Uncertainty as Somalia’s Kismayo port falls to Islamists

[Koora-Tuunshe]

Given the verifiable reports of rape, checkpoints and ethnic cleansing in the city for the last 8 years of power struggle over the control of the city between rival clans, I speculate the government will allow the city to be temporarily ruled by the Islamists based on the Djibouti Accord as a pilot program for the evenual withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from the rest of Somalia and the consolidation of the TFG's authority in the whole south.

 

 

Uncertainty as Somalia’s Kismayo port falls to Islamists

23 Aug 23, 2008 - 4:10:13 PM

KISMAYO, Somalia Aug 23 (Garowe Online) - The strategic port city of Kismayo, in Somalia’s deep south, was reportedly calm on Saturday after heavy battles in the preceding days killed upwards of 50 people and wounded more than 164 others.

 

An alliance of militias loyal to local clans and the Islamic Courts movement are maintaining control of the security situation, according to a Radio Garowe correspondent and local sources.

 

Col. Barre Hirale, Kismayo’s former warlord-ruler and a member of the Somali parliament, had reportedly reached parts of Gedo region.

 

Two trucks manned by MP Hirale’s gunmen that “ran out of gas” were burned by Islamist fighters who were reportedly pursuing the fleeing warlord, according to witnesses.

 

Upwards of 50 people were killed in two days of fierce fighting inside Kismayo, with hospital director Dr. Ali Hassan confirming to Radio Garowe that 164 wounded people were admitted for treatment since Thursday.

 

An Islamist military officer who spoke with Radio Garowe on the condition of anonymity described the situation as “very calm,” adding: “The local people have welcomed Islamic rule.”

 

He said MP Hirale and loyal militiamen “fled and are being chased.” He claimed that Islamist fighters seized some of Hirale’s armored trucks.

 

Radio Garowe asked the Islamist officer whether or not Sheikh Hassan Turki – a well-known Islamist commander – is inside Kismayo.

 

“No, no…He is part of the jihad, but I cannot say where he is,” the source added.

 

He claimed that Islamist fighters now control “the road linking Kismayo to Mogadishu,” which is a 500-kilometer stretch spanning the regions of Lower Jubba, Middle Jubba, Lower Shabelle and Banadir.

 

Islamist commanders are scheduled to meet with the region's traditional elders tomorrow, according to the Islamist officer and a clan elder.

 

Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the United Nations Special Envoy to Somalia, condemned the latest violence in Kismayo and called on all sides to respect "humanitarian law." [ READ: UN Envoy condemns deadly violence in port city]

 

Kismayo has been the scene of clan-based violence since the early 1990s, when Gen. Mohamed Farah Aideed repeatedly attacked the town valued for its strategic port.

 

Another warlord, Gen. Mohamed Hersi Morgan, defended Kismayo from Gen. Aideed’s military advances and ruled the town during the mid-1990s.

 

In 1999, an alliance of clans led by Col. Hirale invaded Kismayo and dislodged Gen. Morgan from power.

 

In September 2006, as the Islamic Courts rose to power, Islamist fighters seized Kismayo and forced Col. Hirale and his clan militia to flee, until they were expelled by Ethiopian-backed government troops in January 2007.

 

A month after Ethiopian troops withdrew, Somali government troops divided along clan lines and battled for control of Kismayo, with Hirale’s clan militias successfully capturing the port town and expelling the government-appointed regional administration.

 

Informed sources tell Radio Garowe that the militias who now control Kismayo allied with the Islamic Courts movement after the Somali government "neglected" local clans, who were subject to "clan domination" under Hirale's reign.

 

People interviewed by Radio Garowe on Kismayo streets said they welcomed the change, with several interviewees accusing Col. Hirale's militiamen of "subjugating" the local unarmed population.

 

Abdullahi Yusuf, president of the Ethiopian-backed Somali interim government, long ago declared that Kismayo is not under the government's control.

 

It is not clear what Yusuf's government will do about Kismayo, a town that has changed hands many times in recent years.

 

But Islamist fighters now control many towns across Somalia, including the town of Bal'ad, which is located 30km north of the capital Mogadishu.

 

Source: Garowe Online

[Member-sol-]

You are day dreaming my friend if you think the shabaab will simply hand over control of kismaayo over to Yeey and his thugs.

 

 

almost all of the islamic groups on the ground have already rejected the Djbouti accord, and sh. sharif actually condemned the fighting in kismaayo.

[Koora-Tuunshe]

Daalibul' Ilm, the Islamists in Kismayo are quite moderate and they're not purely comprised of Al-shabaab group.

 

Time will clarify the uncertainty about the future of Kismayo and the whole south in General.

 

Somalia – August 18 Djibouti Agreement

 

The United States welcomes the implementation phase of a process begun by the Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia to promote peace and stability in Somalia. The August 18 signing of the Djibouti Agreement by representatives of these two groups officially starts this crucial phase. We thank the government of Djibouti for hosting these important talks, and the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General for his leadership in facilitating them. The United States was represented at a senior level at the talks to demonstrate support for the process. The United States reaffirms its support for rapid deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Somalia, and calls on all Somalis who seek peace and stability to support implementation of the Djibouti Agreement.

 

2008/659

[Jacaylbaro]

I speculate the government will allow the city to be temporarily ruled by the Islamists based on the Djibouti Accord as a pilot program for the evenual withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from the rest of Somalia

How so ??

[Fabregas]

Originally posted by Koora-Tuunshe:

[QB] Given the verifiable reports of rape, checkpoints and ethnic cleansing in the city for the last 8 years of power struggle over the control of the city between rival clans, I speculate the government will allow the city to be temporarily ruled by the Islamists based on the Djibouti Accord as a pilot program for the evenual withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from the rest of Somalia and the consolidation of the TFG's authority in the whole south.

 

 

Hayay even Kore? when did the tearwrists hiding behind religion, fanatical, anarchists, looters, etc, become rather moderate?

 

Pilot scheme? does the tfg know what that is? They might think a diyarad is coming for them, wadanka laga dhofinaya .

 

JB;