tagged w/ Al Shabab
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Unbeknownst to many Americans, the United States has pledged more than $185 million in support of the African Union’s military mission in Somalia, which has been battling against an insurgency intent on preventing a UN-backed government from being installed and imposed upon them. This past week saw some of the heaviest fighting this year. The United Nations reported that combat in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, caused the displacement of at least 22,000 more civilians and forced relief agencies to curtail their operations in the city.Unbeknownst to many Americans, the United States has pledged more than $185 million in... more
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In Uganda, the suspected mastermind of the bomb attacks on July 11th in the capital of Kampala said this past week following his arrest that he was driven by "rage against the Americans." Issa Ahmed Ruyima said: "My rage was against the Americans whom I deemed were responsible for all the sufferings of Muslims around the world."In Uganda, the suspected mastermind of the bomb attacks on July 11th in the capital of... more
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It's been almost two decades since U.S troops were forced out of Somalia after the "Black Hawk Down" battle. Now, the U.S. is backing a push by African states to add troops to combat Somali militants. But Somalia experts who have watched violence spin in circles for nearly 20 years are warning that more troops will not bring peace.It's been almost two decades since U.S troops were forced out of Somalia after... more
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An African Union peacekeeping force, funded by hundreds of millions of dollars from the United States and its allies, has killed, wounded and displaced hundreds of Somali civilians in a stepped-up campaign against insurgent militants, according to medical officials, human rights activists and victims.An African Union peacekeeping force, funded by hundreds of millions of dollars from... more
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Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel explores homegrown terrorism in "American Jihadi." The show chronicles the path of Omar Hammami, a high school student from Daphne, Alabama who became a top commander in an Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group.
With the help of Omar's high school friend, Christof retraces Omar's path to extremism -- from Daphne, where he converted to Islam, to Toronto where he immersed himself into the local Somali community, and finally his journey to Egypt and Somalia.
The show also helps expose Omar's tactics in reaching out to young American Muslims through online videos that document Omar's engagement in Guerrilla warfare. Since 2007, more than 30 young American and Canadian Muslims have vanished, several of them reappearing in Omar's videos.
"Vanguard," airing weekly on Current TV Wednesdays at 10/9c, is a no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Kaj Larsen, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.
For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel explores homegrown terrorism in "American... more
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The New York Times reports that the United States government is paying for children in Somalia to help defend what many argue is a near-non-existent government in one of the most impoverished and violent countries in the world, Somalia. How are US taxpayers doing this? Arming children, some as young as nine-years-old, with Kalashnikov assault rifles.The New York Times reports that the United States government is paying for children in... more
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Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh is warning that Somalia's Western-backed transitional government may not survive the intensified conflict with armed insurgents.
Guelleh appeared before the United Nations Security Council in New York to plead for action, saying “I cannot see how we can avert the possibility of Somalia's plunge into an avoidable disintegration.”Djibouti's President Ismail Omar Guelleh is warning that Somalia's... more
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Hundreds of Somali soldiers trained with US funding have deserted, with some crossing over to the insurgents they are supposed to be fighting.Hundreds of Somali soldiers trained with US funding have deserted, with some crossing... more
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The Pentagon is considering dispatching surveillance drones and other limited military support for a Somali government offensive against insurgents.The Pentagon is considering dispatching surveillance drones and other limited military... more
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When President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, it was widely expected that he would dramatically change, or even reverse, the militarized and unilateral security policy that had been pursued by the Bush administration toward Africa, as well as toward other parts of the world.
After one year in office, however, it is clear that the Obama administration is following essentially the same policy that has guided U.S. military policy toward Africa for more than a decade. In fact, the Obama administration is seeking to expand U.S. military activities on the continent even further.When President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, it was widely expected that... more
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In Somalia, problems including corrupt officials and a lack of supplies have delayed the government’s military offensive against Islamic insurgents, but even before the first shot has been fired, new warnings have emerged that blood may be spilled for little or no gain.In Somalia, problems including corrupt officials and a lack of supplies have delayed... more
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Ethiopia was supposed to help America in the war on terror. But it's only made matters worse.
By Jonathan Tepperman | NEWSWEEK
From the magazine issue dated Apr 20, 2009
Few people outside Ethiopia have ever heard of Birtukan Mideksa. And that's just how the government wants it. Since December, Birtukan has been kept in solitary confinement, one of hundreds of political prisoners there. Her apparent crime? Organizing a democratic challenge to the increasingly iron-fisted rule of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
In the past year alone, Meles's ruling party has rigged elections, effectively banned independent human-rights groups, passed a draconian press law and shrugged off calls for an investigation into alleged atrocities in the restive Ogaden region. Yet in the same period, his country has become one of the largest recipients of U.S. aid in sub-Saharan Africa, getting a cool $1 billion in 2008. The Bush administration claimed that Ethiopia was the linch-pin of its regional counterterrorism strategy and a vital beacon of stability. But the evidence increasingly suggests Washington isn't getting what it pays for, and is supporting a brutal dictator in the process. Candidate Obama pledged to strengthen democracy in Africa; if he's serious, this is a good place to start.
America's warm relations with Ethiopia date to the days after 9/11, when the country's Christian-dominated government came to be seen as a natural U.S. ally in a region targeted by Islamic extremists. After disputed elections in 2005, however, Meles—once hailed by President Bill Clinton as part of a promising "new generation" of African leaders—began clamping down on dissent.
Yet Washington tolerated his lapses because it needed his help fighting Qaeda-linked Islamists in next-door Somalia. In December 2006, Ethiopia's U.S.-trained Army duly invaded its neighbor, ousting the radical Islamic Courts Union government there. But the adventure hasn't worked out as planned. No sooner had the ICU been toppled than an even more radical group, Al-Shabab, sprang up to fight the invaders. And although Seyoum Mesfin, Ethiopia's foreign minister, recently told NEWSWEEK that the Islamists have been militarily "shattered," they now control much of the country's south and have tightened links with Al Qaeda. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian troops have pulled out, and the country they left behind has been thoroughly devastated. Two years of fighting forced about 3.4 million Somalis, some 40 percent of the population, from their homes. Yet only a few high-ranking terrorists were eliminated, and Russell Howard, a retired general and senior fellow at the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations University, says the occupation only "empowered" the radicals.
Such failures—and Ethiopia's growing repression—suggest Washington should rethink the relationship. Just what Ethiopia offers the United States today is unclear. Addis Ababa has contributed troops to U.N. peacekeeping forces in Darfur and Burundi and plays a large role in shaping the policies of the African Union. But this shouldn't earn it unquestioning U.S. support.
To reset ties, the United States should push Ethiopia to democratize. And it must urge it to reconcile with its archnemesis, Eritrea. Resolving the conflict between the two states is key to addressing a whole range of threats to U.S. interests. Tiny Eritrea won independence from Addis Ababa in 1993, but the two countries fought a 1998–2000 border war and relations have remained hostile ever since, in part because Ethiopia, with tacit U.S. support, has ignored an international ruling that redrew their border. Too weak to challenge Ethiopia directly, Eritrea has funneled support to its enemy's enemies—including Al-Shabab and its America-hating foreign fighters. Eritrea also recently instigated a border conflict with Djibouti, home to an important U.S. military base.Ethiopia was supposed to help America in the war on terror. But it's only made... more
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By Mohamed Mohamed
BBC Somali Section
The name of Somalia's Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab - it means "The Lads" - may conjure images of a lovable band of rogues.
But the radical militia is a fiercely secretive and ruthless organisation with alleged links to al-Qaeda.
The leaders of the group - which has taken over swathes of central and southern Somalia - are unknown to their subordinates.
The middle lieutenants get their orders through text messages, or phone calls from recognised voices, giving them proof the instructions are coming from the right person.
The leaders of al-Shabab are called "emirs" and they do not usually come from the region they administer.
The emirs are said to use text messaging systems daily. The mid-ranking emirs and foot soldiers are given prepaid phone cards to carry out their day-to-day operations.
Text messages are also used to threaten those al-Shabab believes oppose them.
Anyone who ignores these warnings is likely to receive a visit from the gunmen.
Entertainment banned
Al-Shabab emerged from the remnants of the Union of Islamic Courts, routed by the Ethiopian forces that invaded Somalia in 2006.
In areas under its control businesses must remain shut at prayer times.
On public transport, men have to sit at the front, and women at the back.
All forms of public entertainment are forbidden, including watching films.
The leaders of al-Shabab want nothing to do with the clan system that is blamed for so much of Somalia's divisions and they have ambitions to spread their rule beyond Somalia's borders.
The spokesman for al-Shabab, Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, has said publicly there are foreign fighters in his group.
As well as alleged links to al-Qaeda it is said to have Arabs, Asians, other Africans and - America's FBI believes - Westerners among its ranks.
These foreigners are said to be involved in training al-Shabab recruits in various aspects of guerrilla warfare, including suicide bombings and booby traps.
Severed 'Arab' hand
In January there was a failed suicide attack against AU peacekeeping positions in Mogadishu.
The governor of the Banaadir Region around Mogadishu, Mahamed Osman Ali, told the BBC Somali Section soon after the attack that the assailant was a foreigner, possibly of Arab extraction.
"We found a human hand in the wreckage of the exploded vehicle which belonged to the suicide bomber," he said. "I think it was an Arab hand."
In February, two suicide bombers from al-Shabab attacked an African Union military base in Mogadishu, killing at least 11 soldiers and injuring another 15.
It was the fourth suicide attack against African peacekeepers and the deadliest.
An al-Shabab spokesman told the BBC one of their bombers, Ahmed Sheikh-Doon Siidow, blew himself up in the compound of Burundian peacekeepers.
Another bomber, Mursal Abdinur Mohamed Ali, drove a car laden with explosives into the same base - a building which was formerly home to the Somali National University.
Mursal Abdinur was a young man in his early twenties raised in one of the oldest districts of Mogadishu, Hamar Jabjabo, and a student at one of the many madrassas in that district.
Saed, who asked the BBC not to reveal his real name for security reasons, knew him.
He said: "Al-Shabab recruited [Mursal Abdinur] in 2006 when they established the Salahu Din training camp in Mogadishu.
"He was a normal young man who lived with his parents. He liked football and was sociable but when he joined al-Shabab, he became very quiet, and completely changed.
"He started dressing like Pakistani or Afghan people. I had never known him dress like that before. He sometimes used to wear military camouflage."
Saed said he had never thought Mursal Abdinur would kill himself and was shocked when he heard the news.By Mohamed Mohamed
BBC Somali Section
The name of Somalia's Islamist... more
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