Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Kenya bombards Shabab-held Kismayo in Somalia,renews long-delayed attack on al Qaida affiliate. Also Kenya says seizes Somali rebel bastion of Afmadow

Kenya has renewed its long-stalled offensive against al Qaida’s affiliate in Somalia, just days after the Kenyan government blamed the Somali Islamists for an apparent terrorist attack in downtown Nairobi.
For the second day in a row, Kenyan naval forces on Wednesday bombarded the Somali seaport of Kismayo, a key stronghold of Somalia’s al Qaida-linked Shabab insurgents, while ground troops attacked Afmadhow, a major town that Kenya says it must capture before advancing by land against Kismayo. A Kenyan military spokesman tweeted Wednesday night that Afmadhow had fallen.Port fees at Kismayo are the Shabab’s primary source of funds, and its capture by Kenyan troops would be a major blow to the organization, which once dominated southern Somalia. Shabab control has been steadily shrinking, however, under military pressure, not just from Kenya but also from Ethiopian forces conducting their own offensive, and from Ugandan and Burundian forces under the African Union that have pushed the Shabab from Mogadishu, the country’s capital, where an internationally-backed transitional government hangs onto control.Kenya has now formally joined the African Union peacekeeping force as well, possibly opening its military campaign to more direct military assistance from the United States, which shares the regional governments’ desire to curb the Shabab’s power and recognizes the transitional government in Mogadishu.An assault on Kismayo has been expected for months, since Kenyan troops first invaded Somalia in October after suspected Shabab guerrillas had conducted a spate of kidnappings near the Somali border, including one in which a British tourist was killed. But the offensive stalled, and for months little has been heard from the battlefield on what Kenyan troops were up to. That changed Tuesday morning, when residents of Kismayo reported that the city had come under bombardment from the sea. Kenya later said that one of its ships had opened fire after Shabab forces onshore had come under attack.On Wednesday, the bombardment resumed, residents said, describing a chaotic scene as many attempted to flee the city."Day and night aircraft fly over us," said Mohamed, a resident reached by phone who asked that his full name not be divulged because of fear of Shabab retaliation. “People are afraid.”The city’s Shabab-controlled radio station went off the air Wednesday afternoon, though it was unknown whether it had come under attack.“Some residents have started to flee the city and are settling outside of town," said a local freelance journalist who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation.There were conflicting reports about the ground assault on Afmadhow, which straddles the main road to Kismayo, 60 miles to the south.Maj. Emmanuel Chirchir, a Kenyan military spokesman, used his Twitter account to announce that Kenyan forces had captured the town, which has been in Shabab hands since 2009, and that they were now focused on taking Kismayo.But a spokesman for Ras Kamboni, a Somali militia fighting alongside Kenyan troops against Shabab, offered a different version of events."We have been fighting and shelling Afmadhow today,” said the spokesman, Abdinasir Serar. “Our plan was to take full control of the town today. For now, we settled at the outskirts of the town. We will launch another operation early in the morning."Most Kismayo residents refuse to talk to the media for fear of backlash by Shabab, which rules the city ruthlessly, demanding adherence to strict ultra-conservative Islamic laws and taxing the shipments through the seaport.It is unclear whether the timing of the assault on Kismayo was tied to a suspected Shabab attack in Nairobi on Monday that wounded 28 and blew the roof off a used-clothing bazaar in a busy pedestrian mall. The Kenyan government now believes the explosion was caused by a bomb, possibly using fertilizer. The U.S. Embassy on Wednesday told American residents in Kenya that Monday’s explosion was the third attack since Saturday, when, the embassy said, grenades had exploded at a refugee camp and a hotel elsewhere in Kenya. Boswell and Yusuf are McClatchy special correspondents. Boswell’s reporting is underwritten in part by a grant from Humanity United, a California-based foundation that focuses on human rights issues.

Kenya says seizes Somali rebel bastion of Afmadow

NAIROBI - Kenyan ground forces captured the Somali rebel redoubt of Afmadow on Wednesday, a military spokesman said, and were closing in on the port city of Kismayu, the hub of al Shabaab militants' southern operations."(We have) secured the town of Afmadow," Major Emmanuel Chirchir said on the social media site Twitter.Kenya sent troops across the border into Somalia in October, blaming al Qaeda-linked insurgents there for a string of kidnappings on Kenyan soil that threatened to harm the east African country's tourism sector.The Kenyan incursion is part of a three-pronged offensive against the Islamist al Shabaab, who are also battling Ethiopian troops in central Somalia and an African Union force near the capital, Mogadishu.The coordinated military push against al Shabaab has seen the militants surrender chunks of territory over the past nine months. Kismayu, where most of the group's foreign fighters have historically been based, remains its most significant bastion.Al Shabaab, which formally merged with al Qaeda earlier this year, has responded by resorting more to guerrilla-style tactics such as suicide bombings and hit-and-run grenade attacks.On Tuesday, Kenyan battleships patrolling off Kismayu struck al Shabaab positions in the port city after the rebels fired anti-aircraft guns at them.Chirchir said 11 rebel fighters had been killed by shells from the warship. 

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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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The threat is from violent extremists who are a small minority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims, the threat is real. They distort Islam. They kill man, woman and child; Christian and Hindu, Jew and Muslim. They seek to create a repressive caliphate. To defeat this enemy, we must understand who we are fighting against, and what we are fighting for.

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