Militant Alliance Adds to Somalia’s Turmoil

[xiinfaniin]

July 28, 2010

Militant Alliance Adds to Somalia’s Turmoil

 

By MOHAMED IBRAHIM and JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

 

NAIROBI, Kenya — An insurgent commander based in the semiautonomous region of Puntland in northern Somalia has pledged his allegiance to the Shabab militant group, a move that threatens to destabilize a part of Somalia that had been relatively peaceful.

 

The commander, Sheik Mohamed Said Atom, an insurgent warlord, said he would fight the Puntland government until it agreed to impose strict Islamic law. His forces have recently clashed with Puntland soldiers, but it was not until this week that he announced his alignment with the Shabab, the group that claimed responsibility for the bombings in Uganda this month.

 

“Shabab are our brothers,” Mr. Atom said in a message broadcast by Somali radio stations and Web sites on Wednesday. “We are members of the Shabab, and the Shabab are members of us. We have good contacts. We are united in our objectives.”

 

Puntland is the northeastern corner of Somalia and had been spared much of the incessant warfare of recent years. It is controlled by a clan-based administration and was one of the few areas of Somalia safe enough for Western aid workers and journalists to work on a regular basis.

 

But Puntland is also home to many pirate dens and human trafficking rings. Western officials have long suspected that the Puntland government collaborates with organized crime.

 

In the past few days, Mr. Atom’s fighters have waged an intense battle against Puntland’s forces in the Galgala mountains near the town of Boosaaso. Puntland’s authorities said 13 combatants had been killed, including one of Mr. Atom’s top commanders, which Mr. Atom confirmed.

 

Still, Mr. Atom seemed unbowed. He remains holed up in the mountains and told his followers that Shariah, the legal code of Islam based on the Koran, had been given a bad name.

 

“The people have been misinformed; they were told that Shariah cuts the hands and feet, and that’s not the way,” he said. “So far, no one has had his hands or feet cut.”

 

It is not clear if the Shabab, who have carried out public executions and amputations in areas they control in south-central Somalia, are providing weapons or fighters to Mr. Atom.

 

He said that a few years ago he tried to persuade Puntland officials to impose Islamic law but that they tried to arrest him.

 

“That’s why I went to the mountains and started recruiting young jihadists and holy warriors against them,” he said.

[xiinfaniin]

Originally posted by xiinfaniin:

 

He said that a few years ago he tried to persuade Puntland officials to impose Islamic law but that they tried to arrest him.

 

“That’s why I went to the mountains and started recruiting young jihadists and holy warriors against them,” he said.

^^The root cause of this conflict

 

one man felt sharia was due, and when his sentiment failed to become a reality, he felt he needed to wage a jihaad. he went up to the mountains, recruited and prepared for war.

 

and war is what has transpired in this week. isn't that what it really is?

[xiinfaniin]

Dadka Gal-Gala oo ka Cabsi Qaba Duqayn

 

Khamiis, 29 July, 2010 (HOL) – Qaar ka mid ah dadka deegaanka Gal-Gala ee gobolka Sanaag ayaa warbaahinta Bosaaso u sheegay in xiliga habeenkii ah ay maqlayaan guuxa diyaarado joog hoose ku socda oo dul maraya buuraha Sanaag, oo la sheegay in ay ku jiraan maleeshiyaad taageersan ururka Alshabaab.

 

"Waa jiraan diyaaradahan laakiin ma jirto dukhaynno ilaa iyo hadda dhacay," ayuu yiri nabadoon Maxamed Ciise Cismaan oo ka mid ah nabadoonada ka soo jeeda deegaanka Gal-Gala.

 

Nabadoon Maxamed Ciise Cismaan ayaa sheegay in ay jirto cabsi la xirirta duqayn halkaa ka dhacda, waxaana uu tilmaamay in arintan wada hadal lagu dhamayn karo.

 

Diyaaradahan ayaa la sheegay ay u badan yihiin kuwa wax basaasa ee aan duuliyaha lahayn, Waxaana la sheegay in ay ka soo dul kacayaan maraakiibta NATO ee ku sugan xeebaha wadanka Soomaaliya.

 

Deegaanka Gal-Gala ee gobolka Sanaag, waxaa ku sugan ciidamo uu hogaamiyo Sheekh Maxamed Sicid Attam, oo la sheegay in uu yahay ninka hubka ugu badan ka gada ururka Alshabaab ee ka dagaalama koonfurta Soomaaliya.

 

Faisel Maxamed Hassan,Hiiraan Online

[Jacpher]

Despite all the well known, highly respected culumaa of PL, a recent graduate of fairly new Booasaaso University is issuing a fatwa that PL is denying the masses the right to practice Islam thus waging Jihad war. This is what I have difficult understanding. All of a sudden, they had to initiate an attack on PL authority and claim they're defending shareecada Islamka. Gee those soldiers at that check point were a symbol of the Bible in Muslim country and they had to gun them down. And in the way, they had to badmouth PL culuma in their little understanding of the deen. And someone is gonna say this ain't the hallmark of Shabaab.

 

If there are genuine grievances against Faroole admin or about regional resource conflict, certainly four hundred armed insurgency militia with questionable motives is not the way to go and find a resolution. PL has been through many qabiil conflicts over the years and I don't remember anyone claiming PL being a threat to Islam and shareeca and planting the infamous black flag. There are hundred plus ways to settle a conflict without threatening the peace and stability of the state. Seek your rights and beat Faroole through the system not fire bullets or start attacking check points. That undermines the very peace and stability PL communities fought hard for and built together over the years. Atom doesn't need to pronounce or renounce Shabaab membership. That matters little as long as his claims and actions profess an extreme ideology and doctrine as that of Shabaab.