Will the Return of Ethiopia’s Military to Somalia Destroy al-Shabaab or Revive It? Publication: Terrorism Monitor Volume: 9 Issue: 44December 1, 2011 07:25 PM Age: 17 min By: Muhyadin Ahmed Roble Ethiopian Troops Just 40 days after Kenya’s military intervention against the militant al-Shabaab group began in Somalia there are indications that the Kenyan effort may become part of a joint operation with African Union and Ethiopian military forces to eradicate terrorist elements in the Horn of Africa. The African Union has backed the Kenyan invasion of southern Somalia and has also invited the Ethiopian army to join the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), currently consisting of military contingents from Uganda and Burundi. The Ethiopia army crossed the border into Somalia on November 19, with more than 20 Ethiopian military vehicles supported by helicopters immediately seizing towns in central Somalia close to al-Shabaab bases. Ethiopian forces created a large military base on the outskirts of Guri’el, Abduqwaq and Balanbal near the Somalia-Ethiopia border (Reuters Africa, November 19; Somalia Report, November 19). The Ethiopia intervention began before the African Union invited Ethiopia troops to join African Union peacekeepers in Somalia in stabilizing Somalia. Ethiopia’s current involvement is intended to create a new front against al-Shabaab in the Ethiopia-Somalia border region by working with local clans and factions. Knowing the results of Ethiopia’s bloody invasion of Somalia in 2006, the AU’s invitation to dispatch Ethiopia troops to Somalia will be another counterproductive and undiplomatic move according to Abdihakim Aynte, a Somali political analyst in Nairobi. “The African Union seems to ignore the last experience of Ethiopian's business with Somalia,” Aynte told the Jamestown Foundation. [1] The U.S. State Department also seems wary of the outcome of another Ethiopian invasion. Johnnie Carson, the State Department’s top Africa policymaker, said: “Ethiopia went into Somalia some four and a half years ago and stayed for approximately two and a half to three years. That effort was not universally successful and led in fact to the rise of Shabaab after they pulled out” (McClatchy Newspapers, November 22; The Standard [Nairobi], November 22). Ethiopia’s military intervention in Somalia will not please the current Transitional Federal Government (TFG) president Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad, a former leader of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), ousted by the Ethiopians in 2006. Abdihakim Aynte says President Shaykh Sharif Shaykh Ahmad and the TFG do not have a choice in the matter. Somali Defense Minister Hussein Arab Isse welcomed the entrance of Ethiopian forces to eradicate al-Shabaab but warned Ethiopia against having any other objectives that damage the reputation of the country: “We welcome Ethiopian troops…and any other country that contributes forces to fight against the Shabaab militants, as long as they do not violate our sovereignty” (AFP, November 21). However, Aynte fears that Ethiopia might strengthen al-Shabaab, which he believes is currently at its weakest point. Because of Ethiopia’s bitter history with Somalia, Aynte said that al-Shabaab might start to engage nationalist fighters who consider Ethiopia an old enemy. All foreign interventions in post-independence Somalia, including Ethiopia’s 2006 invasion, have ended in a bad way. This is unsurprising as Somalis are notoriously xenophobic in terms of intervention in their own affairs, especially interference from Ethiopia, which they view inherently as their arch nemesis. Al-Shabaab has appealed to these nationalist sentiments since 2007. Macharia Munene, Professor of International Relations at Nairobi’s United States International University (USIU) said that some al-Shabaab members might raise the unforgiving and bloody wars between the two countries as a rallying point: “Somalia is currently a big mess. For me, the Somali people are wiser than that and such sentiment will not work for al-Shabaab.” [2] Admitting that Ethiopia’s 2006 invasion had helped the creation of the Islamic insurgency by giving it a strong popularity, Professor Munene said the times have changed. “Since then al-Shabaab has done nothing good for Somalis other than [inflict] severe suffering. Ethiopia withdrew from the country and they still keep [mounting] suicide attacks and killing innocent Somalis and that is why Somalis will not support al-Shabaab in this war.” According to Munene, the AU does not have a good reason to deny Ethiopia’s help in improving the Somali situation because the AU doesn’t have enough resources and manpower to confront the current situation: “Ethiopia wants to do the job as a volunteer so the AU should be happy to use the Ethiopian army and military equipment.” However, Munene’s colleague Hannah Macharia, international relations lecturer at USIU, said the Ethiopia invasion might complicate the conflict. She noted that in 2006 al-Shabaab existed mainly as a militia, but the Ethiopia invasion radicalized them as they felt that their country was under occupation. As a result of that, al-Shabaab was able to begin recruiting Somalia across the world. [3] “Partly, the Ethiopia invasion will complicate the whole process because the two-year Ethiopian presence in Somalia was unpopular and coalesced support for al-Shabaab because of indiscriminate mortar fire in the towns,” she observed. Professor Munene said that the previous aim of the AU was to maintain the position of the Somali TFG, but the common goal now is to defeat al-Shabaab militants. Munene believes the defeat of al-Shabaab will require the effort of every country and state. Al-Shabaab responded to the Ethiopian action by saying the incursion was required after the Kenyan Army, a “non-combat tested yet highly bumptious force,” had failed in its attempt to secure southern Somalia due to fierce resistance from the mujahideen of al-Shabaab. The movement further appealed to Somali nationalism to increase its numbers: “We… urge the Muslims of Somalia to set their differences aside and unite against their common enemy as they have done in the past in order to defend their country as well as their religion from the aggressive invasion of the allied African crusaders. You are facing a barbaric enemy that has no appreciation for the sanctity of human life; be firm and steadfast against them and fight them with all your might.” [4] With troops from four African nations now operating on Somali soil backed by the military power of the United States, al-Shabaab is certain to try to capitalize on traditional Somali xenophobia and nationalism to preserve and even expand the radical Islamist movement.

Somalia Tops Most Corrupt Countries List For Fifth Year see photosAP Photo/David Guttenfelder Click for full photo gallery: Most Corrupt Countries Politicians in Somalia have come up with a new way to profit from that country’s misery: They set up rival refugee camps to divert food donations they can then steal and sell on the black market. This is just one of the many practices that landed Somalia atop Transparency International’s list of Most Corrupt Countries for the fifth straight year. Compiled through a variety of independent surveys, Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index attempts to measure the level of bribery, diverted aid and stolen political power that enrich a country’s leaders at the expense of its citizens and overall economy. This year’s list contains many familiar names, including Venezuela and Haiti, as well as newcomer North Korea, which tied with Somalia with a score of 1 out of 10 and operates like a big criminal enterprise with nukes. For thoroughgoing, consistent and deadly corruption, Somalia is hard to beat. The worst crimes are committed by the jihadist Al-Shabaab movement, which controls large swaths of the countryside and finances its operations partly through ransom money it demands as tribute from pirate gangs. But Somalia’s hopeful-sounding Transitional National Government isn’t much better: According to a recent report by U.N. monitor Matt Bryden for the Enough Project, an anticorruption group, the government led by President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is competent mainly at stealing foreign aid. No Famine Has Ever Taken Place In A Democracy Robert Lenzner Forbes Staff “While donor governments pay the TFG’s bills and African Union forces do most of the fighting on its behalf, corrupt government officials have made off with as much loot as they possibly can,” Bryden wrote. Even the government’s own accountants reported $72 million in aid stolen between 2009 and 2010, with another quarter-billion unaccounted for. “The scale of the TFG’s financial hemorrhaging is so immense that the term ‘corruption’ seems barely adequate.” Tied with Somalia is newcomer North Korea, which entered the list for the first time. More information is becoming available from executives doing business in the secretive kingdom as well as tens of thousands of escapees who have made their way to Korea and China. Author Melanie Kirkpatrick of the Hudson Institute is writing a book about life in North Korea under the hereditary dictatorship of Kim Jong-il. Kirkpatrick described North Korea as “more like Imperial Japan than anything else,” with a godlike leader and rigid caste system that allows members of the military and preferred castes to prey on everybody else. To curry favor with his highest-caste subjects, she said, Kim Jong-Il hands out expensive foreign-made watches, cars and silk underwear on his birthday, Feb. 16. They’re likely purchased with the hard currency Jong-Il earns from international sales of counterfeit currency, illegal drugs, and weapons. “It’s no exaggeration to say it’s the most corrupt place on earth,” said Kirkpatrick, who interviewed dozens of recent escapees for two years to compile her book. “The basic means of everyday survival are based very heavily on who you know and who you can bribe.” Videos spirited out of the country show military trucks being used for an illegal bus service – lower-caste citizens must bribe military officials to leave their designated villages and labor groups – and bags of United Nations-donated rice being sold in markets. North Korea considers itself a communist country but after the government-induced famines of the 1980s Kim Jong-il’s government abandoned any pretense of serving the poor, Kirkpatrick said. Millions of peasants died of starvation and the police, military and even embassy officials switched to corruption and bribery to finance their operations. In one case reported by the New York Times, two North Korean diplomats were stopped in the Moscow airport and found to have 77 pounds of cocaine in their diplomatic pouches. In 2002, officials in Taiwan intercepted 174 pounds of heroin that had been offloaded from a North Korean naval vessel. Myanmar, or Burma as it is known to its political opposition and the U.S. government, is another Asian nation that earned a place on the list because of the rampant corruption of its military-dominated government. The Obama administration has warmed slightly to Burma recently after the government allowed Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to visit Nobel Prize winner and longtime political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi. But elections held in 2010 were widely criticized and boycotted by the main opposition party, National League for Democracy. The president, Thein Sein, is a former military commander and present and former officers still extract large amounts of graft from bribery and illicit sales of timber and other resources. The Obama administration has kept in place sanctions for the regime’s political repression and failure to control illegal drug production.

God bless president Geele

Abdi ismail samatar and Ahmed Ismail samatar are often criticized because of the lack of involvement of these two gentlemen in the past, to bring forward some sort of solution as they only criticized the political situation and leaders of Somalia in the past.This is not the case any more with the formation of Hiilqaran new party created by the Samatars brothers, give the two brotherly professors a chance.

Somalia;762616 wrote: ^^ But you don't control your supposed border to the east, how can you let people violate your territorial integrity? Somalia: Puntland Condemns Somaliland Leader’s Provocative Visit 9 Oct 9, 2011 - 3:08:21 AM Puntland State of Somalia Garowe PRESS RELEASE 09 October 2011 Somalia: Puntland Condemns Somaliland Leader’s Provocative Visit The leader of Somaliland’s separatist administration, in northwestern Somalia, has visited military positions in parts of Sool region of Puntland. Sool and Sanaag regions are part of Puntland State of Somalia. Since October 2007, Somaliland forces have occupied Las Anod town against the wishes of the local population. Regrettably, it is Somaliland’s occupation that has triggered extremists to operate in those regions by benefiting from local grievances. The Somaliland leader, Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud (Silanyo), visited Las Anod town and reached approximately 18km from the Puntland defense line at Tukaraq town in Sool region. We urge Somali neighbors, regional powers and the wider international community to note Somaliland’s provocation against Puntland, which might ignite a conflict and destabilize the region. --- END ---

Carafaat;762502 wrote: Indeed the UAE is an example of a real Union, working for its people after more then 40 years and where the Somali one failed after less then a year in 1961. Inshallah one day Djibouti, Somaliland, Somalia, Somali region of O, NFD will sit around a table and deliver throught unity and cooperation for their people as well.

Wlc Mr Sultan

Unity makes people strong.

Somaliland is on the mind of many i like it allot some were writing articles the past 2 decades and Somaliland is still standing stronger than ever lol.

Vice president Seylici well done

The Zack there are some elements with in alshabaab that want that but they know that's unfeasible at the moment. Alshabab with out the suicide bombings and the Killings of innocent civilians and their Takfiri Activities they could have been part of the solution.

Carafaat adeer Alshabaab agenda is very clear an Islamic state for the Somali People based on the principles and values of Sharia. Carafaat the role of foreigners is minimum one of the main foreign figures of Alshabaab is Al Amriki an American convert. Have you heard about other top Alshabaab leaders from abroad, they do have links with Alqaeda as we know they sang songs for Bin laden and zawahiri but that's where it ends.

Magaaladda Burco oo aad loo Adkeeyay, Siyaasiyiin ku sii qul-qulaya iyo Ciyaarihii Gobolada oo bilaabmaya Hargeysa(Waaheen) Amaanka magaaladda Burco iyo Garoonka Kubadda Cagta ee ay Ciyaaraha Goboladdu ka bilaabmayaan ayaa aad loo adkeeyay si loo ilaaliyo Nabadgelyada Gobolkaasi oo ay ku qul-qulayaan dadweyne, Siyaasiyiin, Ciyaartoy iyo Madax ka tirsan Xukuumadda Somaliland oo uu gadh-wadeen u yahay Madaxweyne ku-xigeenka Somaliland C/raxmaan C/laahi Ismaaciil Saylici oo si rasmi ah Ciyaarahaasi u furi doona. Sida uu ku soo waramay Wariyaha Gobolkaas waxa ilaa shalay magaalada Burco gaadhay boqolaal qof kuwaasoo Camiray dhamaan Meheradihii Ganacsiga ee Burco iyo Huteeladdii Hurdada. Waxaana laga dareemayaa jidadka iyo goobaha lagu kulmo wajiyo cusub oo ka kala yimi Goboladda Somaliland oo dhan kuwaasoo qaarkood ay Burco ku cusub tahay. Dhamaana waxa ku wada hoyday magaaladaasi Ciyaaryahanadii ka qayb qaadanayay Tartanka Ciyaaraha kuwaasoo u soo diyaar garoobay sidii ay Guul uga soo hoyn lahaayeen Ciyaarahaasi, sidoo kale waxa lagu diyaariyay masuuliyiintii iyo Garsoorayaashii kala hagayay nidaamka Ciyaaraha. Shirkadaha Telesom iyo Dahabshiil ayaa iyana shalay ciyaaryahanada ka qayb galaya Tartnakaasi u qaybiyay Direysyo ay ku ciyaaraan iyadoo horena Koox walbaaba Gobolkeeda uga soo heshay Ambabax sare si ay guusha u soo hoyso

I find it very disturbing the so called President of Somalia complains in a foreign capital against a Somali Clan a Community he supposed to represent but than again Sharif thinks he is the president of Yaaqshiid and boondhere only.

Clan Clan Clan war shariifow maxaad wal walaqeysey miyanaad madaxweyne Somali ahayn

Carafaat Alshabaab is a homegrown organization it was the Military wing of the Islamic Courts union Somalis generally do not agree with their methods and political ideology but to label them as Foreigners is just wrong.

xiinfaniin;762369 wrote: PasserBy, Alshabaab is thousand times better than Ethiopian invasion into Somalia. Alshabaab, I repeat, is a product of Somali civil war and can only be done away with a genuine political settlement or resolution. Those who dream to keep Somalia stateless and intervene intermittently can only fool the likes of Abtigis and NGONGE , not us adeer Ethiopia is an enemy state, a constant predator vengeful of past experience with Somalia. It is a joke to suggest, Ethiopia is there to help the come back of Somali state There are historians among us adeer who understand and able to contextualize the Somali conflict. Our tragedy has no shortcuts, it requires a comprehensive political reconciliation, not foreign military intervention as apparently advocated. Indeed the solution lies with in Somalia the biggest challenge the people of Somalia and the country of Somalia is facing is famine partly caused by the wars and constant invasions. When a country's sovereignty is being violated by it's arch enemy as much as people want to evict Alshabaab a genuine approach is needed. Before a political agreement can be reached to solve this matter the willingness of all Somali Political entities finding a solution process must not be interrupted by illegal invasions. A long lasting solution will come and the Somali people will embrace it but foreign intervention will only have disastrous consequences for both Somalia and its neighbors.

Madaxweyne Ku Xigeenka Somaliland Oo U Safraya Gobolka Togdheer Si Uu Xadhiga Uga Jaro Ciyaaraha Goboladda Dalka Ee Barri Ka Dhacaya Magaaladda Burco Md Saylici oo ay Safarkiisan ku wehelin doonaan Xubno ka Mid ah Goloha Wasiiradda iyo Xildhibaano ayaa lagu rajo weyn yahay.... Hargeysa (GNS) Madaxweyne Ku Xigeenka Somaliland Mudane C/Raxmaan C/Laahi Ismaaciil (Saylici) ayaa la filayaa in uu Maalinta Barri ah furri doono Ciyaaraha Gobolada ee ka dhacay magaaladda Burco ee Gobolka Togdheer. Md Saylici oo ay Safarkiisan ku wehelin doonaan Xubno ka Mid ah Goloha Wasiiradda iyo Xildhibaano ayaa lagu rajo weyn yahay in Subaxa ka jar maadi doono Caasimadda Somaliland ee Hargeysa, waxana uu madaxweyne ku xigeenku si toosa xadhiga uga jari doonaa Garoonka lagu qaban doono ciyaaraha Goboladda Dalka. Ciyaarta ugu horeysa ayaa waxa isku began labadda Naadi ee ka kala Socdda Goboladda Maroodi jeex iyo Togdheer, waxana Gabi ahaan Caawa si toosa Magaaladda Burco u soo gaadhay Dhamaan Goboladda ka Qayb gali doona Ciyaaraha kala Duwan ee ka qabsoomi doona Magaaladda Burco. Magaaladda Burco ee Xarunta Gobolka Togdheer ayaa waxa si adag loo adkeeyay Aamankeedda, waxana si habsami ah u socota u diyaar garowga Ciyaaraha. Isku soo wadda duuduub oo Ciyaartan ayaa haddii ay qabsoonto noqon doonta markii ugu horeysay ee ciyaaraha goboladda dalka oo dhan lagu qabto Magaaladda Burco Ee Xarunta Gobolka Togdheer.

^^ Amiin

Jecliyaaye awaare oo la jaro been maha

Jacpher;762325 wrote: Does his support for the Ethiopian army extend to kilka shanaad?? He would probably say there are no Alshabaab Militants in Kilinka shanaad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_P_dpSPvZJo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>

Guddoomiyaha Urur Siyaasadeedka Wadani Oo Maanta Soo Dhaweyn Ballaadhan Kula Kulmay Dadweynaha Reer Saaxil Iyo Nuxurka Khudbadihii Uu Jeediyay. Berbera (Ramaas) Nov. 30, 2011-Dadweynaha ku nool Magaalo-madaxda gobolka Saaxil ee Berbera,, ayaa maanta si weyn u soo dhaweeyay, wefti ka socda urur siyaasadeedka Wadani oo uu hogaaminayo guddoomiyaha ururkaas Cabdiraxmaan Maxamed Cabdilaahi. Soo dhawaynta ay ku qaabileen reer Berbera weftiga Wadani , ayaa guud ahaan laga dareemay Magaalada, iyada oola arkayay boqolaal qof oo lulayay calanka iyo sawirka guddoomiye Cirro Guddoomiyaha urursiyaasadeedka Wadani Cadbiraxmaan Maxamed Cabdilaahi [Cirri) ayaa markii uu Magaalada soo gaadhay xidhiga ka jaray xafiisyo ururku ku yeelanayo Bebera, isaga oo khudbad u jeediyay taageerayaal tiro oo isu soo baxay. “Ururka Wadani waa hanti ay wada leeyihiin dadka reer Somaliland, waana urur isu sharciyeeyey dawlad wanaag, toosin iyo wax-qabad inuu ku soo kordhiyo Somaliland. Ururka Wadani in ay Somaliland wada leedahay, waxa markhaati ka ah markii la diwaangelinayey degmo iyo gobol cid ka maqnayd midna muu jirin, “Markii lacagta diwaangelinta la bixinayey dhammaan dadka reer Somaliland way ka wada qayb-qaateen. Waana markhaati ka ah waa ururkii ugu horreeyey ee si sharci ah isu diwaangeliyo. Lacagtaa la wada bixyey qayb kasta oo bulshada ka mid ahi waxbay ku lahayd.” Ayuu yidhi guddoomiye Cirro. Mar uu ka hadlayay qorshaha waxqabad ee ururkiisa waxa uu ballan qaaday in uu wax ka qaban doono baahiyaha asaasiga ah sida waxbarashada, caafimaadka, dhaqaalaha iyo wax-soo-saarka beeraha, isla markaana waxa uu si gaar ah u tilmaamay in ururka Wadani xoogga saari doono sidii Somaliland ku heli lahayd aqoonsi caalami ah. Waxa kale uu guudoomiye Cirro sheegay in xilligan Somaliland u baahan tahay siyaasiyiin khibrad leh oo ka dhabayn kara hilimilada Somaliland, isaga oo ugu baaqay dadka ku loolamaya saaxadda siyaasadda ina y ilaaliyaan asluubta iyo sharcigga tartanka xorka ah. Waxa isaguna halkaa ka hadlay Dr. Idiris Xaaji Nuur oo dadweynaha reer Berbera u soo jeediyey ina y si buuxda u taageeraan urur-siyaasadeedka WADANI, isaga oo tibaaxay in haddii uu soo baxo inuu wax badan ka qaban doono baahiyaha kala duwan ee la raagiyey dadweynaha ku nool deegaanka Berbera. Dhinaca kale Wafti uu hogaaminaayo Guddoomiyaha ku meel gaadhka ah ee Urur Siyaasadeedka Wadani , ayaa khudbado kala duwan u jeediyay dad weynaha ku dhaqan Magalada Dacar budhuq ee Degmada Laas-geel iyo Magaalada Abdaal ee Degmada Mandheera ka hor intii aanay gaadhin Magaalada Berbera. Dadweyne aad u badnaa oo ruxayay calanka iyo calamada Ururka Wadani oo safaf u taagnaa wadooyinka Magaalooyinkaas ayaa ugu horayn wafti waxay khudbad kooban dad weynaha meel fagaare ah uga jeediyeen Guddoomiye Ururka Wadani Cabdiraxmaan Maxamed Cabdilaahi “Waxaan aad iyo aad ugu faraxsanay sida diiran ee aad u soo dhawayseen Waftiga Urur Siyaasadeedka Wadani, waxanan idin sheegayaa inaan Degmada Laas-geel igu cusbeen ee ay tahay Magaladaydii, Ururkan aanu wadaana waa mid dadku wada leyahay.” Sidaas waxa yidhi Guddomiye Cirro, sido kale waxa halkaas ka hadlay mid ka mid ah Odayaasha Deegaanka Laas-geel “Hadaanu nahay Odayaasha, dhalinyarada, haweenka iyo wax-garadka Degmada Laas-geel waxaanu si diiran u soo dhawaynaynaa Ururkan Wadani ee halkan lagu soo bookhday, halkaasna ka sii wada, anaguna waanu idin garab taaganay.” Sidoo kale Magadalada Abdaal ee Degmada Mandheera ayuu waftigu khudbado kooban u jeediyay “Dadweynaha reer Abdaal “waxaan u sheegayaa inaan idiinku maqnaa sahan, sahankiina waxaan idiinku soo helay Ururka Wadani, markaas waxaanu idinka rajaynaynaa sidaas aad noo soo dhawayseen inaad noola shaqayn doontaa insha ALLAH." Sidaas waxaa yidhi Gudoomiye Cabdiraxmaan Maxamed Cabdilaahi (Cabdiraxmaan Cirro.)