Puppet regime scrambles to counter a growing and lethal insurgency

[Castro]

Somalia Makes Moves to Crush Insurgency

 

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

 

MOGADISHU, Somalia, Jan. 15 — Somalia’s transitional government shut down three of the country’s biggest radio stations today after officials accused them of airing incendiary propaganda.

 

At the same time, hundreds of government soldiers stormed into the streets of Mogadishu, the capital, as Ethiopian tanks chugged through downtown for the first time, drawing crowds of onlookers and the occasional rock.

 

It seems that Somalia’s government, which declared a state of emergency on Saturday, is intent on using its newfound powers to crush the seeds of a growing insurgency and already that has stirred clan tensions.

 

On Sunday night, gunmen attacked an Ethiopian convoy, setting off an intense hourlong firefight in one of Mogadishu’s ramshackle neighborhoods. Ethiopian troops are backing Somalia’s shaky transitional government and last month helped rout Somalia’s Islamist forces, which had controlled much of the country.

 

As the days pass, the insurgent attacks grow more frequent and more lethal. The government has not released casualty figures but residents in Mogadishu said that more than a dozen people have been killed in gun battles this past week.

 

Executives of Mogadishu’s radio stations, however, said that was no excuse to kick them off the air.

 

“All we have done is voice different opinions,” said Mohammed Amiin, deputy chairman of Shabelle Media Network. “ We never expected this to happen.”

 

Abdirahman Dinari, spokesman for the transitional government, accused Shabelle, along with the other stations, of reporting false information to stir up the people against the government.

 

“They said our soldiers were looting the markets and harassing people, which was totally untrue,” Mr. Dinari said. “They are using the media to undermine the government. They have been doing this for months.”

 

Of course, in a land of rivaling clans, there is a clan dimension to all this. The owners of both Shabelle and Horn Afrik, one of the other closed radio stations, are members of the Ayr, a branch of the powerful ****** clan, and many government officials blame the Ayr for the rising level of violence.

 

“The Ayr clan is part of the problem,” Mr. Dinari said.

 

The Ayr was closely associated with the Islamist movement, with several top Islamist leaders from the Ayr. Many residents of Mogadishu suspect that Ayr members are the backbone of the insurgency, although Ayr elders vehemently deny this.

 

So far, the most intense fighting — and the most intense crackdowns, in which government and Ethiopian soldiers have searched house-to-house — are in Ayr neighborhoods, which is beginning to fuel Ayr resentment.

 

“We are being harassed simply because of our clan,” said Abdi Ali Halaneh, an Ayr businessman who sells building materials in north Mogadishu.

 

Mr. Halaneh said many of his friends now wanted to leave Somalia.

 

“There may be no place for us here,” he said.

 

The government also closed the Mogadishu office of Al Jazeera and a Somali religious radio station, a move that some people feared could play straight into the hands of the Islamists, who have been military defeated but vowed to regroup underground. Security officials summoned station owners to a meeting on Tuesday, and Mr. Dinari said there is a possibility that the stations will soon be back on the air, after they are given a warning.

 

In the Bakara market in Mogadishu, where even the tiniest tin kiosk has a radio, shoppers and shopkeepers moaned and hissed when the music and news turned to static. Many shook their radios. Some pointed out that the transitional government a few months ago had criticized the Islamists for not allowing radio stations to play Western music, totally shutting down those same stations.

 

“Totalitarian rule has arrived,” said Asho Elmi Ahmed, a shopper. “And it didn’t take long.”

 

Mohammed Ibrahim and Yuusuf Maxamuud contributed reporting.

NY Times

[Wisdom_Seeker]

Hypocrisy is their middle name.

[Castro]

“Totalitarian rule has arrived,” said Asho Elmi Ahmed, a shopper. “And it didn’t take long.”

[Pi]

^^ Castro, I bet "shopper" here is just some sort of euphemism for a butcher, ama habar hilibka iibisa. I don't think the testimony of butchers, night watchmen, and goat-herders are credible. What do the intellectuals of the cities say? The Doctors, Professors, and literate folks? Dude, you should be a little more discriminating in your sources.

 

Taking the statements of shoppers and wikepedia as gospel truth, eh? Priceless

[Castro]

^ You can email the NY Times at letters@nytimes.com and ask them why they didn't interview the "intellectuals". Alternatively, you can call this number (212) 556-7652.

[Wisdom_Seeker]

Pi

 

Obviously he possesses the knowledge to know what Totalitarian Rule is. So there testimony is quite creditable. Those butchers, night watchmen and so called goat-herders make up the majority of the people in Somalia. It isn’t only the intellectuals who should voice their opinion. Each and every single person has the right to do so. You trying to discredit their opinion based on the level of education they had is quite disgusting.

[Caano Geel]

PI

 

I don't think the testimony of butchers, night watchmen, and goat-herders are credible. What do the intellectuals of the cities say? The Doctors, Professors, and literate folks?

Why? Don't they have mouths, brains, eyes, or are they just not *human* enough for you unless they hold 3 PhD's each.

 

-- That is just about the most arrogant, elitist statement i've read today.

[AYOUB]

Originally posted by Pi:

^^ Castro, I bet "shopper" here is just some sort of euphemism for a butcher, ama habar hilibka iibisa. I don't think the testimony of butchers, night watchmen, and goat-herders are credible.

“The Ayr clan is part of the problem,” Mr. Dinari said.

Dumb and dumber!

[Pi]

^^ LOL. People, people, it's called hadith science 101. Someone gives you a testimony about what someone else said, or about an event that happened. Believe it or not, before you accept their testimony, they have to exhibit intellectual competence (along with piety and other factors). So, I don't accept what full time goat-herders and shoe-makers say. Oh yes, this also includes animals and plants.

 

Ayyoub, is that the secessionist flag I see in your avatar. What did the SNS, spy-turned-president, Daahir Riyaale, say when he went to Ethiopian capital. I hear, he took a bouqet of flowers with him. LOL.

[Wisdom_Seeker]

^^^

 

You don’t need to hold an intellectual knowledge to know how an event took place or what someone said. Just need to be a creditable source, which could be trusted. Not every person with intellectual aptitude can be trusted. Comparing animals and plants to humans, which have functioning brains, only confirms how badly informed you are about human intellectuality.

[Caano Geel]

PI

Disagree with the satements made all u want, but dont try to discredit them simply on the basis of the number of alphabet charaters some one can put after their name. -- That's the point.

[Castro]

Originally posted by Pi:

People, people, it's called hadith science 101. Someone gives you a testimony about what someone else said, or about an event that happened. Believe it or not, before you accept their testimony, they have to exhibit intellectual competence (along with piety and other factors). So,

I don't accept what full time goat-herders and shoe-makers say. Oh yes, this also includes animals and plants.

What about part-time goat herders? And which animals or plants have been giving you testimony?

 

Single cell door****. LOL.

[Naxar Nugaaleed]

mystic and castro, good luck with your efforst to overthrow the government in SOL. Ayoub, its against SOL rules to post the name of clans. Also, you have a conflict of interst regarding this issue to be taken serously. It is to your benefit that the rest of Somalia remians in anarchy hence you support for dowladiids and terrorist. Could you be more predictable? Pi, I too, must disagree with you. Regardless of their profession, we should value the views of the common man, which i would happily accept as my title regardless of how many PHDs i hold. Elitism, is a nasty trend that stands in the way of progress for many developing nations.

[Pi]

Castro, I think the satire/sarcasm in my post went over your head. Read it again. This time slowly. By the way, Prokarayotes are simplex little creatures. But I think a thing has to satisfy the condition of being a eukarayote before I even consider its testimony. Dude, take the dunce hat off. Keep your emotions in check.

[rudy-Diiriye]

some 1 should tell these morans that it aint hip to bring ethios in mog!

 

why not just come and tell me as a somali brotha whats you beef? if u aint got no other agenda!!

 

u will only get peace when u honest with your kind! believe that or u aint gonna go no where!!

 

word!!