DJIBOUTI—On Jan. 19, a U.S. aircraft opened fire on a vehicle driving near Jamaame, Somalia, killing a commander of the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab, the local al Qaeda affiliate.
That mission and another the same day brought to 203 the number of airstrikes former President Donald Trump carried out in Somalia during his term in office, according to military records.
On Jan. 20, Joe Biden was sworn in as president. Since then, there hasn’t been a single U.S. airstrike on al-Shabaab.
The U.S. war against al-Shabaab, conducted largely behind a veil of secrecy since 2007, remains in limbo as Mr. Biden weighs his national-security priorities and wrestles with the last-minute decisions of his predecessor.
“We’re committed to Somalia,” said a senior U.S. official. “What exactly that will look like is still under discussion.”
In the final weeks of his presidency, Mr. Trump ordered a hurried withdrawal of roughly 650 U.S. special-operations and other troops from Somalia, where they had been training an elite local commando unit to fight al-Shabaab. The military moved most American troops to neighboring Djibouti and Kenya, sites within commuting distance of Somali government training camps.
Mr. Trump’s decision has constrained Mr. Biden’s options in the strategic Horn of Africa, the geographic intersection of valuable Red Sea shipping routes, U.S.-China competition for business and influence, and the sprawling, post-Sept. 11 American War against Islamist militants.
Mr. Biden’s administration is conducting a global review of American troop deployments overseas. Among the decisions the president faces: Whether to put troops back into Somalia, a country that seems distant to many Americans and where the 1993 Black Hawk Down episode left 18 U.S. soldiers dead on the streets of Mogadishu.
Mr. Biden also confronts the question of whether to resume airstrikes against al-Shabaab, the militant group that emerged from the chaos that followed that previous U.S. misadventure in Somalia.
A Somali army spokesman declined to comment on the country’s security situation. A government spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment.
In 2017, Mr. Trump declared parts of Somalia “areas of active hostility” and authorized offensive operations against al-Shabaab. U.S. Africa Command, based in Stuttgart, Germany, could approve airstrikes, with a good deal of authority given to the counterterrorism task force and special-operations commanders inside Somalia.
The airstrikes fell into two categories: Planned strikes on key al-Shabaab leaders, and urgent close-air support for American or allied troops in firefights against militants.
“In Somalia a little air power goes a long way,” said a former senior U.S. commander. “Al-Shabaab will always quit the battlefield if they feel there’s an air power capability.”
With U.S. troops no longer stationed alongside their Somali allies, there have been no close-air support missions since Mr. Biden’s inauguration.
Planned airstrikes against top leaders, directed by the counterterrorism task force, now require signoff from Washington, according to defense officials. Five months into his term, Mr. Biden has yet to order a single one.
An Africa Command spokeswoman declined to explain the reasons behind the lull in airstrikes. A Pentagon spokesman declined to say whether field commanders had sought approval for strikes or whether the president has to sign off personally on such requests.
“It is common for the U.S. government to pull kinetic strike authorities back to the highest level of decision makers following a change in administration,” said Maj. Gen. William Zana, commander of the U.S.-led task force in the Horn of Africa. “Militarily, we benefit from having those authorities passed back down to a level which is sufficiently agile and operationally effective.”
U.S. commanders see rising militant violence in Somalia in the context of surging security threats from Islamist militants across a swath of Africa, especially in the Sahel, a band of semiarid land that runs East-West through Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Groups aligned with al Qaeda and Islamic State carried out 1,170 attacks in the Sahel last year, up from 92 in 2016, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project assembled by the Pentagon-funded Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Militants killed more than 4,200 people in the Sahel last year and conducted 278 attacks in the first three months of this year, the center reported.
In 2017, four U.S. servicemen and five Nigerien troops were killed in an ambush in Niger carried out by militants from the Islamic State of the Greater Sahara.
The U.S. maintains a reconnaissance drone base and other forces in Niger. American troops in June completed ground, air and sea exercises with counterparts from Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, including a simulated attack across the desert with armor, infantry and a B-52 bomber.
U.S. troops are only authorized to use lethal force in self-defense in the Sahel; France takes the lead in providing offensive combat assistance to beleaguered governments there.
For years, the U.S. made Somalia its primary focus in Africa.
Al-Shabaab’s “leaders have called for attacks on Americans, not only in the region, but in the world and in the U.S. homeland,” Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of U.S. Africa Command, said after the military exercises in Morocco. “I believe we should take these threats seriously.”
Last year, al-Shabaab fighters attacked U.S. forces posted to a Kenyan military base in Manda Bay, near the Somali border. An American soldier, Spc. Henry J. Mayfield, Jr., and two U.S. civilian contractors were killed.
American troops at Manda Bay were training Kenyan soldiers for anti-al Shabaab operations in Somalia under the auspices of the African Union.
Early this month, al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that targeted police and intelligence officials who frequent tea shops at an intersection in Mogadishu, according to retired Somali Col. Ahmed Abdullahi, former commander of the country’s special-forces brigade, and a militant pronouncement monitored by SITE Intelligence Group.
The group last month seized control of the town of Wisil, a strategic crossroads in central Somalia.
“The lack of strikes now has really emboldened al- Shabaab a lot,” said Col. Abdullahi, who is now a security consultant for diplomats working in Somalia.
He said he hoped Mr. Biden would put a smaller American force back into Somalia to train local commandos. He argued that the U.S. should resume airstrikes, but more selectively target high-level al-Shabaab commanders so as not to create resentment among ordinary Somalis.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have alleged that U.S. airstrikes have repeatedly killed or injured civilians, and that the U.S. military has done an inadequate job of investigating those cases.
U.S. Africa Command says it is diligent in investigating allegations of civilian deaths, including a report that the Jan. 19 airstrike killed a noncombatant. Military investigators concluded that the only casualty was the al-Shabaab commander the airstrike was intended to kill.
In a written statement that accompanied that investigation, Gen. Townsend said, “We will continue to refine our processes to ensure our partners and the public recognize our commitment to minimizing civilian casualties whenever possible.”
The military is still investigating allegations that a Jan. 1 airstrike injured three civilians.
Efforts by the U.S., the African Union and their allies to help stabilize Somalia have been frustrated by clan rivalries and political skirmishing between the powerful states and the central government.
In some areas of rural Somalia, al-Shabaab is the de facto government. U.S. officials calculate that al-Shabaab collects about $130 million in “taxes” from these areas each year, an amount equivalent to about 20% of the budget of the Somali federal government.
“Somalia is just a mess, and it will continue to be a mess,” said Air Brig. Gen. Stéphane Dupont, commander of French forces in the region.
Most of the U.S. troops previously stationed in Somalia are now among the 4,000 or so U.S. personnel at Camp Lemonnier in neighboring Djibouti, which shares linguistic and cultural ties with Somalia. While awaiting orders from Mr. Biden, U.S. special-operations troops commute from Djibouti into Somalia to train and supervise the local commandos.
The base is the largest U.S. position in Africa and houses an East Africa Response Force on call for embassy evacuations and other emergencies. Specialists at a military crime lab at the camp try to identify al-Shabaab bomb makers by examining explosives residue, fingerprints, DNA and other evidence from attacks.
U.S. trainers conduct infantry drills with Djibouti’s 400-man Rapid Intervention Battalion, and American personnel fly drones, both armed and unarmed, over Somalia from a base near Djibouti’s capital.
Djibouti has largely avoided al-Shabaab violence, despite its alliance with the U.S. An exception was in 2014 when an al-Shabaab operative in a black robe blew herself up in the middle of the dining room at La Chaumière restaurant, a spot popular with foreigners. Another attacker threw a hand grenade toward a pair of German diners, according to the restaurant’s owner.
Two people died, plus the attackers themselves.
Djibouti was a French colony until 1977, and France still keeps an army battalion and Mirage jets in the country to assist in its defense.
The U.S. camp in Djibouti sits about 5 miles from China’s first overseas base, a port facility that Western officials says is being expanded to handle an aircraft carrier. China’s presence, and the large infrastructure projects Beijing is sponsoring in Djibouti, add a backdrop of great-power competition to the counterterrorism campaign that absorbs the Horn of Africa.
“If someone comes and brings investment, we’ll roll out the red carpet,” said Youssef Moussa Dawaleh, president of the Djibouti Chamber of Commerce.
Gen. Zana said it was too early to know whether the U.S. withdrawal to Djibouti has worsened Somalia’s security. But, he added, “I don’t know that anyone would assert that the situation has improved as a result of this decision.”
A key tenet of President Joe Biden's foreign policy is cooperation with like-minded, democratic partners that share America's goals. There has been no greater need than today for this new strategy, as conflicts simmer or flare up around the world.
Statement by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on the situation of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region
UNHCR calls on all parties and actors to not only comply with their international legal obligations
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 13, 2021/ — I am extremely concerned about the conditions of Eritrean refugees in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Since the outbreak of hostilities in November 2020, they have been deeply affected by the violence and insecurity that has engulfed the region. They have been caught up between warring groups, two refugee camps have been completely destroyed, and tens of thousands of Eritrean refugees were forced to flee – yet again – for their lives. We have received credible and corroborated reports of reprisal attacks, abductions, arrests, and violence meted out against Eritrean refugees for their perceived affiliation with one side or the other throughout this bloody conflict.
I have been disturbed by general criminality against refugees committed, mainly at night, by various armed actors in the Mai Aini and Adi Harush refugee camps. In the past weeks, hundreds of Eritreans have been arrested in Shire. We have sought clarity from the authorities in Mekelle and have requested access to and the immediate release of any unlawfully detained refugees and asylum seekers. We have also heard reports of other very serious allegations of violence against Eritrean refugees and have called on both the Federal Government and the Tigray Regional Government to launch formal investigations into all credible allegations.
The violence and intimidation of Eritrean refugees must stop. Refugees are civilians in need of and with the right to international protection. UNHCR calls on all parties and actors to not only comply with their international legal obligations, including the protection of civilians but also to stop using and manipulating refugees to score political points.
Our collective focus must instead be on ensuring their protection – including from violence, arrest, and abduction – and stepping up assistance to them. This means urgently constructing a safe new camp for Eritrean refugees who were previously living in the now destroyed Shimelba and Hitsats camps. It means being able to access fuel and cash to run our operations to assist refugees and the two million other displaced people in the Tigray region. It means restoring essential banking services, as well as electricity and communications networks, which are – along with security – essential to ramp up the humanitarian response. And it means opening the airports in Shire and Mekelle, as well as all land routes into Tigray from neighboring regions of Ethiopia so that humanitarians can get more help into the hands of those in need – Eritrean refugees and all other impacted civilians in Tigray.
UNHCR is scaling up its response both in the delivery of relief materials and in the deployment of more senior personnel. But protecting civilians, including Eritrean refugees, and greater efforts to facilitate the humanitarian relief effort are urgently needed by all parties.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
DJIBOUTI—On Jan. 19, a U.S. aircraft opened fire on a vehicle driving near Jamaame, Somalia, killing a commander of the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab, the local al Qaeda affiliate. That mission and another the same day brought to 203 the number of airstrikes former President Donald Trump carried out in Somalia.....
Muqdisho (Caasimada Online) – Wasiirka wasaaradda dhalinyarada iyo cayaaraha Soomaaliya Xamza Saciid Xamza ayaa ka sheekeeyey arrimo uusan filaneyn oo uu ugu tegay markii loo magacaabay wasaaradaas, isagoo aad u dhaliilay hanaankii hore ee wasaaradda dhalinyarada ay u shaaqeyn jirtay.
Wasiir Xamza waxa uu sheegay in markii loo magacaabay wasaaradda dhalinyarada uu waayey xafiis uu ku shaqeeyo, sidoo kalena shaqaalihii ay fasax isaga maqan yihiin in ka badan laba sano, taas oo shaqa badan kadib uu sheegay in hadda uu wax badan ka bedelay.
”Habeenkii aan la wareegay xafiiska wasaaradda dhalinyarada iyo cayaaraha, waxaan waayay xafiis aan subixii u shaqa galo, waxaan ugu tagay iyadoo shaqaalaha wasaaradda sanad iyo bar ilaa laba sano fasax isaga jiraan mushaarkana ay iska qaadanayaan, runtii waxay taasi igu noqotay mushkilad weyn oo meesha ka jirtay,” ayuu yiri wasiir Xamza Saciid.
Sidoo kale wasiirka ayaa sheegay in hadda uu ku guuleystay in shaqadii wasaaradda uu dib u soo celiyo.
“Markaan imid saddex bilood waxay igu qaadatay inaan Wasaaradii inaan isu keeno, xafiis u raadiyo, shaqaalihii soo noqdaan, lagu shaqo bilaabo, waxay noqotay inaan eber ka bilowno.. Hadda wasaaradda waa socod barad, haddana dhisme ayaaba ka socda..” ayuu yiri Wasiir Xamza oo warkiisu ku socday sidii ay wasaaradda u maamuleysay Khadiijo DiiriyeWasaaradaan markii loo magacaabayey wasiir Xamza waxaa laga wareejiyey Khadiija Maxamed Diiriye oo haatan ah Wasiirka Wasaaradda Gargaarka iyo Maareynta Musiibooyinka.
Muqdisho (Caasimada Online) – Xildhibaan Maxamed Cabdi Xayir Maareeye oo ka mid ah siyaasiyiinka ka soo jeeda gobollada waqooyi ee Somaliland ayaa dhammaan madaxda maamul goboleedyada dalka iyo kuwa dowladda dhexe ku eedeeyey inay masuul ka yihiin, oo ay ku heshiiyeen boobka kuraasta xildhibaanada waqooyi.
Waxa uu sheegay in kulamadii looga hadlayey doorashooyinka dalka aysan siyaasiyiinta reer Somaliland wax metelaad ah ku leheyn, isagoo siyaasiyiinta reer koonfureedka ku eedeeyey in aysan dooneyn in dib loo soo celiyo midnimada Soomaaliya.
“Kulamadii doorashooyinka cid noogu jirtay malahan, dhammaan maamul goboleedyada iyo dowladda dhexe ayaa masuul ka ah in nala kala qeybiyo, si loo boobo kuraasta xildhibaanada gobollada waqooyi,” ayuu yiri Maareeye.
Waxa uu sheegay in siyaasiyiinta gobollada waqooyi ee ku jirta dowladda federaalka ay lahaa jireen dhaqan ah in qofka ugu sareeya uu hoggaamiyo xilliga doorashada.
“Dowladdu waxay noo diiday oo maamul goboleedyaduna kula safanyihiin inaanaa ka qeyb gelin madashii doorashooyinka looga tashanayey, waxaan dhihi karaa halkaan lagama rabo qadiyada midnimada. Shacabka Soomaaliyeed inuu midoobow rabaa, laakiin dadka kursiga ku shaqeysta midnimo ma rabaan, marka iyagaa na kala qeybiyey oo madashii noo diiday oo hoggaankeenii Cabdi Xaashi u diiday in talada laga qeyb geliyo,” ayuu hadalkiisa ku sii daray xildhibaan Maareeye.
Sidoo kale Maareeye waxa uu sheegay in dad badan oo midnimada u taagnaa ay koonfur isaga tageen markii ay waayeen cid kala shaqeysa.
“Hadii doorashadaan aan loo deyn dadka reer waqooyi ka jooga halkaan, dhaawac weyn ayaa gaari doona raadintii midnimada Soomaaliya, hadii laga dhega adeygo dadka iska leh doorashadaan in maamulkeeda loo daayo, tallaabooyin adag ayaa nooga diyaarsan,” ayuu hadalkiisa ku soo gabagabeeyey Maxamed Cabdi Xayir Maareeye.
Garowe (PP News Desk) — When Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni returned from Mogadishu one month ago after signing the electoral agreement he had resolved to decide the selection process for federal MPs and Senators from Puntland. That plan seems to have hit an unexpected snag.
President Deni’s plan has hit a snag.
On July 4th 2021 Puntland State Parliament voted favourably on a bill that will make the removal of the Parliamentary Speaker – more difficult undertaking for the executive branch of Puntland. Two-thirds of MPs can unseat the Speaker, the same number of MPs that Puntland President or Vice President should win to avoid a Vote of No Confidence.
Disagreements over the selection of MPs and Senators have trigged the apparent power struggle. Abdirashid Yusuf Jibril, Puntland Parliamentary Speaker, seeks to have the ultimate decision on MPs and Senators from Wasangali whereas Ahmed Elmi, Puntland Vice President, insists on overseeing the selection process for MPs and Senators from Sool clan constituencies.
Abdirashid Jibril asserted his powers through a new parliamentary law passed last week.
This challenge to President’s Demi’s privilege to sign off the list of federal MPs and Senators from disputed territories might affect Somalia’s presidential elections schedule. President Deni has promised his allies in Mogadishu, notably the former President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, to instruct prospective MPs and Senators from Puntland to vote for him en masse.
“Now President Deni has got to count on fewer MPs and Senators who may vote for his ally and former boss” said a political analyst in Garowe.
Puntland Vice President Ahmed Elmi claims to have the last word on the selection process for MPs and Senators from Sool and ‘Ayn.
Other contenders lurking in the background include Ahmed Isse Awad, the former Foreign Minister, who is discreetly canvassing votes for Hassan Ali Kheire, the former Somalia Prime Minister.
“Villa Somalia stands to benefit from the power struggle in Garowe. President Deni might accuse the Federal Government of Somalia of interfering in the electoral process, but without evidence such accusation will not stick” added the political analyst.
WAALID-Haddaydaan u soo sheegin Ciidanka Booliiska Khamri-Xashiishka aragtaan, caruurtiina u halis ah.
Diinta Islaamku waa nasteexo- waxay u tahay madaxda, shicibka, raga, dumarka iyo dhamaan qeybaha bulshada islaamka, dhamaantood waxa looga baahan yahay inuu qof walba walaalkiisa kale ee Islaamka u nasteexeeyo, waxii wanaaga ahna isu kaashadaan, xumaantana meel uga soo wada jeestaan suulinteeda.
Walaalayaal, sidaad la wada socotaan shalay waxuu ciidanka Booliiska Somaliland Ilaahay SW mahadiisa, gacanta ku soo dhigeen khamri lagu soo qariyey jawaanada Jaadka, taasoo ah hanaan cusub oo dadka xumaanta ka shaqeeya isku deyeen inay u soo waaridaan badeecadooda xumaanta, laakiin, nasiib wanaag ciidanka Booliiska oo kaashanaya bulshadoodu waxay baanka soo dhigeen xumaantii ay qarinayeen xumaan-wadeyaashu, waan ku hambalyeynayaa, Ilaahay SW waxaan ka baryayaa inuu ku guuleeyo dedaaladooda ka hortaga xumaan lagu faafiyo Islaamka dhexdiisa. Aamin.
Walaalayaal, Taliyaha Ciidanka Booliiska Sareeye Guuto Maxamed Aadan Saqadhi iyo madaxda Ciidanka Booliiska oo ka waramay khamriga ciidanku qabtay iyo sida qolyaha xumaan-wadeyaashu mar walba u raadinayaan tabbo cusub oo ay dalka ku soo geliyaan xumaantooda ayaa sheegay in ciidanka booliisku oo kaashanaya bulshadiisa marwalba ka horeeyaan isku-deyadooda, diyaar u yihiin inay waajibaadkooda ka gutaan cidhib-tirka dadka xumaanta wada.
Taliye Maxamed oo ka hadlayey tabaha xumaan wadeyaashu isku deyayaan inay adeegsadaan ayaa sheegay in nin gaadhi khamri saaran yahay lagu qabtay, la isku deyey in la laaluusho ciidankii qabtay oo loo keenay lacag saddex kun oo dollar, balse, labadii nin ee laaluushka wadayna ciidanku xidheen, dhamaantoodna maxkamada la horgeeyey.
Waxuu bulshada ugu baaqay inay u istaagaan la dagaalanka xumaanta iyo dadka ka shaqeeya, si aanay u burburin qiyamka iyo jiritaanka bulshadeena, waxaanu yidhi, “Waa inaynu u wada istaagna la dagaalanka kuwa xumaanta wada, isla markaana waxii khamri iyo xashiishad ee bulshadu arkaana la soo socodsiin ciidanka booliiska JSL.”
Walaalayaal, dadka xumaanta wada waa dad innagu dhexjira, hadaanay Xukuumad, ciidan, waalidiin, raga, dumarka, dhalinyaradu meel uga soo wada jeesan kan hortagooda, kuwa ay ku faafinayaan ee mustaqbalkoodu mugdiga gelayo waa caruurteena, Ilaahay SW haka badbaadiyee. Markaa hora loo yidhi daad intaanu ku soo gelin ayaa la iska moosaaye, waa inaynu xilka iyo waajibka inna saaran gudanaaa, taasoo ah waajib diini ah oo qofwalba caqli leh, maalinta aakhirana la weydiin doono.
Aabe iyo Hooyo hadaydaan u soo sheegin Ciidanka Booliiska waxii Khamri iyo Xashiish aad aragtaan, caruurtiina u halis ah.
Baarlamaanka Puntland ayaa sheegay in uusan jirin qodob ka mid ah xeer-hoosaadka Golaha oo ka hor-imanaya dastuurka Puntland.
War-saxaafedeed ka soo baxay Baarlamaanka Puntland ayaa lagu sheegay in xeer-hoosaadka dhawaan wax-ka-bedelka lagu sameeyay loo maray sifo sharci ah oo waafaqsan qodobada xeer-hoosaadka ee Golaha Wakiillada.
Sidoo kale Baarlamaanka Puntland ayaa beeniyay in aysan jirin mushaar ay leeyihiin xubnaha Baarlamaanka ee dib loo soo dooran waayo, balse waxay xuseen in uu jiro xeer la soo saaray 2013 oo sheegaya in xildhibaannadu markay xilka banneeyaan leeyihiin mushaar 12 bilood ah oo sagootina.
War-saxaafadeedka Baarlamaanka Puntland ayaa looga jawaabayay wareysi uu BBC-da siiyay Xildhibaan Axmed Cabdiraxmaan Kuluc oo ku sheegay in xeer-hoosaadka wax-ka-bedelka lagu sameeyay uu ka hor-imanayo dastuurka Puntland.
DUBAI, July 12 (Reuters) – Dubai’s DP World said on Monday an arbitration tribunal in London ruled that Djibouti’s port company, Port de Djibouti S.A. (PDSA) breached a joint venture agreement over a container terminal with DP World by wrongfully attempting to end it.
The government of Djibouti, which is responsible for the port, could not immediately be reached for comment.
DP World, one of the world’s biggest port operators, and Djibouti have been in dispute since 2012 over DP World’s concession to operate the Doraleh Container Terminal, located in the Horn of Africa along strategic trade routes at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.
Djibouti said in 2018 it was placing the terminal in state hands and since then it has been operated by a management company controlled by the Djibouti government.
DP World called the seizure illegal, and the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) ruled in August 2018 that the company’s contract in Djibouti was valid and binding.
The LCIA could not immediately be contacted on Monday.
DP World said in a statement on Monday the court ruled that PDSA remained a shareholder in the joint venture, and its attempted transfer of its shares to the government had no effect.
The arbitration will proceed to a second phase to decide the damages owed by PDSA to DP World, the DP World statement, published online, said.
DP World said that it will pursue all legal means to defend its rights as shareholder and concessionaire in the Doraleh Container Terminal, of which it owns a third.
($1 = 0.7194 pounds)
Reporting by Saeed Azhar; additional reporting by Maggie Fick in Nairobi; editing by Barbara Lewis
(SLT-Hargeysa)-Madaxweynaha Somaliland ayaa maqaal uu ku qoray wargeyska weyn ee Newsweek ee Maraykanka waxa uu kaga hadlay ahmiyadda ay leedahay in Madaxweynaha Maraykanka Mr Joe Biden siyaasaddiisa arrimaha dibadda ee ku aaddan Geeska Afrika door muhiim ah ka siiyo iskaashiga Somaliland iyo Maraykanka.
Madaxweyne Biixi waxa uu qormadiisa ku lafo-guray caqabadaha ka jira gobolka Geeska oo dawladda Maraykanku danaynayso una soo diratay wakiillo laakiin, ay mudan tahay in arrintaas door laga siiyo Somaliland oo wax badan kala qaban karta Maraykanka danihiisa gobolka iyo guud ahaan ahmiyadda uu leeyahay iskaashi dhexmara Maraykanka iyo Somaliland.
“Inbadani ma taqaan Beesha Caalamkuna ma aqoonsana, haddana Somaliland waxay ku guulaysatay meelo aanay qaar (dalal) badan ku guulaysan—iyada oo ay yar tahay taageerada ay ka hesho dalalka Qaadhaanka bixiya ama Shirkaddaha/hay’addaha caalamiga ah. Waxaanu qabsanay doorashooyin badan oo dimuquraaddi ah oo qof iyo cod ah, waxaanu dhulkayaga ka baajinay Argagixisada, waxaanu baddayada ka ilaalinay Budhcad badeeda, iyada oo aanu iska dhawrnay faro gelinta shisheeyaha oo kuwa kale (dalalka deriska) ee gobolku isu dhiibeen. Waxa aanu dhidibada u taagnay deggenaansho dhaqaale oo u kobcaya sida kaabeyaasha iyo warshadahayagu u korayaan una qaan-gaadhayaan,”
Madaxweyne Biixi wuxuu sheegay in 30-kii sano ee u dambeeyay Dunidu ka marag ahayd horumarka Somaliland halka dalal waaweyn iyo ku yaryar oo Afrika ah la daala dhacayaan muran dhuleed, dagaallo qoomiyadeed, kuwo diimeed.
Waxa uu tilmaamay isbedellada Somaliland samaysay kadib xorriyad kala soo noqoshada midawgii fashilmay ee Somalia, haddana ay ku naaloonayso horusocod dhaqaale iyo dimuqraaddiyad “Waxaa sharaf ii ah in aan ahay Madaxweynaha 5-aad ee Somaliland ee si dimuqraaddi ah loo soo doortay. Guusha Somaliland waxa qayb ka ah is aamminsanaanta muwaadiniinta dhexdooda, taas oo marka ay wakhtigeeda timaaddo aan Madaxweynaha 6-aad xilka ku wareejin doono,’
Madaxweyne Biixi waxyaabaha uu sida weyn u hogo-tusaaleeyay waxa ka mid ah danaha Somaliland iyo Maraykanku iska kaashan karaan ee gobolka Geeska Afrika oo dawladda Maraykanku dano badan ka leedahay sidoo kalena ay jiraan faro gelin badan oo dalal Shiinuhu ka mid yahay oo si weyn u danaynaya gobolkan istaraatijiga ah, islamarkaana ay habboon tahay in Maraykanku kaashado Somaliland oo wax badan kala qaban karta danihiisa Geeska.
Ciidamadda Booliska Jamhuuriyadda Somaliland ayaa soo qabtay Shixnada Khamri ah oo si qarsoodi ah dalka lagu soo gelinaayay, iyadoo lagu soo dhex qariyay jawaannada qaadka ee ka yimaadda Itoobiya.
Taliyaha Ciidamadda Booliska JSl Sareeye guuto Maxamed Aadan Saqadhi (Dabogale) oo warbaahinta la hadlay ayaa sheegay in la dhaawacayo damiirka iyo qiyamaka bulshadda Somaliland, iyadoo maandooriye kala duwan lagu faafinayo deegaanno farabadan oo dalkoo dhan ah. Taliyuhu waxa uu sheegay Ciidamadda Booliska JSl ay talaabo adag ka qaadi doonaan dadka arrimahaasi ku hawlan, xeelad kasta oo ay isticmaalaana ay shariciga horkeeni doonaan.
Taliyaha Ciidamadda Booliska Somaliland Sarreeye Guuto Maxamed Aadan Saqadhi (Dabogale) oo arrintaasi ka hadlaaya waxa ka mid ahaa hadaladiisii.
Muqdisho (Caasimada Online) – Cabdimaalik Cabdullahi Xasan oo kamid ahaa dhalinyaradii ka soo baxsatay dalka Eritrea ee bishii hore lagu soo bandhigay deegaanada Puntland ayaa xalay lagu dilay degmada Afgooye ee gobolka Shabeellada Hoose, sida ay hore u baahisay Caasimada Online.
Wiilkan oo ahaa 20-sano jir ayaa bil ka hor ka soo muuqday warbaahinta, isagoo ka sheekeynaya qaabkii ay uga soo baxsadeen dalka Eritrea oo dowladda Soomaaliya tababar u geysay.
Aabaha dhalay Cabdimaalik oo la hadlay idaacada VOA-da ayaa sheegay in lagu dilay Toorey, oo uu ku dilay wiil kale oo ay dagaaleen, kaasi oo ay saaxiib ahaayeen wiilaal uu sheegay inay maalmihii u dambeeyay wada socdeen.
Cabdullaahi Xaaji Xasan ayaa sidoo kale waxa uu sheegay in uu lacag badan ku bixiyey in wiilkiisu uu imaado magaalada Muqdisho, kadib markii uu dhib badan kala kulmay xeradii ciidamada Eritrea.
“Wiilaal ay saaxiib yihiin ayey isla jireen, khilaafad yar ayaa ka dhex dhacay, Toorey ayaa lagu turay midna wadnaha ayey uga dhacday midna beerka, labo toorey ah ayaa ku dhacday,” ayuu yiri.
“Dilku waxa uu ka dhacay suuqa Jaadka Afgooye, waxaa socota baaris oo ilaa hadda waa lagu jiraa.”
Aabaha dhalay Cabdimaalik ayaa inta badan ka gaabsaday su’aalo laga weydiiyay dilka wiilkiisa iyo dhibtii uu kala kulmay xeryaha ciidamada lagu tobabaray, wuxuuna carabka ku adkeeyay in uu dowladda ka warsugayo baaritaankeeda.
Allaha u naxariiste Cabdimaalik oo kamid ahaa dhalinyaradii ay hore dowladda federaalka ugu qaaday dalka Eritrea ayaa shalay waxaa lagu soo aasay qabuuraha Calamada ee duleedka degmada Afgooye.
Hoos ka dhageyso wareysiga aabe Cabdullaahi Xaaji Xasan
Dhuusamareeb (Caasimada Online) – Dagaal-yahan aad u da’yar oo ka tirsanaa kooxda Al-Shabaab ayaa u soo gacan galay dowladda kadib markii uu isku soo dhiibay ciidanka Booliska Soomaaliyeed ee ku sugan magaalada Dhuusamareeb.
Dagaal-yahankaan oo magaciisa lagu sheegay Calas Axmed Xirsi ayaa xiriir lasoo sameeyay Saraakiisha ciidanka Booliska ee deegaanka Ceeldheere, markii uu u adkeysan waayey dhibaatada ay Al-Shabaab u geysanayaan umadda Soomaaliyeed.
Wuxuu sidoo kale sheekeeyey dhibaato uu ku qabay Al-Shabaab oo ah inaan loo ogoleyn inuu waalidkiisa xiriir la sameeyo ee uu go’doon ahaa.
Careys ayaa ka hadlay qiso uu goobjoog u ahaa oo ku saabsan nin ka mida askarta Dowladda ka oo u gacan galay Al-Shabaab ayna jirdil xoog leh ka sameeyeen, sidaasina uu ku qirtay denbigii ay ku heysteen.
“Markii uu denbiga qirtay waxay ku dhaheen: Shaarkaada ayaa lagu soo dhaqayaa, indha ayey ka xireen.. kadib rasaas ayey ku fureen, waana ku dhiman waayey, kadibna mid Alshabaab ka mida ayaa la dul tegay qori oo madaxa ka toogtay.. taas ayaa iigu yaab badneyd, markey i arkeen inaan falkaas ka xumaaday ayey igu yiraahdeen: Gaal murtad ah ayaad u calool xumaaneysaa,” ayuu yiri Calas Axmed Xirsi (Careys) oo saxafiyiinta kula hadlay magaalada Dhuusamareeb.
Calas oo sidoo kale loogu yeeri jiray Careys ayaa sheegay in gebi ahaanba uu ka tanaasulay fikirkii xagjirka ahaa ee Al-Shabaab, isagoona Saraakiisha ka dalbaday in la cafiyo. Waxa uu sheegay in haatan uu diyaar u yahay la dagaalanka Al-Shabaab, oo uu sheegay inay dhibaato badan ku hayaan shacabka Soomaaliyeed.
Calas oo hadda dib uga soo laabtay fikirkii xagjirka ahaa sida uu sheegay ayaa waxa uu kasoo dagaalamay deegaano ka tirsan maamulka Galmudug oo ku sugnaa intii uu ka tirsanaa Shabaab.
Si kastaba, Dagaal-yahankaan ayaa waxa uu ku dhawaad 7-maalmood ku jiraa gacanta dowladda, wuxuuna ku doodaya in Shabaab uu uga soo goostay dhiiga macno la’aanta ay u daadinayaan.
Addis Ababa (Caasimada Online) – Dowladda Ethiopia ayaa heshiis Iskaashi Militari ah la gashay Ruushka, ka dib wada-hadal qaatay saddex maalmood, sida ay baahisay Wakaalada Wararka Ethiopia ee FANA.
Heshiiska cusub ee Ethiopia iyo Ruushka ayaa waxa uu yahay mid la xiriira Aqoonta Ciidan, Difaaca, Awoodda farsamo iyo qalabka ay adeegsanayaan.
Waaxda dhaqaalaha ee ciidamada difaaca ee Ethiopia ayaa saxiixay heshiiskan, kaas oo ay ku sheegtay inuu sare u qaadi doono “xiriirka soo jireenka ah ee labada dal”.
Siyaasada arrimaha dibedda Ethiopia ayaa muddooyinkii dambe u wareegtay dhinaca Shiinaha iyo Ruushka, tan iyo intii uu kordhay cadaadiska uga imaanaya xukuumadda Addis Ababa dowladda Mareykanka.
Mareykanka iyo Ethiopia ayaa waxa uu xiriirkooda sii xumaaday kadib markii ay xukuumadda Abiy ay dagaal bareer ah ku qaaday Tigray, kaasi oo ay cambaareysay xukuumadda Washington.
Taageerayaasha Abiy Ahmed ayaa bishii May soo abaabulay mudaharaad weyn oo looga soo horjeedo Mareykanka, kaasi oo ka dhacay caasimadda Addis Ababa, sidoo kale waxaa dibad-baxaas looga horyimid wax uu Abiy ku sheegay “fara-gelin shisheeye”, kadib markii ay walaac ka muujiyeen waddamada reer galbeedka xaalada dalkaas.
Waxaa xusid mudan in xukuumadda Biden ay xayiraad ku soo rogtay fiisooyinka iyo kaalmada dhaqaale ee dowladda Ethiopia, taasi oo sarre u sii qaaday xiisada labada dal.
Xukuumadda Abiy ayaa xiligan fursad aargudasho u aragta iskaashi xoogan oo ay la sameysato dowladaha Ruushka iyo Shiinaha oo xifaaltan xoogan kala dhaxeeyo Mareykanka, oo ay si weyn isku hayaan Ethiopia.
Sh.Saalim Ibraahim Al-Mukhtaar Axmed Cumar oo loo doortay Muftiga Guud ee dalka Eritrea
Muslimiinta u dhashay Eritrea waxay bishan 9-dii doorteen Muftiga Guud ee dalkaasi, waxaana loo doortay Sheekh Saalim Ibraahim Al-Mukhtaar kadib Munaasabad lagu qabtay Hoolka Dhismaha Al-Mahad Hall oo ku yaalla caasimadda dalkaasi ee Asmara.
Golaha Sare ee Fatwada iyo Arrimaha Islaamka iyo Kongareesyada Islaamiga ee Awqaaf iyo 82 Mashaa’iq caan ah iyo Odayaal ayaana si wadajir ah u doortay Muftiga Guud ee Eritrea.
Sheekh Saalim Ibraahim Al-Mukhtaar waxa uu horey u ahaa Ku-simaha Muftiga dalkaasi iyo Xoghayaha Guud ee Golaha Sare ee Fatwada iyo Arrimaha Islaamka ee dalka Eritrea.
Dhinaca kale, Muftiga Guud ee Eritrea ee cusub waxa Aabe u ahaa Caalimkii weynaa ee Sheekh Ibraahim Al-Mukhtaar Axmed Cumar, oo ahaa Muftigii u horeeyey ee uu yeesho dalka Eritrea.
Caalimkii weynaa ee Sheekh Ibraahim Al-Mukhtaar Axmed Cumar waxa uu sanadkii 1909-kii ku dhashay Tuullo kaabiga ku haysa Xeebta Badda Cas, wuxuuna Culuunta Islaamka ku soo bartay Machadka Islaamiga ee Undurmaan Islamic Institute ee dalka Sudan.
Caalimku waxa uu ka soo qalin jebiyey Jaamacadda Al-Azhar Al-Shareef University ee ku taalla Caasimadda dalka Masar ee Qaahira.
Markii Al-Azhar Al-Shareef University ka qaaday Shahaadada Darajada Cilmiga ee Aliymia degree bilowgii sanadkii 1939-ki.
Markii uu Jaamacadda ka qalin jebiyey waxaa la sheegay inuu aad u xanuunsaday, lana dhigay Isbitaal ku yaallay Qaahira,Isagoo Bukaan-socod ah ayaa waxay Safaaradii Talyaaniga ee Xilligaasi ku lahaayeen Caasimadda dalka Masar ee Qaahira ku wargeliyeen in Isaga loo doortay Muftiga Weyn ee Eritrea, iyadoo la tixgelinayo Codsiyo ay Hoggaamiyayaasha Muslimiinta Eritrea u soo gudbiyeen Talyaaniga oo xilligaasi gumeysanayey Eritrea.
Sheekh Ibraahim Al-Mukhtaar Axmed Cumar waa u diiday Codsigaasi, balse, Cadaadis ay Safaaraddu saartay ayuu dib ugu soo laabtay Eritrea.
Bishii April ee sanadkii 1940-kii ayuu soo caga-dhigtay caasimadda Eriteria ee Asmara, wuxuuna la wareegay Xilkii loo doortay ee ahaa Muftiga Guud ama Qaadiga Qaadiyayaasha (Grand Judge).
Waxa kale oo uu soo qabtay Xilal dheeraad ah sida Guddoomiyaha Golaha Waqafka ee Islaamka Eritrea, Guddoomiyaha Golaha Culumada Eritrea iyo xilal kale.
Allaha u Naxariistee, Sheekh Ibraahim Al-Mukhtaar Axmed Cumar waxa uu muddo 30-sano ahaa Muftiga Guud ee Eritrea iyo Hoggaamiyaha Ruuxiga.
Bishii June 25-dii ee sanadkii 1969-kii ayuu geeriyooday, isagoo 59-jir ah, kadib, markii uu muddo kooban xanuunsanaa.
Kumanaan qof ayaa ka soo qeyb galay Aaskiisa, isagoo lagu aasay Qabuuraha Haz Haz ee magaalladda Asmara.
Allaha u Naxariistee, Muftigii u horeeyey ee dalka Eritrea, Sheekh Ibraahim Al-Mukhtaar Axmed Cumar waxa uu ifka kaga tegay 5 carruur ah oo uu ka mid yahay Sheekh Saalim Ibraahim Al-Mukhtaar oo haatan loo doortay Muftiga Guud ee Eritrea.
Muqdisho (Caasimada Online) – Taliye ku xigeenkii hore ee Hey’adda NISA Jeneraal Cabdalla Cabdalla ayaa ka hadlay xaaladda Ikraan Tahliil Faarax oo muddo laba asbuuc ah lagu la’yahay magaalada Muqdisho ayada oo hooyadeed Qaali Maxamuud Guhaad ay ku tuhmeyso hay’adda NISA.
Cabdalla oo qoraal ku daabacay bartiisa gaarka ah ee Facebook-ga ayaa ka dhawaajiyey in uu ka cabsi qabo in Ikraan loo waayo sidii Jamal Khaashuqji, saxafigii reer Sacuudi ee October, 2018-kii lagu khaariyey safaaradda Riyadh ee Istanbul, kaasi oo weli aan la heli meydkiisa.
Taliye ku xigeenki hore ee hey’adda Nabad-Sugidda Qaranka ee NISA ayaa sheegay in Ikraan ay ku maqan tahay gudaha Xabsiga weyn ee Godka Jilacow taasoo ay gacanta ku heyso Hey’adda Sirdoonka Qaranka
“Ikraan Tahliil waa in ay caddaalad heshaa, waxay ku dhex maqan tahay xarunta NISA ee Godka Jilacow. Waxaan cabsi weyn ka qabaa in sidii Jamal khashuqji aysan dib danbe uga soo bixin Godka Jilacow,” ayuu yiri Cabdalla.
Sidoo kale Cabdalla ayaa sheegay inay ilo-wareedyo u xaqiijiyeen in Ikraan la dilay habeenkii 26-ka June. Caasimada Online si madax-banaan uma xaqiijin karto in Ikraan ay ku dhex-maqan tahay xarunta NISA ama la dilay intaba.
Ikraan Tahliil Faarax, oo da’deeda tahay 24-sano jir ah ayaa ehelkeeda ka maqan muddo ka badan 16 maalmood sida ay sheegeen xubnaha ehelkeeda.
Ikraan, oo si dhow ula soo shaqeysay Guddoomiyihii hore ee Gobolka Banaadir AUN, Injineer Yarisow, ayaa la la’yahay tan iyo 26-kii Juun sanadkan aan ku jirno ee 2021-ka, sida ay sheegeen xubno kamid ah qoyskeeda oo la hadlay Warbaahinta.
Hooyo Qaali, oo warbaahinta kula hadashay Muqdisho, ayaa sheegtay in gabadhan ay xilli habeen ah raacday gaari u diiwaan gashan dowladda oo la yaqaan, gaar ahaan hay’adda NISA. Baabuurka gabadha qaaday ayey sheegtay inuu xilli habeen ah, abaare 8-dii, 26-kii June uu ugu yimid gurigeeda, kadibna Ikraan ay qaadatay Labtop ay ku shaqeyneysay.
Hooyadda Ifraax oo ku dagan dalka Turkiga ayaa sheegtay in ay heleen muuqaalo CCTV ah oo muujinaya markii ugu dambeysay ee gabadheedu ka baxeyso guriga iyo gaariga lagu sii qaaday.
“Baabuurka wuxuu kasoo galay KM0 iyo Hotel Global dhexdooda, oo ah halka aan degannahay. Intaas dhexdeeda baabuur soo galay waa baabuur la yaqaan, waa baabuur amni ah, waa baabuur gacanka uu soo daayey,” ayey tiri hooyo Qaali.
Waxaa diirada lagu saaray kulankaan sidii loo sugi lahaa amniga goobaha ay ka dhacayaan doorashooyinka iyo sidii ciidamada iyo taliyaasha ay dhex dhexaad uga noqon lahaayeen doorashada la filayo inay bilaha soo socdo ka dhacdo Soomaaliya.
Kulanka ayaa kusoo dhammaaday isfaham, wuxuuna Rooble faray saraakiisha ciidamada inay si daacad ah u gutaan waajibaadka ka saaran doorashada.
Taliyaha ciidanka booliska Soomaaliya ayaa waxa uu kamid yahay saraakiisha loo xil saaray sugida amniga goobaha ay ka dhacayaan doorashooyinka dalka.
Doorashada madaxweynimo ee Soomaaliya ayaa la filayaa inay dhacdo 10 October ee sanadkaan sida ku xusan heshiiskii ay 27 May ku saxiixdeyn Magaalada Muqdisho madaxda Maamul Goboleedyada iyo Ra’isulwasaare Roole.
Waqtiga loo qabtay doorashada Soomaaliya ayaa laga yaabaa inay ka dib dhacdo maadaama ay soo baxeyn khilaaf cusub oo ka dhashay kuraasta reer Waqooyiga (Somaliland) iyo kuwa Jubbaland ee yaal Magaalada Garbahaarey.
Taliyaha Ciidanka Booliiska Soomaaliya Gen. Cabdi Xasan Maxamed (Xijaar), oo ka warbixiyay Kulanka, ayaa sheegay in looga hadlay sidii isku-duubni looga shaqayn lahaa amniga doorashooyinka dalka.
“ Shirka waxa looga hadlay sidii si midnimo ah oo isku duubnaan ah oo isku aragti ah looga qayb qaadan lahaa doorashadu in ay ku dhacdo si amni ah cadaalad ah qof kasta oo Soomaali ah uu raalli ka noqdo” ayuuu yiri Taliye Xijaar.
Taliyaha ayaa sheegay in la isku raacay isku-aragtina laga ahaa in dalka laga qabto doorasho hufan oo caddaalad ah islamarkaana ku dhacda si amni iyo nabadgelyo ah.
Mekelle (Caasimada Online) – Ciidamada Tigray ayaa sheegay Isniintii inay kusii siqayaan Koonfurta ayna magaalo kale dib uga qabsadeen ciidamada dowladda, ayaga oo muujinaya sida ay uga go’an tahay inay dagaalka sii wadaan illaa dib looga soo celiyo xuduudihii dagaalka kahor.
Wakaaladda wararka si madax-banaan uma xaiijin karto sheegada Tigray-ga.
Ciidamada TPLF ayaa 28-kii Juna qabsaday magaalada Mekelle ee caasimadda Tigray. Hase yeeshee qeybo ka mid ah galbeedka iyo koonfurta gobolka ayaa waxaa haysta ciidamada maamulka deriska la ah ee Amxaarada.
Afhayeenka TPLF Getachew Reda ayaa Isniintii Reuters u sheegay in ciidamada Tigray ay la wareegeen gacan ku haynta magaalada Korem, oo 170km koonfur ka xigta Mekelle, ayna kusii siqayaan magaalada weyn ee Alamata oo 20km koonfur kasii xigta.
Afhayeen u hadlay militariga Ethiopia Colonel Getnet Adane, kama uusan hadlin cidda maamuleysa magaalada Korem mar ay wax ka weydiisay Reuters, hase yeeshee wuxuu farriin qoraaleed ku yiri “waxaan ku dhowaaqnay xabad-joojin,” isaga oo ila jeeda xabad-joojintii halka dhinac aheyd ee dowladda Ethiopia ay ku dhowaaqday kadib markii ay ciidankeeda kala baxday Mekelle. TPLF ayaa xabad-joojintaas ugu yeertay “kaftan”.
Afhayeenka ra’iisul wasaare Abiy Ahmed, iyo madax howlgalka dowladda ee Tigray labaduba kama jawaabin codsi ay u dirtay Reuters oo ku saabsanaa inay arrintan ka hadlaan.
Afhayeenka TPLF Getachew ayaa sheegay in kooxdiisa ay dooneyso in xuduudihii dagaalka kahor lasoo celiyo, islamarkaana la furo qadadka gaadiidka, si loogu ogolaado in gargaarka bani’aadannimo uu halkaas gaaro.
Ciidamada Tigray ayaa sheegay Isniintii inay kusii siqayaan Koonfurta ayna magaalo kale dib uga qabsadeen ciidamada dowladda, ayaga oo muujinaya sida ay uga go’an tahay inay dagaalka sii wadaan illaa dib looga soo celiyo xuduudihii dagaalka kahor.
Wakaaladda wararka si madax-banaan uma xaiijin karto sheegada Tigray-ga.
Ciidamada TPLF ayaa 28-kii Juna qabsaday magaalada Mekelle ee caasimadda Tigray. Hase yeeshee qeybo ka mid ah galbeedka iyo koonfurta gobolka ayaa waxaa haysta ciidamada maamulka deriska la ah ee Amxaarada.
Afhayeenka TPLF Getachew Reda ayaa Isniintii Reuters u sheegay in ciidamada Tigray ay la wareegeen gacan ku haynta magaalada Korem, oo 170km koonfur ka xigta Mekelle, ayna kusii siqayaan magaalada weyn ee Alamata oo 20km koonfur kasii xigta.
Afhayeen u hadlay militariga Ethiopia Colonel Getnet Adane, kama uusan hadlin cidda maamuleysa magaalada Korem mar ay wax ka weydiisay Reuters, hase yeeshee wuxuu farriin qoraaleed ku yiri “waxaan ku dhowaaqnay xabad-joojin,” isaga oo ila jeeda xabad-joojintii halka dhinac aheyd ee dowladda Ethiopia ay ku dhowaaqday kadib markii ay ciidankeeda kala baxday Mekelle. TPLF ayaa xabad-joojintaas ugu yeertay “kaftan”.
Afhayeenka ra’iisul wasaare Abiy Ahmed, iyo madax howlgalka dowladda ee Tigray labaduba kama jawaabin codsi ay u dirtay Reuters oo ku saabsanaa inay arrintan ka hadlaan.
Afhayeenka TPLF Getachew ayaa sheegay in kooxdiisa ay dooneyso in xuduudihii dagaalka kahor lasoo celiyo, islamarkaana la furo qadadka gaadiidka, si loogu ogolaado in gargaarka bani’aadannimo uu halkaas gaaro.
PRESS RELEASEStatement by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on the situation of Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia’s Tigray RegionUNHCR calls on all parties and actors to not only comply with their international legal obligationsGENEVA, Switzerland, July 13, 2021/ — I am extremely concerned about the conditions of Eritrean refugees in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Since the outbreak of hostilities in November 2020, they have been deeply affected by the violence and insecurity that has engulfed the region. They have been caught up between warring groups, two refugee camps have been completely destroyed, and tens of thousands of Eritrean refugees were forced to flee – yet again – for their lives. We have received credible and corroborated reports of reprisal attacks, abductions, arrests, and violence meted out against Eritrean refugees for their perceived affiliation with one side or the other throughout this bloody conflict.
President Deni’s plan has hit a snag.
Abdirashid Jibril asserted his powers through a new parliamentary law passed last week.
Puntland Vice President Ahmed Elmi claims to have the last word on the selection process for MPs and Senators from Sool and ‘Ayn.
U.S. slows anti-terrorist campaign in Somalia as it considers new policy
in News - Wararka
Posted
DJIBOUTI—On Jan. 19, a U.S. aircraft opened fire on a vehicle driving near Jamaame, Somalia, killing a commander of the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab, the local al Qaeda affiliate.
That mission and another the same day brought to 203 the number of airstrikes former President Donald Trump carried out in Somalia during his term in office, according to military records.
On Jan. 20, Joe Biden was sworn in as president. Since then, there hasn’t been a single U.S. airstrike on al-Shabaab.
The U.S. war against al-Shabaab, conducted largely behind a veil of secrecy since 2007, remains in limbo as Mr. Biden weighs his national-security priorities and wrestles with the last-minute decisions of his predecessor.
“We’re committed to Somalia,” said a senior U.S. official. “What exactly that will look like is still under discussion.”
In the final weeks of his presidency, Mr. Trump ordered a hurried withdrawal of roughly 650 U.S. special-operations and other troops from Somalia, where they had been training an elite local commando unit to fight al-Shabaab. The military moved most American troops to neighboring Djibouti and Kenya, sites within commuting distance of Somali government training camps.
Mr. Trump’s decision has constrained Mr. Biden’s options in the strategic Horn of Africa, the geographic intersection of valuable Red Sea shipping routes, U.S.-China competition for business and influence, and the sprawling, post-Sept. 11 American War against Islamist militants.
Mr. Biden’s administration is conducting a global review of American troop deployments overseas. Among the decisions the president faces: Whether to put troops back into Somalia, a country that seems distant to many Americans and where the 1993 Black Hawk Down episode left 18 U.S. soldiers dead on the streets of Mogadishu.
Mr. Biden also confronts the question of whether to resume airstrikes against al-Shabaab, the militant group that emerged from the chaos that followed that previous U.S. misadventure in Somalia.
A Somali army spokesman declined to comment on the country’s security situation. A government spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment.
In 2017, Mr. Trump declared parts of Somalia “areas of active hostility” and authorized offensive operations against al-Shabaab. U.S. Africa Command, based in Stuttgart, Germany, could approve airstrikes, with a good deal of authority given to the counterterrorism task force and special-operations commanders inside Somalia.
The airstrikes fell into two categories: Planned strikes on key al-Shabaab leaders, and urgent close-air support for American or allied troops in firefights against militants.
“In Somalia a little air power goes a long way,” said a former senior U.S. commander. “Al-Shabaab will always quit the battlefield if they feel there’s an air power capability.”
With U.S. troops no longer stationed alongside their Somali allies, there have been no close-air support missions since Mr. Biden’s inauguration.
Planned airstrikes against top leaders, directed by the counterterrorism task force, now require signoff from Washington, according to defense officials. Five months into his term, Mr. Biden has yet to order a single one.
An Africa Command spokeswoman declined to explain the reasons behind the lull in airstrikes. A Pentagon spokesman declined to say whether field commanders had sought approval for strikes or whether the president has to sign off personally on such requests.
“It is common for the U.S. government to pull kinetic strike authorities back to the highest level of decision makers following a change in administration,” said Maj. Gen. William Zana, commander of the U.S.-led task force in the Horn of Africa. “Militarily, we benefit from having those authorities passed back down to a level which is sufficiently agile and operationally effective.”
U.S. commanders see rising militant violence in Somalia in the context of surging security threats from Islamist militants across a swath of Africa, especially in the Sahel, a band of semiarid land that runs East-West through Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Groups aligned with al Qaeda and Islamic State carried out 1,170 attacks in the Sahel last year, up from 92 in 2016, according to data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project assembled by the Pentagon-funded Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Militants killed more than 4,200 people in the Sahel last year and conducted 278 attacks in the first three months of this year, the center reported.
In 2017, four U.S. servicemen and five Nigerien troops were killed in an ambush in Niger carried out by militants from the Islamic State of the Greater Sahara.
The U.S. maintains a reconnaissance drone base and other forces in Niger. American troops in June completed ground, air and sea exercises with counterparts from Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, including a simulated attack across the desert with armor, infantry and a B-52 bomber.
U.S. troops are only authorized to use lethal force in self-defense in the Sahel; France takes the lead in providing offensive combat assistance to beleaguered governments there.
For years, the U.S. made Somalia its primary focus in Africa.
Al-Shabaab’s “leaders have called for attacks on Americans, not only in the region, but in the world and in the U.S. homeland,” Gen. Stephen Townsend, head of U.S. Africa Command, said after the military exercises in Morocco. “I believe we should take these threats seriously.”
Last year, al-Shabaab fighters attacked U.S. forces posted to a Kenyan military base in Manda Bay, near the Somali border. An American soldier, Spc. Henry J. Mayfield, Jr., and two U.S. civilian contractors were killed.
American troops at Manda Bay were training Kenyan soldiers for anti-al Shabaab operations in Somalia under the auspices of the African Union.
Early this month, al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that targeted police and intelligence officials who frequent tea shops at an intersection in Mogadishu, according to retired Somali Col. Ahmed Abdullahi, former commander of the country’s special-forces brigade, and a militant pronouncement monitored by SITE Intelligence Group.
The group last month seized control of the town of Wisil, a strategic crossroads in central Somalia.
“The lack of strikes now has really emboldened al- Shabaab a lot,” said Col. Abdullahi, who is now a security consultant for diplomats working in Somalia.
He said he hoped Mr. Biden would put a smaller American force back into Somalia to train local commandos. He argued that the U.S. should resume airstrikes, but more selectively target high-level al-Shabaab commanders so as not to create resentment among ordinary Somalis.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have alleged that U.S. airstrikes have repeatedly killed or injured civilians, and that the U.S. military has done an inadequate job of investigating those cases.
U.S. Africa Command says it is diligent in investigating allegations of civilian deaths, including a report that the Jan. 19 airstrike killed a noncombatant. Military investigators concluded that the only casualty was the al-Shabaab commander the airstrike was intended to kill.
In a written statement that accompanied that investigation, Gen. Townsend said, “We will continue to refine our processes to ensure our partners and the public recognize our commitment to minimizing civilian casualties whenever possible.”
The military is still investigating allegations that a Jan. 1 airstrike injured three civilians.
Efforts by the U.S., the African Union and their allies to help stabilize Somalia have been frustrated by clan rivalries and political skirmishing between the powerful states and the central government.
In some areas of rural Somalia, al-Shabaab is the de facto government. U.S. officials calculate that al-Shabaab collects about $130 million in “taxes” from these areas each year, an amount equivalent to about 20% of the budget of the Somali federal government.
“Somalia is just a mess, and it will continue to be a mess,” said Air Brig. Gen. Stéphane Dupont, commander of French forces in the region.
Most of the U.S. troops previously stationed in Somalia are now among the 4,000 or so U.S. personnel at Camp Lemonnier in neighboring Djibouti, which shares linguistic and cultural ties with Somalia. While awaiting orders from Mr. Biden, U.S. special-operations troops commute from Djibouti into Somalia to train and supervise the local commandos.
The base is the largest U.S. position in Africa and houses an East Africa Response Force on call for embassy evacuations and other emergencies. Specialists at a military crime lab at the camp try to identify al-Shabaab bomb makers by examining explosives residue, fingerprints, DNA and other evidence from attacks.
U.S. trainers conduct infantry drills with Djibouti’s 400-man Rapid Intervention Battalion, and American personnel fly drones, both armed and unarmed, over Somalia from a base near Djibouti’s capital.
Djibouti has largely avoided al-Shabaab violence, despite its alliance with the U.S. An exception was in 2014 when an al-Shabaab operative in a black robe blew herself up in the middle of the dining room at La Chaumière restaurant, a spot popular with foreigners. Another attacker threw a hand grenade toward a pair of German diners, according to the restaurant’s owner.
Two people died, plus the attackers themselves.
Djibouti was a French colony until 1977, and France still keeps an army battalion and Mirage jets in the country to assist in its defense.
The U.S. camp in Djibouti sits about 5 miles from China’s first overseas base, a port facility that Western officials says is being expanded to handle an aircraft carrier. China’s presence, and the large infrastructure projects Beijing is sponsoring in Djibouti, add a backdrop of great-power competition to the counterterrorism campaign that absorbs the Horn of Africa.
“If someone comes and brings investment, we’ll roll out the red carpet,” said Youssef Moussa Dawaleh, president of the Djibouti Chamber of Commerce.
Gen. Zana said it was too early to know whether the U.S. withdrawal to Djibouti has worsened Somalia’s security. But, he added, “I don’t know that anyone would assert that the situation has improved as a result of this decision.”
—Nancy A. Youssef contributed to this article.
Source: Wall Street Journal
The post U.S. slows anti-terrorist campaign in Somalia as it considers new policy appeared first on Caasimada Online.