Somalia: Fierce Fighting in Central Somalia Kills Five, Injures Seven

Source: Shabelle Media Network/ allAfrica 16/01/2012

Shabelle Valley administration in Beledweyn town, the provincial capital of Hiran region in central Somalia, reports said Sunday.
Residents said, the battle flared up at Gufale area, which is just 7-km north of Beledweyn town late hours on Sunday afternoon after pro-Shabbelle Valley soldiers attacked on Ahlu sunna Walja’a military positions around the town, causing the death of five on both warring sides.
The initial reports from Beldweyn town which is 350-km away from Somalia capital Mogadishu indicated that three fighters from Ahlu Sunna militia were among the dead, while two others were from Shabelle Valley administration. The injured have been taken to the nearby hospitals.
No side of both warring sides around Beledweyn town,has made any comments about the combat so far.

Is Somalia’s al-Shabab on the back foot?

Source: BBC News 12/01/2012

Somalia’s militant al-Shabab insurgent group stares a possible military collapse in the face as a coalition of African forces, fighting on multiple fronts, steadily advances on its southern heartland and the United States steps up drone and naval attacks.

Its military fortunes have dramatically worsened in the last year.
It began when an alliance of clans supported by Ethiopia pushed it out of most of the central regions of Hiran and Galgudud.
This was followed by the loss of the capital, Mogadishu, in August 2011 – no doubt a big psychological and political blow.
Outgunned by the African Union force (Amisom), its ability to wage a conventional war seriously diminished and having suffered huge losses, al-Shabab’s badly mauled combat units pulled out of the battered capital they have struggled to control since early 2007.
In the southern regions of Gedo and Juba, Kenyan combat troops and allied local militias, backed by heavy armour and fighter jets, have been putting pressure on al-Shabab in the last three months, making significant territorial gains.
Ethiopian troops made an incursion into Somalia in the New Year, the biggest since the December 2006 invasion.
They quickly overran the strategic south-central town of Beledweyen and rapidly advanced southwards towards the valley of the River Shabelle.
That an ambitious and increasingly concerted military campaign is now under way in southern Somalia seems obvious.
A formidable array of forces has been mobilised, though it is not yet clear the extent to which the war is being co-ordinated and who, if anyone, is taking the lead.
Even if al-Shabab is not decisively defeated, the group is unlikely to withstand the combined firepower of these armies.

Of course, many things could go wrong on the military and political front.
Foreign military intervention is deeply unpopular in Somalia and hugely counter-intuitive, at least from a historical perspective.
It inflames public passions, radicalises society and exacerbates political polarisation.
So far, Somali opposition to the Kenyan and Ethiopian interventions has largely been muted. We have not seen the huge visceral blowback predicted by some critics.
‘Gratuitous, indiscriminate violence’
More interestingly, the extremists appear to have failed to rally Somalis or to effectively play the nationalist card as they did in 2006.
All this does not however mean Somalis are now more accepting of foreign military involvement.
Al-Shabab’s use of gratuitous and indiscriminate violence; the callous decision to block aid from reaching millions of starving Somalis; its unrelenting belligerence and rejection of a peaceful political settlement and the brutal Sharia regime it has imposed in the south have all combined to create a profound sense of alienation.
The overwhelming majority of Somalis, desperate to see peace restored to their homeland, want to see the back of al-Shabab.
Despite an instinctive opposition to the presence of foreign armies, many are beginning to accept – grudgingly, no doubt – this can only happen through a concerted regional and international military response.
This new attitude of realism and cautious endorsement on the Somali street is fragile.
It could quickly turn into hostility if the war turns messy and protracted and the political dividends fail to materialise or meet expectations.
The onus must be on Amisom, the lead agency on the ground, to prevent this from happening.

Kenyan soldiers are being absorbed into the Amisom force

It needs to move with speed to craft an overarching military and political strategy and build cohesion and unity of purpose, aware the alliance could become unwieldy and potentially fractious as more countries join the mission.
In particular, there is need to prevent regional rivalries, narrowly perceived national interests and competing agendas from derailing the whole campaign.
Two countries whose renewed involvement in Somali has fed such fears are Kenya and Ethiopia.
Kenya’s decision to join Amisom is partly designed to fend off such suspicions.
Nairobi has been stung by the intense speculation its aim is to create a buffer region in the Juba Valley.
It is far from clear to what extent, if at all, its new membership in Amisom may have modified the original plan to create Jubaland.
If the cynics are to be believed, Kenya has – by joining Amisom – simply obtained a convenient regional diplomatic and political cover to lend legitimacy to its Jubaland project.
Counter-productive?
Ethiopia’s renewed military foray into the central regions of Hiran and Galgudud and further south into the Shabelle Valley may be part of the concerted multi-pronged offensive to cripple al-Shabab, as suggested.
If true, it is perhaps a signal Addis Ababa intends to stay in the game and ensure it does not lose out on the political spoils of a victory over al-Shabab.

It is equally plausible the operation is limited in nature and nothing more than a routine military “housekeeping” designed to shore up allied factions battling rivals for control of key towns like Beledweyn.

This Ethiopia has done in the past without much success.
The move into the Shabelle and the fact that the Ethiopians are backing a new clan grouping called the Shabelle Valley Alliance has raised speculation the motive may be more ambitious and part of an elaborate strategy to preempt the emergence of Jubaland.
The dilemma for the coalition is that Ethiopia’s military help is critical and, perhaps, indispensable, notwithstanding that it could complicate matters for the anti-Shabab alliance politically.
The quest for a quick and decisive military victory over al-Shabab seems to be encouraging the use of massive lethal firepower.
This is heightening Somali fears and may complicate matters and prove costly and counter-productive, not least, because the militant group is now faceless in some parts of the vast war theatre in the south, having successfully blended in with the civilian population.
A cautious, well-paced counter-insurgency campaign must be the preferred option.
Victory will not be achievable within the short time-scale envisioned by regional military planners.
But this is a less costly strategy that will hopefully allow the attrition of fighting on multiple fronts to degrade the group’s conventional capabilities systematically.
Political deals
A degraded al-Shabab is unlikely to be amenable to peace or dialogue, though many Somalis would prefer to see that happen.
The more fanatical elements wedded to al-Qaeda’s global jihad agenda will seek to regroup and resume the armed insurrection and step up the terror campaign across the region and beyond.

The UN says more than one million Somalis have fled their homes

It is possible some of its less hardline leaders may seek some form of accommodation with their clans or cut political deals with the transitional federal government and other political formations.
The glue that holds the new anti-Shabab military alliance together appears to be the common desire to once and for all cripple the extremist Somali movement and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure and support networks.
The determination to act decisively and prevail is, certainly, laudable, but not enough to resolve the Somalia crisis.
Without a clear and coherent long-term political strategy, any military victory over al-Shabab will be short-lived.
Many of the so-called “liberated areas” – whether in Mogadishu, Hiran, Galgudud or Mudug – remain unstable ill-governed pockets, a depressing patchwork of clan fiefdoms filled with belligerent and heavily-armed clan militias.
For all its flaws and excesses, al-Shabab did, at least manage to exercise full administrative and functional control over most areas under its control.
Could its defeat and the glaring failure to create a credible and cohesive political dispensation to fill the vacuum inaugurate a new era of anarchy?

By Rachid Abdi Horn of Africa Analyst International Crisis Group

Kenyan soldiers formally join AU forces in Somalia

Source: Business Daily 09/01/2012

Laban Walloga | Nation A Kenya Army jeep at the Ishakani border point in Kiunga as it heads for the battlefront in Somalia on October 27, 2011.The African Union has approved the integration of Kenyan troops into its mission in Somalia, easing the financial burden of cushioning the country from the threat of Al-Shabaab militia.

The African Union has approved the integration of Kenyan troops into its mission in Somalia, easing the financial burden of cushioning the country from the threat of Al-Shabaab militia.

The decision reached in Addis Ababa last week by AU’s Peace and Security Council means that the Kenya Defence Force (KDF) soldiers in Somalia will operate under the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), receiving financial and logistics support from the United Nations.

“The council endorses the strategic concept for future operations … including the increase of the level of UN-supported Amisom uniformed personnel from 12,000 to 17,731, including 5,700 from the Djiboutian contingent and the re-hatted Kenyan troops, as well as Amisom’s police component,” reads part of a communiqué issued following last week’s meeting of the council.

Kenya whose troops crossed the border two months ago to hunt Al-Qaeda-linked terror group had last month approved the integration of its soldiers into Amisom, hoping to reduce the financial burden of an open ended warfare.

The cost of keeping one soldier in Somalia battlefield is estimated at around Sh7,000 per day (or Sh200,000 a month), covering transport, food and water expenses, communication and medical care.

This translates to Sh1 billion for keeping 1,000 soldiers in the battlefield for six months which would have caused a big dent in the national budget.

Drought at home and high global commodity prices had already forced Treasury to waive taxes on essential items, weakening the government’s ability to finance an open-ended war in Somalia.

Besides, Kenya is grappling with a budget deficit of Sh236 billion of the 1.2 trillion plan that Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta unveiled in June last year.

Self-sponsored war would have forced ministries to cut development spending as the government diverted cash Somalia mission

At its last week’s meeting, the AU’s Peace and Security Council also renewed the mandate of Amisom for a further period of 12 months with effect from January 16.

This and the decision to raise the number of troops represent a major boost for Amisom, which has had to do with about 10,000 personnel — less than the 12,000 approved in 2007 by UN.

In the coming days, UN will meet to review and approve AU’s request for more troops and logistics support, the council said.

In a thinly veiled threat to neighbouring states and organisations that maintain networks with Al-Shabaab, AU said it would take all necessary measures against spoilers, both internal and external, undermining peace and reconciliation in Somalia, as well as the efforts of Amisom.

The communiques followed six East Africa nations’ defence officials endorsement of new military strategy for Somalia. The 15-member states Peace and Security Council also approved the “strategic” withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from Somalia.

 Ethiopia, which had denied involvement in Somalia admitted last week that its troops controlled the central Somalia town of Beledwey’e.

By GEORGE OMONDI and ARGAW ASHINE

African Union (AU) force to replace Ethiopian troops in Somalia

Source: Sudan Tribune 09/01/2012



Ethiopian forces will pullout from Somalia, as the African Union extends its peacekeeping mandate for its troops in the war torn nation, the pan African body has said.
Ethiopia recently reentered hundreds of its forces to Somalia where the troops last Saturday captured the border town of Baladwayne from the hands of Islamic militants, Al-Shabaab.
After the unilateral military intervention, Addis Ababa now says it will soon pull out of the Horn of Africa country but would not join the African Union operation against Al-Quaida-linked Al-Shabaab. Addis Ababa said the areas it controls would be handed over to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
On Thursday the AU’s Peace and Security Council, extended the mandate of its peace force in Somalia by 12 months. It further asked the UN to boost the size of AMISOM to above 17,000 in order to step up efforts to defeat the militant group.
Currently AMISOM has some 10,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi. Djibouti contributed 200 troops last month.
The Al-Shabaab insurgent group is facing opposition on a number of fronts as Kenya, who blames the group for a wave of cross-border attacks and kidnappings, is also fighting them in Southern Somalia.
Ethiopia previously sent troops to Somalia in 2006 with US backing and withdrew forces in 2009 after they overthrew the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) from de-facto power in Mogadishu.
On Saturday the UK issued a warning that a terrorist attack by Somali militants was potentially imminent in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

Kenya - Somali : quand l'armée et les Shebab s'affrontent sur Twitter

15/12/2011 à 12h:49 Par Camille Belsoeur

Des Shebab dans les rues de Mogadiscio en Somalie. © AFP

 

Depuis plusieurs mois, miliciens Shebab somaliens et soldats kényans se livrent une lutte armée sans merci. Et lorsqu'ils ne sont pas au front, les bélligérants poursuivent le combat sur internet via le réseau social Twitter.

Un front 2.0 dans le conflit entre l’armée kényane et les Shebab somaliens ? Entre le 9 et le 11 décembre, les milices islamistes et le major Emmanuel Chirchir, porte-parole des troupes de Nairobi, se sont affrontés verbalement sur le réseau social Twitter. Une version 2.0 de la guerre que se livrent toujours les soldats kenyans et les Shebab dans le sud de la Somalie.

Implantés récemment sur le célèbre site de micro-blogging sous l’acronyme @HSMPressOffice  (HSM pour Harakat al-Shabab al-mujahideen), les Shebab ont signé leur arrivée sur le réseau social par un premier tweet dans la langue du prophète : « Au nom de Dieu, le Tout miséricordieux », avant de communiquer par la suite en langue anglaise sur les actions de leurs unités de combat.

Extrait d'échanges sur Twitter entre @HSMPress (Shebab) et @MajorEChirchir (armée kényanne)

 

Bataille de tweets
Cette offensive propagandiste des milices islamistes sur Twitter n’est pas passée inaperçue au Kenya. Le major Emmanuel Chirchir, porte-parole de l’armée et très présent sur le réseau social où il communique depuis le mois d’octobre sur les avancées des soldats kenyans en Somalie, est ainsi passé à l’offensive le 9 décembre en fustigeant les pratiques des Shebab notamment par ce tweet : « la vie a meilleur à offrir que la lapidation de femmes innocentes. »
La réplique de la cellule Internet des Shebab n’a pas tardé. Sur le compte HSM Press Office, plusieurs tweets ont violemment pris à parti le major Emmanuel Chirchir. D’abord sur la question des mœurs des Shebab : « les valeurs ne sont rien sans la présence des hommes. Vos garçons inexpérimentés s’enfuient devant la confrontation et reculent devant la mort. »
Avant d’embrayer sur l’intervention de l’armée kényane en Somalie : « 50 000 soldats éthiopiens ne pourraient pas pacifier la Somalie. Pensez-vous que quelques soldats kenyans désabusés sont à la hauteur de la tâche ? ». Le major Emmanuel Chirchir, qui compte près de 11 000 abonnés sur son compte Twitter, n’a pas répondu directement à ce dernier affront. 
De leur côté, toujours sur Twitter, les islamistes somaliens ont déclaré :  « le Jihad mené ici en Somalie doit continuer jusqu’à ce que le pays soit purifié de tous les envahisseurs ». Dans les colonnes du New York Times, Seth G. Jones, expert américain des organisations terroristes, constate que pour les islamistes, les réseaux sociaux ne sont en réalité rien d'autre qu'« un moyen de diffuser leur propagande plus efficacement que dans le passé ».

Source: www.jeuneafrique.com

Somalia’s Al Shabaab says “obtained radar equipments to detect enemy aircraft”

Source: Xinhua 11/11/2011



The rebel militants of Al Shabaab in Somalia said they have obtained radar equipments and other military hardware to fight against Kenyan and Somali troops battling the group in the south of the war-torn country, a pro-Al Shabaab website reported on Thursday.
The claim by the radical group comes as row over alleged shipment of arms for Al Shabaab have been growing between Kenya and Eritrea. Eritrea is accused of sending weapons to the group, but the country has strongly denied the accusation.
“Radar equipments have been brought to some of the Somalia Wilaayaats (provinces) to detect enemy aircraft breaching Somalia’ s airspace, “said Somalimemo, a website used by Al Shabaab.
The site quoting an unnamed official added ” other ‘modern equipments ‘were found to counter the aging Kenyan aircraft fleet”. The Al Shabaab official did not give further details about where the group got the new military equipment or where they were installed.
Kenyan have lately been carrying out air raids against Al Shabaab targets in southern Somalia where the group controls. Allied Kenyan and Somali government troops have since early October been carrying out a military action aimed at ousting the militant fighters from the south of the war-ravaged Horn of Africa nation.
The group also asserted they have enlisted the retired senior military officials of former Somali government of Mohamed Siyad Barre to advise on and take part in the fight against Kenyan and Somali government troops.
The radical rebel group of Al Shabaab this week displayed several speedboats and dozens of newly trained fighters carrying AK-47s as well as local traditional fighters armed with spears, bows and arrows in the southern port town of Marka.
Al Shabaab reiterated threats of attacks against Kenyan for sending its troops across the border to Somalia as well as against Burundi and Uganda, two countries who are currently contributing troops to the 9,000-strong African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM) based in Mogadishu.

By Yang Lina

Somalia’s al-Shabab launches ‘Twitter war’

Source: BBC News 08/12/2011


Photo courtesy 256news.com

Somalia’s militant Islamist group al-Shabab has launched an account on the micro-blogging site Twitter.

The feed has attracted dozens of followers since it was created on Wednesday.
The account appears to be an attempt by al-Shabab to counter Kenya’s military spokesman, Maj Emmanuel Chirchir, who regularly tweets about operations in Somalia.
Kenya sent troops into Somalia in October to fight the militants.
Its parliament voted on Wednesday to integrate the troops into the 9,000-strong African Union (AU) force backing Somalia’s weak interim government.
Al-Shabab – which means The Youth in Arabic – controls most of southern and central Somalia.
‘Sober up’
The first al-Shabab tweet was a koranic phrase in Arabic, meaning “In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful”.
After that, al-Shabab switched to English and got down to the serious business of military propaganda.

The first tweets gave a hint of what was, within a few hours, to become the most intense fighting for several months between the Islamists and government troops backed by African Union (AU) troops in the capital, Mogadishu.

The tweets spoke of an attack by al-Shabab on an AU base in the north of the city.
This was despite the fact that al-Shabab in August announced that it had withdrawn from Mogadishu – something the transitional government described as a massive victory.
The tweets then launched into what the group described as the utter failure of Kenya’s military intervention in Somalia.
One quoted the BBC story about the plan for Kenyan troops to join the AU force.
It said this was proof that Kenya had run out of money to pay for the military operation, so it now needed the AU to pay for it.
The advice to the Kenyan soldiers was put into one word, in capital letters – “FLEE”.
There was also a tweet referring to the need for Somali government soldiers to sober up, accusing them of being intoxicated by the narcotic leaf, qat, which has been banned by al-Shabab.
The al-Shabab Twitter site has attracted dozens of followers since it was launched a few hours ago. At the time of writing, al-Shabab is following nobody.
The Islamist movement has in recent months become increasingly adept at communicating its activities and messages to a non-Somali audience.
It writes sophisticated press releases in excellent English, complete with photographs.
And now it has a Twitter account. Perhaps this is in response to the highly active Twitter account of Kenya’s military spokesman.
He issues a steady stream of information about what he says are Kenya’s military successes in Somalia.
So far, he appears to be winning the Twitter war. He has nearly 10,000 followers.
Al-Shabab has 400, but its site has only been active for a few hours, and that number increases every time I look at it.

By Mary Harper

Comment les Français aident le Kenya dans son offensive en Somalie

Source: Le Point 03/11/2011


Photo Courtoisie Ambassade de France au Kenya


Les armées françaises soutiennent l’offensive kényane contre les militants shebabs somaliens, qui détiennent notamment un officier français de la DGSE depuis le 14 juillet 2009. Les Français ne sont pas engagés dans les combats, affirme-t-on à l’état-major des armées à Paris, où l’on confirme par ailleurs qu’un Transall C-160 a été mis à disposition de Nairobi. Un peu juste en moyens logistiques. Mais de participation aux combats, nenni ! On dément avec vigueur, de même source, que des navires de combat de la marine nationale soient présents au large de la zone des combats, et qu’ils aient a fortiori tiré contre des objectifs à terre.
On précise de même source que l’aviso Premier maître l’Her, qui a quitté Brest le 1er octobre, se trouve actuellement en passe de rejoindre la Task Force 150 déployée dans le golfe d’Aden, sous commandement américain. La frégate Surcouf, qui participe pour sa part à la mission européenne Atalante contre la piraterie, se trouve depuis plusieurs jours au large de la ville somalienne d’Harardhere, très loin de la zone des combats entre l’armée kényane et les milices shebabs.
Bateau espion
L’état-major des armées n’avait en revanche “rien à dire, vraiment”, sur la présence dans le port kényan de Mombasa, rapportée au Point par des sources fiables, du très gros navire français Dupuy de Lôme. Ce navire de 3 600 tonnes arbore la coque blanche des bâtiments scientifiques et appartient officiellement à la catégorie des “bâtiments d’expérimentation et de mesures”.
Mais un énorme mât chargé d’antennes et deux gros radômes abritant de “grandes oreilles” ne laissent pas le moindre doute sur sa nature exacte : c’est un bateau espion, certes armé par la marine nationale, mais qui travaille 350 jours par an au profit de la Direction du renseignement militaire, nous apprend l’indispensable annuaire Flottes de combat. Lequel précise qu’il embarque un équipage de 30 hommes, auxquels s’ajoutent 80 “techniciens”. Qu’en termes pudiques ces choses-là sont dites ! Les Français, qui font circuler ce navire dans le monde entier, disposent avec lui d’un exceptionnel outil de renseignement, dont ils ne parlent jamais, bien qu’il soit très officiellement recensé dans la flotte des AGI (Auxiliary General Intelligence), dont dispose l’Otan. Conclusion : bien que les Français demeurent discrets sur le sujet, ils assistent les Kényans dans leur offensive en leur apportant des moyens logistiques aériens. Il paraît plausible qu’ils fournissent aussi du renseignement. Mais sans tirer un coup de feu…

Par Jean Guisnel

Somalia: AU forces to investigate Somalia mosque attack

Source: AFP/ Horseedmedia 28/07/2011

African Union troops defend the Yaaqshid district of Mogadishu, Somalia, July 28, 2011. Heavy fighting erupted Thursday in Somalia’s capital as AU peacekeepers launched an offensive aimed at protecting famine relief efforts from attacks by al Qaeda-linked militants. (AP Photo)

 African Union troops in Somalia’s war-torn capital will investigate an attack on a mosque in which a cleric reportedly died and several civilians were wounded, it said in a statement.
The Alhidaya mosque in Mogadishu was hit during fighting late Saturday during an attack by the Islamist Shebab insurgents on African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) soldiers, which guards the fragile Western-backed government.
The mosque was “hit by bombs from (an) unknown source, allegedly killing at least one Muslim cleric and wounding several other people,” AMISOM said.
“We take allegations of inadvertently causing civilian harm extremely seriously,” said Fred Mugisha, commander of the 10,000-strong AU force, made up of troops from Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti.
But the mosque was two kilometres away from AMISOM positions that were under attack and “would not have been a target,” Muguisha added.
“This is testing time for Somalia and we shall continue to do all we can to improve the situation,” he said.
The Al-Qaeda linked Shebab pulled out of fixed positions in Mogadishu last August, switching to guerrilla attacks on AU and government forces there.
Shebab fighters control large parts of central and southern Somalia but are facing growing encirclement from government forces and regional armies, including Kenyan troops in the far south and Ethiopian forces in the west.