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Africa Horn

Ex-governor turned candidate running for parliamentary seat killed in Somalia

2022-01-24

[Garowe] A former governor was on Saturday night assassinated by al-Shabaab ...... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all of which have enough problems without them... turbans in the latest wave of killings by the Death Eater group, which has been targeting innocent civilians, security forces, and government officials. Abdirahman Ibrahim Maow who served as Hiran region governor went titzup after two button men fired at him just when leaving a nearby Mosque within Wadajir District in the Somali capital Mogadishu. State media said local officials confirmed the tragic incident which comes just days after the al-Shabaab turbans killed over 10 people in three separate events within Mogadishu in a short period of time. Abdirahman Ibrahim Maow, besides serving as Hiran region governor, also worked with the Islamic Courts Union from 2006-2007. Critically, in 2009 he joined Hizbul Islam, then led by Hassan Dahir Aweys. The al-Shabaab turbans did not immediately reveal the reasons behind the shooting but did confirm that they were behind the incident. The al-Shabaab have been targeting senior government officials including those who have since quit the government. Currently, al-Shabaab controls large swathes of rural central and southern Somalia, but a concerted military effort has significantly weakened the group. al-Shabaab turbans are keen to topple the fragile UN-backed Somalia administration. 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 [AMISOM] have been working closely with Somali National Army [SNA] in the war against al-Shabaab. The United States and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... also work closely with the Somali security forces.

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Great White North

Somali man found guilty in kidnapping of Canadian journalist

2017-12-11

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A Somali national has been convicted in an Ontario court for his role in the 2008 kidnapping of Canadian Amanda Lindhout, who was held captive in Somalia for 460 days and released only after her family paid a ransom, Canadian media reported on Wednesday. Ali Omar Ader, 40, was found guilty of one charge of hostage-taking for his role as negotiator for the kidnappers, in a decision handed down on Wednesday in Ontario Superior Court in Ottawa. Lindhout, a freelance journalist, was taken hostage in Somalia on Aug. 23, 2008, along with Australian photographer Nigel Brennan, while working on a story. They were released for ransom in November 2009. Ader was lured to Canada from Somalia in 2015 and placed in durance vile Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! in Ottawa as part of a sting operation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in which an officer posed as a publisher interested in a book Ader was writing on Somalia, according to court documents. The kidnappers were affiliated with Hizbul Islam, according our archives. Hizbul Islam (Party of Islam) appeared on our radar in 2009 as the Al Qaeda-linked merger of four Islamist factions including Eritrea-based ICU and Kismayo-based Ras Kamboni. They fought Al Shabaab tooth and nail until giving up and merging at the end of 2010.

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Africa Horn

Leading Shebab figure dies in Somalia

2015-05-29

[AlAhram] A leading figure in the Somali-based Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shabaab movement has died in Somalia, the Islamic myrmidon group said Thursday. In a death announcement and obituary carried by jihadist media, the Shabaab said Sheikh Hassan Abdulahi Turki, known as Hassan Turki, died on Wednesday evening in the Middle Juba region south of the capital Mogadishu. Turki was in his 70s and suffered from poor health. "Sheikh Hassan Abdulahi Turki died last night in Hargeysa Yarey township. We pray to God to give him his mercy and accept his long-term good deeds," Shabaab front man Ali Mohamud Rage said in an audio message. Rage said Turki "was one of Somalia's greatest scholars" who had met "Al-Qaeda leaders, led by the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now sometimes referred to as Mister Bones... , twice in Afghanistan and another time in Sudan" and had fought against US soldiers in Mogadishu in 1993, the year 18 US soldiers were killed in the so-called Black Hawk Down incident during an ill-fated intervention. The Æthiopian-born former soldier was a veteran Islamist who played a series of leading roles in Somalia's civil war. Turki was a founding member of Al-Itihaad Al-Islami in the early 1990s alongside Hassan Dahir Aweys, often regarded as the godfather of Islamic militancy in Somalia. Together they also formed a successor group called Hizbul Islam. Turki played a key role in the Islamic Courts Union, which briefly controlled Somalia in 2006, and helped establish the Shabaab which emerged in the wake of the US-backed Æthiopian invasion that ended its rule. In 2004 the US put Turki on its list of global Al-Qaeda leaders after accusing him of involvement in the US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania six years earlier. In 2008 he survived a US air strike targeting him and other myrmidon leaders in southern Somalia. In recent years Turki's influence and importance waned as old age and ill-health took their toll.

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Africa Horn

Djibouti Armed Forces receives 26 donated Land Cruisers

2014-01-17

The Djibouti Armed Forces (DJAF) have taken delivery of 26 new Toyota Land Cruiser 4X4 vehicles from the United States through the Foreign Military Assistance Programme as logistical and operational support to for the deployment of an additional 1 000 DJAF troops to reinforce the African Union (AU) soldiers battling Al Shabaab insurgents in the Beledweyne region of Somalia. WE gave the Djiboutians Toyota Land Cruisers? What's the matter, no Yukons or Silverados in stock? According to the United States embassy in Djibouti, the consignment (which consists of 14 Toyota Land Cruiser 2×4 pick-up trucks and 12 Toyota Land 4×4 pick-up trucks) was handed over to Djiboutian defence minister Hassan Darar Houffaneh and armed forces chief General Zakaria Cheikh Ibrahim by US ambassador Geeta Pasi in the capital Djibouti City on December 30. The DJAF will this week deploy the first 100 of a full strength contingent of 1 000 men to support African Union troops battling the Al Shabaab insurgency in the Hiran area of the Beledweyne region in terms of the security mandate of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The new deployment will bring the number of DJAF troops in Somalia to 1 980. The troop surge was approved by the United Nations Security Council on November 12 last year and allows for the temporary deployment of an additional 4 400 AU troops in Somalia to maintain security. The additional troops will also form a rapid reaction force capable of responding to the increased security threats posed by Al Shabaab, Hizbul Islam and their smaller Islamic militia affiliates operating in the central, southern and coastal areas of Somalia. And in their white Land Cruisers they'll be mistaken for harmless UN aid workers, and kidnapped...

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Africa Horn

Super Islamists Merge with Ultra Islamists in Somalia

2010-12-23

Hizbul Islam (party of Islam) of Somalia, having lost several dozen battles with Al Shabaab (The [Islamic] Youth Movement). Per former Hizbul Islam spokesterrorist, Mohamed Osman Arus, "We, the Islamic party, have decided to join Al Shabaab..." Apparently Al Shabaab didn't think it worth a public affairs appearance; perhaps there aren't many Hizbul Islam fighters left.

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Africa Horn

Clashes kill 11 in Somali capital

2010-12-17

[Iran Press TV] At least 11 people have died in fresh festivities between al-Shaboobs and government-backed troops in Somalia's war-torn capital, Mogadishu, witnesses say. Fierce shootout and shelling rocked Mogadishu's northern districts of Hodan and Bondhere, where fighters from al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam attacked positions of pro-government forces backed by African Union peacekeepers, a Press TV correspondent said. Witnesses said incessant shelling destroyed residential areas, *sigh* There's always something to be knocked down, it seems. causing civilian casualties. "On Wednesday evening, I have seen the dead bodies of at least 11 civilians lying on the street of Boondhere," an eyewitness told our correspondent. The village was turned into a battle field with the fighting raging on for more than seven hours, witnesses said. The seaside city has been the scene of heavy festivities between rival forces, which killed more than 30 people last week. Somalia has been marred by years of civil unrest since 1991 when warlords toppled former warlord Mohammad Siad Barre.

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Africa Horn

23 killed in south Somalia clashes

2010-12-12

[Iran Press TV] At least 23 people have been killed and many more have been injured in festivities between fighters from two rival groups in southern Somalia. The battles between members of al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam forces broke out on Saturday in Burhakaba town, located some 110 kilometers (68 miles) southwest of the Somali capital, the Press TV correspondent in Mogadishu reported. According to residents, Hizbul Islam fighters attacked the town early Saturday morning, but met with stiff resistance from the al-Shaboobs who rule the town. On December 1, al-Shaboobs managed to gain control of Burhakaba town following fierce festivities with Hizbul Islam. Al-Shabaab fighters had previously told Hizbul Islam not to set up more checkpoints in and around Burhakaba town, which is located in the Bay region of southern Somalia. However, The infamous However... Hizbul Islam forces paid no heed to the warning, according to local residents. Then Al-Shabaab fighters attacked Hizbul Islam positions and took control of the town. The International Committee of the Red Thingy (ICRC) has reported that hundreds of civilians were maimed in fighting in Somalia in recent months. The Geneva-based humanitarian institution said that a total of 5,000 patients with war injuries, including 1,900 women and kiddies, were admitted to Mogadishu's Keysaney and Medina hospitals from January through September. Compared to last year, it is an increase of 25 percent in the total number of war casualties and 72 percent in the number of war-maimed women and kiddies admitted to the hospitals. Boilerplate follows... Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Over the past two decades, up to one million people have bit the dust in fighting between rival factions and due to famine and disease. There are more than 1.4 million internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia. Over 300,000 of the IDPs are sheltered in Mogadishu. The United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society High Commissioner for Refugees reported that most of the displaced live in poor and degrading conditions on makeshift sites in southern and central Somalia.

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Africa Horn

Terrorists 'derailing ransom talks'

2010-12-04

[The Nation (Nairobi)] Involvement of terror groups in piracy has complicated negotiations for ransom payments, a maritime official said on Friday. The groups have infiltrated teams that negotiate for ransom, making it difficult for ship owners to know whether they are dealing with the right people or not, Mr Andrew Mwangura of East Africa Seafarers Assistance Programme said. There are several terror groups operating in Somalia, the most ruthless being al Shabaab, which is believed to be close to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, and Hizbul Islam. "The situation has caused confusion because some owners of hijacked vessels have claimed to have dealt with some negotiators who are not known. It is the main reason pirates are now holding ships longer than usual," he said. The reports came as it emerged pirates had initially demanded $600,000 (Sh48 million) for the release of fishing vessel Golden Wave, which has 39 Kenyans on board, but the figure was raised to $3 million (Sh240 million) after terrorist groups demanded a bigger cut, according to Mr Mwangura. Relatives of the Kenyan hostages met on Thursday to pray for their loved ones, and expressed concern that pirates might harm the hostages to avenge the killing of three suspects by Kenya Navy officers three weeks ago. Mr Mwangura said the hostages had been divided into groups and were being used to aid their captors in their dangerous operations. "Two recently hijacked vessels--one of them being Golden Wave -- are being used to launch attacks on other vessels, which exposes the hostages to great danger," he said. At least four of the hostages are going through the ordeal for the second time. Somali pirates have recently stepped up attacks on commercial ships. They have hijacked ships within the territory of Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar and Seychelles, raising fears that the pirates were becoming more daring. They are also heavily armed with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. The International Maritime Bureau says 128 ships were hijacked in the first nine months of the year.

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Africa Horn

3 soldiers killed in Mogadishu clash

2010-11-07

Three pro-government soldiers have been killed and four others injured in south Mogadishu in another day of heavy fighting ... as opposed to the more usual light or sporadic fighting... in which anti-government forces engaged African Union (AU) and Somali government troops. The three soldiers were killed in a hit-and-run attack by gunnies in the Dharkenley district of south Mogadishu on Friday, but it is not clear if the attackers were members of Hizbul Islam or al-Shabaab, the Press TV correspondent in Mogadishu reported. The anti-government forces also attacked AU bases in the Somali capital and the positions of Somali government troops on Friday, while the AU and Somali government troops used missiles to attack the fighters' bases in south Mogadishu. In addition, al-Shaboobs have threatened to attack US bases in Africa. Al-Shabaab have also warned that they plan to carry out attacks in Uganda because they believe the Ugandan troops in the AU peacekeeping force have killed innocent civilians through indiscriminate small arms fire and artillery attacks in Mogadishu. On Friday evening, Somali Prime Minster Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo condemned the fighting between rival clans in the Mudug and Galgaduud regions and called for an immediate ceasefire. The Somali government has dispatched a team of elders to the area to attempt to resolve the dispute and they are expected to arrive on Saturday, the Somali prime minster said. The corpse count in the inter-clan fighting has hit 45 and about 70 people have been injured, with both sides using light and heavy arms, eyewitnesses told the Press TV correspondent in Mogadishu by telephone. On Friday, senior al-Shabaab member Fuad Mohamed Khalaf issued a statement condemning the inter-clan fighting and saying that al-Shabaab would capture the warlords who instigated the clan fighting and would deal with them according to the al-Shabaab interpretation of sharia (Islamic law).

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Africa Horn

Children fighting Somalia's wars

2010-11-07

Sixty per cent of soldiers involved in Somalia's conflict are children, a UN official has said. The secretary-general's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Dr Radhika Coomaraswamy, told the Sunday Nation that a majority of the children had been enlisted in militia groups fighting the Transitional Federal Government (TFG). However, The infamous However... Dr Coomaraswamy could not establish the exact number of children involved. Dr Coomaraswamy, who had earlier met with Somalia's new Prime Minister, Mohammed Abdullahi Mohammed in Mogadishu, said the TFG had pledged to put an end to the recruitment of children. She hoped that the militia groups, including the al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, would follow suit. "Unfortunately my office has no access to the Islamic myrmidon groups, but we hope that they will abide by international humanitarian law and release all children within their ranks," she said. She urged states who have influence over the groups to press for the protection of children by asking the cut-throats to release child soldiers. During the meeting, the new PM also announced his government's commitment to eradicate the recruitment of child soldiers. Mr Mohammed agreed to form a task force that will work with the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society to help put an end to the practice and secure the release of serving child soldiers. Persistent violator The TFG and militias allied to it, have been on the secretary-general's "shame" list for recruitment and use of children in war for five consecutive years, earning the tag "persistent violator". And in a meeting with the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), Dr Coomaraswamy raised concerns over the killing and maiming of civilians, including children, through indiscriminate shelling. However, Another infamous However... she was assured that rules of engagement were in place and every measure will be taken to prevent any further civilian deaths. Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... Amisom has announced plans to train more than 800 Somali coppers as it seeks to extend its control of Mogadishu. The programme is also aimed at providing the transitional government with a professional police force in line with international standards. For a country that has been in political turmoil for nearly two decades, the entire peace keeping process will have to get a new face in dealing with armed opposition groups. Through Amisom's training programme, the officers will be mentored on community policing, human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... , logistics and management.

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Africa Horn

Somali gunnies kidnap British aid worker

2010-10-15

... and take him to a pirate haven? A British citizen working for Save the Children was kidnapped by masked Somali gunmen late Thursday, said the British charity. The gunmen seized the man and a Somali from a guesthouse compound in the town of Adado near the border with Ethiopia, but later released the Somali captive. "Save the Children was assessing the feasibility of starting up a humanitarian program to help malnourished and sick children and their families in the area," the charity said in a statement. "We are extremely concerned about the welfare of those being held and urgently call upon whoever is holding them captive to release them unconditionally," it said. Relatives of the Somali captive, Bashir Yusuf, said he had been set free by the gunmen. "Bashir confirmed to us he had been released. He told us he was on his way into town and that the armed men went with his foreign colleague," said family member Abdukadir Hassan. Early reports said they had been taken to an area controlled by al Shabaab. Later, a pro-government Sunni militia said a smaller group known as Hizbul Islam was behind the kidnapping, possibly in cahoots with pirates, and that the Briton was being taken to the coastal pirate base of Haradheere. "We have confirmed that about 15 armed Hizbul Islam fighters kidnapped the aid workers. They may be assisted by pirates," Sheikh Abdullahi Sheikh Abu Yusuf, the spokesman of Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca, told Reuters by phone from Adado.

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Africa Horn

Somalia gov faces second crisis after PM exit

2010-09-26

[Al Arabiya] A moderate Islamist group that signed a power sharing deal with Somalia's government in March this year to help quell a raging insurgency has withdrawn from the administration, days after the prime minister quit. Before joining the government, the Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca (ASWJ) militia group had pushed back al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam rebels in central Somalia, and its entry into government was meant to help defeat the cut-thoats. Sheikh Abdullahi Sheikh Abu Yusuf, the front man of ASWJ told Rooters on Saturday the group had left the government after its failure to meet certain agreements reached when they agreed a power-sharing deal. Their exit is likely to further weaken President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's push against the rebels, and herald more of the internal divisions that have beset the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and slowed government business to a crawl. The group accused the administration of planning to abolish it and called for a reconciliation conference. "From now on, we as Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca declare that the treaty we have signed with the government in Addis Ababa has ended," the front man Yusuf said. "The government itself has caused that. We were not in Sharmarke's government or any other next government. We shall continue fighting against the al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam to keep our controlled areas peaceful." Somalia's Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke resigned on Tuesday, paying the price for the government's failure to rein the rebels, who have killed thousands of civilians. The lack of progress is threatening to topple the administration. ASWJ had no cabinet members in the government of the departed PM despite being promised five when they joined earlier this year. They have warned that Sharmarke's departure will only worsen Somalia's insecurity. "We urge holding a reconciliation conference to bring Somalis together to get an effective authority that can rid the country of hard boyz and foreign fighters," Yusuf said. ASWJ is made up of moderate Sufi Mohammedans, in a country with a rich Sufi tradition going back five centuries. Two snuffy groups have been fighting the Horn of Africa nation's government since the start of 2007 and the Western-backed administration has been hemmed into a few blocks of the capital Mogadishu since a rebel offensive last May. A- Qaeda-linked al-Shabab forces of Evil have stepped up their offensive to topple the government in the last six weeks. A boomer blew himself up outside the presidential palace compound on Monday night, wounding two peacekeepers. The rebels have used boomers to devastating effect over the past two years, killing five government ministers and dozens of AU peacekeeping troops. A- Shabab was also behind attacks in Uganda in July that killed at least 79 people.

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