Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Somali extremists recruiting in Kenya

Militiamen loyal to al-Shabaab train in the Galgadud region of Somalia
 
Somali militant groups are using Kenya as a hunting ground for new recruits for the war in their country. RNW's Koert Lindijer found one young man who's been targeted in this way, and also a Kenyan mayor who dares to speak out against this illegal practice.
 
Abdullahi, a businessman in Garissa, a town in northeast Kenya, says, "We're making big profits because of the war in Somalia [...] a lot of money and goods moved from Somalia to Garissa and our town has benefited as a result."Meanwhile, there's another 'import' from Kenya's northerly neighbour, for the extremist Islamist Somalian organisation al-Shabaab is keen to hire local youngsters here after they've been trained for the Kenyan army.Islamic preacher Hussein Mahat points to the dangers of Kenya becoming too involved in the problems of neighbouring Somalia: "The practice of recruiting fighters on Kenyan territory for the war in Somalia, effectively wipes out our neutrality. Kenya has become a front-line state".He adds, "We ethnic Somalis are already regarded as second-class citizens in Kenya and this can only make that worse. Sometimes I wonder whether it wouldn't be better to go and live in Somalia".
 
Cows and camels
Northeast Kenya looks a lot like Somalia; it's dry, hot and dusty. And there are a lot of cows and camels. Many of them can be found at Garissa's market, which the traders say is the biggest cattle market in all east Africa. A lot of the goods in the town come from Kismayo, a large port city in southern Somalia.Many people in Garissa say that ties with Somalia have become a bit too tight recently. Over the last few months, both the Kenyan government and the al-Shabaab extremists have stepped up their recruiting efforts among young men in the border town.One such young man is Ahmed - not his real name, but he doesn't want any unwelcome publicity. He explains: "They recruited us for the Kenyan army but wanted us to fight in the Somali government army"."Now the militants of al-Shabaab are trying to recruit us, but that's not what we were promised."Ahmed and 90 other recruits were trained in a small Kenyan village and then in Tsavo national park for about four months. They trained alongside Somali refugees recruited from United Nations camps inside Kenya. Ahmed finally quit under pressure from his parents.

Brave Mayor
Garissa has a brave mayor, Mohamed Gabow. He's brave because he listened to the parents' complaints and exposed the illegal recruitment practices by the Kenyan authorities. A whistleblower who's taken on the Kenyan government. "When one side starts recruiting, it encourages the other side to do the same," he points out. And that was exactly what happened after the boys returned home as a result of the publicity the mayor had given to their ordeal.Their military training had increased the value of Ahmed and other recruits for the warring parties in Somalia. Now they are regularly approached at the market in Garissa."Al-Shabaab is offering us 2,000 dollars," Ahmed reveals. No one in authority in Garissa is prepared to say so officially, but everyone in the town knows it: al-Shabaab is illegally recruiting fighters inside Kenya.
 
Radical message
Those in the know say the fundamentalist group is not only active in the northeast, but also in Eastleigh, a district of the capital Nairobi where many Somalis live."Al-Shabaab fighters come here for a few days rest," says Somalian journalist Abdulkarim Jimale. "Wounded fighters are treated anonymously in Kenyan hospitals, and al-Shabaab has been trying to persuade mullahs to preach its radical message in Kenyan mosques."
   Life in Eastleigh doesn't appear to be bad. Expensive apartments now rise above the grimy food kiosks in the muddy streets. Banks, bureaux de change, stylish restaurants and expensive hotels are flanked by mountains of stinking rubbish. A lot of private money circulates among the Somalis in this neighbourhood.
   Apparent wealth
 
This apparent wealth, together with the likely presence of al-Shabaab irritates many Kenyans. "Somalis are invading Kenya and taking our land," says a market stallholder in the centre of Nairobi. "They want to destroy Kenya, just as they did to their own country," snarls an elderly man.
  

Somalis are easy scapegoats in Kenya. They're stubborn, nomadic and Muslim. Fear of Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism has led to the stigmatisation of an entire ethnic group. In Eastleigh, Somali clan elder Mohamed Ali is angry. "Why would we support al-Shabaab? Muslim extremists are the very reason we had to flee our homeland Somalia."

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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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