Puntland Vs Al Shabaab .......editorial

[General Duke]

Somalia: Puntland stands united to prevent spread of Al Shabaab terror [Editorial]

15 Aug 15, 2010 - 11:58:55 AM

 

GAROWE ONLINE EDITORIAL | This is Part II of a two-part Editorial to highlight the dangers and the deceptions of Al Shabaab terrorist group.

 

Read Part I: The Al Shabaab threat and the West's mistaken policies [Editorial]

 

Al Shabaab and other terrorist groups hate any and all alternate version of current events – or even history itself. Al Shabaab hates the fact that fellow Somalis are witnesses that the Somali people can self-govern, become productive and move forward in the direction towards representative governance with security and justice mechanisms to ensure continued growth in terms of social development, economic progress and political stability. Indeed, Islamic law is and has always been the basis of all law across Somalia – and Puntland is no exception.

 

Following Puntland's historic 2009 election, Al Shabaab terrorists at first became disappointed that the Puntland clans did not massacre each other – a common feat in south-central Somalia, where the terrorists exploit the delicate balance among the clans, always favoring the clans that feel "neglected" or "repressed" in order for their classic divide-and-rule tactic to succeed. Secondly, Al Shabaab's disappointment transformed into anger as Puntland's elected leadership quickly and efficiently reorganized the security forces, reformed public institutions, and stabilized the economy. Indeed, Puntland's President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole inherited a State in shambles and accomplished remarkable feats within a short period of time. Al Shabaab's evil plan to destabilize Puntland "from within" was quickly falling apart – as the State rose high, Al Shabaab's grandiose plans sunk low.

 

 

Being the bloodthirsty hounds who wreaked havoc in Mogadishu, Al Shabaab resorted to the only thing they know: bombings and assassinations. The Farole administration in Puntland has endured an unprecedented wave of attacks targeting government officials, soldiers and even notable civilians – all intended to create a sense of confusion and terror among the public that government institutions were failing. But the people of Puntland stand united against the spread of Al Shabaab terrorist cancer cell.

 

On 26 July, Al Shabaab fighters hiding out in Galgala hills, southwest of Puntland's commercial city of Bossaso, attacked a Puntland army base at Karin on the tarmac road towards Bossaso. Puntland troops fought back, killing 13 militants and capturing one of the top commanders. Puntland's government blamed the Galgala militants for the assassinations of Puntland government officials in Bossaso and other towns. Indeed, the undeniable truth had come out finally: the Galgala militants are agents of Al Shabaab. They were doing two types of hiding: 1) they were hiding (physically) in mountains, ahead of a government military offensive; 2) they were hiding their intentions under the clan banner.

 

Al Shabaab's spokesman in Mogadishu went out of his way to claim the Galgala conflict is a "clan conflict" and that Al Shabaab is "not involved in Puntland." What contradictions! This violent group's public utterances have repeatedly condemned Puntland's government and have repeatedly threatened to attack Puntland. Why then, did this group of terrorists go out of their way to distance themselves from the Galgala militants?

[General Duke]

Al Shabaab hate Islam

 

Every Al Shabaab member, supporter or sympathizer in Puntland must be shot and killed. There is no reform available for this group of terrorists. This is a cancer that is attempting to spread to every corner of Somalia. Puntland's strategic location – across from Yemen via the Gulf of Aden – makes it ideal for terrorist groups to want to hide, knowing fully that the world will not sit and watch and that the day is coming soon when Al Shabaab members will be hunted down in every village of Somalia.

 

In the Noble Qu'ran, Allah (the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) says: "With regard to a Believer, they respect not the ties, either of kinship or of covenant! It is they who are the transgressors." [9:10, Noble Qur'an]

 

In April 2010, the largest Islamic conference held inside Somalia took place in Garowe, the capital of Puntland. Attended by more than 50 Somali Islamic learned scholars from all regions, such as Puntland, Somaliland and Mogadishu, the conference's peaceful and successful conclusion was a blow to Al Shabaab: the war in Somalia is not jihad, the scholars concluded. Immediately, Al Shabaab condemned the Islamic conference and threatened the participants. This is because Al Shabaab terrorists hate Islam and only want to use our Holy Religion for personal and political gain in order to keep their suffocating Grand Lie alive – they wish to continue spilling Muslim blood, misleading Muslim youth to fight endless wars, just because they want to maintain power, money and prestige atop the corpses of innocent civilians.

 

Is there any part of Somalia under Al Shabaab control that such truly Islamic conference can take place? The answer is a resounding no. Al Shabaab's foreign leadership is not in Somalia to protect Islam. Nor are they able to get into a theological debate with Somali Muslims or other Muslims' learned scholars about religious topics. They are cowards who fled their own countries, who deceive and cheat, kill innocents and sip tea with their wives. They are killers for whom the act of killing has no meaning. If Al Shabaab's leaders had the keys to Heaven, they would have been the first to die. But they continue to run and to hide from American Tomahawks that are surely coming, cowering at the prospect of a fate similar to cowardly terrorist Salah Nabhan who was hunted down and killed like a dog by American commandos after hiding for many years in southern Somalia. Al Shabaab must pay for its crimes.

 

Those Somalis – both inside the country and in the Diaspora – who support Al Shabaab for personal financial gain or for clan reasons must revisit this terrorist group's brief history in Somalia to understand that they value no life except their own or respect no one except their own personal desires for blood, power, money, and prestige. Remember those pour souls in Mogadishu – civilians, politicians, journalists alike – who supported Al Shabaab for personal financial gain or clan reasons who are today buried in shame, for their own deception killed them.

 

Those in Puntland, who think even for a second that the Galgala militants are fighting a "clan war" or "protecting natural resources" have already fallen into Al Shabaab's trap of deception. Rest assured that there is only one prophetic truth: Puntland will win this war.

 

Just don't stand on the wrong side of history.