Kismayo War Imminent; Kenya Deploys Special Forces

[Somalia]

Kenya has been out shined by Ethiopia in penetrating Somalia nice and hard but will she be able to finish the job this time around? I think she is in for a nasty surprise if she comes later than him. :eek:

______________________________________________

 

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Kenyan military officials in Somalia are planning to attack the port city of Kismayo, which is a stronghold of the militant group al-Shabaab.

 

In October 2011, Kenyan forces invaded southern Somalia with the stated purpose of dismantling al-Shabaab. The forces are part of the African Union Mission in Somalia.

 

Kenya signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Union in June. U.N. Security Council Resolution 2036 four months earlier authorized the expansion of AMISOM from 12,000 soldiers to just more than 17,700. Under AMISOM's policy, 5,000 Kenyan forces were reassigned to Sector 2, Middle and Lower Juba, to work alongside troops from Sierra Leone.

 

The Kismayo assault comes as Somali members of Parliament prepare to choose a new president under a U.N.-brokered peace plan in an election scheduled for Monday.

 

In August militant al-Shabaab Islamic insurgents lost control of Merca, Somalia's third biggest port city after Mogadishu and Kismayo, to AU and pro-Somali government forces.

 

With 2,050 miles of shoreline on the Indian Ocean, Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa, and analysts state that the capture of Kismayo will boost Somali government revenue and improve trade between Somalia and the rest of the world.

 

Two months ago Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga appealed to the United States and European Union for fiscal assistance for a "final onslaught" by on Kismayo. Kenya first sent troops under AMISOM command in 2011, with Nairobi justifying the deployment by stating that it wanted al-Shabaab defeated because the militants threatened its Kenyan security.

 

Kismayo is al-Shabaab's last stronghold in Somalia after the fall of Marka and Afmadhow in the Juba area, The Star newspaper reported on Tuesday.

 

In 2011 al-Shabaab, which is affiliated to al-Qaida, withdrew from Mogadishu after heavy fighting with AMISOM and Somali government forces. As Kenyan AMISOM forces have moved through southern Somalia, al-Shabaab has mostly avoided engaging them in direct combat.

 

Kismayo may prove different however, as it is the center of al-Shabaab's finances. Al-Shabaab may prove unable to repel a direct assault however and analysts say that its guerrillas may continue to disperse to rural areas in southern Sudan or to other countries in the Horn of Africa.

 

There are worries that al-Shabaab may choose to use targeted killings in Kismayo if they believe that they are losing the city to terrorize the city's occupants from co-operating with AMISOM, especially as these types of retaliatory attacks have been increasing in the capital Mogadishu and accordingly AMISOM must be prepared to protect the civilian population if this tactic is employed in Kismayo.

 

The Kenyan Somali deployments have given the Kenyan contingent of AMISOM combat experience beyond previous perceptions of its being a relatively untested "career army" that might soon gain experience in urban guerrilla warfare should al-Shabaab decide to defend Kismayo. As a result of its AMISOM Somali deployments Kenya is becoming an important element in an increasingly successful, coordinated regional effort to address security problems, which ultimately may provide Somalia's Transitional Federal Government the political and economic space it needs to consolidate its progress in Somalia.

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2012/09/05/Kenya-readies-Somali-Kismayo-attack/UPI-32781346868314/#ixzz25fwvYLmb

[Somalia]

African Union troops are massing near the port city of Kismayo for the final onslaught to seize control from Al-Shabaab militants in their southern Somalia stronghold.

Reports indicate that African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops, supported by Kenya Defence Forces attack helicopters and naval ships, have reached Harbole, a town near Kismayo.

 

The troops are said to be waiting for approval from their commanders before launching Kismayo attack.

 

The allied forces have since Friday attacked Al-Shabaab strongholds near Kismayo forcing the Al-Qaeda-linked militia to flee to other areas. (READ: AMISOM says 36 militants killed)

 

KDF spokesman, Col Cyrus Oguna, said on Monday that AMISOM forces were ready to take over Kismayo.

 

“Al-Shabaab are doing everything to slow down our movement but they will not stop it. We know that this is not a walk in the park. We are not at the beach enjoying ourselves.

 

“We are prepared to have casualties and this is a price that our gallant soldiers are ready to pay,” he said.

 

Other military sources told the Nation that the AMISOM forces were planning to seize the town this week.

 

The forces, which include Kenyan, Ugandan and Burundian soldiers, are fighting alongside the Somali army to remove Al-Shabaab from its remaining stronghold.

 

Ground attack

 

Military sources told the Nation that the Kenyan troops, which are in charge of Sector II, are facilitating the ground attack from the south as well as a naval assault while the Ugandan and Burundi contingents were moving in more ground troops from Mogadishu.

 

The commanders at the weekend attended a series of meetings at Karen Staff Training College in Nairobi and flew back to Somalia.

 

British experts are said to have facilitated the meetings also attended by AMISOM Commander, Lt. Gen. Andrew Gutti.

 

Earlier last week, AMISOM spokesperson Eloi Yao told Nation the battle for Kismayo was being delayed by the deployment of troops, a necessary step to exchange old boots with fresh men.

 

Col Oguna said Kismayo was still in Sector II, which is under the operation area of Kenyan forces. The fight for Kismayo involves maritime, air and ground forces.

 

The Special Operations Regiment (SOR) that is made up of Rangers Strike Force identified as 40RSF and Special Forces (SF) known as 30SF has also been deployed.

 

SOR is the youngest regiment in the Kenyan military and is based in Gilgil. Although joining SOR is voluntary due to the extreme and dangerous nature of its training, only the best recruits are picked.

 

Soften targets

 

In the past few months, the Kenya Navy has attacked Kismayo in “shaping-up operations”, which are meant to soften targets and destroy key installations that the enemy forces could employ to defeat the attackers.

 

The Kenya Army has deployed its troops from most of its branches, which include infantrymen, armour, engineers, ordnance, medical corps, signals, transport, air calvary and artillery to ensure that the troops are self-sufficient for months.

 

In his tweets, military spokesperson Emmanuel Chirchir said Special Forces (SF) were involved in the rescue of three of the five missing KDF men during the battle for Miido town.

 

“The search and rescue operation lasted Saturday afternoon,” Col Oguna told journalists.

 

Source: Daily Nation

[Somalia]

 

Not more than a month ago the largest factions in southwestern Somalia convened in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to form Jubbaland State. The new federal state will cover the provinces of Gedo, Lower Jubba, and Middle Jubba, with its capital still undecided.

 

Half of the proposed state of Jubbaland is controlled by Al-Shabaab militants, and the other half is controlled by the loosely allied factions now contributing to the new state.

 

History of Jubbaland

 

Jubbaland is by no means a new idea. Much in the same way that large swathes of the Levant covering the Jordan River were once referred to as Trans-Jordania by the British colonialists and later became into its own state, Jubbaland started out as the Trans-Jubba colony as known to the Italians.

 

For most of its history, the Trans-Jubba regions were a battleground between native and foreign clans vying to rule the entire span of the river. Under successive Somali governments the disputes over the region came to a halt and peace prevailed.

 

The short-lived peace between independence and the ouster of former Somali dictator Siad Barre was replaced by renewed competition over the Jubba River regions. After ousting competing clans from the seaport of Kismayo, General Mohamed Said Hirsi ‘Morgan’ made the first modern declaration of Jubbaland State in 1998.

 

Shortly after the announcement, General Morgan himself was ousted from Kismayo and forced into a brief exile. He made an attempt several years later in 2001 to briefly retake Kismayo, but was sent packing again. For the next half-decade Kismayo would be in the hands of another ex-military man, Col. Barre Aden Shire Hiiraale.

 

In 2006, the Union of Islamic Courts (ICU) came crashing into the Jubba River regions from their place of origin in Mogadishu. The ICU, with help from native clans, seized Kismayo and all of the Jubba and virtually all of the towns and cities leading up to Kismayo.

 

After a short rule in Kismayo, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia with support from Ethiopia, the United States, and local clans invaded Kismayo and pushed the ICU remnants into a small enclave on the Ras Kamboni archipelago. The conquering TFG militias were from clans related to Jubbaland’s founder General Morgan. The news didn’t sit well with Col. Hiiraale’s clan, who are found in large numbers in the Gedo region.

 

After a few weeks in power, the TFG militias were forced out of Kismayo, and power returned to Col. Hiiraale. He would rule Kismayo from February 2007 to August the next year, until the militant wing of the former ICU known as Al-Shabaab would come to take Kismayo–again, with the help of local clans. In the Jubba River regions, there is never a shortage of local clans willing to take any side to oust their rivals from power.

 

The new Jubbaland

 

Since 2009 the efforts to form a united Jubbaland State were stepped up. Several competing factions, new and old, came into play. Even foreign powers were invited to the new rush to Kismayo. But without a cohesive strategy, all of the factions vying for power were no match for Al-Shabaab.

 

In the lead-up to Somalia’s new post-transitional government, the divisive strongmen of Jubbaland came together and agreed to form a state. Signing the agreement were the Sufi militants Ahlu Sunna Wal-Jamee’a, the Azania State faction, the Ras Kamboni Brigade, the TFG, and the Ethiopian-backed militias from Gedo.

 

The agreement, signed in Nairobi, was meant to put aside all differences but each faction says it will rule Jubbaland and collect the revenues from Kismayo seaport. Competition over the past twenty years in the region has always been about the revenues from the main seaport, and no side is willing to share the meager gains.

 

With the approval of Somalia’s new constitution today and the approval of Jubbaland as a new federal state, there is immense pressure on the Jubba regions not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

 

DissidentNation.com

[Malika]

Oh Somalia! How you have been abused, torn, raped, bombarded, neglected,tormented, humiliated, disregarded,exploited,mismanaged , corrupted etc etc by not only your sons and daughters but by everyone that sees the opportunity to do so..Oh Somalia!

 

*sigh*

[Yunis]

Somalia;864961 wrote:

 

History of Jubbaland

 

General Mohamed Said Hirsi ‘Morgan’ made the first modern declaration of Jubbaland State in 1998.

The conquering TFG militias were from clans related to Jubbaland’s founder General Morgan.

 

DissidentNation.com

 

;;))DissidentNation you really want pull this one? hope Morgan doesn't read this crap and try again

[DoctorKenney]

It's hard to imagine that 1 year ago, Al Shabaab was literally firing rockets at Villa Somalia in Mogadishu. The TFG was weak and surrounded by these militias.

 

What a difference 1 year makes

[Somalia]

Yunis;865027 wrote:

;

;))

DissidentNation

you really want pull this one? hope Morgan doesn't read this crap and try again

I am confused, are you denying what's written in the article or do you not like the source? :eek:

[Yunis]

^^^you really asking that? the real question is - which one of you Mr. Fingerless boyz writes these comedy sketches for DissidentNation

[Somalia]

Oh loool, you are saying I wrote it? No man, but it's remarkable that you are not disputing the premise of the story but who wrote it

 

I want to ask, what will happen when or if AMISOM takes it, I have been told there will be no federal state and the interim president will appoint temporary governor like in Hiiraan, Galguduud, Bay and Bakool and areas under Ethiopian control.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Malika;864975 wrote:

Oh Somalia! How you have been abused, torn, raped, bombarded, neglected,tormented, humiliated, disregarded,exploited,mismanaged , corrupted etc etc by not only your sons and daughters but by everyone that sees the opportunity to do so..Oh Somalia!

 

*sigh*

Waa laga gudbi doonaa marxaladaan, Eebbe ha idmo. Soomaali u sacabtunta ama dabasocota shisheeye hadda uguma horeyso. It happened during Sayidka's time; it happened again in '40s and '50s. Taas waaka soo gudubnay, Rabi mahadiis. Now kuwa Soomaali ku sheega ah u sacabtumaayo Xabashada iyo Kuukaayadaan, from Soomaali Galbeed to Gaarisa, waa laga gudbaa mar dhow.

[Somalia]

MOGADISHU, 6 September 2012 (IRIN) - Hundreds of civilians have over recent weeks fled the Somali port city of Kismayo, where tension is rising amid sporadic shelling by the Kenyan navy in the run-up to an African Union military operation to dislodge Al-Shabab militants from their last stronghold in the country.

 

Some 800 people left Kismayo between 30 August and 6 September, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which tracks population movements in Somalia.

 

Attack imminent

 

“Business is not doing well because many of my customers fled,” a Kismayo shopkeeper told IRIN by phone.

 

“I used to make sales [equivalent to] about US$20 every day before, but I now earn about $10,” he added.

 

Those fleeing to other places in Lower Juba “appear to be doing so on a short-term basis as they temporarily return to Kismayo for different periods to safeguard livelihood assets, and are likely to return to Kismayo if the situation normalizes,” UNHCR spokesman Andreas Needham told IRIN.

 

Needham said Al Shabab “restrictions on movement of people and vehicles out of the city” might explain why the numbers of people leaving was not greater. He also noted that many of Kismayo’s residents had already left during various bouts of military activity over the past five years.

 

“It would appear that most of the people remaining in Kismayo are business people and who were intending not move outside the city,” he added.

 

Those who have fled recently, according to the Missionary International Service News Agency, include “entire families … old people [and] women and children, [who] fear being caught between two fires. Everyone knows that the attack by Somali and African forces on the city is imminent.”

 

Ongoing shelling

 

The Kenyan navy has shelled the city on several occasions, most recently on the first weekend in September. Kenyan officials said the shelling was directed at Al-Shabab positions.

 

On 23 August, Human Rights Watch said, “Three civilians - boys aged 11 and 15, and a pregnant woman - are known to have died, and two others were wounded, apparently from shells fired by the Kenyan vessel” on 11 August.

 

The African Union force in Somalia, AMISOM, is open about its plans to “liberate” Kismayo. But while Kenya’s ground forces operate under AMISOM’s banner, its naval and air assets in Somalia do not.

 

“We will take responsibility for our military strikes, but we will not be responsible for any non-AMISOM strikes,” AMISOM spokesman Col Ali Aden told IRIN.

 

“AMISOM does not have any naval capabilities nor does it have air capabilities,” he added.

 

AMISOM troops and allied Somali government forces are currently positioned in Miido, a village 80km west of Kismayo, which has been major source of income for Al-Shabab, largely due to charcoal exports.

 

“The port is closed and there is not much business activity as a result of the shelling,” said an elder in the city who asked not to be identified by name.

 

“We are calling the Kenyan government to stop shelling the city because these shells can only be used when you have a precise military installation [to target],” he added.

 

Residents contacted by IRIN said that although there has been no dramatic change to the cost of living, education and businesses have been affected.

 

“My school is still open, but our studies have been interrupted several times during shelling,” said Ahmed, a student at Guulwade Secondary School.

 

“I do not know if I will finish my studies peacefully,” he added.

 

Another businessman said the bus fare to Mogadishu, 500km to the north, had increased from $20 to $30.

 

There is uncertainty over whether Al-Shabab will resist the AMISOM assault. Some have suggested the insurgents will withdraw - as they did from Mogadishu in 2011 - in the face of a superior military force.

 

But residents told IRIN the group had used loudspeakers mounted on vehicles to urge people, especially the youth, to join them in “jihad” against the “Christian crusaders” of AMISOM and the “apostate” government forces.

 

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[NGONGE]

Is this the same as with the London Conference when the AMISOM guys amazingly took over Afgooye on the eve of the conference? Is Kismaayo AMISOM's gift to the new Somali president? If this is the case, I expect the city to fall by Sunday evening.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

^^:D I dont think it will be that easy Alshabaab will put up a fight in Kismayo all their Troops are in Kismayo.

[NGONGE]

^^ When has Al Shabab ever put up a fight when the going really got tough? When bombs start raining at them from the sea, land and sky they'll run again (or was it strategically retreat?).

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

They did that with Baydhabo Mogadisho and Beledweyne Marka but kismayo will be different you will see.