January 12, 2013 French Soldier Killed in Somalia Commando Raid By STEVEN ERLANGER and SCOTT SAYARE PARIS — As French forces continued air and ground operations in support of the government of Mali, French special forces failed early Saturday in a hostage rescue mission in southern Somalia. At least one French commando died in the raid along with 17 of the Shabab militiamen who were holding the hostage, whose fate is unclear, France’s defense minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said. Mr. Le Drian insisted that the rescue mission, on the eastern edge of the continent, far from Mali, was unconnected to French military action against Islamist radicals who were threatening to seize more of Mali, but Islamist groups holding up to eight French hostages in northern Africa have threatened to kill them if the French intervene militarily on the continent. The Somalia operation was carried out by the D.G.S.E. intelligence agency to rescue one of its own, an agent using the name Denis Allex, who was taken hostage July 14, 2009, from a hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. He was working as a security consultant to the transitional government in Somalia, the French said. The rescue operation, using helicopters, was a significant one that met “very strong resistance,” Mr. Le Drian said at a news conference. The fate of Mr. Allex is not clear. Mr. Le Drian said, speaking carefully, that “everything leads us to think that unfortunately Denis Allex was killed by his captors,” but it was clear that the French did not recover Mr. Allex or his body. Mr. Le Drian said that Mr. Allex was in the location raided, and that 17 Shabab fighters had been killed in the operation. In a statement later Saturday, the Shabab movement said that Mr. Allex was still alive and was being held in a different place, and that they were holding an injured French soldier. It was not possible to confirm the statement. The militant group “will give its final verdict regarding the fate of Dennis Allex within two days,” the group said in a statement in English linked to a post on its Twitter account on Saturday. The movement also said that the raid was carried out at about 2 a.m. by five French helicopters in the southern Somali town of Bula-Marer and lasted about 45 minutes. “Instead of rescuing them, such ill-advised operations only further imperil the lives of the hostages,” the statement said. French military officials would not confirm those details or the name of the town. Mr. Le Drian said that a French commando had been wounded and later died and that a French soldier was missing; the French Defense Ministry had earlier issued a statement saying that two French soldiers had died. Mr. Le Drian also said that the rescue operation had been planned for some time and had been delayed by weather. The Defense Ministry statement justified the raid, saying: “Faced with the intransigence of the terrorists, who refused to negotiate for three and half years and who were holding Denis Allex in inhumane conditions, an operation was planned and carried out.” The statement also said that Mr. Allex was killed by his captors, but Mr. Le Drian was careful not to repeat that claim. Mr. Le Drian also announced the death in the Mali fighting of a French helicopter pilot, Lt. Damien Boiteux. French airstrikes overnight drove back Islamic rebels from Konna, a key village in Mali, Mr. Le Drian said, and destroyed a militant command center, while attacking at least three different targets. The rebels, who are said to have ties to various radical groups including offshoots of Al Qaeda, seized the largely desert region of northern Mali and have set up their own rule there in the last nine months. Their move toward the south prompted a call for French help on Thursday from the Mali government and the French military response on Friday, after France had repeatedly said that it would not get involved militarily except to aid African forces. But the French tone changed quickly, and its intervention by air and ground troops found broad support in Africa and Western nations. “The threat is the establishment of a terrorist state within range of Europe and of France,” Mr. Le Drian said.

January 12, 2013 French Soldiers Killed in Somalia Commando Raid By GERRY MULLANY Two French commandos were killed during a daring raid Friday night to rescue a French soldier held hostage in Somalia. The captive soldier, Denis Allex, was also killed in the ensuing battle, the French defense ministry said Saturday. The raid also resulted in the death of 17 Somali fighters, according to the defense ministry. “Faced with the intransigence of the terrorists, who refused to negotiate for three and a half years and who were holding Denis Allex in inhumane conditions, an operation was planned and carried out,” the ministry said. “During the assault, violent combat took place.” The raid came as France sent troops into the African nation of Mali to help the government beat back advances by Islamic rebels. The Somali raid to get Mr. Allex led to speculation that the French government was trying to prevent reprisals for its actions in Mali. The Associated Press reported that an official with the Somali militant group al-Shabab confirmed that fighting began after helicopters dropped off soldiers. “Five helicopters attacked a house in in the town. They dropped soldiers off the ground, so that they could reach their destination,” the official said. In 2009, a French raid to free a yacht that had been captured by Somali pirates resulted in the death of a captive, Florent Lemaçon.

This is a significant development and clarifies certain things re: where things stand currently. I'm slowly beginning to be won over by the current Somaliland admin's policy of engagement to settle the sovereignty issue. A golden opportunity beckons for all communities on both sides of the talks to settle this issue amicable and justly. Insha'Allah, kheyr! Thank you, Norf, for posting.

Why Charcoal May Endanger Somalia’s Best Hope for Peace By Tristan McConnell, Kismayo Time Nov. 28, 2012 On a Monday afternoon in October, in a warehouse in the southern Somali port of Kismayo, I attended a meeting on the future of Somalia. On one side: 20 Somali traders sitting on grass mats and wearing sandals, sarong-like wraps, short-sleeved shirts and embroidered scarves. On the other, in plastic chairs: officers from the Kenyan and Somali armies and the allied militia Ras Kamboni Brigades, who, fighting under the banner of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), ousted the al-Qaeda-allied al-Shabab from southern Somalia’s biggest city a few weeks earlier. AMISOM’s offensive against al-Shabab, kicking them out of the capital Mogadishu in August last year and then capturing Kismayo, were a body blow to the Islamists and represent the best chance for peace in Somalia since the collapse of the last central government in 1991. But in Kismayo, as I discovered, as the only Western journalist to enter the city, the joy of victory had quickly soured. At stake at the October meeting, I was told, was nothing less than peace in southern Somalia, and possibly the whole country. And the key? A giant pile of burnt, dead wood. Great progress has been made in Somalia over the past 15 months. Al-Shabab has suffered a series of military setbacks, a new Somali President has been chosen, a slimline government has been formed, famine has abated and Mogadishu is enjoying a newfound optimism after decades of destruction. The turnaround seems dramatic and it is, given 21 years of war and famine. But the truth is that while those tragedies gave the world an impression of a failed state without hope, for many Somalis, the enduring reality of daily life during the fighting — and at the heart of many of Somalia’s conflicts — was always business. Camel trading, mango growing, mobile telecoms and, of course, arms dealing all thrived in the war years. And few businesses were as big or profitable, or as tough, as charcoal. The charcoal business grew exponentially under al-Shabab. While the group did not itself invest directly in charcoal, it levied taxes at every stage of the process, from production to export. U.N. investigators reckoned the group earned $25 million from the trade last year. So in February the U.N. banned charcoal exports in a bid to cut off funding for al-Shabab. Since then, charcoal has been piling up. There are now more than 4 million sacks of the stuff at Kismayo’s southern entrance, stacked in immense house-sized blocks of dirty burlap bags lining the soot-covered road. Its value is estimated at up to $40 million. A boon to a postconflict economy, perhaps? Anywhere but Somalia. Matt Bryden, director of the Nairobi-based think tank Sahan Research and a former coordinator of the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, which analyzed the charcoal trade, said a handful of traders controlled the trade and all of them had commercial, if not necessarily ideological, links to al-Shabab. “There’s no question that this is an al-Shabab-linked industry and those relationships don’t evaporate overnight,” he said. One Western diplomat with close knowledge of the situation told me that any sale of charcoal, even the relatively small amounts already known to be leaving Kismayo, means “the financial circuit has not been interrupted. The major financing for al-Shabab continues.” All of which might make a resumption of the trade sound like a bad idea. But the businessmen, and some of al-Shabab’s enemies — all of them well armed — disagree. The city was captured partly with the aid of Ras Kamboni Brigades, an ethnic-******i-clan militia run by Sheik Ahmed Madobe. Madobe is a tall, bearded warlord who has himself undergone a remarkable rebirth. Five years ago he was an Islamist commander targeted by American missiles. Today he is a crucial ally in the war on al-Qaeda in Somalia. He wants the charcoal trade restarted. “The economy of this city is 90% charcoal,” Madobe told me. “Businessmen have invested a lot of their money and the U.N. embargo is blocking it. The stockpile cannot be returned to the trees. It should be sold.” The dispute could have ramifications for attempts to install Somalia’s first central government in generation. Negotiations to determine the makeup of a post-Shabab southern administration, under way for a year without resolution, are now on hold, pending resolution of the charcoal dispute. As for attempts by the national government to establish its rule, earlier this month Madobe refused to meet a presidential delegation sent to Kismayo, issuing a scarcely veiled threat that he could not guarantee their safety if they entered the city. Says Bryden: “[This is] about power and resource sharing in the Jubas [the collective name for Somalia’s three southern regions]. People are looking at that big stack of charcoal and they want the profit.” Some discern a nefarious international hand at work as well. Control of Kismayo means control of southern Somalia’s economy — and well-established, lucrative smuggling routes into Kenya, taking charcoal out and sugar in. With elections due in Kenya early next year, some suspect Kenyan politicians and military leaders of reopening the trafficking routes to feed their political slush funds. During my time in Kismayo, a trip to the port revealed Kenyan and Ras Kamboni soldiers overseeing the unloading of cement from a cargo ship and, from the fat bellies of two wooden dhows, timber, pasta, cooking oil and sugar. The dispute over Kismayo’s mountain of charcoal may endure for a while yet. But in the end, as it did through two decades of war, there seems little doubt that one way or another Somali business will triumph. Source: Time Magazine

Che, I hope you're getting the 'mafriish' ready for ex-presidente Sharif Ahmed - after all I did give you advance notice...

Che -Guevara;893389 wrote: I didn't expect this. Good thing Sarkozy lost election. Sarkozy's gov't voted for the Palestinians to join UNESCO, a move the U.S. opposed. France differs on this issue regardless of who occupies the Presidency. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/world/europe/france-says-it-will-vote-in-favor-of-palestinians-un-bid.html?pagewanted=print 'Just over a year ago, France voted in favor of full Palestinian membership in Unesco, despite a mandated cutoff of American funds to Unesco. On Tuesday, Mr. Fabius called France’s position a point of “coherence,” saying, “The constant position of France has been to recognize the Palestinian state.”

Legend of Zu;893322 wrote: ^^^ the comparison is not the societal structure but more on the issue of a society suffering and their political elites rising to the occasion. For me, the key question is "can this tragedy ultimately lead into a better future and what does it take to turn it into the catalyst we need for a better future?" Cheers By understanding the societal construct, you can usually determine where the divisions within a society are. Early 19th Century America was divided between an agrarian South dependent on its slave labor for cheap large scale farming and a rapidly developing North entering the Industrial Age with its decreasing reliance on abundant manpower. This was the overwhelming division between North and South. Within the Somalis, the divisions are clan-based with the usual underlying insecurities and grievances.....

I saw this column last week and was also struck by the contrast between the American & Somali leadership elites. However, it's unfair to compare America with all its abundance of resources (even in the 19th century) with the scarcity-prone Somali peninsula. From its inception, the United States of America was economically self-sufficient while Somalia has not experienced a day of economic independence as a modern nation-state. A better social comparison to our situation is nearby Yemen or the GCC countries(even with all their oil wealth), given their societal construct on clannism based upon family lineages as opposed to neighboring African tribal groupings ( a tribe is actually a nation with its own distinctive language and culture).

Much ado about nothing! BTW, UNPOS (United Nations Political Office for Somalia, of which Mahiga is the head) is under critical review (demanded by U.S. & E.U. Donors). Some local & international staff will be terminated. Give a heads up to your friends, Abtigiis

Always follow the money/financial interests, and the politics eventually make sense

As I told SOL membership some weeks back, Sharif is heading to Boston. Hiiraan Online reported on it today: Dhanka kale, warar ayaa sheegaya in madaxweynihii hore uu waxbarasho u aadi doono jaamacad ku taalla magaalada Boston ee dalka Mareykanka, halkaasoo sidoo kale uu ka jeedin doono khubad ku saabsan sidii uu hoggaanka ku qabtay iyo sidii uu xilka uga dagay. http://www.hiiraan.com/news/2012/Nov/wararka_maanta17-19934.htm

Mintid Farayar;889306 wrote: Somali president in u-turn over U.N. charcoal ban Washington has indicated it would agree to the charcoal exports if the Somali government approved. Source: Reuters http://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2012/Nov/26868/somali_president_in_u_turn_over_u_n_charcoal_ban.aspx This is the diplomatic pressure/card the Federal Government possesses that I alluded to in earlier threads

Back to Square one.... The charcoal at Kismayo port is still under FG embargo...... Madaxweynaha Soomaaliya iska fogeeyay Warbixin ku saabsan Dhuxusha oo ay daabacday Wakaaladda Wararka Reuters Jimco, November 16, 2012 (HOL) — Madaxweynaha Dowladda Soomaaliya, Xasan Sheekh Maxamuud ayaa iska fogeeyay waribxin ay daabacday wakaaladda wararka ee Reutes, taasoo lagu sheegay in madaxweynaha Soomaaliya uu ogolaaday in la dhoofiyo dhuxusha taalla Kismaayo. Warsaxaafadeed kasoo baxay xafiiska madaxweynaha Soomaaliya ayaa lagu xusay in madaxweynuhu uu shirkiisa jaraa'id ku sheegay in dhuxusha taalla Kismaayo ay u raadinayso dowladdu xal, balse uusan ogolaan dhoofinta dhuxusha Soomaaliya. "Reuters si khaldan ayay u turjuntay shirkii jaraa'id ee madaxweynaha, mana jirto meel uu madaxweynuhu ku ogolaaday dhoofinta dhuxusha Soomaaliya, balse wuxuu sheegay in dowladdu ay xal u raadinayso dhuxusha taalla Kismaayo," ayaa lagu yiri warbixin kasoo baxday xafiiska madaxweyne Xasan Sheekh. Qaramada Midoobay ayaa horay u mamnunucday dhoofinta dhuxusha Soomaaliya, iyadoo dowladda Soomaaliya ay ogolaatay arrintaas, balse dhawaanahan waxaa taagnaa muran ku ku saabsan dhoofinta dhuxul taalla magaalada Kismaayo taasoo ay dowladdu sheegtay inay xal u raadinayso. "Madaxweynuhu wuxuu ku celinayaa mar kale inuu taageersan yahay go'aankii golaha ammaanka ee Qaramada Midoobay ee lagu mamnuucaya dhoofinta dhuxusha Soomaaliya kaasoo ay horay u dalbatay dowladda Soomaaliya, waxaana dhuxushu ay khatar weyn ku tahay dhirta Soomaaliya," ayaa lagu yiri warsaxaafadeed kasoo baxay madaxtooyada. Ugu dambeyn, madaxweynaha Soomaaliya wuxuu qoraalkiisa kaga dalbaday wakaaladda wararka Reuters inay shabakadooda ka saaraan warka ku saabsan dhuxusha ee sida aan wanaagsanayn loo turjumay. Maxamed Xaaji Xuseen, Hiiraan Online maxuseen@hiiraan.com Muqdisho, Soomaaliya

Somali president in u-turn over U.N. charcoal ban By Mohamed Ahmed Thursday, November 15, 2012 MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's president has reversed course on what to do about millions of sacks of charcoal stockpiled in former rebel strongholds and now says they can be exported despite a U.N. embargo on the trade. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud three weeks ago fully backed a U.N. ban imposed in February aimed at cutting off funds to Islamist militants, but said he changed his mind after hearing from local Somalis. "The U.N. and the Somali government banned the export of charcoal. But we considered the logical requests of the Somalis," Mohamud told reporters in Mogadishu late on Wednesday. "It is impossible to reverse charcoal to trees. Somalis have invested cash and sacrificed time with this charcoal. However, no trees can be burned for charcoal," he said. Residents and regional officials said charcoal was already being loaded onto ships at the southern port of Kismayu, al Shabaab's last major urban redoubt which it lost to African peacekeepers and forces loyal to Mogadishu six weeks ago. Some Kismayu residents say that during al Shabaab's four-year rule over the city charcoal became an important driver of the local economy, which had become largely crippled by more than two decades of civil conflict. The charcoal - an estimated three to five million sacks worth tens of millions of dollars - has become a growing source of tension for Mohamud, who is trying to extend his new government's authority beyond the capital and stabilise the south. The Security Council's Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, an independent panel that reports on compliance with U.N. sanctions, says charcoal exports from southern Somalia in 2011 generated over $25 million for al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab. Security Council diplomats have said the council is divided on the issue. Envoys say some countries fear the Kismayu merchants lobbying for the sale of the charcoal may still have connections to al Shabaab; Washington has indicated it would agree to the charcoal exports if the Somali government approved. A Security Council envoy in New York said the U.N. response to Mohamud's comments "might be one for the lawyers". U.N. sanctions regimes allow for the possibility of exemptions. (Additional reporting by Abdi Sheikh in Mogadishu and Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Richard Lough and Sonya Hepinstall). Source: Reuters http://www.hiiraan.com/news4/2012/Nov/26868/somali_president_in_u_turn_over_u_n_charcoal_ban.aspx

Has anyone else experienced issues accessing the Forum site? Getting DNS errors? Just wanted to check if it's a local problem on my end or website issues...

AT, I have no issue with being labeled a sidekick to Oodweyne, since he and I are of one thought on a particular, critical topic. But nice try in attempting to get a rise out of my ego Now back to Kismayo: you've told us where you stand on the current situation (I'll take you on face value that the position is based upon principle). Now give us your faallo-where do you think it will ultimately end up? Do you think Adeer Yusuf Haji will be too busy with the upcoming March elections to give Kismayo the necessary bandwidth it had received thus far? Reports reaching me say his investments in radio media are gearing up for election season.

Abtigiis;888598 wrote: Ee away kii Mintid Farayar ahaa ee sidii gabdhaha saar ka la qaadi jiray Cadhays Ciise Kaarshe yarka ka ba qaadayey "runtaa, haa heey!" ! LOOOOOL@Abtigiis Very few enjoy your humor, Abtigiis, as much as I do (as long as you're not turning it on the 'fairer sex' and what they do in their private time....) As for Ngonge, the transitional gov't was brought to birth, by hook or crook, by Western donor powers who desperately seek an indigenous governing entity to fill the vacuum vacated by Al Shabaab through recent military setbacks. They see their national security interests in the region as tied to this project. These same Western interests do not see regional African forces as a long term solution to this problem, nor do they believe it's sustainable to have Kenyan, Ethiopian, Ugandan troops indefinitely holding the military fort, funded by Western powers (especially in this era of financial austerity in both Europe and the U.S.). For better or worse, they will choose the path of empowering the FG in Mogadishu with the limited resources available in their Africa departments. Also, as I've stated above, the Kenyan bulwark against Al Shabaab in Kismayo is currently essential to those same interests since the FG currently lacks the capacity to fill the vacuum. So, naturally, the only path is to broker an accommodation between the FG and Kenya. The sacrificial lamb available in this situation is 'Ras Kamboni'.... Just some humble thoughts on how things could play out.

FG President Hassan Sheikh just got further legitimacy... Allows him to exercise diplomatic pressure on the Kismayo situation which is the only card he currently has. As I stated in a previous post on another thread, I expect Western powers to bring him and the Kenyans to a mutually acceptable accommodation (with Ahmed Madoobe/Ras Kambooni sidelined from their role as the primary administrators of Kismayo city). If the O community is shrewd, they can still save the plot by playing a significant role through their representation in the Mogadishu parliament.

Mudanayaasha Baarlamanka Soomaaliya oo Ansixiyay Xukuumadda Cusub Talaado, November 13, 2012 (HOL) —Mudanayaasha baarlamanka Soomaaliya ayaa kulan ay maanta ku yeesheen xarunta golaha shacabka cod aqlabiyad ah ku ansixiyay xukuumadda cusub ee uu soo dhisay ra’isul wasaare Cabdi Faarax Shirdoon (Saacid). Kahor inta aysan bilaaban cod u qaadidda xukuumadda, ayaa madaxweeynaha Soomaaliya iyo Ra’isul wasaaraha waxay kulan saxaafadda bannaan joog ka ahayd ay la qaateen mudanayaasha baarlamaanka Soomaaliya. Mid kamid ah xildhibaanada baarlamanka oo HOL uga waramay waxa looga hadlay kulanka, ayaa sheegay in madaxweeynaha uu ka codsaday baarlamanka in ay ansixiyaan xukuumadda cusub. Sidoo kale waxa isna goobta hadal ka jeediyay ra’isul wasaaraha dowladda federaalka Soomaaliya Dr. Cabdi Faarax Shirdoon(Saacid) oo isagu sharaxaad ka bixiyay sababta uu 10-ka wasiir u xushay, isagoona sheegay in dadka uu soo magacaabay ay yihiin xubno fir-fircoon oo ay ka go’antahay sugidda amniga dalka iyo horumarkiisa. Intaa kadib ayaa waxa bilaabatay cod u qaaadidda xukuumadda, waxaana kulanka codka loogu qaadayay xukuumadda soo xaadiray 225 Mudane, waxaa ogolaatay xukuumadda in ay shaqeyso 219 mudane, sedex way diideen, sedexna way ka aamuseen. Gudoomiyaha Baarlamanka Soomaaliya Prof: Max’ed Sheekh Cismaan Jawaari ayaa ku dhawaaqay in xukuumadda cusub ay ansax tahay. Ansixinta golaha wasiiradda ayaa kusoo beegmeysa xilli xubno katirsan baarlamanka Soomaaliya ay wadeen Motion ka dhan ah xukuumadda, kaasoo ay ku dalbanayeen in lasoo dhameystiro xukuumadda kahor inta aan la ansixin. Maxamed Xaaji Xuseen, Hiiraan Online

I expect the Western donors to force an accommodation between the Kenyans and the Mogadishu-based FG with Ras Kamboni sidelined.... While the West wants to buttress the nascent, 'baby' government in Mogadishu, the Kenyans hold powerful cards as the only force capable of keeping Al Shabaab out of Kismayo.

Che, You've constitutionally proven your point! It seems the FG President is on solid legal grounds. My prediction is that both the UK and the U.S. wil back his position & we'll see the Kenyans and their Ras Kamboni militia back down (diplomatic pressure applied by the U.S. & U.K.). The refusal to grant an entry to the FG delegation was a major miscalculation on Ahmed Madoobe's part (and by extension his Kenyan handlers). However, Abtigiis is correct in that Hassan has not brought a workable alternative. Punting the ball to parliamentary committees with no functional capacities will only open the door to renewed Al Shabaab encroachment into the area. We will see shortly how this plays out.

What a silly proposition! If you oppose them so vehemently, you would want them to post in SOL. Much easier for the intelligence agencies to keep tabs on them and their IP addresses

Always follow the money and it gradually begins to makes sense... Here's an excerpt from the latest issue of Africa Confidential (I've edited the clan specifications for Forum rules): Disputes over the management of Kismayo port, recently wrested from Al Shabaab by the Kenya Defence Forces and their Ras Kamboni allies, are also proving a major test for Hassan’s government and for his personal authority. At issue are the millions of dollars’ worth of charcoal stockpiled at the port by 'D/O' businessmen. Currently, the UN Security Council bans trade in charcoal as much because of environmental devastation as because its sale profits Al Shabaab-affiliated businessmen. It is also illegal under Somali law. Yet KDF Brigadier Anthony Ngere has publicly advocated allowing the export of the charcoal stockpiled at the port, to the chagrin of some Western diplomats, who fear the proceeds will flow back to Al Shabaab. Diplomats say pressure to allow the export comes principally from two Kenyan Somali politicians, Defence Minister Mohamed Yusuf Haji and Farah Maalim Mohamed, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, from Prime Minister Raila Oginga Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement. The thinking in Nairobi, some believe, is that the sales could benefit 'O' business people close to the Ras Kamboni militia leader, Ahmed Mohamed Islaan ‘Madobe’ (*******). KDF and Ras Kamboni Brigade leaders, other militia and clan and business people spent the Eid holiday in Mogadishu, trying to push Hassan Sheikh into approving the exports. On 27 October, his office issued a statement saying Kismayo port would be open only for humanitarian deliveries and the charcoal would be going nowhere. ‘This is going to cause a real problem between Mogadishu and the Jubaland initiative pushed by Kenya,’ says one businessman who operates in Kismayo. We understand, however, that Kenya and Ras Kamboni are permitting charcoal exports out of the port anyway, in defiance of Hassan and posing a challenge to his determination to keep Kismayo as an integral part of Somalia,

Plans are being prepared for former TFG head Sharif Ahmed to relocate to the U.S. in the future. He will probably have some affiliation with Boston University (don't have the specifics yet).

Eid Mubarak to all in this forum and their families...