^^Why? I didn't even know her.

^^ The so-called TFG is nothing but a Union of Warlords. The warlords Ethios created invited her to save their bacon, that's the truth. The ICU posed no threat to Ethiopia even though that's the pretext used for the invasion. Ethios came because it was possible. Eritrea poses more threat to her but Ethios doesn't seem to accept the invitation to Asmara. It's the same scenario as the West face when they are dealing with North Korea. Iraq was possible but north Korea is not. Nothing has to do with threat posed. As for which is THE "Somalia's brutal sub-clan", well, depends on who you ask.

Xiin and Sharmaarke it was a bleasure was but all credit goes to the good poet for highlighting the issue. Rumour has it, he chose this subject as his final piece before he "retires" (his penultimate being Mayal- dheer ). I also like his suggestion 1st May should be a day Somalis dedicate to highlighting the campaign against the caste problem . Bashir's article was written 2 days after this event, is this just coincidence or has the old man started the ball rolling? I hope the later. Another May 1 suggestion is "positive discriminations" or guarantees which secures employment and educational positions for the victims of centuries of this practice. (What's that American phrase for this again?) This sounds very interesting as long as it does not end up like Arta/Mbagathi's 4.5 formula which reduced these clans to .5 of the rest. Originally posted by NGONGE: Good article. But I wonder if his remorse will go far enough as to allow him to accept someone from those clans as a brother-in-law? Interesting question Ngonge. I've a friend in London belonging to one the clans that are victims of our caste problem . Even though I've known him for over two decades, we've hardly discussed this caste issue mainly because he keeps his "identity" secret. He'd even misinform if cornered by "curious" inquisitors. On one of our first London reunion, he indirectly told me not to reveal his "identity" to others. I'm not perfect but I too enjoyed fantastic meals at my mates' house and find the vomiting guests story over the top. The strange thing is I remember my friend's uncle (AUN) being racist against what he used to call "adoons". My friend uses derogatory words to describe other black people and Indians. To cut a long story short, my friend moved to the other side of London and his "lifestyle" made it impossible for us to be as close as we used to be. Few years later, he was to get married after a few failed attempts because of, you guessed it.. his "identity". On the wedding night, I sat with other friends of the groom and after a few whispers I was finally asked about the bride's "identity". I had no idea. When the time came for the groom's family to be photographed, a few of us from different "identities" stood with him which left my friend visibly emotional. Next day I phoned one my sisters to tell her about the wedding and after a few questions she asked the bride's "identity", to which I replied I didn't know for sure but her family photograph will be full of "reer X". A few hours later one of my sister's friends also a "reer X" called to ask me why I didn't expose the groom's "identity" to the bride's family. She claimed he lied about his "identity". A strange conversation followed which included me asking: "..if my friend's 'lifestyle' was no issue to the bride and her family, why was his 'identity'.." and lots of "none of my business". The caste problem is a weakness most Somalis suffer from. Judging from some of my friend's family, they are no innocent of some form of "racism" either. There's no fair game in this sport, not the Amxaaro nor the Yuhuud. You're either wrong or right. I'm in the wrong and ashamed of it. The good thing about Hadrawi's May 1 event was the victims presented their experiences and hopefully it will be a start of good things inshallah.

DHULGARIIR:MAANSADA CUSUB EE ABWAAN HADRAAWI KU SOO BANDHIGAY MUNAASIBAD WEYN OO LAGU QABTAY HARGAYSA. Published May 02, 2007 - 07:15 PM by siciid Hargeysa (TogdheerNews)- Xaflad ballaadhan oo lagaga hadlayey dhibaatooyinka haysta dadka la hayb-sooco, ayaa xalay lagu qabtay hoteelka Maansoor ee magaalada Hargeysa. Abwaanka caanka ah ee Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame (Hadraawi), ayaa munaasibaddaa ku soo bandhigay maanso cusub oo la magac-baxday DHULGARIIR oo uu hal-abuurku kaga hadlayo xadgudubka iyo gabbood-falka loo geysto dad la hayb-sooco, ayaa xalay lagu qabtay hoteelka Maansoor ee magaalada Hargaysa. Munaasibadda oo ay ka qaybgaleen masuuliyiin ka kala socday xukuumadda, Baarlamanka [Guurtida iyo Wakiillada], axsaabta qaranka, hay’adaha samafalka caalamiga ah, ururrada bulshada rayidka ah iyo boqollaal ka mid ah dadweynaha ku dhaqan caasimadda Hargeysa, ayaa waxa hadal kooban ka jeediyey Guddoomiyaha Golaha Wakiillada Somaliland, Md. Cabdiraxmaan Maxamed Cabdillaahi (Cirro) oo arrinta hayb-sooca ku tilmaamay mid salka ku haysa aragti jaahilnimo oo aan cilmi iyo caqli toona ku dhisnayn, isla markaana ay kulamada noocan oo kale ahi wax weyn ka beddeleen. Md. Cirro waxa uu dadweynaha reer Somaliland kula dardaarmay in wax-ka-qabashada arrinta takoorka beelaha laga tirada badan yahay aan lagu suulin Karin hadallo munaasibad laga yidhaahdo, balse ay u baahan tahay in lala yimaaddo ficil dhab oo meesha lagaga saarayo. “Waxaan qabaa in tallaabooyinka wax lagaga qaban karo arrintan ay ugu horreyso in dadku diinta Islaamka bartaan, kuna dhaqmaan, iyada oo aynu ognahay in loo siman yahay diinta Islaamka, balse lagu kala duwan yahay camalka, arrinta labaadna waxa weeye tacliinta oo aan qabo in ay wax weyn ka beddeli doonto iyo dhaqaalaha oo kobca. Waxaan qabaa haddii aynu iskaashano shacbi, xukuumad iyo Baarlamaan ahaanba in aynu guulaysanayno,” ayuu yidhi Guddoomiye Cirro. Guddoomiyaha xisbiga mucaaradka ah ee UCID, Mr. Faysal Cali-waraabe, ayaa tilmaamay in aragtida cunsiriyadda ee takoorka beelaha laga tirada badan yahay ku soo ururtay Somaliland, gaar ahaan Gobolka Hargeysa, marka loo eego Soomaalida kale oo dhan, taas oo uu ku sababeeyey in ay salka ku hayso qabyaalad, waxaannu soo jeediyey in sida keliya ee lagaga bixi karaa tahay iyada wacyigelinta laga soo bilaabo heer qoys, isla markaana shuruuc adag laga saaro hay’adaha ku dhaqma hayb-sooca sida dugsiyada iyo meelaha kale ee la midka ah. Sidaa darteed, Faysal Cali-waraabe waxa uu ku taliyey in dadka laga tirada badan yahay laga qaybgeliyo maamulka dalka, isla markaana loo qoondeeyo xilal iyaga u gaar ah oo aanay cid kale la wadaagin. Abwaan Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame (Hadraawi) oo munaasibaddaa hadal ka jeediyey, ayaa waxba kama jiraan ku tilmaamay weedhaha loo adeegsado dadka la hayb-sooco ee ay ka mid yihiin; bakhti-cun iyo gun, “Waxa caawa [xalay] ina kulmiyey waa qaddiyadda beelaha dhammaastu saaran tahay; anigu odhan maayo dadka la quudhsado’e, waa in aynu innagu hadalnaa, oo iyagu hadlaan oo lafaheenna badbaado u raadino. Waxaynu diidaynaa inaynu is-dhigano, dabadeedna sida aynu isaga fadhino dhiilku buuxsamo oo ay timaaddo ta caawa werwerku ka jiraa, waana wax aan dhici karayn in isha layska eegto oo sida ay weligeed ahaato ee wax baa imanaya ay caawa fududahay in la sii ogaado oo laga digtoonaado,” ayuu yidhi Abwaan Hadwraawi. Isaga oo abwaanku arrintaa sii sharraxayey waxa uu intaa raaciyey; “Sannadkii 1960-kii iyo gobonimadii dagaalka lagu qaaday gumaysiga ee af iyo addinba lahaa, wuxuu ka dhexeeyey dadka dalkan ku nool oo ay ka mid yihiin kuwa aynu caawa [xalay] ka hadlayno arrintooda, dabadeedna waxa la yidhi waxaynu qaadanay gobonimo, taas oo dhinac qudha uuni qaatay oo innaga [ajiga] Ingiriis baa ina gumaysanayey, iyagana [beelaha la hayb-sooco] innaga ayaa gumaysanaynay, markaa habeenkaas uun bay haddii ragganimo jirto in la yidhaahdo laga bilaabo caawa waad nala xoroobaysaan, illeyn gobonimadaa la qaatay waxba umay soo kordhine. Beri dhowayd waxa soo baxday sheeko la leeyahay waa la dhoofinayaa beelahaas oo waa loo gacan-haadiyey, oo dhoof baa u diyaar ah, dhoofkaasi wuxuu yimi goor dambe, kadib markii tallaabo la qaadi waayey waxa tallaabo qaaday nin kale oo arrintan [hayb-sooca] dan ka leh. Way dhoofayaan, laakiin haddii ay dhoofaan sidaa ma ku tegayaan ayaa su’aal ah? Jawaabtu waa maya, oo way dhoofayaan, waa la soo hubaynayaa, waxba waa la soo barayaa, qaddiyaddooda ayeyna helayaan jaanis ay kaga dhaadhiciyaan caalamka, garab iyo gaashaan bay soo helayaan, dhulka ayaana lagu soo celinayaa, dabadeed wixii dhacaya anigu halkaa dhaafin maayee nin rag ahi wuu garanayaa, nacasna loo sheegi maayo. Markaa waxaynu u baahanahay in ay nafaheenna badbaado u raadino oo wax macno ah oo ay inoo samaynaysaa ma jirto in dadka qaar gun noqdaan aan sabab lahayn, oo aan wax tixraac ahi jirin, meelna aan ku aroorayn, ma aha dad innaga duwan ee waa dad aynu wada dhalanay oo masiibadani [takoorka] ku habsatay oo xataa la sababayn Karin dembi ay galeen, waxana run ah in aanay bakhti cunin gunnimana la dhalan. Aniga waxa ii hal-hays ah ‘Anigu gob ku noqon maayo qof kale gunnimadii.” Ugu dambayn, Abwaan Hadraawi waxa uu sheegay in aanay gabay iyo hadal toona waxba ka tarayn arrintan, balse loo baahan yahay xoojin ficil oo bulshada reer Somaliland kaga gilgilanayso tirtiridda dhaqanka, waxaannu u mahadnaqay ururrada soo agaasimay kulanka, gaar ahaan hal-abuurka da’da yar ee Axmed Aw Geeddi. Boqor Axmed Iimaan oo ka mid ah madax-dhaqameedyada beelaha la hayb-sooco, ayaa qotodheer u faahfaahiyey dhibaatooyinka haysta dadka la takooro, waxaannu kulankan ku tilmaamay mid taariikhi ah oo muujinaya sida ay bulshada reer Somaliland u dareemeen dhibta ku habsatay beelahooda, isaga oo soo jeediyey in sida qudha ee lagaga bixi karaa tahay iyada oo bulshada wacyigelin ballaadhan laga siiyo. Suldaan Naasir Suldaan Cabdi, ayaa ku boorriyey bulshada reer Somaliland in la barto diinta Islaamka, taas oo dadka simaysa, isla markaana reebaysa xadgudubyo iyaga dhexdooda ka dhaca. Suldaan Daahir Xasan Khaliif, ayaa sheegay in dhibaatooyinka beelaha la hayb-sooco ay keeneen dhaqaale la’aan salka ku haysa shaqo-la’aan baahsan, waxaannu u soo jeediyey masuuliyiinta qaranka in laga qaybgeliyo hay’adaha dawladda iyo kuwa gaarka ah. Maansada cusub ee DHALGARIIR oo soo baxay 01/05/2007, waxa uu Abwaan Hadraawi ku bilaabay sidan: Axmedow nin dheeraad sitoo dhiibsan baad tahay Tukalaad u dhaaftaa kolkaad dhaliso tii roone Dhalintii caleemaha lahayd waygu dheertahay Dhawr iyo shan dhawr iyo haddana dahwrarba jiraa Haddaan beegsi kala soo dhexbaxay, tooda meel dhigay Labadii dhallaanimo lahayd ways dhar urisaa Berberaawi dhuub iyo ka dhuub waysu dhurannaa Ilhaamay dhiggaagiyo hablaha dhuude falanqee Hadduu dhaguxu kala hayb tirsado dheemman baad tahay Suugaantu waa dhaqan haddana waa sud iyo dhiib Dhidib iyo lud bay leedihiyo dhaabad iyo meel Dhuuxuu ka eegaa ninkii dhilan yaqaanaaye Qofba waa dhankuu ka arko iyo meesha uu dhigo Dadka dhiiri iyo qawl sanbaa lagu dhacsiiyaa Sida loo dhahaabu khalqigu ugu dhegtaagaa Dhunkaal iyo xajiin lama marshiyo dhuumatiyo sheel Sida dhuuni qaataha murtida looma dheehtiro Dhiidhiga nin laasimay hadduu dheegto waa halis Dheeldheelligaa laga jiraa waa la dherersha Dhexrooriyo waxa lagu hojaa weliba dhaad dhaad Dhoomaha waxaa laga xushaa teeda dhumucweyn. Hadalkana nin yidhi waa dhigaa siidhehbaa dilay Inaan dhaabadeeyaan rabaa dhawr kal dabadeed Dhaxalkeeda nimankii lahaa way dhebaandhebi Iyagaa dharaarba intaan dhaafay sii odhan Gabaygani dhambaal buu sidaa waayo soo dhaxay Dhulgariirna waa kii la baxay dhalashadiisii Dhawdhawda qaadkiyo ka culus dhaan wadaa yidhi Kana dheer is yeelyeelka iyo ii dheh iyo faan Qof dhabcaala mooyee nin kale waw dhadhamayaa Xaajada halkaasaan dhigoo dhaabad baw dihin In la sii dhaqaajay rabtaa dhaygag badanley Oo loola dhaadhaco halkay dhuux ka leedahay Waxaa lumay dhudhumintii runtiyo dheeli tirihii Inta samaha dhuxulayn kartaa waa dhif iyo kow Dhalool bay isugu biirtay iyo tii dharjo ahayd Dhulka wuu ku soo badanayaa baal ku dhooruhu Dhan-xiiradu haddii ay maqlaan ways dhufanayaan Sinnaantay dhaliil moodayaan tii ilaah dhigay Dhinacay ka joogaan sharciga waa dhis foorara Marka ay dhanaaniga gashiyo dhiibta kala guurka Dhiillaha nin buuxshaa ma jiro dhacart jiilaal Dhirin-dhirintu waa shay sanoo lagu dhabriiraa Hal dhabaalahaa awgaayow tii dhamayd geliye Hays dhigan nin nooloow hiddadu waysu dhimataa Hadalkana nin yidhi wa dhigaa siidhehbaa dilay Inaan dhaabadeeyaan rabaa dhawr kal dabadeed Dhaxalkeeda nimankii lahaa way dhebaandhebi Iyagaa dharaarab intaan dhaafay sii odhan. Laan dharab ka toostiyo hibooy dhool cas baad tahay Dhalankaagu waa luulka iyo dhirahay yaaquu Malaa roob la dhaca waad taqaan dhiinka jookha leh Dhalankiisa shaygaa gobta ah waad u dhigantaaye Dhibic iyo cadceed looshan iyo dheel gu’baad tahay Qurux iyo dheg baad leedihiyo dhaabad iyo sees, Dherer iyo laf baad leedihiyo dhaygag iyo yaab Dhebi heeg u baxay baad ka tahay dhoobo jiifyada Dhul fog baad ka laacdaa sidii dheenta laalida Ruuxii ku dhawraa si buu kuugu dhegayaa Dhabeelnimana way kugu jirtaa dhab iyo misaan Dhiidhiibsigaagiyo haddana dhuda wanaagaaga Dheehaaga maahee shishaad dhuux u leedahaye, Dhulka lagama soo qodin dadkee aadan baa dhalay Adiga iyo hablaa dhinaca kale waysu dhigantaan Dhud qudhaa ka wadda beeranteen dhaadashada guud Dhab-dhab baad ku kala leexateen adiyo joog-dheer Dhawaweylanka waxa kuugu wacan amase dhoohnaanta Dhab-darrooyinkoodaa qalbigu dhaawac dumayaa Dhimir bay ku sareen dabool baali kaa dhigay Dhafoor taabadkoodaa qod-qoday dhabannadaadiiye Dhaqaaq joogsiggaagiyo wejiga dhaxanta saar-saaran Dhadhansiga dareenkaa ka culus buuro soo dhacay Intaad adigu dhiilaysan tahay taydu waa dhicis. Hadalkana nin yidhi wa dhigaa siidhehbaa dilay Inaan dhaabadeeyaan rabaa dhawr kal dabadeed Dhaxalkeeda nimankii lahaa way dhebaandhebi Iyagaa dharaarab intaan dhaafay sii odhan. Dhaf dhaf iyo hal hays beena baa soo dhab dhabateene Dhugatiyo cad xaaraan ah iyo dhoohan may cunin Dhamaas lagu takooriyo ma jirin caado dhaaf kale Dhab cad iyo ma haysaan daliil meel la sii dhigay Dhaqankaas canbaarayanayaa saaray dhiillada Labadii hiyiga dheehi jirey way ka dheertahay Weligood dhibaadada aduun looma soo dhixin Dhaan dhaano maahee kashaa dhooli dmood tahaye Intii aad dhisnaydeen iyagu waa dhur sugayeen Dhufaannimo hagooglay intaas kula dhex joogeene Dharaar uun in waa kale beryey dhawrayeen abide Dhegahay intaas la hadlayeen waa dhab may odhan Dhibaatadana way eegayeen dhaayihii jirey Cishaday dhanaan tahay haddii laysu dholol fayto Dhab u dirirka waa lagu yiqiin dhaanto iyo shiishe Ragg hadduu dhabiiltamo naftay dhigi yqiineene In kastuu xiniin dhaafyuhuu dhiirinimo sheegto Mar haddaan dhalliil lagu gudbayn dhgalsho mooyaane Dareenkiisu wuxuu dhaadayaa hoos in loo dhigay, Dhar-dhaarray ahaayeen intaa dheri lahaydeene Dhaddig iyo labkoodaa ka kale dhinacyo taagnaaye Ninka ay dhisaan baan isagu tooda dhaydhayin Gudmahay dhabeeyeen ka badan lag iyo dheeraade Hadday dhigan lahaayeen mid uun maalba may dhaqane Dhaxalkiisa may soo xarayn dhogorta xoolaaye Weligood dhalaal subag ah iyo dhaashi may heline Dhay iyo karuur labada wel dhoosha may geline Hadday dhami lahaayeen miduun dhiilba may tolanne Dhegahooda maag baa qabsaday shayna may dhimine Sibaa loo dhaliilaa haddana ruuxna may dhibine Dhuyaal iyo kudaal bay damceen dhiigna may galine Dhulka waa ka sii guuraayaan ruuxna may dhicine Dhoof bay ku daasteen inay sibiq dhaqaaqaane Dhalashada nay dooriyaan bay u dhowdahay Dhagar inay galaan bay damceen dhaarse may marine Dhaxaan ogsoonaa halyey dhuuntay keligii Hadalkana nin yidhi wa dhigaa siidhehbaa dilay Inaan dhaabadeeyaan rabaa dhawr kal dabadeed Dhaxalkeeda nimankii lahaa way dhebaandhebi Iyagaa dharaarab intaan dhaafay sii odhan. Godka dhidarka beelaha qotow dhowr kal baa hadhaye Hadduu dhiillo leeyahay dulmigu waad ka dheregteene Intaad weel manno ah dhaamiseen waa dheg weyntahaye Dhanihii bad weyntiyo yuryuran waydinkiii dhuraye Ulihii dharkaynkiyo cayada waydinkii dhilaye Dhamacdiyo dabkaad quudateen maahadhalanteede Dhayl maaha maalmaha intaad guulo dhigateene Sabirkiina dheer iyo xaqaa tiina soo dhicine, Adduunyada ninkii dhalad yaqaan waw dhab tiriyaaye Dhibaatiyo waxaa lagu yaqaan teeda dhinac taale Markaasay is dhaaf dhaasiaa labada dhoomoode Meel dhowna wuu kula kulmaa kay ka dheertahaye Meel dheerna way kala taagan kay ku dhowdahaye Nin xaqiina meel hoos dhigay tiisu waa dhedo, Xumaantana wanaag baa dhaxlee wayda haw dhimane Naftu dhaaba dhaabaha hiyiga way ku dhacantaaye Kol haddii dhabbada loo qorqoro way ku dhilantaaye, Mar haddii qalbiga ciil dhufasado dhaaftay taladiiye Sidxa dhooddi meerkii taleex haw dhaqaaqina Dhirbaaxooyinkii quudhsigaa dhuunta yuurura’e Haddii dhagar inaad gaysataan laabtu dhigi waydo Sidaad dhaab u soofaysateen haw dhabaynina Cishadaad wax dhiilayn kartaan dhaafa tii culus Dhanka eebahay xiga adduun wayska dhalanteede. Hadalkana nin yidhi waa dhigaa siidheh baa dilay Inaan dhaabbadeeyaan rabaa dhawr kal dabadeed Dhaxalkeeda nimankii lahaa way dhebaan-dhebi Iyagaa dharaaraba intaan dhaafay sii odhan. Dhab dhabluhu markuu yimi arlada may dhammayn talo Waatay dhufaannadu khalqiga soo dhex geliyeen Waa kii dhammaastiyo falkiyo keenay dhallanteede Waa kii dhibaabada la yimi dheegga dheegaha Waa kii dhufaysyada qotee dhoombir soo rogaye Maatay dhankaas iyo dhankaas baahday dhiilladu Markay dhabaqday waa kii shacbigu soo dhalaashadaye Waataad dhadhaabtiyo budkiyo dhagaxa boobteene Gobannimada waa tii dhagdhago dhaanto loo tumaye Dharaartaana waad wada jirteed dhiiftu kululayde Waa loo dhammaa maalmihii laysu dhaarsadaye Hayeeshee ma sii dhugan caqligu teeda dhinac tiille Dhiilladu halkay weeran tahay looma faal-dhigine Waa tii la dhaawacay markay dhalatay guushiiye Weligeed dhan baa qaawanaa dhidibadeediiye Xaajadu intay dhowdahay dhaymo leedahaye Shinkeedii markay dhaaftay bay keentay dhabandheebe Dhab-darro uma tgoosine nabsigu wuu dharaarsadaye, Dhacan baa la saaraa halkuu eel ka dhowdahaye Markaasay dhurwaagiyo colkiyo dhawrta celisaa Nin dhug lihiba wuu garanayaa suul dhabaalaha Dhabbadaad u xaadheen ninkii soo dhus layn jiraye Dhextaalkeeda goortuu hubsaday soo dhabacateeye Dhalliilaha markuu sahansaduu meel ka soo dhacaye Dhawaaq toosiyow baxay lugtii dhaaftay jeeniga Waa kaas dhaqaaliyo hub iyo dhoof u soo helay Dhuxul hoos ka nool iyo dabbaa soo dhabiib kici Dhacadiidka xaajada gashiyo dhabano hayskeeda Markii aan dhab deyey baan is idhi dhacanta sii saare Af dhabaan-dhabkeedii haddana waan ku dhiiradaye Dhanbaalkii digiintaan is idhi caawa yuu dhixine, Dheehda rashiidow mar baan neefka loo dhigine Magaceeda oo laba kordhaban yey dhawelantaa Marka dhiilka lala hoos galay meelo dhugtaaye, Ummadyahay dhabbaa loo hadlaa waa is dhigateene Dulmigii lafaa dhuuxaybaad dib-u-dhar-dhaarteene Ummad baad xaqeedii dhammaa dhababka saarteen Gunaadkii naftii weli ma dhigin waase dhiig baxaye Garaadkiinu waa dhaafsan yahay dhiilka buuxsamaye Maantana waxaa idin dhex taal tii dib loo dhigaye Caaway u dhowdahay haddaa dhugasho siisaane Haddaan dhaymo loo helin xujada mooyi tii dhici. Hadalkana nin yidhi waa dhigaa siidheh baa dilay Inaan dhaabbadeeyaan rabaa dhawr kal dabadeed Dhaxalkeeda nimankii lahaa way dhebaan-dhebi Iyagaa dharaaraba intaan dhaafay sii odhan. Dhillow yahaynku waa geed ka baxa dhuunta geed kale’e Iminkuu dhabbada soo hayaa dhaankii reer Yurube Nin kaastoo is dhoob-dhoobi jiray dhigaha loo laabye Dheweraad hadday kala lahayd laysu soo dhuraye Markii dhuuni loo rogay arlada dhoorku wada daalye Dhalliinyaradu way dayriyeen dhalashadoodiiye Waa taa ninkii dhowrsanaa qaad ku soo dhacaye Waa taa dhabeeshii hiddaha dhaylo loo dubaye Dhuuq-dhuuqlayaashii batiyo heen dhalaashuhu Dheribay wada foortaa diidan dhaqankii Dhaddigiyo labkeedii waqtigudhaal isugu keen Ummaddii dhiraa kala lahayd ways dhex hurudda Dheg dhegiyo lafaa dhuubtay iyo dhogor xumaantooda Qaraamaad markay wada dhantaa dheehu doorasamay Hadday dhoojo wada yeelatiyo dhiico iyo tuure Haddii dhawrasaan lagu yiqiin dhimay hankeedii. Dhibaatada xilkeedii horaa ugu dhabcaasheene Maantana sidii dhagax dixeed hawgu sii dhegin Inta shay la dhawrtiyo haddaan diinta kugu dhaarsho Haddaan dhaar carriyo caaggan iyo dhaar cas kugu dhaarsho Inta gabay dhaf leeyahay haddaan kaaga dhira fuulo Haddaan dhaho haddaan dhigo haddaan weli dhiib-dhiibo Anigoon wax kuu dhimin haddaan dhegaha kuu buuxsho Dhaq-dhaqaaqa ma kaa iman karaa dhiillo lagu baajiyo. Dhabtuun baa khalqigu diidayaa meesha dheer tegaye Dhulgariirka waa laga baqaa waayo soo dhaxaye La dhex joogi mayo arlada dheelmashow qorane Qofba wuxuu dhigtaa baa u yaal dhiilka aakhiro Ninkii dhiiri sheegtow is furo waa dhanaan tahaye. TOGDHEERNEWS

(Muuqaalka xubnihii ka hogaaminayey munaasibada ) hadhwanaag 2007-05-02 (Hadhwanaagnews) Hargeysa(HWN):- Munaasibad loo soo agaasimay la dagaalanka takoorka beelaha la heybsooco ama laga tiro badan yahay ayaa xalay lagu qabtay Hotel Maansoor ee magaalada Hargeysa. Xafladaas oo ay ka soo qeybgaleen Gudoomiyaha Golaha Wakiilada, Md, C/raxmaan Maxamed C/laahi [C/raxmaan Cirro] Gudoomiye kuxigeenka Golaha wakiilada Md, C/casiis Maxamed Samaale,Gudoomiyaha Xisbiga UCID Eng, Faysal Cali Waraabe Abwaanka weyn ee reer Somaliland Maxamed Ibraahin warsame Hadraawi, xildhibaano, Siyaasiyiin, Culimo awdiin, dadka laga tirada badan yahay, iyo boqolaal qof oo dadweyne ah, gabeysaas oo ay u jeedadeedu ahayd Gabay uu halkaasi ku soo bandhigayey Abwaanka weyn ee Caanka ee reer Somaliland Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame [Hadraawi], gabeygaas oo ahaa mid bulshada ka waaninaya xumaha ay leedahay arrintaasi aakhiro iyo aduunkaba iyo inay ilaahay ka cabsadaan iska daayaan kala sooca aan cilmiga iyo caqliga midna ku dhisnayn ee ay bulshadu ku dhaqanto. Gabaygan uu abwaanku ku soo bandhigay munaasibada oo lagu magacaabo [Dhul Gariir] ayaa waxa uu Abwaanku ku soo halqabsaday gabadh lagu magacaabo Ilhaan oo iyadu munaasibada goob jog ka ahayd. Munaasibadan oo ay si wada jira u gudoominayeen Abwaan Axmed Awgeedi iyo Maxamed Rashiid Sheekh Xasan Gudoomiyaha Xisbiga Mucaaridka ee UCID Eng, Faysal Cali waraabe oo halklaasi ka hadlay waxa uu ugu horeynba yidhi “Arrintan aynu ka hadlaynaa mujtamackastaa uu leeyahay, waxa jira wadanka Hindia oo kale iyaga diintooda ayaaba sheegaysaa oo diintan Hinduuga ee ay heystaan ayaaba sheegaysaa oo dadka kala saar saareysaa, laakin inaga [somaliland] diinteenu ma sheegayso oo dadku way siman yihiin waa caado miyi ka timi oo mujtamacu markaanu ilbixin ku beerantay Soomaalida oodhana way isticmaali jirtay,laakin waxa hada muuqataa in masiibadaas xageena loo soo riixo, oo ay soomaalidu tidhaado waxay bahashu fadhiisatay Somaliland.” Isaga oo hadalkiisa sii watana waxa uu yidhi “Runtii markaad Somaliland eegtana Bariga kuma badnaa bahashaa cunsiriyadu dadka la heybsooco ee waxay fadhiisatay Gobolka Hargeysa, aad iyo aadna way u fiican tahay in xafladan lagu qabto Gobolkan Hargeysa” Md, Faysal Cali waraabe waxa u sababeeyey sababta ay Hargeysa u fadhiisatay waxa uu ugu yeedhay cunsiriyada, isaga oo arrintaa ka hadlana waxa uu yidhi “Mushkilada ay marka hore u fadhiisatay Somaliland waxa weeyaan qabyaalad ayey salka ku haysaa meelba meeshay qabyaalada kaga badan tahay arrintanina [Dadka la heybsooco] way kaga sii badanaysaa waana marka kii islaha ajibaad tahay aad ku tidhaahdaan waa laan-gaab oo waa gun way sii soconaysaa oo markaas ayuu mid-gaankiina soo baxayaa markaas mujtamicii ayeynu qeybqeybinay” Isaga oo hadalkiisa sii watana waxa uu yidhi “Waxay ilaahay wakhtigan xaadirkan ah siyaasad mideysan oo lagu koriyaa bahashan [Heybsooca] waabay iska soo dhamaaneysaa, laakin waxay jirtaa xaga qoyska fidmo oodhami waxay noqotay qoyska, markaa waxa weeyaan inteena halkaan fadhidaa waa inuu qofkastaaba uu uu qoyskiisa ka daayo inay dadka la heybsooco ee Gabooyuhu ay ka liitaan dadkooda ay iskuulka la galayaan waxay ila tahay inay dhamaandoonto, qofkasta arrintan nadiif ha ka noqdo oo jaarkiisa ha u sheego inaan caruurta lagu ababin inay dadku kala sareeyaan” Wax uu ku taliyey oo uu yidhi “Waxa jira qaab loobaahan yahay in shuruuc laga soo saaro oo sharciga la galiyo oo u baahan in Baarlamaankeenu oo saaro dawladeenuna hirgeliso waxaweeyaan hay’adaha isticmaalaa haybsooca oo ay ku badan tahay iskuulada oo kale oo iskuulka la yidhaahdo caruurtu midgaan ayey sheeg sheegtaa in talaabo laga qaado, ardeygii ardey ku sheegana in la eryo ayaa loo baahanyahay” Isaga oo hadalkiisa sii watana waxa uu hoosta ka xariiqay “Waa inaynu isa saxnaa oo meeshan gaarka ee ay degayaan laga daayo [Dadka laga tirada badan yahay] oo ay dadka dhexgalaan, taasi waxay ku imanaysaa markauu is dhexgalno oo inagii ayaa reero u kala degen oo ay joogsato daanta iyo daanta.” Gudoomiyaha Golaha Wakiilada Md, C/raxmaan Maxamed [C/raxmaan Cirro] oo isaguna ka hadlay munaasibadaa ayaa waxa uu ugu horeynba uu mahadnaq u soo jeediyey afar urur oo uu ku tilmaamay inay soo qabanqaabiyey munaasibadan oo ay ka mid yihiin Havyoco, TRG, Ubax iyo Shuro. Isaga oo hadalkiisa sii watana waxa uu yidhi “Runtii waxaan u mahad naqayaa Abwaanka weyn ee reer Somaliland Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame [Hadrawi] oo gabaygaa taariikhiga ah ee ku saabsan munaasibadan lagaga hadlayo dadka la heybsooco, runtii waxaan qabaa inay salaadiinta ay halkan inta badani ka muuqato iyo Golaha wakiiladu ay saaxiib yihiin Waxaan qabaa Golaha wakiiladu intii aan joognay sanadka iyo xoogaagii inay salaadinta iyo Golaha wakiiladu si wadajira u wada shaqeynayeen, mushkiladan imika la hadleyna waa mid soo facweyn soo jirtay [heybsoocu] daweynteeduna waxay qaadanaysaa kolayba wakhti.” Ugu danbeyntii waxa uu Abwaanka Caanka reer Somaliland Abwaan Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame [Hadraawi] “Waxaan soo jeedinayaa in sanad walba habeenkan oo kale in 1may ku sharafno qadiyadan oo kale inaan sanadkii walba habeen qabano oo aynu kaga hadalno anigoo ka codsanayaa inta wax qorta, cid waliba wixii ay kari karto ku xoojiso qadiyadan.” Waxa iyaguna halkaasi ka hadlay qaar ka mida dadka la heybsooco Weriye, Mustafe-Janaale Reporter Hadhwanaagnews.com/Hargeysa E-mail, janaale94@yahoo.com (Muuqaalka dadka laga tirada badan yahay ee iyagu dooda dhiibanayey ) (Gabeyka Cusub ee Dhulka Gariie gabadha uu Ilhan ee abwaanku soo hal qabsanayey oo abwaan Hadraawi garab tagan ) more pictures

^ ehem! once again

Watch Martin Fletcher's Report from Mogadishu Said Muhammad Abukar, a mere 40 days old, lay grey and trembling on an operating table in Madina hospital. His tiny stomach was slit down the middle. Doctors were searching for shrapnel in his abdomen. There was a large hole in his lower back. Muhammad Abukar Ahmed, Said’s distraught father, told The Times that eight members of his family had been about to flee from war-torn Mogadishu when a shell hit their house in the residential area of Mahad Alab. The building was destroyed. It took Mr Ahmed, 25, a teacher of the Koran, 15 minutes to dig himself out of the rubble. “I didn’t know if I was going to live, let alone my son,” he said. In the past month Ethiopian troops supporting Somalia’s deeply unpopular Government have pounded residential areas controlled by insurgents. The civilian death toll has reached four figures. Thousands more have been maimed and injured. An estimated 320,000 inhabitants — nearly a third of Mogadishu’s population — have fled in terror. In five days spent in and around a city reverberating with the constant thud of mortars and bursts of gunfire, The Times saw burnt-out slums, huge refugee encampments, hospitals overflowing with the sick and injured, and enough misery to last a lifetime. It is hard to overstate the suffering of this forgotten country. Last year Somalia tasted peace for the first time in 15 years of bloody civil war when the Islamic Courts movement drove out the warlords who had made their country a byword for anarchy and mayhem. But Washington saw the Courts as a new Taleban sympathetic to al-Qaeda, so it conspired with neighbouring Ethiopia to remove them as part of its War on Terror. In December Ethiopia’s formidable army routed the Courts, and installed a Somalian “transitional federal government” that includes some of the very warlords the Courts had ousted, and depends for its survival on thousands of soldiers provided by Somalia’s oldest and most bitter enemy. The new Government is now battling against a growing insurgency, and legions of petrified Somalis are caught in the crossfire. On our first afternoon in Mogadishu we were interviewing doctors at the Madina hospital when we heard explosions. Minutes later a convoy of cars, minibuses and trucks began delivering men, women and children — all civilians — with blood pouring from shrapnel wounds. They were carried, wailing and moaning, into the casualty centre on trolleys, in people’s arms, in crude stretchers fashioned from blankets. They were laid on tables and the lino floor, soaked in their own blood and vomit. The doctors and nurses were soon struggling to cope, sweat coursing down their faces as they bandaged wounds and rigged up intravenous drips in the intense heat. But still the injured came — 30, 40, 50 of them. Amid the pandemonium a man with a stick fought to restrain a mob of frantic relatives. Survivors said Ethiopian troops had fired three shells into a market in a neighbourhood called al-Barakah packed with women buying fresh milk. A dozen were killed outright. The Government says the Ethiopians are responding to insurgent attacks, and that it has warned civilians to leave the insurgent-held areas of Mogadishu. But such horrors have become commonplace, and some European diplomats believe the Government and its Ethiopian backers could be committing war crimes. In the past few days Ethiopian shells have hit a mosque, a minibus, a hospital and HornAfric, Somalia’s leading independent radio station. One night alone 73 people were killed in northern Mogadishu, and in three days last weekend the Madina treated 245 wounded civilians. The casualties fill its foetid wards, corridors and overflow tents, and lie under trees outside. They are people like Ruqio Muse, a 22-year-old mother of three young children who said her thigh was shattered by an Ethiopian sniper’s bullet as she retrieved goods from her clothing stall in one of the city’s battlegrounds. Next to her lie two semi-comatose girls — 16-year-old cousins — whose skin was burnt from their faces by a landmine explosion. Ahmed, 14, has had a leg amputated. Saida Ali Muhammad, 40, had fled Mogadishu with her children but returned to sell milk when she was hit by shrapnel in both legs. “This is shameful,” said her uncle, Farah Rage, as he tried to cool her with a fan. “We are in the middle of two crazy groups, one calling themselves insurgents and the other saying they’re the Government. Both are in concrete buildings so it’s the civilians who die.” Hussein Dhere, the hospital’s despairing deputy director, said his staff were working round the clock and “if this lasts another ten or twenty days we can’t cope. I feel very sorry. Sometimes I’m angry. Our people are dying.” We had first visited Mogadishu early last December, five months after the Courts ousted the warlords, and found a city still rejoicing. Gone were the ubiquitous checkpoints where the warlords’ militias killed, extorted and stole. Gone were their “technicals” — Jeeps with heavy machineguns mounted in the back. Hundreds of Somalis were returning from foreign exile, businesses were reopening, and for the first time in a generation people could walk around safely amid the ruins of their once-fine capital, even at night. The Courts’ leadership undoubtedly contained Islamic extremists with dangerous connections and intentions. They banned the narcotic qat, cinemas, Western music and dancing. But the Courts also achieved the almost impossible task of imposing order on one of the world’s most dangerous cities, and for that most Somalis were content to accept their strict Islamic codes. Today Mogadishu is a warzone once again. The crowds and traffic have melted from the streets. Schools, businesses, roadside stalls and even orphanages have closed. We were the only whites and foreign journalists in the capital, and the first guests in our hotel for three weeks. We had just nine fellow passengers on the only air-line that still dares to fly into the city, and beside the runway stood the wreck of a military transport plane hit by an insurgent rocket. An estimated 20,000 Ethiopian troops are battling against the insurgents — an alliance of Islamic Court fighters and elements of Mogadishu’s dominant ****** clan who control much of the outer city. The Government’s own army consists of barely 5,000 “soldiers” — former members of the warlords’ militias who inspire fear, not confidence. They man checkpoints and stand on corners in central Mogadishu, flaunting their semi-automatics. Many chew qat. Some steal and extort (we twice had to pay bribes at checkpoints). Terrified of insurgent attacks, they remove women’s niqabs — Islamic head coverings — so they can see who is underneath. In December we could move freely around the city, but not now. This time we avoided main roads, used vehicles with tinted windows, and travelled with several bodyguards. Like most inhabitants of Mogadishu, we retreated behind our hotel’s steel gates well before dark. But one day we slipped into the insurgent stronghold of north Mogadishu through the sort of labyrinth of muddy back alleys that thwarted the US rescue effort when two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down over Mogadishu in 1993. Beyond the green line the streets were almost deserted except for young fighters bristling with guns, technicals carrying rocket-launchers, and men left behind to guard the homes of families that have fled. On Industrial Road, a major thoroughfare, we were shown trenches and barricades built to obstruct Ethiopian tanks, burnt-out Ethiopian vehicles, and the charred remains of both a charcoal market and a camp for 1,200 homeless families shelled by the Ethiopians. More than 50 died as fire raged through the camp’s rickety shelters made of wood and plastic sheeting. All that remains is an expanse of ash littered with the blackened remains of cooking pots, lamps and corrugated iron. “My family fled to the countryside,” said Hussain Ibrahim Yusef, a young boy standing alone in the devastation. “We were separated. I don’t know where to follow them.” Another day we drove south from Mogadishu towards Afgoye. The refugee camps started about ten miles out and went on and on — thousands upon thousands of families who are living out in the bush beneath orange tarpaulins or in the open, sheltered from the blazing sun and torrential rainstorms only by trees. These people fled with little more than sleeping mats and the clothes they wore. Food is scarce. Vendors charge extortionate prices for water, so some refugees are drinking from dirty rivers. There is no sanitation, and relief efforts are hampered by the lack of security, poor infrastructure and harassment by government soldiers. We found 1,865 families — perhaps 10,000 people — packed into the 59-acre (24-hectare) grounds of the Lafole Hospital alone. Hawa Abdi, 60, the doctor who runs the hospital with her daughter, said children there were suffering from dysentery. One adult and four children had died. Pregnant women were suffering miscarriages. Supplies were running out. “We need peace. We need help,” she beseeched. We also found the new makeshift premises — a few corrugated iron shacks — of the Hayat hospital and nursing school which we had visited in Mogadishu last December. Abdirahman Figi, the hospital chief, said the Ethiopians had shelled it, stolen its money and medicines, then commandeered it for barracks. He said thousands of refugees were at risk from the onset of the rainy season and then winter. “The Islamic Courts brought peace and we were happy,” he said. The new Government was “worse than the warlords”. In five days we spoke to scores of ordinary Somalis. Overwhelmingly they loathed a government they consider a puppet of the hated Ethiopians. “As long as the Ethiopians are on Somali soil the insurgents will get support,” said Muhammad Ibrahim, a gardener now living with his wife and three children at the Lafole hospital. “In the six months the Islamic Courts were here, less than 20 people lost their lives through violence. Now that many die in ten minutes,” said Hussein Adow, a businessman waiting outside the Madina hospital. The Ethiopians had closed the main road back to Mogadishu, so we took a deeply rutted dirt track through the bush. We saw columns of black smoke rising above the distant city, and passed countless vehicles struggling southwards with yet more refugees. Back in the capital we visited another hospital, the Benadir, and saw some of the most harrowing scenes of all. There were no beds. In one bare room after another the concrete floors were covered with emaciated children lying on filthy rugs, tended by desperate mothers. There were 700 of them, most under 5, all suffering from dysentery and cholera contracted in the refugee camps. Nowhere in Somalia is safe any more. Rise and fall of the Islamic Courts Mid-1990s Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), a group of local courts, gained popular support by beating corruption and bringing order March-May 2006 Worst violence in almost a decade between rival militias June UIC militias seize Mogadishu from warlords. US fears region could fall under the sway of al-Qaeda September UIC and Government begin peace talks in Khartoum December From its base in Baidoa the Government, backed by Ethiopia, fights with Islamists and drives them from Mogadishu January 2007 attacks suspected al-Qaeda positions in southern Somalia. Islamists abandon last stronghold, port town of Kismayo March African Union peacekeepers arrive April 320,000 Somalis have fled Mogadishu since February , UN says Source: Times archives

*yawn* Like I said macaa salaama.

ONLF Statement On The Path To Peace Aprl 30, 2007 At 2pm local time, the ONLF transferred 7 Chinese citizens and two others associated with the oil exploration facility to the ICRC in line with our pledge. The transfer resulted from a cease fire observed by both the ONLF and the TPLF forces in the area. While a cease fire held during this process, the TPLF regime has begun a crackdown targeting civilians in Jijiga, ******. Now that the Chinese citizens have been released, the ONLF expects this crackdown to broaden to other areas in ****** and in that context, we call upon the international community to witness first hand what has become the norm of terror perpetrated by the TPLF regime against the people of ******. This cycle of violence is brought about by the TPLF Regimes deliberate and futile policy of pursuing a military solution to the ****** conflict. During its so called swipes against ONLF over the last year, hundreds of ethnic Somali nomads in ****** were killed displaced and dispossessed. Scores of villages burned, the last of which was Maraa’ato. It is very hard to ignore the ever growing number of Orphans and widows in every ****** town and village, while the current TPLF regime cold bloodedly plans to enrich itself at their expense. The TPLF regime currently in power in Ethiopia must take a different approach to conflict resolution and agree to internationally witnessed dialogue with legitimate representatives of the people of ******, the ONLF. This should also apply to all other members of the Alliance for Freedom & Democracy (AFD). In that spirit and environment the whole world would profit from any resources available in the Horn region. The TPLF must also free political prisoners including those from member organizations of the AFD. The path to peace starts with dialogue in a neutral country with a neutral third party mediator and no pre-conditions. We call the international community to firmly support the people in the Horn of African region in finding a viable lasting and comprehensive political solution to the multifaceted problems that have delayed peace and hampered the development of all concerned. Finally, we send our condolences to the bereaving families who have suffered as a result of thisconflict on all sides. ****** National Liberation Front (ONLF) onlfpress@onlf.org

Ethiopian rebels call for peace talks with government ADDIS ABABA, April 30, 2007 (AP) Ethiopian rebels called for internationally mediated peace talks with the government on Monday, hours after releasing seven Chinese and two Ethiopian oil workers taken hostage last week. In a statement sent to news organizations, the ****** National Liberation Front said the workers were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross during a temporary cease-fire on Sunday. The rebels said they expected government troops to begin a crackdown in the eastern ****** region, populated mostly by ethnic Somalis. The group says it is fighting for the region's right to self-determination. "We call upon the international community to witness first hand what has become the norm of terror perpetrated by the (government) against the people of ******," the rebel statement said. The government "must take a different approach to conflict resolution and agree to internationally witnessed dialogue with legitimate representatives of the people of ******, the ONLF." The rebels released the oil workers to Ethiopian and Chinese authorities on Sunday in southeastern Ethiopia, the Red Cross said. They had been seized during an attack on a Chinese oil exploration facility last week. Late Sunday, the official Ethiopian News Agency released a statement from the Ministry of Information saying the oil workers had safely arrived in the town of Degehabur, while repeating earlier allegations that longtime rival Eritrea sponsored the rebel attack. "ONLF perpetrated the horrendous act of terrorism in a plot orchestrated by the government in Asmara," the ministry said. Ethiopia and Eritrea have yet to reach a final resolution on their mutual border, which they fought a war over from 1998-2000. Tensions between the two countries have worsened in recent months. The Front claimed responsibility for the attack on the Chinese-owned oil exploration field in eastern Ethiopia on April 24, which killed 65 Ethiopians and nine Chinese. The group said in a statement that six other Chinese workers "were removed from the battlefield for their own safety." The bodies of the nine Chinese killed in the attack arrived home in central China on Monday, state media reported. Xinhua News Agency said a chartered Air China plane carrying the victims in nine coffins covered with white peonies arrived at 2:30 a.m. at Xinzheng, southeast of Henan province's capital, Zhengzhou. The rebels also said that no foreign company should try to work in the ****** region, a large state along the Somali border. The Chinese government has condemned Tuesday's attack and rejected the group's warning.

The more time certain folks spend online, the safer the streets for innocent women and children!

Was this a publicly stunt, as some suspected? What have you done to the petition coz it's not there anymore, Duke Smithy?

Massacre in Mogadishu—war crime made in the USA By Bill Van Auken April 29, 2007 The brutal military siege against the Somali capital of Mogadishu constitutes a war crime for which the US government bears the principal responsibility. While the mass media in the US itself has largely averted its eyes from the carnage, Ethiopian military units, backed and advised by Washington, have unleashed an intense bombardment of Mogadishu’s crowded and impoverished urban neighborhoods, killing and wounding thousands and turning hundreds of thousands more into homeless refugees. This latest round of fighting has pitted the US-backed Ethiopian forces and, in a lesser role, forces loyal to the so-called Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of former warlord Abdullahi Yusuf against supporters of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which had administered the city and much of southern Somalia before the US-backed Ethiopian invasion last December. The siege follows a similar Ethiopian offensive against Mogadishu three weeks ago in which more than 1,000 people were killed, the great majority of them—then as now—civilians. Long-range artillery, tanks and helicopter gunship have conducted ceaseless and indiscriminate shelling of the city for nearly a week and a half. Much of the capital lies in ruins, while hospitals, schools and housing have not been spared. On Wednesday, four Ethiopian rockets tore through the SOS Children’s Villages hospital in Mogadishu, one of them destroying a ward housing 20 people previously wounded in the attacks. “We deplore the indiscriminate shelling of a medical facility,” UNICEF Representative in Somalia Christian Balslev-Olesen said in response to the attack. “It is an action that is totally unacceptable and one for which no justification can be given. Where is the accountability in this conflict? Every day thousands of displaced people—most of them women and children—are living a nightmare of violence.” Reports from the city tell of rotting corpses littering the streets, with people unable to collect the dead for several days because of the constant threat from the shelling. Only on Friday, during a lull in the fighting that followed the apparent seizure of Mogadishu’s northern suburbs by the Ethiopian forces, could residents begin to retrieve the dead. Meanwhile, at least 350,000 people—a number that could swell to more than half a million—have fled the fighting, many of them camping outside Mogadishu without adequate water, food or medicine. Relief officials warn that the outbreak of epidemics could claim many more lives. Reportedly, at least 600 have died already as a result of cholera and other diseases. Ali Mohamed Gedi, the prime minister in the US-backed transitional government, claimed Friday, “We have won the fighting against the insurgents,” meaning that the Ethiopian forces that are the TFG’s central of pillar of support had conquered the city. Western diplomats and other observers were skeptical of this claim, predicting that fighting will continue as long as the Ethiopian troops remain. Gedi claimed that Ethiopian and pro-government forces were now working to suppress “pockets of resistance” and vowed, “We will capture any remaining terrorists who have escaped.” The TFG and its Ethiopian backers routinely refer to those resisting them as “terrorists” and elements of al-Qaeda, a claim that serves to justify the atrocities being carried out in Somalia as part of the US-led “global war on terror.” In reality, the fighting has largely erupted along clan lines, with members of the ****** clan—the majority population in the capital—resisting the imposition of the TFG, dominated by the ***** clan of its president, Yusuf, by the army of his long-time ally, the repressive regime in Ethiopia. The Islamic Courts administration had won wide popular support by restoring relative peace and security to the Somali capital after the sporadic violence that has dominated the country since the overthrow of the dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. The courts had driven out the warlords responsible for much of the mayhem, and now they are returning with US and Ethiopian support. Hostility to the Ethiopian forces runs deep, stemming from the brutal 1977 war between Somalia and Ethiopia over the disputed ****** region, which inflicted heavy casualties and turned millions into refugees. Washington backed the Ethiopian invasion last December on the grounds that the Islamic Courts represented the spread of radical Islamist forces in the strategic Horn of Africa and were harboring al-Qaeda activists implicated in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. US warplanes carried out bombings in southern Somalia under the pretext of attacking “terrorists.” While these raids killed a number of civilians, there is no evidence that anyone linked to al-Qaeda was struck in the attacks. US Special Forces troops were also sent into Somalia to direct Ethiopian operations. These American forces remain embedded within the Ethiopian military, making Washington directly and intimately responsible for the bloodbath that has been carried out over the past several weeks. The French press agency AFP quoted Mogadishu residents reporting that joint patrols of Ethiopian troops and pro-TFG gunmen are sweeping through the northern neighborhoods of the city rounding up young men as suspected insurgents. “They are moving from house to house arresting people,” said Ibrahim Sheikh Mao, a resident of the Suuqahoola area where much of the fighting took place. “I imagine they have arrested hundreds of people because they started the operation early in the morning.” Shamso Nur, a woman in the al-Kamin area added, “All the men are fleeing the houses because Ethiopian forces are arresting them. I have seen three men near my house being taken by Ethiopian forces. I do not know if they were fighters, but they looked like civilians.” AFP said that its reporter in Mogadishu had seen 20 Somali men being herded into an Ethiopian military truck. Clearly, there is an immediate threat of bloody reprisals against Mogadishu’s inhabitants. Hundreds of those detained so far in the conflict have been shipped to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Abba. As the Washington Post reported Thursday, “More than 200 FBI and CIA agents have set up camp in the Sheraton Hotel here in Ethiopia’s capital and have been interrogating dozens of detainees—including a US citizen—picked up in Somalia and held without charge and without attorneys in a secret prison somewhere in this city....” Human rights groups have described the operation as a kind of “decentralized Guantanamo” in the Horn of Africa, and undoubtedly the same kind of abuses and torture used elsewhere in the “war on terrorism” are taking place there as well. The bloody events in Mogadishu—which have provoked little if any controversy in Washington—are another warning that the war in Iraq is only one front in a global eruption of US militarism, as the American government employs armed force to seize control of strategic resources and regions. The recklessness and brutality of this campaign threatens to ignite a far wider regional war, which could well draw in US combat troops. Already, the State Department has fingered the government of Eritrea—which is in a tense border dispute with Ethiopia—as a supposed “state sponsor” of those resisting the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia. Fighting within Somalia itself has spread to Kismayo, where rival clans have battled for control of the city. Some 160,000 refugees have poured into Kenya, further destabilizing the situation there. And, on Tuesday, Somali minority rebels carried out a deadly attack on an oil installation in the Ethiopian-controlled ****** region, killing 74 people, including 9 Chinese. The government of Ethiopia has claimed that it wants to withdraw its 20,000 troops and hand over security operations to a multinational force organized by the African Union. The AU, however, has proven incapable of mobilizing more than a handful of troops, and few African governments appear willing to send their armies into this dubious US-instigated conflict. - Asian Tribune -

Ethiopian tanks kills hundreds of civilians in Somali capital · PM claims Islamists are routed, but attacks go on · UN accuses all sides of committing war crimes Chris McGreal, Africa correspondent Friday April 27, 2007 The Guardian The Somali capital Mogadishu suffered some of the heaviest bombardment in nine days of fighting yesterday, as Ethiopian tanks supporting the interim government shelled new areas of the city despite a claim by the Somali prime minister to have routed Islamist insurgents. The Ethiopian assault has killed several hundred people, many of them civilians harmed by indiscriminate shelling that has destroyed homes and shops, and forced tens of thousands to flee the city as it spread to previously relatively peaceful parts of Mogadishu. Corpses lie scattered on the streets because it is too dangerous to collect them. More than 1,000 people were killed in an earlier round of fighting last month. More than a third of the civilian population - some 340,000 people - have fled in the past three months. The UN humanitarian affairs chief, Sir John Holmes, yesterday accused all those involved of war crimes. "The rules of humanitarian law are being flouted by all sides ... all factions are equally guilty of indiscriminate violence in a civilian area," he said. "Civilians in Mogadishu are paying an intolerable price for the absence of political progress and dialogue and the failure of all parties to abide by the rules of warfare." Refugees are camped on the outskirts of the city, with water, food and medicine growing scarcer. About 600 have died of cholera and other diseases. "At least half the capital is deserted, slowly turning it into a ghost city," the UN refugee agency said. The interim Somali government said the 20,000-strong Ethiopian force fighting on its behalf, with 5,000 Somali troops playing a lesser role, will keep up the offensive until fighters with the Council of Islamic Courts are defeated. The council ruled Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia for six months last year until overthrown by the Ethiopian army with US backing. Somalia's prime minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, yesterday claimed to have defeated the Islamist forces. "We have won the fighting against the insurgents," he told Associated Press. "Most of the fighting in Mogadishu is now over. The government has captured a lot of territory where the insurgents were." But critics say Somalia has become a battleground for Ethiopia's foreign agenda and Washington's "war on terror" that will do little to bring long term stability. The Islamic Courts government was popular in Mogadishu after bringing relative order and driving out clan warlords responsible for 16 years of death and mayhem. But the US believed it looked too much like the Taliban, with its ban on music and dancing and the qat narcotic, and that it was sympathetic to al-Qaida. Washington encouraged the Ethiopian military - at the "invitation" of Somalia's interim national government which was so unpopular it was unable to remain in Mogadishu - to invade and oust the Islamic Courts administration. The new Somali government includes some of the warlords who previously caused so much destruction. A report by the Royal Institute of International Affairs said that US and Ethiopian strategic interests in supporting a weak and factionalised government that is far less popular than the Islamic Courts administration are an obstacle, not a contribution, to rebuilding Somalia. "In an uncomfortably familiar pattern, genuine multilateral concern to support the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Somalia has been hijacked by unilateral actors - especially Ethiopia and the United States," it said. As always in Somalia, the conflict is also being driven by money through weapons smuggling and business interests. Ethiopian forces were to have been replaced by African Union peacekeepers, but only 1,200 of the AU's promised 8,000 troops have arrived in Somalia.

Mr ME You've achieved F all but making a spectacle of yourself. Well, at least we now know you're a second rate "afweyniste" motivated by supposed "qabiil discrimination ". You've been a good sport, 10 points for effort. Macaa Salaama.

Mr ME You have unashamedly put Gen Barre in the same bracket as Axmed Gurey. Was this a "joke" too? "The ones that matter, are the immortals, those that make history. The ones that people here on SOL want to be associated with, the Axmed Gurays, Sayd Maxamed Cabdile Xasans, Said Barres, Xalenles." barres Its a fact, that I can not live in my hometown because of qabiil reasons, but that goes for allot of Somalis. Another baseless allegation not a fact. Tell us why YOU can't live in Hargeisa. No riddles. NO verbal gymnastics. Go on spill the beans. I'll even start the sentence for you: " I can't live in Hargeisa because .....

^^ You didn't answer my questions, Mr ME.

ME You just want to turn the clock back to 1984 when your hero Gen. S Barre's junta used to rule Hargeisa, don't you? What then makes you think you're better than Caydiid and Yey cheerleaders?

Clan discrimination? Almost there ... push!.. Who are "these people like you"?

^ mine just happens. 3. That every Somali should be able to live in peace any part of Somalia. I want to live in my house in Hargeysa and not be discriminated by some reer baadiye who has just arrived in the city... or in the case of some of you guys, ciyaal casiir carabaha ku dhashay/koray. You almost declared your cards Mr. ME. Almost there. Who are you and who discriminates against you? You have issues that need addressing and this what we here for. The people you try to accuse did just that without talking in ridles. Put your case forward, i'm all ears.... No more guessing game or speculation .

Originally posted by Paragon: One a serious note though; how very noble of you to apologize. I think we have a broken clock being right scenario here. ME and one of his friends he mentioned earlier think their shid is most the fragrant perfume in the world. If anyone in here needs to come out and declare their cards it's Mr. ME and his buddy. So I can be a Somalilander and have geniune sympathy for people in Baghdad, Daafur, Grozny BUT NOT XAMAR? Cagli xumadda isha ka....

Originally posted by Sky: I often think about turning my back on Abdullahi Yusuf for what is happening lately, but it sometimes seems like I'm forced to support him. He wouldn't survive without you.

MMA is not being serious.

I kept switching between CPL football and that programme. It was heated to the point of boiling and sometimes it got too personal for my taste. Azhari was accused of being an Ethio and who came to Doha travelling on Ethiopian passport his defense included : "..I was born n bred in Djibouti i'm married to Yey's daughter and my uncle was Sharmaarke the former president".* Azhari went on to claim Ethios are not illegal invaders but were invited by "the government" (read farther in/outlaw) and that's when the well-prepared Zakaria produced documents including UN resolution banning front-line states, which includes Ethiopia from sending troops to Somalia. When Azhari suggested no Ethios were involved in the recent massacre of civilians in Xamar, the presenter ( who earned his wages last night btw) asked him if the whole of international media agencies were telling lies and he was telling the truth to which he unashamedly replied ..."yes.." The body-language wasn't bad either. *paraphrased

wallee?