The locals will never be part of that delusional "somaliland" that does not even have the ability to come up with a new name than the one given to them by their british colonizers, and also the territory they claim as theirs but have never conquered it themselves, as if they inherited it from their father, give us a brake.

Despite the redrawal of puntland troops from dhahar, i doubt the locals will chose to be a part of somalidiid than their Puntland and rest of somali brethrens. So enjoy this little moment while you can "somalilanders"

Why are these pigs fighting among civilians in an urban area? They are cowards that's what they are. Why can't they take this sh!t out in the wilderness and meet the ethiopians and Tfg troops Mano-a-mano like the Eritreans did or the Afghan Pashtuns against the soviet? The reer Moqdishu have no respect what so ever for their elders, kids and women. Typical! They kill a few ethiopians and drag their bodies for some days of satisfaction and some little show off, but for what cost? like 400 civilians dead just for a handfull of Ethiopians, the imbecils are bombing, shooting and using mortars in their own living room, and some people have the audacity to call them "brave". Nothing bravery about them, only cowards take fight to their home and sacrifice their mothers and sisters in battles to save their pathetic skin. One would think that they would have learned a lesson from 1993 about fighting in densly populated areas when Americans killed some 1000 Moqdisho residents while losing only 18. But i guess if you're born as a mindless carcass who can't make a distinction between the head and the @ss then you're doomed to live as one the rest of your life.

I seriously hope this is propaganda news, because no President can be this weak. If this is true he could atleast go to either Baidoa or Garowe not Ethiopia because this can send wrong signals. http://www.aayaha.com/viewpage.php?articleid=4659

Pathetic! Regardless if he killed his own people or not by acting as arab, this guy is going no where than hell if he believes in it. What a loser! The imbecile actually thinks that he will get to a place of total joy and fun by killing other innocent people, I seriously feel sorry for him.

Bashir Goth and Mr Togane have a point. It's time for us to analyze the somali problem. Just look at Moqdishu and how it was transformed from a healthy city to its current state during a time of only a couple of years, while the northern cities that were barren-land during siads regime, have grown without outside help, this alone speaks volume on where the somali problem lies, very clearly. And for those who say that bashir goth should apologize to the moqdishu residents, all i have to say is pleeaze put the pipe down and sobber up, if anything its them who owe a major apology to the somali people who they've destroyed their name forever with their barbarism.

****************** [ March 22, 2007, 12:38 AM: Message edited by: Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar ]

LOL actually no one sent those pics to me, i got those pics myself from other websites. I posted them so to see the reaction of the secescionists. I must say im disappointed, i thought they would have tried to confirm that this was indeed hargeisa (considering how much they love to brag on how SL is more advanced than the south). But damn i should have checked that hargeisa wasn't a port city before i posted those pics, a big blunder from my part

Well most of the pics are from berbera, only the first one is from his neigbourhood in hargeysa.

A friend of mine from Hargeysa sent me this pic today of his neighbourhood from his city hargeysa, i must say i'm impressed. Looks very nice, and more developed than i ever imagined, i think i might invest in a house there in the future. Keep up the good work Somalilanders.

Since somalia is a big trouble nation of Africa, then Uganda has its obligation to lead it on the right track. Even though i know the diplomatic work at hand here between US and Uganda, and that the country is a begger nation lol. But it still serves our national interess so it's worth it despite their short time motives.

Originally posted by peacenow: First of all, who are you? A Kenyan? What are you doing here. Go and grow your qat leaves. Its the only industry you brainless people have. Somalia would be a great country, if only bantus and aids ridden ethiopians, would not get involved. Their desires are motivated by jealously, for they know what the somali people are capable of in business. I'm not a kenyan i'm a somali, my nick says "keynan", you might wanna check those eyes, lol And as for ethiopians and kenyans motivation being based on jealousy, that might be true. But the other truth is that somalia has personally aidid these countries agenda by eating itself from the inside for almost the last two decades. You need to accept that those days over. You can help revive the strenght of somalia through means of reconciliation and solidarity, not by promoting mindless actions such as insurgency and further destruction of this fragile nation. just focus on the real issues of somalias current problems, your rage is a bit misplaced.

Lying is unislamic........nobody was invited to Somalia.........Abdullahi Yusuf and Geedi do not have the authority to do so........ living in a state of anarchy is the islamic way, right? Gheedi and Yusufs government is the only authorised government of somalia, like it or not.

Stop making a mountain out of a mow hill. Real occupation was when somalia was ruled for 16 years by gun totting teenagers high on khat. The neighbouring soldiers who are present in the troubled region of Moqdishu are invited by the legal government of the country, which hardly qualifies as an occupation. I can't believe in this day and age with all the records of failure in somalia we still have people promoting insurgency and other acts of mindless destruction, when thats the last thing this god forsaken country needs. as socrates said, its the people who make the city with such reactionary mentality among somalis, no wonder its the only failed semi-anarchistic state in the 21st century. Somalis should learn how to sacrifice, and grow the hell up for once.

David letterman: what a lame comeback Zanzibar didn't come under Omani rule untill 1698 long before that place was founded as a trading city and Benadir coast rule only started in the 18th century yes, but the swahilis existed before omanis colonizing those coasts. Todays swahilis are an amalgation of persians, arabs and native stock. Didn't you read the parent post about the Bazrangi persians who settled in east Africa before the advent of islam? fact of the matter is when Mogadishu was included in the Name ''Swahili'' it's definition was the original arab word for coast or ''shore'' it was simply a geographic sobriquet covering multiple groups of people and not a ethnic name of a single group like it is today Again moqdishu is a name derived from the persian language and existed way before the arabs settled their (before islam). The bazraghi family that were expelled by the pathans from persia were the first people who founded communities in this area which latter flourished and became the powerfull trading cities of Moqdishu, brava and kismayo among others during the middle ages. Somali n9omads were no where to be seen at that time. however the northern regions of todays somalia was inhabitated by somalis, such as Zeyla, Bender khasim etc. And also the muslim states of Ifatand Adal before being destroyed or annexed by the Abyssinians. At it's height the famous explorer that visited the Trading civilization of Mogadishu in the 13th century identified the ruler as a Berberi( the named used exclusivly for cushites) and not by a different name First of all "cushitic" in modern times is a linguistic term not ethnical/racial and was coined by joseph greenberg in the 19th century so to describe non-semetic speaking groups in the horn, and for sure Ibn battuta never used this word in his accounts when he came to somalia in the 13th century. Secondly Berber was a very broad name used by arabs so to distinguish the non-arabic speaking people of africa who were not negroids. This included northern sudanese the maghrebians, tuaregs and even somalis be it the settlers of the swahili coast and the pastoralist somalis, there is no single passage in his book where he goes into physical details which could tell us that this were somali nomads rather than the somali swahilis. coming with Pictures of Somali citizens who are descendants of recent migrants and portraying them as the founders of trading communities that were present in that area long before there ancestors in Omani knew the skills of maritiming is the same as me claiming the Rashaida arabs of Eritrea are the ones who built the Axumite Obelisks very poor analogy, the rashaida of eritrea have the same lifestyle as ethnic somalis, both are nomads who don't have the incentive to settle and create cities unlike the axumites and the swahilis who had sedentary societies. Also the rashaida fled to Sudan and eritrea less than a century ago after the Saud clan captured the whole of todays Saudi arabia and the Rashaida clan belonged to one of the Sauds rival clans. Anyway the persians didn't only settle in east africa, they also colonized part of spain. This was by the shirazi family during the sasanian period. Another shirazi group also migrated to the eastern african coasts, the stream of people was always taking place to the swahilli coast from the Bazrangids who first settled to the Shirazis, and latter different arabs tribes including the omanis. The Persian Empire was ostensibly replaced by a sort of a “Federation of Islamic States” (FIS) in East Africa. It is ethnically known as the Shirazi city-states or Daulat Zinjibar (The Zanj Empire), otherwise the Swahili city-states. The FIS started after the migration of Shirazis from the southern part of Iran to the East African islands. Their migration to Zanzibar is supported by the ceramics excavated by Neville H. Chittick (1923-1984) at Unguja Ukuu, the oldest city like Shiraz, the oldest city in the province of Fars before Tehran in Iran. The present Zanzibar city was first settled by Sultan (Mwinyi Mkuu) called Hassan bin Abdullah and later modernized by Sayyid Said bin Sultan (1791-1856) from Oman. Centuries before Chittick's excavation, a series of the Shirazi migration is supported by the Kilwa Chronicle. It reports that the Muslims, who fled from Shiraz due to severe famine, settled in Kilwa where they found mosques and Muslim families already settled there. Ali bin Hassan al-Shirazy found a mosque where a Muslim, Muriri bin Bari was buried. Other Shirazis settled in Zanzibar, Pemba, Tumbatu and the Comoro islands. Professor Thomas Irving stated that the Daykes from Borneo made settlements in Madagascar, now called Malagasy or Malay Republic. The leader of the Shirazi immigrant Muslims to the East African islands was Hassan bin Ali, the former Sultan of Shiraz. He came with his Ethiopian mother and seven sons, according to Arabic text but six sons in the Portuguese version. He also came with his friends and neighbors. Among his sons were Ali, Muhammad, Bashat, Sulayman, Hussain and Daud. When Ali bin Hassan became the Sultan of Kilwa in 956, he established the FIS with his brothers who settled in other East African islands, similar to another Shirazi group as Professor Thomas Irving said that they founded the city of Shiraz or modern Jerez in southern Spain between Cãdiz and Seville, deriving their strength from the eighth century Persian regiment which was sent to suppress the Great Berber Revolt of 740 in North Africa You can see shirazi from the map, which was kinda of the same persian city/state as Moqdishu.

Swahilis of Somalia Their ancestors are the ones that founded these ancient trading cities in southern somalia, that's the way it is David letterman.

These are the real Swahili Swahilis of zanzibar

David letterman you're too emotional, and it's never a wise thing to have a discussion with people controled by emotions rather than reason and wisdom, but i'll try anyway. Swahili was not a centralized polity and Swahili people were not a homogeneous stock of people. Well it doesn't really matter if swahilis were not unified or homogeneous people, the point here is that southern half of somalia was runned by swahilis, and somali nomads had no impact be it socially or economically on these mini swahili states. Infact it wasn't untill post 15th century that somali nomads appeared on the scene. Or are you claiming that cities like Brava, kismayu and Moqdishu were established by somali nomads? The horn of Africa was also know as Al Habash or Zanji, it was a geographic name not a Kingdom or an Empire just like bilad Al Sudan ment the land of the blacks and Ethiopia in ancient times ment everything South of Egypt Yes habash but not Zanj. Zanj is a´ctually a pejerotive term that describes the negroid slaves from mozambique, tanzania and kenya. It basically denotes the bantu slaves and is derived from zanzibar, which was a notorious slave outlet for arabs who needed slaves. Somalis were not known as Zanji. Ibn Battuta identified the Sultan as a Berberi Somalia was known as the land of the Berber north of Zanji. Ajuuranites were there since the 14th century, the people claiming we weren't there are the same people claiming we are a hybrid race because of their own sinister reasons Berberi is anyone who looks afro-asiatic and not negroid, the somalis fit in to this description, and so do the swahilis, so this doesn't tell us much does it? The benadir coast was controlled by the persians, omanis and mixed with some native stock. the people claiming we weren't there are the same people claiming we are a hybrid race because of their own sinister reasons Relax, no one is trying or interested in conspiring against somali nomads, these swahili states havent had no real impact on the overall global history, they are not that significant for anyone to bother going through such an effort. So let me get this straight; remains of Ancient Somalis are found in NFD, ruins of Ancient graves and tombs are found in Northern Somalia with the same phenotypes as Somali people,explorers differentiate between the Berberi's and others and call it the Land of the Berbers, yet you want to claim we weren't there despite the area on the far South of Southern Somalia and on the North of Southern Somalia were inhabited by Somali people and tottally surrounded Mogadishu? How do you know that these remains are from "ancient somalis"? Oromos in particular the boraan have been roaming around in somalia waay before somali nomad started expanding from Ethiopian region. And there is no real difference in cranial morphology between inhabitant in this horn region. truth will come out one way or another, i piety you if you don't question the motives of those that tried to link everything great with foreigners and exclude the natives There is nothing to pitty, facts are facts regardless if you don't like them. You on the other hand need to be less emotional, and try to appeal to your logic when analyzing historical incidents.

David letterman: How could they be the founders of a Trading Empire that predates their existance as a polity? You do know that the southern half of somalia was a swahili entity and wasn't inhabitated by somali nomads before the 15th century? The somali expansion south and east came very quickly and recently. The swahilis however have been in this region way before the 6th century AD. PS. those greek names from the peripulas of the Aerythrean sea are from the first century AD and it doesn't name the ethnicity in this region of somalia, so we can't be for certain that these people who inhabitated the land were the same as modern somalis who today live there.

Bazrangids The Bazrangids (also known as Bazrangi or Badhrangids) were an ancient mountain-dwelling Iranian tribe that established a maritime empire outside the Iranian plateau. Their first major overseas possession entailed Mazun (present-day Oman) and the port of Suhar became the region's capital. By the end of the 1st century BC, most of the islands of East Africa were annexed by the Bazrangids. These islands entailed Socotra, Zanzibar, Pemba, Mafia, Combolo/Comoros and Madagascar. By the 1st century AD, they became the dominant maritime power in the Indian Ocean with headquarters at newly-founded ports from Madagascar to Somalia. Origin and history The Bazrangids were the local rulers of Persis (present-day Fars) and Carmania (present-day Kerman) as clients of the Arsacids (Parthians). They were expelled from their original home in the Middle East by the Parthians. Gocihr, the last king of the Bazrangids, was deposed by King Papag in 205 AD. In the late 3rd century AD up until the early 4th century AD, the Sassanians conquered Mazun and other regions on the southern coast of the Persian Gulf. Eventually, the Sassanid Empire managed to push the Bazrangids into East Africa. The Bazrangids managed to survive in East Africa for 500 years after their exile, but not without complications. As a result of their exile, the Bazrangids had difficulties establishing new trading outposts in the Persian Gulf Basin and the Arabian Sea Basin. In order to overcome their losses, the Bazrangids began to expand eastward. They established maritime outposts on the coastal regions of India, Indochina, southern China, and the eastern Pacific Ocean. Navigation logs that date back to 110 AD indicate brisk levels of trade between the Bazrangi ports located on the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and in East Africa.[1] Colonies of Iranian peoples settled extensively on the East African coast and established commercial settlements on the islands during pre-Islamic times.[2] Due to the dominance the Bazrangids had over East Africa, the area they settled became known as Bazrangibar, which means "Bazrangi coast". The name was eventually shortened to Zangibar and was slightly altered etymologically to produce the word "Zanzibar". The African slaves that were marketed from Bazrangibar were known as zangi or zingi, which means "a native from Zangibar". Today, both words are seen as pejoratives for black Africans who speak Middle Eastern languages. In East Africa, the Bazrangids founded many colonial cities in the Zanzibar archipelago, as well as on the mainland. The cities of Zangibar and Manda were soon rivaled and surpassed by cities like Mombasa, Malindi, Brava, Mogadishu, Kisimayu, and the Bazrangi colonial capital of Kilwa Kisiwani. The capital city was located south of modern-day Dar es Salaam. The Kilwa Empire stretched from the Horn of Africa to Mozambique and included settlements from Madagascar, the Comoros, the Seychelles, and the Zanzibar archipelago. The Kilwa Empire became an independent entity after Ardashir I of the Sassanid dynasty conquered its parent Bazrangi state in southern Persia in 224 AD. Emperor Ardashir's successor, Shapur I, annexed the southern shores of the Persian Gulf, as well as the region of Muscat on the Indian Ocean. This led to the removal of all final vestiges of Bazrangi independence on the Asian continent. In the middle of the 5th century AD, the Sassanians took great interest in continuing the Bazrangi maritime enterprise. The Sassanians gained from the Bazrangis control of the sea routes in the western half of the Indian Ocean.[3] This continuing interest, however, would have certain negative implications for the Bazrangids. In the middle of the 6th century AD, the Sassanid Empire managed to conquer Yemen from the Ethiopian Empire. This conquest effectively cut off the East African Bazrangids from all of their Middle Eastern trade routes. Afterwards, the Bazrangids of the Kilwa Empire began to search for new markets since the Sassanians controlled the ports and markets of Persia and Arabia. By the 7th century AD, Persian colonies were flourishing in south China, the East Indies, south India, and East Africa. Currently, there is little evidence to prove whether the Sassanians dominated the maritime trade and the colonies in East Africa, south China, and Southeast Asia. The numismatic evidence on exhibit at the Beit al-Amani Museum at Zanzibar city includes four Parthian coins and one Sassanian coin with Ardashir I from the mint at Ctesiphon. The Bazrangids expanded eastward and engaged in commerce with India, the Malay archipelago, and even regions of south China. The Malabar coast in India etymologically means "Malay coast" in modern Iranian languages, such as Persian and Kurdish, and has a parallel meaning to the word "Zanzibar". The extent of the Kilwa Empire could have very well reached the Philippines. The name of the third largest island in the entire Filipino archipelago is called "Palawan/Pahlawan", which means "hero" in Middle Persian. This word is used in all of the languages of Southeast Asia. Zoroastrian fire temples within the Kilwa Empire were preserved as a result of Bazrangi custodians. Sassanian sources, which include rock inscriptions and documents, discuss how the Bazrangids served important custodial functions at the Great Temple of the goddess Anahita in Istakhr (near Persepolis). The Kilwa Empire prospered even during the early Islamic era. However, the capital city of Kilwa was under siege by members of the native populations of East Africa. The city fell and nearly 2000 of its inhabitants were devoured in a single week. In 980 AD, the Zanj Empire was founded by Ali ibn Hasan and succeeded the Kilwa Empire. Recent archaeological excavations in the old Kilwa imperial sites such as Unguja Ukuu, Tumbatu, Mtambwe, and Mkumbuu are shedding new light on the history of the Bazrangid founded Kilwa Empire and its status as a maritime power. ................................................. Btw Moqdishu's initial name was mak-da-shah, which litteraly meant in the bazrangid language "The seat of the shah".

Originally posted by Taliban: 3 questions for you: 1. Do you support Sharia'? 2. Do you support the ICU? 3. Do you identify yourself as a moderate or Islamist? I assume this question is directed to everyone. 1. NO 2. Absolutly not. 3.Extremely moderate

Because you don't have a better alternative at the moment. Anyway there is no proof of abdullahi yusuf being involved in the disgusting slaughter of somali civilians and the man made famine in the south and moqdishu region during the 90's. He was busy building peace in puntland during this period, so calling him a mass killer is a bit dishonest and misplaced.

David_Letterman: Allthough i don't support Somaliland as a seperate state i do recognise the great progress some of these leaders have made for their people without foreigners unlike the Dirty traitors your supporting And what alternatives do you have? Sitting in the west and spewing diarrhea through the internet will not change the reality on the ground. Either you come up with a feasible alternative which could break the political stalement in somalia and then go down to implement it, or you keep quite and enjoy the spectator seat while these men are doing their jobs.

Originally posted by raadamiir: ^^^stop posting your filthy propaganda!!! How dare you compare your dirty war-lord to his excellency President Abduallhi Yusuf? Yusuf wasn't involved in the Cival War that destroyed Somalia and killed half million Somalians. His history is well done your BS wouldn't go war on SOL. Puntland state of Somalia,in the north east of our country is booming,and has been peaceful for years thanks to his excellency President Abduallhi Yusuf. You guys lack of knowledge for the President is really saddening. And you guys ask why does he have hardcore supporters? Well said! Abdullahi yusuf never participated in the massacres and mayhem that was a daily routine in the south and became the signiture of Muqdisho for the last 16 years. While this area was pillaging and eating itself from inside, Abdullahi Yusuf was creating peace in the northeastern region of somalia. And now suddenly these jokers are trying to tell us that Abdullahi yusuf is behind the self-inflicted destruction of Muqdisho and its outskirts. Pleeaze, if anything he should be credited for being the man who'se working towards lifting Muqdishu from the cesspool it has found itself wallowing in, for the last 16 years. A little appreciation of his almost impossible work wouldn't hurt, he could just leave the god forsaken region of Muqdishu to its eternal misery if he wanted, you know.