i think the intent of this story, true or not, is stated in the last paragraph of the article. somaliland must prove to the rest of the world that it democratice enough by ( and you insert what ever you want). classic but perhaps outdated.

^^^are they similar to the 500+ that surrendered and seek shelter at the mosque in belle doogle airfield? Not that its bad to coward when you find yourself in the wrong side of the fence.

^^^are they similar to the 500+ that surrendered and seek shelter at the mosque in belle doogle airfield? Not that its bad to coward when you find yourself in the wrong side of the fence.

^^^are they similar to the 500+ that surrendered and seek shelter at the mosque in belle doogle airfield? Not that its bad to coward when you find yourself in the wrong side of the fence.

Originally posted by Naxar Nugaaleed: good job, religion is not an excuse for terrorism or dowladiidism war haa danbaabin. waa hadatahay muslim.

^^^^General Gabre for 2009. lets here it for Gabre... Gabre, Gabre for life... after all he is the one that can deliver on his promise.... whay deceive yourselfs. :mad:

[Qoute] Qarax aad u weyn oo xalay ka dhacey Magaalada Jigjiga Jan 13, 2008 War hada naga soo gaadhey Magaalada Jigjiga ayaa sheegaya in xalay markey saacadu ahayd 8:30PM fiidno xiliga Jigjiga qarax aad u weyni ka dhacey guri u degenaa Sargaal Tigrea ah. Sida warku sheegayo qaraxaas ayaa waxa uu baabi'iyey dhamaan dhismihii guriga, waxaana halkaas oo ay ku dhinteen Gabadh iyo nin marti u ahaa oo is dhalay iyo cilyaalkiii ninka Sargaalka ah u dhaley, waxaana koma ku jira Sargaalkii Tigreaga ahaa iyo xaaskiisii oo Isbataalka loola cararay. Hadaba falkan waraxa ah kadib ayaa waxaa magaalada lagu soo daayey ciidan aad u tiro badan kuwaas oo baadhis kula kaca magaalada, iyaga oo qofkii anaan haysan waraaqaha aqoonsiga ka qaadayey lacag laaluush a oo dhan 10 riyaal. Ciidamadan ayaa toogadsho ku diley dameer fadhiyey meel u dhow goobtii falku ka dhacey. Dhinaca kale, waxaa saaka shir loogu qabtey Iskuulka Xuseen Giire dadkii degenaa xaafada qaraxu ka dhacey, halkaas oo loogu hanjabey "ninkii qof marti geliya oo aanan soo diiwaan gelin wuxuu la mid yahay nabad diid" Shirkan oo uu gudoominayey Wolde Adwa oo ah wakiilka Itoobiya ee ******iya ayaa waxaa isna ka hadley duqam Magaalada Jigjiga Yuusuf Sh. Cabdi Gangaale, kaas oo hadalo aad u xun-xun goobtaas uga soo jeediyey dadkii shacabka ahaa ee qasabka lagu soo shiriyey. Shirkan aya awxaa dadweynaha uga turjumayey ninka Tigrea aha nin lagu magacaabo Sh. Maxamed Dheere. Qaraxan ama weerarkan ayaa ah midkii 3aad ee loo geysto saraakiisha Tigreaga iyo sirdoonkooda ku sugan magaaalada Jigjiga mudo ka yar laba bilood. Ilaa hada ma jirto cid sheegatey falalkan. --****** Online News [/Qoute]

Askari Itoobiyaan ah oo maanta lagu dilay gudaha Baydhabo, Qoray uu sitayna laga qaatay Jimco, January 11, 2008(HOL): Wararka naga soo gaaraya magaalada Baydhabo ee xarunta u ah Gobolka Bay ayaa waxay sheegayaan in maanta Salaaddii Jimcaha kadib halkaas lagu dilay askari ka tirsan CIidamada Itoobiyaanka ah ee magaalada ku sugan. Wararku waxay intaas ku darayaan in Askarigaas oo isagoo Qorigiisa wata ka adeeganayay Suuqa Baydhabo uu weerar ku qaaday nin Mindi ku hubeysnaa, kaasi oo ku guuleystay in uu Askarigii Mindida ku dilo, dabadeedna uu ka qaato qorigii uu watay. Markii uu dhacay dilka Askarigaas ayaa waxaa mar kaliya qasmay jawiga magaalada Baydhabo, waxayna dadkii ku ganacsanayay Suuqa Baydhabo ay xireen goobahooda ganacsiga, si aysan dhibaato ugu geysan Ciidamada Itoobiya iyo kuwa Dowladda Federaalka ee magaalada ku sugan. Ciidamada Itoobiyaanka ah ee ku sugan magaalada Baydhabo ayaa waxay yihiin kuwo dadka iska dhex laafyooda iyagoo aan wadan wax hub ah oo aad u badan, hayeeshee wuxuu dilka askarigan u dirayaa farriin ah in aysan ka soo bixin xerooyinkooda sida maanta dhacday kadib markii askarigaas laga dilay. Wuxuu ahaa Askarigii ugu horeeyay oo si toos ah magaalada Baydhabo loogu dilo, marka laga reebo Askar uga geeriyootay Qarax loo adeegsaday gaari waxyaabaha qarxa laga soo buuxiyay, kaasi oo mar sii horeysay lagu qarxiyay Xero ay ka degan yihiin Magaalada Baydhabo oo ah Xarunta Warshaddii Oomada ee Avv. Xasey. Ugu dambeyntiina, Xaaladda Magaalada Baydhabo ayaa waxay tahay mid kacsan, waxaana gudaha magaalada lagu arkayaa Ciidamo ka amar qaata Dowladda Federaalka Soomaaliya, kuwaasi oo qudhooda dareen qaba. Magaalada Baydhabo oo weli fariisin KMG ah u ah Dowladda Federaalka Soomaaliya ayaa waxaa dhawaanahan ka dhacayay falal nabadgelyo darro ah oo isugu jiray dilal, qaraxyo iyo weerarro lagu qaaday mas'uuliyiin ka tirsan Dowladda Federaalka Soomaaliya. that is what a call a brave man.

same news but in English. Fierce Battle reported in the outskirts of Fiiq Jan 02, 2008 Reports that reached our service desk from the city of Fiiq confirm a fierce battle that took place in the outskirts of the city on Wednesday December 26th, 2007. It is reported that this fierce firefight took place in an area known as Cagajiid, which is about fifteen kilometers east of the city. As indicated by eyewitnesses on the ground, many Tigray People Liberation Front, TPLF, militias and a local militia consisting mainly of civil servants of the so-called local administration, left the city for Cagajiid where it was reported that a large contingent of the ****** National Liberation Front, ONLF, military personnel were present at the time. Locals reported that ONLF reconnaissance units succeeded in getting information of the impending attack plans of the TPLF and the local militia, which was spearheaded by the man known as Abdi Ileey who claims to be the head of the security bureau for the local administration. The locals who were at the time passing through the area indicated that ONLF was able to position itself in both the main road that passes through the town as well as many of the straits that dot Cagajiid to prepare for a well coordinated ambush. This version of ONLF plans was later confirmed by a member of the civil servants conscripted to be part of the militia that went to Cagajiid. The civil servant intimated to our reporter that knowing how a conventional armed movement operates, they avoided the main road as to avoid possible ONLF ambushes. However he said, they encountered well-entrenched ONLF units in the straits that they thought ONLF would not be positioning itself. This source said that these units were able to annihilate many of the TPLF and the local Somali militia. He added that ONLF succeeded in capturing at least two thirds of the TPLF and the local militia personnel. Furthermore this eyewitness reported that the units that caused the most damage were reported to be way less than those ONLF units that he said we later found out were the most armed and with the most weaponry and numbers. It is confirmed by locals that victorious ONLF units dug more trenches in preparation for any counter attack from TPLF and its associated local militia. Fiiq city dwellers confirmed so far that up to four Somali men who were members of the conscripted civil servants have been among the many injured. Up to the time of filing this report though our reporters in the area have not been able to get an accurate number of the dead and injured on this fierce battle. Having realized the magnitude of the military loss, the heads of the TPLF militias immediately ordered the conscripted civil servants together with a reinforced TPLF militia to wage a counter attack to the ONLF units positioned in Cagajiid. However, many of the local militia members mutinied and refused to be part of any attack or counter attack plans against ONLF units in Cagajiid. Our reporters in the city indicate that the city and its environs have lately witnessed some of the fiercest battles between ONLF and TPLF and its local conscripts. It is reported that given its strategic value, ONLF positioned many more well trained and well-equipped military personnel in this area. This they say resulted in the last three months alone the loss of more than 330 TPLF militia personnel and many unaccounted for local conscripts. --****** Online News

Imperialist hypocrisy and Ethiopian crimes in ****** Friday, December 28, 2007 By: Crystal Kim There is nothing humanitarian about imperialism Democrat and Republican politicians continue to claim that there is “genocide” in the Darfur region of Sudan. They claim that U.S. military intervention in Sudan is a “humanitarian” necessity, not part of an imperialist agenda to secure access to raw materials and markets in the oil-rich region. Is this true? A look at the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia’s Somali region of ****** unveils the true imperialist motives behind U.S. intervention in Sudan and Africa in general. Although virtually unmentioned in the bourgeois media, people in the ****** region are suffering from a violent counter-insurgency war and severe humanitarian crisis at the hands of the pro-imperialist, puppet regime of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The roots of the current crisis in ****** date back to imperialist land grabbing in the late 19th and 20th century. During this period, ****** was incorporated into, partitioned from and then re-incorporated into Ethiopia by European colonists. While Ethiopian authorities control ******, the region is populated almost entirely by ethnic Somali pastoralists who speak a different language and have a different culture than highland Ethiopians. The ******i people feel culturally and socially closer to their kin in Somalia and northern Kenya. Trade with Somalia is much greater than trade with Ethiopia. According to the BBC, the Somali shilling is the main currency in some areas in the region. Due to discrimination and economic hardships that the people in ****** suffer at the hands of the Ethiopian government, an independence movement began to flourish. The ****** National Liberation Front leads this movement. While historically ignored and neglected by the Ethiopian government, the Zenawi regime is now waging a violent and relentless war in ****** to silence the independence movement. This began after Zenawi realized that the region may be sitting above valuable oil deposits. Humanitarian crisis In June 2007, Ethiopian authorities imposed a trade blockade on large parts of the region, preventing commercial traffic and emergency food aid from entering. The blockade, coupled with droughts over the past two years, has created a severe food crisis in ******. Thousands of residents have fled to survive. Many people have been reduced to eating grass. A survey conducted by Save the Children U.K. reported that 21 percent of children in ****** are acutely malnourished, compared to 19 percent in parts of Somalia and 13 percent in Darfur. The United Nations considers 15 percent the emergency threshold. Yet, Nur Abdi Mohammed, a spokesman for the Zenawi government, claims, “There is no food aid problem. There is no malnutrition problem.” The Ethiopian government also is forcefully conscripting untrained civilians to fight in ******. Anybody who works for the government—including doctors, teachers, office clerks and employees of programs financed by the World Bank and United Nations—is in danger of conscription. Many government workers have fled to neighboring countries. There are accounts of soldiers barging into hospitals and threatening to jail health workers unless they comply with conscription. There are also accounts of firing, jailing and torturing people who refuse. The civilians are sent to fight in ****** with little or no training. Some have even had to buy their own rifles. (New York Times, Dec. 14, 2007) A Human Rights Watch report documented dozens human rights violations by Ethiopian troops, including gang rapes, burning villages, confiscating livestock and forcing civilian relocations. The report also documents “demonstration killings,” such as public hangings and beheadings, meant to terrorize the people of ******. In response, government spokesman Mohammed said, “There is not a single soldier who is abusing human rights.” Darfur vs. ******: the hypocrisy of imperialism Why is there no “Save ******” movement propped up by the U.S. government? Why aren’t U.S. politicians calling for military intervention in Ethiopia? The disparity in response between Darfur and ****** is due to the fact that Darfur is being used as a pretext to control oil-rich Sudan. Sudan is led by a government resisting imperialism. It has denounced the U.S. occupation of Iraq, championed the cause of the Palestinian people and strengthened economic ties to China. The U.S. government could not care less about the actual humanitarian crisis facing the Sudanese people. Ethiopia’s Zenawi is the U.S. government’s top ally in the Horn of Africa. He and his followers—armed and funded by U.S. imperialism and African client states—overthrew the communist-inspired Derg government in 1991. As the U.S. government’s main stooge in this geopolitically critical area, the Zenawi government has been doing the bidding of U.S. imperialism. The U.S. government funds Zenawi’s brutal regime to the tune of $500 million each year. In December 2006, Zenawi oversaw the invasion of Somalia by the Ethiopian military. It was a proxy invasion initiated, directed and funded by the United States to displace a popular and potentially anti-imperialist government in formation. Thousands of Ethiopian troops still occupy Somalia. When it comes to ******, since the U.S. government already exercises control over Ethiopia, there is no need to feign concern about the humanitarian crisis in the region. In fact, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice stated on Ethiopian television that the Bush administration was against a bill that would restrict U.S. military assistance to Ethiopia until it improved its human rights record. If ****** turns out to be sitting on top of valuable oil deposits, it is in the interests of U.S. imperialism for the independence movement in the region to be crushed and for ****** to remain under Zenawi’s control. The differential response by the U.S. government to Darfur versus ****** reveals the hypocrisy of U.S. imperialism. This hypocrisy allows the U.S. government to preach about “genocide” in Darfur, but then but look away when Zenawi’s government intentionally starves and pillages people in ******. It is this same hypocrisy that demonizes Robert Mugabe as a dictator for working to free Zimbabwe from the iron grip of imperialism, but turns a blind eye when the Zenawi government kills hundreds of anti-government protesters, as it did in 2005. There are endless examples of such hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is an inherent element of U.S. imperialism because imperialism is motivated by the unfettered flow of U.S. capital, not solidarity and cooperation. In Africa, there are humanitarian crises across the continent due to imperialist interventions and severe economic underdevelopment. Centuries of colonialism and neo-colonial rule have taken their toll on Africa’s oppressed people. U.S. imperialism and the bourgeois media shine a light on select issues to facilitate the continued neo-colonial subjugation of the African continent. Revolutionaries and progressive people should not be fooled when U.S. politicians talk about people’s needs in Africa. source: http://www.pslweb.org/site/News2/818887868?JServSessionIdr012=muj24akl11.app7b&page=NewsArticle&id=7 818&news_iv_ctrl=1261

Tuesday the 1st of January, 2008 Dagaal aad u kulul oo ka dhacay duleedka magaalada Fiiq Jan 01, 2008 Wararka naga soo gaadhaya magaalada Fiiq ayaa waxa ay sheegayaan in maalintii Jimcaha ee 26 kii December 2007 uu dagaal ka dhacay meel duleedka magaalda fiiq ku taala oo lgu magacaabo Cagajiid. Sida ay wararku sheegayaan ciidammo badan oo Tigree ah iyo kooxdii ina ileey oo waayahan ay uga babaysnayd magaalada Fiiq ayaa waxa ay ku bexeen ciidanka Jabhadda oo joogay Cagajiid oo ah meel uu ku yaalo Ceel yar oo biyaha laga dhaansado, halkaas oo magaalada Fiiq dhanka Bari 15 km uga jirta Hase ahaatee Jabhaddu way ka war heshay soo bxixitaanka ciidanka Tigreega waxa ay u sii gashay wadadii ay soo marayeen, sida uu noogu soo waramayo nin Soomaali ah oo ka mid ahaa Maleeshiyaadka qasabka loogu soo dagaal geliyey. Ninkan ayaa noo sheegay in ay Ciidamada Tigreag mariyeen wado kale oo ay is lahaayeen JWXO ma joogto, balse wadadaas ayaa iyana waxaa dhufeys adag kaga jirey cutubyo ka mid ah Ciidamada JWXO. Kuwaas oo dharbaaxo lama filaan ah ku dhuftey Cidamnka Tigrea. Waxaana u suurtoobi weysay Ciidamadii Tigreaga in ay qaadan wayaan dhaawacoodi, waxaana Jabhada ONLF u suurto gashey in ay gacanta ku dhigaan 2 meelood meel ka mid ah Ciidamadii Tigrea-ga ahaa. Waxa uu ninkaasi Soomaaliga ahi intaas ku darey in ciidanka ONLF ee sidaas noo galay uusan ahayn midkii waynaa ee aan ka lexanay, laakiin hadii aan is heli lahayn ayuu yidhi ciidankii fadhiyay wadadii aan markii hore ka leexanay midi nagama soo noqdeen. Dagaalkan ayaa waxaa ku soo dhaawacmey 4 nin oo Soomali ah oo ka mid ah shaqaalaha Kiliklka ee qasabka lagu dagaalgeliyo. Saraakiisha Tigreaga aya amar ku bixiyey in ay mar labaad dagaal qaadaan iyaga oo kaashaanaya shaqaalaha Kilika, hase ahaatee way diideen dadkii Soomalida ahaa in ay baxaan. Jabhada ONLF ayaa iyadu bartii dgaaalku ka dhacey aanan dhinacna u dhaafin oo dhufeys adag ka gashey. Magaalada Fiiq iyo nawaaxigeeda ayaa waayahan waxa ay noqodeen xabaalaha Tigreega, dhulkaas oo ah dhul istaraatiji dagaal leh ayaa 3dii bilood ee ugu dambaysay ciidanka Tigreega ah ee ku dhintey lagu qiyaasay tiro kor u dhaafeysa 330. Tigreega oo culays badan soo saaray nawaxiga Fiiq iyo galbeedka ********ya ayaa waxay halkaasi kala kulmeen guul daro aad u weyn --****** Online News

^^Eritean imported or not. it seems to have effectively produced its desired effect.

^^OUCH THAT HURTS. two big shots taken away in 48 hours.

[QOUTE] Islamists blow up Somali colonel Mogadishu residents run the constant risk of mortar attack The Islamist group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the killing of a senior Somali military official and his bodyguard in south Mogadishu. Colonel Farah Abdulle Ga'al and his bodyguard died when a landmine concealed under the colonel's chair exploded after he arrived at work. The incident occurred while fierce fighting continued between insurgents and government forces. Ethiopia-backed forces took control of Mogadishu from Islamists a year ago. The UN says that 60% of the city's residents have fled clashes in the city. 'Barbaric' On Sunday night, insurgents attacked three bases belonging to African Union peacekeepers, Somali and Ethiopian forces. Ethiopian troops reportedly responded with heavy artillery fire. At least two shells exploded in Bakara market, close to where the colonel and his bodyguard were killed. "He used to be there every morning to inspect the security operation, but this morning the land mine blew him up, it was a barbaric act and inhumanity," said Mogadishu's Deputy Mayor Abdi-fitah Shawey. Al-Shabab posted the claim of responsibility on its internet site. Earlier on Sunday, a woman and her five children were killed when a mortar round exploded in north Mogadishu. Another two people were reported to have been killed in the southern part of the city.

Originally posted by Caamir: [QB] In Search of Justice and Somali Region of Ethiopia in an effort to show the onlf in the same light as the regional administeration or the ethiopian regime, individual like this author, go in great lengths to distort facts and sometimes puropose an outright lie against this organization. consider this aurthor's only specific accusation against the onlf and you would see what i am talking about. [Qoute] In the night of April 24, 2007, 74 workers for this china owned, oil digging company were cold-bloodedly murdered in Obele town, which is 120 kilometres south of the Somali region’s capital, Jigjiga. Nine of the slain workers were Chinese, while the remaining sixty-five workers were Ethiopian labourers, thirty of whom were Somali-Ethiopians [/b] . not true. that was not what happened on the night of april 24, 2007. it was not sixty-five ethiopians labourers, not unless you consider ethiopian soldiers as labourers. "Ethiopian officials, who confirmed that 65 government soldiers had been killed, said they were rushing reinforcements to the area and vowed to crush the rebels"1. http://******.com/ognwsapr2507.htm the nine chinese oil workers died as result of an explotion, a collateral damage if you may to what was a well excuted operation. Although ONLF took the lives of many innocent civilians in that eventful night, and took credit with the masscare, it brought great sorrows to many beleaguered families whose livelihood depended on the slain workers . there were many beleagured families, infact thousands and hundreds of thousands of families whose livelihood were distroyed by the very government they catering to. so i don't see how that makes their case any more sorrowful. infact one may argue they deserve this because the were facilitating a criminal act. Similarly, the destructive organization murdered and maimed tons of innocent people in Wardheer zone, where residents had already been plagued by successive droughts. In this zone, the organization murdered and maimed traditional chiefs, religious figures and innocent fathers, raising poverty-stricken families. accusation without any facts. These are just two examples of the organization’s atrocities in the region, these are just two examples that demonstrate the length that some people would go to maim this organizations gallant and victoriouse image.

this man obviously doesn't fit the typical stereotype of a suicide bomber, but why did he do it. it puzzles me, did he exhausted every other option to help bring about change in his country? truly a deficult time for muslims around the world.

this man obviously doesn't fit the typical stereotype of a suicide bomber, but why did he do it. it puzzles me, did he exhausted every other option to help bring about change in his country?

A Grandfather’s Suicide Bombing Puzzles Algerians Ouaheb Hebbat/Sipa, for The International Herald Tribune Rabah Bechla's son Younes and his mother, Zohra, at their home. Mr. Bechla's family said his Dec. 11 suicide attack stunned them. By KATRIN BENNHOLD Published: December 18, 2007 ALGIERS — As a suicide bomber, Rabah Bechla was most unusual. But the story of Mr. Bechla, a 63-year-old grandfather of seven who rammed an explosives-packed truck into a United Nations office here on Dec. 11, killing at least 17 people, is in many ways the story of Algeria itself. The bomber’s age, earlier reported as 64, has puzzled a nation accustomed to terrorism associated with the malleable impulsiveness of youth. If his associate that day, a 30-year-old ex-convict who set off the second of two bombs, was described as a textbook case of a young radicalized man, Mr. Bechla breaks the usual stereotypes. As with the cases of the first woman to become a suicide bomber in the Palestinian territories and the first ethnic European convert to Islam caught with explosives, his case casts further doubt on the practice of profiling. As a prominent journalist here observed, “If a grandfather can blow himself up, anyone can.” The hunger among Algerians for an explanation has been evident in disclosures about Mr. Bechla’s personal life in the local news media. Some were true, for example, the report that he was very ill. Others were apparently wrong: Two of his sons did not die for the jihadist cause. They are alive, and his children gave a long interview in their family home denying that they are part of the Islamist movement. But Algerians are also intrigued by Mr. Bechla because his life reflects this country’s traumas over the last six decades. As recounted Saturday by family members at Mr. Bechla’s home, a cement shack in the village of Heraoua, about 20 miles from Algiers, the capital, the family history stretches back to his grandfather, who fought for France against Germany in World War II. Mr. Bechla’s father, family members said, was tortured and killed by the French during the war of independence. Mr. Bechla decided to vote for the Islamists in the 1991 presidential election, the one canceled before it was completed. The trajectory continues to one of his sons, who took a step meaningful to many young Algerians: he made a desperate decision even before the bombing to try to enter Spain without immigration papers. “Many Algerians can identify with this story,” said Mouloud Hamrouche, a former prime minister of the same age, who opposed the government’s decision in 1991 to cancel an election after it became clear that Islamists would win. “He is a real-life example of what has gone wrong over the years.” At the home in Heraoua, footsteps from the local police station, Mr. Bechla’s children and his mother, Zohra, 82, were still in shock. “We are against terrorism, we are against this act,” said his oldest daughter, Hadra, 33, sitting on an embroidered cushion in a living room crammed with women, some crying, others shaking their heads. Behind her, on a wooden shelf, was a worn color photograph of Mr. Bechla in his 40s, a serious-looking man with a graying beard and piercing blue eyes. “All we ask is that people also see the other side,” she said, turning her eyes to the photo. “My father was a victim, too.” He started out as an enthusiastic supporter of the governing National Liberation Front, whose French initials are F.L.N., the popular party born of the national liberation army, which won independence in 1962, Hadra said. But she said he grew increasingly disillusioned with an administration that failed to pass on the country’s energy riches to ordinary people. In 1990, the authorities denied Mr. Bechla, who was illiterate, a taxi license when rheumatism and kidney problems made it impossible for him to continue working as a vegetable trader. “He felt betrayed, after his father had died for this country,” said another daughter, Assia, 28. A year later, in what was hailed as Algeria’s first free national election, the family said Mr. Bechla voted with millions of Algerians for the Islamic Salvation Front, or F.I.S., an Islamist party, which campaigned promising generous welfare programs. But the army intervened to cancel the elections, and in the following years, Assia said, Mr. Bechla learned of the arrests and torture of several sympathizers of the Islamist party in 1995, and decided to go into hiding in the eastern scrublands, where Islamist militants were active. “He said that he was not strong enough to stand torture,” Assia said. After several years without contact, the family heard about Mr. Bechla through friends. His wife, Aisha, who has since died, met with him several times, bringing him medication for a worsening kidney problem and urging him to accept a government amnesty and come home. To hear his family tell it, Mr. Bechla was not always at ease with the militants. “He wanted to come back but he was scared: scared of the government and scared of Al Qaeda,” Assia said, referring to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a militant group that includes Algerian Islamic militants. “He said it was out of his hands. He could not leave them.” On a tour of the small, impoverished house, Hadra said, “Al Qaeda has given us nothing,” disputing any notion that the militant group may have paid the family in compensation for the father’s suicide bombing. She was pointing at the makeshift oven in the kitchen and the plastic sheet that replaced a broken window in the bathroom. “We have nothing to do with them.” She said one of her sisters narrowly escaped the second bomb last week. A nephew of Mr. Bechla’s was killed by Islamists some years ago, she said. Younes, one of Mr. Bechla’s three sons, said, “We are caught in the middle of this.” He said initial reports that two of Mr. Bechla’s sons had joined the militants and died in clashes with government forces were false. Athmane, the youngest son, was also in the house. Halfway through the afternoon, the third son, Mokhtar, called the family mobile phone and was put on speaker. He recounted to loud cheers that he had just made it to Melilla, the Spanish enclave in Morocco. “Some go to the mountains to join the terrorists, and some try to go to Europe,” Hadra said. “The country is rich, but the people are poor.”

manshallah. its truly beautiful when muslim are united in there actions. jzk for pics EMP.

bit to early for eid, but eid mubarak to all anyway.

British waaye waxa eeno qabtey etiopia. they portray themselves as the most sympathetice of people, but they crossed every one, the arabs, the turkish, and the somalis, and many other nations. khayaano iyo dagger ayaaga loo daayey.

Record Chinese Perform Hajj A record 10,700 Chinese Muslims are expected to join more than three million Muslims from across the world in this year's hajj. CAIRO — A record number of Chinese Muslims will be performing the soul-searching hajj this year, amid increasing government facilities in a trend linked to Beijing's desire to win hearts in oil-rich Middle East. "When I first made the hajj in 1998, there were just 48 people who went from Wuzhong," imam Ma Wanyun told the Sunday Telegraph on December 16, referring to a city in the Muslim-dominant autonomous region of Ningxia. "This year, about 500 are going." According to the Islamic Association of China (IAC), a record 10,700 Chinese Muslims are in Saudi Arabia to perform hajj, which starts on Monday, December 17. It is only recently that Chinese Muslims have been able to go on hajj in substantial numbers. Many faithful in the Asian nation have long been grounded by bureaucratic hurdles and political obstacles. According to official data, China has 20 million Muslims, most of them are concentrated in Xinjiang, Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai regions and provinces. Other estimate put the number as high as 35 million. One of the five pillars of Islam, hajj consists of several ceremonies, which are meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family. Every able-bodied adult Muslim — who can financially afford the trip — must perform hajj, which starts later this month, at least once in their lifetime. Facilities This year the government has offered more facilities to Muslims seeking to perform the once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey. Five departure ports for non-stop flights to Saudi Arabia have been offered from Beijing and four Muslim-dominant provinces. The government also allowed the IAC to use chartered planes to transport pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, saving them both time and money. The government's newborn attitude is seen as part of a broader drive to better accommodate its Muslims, according to the Telegraph. Thousands of Muslims are now allowed to go to study in Muslim countries each year. Across China, especially in the Muslim regions, hundreds of Arabic language schools have sprung up. The ethnic Hui Muslim community, mainly concentrated in northwestern China, is enjoying more religious freedom in the atheist country. They are increasingly allowed to build mosques and Islamic schools in their areas. The government's facilities are seen as motivated by resource-hungry China's endeavors to forge better ties with Muslim states in the oil-rich Middle East. "The government encourages us to learn Arabic because China and the Arab countries have a good relationship, and it's getting better," said Hei Yuze, a student at an Arabic school in Ningxia's capital, Yinchuan. The Asian economic giant has been quietly moving onto traditional US turf in the Middle East. China is working hard to secure long-term contracts with Arab countries for oil, gas and minerals to fuel its booming economy. In 2006, China's exports to Arab countries reached $31 billion, while imports amounted to $34 billion. Hei, 20, noted that with the new horizons in Chinese-Arab ties, the Arabic language has become popular in his home country. "Everyone here wants to learn Arabic to get a better job." But for him, learning Arabic is more spiritual. "For me it's not just about the money. I'm a Muslim, and Arabic is the language of my religion."

16 December 2007 Military engagements between the armed forces of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) regime and ****** National Liberation Front (ONLF) troops started on 13 December near the town of Galaalshe in the Fik zone and are ongoing. TPLF regime casualties to date total 215 dead with 93 killed on the 13th and 14th December. An unconfirmed number of enemy troops have been wounded. 55 small arms have been collected from the enemy with four military transport vehicles destroyed. Ethiopian helicopters have been used to transport wounded troops out of the area during the past few days. Fighting continues near Galaalshe. ****** National Liberation Front (ONLF) Military Operations Command Center (MOCC)

At Least 12 Dead in Mogadishu Shelling By SALAD DUHUL – 3 hours ago MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Mortars slammed into the biggest market in Mogadishu on Thursday, killing at least 12 people hours after a government official warned radical Muslims had regrouped and were poised to launch a massive attack. More than 40 people were wounded in the blasts in the Somali capital and the death toll was expected to rise from the latest bloodshed blamed on Islamist insurgents. "I saw so many dead people lying on the road, I couldn't even look at them. I was so scared for my life," said Salah Garweyne, a Mogadishu resident. At least 40 people were taken to Medina Hospital, and two died on arrival, said Dr. Hassan Osman Isse. Nineteen were in critical condition. Before the attack, Sheik Qasim Ibrahim Nur, director of security at the National Security Ministry, said the government has "no power to resist the Islamists" and was failing to control most of the country. "About 80 percent of Somalia is not safe and is not under control of the government," Nur told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview. "Islamists are planning to launch a massive attack against the (government) and its allied troops." Nur appealed for international support, saying the Islamists "are everywhere." Presidential spokesman Hussein Mohamed Mohamud confirmed that the Muslim group was gaining power, saying: "It is true that the Islamists are regrouping." He added that they have "a lot of weapons and foreign fighters." The comments — a rare acknowledgment by the government that its control is tenuous at best — come amid increasing signs that the Council of Islamic Courts is again gaining power in this Horn of Africa nation. The group, which controlled the capital and much of southern Somalia for six months, was driven from power last year, when Ethiopia sent crucial military reinforcements, including soldiers and fighter jets. The operation had the tacit approval of the United States, which accuses the group of having links to al-Qaida. Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for comment Thursday. The Islamists have launched an Iraq-style insurgency, throwing this already beleaguered nation into bloody chaos. The country is now facing what the United Nations says is the biggest humanitarian crisis in Africa, and a local aid group says some 6,000 civilians have been killed in the fighting this year. Somalia has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991, and then turned on one another. The current government, led by President Abdullahi Yusuf, was formed in 2004 with the support of the U.N., but has struggled to assert any real control. Associated Press Writers Mohamed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu and Elizabeth A. Kennedy in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.