Ku soo Dhawaada Somaliland - HEES WADANI AH OO LAGU AMAANAYO EGAL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

US has a hidden hand in Kenya-Somalia crisis of relations

Attack on Westgate in Nairobi related to White House funding of occupation

The latest terror attack in Kenya and other significant events throughout Eastern Africa must be viewed within the context of U S economic and strategic interests in partnership with its NATO allies and Israel. New findings of oil and natural gas are a source of imperialist interest in the region

Abayomi Azikiwe

Billows of smoke emanated from the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, on the third day of a standoff between Kenyan, Israeli and United States forces (FBI) against the seizure of the facility by members of the Al-Shabaab Islamic resistance movement based in Somalia. Reports indicated that at least 67 people had been killed since the incident began on Saturday September 21.

Eyewitnesses reported that a group of armed men and women stormed the entrance of the mall during a midday shooting at random and tossing hand grenades.

Members of the armed group were quoted as saying that their operation was in response to the ongoing occupation by approximately 2,500 Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) troops of southern Somalia.

Kenya, which shares a long border with Somalia, entered the troubled Horn of Africa state in October 2011 in what was called Operation Linda Nchi (protect the nation in Kiswahili).

Two close allies of the U.S. administration

The Kenyan government at that time was led by President Mwai Kibai and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, two close allies of the U.S. administration. The invasion was neither sanctioned by parliament as required by the constitution nor by the African Union or the United Nations Security Council. (Photo: Kibai and wife at the White House))

KDF forces bombed the strategic port city at Kismayo in the early phase of the operation. The city was a financial base for Al-Shabaab which controlled the lucrative charcoal exports from the country.

Since the intervention of Kenya in Somalia, unrest has continued in the south of the country where resistance is escalating outside Kismayo involving Al-Shabaab guerillas who attack KDF positions on a daily basis.

Even local politicians and elders not associated with Al-Shabaab have complained about the activities of the Kenyan forces which are accused of interfering in the internal affairs of the region as well as human rights violations against civilians.

THE ROLE OF THE U.S. IN THE SOMALIA CRISIS

The attack on the Westgate Mall is being portrayed by the corporate and capitalist government-controlled media in the U.S. and Europe as a new episode in the so-called “war on terrorism.” Yet the role of the White House through the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) goes without mention.

U.S. imperialism has been involved in attempts to influence the political situation in Somalia and the Horn of Africa for many decades. During the late 1970s, former Somali military leader Mohamed Siad Barre was courted by the Jimmy Carter administration and convinced that an invasion of Ethiopia, then in alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba, would result in Washington’s economic and military support to the beleaguered state which had attempted to adopt a socialist-orientation in 1969.  (Photo:  Reagan and Barre)

The invasion of the Ogaden region of Ethiopia in 1978, where a large population of Somalis lived, proved to be a monumental disaster for Mogadishu. Cuban internationalist forces then in Ethiopia to assist the government of Mengistu Haile Mariam fought alongside the national army of Addis Ababa to defeat Barre’s forces.

This ill-advised military adventure plunged Somalia into a deeper economic and political crisis that lasted for well over a decade. By early 1991, the Barre regime had collapse leaving a vast security and political vacuum inside the country.

A humiliating defeat

Later in December 1992, the administration of George H.W. Bush sent 12,000 marines into Somalia in what was called “Operation Restore Hope.” The intervention was sold to the people of the U.S. and the world as a “humanitarian mission” designed to address problems stemming from the drought and famine which had long plagued the country.

Nonetheless, by early 1993, Somalis had risen up against the intervention by the U.S., other western-imperialist states and United Nations forces occupying the nation. Dozens of Pentagon and UN6 troops lost their lives in a humiliating defeat that drove these military occupiers from Somalia in 1994.

Since that defeat in Somalia, the U.S. has never given up on controlling this region of Africa. With the overthrow of the socialist-oriented government of Mengistu of Ethiopia in 1991, Washington enhanced its influence through working with the federal government in Ethiopia headed by the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

By 2006, the U.S. “war on terrorism” was well underway with occupations taking place simultaneously in Afghanistan, Iraq and Haiti. In order to avoid the political fallout of another direct intervention, the Bush II administration encouraged Ethiopia to invade Somalia in order to displace the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) which had begun to consolidate its influence and stabilize the country after years of war and factional strife.

Al-Shabaab

The main problem the U.S. had with the Islamic Courts was that it was operating outside of Washington’s influence. After two years of the intervention by Ethiopia, Somalia was again facing famine with the worst humanitarian crisis in the world at that time.

Ethiopian military forces withdrew in early 2009 and sections of the Islamic Courts were won over to a Washington-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG). A youth wing of the Islamic Courts arose known as Al-Shabaab (the youth) and began to wage war against the TFG demanding that all foreign forces be withdrawn from Somalia.

Beginning 2007, the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) was formed with the bulk of its forces coming from the U.S.-allied government of President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. Fighting has continued in Somalia since that time, with periodic and direct intervention by the Pentagon and the CIA.

AMISON trained and funded from Washington

U.S. and British bombing operations have been carried out against alleged Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda bases in Somalia. The country is also a base of operations for the U.S. drone programs which extends from the Horn of Africa all the way to the Indian Ocean islands of Seychelles.

In addition, the CIA has a major field station in Mogadishu and has maintained detention facilities inside Somalia imprisoning purported suspects in the “war on terrorism.” The combined AMISOM forces now consisting of some 17,500 troops receives training and funding from Washington.

The Somalia operation of the U.S. is part and parcel of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) which was formally started in 2008 under Bush but has been strengthened and enhanced by the Obama administration.

Kenya’s intervention in southern Somalia in October 2011 had been planned for at least two years. The release of WikiLeaks cables in 2010 documented the plans and the role of the State Department.

Years of planning

In an article published by the Kenyan Daily Nation on December 17, 2010, it reports that “The cables also say the military action took years of planning and was not a spontaneous reaction to abductions conducted by the Islamist group on Kenyan soil as repeatedly stated by government officials.

The abductions seemed to provide Kenya with a convenient excuse to launch the plan, which, officials argued, was necessary to ensure protection against threats posed by an unstable neighbour.”

This secret plan, dubbed “Jubaland Initiative,” outlined the creation of an artificial state in southern Somalia in an effort to choke off Al-Shabaab from the border areas near Kenya.

At a meeting in Ethiopia in January 2010, the Kenyan delegation led by the-then Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetang’ula appealed for U.S. support in the operation.

New findings of oil and natural gas all along the coast of East Africa

In addition to U.S. involvement in Somalia and Kenya, the state of Israel also has close ties with the government in Nairobi. Israeli economic interests are much in evidence in Kenya, where tourist hotels and other businesses such as the Westgate Shopping Mall, are owned by capitalists who are citizens of the Zionist state.

Developments in Kenya and throughout the entire region of East Africa must be viewed within the context of U.S. economic and strategic interests in partnership with its NATO allies and the state of Israel. In recent years new findings of oil and natural gas all along the coast of East Africa are of course a source of imperialist interests in the region.

At the same time flotillas of U.S. and European Union warships have been occupying the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia for several years under the guise of fighting piracy. Underlying this occupation of the Gulf of Aden is the vast economic resources that are transported through this waterway which is one of the most lucrative in the world.

The current government of President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi was not the favoured choice of the Obama administration during the elections in March. Washington supported former Prime Minister Odinga in the race and had issued veiled threats against Kenya if it did not vote the way the U.S. wanted.

Both President Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto are under indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for crimes against humanity they allegedly perpetrated in 2007/8 post-election violence in which at least 1,300 people died and over 600,000 others were maimed and displaced.  Ruto requested and was granted an adjournment of his trial that was taking place at the time of the Westgate mall attack pending the outcome of the standoff.

Kenyatta and Ruto are accused of human rights violations during the course of a violent dispute over the results of the previous elections held in late 2007. Their prosecution by the ICC has been rejected by the Kenyan government as well as nearly all the 55-member nations of the African Union.

The ICC has been severely criticized by the African Union due to its exclusive pre-occupation with prosecuting continental leaders.

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir is also under indictment by the ICC and was denied a visa by the State Department to attend last week’s UN General Assembly in New York even though Washington is not a signatory to the Rome Statue that created the ICC.

Source:  US has a hidden hand in Kenya-Somali crisis

Maxkamadda Gobolka Sool Oo Kooxo Loo Haystay Argagixiso Ku Riday Xukuno

Laascanod — Maxkamadda gobolka Sool ayaa xukunno kala duwan ku ridday shalay dad la sheegay inay ahaayeen kuwo dilal iyo dhaawacyo geystay, kuwaas oo ay ku jireen kuwii dilay weriye Axmed Saakin oo 23-kii October ee sannadkii hore lagu dilay magaalada Laascaanood.

Afar qof oo ka mid ah dadka la xukumay oo saddex ka mid ah aanay joogin goobta uu xukunku ka dhacayay ayaa lagu xukumay dil toogasho ah, halka lix eedaysane oo laba ka mid ahi ay maqan yihiinna lagu xukumay min afar sano oo xabsi ah, kuwaasoo lagu eedeeyey inay ka mid ahaayeen urur laga mamnuucay deegaankaas, sida uu sheegay guddoomiyaha maxkamadda gobolka Sool, Xasan Sheekh Cumar.

Waxaa kaloo maxkamaddu ay 14-sano oo xadhig ah ku xukuntay haweeney la sheegay inay la shaqaynaysay raga maqan, halka shan eedaysane oo kale ay maxkamaddu sii daysay ka dib markii lagu waayay dambiyadii lagu soo eedeeyay.

Xukunnada noocan ah ayaa ah kuwii ugu horeeyay ee lagu qaado magaalada Laascaanood dhexdeeda, iyadoo dadkan intooda badan la qab-qabtay laga soo billaabo 21/12/2012-kii, kaddib markii lagu toogtay magaalada mid ka mid ah xildhibaannada golaha deegaanka oo dhaawaciisu cuslaa.

Eedeysanayaal dhaawac u geystay xildhibaan ka tirsan golaha deegaanka Laascaanood ayaa laga qabtay mid ka mid ah, kaasoo lagu magacaabo Cabdifataax Sulub Aadan, maxkamadduna ay ku xukuntay isaga iyo kuwa maqan dil toogasho ah.

Ilmo La Soo Xaday Oo Lagu Qabtay Madaarka Hargeysa Iyo Tirada Eedaysanayaasha U Xidhan

“Waxaa markii hore waxaa laga shakiyay Ilmaha iyo gabadha sidatay. Markii danbena....”

“Xaaskiisu ninkaas hore ayuu u deganaan jiray Hargeysa. Laakiin, Sidii Wasiirka Arrimaha gudaha Soomaaliya Looga dhigay,”

Egal International Airport Departure Facility

Hargeysa – Ciidamadda Waaxda Socdaalka Somaliland ayaa madaarka Hargeysa ku qabtay Khamiistii doraad Ilmo sideed Bilood jiray oo loo maleeyay in la soo xaday.

Ilmahan ayaa sidda uu Taliyaha Waaxda Socdaalka Somaliland Maxamed Cali Yuusuf Wargeyska Saxafi u xaqiijiyay, waxaa qabtay sarkaal ka tirsan ciidanka Socdaalka oo ka shakiyay qofka watay. “Waxaa markii hore waxaa laga shakiyay Ilmaha iyo gabadha sidatay. Markii danbena waxaa loo Xidhxidhay Ilaa Afar qof oo isku tuurtuuray oo mid loogu dhiibay Madaarka, labana Suuqa Hargeysa ka qaadeen oo madaarka kaga soo noqdeen iyo Nin Baasaaboorkiisa lagu qoray oo Madaarka Gudaha ugu jiray. Markaa Kiiskii waxaa gacanta ku haya ciidanka baadhista danbiyadda.” Sidaas ayuu yidhi Taliyaha Waaxda socdaalka oo aanu xalay wax ka weydiinay arrintan. Waxaana uu intaas ku daray in natiijadda baadhistu soo saari doonto, laakiin, loo malaynayo in aan laga xadin Ilmaha gudaha magaaladda Hargeysa, balse, laga Keenay Xeryaha qaxootiga ee dalka dibadiisa. “Waxaa loo wadday magaalada Xamar, ilaa haddana dadkii Ilmaha dhalay may imman” Ayuu yidhi.

Maaha markii ugu horeysay ee sidan oo kalle caruur la soo xadday loogu qabto marsooyinka dalka laga soo galo, waxaana hore u jirtay oo ay tiraba laba jeer ciidamadda laanta socdaalku u qabteen caruur, kuwaasoo qaarkood ahaayeen sagaal caruur ah oo laga soo tahriibiyay Yemen.

Dhinaca kalle, waxaa jirtay maalmihii ugu danbyeey hadal-hayn iyo tuhummo la xidhiidha In Wasiirka Arrimaha gudaha dawlada Soomaaliya oo lagu magacaabo Cabdikariin Xuseen Guuleed uu ku ciiday magaaladda Hargeysa oo tibaaxahaasi sheegayaan in qoyskiisu daganyahay. Sidaas darteed, waxaanu weydiinay Taliyaha Laanta Socdaalka Somaliland waxaa wararkaas ka jira, waxaana uu ku jawaabay oo uu yidhi. “Warkaasi ma jiro.,.Xaaskiisu ninkaas hore ayuu u deganaan jiray Hargeysa. Laakiin, Siddii Wasiirka Arrimaha gudaha Soomaaliya Looga dhigay waxaan cadaynayaa in aanu dalka soo galin. Markaa wax warkaas ka jiraa ma jiro.” Ayuu yidhi

Dil Qaab Argagax Leh Lagu Fuliyay Magaalada Boosaaso "Daawo Sawirada"

Bosaso - Dhacdadaan oo ah mid ugub ah oo ka dhacday Magaalada Boosaaso ee Gobolka Bari, ayaa waxay dareen naxdin leh ay ku beertay dadweynaha Soomaaliyeed, ee Magaaladaasi ku dhaqan.

Ciidamada Booliska ee Magaalada Boosaaso, ayaa waxay maanta soo bandhigeen meydka nin, muddo shan bilood kahor lagu dilay Boosaaso.

Marxuumka oo lagu magacaabi jiray Maxamed Bashiir, ayaa waxaa dilkiisa geystay seddex ruux, oo ay kamid tahay xaaskiisii, oo lagu magacaabo Iftin Maxamed Cusmaan.

Iftin, ayaa waxaa lala soo qabtay laba nin oo kale, oo iyaguna lagu kala magacaabo Tamaam Axmed iyo Cabdi Shakuur. Inkastoo Iftin iyo Tamaam Axmed ay qirteen inay dileen marxuumka. Halka Cabdi Shakuur isna la sheegay in uu goobjoog uun uu u ahaa dhacdada.

Saciid Cali Ibraahim, Taliyaha Saldhiga Booliska ee Baal-lade, ayaa wuxuu sheegay in muddo shan bilood kahor, ay si xun dadkaan u dileen Maxamed Bashiir. Kadibna inta ay meydkiisa jar jareyn, ay ku dhex aaseen, gurigii uu ka degganaa Magaalada Boosaaso.

Taliyaha, ayaa sidoo kale waxa uu bidhaamiyay in dadkaan dilka lala xiriirinaayo, ay ka soo jeedaan qoomiyada Oromada ee dalka Itoobiya.

Ugu dambeen Taliyaha, ayaa waxa uu Warbaahinta u sheegay in ogaanshaha dhacdadaan, ay gacan ka siiyeen ehelada marxuumka, sida xun loogu dilay Magaalada Boosaaso.

Gaas oo Fadeexad ka dhigay Dubai

Dubai - Cabdiweli Cali Gaas oo ka mida musharaxiinta Puntland ayaa xaflad uu ku qabasaday xalay magaalada Dubai ka dhigay fadeexad ka dib markii uu afgalaado u gaystay dadweynaha reer Puntland.

Gaas ayaa la filayay inuu ka hadlo barnaamijka uu ku galayo doorashada balse waxa uu ku bilaabay khudbadiisi cay iyo caro, waxana buuq dhaliyay markii danbe hadal uu ka yiri goobta.

‘’Puntland waa naag qurxoon oo marba nin Aalkuliiste guursado’’ Ayuu yiri Cabdi Gaas, waxana uu keenay hadalkaasi gadood iyo in dad badan ay dibadda uga baxaan hoolka ay ka socotay Xafladu.

Maxamed Xirsi oo ka mida dadkii joogay goobta ayaa ku tilmaamay hadalka Gaas mid meel looga dhacay Puntland iyo dadkeeda, islamarkaasina noqon doonta mid Abdi Gaas u gashay taariikhda.

Goor dhow waxana idiin soo gudbineynaa muuqaalka laga duubay Gaas fadeexadiisa Dubai ee xalay.

Source: GAROWE ONLINE

Somalia: PM Shirdon Abets Chief Protocol’s Quest for Asylum

Oslo - The Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon is alleged to have knowingly assisted his chief of protocol abscond while on duties in Geneva and subsequently claim for asylum in Norway. Shirdon's Chief of protocol Abdi Mohamed, known as "Nuune "escaped in Geneva while the PM was attending the UN High commission for the Human Rights council in Geneva during September. According to Radio Dalsan Sources within the PM's office Nuune entered Norway in order to seek asylum from the Norwegian government after absconding from official duties as part of the PM's entourage to the UNHCR meeting in Geneva allegedly with the knowledge and approval of Shirdon. While it is yet to be established if others in the delegation also escaped the Nuune incident puts PM Shirdon in an awkward situation considering that the Geneva meeting was his first foray to Europe in his current capacity. Though the PM is yet to deny or acknowledge the current refugee status of his top aide, the 27 years old Nuune is not the first from government in Mogadishu to seek asylum in Europe or elsewhere during foreign trips but the high sets ranked to do so. The escaping concern became the biggest topic of talk among political offices in Mogadishu and this is not the first time senior Somali diplomatic staff escape in this way. Source: Somalilandsun.com

Al-Shabaab poses regional threat after Westgate attack

Islamist rebels say they were behind Somalia suicide bombing

NAIROBI

One month after Somalia's Al-Shabaab fight

ers stormed Kenya's Westgate shopping mall and massacred dozens of people, the threat from regional sleeper cells or local sympathisers remains high, analysts warned.

"If you haven't learnt the lesson Westgate, more is coming," read posters put up this week at rallies in the southern Somali port of Barawe, a stronghold of the Al-Qaeda linked militants.

"For every Muslim killed in Kismayo, Kenya will pay the price," another read, referring to a city Kenyan troops captured last year.

The attack on the Nairobi mall which left 67 dead marked a significant and worrying step up in Al-Shabaab operations, and had required long periods of surveillance and planning, security experts said.

Richard Dowden, head of Britain's Royal African Society, has warned that the Westgate attack suggests Al- Shabaab commanders have shifted from "Somali internal politics and closer to Al-Qaeda's global agenda."

Tackling the Al-Shabaab is on two key fronts: militarily inside Somalia where African Union troops have been battling the Islamists since 2007, but also in the wider region, especially those countries whose armies are in Somalia, including Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

Earlier this month US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Senate Foreign Relations committee the Westgate "attack suggests that violent extremism in the Horn of Africa may be evolving."

Security remains on high alert, with the US embassy in the Ugandan capital Kampala warning this week it "continues to assess reports that a Westgate-style attack may soon occur".

The AU force in Somalia has requested its size be boosted by a quarter to 23,000 troops and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud urged "total war" on the Shebab "to deny them territory and the space to train and plan".

AL-SHABAAB RECRUITS

But territorial gains inside Somalia alone will not eliminate the Al-Shabaab, or Islamist forces aligned to the extremists, across the wider region.

Foreign fighters from Western or Arab nations with the Al-Shabaab in Somalia have gained much of the focus in recent years.

On Friday, a Norwegian citizen of Somali origin, a 23-year old Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, was named by the BBC as being suspected of being one of the attackers, although relatives in the Norwegian town of Larvik denied the claim.

But dozens, if not hundreds, of young men from countries across the Horn of Africa have also trained with theAl-Shabaab inside Somalia, according to United Nations experts.

"There are local sympathisers of the Al-Shabaab or aligned groups across eastern Africa, but so far their actions have been limited to fairly low scale attacks such as throwing grenades or shooting security forces," said a Western security source.

"The attack at Westgate was of a different scale, requiring far more planning, funding and training. The Al-Shabaab has the capability of sending specially trained recruits, waiting for the order to carry out specific large scale action."

The UN monitoring group on Somalia noted in its latest report in July the dangers posed by Kenya's Islamist Al-Hijra group, a radical organisation formerly known as the Muslim Youth Center, linked to the Al-Shabaab as well as groups in neighbouring nations.

Those include Tanzania's Ansar Muslim Youth Center, as well as groups in Rwanda and Burundi.

"Al-Shabaab continues to pose a regional and international threat through its affiliates," the UN report read, noting that as AU troops have seized more territory in Somalia, there has been an

"increasing exodus" of foreign fighters, some of whom left "with the intention of supporting jihad in the region".

Exactly who the attackers at Westgate were is not known, whether it was a team specifically sent from Somalia or even if they were a "homegrown" team recruited in Kenya itself.

The Al-Shabaab have carried out large scale attacks in Somalia and the region before, such as an attack on a UN compound in Mogadishu in June or bombings that killed 76 in Kampala in 2010.

"More than a dramatic jump in capacity, the (Westgate) attack shows a change in focus and motivation by Al-Shabaab's core planners," said Devon Knudsen, of the US-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

Some argue that the Westgate masterminds hoped to spark reprisals against Somalis in the country -- including both the half a million refugees and Kenya's sizable ethnic Somali citizens -- that would radicalise more to join the Al-Shabaab.

The Al-Shabaab emerged as a force in Somalia with attacks on Ethiopian troops during its 2006 invasion of Somalia.

"Al-Shabaab's greatest recruiting tools are revenge, nationalism and exclusion," wrote EJ Hogendoorn of the International Crisis Group.

He said the public claim of responsibility for Westgate was aimed to "trigger a backlash against Somalis and Muslims in Kenya and in southern Somalia."

For the Al-Shabaab, their propaganda message at least is clear, warning in another placard paraded on trucks loaded with heavily armed fighters: "Westgate was just the beginning."

Nine signs the journalism on Africa you’ve just encountered is trash

IMRAN GARDA |

You may already have accepted that those images of swollen potbellies underneath protruding ribs, those sticky flies sitting on the starving child’s eyebrows and lips, those panoramic views of refugee camps are not the be-all and end-all of Africa. Or those unclear references to Africa which suggest it’s a monolith, or even worse, a country. You may have accepted that all these, some of which are not inaccurate in some places, don’t provide the full picture. A picture which, if it were genuine, would reflect a continent of diverse peoples and ideas, varied standards of living (including horrendous poverty and unbelievable inequality) yet infinite potential, a picture of an eclectic mix of things good and bad.

Besides flies, potbellies and continental monoliths, here are some other telltale signs of simplistic and often pathetic attempts to cover Africa. If more than one of these apply to your print, online or broadcast journalism source, you’re probably not getting your information from the most reliable place.

1. Darkness, darkness everywhere

If you come across a description of Africa as the “dark continent,” Africa having a “dark history,” especially if you come across Conradian references to “the heart of darkness,” it may suggest the journalist relies too heavily on a book of fiction written in 1902 and is unlikely to have spoken to many people on the ground. Also, all this “dark” this and “dark” that business, feels just more than a little racist.

2. African sunsets, African skies

Only in Africa do news reports sometimes wax lyrical about golden African sunrises, molten lava African sunsets, azure African skies… I can assure you: The sun in Africa is the same sun as the rest of the world. The sky is exactly the same sky too. Trees are trees in Africa, not African trees. “Plumes of smoke went up, smothering the Japanese sky in Fukushima.” If that sounds ridiculous, it’s because it is — and for Africa it’s no different.

3. They need a reason to kill each other?

Bill Maher recently interviewed the New York Times’ East Africa bureau chief Jeffrey Gettleman on his show and Maher asked why it seems “in Africa… [there are] wars for no apparent reason… for the sake of.” Gettleman then indicated that LRA leader Joseph Kony’s insurgency might fit that category since he can’t be bought, he can’t be reasoned with and he has no ideology. 

I found it curious: Kony anointing himself as a messiah and calling his organization the Lord’s Resistance Army still didn’t qualify enough for Gettleman’s definition of an ideology. This sounds a lot like someone who’s watched that scene from The Dark Knight where Alfred (Michael Caine) tries to explain the Joker’s psychopathic personality to Bruce Wayne using the example of the Bandit from Burma. Forget the layers upon layers of background to Kony’s rise, including the terrible atrocities against civilians of the Acholi districts in Northern Uganda by rebels and the government since as early as 1986. It may come as a surprise, but no — wars don’t just happen for the sake of, in Africa. Like everywhere else, they have a context. 

Colonialism was real. So was apartheid. These phenomenon, imposed from the outside, have had a lasting effect on every thread of the fabric of society, from Morocco to Sudan, Ghana to South Africa. The continent cannot be reported accurately without recognition of these legacies. Any piece of journalism that doesn’t — is not worth trusting. We remember The American Civil War, The Russian Revolution, World War II, The Holocaust — and factor them into how they affect realities on the ground today. Africa’s history is no different.

4. They speak English?

Colonialism brought European languages to Africa. Any report that gives even the vaguest indication of surprise that this Angolan speaks fluent Portuguese, or this Ivorian speaks fluent French, or that Zimbabwean speaks perfect English — should be mocked.

5. Can’t understand ‘em

When you do come across a news report that has an African interviewee speaking English, but still find the speech subtitled, ask yourself why heavily-accented factory workers from Glasgow, protesters in Belfast, or even the Australian PM Tony Abbott aren’t subtitled too.

6. All dictators are equal, but some dictators are more equal than others

Confident, unapologetic use of the terms “Banana Republic” or “Tinpot Dictatorship” tend to feature heavily when it comes to Africa in the mainstream. Not that there aren’t many, far too many — but if a news source is going to call one dictator a dictator — it should call all dictators dictators. Ask yourself, how many times has the d-word been used by your news source when referencing U.S. and European-allied absolute monarchs in the oil-rich Gulf? If the polite “strongman” or “pragmatist” or “reformer in a traditional society” can apply to them, it can apply to African leaders too.

7. No potholes — it’s a miracle!

Rwanda has been through a lot. It’s a nation that’s making big strides on many fronts, particularly economically. But the next time you read something about the lack of potholes in Kigali and the miracle that the roads and buildings are so incredible, so soon after the genocide, consider this: What the hell do potholes have to do with hacking someone to death with a machete? Nazi Germany had great infrastructure and probably zero potholes. The Tibetans have few roads, and those few probably have very many potholes. They’re hardly the most violent people you’ll ever meet.

8. Look, they’re singing and dancing!

If a political report devotes a substantial chunk of attention to tribal dancing, and “vibrant African music” — beware. You wouldn’t sample the nightclubs and “vibrant American music” in Adams Morgan when doing a piece on Democrats and Republicans arguing over the U.S. budget. Just like the sky is the sky in Africa and not the African sky, music is music in Africa and not African music. And if music wasn’t vibrant, well then it’s probably not music.

9. What do you think about Obama?

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen or read a western reporter asking every African they come across what they think of Barack Obama (you know, because he’s black and they are), I’d use the money to travel to Kosovo, or Latvia and ask people there what they think of Mitt Romney, you know, because he’s white and they are.

Al-Shabaab poses regional threat after Westgate attack

In Summary
Westgate attack suggests Al- Shabaab commanders have shifted from "Somali internal politics
US embassy in the Ugandan capital Kampala warning this week it "continues to assess reports that a Westgate-style attack may soon occur
NAIROBI

One month after Somalia's Al-Shabaab fighters stormed Kenya's Westgate shopping mall and massacred dozens of people, the threat from regional sleeper cells or local sympathisers remains high, analysts warned.

"If you haven't learnt the lesson Westgate, more is coming," read posters put up this week at rallies in the southern Somali port of Barawe, a stronghold of the Al-Qaeda linked militants.

"For every Muslim killed in Kismayo, Kenya will pay the price," another read, referring to a city Kenyan troops captured last year.

The attack on the Nairobi mall which left 67 dead marked a significant and worrying step up in Al-Shabaab operations, and had required long periods of surveillance and planning, security experts said.

Richard Dowden, head of Britain's Royal African Society, has warned that the Westgate attack suggests Al- Shabaab commanders have shifted from "Somali internal politics and closer to Al-Qaeda's global agenda."

Tackling the Al-Shabaab is on two key fronts: militarily inside Somalia where African Union troops have been battling the Islamists since 2007, but also in the wider region, especially those countries whose armies are in Somalia, including Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

Earlier this month US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Senate Foreign Relations committee the Westgate "attack suggests that violent extremism in the Horn of Africa may be evolving."

Security remains on high alert, with the US embassy in the Ugandan capital Kampala warning this week it "continues to assess reports that a Westgate-style attack may soon occur".

The AU force in Somalia has requested its size be boosted by a quarter to 23,000 troops and President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud urged "total war" on the Shebab "to deny them territory and the space to train and plan".

AL-SHABAAB RECRUITS

But territorial gains inside Somalia alone will not eliminate the Al-Shabaab, or Islamist forces aligned to the extremists, across the wider region.

Foreign fighters from Western or Arab nations with the Al-Shabaab in Somalia have gained much of the focus in recent years.

On Friday, a Norwegian citizen of Somali origin, a 23-year old Hassan Abdi Dhuhulow, was named by the BBC as being suspected of being one of the attackers, although relatives in the Norwegian town of Larvik denied the claim.

But dozens, if not hundreds, of young men from countries across the Horn of Africa have also trained with theAl-Shabaab inside Somalia, according to United Nations experts.

"There are local sympathisers of the Al-Shabaab or aligned groups across eastern Africa, but so far their actions have been limited to fairly low scale attacks such as throwing grenades or shooting security forces," said a Western security source.

"The attack at Westgate was of a different scale, requiring far more planning, funding and training. The Al-Shabaab has the capability of sending specially trained recruits, waiting for the order to carry out specific large scale action."

The UN monitoring group on Somalia noted in its latest report in July the dangers posed by Kenya's Islamist Al-Hijra group, a radical organisation formerly known as the Muslim Youth Center, linked to the Al-Shabaab as well as groups in neighbouring nations.

Those include Tanzania's Ansar Muslim Youth Center, as well as groups in Rwanda and Burundi.


"Al-Shabaab continues to pose a regional and international threat through its affiliates," the UN report read, noting that as AU troops have seized more territory in Somalia, there has been an

"increasing exodus" of foreign fighters, some of whom left "with the intention of supporting jihad in the region".

Exactly who the attackers at Westgate were is not known, whether it was a team specifically sent from Somalia or even if they were a "homegrown" team recruited in Kenya itself.

The Al-Shabaab have carried out large scale attacks in Somalia and the region before, such as an attack on a UN compound in Mogadishu in June or bombings that killed 76 in Kampala in 2010.

"More than a dramatic jump in capacity, the (Westgate) attack shows a change in focus and motivation by Al-Shabaab's core planners," said Devon Knudsen, of the US-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

Some argue that the Westgate masterminds hoped to spark reprisals against Somalis in the country -- including both the half a million refugees and Kenya's sizable ethnic Somali citizens -- that would radicalise more to join the Al-Shabaab.

The Al-Shabaab emerged as a force in Somalia with attacks on Ethiopian troops during its 2006 invasion of Somalia.

"Al-Shabaab's greatest recruiting tools are revenge, nationalism and exclusion," wrote EJ Hogendoorn of the International Crisis Group.

He said the public claim of responsibility for Westgate was aimed to "trigger a backlash against Somalis and Muslims in Kenya and in southern Somalia."

For the Al-Shabaab, their propaganda message at least is clear, warning in another placard paraded on trucks loaded with heavily armed fighters: "Westgate was just the beginning."