Somalia thread for the week ending January 31

European ministers wasted no time in approving EUTRA

DPA: EU approves mission to train Somali army

Brussels - The European Union is to send soldiers to Uganda in the spring to train Somalia's security forces, EU foreign ministers decided Monday in Brussels. Europe is growing increasingly concerned about the stability of the Somali interim government in the face of attacks from militants.

The council of EU member states "remained concerned about the situation in Somalia and its regional implications" and "agreed to set up a military mission to contribute to the training of the Somali security forces," ministers said in a joint statement.

The mission would run alongside efforts by other players, such as the African Union, the United Nations and the United States, to help set up, train and fund Somalia's security forces.

It would be launched "with the next intake of trainees, scheduled to start in spring 2010," the statement said.

EU diplomats on Monday said that the aim of the mission would be to train around 2,000 soldiers, and that it would probably begin work in May.

That joint statement from the European Commission: 2010 Conclusion Of EU Somalia Training Mission Report

The Council adopted the following conclusions:

“The Council remained concerned about the situation in Somalia and its regional implications, recalling its 27 July Conclusions. It expressed its continued full support to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia.

It stressed the need for the full implementation of the Djibouti Agreement (19 August 2008). The Council reaffirmed the need to deal with the
challenges of Somalia through a comprehensive approach. The EU should therefore continue to help stabilize Somalia by providing support to vital and priority areas such as the security sector, development, assistance to the population and capacity-building support, in addition to ongoing deployment of EU NAVFOR Atalanta and humanitarian assistance.

The Council recalled relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, in particular UNSCR 1872, which urges the International Community to provide technical assistance to the Somali Security Forces. In this context, the Council agreed to set up a military mission to contribute to training of Somali security forces.

This mission would take place in Uganda where Somali forces are already being trained, which would also facilitate the coordination of the EU action with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). It would be launched with the next intake of trainees, scheduled to start in spring 2010. The mission would be conducted in close coordination with our partners, including the TFG, Uganda, the African Union, the United Nations and the United States of America.

The Council recognised the need to carry out this training as part of a wider international effort and encompassing inter alia the vetting of trainees, the monitoring and mentoring of the forces once back in Mogadishu and the funding and payment of the salaries of the soldiers. The Council emphasised the need to ensure that these issues were satisfactorily addressed on a continuing basis, including before the launch of the mission.

Underlining the need for TFG ownership, the Council noted that it would also be essential that the international community gives the necessary support to the TFG to fulfill its role in developing its capacity with respect to its security forces.

The Council agreed to remain seized of the issue and asked the High Representative to report on progress achieved on a regular basis.

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IRIN: Plan to integrate ex-militias into security forces

Mogadishu residents have welcomed plans by the interim government to step up the integration of an earlier, ousted, regime's security forces into its own army.

...

In the past, said Sheikh Abdulkadir Ali Omar, Minister of Interior in the Transitional Federal Government, forces of the former President Abdullahi Yusuf and those of the Islamic courts [ousted in December 2006] operated in different commands, "even though they were supposed to be one. What we are now doing is to make sure that there is only one command structure and one cohesive force," he told IRIN on 25 January.

He said the forces' integration was part of an all-out mobilization to get a grip on the security situation in the city and the country at large.

"By the time we finish, there will be an effective force that will deal with and defeat the anti-peace elements," Omar said.

He said there would be no chance that Al-Shabab or any other group would be able to infiltrate the force. "We know who the Islamic court forces are and there will be no possibility that someone from Al-Shabab will infiltrate."

...

A civil society source in Mogadishu, who requested anonymity, told IRIN the government had to move with speed to reorganize its forces.

"What we now have is a combination of two forces that don’t work well together," the source said, adding that the government needed not only to find a way of integrating the two but removing criminal elements within them. "There have been numerous complaints by civilians that people within the government forces were committing crimes."

How much longer before the TFG publicly begs Meles to send Ethiopian troops back into Mogadishu?

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Garowe Online: Somali fishermen in great danger

Fishermen in Eyl, an ancient town in the northern Somalia’s Puntland state are voicing concerns over illegally fishing vessels that are looting natural resources and destroying thier equipments.

In an interview with Radio Garowe, Saed Waberi, one of fishermen in Eyl who claims to be a former pirate said his fishing equipments worth 3000 USD has been destroyed twice by the illegal fishing vessels.

He adds that the illegal fishing vessels fire heavy guns to the fishermen boats’, forcing them to abandon their lifetime livelihood for fear of their lives.

“The situation is really becoming worse because we can’t eve get our daily bread,” he noted.

The fisherman said some of the illegally fishing ships are using fishing methods, which destroy the coral reefs and considered illegal in the world.

Hassan Ahmed Saed, Eyl, another coastal village fisherman told Radio Garowe that the pirates, who shattered the image of the coastal with their illegal activities, left the district but the presence of anti-piracy naval force in the region have had huge impact of the fishing business.

Fishing boats from Yemen and Oman, which used to buy fish and other products from the Puntland coastal villages, have disappeared after they became target of foreign warships patrolling Somalia’s waters.

"We are now better off from the piracy problem like alcohol and Khat but another problem has emerged. It’s the well armed vessels which are looting and destroying Yemen boats that used to buy our products. They scared them away" said Hassan Ahmed.

A woman who used to give the fishermen financial backings, especially in the selling of White sharks told Radio Garowe that all her equipments were destroyed by foreign vessels.

On the other hand, Puntland fishermen are complaining about the foreign warships, accusing them of not able to differentiate between honest fishermen and actual sea pirates.

Somali piracy started out as a response to the loss of access to the rich fishing grounds and emergence of illegal fishing trawlers which loot natural resources and destroy fishermen boats and equipments.

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An example of Operation ATALANTA aiding illegal fishermen. (h/t to Ecoterra International's SMCM)

Press Release from European Union Naval Force Somalia: Wounded Pakistani Fisherman Saved by EU NAVFOR Returns Home

In early December a Pakistani fishing vessel was hijacked by pirates not far from the territorial waters of Oman and, during the attack, one of the fishermen was shot in the leg just below the knee.

As a consequence, the crew was kept as hostages, including the wounded Pakistani fisherman, who was left for about a month without any treatment of the wound or stabilisation of his leg. The captured fishing vessel was later used by the pirates as a mother-ship from where they launched piratical attacks in the area using smaller skiffs they had loaded on board. After one such successful attack, the pirates abandoned the fishing vessel and the crew were rescued by the EU NAVFOR Warship FS SURCOUF that was patrolling in the area.

The wounded fisherman received immediate first aid medical treatment and was then transferred to EU NAVFOR Flagship ITS ETNA who has a Role 2 Medical facility and surgical team onboard. Onboard ETNA he was examined and received some extended wound-treatment including initial surgery. ETNA subsequently transferred their patient to the French Military Hospital “Bouffard” in Djibouti, where some final surgical treatment was carried out.

After nearly a month in the care of EU NAVFOR and the French Military Hospital, the man was cleared fit to fly home. Before leaving he expressed his sincere gratitude for all the assistance that he received onboard EU NAVFOR ships SURCOUF and ETNA and also at the Military Hospital. He arrived in Pakistan on 26th January.

EUNAVFOR SOMALIA Operation ATALANTA main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying humanitarian aid of the ‘World Food Program’ (WFP), to protect vulnerable ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean and to deter and disrupt piracy.

Nice, feel-good photo op for EU NAVFOR, if you ignore the context that the Pakistani fishing vessel was an IUU and its crew, therefore, illegal fishermen, exactly the kind of thing many Somalis regularly complain about and have a hard time understanding why the international navies speeding about in their territorial waters don't help address.

Even more embarrassing is that it ends up the boat & crew were also reportedly smuggling contraband...

The Nation (PK): Baloch fishermen warned to get enrolled

ISLAMABAD - Security agencies have warned fishermen from Balochistan to get their fishing boats registered with the respective provincial authorities without further delay, sources informed TheNation on Monday.
Sources said that there were more than 6,000 fishing boats operating out from Makran coast, and most of them have not yet registered with the fishery department or other relevant authorities.

According to informed sources, the move has come about after owners of some of the fishing boats have accused others of involvement in smuggling and other sea-borne crimes.

The matter gained significance in view of increasing incidents of sea-borne piracy off the coast of Somalia and other countries on the Horn of Africa.

Sources said that the situation aggravated last month when ostensibly Somalian pirates hijacked one of the Pakistani boats.

The vessel was released after some time, and later it came to light during the investigations that the said boat was involved in smuggling of goods. “Since the focus of the US-led war on terror is shifting towards Somalia and Yemen, it has become imperative to regulate the activities of the fishing boats operating out from the Makran coast”, sources said. Security agencies also warned the owners of the boats to register the crew manning their boats while at sea for fishing.

oops

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This photo from the TFG's one year anniversary celebration on Friday contains some comical imagery:



Did the PM break his first chair, which required some dirty boots to bring in another from outside? Or was there a mix-up at some point during the setup? Sh. Sharif looks absolutely diminutive in that oversized chair. Is that a booster seat, by any chance? Don't fall...

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Since this is such a clear departure from norm for the major wire service & other western media reports on Somalia these days, it's worth pointing out this paragraph in an Associated Press story on Friday's battles in Mogadishu:

The U.S. State Department says some of the Islamists are linked to al-Qaida, and experts say a few hundred foreign fighters have joined the Islamist insurgency. But it is unclear how much influence the foreigners or al-Qaida have over the insurgency, which is an uneasy alliance of factions with different objectives.

There was heavy fighting in the capital on Friday as TFG and AMISOM forces were attacked on a number of fronts. As that AP article quotes,

"The fighting was a response to the so-called government and the (African Union peacekeepers) trying to intimidate us by saying that they will take control of the whole capital," Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage said.

...

Local residents ... said it was the most serious single day’s fighting since August.

"Artillery exchanges and automatic weapons fire echoed in all parts of the city from the north to the south just after midnight, creating new fear that the fighting was at its most intense for almost six months," said resident Iise Shekh Jama.

"It was the worst fighting we have seen for months. Mortars and stray bullets were raining down into the residential areas killing civilians. I cowered all night in our room with my kids and wife," said Aden Muse, a resident in Mogadishu’s southern Medina neighborhood.

Rage says the insurgents attacked seven locations in Mogadishu. Eyewitness Haji Ibrahim Omar said one of the places attacked was a major peacekeeping base at a junction linking the port and airport, where he said AU troops used tanks to fend off the attack.

Statements from one of the TFG ministers in a VOA interview on Thursday were likely part of what provoked the attacks,

Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, minister of planning and international cooperation, said the transitional government has been successful in resisting attempts by hard line Islamic insurgents to overthrow the administration.

“Today we are celebrating and we can say we have achieved a lot, and we are still facing huge challenge to counter it. We defend ourselves against al-Shabab and militias supported by international terrorists. They tried to overthrow the government and we are now planning to undertake a security operation next week,” he said.

...

“The expectation is to handle the security of the country, particularly the capital city of Mogadishu. And that is what we are now planning. In the next few weeks we (will) be in a position to say that we will undertake the security operation in the capital. We will kick out the al-Shabab and its allies of Hizbul Islam from the capital. And we will soon put in place law and order in the city and police forces will be in place to protect the civilians,” Warsame said.

In addition, also on Thursday the U.N. Security Council voted to extend AMISOM's mandate for another year

AFP: AU force to stay in Somalia for another year

UNITED NATIONS — The UN Security Counil voted unanimously Thursday to authorize the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia to stay for another year and urged it to boost its strength to 8,000 troops.

Deployed in March 2007, the force known as AMISOM fields 5,300 Ugandan and Burundian soldiers and is currently charged with protecting strategic sites in the seaside capital such as the presidency, the port and the airport.

The 15-member council empowered AMISOM to stay until January 31, 2011 and asked it "to increase its force strength with a view to achieving (its) originally mandated strength of 8,000 troops, thereby enhancing its ability to carry out its mandate in full."

The mandate expires Sunday.

The council resolution also directed the force to continue assisting Somalia's transitional government in developing the Somali Police Force and the National Security Force, and to help integrate Somali units trained by other UN member states or organizations inside and outside Somalia.

And Friday was also, as pointed out earlier, the day the TFG celebrated the fact that AMISOM has kept them alive for the past twelve months.

One of the vital target points of the insurgent was the Somali presidential palace in which they have attacked in different parts, but repelled by the African Union troops, and the Somali government troops. (source)

That was during the battles overnight. During the day there were more attacks concentrated on the presidential palace during the ceremony.

New Vision: Ugandan peacekeepers killed in Somalia

TWO Ugandan African Union (AU) peacekeepers have been killed in a militant attack in Somali capital Mogadishu.

According to reports from Somalia, heavy mortar rounds killed the two peacekeepers, as they matched past the presidential compound, Villa Somali, during celebrations to mark one year since Somalia’s president, Sheikh Shariff Ahmed took office.

However, when contacted yesterday, the army spokesperson, Lt. Col. Felix Kulayigye confirmed that only one Ugandan peacekeeper was killed but did not mention the name.

“It is true one of our peace keepers has been killed while several others were injured in Mogadishu,” Kulayigye told Saturday Vision.

...

The body of the dead Ugandan was flown to a Nairobi hospital, together with other injured survivors.

And, finally, one more likely motive for the heavy attacks,

New Vision: AU hails Uganda over Somalia role

UGANDA’s peacekeeping role in Somalia has won accolades at the opening of the 7th African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa yesterday [Wednesday].

Speakers praised Uganda and Burundi for their courageous stance in the conflict-torn country, saying they exhibited a selfless spirit of African brotherhood.

...

AU Commission chairman Jean Ping urged states that have not honoured their promises for troops to Somalia to do so, saying the Ugandan and Burundian forces were overstretched.

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This announcement was inevitable w/ the announcement of the extended mandate.

New Vision: AU starts paying UPDF wages

THE African Union (AU) has begun paying the outstanding allowances of the UPDF troops currently on a peacekeeping mission in Somalia. The troops had remained unpaid since May last year.

Donors had halted payments of the peacekeepers, which are channelled through the AU bank accounts in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday at the defence ministry headquarters in Kampala, defence minister Crispus Kiyonga said: “More than six months ago, the African Union secretariat got problems and payments could not continue. But about a month ago, the flow of payments began. The arrears are being paid and all the soldiers will be cleared.”

He added that the arrears of compensation to the injured and the dead soldiers would also be paid.

A peacekeeper is entitled to a monthly allowance of $750 (about sh1.4m). In the event of death, the soldier’s family receives $50,000 (about sh90m) as compensation.

There have been quite a number of UPDF troops killed in Mogadishu. The article puts it at 37 since 2007. Others had slightly more. At 50k a fatality, that adds up pretty fast.

Somalia thread for the week ending January 24

Shabelle Media: Hisbul Islam says will start operating port, airport [in Northeast] Mogadishu

the Islamic organization of Hizbul Islam has said that they were planning to start operating a port and airport in the out of the Somali capital Mogadishu, officials told Shabelle radio on Tuesday.

Sheik Yusuf Aden Abddikarin, the commissioner of the Hisbul Islam organization for El-ma’an village in the north side of Mogadishu told Shabelle radio that they will reopen Esaley airport and the seaport of El’am’an in out the capital for the coming days.

“The following days both the airport and seaport will restart working Esaley airport and Elma’an seaport so we are informing all the people to know that to take advantage their chances,” said the commissioner.

The commissioner also said that they had solved all disagreements between the officials of Hisbul Islam organization about reopening the airport and the port calling for all the business including the travel agencies to use the airport and the seaport soon as possible.

Pana: European Union will not block rebel-held Somali ports

The European Union (EU) will not organize an operation to block rebel-held ports in Somalia, an EU official said in Brussels on Tuesday.

During a meeting of the EU Political and Security Committee (PSC), Spain, which takes over the rotating presidency of the European Council, proposed that warships of the Atalante mission against piracy in the Indian Ocean, blocked ports where pirates docked with ships they had hijacked.

Speaking to the press, a European Union spokesman, however, said such an operation was technically impossible to carry out due to the large number of ports - 70 altogether - likely to be used by pirates.

"Such an operation might require the use of a huge number of ships and sailors for a long time, which is quite difficult," the spokesman said.

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WRT the TFG's announcement of plans to print new currency -

From a press release issued by the Govt of Puntland: The TFG Plan to Mint New Currency Poses Grave Dangers for Somalia

The Government of Puntland State of Somalia strongly expresses its disapproval to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia’s unilateral plan to issue new currency in an agreement with private contractors in Sudan. Printing new monetary notes with different denominations during this fragile period of political turmoil and economic collapse will have negative implications for Somalia as a whole.

The TFG Parliament, the Somali business community and other economic stakeholders were not consulted in plans to issue the new currency. The Puntland Government, which is the main domestic pillar of the TFG that relies on foreign aid for survival, was also not consulted during this secretive process. This raises a question of hidden motives by unscrupulous elements within the TFG, a government that is dependent on African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) for its own survival in a few blocks of Mogadishu.

...The plan to mint new currency lacks legal backing and poses grave dangers to the fragile Somali economy when one considers the following: a) the nonexistence of monetary policy by the Central Bank of Somalia; and b) the absence of statistical knowledge of money, finance, banking and financial market indicators. There has been no assessment of the amount of money in circulation in the country and the amount needed to be injected into the economy, for example.

The top priorities for the TFG should have been to improve security and to rebuild public institutions through a reconciliation process, instead of plotting to flood markets with new money in a unilateral project that endangers Somali families and households.

The Puntland Government strongly denounces the minting of new currency and categorically rejects its circulation in Somalia. This dangerous scheme, if not stopped immediately, will give rise to hyperinflation and lead to economic destabilization.

A commentary at Garowe Online adds:

Somaliland which has its own shilling and a central bank will not, like Puntland, allow the new shilling to be used in territories it controls. The whole exercise will undermine the federalism project and put third parties such as Sudan in an awful position for compromising neutrality in Somalia’s complex politics. If the TFG puts money printing plan on hold and uses consultative approach to monetary policy, then more bridges will be built between the TFG and regions keen on a federal Somalia.

From a report based an interview with Shabelle Media,

The information minister of the Puntland called for the Sudanese government not to accept the idea of printing the Somali shillings saying that if Sudan does might be seen committed crimes [against] the Somali people stressing that Somalis would once respond that if does.

And Puntland's Minister of Finance is quoted in a Somaliweyn Media Center story stating

“The concept of making a new currency for Somalia is from particular individuals, and all that they are intending to do is to rob the wealth of the Somali people, if they were sincere they would made consultaion with the authority of Puntland since we are part of the Somali government, they haven’t done so, they have not as well consulted the Somali traders, so any healthy brain can automatically know that this is just a rush” said Farah Ali Jamac the Minister for Finance in Puntland.

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From a recent Wall Street Journal interview with Sh. Sharif (note the WSJ's use of "Mr. Sharif" rather than 'President')

WSJ: How many districts of Mogadishu does government control?

Mr. Sharif: The most important districts in Mogadishu are controlled by government today.

WSJ: Do you know how many?

Mr. Sharif: No.

WSJ: The prime minister has said that the government expects to have liberated Mogadishu entirely by the end of January. Is this still accurate, and how do you plan to do so?

Mr. Sharif: It is our hope that Mogadishu would be freed in the soonest possible time.

WSJ: By the end of January?

Mr. Sharif: We can't speak to specific timetables.

And that's the edited transcript!

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Amnesty Intl: Controls on military assistance to Somalia must be tightened

Amnesty International has called for arms transfers to the Somali government to be suspended until there are adequate safeguards to prevent weapons from being used to commit war crimes and human rights abuses.

In its latest briefing paper on the country, Amnesty International details US shipments of arms, including mortars, ammunition and cash for the purchase of weapons to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

These transfers were made despite substantial risks that such types of weapons could be used in indiscriminate attacks by TFG forces, or diverted to armed groups opposed to the TFG, who also commit gross and widespread abuses.

“International concern for the future of the Somali government has not been matched by an equal concern for the human rights of civilians,” said Michelle Kagari, Amnesty International Deputy Director for Africa.

“Mortar attacks continue to claim lives – it is time for international donors to apply tighter controls to their support for the government”

Amnesty International’s briefing also details growing international programmes of military and police training for TFG forces, despite a lack of adequate oversight procedures.

The training is delivered in Somalia itself and in Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti and Uganda. The European Union, France, Germany and Italy are involved, or have pledged funding for it.

The link to the full briefing paper (pdf) is Somalia: International Military and Policing Assistance Should Be Reviewed

One excerpt:

Amnesty International has learned of US plans to supply substantial quantities of cash to TFG forces for the purchase of weapons and logistical supplies within Somalia itself. On 14 May 2009 the US government applied for an embargo exemption to supply up to USD$2 million in cash, to be flown from Nairobi to Mogadishu, for the TFG's National Security Force to procure weapons, ammunition and logistical supplies 'locally', and thus presumably in part from the Somali arms markets. Amnesty International understands that the expenditure of this cash may be overseen by an international accounting firm under a contract with the TFG signed in July 2009 for the oversight of international donor funding for humanitarian and security sector assistance. The details of this oversight mechanism are not publicly available. However, even if this cash is not diverted from its stated recipient and end-use, nonetheless the funding of purchases from domestic arms traders will help to support Mogadishu's flourishing, uncontrolled domestic arms markets: the same markets that are reportedly a major source of weaponry for al-Shabaab and other armed groups opposed to the TFG, and themselves accused of committing war crimes and other serious human rights abuses. Providing revenue to these markets thus fuels further the extreme insecurity in which Somalia's civilian population lives. Equipping the TFG security forces through financing local TFG arms also makes it impossible for international donors to determine whether those weapons are marked and recorded in line with international weapons tracing standards, seriously hindering the accountability of those weapons, and making it difficult for either the TFG or donors to detect their diversion to other armed groups and unauthorised end users.

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Addikarim Haji Abdi Buh provides an answer to a question often posed here in his latest analysis/commentary The demise of the TFG and the return of the warlords (AHSW):- Ethiopia's second invasion of Somalia [pdf]

Since February last year the death toll of the civilians in the [Bakara] market and its vicinity stands around 1,850 and the injured stand at least four times more according to Mogadishu hospital workers. The hospitals receive on average 30 fatally injured or dead civilians in a week from the Bakara market and other residential districts, which eclipsed the other war casualties.

No verifiable sources for those numbers is provided in the article, which, given the circumstances in Mogadishu is understandable, nor how wide of an area "vicinity" refers to or how many districts make up the weekly tab.

Somalia thread for the week ending January 17

Sudan Tribune: Somalia signs currency printing agreement with Sudan

January 11, 2010 - A batch of new Somali currency will be printed in Sudan following an agreement signed in Khartoum today, Sudan state media reported.

The Managing Director of Sudan’s Currency Printing office Mohammed Al-Hassan Al-Bahi signed for Sudan Government while the Somali Finance Minister Sharif Hassan Sheikh signed for his government.

The cost of the printing process will top $17 million, SUNA reported

The Sudanese minister of Finance and national economy Awad Al-Jaz and the governor of Sudan’s Central Bank Saber Mohammed Al- Hassan were present at the ceremony.

Al-Jaz noted the “historical relations” between the two countries adding that the printing of the currency can contribute in realizing stability and development in Somalia. He said that Sudan’s experience in as a country emerging from conflict can be a good experience for Somalia.

The Somali minister hailed Sudan’s efforts in achieving peace saying that the presence of legal currency would contribute positively to the economy.

Somalia has been seeking Sudan’s help in rebuilding its government’s institution and security forces in a bid to assert control over the lawless country. The issue of currency was discussed during the visit of Sharif Hassan to Sudan last year.

Last April and May there were reports on this,

SUNA: Somalia signs currency printing agreement with Sudanese firm

Khartoum, 29 Apr (SUNA) - Dr Awad Ahmad al-Jaz, minister of finance and national economy, emphasized Sudan`s readiness to support Somalia in the construction and reconstruction phase after the end of the war, addressing of conflicts and utilizing of Sudanese experience in rebuilding what the war has destroyed for the benefit of Somalia. He said that Sudan gained experience in dealing with the aftermath of war, boycotts, and sieges and faced the repercussions through determination and tenacity.

During a meeting in his office on 29 April with Sharif Hasan Shaykh Adam, Somali finance minister and deputy prime minister, Dr Al-Jaz pledged to provide the experience and expertise necessary to build the financial institutions and the Central Bank of Somalia.

...

Dr al-Jaz expressed his hope that the agreement between Somalia and the Sudanese Currency Printing Press will culminate in the printing of Somali currency in Sudan.

The Somali finance minister revealed of a memorandum that was signed with the Sudanese Currency Printing Press. He noted Somalia`s interest in printing currency as, which is considered to be one of the most important reasons for establishing the foundations of real peace and stability in Somalia.

Garowe Online: Somalia govt to mint new currency, parliament demands approval

MOGADISHU, Somalia May 3 (Garowe Online) - Somalia's interim government has inked an agreement with the government of Sudan to mint new Somali Shillings, but a parliamentary leader has warned the government to bring a motion to parliament first, Radio Garowe reports.

Sudanese media reported Sunday that the Government of National Unity in Somalia has agreed with the Sudanese government to mint the new Somali Shillings.

Somali Finance Minister Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden and his Sudanese counterpart, Mr. Awad Ahmed Jazz, signed the agreement in the Sudanese capital Khartoum last month, according to Sudan media reports.

...

The deputy Speaker of Somalia's parliament, Osman Elmi Boqorre, told reporters in the capital Mogadishu that the government cannot mint new currency without parliamentary approval.

"Nothing can be legal unless it is passed by the parliament," he said, adding that the Somali government must first submit a bill in parliament before it can enter agreements to print new currency.

Deputy Speaker Boqorre warned that the new currency might worsen the current state of the economy, which has been devastated by hyperinflation in recent months.

Parliament has been unable to meet for a number of reasons since they attempted to move back into Somalia from Djibouti.

Back to 2010,

Reuters: Somali money transfer firms used to fund war: c.banker

Somalia's central bank governor says rebel groups are using informal money transfers to fund their operations and that people in the war-torn country risk starvation if it is hit by Zimbabwe-style inflation.

Bashir Isse Ali told Reuters in an interview that al Shabaab -- which Washington considers as al Qaeda's proxy in the failed Horn of Africa state -- sends and receives funds via money transfer firms and urged more transparency to combat money laundering.

Quick question - do wire service reporters get a commission every time they stick the boilerplate "which Washington considers as al Qaeda's proxy" attribute onto any mention of Harakat al-Shabaab Mujahideen?

Anyway, essentially every transaction that takes place in Somalia is through decentralized systems, which drives central bankers crazy, apparently.

"Al Shabaab sends and receives money through this system using individuals, not as an organisation," Ali said. "Money transfer firms should know their customers and share information with authorities."

On inflation, the governor said Finance Minister Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden planned to print money in Sudan and said this risked sparking runaway inflation that would cause people to starve.

...

..Ali said the finance minister plans to print notes with a face value of between 2,000 shillings and 50,000 shillings. Currently, the highest value note is for 1,000 shillings. (relatedly, see Brief history of the Somali currency.)

"This move will increase the inflation rate to incredible figures ... The country will be another Zimbabwe," he said, referring to that country's inflation peak of 500 billion percent in 2008, according to IMF figures.

"On one hand, the leaders cannot claim they are protecting people, and become part of a plot to kill them. If you shoot them or force them to starve to death, it is the same."

In 2000, 14,000 Somali shillings purchased a dollar, but the rate deteriorated to 45,000 in 2001 when the government printed more money, Ali said.

It has since appreciated to the current 33,000 shillings per dollar after note issue dried up when printing costs exceeded the value of the notes.

Ali said the central bank should manage the country's funds and not private companies contracted by government as is the case.

The United Nations Development Programme has managed donor money since the central bank's collapse in 1991 and charged 8-14 percent for its services, Ali said.

The government contracted PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) to take over the U.N. body's services in mid-2009.

"The only monetary agent for the government is the central bank. Therefore it is unconstitutional for private financial institutions to be involved in the management of government money," Ali said.

"Private companies can be employed as auditing firms, not management."

If not crazy, then maybe jealousy...

From a March 29, 2008 Reuters story,
Somali c.bank to overhaul currency, counter fakes

Somalia's embattled central bank plans to revamp the anarchic country's currency because of a flood of fake notes printed by warlords and businessmen.

Addressing donors meeting in neighbouring Kenya on Saturday, the bank's director general, Sharif Mohamed Hassan, said "greedy" individuals had pumped counterfeit cash into the market for years, driving the local unit to its lowest ever level.

...

He said Somalia's new bank notes would be produced by a "world renowned" money printer, but did not give a timetable.

The central bank would decide at what rate they will be exchanged for the old bills, he told the meeting, which was organised by the United Nations and the World Bank.

Inner City Press has a blog post Thursday on the currency story, and more

As Somalia's TFG Prints Bills, UN Accused of Shipping Tanks, Denial by Ould Abdallah

Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, in control of just a small part of Mogadishu, is contracting with Sudan to print new Somali shillings, UN envoy Ahmedou Ould Abdallah acknowledged to Inner City Press on Thursday.

Ould Abdallah had just told the UN Security Council that it should further back the TFG. Inner City Press asked about opposition by Somali MPs to the TFG's finance minister Sharif Shaykh Hasan Shaykh Adan cutting a deal with Sudan. Ould Abdallah said that new shillings were needed, because the previous bill were counterfeited, on "photocopy machines" and otherwise.

From the December 2008 Report on the Monitoring Group on Somalia, during the previous incarnation of the TFG,

197. The Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Somalia are supposed to be pivotal in the direction of government revenue collection, but the two institutions appear to exist in name only. As a result, parallel revenue collection and appropriation structures have emerged, under the control of powerful Transitional Federal Government officials or allies.

198. For example, a senior official of the Central Bank of Somalia interviewed by the Monitoring Group stated that a printing press for Somali shillings, with no links to the Central Bank, is kept at the compound of the President of the [TFG] -- a claim that the Monitoring Group has heard independently corroborated by several sources. He further asserted that printing of Somali currency is also conducted by private businessmen, including some linked to armed opposition groups. The Monitoring Group has been able to verify the latter claim, with the assistance of [TFG] security officials.

199. Investigations by the Monitoring Group indicated that management of the Mogadishu Port has been effectively "privatized." Numerous independent eyewitness accounts provided by Government officials, civil servants and businessmen have confirmed that port revenues are controlled, without oversight, by two individuals -- one from the port administration and one from the Ministry of Finance, who then disburse funds on a discretionary basis. The two men are reportedly shielded from interference by a senior police officer.

From a September report at Garowe Online
Somalia MPs accuse Finance Minister of corruption

A group of lawmakers in Somalia have publicly criticized the Horn of Africa country's finance minister, accusing him of mismanaging public funds and taking steps to "destroy" the interim government, Radio Garowe reports.

The group of lawmakers included: MP Abdullahi Ahmed Afrah, MP Farah Ali Abdi, MP Mohamed Ali Omar, MP Ali Yusuf Osman, MP Dahir Abdulkadir Muse, and MP Shukri Haji Ahmed.

MP Afrah, who spoke at a Saturday press conference in Mogadishu on behalf of the lawmakers, said Finance Minister Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden has taken steps to destroy the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) led by President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.

"The Finance Minister illegally misuses the small income collected at the port and airport in Mogadishu," said MP Afrah, who is a member of the TFG parliament's financial accountability subcommittee.

Further, the lawmakers accused the Finance Minister of "directly mismanaging donor funds," particularly financial donations from Arab countries that support the TFG in Mogadishu.

"Government funds are not deposited at the Central Bank and there is no paper trail for accountability purposes," MP Afrah added.

The group of lawmakers said Finance Minister Sharif Hassan has not presented the 2009 budget to the TFG parliament.

"Sharif Hassan is currently leading an illegal process to mint Somali Shillings without parliament approval, which will have a negative impact on our [Somali] economy," MP Afrah said.

Further, the Somali MPs accused the country's Finance Minister of entering into a controversial agreement with Kenya, whereby imported products from Kenya are taxed in Nairobi before arriving in parts of south-central Somalia.

According to the MPs, this scheme, which does not include imports to regional authorities in Somaliland and Puntland, is led by "relatives" of Finance Minister Sharif Hassan.

...

The written statement included a brief political history of Sharif Hassan since his rise in Somali national politics in 2004, when he was elected as the TFG parliament's first Speaker.

He later joined the Islamist opposition and rejoined the TFG again in 2008, when Sheikh Sharif's Islamist camp signed a peace deal with the TFG. He was appointed as Somalia's Minister of Finance when Sheikh Sharif became Somali President in January 2009 at the conclusion of UN-brokered talks in Djibouti.

A Garowe Online editorial from shortly thereafter noted that, in addition to the Finance Minister being "a shady character with intimate ties with Mogadishu's hated warlords",

In a recent trip to Saudi Arabia, President Sheikh Sharif was "questioned intensely" about the Finance Minister's powerful role in the Somali government. According to informed sources, Saudi government officials expressed serious concern with a recent statement issued by a number of Somali lawmakers, who accused Finance Minister Sharif Hassan of corruption and urged Arab countries not to give him donor funds. The Finance Minister, the sources added, suggested that a rival group of Somali MPs be "bribed" to issue a press statement to counter allegations of corruption against him.

At the moment, the wikipedia entry for Sharif Hassan states that

sharif Hassan is well known business man of narcotic drug known as " Qat" and recently IT pointed out that he is one of worst embezzler of AID funds, he profited as Minister of Finance. He owns Million dollar houses in Kenya and USA.

Whatever counter-PR campaign he may have dreamed of, there's no sign that it ever materialized.

Continuing with the Inner City Press article,

Inner City Press asked how wide or small an area these new bills would be used it (sic). Ould Abdallah claimed all over the country, but for the dollarization of the economy. But with Al-Shabaab controlling whole swaths of Southern Somalia, one wonders if this currency contract is even practical.

...or perhaps another scheme to control and thus profit from a replacement currency. For instance, as it was in 2008 at the time of the Monitoring Group report, the Mogadishu Port is still one of the few areas protected by the foreign fighters of AMISOM, "effectively privatized" and controlled by the Finance Minister.

And, speaking of that port, as the Inner City Press post continues,

With the European Union bragging about escorting from Kenya to Mogadishu a ship chartered by the UN's UNSOA, and reports that the ship contained arms and tanks for the TFG, Inner City Press asked Ould Abdallah about it.

For the record, it has been reported that

[T]he TFG had imported a large shipment of arms, including tanks—the latter representing a considerable escalation from the "technicals," improvised battle wagons constructed by mounting a machine or anti-aircraft gun on a pickup truck or four-wheel drive vehicle, which have been ubiquitous in the Somali conflict. It later emerged that the shipment came on Sierra Leonean-flagged vessel, the MV Alpha Kirawira, which, according to a press release by the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia's Operation Atalanta, was chartered by the UN Support Office for AMISOM (UNSOA) and escorted out of the Kenyan port of Mombasa by the Spanish frigate SPS Navarra and accompanied all the way to Mogadishu by the French corvette FS Commandant L'Herminier.

Ould Abdallah said he hadn't heard of the ship, then added that heavy equipment is needed in Somalia, including APCs. His spokeswoman urged him to leave the stakeout, again without herself agreeing to provide any answers.

Ould Abdallah, as he left, said he would look into the ship. His deputy, who previously a serious humanitarian, seemed to indicate the same. We'll see.

Ould Abdallah sure does get away with a lot of lies. As pointed out in last week's thread, the arrival of that ship at the port specifically triggered another round of shellings and dead civilians. If he wasn't aware of that, he'd be completely left open to charges of incompetence.

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Back to the benjamins...

If the Arabs are hedging -- and why wouldn't they after the millions that the previous TFG administration pocketed -- try the old masters:

AP: Italy to fund Somali government ministries

Italy will fund the operations of key ministries of the fragile Somali government battling a long-running Islamic insurgency, the Italian foreign minister said on Thursday.

Italy, a former colonial ruler of Somalia, also will train an anti-terrorism police unit and a coast guard, and pay the salaries of police officers, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told journalists, announcing what represents a major boost for Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed's government.

Italy is doing this because Ahmed's government "is the best option. We have no alternative but to support this government," Frattini said after daylong meetings in Nairobi with Ahmed and Kenyan leaders that centered on Somalia.

Frattini said Italy will fund the daily operations of Somalia's foreign affairs, finance and national security ministries. He did not say how much this will cost or give other details.

...

Under a U.N. Development Program-supervised plan, officers have been trained to form a Somali police force, but some have left because they are not paid regularly. An unknown number have joined the insurgents who offer regular pay.

Must be that remittance money, eh?

With visions of a cash inflow dancing round in their heads...

VOA: Somalia Cabinet Minister Hails Italy’s Financial Support

A Somali official has praised Italy’s show of commitment towards President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed’s efforts to stabilize the country after years of insecurity.

Abdirahman Omar Osman, who is also the treasury minister, said Italy’s pledge to fund key ministries is a major boost to the government.

“We very welcome this and we have been expecting (it). It shows the Italian government’s commitment toward helping the institution of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). As you know, the Transitional Federal Government has been faced with challenge against al-Shabab (which) is linked with Al-Qaeda. Without our institutions functioning properly, it will be very difficult to wipe out or to combat al-Shabab,” he said.

Italy pledged to fund daily operations of Somalia’s foreign ministry, finance and the national security ministries. It will also help train an anti-terrorism police unit and coast guard as well as pay the salaries of police officers.

...

Osman said the pledged funds will help rebuild Somalia’s broken institutions.

And is there a double meaning in this ambiguous headline?

Daily Nation (heavily plagiarising a Xinhua report): Italy offers to train Somali terror police

A special Italian security unit is set to train the Somali police force on counter-terrorism strategies.

According to Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, the law enforcers will be trained in Kenya — if the Kenyan government okays the idea.

“We offered yesterday to President Sharif Ahmed (Somali President) to establish a robust anti-terror police unit, trained by the Italian Carabinieri,” he said shortly after a meeting with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Kampala on Friday, Chinese news agency Xinhua said.

...

The deal is set to succeed since President Kibaki last week reassured that Kenya will continue providing technical and humanitarian support to Somalia.

...

Mr Frattini said there is need for international cooperation to address the Somalia problem because terrorist groups are using it as a transit route to Africa and the rest of the world.

“The problem is an international one, not a problem affecting Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia or Somalia,” he said, noting that the international community cannot talk about terrorist groups without addressing destination countries like Somalia.

He said Italy will also train some officials of the Somali Coast Guard in stopping piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

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Mareeg Online: Somali Central Bank reopens after 18 years

Transitional Federal Government in Somalia has today reopened Somali Central Bank which became collapsed after Somali civil war erupted the beginning of 1991.

...

Speaking to the reporters at Mogadishu International Airport, Deputy prime minister of TFG in Somalia, Pro. Abdirahman Haji Aden ( Ibbi ) disclosed that Somali government – after a long struggle had been made- reinstated and Somali Central Bank back in business telling that Government economy was used to be passed through Somali remittance companies ; how ever, from today the Government has a governmental Bank which will help international donors to send through their pledged economy

"The economy offered to TFG used to be transited through different countries like Djibouti and Kenya but as everyone sees we have a central bank which donors can use to assist Transitional Federal Government in Somalia," said Deputy prime minister of TFG in Somalia, Pro. Abdirahman Haji Aden.

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Europolitics: New EU Mission to develop horn Africa coast guard

European Union defence experts are looking at proposals for an ESDP mission to offer support to the coast guards of nations around the Horn of Africa region in an effort to strengthen the battle against Somali pirates. The plan under consideration would involve a civilian mission to develop the coast guard forces of Yemen, Djibouti and Kenya as well as Somalia itself..

If the plan is adopted, it would complement the EUNAVFOR Atalanta naval mission launched by the EU in December 2008 and the planned EU training mission for Somali security forces, details of which are currently being finalised within the EU's Political and Security Committee.

...

Planning is well underway for the training mission for Somali forces, which has been given the name EUTRA Somalia. However, the plans have yet to be approved due to continued concerns, notably from the Netherlands and Britain, about how the loyalty of soldiers to the Somali government can be guaranteed after they return to their units in the strife-torn East African nation.

The EU is seeking cooperation from other international players, including the United Nations, the African Union and the United States, to ensure the trained Somali security forces are paid regular salaries and to establish an effective international mechanism to channel funding for the military personal concerned.

The transitional federal government in Somalia signed an agreement with the auditing giant PricewaterhouseCoopers in July 2009 to ensure international aid does not go astray and potential supporters of the training mission are examining if that agreement can help ensure transparency in financial support to the security forces.

The EU has been examining the possible training mission for Somali forces since last summer, seeking to build on an existing French mission run out of Djibouti. The idea is to create core units that can strengthen the government in its battle with Islamist militants...

Under the current EU proposal, the training mission will be based in Uganda, since Somalia itself is considered too dangerous to host foreign educators. Uganda - which is a leading contributor to the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia - is already working to train Somali troops with support from the United States. The EU mission is expected to work with the Ugandans, but provide more specialised training.

Spanish Colonel Ricardo González Elul, who is heading the planning of the mission, led a fact-finding delegation to Uganda in mid-December 2009 to look into the logistics of setting up the headquarters of the mission, which is expected to involve the deployment of around 100 European experts to train up to 2,000 Somali troops. The mission will likely have a liaison office in Brussels and a representation in Nairobi.

The Indian Ocean Newsletter writes that the EUTRA mission may get the green light from the European Council of Foreign Ministers later this month. In addition to the Italians and the usual regional actors, Sh. Sharif met with several European officials this week in Nairobi.

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Getting back to the things Ould Abdallah gets away with saying, this comes after his presentation before the Security Council referred to in the Inner City Press report above,

SC/9844: Secretary-General’s Special Representative, Briefing Security Council, Calls Somalia ‘Global Crisis’ That Can No Longer Be Ignored

The crisis in Somalia was no longer local or even regional, but a global one that could no longer be ignored, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General’s top representative in that country, said today in a briefing to the Security Council.

Mr. Ould-Abdallah, Special Representative of the of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), said the county’s Transitional Federal Government had made significant progress, despite repeated armed assaults by externally funded extremists attempting to overthrow it.

Citing the Government’s accomplishments, he said they included establishing its authority in Mogadishu, the capital; drawing up a budget; recruiting and training security forces; and keeping its political legitimacy over violent and extremist groups. The Government had remained open to all Somalis who were ready for dialogue and reconciliation, he said, adding that Somalia was moving from failed State to fragile State.

"establishing its authority in Mogadishu"?

Where's the transcript, for surely this remark alone elicited rounds of laughter to anyone with the least familiarity with the situation in Somalia's capital

The international community should overcome two main challenges, he said, describing the first as the absence of concrete commitment and determined international policy. Continued hesitation and lack of effective action had weakened the Government and encouraged the extremists, who included many foreigners whose ultimate objective was to maintain a permanent state of anarchy or to establish a militant State. Their ambitions went well beyond Mogadishu and Somalia, and posed a real threat to neighbouring countries, the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) region and even distant lands.

He said the second challenge was the delay in translating international support into the necessary material assistance. Over the last 10 to 15 years, the international community had spent more than $8 billion in various forms of assistance, dealing primarily with the symptoms of the crisis, while the Government lacked the resources to fund even the most basic requirements, such as paying salaries. By contrast, its opponents and allied extremists received unlimited and unchecked financial support.

Which weighs greater there - delusion or dissembling?

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Last week I mentioned the case study entitled "Ambiguous or Unclear Involvement Between Terrorist and Criminal Groups: Al-Shabaab" in a recent Congressional Research Report, highlighting the passage

U.S. Navy officials, however, assess that there is no evidence to suggest that Al-Shabaab militants have financial or operational ties to pirates. Vice Admiral William Gortney, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, told the House Armed Services Committee on March 5, 2009, that “We look very, very carefully for a linkage between piracy and terrorism or any kind of ideology and we do not see it. It would be a significant game changer should that linkage occur. But we have not seen it.”

From an analysis piece by a consultant for a London law firm involved in ransom negotiations with Somali hijackers, titled Somalia And The Gulf Of Aden: Piracy, Terrorism, And Ransoms, arguing for the legality of paying ransoms,

The presence of terrorists in Somalia has given rise to concern and speculation about the legality of making ransom payments to resolve hijackings. Different legal systems have different laws concerning the payment of ransoms, but in the context of English domestic law the payment of a ransom in response to extortion is in principle legal, and has been for almost 200 years, since the reign of George IV.

Whether, notwithstanding this general principle, there may be reasons why in particular circumstances the payment of ransoms to Somali pirates may be unlawful, was a matter that was recently considered in great detail by the House of Lords` EU Committee in their July 2009 report Money laundering and the financing of terrorism [HL Paper 132-I]. Among the Committee`s conclusions was that the payment of a ransom should not be made a criminal offence [Paragraphs 164 and 222]. The Committee was, however, concerned about the possibility that the proceeds of Somali piracy might be financing terrorism [Paragraphs 167 and 223], and urged the Government to explore this possibility [Paragraphs 168 and 224].

In considering the weight to be attached to the Committee`s views, it is appropriate to have regard to the evidence which they received [HL Paper 132-II]—in particular, the evidence given by the Government—and to the material revealed in the subsequent debate in the House of Lords.

Written evidence given to the Committee by HM Treasury and the Home Office [in Appendix A to their Supplementary Memorandum 3], conceded that the existence of terrorist groups in Somalia was well known, but added “It is not thought at the present time that Somali pirates are connected in any systematic way to those terrorist organisations.” The Memorandum then speculated that “If in the future it were to become known that such a connection existed, then it might become the case that the knowledge or suspicion limb of the offence would be satisfied ...”, creating an offence under sections 15-18 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

In its written reply to the Committee`s report [Cm 7718, published in October 2009], the Government welcomed the Committee`s recommendation that the payment of ransoms should in principle remain lawful. On the question whether the proceeds of Somali piracy were financing terrorism the Government said that it saw this as a serious issue, and that it had “examined intelligence for evidence of links between piracy and terrorism at the highest level. To date we have no evidence that terrorists are using piracy as a means of raising funds ....” They would keep the situation under review.

In the subsequent debate in the House of Lords, in December 2009, Lord Brett (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, leading on Home Office EU Business), commented at some length on the topic. He said [Hansard HL Deb, 7 December 2009, c978]:

“The Government regularly examine all available intelligence for evidence of links between piracy and terrorism. I have to say that, to date, we have found no evidence. I sympathise with the view that one cannot see vast sums of money being passed around in Somalia without believing that some of it could be going to terrorist organisations in one form or another.

“However, we have found no evidence of any operational or organisational links. There is much open-source speculation—we are all a part of it. The noble Lord, Lord Skelmersdale, asked what we are doing to try to establish whether it is true. It has not been possible for any of our or our partners` intelligence agencies to corroborate it. Therefore, it is a question not of a country having a view, but of intelligence that we have been able to glean from allies, as well as from our own endeavours, failing to find any organisational or operational link.”

This is also the conclusion reached in numerous independent reports, and by organisations such as the International Maritime Bureau which make a particular study of piracy.

One can read wild speculations almost every day in the press, recycled from one source to another—and given a measure of plausibility by those who see the hand of terrorism everywhere—about an organisational link between Somali piracy and terrorism. But HM Government`s position, set out above by Lord Brett, is very clear.

Regarding those "wild speculations", the East African this week ran an opinion piece -- masked as a news story -- written by Bruno Schiemsky, former chair of the U.N.'s Monitoring Group on Somalia from 2004 through 2008 which was infamous for its dodgy dossier that set up the pretext for the late 2006 invasion of Somalia with claims that the ICU was sending hundreds of al-Shabaab fighters to assist Hezbollah against Israel and thus an international terrorist outfit, that 20,000 Eritrean troops were inside Somalia training the ICU, that Iran was negotiating with the ICU to buy uranium for its questionable nuclear program, and so on [for instance, see Abukar Arman, "The Making of Another Iraq" (Washington, DC: Foreign Policy In Focus, January 3, 2007)]

Guns, drugs and terror: Somali pirates morph into poly-criminals

Investigations have revealed that these super-pirates have turned into transnational poly-criminals. They circumvent and adapt to the naval presence, and in their continued quest to expand their avenues for making money, the pirates are now engaging in vast criminal activities including money laundering, arms and human trafficking, paying bribing, extortion, training terrorist organisations such as the Al-Shabaab and more recently, protecting international drug cartels.

...

They are also inter-connected with other criminal groups for specific expertise and logistical support, additional money making activities and protection.

For instance, arms smugglers from the Middle East use the services of the pirates, who know how to evade international naval forces, to bring shipments into the arms market in Mogadishu, thus contravening the United Nation’s arms embargo. The pirate groups are rewarded with money or a portion of the shipment. More recently, the pirate groups began to provide protection to cartels that use Somalia as a transit point for drugs such as heroin from Asia to Europe.

Some of the groups they have formed alliances with include terrorist organisations such as the Al-Shabaab. The pirate groups started to train a maritime component of the Al-Shabaab to engage in piracy and the smuggling of foreign fighters into Somalia. The Al-Shabaab on the other hand provides military training and arms to pirate groups. Between 10 and 50 per cent of the ransom (depending on the nature of the relationship) is paid to the Al-Shabaab.

...

In order to curb acts of piracy and prevent Somali pirates from expanding into other criminal activities, the international community must move away from simply reacting and watching and implement a co-ordinated, systematic and proactive programme to deal conclusively with a problem that is no longer confined to the Horn of Africa.

This is true not only because of the impact it has on international trade, but more so, because of the developing relationship between the pirates and the Somali insurgent group, Al-Shabaab, whose operations against the Somali Transitional Federal Government are financed by ransom money.

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From a BBC article Sunday, the current spokesperson for Harakat al-Shabaab Mujahideen says essentially the same thing the mvmts former spokesperson always said

Al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Raage portrayed al-Shabab as no more than the organised arm of Islamic resistance to Western oppression.

He denied formal links with groups like al-Qaeda.

"What is al-Qaeda?" the Sheikh asked. "It is Muslim people who are massacred in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and other Islamic countries like Yemen."

A Muslim is the brother of other Muslims, he said, "so we and al-Qaeda share the Muslim faith and are fighting for freedom. That's all we share."

Sheikh Raage rules out talking to Somalia's Western-backed government, saying this can only take place when African Union forces present in the country leave.

He also warned that if American troops are ever sent to Somalia they will end up dead.

"They will suffer the same fate they did in 1993, when they were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu," he said.

Al-Shabab's message is one of unremitting hostility to Somalia's government and any form of Western involvement in the country.

"We are on that road, and we will be on that road for the rest of our lives," said the sheikh.

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This doesn't bode well for Ould Abdallah's stories - firefights in the capital between TFG security forces and the foreign fighters of AMISOM

Shabelle Media: Bitter confrontation between AU and TFG troops erupts in Mogadishu

Bitter confrontation between the security forces of the Transitional government and African Union troops AMISOM has broken out at Aden Adde international airport in the Somali capital Mogadishu, witnesses told Shabelle radio on Sunday.

Reports say that the fighting between the two sides came as a Ugandan soldier who was keeping guard at the airport suspected another military vehicle of the TFG that mounted a heavy gun which caused the two sides to exchange heavy gunfire injuring Somali government soldiers.

It is unclear what casualties reached the AU troops and there is no comment from both sides about taday’s fighting so far.

Residents around that airport said told Shabelle radio that the fighting between the two sides continued for a while saying that they knew nothing about the real casualties of their conflict.

It is the first such confrontation between the transitional government and African Union troops AMISOM since their arrival of AMISOM in Mogadishu in 2007

And this, in Sunday's Daily Monitor:

AU army morale falls, Ugandans in danger

Military sources tell Inside Politics a four-month salary delay for battling African Union troops in Somalia, over half of whom are Ugandan, is straining morale and could pose serious threats to the mission itself.

“Soldiers are not happy because they don’t know what is going on,” said a source who preferred anonymity so as not to be identified speaking directly about army.

Uganda has lost 45 troops in Somalia while Burundi, the other only troop-contributing African country, has had 58 of its soldiers felled, mainly by mortar shells and suicide bomb explosions.

...

There are also issues about pay disparities between the Ugandan and Burundian troops, which have been quietly growing. According to sources familiar with the details, each soldier on duty in Mogadishu is expected to earn an average $750 (about Shs1.4 million).

The Ugandan government however, sources say, deducts $200 from its soldiers while Burundian authorities deduct $100 from their soldiers. This disparity in earning between Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers is causing anxiety among the Ugandan soldiers, sources say.

Uganda has a public record of military corruption over salaries captured by the high profile trial of senior military officers in the famous Ghost Soldier trials intended to clean up graft in the payment systems.
It is also reported that the salary delay itself is a result of suspected corruption.

The African Union based in Addis Ababa has reportedly failed to correctly account for the millions of dollars contributed to the Somalia mission by among others the European Union, Britain, the United States and Norway.
Donor countries also contribute non-monetary support. The situation which has gone on for months is likely to be noticed by other countries which, like Nigeria, had pledged troops to Somalia.

Somalia thread for the week ending January 10

Reuters: Somali PM sees rebel rout from capital this month

Somali government troops are ready to launch a major offensive against insurgents and expect to drive them out of the capital by the end of this month, the country's prime minister told Reuters on Sunday.

Talk of an imminent government attack on the rebels has been rife in recent weeks and al Shabaab, the main insurgent group, is reported to have stepped up the forced recruitment of youths into its ranks in readiness for the assault.

"Our troops are prepared to act, and flush these terrorists out of the capital before the end of January, and continue taking over the control of more territories from these fighters," said Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke.

...

Sharmarke said the government's preparations centred on recruiting and training the troops and reforming the command structure.

"We could not go to war overnight, but we put most of our efforts into preparing our forces to act, so that the work can yield some results at the end of the day," he said.

Mareeg Online: Government imports tanks

Somalia’s government has imported weapons including tanks in Mogadishu, sources said on Tuesday.

Workers in Mogadishu seaport say a ship loaded with weapons including tanks has docked in the port and the shipments were being unloaded.

The Ship anchored in Mogadishu on Monday and the Islamist militant fired mortars to the side of the port.

Civilians were killed and injured in the mortars fired by the Islamist militants in the capital.

Officials of the Somali government said they were planning to start a war against the Islamist rebels to clear them out of the capital.

It is not known which government gave the weapons to the government, but the US government pledged military aid to the Somalia before.

Garowe Online: Civilians killed in Mogadishu violence

At least eleven people, including three youngsters have been killed and over 14 others injured in heavy shelling and explosion that rocked parts of Somalia ’s restive capital Mogadishu .

Witnesses said violence started on Monday evening where government forces backed by African Union troops shelled Hodan neighbourhood and Bakara market, an insurgent stronghold, claiming the lives of four civilians.

“Four casual workers were killed when a mortar shell landed in one of stalls,” said an eyewitness.

Several mortar shells fired by warring forces also landed at residential areas and the main Mogadishu seaport. At least four civilians are reportedly killed and few others injured.

Shabelle Media claimed that

The shelling which caused the casualties of deaths and injuries comes as there was no fighting between the government soldiers that backed by AMISIOM and the Islamist fighters in Mogadishu.

It's not clear if the shelling of the market was in response to an attack on the seaport.

Is Defense Minister Indha Adde running interference for the Mogadishu shipment w/ his public charges of weapons arriving from Yemen in the port at Kismayo?

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As expected, Time clocks in w/ a sensationalist slice of propaganda that (1) conveniently omits the official denial from Harakat al-Shabaab Mujahideen's spokesperson which was covered in most other major western media stories at the time of the incident, (2) relies on selective stenography rather than respectable reporting, and (3) relies on the heavy tactical use of weasel phrases (emphases added).

The Danish-Cartoonist Attack: Sign of a Wider Plot?

..while the bombing attempt on the Detroit plane was believed to be the work of one misguided youth who may or may not have had links to al-Qaeda, analysts fear that the alleged attack on the Danish cartoonist may signal a wider plot by radical Islamists in Somalia to take their fight abroad.

The al-Shabab militia in Somalia, which is suspected to have ties to al-Qaeda, would not say whether it was involved in the plot to kill the cartoonist, Kurt Westergaard. But Sheik Muktar Robow, a spokesman for the group, did say that Gelle, who was shot by Danish police during his arrest, was a "hero to all Muslims." "We are very sad that the mission failed," Robow tells TIME. "Everyone describes him as a brave man, and as a group, al-Shabab prays for him to recover quickly from his injuries."

Even though al-Shabab has not claimed responsibility for the attack, the Danish Security and Intelligence Service has said Gelle had "close relations to the Somali terror organization al-Shabab and leaders of al-Qaeda in East Africa." Al-Shabab has also made repeated, impassioned proclamations that it wants to carry its fight to the rest of eastern Africa and beyond, possibly to the West. And while its resources are not believed to be extensive, it has shown recent signs of increasing sophistication, like using suicide bombs and improvised explosive devices.

"It's quite clear that al-Shabab has international ambitions," says E.J. Hogendoorn, a Nairobi-based Horn of Africa analyst for the International Crisis Group. "It has an international agenda in that it sees itself in part as relating to the larger Muslim population. So when they can get away with a high-profile attack that they think will generate support, I think they will do so. The question is whether they have the capacity to do so."

If this is indeed the case, then the attack on the Danish cartoonist, which may or may not have been part of the group's plans, raises the question of whether the Kenyan police have the capacity to stop potential Somali attackers from entering their country and possibly continuing on to other nations.

Reuters rings in with their own story -- What is the global reach of Somalia's rebels? -- that fails to really say much at all since the hypotheticals are much more enticing than facts on the ground:

..al Shabaab's external reach has been highlighted after Friday's attack on cartoonist Kurt Westergaard in Copenhagen -- as well as its pledge to support Yemeni insurgents linked to al Qaeda who are believed to be behind the foiled Christmas Day bombing of a commercial airliner over Detroit.

WHAT IS AL SHABAAB'S RECORD?

The rebels have threatened in the past to launch attacks in neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia, as well in Uganda and Burundi, which both sent troops for the AU's peacekeeping mission AMISOM.

But they have so far failed to follow through. Experts believe some al Shabaab financiers have large amounts of funds in real estate in Kenya's capital Nairobi -- meaning they would not want to see any attacks that put their investment at risk. Some analysts suggest the absence of any strikes in Kampala or Bujumbura suggests much of the rebels' rhetoric maybe just that.

That has not stopped concerns being stoked further afield, however.

Even the Congressional Research Service inconclusively touched on the exaggerated connections between H.S.M. and piracy in the Indian Ocean in the January 05 report [pdf] International Terrorism and Transnational Crime: Security Threats, U.S. Policy, and Considerations for Congress as a case study entitled "Ambiguous or Unclear Involvement Between Terrorist and Criminal Groups: Al-Shabaab".

While they leave out the role of the Islamists in curbing piracy in 2006, at least the researchers do include the Navy's perspective:

U.S. Navy officials, however, assess that there is no evidence to suggest that Al-Shabaab militants have financial or operational ties to pirates. Vice Admiral William Gortney, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, told the House Armed Services Committee on March 5, 2009, that “We look very, very carefully for a linkage between piracy and terrorism or any kind of ideology and we do not see it. It would be a significant game changer should that linkage occur. But we have not seen it.”

Surprisingly, VOA gives voice to some relatively-informed reason coming from Prof. Samatar,

U.S. Extends Reevaluation of Security Threats to Yemen and Somalia

Somali-born geography professor Abdi Samatar of the University of Minnesota says that the intensification of fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Christmas Day airline bombing attempt by Nigerian-born Umar Abdulmutallab have helped shift the focus of conflict to al-Qaida in the Arabian peninsula, particularly to Yemen. But he notes that reports of recent arms shipments from Yemeni rebels to Somalia’s Islamist al-Shabab fighters have so far had little impact on the rebel insurgency against Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

“I don’t think that the amount of weapons that are going from Yemen through al-Qaida to al-Shabab is significant. Shabab has many other sources of weapons, both in the domestic market, and, remember, Somalia has one of the largest small weapons markets in Mogadishu itself,” he said.

Despite al-Shabab claims of sending fighters to help al-Qaida resist Yemeni and foreign-assisted efforts to quash its insurgency, Professor Samatar says a Somali presence in Yemen is limited to longtime refugees who have lived in northern Yemen for decades, but not a significant infusion of terrorists or resistance fighters.

...

As for Yemenis operating in Somalia, Samatar says the security threat is also low.

...

The answer to U.S. and British efforts to bring greater stability to both Somalia and Yemen can be found in new initiatives to democratize both countries rather than focusing on the anti-terror threat, according to Professor Samatar. He warns that stepped up foreign military involvement can foment resentment among local populations in both countries, which have long been discontent with the authoritarian qualities of their own failed states’ leaderships.

“I think the Somali people would welcome a very genuine support from the United (States) government to help themselves rebuild their country. I think the project that the United States helped take part in in Djibouti, which ultimately produced the Transitional Federal Government was both illegitimate and incompetent. And so what the Somali people are looking for is support from Britain and the United States people and governments that are genuinely democratic, that will support civil society, and Islamic movement that is also democratic,” he maintains.

Samatar asserts that Yemeni and Somali resentment are stirred up against western interference when it is being engineered to serve outside interests.

“Genuine democratization of the political process in Somalia, pushing the Transitional Federal Government into becoming more inclusive, more accountable, more effective, and bringing on board people with capacity who are Somalis who can deliver for the local population, if the U.S. and Britain push things in that direction, the Somali people will genuinely welcome that, in my opinion,” he noted.

Several fundamental issues in Samatar's suggestions though that need reconciling...

-- -- --

Puntland Post: Somalia scholar urges government to stop issuing empty threats on Al-Shabab

Professor Abdi Ismail Samatar who is among Somali scholars in the diaspora has censured both the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia [TFG] and the movement for the Al-Shabab Mujahidin. The scholar while speaking to Radio stations in Mogadishu said threats being made by Al-Shabab have made the lives of Somalis abroad extremely difficult.

"Al-Shabab's decision to deploy some of their fighters in Yemen has made travelling of Somalis abroad extremely difficult given that there were enough restrictions already. I would like to request them to stop issuing such threats," said Professor Abdi Ismail Samatar.

Professor Samatar said Al-Shabab has in the past made unrealistic threats such as travelling to the United States and other parts of the world. Professor Samatar also said the TFG is unable to do much about the situation in Somalia and that now is high time to either make true of their threats in attacking the opposition or leave office.

"The threats being made by the government are also unrealistic and can impede the attainment of peace in the country. I would like to also urge them not to subject the civilian population to more problems after the last 20 years," said Professor Samatar.

The professor also warned western nations against interfering in Somalia without consulting their politicians and scholars saying that if they did so, they may create a situation similar to the conflict in Iraq.

-- -- --

SMC: Troops conduct landmine excavation operations in the city

A battalion of the Somali national armed forces, who are qualified in detecting and excavating of explosive devices which are buried under the ground, has on Thursday morning conducted landmine excavation operation in Some districts in the Somali capital Mogadishu such as Hamar Jajab, Hodan, Hamarweyne and Waberi.

It was merely yesterday when an infantry unit of the Somali armed force has also conducted an operation which is unlike this one of today that of yesterday was to track down gangsters who perturb the residents of these districts.

“In the daybreak of Thursday when we woke up we saw that there were government troops, who have occupied almost in all the streets of Hamar jajab, and almost all of these troops had detecting equipments in their hands and they were slowly placing them on the ground, and sometimes these objects were giving a serine sound, and when this sound is heard the experts were rounding up the very place which has given out the unordinary sound, while some of the troops were keeping vigilant guard” said zakaria Noor an eyewitness who spoke to Somaliweyn Website on Thursday morning.

The latest report from the operations verifies that the troops have excavated several explosive devices.

Mareeg Online adds

Residents say the government soldiers were checking mines in the streets of the two districts where it is suspected that the militants planted roadside bombs.

The government soldiers have also conducted search operations in these two districts on Wednesday and arrested more teenagers who were accused of working with the Islamist rebels.

“We could not go out of our homes, because some government soldiers refused us to go out,” said Jamal, a resident in Afisyoni neighbourhood in Mogadishu.

Shabelle Media: TFG’s military commander survives a roadside bomb attack in Mogadishu

Mohamed Gelle kahiye, the Transitional Federal Government’s military commander has been survived a roadside bomb attack targeted to his vehicle at around Banadir intersection in the Somali capital Mogadishu, killing a soldier, wounding 3 others, officials said on Thursday.

Col. Abdullahi Hassan Barise, the spokesman of the transitional Federal government police forces has held press conference in Mogadishu after the explosion and said that explosion was a landmine that was directly targeted to a vehicle that was onboard the military commander of the transitional government.

The spokesman said that a soldier was killed and others injured as the explosion happened adding that the blast was masterminded by the rival sides of the transitional government in Mogadishu.

On the other hand officials of Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen had claimed the responsibility of the landmine explosion targeted to the highest chief of the transitional governments’ military forces saying that they had inflicted more casualties to a convoy of the government’s troops as they were traveling around Sey-Biano building which is very close to Banadir intersection in south of the capital.

Mohamed Gelle kahiye, was one of the officials of the transitional government and he was appointed as the military commander of the Transitional Federal Government.

AFP adds

A witness, Abdi Elmi, said several people were injured in the blast, adding that "the government forces opened fire in all directions after the explosion."

AP adds

The Islamists may have targeted Kahiye because of his role in preparing the army for an upcoming battle aimed at retaking the capital. Kahiye took on the post last month.

Islamists are known to target officials whenever they sense the government is preparing for an attack.

Interesting that during two days of orchestrated mine sweeps in those districts that the transitional govt forces' vehicle carrying the commander just happens to hit a landmine. Coincidence, in that there was a separate and deliberate targeting of that vehicle, or was the blast a product of the govt operations?

-- -- --

A somewhat propagandist article in the Toronto Star on January 04 maybe fills in some details on Abu Mansour/Omar Hammami's backstory, though it's short on facts and full of sensationalism. Some earlier commentary/analysis on al-Amriki was posted here in the September 06 thread and sprinkled elsewhere throughout the archives.

Fanatic convert to terrorism spent year in Toronto

One of the most visible leaders of an Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist militia in Somalia spent a year in Toronto ingratiating himself into the Somali immigrant community as a convert to Islam.

Omar Hammami – known to followers as Abu Mansour "Al-Amriki" (the American) – ate at Somali restaurants and prayed in Somali mosques. He married a Toronto woman of Somali origin and had a daughter with her.

Then, after learning Somali ways, he left to join the Horn of Africa's top terror group, Al-Shabab, to wage Islamic jihad and recruit other foreign nationals to the cause, say former friends and relatives speaking publicly of the terrorist's Toronto connections for the first time.

Note the use of the plural in the phrase "friends and relatives speaking publicly." However, the only two sources in Toronto used in the article are a friend -- "a Somalia-born Torontonian who asks to be identified only as Abdi, because he says he fears Al-Shabab" -- and the ex-father-in-law.

The article supplies a rough bio & chronology of Hammami's life before showing up in the al-Jazeera report.

Omar Hammami is 25 years old. He grew up in Daphne, Ala., just outside Mobile.

His mother is Baptist by religion. His father is Shafik Hammami, a Syrian-born engineer with the Alabama transportation department and president of the Islamic Society of Mobile. Reached by phone last week, he refused comment.

Although Hammami grew up Baptist, he converted to Islam in the late 1990s while attending Daphne High School.

...

In September 2001, Hammami had just started computer science studies at the University of South Alabama – and been elected head of the Muslim Student Association – when Al Qaeda launched its suicide attacks on the United States.

"It's difficult to believe a Muslim could have done this," he told the campus newspaper at the time.

At the end of 2002, he dropped out of school.

How he spent the next two years is not known but in the fall of 2004 he arrived in Toronto from Ohio, says one of his best friends from the period.

"He was interested in finding a large Muslim community," says the friend, a Somalia-born Torontonian who asks to be identified only as Abdi, because he says he fears Al-Shabab.

Of any Toronto immigrant community, the city's 80,000 Somalis are the most visibly Muslim, he says, especially the women who copiously cover themselves.

Together, Abdi and Hammami took jobs briefly at a dairy distribution company. Afterward they moved to 1 Pizza & Fish & Chips, on Weston Rd. north of Lawrence Ave. W.

"I became very close to him," Abdi says. "We talked a lot about religion. I knew a lot of his beliefs and ideology."

Hammami considered himself a Salafi Muslim, seeking to practise Islam as people did in the seventh and eighth centuries. But he was not extremist, Abdi says.

"The man I knew did not believe in suicide bombings," he says. "He did not believe in carrying weapons and fighting among the Muslims. He did not believe in calling people disbelievers just because they had a dispute with you."

On the other hand, Hammami was "easily irritated," the former friend recalls.

"There was one incident at the pizza place when a Somali singer placed a (concert) poster in the window," he says. "In a split second, (Hammami) removed it.

"To me, that is immaturity, not extremism," Abdi says. "Rather, he should ask permission to the owner saying, `You know, brother, (music and partying) is not according to tradition.'"

At some point early on, at an Islamic conference, Hammami met Sadiyo Mohamed Abdille. He was 20, she was 18.

"His face, it was a bit fanatic," recalls Mohamed Salad, the girl's father, of the day Hammami asked permission to marry her.

Salad despises fanatics. In Somalia, he rose to become an army colonel under military dictator Siad Barre. He was training in San Antonio, Texas, when Barre was ousted in 1991 and with no reason to return home Salad came to Toronto.

"If we had been in Somalia, I would have refused (permission to marry)," says Salad, now a coffee house owner on Lawrence Ave. W. "But I thought, `This is Canada. I am Canadian. Daughters decide what they like.'"

Now that's an interesting, if not ironic, connection - a father-in-law who was a Texas-trained colonel in Siad Barre's U.S.-backed dictatorship.

In June 2005, the couple left for Cairo. Hammami told people he wanted to study Islam at Al-Azar University.

That summer the baby was born. In September, Hammami told his wife they were going to Somalia but she balked. She phoned her father, who helped her and the baby return to Toronto.

Speaking for the woman, Scarborough lawyer Faisal Kutty would say only that his client legally separated from Hammami in June 2007, has had no contact with him for more than two years and "has fully co-operated with Canadian intelligence officials on this."

...

Hammami arrived in Mogadishu in late 2005, only to be arrested as a spy by leaders of the Islamic Courts Union, says Abdi, who has been tracking his former friend through personal networks.

But Hammami's credentials checked out. The Union, on its way to controlling much of the south in 2006, assigned him to its youth wing – Al-Shabab. Its leader, Aden Hashi Ayrow, sent him to Raas Kamboni training camp at the Kenyan border.

"He began to rise in the ranks," Abdi says.

Before continuing, let's throw in this bit from Hammami's father in a September 23 interview on the Mobile-Pensacola NBC affiliate WKRG

Shafik says it has been 3 years since he and his wife heard from Omar. "I decided to come out today is not to defend him or defend his actions because I do not agree with his actions. I do not agree with his philosophy... But I do want to make it clear to everyone whose listening to us today that the Islamic society of Mobile is part of the community. We are a part of the social fabric of Mobile. We've been here for decades."

Shafik Hammami says he last spoke with Omar in December of 2006 when Omar called him from Somalia, saying someone had stolen his passport.

Omar's wife is from Somalia and they had gone there for a short visit.

Shafik says his [son] pleaded with him for help in getting him out. "I contacted the FBI, I contacted the State Department, I contacted my Congressman Bonner, went to his office filled out a report, requested they expedite some temporary paper work so they could get him out of the country because he has no paperwork. So to my dismay, I learned that nothing the U.S. could do because we had no diplomatic relations with that country."

Shafik says he feels it was then and there that his son was indoctrinated by the militants in Somalia who may have offered him shelter during the fighting and unrest.

The Toronto Star article claims Hammami arrived, by himself, in Mogadishu near the end of 2005. Hammami's father says his son had traveled to Somalia with his wife at the end of 2006, around the time of the Ethiopian/U.S. invasion, "for a short visit."

The Toronto Star article claims Hammami was immediately "arrested as a spy" by the ICU and then, after his "credentials checked out", sent to Raas Kamboni and began training as a mujahideen one year before the invasion. His father claims that Hammami called him around the time of the invasion saying that his passport had been stolen, "pleading" for his father's help to get out w/o his documents.

What's really interesting about the father's story is that his efforts through several U.S. agencies to get a U.S. citizen out of that hotspot were met w/ the contention that w/o diplomatic relations w/ Somalia, there was nothing that could be done. Never mind the heavy U.S. involvement in the area at the time, what w/ the intel gathering operations, the renditions & interrogations, and the military operations.

And one wonders what "credentials checked out" to assauge Hammami's captors of the notion that he was attempting to infiltrate their organization? Was it related to his time in Cairo? Or, before that, the unaccounted for period in 2003-2004 which led him to Toronto to assimilate into a large Muslim community, marry into a Somali family, and learn Somali ways?

And then, as raised previously, how does he suddenly show up in 2007 as a weapons expert at one of Hassan Turki's training camps and, then, less than two years later, get listed as Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan’s deputy in the Al-Muhajirun chain of command?

The Star article doesn't provide much to help us answer those questions and the details provided aren't necessarily all that reliable, given that the article is largely based on a friend's secondhand information regarding Hammami's timeline.

From near the end of the Toronto Star article, there's more hearsay,

Abdi says he heard in October that Hammami had been fighting near the Ethiopian border, and is recovering in hospital from bullet wounds and mental problems.

No mention is given to reports, such as this one, that Hammami was taken by U.S. Special Forces in the raid on Nabhan's convoy, which lends credence to the speculation that al-Amriki was a key source of the very precise intelligence in the execution of that operation targeting his reported boss.

-- -- --

From a January 07 editorial at Wardheer News:
Alternative Approaches to Pacifying Mogadishu

With the help of well-wishing, but impatiently hasty world community, only one model - a top down approach - to re-establish the Somali state has been repeatedly tried. However, that model keeps failing. To say the least, enormous political capital and human life have been spent on faulty solutions to Somalia's intractable problems, all of which have been centred on the question of Mogadishu.

...

After all is said and done, the only two things that had consistently flourished in Southern Somalia (Mogadishu area) in the last 20 years are a culture of violence and an uneducated and corrupt leadership who seek phantom power at the expense of their devastated community.

Meanwhile, the two regional governments of Puntland in the northeast and Somaliland in the northwest have been registering gainful cultures of peace and functioning administrations, notwithstanding challenges in capacity building. It is this contrast between the culture of violence in Mogadishu versus the evolving peaceful civic cultural life in Puntland and Somaliland that forces us to question the model so far utilized.

We loudly wonder how Mogadishu would bring peace to any other region in Somalia when it is not at peace with itself! Would it be asking too much to suggest that Puntland and Somaliland are rather in a better position to bring peace to Mogadihu?

...

With similar internal debate raging among the Somali community, WardheerNews spoke to Said Samatar, an expert on Somalia, whose forthcoming book is addressing this very debate. Mr. Samatar is of the opinion that in order to foster comprehensive peace in Somalia, it is imperative that Mogadishu be treated as nothing more than a mere region in the tribal web of Somalia, thus forcing Mogadishu to first seek solutions for its own problems from within.

After all, that is what other regions, particularly Puntland and Somaliland, first did to secure their own peace and governance. They successfully utilized their own devises to foster local peace before moving into helping others. With the hope that Mogadishu would change course and follow suit, we urge belligerent groups in Southern Somalia to tackle their problems on regional basis, thereby trying to first secure the peace and order for Mogadishu from bottom up.

To attain a peaceful southern Somalia, the following steps must be taken:

That International community desist from further attempts to establish a Mogadishu-centred centralized national government for all Somalia's regions. This model - a top down approach - has repeatedly failed despite massive political investment by the United Nations Organization and the African Union.

Like Puntland and Somaliland, Mogadishu and the rest of Southern Somalia commence a grass roots based peace-building through their traditional elders and moderate religious leaders.

All non-Southern political operatives in the Mogadishu-based Unity Transitional Federal Government of Sheikh Sheriff Ahmed vacate their positions and begin in an orderly manner to return to their home regions or any other peaceful region of their choice in the country.

Both Puntland and Somaliland administrations should begin to give moral and material support to the afore-mentioned grass roots based peace and reconciliation efforts between groups/clans in Mogadishu.

After proven and tested peace culture is established in Mogadishu and full pacification is achieved among the competing interests in Southern Somalia, the administrations of Puntland and Somaliland shall open up talks with a united Mogadishu-based administration on ways to establish a united federal structure for all Somalia. Somalia’s frontline states must in the interim respect Somalia’s territorial integrity and assist these entities in developing integrated economies and capacities to ward-off threats emanating from Al-Shabab terrorist group.

We believe this approach is consistent with the original comprehensive reconciliation and peace building enunciated by the United Nation in its so-called "building blocks," where Somalia was divided into five peace building blocks, whose final product was to be culminated in an all inclusive federal structure. By employing this original vision, the world would (1) extend due appreciation to the positive deeds so far done in Puntland and Somaliland; (2) give a tangible role to the true stakeholders in the question of Mogadishu without undue interference by other politicians who do not belong to this region and its intricate conflict; and (3) begin to treat Mogadishu as a region equal to other comparable regions by requiring of it to first solve its own conflict with its own means.

After twenty years of employing futile and faulty models with grandiose goals, there is a lot to gain by going back to the basics, articulate a vision that endorses that wise motto of "small is beautiful," and take baby steps to get to the big goal of pacifying Mogadishu. In the interest of Somalia, a grass roots based approach to pacifying violent Mogadishu is one alternative that deserves due consideration.

-- -- --

Excerpts from the IOL interview A Somali Pirate in Action Talks to IOL: Unraveling the Piracy Career Story

...
IslamOnline.net interviewed a Somali pirate, nicknamed Saaid, based in Gar'ad coast village in Puntland through Abdulkarim Mohamed Jimale, freelance journalist. The pirate refused to be pictured out of security concerns.


IOL: How did you become a pirate?

Saaid: I was a fisherman in Gar'ad, a coastal village in Somalia’s Mudug region, before I turned into a coast guard. We decided to counter illegal fishing along our coastlines ourselves, and to protect our resources from foreign looters who destroyed our fishing equipment.

Illegal foreign fishing vessels have taken all the fish, big and small. Nothing was left for us. They even fished about 2 to 3 miles near our coastlines. At that time, we only had AK-47, assault rifles, and other small weapons but we had more skiffs. We used to attack one foreign fishing ships by 200 skiffs, while each skiff carries onboard 3 pirates armed with AK-47. No one was supporting us financially at that time.

Also, we have seen foreign ships dumping toxic waste nearby our shore, resulting in the death of fish and affecting the health of many coastal villagers. Therefore, we decided to capture the vessels before they dump toxic waste in our sea.

IOL: What is the estimated number of fishing boats that have been destroyed by the foreign looters as you claim?

Saaid: Somalia is a big country and I don’t have the actual figures. But I can tell you my personal encounter with these destroyers. One night, we ventured into the sea with 61 fishing boats, each carrying three or four people. Some of us were asleep when a big ship passed in between our convoy.

It was disaster, it roughed up the waters and left some of us drown; of all the 61 boats, only nine survived the tragedy. So you can guess what our colleagues across the country are facing.

...

IOL: And how is [ransom] divided?

Saaid: The gentle pirates who captured the vessel take 50%, and the groups which provided financial support take 40%, and the rest 10% is for the guards who stay with the hijacked ship at the coast and the people who work with us until we get the ransom.

...

IOL: From where do you get your weapons?

Saaid: Somalia has weapons from all the world. We get weapons from inside and from outside the country; mostly we buy from our neighboring countries illegally.

IOL: Any country in particular?

Saaid: Yemeni illegal arm dealers supply us.

...

IOL: Do pirates have a network of intelligence in ports around Somalia such as in Yemen or Kenya?

Saaid: No, we don't have any link with the ports around Somalia. We reach only the border near Kenya and back to our positions in Somalia.

But, we reach secretly to the coasts of Yemen to buy high-speed boats and arms illegally.

IOL: Do you think piracy will end here one day? And when?

Saaid: Piracy will end when the government of Somalia restores law and order; when the world really wants to protect the Somali waters and stops dumping toxic waste and leave the coast of Somalia.

I mean you can't pretend to correct things on the land while you destroy the sea. Multinational warships must leave the Somali waters. Otherwise, piracy will remain forever.