Abdullahi Mohammed Shirwa, a much-loved activist, died on Saturday night after illness, state media reported. Abdullahi spent most of his adult life trying to pacify communities in Somalia. He was the co-founder, and chair of the Somali Peace Line civil society organization.
Since the ouster of Siad Barre in 1991, Somalia has never enjoyed peace and there have been deliberate efforts to unite the country, which is also battling with al-Shabaab
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...menace. al-Shabaab first emerged in 2007 and has been terrorizing people in the country and across the borders.
The death of Abdullahi Mohammed Shirwa is a big loss for Somalia according to analysts who have previously covered his peace initiatives. Recently he led the team that collected $4.4M for the victims of the Zobe explosion, which helped 1000s including 1,547 orphans, per VOA's Harun Maruf.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud termed the death a "huge blow" to the fragile nation and asked the world to pray for his family. The president, who assumed office last week, noted that the country should emulate the activist by preaching peace across the nation.
Mohammed Hussein Roble, who is the Prime Minister, also mourned the dear departed as a selfless leader who "used available resources" to bolster peace in the country. Similar tributes were passed by Puntland
...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion...
President Said Abdullahi Deni.
His death comes at the time Somalia's new government has called upon the world to chip in and assist in the peacebuilding network. The US has already confirmed that it is dispatching close to 500 soldiers who will help the country in stabilizing.
The African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
Mission Forces [ATMIS] has already started plans to hand over security responsibilities to the Somali National Army [SNA] but the program is likely to take a little bit longer because of the rising al-Shabaab threat in the voice.