Showing posts with label Somalia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Somalia. Show all posts

Saturday, November 16, 2019

UN report links Kenyan military to attacks on Somalia's largest Telecommunications provider


By TOM ODULA
Associated Press

   NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - A new United Nations report says it has corroborated evidence of five attacks allegedly carried out by Kenya's military on communication masts belonging to neighboring Somalia's largest telecom provider. One attack killed two civilians in 2018.

   The report by the U.N. panel of experts monitoring sanctions against Somalia says destroying telecommunication masts may prevent al-Shabab extremists from triggering explosives using mobile telephone signals.

   The report, made public this week, says Kenya's military denied involvement in the attacks. The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

   Hormuud Telecom Somalia says the attacks violate international law. The company asserts that its communications masts have been attacked 10 times by Kenya's military over the past two years.

   The attacks have caused at least $5 million in infrastructure while destabilizing communities, undermining Somalia's economic development and impeding the coordination of humanitarian efforts, a company spokesman said.

   Many people in the Horn of Africa nation long wracked by extremist attacks and climate shocks such as drought rely on remittances wired from family members in the Somali diaspora.

   The destruction of telecom infrastructure may be aimed at curtailing the transmission of intelligence on troop movements or extremist operations, Hormuud said.

   Kenya sent troops to Somalia in 2011 to fight al-Shabab, which also carries out attacks inside Kenya. As assault on a luxury hotel complex in the capital, Nairobi, in January killed 21 people.

   The new U.N. report also said the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab remain "a potent threat" to regional peace and are now manufacturing home-made explosives, expanding their revenue sources and infiltrating government institutions.

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Rest in Peace Hodan Nalayeh

Thanks for your contributions to the Somali Diaspora as well as African Diaspora overall!  Your beautiful  blogs and short films about life in Kismayo  were/are enlightening!  Rest in peace, you are gone too soon.




The late Hodan Nalayeh

By NATALIE SCHACHAR and TRACEY LINDEMAN
Associated Press

   OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) - As bombings and attacks rocked the African nation of Somalia in recent years, Canadian-Somalian journalist Hodan Nalayeh found what she believed was a higher calling: Showcasing the hidden beauty of her homeland and its people.

   On Twitter, she shared posts featuring marine life dangling from the hands of fishermen, a small boat setting out in cerulean waters, and locals holding leopard-spotted stingrays.

   "Dried fish is big business on the island of (hash)Ilisi. They call this fish `Shabeelka Bada,' or `tiger of the ocean,"' Nalayeh wrote Thursday.

   "People save all their lives to have a retirement by the beach, yet we have plenty of it and cannot see its value. Let's appreciate the beautiful blessings we have," she wrote in an earlier posting.

   On Friday, the journalist dedicated to telling positive stories from a country suffering through decades of civil war, extremist attacks and famine was killed along with her husband, Farid Jama Suleiman, entrepreneur Mahad Nur and at least 23 others after a bomb exploded outside the Asasey Hotel in the Somalian city of Kismayo and gunmen stormed inside. Fifty-six other people were wounded in the attack, according to the Jubbaland regional president.

   Somalia's Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the 14-hour assault that ended as troops killed the gunmen.

   On Saturday, friends and family reeled as they heard that Nalayeh, 43, a journalist and mother expecting her third child, was among the dead.

   Maaz Khan, a 24-year-old filmmaker in Toronto, said Nalayeh had shared her hard-earned wisdom when he met her a few years ago.

   "She was always very inspiring," he told The Associated Press. "She would say, `It's tough in the beginning, but always push through and don't give up on your passion."'

   Ahmed Hussen, Canada's Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, mourned the journalist's death, saying on Twitter that she "highlighted the community's positive stories and contributions in Canada" through her work.

   "We mourn her loss deeply, and all others killed in the (hash)KismayoAttack," he said.

   Nalayeh was born in the northern Somalian city of Las Anod but moved with her parents and 11 siblings to the Canadian province of Alberta in the winter of 1984, when temperatures dropped to -40 degrees Celsius. Her father, a former Somalian diplomat, took a job as a parking attendant, she told Toronto.com in a 2014 interview.

   The family relocated to Toronto in 1992, and Nalayeh later completed a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Windsor and worked in sales and business, she said.

   In the podcast "Meaningful Work, Meaningful Life," Nalayeh told host Francine Beleyi that she made a mid-career pivot, going back to school to earn a postgraduate certificate in broadcast journalism and fulfill her childhood dream of being a journalist and television host. She became the world's first woman Somali media owner, according to statements she made to Canada's Status of Women committee in 2014.

   "I went back to work three months after giving birth. I said "This is not for me anymore," she told Beleyi.

   In 2014, she launched the Integration TV platform as a way to tell Somali stories, moving to the coastal city of Kismayo in 2018 to continue her work after visiting Somalia several times.

   The platform, widely known among members of the Somali diaspora, had gained hundreds of thousands of social media followers in the last five years. It also led Nalayeh to meet Suleiman, who was recently helping to build a drinking well in the drought-stricken African country. The couple was married last November in Kenya, according to her sister.

   Saciido Shaie, a Somali activist in Minnesota, said Nalayeh had wanted her two sons and younger generations of the Somalian diaspora to know about her country of birth.

   "She was like, `I will take this platform and I will use it to shed a light both to Somalians in Somalia and Somalians outside," Shaie said, adding "I'm heartbroken" at her death.

   Aw Hirsi, who knew Nalayeh's husband from their time together as government ministers in Jubbaland, described him as a dedicated husband.

   "He was a magnificent, creative guy who deeply cared for the (average) man. He was so kind, so understanding and down to Earth," Hirsi said.

   Shaie said when someone asked Nalayeh what she would like to be remembered for, the journalist said she didn't want to be "famous and all of that."

   Rather, she said, Nalayeh responded: "I just want people to remember me as someone who is a unifier."


   ---

Terror attack on Kismayo, Somalia Hotel. 26 Dead

The Asasey Hotel in Kismayo, Somali after Al Shabab Terror Attack


By ABDI GULED
Associated Press

   MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Islamic extremists blew up the gate of a Somali hotel with a car bomb and took over the building for more than 14 hours, leaving 26 people dead before Somali forces who besieged the hotel overnight killed the attackers. The victims included a prominent Canadian-Somali journalist.

   Three Kenyans, three Tanzanians, two Americans and a Briton also were among the dead, said Ahmed Madobe, the president of Jubbaland regional state which controls Kismayo. Fifty-six people, including two Chinese, were injured in the hotel attack, he told reporters.

   At least four al-Shabab assailants attacked the Asasey Hotel Friday evening, beginning with a suicide car bomb at the entrance gate and followed by an assault by gunmen who stormed the hotel, which is frequented by politicians, patrons and lawmakers.

   The attack lasted more than 14 hours before troops shot dead all attackers inside the hotel compound, Col. Abdiqadir Nur, a local police officer, told The Associated Press.

   Somalia's Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, claimed responsibility for the attack. Al-Shabab, which is allied to al-Qaida, often uses car bombs to infiltrate heavily fortified targets like the hotel in Kismayo, which has been relatively quiet in recent years.

   The attack is a blow to the Somalia government's efforts to hold nation-wide, one-person one-vote elections next year.

   Security officials cordoned off the site of the attack and prevented journalists from taking photos or video of the damaged hotel and in some cases destroyed journalists' cameras. Government officials have not been available for further interviews.

   Canadian journalist Hodan Nalayeh and her husband, Farid Jama Suleiman, died in the attack, Mogadishu-based independent radio station Radio Dalsan confirmed to AP.

   "I'm absolutely devastated by the news of the death of our dear sister Hodan Nalayeh and her husband in a terrorist attack in Somalia today. What a loss to us. Her beautiful spirit shined through her work and the way she treated people," Omar Suleiman, a Texas-based imam who knew the victim, wrote on social media.

   Nalayeh was born in Somalia in 1976, but spent most of her life in Canada, first in Alberta and then in Toronto. She founded Integration TV, an international web-based video production company aimed at Somali viewers around the world. She was the first Somali woman media owner in the world.

   Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen mourned Hodan Nalayeh's death on Twitter, saying she "highlighted the community's positive stories and contributions in Canada" through her work as a journalist. "We mourn her loss deeply, and all others killed in the (hash)KismayoAttack," he wrote.

   Nalayeh's endless "positivity" and "love for people" was inspiring, said Canada's New Democratic Party leader Andrea Horwath on Twitter.

   "In Ontario, Hodan launched (at)IntegrationTV to tell the beautiful stories of the Somali Diaspora, and took that same humanity and love to her reporting and storytelling in Somalia. My thoughts are with her family, and the victims of the (hash)Kismayo attack during this horrific time."

   A top official of the African Union condemned the attack.

   "This is an attack meant to derail progress in Somalia as the country rebuilds and consolidates the gains made on peace and security," said Francisco Madeira, special representative of the chairman of the African Union Commission. "Somalia has made tremendous progress in seizing territory and pushing out the terrorists from many places across the country."

   He said the African Union's multinational force in Somalia will continue to work to stabilize the country.

   ---

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Somalia Gets New Prime Minister

Confirmation of New Somali Prime Minister


Press Statement
Jen Psaki
Department Spokesperson
Washington, DC
December 24, 2014
 
Prime Minister Sharmarke of Somalia
 
The United States welcomes the December 24 Parliamentary confirmation of Somalia’s Prime Minister, Mr. Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke. We look forward to the Prime Minister assuming office and to his prompt appointment of a capable Council of Ministers. We urge the President, Prime Minister, Parliament, and Council of Ministers to make progress toward realizing goals of critical importance to the nation, such as constitutional review, state formation, election preparations, development of military and police forces, and public financial management reforms. The United States remains committed to supporting the Somali Government and people as they stabilize and rebuild their country, and we look forward to strengthening our important partnership with Somalia.

Sunday, March 02, 2014

Afrika Inawakilishwa Katika Oscars ya Mwaka Huu!

Wadau, tunangojea kwa hamu kuona kama Lupita Nyong'o kutoka Kenya na Barkhad Abdi mwenye asili ya Somalia watashinda katika tuzo za Oscars leo jioni.

Kwa mara ya kwanza Nchi mbili za Afrika zinawakilishwa katika Tuzo za Juu za Oscars.

Lupita Nyong'o  yuko katika Best Supporting Actress (yaani mwigizaji bora wa kike katika sinema si mwigizaji mkuu).  Na Barkhad Abdi anagombea Best Supporting Actor (yaani mwigizaji bora wa kiume - si mwigizaji mkuu).

Jamani, jamani sijui waafrika tukoje, huyo Barkad kasemwa na waSomali wenzake, eti ana sura mbaya na mengine! Khaa! 

Na nisimsahahau Chiwetel  Ejiofor ambaye ni Mwingereza mwenye asili ya Nigeria.  Yeye anagombea Mwigizaji bora wa kiume. (Best Actor).

Kushoto ni Lupita Nyong'o na Kulia ni Barkhad Abdi

Mara nyingi nchi ya Afrika inayopata sifa katika Osars ni Afrika Kusini.  Waigizaji wao wazungu kama Charlize Theron wanatambulika sana.  Charlize alikuwa Msouth Afrika wa kwanza kupata Oscar.

Kwa habari zaidi BOFYA HAPA:

Saturday, January 18, 2014

WaAfrika Wawili Wako Katika Orodha ya Waigizaji Bora Mwaka Huu - OSCARS

Wadau, haijwahi kutokea! Waafrika wawili wako katika mashindano ya Oscars mwaka huu!  Lupita Nyong'o kutoka Kenya ameteuliwa katika kundi la Waigizaji Bora wa Kike (Supporting), na pia Kijana Barkhad Abdi kutoka Somalia amaeteuliwa katika kundi la Waigizaji Boara wa Kiume (Supporting). Je, watashinda?

Bi Lupita aliigiza kama Mtumwa katika sinema 12 Years a Slave.  Alikuwa anaigiza katika television ya Kenya. Pia alisoma Uigizaji hapa Marekani katika Chuo Kikuu cha Yale. Alichaguliwa kuigiza katika sinema 12 Years a Slave mara baada ya kumaliza Yale.

Lupita Nyong'o katika sinema 12 Years a Slave



Barkhad Abdi aligiza katika sinema Captain Phillips. Kabla ya kupata nafasi ya kuigiza katika sinema hiyo, alikuwa anaendesha limo huko Minneanapolis, Minnesota.  Barkhad alienda Open Casting Call na kuchaguliwa.  Wadau nikiwaambia muende Open Call, Nenda!

Barkhad Abdi Katika Sinema Captain Phillips



Kuona Orodha ya wote walioteuliwa kaitka Oscars 2014 BOFYA HAPA:


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Al Shaabab ni Nani?



Al Shaabab Ni Nani? ( Makala Raia Mwema)

Na Maggid Mjengwa,

ULIMWENGU umepatwa na mshtuko mkubwa kwa kuona picha za tukio kubwa la kigaidi kwenye moja ya maduka makubwa jijini Nairobi. Hili ni shambulio kubwa la kigaidi kupata kutokea Afrika Mashariki tangu lile la mwaka 1998. Na ajabu ya kihitoria ni kuwa matukio mengi ya kigaidi yametokea katika mwezi wa Septemba.

La Nairobi ni shambulizi la kigaidi la kulaaniwa vikali na wapenda amani wote ulimwenguni. Hata hivyo, moja ya tafsiri ya vitendo vya kigaidi tunavyovishuhudia Nairobi ni kuwepo kwa hali ya vita vya kigaidi vyenye kuendeshwa kwenye maeneo ya mijini (Urban terrorism).

Ni shambulizi lenye athari mbaya kiuchumi si tu kwa nchi ya Kenya, bali hata majirani zake ikiwemo Tanzania. Ni shambulizi lililowaogopesha wageni wengi wakiwamo wawekezaji pia. Kwamba Al Shabaab inalenga pia nchi za Magharibi. Hivyo basi, hata raia wake. Kunahitajika jitihada za pamoja kuwaondoa hofu watu wa mataifa ya nje, kuwa kilichotokea Nairobi kitadhibitiwa kwa njia zote, kisitokee tena.
Na hakika, aina hii ya ugaidi ni ngumu sana kudhibitika hatakama nchi ina jeshi kubwa na lenye vifaa vya kisasa. Inahitaji ushiriki wa raia wema katika kutoa taarifa za wahalifu hata kabla hawajafanya matendo yao maovu. Inahitaji pia maandalizi makini, ya kuwa na vikosi vilivyo tayari wakati wote kukabiliana na matukio kama haya.

Ni dhahiri, kuwa mbinu inazotumika kikundi cha kigaidi cha Al Shaabab ambacho maana hasa ya jina hilo ni ' Vijana', ni moja ya changamoto kubwa katika mapambano dhidi ya ugaidi.

Al Shabaab iliundwa mwaka 2006. Kinasemekana kuwa na wapiganaji wenye silaha wapatao 10,000. Al Shabaab katika miaka ya karibuni wamepoteza maeneo mengi ya mijini waliyokuwa wakiyadhibiti, ikiwamo mji wa Kismayu ambao majeshi ya Kenya yaliudhibiti baada ya kuwasambaratisha Al Shabaab. Kwa sasa Al Shabaab bado wana nguvu maeneo ya vijijini katika Somalia.

Kufuatia Kenya kujiingisha kijeshi kupanbana na Al Shaabab, kikundi hicho kimeifanya Kenya kuwa adui na kutangaza wazi azma yake ya kuishambulia Kenya. Mwezi Aprili mwaka huu watu watano walipoteza maisha nchini Kenya baada ya wapiganaji wa Al Shabaab kuingia kwa nguvu wakiwa na silaha kwenye mgahawa mmoja kwenye mji wa Garissa nchini Kenya.

Mwaka 2012 ndipo Al Shabaab walipojiunga rasmi na mtandao wa kigaidi wa Al qaida chini ya kiongozi wa Al qiada, Ayman al- Zawahiri.
Hakika, hapa duniani matukio ya kigaidi yameongezeka.
Kwa faida ya wasomaji, nitaanza kwa kuangalia chimbuko la ugaidi kihistoria. Ni rahisi kusema kwamba ulimwengu umebadilika baada ya ugaidi wa Septemba 11 mwaka 2001 kule Marekani. Kwamba ugaidi umesogea karibu zaidi katika fikra zetu. Watanzania bado tunakumbuka tukio la shambulizi la kigaidi dhidi ya jengo la Ubalozi wa Marekani jijini Dar Es Salaam Agosti 7, 1998.

Sura ya ugaidi imeonekana vema zaidi miongoni mwa walimwengu. Bila shaka, picha ya filamu ya televisheni yenye kuonesha majengo mawili ya World Trade Centre kule Marekani yakitunguliwa na kuanguka, zimeonwa na takribani asilimia 75 ya watu wa ulimwengu huu. Katika hili la kuchambua ugaidi, hebu
basi tuanze na kujiuliza; Ugaidi ni nini?

Itakumbukwa wabunge wa bunge la Jamhuri ya Muungano walipokutana Dodoma mwaka 2002 walipitisha Muswaada wa Ugaidi. Wabunge wetu walitumia muda mwingi sana kujadili tafsiri ya neno "ugaidi".
Kwa kifupi, ugaidi ukitafsiri kutoka neno la Kiingereza "Terrorism" tunapata maana ya "hofu". Neno la Kiingereza "Terror" lina maana ya hali ya "kutisha".

Vitendo vya kigaidi hutumiwa na mtu au makundi ya watu ili kuwaingizia watu hofu ndani ya mioyo yao na pengine hata kuchukua madaraka ya kisiasa. Ugaidi ni njia ya mnyonge na hata mwenye nguvu kutimiza malengo yake. Hili litafafanulika zaidi kadri utakapofuatilia maandiko haya.

Kihistoria tunaona kuwa, vitendo vingi vya kigaidi humu duniani vimefanywa pia na dola zilizo madarakani kwa minajili ya kuendelea kushika hatamu za dola. Mathalan, msemo wa " Utawala dhalimu" kwa tafsiri ya Kiingereza "Terror regime" hutumika tunapoielezea dola yenye kutumia mabavu na nguvu nyingi kupita kiasi. Dola au mtawala asiyezingatia sheria wala haki za kibinadamu.

Msamiati huu wa utawala dhalimu unatokana na lugha ya Kifaransa na una chimbuko la Mapinduzi ya Wananchi kule Ufaransa kati ya mwaka 1789 hadi 1799. Utawala dhalimu wenye kutisha" la terreur" ulikuwepo kule Ufaransa kunako miaka ya kati ya 1792 hadi 1794. Katika kipindi hicho watu takribani 40,000, wengi wao wakiwa wakulima na wahunzi waliuawa.

Mifano ya tawala dhalimu na za kutisha katika sehemu nyingine za dunia ni kama Urusi ya zamani chini ya dikteta Stalin, utawala wa Kinazi wa Ujerumani kati ya 1933-1945 chini ya Fashisti Hittler.
Katika Afrika, tuna pia mifano kadhaa ya tawala dhalimu na za kutisha ambazo kimsingi ni tawala za kigaidi. Uganda ya Idd Amin, Afrika ya Kati ya Bokassa, Zaire ya Mobutu, na nchi nyingine nyingi. Hizi zilikuwa tawala dhalimu.

Ugaidi kimsingi ni ile hali ya mtu, kikundi au dola, kwa maana ya taifa,kutumia nguvu nje ya wigo wa sheria ili kufikia malengo yao. Mwenye kuendesha vitendo vya kigaidi huchagua watu wake watakaoathirika na vitendo hivyo. Si lazima mtu au watu hao watakaoathirika wawe ni wahusika wa moja kwa moja wa mgogoro husika, isipokuwa, waathirika mara nyingi huchaguliwa na huonekana kama wawakilishi wa malengo ambayo magaidi wanataka kuyafikia.

Malengo au sababu za ugaidi zaweza kuwa ni za kidini, kijamii na kisiasa.
Ugaidi huwa wa kimataifa pale tukio la kigaidi linapofanywa nje ya mipakaya yule anayatenda tendo la kigaidi, au raia wa nchi moja wanapokuwawalengwa na kauthirika na tendo la kigaidi katika nchi ya tatu, mathalan,magaidi kutoka Colombia wanapofanya tendo la kigaidi dhidi ya raia waUingereza katika nchi ya Zambia.

0754 678 252, http://mjengwablog.com

Saturday, December 08, 2012

Bomu Imelipuka Nairobi!

 Duh! Kwa mara nyingine bomu imelipuka mjini Nairobi, Kenya. Habari zinasema kuwa watu wawili wamekufa na wanane wamejuruhiwa leo asubuhi.  Bomu ililipuka eneo ambao wanakaa waKenya wengi wenye asili ya Somalia.

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The Kenyan Red Cross says two people have been killed and eight wounded after a blast in downtown Nairobi.

   Friday evening's blast was the second in three days. A blast Wednesday near a military base wounded eight people.

   Both explosions went off in a Somali neighborhood of Nairobi known as Little Mogadishu. Kenya has seen a series of small-scale explosions over the last year, many from grenades.  Kenyan media reported that a member of parliament was wounded in Friday's attack.

   Kenyan troops moved into Somalia in late 2011, prompting al-Shabab militants in Somalia to vow revenge attacks inside Kenya. Al-Shabab sympathizers are suspected in many of the blast attacks, though authorities have not clearly linked all the attacks to al-Shabab or its sympathizers.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Kenya Wachachamaa! Kampeni Dhidi ya Magaidi Kutoka Somalia

Hao magaidi kutoka Somalia wanaleta fujo nchini Kenya. Sasa serikali ya Kenya imechachamaa!

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By JASON STRAZIUSO and JOE MWIHIA
Associated Press

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Signaling a stepped-up campaign against Somali militants, Kenya's top security chiefs said Saturday that Kenyan forces will pursue militants into Somalia, a response to a spate of attacks in which four Europeans have been kidnapped and one killed since September.

Following the kidnappings of two Spanish aid workers Thursday and the abductions of British and French women in recent weeks, Minister of Internal Security George Saitoti said Kenyan forces will pursue al-Shabab militants into Somalia.

"For the first time our country is threatened with the most serious level of terrorism," Saitoti said.

The plan to pursue fighters inside Somalia signals a huge change in Kenya's approach to the security threat posed by the lawless state of Somalia. While the African countries Uganda and Burundi each have thousands of troops fighting al-Shabab militants in Mogadishu, Kenya has not actively engaged in the fight.
 
Al-Shabab has already carried out one devastating suicide attack in Uganda - killing 76 people last year - and Kenya's decision to increase military engagement against the militants could open it up to more attacks inside its borders.

Gunmen on Thursday entered the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab, and snatched two Spanish women working for the aid group Doctors Without Borders. Dadaab is filled with nearly a half million Somali refugees fleeing conflict and hunger. Tens of thousands of Somalis have swelled the camp's ranks in the last three months after fleeing famine.

Saitoti said Saturday that because of the kidnappings, the border with Somalia would now be closed.
   "We have now closed the border and we have no apologies as far as that is concerned," he said. "You will recall yourself that when a very large number of refugees were coming from Somalia because of the drought there we did agree to receive them in fulfillment of our international obligation. We did of course warn the international community that while Kenya was willing to take these people there were inherent risks."

One such risk is that Kenyan officials have almost no way of telling apart legitimate refugees and al-Shabab militants posing as hungry Somalis.

A spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency noted Saturday that the border has officially been closed for three years, so it wasn't immediately clear if Saitoti's announcement signaled a new policy or a reiteration of the old one.

The head the Spanish office of Doctors Without Borders said Friday in Madrid that the group has had no contact with their workers after they were seized Thursday. Juan Antonio Bastos identified the women as Montserrat Serra i Ridao, 40, from Girona in northeast Spain and Blanca Thiebaut, 30, from Madrid.

The U.N. temporarily suspended all non-lifesaving aid operations in the Dadaab refugee camp following the kidnappings, a spokeswoman said. Hundreds of staff are confined to their offices, forcing the cancellation of services like education, counseling and relocation of families until further notice.

Security has long been a concern at Dadaab, where representatives from various factions seek to recruit disaffected young male refugees as fighters. Aid workers live in guarded compounds surrounded by high barbed-wire walls, and the U.N. requires its staff to travel in the camps with armed escorts.

On Oct. 1, Somali gunmen took a wheelchair-bound French woman from her home near the resort town of Lamu. Somalis also abducted a British woman from a Kenyan coastal resort in September. Her husband was killed in the attack.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Vijana WaSomali Watoroka Minneapolis kwenda Somalia

Hapa Marekani, watu wanashangaa inakujaje vijana ambao wamelelelewa hapa na kukulia katika maadili ya Marekani wanawezaje kupotoshwa kwenda kupigania Al Qaeda na vita vingine vya ajabu. Someni habari za vijana wa kiSomali walioenda Somalia kupigiana vita na Ethiopia. Minneapolis kuna waSomali wengi sana, wengi wao ni wakimbizi walokuja kuanza maisha mapya.

Mnaweza kuona video ya Training yao kwa kubofya HAPA:

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A group of Minneapolis-area Somalis, including some who traveled to their homeland to allegedly take up arms against the Ethiopian army, held secret meetings in 2007 to plan the trips, created fake itineraries to fool family members and challenged one another about their commitment, prosecutors contend in a court filing.

The document was filed this week in advance of a trial for one man accused of being part of the conspiracy.

It sheds new light on how the recruiting operation worked in Minneapolis and how some of the men arrived at safehouses in Somalia, where they received AK-47s and weapons training.

Since the fall of 2007, at least 21 men have left Minnesota for Somalia, where authorities believe they joined the terror group al-Shabab. Eighteen people have been charged in Minnesota in connection with the case, including Omer Abdi Mohamed, who goes on trial next week on terror-related charges.

Mohamed never traveled to Somalia, but he is accused of helping others who did. His attorney calls the allegations ridiculous.

"Omer was never involved in terrorism," said defense attorney Peter Wold. "It certainly stirs the public sentiment to suggest that, but it is not part of this case, not a part of Omer, and that will be abundantly clear."

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a socialist dictator and then turned on each other, causing chaos in the African nation of about 7 million people.

In 2006, Ethiopian soldiers, which many Somalis viewed as abusive, occupied parts of Somalia and a militant group called al-Shabab fought against against them. The U.S. declared al-Shabab a terrorist organization in early 2008.

According to prosecutors, starting in September 2007, Mohamed and others conspired to raise money to send men to Somalia to violently oust the Ethiopians. Others were also recruited to the cause. The group held meetings at mosques and restaurants, and took measures to keep things secretive.

"The defendant and his conspirators strove to keep the plan secret, reminding members not to discuss it with anyone outside of the conspiracy, and policing entry into the group," prosecutors said.
'
Mohamed and others went to malls and apartments, falsely telling members of the Somali community they were raising money to build a mosque or help relief efforts in Somalia, prosecutors said. The money actually went to the travelers, who planned to join one group member's relative - a senior member of al-Shabab - in Somalia.

Prosecutors said Mohamed used a contact at a local travel agency to get airline tickets. Members of the group allegedly gave one traveler a false itinerary to mislead his family.

The group also kept two recruits from leaving Minnesota in the fall of 2007 because they were too young, and decided their disappearance would draw attention to the plan, the document said.

The document said Mohamed and another man stayed behind to provide financial support to the travelers. It also says Mohamed advised his coconspirators to listen to a lecture by radical Muslim leader Anwar al-Awlaki about the path to jihad, and that at least one person did.

"They challenged members of the conspiracy who had planned to travel, questioning their commitment, dedication, and knowledge of both the religion and events in Somalia, before ultimately assisting them with the trip," the document said.

Prosecutors said the conspiracy includes men in Minneapolis, and men and women in Somalia. In Minneapolis, the conspiracy focused on traveling and funding trips and in Somalia, it focused on the use of safe-houses and weapons training, prosecutors said.

The document said some of the men went to Somalia through Saudi Arabia or through Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and eventually met each other and went to safe-houses. Some Minneapolis men helped clear brush for a training camp, and some participated in a July 2008 ambush of Ethiopian troops along a road in Somalia - the preparations and the ambush were filmed as part of a propaganda video.

Prosecutors say in that video, a man from Minneapolis encourages more men to join the fighters in Somalia.
Mohamed's trial starts on Tuesday with jury selection.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Kampeni ya Hillary wazua Mambo - Eti Obama ni Msomali!

Laura Bush dons Muslim robes and head scarf
President Bush dons foreign attire
This is what Hillary's campaign is using for fear mongering. They claim that Obama really is a Muslim in hiding! By the way, Obama is not a Somali! That is Somali attire he is dressed in!
President Bill Clinton dons African attire
Woops! Hillary and her daughter Chelsea wear Muslim headscarves!
Hillary dons a Head Scarf!
Now we know that Hillary must be affiliated with terrorists!


Hii kampeni ya uchaguzi Marekani safari hii imezidi kuwa chafu mpaka inatia kichefuchefu! Mara kuna 'plants' za kuharibu ofisi za kampeni, mara kuna wengine ambao kazi yao ni ku-twist ukweli.

Leo nimesikitika sana, tena mno, kusikia baadhi ya wazungu wakisema kuwa kumbe ni kweli Obama ni mwislamu. Oh kumbe yuko Al-Qaeda! Oh, kumbe kaelekea zaidi kwenye Uislamu. Kwenye WCVB TV Channel 5 hapa Boston, mtangazaji alisema kuwa kwenye hiyo picha Obama kavaa nguo za Middle East!

Kisa, kampeni ya Hillary wanazungusha picha kwenye neti ya Obama akiwa amevaa nguo za wazee wa kiSomali. Picha ilipigwa alipotembea huko Kenya mwaka 2006. Hivi Obama si MJaLuo?
Hillary anatafuta kura kwa nguzu sasa huko Texas na Ohio. Alishindwa kwenye uchaguzi wa awali kule ndo mwisho wake katika kugombea. Lakini watu wanasema hii tactic ya kutoa picha itamwangusha Hillary haitamsaidia. Wanasema kuwa kumbea huyo mama ni bytch na yuko tayari kufanya kitu chochote ili ashinde!

Nimebandika picha za waheshimwa wakiwemo Hillary wakiwa wamevaa hijab na nguo zinge zi kiutamduni.

Kwa waongea kimombo:

Hey you ignoramuses out there, Mr. Obama's father is from the Luo tribe ofKenya! He is not a Somali. He was just visiting a group of people who live in Kenya and they showed him their respect!

Plus it is a sign of disrespect no to don the attire of the people you are visiting in some foreign lands. Take a look at the photos above!

Kwa habari zaidi someni:

http://youdecide08.foxnews.com/2008/02/25/photo-showing-obama-in-somali-garb-circulated-by-clinton-campaign-source/

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,20797,23277403-952,00.html?from=public_rss

http://www.bayoubuzz.com/News/US/Politics/President_Race_2008/Hillary_Clinton_Over_Hill_With_Obama_Somali_Photo__5883.asp

http://bigheaddc.com/2008/02/25/drudge-falsely-accuses-clinton-of-obama-photo-ties/