Somalia: not piracy catch all thread

[TV-PressPass]

Interesting that the South African's had someone in there:

South African state weapons firm Denel said two of its staff were killed in an attack on Wednesday on the United Nations compound in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

A spokeswoman for South Africa's largest manufacturer of defense equipment said the identity of the workers was not yet known.

"We have sent someone to Somalia to inform us from the ground," Vuyelwa Qinga said.

[davidbfpo]

TV footage often shows that ANISOM use a lot of South African made wheeled APCs and I have a vague recollection that some small drones were sought. Maybe that explains the presence of Denel's staff?

[M-A Lagrange]

TV footage often shows that ANISOM use a lot of South African made wheeled APCs and I have a vague recollection that some small drones were sought. Maybe that explains the presence of Denel's staff?

It is much more simple: Denel's staff is mainly present because of the contract the UN have with Mechem, Denel's demining branch.

[davidbfpo]

Fascinating insight into how Al-Shabaab - in 2012 (just found by another) - is following their own model of 'divide & rule':

If a split within the rank and file of Somalia’s al-Shabaab militants was a mere speculation, it has now become a reality, thanks to a lacerating Friday sermon by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, Somalia’s best known holy warrior.

In a rare public dissent, Aweys sharply attacked the organization’s top brass, accusing them of, among other things, monopolizing jihad, globalizing the Somali conflict, assassination of innocent Somalis and, more damningly, acting in a manner unbecoming of upright jihadists.

Link:http://africanarguments.org/2012/04/...by-abdi-aynte/

[davidbfpo]

An update on the above post by the BBC:

A top Islamist in Somalia, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, has arrived in the capital Mogadishu amid reports of a split in the al-Shabab group. He was flown from the northern town of Adado, escorted by government security forces, but it is unclear whether he has surrendered or defected.

The exact cause of the al-Shabab split is not known, but there has been a long-running internal power struggle between its leader Ahmed Abdi Godane and those seen as more moderate who oppose links with al-Qaeda, analysts say.

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23115819

[davidbfpo]

In a single stroke, Ahmed Abdi Godane, the emir of Al-Shabaab who goes by the nom de guerre of “Abu Zubeir,” managed to re-align the radical group’s leadership dynamics and further consolidated his power by getting rid of his major detractors. His loyalists killed two co-founders of Al-Shabaab, including his former deputy and longtime friend, Ibrahim Al-Afghani, and chased away Hassan Dahir Aweys and Mukhtar Robow, the former spokesman for the terror group.

Link:http://africanarguments.org/2013/07/...ssan-m-abukar/

[davidbfpo]

A FP report, citing a new UN report and the US academic Ken Menkhaus. The last paragraph:

In a particularly grim twist, it is America's counterterrorism partners -- corrupt Somali institutions and Kenyan collusion with al-Shabab's financial backers -- that pose a potentially even more lethal threat to American aims. "That Shabab is stronger than people think is interesting and newsworthy," said Menkhaus. But to Menkhaus, the bigger story is the failure of America's allies to maintain a united front against al-Shabab. "Our best friends are busy fighting one another."

The UN is critical of the Kenyans, who they allege have:

Even worse, Kenyan forces in Kismayo have clashed with clans loyal to the U.S.-backed federal government while colluding with financial backers of al-Shabab in the lucrative and illicit charcoal trade, enabling the Islamist movement to refill its war chest. "The revenue that al-Shabaab currently derives from its Kismayo shareholding, its ... exports and the taxation of ground transportation likely exceeds the estimated U.S. $25 million it generated in charcoal revenue when it controlled Kismayo," the report stated.

Link:http://www.foreignpolicy.com/article...abab?page=full