Somalia thread for the week ending July 4

Shabelle Media: Calm returns to war zones in Mogadishu

Calm has returned to the war zones of yesterday’s heavy fighting with shelling in north of Somali capital Mogadishu, just as Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen officials claimed victories over the fighting, official and witness said on Tuesday.

At least 4 people were killed and more others wounded after bitter shelling and fighting between the transitional government of Somalia and Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen broke out in Abdal aziz and Shibis districts in north Mogadishu.

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..Sheik Ali Mohamed Hussein, the governor of Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen had held press conference for the journalists in Mogadishu claiming victories over the fighting adding that they took over more new military bases of the TFG in Abdal aziz district in Mogadishu.

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Shabelle Media: Government soldiers exchange gunfire, halt movement of traffic in Mogadishu

heavily armored troops of the transnational government of Somalia have exchanged gunfire at Ex-control Afgoi, a strategic checkpoint for the government that connects between the Mogadishu and Afgoi towns halting all movement of the traffic from each town.

Drivers of the public traffic told reporters that clash of the government troops at Afgoi checkpoint in Mogadishu came as the troops dispute over the taxation money which the troops take from the traffic that daily travel between the Mogadishu and Afgoi town, which 30 kilometers to south of Mogadishu adding that they were ordered to halt the movement of the traffic until the tense of the government soldiers halted.

No casualties were reported so far, but reports say that both sides exchanged heavy gunfire early on Monday morning as the passengers with their vehicles going to start their daily transport between the two towns in southern Somalia.

It was last week when such war between the soldiers in the checkpoint fought there.

The clash between the transitional government troops had been increasing in Mogadishu recently and it was yesterday when government soldiers fought between Zobe and Banadir intersection in Mogadishu, killing two soldiers.

There were more other clashes between the government troops happened in the capital and caused casualties of civilians and soldiers and the fighting comes as the administration of Banadir region called for the security department of the government to start a crackdown on the security of the capital to decrease the confrontations between the government soldiers.

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Haaretz: Israeli indicted in U.S. for smuggling arms to Somalia

Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry sources adamantly denied yesterday that they were in any way involved in arms shipments to Somalia.

Spokesmen for both ministries were responding to news of the arrest in the U.S. of Hanoch Miller, an Israeli arms merchant, for allegedly illegal arms sales to Somalia, forging documents, money laundering and violating the UN arms embargo on Somalia.

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According to the charges brought against Miller at a Florida district court, he was arrested with an unnamed American partner for alleged involvement in the sale of hundreds of AK-47s to the government of Somaliland, a breakaway district in Somalia since 1991. Miller and his American partner allegedly organized arms shipments, which apparently included arms bought in Bosnia, and had planned to fly them from there in cargo planes to Somalia. The indictment also mentions a shipment that was sent from Panama.

The suspect allegedly presented "end user" documents of the defense ministry of Chad. Arms shipments to that African country are not forbidden.

The two were arrested in a sting operation of the U.S. Customs, when one of their contact persons, whose help they sought in organizing the air shipments, turned out to be an undercover Customs agent.

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Even though the indictment does not mention him by name, Joseph O'Toole, a former colonel in the U.S. Army who was arrested in the 1980s for allegedly illegally selling arms to Iran along with Israeli Ari Ben-Menashe, is mentioned in the case.

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The strategic location of the breakaway territory, which borders on the Gulf of Aden and the sea routes of the Indian Ocean from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and through the Red Sea, have always been important for Israel's geo-strategic interests. In the past Israel has shown great interest in the countries of the Horn of Africa, and the Mossad had secret links with some countries there.

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Somaaljecel: Somali president reportedly refuses to meet Ethiopian army general

Reliable reports from sources close to the presidential palace of the interim Somali government say that Somali President Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad has refused to meet with Gen Gebre, who arrived in Mogadishu 27 June. The general was the commander of Ethiopian troops that invaded Somalia.

Gen Gebre, who was among a delegation of IGAD [Inter-Governmental Authority on Development] which suddenly arrived in the city yesterday to resolve rifts between President Sharif and Prime Minister Umar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, requested to meet with the president and the prime minister. He met with Premier Umar Abdirashid Sharmarke while President Sharif refused to see him. It is unknown why President Sharif refused to meet with Gen. Gebre.

Reports say that Gen Gebre is an envoy of Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama'a [moderate Somali Islamic group], which is seeking to have an influential presence in the Somali government. The reports said that Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama'a had lodged to the Ethiopian government about [President Sharif], and Gen Gebre has been tasked with dealing with the issue. This is the third time he has come to Mogadishu on behalf of Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama'a.

Some reports say that Gen Gebre, Prime minister Umar Abdirashid Sharmarke, and Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama'a are allies while President Sharif stands alone, and that could complicate the rifts between government leaders.

From an opinion piece at al Jazeera:

Last week, Ethiopia called a ministerial level emergency session of member states of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). IGAD's subsequent communiqué calling for a meeting of heads of state in order to "re-engineer" the Somali peace process points to gerrymandering of the crisis by Ethiopia, which seems to want to impose its proxies on the Somalis.

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..Addis Ababa has been unhappy with the developments that have taken place in the country since the Djibouti process - which resulted in the formation of the current unity government - ended in 2009, and has sought to insert its influence via backdoor means.

It has done this by exploiting the legitimate grievances of Somalia's traditional Sufi orders, while sidelining the genuine representatives of the moderate Sufi group Ahlu-Sunna Wal-Jama'a. It has also militarily supported local warlords and empowered some pro-Ethiopian Somali politicians, effectively forcing the leaders of the transitional government to share power with them.

For Addis Ababa, this whole exercise is about securing politically what it failed to achieve militarily in its 2006-2009 invasion - that is re-appropriating the peace process and transitional government institutions, and eliminating and/or weakening those Islamist groups that are part of the transitional government.

AllPuntland: Regional body IGAD said likely to deploy troops in Somalia

Reliable sources at the Somali Presidency, Villa Somalia, indicate that a delegation of senior armed forces officials from IGAD [Inter Governmental Authority on Development] countries have arrived there. Reasons for their arrival at this time have not yet been disclosed.

These military commanders from IGAD member countries are led by the former commander of Ethiopian troops who were deployed in Somalia towards the end of 2006, General Gabre. The delegation is said to have arrived in a chartered plane at the Mogadishu airport.

The delegation led by General Gabre has since held talks with the AMISOM [African Union's Mission in Somalia] commanders and senior Transitional Federal Government of Somalia [TFG] officials in Mogadishu. Some of the senior TFG officials have denied reports of this particular delegation's arrival in the capital while others have said their presence in Mogadishu is part of the regular evaluation visits by armed forces commanders from IGAD member countries.

A senior armed forces official who refrained from being named has told us that this delegation is visiting the country in order to monitor operations of the TFG forces. He also said there is a possibility that IGAD member countries might deploy troops in Somalia to fight armed Islamist groups who are in control of most parts of the capital and southern Somalia regions.

The delegation whose arrival has been kept low key have been in Mogadishu for two days now and many in the Somali politics have interpreted it in different ways but all agree that their presence has to do with armed forces operations.

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From Ecoterra International's June 29th Status Of Seized Vessels Ans Crews In Somalia And The Indian Ocean

YOU ARE PERSISTENTLY BEING LIED TO WITH IMPUNITY:

The Lie: The navies and their mainstream media claim that they achieved a decline in piracy.

The Reality: Never before in history the cases of piracy have been around the Horn of Africa so numerous than in these times and after the specific multi-national naval operations were launched at the end of 2008; with a thereafter continuously expanding force and naval presence never seen before - even not during WWII. But in the same time piracy has increased to an all-time high with increased violence and escalating armed encounters.


The Lie: The navies have to blow small, captured "piracy" skiffs out of the water, because they would endanger shipping.

The Reality: The EU NAVFOR even leaves big vessels like the MV RIM adrift, if as in this case it is convenient to NOT inspect the ship abandoned by the crew after they killed all their captors under the watch of the EU, though credible reports stated that the vessel had been an illegal weapons transporter for Yemen.


The Lie: The navies act under valid UN Security Council Resolutions.

The Reality: The navies have according to international and Somali national law no right whatsoever to enter the 200nm territorial waters of Somalia. The UN Security Council Resolutions, to which repeatedly the navies refer, are explicitly stating that they would be only valid and applicable with the consent of the Somali Government, i.e. the Somali parliament, which never has been given, while a fictive letter of former Somali president Abdullahi Yusuf was never produced and a letter signed "on behalf of the Somali Government" by Mauretanian former UNSRSG Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah is legally nil and void.


The Lie: EU NAVFOR has an agreement with the Somali government concerning the Somali Waters and the fight against piracy.

The Reality: A paper signed without the knowledge of the Somali parliament in a clandestine meeting by the French Ambassadress to Kenya, Ms Elisabeth Barbier - for the EU - and by one Noor Hasan Hussein (aka Nuur Xasan Xuseen), who was at the time a Prime Minister in the cabinet of former Somali TFG President Abdullahi Yussuf, is legally nil and void and does not give the navies of the European states any permission in Somali waters. Nuur Cadde, as he is widely known, obviously received as reward for such favour and assumable high treason, and after he was chased out of his PM chair and cabinet, the post of Somali ambassador to Italy - the former colonial power, who still serves as ill advised lead-country for the European Union and which is the only statelet of the newly empowered European Union, which still channels directly and without EU consent money to Italy's friends and warlords within the changing governing alliances of the Somali quagmire.

In addition, the fake framework is misused by states like Norway, who are not even a member of the European Union, but dare to send commando units under EU mandate in mid-night raids into natural harbours of northern Somalia and commit outright murder by killing innocent fishermen from Somalia and Yemen.

In Addition: Nobody gave the EU NAVFOR operation ATALANTA or any European entity the right to monitor fishing in the Somali waters. Though it might have been welcomed if the navies would assist the Somali government and people in the fight against illegal foreign fishing fleets, given the fact that not a single of all those illegally fishing vessels, whose presence had been established, was repulsed by the navies, the "monitoring of fishing" is mere economic spying on the natural resources of Somalia and - as many Somalis claim - the scouting for and protection of illegal foreign fishing ventures.


The Lie: Somalia has no 200nm Somali Waters

The Reality: Since 1972 the international community had respected Somali Law No. 37, which similar to the recognized nation states of Benin, Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, El Salvador, Liberia and Peru, declared 200nm territorial waters with all the respective rights and duties.

Since 1989, and Somalia was one of the first 40 signatories who also endorsed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Somalia has - congruent to its territorial waters - an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 200 nm, with all the rights and protection mechanisms the Common Law of the Sea provides to all coastal states. Somalia had declared and never given up these rights, but had to suffer from much illegal activity by foreign interests, which caused the African Union (AU / then the OAU) at the Pan-African Conference on Sustainable Integrated Coastal Management (PACSICOM, Maputo, 1998) to decry specifically the constant violation of the Somali rights in Somalia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and H.E. Ambassador (Egypt) Ahmed Hagag as Assistant Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) declared that everybody must respect the 200 nm EEZ of Somalia.

Since 2009 Somalia has also a Continental Shelf Zone of 350 nm, based on international law and Somalia's claim documented and handed in by Somalia on 17 April 2009 to the UN and the International Seabed Authority before the deadline of 13 May 2009. The establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles is the right of all coastal States under international law.


The Lie: There is no illegal fishing in Somali Waters.

The Reality: Illegal fishing continues, but it has like always seasonal peaks and licences still continue to be issued illegally to foreign vessels despite a moratorium by the TFG government since April 2009. The annual loss in the Somali waters is estimated at around 300mioUS$.

The problem of illegal and overfishing is not only a Somali one: The annual consequential costs due to over-fishing of the oceans have reached 50 Billion US-Dollar, as calculated by the WorldBank and FAO. While losses at Wall Street due to the recent credit crunch have so far been calculated to stand at only 1,5 Billionen Dollar, allowing financial institutions and bankers to be "rescued" by a 700 Billion Dollar rescue plan - using taxpayer's money -, NOTHING is done to rescue the oceans!


The Lie: The international community is helping Somalia and the Somalis

The Reality: Hardly any of the funds pledged with top-spin public relations campaigns through the mainstream-media have ever even been set-up to be released. This is not only a Somalia problem and these global lies have now even been criticized by the G20 summit. If some funds were released for Somalia they were for widely criminal WFP operations (now under UN investigations), weapons deliveries and training of fighters, who actually could train their trainers. Even EU NAVFOR escorts for deliveries by ship of only weapons, other military hardware or supplies solely to the AMISOM troops are listed by the navies as escorts of "humanitarian aid". While the bandwagon NGOs are kept quiet with well-funded "studies" paid for by the intelligence groups, real help on the ground has declined to an all time low since the beginning of the civil war.

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Inner City Press: At UN, Buck Passed on Somali Child Soldiers...

... Inner City Press asked [outgoing Council president Claude] Heller one last question:

Inner City Press: I wanna ask a non Cheonan question. This issue that came up that the UN supported the TFG of Somalia using child soldiers. Where does it go from here? I know that it didn’t seem to come up on [inaudible]. In your role as chair of the CAAC, when will that be …

Claude Heller: This issue is in the agenda of the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, and it should be considered in the next two months. I don’t have the date, but it’s in the agenda. We have to consider this and make recommendations on the cases, of course depending on the information that we get. But its in the agenda of the Working Group.

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Garowe Online: Latest Mogadishu clashes kill 20

At least 20 people, mainly combatants have been killed and over 35 others, including journalists injured in heavy shelling and gunbattle that pitted pro-government forces against rebel fighters in Somali capital Mogadishu within the last twenty four hours.

Clashes erupted on Tuesday between pro-government militia Ahlu Sunnah Wal-Jama and fighters from insurgent.

Shelling also rocked rebel-held northern districts of Shibis, Abdiasis and Bondhere, where reports said 8 civilians were killed and over 20 others injured.

Civilians and government soldiers who injured in the latest fightings have been admitted in Mogadishu’s Medina Hospitals.

In one incident, barrage of artillery shells landed at a former police compound in Abdiasis district, where some senior Al-Shabaab officials were briefing journalists about their gains in the latest calashes. Eight journalists, among those who attended the press briefing got minor injuries, according one of them.

Al-Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mouhammud Raghe aka Ali Dhere led journalists in tour around the former police compound that his group captured in the last few days.

“Thanks to Allah, we are now in control of former police vehicle compound which was once used by the Somali parliament. We have achieved a lot in this latest fighting,” he said while addressing the journalists.

Ali Dhere was accompanied by Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Abu Mansur, who in recent past was reported to have been badly injured in clashes with government forces. He however refuted those claims, saying he is well and in good health.

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Garowe Online: Ahlu Sunnah: Agreement with TFG has collapsed

A power-sharing agreement signed between Somalia’s weak transition federal government and Ahlu Sunnah Wal-Jamaa, a moderate Sufi Islamist movement has officially collapsed, says the Sufi leaders.

Sheikh Muhammad Sheikh Hassan, the group's spiritual leader said the collapse of the agreement was perpetrated by the Somali government for including non-Ahlu Sunnah members into its implementation.

“We are declaring that the power-sharing agreement has collapsed because the Somali government awarded some individuals, who are not part of us, with the cabinet slots meant for Ahlu Sunnah,” he said.

“These people, who are awarded with the positions, are politicians, who don’t have anything to do with the agreement. But they main agenda is to derail the implementation of the agreement,” he added.

The leader, who led a section of his loyal followers into signing the agreement in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, has earlier warned against infiltration of power-hungry politician and warlords into the agreement.

The Sufi sect was promised to be allocated a number of ministerial and military posts within the transitional Somali government under the agreement in return with maximum support in the fight against the insurgents.

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These two stories go together, but probably won't be linked by those the corporate media...

BBC: Somali president leads troops in anniversary battle

Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is on the front line, as fierce battles rage on the day the country marks 50 years of independence.

Eyewitnesses told the BBC that the president was dressed in military fatigues atop an African Union tank.

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The BBC's Mohamed Moalimuu in the capital, Mogadishu, says it is the first time the president has gone to the front line to lead an attack.

The government offensive follows two days of battles as fighters from the hardline Islamist al-Shabab group and their allies tried to regain recently lost ground in the north of the city.

Our reporter says the government forces began shelling the Islamist stronghold of Karan, a residential area, on Wednesday evening.

ICRC: shelling of Mogadishu's Keysaney Hospital continues despite ICRC pleas

Geneva (ICRC) – For the third consecutive day, shelling is taking place near Keysaney Hospital in northern Mogadishu.

Two more mortar shells have hit the hospital since yesterday, causing damage to the structure.

On 29 June a first shell killed one patient and wounded another.

"We are shocked about the situation at Keysaney.

Despite our repeated calls to all warring parties to respect international humanitarian law and spare medical facilities, nothing seems to have changed on the ground," said Pascal Mauchle, who heads the Somalia delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

"The situation is becoming more and more dangerous for patients and medical staff by the day." Once again, the ICRC and the Somali Red Crescent Society remind all parties to the conflict that launching attacks against medical facilities marked with the red crescent emblem is a violation of international humanitarian law.

The parties must spare medical staff and hospitals, clinics and similar medical facilities the effects of hostilities.

Whether launching an attack or positioning military personnel and materiel, all those involved in the hostilities must take every feasible precaution to minimize the potential harm to civilians and to civilian objects such as hospitals.

Keysaney is one of two ICRC-supported surgical hospitals in Mogadishu.

It is managed by the Somali Red Crescent and accepts all patients, regardless of their clan and religious or political background.

Keysaney Hospital is, of course, located in Karan district.

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Garowe Online: Dozens killed in Mogadishu clashes

At least 24 people civilians have been killed and 80 others injured in heavy shelling and gun fire exchanged between Somali government troops and rebel fighters in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, Radio Garowe reports.

Somali government troops backed by African Union peacekeepers launched coordinated attacks on rebels’ bases in northern districts Karan and Shibis, while other parts of the restive capital received share of the indiscriminate shelling.

“At least 17 women and children were killed when two mortar shells smashed parts of Suq Ba’ad in Yaqshid. They were all hiding from the bitter shelling that rocked the city,” said Ali Muse, the head of Mogadishu Ambulance Services. He added that more than 80 civilians were wounded in the Thursday’s clashes.

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Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was also seen dressed in military camouflage on the frontlines with the government who were fighting to push back the rebel fighters in northern areas.

The latest clashes led to massive exodus in northern districts wkth most of the people on the move being women and children.

“I fled with my children from Arjantin neighbourhood in Karan district. My elderly father refused to flee, he remained behind,” said Asho Nur, a mother of six children.

Both the government and the insurgents have vowed to continue with the battle as civilians bear the brunt of suffering.

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CPJ: Somali government harassing journalists as fighting rages

Somali government forces have been increasingly harassing independent journalists covering violent fighting in Mogadishu, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Somali reporters targeted for their reporting included a New York Times correspondent and a CPJ International Press Freedom Award winner, while nine other journalists were injured this week while reporting during deadly clashes between government troops and Islamist rebels, according to news reports and CPJ interviews.

On Thursday, police detained award-winning journalist Mustafa Haji Abdinur and freelance cameraman Yusuf Jama Abdullahi for taking pictures of their colleague, Associated Press photojournalist Farah Abdi Warsame, who had been hit by crossfire, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). Officers at the Criminal Investigation Department interrogated the journalists for several hours and forced them to delete their photographs, Abdinur told CPJ. They were released without charge. Warsame was rushed to Medina Hospital for shrapnel wounds in his hand and back, and is now recovering at home, according to NUSOJ.

Last week, New York Times correspondent Mohammed Ibrahim fled the country following threats from government security forces, he told CPJ. Ibrahim had contributed reporting to a June 13 New York Times article, “Children Carry Guns for a U.S. Ally, Somalia,” concerning child soldiers within the government forces.

“The reaction of the Somali government to these very serious allegations is both frightening and typical,” said CPJ East Africa Consultant Tom Rhodes, who is based in Nairobi. “Instead of addressing this very serious issue, security forces are persecuting reporters. Journalists must be allowed to do their job.”

In response to the story, the deputy commander of the Somali military, Adbdulkarim Yusuf Adam, held a June 24 press conference in which he accused those involved in publishing the article of having ties with terrorist organizations, local journalists told CPJ. Adam also declared that all individuals involved—whether foreign or local—would be taken to court, according to the same sources. Government spokesman Abdi Kadir Walayo claimed the article had been fabricated in a June 29 Voice of America interview.

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Garowe Online: Somali PM reshuffles cabinet to include new members

Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke has reshuffled his cabinet...

Among the 39 cabinet members is Sheikh Aden Madoobe, former speaker of the parliament, who was appointed deputy Prime Minister and minister of ports and transportation.


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The Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca militia, fighting on the government’s side, has been rewarded with some cabinet slots as agreed in the power-sharing agreement inked with Transtional Federal Government on 15 March in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Ahmed Abdi SalanM, who according to the agreeement represents the sufi sect was appointed as national security minister

However, the group’s grand chairman Sheikh Muhammad Sheikh Hassan has announced that the agreement had collapsed due to infringement by 'foreign elements' who don't represent the group.

Reports from Villa Somalia said the president has ratified the new cabinet.

Garowe Online: Ahlu Sunna militia "unhappy" with government posts

A spokesman for Somalia’s moderate pro-government group Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca has disapproved the appointment of some members claimed to be from his group into the new Somali cabinet.

Sheikh Abdullahi sheikh Abu Yusuf told reporters in central Somali town of Guriel that his group has officially walked out of the power-sharing agreement it signed with the transitional federal government in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on mid-March.

“Those appointed under our name are people who were picked by individuals within the government, they were in the former government,” he said.

“For those reasons, we are declaring that we have officially walked out of the agreement that was signed in Addis Ababa.”

SMC adds:

"It is very unfortunate that the government of Somalia to come with their own option figures and declare that they have added some officials from Ahlu-Suunh Waljama in the government of Premier that is absolutely plain propaganda and I would like to tell the Somali people that there is no single Ahlu-Suunah representative in the Somali government" said Al-Qadi the head of the information department of Ahlu-Suunah Waljama.

Somalia thread for the week ending June 25

H.S.M. continues to consolidate its control and encirclement of the TFG

Puntland Post: Hardline Somali Islamists fight over control of police station in capital

Fighting between Islamist groups opposed to the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia [TFG] erupted this morning in the district of Yaaqshid, Banaadir Region. Two Islamists groups, [Hisb al-Islam and Al-Shabab], are said to be fighting over the control of the police headquarters in Yaaqshid district, Mogadishu.

Eye witnesses said the fighting is concentrated in the areas near the Yaaqshid police HQ..

The fighting is said to have broken out after Hisb al-Islam forces that earlier on controlled the police station refused to withdraw from it.

Hisb al-Islam and Al-Shabab had earlier fought over the control of the police station in Yaaqshid district, which has resulted in the loss of life and injury. Fighting between the two sides comes at a time when senior Hisb al-Islam commanders and their forces have begun joining Al-Shabab, a move that has enraged Hisb al-Islam leaders.

Garowe Online: 10 killed as Somali militants fight in Mogadishu

At least 10 combatants have been killed and 20 others injured in heavy fighting that pitted militant group Al-Shabaab against rival Hizbul Islam in the restive capital Mogadishu, Radio Garowe reports.

The fighting erupted after militia from the two sides quarrel over the control of a military post in Yaqshid district, which both sides deemed strategic.

The fighting was heavy, I have seen the dead bodies of at least 10 fighters from both sides, injured include civilians,” an eyewitness told Garowe Online.
Residents started fleeing from the area, accusing the warring sides of not taking into consideration their plight.

Tension has been mounting between the two groups after officials from Hizbul Islam joined the rival group, handing over the control of some central towns to them. Some of the officials, who defected to Al-Shabaab were displayed in central town of Beledweyne on Monday.

Hizbul Islam’s Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who is now held up in the outskirts of Mogadishu and surrounded by Al-Shabaab fighters, has refused to hand over his weapons to the hardline group.

Press TV adds

According to eyewitnesses, the majority of casualties are from Hizbul Islam fighters while a number of civilians were also wounded during the upsurge of violence.

"Al-Shabab fighters are now in control of the position while the other side has left the area. Civilians have also vacated their homes for fear of retaliations," an eyewitness told Press TV.

Radio Gaalkacyo: Al-Shabab, Hisb al-Islam said mobilizing to clash in southern

Tension is reported to be high between rival Islamist fighters in Lower Shabelle region, southern Somalia.

Reports reaching us from Afgoye District in Lower Shabelle Region say that mobilization of heavy fighting continues between Al-Shabab Islamic Movement and Hisb al-Islam faction over the control of the town.

Hundreds of fighters of the two groups armed with heavy weapons and armored vehicles have been seen patrolling Afgoye District. An eyewitness, who declined to be named, has told the media that the two sides are ready to clash. He further said that residents in Afgoye Town, Ceelasha Biyaha Locality and other towns of Lower Shabelle Region have fled from their homes in fear of gunfire.

Sources say that Al-Shabab wants to forcibly capture areas that Hisb al-Islam faction controls in southern and central Somalia. Fighters of Hisb al-Islam group and officials in Wanleweyn District have recently defected to Al-Shabab.

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Shabelle Media: Somali traditional elders in Gedo call [on TFG] to stop organizing clashes

The Somali traditional elders of Gedo region in southern Somali have called the transitional government troops to stop the organizing clashes going in the region in southern Somalia, official told Shabelle radio on Tuesday.

Sheik Aden Abdulle, the spokesman of the transitional elders in the region told reporters in Bardere town that they got more information that the the transitional government troops Dolow town in the region were planning to attack parts of the villages under the region

“At the first time we call for the government soldiers to stop the plans of the war they continue in parts of the region. Because clashes my cause casualties of civilians in the parts of the region. We also call them to join to the Islamic administration in the region,” said the spokesman of the traditional elders.

Da’ud Mohadm Hussein, one of the elders had talked more on the joining process of the Islamic administrations of Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen and Hizbul Islam in over the past weeks pointing out it was a step to be welcomed

The statement of the traditional elders of Gedo region comes as there had the transitional government officers in Gedo had been reiterating that they would attack the whole areas of Gedo region to take over its control whole region in southern Somalia.

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Second incident in two days

Somaaljecel: AU peacekeepers "quell mutiny" in Somali Presidential Palace

Reports are emerging regarding a mutiny staged by presidential guards of the interim government over pay. According to security officials, who declined to give their names, two soldiers belonging to the security force of President Shaykh Sharif were shot by AMISOM [African Union Mission in Somalia] troops who tried to disarm the mutinous soldiers.

An AMISOM military officer said that no one was hurt in an operation the troops conducted to put down the mutiny by guards of the presidential palace. He said the operation was brief and the mutiny was quelled.

Reliable reports obtained from government military officers based at the presidential palace say that the presidential guards have not been paid salaries for the past 10 months. They added that their salaries were diverted to fund the removal of the former parliamentary Speaker and the election of a new house Speaker.

The day before yesterday, the presidential guards blocked the entry and exit points to the presidential palace, paralysing operations at the presidential palace and its environs for hours. While doing this, they shot rounds in their air, which reportedly causing some injuries.

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This next one is either (1) a PR-firm ghostwriter trying to make the case to the U.S. not to pull its support for the TFG or (2) a last effort to cash out:

Help Wanted: Now is no time for the world to go wobbly on Somalia
BY Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke

.."constructive disengagement" is a nice euphemism for the same very old and thoroughly failed policies that Western countries have used for years to wrongly argue that Somalia's problems can remain in Somalia. This was the prevailing attitude of much of the international community during most of the past two decades -- until rampant piracy drew navies from around the world toward Somali waters. The presence offshore of a flotilla of warships from the navies of more than two dozen countries illustrates vividly how our country's internal problems are a pressing international issue.

The global nature of Somalia's troubles is also visible on the ground, where an influx of foreign fighters is swelling the ranks of militant oppositionists who are openly aligned with al Qaeda. ... Indeed, a recent Human Rights Watch report looking at life for Somalis in Shabab territory reads as if it could have come from the organization's old file on Afghanistan's Taliban.

...

The world has seen this kind of savagery before, when the Taliban destroyed ancient Buddhist statues in Afghanistan and when al Qaeda-linked militants systematically bombed holy sites throughout Iraq. As the history of the past decade shows, the extremists in Somalia will also undoubtedly begin exporting violence throughout the region and around the world if we do not confront them.

...

What Somalia needs most now from countries like Britain and the United States is financial support, not troops or peacekeepers. Our government is closely watching the events unfolding in Afghanistan, where U.S. and British soldiers are fighting bravely in a war we consider a distant front of our own. Somalis are eager to do their part in pushing back against the menace of Islamist extremism, but they lack the resources to do so.

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From a recent open letter to Ould Abdallah and his replacement, published at WDN:

As a Somali intellectual, and one indeed whom Al-Shabab would slit his throat today if I return to Somalia, I can tell you that in fact for better or for worse they I believe that they would be better than these recycled TFG stooges.

They made peace where they govern. Peace at any cost is better than no peace at any cost. The international community lead by UNDP-Somalia is investing at no peace at any cost. This must change in the new tenure of the new Envoy.

Al-Shabab is already in power in Somalia, why does the international community dismiss that they have learned or will learn their lessons and indeed change course and indeed go against global Al-Qaida?. Government policies change. Why would Al-Shabab not change for the better? Al-Shabab can change if they get the opportunity to get total power. They can be partner in dealing with Al-Qaeda in Africa. The International community does business with Saudi Arabia, the epicenter of Jihadism and the mother and father of Taliban and where 90% of funds now come from for Al-Shabab and other Islamic extremists all over the world.

I took arms against the early Islamists in Somalia and continue to do so to this date. But, I have realized that indeed, the international community is part and parcel indirectly responsible of the making and engineering of Islamic extremism in the Horn of Africa. The international community has approved negotiating with the Taliban. Why not with Somali Islamists? The reason is simple: Kenya and Ethiopia want Somalia in ruins for ever and have no interest in a Somalia in one piece and in peace. They have taken over the economical, political and natural resources of Somalia already. With Al-Shabab in power, they will and can never do that. Wise men said only fools don’t change their minds. Al-Shabab can, and are more reliable than the TFG who has never kept one word. Who starve their own soldiers who steal left and right and where each and every one of them has one ambition. The pocket game, in concert with UNDP.

-- -- --

June 15th Radio Daljir interview w/ U.S.-Somalia policy wonk Bronwyn Bruton is available as a ram file here. Bronwyn shares her observations of a recent visit to Villa Somalia at the invitation of the TFG and her insight into where U.S. policy currently stands.

As is quite apparent to even those far away from Washington, patience is wearing thin w/ the TFG and politicians are scaring themselves silly to the point where they'll soon start climbing over each other in support of just doing something about 'the Somalia problem'. Bruton lays out the reasonable arguments against military intervention, though reason doesn't weigh too prominently once fear takes hold. She says that the conclusion in Washington is that the TFG is not viable and has no capacity on any meaningful level. Rather less convincingly, however, in her remarks on why the U.S. is rethinking pouring any more money into the TFG -- to either build institutions or buy off the opposition -- she contends that "any policy maker is concerned with what he does with taxpayer money." Heh.

Still, and despite dressing up some basic truisms, the candor in the following remarks is most welcome these days and, hopefully, others are listening & showing signs of the same thought processes

at present, I feel that the international community -- as a rule, generally, and i'll include myself in this, to be honest with you -- has just a very limited understanding of what the fight in Somalia is about. If you look, you know, at what is happening in Gedo, if you look at what is happening in Beledweyne, if you look at what is happening in Mogadishu. We have some sense of the economics of the situation, but not a very good sense. We have some sense of the clan politics, but not a good enough sense. And, you know, we have very limited intelligence on the Shabaab. We're worried, of course, that they're thinking about attacking the United States, but to be honest, we don't know. You know, we're playing better safe than sorry. But it could be that the Shabaab is, you know, got a very limited number of a.. a sort of transnational jihadists in it, and that it's mostly, you know, a.. a local movement. Um, I really believe that unless you have some basic understanding of the situation you're dealing with, you're not going to do a good job. I mean, um, basically, lack of intelligence never leads to good policy. In fact, it often produces policy disasters, and in Somalia that's just been profoundly the case.

...

I'm sorry to say this, it sounds terrible, but - I'm not willing to give International policy makers the benefit of the doubt. Until they can prove that they know exactly what they're doing, they shouldn't do anything. We shouldn't act just because we think that we should.

...

..in 2006, in January, Somalia was on a pretty good path. You know, the Islamic Courts Union were on the rise. Business was booming. Conflicts were stabilising. Um, you know, the direction was, it wasn't fabulous, but it was broadly positive. And I think that if you look at Somalia now, obviously it's going in the wrong direction - everything is a disaster. And I see the international community's intervention in the country at the heart of that change. Um, and I think that if you.. if you have that point of view, it's very hard to be confident or enthusiastic about the international community, you know, advancing further. If, on the other hand, you say look, stop bombing people in Mogadishu, stop shelling them, stop mortaring them, um, because the response that you're going to get is, you know, going to to be catastrophic, it's going to backfire, um, and the government you're protecting is.. is not worth killing Somali's for, then I think you could start to get on the right path, eventually.

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A new analysis from Michael Weinstein is now up at Garowe Online

Harakat al-Shabaab Mujahideen Reactivates its Encirclement Strategy

The new stage of H.S.M.’s strategy is aimed at consolidating the armed opposition to the T.F.G., AMISOM, and other anti-Islamist forces by eliminating its major competitor within the Islamist opposition, the nationalist Hizbul Islam (H.I.). Having earlier displaced H.I. from Somalia’s southern Jubba regions, H.S.M. moved in June to remove H.I. from all the areas of southern and central Somalia in which the two groups have divided or shared control.

H.S.M.’s consolidation move is familiar to students of revolutionary coalitions: at a certain juncture, the dominant actor in the coalition judges that it is powerful enough to eliminate its collaborators-competitors so that it can gain an open field for establishing administrations in the areas that it dominates and coordinating efforts to mount operations against its major opponents. When a single faction takes control of a revolutionary coalition, it is a sign that its leaders perceive that their power has been enhanced to the point at which their faction stands to gain more by going it alone than by cooperating and sharing power. If it is successful, consolidation serves as a prelude to an offensive by the revolutionaries against their adversaries.

...

H.S.M. is ..., by all appearances, pursuing a calculated and coherent strategy of avoiding armed confrontation with H.I. in favor of persuading and inducing local and regional H.I. forces to merge with it. Striving for consolidation, H.S.M. does not want to fight an internecine war that would damage its Islamist credentials, at least temporarily weaken its position in relation to the coalition of forces opposing it, and deprive it of the H.I. forces that it wants to win over. If possible, H.S.M. will stick to intimidating H.I., unless H.I. agrees to incorporation in the T.F.G.

...

For the moment, the success of H.S.M.’s encirclement strategy depends on removing H.I. from Elasha Biyaha and the Afgoe district directly south of Mogadishu.

The article provides a good recap of these events since late May, sprinkled with new information from Weinstein's closed source(s?).

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Mahiga doesn't sound necessarily committed to the TFG, or at least in its current incarnation

UN News Centre: Political reconciliation and basic security the priorities for Somalia, new UN envoy says

Augustine Mahiga, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and the head of the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), told UN Radio that promoting reconciliation and a more inclusive political process must be a priority in a country that has not had a functioning national government in two decades.

“But this is predicated upon the existence of a modicum of security in Somalia to enable this Transitional [Federal] Government or a government that brings in other political groupings to survive,” he said.

[update: the full interview with Mahiga is available here]

-- -- --

Getting back to Bronwyn Bruton's calls against international intervention in Somalia, she argued this point in a recent week-long "debate" against the ICG's EJ Hogendoorn over at The Economist. Unsurprisingly (considering the context), the consensus there favors intervention. Some of the comments, however, where Somalis themselves -- as well as persons not from imperialist states -- are actually allowed a voice, do show signs of intelligence & good sense.

-- -- --

Garowe Online: New political feud engulfs fragile TFG

A new row has erupted between Somalia’s President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharma’arke over formation of a new government.

The dispute erupted after Premier handed over a new list of cabinet ministers to President Ahmed, which he rejected.

“The president rejected the PM’s list of cabinet ministers including those from Ahlu Sunnah on the grounds that he dislike of them,” said an official who works in Sharma’arke’s office.

...

New reports that emerge suggest that Ahmed is planning to depose Sharma’arke through any means possible with the support of speaker Sharif.

-- -- --

Poor attempt at PR spin here, including the shifting references, of both surname and venue.

New Vision: UPDF to leave Somalia when peace returns

THE Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) will leave Somalia once stability returns, the land forces commander, Lt. Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, said last week.

Katumba made the remarks while receiving a batch of UPDF peace-keepers at the Entebbe International Airport.

The troops from Somalia headed to Singo military base. Wamala said they would stay there for a week before getting a pass for one-month’s leave.

Wamala told journalists at the United Nations Mission in the DR Congo that Zambia, Ghana, Cameroon and Senegal would send peace-keeping troops to Mogadishu. [ha ha] Only Uganda and Burundi have sent their troops so far.

He described the lack of manpower as a constraint to the achievement of peace in Somalia.

Wamala said the morale of the UPDF in Somalia greatly improved after the United Nations intervened.

“We are now fully catered for by the UN. They feed us, give us medicine and our troops no longer travel in the C130 cargo planes, but in comfortable Boeing,” he said.

Wamala explained that a lot of lives had been saved in Mogadishu.

“Our hospital treats at least 5,000 people every day. To us this is an achievement,” he said.

The contingent commandant, Col. Tumusiime Katsigazi, said attacks on UPDF had reduced.

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Will U.S. fears of H.S.M. now be used to justify shoring up the Djibouti regime?

VOA: Djibouti Rebels Threatening Stability in Strategic Country

Analysts are expressing fear that increasing rebel activity in Djibouti in recent months could threaten the stability of one of the most strategically important nations in the Horn of Africa.

...

Djibouti, a tiny country of just 800,000 people bordering Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia, has little natural resources or industry. But in the past decade, its strategic location in the Horn of Africa has turned Djibouti into a key partner for the United States and Western countries fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia and conducting counter-terrorism operations in the region.

Djibouti is home to France's largest military base in Africa, and since 2001, the U.S. military's Combined Task Force, Horn of Africa, now numbering about 3,000 troops, has been based there. The military bases earn President Guelleh's government millions of dollars every year in lease revenue.

The former French colony is also an important economic ally of the region's landlocked giant Ethiopia. Virtually all Ethiopian imports and exports pass through the port in Djibouti.

Kalpakian says there is no evidence to suggest that external actors are involved in fueling the latest round of turmoil. But he says Djibouti's ties to Ethiopia and the West leaves the country vulnerable to destabilization by groups interested in destroying those relationships. "It would not surprise me at all if we find out there was some linkage with the Shabab or with Eritrea in this mess. "If I was an opponent of the United States, one of the things I would be thinking is how to use Djibouti's internal divisions to destabilize it and to make it less of a secure toe-hold for the United States and France in the region."

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Puntland upholds it promise to prevent the TFG's new currency from circulating there

Garowe Online: New Somali currency nabbed at Galkayo airport

Officials at Galkayo airport, in Puntland-administered central Mudug region have nabbed individuals carrying the new Somali currency, which was prohibited in the region, Radio Garowe reports.

Reports said the individuals were given the money by Somali government in Mogadishu as a payment for debt owed to the former administration of President Abdullahi Yussuf Ahmed.

However, an official from Puntland’s Finance ministry said the transitional federal government under the leadership of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is trying to disburse the currency, which was already rejected by Puntland.

“It was not payment for the people, who owe the former Somali administration but rather a test to try and see if the new shilling will penetrate Puntland,” said the official.

Puntland, government has stated that it would not allow the circulation or the usage of the currency in the areas under its control.

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Reuters: E.Africa defence heads want Somalia troop ban lifted

A meeting of East African defence chiefs has recommended that a U.N. ban on Somalia's neighbours sending peacekeeping troops to the anarchic country should be lifted, a report obtained by Reuters showed.

More than 6,000 hard-pressed African Union troops are guarding Somalia's fragile government in Mogadishu, but a U.N. resolution does not allow the country's neighbours -- Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti -- to contribute forces to beef up the mission.

"The meeting therefore recommends the following to the council: ... seek to lift UN resolution 1725 that limits neighbouring states from deploying in Somalia," said the report on the meeting of chiefs of defence staff in Nairobi last week.

Djibouti planned to send 450 soldiers to Somalia in January to boost the AU's AMISOM peace mission, but the resolution ties the hands of the small Red Sea country.

...

A senior Somali official told Reuters their delegation did not endorse the document signed by seven defence chiefs from eastern Africa because the Somalis were concerned that unilateral intervention by neighbouring states could trigger further unrest in Somalia.

"We refused to sign the document in our country's interest and our people have a very sensitive attitude towards foreign intervention, especially from Kenya and Ethiopia, which have closed their borders with Somalia," the official, who wanted to remain unnamed, said.

"We can't allow such a deal at the moment, but if the troops come under a United Nations or African Union mandate, we can agree to that."

...

The defence chiefs' report is also seeking an expansion of the AU mission's mandate, and recommends a 22,500-strong force to stabilise Somalia.

The member states of the defence body are Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Seychelles, Comoros, Uganda, Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda and Somalia. According the Somali official, Seychelles and Comoros were not represented at the conference.

Paving the way for EASBRIG, which is supposed to be up getting its feet wet later this year?

Somalia thread for the week ending June 20

Inner City Press has been covering the attempts to downplay the TFG's use of child soldiers from the United Nations this week:

On Child Soldiers Supported by UN in Somalia, UNSC Will Respond After 3 Years

Days after the UN-supported Somali Transitional Federal Government's use of child soldiers was widely exposed, the UN Security Council's lack of seriousness on the issue was on display on Wednesday. Mexican foreign minister Patricia Espinosa presided over a day-long series of speeches about children and armed conflict. At noon, Inner City Press asked her what she and the Council would do about their support of the TFG, which uses children as young as nine and 12 to wield AK-47s in Mogadishu.

This has not been raised to the Security Council, Secretary Espinosa replied, not even to the Working Group.

But minutes later, when Inner City Press asked the UN's envoy on the issue Radhika Coomaraswamy how the TFG's use of child soldiers could have been missed, she protected [sic] that the Council had in fact been told of the TFG's recruitment in three straight years' reports.

Later, at the end of the Council's debate after 7 p.m., a Mexican mission official confirmed that yes, the Somali TFG has been formally listed for the past three years. The most senior Mexican mission official shrugged that the minister had been mis-informed. But why?

The expose of the TFG's use of child soldiers was on the front page of the New York Times days before the UN's day long "debate." The representative of a Permanent Five member of the Council told Inner City Press that the NYT story had triggered inquiries to the capital(s), and statements ready for the press. How could the month's Council presidency, with children and armed conflict as their chosen thematic issue, be so unprepared?

Inner City Press asked Secretary Espinosa if this didn't show that the Council is too bound in bureaucracy to deal with egregious behavior in the peacekeeping or political missions it creates, from Somalia to the Congo to Haiti. These are the mechanisms, she replied. Indeed.

Ms. Johnson said that UN Envoy to Somalia Ould Abdallah had been told, UNDP had been told. Why did Ould Abdallah say or do nothing? Why did UNDP keep training? Watch this site.

From the remarks made Wednesday by Ambassador Susan E. Rice

The United States fully and firmly embraces our responsibility to protect children and we will not rest until the last abuse is halted and the last child soldier is released.

...

We urge that all information on violations identified by the monitoring and reporting mechanism be thoroughly verified to ensure a high degree of accuracy.

...

The United States is particularly concerned about the situation in Somalia. Active recruitment of child soldiers has placed several thousand children in the line of fire. We strongly condemn the use of child soldiers by any group and we call upon parties to the conflict in Somalia to immediately cease child recruitment and release those who remain within their ranks.

...

The United States will remain fully and deeply dedicated to preventing violations and abuses committed against children in armed conflict. We will continue to strongly support the efforts of the United Nations and our many NGO partners. We look forward to continuing to work closely with our fellow Security Council members on this vital issue.

As Inner City Press's Matthew Russell Lee pointed out, following Rice's remarks,

US Amb. Susan Rice briefly mentions Somalia, calling on "all parties" to stop recruiting child soldiers. What about the "party" the US is funding, the TFG? Not enough specifics. She also mentions DRCongo, the Lord's Resistance Army and the Central African Republic. Answers on Somalia, and on US safeguards, are needed.

Don't expect much from those "open debates" at the UNSC, or followthru to back up Rice's rhetoric about not resting until the last abuse is halted...

From the TFG's propaganda ministry, Somali President Instructs the Army Chief to Investigate Child Soldier Recruitment Allegations

The President stated that, contrary to the New York Times assertions, the Somali government has not and will not knowingly recruit under-aged youth for the national security forces, because, the President said, “the country is already teeming with thousands of able-bodied men that the government is working hard to demobilize”

Furthermore, President Ahmed reiterated that the Somali Government “is fully committed to upholding existing laws and provisions banning the recruitment of child soldiers.”

However, as a charge of such magnitude warrants a thorough scrutiny, the President ordered the army chief “to conduct a full review and to report back to him in four weeks. The President also instructed the army to demobilize any under-age recruits without delay.”

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Shabelle Media: Ahlu Sunna accuses Somali government for not implementing deal

the consultation council of the Islamist clerics of Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a has Thursday accused the transitional government of Somalia for not implementing the deal between the two sides signed in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Sheik Omar Abdukadir, the chairman of the consulting council of the Islamist clerics of Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a had held press conference in Galgudud region in central Somalia and talked more on the agreement between the Somali government and Ahlu Sunna that had been signed earlier condemning the government led by Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed for violating the decision of the agreement signed in Ethiopian and Somalia.

...

Lastly Sheik Omar said that they would held meeting for the coming days and would discuss more what decision they would take if the government did not react on the agreement between the two sides.

-- -- --

allvoices.com: Ethiopian skilled Somali troops unite with rival islamists

Unnamed sources have told allvoices.com that a number of Somali government soldiers who were in the Dolwo district have defected from the Somali government soldiers and joined Al-Shabab a rival Islamist function in Somalia.

“These Somali government soldiers have just recently accomplished their training in Ethiopia, and they have decided to join the right path of fighting against the so called African Union troops who have invaded in our soil and as well as that of the apostate so called Somali government led by a former Islamist leader who has know converted to be a westernized leader who is working on the interest of the western countries” said Sheikh Ahmed Ali Al-Shabab officer at Bula-Hawo district in Gedo region.

The Al-Shabab officer added that they are ready to amiably receive if all the Somali government soldiers surrender to them.

“This is not the first time the soldiers of the apostate government have freely joined us there were also several other occasions, and we have affectionately received them, and now they are the brightest fighters among our fighters” added the Al-Shabab officer.

A spokesman for the Ethiopian trained government soldiers who defected from the Somali military, delivered a speech to the inhabitants of Bula-Hawo district in the center of the district.

“In the first place when we have enrolled ourselves to the Somali government soldiers we never really mean to be part of them, but we merely had the ambition of observing the way the Ethiopians train, and now were are fully trained to fight against the Ethiopian troops and their entire ally, I am advising those so called government soldiers to do as we have done” said Hassan the spokesman of the defected soldiers.

Hassan has also added that they have been in the military training course for a period of seven months.

-- -- --

Human Rights Watch: Kenya: Police Abuse Somali Refugees

Kenyan police at the Somali border and in nearby refugee camps are abusing asylum seekers and refugees fleeing war-torn Somalia, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Kenya should immediately rein in its abusive police, and the UN refugee agency should step up its monitoring of the situation and press for an end to the abuses, Human Rights Watch said.

Based on interviews with over 100 refugees, the 99-page report, "‘Welcome to Kenya': Police Abuse of Somali Refugees," documents widespread police extortion of asylum seekers trying to reach three camps near the Kenyan town of Dadaab, the world's largest refugee settlement. Police use violence, arbitrary arrest, unlawful detention in inhuman and degrading conditions, threats of deportation, and wrongful prosecution for "unlawful presence" to extort money from the new arrivals - men, women, and children alike. In some cases, police also rape women. In early 2010 alone, hundreds, and possibly thousands, of Somalis unable to pay extortion demands were sent back to Somalia, in flagrant violation of Kenyan and international law.

...

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Let's not even go there...

NYT: Somalia: U.S. Military Aid Denounced

A second United States senator complained Thursday about American military assistance to Somalia’s government, which the United Nations considers one of the most flagrant users of child soldiers in the world. Senator Russ Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, said in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that the American government should press the Somali military to halt any use of child soldiers and “until we have that confirmation, I believe it is inappropriate to continue providing the T.F.G. with security assistance.” American officials said they have urged the Somali military not to recruit children but that with few American personnel in Somalia, it is impossible to guarantee this does not happen.

-- -- --

Wecast for the House Subcommittee on Africa's Wednesday hearing, Horn of Africa: Current Conditions and U.S. Policy. PDF copies of the prepared remarks are available here under the June 17, 2010 hearing.

From insider-expert Menkhaus' prepared statement:

One of the main reasons US policy on Somalia has not shifted much over the past year is because the country presents us with such poor options. We have been left supporting the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Somalia not because it had great promise but because it was the best of bad options. Many of us embraced this logic despite the TFG’s deep flaws and poor early performance, in the hopes that the “Djibouti process” of dialogue and inclusion since 2008 would earn the TFG more legitimacy and effectiveness and help Somalia end its twenty year crisis of state collapse.

My contention all along has been that the creation & support for this incarnation of the TFG was viewed more importantly as a counterrevolutionary tactic, designed to split open the alliances of the ICU and neutralize any further revolutionary momentum inside Somalia, for which it's hard to argue that it hasn't been successful, than any last best hope to legitimize & sustain a transitional government to help Somalis stabilize their country.

But the TFG is now clearly just a bad option, and its failures very costly to Somalis, the region, and the world. Unconditional support of the TFG has served as a poor substitute for a coherent strategy toward the broader Somali crisis, and has reinforced and rewarded the exceptionally bad performance of TFG leaders. Continued external efforts to breathe life into the moribund TFG have also had the unintended but very real effect of prolonging political conditions within which a radical Islamist insurgency has thrived. Past US and UN policy of unconditional support to the TFG has thus actively undermined our own long-term security interests.

The cornerstone of our strategy in Somalia has been strengthening of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). Instead of serving as a cornerstone, it has been the weak link.

Too bad he doesn't elaborate on what either "our own long-term security interests" or "our strategy in Somalia" are. Our? He's certainly not an impartial & objective witness, now, is he...

No. Menkhaus believes that "a major policy shift by the US and its allies ... is the only option which allows the US to shape rather than simply react to events in the country."

Shape? As in 'to influence'? Or 'to determine'?

If you agree with the Menkhaus narrative, then

We face poor choices and high risks in Somalia no matter what we do. We also consider policy options in Somalia humbled by the fact that almost every foreign policy initiative in Somalia over the past twenty years has produced the exact opposite result than what was intended.

Really? What if the policies are, more often than not, actually producing specific intended results and, instead, it's the interpretation/understanding/analyses of certain experts that need to be adjusted?

Here's an example, taken from Menkhaus' recommendations, in which one can almost catch of whiff of previous recommendations that led to policies precipitating the rise of the ICU in the first place, when the U.S. financially and materially backed a number of warlords.

But the TFG should no longer enjoy a monopoly on external support.

...

The US and other donor states should actively pursue a policy of diversification in Somalia, working pragmatically with whatever local authorities they identify on the ground who are relatively legitimate, powerful, and accountable to their communities. In some cases this means expanding support to existing regional polities. But this must not be reduced to a search to find and shore up regional states; that approach is very likely to produce war, not peace, in much of southern Somalia. Instead, the international community must be open to engaging whatever authorities they find.

And what to make of these recommendations regarding H.S.M.?

we must exploit the fact that shabaab is composed of very disparate groups with varying levels of commitment to the cause.

Who is "we"? Is this something personal for Menkhaus, maybe on account of comrades who were killed in Somalia as collaborators?

This opportunity to "exploit" the divisions in H.S.M. - doesn't sound too far off from a view that would have seen an opportunity in the creation of Sh. Sharif's TFG in order to permanently split the divisions in the ARS.

And what is "the cause" that Menkhaus has in mind here? International Jihad? Or, more realistically, protecting the rights of Somalis, first and foremost, against an unpopular & unwanted imposition of secular, foreign-backed rule?

the US should be prepared to use every carrot and stick at its disposal to encourage Somali interests to go after shabaab rather than to attack the group directly. Shabaab ultimately needs to be solved by Somalis.

...

Many, perhaps most of the group can and must be weaned away from the movement as part of an enduring solution in Somalia. It cannot be defeated under current circumstances, but if weakened by defections the hard core remnant of the group can be contained if not defeated outright. But defections will only occur when a viable alternative emerges in Somalia, and if the US government is flexible and pragmatic enough to engage parts of shabaab in quiet dialogue.

Something along the lines of what Ranneberger et al did with Sh. Sharif four years ago?
-- -- --

New Vision is reporting Hillary Rodham Clinton here this week

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected in the country this week for high-level talks with Government officials, according to highly placed sources.

The exact day of her visit is not yet clear though, according to government sources, issues on the agenda include the 2011 general election, Uganda’s relations with Iran and the controversial Anti-homosexuality Bill.

The article focuses on US efforts in shoring up Museveni's upcoming reelection, noting Johnnie Carson's visit last month as well, but you certainly have to wonder how the visit fits it Joe Biden's business in Nairobi recently, as New Vision had reported last Monday that

US vice-president Joe Biden last week held talks with Uganda’s defence minister, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, about bringing peace to Somalia in Nairobi, Kenya.

Also at the meeting were the special representative of the African Union (AU) chairperson, Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra, the UN special representative of the secretary general for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, and the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISON) force commander, Nathan Mugisha.

Mugisha discussed the challenges facing AMISOM and the need for greater political inclusivity and stability in the Somalia transitional federal government.

Biden commended AMISOM for their peacekeeping efforts and discussed steps to bolster their capacity.

-- -- --

Inner City Press has one more report this week on UN efforts to downplay the TFG's use of child soldiers:

When outgoing UN envoy on Somalia Ahmedou Ould Abdallah spoke with the Security Council on June 18, many expected that that recent expose that twenty percent of the Transitional Federal Government's armed forces are children would be raised. Why had Ould Abdallah not seen this war crime, why had he said nothing about it?

But in fact, it was the Security Council members who said nothing. A well placed Council diplomat, after the closed door consultations with Ould Abdallah, told Inner City Press than no Council member had raised the issue.

Inner City Press stopped Ould Abdallah as he left the chamber and headed up the stairs. What about the child soldiers?

"I'm not convinced," Ould Abdallah replied. He said that such reports "only weaken the government."

But did you see the video that accompanied the story?

"I saw only one" child soldier", Ould Abdallah said. In denial to the end, one wag muttered afterward.

Ould Abdallah remains in the post until the end of the month, when he will be replaced by current Tanzanian Ambassador to the UN Augustine Mahiga. A diplomat who has attended numerous closed consultations with Ould Abdallah told Inner City Press his behavior had grown more and more erratic. Even his supporters say he perhaps hung on too long.

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Garowe Online: Aweys defends decision to abandon central town

The Islamist leader of Somalia’s Hizbul Islam Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said his group took the decision to pull out of central town of Beledweyne, the administrative capital of Hiiran region, to avoid fight with rival group Al-Shabaab insurgent.

The things that forced us to peacefully vacate Hiiraan region were to avoid clash with Al-Shabaab and also avert possible shedding of innocent blood,” he said while admitting for the first defection of some officials from his group who joined Al-Shabaab.

The elderly cleric warned Al-Shabaab of anything that would put them in jeopardy, adding that they could only unite with the group through talks.

“Al-Shabaab wants more than they deserve, we warned them against that because it is not good for the brothers,” he noted.

His remarks come as Hizbul Islam officials from central Shabelle region announce their decision to join Al-Shabaab. They are joining dozens of their colleagues who renounced their allegiance to Aweys’s group.

SMC: Hizbul-Islam vanishing into Al-Shabab

The warriors of Hizbul-Islam one of the adversary Islamist functions in Somalia are in their hundreds joining Al-Shabab another Islamist function in Somalia, which is also extra superior than Hizbul-Islam according the areas which each group is controlling and in terms of fighters as well.

...

Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim the commandant of Hizbul-Islam in the locations of Yaqbariweyne, Hakaba, Kanbahirig, Gobanle and some other villages which all come under the above mentioned locations has verified for the press that they have joined Al-Shabab.

“We warmly want to inform the press that from today henceforth we have joined Al-Shabab and by joining Al-Shabab is not something disgracing there were several leaders of Hizbul-Islam who have previously joined Al-Shabab and to mention one of them is Sheikh Hassan Turki the founder of the Islamists groups in Somalia, and the reason we have joined Al-Shabab is that we have seen that Hizbul-Islam is not as active as Al-Shabab, but they are instead passive” said Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim the former commandant of Hizbul-Islam in some parts of the lower shabelle region in southern Somalia.

The commandant Sheikh Mohammed Ibrahim has as well added that they are very proud of amalgamating their strength to Al-Shabab, and has urged the remaining Hizbul-Islam fighters who in a few location in some of the regions in the country to follow their concept.

Garowe Online: Hizbul Islam in 'talks' with Somali TFG

A Somali minister claims his government is engaged in reconciliation talks with Somalia’s second militant group, Hizbul Islam.

Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister, who is also Deputy Prime Minister Abdirahman Hajji Aden Ibbi said the negotiations with the group, led by Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, have been going on for the past few weeks.

“The talks are progressing well and we are very hopeful that we will reach agreement with Hizbul Islam because this group has no ties with Al Qaeda,” Aden Ibbi told reporters in Mogadishu.

“Hizbul Islam promised us that it would hand over the control of their areas before The 50th anniversary of Somalia’s independence, we hope that the Somali flag will be raised in those areas, because this group is not against the sovereignty of our country,” he added.

It is not clear who is pushing for the talks from the government side or representing the militant group in the talks, as no word from Aweys, who has recently loss his officials to Al-Shabaab, leaving him with empty shell. Other reports also suggest that members from Hizbul Islam group have walked out of the negotiation table for unclear reasons.

APA quotes a slightly different translation of Aden Ibbi:

“The talks are on going smoothly and we are very hopeful that Hezbal Islam which has no ties to Al Qaeda will totally change its policies and will join the Somali government,” Aden Ibbi said.

“The 50th anniversary of Somalia’s independence is approaching and before it comes we hope that the Somali flag will be raised in areas under the control of Hezbal Islam. This means that they are not against the country’s independence and sovereignty,” he added.

-- -- --

Garowe Online: Furious Soldiers storm Villa Somalia

Armed soldiers stormed Somalia’s presidential palace in a protest against non-payment, a lawmaker said.

Saleban Mohammed, who was among more than 20 other parliamentarians barred from getting out of the palace, said the incident happened Saturday evening after the soldiers barricaded the palace, holding all inside, including President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh hostage.

“They were so furious, they barricaded the front gate of the palace and also the offices. None of them spoke, they even refused us to get out,” he said.

Reports said that the angry soldiers were at some point involved in an exchange of gunfire with African Union troops who guard the palace. Two soldiers were injured in the incident.

It took the intervention of the President, who was advised by the lawmakers, to calm the soldiers, promising them to be paid their salaries.

Somalia thread for the week ending June 13

Setting up a pretext

AP: Kenya asks US to lead int'l effort in Somalia

Kenya's president has asked the U.S. to lead a greater international effort to stabilize neighboring Somalia, a country that has been without an effective government for 19 years.

Kenya's leader was speaking at a Tuesday news conference with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

Having the regional leaders publicly ask the US to intervene in Somalia (as if that hasn't been the case all along) provides talking points for justifying the more aggressive US military plans for Somalia getting press recently.

However, Kenya, and Somalia's neighbors do have their own interests as well,

From an article in the Daily Nation on Sunday, What Kenya wants from Obama’s man

On the Somalia issue, Nairobi would like Washington to add Mogadishu to its list of priorities in the region and to stop paying lip service to the risk that the “reservoir of terrorism” that Somalia has become presents.

Officials here now see al-Shabaab, the most powerful Islamic Somali militant group, as an immediate security threat, not because of its capacity on the battlefront, but because of it’s influence on moderate Muslim populations throughout the Eastern coast of Africa.

Officials are watching with puzzled anxiety the efforts of world powers, the European Union, the US, the United Kingdom and others, ineffectually try to deal with piracy, which is slowly squeezing regional economies.

Some 150 warships from navies across the world are patrolling the seas off Somalia. However, piracy has increased despite their presence.

World powers are not dealing with the problem and are content to try and attack the symptoms, Nairobi feels.

“Once there is an effective government in Somalia, the problem of piracy is solved,” an official told the Daily Nation.

In addition to piracy and terrorism, Kenya is dealing with other consequences of state failure in Somalia. Arms pouring across the border, more than a million legal and illegal immigrants, and rising social tensions, a natural consequence of rapid migration.

“The US and the UK hold the key in Somalia,” the official told the Nation.

Asked what kind of US intervention Nairobi would like to see, the official said only the UN system has the capacity to rebuild war-ravaged country. And the UN will not move without prompting from influential members of the Security Council.

“Somalia is more strategic than Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Darfur,” the official said, referring to the countries where international intervention has been strong.

Nairobi would like the African Union force in Somalia expanded into a full-fledged UN peace keeping operation, providing cover for the reconstruction of the country.

Although officials were adamant that there would be no need for US or Kenyan boots on Somali soil, they also lamented a lack of US enthusiasm for proposals to stabilise the Somali regions bordering Kenya.

Some self-governing regions of Somalia, such as Puntland and Somaliland, are stable and relatively secure and Nairobi would have liked international support in encouraging the sprouting of stable, self-governing regions along its border to act as a buffer zone.

The US is reportedly wary of such an approach, believing it could have “unintended consequences”, meaning that it is worried that it could provoke terrorist attacks against its interests in the region by groups such as al-Shabaab.

But some in Nairobi are hoping that Mr Biden, a foreign policy expert, will be curious about Somalia and possibly lend his support in finding a solution for it.

An editorial in the Daily Nation, timed w/ Biden's visit, lays it out more bluntly:
America can’t ignore Somalia any longer

Its terror breeding grounds will only be wiped out by a strong and functioning government. Piracy continues to flourish, defying 150 warships deployed by the world’s mightiest armies. Piracy will cease when there is law and order inside the Horn of Africa country.

Somalia is a job for the United Nations, the body with the expertise to reconstruct failed states. But it won’t lift a finger without the Security Council’s keen interest.

Countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Burundi would dearly love to have Somalia stabilised in their own interests. But they have neither the resources, expertise nor world influence to get the job done. Which is where America comes in.

The US cannot rely on a group of broke African countries to secure its interests in the region and, to some extent, its homeland. It’s influence is required to drain the so-called Somalia reservoir of terrorism.

African countries are willing to be part of the Somalia solution. Organisations such as Igad and the African Union have played a vital role in regional peace and they are capable of doing a lot more. But they need the support of the international community.

The peace agreement, which led to the formation of the Transitional Federal Government, was guaranteed by the US and the UN. It provides a good basis for a wider peace-keeping operation.

America and the UN need to stop making excuses and do their bit.

And speaking of timing,

Mareeg Online: Parliament speaker flies to Nairobi

High delegation led by the newly elected speaker of the transitional parliament Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden has flown to the Kenyan capital Nairobi where they would reportedly attend meeting with the international community for the coming hours, officials said on Monday.

Sharif Hassan, a former finance minister of the transitional government of Mr. Sharma’arke, but resigned and achieved to be the speaker of the Somali parliament.

Sources said that the speaker was accompanied with about 20 lawmakers and departed from Aden Adde International Airport in the Somali capital Mogadishu hours ago adding that the main aim of the delegation was to meet with some the international community in the neighboring Kenya.

Dar es Salaam Daily News Online: Tanzanian Minister Says Kenya to Hold Special Conference on Somali Crisis

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Mr Bernard Membe said in Dar es Salaam today that the special meeting would be convened in Nairobi, Kenya, in August to discuss the way forward in the Somali crisis.

...

“The situation in Somali has deteriorated to an extent that the Transitional Federal Government President, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed is carrying out his duties from Nairobi,” Mr Membe said.

-- -- --

Senator Feingold is still hoping that those runnning US policy in Somalia will listen to him

Under the previous administration, our approach toward Somalia lacked coherence and was short-sighted. This discord gave rise to conflicting agendas that undermined each other and our credibility. Without clear policy guidance, the current administration’s efforts– however well intentioned – may fall into the same trap. There is great risk that by focusing too narrowly on tactical decisions we will continue to operate without a larger strategy.

Now, Mr. President, I understand in the early months of the administration there was an interagency effort to review our policy toward Somalia and the Horn of Africa. However, it is also my understanding that no overarching policy was established. Now is the time to renew such an effort and as part of this initiative, we need some way to measure whether we are making progress. The administration has rightly pressed the TFG to broaden its appeal and strength, but we have seen no major improvement on that front. With the exception of its agreement with Ahlu Sunna wal Jama, the TFG has done little to expand its reach and undercut its opposition. The TFG has not become more inclusive and it has not projected an attractive political vision to counter that of armed opposition groups. As a result, it is not becoming more legitimate in the eyes of Somalis.

Going forward, we need clear guidance on what we expect to achieve with our support for the TFG, the Djibouti Process, and our efforts to weaken al Shebaab and provide humanitarian assistance. Without such a coordinated and measurable approach, we run the risk of continuing to fund the same initiatives with little progress made. Such an assessment is important not only so that American taxpayers know their money is being well spent, but also so we know our safety and security are being enhanced.

There are some thoughtful observers who believe that the best option for the United States might be to just disengage altogether and let this crisis play out. The stakes, Mr. President, are too high to do that. However, these observers are right that a continuation of the status quo will only further entrench the crisis. The current efforts by the United States and the international community are insufficient to change the fundamental dynamics of the situation. We need to go back to the drawing board and develop a strategy with measurable goals and a clear plan of how we will reach them.

...

In thinking about how we fit counterterrorism concerns into a broader strategy, we must be practical. Mr. President, tactical operations against individuals and networks may be justified in some cases, especially if the targets have clear ties to al Qaeda and pose a direct threat to the United States. But we need to think hard about the strategic implications and potential risks of these operations because at the same time we need to reach out to, work with and support all Somalis who seek a more stable and secure country. The perception that the United States is only interested in tactical counter-terrorism operations in Somalia has generated suspicion among Somalis and fueled anti-Americanism. Not taking that into account when planning or authorizing any tactical operations is counter-productive.

-- -- --

Spreading it on nice & thick

WaPo: Pakistanis, Arabs and others teaching al-Qaeda ideas, tactics

Foreign fighters trained in Afghanistan are gaining influence inside Somalia's al-Shabab militia, fueling a radical Islamist insurgency with ties to Osama bin Laden, according to Somali intelligence officials, former al-Shabab fighters and analysts.

The foreigners, who include Pakistanis and Arabs, are inspiring the Somali militants to import al-Qaeda's ideology and brutal tactics from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. A significant number of Americans are also being drawn to the Somali conflict.

...

"The foreign jihadists were once in the shadows," said Rashid Abdi, a Somalia analyst in Nairobi with the International Crisis Group, a conflict research organization. "Now, there is no doubt they have taken control of the movement."

...

In February, al-Shabab formally declared ties to al-Qaeda. The militia has received praise from bin Laden and radical Yemeni American cleric Anwar al-Aulaqi, who has been linked to the suspect in last year's shootings at Fort Hood, Tex., and the suspect in an attempted attack aboard a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. Aulaqi has been cited as inspiration by the Pakistani American held in last month's attempted bombing in Times Square.

Al-Shabab's main rival, Hezb-i-Islam, also has proclaimed bin Laden welcome. "We are both fighting the Christian invaders in Somalia," said Mohamed Osman Aruz, a spokesman for the group, referring to the West and to Somalia's mostly Christian neighbors who back the government.

The rise of the foreign fighters suggests a growing internationalization of the conflict, part of a trend emerging from Yemen to Mali, where al-Qaeda's regional affiliates are showing increasing ambitions nearly a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

...

In the capital, al-Qaeda-inspired tactics have altered the landscape. Hotels are tucked behind steel gates. Peacekeepers use high-tech gadgets to frisk visitors for explosive belts. Ordinary Somalis avoid empty, parked cars.

The foreign fighters in Somalia number 300 to 1,200, according to Somali and U.S. intelligence estimates. Most are from neighboring countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Yemen and Sudan. But they include Afghans, Pakistanis and Arabs, say former al-Shabab fighters. At least 20 Somali Americans have joined the militia, including a top field commander, Omar Hammami, an Alabama native whose nom de guerre is Abu Mansoor al-Ameriki. He has starred in propaganda videos to attract more foreign fighters.

"The foreign fighters are brainwashing our people," Mohammed Sheik Hassan, the head of Somalia's National Security Agency, said in a recent interview in Mogadishu. "They want one Islamic nation under the leadership of bin Laden. But the ambition of Somalis is only to gain power locally."

...

"There's a parallel, converging interest between the al-Qaeda operatives in East Africa and al-Shabab," said a U.S. intelligence official. "There certainly is collusion, cooperation, probably training and some operational level of support."

...

Foreigners in Somalia are the main link to al-Qaeda's central body, said Somali officials and former al-Shabab fighters. They train new recruits, both in weapons and ideology. Somalis who waged jihad in Afghanistan with bin Laden now lead the al-Shabab militia, which is loosely knit of at least 100 clan-based cells.

...

Sheik Mohammed Asad Abdullahi, a former top al-Shabab commander who defected in November, said that bin Laden never gave direct orders but that al-Shabab commanders regularly consulted with al-Qaeda's central body. Literature and CDs on al-Qaeda tactics and ideology were regularly handed out to the rank and file, he said.

"I believed I was part of al-Qaeda," Abdullahi said.

He defected because he could no longer bear the suicide missions, which he described as orchestrated by the foreigners.

"If they conquer Somalia, they will not be satisfied," he said. "They will cross the borders."

-- -- --

From the Obama administrations May 2010 National Security Strategy,

The United States is waging a global campaign against al-Qa’ida and its terrorist affiliates. To disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qa’ida and its affiliates, we are pursuing a strategy that protects our homeland, secures the world’s most dangerous weapons and material, denies al-Qa’ida safe haven, and builds positive partnerships with Muslim communities around the world. Success requires a broad, sustained, and integrated campaign that judiciously applies every tool of American power—both military and civilian—as well as the concerted efforts of like-minded states and multilateral institutions.

We will always seek to delegitimize the use of terrorism and to isolate those who carry it out. Yet this is not a global war against a tactic—terrorism or a religion—Islam. We are at war with a specific network, al-Qa’ida, and its terrorist affiliates who support efforts to attack the United States, our allies, and partners.

...

Al-Qa’ida and its allies must not be permitted to gain or retain any capacity to plan and launch international terrorist attacks, especially against the U.S. homeland. Al Qa’ida’s core in Pakistan remains the most dangerous component of the larger network, but we also face a growing threat from the group’s allies worldwide. We must deny these groups the ability to conduct operational plotting from any locale, or to recruit, train, and position operatives, including those from Europe and North America.

...

Wherever al-Qa’ida or its terrorist affiliates attempt to establish a safe haven—as they have in Yemen, Somalia, the Maghreb, and the Sahel—we will meet them with growing pressure. We also will strengthen our own network of partners to disable al-Qa’ida’s financial, human, and planning networks; disrupt terrorist operations before they mature; and address potential safe-havens before al-Qa’ida and its terrorist affiliates can take root.

AFRICOM's 2009 Posture Statement listed its number one theater strategic objective as "Defeat the Al-Qaeda terrorist organizations and its associated networks." The 2010 Posture Statement avoids making itemized lists but notes that

In East Africa, U.S. Africa Command's CJTF-HOA conducts operations to counter violent extremists throughout the region to protect U.S. and coalition interests. In cooperation with other USG departments and agencies, CJTF-HOA focuses its operations on building regional security capacity to combat terrorism, deny safe havens, and reduce support to violent extremist organizations. It accomplishes these objectives through the use of Civil Affairs Teams, Seabee construction teams, military advisors, and by importing security courses of instruction.

U.S. Africa Command has focused the majority of its CT capacity building activities in East Africa on Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Uganda, which-aside from Somalia-are the countries directly threatened by terrorists. For example, in Kenya, the Command is assisting in establishing a Ranger Strike Force and a Special Boat Unit, which will become the country's primary CT and border security forces. SOCAFRICA completed training two companies of the Kenyan Ranger Strike Force, and our Special Operations Forces (SOF) maritime efforts have created a nascent Kenyan Special Boat Unit capability to enhance Kenyan maritime security. When completed, Kenya will have a significantly improved capacity to counter the terrorist threat emanating from Somalia.

-- -- --

From Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad's series for the Guardian from inside Mogadishu, In the market for war

Farah, a former commander in the Islamic courts union, is now a respected arms dealer in the Huwaika market in Mogadishu.

...

"The Ethiopians are arming the Sufi militias; the Europeans and US are arming the government; the Eritreans are arming the Hizb; and the government officers sell us their weapons, and we sell it to al-Shabab."

...

The steady supply of arms means there is no victor and no vanquished – and probably never will be. Each time one side is about to lose the battle, a neighbouring country or other foreign power provides them with enough weapons to keep fighting, ensuring there is no end in sight.

"Ethiopia is the biggest supplier to anyone who wants to fight al-Shabab. Anyone who forms a front to fight the Shabab gets weapons from Ethiopia."

"Ahlu Sunna (the Sufis) in the middle regions go to Ethiopia for weapons, Eritrea was a big supplier for the Islamic courts during the Ethiopian invasion but they stopped, now they send little shipments to the Hizb. From Yemen, merchants bring small ammunitions of weapons, some pistols, nothing more.

"The Shebab they buy it from the market," he says rubbing his thumb and index finger together. The big military officers, they sell their ammunitions and guns in bulk, but the small soldiers can't sell their weapons unless they are not going back to barracks."

"When the people are poor, when the soldier's wife says they have no food … they come to me and sell their weapons."

-- -- --

Jumping ship or precipitating the PM's fall?

Indha Adde Resigns

The state minister for defense of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia Sheikh Yusuf Mohamed Siad Indha Adde has resigned from his post on Tuesday.

Mr. Indha Adde said he submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke on Saturday.

“I decided to resign and submitted my resignation letter to the Prime Minister on Saturday,” said Indha Adde.

He declined to comment on the motive behind his resignation, but he said that he would explain soon.

Indho Adde accused his boss Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke of incompetence and also aiding some of the rebels before.

SMC quotes White-eyed saying,

“I have converted myself to the Somali transitional government thinking that it is mandatory upon every Somali person with wit brain to partake the re-building of the country, but since I have joined myself into the government there is no tangible development, so thus if I cannot get support from the Prime Minister why should I waste my energy in the frontlines of the battle against the Al-Shababs and Hizbul-Islam the two rival Islamist faction of course which I was once among them and their leader too” said the resigned defence Minister Indhade.

Reuters adds

Sheikh Yusuf Mohammad Siad said the status quo could not continue because the government had failed to deliver on its promises.

"Everyone has to evaluate himself before others judge his failure, and that is what I did before resigning. I realised that my government cannot do its job," he told Reuters.

"We cannot achieve security, therefore, there is no need to stay in office."

Could be an orchestrated effort, as the article continues,

Higher Education Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Omaar and the state minister for the Presidency Hassan Moalim Mohamud also resigned.

...

Analysts say the resignations threaten the existence of an already weak government that controls little more than a few blocks of the capital.

"These are heavyweight ministers, and their resignation will mount pressure on the prime minister, possibly forcing him to resign or lose confidence in the parliament," Afyare Abdi Elmi, a Somali political science professor at Qatar University, told Reuters.

Mareeg Online reported the same

The motive behind the resignation of the ministers is not known, but sources say there is rift between the president and the Prime Minster and the resigned ministers who are very close to the president meant their resignation of pressuring the Prime Minister to step down.

Add one more on Wednesday

Somali International contact minister resigns

Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, the minister of the international contact of the transitional government of Somalia has held press conference in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and announced his resignation on Wednesday.

Three ministers of the Somali Prime Minister’s government had resigned on Tuesday and accused the government for not working the development of the TFG and more other things.

Mr. Abdirahman had joined the other ministers ... saying that Mr. Sharma’arke’ government failed to start a crack down for what the people were waiting from the government...

...

Mr. Abdishakur had joined the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) from the Alliance of the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) based in Djibouti and is the fourth minister that leaves the office in two days.

-- -- --

Mareeg Online is reporting that H.S.M.'s Robow was injured in combat last week

Sheikh Mukhtar Robow Ali Abu Mansoor, former spokesman of al Shabaab and the current deputy leader of the group has been reportedly wounded in Mogadishu, sources said on Tuesday.

The sources say Sheikh Mukhtar was injured in the fighting which occurred in the capital Mogadishu on Thursday.

He was wounded in the backbone at a time he was in Karan district in north Mogadishu on Thursday where a fierce fighting between government soldiers backed African Union Troops took place.

-- -- --

Somaaljecel: Moderate Islamic Group readies major offensive against Al-Shabaab

Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama'a spokesman Shaykh Abdullahi Abdirahman (Abu Yusuf al-Qadi) has said that they have finalized troop mobilization they have been conducting lately. He said they would launch a major offensive, first targeting Ceelbuur town, which, he claimed, Al-Shabaab Mujahidin Movement had been using as a springboard to attack central regions.

...

The remarks of the Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama'a spokesman came as [telephone] communications were cut off to a number of towns in central regions on the orders of Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama'a leaders. Reports say that the communications were cut off to prevent planes carrying arms that landed in Gaalkacyo town from being seen. The group restored communications three days later, though.

Some reports say that planes delivering Ethiopian arms to Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama'a arrived in Dhuusa Mareeb town, and the unloading of the weapons has been going on for the last two days.

SMC: Planes weighted down with Military equipments in central Somalia

Verified reports which Somaliweyn website has on Tuesday received from Dhusamareb town the headquarters of Galgadud region in central Somalia says that 3 planes laden with military equipments have landed at Galgadud airstrip on Monday.

...

The officials of Ahlu-Suunah Waljama have not yet commented about the arrival of these military equipments in the region, and where has it arrived from..

“I am not authorized to say which country these weapons have arrived from, but all that I call tell you is that we have received adequate weapons from a close ally country which I am not intending to mention its name right here, we have enough weapons to eradicate the so called Al-Shabab and Hizbul-Islam in the central regions in Somalia and gradually from the entire of Somalia soon with the will of God the most Exalt” said Sheikh an officer from Ahlu-Suunah Waljama who has shortened his name as Sheikh Ahmed speaking Somaliweyn Website.

Garowe Online reports two planes

Two planes carrying weapons and ammunitions for Somalia’s pro-government militia, Ahlu Sunnah Wal-Jamaa has landed in Dhusamareb, the administrative capital Galgadud region in central Somalia.

The planes reportedly departed from neighbouring Ethiopia carrying arms including AK-47 rifles, Grenade Launchers and anti-aircraft missiles destined for the group’s stronghold.

According to sources, Ahlu Sunnah fighters secured the town’s airstrip where the planes landed while the telecommunication of the town was cut off for three days.

“There are plans to use these weapons to captures areas in Galgadud region that are currently not under our control,” said a senior Ahlu Sunnah official who requested not to be named.

-- -- --

IRIN

..in Beletweyne, the regional capital of Hiiraan, some 4,000 families have been displaced by a combination of flooding and fighting.

"We were dealing with those displaced by the flooding when fighting broke out between pro-government forces and Hisbul Islam [which controlled the town]," said a local aid worker, who requested anonymity.

"Our estimate is that between 4,000 and 5,000 families [24,000 to 30,000 people] have been displaced by both the flooding and the fighting," he added.

A local journalist in Beletweyne told IRIN there was no administration in the town.

"As of today [8 June] Hisbul Islam has left and no one has replaced them," the journalist said. "Basically there is no administration and no one in control here," he said, adding, "I am sure one group or another will fill the vacuum."

-- -- --

Inner City Press: At UN, Somalia Post Handed from Ould Abdallah to Mahiga

The UN's envoy on Somalia Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, who called for a moratorium on press reporting of civilian deaths in Mogadishu and cut a stealth deal about Somali off shore rights with Kenya and Norway, has been relieved of his functions.

Sources last week told Inner City Press that he was being replaced by Tanzania's current Permanent Representative to the UN, Augustine Mahiga. The affable Ambassador Mahiga has been seeking a UN job for some time.

...

On June 4, rather than simply write the story without receiving confirmation, Inner City Press asked UN Deputy Spokesperson Marie Okabe:

Inner City Press: Ould-Abdallah.. is leaving in July and seeks to remain as an adviser to the Secretary-General. I just want you to confirm that he is leaving, and to confirm or deny that Augustine Mahiga, the Tanzanian ambassador, is going to be named the SRSG [Secretary-General’s Special Representative].

Deputy Spokesperson: I have nothing on any appointments.

Inner City Press: But Ould-Abdallah has said publicly that he is leaving in July. Is that the case?

Deputy Spokesperson: I have nothing on that.

Inner City Press: He said it.

Deputy Spokesperson: I have nothing on appointments for Somalia today.

Even though Inner City Press knew it to be true, confirmation was sought from Mahiga himself. The Tanzanian Mission said he was in Europe through June 18, but they would ask him (the staffer said, "that is good news"). But Mahiga, who previously asked Inner City Press to email him articles, did not respond.

Now, five days after Inner City Press publicly asked about Mahiga and Somalia, Ban Ki-moon has formally named Mahiga to the Somalia post, which is actually based in Nairobi, Kenya.

On June 9, before the confirmation, Inner City Press asked Ban's Associate Spokesperson Farhan Haq if the UN had consulted with the Transitional Federal Government about Mahiga. Haq said yes -- but we'll have more on this.

Several sources say that Mahiga is "so pro American, he'll make it all about counter - terrorism." Then again, that has already been the UN's approach.

These sources note that the UN way for a diplomat to seek a Secretariat job is for he or she -- almost always he -- to beginning selling out his Group and even his country, in exchange for the coming favor. The Secretariat uses the needs and wants of Permanent Representatives to obtain certain actions or forbearance in the budget committee -- which has continued meeting this week, despite the announced conclusion in May -- the General Assembly and in this case the peacebuilding commission.

-- -- --

Garowe Online: Al Shabaab seize strategic town in central Somalia

Somali Islamist group Al Shabaab has peacefully seized control of Beledweyne, a strategic town in central Somalia located near the Ethiopian border, Radio Garowe reports.

Beledweyne residents said they awoke Saturday morning to find heavily armed Al Shabaab fighters patrolling the town’s center and had taken control of the administration building, the jail, and the police station.

The area was vacated overnight by Hizbul Islam rebels, who are also fighting to topple Somalia’s UN-backed interim government in Mogadishu.

It was not immediately clear why Hizbul Islam fighters withdrew from Beledweyne, but locals said Hizbul Islam commanders feared clashes with Al Shabaab, who have superior weapons.

Hiran region where Beledweyne is located is home to several armed factions, including remnants of the Somali interim government and the pro-government Ahlu Sunna militia.

But Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam have jointly controlled Hiran region in recent months, although the Hizbul Islam administration in Hiran’s Jalalaksi district “joined” Al Shabaab last week.

Not sure about this report - the only source I'm seeing for this one is from the Daily Nation:

A landmark ceremony took place in Beledweyne town, the capital of Hiran region, 335 km north of Mogadishu [Sunday], where the regional authority of Hizbu Islam, one of the Islamist organizations opposing the Transitional Federal Government in Somalia, merged with Al-Shabaab, the top militant group in Somalia.

Sheikh Abdulkadir Haji Ahmed, the Chief of Hizbu Islam’s Mobilisation Officer in Beledweyne town, announced that his group resolved to join Al-Shabaab.

Talking to an audience, the sheikh recited verses of the Holy Koran, pointing to the need to unite the insurgents in Somalia.

“We are hereby declaring our resolve to unite with our fellow jihadists (holy warriors) in this strategic Hiran region,” said Sheikh Ahmed.

“Unity is certain to arouse strength.”

He urged other Islamists to take their example and join Al-Shabaab. “I am an elder and the sheikh of Hizbu Islam in this territory and I am leading you to unite with your fellow jihadists,” remarked Sheikh Ahmed amid chants of Allahu Akbar (God is Great) by those present at the ceremony.

-- -- --

Reuters: Clash between Somalia police, soldiers kills 13

Fighting between Somali government troops and police has killed at least 13 people and injured 14 in Mogadishu after soldiers tried to rob civilians, police said Sunday.

The clash occurred Saturday in Hamarjajab district, in the south of the capital.

"The clashes came after some of the government troops started to rob a civilian car and the police were trying to stop it," Abdullahi Moalim Kerow, a police officer, told Reuters.

The clash resulted in the deaths of nine soldiers and four civilians who were not involved the fighting but were caught in the crossfire.

...

"This kind of clashes among the government troops is unfortunate and been has repeated so many times, claiming the lives of nearly 100 troops since January."

Somebody might want to tell that to the fact checkers at the NYT

Somalia Experiences New Type of Fighting

From interclan fighting to religious battles to pirate wars, Somalia is plagued by countless kinds of conflict. But this weekend, another kind erupted: between the army and the police.

According to Somali officials, there was fierce fighting on Saturday between police officers and army soldiers — all working for Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government — in one of Mogadishu’s relatively quiet neighborhoods, Hamar Jajab. At least seven were killed, although it is not clear what started the conflict.

Some residents said army soldiers had been robbing cars, and when police officers intervened, a mini-war between the heavily armed men on each side broke out. Other residents said that the police had been trying to hijack trucks carrying desperately needed food aid when the army came to the rescue.

I've linked to press coverage of similar firefights in past threads, so this is nothing new. For instance, military and police clashed during the attempts to demolish housing near the airport back in March.

And then on one of those rare occasions where Jeffrey Gettleman actually reports something that catches you offguard, this NYT feature is accompanied by a photo of two TFG soldiers, reportedly ages 12 and 15, and a video of others:

Children Carry Guns for a U.S. Ally, Somalia

According to Somali human rights groups and United Nations officials, the Somali government, which relies on assistance from the West to survive, is fielding hundreds of children or more on the front lines, some as young as 9.

Child soldiers are deployed across the globe, but according to the United Nations, the Somali government is among the “most persistent violators” of sending children into war, finding itself on a list with notorious rebel groups like the Lord’s Resistance Army.

Somali government officials concede that they have not done the proper vetting. Officials also revealed that the United States government was helping pay their soldiers, an arrangement American officials confirmed, raising the possibility that the wages for some of these child combatants may have come from American taxpayers.

...

Several American officials also said that they were concerned about the use of child soldiers and that they were pushing their Somali counterparts to be more careful. But when asked how the American government could guarantee that American money was not being used to arm children, one of the officials said, “I don’t have a good answer for that.”

...

Somali government officials admit that in the rush to build a standing army, they did not discriminate.

“I’ll be honest,” said a Somali government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the subject, “we were trying to find anyone who could carry a gun.”

Awil [allegedly 12] struggles to carry his. It weighs about 10 pounds. The strap digs into his bony shoulders, and he is constantly shifting it from one side to the other with a grimace.

Sometimes he gets a helping hand from his comrade Ahmed Hassan, who is 15. Ahmed said he was sent to Uganda more than two years ago for army training, when he was 12, though his claim could not be independently verified. American military advisers have been helping oversee the training of Somali government soldiers in Uganda.

Just to reiterate that bit from Michael Weinstein's closed source cited last week of the TFG having received more than 500 tons of weapons from Washington, rather than the 40 tons that has been officially announced.
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Why was the other party's identity not revealed? Was he really UPDF?

New Vision: Somali president’s driver buried in Luwero

ONE of the two UPDF peacekeepers killed recently in Somalia was buried over the weekend at his ancestral home in Kibula, Luwero district. Private Eriya Kabuye, 33, was killed by militants in the Mogadishu capital on June 3.

He had been attached to the Somali State House as one of the official presidential drivers.

...

Lt. Michael Turiraba, a political commissar in the office of the UPDF’s chief of personnel and administration, on Saturday said Kabuye was killed by a mortar bomb as he returned to his base after dropping off Somali president Sheikh Ahmed Shalif at the airport.

Addressing mourners during the burial, Turiraba said Kabuye and a colleague, whose identity he did not disclose, were killed when a mortar bomb was fired at a parked car in which they were seated.

A death certificate from the African Union peacekeeping mission headquarters in Mogadishu, which was read to the mourners during the burial, stated that the soldier died of ‘severe burns from a massive bomb blast’.

Tempers flared during the funeral when soldiers blocked relatives from viewing Kabuye’s remains.

The soldiers insisted that they had instructions not to open the coffin.Viewing the body is part of the traditional last respects.

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Some more clues on what Biden was up to in East Africa earlier in the week

New Vision: Biden, Kiyonga meet over Somalia

US vice-president Joe Biden ... held talks with Uganda’s defence minister, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, about bringing peace to Somalia in Nairobi, Kenya.

Also at the meeting were the special representative of the African Union (AU) chairperson, Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra, the UN special representative of the secretary general for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, and the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISON) force commander, Nathan Mugisha.

Mugisha discussed the challenges facing AMISOM and the need for greater political inclusivity and stability in the Somalia transitional federal government.

Biden commended AMISOM for their peacekeeping efforts and discussed steps to bolster their capacity.