Somalia's security minister killed in attack

Somalia's security minister has been killed in a suicide bombing at a hotel in Beledweyne, just north of the capital, Mogadishu, the country's information minister and witnesses have said.

Somalia's ambassador to South Africa and at least nine other people were also thought to have been killed in the blast on Thursday, reports said.

Farhan Ali Mohamud, the information minister, announced the death of Omar Hashi Aden, the security minister, but declined to give any other details.

Hashi had moved to Beledweyne at the beginning of June with heavily-armed troops in an attempt to regain territory from fighters of the al-Shabab group.

Al-Shabab, which Washington claims has ties to al-Qaeda, has vowed to topple the Somali government led by of Sharif Ahmed, the president.

A doctor from a nearby hospital said that most of the dead have been burnt beyond recognition.
Ahmed blamed al-Shabab for the attack and confirmed Hashi's death.

"I am sending condolences to the family of the Security Minister Omar Hashi who was killed in an explosion in Baladwayne," Ahmed told reporters.

Mohamed Abdi, a shopkeeper near the hotel, said smoke was rising from the building.
Hotel Medina, the scene of the blast, is known to be frequented by members of Somalia's government.

A senior al-Shabab official had warned after a deadly suicide car bomb attack on police headquarters in Mogadishu on May 25 that there would be more suicide strikes in the near future.

Beledweyne is the capital of the central Somalian region of Hiran, which is close to the border with Ethiopia.

Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991 when former Mohamed Siad Barre, the former president, was overthrown, plunging the country into chaos.

Source: Al jazeera

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Se hai capito qualcosa SPIEGACELO!!!

The Islamist Transitional Government of Somalia announced a few days ago that it intends to fight militarily the Islamist opposition, after these conquered other parts of the capital Mogadishu.

The Somali Minister of Defense maintains that after the reconciliation conference of Djibouti, from which this Transitional Government came out in January 2009, that his government has done everything possible to talk with the opposition and to avoid a fratricidal war.

Indeed, the new President of Somalia's interim government Mr. Sheikh Sharif is the head (or former?) of the Union of the Islamic Courts, opponents of the government of Yusuf, his predecessor. And the current opposition, Al Shabab and Hisbul Islam were part of the Islamic Courts.

About two and a half years ago, after having gained control of much of Somalia and having brought order after 17 years, the Islamic Courts have been dispossessed by the regional power, Ethiopia, with the mandate and military support of Bush administration.

Although it lasted only six months, the rule of the Union of the Islamic Courts had shown that it is possible to create order and for the first time in many years, one could leave the house at night, without going in for a certain death. They reopened the port of Mogadishu and the airport. Finally a ship could dock and bring humanitarian aid.

For these reasons and many others in time of war against the Ethiopian invasion, the Islamic Courts had a great moral support of nearly all Somalis wherever in the world, because fighting against the historic archfoe of Somalia which has planted its own flag in the Somali presidential palace, as US Marine in the palace of Saddam.

But I believe it is very interesting to bring attention to a short period before the invasion of Ethiopia. During the Transitional Government of Abdullahi Yusuf, the Islamic Courts ruled much of southern Somalia, as today the various Al Shabab and Hisbul Islam control large part of the south.

At that time, the old wolf, Yusuf, proclaimed Transitional President asked the opposition to lay down their weapons and not to trigger a war between the Somalis. He used to talk about peace and the end of decades of civil war.

The opposition, then led by the actual President Mr. Sharif, used to say they wanted to liberate Somalia form the Ethiopian influence and the interests of the warlords.

It was also very common in speeches of Mr. Yusuf a cry for help to the world against terrorists and their foreign jihadist allies.

In a press conference in October 2006 “Yusuf initially blamed al-Qaida for carrying out the attack. But, on Thursday, he said his security forces had uncovered evidence that linked Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys in a plot to kill him and 16 other politicians in the transitional government.

Yusuf also said that the radical wing of the Islamist movement had invited foreign fighters from Arab countries, Europe, Afghanistan and Chechnya to join its militia”. Global Security.


"Somalia has been invaded by foreign fighters, who are using Somali factions and their objective is to keep the country in chaos and international criminals to hide," President Sheikh Sharif told reporters yesterday (25/05/09) at the Villa Somalia presidential compound . Garowe Online.


The surprising thing for me now, if not confusing, is the resemblance of language between the current president Mr. Sharif (former opponent) and his predecessor Mr. Yusuf.
Mr. Yusuf as a President used to accuse Mr. Sharif, as opposition, of inviting foreign fighters.
Obviously Mr. Sharif always denied such “allegations”.
Mr. Sharif used to accuse Mr. Yusuf of working for Ethiopian interest.

Today as a President Mr. Sharif accuses the Islamist opposition of inviting foreign fighters in Somalia.
Moreover, the current opposition (Islamists) uses the same language that they used against Yusuf's government to justify the war against their own Islamists leaders, Mr. Sharif.

Something must be wrong.

Se hai capito qualcosa SPIEGACELO!!!

Hussein.

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Donors' Conference in support of the Somali Security

Today I watched the debates at the Donors' Conference in Support of the Somalia Security, hold in Bruxelles yesterday, and hearing what Jose Manule Barroso, Ban Ki-Moon, Javier Solana, and in order Shiikh Shariif said, I realized that Somali pirates have given a vital contribution to the recreation and the future of Somalia.

For the first time the world, seeing the threat to sea trade routes take into serious consideration the solution of the anarchy in which Somalia has been in the past two decades.

For the first time we talk about the construction of the Somalia security forces , not only for the seas but for the control of the entire Somali territory.

Having already tried to support the bloodthirsty warlords, grouping them under one curious as fun flag -Alliance for Democracy and against Islamic terrorism in Somalia-it seems now that someone has realized that the problem is not democracy or Islamic terrorism in an Islamic country and again in internal civil war for decades.

It is just the banal survival.

I think it's time to lay the groundwork for a Somali State able to hold control of the violence and all the distinctive characteristics of a State.

Thanks to the Somali pirates finally it became clear that these conditions are also in the interest of the whole world and not just Somalia.

Hussein Aden

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