The East African: Keep the peace, don’t enforce it, African Union tells Amisom
The 15-member African Union Peace and Security Council has shelved Uganda’s request for change of the forces’ mandate.
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..diplomatic sources say that a cautious Peace and Security Council, worried that such a mandate could complicate the mission and suck the troops into a no-win situation, has been reluctant to grant the request.
This makes it harder for AMISOM to claim any legitimacy in participating in the TFG's offensive actions, should they actually materialize. Looks like those tanks will continue to rust.
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Garowe Online: Hizbul Islam urge Lawmakers to join Islamists
A spokesman for the Somalia’s Hizbul Islam militant group says his group is willing to rank high Somali lawmakers who are willing to ditch the government side.
Sheikh Mohammed Ma’alin Ali urged the lawmakers to take up the offer and support the Islamist.
“We are urging Somali lawmakers to leave the government of Sheikh Sharif and work for the well-being of the society and the religion because that is good compared to living under the mercy of the enemy,” he told reporters in Mogadishu.
He said the lawmakers should took the example of their fellow lawmaker who recently ditched to Al-Shabaab, saying the Islamist groups are not killers as portrayed by the government.
“The government officials are told that Islamists kill people but that is propaganda. We are ready to welcome anyone who deserts the government,” he said.
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Latest analysis from Michael Weinstein is up at Garowe Online - Ethiopia's Counter-Encirclement Strategy Confronts Ahlu Sunna Wal-Jama'a
It covers last week's UPI article that presented some details of the strategy for the offensive against the Islamist militias as well as events since then, pointing out that
it appears that Addis Ababa's traditional strategy of playing all the sides acceptable to itself in Somalia's conflicts against one another is ineffective when it has an interest in uniting them in a common cause. If the U.P.I. report is correct that Addis Ababa offered A.S.W.J. its blessing for an A.S.W.J. governed autonomous administration in the central regions, then it is intelligible that Sh.Sharif would be more than suspicious of A.S.W.J.; and that the latter would expect the T.F.G. to try to divide it. It is not at all surprising that Addis Ababa's efforts to mediate have not borne fruit.
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Garowe Online: Ahlusunna ask for Somalia PM position in talks with govt
Somalia's pro-government Islamist group Ahlu Sunnah Wal-Jamaa is reportedly negotiating for the position of the country’s premier in the on-going talks with the UN-backed transitional federal Somali government.
Officials from both sides are holding preliminary talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, and according to sources, the talks' theme has changed from discussions on how best to integrate their forces and face their common enemy, Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam to negotiations on power sharing.
The government side is led by Finance Minister Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, Postal and communication minister Abdirisaq Osman Hassan (Jurille) and political advisor to the president lawmaker Mustaf Ahmed Dhuxulow (Dhegdher).
Confidential sources say the meeting, which is strongly backed by concerned parties led by African Union including neighboring countries, is meant to push for the inclusion of Ahul-Sunnah into the fragile government.
The sources add that Finance Minister Sharif Adan and his Postal and communication counterpart Jurille are engaged in campaign to drum up support for their different successors of the Premiership position with all going for officials from Ahlu Sunnah.
Sheikh Adan is said to be uncomfortable with current Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke who hails from Somalia’s Puntland state.
However, the strengthening of Ahlu Sunnah's power, a group which only took arms after Al-Shabaab desecrated the tombs of their important sheikhs, poses the biggest nightmare for Sheikh Sharif's government.
The fragile government is reportedly mulling over plans to curb the supremacy of the group once the other Islamist groups are eliminated out of the political scene.
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Abdikarim H. Abdi Buh has a new analysis up at WDN, Ahlu Sunna Warlords and TFG talks in Addis Ababa: another deadly contract from the Tigreyan Regime
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The talks in progress in Addis are between two groups who have neither constituencies of their own nor moral conscience of any sort. The TFG and Ahlu Sunna both work for the same master, Ethiopia, and what is going on in Addis can’t be called talks but rightly a training on a new instruction. The TFG and Ahlu Suna are in no position to bargain because both owe their survival to Ethiopia without which none can survive more then several days.
Today is the fourth day and the last day of the first round of the so called talks and the following points are so far what I learned they had agreed on:
* The immediate unification of their respective forces
* The unified forces shall jointly fight against Al Shabab
* The unification of the forces must start in Hiiraan were both forces are stationed
* To continue fighting until all the regions of the country comes under the control of the TFG
* That General Galaal & some of the current militia officers shall jointly make the new high command of Ahlu Sunna (tribal Militias)
The second round is said to be on power sharing scheme which most of the followers of this exercise fail to understand as to how they can work around the straight jacket of the 4.5 formula, but it remains to be seen - its parliament and cabinet posts are already shared accordingly and there is no room of giving one clan more then its predetermined number.
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In light of the states with in states in the region with varied local agendas, the fragility of the economy of the central region and the people in the IDP camps; the war cry for a new prolonged war only comes from a person without heart and mind. The central region shouldn’t be made a new theatre of unnecessary and un- winnable war to please the Tigrayan regime that ate its own people.
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In conclusion, I believe the elders of the region can diffuse the tension by opening an independent channel of communication with Al Shabab to address the political impasses with the view of averting the impending lengthy war that is serving only the interest of the Tigreyan regime in Addis. True Ahlu Sunna leaders, not the warlords, after diffusing the tension should strive to initiate a robust and functioning administration that covers the whole region to address the developmental needs of the stake holders.
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WRT the tactic of food, or rather a lack of, as a weapon to starve out supporters of the Islamist mvmts,
AP: UN says US aid restrictions hurting hungry Somalis
The United Nations says U.S. restrictions that are designed to stop terrorists from diverting aid are hurting humanitarian operations in Somalia.
U.N. humanitarian official Mark Bowden said Wednesday that U.N. agencies have not seen any evidence from the U.S. government that food aid is being diverted to Islamists fighting the U.N.-backed Somali government.
The U.S. reduced its funding to Somalia last year after its Office of Foreign Assets Control expressed fear that the extended supply line and areas where aid agencies were operating meant aid could be diverted to a group with links to al-Qaida.
Bowden said agencies were being asked to comply with impractical requirements by the U.S. but declined to give details.
WaPo: U.N. officials criticize U.S. restrictions on aid to Somalia
In recent months, the United States has withheld millions of dollars in funding to Somalia, citing concern that some humanitarian aid was being diverted to al-Shabab, an insurgent group that Washington deems a terrorist organization. But on Wednesday, the United Nations' top humanitarian official for Somalia said that aid groups have seen little evidence of such diversion.
"What we are seeing is a politicization of humanitarian issues," Mark Bowden told reporters here. "No U.N. agency has paid any money to al-Shabab."
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He added that officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development, the government's humanitarian aid arm, shared the United Nations' concerns and wanted to resolve the dispute.
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An investigation by the U.N. World Food Program concluded that there was no evidence that the agency's Somalia staff had diverted food supplies to al-Shabab fighters, said Peter Smerdon, the agency's spokesman in Nairobi.
NYT: U.N. Criticizes U.S. Restrictions on Aid for Somalia
United Nations officials intensified their criticism of the American government on Wednesday, saying that Washington was imposing “impossible” conditions on aid deliveries for Somalia and holding up tens of millions of dollars of desperately needed food based on unfounded accusations that it would be diverted to terrorists.
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“What we are seeing is a politicization of humanitarian issues,” [Bowden] said, adding that when he recently went to Washington to discuss the matter with American aid officials, “the comment we met was, ‘This is beyond our pay grade.’ ”
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On Wednesday, one American official shot back: “We wouldn’t have reacted this way if the allegations were ungrounded. There is a body of evidence here.”
The American official, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter but was clearly irritated by Mr. Bowden’s comments, added, “We’re going to have to talk to him.” [Sounds like the hothead Ranneberger]
Later, Tommy Vietor, a White House spokesman, said, “The actions of Al Shabab and other violent extremists are what are denying Somalis urgently needed humanitarian aid.” [In other words, "people of Somalia - drop your support of any forces against our best hope in Mogadishu and we'll start sending you our leftover cattle feed again"]
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..the recent focus of United Nations officials has been stepping up efforts to deliver aid in anticipation of a major offensive by Somali and African Union troops, which could begin in the coming weeks or months and is intended to drive the Shabab out of Mogadishu, the capital. [Should we assume, then, that the UN is in on this offensive, as well?]
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According to a draft of the new aid conditions, which was provided to The New York Times on Wednesday, the American government is demanding that aid agencies receiving American money cannot pay “fees at roadblocks, ports, warehouses, airfields or other transit points” controlled by the Shabab.
The problem is, more than half of south-central Somalia is controlled by the Shabab or their allies, who often set up roadblocks and charge money for goods to pass. In many places, the Shabab are the only local administration.
The new rules call for aid workers, including local Somalis, to tell American administrators when any aid unintentionally slips into the Shabab’s hands.
“That could make us and our people look like spies,” one aid worker said on condition of anonymity. “It’s totally unacceptable.”
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From a WSJ article on Wednesday
Government and African Union officials say the goal is for the Somali troops, backed by U.S.-trained African Union forces, to carve out a secure area of Mogadishu, Somalia's capital.
Achieving that objective would provide breathing space for the Somali government to function, and the opportunity to win support from a fractious and insecure public, officials say.
The strategy takes a page from U.S. counterinsurgency operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, where strengthening a weak government has been seen as pivotal in the U.S.-led wars against Islamic militants.
Omitted from that report is the role the U.S. played in picking & setting up that weak govt in the first place.
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Garowe Online: 4 killed as govt forces fight each other in Mogadishu
At least four people, including two civilians have been killed and five others injured in infighting between government soldiers in the restive capital Mogadishu, officials said on Thursday.
The fighting erupted after government soldiers disputed over the ownership of a gun, prompting one group to open fire on the other.
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The clash comes just a day after a similar incident happened at the Ex-control Checkpoint, a strategic cheikpoint that is manned by government and connects the capital to the Afgoye.
The infighting in the weak and poorly paid government forces is common as they jostle for the control of areas that the view as income generators.
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The headlines make it sound like a done deal, though the texts indicate no agreements have been signed
Garowe Online: Somalia Govt reaches a deal with Ahlusunna militia
Reports say on-going talks in Ethiopian capital Addiss Ababa between Somalia’s UN-backed government and pro-government Islamist group Ahlu Sunnah Wal-Jamaa has made headways after both parties agreed on certain issues.
According to the sources, the pro-government group has backed down from its early demands of premiership position and now is settling for five cabinet slots in the bloated government.
Ahlu-Sunnah is said to be eyeing the powerful ministries of Defense, Finance, Foreign Affairs, Interior and Constitutional Affairs in the agreement, which is yet to be signed by both parties.
Other substantial bargaining for the group are also the merging of government and its forces under one leadership and slot in the diplomatic missions.
The meeting is reportedly held under the blessings of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who recently held talks with Somalia’s embattled president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on the sidelines of the African Union summit.
Ahlu Sunnah is represented by a high-ranking official called Ma’alin Mahammud Sheikh. Hassan while the government side is led by Finance Minister Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, Postal and communication minister Abdirisaq Osman Hassan (Jurille) and political advisor to the president lawmaker Mustaf Ahmed Dhuxulow (Dhegdher).
The agreement would once again swell the already bloated government, which was formed last year in neighboring Djibouti after months of reconciliations.
Political analysts say Sheikh Sharif’s government has a keen interest in the pro-government Ahul-Sunnah, which allegedly has the backing of Addis Ababa, but fears its domination once the other Islamist groups are eliminated from the country’s political scene.
Garowe Online: Somali PM welcomes accord with pro-govt militia
Somalia's Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke has welcomed a move by the government to reach agreement with pro-government Islamist Ahlu Sunnah.
Speaking in the restive capital Mogadishu on Thursday, Prime Minister Sharmarke said his government would welcome any party interested in peace and stability of the war-torn country.
“The government welcomes anyone who wants peace and they will be rewarded with top positions. Beside that, we will fight those who are against peace,” he said.
Somalia’s government spokesman AbdulQadir Walayo, who spoke with the reporters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, where the meeting has been going on, said the government would provide details of the meeting once its delegation returns to Mogadishu.
The agreement is yet to be signed; however, sources within the parties involved said the deal would be inked once both parties return to their respective organs in the war-torn country.
Ahlu Sunnah is said to be settling on five cabinet slots in the bloated government after backing down from its early demands of premiership position.
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The two weeks-long meeting was organized by Ethiopian government under the backing of African Union and some of the neighboring countries.
Here is a pdf copy of what is purported to be the Agreement between the Transitional Federal Government and Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a, but it's entirely in English (for whose benefit?), w/ signatures from both parties, and dated February 13, 2010 last week.
From that document
Article 2
Allocation of Government Positions to ASWJ
1. ASWJ shall be integrated into the TFG. The TFG shall allocate to the ASWJ government positions as follows:five (5) Ministers of categories A,B,C; one (1) Minister of State; five (5) Assistant Ministers of categories A, B, C; five (5) Directors-General of categories A, B, C; five (5) Directors of Departments of categories A, B, C; three (3) Deputy Commanders of the national armed, police and security forces; three (3) Ambassadors; three (3) Consular Officers; three (3) Commercial Attaches; three (3) Military Attaches; and three (3) Cultural Attaches.
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Maybe his conscience has been bothering him...
HOL: Senior Advisor to President Sheikh Sharif Resigns
Professor Ahmed M. Warfa has resigned from the position of Senior Advisor to President Sheikh Sharif.
HOL was able to reach Prof. Warfa, who is currently in the United States.
He cited personal reason for the resignation and declined to make any further commit on the issue at this time.
"I will continue the efforts to work with all the stakeholders at the regional and national levels of Somalia, and am confident that there will be peace and good governance for Somalia," said Prof. Warfa. He added, "I believe that any assignment is not without sacrifice, hardship, or difficulty."
President Sheikh Sharif appointed Prof Warfa as his Senior advisor on August 21, 2009.
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AlterNet: Bumper harvest highlights need to help Somali farmers help themselves
In war-torn Somalia, daily life is a struggle for the 40 percent of the population who rely on humanitarian aid to survive, but in recent months green shoots have started to emerge.
Good rains have boosted food production, reducing the number of people dependent on handouts, and meat exports are picking up after Saudi Arabia lifted a long-standing ban. Experts say a little more support for farmers could go a long way towards easing the country's hunger crisis.
Since August, the number of Somalis in need of aid has fallen from 3.76 million, about half the population, to 3.2 million, the U.N.'s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) said in a report this month.
"The reason we have seen a drop in the population in crisis is because of the good harvest in the south over the last six months," said Grainne Moloney, FSNAU's acting chief technical advisor. "It's over 250 percent of the harvest last year and about 150 percent of the harvest in the last five years."
Decent October-to-December 'deyr' rains resulted in a bumper season for sorghum - which accounts for three-quarters of cereal production - as well as cash crops including sesame, vegetables, fruits, groundnuts and bananas.
This helped cut the proportion of the rural population in crisis in the south - which is mostly under the control of the hardline al Shabaab insurgent group - by 15 percent, the FSNAU says.
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This is from a Time article Thursday
If Somalia's extremists are becoming an international threat, that's partly because of their cosmopolitan leadership. ... The past few years have seen the arrival in Somalia of 200 to 300 young ethnic Somali men from the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia, Norway and Sweden, migrants' children returning to their ancestral homeland, according to diplomatic and intelligence sources in East Africa. A Western soldier working in Somalia says these foreign-born Somalis now dominate al-Shabab. "All their cells are commanded by a foreigner," he says. "All tactical and strategic decisions are taken by foreigners."
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"If you've been waiting for a moment to declare Somalia a priority threat, what else do you need?" asks the Western soldier in Somalia. "There's no longer a serious risk that southern Somalia could become a jihadi operational deployment facility. It already is."
Anyone smell some disinformation there?
Humorously, the Time article also states
In Somalia, authority is notionally held by the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), led by an Islamist who preaches pragmatic engagement with the West. The TFG was installed by Ethiopia, a principal U.S. ally in Africa, after its forces invaded Somalia in 2006 and toppled an earlier Islamist government whose more extreme members had unwisely declared jihad on Somalia's bigger and more Christian neighbor to the west.
Foremost, this current TFG is not the same TFG that rode in on Ethiopia's tanks in early 2007. The article would have the reader believe that they are.
As to the "more extreme members" who "unwisely declared jihad on" Ethiopia, well, let's take a quick jaunt back in our time machine to November 2006, shall we...
Somali Islamic Courts former chairman who now heads the courts’ executive committee, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, told Asharq al-Awsat, “Ethiopia’s capture of the city of Buur Hakaba constitutes a declaration of war on Somalia and an aggression against its sovereignty and territories.” He added, “Ethiopia has trespassed beyond all the red lines in the relationship between the two countries. Once again, it has armed the warlords and their militias to help trigger a new civil war in the country. As of now, we declare jihad against the state of Ethiopia whose forces have invaded Somali territories.”
Or, as Reuters reported from the ICU's press conference,
"Starting from today, we have declared jihad against Ethiopia," Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed told a news conference, wearing combat fatigues and clutching an AK-47 assault rifle.
Ahmed, usually viewed as a more moderate voice among the Islamists, appeared angry as he addressed reporters.
"Heavily armed Ethiopian troops have invaded Somalia. They have captured Buur Hakaba. History shows that Somalis always win when they are attacked from outside," he said.
Whoops. Guess the "pragmatic" Sh. Sharif either forgot that last point or, more likely, the transitional government's reliance on foreign support & a military solution to impose the latest TFG on Somalis involves decisions, as someone recently put it, beyond his pay grade.
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Shifting from a report quoting an unnamed source to one that quotes another w/ an almost unbelievably convenient surname
Bloomberg: Cheaper Piracy Patrols off Somalia Needed, U.S. Official Says
The U.S. says it wants to find cheaper options to battle pirates off the coast of Somalia..
“The locus of pirate activity has shifted and we are trying to deal with it,” Tom Countryman, the principal deputy assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, said in Washington today. “It’s expensive, and that’s why we feel strongly the need to pursue the lowest-cost options to deter piracy.”
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Defensive measures taken by ship owners and crews are “the lowest-cost and most-effective way to deter pirate attacks,” Countryman said. Measures can include using firehoses to fend off pirate skiffs, erecting barbed wire at entry points to the ship and teaching the crew to take evasive action when potential pirates are in sight.
Rebuilding Somalia’s economy, shattered by two decades of civil war, and going after the organized crime syndicates that finance the attacks are the best ways to halt piracy, said Countryman.
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Shabelle Media: Al-shabab: ‘WFP will not operate in southern Somalia once again’
Sheik Moktar Robow Ali better known as (Abu Mansour), high profile of Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen told reporters before a night in a mosque at Baidoa town ... that that WFP will never operate in southern Somalia and also in any places that are under the control of Harakat Al-shabab Mujahdeen unless the World Food Program abides by the conditions displayed earlier by the movement of Al-shabab.
Abu Mansour said that the conditions suggested for the agency was among WFP to buy the food from the Somali farmers asserting that they will not accept from the agency to provide food from the United States of America to the Somalis pointing out that the us puts pressure and sanctions to the Somali people.
“The Somali farmers found more economic [prosperity] since WFP left their zones under their control and that clears the Somali people can be with out WFP. As known, WFP buys food from the American farmers. It buys each sack $50 dollar and it does not like to buy the food of the Somali people,” said Sheik Moktar.
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Garowe Online has more information on why Senior advisor to Somalia president 'resigns'
Senior Somali presidential advisor, Professor Ahmed M. Warfa, on Saturday resigned from his position. In the resignation, he cited personal reasons and working with uncooperative president.
"I advised Sheikh Sharif on the 4.5 clan system that forms the basis of the government, he did nothing about it. I also advised him on the 39 ministers that make up the cabinet and his many other advisors, he ignored," said the professor.
Professor Warfa added that President Sheikh Sharif turned down his advise over the handling of regional-based states, saying that pin-point its leaders from Villa Somalia would not help.
"I am not opposed to the rejections of my advises, however, I am opposed to advises he receive behind my back, which counter mine," he noted, adding that Sheikh Sharif has so many ‘advisors’ who advise him on increasing the number of ministers and lawmakers.
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The resignation of the senior advisor unearths the behind the scene political squabbling that has crippled the already fragile government, which was formed just over one year ago in neighbouring Djibouti.
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From an AU press release, AMISOM inducts police trainers
Nairobi, February 21st 2010; The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has embarked on an induction course for 34 police officers who are expected to start training and mentoring members of the Somali Police Force.
The Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia Hon. Wafula Wamunyinyi officially opened the course on Friday 19th February at the Kenya Wildlife Training Centre. The course has attracted police trainers from Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
“I have no doubts in my mind that the officers assembled here today have the professional competence to deliver on our mandate in Somalia. “ Said Hon. Wamunyinyi.
The police trainers were selected last year following an AU/UN Selection team that travelled to the four countries to conduct an assessment of the officers to serve in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). During this exercise, a little over 600 candidates were selected and put on a database for deployment.
The Deputy Special Representative for Somalia said the induction course for the police trainers is part of the African Union’s responsibility to support the people of Somalia who for the past 21years or so have not seen any peace or development in their country.
Hon. Wamunyinyi thanked the Government of Kenya for offering its Wildlife Training Centre to the African Union for use by AMISOM to train the Somali Police Force.
A Daily Nation article on Sunday, essentially a copy of that press release, further identifies the location
The course which has attracted police trainers from Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, will be offered at the Kenya Wildlife Training Centre, Manyani.
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The new group of police officers is expected to arrive in Mogadishu, later this month. According to the AU Peace and Security Department, the number of police officers present in the Somali capital Mogadishu is expected to reach 270 in the next few days. This will enable the retraining courses meant for the Somali police officers to start.
The AU said last month that the arrival of the first police officers is expected to coincide with the increase in the number of African peace keeping soldiers from 5,268 to 6,118.
The Wildlife Training Center at Manyani, within Tsavo East National Park off Mombasa Highway about 10 kms before Voi from the Nairobi direction, was the center of the recent stories of deceitful recruitment of Somali youth in Kenya, as identified in this Human Rights Watch news release.
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