The recent dramatic rout of the U.S.-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia’s forces in the Somali capital of Mogadishu by militias loyal to the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab group and the latter’s ensuing rapid expansion into much of southern Somalia has caught the world by surprise. Thus, the Islamists’ sudden rise as a force in the land to be reckoned with has alarmed the U.S. that Somalia might become “a haven for terrorists.” Faced with the unwelcome prospect of an Islamic jihadist takeover in Somalia, America has rushed in with munitions and logistics to the tune of $5 m to bolster the tottering TFG, headed by interim president Sheikh Shariif Sheikh Ahmed (1) Admittedly, 5m is peanuts by American standards, but it signals the beginning of a sliding slope--American advisors have a way of following American money for arms, a phenomenon that foreign policy wonks refer to as “Mission Creep” (MC).
The driving force behind the U.N-U.S. obsession to re-create a central government for Somalia is rooted in the West's fear that: 1. stateless--and therefore, in their stated view, lawless--Somalia might become a "Nursery" for "Terror International," especially given the various cells of al-Qaeda-linked jihadists lurking in Somalia, and in the recesses of rogue nations, like nearby Yemen, and 2. the global nightmare of Somali highwaymen on the high seas will end only when Somalia enjoys a government with sufficient resources to patrol its coastal lines. The former is especially urgent, they argue, in view of the fact that the al-Qaeda-connected-al-Shabaab Somali terrorists already control large swaths of Somalia, including much of the capital of Mogadishu. Let's speak to each of these concerns individually.
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The Islamist clerics of Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a have denounced the transitional government for the responsibility of yesterday's deadly shelling that left the lives of more people in the capital, official told Shabelle radio on Monday.
Heavy shelling targeted to Bakara market had killed more and injured many innocent civilians as the shellfire continued yesterday afternoon.
"The first or second step of talks with the government will be to decrease the dying people, the shelling, because what is going on can not be tolerated. And the remained innocent civilians can not bear the heavy shelling," said Sheik Abu Yusuf
According to Spanish Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Angel Losada, the international conference on Somalia is scheduled to be held in Istanbul in mid-May.
The Spanish foreign minister said on Tuesday that the conference would also be examining the effects of international assistance to the interim government of Somalia, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Losada also stated that the idea of an international conference on Somalia was first put forward last year by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Somalia has been beset by unrest since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
In addition, the Somali coast has been infested by piracy in recent years.
Attacks by heavily-armed Somali raiders in speedboats have prompted foreign navies to patrol the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean and to provide escorts for commercial vessels travelling in the area.
NAIROBI, Kenya — Shipping companies with U.S. interests don't know if they are allowed to pay ransoms to Somali pirates anymore after President Obama declared them an "extraordinary threat," even as pirates extended their reach farther than ever toward Asia, hijacking three Thai vessels, officials said Tuesday.
A total of 77 crew members were taken Sunday in the hijackings 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) east of Somalia in the Indian Ocean — the farthest from the Somali coast pirates have ever attacked, the EU Naval Force said. Pirates now hold 14 vessels and 305 hostages, the International Maritime Bureau said.
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Harsh War, Harsh Peace Abuses by al-Shabaab, the Transitional Federal Government, and AMISOM in Somalia
Somalia remains mired in a brutal conflict between the Transitional Federal Government
(TFG), which holds only a sliver of the capital, Mogadishu, and armed opposition groups that
control most of the country. Over the past year hostilities have raged in strategicallyjavascript:void(0)
important areas, including Mogadishu, while much of the rest of Somalia has enjoyed
relative peace.
Both the inhabitants of the shattered capital and those living in more peaceful areas have
endured devastating patterns of abuse. In much of the south, which is largely controlled by
the armed Islamist group al-Shabaab, the population is subject to targeted killings and
assaults, repressive forms of social control, and brutal punishments under its draconian
interpretation of Sharia (Islamic law). Meanwhile, in Mogadishu, mortars fired by al-Shabaab
and African Union troops deployed to protect the internationally-backed TFG continue to kill
civilians and ravage the city. All sides have violated the laws of war by conducting
indiscriminate attacks and other abuses.
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MOGADISHU, Somalia — Two Somali radio stations say the government has ordered them to close for obeying a week-old order by an Islamic militant group to stop playing music.
Officials at Somaliweyn and Tusmo radio stations say they won't obey the government order to resume playing music and shut down Tuesday.
Abukar Mohamed Hassan Kadaf of Somaliweyn says the National Security Agency called the station executives to a meeting and later sent them a letter with the order.
Hizbul Islam ordered more than a dozen stations to stop playing music on April 13. The stations have had to re-record their ads. Some are using gunfire, car horns and animal cries to act as a bridge between programs.
Somalia has not had an effective government for 19 years.
The rival Islamist fighters of Al-shabab Mujahideen and Ahlu Sunna Waljama’ claimed victory over fighting between the two sides that continued in Galgudud region in central Somalia, officials said on Tuesday.
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Cairo, 20 April – The UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, is in Cairo to chair the 17th meeting of the International Contact Group from 21 to 22 April 2010. In addition to the founding members, Norway and the US, representatives from more than 50 countries and international organizations are attending
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Ethiopia's heated election campaign has spilled onto the floor of parliament, with bitter and at times personal exchanges between Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and opposition leaders. The prime minister was forced onto the defensive on issues from the economy to allegations of political dirty tricks.
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When Dahir Abdi joined the Somali extremist group Al-Shabab early last year, his motive had more to do with money than with God.
Back home in the Barawa district of southern Somalia, his parents and younger brothers and sisters were living on less than a single meal per day. His mother was too weak to fetch firewood to sell in the market, and too poor to buy the all-covering veil that was now required by Al-Shabab.
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