Somalia president accuses Eritrea of arming Islamists

From Sudan Tribune, Thursday 28 May 2009:
Somalia president accuses Eritrea of arming Islamists

May 27, 2009 (MOGADISHU) — Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Wednesday accused for the first time Eritrea of arming Islamists fighting to throw out his government.

Yesterday the insurgents launched mortar shells on his palace.

"We know for sure that the majority of the weapons in the hands of the insurgents are coming from Eritrea," he told reporters from his residence which is heavily protected by the African peacekeepers.

"Eritrea is very much involved here... We know that Eritrean officers come here and bring money in cash."

The Eritrean officials rejected these accusations saying their country has been falsely accused of supplying arms to the Somali militants.

However, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, an insurgent leader who returned to Mogadishu recently from Asmara where he was established, admitted last week that Eritrea supported them in their fight to topple the Somali government.

The Africa Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) on Friday May 22 called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to sanction Eritrea for supporting Somali Islamist insurgents.

The Security Council also in a statement on May 15 expressed its concern about reports that Eritrea has supplied arms to those opposing the government of Somalia.

Somali journalists shocked as fourth journalist dies

Report from The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) - via APO:
Somali journalists shocked as fourth journalist dies

MOGADISHU, Somalia, 26 May 2009 - The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) is today shocked by the death of veteran journalist Nur Muse Hussein (Nur Inji) who died today from injuries he sustained from a targeted shooting in Beledweyne city of Hiran region in Central Somalia on 20 April 2009.

Nur Muse Hussein, 56, was wounded while he was trying to cover fighting in Beledweyn between militias loyal to Hiran Regional Administration and Hisbul Islam, an Islamic movement that operates in southern central regions of Somalia.

According to fellow journalists and his widow, Nur Muse Hussein who was with three other journalists when wounded by one of the fighters after they identified themselves as journalists, a Pedestrian walking behind the journalists reportedly died on the spot for the bullets that came through Nur’s leg, who worked for Radio Voice of Holy Quran in Mogadishu as their correspondent in Central regions. Bullets fractured his right leg. Nur Muse Hussein was in serious condition since the attack but his condition deteriorated in the last week, according to his widow.

“Nur Muse Hussein paid greatly for his dedication to journalistic profession. Today is another unforgettable and sad day for Somali journalists community,” Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary General. “Nur is the fourth journalist that became victim in this year for the crimes committed by the gun carrying men in Somalia. The death of Nur Muse Hussein highlights the unacceptable, continuing and deliberate violence against journalists in Somalia”.

Nur Muse Hussein left 5 children and a widow.

Abdirisak Warsameh Mohamed, nicknamed Gadao, of Radio Shabelle was shot dead on the morning of 22 May 2009 by forces fighting in the neighbourhoods near Bakara Market in Mogadishu. He was killed as he was crossing the road near Wardhigley police station, according to the director of Radio Shabelle, Mukhtar Mohamed Hirabe.

Three men with pistols assassinated the well-respected Said Tahlil Ahmed, director of HornAfrik Radio in Mogadishu, on 4 February 2009 at around 2:45 p.m. (local time).

On 1 January, Hassan Mayow Hassan, a reporter for Radio Shabelle, was gunned down by a member of a pro-government militia in Afgoye, 30 kilometers south of Mogadishu. He is the first journalist killed in 2009 in the world.

Eritrea behind attack on Somalia: AU

FIGHTING FOR ISLAM: At least 45 people were killed and 182 injured in heavy fighting in Mogadishu on Friday. The African Union accuses Eritrea of supporting Islamist militants.

From The Guardian, London (via Tapei Times)
Eritrea behind attack on Somalia: AU
Monday, May 25, 2009

The African Union (AU) is calling on the UN to impose immediate sanctions on Eritrea for supporting Islamist insurgents attempting to overthrow the Somali government. The demand follows heavy fighting between two formerly allied Islamist factions in Mogadishu, as the UN-backed government forces have tried to push the hardline al-Shabab group out of its positions in the city.

Heavy fighting on Friday in the capital killed at least 45 people and wounded 182, the highest day’s death toll in more than two weeks of intense battles.

The fighting saw government troops — bolstered by the recent defection of a prominent warlord to their side — attack al-Shabab positions in police stations and the area of the Bakara market, also a rebel stronghold.

Justifying the new offensive, Somali Defense Minister Mohamed Abdi Gandi. said government forces had retaken control of insurgent strongholds: “We started the fighting and we intend to defend the Somali people … we were forced to fight as there was no alternative.”

Al-Shabab is led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a former ally of Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, who was elected earlier this year, becoming the country’s 15th president in 18 years of conflict.

“We are not fighting for positions, but for Islam,” Aweys said, describing the country’s president as a “Westerner.”

“It is agreed within Islam that Christians and those they support are the same — so war is incumbent upon us, like prayer,” he said.

Although Eritrea has denied arming al-Shabab, Aweys — who returned from exile there in April to lead the fight against the new government — said in an interview on Friday that the struggle was supported by Eritrea and also confirmed that foreign fighters had joined the insurgents.

“It [the UN Security Council] should impose sanctions against all those foreign actors, both within and outside the region, especially Eritrea, providing support to the armed groups,” the 53-member AU said in a statement late on Friday.

The statement echoed demands made on Thursday by the east African regional bloc the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, made up of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.

Eritrea suspended its membership of the bloc in 2007.

“[We want] the imposition of a no-fly zone and blockade of sea ports to prevent the entry of foreign elements into Somalia, as well as flights and shipments carrying weapons and ammunitions to armed groups inside Somalia,” the statement said.

Aweys and Ahmed ruled Mogadishu and most of southern Somalia in late 2006 as leaders of the Islamic Courts Union, before Ethiopian troops drove them from power.

The two Islamists — Aweys was always considered the more hardline — went into exile in Eritrea and formed the opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, which aimed to oust the western-backed government. But Ahmed joined a UN-hosted peace process in Djibouti last year and was elected president in January. Parliament has since voted to introduce Shariah law throughout the country.

Neighboring states and Western security forces fear that Somalia, which has been mired in civil war for 18 years, could become a haven for militants linked to al-Qaeda.

The return of Sudan Air to Asmara, Eritrea is the latest step in the process of normalization between the two countries who had tense relations in the past.

In 2002, Eritrea and Sudan withdrew their ambassadors and closed the border, after trading accusations of supporting respective opposition groups.

Source: Sudan Tribune report from Khartoum dated Sunday, 24 May 2009 - Sudan Air resumes flights to Eritrea after 13 years

- - -

African Union calls on UN to sanction Eritrea over support of Somali Islamists
From Sudan Tribune Sunday, 24 May 2009:

May 23, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) — The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AUPSC) called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to sanction Eritrea for supporting Somali Islamist insurgents.

In a statement released after the end of its 190th meeting in the Ethiopian capital on Friday the AUPSC urged the UNSC to impose sanctions on "all those foreign actors, both within and outside the region, especially Eritrea, which are providing support to the armed groups engaged in destabilizing activities in Somalia."

The Council appealed to establish a no fly zone and blockade of sea ports, to prevent the entry of foreign elements into Somalia, as well as weapons and ammunitions to the Islamist insurgency.

The AU peace and security council appeal comes in line with the IGAD request to the UN against Eritrea. In an extraordinary meeting dedicated to the security and political situation in Somalia on Thursday May 20 held in the Ethiopian capital the regional body appealed to impose sanction without delay on Eritrea saying Asmara called for the overthrow of the Somali government and attacks on African peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Eritrea recalled its ambassador to the African Union following the statement. Asmara however denied reports that it had suspended its membership at the African Union.

Somali government accused Eritrea of supporting Al Shebab insurgents with planeloads of AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons.

The Security Council also in a statement on May 15 expressed its concern about reports that Eritrea has supplied arms to those opposing the government of Somalia.

The Eritrean ambassador at the UN rejected these accusations saying his country has been falsely accused of supplying arms to the Somali militants.

"I wish to put on record my government’s strong opposition to, and categorical rejection of, the unsubstantiated accusations leveled against my country," Eritrean Ambassador Araya Desta wrote in a letter to the U.N. Security Council, on Wednesday May 20.

However, an insurgent leader who returned to Mogadishu recently from Asmara where he was established, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, admitted in an interview with Reuters yesterday that Eritrea supported them in their fight to topple the Somali government.

"Eritrea supports us and Ethiopia is our enemy — we once helped both countries but Ethiopia did not reward us," Aweys, said.

Some 45 people were killed in Mogadishu as result of the heavy fighting between the government troops and the insurgents who control important parts of the capital.

Today the Islamists militant also renewed attacks on the position of the African peacekeepers in Mogadishu. There are 4300 peacekeepers from Burundi and Uganda in the capital to protect key government sites. (ST)

AU says Eritrea backing rebels in Somalia

* AU says Eritrea backing rebels in Somalia

* Calls for sanctions, no-fly zone, sea blockade

* Eritrea denies accusations

From Reuters by Barry Malone, Saturday, 23 May 2009:
African Union calls for Eritrea sanctions

ADDIS ABABA, May 23 (Reuters) - The African Union called on the United Nations late on Friday to impose immediate sanctions on Eritrea for supporting Islamist insurgents attempting to overthrow Somalia's government.

But Eritrean Ambassador Araya Desta said in a letter to the U.N. Security Council: "I wish to put on record my government's strong opposition to, and categorical rejection of, the unsubstantiated accusations levelled against my country."

Fighting in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on Friday killed at least 45 people, the highest daily death toll in more than two weeks of intense battles, after government forces launched a dawn offensive on the Islamist militants. [ID:nLM978588]

"(The U.N. Security Council should) impose sanctions against all those foreign actors, both within and outside the region, especially Eritrea, providing support to the armed groups," the 53-member African Union (AU) said in a statement.

The statement echoed demands made on Thursday by the east African regional bloc, the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). IGAD is made up of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.

Eritrea suspended its membership of IGAD in 2007.

President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed's U.N.-backed administration is the 15th attempt in 18 years to set up central rule in Somalia. Neighbouring states and Western security forces fear the nation could become a haven for al Qaeda-linked militants unless the hardline Islamists are defeated.

Somalia's transitional government has said the insurgents had been joined by foreign fighters and were receiving arms from Eritrea.

The AU reiterated IGAD's request that the United Nations enforce a no-fly zone on Somalia and block its sea ports to prevent foreign fighters and arms from entering.

"(We want) the imposition of a no-fly zone and blockade of sea ports to prevent the entry of foreign elements into Somalia, as well as flights and shipments carrying weapons and ammunitions to armed groups inside Somalia," the statement said.

In an interview with Reuters on Friday, influential insurgent leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said Eritrea supported the rebel struggle. He said a few Arab fighters had joined the rebels in the name of Islam. 

Aweys returned to Somalia in April from exile in Eritrea. (Editing by David Clarke)

Sudan appreciates Ethiopia’s stance to ICC decision

From Sudan Tribune Wednesday 8 April 2009 by Tesfa-alem Tekle:
Sudan appreciates Ethiopia’s stance to ICC decision

April 7, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) – Speaker of the Sudanese National Assembly on Monday appreciated Ethiopia for her strong opposition against the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s arrest warrant decision for Sudan’s head of state, President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

Speaker Ahmed Ibrahim El-Tahir who is in the Ethiopian capital to attend the 120th Inter-Parliamentary Union’s Assembly (IPU) has hold discussions with his Ethiopian counterpart, Teshome Toga.

On March 4, the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Al-Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Ethiopia is one of the first countries which swiftly voiced her opposition against last month’s ICC decision against Sudanese president.

The government of Ethiopia earlier last month condemned the arrest warrant issued by ICC saying it is against the interest of Sudan and Africa. It also said that the move undermines peace efforts.

"Though the Sudanese issue is not the agenda of the 120th IPU assembly we want to clearly demonstrate our country’s prevailing issue to IPU member nations" Ahmed Ibrahin EL-Tahir said.

"We will keep on trying to change the negative impacts of the arrest warrant" the Sudanese speaker added.

Conferring with his Sudanese counterpart, Ethiopia’ house speaker, Teshome Toga reaffirmed that his country, Ethiopia, would never accept decision made by ICC.

Beshir, 65, who is expected to visit Ethiopia in the upcoming days, is the first sitting president to face ICC arrest warrant since the world’s first independent and permanent tribunal on war crimes (ICC) began its work in 2002.

Somalia: Al-Qaeda's Next Battleground?

Somalia: Al-Qaeda's Next Battleground
23/03/2009
From Asharq Al-Awsat, London

Al-Qaeda's appeal to the Somali people to stage an Islamic uprising fell on deaf ears; however, the militant, violent nature of the appeal stirs up aversion among ordinary people, who hope that the new Somali leader will be able to end the 18-year long anarchy.

According to analysts, Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's appeal, which he addressed to the Somali people last week to topple President Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, was an attempt to raise the morale of fighters who sympathize with Al-Qaeda, but who are increasingly losing popularity, not a realistic political action plan.

Fundamentalist Islamists in London told Asharq Al-Awsat that Al-Qaeda wants to return to Africa through Somalia. They noted that, in addition to Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan, Somalia is a vital new base for Al-Qaeda. In a telephone call to Asharq Al-Awsat, Dr Hani Al-Sibai, director of the Al-Maqrizi Studies Center in London, said that "since the early 1990s, Al-Qaeda has not given up Somalia where it fought battles." He said that before Bin Laden made his latest speech in which he urged the Somali people to depose and kill Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, an audiotape had been posted in a website by Abu-Yahya al-Libi, one of the Al-Qaeda leaders. He added that while in Sudan at the beginning of 1990s, Al-Qaeda was greatly interested in Somalia. He noted that Abu-Ubaydah al-Banshiri (Ali Amin al-Rashidi), brother-in-law of Abdul-Hamid Abdul-Salam, who took part in the assassination of President Anwar al-Sadat, (traveled to Sudan). Al-Banshiri was viewed in armed fundamentalist groups as the chief of staff of the Al-Qaeda army. He was the first military officer of Al-Qaeda to travel to the heart of Africa in an exploratory mission. He drowned in Lake Victoria as he was training a number of the Al-Qaeda organization members in carrying out the bombing of the two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.

Al-Sibai said that Al-Qaeda has been interested in the Horn of Africa region since the 1990s, noting that the region witnessed the first actual attack by Al-Qaeda soon after the declaration of its founding in 1998 under the name "The International Front for Fighting Jews and Crusaders." The first operation this organization carried out was the suicidal attack on the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Al-Sibai noted that in its literature, Al-Qaeda regards Somalia as a source of pride because its tribal society is suitable for Al-Qaeda activities.

Al-Sibai revealed that 10 to 20 of the Somali Mujahidin Youth Movement (MYM) were in Afghanistan with Osama Bin Laden prior to the 9/11 attacks, and that they founded the first nucleus of the MYM although this group did not have a structural link with Al-Qaeda.

In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, Dr Kamal al-Hilbawi, former official spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood in the West, said: "We want to know the form of government that Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri want in Somalia. They are neither satisfied with HAMAS, nor the Muslim Brotherhood organization, or the moderate leader, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad; there is something wrong that must be addressed." He added that Bin Laden believes he can rule the world from his hide-out. Al-Bilhari, who is the founder of the Islamic League, and of the British Islamic Council in Britain, said although these people call for jihad, they have no vision. He said that he personally wonders whether Somalia should be left in the hand of secularists after the withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces.

Asharq Al-Awsat had earlier published parts of Al-Qaeda's secret correspondence that was posted on websites, which belong in one way or another to the US Department of Defense (Pentagon). One of these was a message from Salih Abdul-Wahid to Abu-Hafs, (Muhammad Atif), the official in charge of military affairs in Bin Laden's organization, who was killed in a US air raid on Qandahar in November2001. In that message, dated December 1993, he spoke of the Mujahidin's strategy in Somalia and of his meeting with Sheikh Abdullah Sahl and Sheikh Hassan Tahir, two of the leaders of the Islamic Union. He said that "during the meeting, we discussed these issues: The need to strike at US forces in Somalia to turn the country into another Vietnam-like quagmire, and to strike at the UN forces in general.

According to experts, while Bin Laden's local allies in Somalia pose a real military threat, most of the Somali people seem to be more convinced of the former teacher, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, 42, and of his ability to achieve stability in the country, than they are of the war message preached by Al-Qaeda organization. Rashid Abdi, expert in Somali affairs in the International Group for Addressing Crises, said: "There is no possibility of a rebellion erupting in Somalia. The (Bin Laden's appeal) primarily aims at raising the morale among the MYM." He added: "Bin Laden's appeal shows that Al-Qaeda has designs in Somalia, but, politically speaking, most of the country sides with Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad." He said that the MYM is a strong group of Islamic fighters who are sympathetic to Al-Qaeda. They are in control of large parts of the country and they, along with movements that embrace the same ideology, are staging a rebellion against the government. He added that against this military threat, there is a deep feeling among ordinary Somalis that Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, a moderate Islamic leader who won the elections during talks hosted by the UN in Djibouti in January, provides the best opportunity in years to build a new future in the country.

Analysts believe that Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad has a real chance of settling the worst disputes among the 10 million people of Somalia in view of his Islamic roots and the feeling in the West that he must be given an opportunity to achieve stability in the Horn of Africa region.

Abdi Samatar, a researcher in Somali affairs and professor of geography and international studies at the University of Minnesota, said: "Bin Laden can say whatever he wants, but this will not change the political scene as far as the YMY is concerned." He added: "The will of the people is to say no to war; this attitude represents a major obstacle for Bin Laden. The main enemy of the MYM up to January was the Ethiopian occupation forces, which were sent to Somalia with tacit US approval in 2006 to crush presumed activities by Al-Qaeda.

The presence of Ethiopian forces in Somalia triggered national sentiments among Somalis to prove their patriotism, sentiments that many Somalis understood. Analysts however believe that the complete withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces eliminated a key political reason for support for the MYM, which seems to be striving to remain a coherent force in the absence of the Ethiopian military presence. The new Somali leader faces numerous major dangers, primarily an assassination attempt by the MYM, which continues to receive funds from foreign sources and which tightly keeps its secrets, something that is not easy in a gossipy society where people exchange information quickly and competently.

Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad so far does not have a considerable military force, for the government forces and the African Union peace-keeping force of 3,500-strong control only some parts of Mogadishu. He also faces many challenges, notably stopping acts of violence and piracy, establishing relations with the new US Administration, rebuilding roads and ports, and curbing militiamen leaders and greedy businessmen who have interest in weakening the government's authority.

The wide-range changes that occurred in the political scene in Somalia over the past six months mean that the possibilities have improved for handling these tasks and ending the anarchy that was fed by tribal propensities over the past18 years. The major development in the country has been Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad's assumption of power. This encourages confidence because he led the Islamic Courts which defeated leaders of the strong militias in Mogadishu, and achieved a measure of stability in the capital and in most of the southern parts of Somalia in2006.

However, Sheikh Sharif Ahmad's success did not last long. The West accused the Islamic Courts of having links to terrorist groups. And Ethiopia dispatched forces to overthrow the Islamic Courts from power, prompting Sheikh Sharif Ahmad to flee the country and establish a group opposed to Ethiopia. He has now returned from exile and is seeking to consolidate his power on the ground and to communicate with the Islamists fighters who were part of the Islamic Courts he led. His moderate Islamic roots may be useful to him in his mission and in his effort to persuade some Arab countries to provide funds to his administration. He said that he backed implementation of Islamic Shariaa in Somalia, a statement that might dilute opposition to him among the Islamic groups even though his view of the Shariaa is unlike the more militant view preferred by the Taliban rebels in Afghanistan.

The Ethiopian forces have withdrawn from Somalia, ending an occupation that was seen in Washington as part of the war on terror, but locally was regarded as a flagrant violation of Somalia's sovereignty. According to some analysts, apprehensions about Ethiopia's role in Somalia continue to exist, and while Ethiopia has long been accused of preferring to see a weak Somali government to be able to dominate it, Ethiopia maintains that the opposite is true.

Facing collapse, Somali rulers plead for Ethiopia to stay

December 01, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) report from Sudan Tribune:

FACING COLLAPSE, SOMALI RULERS PLEAD FOR ETHIOPIA TO STAY

The Somali Transitional Federal Government has expressed fears that the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops in the current conditions with no alternative military force, like a UN peacekeeping mission, could have terrible consequences.

The spokesman for the Presidency of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) Hasan Muhammad Mahmud, alias Xubsireed, said in a statement that the planned withdrawal of Ethiopian troops within this month of December saddens the TFG.

If Ethiopian troops withdraw from Somalia before the full deployment of the 8,000 troops earlier promised by the African Union, the country will slide back to the civil war between Somalis and Islamist groups whose capability has increased, said the spokesman for the Somali presidency.

He added that Ethiopia will also be at risk since it shares a border with Somalia. "We would like to ask Ethiopia to reconsider its decision to withdraw its troops from Somalia," he said.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Osman Elmi Boqore raised similar fears with Voice of America News, saying that after the Ethiopian withdrawal, the TFG may cease to exist.

The spokesman for the Somali presidency, speaking to Dayniile news, said the president is attending matters that are important to the nation in Garowe, the capital of Puntland, which is also the stronghold of the Harti sub-clan of the Darood, the clan affiliation of TFG President Abdullahi Yusuf.

The spokesman said the Puntland administration is part of the TFG and the president is in the region to reconcile presidential candidates who are vying for the leadership of the region with the current president, Adde Muse. The conflict between the Puntland leader and the presidential candidates is mainly about the way elections are to be conducted.

"The president will come back to Mogadishu as soon as his visit to Puntland is over," said the spokesman for the Somali presidency. Some reports previously indicated that the president will not be coming back to Mogadishu due to security reasons after the Ethiopian government made the decision to withdraw its troops from the country.

A coalition of Islamists and other forces now controls much of Somalia aside from parts of Mogadishu and Baidoa, the parliamentary seat, and Puntland and Somaliland in the north.

The Islamic Courts Union had briefly brought control and influence over most of Somalia in 2006 before they were toppled by a U.S.-backed Ethiopian invasion at the end of that year. Insurgents affiliated with the Islamists subsequently fought the Ethiopian-backed TFG across Somalia and in urban combat that displaced millions of civilians.

Senior UN officials have called the situation in Somalia the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophe. (ST)