Mogadishu Man Blog

[BiLaaL]

#Blogging from Mogadishu.

 

Mogadishu Man

 

I find it hard to believe that this guy is actually blogging from Mogadishu but at least his entries are quite interesting - although his simplistic analysis of events in Mogadishu too often lets him down. To be fair to the guy, this piece on some of Al-Shabab's campaings aimed at winning the hearts and minds of the people is a pretty good one.

 

Judge for yourself.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Nice. I will check it around.

[London2010]

Well you can check through his IP address where he is located.

[Jacaylbaro]

I don't think that Mogadishu Man is actually living in Mogadishu. He is probably somewhere else but i also find his entries quite interesting.

[BiLaaL]

More interesting entries from Mogadishu Man. Enjoy.

 

Al-Shabab: 1977-78 War Veterans Recalled

 

March 2, 2011 by Mogadishu Man

 

They marched towards the battlefields – at the peak of their prime – overflowing with patriotism and driven by irredentist beliefs and territorial expansion. With guns slung around their shoulders and ardently miming the mellifluous melodies of patriotic songs, the devoted Somali soldiers had one definitive goal in mind: the annexation of ******ia or Western Somalia in order to create a Greater Somalia. Today, however, after more than three decades of inaction, the veterans of the 1977-78 Somali-Ethiopian war are singing a different tune and are driven by different motives.

 

After having survived their sanguinary adventures, the veterans now vow to fight in the name of God to fend off the traditional foe. Burning with vengeance, this time kindled by Al-Shabab’s rapidly spreading ideological beliefs that have engulfed much of Southern and central Somalia, more than 30 of the 1977-78 war veterans from the border region of Gedo have unanimously agreed to join the ranks of Al-Shabab in a move that is considered to be a huge political gain for the Islamists.

 

Sheikh Mukhtar ‘Abu Mansoor’ Roobow, one of the senior leaders of Al-Shabab, along with the fervent preacher, Sheikh Fu’ad Mohamed Khalaf, are said to have had extensive meetings with the veteran soldiers in Garbahaarey, Gedo’s regional capital. Urging the soldiers to participate in the battles against the Ethiopian troops along the Somali borders, Abu Mansoor called out to the thousands of people that gathered at the scene to welcome the Islamists:

 

“Today I once again call out to all the soldiers who participated in the war [1977-78] to come and support the Mujahideen. He who used to operate a tank would, by the will of Allah, be able to operate a tank once again; he who used to fly a fighter jet would, by the will of Allah, be flying a fighter jet soon. We need to stand together.”

 

 

Speaking on behalf of the veterans, Major Hassan Hirsi Nur “Hassan Takbir” addressed the media:

 

“As veterans of the Somali republic now living in Gedo, we have hereby unanimously agreed that, from this moment onwards, we stand alongside the Mujahideen in their fight the infidels.

 

After witnessing the increasing amount of infidels from Uganda and Burundi who are now present in Mogadishu, as well as Kenyans and Ethiopians waging war along our borders, we have decided to take part in the war so that we may defend our religion and our country from the infidel invaders.”

 

A different tune indeed. And slightly discordant with the former patriotic melodies that they went to war with. It is not the first time, however, that the Somali veterans have been called to duty. During 2006 when Ethiopia intervened in Somalia to break up and dislodge the popular wave of the Islamic Courts Union that had ruled Southern Somalia for a ‘peaceful’ six-month period, the veterans picked up arms alongside the Islamists. Taking into account that they had enough military experience, the ICU leaders soon awarded the veterans some leadership roles that allowed them to manage battalions, weapons and supply routes. This, however, proved to be detrimental to their cause as the Islamists were soon dismantled and sent running into the forests of Lower Juba.

 

But Al-Shabab, the military wing of the ICU in 2006, has evolved since then and the group seems to have learnt quite a few lessons from Ethiopia’s rapid invasion and the Islamists’ subsequent defeat. Building upon this experience, it may be highly unlikely that any leadership positions– whether military or political – would be granted to the veterans. Benefiting from their expertise, however, though a bit rusty by now, along with the huge publicity on the political podium, the Islamists would most likely use the veterans as instructors and mid-level trainers.

 

This, of course, is still a burning issue and is being played out on the political tables and throughout media, but if the veterans remain true to their word and join the Islamists, it stands as a clear evidence, despite the Western countries’ vehement denial, that Al-Shabab’s ideology has penetrated not only the ‘susceptible’ minds of the young, and often enthusiastic, youth of Southern Somalia, but tribal elders and even former soldiers of the Somali Republic.

 

By undertaking this perilous path of ‘Martyrdom for the sake of Allah’ the veterans, who, because of the old system of governance can often be irascible and hard to manage, have to get used to some new ways of fighting, modern guerrilla tactics and would perhaps have to brush up on their old skills. During their time, Somalia was a blossoming nation with a booming metropolis. Today, after more than two decades of conflict that has descended the country deeper into an abyss of seemingly perpetual darkness and despair, the Somali state has withered; its vibrancy has faded and that youthful exuberance has now lost its glow. But the question still remains, can the veterans restore Somalia’s glory?

 

To Burundi: A Prisoner’s Message

 

February 27, 2011 by Mogadishu Man

 

Dear Readers,

 

This is a rough translation of the Burundian prisoner’s Message as broadcast on Mogadishu’s radio stations yesterday. It must be noted that I have translated the message using the ‘Somali’ translation that was broadcast on the radio stations, not from Burundian language. I will try to upload the original audio message (and a video if I get it) of the Burundian soldier so that readers can verify the translation.

 

 

My name is NZOBONANTUMYE THERENCE and I come from Burundi. My father’s name is ANDREA JEBARIKO and my mother’s name is VERONICA NDEREYIMANA. I am part of AMISOM’s SA ONZE battalion. I came to Somalia to fight Al-Shabab but ended up being their captive. I was captured on TUESDAY 22-02-2011.

 

A colonel by name of URATUZA ordered us to go to Somalia in order to fight the Islamists. But when we came to Somalia and engaged AL-Shabab in battles, we realized that they were indeed dangerous and we could not defeat them. After our offensive against the Al-Shabab on Tuesday, the battle quickly intensified and many of our soldiers were killed and injured. In that disarray, the rest of the soldiers retreated and left me behind. And as soon as the soldiers deserted me, Al-Shabab soldiers captured me and then took me to one of their military compounds. That is where I am now

 

To The Burundian Soldiers in Mogadishu:

 

My advice to the Burundian soldiers is that you should refrain from waging war against Al-Shabab and the reason why I say this is because I am certain that you will never be able to defeat them. After we launched our offensive against Al-Shabab on Tuesday morning I would estimate that the number of Burundian soldiers killed in the battle to be about 50 in number. As for me I was captured alive by Al-Shabab and I am still alive and doing well. I warn you against waging war with Al-Shabab because you are fighting them in their own land and thus will never be able to defeat them.

 

I would also advice you to stop shelling the Somali population because whenever you shell populated areas, it is always the innocent civilians that become the victims of your shelling. As a result, when I fell into the hands of Al-Shabab, they transported me in a car and took me to a compound where many people were gathered and waiting for me. They wanted to kill me on the spot. They hurled all sorts of things at me but the Al-Shabab soldiers protected me from them. They were all angry with me and the reason for their anger is our constant shelling of innocent civilians.

 

To The Soldiers in Burundi:

 

I want to send this message to the soldiers in Burundi. My advice to you is that do not let your generals and seniors deceive you and lure you to fight in Somalia, because the rewards and the money that they promise you will eventually be of no value. Once you arrive in Somalia the only thing that awaits you here is death. As soon as we arrived in Somalia, we were sent into battles and I was captured in one of those battles along with many other soldiers. What we saw here in battles is gruesome, so I would advise you not to be deluded by your generals. The little provision that you receive in the safety of your homes is better that the fortune that would cost you your lives.

[GoldCoast]

This is quite clearly a propaganda page created by an AlShabab sympathizer that is targeted towards an English language audience. There is zero objectivity in any of the posts, and its entirely created to place AlShabab in a good light. The flowery rhetoric sounds eerily similar to a distinguished AS supporter on SOL lol.