Of the more than $295 million pledged at the Brussels conference in April, the Somali government has realized only three million dollars. Two million dollars came from the United States, and another million from the Arab League.
"Since May of this year" would mean that they were paid in May but not June, correct? June through November is six months.
But the Daily Monitor, which one would expect to get the numbers right wrt the Ugandan forces, essentially rearranges the VOA report, adding
With each soldier on duty in Mogadishu budgeted to earn an average $550 (about Shs1 million) each month, the arrears due to the 3,000 UPDF soldiers alone over the months, the seventh being the ending November, thus add to some $11.6 million (Shs21.6 billion).
Here, "the seventh being the [month] ending [in] November" then suggests that May was the first month of arrears, not the last month to receive payment, which makes Bwakira's statement confusing.
Adding to that, throw in this report from the Daily Nation on Thursday
African Union names new representative in Mogadishu
The African Union has a new representative in Somalia. He is Mr Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra from the West African state of Mali.
Mr Diarra replaces Mr Nicolas Bwakira who has held the post for two years.
Addressing a press conference in Nairobi, Mr Bwakira said African Union troops in Somalia have not been paid for eight months.
jeez.. is there a transcript somewhere?
On the other point of the TFG only getting three million from the Brussels pledges, most of that money was earmarked for the AU and not the TFG, anyway. Still, in the same way that other Africa leaders are smart enough to understand that there is no peace to keep in Mogadishu, foreign leaders recognize that the United States' "best hope" in Mogadishu isn't really a govt either.
Which makes this Reuters story all the more bizarre
Somalia to tackle piracy, terrorism in 2010 budget
Somalia's Western-backed government plans a big increase in spending next year chiefly funded by foreign donors, with a large chunk going on battling piracy and hardline rebels, a minister told Reuters on Friday.
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International Cooperation Minister Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame said that an increase in donor funds would help the government to extend its influence across the country, which Western security experts say has become a safe haven for militants who use it to plot attacks in the region and beyond.
"I hope our partners will support the new budget because our main concern is security, especially tackling terrorism and piracy which are two huge problems," he said in an interview.
"I believe that if we obtain the necessary financial backing to pay our forces, we can defeat the pirates. It is a simple network of criminals, but we lack the capacity and finances to address this problem."
The government planned to spend $108 million in 2010, 74 percent of which it hopes will be provided by donors, Abdishakur said. This represented a big jump from the $39.6 million it expects to have spent in 2009, and about 40 percent of next year's funds would be allocated to the security services.
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On the topic of Uganda,
The Observer: Museveni, Bahati, named in US ‘cult’
President Museveni, Ethics Minister Nsaba Buturo and MP David Bahati have been linked to a shadowy religious fundamentalist group in the United States known as the ‘The Family’.
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According to journalist, academic and author Jeff Sharlett, who has spent years researching on The Family, its core agenda includes fighting homosexuality and abortion, promoting free-market economics and dictatorship, an idea they once termed “totalitarianism for Christ”.
It recruits people in positions of power and influence to promote its agenda and, according to Sharlett, the group has had its sights on Uganda for over 20 years.
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In an extensive interview with National Public Radio (NPR), a privately and publicly funded non-profit radio network in the United States, Jeff Sharlett said that The Family identified President Museveni as their “key man in Africa” in 1986.
Individuals working for both the US government and The Family, he said, undertook trips to Uganda “to reach out to Museveni to make sure that he came into the American sphere of influence [and] that Uganda, in effect, becomes our proxy in the region”.
“They wanted to steer him away from neutrality or leftist sympathies and bring him into conservative American alliances, and they were able to do so. They’ve since promoted Uganda as this bright spot - as I say, as this bright spot for African democracy, despite the fact that under their tutelage, Museveni has slowly shifted away from any even veneer of democracy: imprisoning journalists, tampering with elections, supporting - strongly supporting this Anti-Homosexuality Act of 2009,” he said.
Describing Museveni as a “core” member of the group, Jeff Sharlett alleged that President Museveni visits, spends time and “sits down for counsel” with Doug Coe, the leader of The Family, at the group’s headquarters at a place called The Cedars in Arlington, Virginia.
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Senator Tom Coburn, who also sits on the Senate Arms Forces Committee, is quoted to have said he has been on a mission to Uganda to “promote the political philosophy of Jesus as taught to him by Doug Coe.”
The group, Jeff Sharlett told NPR, creates “an invisible believing group of God-led politicians who get together and talk with one another about what God wants them to do in their leadership capacity. And that’s the nature of their relationship with Museveni.”
The Family, according to Sharlett, helped the Museveni family and other top politicians to start the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Uganda, to which it sends representatives, as a parallel to the United States National Prayer Breakfast the group has been running since 1935.
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Jeff Sharlett says he has established in recent investigations that the group has been channeling money to Uganda to promote its activities, including the anti-gay Bill.
Following paper trails, he discovered that the money was channeled through an “African leadership academy” called Cornerstone which runs a Youth Corps programme described as an “invisible family binding together world leaders” and an organisation called the “African Youth Leadership Forum” associated with MP David Bahati.
“The Family has poured millions of dollars working through a very convoluted chain of linkages passing the money over to Uganda,” he said. According to Jeff Sharlett, in Uganda, Museveni, Buturo and Bahati are not merely under the influence of The Family but they are, in effect, The Family.
The Observer tried to get MP Bahati to shed some light on these claims but he could not be reached on all known telephone numbers. Neither could we speak to Ethics and Integrity Minister, James Nsaba Buturo, as he did not answer his phone.
Presidential Press Secretary, Tamale Mirundi, said he was neither aware of an organisation called The Family nor of any relationship between it and President Museveni. But should such ties exist, Mirundi said, he would not be surprised.
Here's a link to the full transcript of NPR's Sharlett interview:
The Secret Political Reach Of 'The Family'
One excerpt from that interview by Fresh Air's Terry Gross
GROSS: How did The Family create its relationship with Museveni?
Mr. SHARLET: In 1986, a former Ford official name Bob Hunter went over on trips at the behest of the U.S. government, but also on behalf of The Family, to which - for which both of which he filed reports that are now in The Family's archives. And his goal was to reach out to Museveni and make sure that he came into the American sphere of influence, that Uganda, in effect, becomes our proxy in the region and that relationship only deepened.
In fact, in late 1990s, Hunter - again, working for The Family - went over and teamed up with Museveni to create the Uganda National Prayer Breakfast as a parallel to the United States National Prayer Breakfast and to which The Family every year sends representatives, usually congressmen.
GROSS: What's the relationship of Museveni and The Family now?
Mr. SHARLET: It's a very close relationship. He is the key man. Now...
GROSS: So what does that mean? What influence does The Family have on him?
Mr. SHARLET: It means that they have a deep relationship of what they'll call spiritual counsel, but you're going to talk about moral issues. You're going to talk about political issues. Your relationships are going to be organized through these associates. So Museveni can go to Senator Brownback and seek military aid. Inhofe, as he describes, Inhofe says that he cares about Africa more than any other senator.
And that may be true. He's certainly traveled there extensively. He says he likes to accuse the State Department of ignoring Africa so he becomes our point man with guys like Museveni and Uganda, this nation he says he's adopted. As we give foreign aid to Uganda, these are the people who are in a position to steer that money. And as Museveni comes over, and as he does and spends time at The Family's headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, a place called The Cedars, and sits down for counsel with Doug Coe, that's where those relationships occur.
It's never going to be the hard sell, where they're going to, you know, twist Museveni's arm behind his back and say do this. As The Family themselves describes it, you create a prayer cell, or what they call - and this again, this is their language from their documents - an invisible believing group of God-led politicians who get together and talk with one another about what God wants them to do in their leadership capacity. And that's the nature of their relationship with Museveni.
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Regarding that Garowe Online I questioned last week which quoted anon sources claiming Aweys was clandestinely joining Harakat al-Shabaab Mujihideen
Mareeg Online: Sheikh Aweys expresses his anger against al Shabaab
The aging, hardline cleric, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who leads Hizbul Islam rebel group showed his anger against al Shabaab actions for the first time on Friday.
Addressing to hundreds of people in Elasha Biyaha settlement during the festival of Eidul Ad’ha Sheikh Aweys called for al Shabaab to stop calling his group apostates and added that the fighting between the two groups in Lower Jubba region was not a religious one.
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“We have to abstain from shedding blood and aggressions against each other,” said Sheik Aweys.
He added that negations between the two groups stopped and the fighting was continuing, but he hoped that the negations will start again.
Sheikh Aweys says his group was not attacking al Shabaab, and will stop the fighting when the other group stops.
