Somalia: not piracy catch all thread

[bourbon]

French SOF lost 2 men Saturday in the failed rescue of a DGSE officer being held by al-Shabab, 110 km south of Mogadishu.

[davidbfpo]

The kidnapped DGSE agent was:

..hostage Denis Allex, kidnapped in Somalia in July 2009...

From:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20996963

IIRC he was one of two agents kidnapped, the other escaped after a few months.

There were two photos shown on the BBC News, only one on their website; they showed a very different man. Sadly I think his chances of survival now are slim.

[davidbfpo]

An optimistic article, indeed rather odd as it claims:

Yet in 2012, Somalis held their first democratic elections in decades..

For once the comments are worth skimming through.

I looked quickly, we have not missed this democratic election, it was a parliament meeting, it's members nominated by the clans.

Link:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...d-8449310.html

[davidbfpo]

An article in West Point's CTC's periodical 'Sentinel' on the vagaries of warfare in a clan dominated society:

To others, this seems like a barely organized chaos, the unpredictability of Somali political behavior. Somalis may seem like they have very limited or tentative buy-in to agreements, and are unreliable and selfish. In fact, leaders, particularly local leaders who are directly responsible to kin and communities, tend to be pragmatic to the extreme.

Link:http://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/rethin...ncy-in-somalia

[davidbfpo]

The UK is to co-host a conference on Somalia again, so this article comes as no surprise and our PM, David Cameron, referred to Somalia as an example of development and security being entwined. Ah, but does anyone seriously believe:

The Somalian government payroll currently includes 8,500 soldiers and 6,000 police in Mogadishu, the capital. Most are hastily drafted members of militias whose ultimate loyalty is to clans or warlord leaders.

Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...ty-forces.html

I don't and way-back there was a post about those trained in Uganda, by an EU mission, promptly defected to a militia or Al-Shabaab upon their return.

[M-A Lagrange]

After may be a too entousiastic and optimistic vision of Somalia, to day was a hot day in Moga:

Somali militants attack UN base in Mogadishu, killing 15
Fifteen people have been killed after Islamist militants launched their first major assault for years on a UN compound in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.

At least two suicide bombers struck the biggest UN base in the city, which was then stormed by gunmen who fought security forces inside for about two hours.
(...)
The al-Shabaab militant group said on its Twitter feed shortly after the attack that its fighters "are now in control of the entire compound and the battle is still ongoing".
But on Wednesday afternoon General Mukhtar Mohamed of the Somali police held a press conference to say the security forces had succeeded in liberating the compound. At least 20 people, including civilians and security forces, were wounded in the battle. He also confirmed that the police apprehended one suspect in connection with the attack.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013...base-mogadishu

[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.