Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Somalia's Shebab put the squeeze on foreign NGOs

NAIROBI — Somalia's Shebab fighters, increasingly under the spell of Al Qaeda ideology, are gradually weeding out the few foreign aid groups still operating in the country's central and southern regions.The Islamist armed group last week raided the offices of the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) in Baidoa, on the same day its local administration issued a decree banning the organisation from the region.The Shebab accused UNMAS of spying, charging it had been "surveying and signposting some of the most vital and sensitive areas under the control of the mujahedeen (holy warriors)."The incident was the latest development in an uncompromising drive by the group to remove foreign presence from the territories it controls.The humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa country, mired in civil conflict since 1991 and plagued by recurring natural disasters, is regularly described as one of the worst in the world.The Shebab turned the screw on humanitarian organisations in one of their main operational hubs last month when "the Islamic state of Bay and Bakool" regions (central) issued a list of 11 rules with which they should comply.The list, distributed to local aid group representatives in early November, includes a registration fee of 20,000 dollars, payable twice a year.Drawing fresh comparisons with Afghanistan under the Taliban in 1996-2001, the Shebab also imposed conditions complying with the strict brand of Islamic law they enforce in the regions under their control.Aid organisations "should distance (themselves) from anything that will affect proper Islamic culture... like promoting adultery and establishing women's groups," said the document obtained by AFP.World Women's Day is singled out along with Christmas and World Aids Day as proscribed celebrations, while "preaching democracy" is also listed as a value "interefering with Islam" that should be banned.The Shebab also reiterated a ban on alcohol and movies and also insisted that all humanitarian organisations' logos should be removed from vehicles and all flags be taken down.The main architect of the Shebab's "11 comandments" in Bay and Bakool is the regional Shebab governor, Sheikh Mahad Omar Abdikarim, a hardliner within the movement who has publicly urged foreign jihadi fighters to flock to Somalia.The new rules and regulations proclaimed by the Shebab triggered an intense round of consultations between humanitarian organisations and the various Somali players on the ground.Mahad "is the key person in the current process," a UN official told AFP on condition of anonymity.Community leaders are keen not to stop the flow of foreign aid and the jobs that come with them. Shebab officials argue that putting an end to food distribution by UN agencies will rekindle local farming.Senior Shebab leader and erstwhile spokesman Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, once the main pointman for foreign NGOs, is not involved in the talks, the same UN source said."He made it clear that the decision to impose the 11 conditions was the governor's and that he would only intervene should the ongoing negotiations fail," the aid official said.Robow, despite being an Afghanistan veteran and one of the Shebab's most prominent figures in recent years, "has lost some of his influence to more radical elements," he said.The UN official went on to explain that "the situation in Bay and Bakool should be viewed within the context of the Shebab's general strategy, which is now significantly influenced by foreign jihadi groups."
Along with an increase in suicide attacks, the campaign against aid groups is a fresh illustration of the ever-greater influence of these foreign groups, whose exact role in the Shebab's hierarchy however remains unclear.
Unconfirmed rumours in recent days have alleged that Fazul Abdullah -- a Comoran national believed to be Al Qaeda's top leader in East Africa and wanted for bombings in Kenya -- has replaced Somali Ahmed Abdi Godane (Abu Zubayr) at the head of the Shebab.

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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The Foundation is dedicated to networking like-minded Somalis opposed to the terrorist insurgency that is plaguing our beloved homeland and informing the international public at large about what is really happening throughout the Horn of Africa region.

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The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

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