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Africa Horn
Somalia: SYL Hotel suicide bomber identified by Al-Shabaab
2024-03-24
[Garowe] The jacket wallah who detonated explosives at the legendary SYL Hotel has been identified by the al-Shabaab
... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda...
 turbans, a week after the group waged a deadly attack in the Somalia capital, Mogadishu, leaving at least five people including soldiers, dead.

Last week's attack left Mogadishu security chiefs in shock even as they grappled with the hefty losses, the first in as many months within the country. Mogadishu has been relatively secure following surveillance by security teams who were recently deployed.

Al-Shabaab said the bomber, Hassan Mohammed Mohamud, 20, was the man who triggered the attack, leading to a fierce shootout that left his other four co-perpetrators dead. Mohammed comes from Kismayo
...a port city in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia, at the extreme southern end of the country (always assuming Somalia can be called a country). It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region....
, the regional administrative capital of Jubaland.

Mohammed, the snuffies added in a statement, comes from the popular Hawiye clan.
An odd descriptor. Why would a clan be popular?
The attack was waged near the Presidential Palace, the official office and residence of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who has been a key figure in operations against the al-Shabaab.

The attack ensued after al-Shabaab snuffies forcibly entered the hotel, engaging in extended combat within its confines, eyewitnesses said. The attackers would later be repulsed after a 13-hour battle, leaving four other fighters dead.

Dozens of people who were critically injured were rushed to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund...
 for specialized treatment, authorities revealed. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was one of the individuals who saw them off from Aden Adde International Airport.

The Al Qaeda-linked terror outfit did not disclose the identities of the other five attackers. al-Shabaab used both local and imported muscle when waging attacks but recent reports established that Kenyan fighters are being executed for allegedly spying the group on behalf of KDF.
Executed? How very interesting, whether they are or are not sharing information with the wrong — or right — people.
Related:
SYL Hotel: 2024-03-17 All 5 attackers killed, ending Somalia hotel siege in which 3 soldiers died
SYL Hotel: 2018-07-16 Six dead after attackers target Somalia’s presidential palace
Related:
Hawiye clan: 2023-09-16 US-trained Danab troops push Al-Shabaab out of areas in Jubaland
Hawiye clan: 2014-08-23 Warlord flees from allied forces amid disarmament
Hawiye clan: 2014-01-31 ‘Terror Chief Aweys’ placed under house arrest in Mogadishu
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Africa Horn
US-trained Danab troops push Al-Shabaab out of areas in Jubaland
2023-09-16
[ShabelleMedia] The US-trained Danab commandos with the help of the Jubaland Darwish have carried out planned operations in several areas of the Lower Jubba region.

The joint forces targeted al-Shabaab
...... al-Qaeda's tentacle in East Africa...
-held areas in the West of the city of tyle=color:maroon;>Kismayo
...a port city in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia, at the extreme southern end of the country (always assuming Somalia can be called a country). It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region....
, the capital of the Lower Jubba region, which has witnessed increased operations in the past.

The troops captured Barjala, Dharkayn Urur, Sariraha, Orgiyow, Yaaq Aleen, and Aboodin from al-Shabaab, ending years of threat to the port city which houses Jubaland leader.

No casualties were reported as a result of the operations and the officials said that the areas were used by al-Shabaab to organize the attacks in the Lower Jubba region.

Jubbaland is one of the areas where al-Shabaab still has a strong presence and awaits an offensive by SNA who are now battling the gunnies in Galmudug
...a semiautonomous region in central Somalia, bordering Puntland on the north. Galmudug is not trying to obtain international recognition as a separate nation, but rather considers itself autonomous within the larger Somali federalism, for what that's worth...
 and Hirshabelle states.

The government-led military operation against al-Shabaab in central Somalia has led to an influx of gunnies southwards towards Jubaland state, according to the security experts.

As part of the second phase of the army offensive, the federal government plans to expand the offensive to Jubaland and Southwest states in southern Somalia in the final push.

The new phase reportedly aims to flush out al-Shabaab from the remaining parts of the country under its control, following the first phase that began in August 2022.

In the first phase, the government sought support from clan militias from the Hawiye clan, and regained substantial territory from al-Shabaab. Subsequently, clan militias have played a vital role in the government-led operation.
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Africa Horn
Warlord flees from allied forces amid disarmament
2014-08-23
GURI EL, Somalia -- Notorious Somali warlord Abdi Nure Siyad(Abdi Wal) has been sighted in Galgaduud regional district of Guri El of central Somalia amidst disarmament operation in Mogadishu, Garowe Online reports. Local reports say, Abdi Wal is being heavily guarded at hotel in Guri El town after he barely escaped from capture by Somali National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) near Mogadishu's Jazeera hotel last week.

He along with his militiamen initially moved to Lower Shabelle region and subsequently wadded through large swathes of territories stretching from Lower Shabelle to central town of Guri El. It is unclear whether he was granted safe passage by Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab militants who maintain presence in some areas.

On Friday, Somali government forces aided by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) attacked the house of warlord Ahmed Dai in Wadajir district, killing 5 bodyguards and seizing cache of arms.

Hawiye clan elders Chief Mohamed Hassan Haad lambasted Somalia Federal Government for not carrying out statewide disarmament.

Abdi Wal remains deeply unpopular in Lower Shabelle region where long running inter-clan feuds over regional influence claimed at killed many lives.
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Africa Horn
‘Terror Chief Aweys’ placed under house arrest in Mogadishu
2014-01-31
MOGADISHU -- A wanted Al Shabaab official Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys who has been in custody over the past six months was put under house arrest in Mogadishu on Wednesday evening, Garowe Online reports.
Unfortunate since he could have been put under mortuary arrest...
According to independent sources, Somali Federal Government soldiers last night escorted Aweys shortly after he was released from an intelligence base as a result of lengthy discussions between Mogadishu-based government officials and Hawiye clan elders.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud previously described Aweys a ‘stubborn person' who isn't willing to renounce violence but political analysts say the latest move succumbed him to abide by his clan elders' suggestions.
For now...
Sources within Somalia Federal Government tell Garowe Online News Agency that Aweys was relocated to a heavily fortified building in one of Mogadishu's neighborhoods: "Hassan Dahir Aweys had been in Habar-Khadijo intelligence base and now he remains under the protection of government forces," said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the news.

Speaking to the media in Mogadishu, Mohamed Osman Arus former spokesman of the defunct insurgent group Hisbul Islam said that Aweys is still in detention.

"This means he was released from custody and again placed in another detention," added Arus.

Following bitter feud and violent dispute within Al Shabaab ranks, Sheikh Aweys escaped from Barawe coastal town of Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia, after Al Shabaab chief Ahmed Godane dispatched Al Shabaab death squads to Aweys and other officials including his deputy Ibrahim Haji Jama Micad (Ibrahim Afghani), who had made allegations against Godane.

Sheikh Aweys was transported by plane from Adado district in Galgadud region of central Somalia, where he reportedly "surrendered" to Himan and Heeb local administration, which later transferred to Federal Government in Mogadishu in June 2013.
Link


Africa Horn
Federal Govt of Somalia 'plans to release' terror chief
2013-08-19
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- The Somali Federal Government in Mogadishu is planning to free wanted Al Shabaab official Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, who has been in custody for the past two months according to independent sources, Garowe Online reports.

The source, which is close to Villa Somalia, noted that Sheikh Aweys was temporarily released from an intelligence base in Mogadishu on Saturday night, a first move to be reported since late June when Aweys was detained by the Federal Government.
As always, we prefer that terror chiefs be released at a high altitude...
The source added that a meeting held at a building near Villa Somalia brought together self-proclaimed Hawiye clan elders, Aweys's close allies, ex-warlords, and government officials including Somali Interior and National Security Minister Abdikarin Hussein Guled, who together discussed the fate of Sheikh Aweys and the methods needed to release him from custody.

In addition, the source confirmed that key points -- including retiring from Somali politics -- was prepared in print and presented to Aweys, but he reportedly refused to sign the printout.

Speaking on VOA Somali Service, Ahmed Dirie Ali, Hawiye clan elders' spokesman said, the meeting "did not produce agreeable points".

Continuing, Dirie added: "Hassan Dahir is a prominent politician and an elder, also the Federal administration is a legitimate government".

Political analysts said the reported plan would be considered as a failed step and a weak anti-terrorism policy as the public is keen on to hear indictment by courts.

Following bitter feud and violent dispute within Al Shabaab ranks, Sheikh Aweys escaped from Barawe coastal town of Lower Shabelle region, in southern Somalia, after Al Shabaab chief Ahmed Godane dispatched Al Shabaab death squads to Aweys and other officials including his deputy Ibrahim Haji Jama Micad (Ibrahim Afghani), who had made allegations against Godane.

Sheikh Aweys was transported by plane from Adado district in Galgadud region of central Somalia, where he reportedly "surrendered" to Himan and Heeb local administration, which later transferred to Federal Government in Mogadishu.
Link


Africa Horn
Work Accident in Mogadishu
2009-05-21
The leader of Al Shabaab is reported to have been wounded and possibly killed in what appears to be an accidental explosion at a safe house outside Mogadishu.

Ahmed Abdi Aw Mohamed, the reclusive spiritual leader of the radical al Qaeda-linked terror group, was seriously wounded in the explosion on May 17. He is reportedly being treated at a hospital in northern Mogadishu, according to Garowe Online. Another source, Waaga Cusub, a Toronto-based Somali website aligned with the Hawiye clan in Mogadishu, speculated that Mohamed may have been killed, although the report has not been confirmed.

Eleven Shabaab fighters and three or four "foreign fighters" were killed in the incident.
One report indicated that three Pakistanis were among those killed.
One report indicated that three Pakistanis were among those killed. After the incident, Shabaab fighters immediately cordoned the home and prevented witnesses from getting near the site, making confirmation difficult.

Mohamed, who is also known as Sheikh Mukhtar Abu Zubayr and Godane, is reported to have been hosting a meeting of senior Shabaab commanders when the explosion occurred. No other senior leaders have been reported killed or wounded. The cause of the explosion is unknown. One witness told Waaga Cusub that
"Missiles" struck the safe house. No US airstrike has been reported in the region.
"missiles" struck the safe house. No US airstrike has been reported in the region. But the cause of the explosion appears to be a premature detonation of one or more bombs on site. A source close to Shabaab told Garowe Online that one or more car bombs detonated due to faulty wiring.
"Red Wire Syndrome" strikes again!
Another witness told Waaga Cusub that one of the Pakistanis was training for a suicide attack against African peacekeepers and crossed the wrong wires.
Don't ya just hate it when that happens?
After the explosion on Sunday, a Shabaab spokesman stated that three car bombs built for use against African peacekeepers had accidentally detonated.
Honest, we don't make this stuff up.
Link


Africa Horn
Somali parliament endorses new prime minister
2009-02-15
So now he's in firm control of about six square blocks in Mogadishu ...
DJIBOUTI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Somalia's parliament endorsed on Saturday the appointment of the Western-educated son of a slain former president as prime minister in a unity government tasked with restoring order to the failed Horn of Africa state.

After a 414-to-9 vote in his favour, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, 48, took the oath of office at a session of the legislature in neighbouring Djibouti. "I will form a government of national unity that will give top priority to peace and security," he told parliament. "The nation and the people are waiting for us."

Sharmarke and President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, a moderate Islamist leader who chose Sharmarke to try to broaden the appeal of his government at home and abroad, face the herculean task of bringing peace to Somalia for the first time in 18 years.

Armed Islamist insurgents have declared jihad against the new power-sharing government, formed in a U.N.-brokered peace process in Djibouti. Some 1 million people live as internal refugees around the shattered nation.

Yet the appointments of Ahmed, the former leader of a sharia courts movement, and Sharmarke, a former U.N. employee and member of Somalia's large diaspora, have provided a new political dynamic that is giving some cause for hope. "I am more optimistic about the future of Somalia than I have been in a number of years," Professor David Shinn, an Africa expert at George Washington University, told Reuters. "The selection of a PM from the large Darod clan is a wise choice to balance President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's Hawiye clan connection," he said, adding that Sharmarke's distinguished family and diaspora connections would also be advantages.

"I think this selection increases the possibility that the Sheikh Sharif government will be able to pull Somalia out of its downward spiral and eventually even create an administration that is broadly accepted by Somalis."

The leading Islamist insurgent group al Shabaab, however, is determined to stop that. It has attacked both the government and African Union (AU) peacekeepers in recent days and held anti-government protests in areas of south Somalia it controls. An al Qaeda leader, too, urged Somali militants to step up jihad against the government in a video released on Friday. Washington believes al Shabaab is al Qaeda's proxy in Somalia, and the group is known to have foreign fighters in its ranks.

The government controls only a few blocks of Mogadishu, whereas Islamist insurgents control other parts of the city and large swathes of the south.
Link


Africa Horn
President Sheikh Sharif in Mog for coalition talks
2009-02-08

Oooh! New hat and everything!
Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed arrived Saturday in Mogadishu--his first trip there since being elected last week--to hold talks aimed at forming a broad coalition government. "My trip to Mogadishu is aimed at having consultations with elders, politicians and Islamic resistance groups," he told reporters upon arriving in the Somali capital.

The young cleric and former opposition leader was elected as Somali's new president on Jan. 31 by lawmakers gathered in Djibouti. Sheikh Sharif had travelled to Addis Ababa this week to take part in the African Union summit and then returned to Djibouti.

The newly-elected leader had said he would form an inclusive government and extend a hand to armed groups still opposed to the U.N.-sponsored reconciliation effort which saw him leave his exile in Eritrea.

Hawiye clan
Several politicians are vying to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein. According to Somalia's transitional charter, the president, the premier and the parliament speaker have to come from three different major clans.
Sheikh Sharif and Hussein are both from the Hawiye clan.
Sheikh Sharif and Hussein are both from the Hawiye clan.

The new president, in his mid-forties, was one of the main targets when Ethiopian troops invaded in late 2006 to remove what they saw as an extremist Islamic movement on their doorstep. But after two years of deadly guerrilla war, the Ethiopians have pulled out with little progress to speak of, more radical groups have blossomed and Sheikh Sharif is seen by many as occupying the political centre.

Sheikh Sharif will face the daunting task of taming Shebab fighters, who control several key towns, and overcoming clan divisions within his future administration.
Link


Africa Horn
Hawiye clan: Ethiopia not evacuating Somalia
2009-01-09
The Hawiye clan chairman accuses Ethiopia of not fulfilling its promise to pull out its troops from Somalia and says they are still fueling fighting.

Addressing the international community, Mohamed Hassan Haad, chairman of the Council of Hawiye Clan Elders and his speaker Ahmed Dirie Ali said on Thursday that the Ethiopian troops had promised to pull out its troops by Wednesday. On the contrary they have recaptured Dinsor town south of Baidoa from al-Shabaab fighters on Wednesday afternoon, Press TV correspondent said on Thursday.

He added that the new heavy fighting is displacing hundreds of civilians in south Somalia and Galgaduud regions.

Haad said that Ethiopia continues with its genocide and has defied its pledge to vacate by January 5, 2009, which casts doubt about its troop withdrawal from Somalia. "We condemn the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia and we call for the Ethiopian government to withdraw its troops from Somalia," Haad said.

Addressing the United Nations, Arab League and all peace loving countries, Haad said that Ethiopians are not going to leave Somalia. They want to remain and continue with their atrocities, kill women and children of Somalia, our correspondent said.

Ethiopian troops have been capturing towns in western Somalia from the insurgents for the past two weeks.
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Africa Horn
Somali infighting leaves 13 dead
2008-12-06
Thirteen gunmen died in armed clashes between Somali opposition fighters and another armed group Ahl-ul-Sunna wal- Jamaa in central Somalia. The fighting broke out in the town of Guri-El in the Galgaduud region after the Ahl-ul Sunna gunmen attacked Al-Shabaab fighters, the Press TV correspondent in Mogadishu reported.
"Hrarrrr! We're holy'r'n youse are!"
"Ain't, neither!"
"Are, too!"
"Go fer yer guns, yew varmint!"
The spokesman for the influential Hawiye clan, Ahmed Dirie Ali, condemned the bloodshed.
"Tut tut. And tut."
All the fighters are affiliated with the Somali Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) and oppose the leadership of the transitional federal government, accusing its leadership of excessive reliance on foreign support.
Link


Africa Horn
'Ugandan troops kill Somali civilians'
2008-09-21
The spokesman of the Hawiye clan has accused Ugandan forces of launching attacks on Somali civilians during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

During an exclusive interview with Press TV in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, Ahmed Dirie told our correspondent that Ugandan troops, sent to Somalia to help curb violence in the war-torn country, are responsible for the deaths of large numbers of civilians. Dirie, thought of as the Nelson Mandela of Somalia by many of its people, demanded that Uganda withdraw its forces and stop perpetuating violence by the country's Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

According to Dirie, at least 53 civilians, including women and children, have been taken to hospital in the last 12 hours suffering from serious injuries he says are caused by Ugandan violence in Mogadishu.

Uganda has committed around 1600 troops as part of the African Union peacekeeping initiative AMISOM. The Hawiye clan is the dominant clan in Mogadishu and the largest clan in Somalia according to the Central Intelligence Agency and the Human Rights Watch.
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Africa Horn
Hawiye clan accuses president of being opposed to peace efforts
2008-08-03
The Cultural and Unity Council of the Hawiye clan has accused the President of the Transitional Federal Government [TRG], Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad, of being opposed to the peace and reconciliation efforts of Prime Minister No Hasan Hussein's administration.

The political spokesman of the Council, Abdullahi Hasan (bdullahi Dhere)who contacted Mareeg online, accused the president of the TFG, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad, of being opposed to the stability of the central and southern regions of Somalia and the efforts of the transitional government to pacify the regions, adding that the president was only interested in promoting the interests of the regions where he comes from.

The remarks by the Hawiye clan council come in the wake of refusal by the president to put his signature to a memorandum issued by the prime minister's office in which Muhammad Omar Habeb aka Muhammad Dheere (capital Mayor) was sacked as the governor of Banadir Region.
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