Mudo ku dhaw bil iyo dhawr cisho ayaa ka soo wareegtey inta ay shirkada Somcable ka wado shaqada ay ku soo gaadhsiineyso xadhiga Cable-ka kaasi oo marka uu dhamaado is gaadhsiin fiican siin doona dadka reer S/land iyo wadamada dariska la ahba.
Waxaanu xadhigaasi marayaa hada sida ay sheegayaan wararka aanu meeshaas ka helayno halka ama dooxa lagu magacaao Bariisle oo u dhaw magaalada Aysho cado waxaana ka shaqeeya shaqaale fara badan
Wararka aan maanta oo jimce ah halkaasi ka helnay waxaan ay sheegayaan in uu khilaaf dhax maray dadka ka shaqeynaya iyo shirkada kuwaas o shardi ka dhigay in meesha uu marayo dadka degan ay ka shaqeeyaan qodista meelaha xadhigu marayo waxaanay arintaasi keenatay in ku dhawaad 26 qof ay ku dhaawacmaan ama ay nabaro ka soo gaadhaan isku dhacyadaas sida uu u sheegay shabakada wararka ee SNN wariye ku sugan halkaas oo balan qaaday warka oo fiidow ah in uu dhawaan soo diri doono.
Wax uu intaas ku darey in xildhibaan Cabdinaasir Jaamac Xoosh oo ka mid ah golaha deegaan ee degmada Saylac uu dhacdaas aad u canbaareeyey maanta.
Qalabka ay shirkadu u adeegasado shaqad waxaa ka mid ah sida wararku sheegayaan cagafyo iyo gacnta dad guuli ah waxaa la filayaa xadhigan oo dhulka xeebta agdeeda la soo marin doono dhinaca barina ama xaga Hargaysa uu magaalada Boorama uga iman doono.
Salalnews desk
Boorama
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Puntland and Somaliland could hold a huis clos in the US
Source: The Indian Ocean Newsletter - Breaking News - January 5, 2012
WASHINGTON | US: Iran has not yet decided to build nuclear bomb | The Herald - Rock Hill, SC
- Associated Press
WASHINGTON --
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says Iran is laying the groundwork for making nuclear weapons someday, but is not yet building a bomb and called for continued diplomatic and economic pressure to persuade Tehran not to take that step.
As he has previously, Panetta cautioned against a unilateral strike by Israel against Iran's nuclear facilities, saying the action could trigger Iranian retaliation against U.S. forces in the region.
"We have common cause here" with Israel, he said. "And the better approach is for us to work together."
Panetta's remarks on CBS' Face the Nation, which were taped Friday and aired Sunday, reflect the long-held view of the Obama administration that Iran is not yet committed to building a nuclear arsenal, only to creating the industrial and scientific capacity to allow one if its leaders to decide to take that final step.
The comments suggest the White House's assessment of Iran's nuclear strategy has not changed in recent months, despite warnings from advocates of military action that time is running out to prevent Tehran from becoming a nuclear-armed state.
Iran says its nuclear program is only for energy and medical research, and refuses to halt uranium enrichment
Several Republican candidates have called for a tougher line against Iran, saying they believe it is committed to building the bomb. "If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon," said Mitt Romney. "And if you elect Mitt Romney, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon."
Rick Santorum has said that the U.S. should plan a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities and "say to them that if you do not open up those facilities and close them down, we will close them down for you."
Iran has opened two dozen of its facilities to international inspectors, but has refused in defiance of the U.N. Security Council to suspend its uranium enrichment.
A leading hardline Iranian newspaper reported Sunday that Iran has begun uranium enrichment at a new underground site well protected from possible airstrikes.
Kayhan daily, which is close to Iran's ruling clerics, said scientists have begun injecting uranium gas into sophisticated centrifuges at the Fordo facility near the holy city of Qom.
In a talk at a Brookings Institution forum in December, Panetta said an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would "at best" delay Iran's nuclear program by one or two years. Among the unintended consequences, he said, would be an increase in international support for Iran and the likelihood of Iranian retaliation against U.S. forces and bases in the Mideast.
Panetta did not discuss the issue directly on Sunday's "Face the Nation." But Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, appearing with the defense secretary, said that he wanted the Iranians to believe that a U.S. military strike could wipe out their nuclear program.
"I absolutely want them to believe that's the case," he said.
Panetta did not rule out launching a pre-emptive strike.
"But the responsible thing to do right now is to keep putting diplomatic and economic pressure on them to force them to do the right thing," he said. "And to make sure that they do not make the decision to proceed with the development of a nuclear weapon."
Panetta said if Iran started developing a weapon, the U.S. would act. "I think they need to know that - that if they take that step - that they're going to get stopped."
Dempsey also said that Iran has the military power to block the Strait of Hormuz "for a period of time" if it decides to do so, but that the U.S. would take action to reopen waterway. "We can defeat that," he said.
Panetta said closing the strait would draw a U.S. military response. "We made very clear that the United States will not tolerate the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz," he said. "That's another red line for us and ... we will respond to them."
A number of experts say Iran is unlikely to close the strait, through which Gulf oil flows, because the action could hurt Iran as much as the West.
But a second Iranian newspaper, the Khorasan daily, on Sunday quoted a senior commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guard force as saying Tehran's leadership has decided to order the closure of the strategic oil route if the country's petroleum exports are blocked.
Iranian politicians have issued similar threats in the past, but this is the strongest statement yet by a top commander in the security establishment.
Associated Press writer Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/01/08/3645861/us-iran-has-not-yet-decided-to.html#storylink=cpy
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Diplomatic reliable source told hornwatch that Puntland and Somaliland could hold a huis clos in the US.
Diplomatic reliable source told hornwatch that Puntland and Somaliland could hold a huis clos in the US.
The Presidents of Somaliland and Puntland, two unilaterally declared independent administrations in the north of Somalia that are locked in a border dispute, could meet in Washington at the end of January 2012
Source: Indian Ocean Newslatter Jan. 5, 2012
Somaliland: SOMCABLE MAJOR OPTIC FIBER PROJECT KICKS OFF IN LAWYACADO Somaliland RepubliC
Xadhiga Isgaadhsiinta Cable-ka Oo Maraya Badhtamaha Lowyacado Iyo Tokhoshi Oo Maanta Ay Hakad Galiyeen Dad Shaqada Doon Ah Oo Weerar Khasaare Keenay Ku Qaaday Hawl-wadeenadiisa Oo Reer Jabuuti Ah.
Lowyacado (Ramaas) Jan 5,2012 – Xadhiga isgaadhsiinta casriga ah ee CABLE-ka ee shirkadda SOMCABLE dhulka hoostiisa soo marinayso oo maraya inta u dhaxaysa Magaalooyinka Lowyacado Iyo tokhoshi ee gobolka Salal ayaa maanta istaagay ka dib markii dad kor u dhaafaya 80 qof ay weerar ku qaadeen shaqaalaha qodaya dhulka xadhiga isgaadhsiinta la soo marinayo.
Dadkan weerarka hawsha hakiyey ku qaaday shaqaalaha dhulka hoostiisa soo marinaya xadhiga isgaadhsiinta Cable-ka oo dhammaantood ah dadka deegaankaasi ayaa la sheegay inay hore u codsadeen in lagu daro shaqadaasi si ay dhul qodida uga qayb-qaataan, balse markii loo sheegay inaan lagu darayn ay maanta galinkii hore rabshad balaadhan ay halkasi ka geysteen, iyagga oo muraayadaha ka jajabiyey gaadiid badan oo shirkada iyo shaqaaluhu lahaayeen oo joogay halka qodida dhulku marayso.
Raggan weerarka rabshada ah sameeyay oo la sheegay inay ka cadhoodeen shaqaale 40 qof gaadhaya oo guud ahaantood xadhiga Cable-ka ka soo raacay Djabuuti ayaa iyaga qaar ka mid ah soo gaadhay dhaawacyo kala duwan, ka dib markii shaqaalihii kale ay gacmaha isula tageen isla-markaana qaarkood lagu eryaday baabuurtii ay khasaaraha gaadhsiiyeen.
Raggan rabshadoodu hakisay hawsha shirkada SOMCABLE xadhiga Cable-ka dhulka hoostiisa ku soo marinayso ayaa markii dambe 28 ka mid ah waxa xidhay ciidamo boolis ah oo halkaasi gaadhay, iyadda oo xitaa kuwii dhaawacyadu gaadheen ay boolisku u dhaadhiciyeen saldhig ku yaala Magaaladda Saylac.
Wariyaha Ramaas ee gobolka Salal oo arintan la socday ayaa sheegay in toban maalmood ka hor dadkan rabshada sameeyay ay codsigooda u gudbiyeen madaxa hawsha qodida dhulka ee gobolka Salal ee shirkadda Somcable oo magaciisu yahay Siciid Cindi, balse uu ku qancin kari waayey in shirkadu shaqaale qaadatay, taasina ay sababtay rabshadan hakadka galisay hawshii qodida dhulka xadhiga la soo marinayo.
Qodida dhulka xadhiga la soo marinayo ayaa ee ka socota halka rabshadu ka dhacday ayaa waxa wada shaqaale afartan qof gaadhaya oo reer Djabuuti ah iyo Cagaf ay u adeegsanayaan qodida
SOMALI MONEY TRANSFERS Bank's commitment has not wavered
Three years ago, Sunrise Community Banks responded to a call for help from the Somali community. The hawala accounts were being closed at banking institutions across the Twin Cities. We willingly created a unique and transparent program for sending remittances to the Horn of Africa. We also opened a bank branch in the heart of the Somali community at the Karmel Mall and raised funds for famine-relief efforts, and we have begun work on a loan product that fits the community's needs. Our commitment to the Somali community has not wavered ("Somalis decry money-wire freeze," Dec. 31).
We have reached out to multiple government agencies and officials, have made a specific proposal, and have told the agencies that we are seeking a constructive exchange with them to reach an accommodation that would satisfy the concerns of those sending funds, the government and the bank. The laws and regulations associated with this service are complex and carry strict penalties for noncompliance, but as Sunrise has told the federal government, the bank is convinced that a solution is within reach.
Members of the Twin Cities Somali diaspora are our customers, neighbors, friends and colleagues. The humanitarian consequences of this decision weigh heavily on us. That is why we continue to work with determination and hope to discover a solution. We have not given up, but we cannot do it alone. We stand ready to facilitate a solution undertaken by the bank, the community and the government.
DAVID REILING, ST. PAUL
The writer is CEO of Sunrise Community Banks.
YOUTH VIOLENCE
Intervention does make a difference
While Matt McKinney's article "Minneapolis gunshot injuries decline" (Jan. 2) provided encouraging statistics, it is heart-wrenching to hear about another child being killed by gun violence. We can prevent this ongoing senseless loss of life by expanding community-based youth intervention programs.
A Minnesota Office of Justice survey found that 80 percent of kids involved in such programs did not reoffend and that more than 50 percent reported better behavior at home and better grades in school. In comparison, in a nationwide study of incarcerated kids conducted by the Anne E. Casey Foundation, 75 percent did reoffend. Community-based programs also make financial sense. They produce a $5 return for every $1 that is invested in them.
As the director of services for the Minnesota Youth Intervention Programs Association (YIPA), I know that YIPA members such as Bolder Options, Youth Link, and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board do amazing things with kids at critical times in those young lives. These and other organizations throughout Minnesota are changing the lives of youths for the better. Why is funding for these programs being cut? Penny-wise, pound-foolish, I guess.
Let's get it right in Minnesota. We have to quit locking up kids and instead get them connected to a caring adult in their community. Youth intervention programs save lives and save the taxpayer's hard earned money. We need more of them.
PAUL MEUNIER, HAM LAKE
Why pay taxes?
Government's value: The truth is out there
A Jan. 3 letter writer does not trust the government to administer its programs effectively. As examples, he offers the lack of accountability in the food stamp program, and he refers to immigration enforcement as "slipshod." It is exactly this type of low-information citizen who fuels conservative movements such as the Tea Party.
The food stamp program reached an all-time low in fraud in 2009, and the Government Accountability Office has given the program accolades for running an effective electronic antifraud system. It's ironic that the investment in food stamps is seen as wasteful when in reality every dollar in food stamp assistance generates nearly twice that in economic activity.
With regard to immigration law enforcement, the Obama administration has stepped up the removal of undocumented people. Also, illegal border crossings are down to a level not seen in four decades.
The letter writer says that most taxpayers are asking why we should pay further taxes. The truth is that in poll after poll most taxpayers are overwhelmingly in favor of tax increases for the top 2 percent of wage earners, and that most advocates of tax increases are not promoting a tax increase for 98 percent of us.
The letter writer should focus his lack of confidence on the party that has reduced funds for administering programs. The Republican reluctance to raise revenue for any reason will, in the long run, create even greater hardships for us and our government.
WARREN BLECHERT, EXCELSIOR
Xukuumadda Oo Shaacisay Magacyadda 9 Qof Oo Aan Midkoodna Gacanta Lagu Heyn, Kuna Eedaysan Dilka 3-dii Qof Ee Seemaal Iyo Beeshooda Oo Dhaar Ka Martay Sheegateyna Rag Ka Maqan.
Dilla (HORNWATCH4RIGHTSBLOG) – Xukuumadda Madaxwayne Axmed Maxamed Maxamuud (Siilaanyo) oo muddo 25 maalmood ah ku hawlanayd sidii ay u soo qaban lahayd gacan ku dhiiglayaashii deegaanka Seemaal dabayaaqadii sanadkii hore ku dilay saddexda qof ayaa shalay shaacisay Magacyadda 9 eedaysane oo lagu cadeeyay inay geysteen dilkaasi.
Wasiirka Wasaaradda arimaha gudaha Maxamed Nuur Carraale (Duur) ayaa magacyada sagaalkan qof oo midna aan gacanta lagu heyn ka sheegay kulan ay degmadda Dilla kula yeesheen Odayaasha deegaankaasi isaga iyo masuuliyiin ay ka mid yihiin Wasiirka hawlaha guud Prof Ismaaciil Muumin Aare iyo labada taliye ciidan ee booliska iyo Milatariga.
Wasiir Duur ayaa sheegay inay ilaa hadda baadi-goobayaan eedaysanayaashan oo uu tilmaamay in lagu cadeeyay dilkaasi, waxaanu tilmaamay inay hadda gacanta ku mid ka mid ah laba nin oo gaadhi ku qaaday ragga falka geystay iyo rasaastoodaba, sidoo kalena ay hayaan laba eedaysane oo uu xusay in markhaati labaad oo falkaasi ku cadeeya loo waayey, kuwaas oo aanu magac dhabin.
Wasiirka daakhiliga Somaliland Md Maxamed Nuur Carraale (Duur) oo ka hor inta aanu magacyadaasi sheegin yidhi “Marka dil dhaco caqligu ma taliyo ee caadifadaa shaqeysa, laakiin raggii maalintii dilku dhacay caqliga ku taliyey waan u mahad-naqayaa, markii dilku dhacay dedaal badan baa la galay, dedaalkaana waxay xukuumaddu u gashay in nabadu xasisho, anigana jawaabaa la iga sugayey, dadkii wax loo tirinayeyna jawaabaan ka sugayey, maydaan qodax la’ayna ogaada (Reer Dilla).” Ayuu yidhi waxaanu intaa ku daray isaga oo mid mid u sheegaya Magacyadda eedaysanayaasha “Dilbaa dhacay, hadda waxaanu ku daba joognaa siddeed (8) gacan ku dhiigle ku eedaysan iyo Odeygoodii oo Cawer-Xareed loo yaqaano, magacyadooduna waxay kala yihiin, Cismaan Cali Ducaale (Dagle), Jimcaale Yabaal Xirsi, Shucayb Cismaan Xirsi (Go’aaye), Af-yuub Aaden Dagal-fadhi, Yaasiin Axmed Nuur (Quful), Cabdi Cumar Cismaan, Maqas Maxamuud Maal, Mukhtaar Xuseen (Ganey), sagaalkaasi waxay ku eedaysan yihiin raggii dilkaa fuliyey, waxa dheer laba nin oo hawsha si fiican u qaban qaabiyey oo gaadiidkana ku qaaday rasaastana u qaaday, labadaa nin mid waanu haynaa midna waanu doon-doonaynaa.”
Md Duur waxa kale oo uu tilmaamay inay hayaan laba qof oo uu sheegay in markhaati labaad loo waayey “Waxa jira oo kale, laba qof oo idinka (Reer Dilla) xagiina eedooda laga qaaday, labadaa qof markhaati labaad may helin, laakiin sagaalka kale qof (Markhaatiyadda) kastaa wuu xusay”ayuu yidhi Maxamed Nuur Carraale (Duur).
Kulankan Wasiirku Magacyadda ka sheegay oo ay ka hadleen masuuliyiinta kale ee la socday ayaa waxa kalmado ka soo jeediyay odayaasha reer Dilla, waxayna xukuumadda iyo Wasiirka daakhiliga uga mahad-naqeen talaabada ay qaadeen “Aniga oo ku hadlaya afka reer Dilla Hambalyo ayaanu ku leenahay (Wasiir Duur), dilku wuu dhici jiray, laakiin cid baadhitaan samaysay oo na tidhaahda waxbaanu soo qabanay idinkaa noogu horeeya, anaga hanoo eexan oo Qiyaamahaaga ilaasho, laakiin dawgeyga ha iga qaadin, waanad ku mahadsan tihiin.”sidaa waxa yidhi mid ka mid ah odayaasha reer Dilla.
Dhinaca kale, odayaasha iyo cuqaasha beesha dilkaasi loo tuhmayo oo iyagu ka hor hadalka Wasiirka shir-jaraa’id ku qabtay Magaaladda Hargeysa ayaa sheegay in baadhitaan dheer oo ay sameeyeen ku ogaadeen in dilkaasi aanay beesha reer Xareed wax lug ah ku lahayn, iyagga oo xukuumaddana ku eedeeyay inay eeda falkaasi kula degdegtay, iyagga oo sheegay in Guddi baadhitaan oo beeshu u saartay falkaasina ay qoys-qoys kitaab gacanta ugu saareen oo ay u dhaariyeen “Guddidaasi waxay nin walba oo la tuhmayey halkiisa ayay ugu tageen, iyadda oo ragga badhkood oo beesha ah kitaab Qur’aan gacanta loo saaray, markaa beeshaa markii aanu si walba u baadhnay waanu ka soo waynay inay lug ku leedahay fal dambiyeedkaasi dilka ahaa oo beeshu baribay ka tahay” sidaa waxa yidhi Odey Xaaji Xasan Maxamed Yoonis oo ka mid ahaa Odayaasha dilkaasi iska fogeeyay.
Caaqil Cumar Gudbin oo ka mid ahaa Madax-dhaqameedka beesha reer Xareed ee shirkan jaraa’id ka hadlay ayaa isaguna yidhi ‘Beesha dilka Seemaal lagu tuhmay waanu baadhnay oo qoys-qoys ayaanu Kitaab gacanta ugu saarnay waanuna soo waynay, haddii aanu beeshaa nahay waxaanu umadda u sheegaynaa oo aanu xukuumadda u sheegaynaa inaanaan falkaa dilka ah qabin, diyaarna u nahay sharciga ILAAHAY ku kala baxa yidhi ee Qur’aanka oo ah Milad (Inaanu Kitaab ku dhaarano), waliba meel weyn oo warbaahin iyo cid walba joogto’
Chief Caaqil Cumar Gudbin waxa uu sheegay in deegaanka Seemaal iyo beesha reer Xareed noqdeen biriijka loo sii maro waxa uu ugu yeedhay Awdal-state “Mid kalena way jirtaa oo beesha reer Xareed waxay noqotay halka Awdal-state loo sii maro, dawladuna waxay xal mooday inay reer Xareed u gowracdo sidii ay halkaasi (Seemaal) u damin lahayd, falkaasi waa masabid lana saaray, haddii falkaasi dilka ah lanagu tuhmayeyna reer Xareed dhaar ayay diyaar u yahay waliba meel umaddu wada joogto.” Ayuu yidhi waxaanu intaa ku daray inay ka maqan saddex rag ah, kuwaas oo ay sheegeen inay sugayaan in la keeno “Saddex nin ayay sheegeen inay hayaan, saddexdaa iyagaanu ka rabnaa.”
Axmed Xuseen Kaahin oo ka mid ahaa waxgaradka halkaasi ka hadlay ayaa soo bandhigay khasaare uu sheegay in dadka deegaanka Dilla u geysteen dadka beesha reer Xareed markii saddexda qof lagu dilay Seemaal “khasaaraha na gaadhay waxa ka mid ah 512 qoys way qaxeen, 230 guri waa lanaga gubay, 111 beer hadhuudheed ayaa la gubay, 370 kuus oo caleen ahna waa la gubay, 440 kiish oo hadhuudh ah ayaa la qaatay ama la gubay, 36 beerood oo jaad ah ayaa la gubay, 10 bustaan ayaa la gubay, geella maqan waa 20 neef, adhiga maqan waa 445 neef, 6 meheradoodna waa lanaga gubay.”ayuu yidhi.
Jonathan Starr's Somali Good Deed
By Patrick Adams January 05, 2012
Jonathan Starr, the founder of Flagg Street Capital now runs Abaarso Tech, a nonprofit that helps prepare Somaliland students for top-tier schools in the U.S. and U.K. |
| Starr, here meeting parents of his students in Hargeissa, Somaliland, says generating revenue helps donors measure the NGO's success Frederic Courbet for Bloomberg Businessweek |
By the time he was 27, Jonathan Starr had written a book about value investing, made his first million, and founded his own hedge fund, Flagg Street Capital, in Cambridge, Mass., not far from his hometown of Worcester. He had a fat Rolodex and a bright future in finance—only he was burning himself out. “I’m obsessive by nature, but I wanted to be obsessed with something else,” he recalls.
In 2008, Starr took a trip to Somaliland, his uncle’s home country, which had been devastated by civil war and was struggling to rebuild. (Although it declared its independence from Somalia in 1991, Somaliland is still internationally recognized as an autonomous region of the state.) A year later, with some $500,000 in savings, Starr founded Abaarso Tech, a nonprofit organization that helps prepare the country’s brightest boys and girls for top-tier institutions in the U.S. and U.K. (Abaarso, the school’s location, means “drought.”) The institution is also designed, he says, to run like a business: Students pay what they can, while several revenue-generating programs—English courses, a school of finance, and an executive MBA track—make up for the shortfall in tuition.
Starr, 35, works at Abaarso all but three weeks of the year, along with two dozen teachers. “He was fanatical about investment philosophy, and he’s fanatical about what he’s doing now,” says Anand Desai, a former colleague at SAB Capital Management. Next year, Starr will administer the first official SAT exam in Somaliland history. “We’re making great progress,” he says. “And soon we’ll have some test scores to prove it.”
STARR’S BEST ADVICE
1. Burn your ships
You aren’t going to make progress in the developing world without running into a lot of roadblocks and uncomfortable situations. To succeed, you can’t even consider packing up and going home.
2. Manage on the ground
You have to be able to see what works and what doesn’t and to adapt quickly. Otherwise you’ll spend years running plays that have no chance of succeeding.
Might things get better for once? Ethiopian troops are hurting extremists in Somalia but stability is still far away
Jan 7, 2012
HOW many countries does it take to chase away a ragtag band of al-Qaeda fighters? In Somalia, the answer is a hatful. The country has a “transitional” government that has for years failed to put up a serious challenge to the al-Qaeda-linked Shabab militia. Backing the government are soldiers from Burundi, Djibouti and Uganda who are fighting the Shabab under an African Union mandate. In October Kenya invaded Somalia from the south with the aim of pushing the Shabab into the sea. France and the United States have intelligence agents and special forces on the ground; the Americans have drones in the sky. And neighbouring Ethiopia has re-entered Somalia to clear the Shabab out of the town of Beledweyne.
Many independent Somalia-watchers think this could once again end in tears. Somalis and Ethiopians have been fighting each other on and off for centuries, with Somali zealots, inspired by Islam, periodically launching raids on predominantly Christian Ethiopia—or so the Ethiopians have long complained. Many Somalis resent Ethiopia’s sovereignty over the ethnic-Somali region of Ogaden. An attack on it in 1977 by Somalia ended disastrously; an Ethiopian counter-offensive backed by Cuban troops wrecked Somalia’s army and led to the collapse in 1991 of the last Somali regime to control the whole country. It was 15 years later that Ethiopia invaded Somalia with American support to unseat an Islamist government in Mogadishu, the seaside capital that has long been a wreck.
Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s prime minister, withdrew his troops in 2009, saying the jihadist threat had receded. But the Shabab consolidated its hold on southern and much of central Somalia, forming a Taliban-style administration. It thrived until last year’s famine exposed its incompetence and cruelty. Suicide-bombings that have killed young Somali students have cost the movement much support, as was shown by the unusually warm welcome the Ethiopians got in Beledweyne, similar to the one the Kenyans got in some towns in the south.
For the first time in years the Shabab is on the defensive outside Mogadishu, most of which it has lost in the past six months. Kenyan and Ethiopian forces, with some fumbling, are slowly but methodically going after them. Thousands of Shabab fighters, many of them boys, are marching long distances through the bush to get away. Their artillery pieces are useless and they feel insecure even in their old strongholds. The Somali people, less afraid of reprisals, are turning hostile. In Beledweyne locals mingle with Ethiopians in cafés, suggesting they believe the Shabab will not be back.
Somalia may now have its best chance of peace and security since 1991. If the government can consolidate its hold on Mogadishu, it will be a big step forward. The capital’s port is busy, its markets bustling. More suicide-bombings and assassinations will occur; a respected local journalist was killed last month. But this year most residents will, with luck, seek to remake their livelihoods rather than worry about fending off jihad.
Yet as anarchy recedes, old territorial questions will re-emerge. Somaliland, in the north, wants independence. Puntland, in the north-east, wants a lot of autonomy. Ethiopia is all for such goals. Mr Meles has good relations with these autonomous parts, hoping to divide and rule. He would like a corridor through Somaliland to export gas and likes using the port of Berbera.
But Ethiopia itself is a brittle political construct. A local court last month sentenced two Swedish journalists to 11 years in jail for crossing without permission from Somalia into the Ogaden. Mr Meles has had to subdue separatists from the Ogaden National Liberation Front. The Oromo people in southern Ethiopia occasionally display separatist tendencies. The Shabab is far from the only threat to stability in the Horn of Africa.
http://media.economist.com/sites/all/themes/econfinal/images/the-economist-logo.gif
Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s prime minister, withdrew his troops in 2009, saying the jihadist threat had receded. But the Shabab consolidated its hold on southern and much of central Somalia, forming a Taliban-style administration. It thrived until last year’s famine exposed its incompetence and cruelty. Suicide-bombings that have killed young Somali students have cost the movement much support, as was shown by the unusually warm welcome the Ethiopians got in Beledweyne, similar to the one the Kenyans got in some towns in the south.
For the first time in years the Shabab is on the defensive outside Mogadishu, most of which it has lost in the past six months. Kenyan and Ethiopian forces, with some fumbling, are slowly but methodically going after them. Thousands of Shabab fighters, many of them boys, are marching long distances through the bush to get away. Their artillery pieces are useless and they feel insecure even in their old strongholds. The Somali people, less afraid of reprisals, are turning hostile. In Beledweyne locals mingle with Ethiopians in cafés, suggesting they believe the Shabab will not be back.
Somalia may now have its best chance of peace and security since 1991. If the government can consolidate its hold on Mogadishu, it will be a big step forward. The capital’s port is busy, its markets bustling. More suicide-bombings and assassinations will occur; a respected local journalist was killed last month. But this year most residents will, with luck, seek to remake their livelihoods rather than worry about fending off jihad.
Yet as anarchy recedes, old territorial questions will re-emerge. Somaliland, in the north, wants independence. Puntland, in the north-east, wants a lot of autonomy. Ethiopia is all for such goals. Mr Meles has good relations with these autonomous parts, hoping to divide and rule. He would like a corridor through Somaliland to export gas and likes using the port of Berbera.
But Ethiopia itself is a brittle political construct. A local court last month sentenced two Swedish journalists to 11 years in jail for crossing without permission from Somalia into the Ogaden. Mr Meles has had to subdue separatists from the Ogaden National Liberation Front. The Oromo people in southern Ethiopia occasionally display separatist tendencies. The Shabab is far from the only threat to stability in the Horn of Africa.
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