Sunday, March 21, 2010

Doubts grow on Somali offensive's chances at peace

In this Monday Oct. 5 2009 photo newly trained Al-Shabaab fighters
 patrol a street in Mogadishu, Somalia. Al-Shabaab which is a powerful 
insurgent group is engaging a fight against the Somalia government, and 
the African Union peace keepers. Problems including corrupt officials 
and a lack of supplies have delayed Somalia's military offensive against
 Islamic insurgents, but even before the first shot has been fired new 
warnings have emerged that blood may be spilled for little or no gain. 
(AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor) In this Monday Oct. 5 2009 photo newly trained Al-Shabaab fighters patrol a street in Mogadishu, Somalia. Al-Shabaab which is a powerful insurgent group is engaging a fight against the Somalia government, and the African Union peace keepers. Problems including corrupt officials and a lack of supplies have delayed Somalia's military offensive against Islamic insurgents, but even before the first shot has been fired new warnings have emerged that blood may be spilled for little or no gain. (AP Photo/Mohame


NAIROBI, Kenya -- Problems including corrupt officials and a lack of supplies have delayed Somalia's military offensive against Islamic insurgents, but even before the first shot has been fired new warnings have emerged that blood may be spilled for little or no gain.
In signs the offensive is approaching, close to 1,000 additional troops arrived from Uganda last week to support the African Union's forces in Mogadishu, and the Islamists have been digging trenches across the capital's streets to impede AU armored cars. The AU backs the beleaguered Somali government and has more than 5,000 troops stationed in the country.
But Somalia's government, whose forces are weak and poorly trained and equipped, has not described how it would consolidate any gains made in the offensive or win the support of the people, who are splintered into hundreds of clans.
Experts say the government does not appear to have a political plan ready to deploy after the end of the fighting, which is likely to kill scores of civilians.
Foreshadowing a struggle just to take ground from al-Shabab, an Islamic militia loosely linked with al-Qaida, a U.N. report this month said Somalia's security forces lack resources, organization and a functional chain of command, and blamed the problems on a lack of commitment by the country's leaders.
The Somali government, for its part, says it is committed but needs more international support, even though more than $180 million has been poured into the country by the U.S. alone in the last three years.
As the commander in chief, President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed would order the start of the offensive. Ahmed told The Associated Press that efforts are under way to professionalize and better equip the security forces, but the government lacks money to pay the soldiers, many of whom have been trained in neighboring Djibouti by the African Union.
U.S. officials in Washington say they have given money to help pay for Somalia's soldiers, but declined to discuss how the money was delivered, to whom, or how they could be sure it reached the fighters. A U.N. report said the government's ability to pay soldiers is hindered by deep corruption.
The U.N. Monitoring Group of Somalia found that the Somali military is dominated by a command structure based on clan loyalties and noted that corruption has deprived soldiers of pay and meals and is so bad that Somali commanders and troops often sell their arms and ammunition to militants.
"The consequences of these deficiencies include an inability of the security forces of the Transitional Federal Government to take and hold ground," the U.N. monitoring group said in its scathing analysis. "As a result, they have made few durable military gains during the course of the mandate, and the front line has remained, in at least one location, only 500 meters (yards) from the presidency."
The offensive, which has been repeatedly delayed over the past few months, is meant to push back insurgents who operate within just a few blocks of the presidential palace and widen the government's small slice of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.
U.S. officials say the United States is not planning the offensive and won't be coordinating or directing it. Johnnie Carson, America's assistant secretary of state for Africa, said last week that the U.S. has only "provided limited military support" to Somali governmen
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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre  and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake

May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan

May Allah bless him and give  Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government

The Honourable Ronald Reagan,

When our world changed forever

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)

His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Govern­ment in Paris from 1974 to 1979.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.

Dr. Adden Shire Jamac  'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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