Touring Baydhabo

[Che -Guevara]

Ciidamada Itoobiya ee Baydhabo ku sugan oo halkaas geeyay suxufiyiin si ay u tusaan xaaladda Magaalada

 

 

Isniin, Maarso 05, 2012 (HOL) — Ciidamada Itoobiya ayaa waxay magaalada Baydhabo ee gobolka Bay geeyeen suxufiyiin kala duwan, si ay u tusaan xaaladda magaalada oo ay toddobaad ka hor ka qabsadeen Xarakada Al-shabaab oo muddo saddex sano ah ka talinaysay.

 

Taliyaha ciidamada Itoobiya ee ku sugan Baydhabo, Jen. Yohanes Gaber Georges oo la hadlay wariyeyaasha ayaa sheegay inaysan wax dagaallo ah oo buuran dhicin markii ay qabsanayeen Baydhabo, marka laga reebo weerarro gaadmo ah oo lagu soo qaaday.

 

Wariyeyaasha ayaa waxaa loo keenay koox odayaal iyadoo ay meesha ku sugan yihiin ciidamada Itoobiya si ay fikirkooda u dhiibtaan, waxaana qaarkood oo hadaly ay sheegeen inay dhibaatooyin badan kala kulmeen Al-shabaab.

 

"Al-shabaab waxay na gumeysanayeen saddex sano iyo 12-maalmood, qaar badan oo naga mid ah waa la dilay, kuwo kalena waa la barakiciyay. Dhallinyaradeennana waxay ku qasbeen inay ku biiraan ciidamadooda, waan soo dhaweynaynaa gacanta ay ciidamada Itoobiya ka geysteen in Al-shabaab laga saaro Baydhabo, waxaana ka codsanaynaa ciidamadu inay sii joogaan," ayuu yiri oday ka mid ah kuwii suxufiyiinta la hadlay.

 

Siyaasiyiinta ayaa rajeynaya inay gobolka Bay ka dhisaan maamul goboleed, iyadoo xildhibaan ka mid ah kuwa hoggaaminaya dagaalka lagula jiro Al-shabaab uu sheegay inay jago siinayaan Sheekh Mukhtaar Roobow haddii uu qoriga dhigo.

 

"Inta aadan fiirin cadowga oo jago qaadanaya, waxaad eegtaa sida uu isku bedelay hoggaamiyihii maxakamadaha Islaamka, Sheekh Shariif Sheekh Axmed oo ay horay ciidamada Itoobiya xilka uga tuureen haatanna ah madaxweynaha Soomaaliya," ayuu yiri xildhibaanka oo aan magaciisa la sheegin.

 

Ciidamada Itoobiya iyo kuwa dowladda ayaa waxay kala wareegeen Al-shabaab degmada Baydhabo bishii hore dhammaadkeeda, iyadoo weli ay deegaanno ku dhow degmadaas ku sugan yihiin xoogagga Al-shabaab.

 

Maxamed Xaaji Xuseen, Hiiraan Onilne

maxuseen@hiiraan.com

Muqdisho, Soomaaliya

 

 

http://www.hiiraan.com/news/2012/Mar/wararka_maanta5-17177.htm

[Che -Guevara]

N they say TFG is in control-what farce.

[Jacaylbaro]

:D ....

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

Touring ku ye meesha ma dalxiis bay u tageen

 

 

Che let's wait for the new mamuul goboleed in bay and bakool.

[Che -Guevara]

^Maybe they are taking pics so folks on SOL can post them here:D

[Abwaan]

Xaaji Xunjuf;798983 wrote:

Touring ku ye meesha ma dalxiis bay u tageen

 

 

Che let's wait for the new mamuul goboleed in bay and bakool.

 

loool...Ma nin Itoobiyaan ah baa loo magacaabayaa baa la yiri?

 

Che -Guevara;798986 wrote:

^Maybe they are taking pics so folks on SOL can post them here:D

[Che -Guevara]

^lool@Abwaan mayee iyagaa wax magacaabaye

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Somalia conflict: Visiting al-Shabab fallen stronghold

 

The Ethiopian army - along with Somali pro-government troops - has recently captured the key al-Shabab stronghold of Baidoa.

 

The BBC's East Africa correspondent Will Ross was one of the first journalists to visit the town since its seizure from the Islamist militants.

 

The dark red berets of the Ethiopian army are back in Baidoa.

 

At the airstrip, there was plenty of military might on display: hulking tanks, heavy artillery and dozens of alert troops.

 

We are told Somali pro-government soldiers were backed by the Ethiopians as they seized the town from al-Shabab but it is clear who is the dominant partner in this relationship.

 

Inside Baidoa's presidential palace there are signs of the just departed Islamist militants. The walls of this battered, squalid building are covered in jihadist graffiti - mostly images of guns apparently drawn by very young al-Shabab recruits.

 

"They preach to them, so these kids think only about jihad," says Ethiopian army Capt Mahammud Yissak.

 

"We saw very small guys between eight and 12. They had been in the al-Shabab training camps. They ran away and we welcomed them. Some of them were used as couriers to plant explosives."

 

'Colonised'

 

On display in the compound were the ingredients of the brand of terror preferred by al-Shabab these days: detonators, batteries and switches for bombs or mines that can be set off by remote control.

 

Nearby were several technicals (the four-wheel drive vehicles with machine guns mounted on the back) that had been captured from or abandoned by al-Shabab.

 

The militants put up little resistance when the tanks and troops closed in on the town but since then al-Shabab has promised blood in Baidoa.

 

It is extraordinary to think that just over three years ago Somalis were cheering on the streets as the Ethiopian army made its very public withdrawal from the country.

 

That incursion ousted the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which controlled much of the country.

 

But the Ethiopian presence became so unpopular - partly as a result of the shelling of civilian areas of the capital, Mogadishu - that it then helped trigger the rise of the more radical al-Shabab.

 

"Never again" was Ethiopia's view on another major military incursion in Somalia, but - with al-Shabab threatening the stability of the entire region - it felt forced to act.

 

On an embedded visit with the Ethiopian army, it was always going to be hard to gauge the sentiments of Baidoa's residents.

 

In front of Ethiopian soldiers a group of elders stroked their henna dyed beards as they spoke to the media.

 

"We welcome our brothers from Ethiopia. We work with them. We've had many meetings with Ethiopian commanders to help stabilise this place," says Moalimu Ali.

 

"Al-Shabab colonised us for three years and 12 days. So many of us were killed or displaced. They forced our youth to join them. We are telling them to leave al-Shabab."

 

Hearts and minds battle

 

Al-Shabab's extremist views and its appalling handling of the recent famine make it widely unpopular amongst Somalia's population.

 

This certainly dilutes any hostility there might be to Ethiopia's current intervention.

 

It was a very different situation in 2006 when the ICU had brought a degree of peace to this troubled nation and had considerable support.

 

Ethiopia's military action back then was strongly backed by the US that feared the rise of the Islamists - a position Washington might regret now in view of what has happened since.

 

But is there a danger of Ethiopia getting bogged down in this complicated conflict and once again being portrayed as an unwanted foreign force?

 

"I don't think so - we don't want to stay long," says Capt Yissak.

 

"We want to stabilise Somalia. After the country has settled we'll leave. People are asking us to stay for a long time. Our government says stay until peace comes, then we go back.

 

"We are training the government police and military, and after they've become strong we will leave."

 

But there are signs that Ethiopia may find it hard to win over all the hearts and minds.

 

Al-Shabab has warned businesses not to co-operate with the new men in charge, and many shops have remained closed.

 

This is partly because people feel the battle for Baidoa may not be over. It is not clear how long the Ethiopians will stay, so there is a fear that al-Shabab could return and carry out retribution.

 

Fighting, not talking

 

In February 2006, Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) set up home in Baidoa as Mogadishu was too dangerous.

 

The country's third-largest city then fell into the hands of al-Shabab in January 2009 - straight after the Ethiopians had withdrawn.

 

One man who is glad to be back home is Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade, a former minister in the TFG and a local MP.

 

"I was the last out of Baidoa when the government left and I was the first one to return. I am happy to be back… but many things are destroyed," he says.

 

"It's like Baidoa was hit by an earthquake - al-Qaeda is like an earthquake.

 

"People are requesting the Ethiopian troops to stay for a long time. People have become free in the last 10 days. Now they need a lot of humanitarian support," Mr Habsade adds.

 

He is amongst the politicians of the Bay and Bakol region hoping to establish a self-governing state under a federal government.

 

But would al-Shabab fighters, like the senior commander Sheikh Mukhtar Robow who is from Baidoa, be welcome to join that administration?

 

"Not only Robow. All of them would be welcome if they leave the terrorists, changed their way of thinking and came to live peacefully."

 

Before dismissing the idea of an al-Shabab commander rising to help run a legitimate administration, it is worth remembering what became of the head of the UIC after the group was swept from power by Ethiopian troops. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is now Somalia's president.

 

For now though al-Shabab appears to be more focused on fighting than talking.

 

Just hours before I flew into Somalia, al-Shabab fought for hours in an effort to capture Garbaharey, 150km (95 miles) to the west of Baidoa.

 

Then hours after I had left Somalia there was an explosion in Baidoa, and the authorities rounded up dozens of men on suspicion of al-Shabab links.

 

The militants are weakened but they are not finished.

BBC

 

How sad. Xabashii ayaa maanta 'liberators' Soomaali u ah. Xataa see u kibirsanyihiin hadalkooda laga dhadhansan karaa. Watch the video on the BBC website with this article.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Somalia City a 'Disaster Zone' After Extremists Flee

 

Flying to Baidoa in a vintage Ethiopian Airlines plane is an adventure in itself. The pilot negotiates a corkscrew landing to avoid possible mortar fire. The airport is heavily guarded.

 

Much of colonial-era Baidoa is in ruins left from the war that toppled Somalia's last functioning government in 1991.

 

A two-minute drive from the airport lies the bullet-scarred shell of Baidoa's colonial-era palace. The graffiti-covered walls, adorned with a black al-Shabab flag, testify to the extremists' recent presence, and their links to al-Qaida.

 

Now, this once-splendid mansion is Ethiopia's command post. General Yohannes Woldegiorigis says the compound was captured without a shot.

 

"There was no resistance. They were displaced and ran away from the bases,” the general said.

 

A statement from al-Shabab said the departure from Baidoa was a “tactical retreat” and it promised to return.

 

As if to remind Baidoans of their power, the extremists left behind a few surprises. Army Captain Mahamoud Yssak displays crude bombs and remote detonators found by advancing troops.

 

"They use these things for mortars to shell. This is a shelling point. This is also a switch. So this thing is improvised explosive device," Mahamoud said.

 

Ethiopia's last military push in Somalia ended badly in early 2009. Al-Shabab successfully portrayed the Ethiopians as Christian invaders out to destroy Somalia's Islamic culture. But now, Captain Mahamoud Yssak says after three years of harsh rule in which al-Shabab refused to allow food aid to reach Somali famine victims, Ethiopians are being welcomed back.

 

"Al-Shabab, they did many wrong things to people. They [didn't] allow NGOs [aid groups] to come here. There is drought, there are no [aid groups] here. So this is why people hate al-Shabab," he said

 

At a briefing for reporters, clan elders likened the damage inflicted by al-Shabab's rule to an earthquake. Elder Maalim Ali Badheere said no aid organizations had arrived since al-Shabab's departure, and he appealed to the international community for urgent disaster relief.

 

“A lot of people are dying. They are hungry and thirsty and in desperate need of international assistance," he said.

 

Regional governor Abdifatah Mohammed Ibrahim says long-term military aid will also be needed to prevent al-Qaida-linked forces from making a comeback.

 

As the governor showed reporters truck-mounted machine guns captured from fleeing Shabab fighters, he said the extremist threat could only be eliminated when their fighting force is destroyed.

 

"You know the character of al-Shabab. They like to fight, hit-and-run. So I think they will be back. They are [just] hiding here, under trees," the governor said.

 

Ethiopian officials remember the unpleasant end to their last stay in Somalia. They have promised to leave Baidoa as soon as conditions are stable. But the extremists have not been defeated, they have only melted into the countryside. Stability appears to be a long way off.

VOA

 

There is another video on this site as well.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Baidoa emerges from shadow of al-Shabaab

 

Asli Hassen Gonni’s crime was serving government-backed soldiers their supper. Her former customers, Islamist extremists ousted from their stronghold in Somalia, forced the ageing woman to shut her business.

 

“They terrorised me by telephone,” she says, three days after fleeing from the town of Luuq by night to nearby Baidoa. “They said: ‘Are you not a Muslim, why don’t you run away, why don’t you go to a refugee camp?’.”

 

African armies have chalked up sizeable military successes in jihadi-controlled south-central Somalia in recent months. In response, the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab has deployed death threats, guerrilla attacks and reasserted an alliance with al-Qaeda.

 

International leaders, keen to root out global terrorist networks and end piracy bred in Somalia, hope local representation and a more inclusive government in the capital Mogadishu will deliver stability. But the country, a failed state for more than 20 years, is preyed on by clan divisions, warlords and corrupt politicians as well as terrorists.

 

Ms Gonni fled to Baidoa, a regional capital, which is the latest and most important al-Shabaab stronghold to fall to Ethiopian troops who have led operations 250km deep into Somalia’s territory, along with government-backed militias.

 

“Al-Shabaab is very weak, it is split and in different places,” says Ethiopian commander Brigadier-General Johannes Woldegiorgis. Even so, his troops were ambushed as they passed ten towns along the way, mortar attacks are regular and heavy artillery and tanks protect the airstrip.

 

Ethiopian commanders now bed down in a ramshackle palace, with crumbling Italianate arches and pink bougainvillea, that has been occupied by successive regimes. Al-Shabaab, which fled 12 days ago, forced the last government out in 2009. Graffiti reveal jihadi preoccupations: scrawled Kalashnikovs do battle on the walls; crayon sprays of bullets attack helicopters above dirty mattresses.

 

Foreign incursions have previously resulted in disaster, as when Ethiopia beat a hasty retreat in 2009. Ethiopia has a history of war with Somalia and ethnic Somalis at home, and rights groups say its forces murdered, raped and looted civilians in Somalia, prompting a backlash that spawned al-Shabaab. “Somalis were picking up their cheque books and guns in support of al-Shabaab not because they embraced the vision but because they were rallying against the Ethiopians,” says academic Ken Menkhaus.

 

Some accuse Ethiopia of wanting to balkanise Somalia to prevent ethnic nationalism spilling across its borders. Ethiopia, which offered journalists escorted visits to Baidoa nine days after taking control of the town, insists the country has “learnt lessons” and can overcome “propaganda”. Officials say they are set on securing regional stability and will hand over to UN-backed African troops once lasting institutions and a new local government are in place. That could take years.

 

Ethiopia’s latest incursion avoids Mogadishu and operates through Somali proxies, training flip-flop-wearing militias in the arid Ethiopian scrub and offering civil service courses in the Ethiopian capital, hopeful that fighters will one day turn administrators.

 

In Baidoa, women in billowing pink headscarves wander the streets sucking on ice lollies, crossing paths with armed troops stationed at corners of the pretty town, but most of the brightly painted shops advertising everything from spare parts to mattresses remain shut.

 

“Nowadays people don’t like al-Shabaab, they are supporting us,” said Mahamud Yissak, an Ethiopian captain mindful of the previous botched invasion. He says people have given troops food, water and exposed al-Shabaab members in hiding.

Amina Ali is among those delighted al-Shabaab has gone. She says the group killed 25 family members, including her sister. Others say the group taxed them into poverty, brought famine by banning most foreign aid and oppressed women.

 

“They preached to us that we must cover the face, not even the eyes were allowed to be shown,” says Ms Ali. A diplomatic source said al-Shabaab offered a “light footprint” in the region, however. Despite pressure to halt female education, a girls’ school stayed open throughout, and Ms Ali did not cover her face.

 

Al-Shabaab has repeatedly sought allegiances with disgruntled, underdog clans. It offered stability and, through Islamism, a unifying nationalism, both of which have long evaded the UN-backed government holed up in Mogadishu. Its fighters in the Baidoa region were also recruited from the main local clan, the *****.

 

“Baidoa is the city with the most al-Shabaab supporters; most people left with al-Shabaab,” says Mohamed Mubarak, a Somalia analyst, who warns that the group will take over once more when Ethiopia retreats. Mana Houdow Osman, 40, sent her teenage son to Mogadishu to avoid recruitment, but like Baidoa’s elders she believes in a strict Islamic state. “Since we are true Muslims we need Sharia law,” she says.

 

“We like the al-Shabaab fighters. We are Somalis, let them come back,” says Maalim Ali Barre, an elder, his beard hennaed orange in keeping with tradition. “But the foreign [jihadi] fighters – we don’t want them to come back.”

 

Accentuating splits between Islamist leaders loyal to home populations and foreigners pursuing global jihad may be key to a peaceful outcome. Recent international efforts have focused on setting up a defectors’ fund and pouring money into local stability initiatives.

 

Mohamed Habsade, a local parliamentarian, says he would welcome the peaceful return of Mukhtar Robow, a fellow ********* clansman and al-Shabaab leader who previously saved his life thanks to clan ties. Cutting resources from the Islamist group is also important. Everything from bananas and charcoal to aid and taxes have kept warlords and al-Shabaab in cash and power. A new ban on charcoal exports could deprive them of $15m a year. Ports and market taxes generated up to $100m a year, much of which was lost when peacekeeping troops recovered Mogadishu last year.

 

Experts hope an emergent state of federal regions can prise away al-Shabaab support one clan at a time, starting, perhaps, with Mr Robow.

“Politics [in Somalia] is like selling peanuts,” says an Ethiopian diplomat. “They sell to the better buyer.”

Financial Times

[Che -Guevara]

Seriously, how did Baydhabo and Beled Weyne benefited from Woyane occupation other than allowing stooges like Haabsade return? What do people that support this tell themselves?

[The Zack]

^LOOL.Stop it already!

[Che -Guevara]

^I heard you changed teams and joined this group,

[Abwaan]

Che -Guevara;799379 wrote:

Seriously, how did Baydhabo and Beled Weyne benefited from Woyane occupation other than allowing stooges like Haabsade return? What do people that support this tell themselves?

Xaabsade was carrying a cane on the latest Baydhabo pictures not an AK47...Although he is not perfect at least he is an MP who represent dadka degaanka one way or another ee who does Shongole represent? Ninkii horta meel ku sheeg....Aaway idaacadihii uu shacabka uga dhaaran jirey oo dhihi jirey car Muqdisho u guura? Dadkii Xamar bay ku laabteen ee ma uu ka celin karaa Iska-hadle?

[The Zack]

Che -Guevara;799386 wrote:

^I heard you changed teams and joined this

group

,

You understand that the video you are referring to is two years old, right? Lol plus non of those in the video are really from that region in question, let them take $ from Iley and confuse him.

 

That is besides the point. Why are you against the Xabashis in Baydhabo again? Because you want to be "consistent" haye?