Originally posted by xiinfaniin: Koore, the reason they rounded these children is to frustrate current talks...there are some who don’t see any benefit in this initiative. ^It might be true but we have no evidence. Al-Shababs were reported to have initiated the hostility.

^Here is the latest. I am not sure of why the Kor'anic teens were first detained by the Somali Police. The Islamist insurgents -- remnants of a sharia courts movement ousted from their strongholds in Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia at the end of 2006 -- view the presence of traditional foe Ethiopia in their country as an "occupation". Somali police said on Thursday they had freed 37 young people, mainly Koranic students, taken in the mosque raid, leaving just a handful still in custody. Civilians have borne the brunt of the Somali conflict, which a local rights group says killed 6,500 people last year. One million Somalis live as internal refugees Source: Reuters

Translation Source: Letter Received by the National Security Agency of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.

Hard Copy of Death Threats issued by Al-Shabab to Clerks and Governors

Originally posted by LayZie G.: By ethiopia leaving, it will just get worse. They dont even listen to the great sheikh sharif, what is to say they will listen to anyone sitting in the peace talk table? Call it Power Vacuum.

Originally posted by me: Horta laba su'aalood. by this I mean the resistance in its current form and while employing the tactics they have used so far. I don't think they will ever succeed since they're made up of disillusioned and brainwashed teens under the command of self-interested former warlords. Read how some Nomads in here justified the beheading of three innocent Gov. soldiers. Recent Debate on Islamists beheading three soldiers

lol@ JB.

Britain proposes beefed-up UN political office in Somalia, planning for UN peacekeeping force By EDITH M. LEDERER , Associated Press UNITED NATIONS - Britain is circulating a draft U.N. resolution calling for the United Nations to move its Somalia political operation to the conflict-wracked nation, step up efforts to restore peace, and keep planning for a U.N. takeover of peacekeeping from the African Union. The draft, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, calls on all countries in the meantime to provide money, personnel and equipment to beef up the AU force now on the ground in Somalia. It is authorized to have 8,000 soldiers but has only 2,600 from Uganda and Burundi. In a report last month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the international community to step up political efforts and consider a series of military steps to restore calm in Somalia, which hasn't an effective central government since 1991. Part of that effort should include moving the world body's Somalia office, now in Kenya, to the Somali capital, Mogadishu, he said. Britain's proposed resolution endorses that move and calls on the U.N. to help Somalis draft a constitution, hold a constitutional referendum and carry out elections in 2009. On the military front, Ban suggested the possibility of the AU force being replaced by an 8,000-strong multinational force, which could pave the way for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops who helped Somalia's U.N.-backed interim government rout an Islamic movement in January 2007. The multinational force could later be replaced by a U.N. peacekeeping force of up to 27,000 soldiers and 1,500 police officers, he suggested. The draft resolution says Ban should push ahead with planning for a U.N. force and also consider "additional options for the size, configuration, responsibility and proposed area of operation of the (peacekeeping) mission depending on different conditions on the ground." The draft makes clear, however, the deployment of a U.N. force will not happen soon. In his report, Ban said the Security Council might also want to consider establishing a maritime task force to protect U.N., AU and humanitarian shipping off Somalia's coast, an area that has been plagued with pirates operating out of the lawless Horn of Africa nation. The draft resolution calls on states and regional organizations — coordinating with each other and the secretary-general, and with the agreement of Somalia's transitional government — "to take action to protect shipping involved with the transportation and delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia and U.N.-authorized activities." The United States and France are drafting a separate U.N. resolution that would allow countries to chase and arrest pirates off the Somali coast, responding to a spate of attacks including this week's hijacking of a Spanish tuna boat. Source: AP, April 23, 2008

Waryaada cayda joojiya. JB, There is no one trace of a evidence that substantiates the veracity of such an accusation spread out by several media and the PR of those opposed to the TFG. Even a couple of pictures showing or indicating signs of throats slit would suffice i. The lack of such evidence bears testimony to the official statements released by several ministeries . All that, the mouthpiece of the Al-Shayadin group, Shabelle, produced was the pic of one injured man with some articles of cloth wrapped around his neck.

Originally posted by LayZie G.: PS: I am pleading with the anti amxaaro group, please don't let your hate cloud your judgement. You must use your brain and allow it to actually function before aad "ethio's aa dad dileen meesha la imaataan". Good Point.

Originally posted by Che -Guevara: They are here to obliterate everything Somali, and they do that everyday in Somalia and SomaliGalbeed. If they fall under this line of thinking, Somalis or Muslims in Addis Ababa wouldn't have been treated better than they are treated in Nairobi. You won't have seen Jigjiga University,(radiojigjiga.com). JIgjiga, the capital booms with commercial activities , daily interactions and so forth. Godey has buildings you won't even find in Mogadisho, the capital of Somalia. You have to be objective thinker rather than being blinded by hateful comments, propagandistic in style, of clannist advocates. I don't deny the existance of civilians being killed or arrested for charges that they aid and abet the activities of ONLF. It is inhuman and dictatorial in nature to go after civilians, but what I detest is projecting one-sided views of blind hatred and rejecting the TFG’s efforts based on this biased, traditional enmity, the cause of which is the activities of ONLF, an organization that seeks a total independence from Ethiopia. In its Manifesto, it does not in principle approve of Greater Somalia, but an outright Independence.

And when you just compare and contrast the Somali kids who grew up in small cities and suburbs with those who live in South Minneapolis, the difference is quite striking. I definately agree with this point.

Great article, thanks for sharing it with us.

She is a great woman who devotes her money and time for the general welfare of Somalis in North Somalia, but let us not also forget that Edna promotes the dismemberment of Somalia. I think if she were not promoting for this contraversial cause, she would have been the best mother after Dr. Hawa Abdi

Malika, just because Saado went to the welcome event held for the president in North America, JB has to dig up an old video in the Communist Era of Somalia. Good video , good song.

MOGADISHU, Somalia Apr 22 (Garowe Online) - Somalia’s internal affairs and foreign affairs ministers have issued contradicting statements regarding the brutal massacre of 11 people at a Mogadishu mosque over the weekend. Interior Minister Muse Nur Amin told reporters on Tuesday that insurgents first attacked Ethiopian and Somali troops to trigger the weekend’s deadly violence, which killed upwards of 80 people according to a local human rights organization. “I personally do not believe that someone praying at a mosque was pulled out and killed, but I want to make clear that the [Transitional] Federal Government is investigating,” the Interior Minister said in Mogadishu. He categorically dismissed the idea that, upon investigation, only the Federal Government and its Ethiopian military allies will take blame for the massacre at al Hidaya Mosque, in northern Mogadishu. [ READ: Ethiopian soldiers blamed for mosque massacre in Somalia] But Somalia’s foreign affairs minister, Mr. Ali “Jangeli” Ahmed, completely denied reports of the mosque massacre, arguing that “no religious men were killed." “The troops have the right to arrest a criminal who runs into a mosque,” said Foreign Minister Jangeli, who is currently in Washington, D.C., as part of President Abdullahi Yusuf’s delegation. Somalia’s armed opposition groups have condemned the al Hidaya Mosque killings, where a well-known Imam [prayer leader] was shot to death by soldiers in front of witnesses. Mohamud Ibrahim Suley, spokesman for the Islamic Courts movement, said the al Hidaya Mosque killings have placed the ongoing reconciliation process “in the dark.” Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, chairman of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), reportedly left Djibouti and returned to his exile home in Asmara, Eritrea, following the weekend violence in Mogadishu. Djibouti is the location where Somali government officials and ARS opposition figures planned to convene on May 10 to begin peace talks. Local sources said more than 40 Islamic students were arrested by the Ethiopian soldiers who stormed the mosque and are blamed for the brutal slaying of 11 people inside, including Sheikh Said Yahya, the Imam of al Hidaya Mosque. As of Tuesday afternoon, most of the students have not been released. Source: Garowe Online

Originally posted by Northerner: ^^been there and done that Wow.

Originally posted by LayZie G.: quote:witnesses and confidential sources said. "Confidential source" said is not good enough. I don't think they were killed for no reason. I think they were fighters who sought refuge in the masjid and now the story has changed to "innocent wadaado slaughtered in masjid by ethio's" headline. Whoever is behind this fabrication is one hell of a drama queen. Posing this legitimate question, you might be marked for death and automatically ignored.

Originally posted by Abtigiis& Tolka: I didn't know Koora is a defender of A/Y! Haa! iska daa iminkaan wax fahmay. lol

Northerner, being a one-liner is your problem. At least make yourself clear and illustrate carefully your principles so that we can take you seriously. I have never seen you debate normally except grimacing sometimes when we write critically of Somalialand. Other times, you recede into aphonic mode.

"A TFG supporter should be ignored"

You can ignore the whole crew. it is all up to you.

^Ask your statesmen why they called for the AU's help?

US, France draft UN resolution to battle pirates off Somalia By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer Mon Apr 21, 8:54 PM ET UNITED NATIONS - The United States and France are drafting a U.N. resolution that would allow countries to chase and arrest pirates off Somalia's coast, responding to a spate of attacks including this week's hijacking of a Spanish tuna boat, U.N. diplomats said Monday. France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said the resolution would authorize foreign governments to pursue pirate vessels into territorial waters, make arrests, and prosecute suspects. "We want to do it fast, but it could take one or two weeks because it has to be by consensus — it's not confrontational," he told the Associated Press. The push by key U.N. Security Council nations to tackle the issue follows an alarming increase in piracy by well-armed bandits, prompting international demands for better protection of the world's shipping lanes. Pirates in the lawless Gulf of Aden off Somalia fired on a Japanese oil tanker Monday, unleashing hundreds of gallons of fuel into the sea, a day after a Spanish tuna boat was hijacked using rocket-propelled grenades. Earlier this month, a French luxury yacht was hijacked. The tanker attack helped send crude oil prices to a new record, spiking above $117 a barrel Monday before falling back slightly. "The issue of piracy is an important issue, and within that framework we're focusing in particular on the threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia," U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told The Associated Press. In Sunday's attack in the Gulf of Aden, pirates approached the Spanish Playa de Bakio and opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades, striking it but causing no serious damage, said an official in Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's office. Spain sent a frigate to the site of the hijacking about 200 miles off the coast of Somalia. Twenty-six crew were aboard the 250-foot vessel when the pirates forced their way on the ship. The Spanish prime minister's office said efforts were under way to secure the sailors' release, and that aid was being sought from NATO, the African Union, France and Britain. Spain does not have an embassy in Somalia, which has not had an effective government since 1991. The hijackers are demanding money but have not specified how much, Rosa Maria Alvarez, the daughter of the ship's skipper, Amadeo Alvarez Gomez, told Spanish National Radio. The government declined to comment on her remarks. Last week, French judges filed preliminary charges against six Somali pirates accused of holding 30 hostages aboard a French luxury yacht for a week in the Gulf of Aden. A French military helicopter captured them after the April 11 release of the yacht's crew. The ship's owners reportedly paid a ransom. According to a report from the International Maritime Bureau, piracy is on the rise, with seafarers suffering 49 attacks between January and March — up 20 percent from the period last year. Pirates boarded 36 vessels and hijacked one, the report said. Seven crew members were taken hostage, six were kidnapped, three were killed and one went missing. Most of the attackers were heavily armed with guns or knives, the report said. Nigeria ranked as the No. 1 trouble spot. India and the Gulf of Aden tied for second, with each reporting five incidents. Nearly two dozen piracy incidents were recorded off the coast of Somalia since January 2007, according to Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based Seafarers Assistance Program. Khalilzad said discussion on the issue has been ongoing. "We're talking to the French and others to put forward something on the piracy, specifically off the coast of Somalia, but the importance of the overall issue will be recognized," Khalilzad said. "We're working very hard on it." What takes time, Ripert said, is working out the legal details because pursuing pirate vessels could mean going into the territorial waters of a country "so you have to pre-negotiate the consent of the state." "We want also to address other zones in the world, but then the situations and the realities are different," he said, so the initial resolution will probably just focus on Somalia. Ripert said France and the U.S. are also working on a separate resolution to secure humanitarian convoys. The European Union presidency on Monday called for a strong international effort to address piracy, while Spanish lawmaker Mikel Irujo Amezaga urged immediate action at the European Parliament. "There is a lack of EU legislation on maritime security. Security is more or less regulated inside the EU but once you go outside, there's nothing at all protecting European ships. We're going to ask the (European) Commission again to rectify this," Irujo Amezaga said by telephone. Cyrus Mody, a senior analyst at the Maritime Bureau, warned of piracy's effect on the shipping industry. "Insurance gets involved, premiums rise up, the owner is not happy so he will raise his freight cost. If he does that, the cost to the end buyer increases and at the end the common man has to bare the brunt," he said. "It's a cycle and it keeps going on." Wracked by more than a decade of violence and anarchy, Somalia does not have a navy, and a transitional government formed in 2004 with U.N. help has struggled to assert control. The U.S. Navy has led international patrols to try to combat piracy in the region. -AP

I am for the rooting out of this brutal Al-shayaadiin that is causing unprecedented agony on the back of civilians. They can't mount a sustained fight, yet they use innocent people as shields for their ill-advised resistance.