This is a shameful action from the governor and the Camuud University dean Saleebaan Cawar. Rather than investigate this despicable crime , the first thing they announced was , ' both the student and the police officer who shot him were from Sanaag Bari'. since when it becomes the duty of the authority to advertise the tribes of the victim and police before getting the facts. Why there are armed police with AK 47 in a private university? The innocent student was trying to get his cellphone which he forgot, yet live bullets were used after argument. I am very suspicious of the early announcement about both being the same region. The family of the victim had confirmed that the student was from Carmo town in Boosaaso area, not Sanaag Bari. I have seen many in the Guurti and media saying those waving the blue flag were from all over Somalia and Camuud was the gathering place. One even said,' Maxaa mwwsha ku soo wada ururiyey'[ after 50 of them were arrested. THere is a cover up. The police who shot the student could be from Hargeisa and the governor was probably covering up to minimise the damage.They didn't even take the victim to the hospital according to the family. THese evil separatists probably wanted to shut down Camuud university and discourage the Somali diaspora who chose Borama a home away from home.

I don't see any soldiers with uniform here unless the BBC is peddling something else. The strange thing is the Taliban are overrunning or taking over where the opposition against them was stronger. Northern Afghanistan is the stronghold of Tajiks and Uzbeck minorities who were the backbone of the northern alliance that defeated the Taliban. If they take over there without a fight, Kandahar and Bashtun country side might even welcome with flowers. Furthermore, the idea of targeting any religious movement by America is going to end. It was never about freedom or against religious fundamentalism. If that was the case, the most oppressive and corrupt Wahabi kingdom of Saidi Arabia could have been the target. Also, how about the Hindu fundamentalists who might kill you if they find a meat in your kitchen. We all hope that the Taliban had learned few things since then about moderation in faith and life. As our prophet said, ' moderation is the best of affairs'.

It is all about attitude. Everyone feared us. Great people and nations put things in prospective and move on to the future. Our past quarrels are minor compared to the rest of the world. Yet, the dump tribes keep repeating the same mistakes and refuse to look to the future. Look at us today, other than Al-shabaab our main issue is just greed and hungry tribes trying to make few dollars for the expenses of everyone. AS I said , it is time to demand things from the empire of rags that is in trouble. Get rid of Ethiopian and Kenyan troops and fix the evil town called Mogadishu and its underworld.

Taliban is taking over American weapons without a fight. Soon they will be a well armed government. Kabul will be a cake walk. Happy 4th July USA or what ever is left with that old empire.

These are the so called army trained by USA for 20 years. This is the biggest failure of American foreign policy. This is the result of international policy led neocons who have only short term goals to crush their previewed enemy. From Iraq to Syria and Yemen , and now in Afghanistan the USA has failed miserably. If they left as soon as they defeated the Taliban and come things would have been different.

Man, the western media have totally been mesmerised by the TPLF. Even in the alternative media, I have seen many false and propaganda have been thrown around. Some even suggest that the Tigray to be the foundation of Ethiopia. Anyway, after looking these reports and considering the major victory of the Tigray , things will not be the same. This is the second defeat of Amhara inspired government defeated by the TPLF for the last thirty years, the other one being the Derg of Mengistu in 1991. The TPLF and Tigray could be the real Kurdistan many nations including USA and Israel were looking for many years. They are only 50 km away from the Red sea and could easily get an access if America and other help them. The new emerging Ethiopia is undesirable for many nations. The surprising thing is none of the Tigray leadership have raised the issue of separation so far. If Somalia puts its house in order , we would be the ones choosing the next leader.We must built strong relationship with the Oromo nation regardless of their faith whether Christian or Muslim and create new trade routes.From Hararghe, Bale, and Arsi and all the way to Hadamo, we strong 30 million people who need access to sea and trade. We must always insist that in order to have a lasting peace, the legitimate rulers of Ethiopia should be the Oromo.

Somali clans are dump like a door knob. Last week 18 killers of Al-shabaab were shot dead by Puntland security after they were found guilty of many murders. When you enquire and ask how one person could kill 15 people for many years without being detected? while incompetence is a major factor, the police and the locals thought that a young man born and raised in Gaalkacayo wouldn't be killing his own kin for few hundred dollars. They were probably looking someone from Bay region or other places. And the town of Mogadishu today is where all evil doers gather. Yet, the biggest difference in Mogadishu today is people are known to shelter killers and Al-shabaab within their neighbourhood despite the deadly consequences. Al-shabaab could only thrive where locals are sympathisers of the movement.

So, the Turkish are taking the application themselves. The should give people outside Mogadishu more time to reach and apply.

Unbeknown to most of us, except very few God fearing people, most business oligarchs in Somalia are people who have blood in their hands or earned their wealth through illegal means. We are a nation that fears Allah others we wouldn't be even able to exist when you consider the kind of evil that has been exposed to our people. No nation could endure what the Somali people had went through. It is our faith in Allah that sustained us for this long or we would have disappeared like many others.

A government based in a hotel since the year 2000. A government by Hotel was initiated by former president C/qasim Salaad , who after the formation of the Carta government in Djibouti , decided to settle in a hotel called Ramadan in the western part of the city. Villa Somalia was occupied by a clan militia loyal to Huseen Caydiid. Nin Daar ku Jiraa daruur ma arko. Rather than relocate to Baidoa which was relatively secure, or negotiate with the occupiers of Villa Somalia, C/qasiim decided to take the short cut and settled among warlords, clan militia and criminals. When he returns from travelling aboard, he used to land Ballidoogle military air strip, negotiates with the warlords manning the check points between Afgooye and the capital. and disappear to the hotel. Thus , the idea of a big landlord hosting a national government while bullets fly around had started and continues as we speak. Cartels, in the sense of the word, could have many different definitions in term of its operations and purpose, but the most fitting definition is an enterprise designed to limit competition and control prices. If unchecked they could become an organised criminal oligarch who will do anything including murder to keep their profits. Most people are familiar with the drug cartels of Latin America who would kill tens of thousands a year to control their drug turfs. These South American cartels elect presidents, assassinate both presidents and candidates to keep their profits. Some of you might be wondering how the Mogadishu hotels could probably have any thing in common with the criminal cartels. First of all , they fit well on the issue of limiting competition and keeping the demand for lodging to keep the profit flowing. Their business model is very simple: an unstable national capital means billions of profits for the hotel cartel. To reveal their deep infiltration's of daily life, security, and the negative impacts on government institutions, needs more resources, but I would try to articulate the little on the surface information I collected from some public servants who reside in these hotels and how the money flows through banks in Nairobi and Mogadishu. One former employee of the federal government told me how things operate on the part of the public servants employed by the foreign nations and the NGO's. There are hundreds of consultants, clerks, managers, and program directors employed by the federal government who are paid through foreign governments to build capacity and improve public institutions within government agencies. They work in major government Ministries including : the interior , foreign, health care, education, central bank, and the offices of the prime minister and his ministers. He said their hotel accommodations are minimum one hundred dollars per night. He said, he wanted to get less than half of the nightly hotel bill and find his own accommodations within the city, but the NGO refused saying that it's their policy to keep their people in secure hotels. He said during the government of Hassan Ali Khayre, the Norwegian paid consultants working at the prime minister's office are escorted in the morning to the prime minister's office . Just like any other contractors who must perform a task and then disappear, the security guards open the office for them in the morning and close in the afternoon when they finish their work. He said we all reside in the same hotel. Now, let us examine how a simple lodging business became an organised cartel for profit. Usually, the contract to host these workers is signed between the NGO representing a foreign government and the prime minister or in in many cases the government minister where these employees provide service like the foreign Ministry, education and so forth. Each major hotel gets close to a hundred people. Furthermore, major hotels also get a few dozen of the members of the parliament and a big chunk of the 70 members of the cabinet and their assistants. If you got a 100 people in your hotel charging $100/night, you take a cool $10,000 dollars a night. Do the maths yourself. 100 x 100= $10,000 per night. 10,000 x 30 days = $300,000 a month. 300,000 x 12 months = $ 3,600,000 a year. That is from the foreign NGO only. Supplement that to other activities like charging $4 dollars for a cup of juice. If you ask me that is a money printing business. Furthermore, like old colonial garrisons these hotels and those who connected have no direct relations with the residents of the city. It reminds me of how uptown Djibouti was years ago where associates of the French lived while the natives were secluded in dusty part of the town. Now, let us look how this huge profit would eventually transform itself from a business profit to a criminal cartel. To keep the contract and the profit flowing , the hotel cartel usually deploys all kind of schemes including bribes and even other evil things. For starters, the prime minister should be paid handsomely, and any obstacle must be removed. My source told many even went further and deployed their own men in the prime minister's cabinet like former national security minister Abuker Islaw who was representing one of the hotels owned by C/qadir Cosoble clan. He said every major hotel has someone in the cabinet to protect their interest. Imagine, the security minister of a nation trying to stop bombings and other mischief is none other than a former hotel receptionist deployed to protect the interest of his boss.. The biggest threat for a hotel cartel is an unexpected change of government or cabinet shuffle. With the change of the prime minister, millions of profits could change hands. Sometimes through change of government or shuffle in the cabinet, they might lose the contract to another hotel. So, to get back the contract and teach a lesson to the other hotel cartel that tried to steal, they deploy contract killers or worse even Al-Shabaab. My sources told me that most of the hotel bombings in Mogadishu are related to these contracts and relentless pursuit to keep the NGO money. Most of the contracts are signed in Nairobi and the money is deposited in banks every three months. Also, most of these hotels pay their monthly taxes to Al-shabaab to keep their hotel with the good grace of the Al-shabaab killers. It is a deadly . When a hotel is bombed due to contract dispute or not paying Al-shabaab, it is quickly built and lesson learned. We talk about billions lost in Mogadishu through corruption, yet no one can deny the the central role hotels play in this program. While the UN and other agencies spend money of humanitarian and security issues, by far the largest NGO money goes to hotel cartels and the middlemen who arrange these deals. Hotel cartels also own their own security agencies to escort guests , and some of them sign separate contracts in Nairobi for the NGO's. An NGO might sign half million dollars security contract, and the executor of the NGO might get a kick back of $200 in return. No wonder everyone is building a hotel in Mogadishu. The central foundation of the profit is insecurity. In other words , peace is a threat to profit. In some countries it is the drug business, in others it is the war on terror, while business oligarchs operate in Russia and many places. In Somalia, we have the business oligarchs, hotel cartels and war on terror, a deadly combination. Going to town and renting an apartment is the most dangerous move one could make in Mogadishu. Anyone involved in any government business must stay away from normal homes and live in a hotel. To keep the profit both Al-shabaab and hotel cartels might have the same interest--keep the fear. The only way to break this monopoly is to move the capital from Mogadishu. If that isn't possible politically, then move major government Ministries to safer places. The parliament could relocate to Garoowe, so does the education, healthcare, and other agencies that need a secure office and desk. It has been twenty years since Carta and nothing changed . While the big man is residing Villa Somalia, everyone else is in a hotel.

This is going too far. I think the honour and dignity of the Awdalites has been damaged really bad. They don't even keep their prisoners in their own towns. This humiliation will lead to violent confrontation. In the Somali culture of savages, if you don't fight back, you will be a door mat. Considering the chatter among Awdalites , something bad could happen anytime soon. Mark my word.

As Che mentioned , this time around the TPLF leadership had put aside their hubris and are willing to gain some recognition of their misery by the outside world before they move to the next stage. On one hand they are looking food and supplies, yet this reporter is talking about overthrowing Afwork. A united Ethiopia in the hey days of TPLF power could not crush or unseat Afwork, let alone a poor Tigray . He is talking about celebrating in night clubs, yet he mentioned the leader residing inside dark rooms. It is the same propaganda that says Israel is planning to attack Iran's nuclear while they can't even confront Hisbullah in Lebanon. I think the TPLF has strong cases for separation, like known geography , distinct language than the rest of the country, and the old history of an empire that shouldn't exist. Compare that to the Burco conference by few elders and rebels who decided to separate without even thinking. By the way this is not a newYork times reporter, but a Tigray media person. Just check the language.

Usually, when a country reaches the 100 million mark of the population , it becomes it's own civilisation. It's economy will be driven by the domestic market . With the growth in modern technology and trade, they could grow rapidly. The horn of Africa alone is around 140 million market, that is Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti and Eritrea. This market and Ethiopia do not need to beg the gulf Arabs who will be poor within the next decade due to new technologies like solar and hydrogen. With integrated trade and future common currency the sky is the limit. You don't foreign.

Even in Jigjiga, there are some Somalis who waving the TPLF flag. That is the main reason we Somalis have nothing in common other than the language and the religion. We don;t have the same destiny or future. Some would welcome colonialism as long as they will be the boy who will supervise the Somalis for their landlords.

Guys, Eritrea has 100,000 standing army. Every young man and woman who graduates from high school preforms two year military service. Why would they need 2000 Somali trainees in Eritrea? This issue has been cleared already. Due to covid_19 no huge gathering was possible in many parts of the world including Eritrea. Furthermore, Ilhan Omar should not use false claims to make her point. Also, the above mentioned general the BBC is parading also is throwing false propaganda. The Ethiopian army in 1998 could not break the Eritrean line. In fact, that battle was fought like the trenches of the first world one. In the year 2000, an Eritrean friend showed me a video of machine gun mauling the poor Ethiopian conscripts who were mostly Oromo and others. Ethiopian alone lost between 60-80,000 soldiers. Thousands of Oromo surrendered and crossed to Eritrea. If that is the great general who killed total of 100,000 and all he could show was a village called Badame. They could not break Eritrea. Rather than continue the high casualty of the war , the TPLF were divided between those who wanted to continue the war and those who wanted to cut their loses and isolate Eritrea from the rest of the world. Exactly what Abiy is doing now.. Only Somali fools would praise their enemy while they are down and give them a propaganda outlet. I know both the northern separatists and Some of the Jaberties to be evil people who can not succeed without colonial powers behind them.

The Amhara ideology of Unitarian Ethiopia is dead. As Che mentioned everyone except the Somalis are preparing for the eventual Yugoslavia to crumble. Even some Amhara are preparing for this eventuality. For sure Abiy is the loser at the moment. His biggest mistake was alienating the Oromo nationalists while prompting colonial Ethiopian history. By resurrecting Menelik he has shown his true colours. Most Oromo's are convinced that Abiy is serving the interest of the Amhara. In his speech, he said he spent 100 billion in just 8 months, while the budget of Tigray was 8 billion. He even accused the Tigray civilians for stealing resources and giving to the TPLF. He said he doesn't want to be bogged down in Tigray like the Derg in the eighties. Destroying the military, financial and logistical power of the TPLF was good for many nationalities within Ethiopia and the region. Now they will be just be another small entity in the north who must either try to separate or negotiate with the Oromo power within federal Ethiopia run by the Oromo. As Khadaafi said, Afwerk is not ready for another isolation from the west this time around. While the people of Eritrea hate him, they are not ready to be a satellite state under Ethiopia or victimised by no one. Unlike many, they paid dearly for their independence and want to remain as such. Abiy has delayed the real rise of Oromo to take power. The biggest threat for Oromo power was the TPLF and Amhara. This combined forces with the assistance of foreign entities was huge obstacle for Oromo takeover. Now the TPLF is weak and have no desire to challenge Oromo within Ethiopia. When the TPLF was forced to give power in 2018, Jawar and others warned about Abiy and recommended Lema Magrasa. Despite being the leaders of rhe revolution, no one asked the opinions of the Oromo about the future of Ethiopia, it was a debate among the evil highlanders. Now, the real problem is what kind of Oromo leader will show up to take power. At the moment, the Queero and other Oromo nationalist masses are quite to avoid internal Oromo civil war, but as soon as the political games begin, expect a bush for a second Queero revolution. This time around they are deputised as a local police. Abiy was crowned by Amhara and was accepted by the TPLF who wanted to continue their hegemony through him. It was the TPLF policy of trying to hold the same influence that put them against Abiy. THey certainly paid that price for both the Tigray and Amhara who must be ruled by others or accept a Yugoslavia style Ethiopia. Now what about the man hiding in the Jigjiga palace? Unlike the Affar, Oromo, Benshanguli and others, Mustafe Cagjar has done nothing to prepare for the coming Ethiopia. THe other day he went to Berbera port --which will not be used by Ethiopia during the reign of Abiy--and proclaimed 'Jamuuriyada Somaliland'. Could you imagine the Amhara and other Ethiopia delegates didn't even mention anything likr that , yet he openly advocated for that. The reason is simple. Since you can't hide the stolen money from the region within Ethiopia, his looted assets are in WAjaale and Hargeisa, so expect the typical pandering. By the way the Bebera show of and the so called ownership of Ethiopian share just nothing but a game to keep Egypt and others for setting up shop in Berbera. That is what experts told us. Anyway, while the Addis based government is weak, Cagjar is doing nothing to improve self rule and future eventuality. For starters, he could create an atmosphere where Somalis could elect their own leaders free of outside interference. I know he can not due that at the moment, but he could move some stones and prepare the next leader to make bold steps. His fate is tied to that of Amhara and as soon as an real Oromo leader shows up he will pack his bags and join his millions in Hargeisa and Dubai. Furthermore, there won't be any excuse for the Mogadishu based Somali government about Ethiopian meddling. Rarher than counting and dividing the NGO money, one expects the to do the real job and clean up Mogadishu.

The Amhara are crying foul, but there seems to be a backdoor deal. No bullets fired from both sides. Abiy probably wanted to withdraw long ago , but was waiting to put the election in the bag.I heard that he mobilised the heavy weapons and moved the money from Tigray banks last week. He relocated the army for the excuse of securing the election. I think the whole thing might be a set up. Now, if Abiy is serious, he must bite hard the Amhara. Amxaarada si fiican ha u qaniino hadduu run sheegayo oo uu rabo taageerada Oromada.

Che, It could be said that Abiy caved due to the American pressure. Most of the government and internal security was transferred to the Abiy appointed Tigray interim government. An Oromo guy told me that there was collusion between the Abiy appointed Tigray leadership and the TPLF who changed their name as Tigray Defence Forces (TDF). Also, as soon as Eritrea withdrew their forces, it was inevitable for the TPLF to come out from the caves and mountains. I would say that the American democrats are different than the loud republicans. They might have succeeded to keep Abiy on leash. Definitely Abiy will win the election , but my advice to him is to form a national government and put the Oromo nationalists in the cabinet including Jawar Mohamed. At the end it will not be the Tigray who will ultimately disintegrate Ethiopia , but the Oromo or Amhara.

MMA, These are the free people of Buuhoodle.

In Somaliland the only good thing that came out of the election was some corrupt mayors were changed. That is all. The parliament was elected on tribal card not on party platform or even a change. As soon as the election was over, the real election of appointing mayors took inside smoke filled rooms. For 11 years the parliament never refused or changed any budget nor passed any laws. The economy is stagnated long ago. After 30 years The budget never passed $200 million for the last few years despite inflating the dollar exchange. everyone is waiting some changes to come from outside. When the Mogadishu issues get bad they all come out boast about their success while putting down the south. When things get organized in Mogadishu and they see an assertive national government, they scream about being victims and use the tribal card. This can only go on for a while. People must know that Somaliland is very small in terms of towns and people. It is Hargeisa, Borama and Burco. Few clans who know each other.

Khadaafi, It is a good article with a lot of eye opening issues. As you mentioned the Taliban never hurt anyone beyond its border. While Al-shabaab was bombing Nairobi, Kampala and threaten the horn of Africa, the Taliban remained a home grown movement hell bent on removing foreign troops. Since Al-shabaab has pledged alligence to international terrorists like Al-Qarda, I don't see them succeeding or even changing tactics. Also unlike Taliban, they are beholden to the gulf backward sect called Wahabi. At the moment, what is sustaining them is the Mogadishu business community, the foreign intelligence and the corruptions of Somali government in terms adjudicating small claim courts and other issues. Yet, the biggest money maker for Al=shabaab is what I call the ' Hotel Cartel'.I will write about them soon. Certainly Farmaajo made some mistakes in terms of his dealings with the regional leadership. He spend a great deal of resources and time to crown loyal men in position of leadership in the regions which might even backfire at the end. It is an oxymoron to have a friend in regional presidents, all you need to have is a working relationship. Yet, after seeing the gathering of the storm from the gulf and others, Farmaajo tried to keep the same team and achieve something before time runs out. When you see the coalition that formed from the separatist elements, UAE, Djibouti and others, Farmaajo might have thought to defeat them for the greater good. Who knows. As your earlier articles , you always mention about the failure of Siyad Barre to leave the nation before its collapse, but the biggest reasons of the anarchy that flowed was the dismantling of the national army. In Ethiopia, the army was intact despite rebels taking over the capital. In Somalia the tribal rebels dismantled the army. Some of us believe that despite its religious connotations, Al-shabaab is still controlled and deployed by certain clan interests. Why is Al-shabaab still very active in Mudug despite the presence of huge armed tribal militia and Galmudug forces? When Farmaajo was elected, some of have asked him to do the minimal thing of building the army and securing the capital. Who ever becomes a leader must do something serious about this town . The next leader , whether it is Farmaajo or anyone else must start the withdrawal of the Amisom forces.The Turkey trained forces are winning without even heavy weapons. He must work on lifting the arms embargo and Somalia could defeat Al-shabaab. Finally, I do not believe the UN to be capable or willing to move the country to self rule. Just look at the last fake dispute that almost created a civil war. It was a quarrel among six or seven men. now, the process is getting bigger by the day. Where in the world you would have more referees than the actual players? L last week the prime minister released the names of the election commissions and other conflict resolution appointees.In total they were 124. . the federal elections commission members were 24 plus another 21 for conflict resolutions. Add that 11 from each region for commission and another six for conflict resolutions.Another 17 from Somaliland and similar number for Banaadir. In the real world arbitrators and judges usually are three, five or maximum nine. Make them 11 if you wish. Why would the UN allow such kind of travesty? Who is advising these people to appoint over a hundred judges. That is the UN. Soon they will be put in one of these hotels, Halane or some where else and the premier and his men will make millions on these judges who are almost half of the parliament. In fact, a wise man told me that this thing could be dragged until December or even next year just to milk these meetings. The UN and others are happy paying millions for 124 new judges. Finally, as many in here, you are very suspicious of Abiy and his moves to keep the old Ethiopia. No one wants Amhara hegemony , yet Abiy Ahmed is also dismantling the old guard of both Amhara and TPLf grip on power. In Addis Ababa, for the first time, a Somali person was elected as a member of parliament and two other Somalis are running for city counsel seats, and the last time I checked, they were both leading. Despite Abiy's his future plans, I don't understand why some Somalis are nostalgic about the evil TPLF. You can not imagine how many Muslim women with head scarfes joining the next parliament. We have to careful for what we wish. If Turkey stands by us and the west lifts the weapons embargo, we might actually defeat Al-shabaab. Most of all , we need the collaborations of Kenya and Ethiopia. Lastly, the real battle is ahead which is even bigger than Al-shabaab, The Mogadishu business oligarchs and hotel cartels.

I don't know about Mahdi Guuleed, but Dr. Bayle isn't involved any of these blue flag issues. Tallaabo, if they just ignore this little stunt it would be forgotten by the next day. Man the Landers love drama.

Dalmar Be careful what you post. These group have been in courts since last year. While thrre are corrupt judges in Puntland like any other Somali place, these are special cases. Innocent people usually dwell in jails without trail. I think Puntland had shown a backbone and swift action on these killers.

I have seen the interview of a local Gaalkacayo man who killed 17 people over ten years. He flowed similar methods . Sometimes, when the security people show up at the murder scene, he points them to the wrong direction. When I listened that interview and many others, the Al shabaab issue is no longer a military issue, but a law enforcement matter. A well trained investigators and detectives could crack most of these cases. Usually when a major robbery or active shootings take place, you cordon the whole perimeter and check both people and vehicles. You could arrest and detain anyone, especially young people you encounter in the murder scene. There are cheap electronic equipments to check for gun residue to determine if someone had shot a gun hours ago. Corruption and incompetence kills in these days. Small detective work could eliminate Al-shabaab killers in big cities like Mogadishu, Gaalkacayo or Boosaaso.

in Borama , the police always acts like what we used to call in the north, ' Saajin Tuula Jooga'. It is the one who tries to overdue things . Xaaji, how come this Qaranimo is so fragile that you have to arrest women from their homes in the middle of the night. And how come these fools in Awdal allow their women to be hoarded in jails in Mandheera by large numbers?