To: Mr Xassan Nasra Allah, The Man who never learned from cruel chapters of the History of yesterdays. Asked yourselves these questions: 1-Who is crying now for somali-weyn in the doofaarey camp of kenya, who is perpetually being in the last 13 years of destitute in refugees camp of kenya, hoping that somalia will be put together by others. 2-who is genuinely being defeated in every turn of the battlefield for the last 13 years for both in somaliland and the rest of somalia. 3- I did established my country whether you liked it or not by the barrel of the gun, who is crying in hargeisa now begging for considerations to be giving a decent support for their regions, but your uncle and the members of your clan-family, who are right now with the government in hargeisa, and asking that waterwells should be build at the regions where your tribal compatriots come from, especially in that region of the eastern region of somaliland(Sool Region) where much of your people lived; where is your dignity now, where is tribal power you said it you had it in you during the heyday of siyad barre's misrule!, allowed me to enlighten you and I tell you where of, it's sadly resting with the ghost of the defeated and the vanquished at the dustpin of history!. 4-who is content to wait, to receive and to beg the unmitigated and patronising mercy of the kenyans and ethiopians diplomatic envoys now, so that they may demeaned themselves to build a nation and a state for you, or teach you how to do it. 5-who really did run away from the former capital of somalia out of cowardliness, when the brave boys of USC arrived at your door, who was forced to swim through indian ocean in order to arrive safely in kenya and at the hands of the welcoming brute force of the kenyan authorities at the refugees camps of kenya such as(Dhadhaab), where the rape and pillage of your daughters are common occurrence in every day! for the last 13 years. 6-who is today decently living in his own country without being chased away by thugs and warlords, who is recently that much of the world over had announced on their behalf that the rest of somalia should learn from a thing or two about somaliland, as to how a nation is build, and how state institutions are formulated, and as well as how should dignity and the life of the people can be protected; who has soiled and shame the name of somalis every where in the world, by their act of descent to barbarity. 7-As for the extermination business that you so fondly alluded to; I, myself seriously assure you, that I was one of the proud exterminator of the liberating forces of the SNM of somaliland; and by god did we had enough flies and fakash enemies to destroyed in hargeisa and burco when we captured those cities in early 1991; I am sure your family must have being some of them that we even told them in advanced to dig their own graves prior to shooting them at a six at the time in the back of the head; for we shown no mercy of the officers class of the occupying forces of somalia that was stationed in somaliland for the purpose of occupation; and as you probably know all of the officers were distinctly from your people! in the sense of the belonging to same tribal background as that of siyad barre and yourself; as for the foot-soldiers they were mostly from the middle regions of somalia where the USC forces and supporters came from, some of them were also a bantu somalis by origin who were from the between the river regions of shabelle and jubba, as well as many others that was from the RRA regions of bay and bakool; those were the blameless foot soldiers of the occupying forces in somaliland, and we did shown them mercy and did let them go so that could returned to their regions of origins in somalia; but as for the commanding officers and the all of the seniors platoon leaders were concern, it pleases me to announce for your benefit and all the other siyad's worshippers on this site, that they were shot like dogs and exterminated with extreme prejudice! without mercy!, apart from one or two military officers that were from Awdal region of somaliland(including Mr dahir rayale whom we had captured him in berberra!); these are my dear boy the fact of the matter and how we decisively settle matter with you and the tribal government that you represented in that momentous day of 1991,..with the barrel of the gun,..and at the heat of the battlefield...by god how many men of your tribal compatriots had beg for mercy when we captured them in somaliland,..I still remember their anguished cry and lamentations "Calaacal" of begging us for mercy on the account of some strange concept they called it "Soomaalinimo" or on the account of islamic "Brotherhood". It's also true that the supreme commanding officer of the siyad barre forces in somaliland Gen. Cabdicasiis cali barre who was closed relative of siyad barre did manage to escape!, by disguising and clothing himself as a "Old Women", so that he'll escape the wrath of the SNM forces,..what a pitiful site for a grown-up man to run away like that!...and it is in my opinion a lasting regrets that the commanding officer of the siyad barre's forces that was the occupying forces in the regions of somaliland had escaped when the SNM forces had captured somaliland at that day!...what manner of extreme judgement he would of recieved in the hand of the victorious SNM forces, if he were to be captured at that day, I'll let your imaginations to conjured it up as an excercise for your thinking faculty... Lastly, but not least, if you have now what it takes to come around for second decisive battle, I am more than happy to accommodate you to the same shallow graveyard of the defeated forces, where I had already filled with your predecessors in that momentous and joyous day of 1991. In conclusion, take it from me dear boy, blood and guts as well as the barrel of the gun, is what that will determined the legacy of tomorrow and the destiny of nations; do not waste your time thinking that some forsaking conference organised by some africans will deliver unearned victory for you! as well thinking it may forced somaliland to rejoined with somalia!,..do not delude yourself to thinking a fact on the ground that bullet and blood had established a pen can nullified it!...those sort of thinking are the manners and ways of the eternally defeated and those who are perpetually fit to be shamefull cowards,.. Alas my dear boy,..history is written by the fact on the ground and to whom the bells of victory may joyously toll for!,..and so far the first round of victory was mine with unsurpassed honour!, I am waiting for the second round!, let me know when you are ready to come around to engage in the battlefield! after the kenyans and the rest of world collectively put or cobbled a nation together on your behalf, and when you're in a position to stand on your two feet unaided. Also giving that as you said it that you were too young to take part in first round, make sure this time around that you leave behind the easy comfort of the west and that desire of venting spleen on somaliaonline forum as well as vomiting on the computer screen near you; and see to it that you pickup a gun and find yourself at the front where the decisive battlefield will be taking place so that you can give full account of yourself and give proper vent of your real desire of bloodlust; rest assure dear old boy that is where I will be in opposite of you, when the day arrived and the battle is properly joined!, to determined decisively one-way or the other the destiny of our tomorrow at the battlefield of honour!...surely like me, I hope that you can't wait for the second round of our future struggles!.. Regards, Gaashaamo.

Dear Readers, This is excerpt testimony of the warriors of SNM struggle, and how mighty they endeavoured to reclaimed the once glorious freedom, whereby the people of somaliland had so easily gave away that liberty in that momentous day of 1960, and how after bitter life and death struggle, they once again return the lost "Honour" of liberty by the,...wait for it,.."The barrel of the gun,... The tragedy of it, is at after a long 13 years of coruscating and self-enhancing liberty of the dearly-bought freedom, in whereby the citizens of somaliland had cherished that "Blood-Ordained" liberty" in every minute of it; after all of that sweeping saga of gigantic reality on the ground; there are people who are un-shockingly never the wiser in-terms of reality that was erected on the ground on somaliland by the barrel of the gun, that established the fact of state of somaliland; and to my eternal dismay such people are forever opining their inconsequential uttering on somaliaonline forum as to the goodness of "State" called Somali-weyn; as if the lives of the thousands sons of ours that we were gladly paid with their "Honoured" blood for the attainment of our liberty was nothing more than a negotiation Ploy so that we can have a lion share of ruling somali-weyn; it's this fundamental misconception of what the SNM was fighting for, and to whom the glory of SNM was likely to be their recipients, as well as to whom the bells will toll for any likely defeat of the SNM on the battlefield of "Destiny", which is a sight to behold. This argument of the meaning of the struggle of the SNM seems to be genuinely missed by the proponents of somali-weyn ideology; and the worst thing is that the sufferers of this somali-weyn delusional mania never could recognised the struggle of SNM was far more than a "Tactical" negotiations ploys in-order to win more seats on the latest merry-go-round peace talks for somalis of the south; that ours was content to create a destiny of far greater consequences than who should rule the dead corpse of Somali-weyn state, or who should have the privilege of sitting villa somalia as the latest of the long line of decrepit leaders who shall feast on the carcasses of the dead she-camel of somali-weyn. It's this tragedy of not understanding wholly and conceptually the struggle of SNM fighters, and the consequences of what fact of reality it intended to "Create" as destiny of her land, that failure to understand that basic proposition as given by the proponents of somali-weyn is so singularly unique so beguiling when one consider the lamentably self-induced delusional mania that the proponent of somali-weyn "State" are in; it honestly left me sometimes with open-mouth amusements with our former compatriots in the south when one hears that somehow they are thinking the reason we are not party to their latest merry-go-round futile negotiations in kenya, is that we are angling that much more of parliamentary seats and executive portfolios in the would-be future somali state; it's a genuinely shocking turn of affairs to ponder that for a moment that the people who hold this view fervently are generally educated somalis from the south in general who are well versed in the history and the state institutional end-results of the "Experiment" known as somali-weyn; these educated somalis the likes of baashi, xasan, honafrique, and my dear old chap Samurai warrior or perhaps jack as he was better known when he was with us in the somalilandnet forum, where we used to have this sort of jousting verbal fisticuffs; are somehow seriously thinking and even deeply believe that the struggle to create somaliland was nothing more than a desire to have more leverage on the dead corpse of the state of somali-weyn,...it really is mind boggling to say the least!. Thirdly, just in the hope of thinking that some from somalia may learn the meaning and the price one pays for liberty through reading of the long shadow of the struggle of SNM, and more to the point to allow others from somaliland to reflect under the shade of the well-earned liberty that we currently enjoy in somaliland; I thought it would be befitting if I were to post this long article describing the "Road of Destiny" in which the blood of our sons were paved,...it would be a monumental honour un-payable in a thousand of years the sacrifice in which our "Fallen" at the heat of the battle that determined the destiny of state of somaliland had paid on our account, so that I, as a somalilander, living under the shade of the liberty they bought for me dearly, could held my head high-up in gratitude for the fallen of my land,.. Lastly, but least, here is one lesson of history, whereby the proponents of neo-somaliweyn literati and scriplers, may well be in their ideological interests to heed it's clarion call, and it's this: nations are made or unmade in the battlefield of destiny not on the negotiation tables of high diplomacy!,...(read that as the current conference talks in kenya!), and more to the point liberty not worth dying for, is not worthy of the honour of living under it's shade!,..and that is the difference between Somaliland and Somali-weyn. Try to enjoy the reading the article, I am sure however fleetingly momentarily, your delusional mind saturated with somali-weyn state ideology may at least grasped the finer points of how nations are made!,..or unmade!, and further more how somaliland was not won by appealing to the sensibilities of decency of "Somalinimo" or by pen at the negotiation table at the talks; but by the sheer blood of the fallen of our cuase, and by the death of thousand of our much-missed much-beloved sons of our cherished land!. Regards, Gaashaamo. ************************************************** Qormadan la magac baxday; “Goormay kuugu darnayd” waxa aanu ku soo bandhignaa sida caadiga ah dhacdooyin xusuus mudan oo la xidhiidha dhacdooyin xambaarsan dhibaatooyin iyo waayo nololeed adag, oo ay kaga sheekeeyaan dadku wixii soo maray maalmo ka mid ah noloshooda. Haddaba, iyada oo qormadan aan inta badan kaga hadalno waayihihii qadhaadhaa iyo maalmihii adkaa ee dagaalka ay soo mareen naftood hurayaashii Mujaahidiintii SNM. Xilligii dagaalka lagula jiray taliskii macangaga ahaa ee Siyaad Barre, balse waxa aan ka madhnayn in aan ku gorfayno dhinacyo kale oo la xidhiidha dhacdooyin xusuus leh oo mahadhooyin ku reebay maanka iyo nolosha dad Muwaadiniin reer Somaliland ah. Sidaa daraadeed qormadan maanta ee “Goormay kuugu Darnayd”,Waxaa aanu idiinku soo gudbinaynaa waayihii Mujaahid Yuusuf Maydal Cumar, oo ka mid ahaa dhallinyaradii ugu horaysay ee ka mid noqota ururkii S.N.M ee dib u xorayntii Somaliland, isla markaana dagaalka hubaysan kula jiray Taliskii keligii taliyaha ahaa ee Siyaad Barre, ugu horayna isaga oo Mujaahid Yuusuf Maydal, ka waramaya sidii uu uga mid noqday ururkii SNM waayihii soo maray iyo maalmihii qadhaadhaa waxa uu hadalkiisii ku bilaabay sidan:- “Anigu waxa aan ugu horayntii ururka SNM ku biiray Taariikhdu markay ahayd 1982-kii October, aniga oo markaa ka mid ahaa niman dhallinyaro ah oo 33 nin ahayd, waxaanu tagnay Magaalada Salaxley, oo ay markaa deganaayeen Jabhad loo sameeyay in ay la dagaalamaan Itoobiya iyo ciddii taageersan, waxaanuna tagnay halkaas, iyada oo ay Jabhaddii degganayd burburtay oo ay goobtaas yaalaan hubkii ay sidan jireen oo aanu ula talownay dhinaca Itoobiya. Haddaba sababta aniga igu keliftay in aan go’aankaa gaadho kagana mid noqdo ururkii SNM, waxa ay ka dambaysay markii aniga oo degaan ku ah Magaalada Caddaadlay, la keenay ciidamadii la odhan jiray Dabar Goynta oo wakhtigaas cagta na mariyay dad iyo xoolaba, sidaas ayaan ku go’aansaday in aan ka dhiidhiyo dulmiga nalagu hayo. Markii aanu Salaxley degnay ee aanu la wareegnay hubkii ay ka yaaceen Jabahadii burburtay, isla markaana burburkeeda ay sabab u ahayd ka dib, markii laga xidhay Taliyihii haystay ciidankaas oo ahaa markaas Mujaahid Cawl Cilmi Cabdalle oo markii dambe ka mid ahaa raggii laga jabiyey Jeelka Mandheera, Salaxley waxa aanu ka sii raacnay annaga oo hubaysan gaadhi wayn oo (Sabaaxa) waxaanu tagnay Magaalada la yidhaahdo Daroor, oo ay markaas uun dib ugu soo laabteen ciidamadii Itoobiyaanka ahaa ee ka qaxay dagaalkii u dhexeeyay Dawladda Soomaaliya iyo Itoobiya, markii aanu gaadhnay goobtii aanu u soconay waxa aanu la kulanay Saraakiishii ciidanka haystay, waxaana ay nala yeesheen waraysi ku wajahan waxaa aanu u soconay, waxaanuna sidii ugu sheegnay in aanu soo talownay oo aanu ka mid noqonayno ururkii Mucaaridka ahaa ee S.N.M sidii baanay nagu qaabileen, wakhtigaas ma jirin ciidan SNM ah oo aanu ku biirnaa, ciidamadii Itoobiyaanka oo markaas ka baqayay Jabhadihii Soomaalida, ayaa damcay in aanu ka mid noqono ciidamada Itoobiya si ay noogu yididiishoodaan baqaha ay ka qabaan weeraro kaga iman jiray dhinacii Soomaalida, laakiin, annagu maanaan oggolaan in aanu ka mid noqono Ciidamada Itoobiyaanka, intii aanu garab deganayn waxa aan xusuustaa dhibaatada naga haysatay ciidamada Itoobiyaanka is afgaransho la’aan, waayo, naguma jirin nin garanaya afka Itoobiyaanka, annaguna maanaan garanaynin in aanu nidhaahno Biyo nasiiya, haddaba maalin ayuu nin naga mid ahi oo naga waynaa kana mid ahaa ciidamadii Soomaaliya ee 1977-kii ka qayb galay dagaalkii dhex maray Soomaaliya iyo Itoobiya, ayaa yidhi waar anigaa garanaya oo Af Itoobiyaanka waxaana la yidhaahdaa (Bishaan Fidi) oo ah kelmad Af Qoti ah, sidiina waxa nagu fahmay nin Itoobiyaan ah, waxaana naloo dhigay Xeradii Biyo aan u baahnayn, halkaa waxaa aanu ag daganayn Ciidamada Itoobiya muddo Bil ah waxaana ay markaa nagu odhan jireen iskaga biira Ciidankan waayo, weli, ma jiraan bay yidhaahdeen ciidan S.N.M ah oo meel degani, waxa markaa jiray laba Saldhig oo ay lahaayeen Ciidamada SNM, kuna kala yaalay Xarshin iyo Gaashaamo, sidii bay Saraakiishii Itoobiyaanka ahaa noogula hadleen Saldhiggii Gaashaamo, ka dib, waxa naloo soo diray Alle ha u naxariistee Muj. Cali Saleebaan Bide, waxaana naloo qaaday Gaashaamo oo ay markaa nagu soo dhoweeyeen Muj. Maxamed Kaahin iyo Cali Hayaan, inta aan imika ka xusuusto, goobtaa nala geeyay waxa nooga sii horaysay kooxdii la odhan jiray (Shareero) oo ka koobnayd 40 Mujaahid oo ah kooxdii uu Mujaahid Lixle hoggaaminayay ee jabiyay Jeelka Mandheera, in yar ka dib, waxa goobtii noogu yimid Alle ha u naxariistee Muj. Cabdiqaadir Koosaar, oo ahaa xoghayaha Ururka SNM iyo Cabdillaahi Askar oo ka yimid dhinaca Galbeedka, halkiina waxa ay ka kaxaysteen Mujaahidiin aan ku jiro, waxaana aanu tagnay ilaa Wardheer oo ay deganaayeen Ciidamadii Mucaaridka ahaa ee SSDF, markii aanu muddo la deganayn dib ayaanu u soo noqonay, waxaana aanu ku soo noqonay Saldhigayagii oo sii ballaadhay oo ciidan badan loo qaaday dugsigii Tabobarka ee (Baabuli). Haddaba intii aanu daganayn Gaashaamo, ayaa waxa ay Saraakiishii SNM qorshaysay in aanu weerar ku qaadno Ciidankii ******ta ee degganaa Oodweyne, sidii baanuna ugu ambabaxnay Goobtaas, intii aanu sii maqnayn ayaa waxa dhacay in nin ****** ah oo haystay Ciidan deganaa Tuulada Goroyo-xun, oo ahaa Kabtan ku soo wargeliyay Taliskii SNM ee deganaa Gaashaamo in uu isa soo dhiibayo oo uu ku biirayo Ciidanka SNM, waxa uu codsaday in ciidan loo soo diro soo kaxeeya oo goobta taliska SNM keena, markaa waxa ku sugnaa Saraakiishii oo keliya iyo dhowr nin oo aan sidaasi u sii badnayn, dabadeedna waxa dhacday in ay Saraakiishii go’aan ku gaadheen in ay iyagu u tagaan inta ay qalbiga adkaystaan, waxaana ay goobtii ka sii kaxaysteen laba Gaadhi, oo mid ka mid ah uu saaran yahay Qori Jiib ah, tiradoodu waxaa ay gaadhaysay ciidankaa SNM ilaa 30 Mujaahid, oo u badan Saraakiishii SNM, waxa ka mid ahaa Cabdillaahi Askar, Cali Togdheer, Ciise Curaagte, Maxamed Kaahin, Hilaac Alle ha u naxariistee oo ahaa Sarkaalkii ugu horreeyay ee ku dhinta dagaaladaas, waxaana uu ku dhintay dagaalka lagu khiyaameeyay Mujaahidiinta halkaa maraysay, waxa markaa ugu da’yaraa Muj. Cali Geenyo iyo nin kale oo aanan imika xusuusan magaciisa, markii ay gaadheen goobtii ciidanku yaalayna halkii ay sugayeen ciidan ku soo biira oo isa soo dhiiba, waxa qabsaday weerar ballaadhan oo si sirma qabto ah ugu dhacay, halkiina waxa lagaga dilay ciidan badan waxaana laga gubay Gaadhigii Jiibka ahaa ee ay wateen ciidanka SNM-tu, intii ka soo hadhayna maalintii oo dhan Beebee ayaa ku wareejinayay Geedkii Xodayga ahaa ee ku yaalay meesha, markaa annagu weli maanaan fulin hawlgalkayagii, waxaana aanu daganayn Guba-daalaco, halkiina waxaa noogu yimid warkii weerarkii khiyaamada ahaa ee ku dhacay taliskayagii, halkii baanuna dib ugu soo noqonay ilaa aanu dib ugu weerarnay ciidankii ******ta ahaa ee Gaadmada sameeyay, halkiina waxa aanu ku dilnay Kabtankii Ciidankaa haystay. Waxaanuna ku noqonay taliskayagii Gaashaamo, ka dib Mujaahid Maxamed Kaahin aniga [Yuusuf Maydal] iyo 3 Mujaahid oo kale waxa uu nagu soo daray Mujaahid Maxamed Cali, oo ka yimid dhinaca galbeedka, waxaana aanu sidii saldhig kaga furanay Magaalada Daroor taariikhdu markay ahayd 1983-kii, waa markii Cabdillaahi Askar uu soo galay Magaalada Hargeysa ee lagu qabtay. Inkasta oo aan la soo koobi karayn dhammaan wixii soo dhacay ama dhacdo la soo maray way adkaanaysaa sida looga dabaalan karaa, laakiin, in yar laga taataabto kama fursanayso, haddaan soo qaato dagaaladii aan intii hore ka soo qayb galay waxa ka mid ahaa dagaalkii Burco Duuray, oo aan ku dhaawacmay iguna soo gaadhay dhaawac sahlani waxa uu dagaalkaasi ahaa mid uu xusuusan karo qofkasta oo ka mid ah dagaalyahaniintii SNM, ee ka qayb galay dagaalkaa, waana dagaalkii uu ku dhintay Halyeygii waynaa ee Mujaahid Lixle, waxa kale oo isna dhaawac culusi ka soo gaadhay Mujaahid Quule, oo aanu imika isku meel ka wada shaqayno”. Haddaba innaga oo weli ku gudo jirna sheekadii uu kaga waramayay waayihii soo maray iyo maalmihii qadhaadhaa Mujaahid Yuusuf Maydal ayaa isaga oo si gaar ah u sii tilmaami doona maalintii ugu darnayd intii uu ku soo jiray halgankii hubaysnaa ee ururkii SNM, kula jiray dawladdii keligii Taliyihii Siyaad Barre ayaa Muj. Yuusuf Maydal, waxa uu yidhi; “Intii ka dambaysay 1984-kii waxa aan ka mid noqday ciidankii la odhan jiray Sayid Cali, wax aan ilaa hadda si gaar ah u xusuustaa dagaalkii 1988-kii lagu soo galay wadanka gudihiisa, waxa aan ka mid ahaa guutidii Sayid Cali, waxa aanu galnay May, 29, 1988-kii Caddaadlay oo aanu qabsanay, waxaana aanu halkaa isugu nimid Guutadii Sayid Cumartii Bariga ee uu haystay Muj. Maxamed Cali, waxa aanu wada weeraray oo jabinay Jeelkii Mandheera, ka dib Maxamed Cali, waxa uu u kacay Burco, annaguna waxa aanu nimid Magaalada Hargeysa. Haddaba markii aanu soo gaadhnay Magaalada Hargeysa, waxa aan aad u xusuustaa dagaalkii iigu qadhaadhaa, isla markaana ahaa dagaalkii iigu ballaadhnaa ee aanu ku qaadno ciidamadii Cadowgii ******ta, ee naga soo horjeeday ee degganaa Warshadda Kabista, dabada Caddaada iyo Nawaaxigeeda, maalintaa waxa ay xabadu ku dhacday ilaa 110 Mujaahid oo dhowr iyo toban dhaawac aan ku jiro Mooyee intii kale wada dhinteen. Aniga (Yuusuf) waxa ay xabadu igaga dhacday Jilibka Lugta Bidix, ka dibna waxa la ii qaaday ilaa xaruntii dhaawaca ee Geeddeeble, waxa geed nala wada dhigay 37 Mujaahid oo wada jajaban, balse ninba maalin u darane, waxa ay iigu darnayd maalintii ay Diyaaradii na soo weerartay annaga oo jiifna Geedkii, oo dhaqaaq kale iska daayoo gurguurashadu dirqi nagu tahay. Waxa Gantaal ay nagu soo riday ku dishay 35 Ruux oo isagu jiray dadkayagii dhaawaca ahaa iyo kalkaaliyeyaashii Caafimaadka, ee dhaawac dhayayay. Anigu nasiib wanaag waxa aan ka mid noqday dadkii ka badbaaday Gantaalkaasi, balse khasaarahiisu wuu I saameeyay, waxaana dib ii kala dhacday Lugtii I kabnayd, ka dib, markii aan si naf la caarid ah aan isugu dayay in aan gurguurto, oo aan u hadafo meel aan ku badbaado”. Yuusuf oo kaftamaya, waxa uu hadalkiisa ku soo qaatay in Diyaarada maalintaa soo weerartay aanu garanaynin in ay tahay iyo kale; “Diyaaradan maanta xusuusta ah ee Maayorkii hore ee Cawl saaray Taalada Fagaaraha Khayriyada Hargeysa Dusheeda”. Mujaahid Yuusuf oo hadda u dhutinaya dhaawacii Lugta ka soo gaadhay, waxa uu sheegay in aan dib loo kabin Lugtiisii sidii ay maalintaa Diyaaradu na soo weerartay u kala dhacday ee uu iska bogsaday”.

Salaan guud, Tani waa jawaab yar oo ku socota ninka faanoole la baxay ee hadaaqsiga ********EDITED********, isagoo isleh, in garasho guul-geyda ah ayaad guubaabo ku keentay, oo aad kula kuftay golahan gudihiisa. Waxaan jeclahay, in aan kuu sheego, horaa loo yidhi cadoor dhow-dhowdu uma dhacsanna, hadeerna aan ku xusuusiyee, soomaali gabigeedba wax guul u gaylan tahay galinkaa maanta ah somaliland iyo dadkeeda ayaa kali ku ah. 2- Intii kale ee soomaaliyeed ee adigu ku jirtay ee ay garasho u dhiman tahayna, guul-darano goblan ku ah, waa kuwaa sawaaxili iyo itoopiyaan sidii ay wax ugu yeedhin lahaayeen ay la dul-joogsadeen, taasina waa gebo-gebadda adiga iyo intii guhaad-jabtay ahi ay ku haystaan xeraddii doofaarey ee kenya gudaheeda. 3- Somali-weyn anagaa keenay aasaaskeedii, anagaa midnimadda soomaaliyeed heelan u ahayn, anagaa dowladnimo midowda mu-alafkeed ahayn; maantase dhoohanow aan war ku siiyee dadkii aafeeyey qaranimaddii soomaaliyeed, ee habeenka gudcurka ah gowracay waxaynu wadajir u lahayn waa adiga iyo tolkaa iyo adaarkaagii haligmay ee jaalle afweyne, iyo huwantiisii xaqdaradda ku garab istaagtay. Taa waxa aad ka faa-iidayna waa waxa maanta xeryaha qaxootiga ee dhadhaab(kenya!) ku dhigay!, ana taan ka hayaa faa-iiddadii qarankii aad adigu ka-wacad furtay ee aad beelaysatay sidaana ku jabay waa waxa calanka iyo qaranka gaarka ah ii taagay!. 4-Jirtoo waa runtaayo, dowlad madfaceed iyo dayaaradeed iyo wixii kale ee aad gacan ku haysatayba lamaad hadhin haddii aad tahay jaalle afweyne iyo huwantiisii!, sidii aad ugu bogsan lahayd guul aad iga naawilaysay in badan inaad igala huleesho, hase ahaatee ma noqon, oo anoo AK-47 haysta oo SNM ah, adna aad dowlad masiirkeed iyo muruqeed ku fadhida, waatii nasiibku qoray in aan barqo arooreed haadka ku cunsiiyo!, heeryana ku saaray!, waqooyina adoo naf-la-caariya qori caaraddii aan kugu "Sanduleeyey!" in aad ka huleesho!, dhulkaygiina huwantaad keenteen adiga iyo jaalle afweynihii haligmay aan dhiigoodii ugu maydhay! hadh-cad. Jirtoo waa run in aan anna waxaan nasiib u helay in aan mashxarad carab-iyo-dibin dhawaaq ah aan calankeygii SNM ahaa galbis-saarkiisii aan u sarayey qarankayga cusub iyo yagleelkiisii uga dhawaajiyo! hargeysa gudaheeda!. Adna waa tii uu nasiibku kuu qoray in qaarkiin aad magan ii noqotaan ilaa maantadaa oo aad i hoos joogtaan!, qaarkiina nafta ku aaminaan in ay dhadhaab(kenya) iyo sawaaxili nolosha gor-gortan kaga baayacdaan!, intii hambadda ahayd ee soo hadhayna ay door-bideen in ay afarta cidhif ee aduunyadda ah kaga qayliyaan toolaay yaa "Soomaalaay!", iyo huu-haa afka-baarkiisa ah!. 5-Haadan iyo gebo-gebo, ha naawilin waxaanad helayn ayaa hore loo yidhi!, soomaalinimo anagaa kaaga horeynay, kaagana dambayna oo gaadh ka hayna!, ee ma dantaadu ahayd ood-wadaagnimo iyo muslinimo jaar ku ah meertadda guud, mise ahayd hamuun aad u qabto waxaan la helayn: midba, hadday ta hore tahay waxa noo dhexeeya wa bariidadda islaamka oo aanaanu isla-seegin iyo intiina maganta noo ah oo aanu muslinimo ku maamulno!; haddayse ta dambe tahay huu-haada huuraddu hansaaqday anaa cadday dhul-jiif ah u haya!; iyo waliba halyey hooyo dhashay oo hoobiyaha daran-dooriga u dhaca! hoorka kaa shuba kugu hogaansha!; sidaan adeerkaa Jaale Afweyne iyo huwantiisiiba hoogga! u baday ayaad adigana hal-haleel kugu hangoyn!, hadduu damac kaa galo maandeeqdii somaliland! iyo intii mataanaha ku ahayd la haanshaheeda!. Sidaana ula soco, farqiga u dhaxeeya halkaan hayaanka ku ahay iyo waliba heeganka aan ugu jiro in aan hamigaaga ah in aad magac iyo masiir soomaaliyeed oo aad maqaar-saar ahaan ugu xoogsaddo aanay taariikhda soomaaliyeed abid danbe u soo marin! oo meel ah!, iyo halkaad maanta joogto oo haraad iyo habsaan ku tahay oo meel kale ah!. Adoo isleh qaylo-dhaan "Soomaalinimo" ah ayaad mar danbe ku hanan karaamaddii iyo sharaftii umadda soomaaliyeed oo aad ku hadaaqi ama ku naaloon!, taana dhoohanow! ha naawilin, oo waanad helayn anoo ah kii shalayto dumiyey! maqaar-saarkii huwantii adeerkaa jaale afweyne ee magaca soomaaliyeed ku xoogsaneysey ee beeleeystay! ayaa abadiyan ku garab taagan! oo kuu jooga!, oo gaadh kaa haya!, ee dhoohanow dhankayga soo dhuggo!. Yaa Dunya ah!,...Rag Is Gurayaa!... Isma-Dhaafno, Gaashaamo. [ May 26, 2003, 02:51 AM: Message edited by: Admin ]

Dear Mr Baashi, And Hornafrique, One of the standing issues that those tireless somali-weyn "Dreamers" always are adept in producing as a valid counter-arguments as to why anyone in somaliland with his full sense and thinking faculty intact will be willing to re-joined with that pergutory delusion known as a somali-weyn hell-hole, is that collectively they argue that we are better in union than apart as separate states. Now this arguments is superficially attractive, to those who simply lack historical perspective, and more to the point, could not imagine the sheer one-sided deal that somaliweyn concept was to begin with, at least from the perspective of the somaliland thinkers and intelectual from the beginning of that not-lemented experiments known as the "Greater Somalia"; also the consequences of that cheap dream is all the more evident in somaliland, when one consider the hugely deliberate negligence as a state-policy and the state-induced political action, that sanctioned the genocidal catestrophe that had befell on the people of somaliland. Secondly, I do really believe, that sometime we are in the process of the dailogue of the "Deaf", for the simple fact of the matter is that somaliland is unlikely to be persuaded to discard the historical "Self-Evident" reality that the concept of somali-weyn had brought about, and more to the point, the believers of somali-weyn ideology are unlikely to feel intrinsically the negative-side effect in which that experience of that "Experimental Concept" known as the "Greater Somalia" had wrought for those who saw it in action or who were at the recieving-end of the action of that policy; and that is the crux of this never-ending saga of cross-talking purpose, as to the what is the historical "Memory" we have today at hand, in-order to ascertained what fact or concepts shall we endevoured to established for tomorrow. What this simply is the "Historical Reference" to which we debators of this two opposing concept are refering to, is wildly different in tones, in memory, and in the written bold fact -much of it witten in blood, may I add-, as to what this much-argued concept call "Greater Somalia" on one hand is as apposed to the counter-argument concept of somaliland on the other hand is inherently about, and therefore consequently, we are unlikely to reach a point whereby we could collective say that, this point is a given and we all believe in as the starting logical point of what we are as people of somalis origin, and then proceed to fashioned an end-point of the argument as the ultimate fact that we all accept as a desirable outcome. What this comes down to is a meaning which is that every article of that argument that makes to some people appealing as concept, is without a doubt a comprehensive non-starter as argument for others, because the original action of "Somali-weyn" ideology is written in "Blood" of those same citizens who believed in it in the first place, and that "Historical Memory" is the fact that buried as a "Still-Birth" that Hallucination known as a "Greater Somalia Idealogy". Thirdly, it's evident -not withstanding anybody cherished dream- that the intelectual raison-detet or the edifice to which the concept of somali-weyn should be based-on, is irreversibly dead and buried, at least from the perspective of the people of somaliland; and that is copper-bottomed "Giving Reality" however hard it is for others in the southern somalia to countenance or accept as a "Fact Of Reality"; one would or at least had hope such a basic proposition, would of being easy for others in somali-weyn's camp to come to terms with, however unplataple scenario it may be to their cherished dreams of "Greater Somalia". Forthly, as a side note, Mr baashe you do remind me a fellow somali-weyn believer, that I used to know back at my university days in early nineties here in London(UK), that chap -who shall remain nameless for the purpose of this little discourse- was an ardent proponent of such a dream; god only knows how many days we forget to eat and never finished our lunch in the student canteen while we debated back and forth this exactly same concept; it's heartening in a dejavu sort of way to notice but exceptionally pointless to me that after 9 years there are still people who do seriously entertained that a notioned of "Somali-weyn" can be Marketed to those who deliberately set sail in different direction for the benefit of their nation's destiny as somaliland people had manifestly decided to persue their statehood, and the saddest thing of all is that, this Merchant of greater somalia idealogy who are in the market -mostly in the cyperspace and the online marketplace- to find a willing Buyers amongst the inhabitant of somaliland who may be tempted to this second-rate goods of greater somalia ideology, are still of the mind that this "Empty" Statehood idealogy, which is bereft of anything of substance, that may appeal to others, are genuinely deluding themselves that it has a potential to attract others, despite the fact that 11 years had passed and elapsed, since the people of somaliland had decided collectively to bury the dead weight that they had carried on their shoulders for a long 31 years. This seeming in-ability for the proponents of somali-weyn idealogy to internalised a concrete reality on the ground as given fact is serious case of myopic self-deception, and that my dear friends -particularly Mr Baashi And HornAfrique- is genuinely warysome thought for anyone to bonder on for a moment. Lastly, but not least, as for that little description of me by Mr Baashi, when he had temerity to accused me as a "Self-preening" and as someone who is given vent to his "Humbug Fulmination" against the local nomads who congregate in here, and who had the gall to dream of "Greater Somalia". I can -as a fitting riposed for your little insolence- seriously suggest to you if it comes to choose either as beign a merchant "Myopic Self-Fantasist" which is the prognosis of the case you -Mr Baashi- are severely belaboring under -whether however this malady is willfully induced or whether it has beign contracted by contamination of others of similarly ill-dispose, is a matter for neuro-fronsic diagnosis, and suffice to say, that such a procedure is beyond the scope of this discourse- or whether either to be as someone who is -in your description of me- as a "Self-preening"; if all I have to do is to make choice between the two article; I would without a moment hesitation, be glad to be the latter who is someone who has got some substance of fact of reality to prance or to dance about on the seen as a self-congratulating and as a self-satisfied self-preening fellow; as apposed to be a cronically clinical and exceptionally myopic self-fantasist. And that my dear Mr Baashi is the difference between me as somalilander who is aware of the fact of my reality, my potential as a people, as of my ingenuity of making national statehood out of the ruins of greater somalia state-prison, and the far brighter satisfying destiny to which I am constructing for my tomorrows on one hand; and on the other hand we have the myopic merchant of self-deluded fantasist, such as yours and others the likes of HornAfrique and Sumurai Warior who are in that pitifull state, who is stuck with a miserable and failed dream known as a greater somalia, with a destitute national honour, seriously malignant national dignity, teaming with a child-killers and brutal warlords, bereft of anything worth aspiring to as a people, other than the latest demeaning order from the self-appointed igad apparatchiks and functionaries of ethiopians and kenyans so-called peace mediators, as to what to think of collectively and imaginatively or consciously for that matter, and what manner of statehood to hope for as a nation known as the former failed state of somalia -what a fallen fate for a nation to contemplate-. And of all of the delusional fantasy an individual can be entitled to habor within him/herself and believe as a reality; this is the fact on the ground, to which some of you -apparently educated, with a mind to rationalised things through- are seriously entertaining that the people of somaliland at present or for that matter in the forseable future, will suicidally enjoined with you in this sanked ship of an experiment known as a greater somalia ideology to the bottom of the sea!...what a pitiful proposition for anyone even to contemplate to believe in it even for a one minute.... This is in a nutshell Mr Baashi is the wide un-brigeable gulf of reality between what you and I holistically represents -conceptually speaking that is-, when I argue with a certifiable facts the irreversibility of somaliland as a national-statehood on one hand, and lo-and-behold of course unsurprisingly you argue blindingly the desirability of greater somalia state-ideology on the other hand. With that, I rest my case as to why people of somaliland chose to "Moved-On" with their destiny and the believe that they shall forge a nation of their "Choice" by their own sweating two hands; as apposed to be beholden to a Fantasy that once upon time we called "Greater Somalia Dream", but sadly now deservedly lays decomposingly rotten as corpse in the graveyard of the lementable History of our yesteryears, that shan't become our tomorrow's destiny. Regards, Gaashaamo.

*********EDITED*************** PLEASE STOP THE PERSONAL ATTACKS Admin Somalia Online --------------------------------------------- you mentioned that the president rayale being the one of the culprit of the genocide that took place in the somaliland during the siyad barre era, well my dear lady, I have news for you, and that is there is concept known as a innocence till proven otherwise, and I am sure that you must have come accross such a concept in somewhere in the world, that is if you are in a positions to comprehend anything of that fine calibre of legal decency in your light-hearted mental grasp, which I seriously doubt in any case. Secondly, lo and behold, you seems to pronounce a judgments that depict the strugle of people as a frivolous, and their desire to established a democratic nation out of the ruins of greater somalia dream, as a something that doesnot seems to be as a serious undertaking, in your judgements, well my dear lady, a word of advise to you, please do not expose yourself, and more to the point your shallow mean-spirited mandacity for all to laugh at it, in the future, and this is a genuine advice to you dear. Lastly, but not least, if you are ever so mindful to care of the shocking reality of sothern somalia descent to barbarity, and you're feeling little bit ashame to say the least, and more to the point, you seem to genuinely have an idea of sorting out the that much-troubled land of yours, please share with us you prognosis as to how to alleviate such a disaster, but mind you dear refrain from indulging on our expense a sheer shallowness that so far defines your descriptions of what "Somaliland" is about. Far greater calculating mind than yours that others of similar disposition of yours possesed had attempted to insunuate, insults, sabotage, bad-mouth, and generally tried to be spanner in the on-going-work, so far as the somaliland destiny is concern; but sadly to no tangible avail, which could console them -however fleatingly- in the dark corner of their concious, which they used as the gathering place for the ill-deeds they habor, in-order to sulked collectively, whenever their monumental failure became too apparent to hide from others; therefore dear lady do not be ashame of your ill-intent, you just happened to joined now an illustrious crowd that had preceded you in this seedy endevour of belittling and genuinely hating anything that give a deserved "lap-Of-Honour" to somaliland and it's much-burdened-by-fate-of-cruel-history people, which are strugling against a sheer un-mitigated odd with un-surpassed dignity; and may I add without being patronised by anybody, unlike our former compatriots(southern somalia), whom un-explainably thought perhaps to salvage their dignity, they should demean themselves at the feet of others in our region, in-order to be dictated of what their destiny of their nation should be; it's trully a sad picture to behold for anyone who has any dignity in his bones and fibre, when one consider the contempt that southern somalia is being treated at the hand of the so-called regional peace summit holders such as kenyans and ethiopian; we in somaliland on the other hand would gladly given up the life of thousands sons of ours not to be visited with a such a honour-demeaning fate that the sothern somali people are going through at the moment, thank you very much, but no thanks. So take it from me dear lady as somali brother, somaliland is and will be for the forseable future the brighter shining star in the whole of that much-blighted horn of africa region of ours; and most definitely will not be turning back the clock towards something call "Greater Somalia Dreamland"; now if that is too much for you to swallow as a certifiable fact, I can certainly understand that, and I would be more than happy to drip-feed you bit-by-bit with that reality along with the morning coffee(latte or expresso!); but please dear, and oh please dear, do not expose yourself particularly your little and tenous grasp of somaliland reality, it really is unbecoming of a lady, and it's undignified for others to bare witness to!. As for the other usual crowd who congregate in here in-order to vent their spleen against the somaliland's people, as well as trying to give an intelectual veneer and credence with their never-ending obsession with the grater somalia Dreamland such as sumurai warior, baashi, hornafrik, and others too numurous to list them all in here; my soul-bearing suggestion to you malcontented lot, is to find different hobby-horse to ride; for the assure reality is that somaliland had "Moved-On", and will not be in thousand years looking backward towards those yesteryears dreamy concept that "We-proadly-Once-Held-Them-Vigorously-But-Sadly-Found-It-To-Be-An Empty Vassel" or anything that smack of as a greater somalia "Hallucinations"; and the sooner the "Somaliland-Haters" crowd in here who never get tired to preach their self-evident mendacity to unsuspecting on-line naive scripplers realised that "Destiny-Tranforming Decisions" that the people of somaliland chosed for better or for worse to undertake for all of their tomorrows is here to stay for good, the better maybe you lot will be in a position to come-up with verifiable plan to rescue what is left of your honour and dignity as a southern somalia people, as apposed to being helpless and wretched lot that are so happy for others such as kenyans and ethiopians to tell them, what their destiny as a nation ought to be about. Here is one somalilander who is hoping that you -The Obsessive Crowd- will soon smell the coffee, and will endevour to get hold of your destiny by the scruff-of-the-neck, and will make something of it, that your grand children might be proud of it. But as for somaliland a long and tortuous deep-ocean of "Destiny of our Making" is head of us to negotiate safely through, while we -As Somaliland- are on board collectively a "Ship-of-State" made of our own carpentry of political geniusness; therefore bid us god-spead -if ever that you had cared deeply about the notion of "Somalinimo"- and commended us to the angels of fair weather for the journey of our tomorrows. Regards, A Member Of The Ship Navigating Team. [ May 19, 2003, 03:26 AM: Message edited by: Admin ]

*********** In The Land Of The Living Dead ******** by Prof Ioan M. Lewis London School Of Economic(LSE), University Of London. London, England, UK. Spare a thought, as you read this, for a brave and clever Algerian diplomat called Mohamed Sahnoun. It is his job to do something that has broken lesser men through the ages: to bring some order to the deadly anarchy of the clans of the Somalis. Not only that: as the new representative of the United Nations secretary general, Sahnoun has taken on the fierce and suspicious Somalis at a time when they are more fractious, more belligerent and better armed than ever before when the warriors have swapped their old weapons for the tanks and bazookas of the cold war, and the chaos threatens the lives of millions. Nearly 80 years ago, a brave servant of the empire called Richard Corfield also tried to bring order to the Somalis, when they were in rebellion under a religious leader dubbed the Mad Mullah by the British. All Corfield got for his pains was a bullet in the head in battle and a place in the epic poetry of Somalia a bloodthirsty hymn to victory that has lived on in a society steeped in antagonism to outsiders. No doubt Sahnoun, in his high-walled villa in Mogadishu, is better protected.. But the passions that killed Corfield have not abated. THE PEOPLE THE first thing to understand about the Somalis is that they are not as other men. Richard Burton, the famous Arabist and explorer who trekked across their lands in the 1850s, called the Islamic Somali nomads a ''fierce and turbulent race of republicans''. More pungently, a Ugandan sergeant with the British forces fighting the Mad Mullah went on record as telling his officer: ''Somalis, Bwana, they no good: each man his own sultan.'' In other words, they take orders from nobody; and their sense of independence is matched by a supremely uncentralised and fragmented degree of political organisation, a kind of ordered anarchy. The basis of political allegiance is blood kinship, or genealogy. Children learn their ancestors' names by heart back to 20 generations and more. A Somali does not ask another where he is from but whom he is from. Strangers who meet, recite their genealogies until they reach a mutual ancestor the more closely they are related the more readily they unite, transiently, against others: ''Myself against my brother; my brother and I against my cousin; my cousin and I against the outsider.'' In general terms, they are divided into five or six major families of clans, sub-divided into many segments. Traditionally, their elders settled potential blood feuds between them by a strict system of compensation. Today, however, this nomadic society, with its goats, sheep and camels, has hit the age of the Kalashnikov. Every family has a high-powered weapon, and uses it; no tally of bloodshed can be kept and responsibility for violence is not clear; so the old system of reconciliation has been undermined. Even the minimal basis of order has broken down and violence is endemic. How did it come to this? Some modern Somalis like to trace their history back to the ancient world, when, they believe, agents of the pharoahs sought frankincense and myrrh from bushes on the hills of northern Somalia. (These still grow there.) But probably the best point at which to start explaining the present is the end of the 19th century, when an African army gave Italy a shock and forced a decision that still costs many lives. During the European ''scramble for Africa'', the Horn of Africa had strategic importance because it lay on the route to India and Indochina. France set up a base in Djibouti, while Britain the rival superpower set up shop in Aden on the other side of the Red Sea. To contain the French (and secure a supply of mutton for Aden), the British moved in to northern Somalia, and also encouraged the ambitious new state of Italy to colonise the rest of the Somali lands. Menelik II, emperor of Abyssinia, the land that is now Ethiopia, had a surprise in store. Italy wooed him and even supplied him with weapons, thinking it could get dominion over his country. But Menelik turned on the Italians, defeating them in battle in 1896. The important point is not the humiliation of Italy but that, in subsequent negotiations, the British let Menelik have control of the Ogaden, a huge area populated by Somalis. This decision was to trigger further wars right up to the present, and is a principal reason for the extent of the current bloodshed. THE COLONY TO generations of colonial officials in Whitehall, the British protectorate of Somaliland became a hardship post. It had its attractions: the semi-arid interior, where gazelles grazed in huge numbers among the acacia trees, became a haven for big-game hunters; and the coastal coral reefs were the world's hidden beauties. But the rebellion of the Mad Mullah (Mahammed Abdille Hasan) lasted 20 years and eventually had to be put down by air power. Subsequently, London rarely had more than 200 officials in the protectorate at a time to disturb the clans of nomads with their epic poems and blood feuds. Italy, on the other hand, took its colony of Somalia much more seriously. Italian settlers grew fruit in the fertile south and the mafia found there were profits in importing Somali bananas. Under Mussolini, Italy also took its revenge on the Ethiopians, invading in 1935 and holding on until British and Commonwealth troops arrived in the second world war. The defeated Italians later got their colony back until 1960, when it formed a democratic, modern Somalia with British Somaliland. This democracy under a succession of elected coalitions representing various clans lasted for nine years, until the army took power after the murder of the president. The ideology of the time was to try to erode the tradition of the clans, and the new Soviet-leaning military government under General Mohammed Siad Barre a former policeman and a bit of an old sweat carried out ceremonies ''burying'' the clans. But people got around that by talking to each other of their ''ex-clans'', the same old genealogical catechism in new clothes. At the same time, the trappings of a people's democracy appeared. Scientific socialism became the creed of the day. A national security service was set up under East German guidance, headed by the president's son-in-law. And Soviet advisers and weaponry stiffened the armed forces. Once again, it was an event in Ethiopia that determined Somalia's fate. In 1974, young officers overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie in Addis Ababa, and the subsequent turmoil weakened the Ethiopian army's grip on the Ogaden. The Somali clansmen there prepared to renew their campaign for independence. Siad's mother was an Ogadeni and her clan looked to him for support. In fact, despite ''scientific socialism'' and the ''burying'' of the clans, Siad's power was clan-based. By 1977, Ogadeni guerrilla forces had started to push the disorganised Ethiopian forces out of the Ogaden and full-scale war rapidly erupted between the two neighbouring states. America had traditionally been Ethiopia's superpower ally, but President Jimmy Carter was showing less interest in its fate. The Americans were withdrawing and the Russians felt drawn into the vacuum. Ethiopia, a huge state, was a much greater strategic prize than chaotic, demanding Somalia. Oddly, the Russians had also had a 19th-century fascination with Ethiopia: Ethiopian ancestry was ascribed to Pushkin, the national poet, and the Russian Orthodox church felt links with Ethiopia's Copt-like Christianity. The Russians made one of the most breathtaking acts of treachery in history, switching theirmilitary advisers from the Somali to the Ethiopian side and routing the Somali forces. The result was not just humiliation for Siad, but the arrival in Somalia of 500,000 Ogadeni refugees, many of them guerrillas with their weapons the first wave in the flood of modern weaponry that was to transform Somalia. THE COLLAPSE THE Ogaden campaign had been immensely popular and the Somali defeat prompted bitter recrimination, exacerbated by the influx of refugees and the loss of the familiar Soviet patronage. Siad naively assumed that the Americans would move in overnight to replace the Russians, but he got only defensive weapons from them. The EC also provided financial aid, urged on by Italy, which still had settlers in Somalia and some of whose politicians, it was later to be alleged, may have had a personal interest in the flow of money. Dissent was gathering momentum. In 1978 there was an attempted coup, and the organisers escaped to Ethiopia, where they regrouped with the encouragement of Addis Ababa and started cross-border raids. More significantly, in 1981 a group of exiles in London formed the Somali National Movement (SNM) in the Marlborough pub in Gower Street with the support of professionals and former ministers based in Saudi Arabia. The SNM was based on the Isakh clans of northern Somalia, the former British protectorate, where Siad's forces were becoming increasingly oppressive and discriminatory. The north was rent by grazing disputes between the local Isakh and refugees from the Ogaden, who were also being illegally recruited into Siad's forces and encouraged to take over the Isakh businesses. The point was that the Isakh were heavily involved in livestock exports to the Gulf (shades of the old Aden mutton trade), where a large number of their clansmen were also established as migrant labour, known locally as the ''brawn drain''. Taken together, these activities earned lucrative remittances for the northerners, but were not passed through the official Somali banking system. Siad and his clansmen, the ***** , progressively tried to harass and replace the Isakh entrepreneurs, and the military brutally suppressed the local people. The SNM, with Ethiopian support, began retaliatory raids, and repression increased accordingly. In 1988, there was another cynical deal. Siad and President Mengistu Haile Mariam of Ethiopia, both tottering in the face of internal dissent, agreed to stop supporting insurgents on each other's territory. Expecting to be thrown out of its Ethiopian bases, the SNM took the initiative, entering northern Somalia in strength and defeating Siad's forces. His retaliation was brutal.. His military took apart Hargeisa, the northern capital, with such ferocity that even now it is still a wasteland. Even so, Siad had lost his grip. The Isakh of the SNM encouraged other clans to take up arms. Siad, falling back on his capital, Mogadishu, desperately tried to manipulate the clan system, dividing and ruling and distributing modern weapons from his huge stockpile. The end came when another clan family, the ****** , which had long been docile clans, formed a powerful militia in Mogadishu itself known as USC. Siad turned his artillery on USC held areas of the city, triggering an extremely bloody uprising that swept him from power in January last year(1991). But that was not the end of the matter. While the Isakh clans consolidated their hold in the north, and eventually declared it independent state known as "Republic Of Somaliland" on the boundaries of the old British Somaliland protectorate, the USC forces in the south split apart. Some, under General Mohamed Farah Aideed, a former ambassador to India who had broken with Siad after exposing corrupt links with Italy, set off in pursuit of the fleeing ex-president. Others, under Ali Mahdi Mohamed, a prominent businessman, stayed behind in Mogadishu and proclaimed a separate government. The division between Aideed and Mahdi (to whom the Arabs and Italians tended to be sympathetic) degenerated into the terrible, internecine civil war that has now devastated so much of Mogadishu and southern Somalia. This man-made catastrophe has been driven on by the most readily available resource in Somalia arms. Weapons in huge quantities were left behind by Siad's forces and were bought cheaply from the disintegrating Ethiopian army (Mengistu had fallen from power, too). Weapons and ammunition were also arriving across the Kenyan border and by ship. Imports of the drug qat have played a grim role, too, in the increasingly terrible situation (see panel). THE FAMINE THE consequences of this strife are now all too apparent. Nobody really knows how many people have died in Somalia in what aid workers say is the world's greatest emergency; worse than the famine that killed 1m in Ethiopia in 1984-5. Some say 200 children die every day in Mogadishu. But how many are dying in forgotten tracts of bush 500 miles, 100 miles or even 10 miles outside the city? Some say 1.5m people (a third of the population) are starving; others say 4m. After 18 months of civil war, which has reduced Somalia to anarchy, there is no way of finding out. Foreign aid workers fear it may be too late for the hundreds of thousands left helpless, but they have set up emergency food centres to try to stop the tide of death. Baidoa was once a wealthy town, built by Italian colonists 150 miles from Mogadishu. Now pitiful figures file silently past its sun-baked Italianate buildings, drawn by news that food is there. Kurtun Warey was a huge state farm 100 miles south of the capital; French doctors have transformed it into a sanctuary for shattered survivors of the famine. Merca, on the coast, is still a beautiful town of 18th-century Arab buildings, where the Italian expatriates used to take their holidays. Now an Italian doctor feeds the thousands of emaciated wanderers. There is food to be bought; and there are boats to sanctuary in Kenya for those with money. But wealthy Somalis ignore the starving strangers. In this terrible anarchy, not only are children left to die but warlords and their gunmen commandeer the food sent to save them. Food is a strategic weapon and armed gangs have seized aid shipments. UN officials have had to recruit the gunmen as ''guards'' in effect, paying protection money to save food for the hungry. Some aid workers see only one solution: flood the country with 40,000 tonnes of food a month, so that there is so much that the price drops and the cynical merchants who have stockpiled food in their warehouses are forced to sell their hoards on the open market. The UN is trying to restore control, but two of its unarmed soldiers were shot and badly wounded in the preliminary to a looting raid on an aid shipment on Friday. THE MUSLIMS SOME reports from north-east Somalia suggest there has also been an upsurge in Islamic fundamentalism strong enough to challenge the authorities there. This region is controlled by the Majerteyn clan grouping through its army, the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF). For over a year, according to aid agency sources, the SSDF tolerated a fundamentalist group controlling the region's main port, Bossaso. They proved to be honest and efficient workers and Bossaso became the focal point for fundamentalists from all over Somalia. In January 1992, however, a visiting Unicef doctor was killed and a representative of another agency, Care, wounded while eating supper in Bossaso. The masked gunmen ran away and were never caught. Later, according to the reports, open fighting broke out in Bossaso between SSDF troops and fundamentalists who were well-trained, armed, financed and equipped, apparently with Iranian and Sudanese money. There were also reports of Saudi support for the gunmen. SSDF commanders suspected that the fundamentalists were about to make a bid for total control of the region and forced them out of the territory. Further south, in and around Mogadishu, where the militias are unsympathetic to anyone preaching against cigarettes, loose women and qat, fundamentalism is not so evident, according to aid workers. Aid workers say that fundamentalist groups offer food, money, education and clean clothes and uniforms, weapons and training for militiamen. But some Somalis suspect foreign Islamic powers of having designs on what they believe are potentially large oil reserves in the north. WHAT NOW? WITH the UN now preparing to send 3,000 troops to guard and distribute food aid, can anything further be done to pull back the Somalis from complete catastrophe? To me, the priority lies in trying to re-establish the authority of clan elders, however difficult that may appear. Although war lords will have to be negotiated with to secure entry for aid, every effort should be made to boost the clan elders by using them as food distribution channels. Their cooperation would improve security for the UN's plans to develop humanitarian aid corridors at ports along the coast and on the Kenya border, which should be amplified to achieve the widest possible distribution of food and medicine. The UN could also try giving priority to regions where clan elders have established relative tranquility. Somalia as a whole can only be rebuilt from the bottom up, as the increasingly active clan units develop common economic and other interests. In the meantime, a UN presence is needed immediately, with appropriate military support to deliver humanitarian aid. The 3,000 soldiers who are being sent may not be sufficient. The arrival of French foreign legionnaires from nearby Djibouti would be the ideal solution. Then there will be more for the UN to do, including the development of social services, such as education. The UN should also have a radio station to explain its aims and actions to the general public, who are avid radio listeners. In other words, there should be an interim UN administration, requiring the substantial and imaginative involvement of the international community and stronger efforts to reduce arms sales to the various Somali factions, if necessary with military assistance from Britain and other EC(European Community) countries. By no means least important, either, should be controlling the import from Kenya of the qat that sustains so many of the gunmen. Copyright 1992 Times Newspapers Limited Sunday Times, London, England, UK. August 30, 1992, Sunday.