Al-shabaab was taken over by Ethiopian and other covert intelligence forces.

[Veteran]

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in order to understand the current Al-shbaab we must understand its roots and track back fifteen years or more.

Most of this article is referenced in an assay wrote by investigative journalist based in Nairobi, N. Gardaad in 2016.


What we know today as Alshabab have their roots in the now defunct Islamic Courts Union (ICU) organization, which briefly took control of southern Somalia and Mogadishu in the summer of 2006. In late 2006, several factions of the ICU, representing the more radical elements within ICU, such as the Raskamboni brigade, the Salahudin group, and Mogadishu’s CC district group, came together to form a powerful faction within the ICU. This new faction was to be called “Al-shabab”. Al-shabab, thus, became the military wing of the ICU. Even before the invasion of Ethiopia the power struggle within the ICU had begun. THe ICU was dominated mostly by clerks and individuals who hailed from Galmudug and Jubbaland area. The most notable of the early ICU were Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, Sheikh Yusuf Indhacade, Hassan Turki and the young firebrand Ahmed H. Ayrow who later became the commander of the military wing of the Al-shabaab. Yet, one of the largest groups or clans that is based both in Central shabbelle and Benadir were missing from the movement.





In order to make it more acceptable to the central Shebelle group, Aweys and other main principles decided to make the face of the ICU a young judge based in in Jowhar, Central Shabelle. THus, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed became the face of the movement and its leader. In early 2000-2002 many local Sharia courts mushroomed in the capital and surrounding region to allow the movements of the people and create a semi legal courts to address local crimes and confront the warlords. While these courts created some peace among the locals, they usually punish the poor and those without powerful connection. While some of the local Ulema meant well to create law and order others were using the courts for means to gain power. In fact, as early as 1998, Cali Mahdi, the first president since the collapse of the state , in an interview with New York Times, said, " we are both Muslims, but these guys , the courts led by Sheikh Cali Dheere at the time , are using religion as means to gain power".



Even before the invasion of Ethiopia, an intense ideological and conflict was brooming among the moderate wings led by Shariif Sheikh Ahmed and the firebrands of the Al-shbaab wing led by Ahmed H. Cayrow, Ahmed Godane and Fuad Shongole. In one famous incident, Sharrif Ahmed cooled down the ICU hrethric and appealed for dialogue. After that statement, in the middle of the night Hashi Ayrow and company took him out and asked him to repent or will be judged and executed. Some members of IC court leadership , like Sheikh Yusuf INdhacade were even Goading Ethiopia for war. When I asked a leading in scholar why hasten a military confrontation with major regional power like Ethiopia knowing well the consequences of all out war, he said, Indhacade wanted to decimate the hated Al-shabaab through the Ethiopian military.



Then came the Ethiopian invasion at the end of 2006. The Ethiopian army, supported by the American special operations forces, quickly routed the lightly armed ICU forces. The ICU leaders scattered. The most senior members fled to Eritrea, where they worked with nationalist groups and formed Alliance for Restoration against the Ethiopians. Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the ICU chief, was rescued by the American CIA from the jungles of JUbbaland and transferred to Nairobi unbeknown to most of the IC leadership. He was accommodated in Nairobi and then facilitated to travel to Asmara Eritrea.



While the Somali parliament based in Mogadishu was struggling to make ends meet, Walad Cabdalla , the UN envoy for Somalia, paid the salaries of leadership of the Alliance and the exiled parliament while in Asmara. Shariif Ahmed negotiated with the UN and Ethiopia to become the candidate of the Alliance in hastily organized election in Djibouti. THe UN told him to write down in a piece of paper 250 members of parliament and contest the election which guaranteed his victory. Among those voting for Shariif were Ahmed Madoobe freed from Ethiopian jail. In 2011, Ethiopia insisted Madoobe to lead the JUbbaland liberation movement rejecting the architect of the project Proff. Mohamed A. Gandhi. While vying for power today, Shariif Ahmed is well aware by now that the sweet deal arrangement in Djibouti will never happen again in history. As part of the agreement, Ethiopian troops withdrew from Somalia partially. However the Ethiopian invasions impact on Alshabab was to be far more covert and longer lasting. While Al-shabaab was the most fearless elements that attacked relentlessly the Ethiopian army and forced its eventual withdrawal, the new Al-Shbaab became totally a different animal.



While the bombings and attacks continued after the Ethiopian invasion, Targets of the the new Al-shabaab mostly became against Somalis . As of today, the casualty ratio of the foreign forces compared to Somalis is probably 100 to 1.
THE COVERT COUP: Intelligence takes over Al -shabab.



Most people do not realize that targeted killing of prominent Somalis especially former military officers of Somalia started before even Al-shbaab was created. Targeted killing of officers started the year the Carta transitional government was formed in 2000. I had compiled a long list of killings between the year 2000-2006 in a file which i lost two years ago due to virus or some other unknown hacking. Among the early officers in 2000 was a Somali army colonel killed in Lafoole area by three assailants. He fought back and even wounded one of them. General MOhamed Cabdi was killed in MOgadishu after he preformed prayers at a local Masjid in 2004. Even Sheikh Hassan D, Aweys said that the man was his close friends and doesn't understand why would anyone anong the would target. Other Somali officers who did not leave the country after the collapse of 1991 and remained in Mogadishu were killed one by one before even Al-shabaab was formed. In other words, targeted killing of the prominent Somalis was going on before and after Al-shabaab was created.





When Alshabab was first created in 2006, the top leadership of the organization consisted of well known members from the Islamist movement in Somalia. Adan Hashi Ayro, the ICU’s top military commander, was chosen to be the overall commander of the new Alshabab forces. Sheikh Hasan Turki, the leader of the powerful Raskamboni Brigade, was elected as the new group’s chairman of the Shura council. Ismail Arale, a moderate Islamist from the Somaliland region, was elected as the Amir (leader) of the group. Ahmed Madobe, the current president of the Jubba regional Administration, was elected as the deputy Amir. This military wing was incorporated with the Islamic court Union whose executive branch and Shura council was led by Shariif Ahmed and Sheikh Dahir Awaysrespectively.


The Ethiopian and other foreign intelligence operatives worked hard not only to decimate the original Alshabab leadership, but also to infiltrate the group and control it. In January of 2007, the Ethiopian forces with the support of American Special Forces captured Ahmed Madobe, the deputy Amir of Alshabab, after he was wounded by an American air strike in JUbbaland. Allegedly, he was betrayed by informants who were part of his group as he was targeted while deep inside the lower Jubba jungle west of the city of Kismayo. But the worst was yet to come for Alshabab. The Amir of the group, Ismail Arale, was captured by American forces in Djibouti while on his way to Eritrea for the opposition conference. He was transferred to Guantanamo Bay where he was incarcerated for several years (as prisoner number DJ9SO-010027DP) before he was finally released. In fact, when the Americans found out that Caraale was not that different than Shariif Ahmed in his views , they released him. Today he lives in Hargeisa.

 

[Veteran]

The way Mr Arale was lured into Djibouti and then arrested shines some lights on the nature of the current Alshabab leadership. Khalif Adale, one of the current top leaders of Alshabab, was then an aide to Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the former chief of ICU. Khalif was responsible for facilitating the travel of ICU leaders inside Somalia to Eritrea for the opposition summit. The interesting part is that even though Ismail Arale was not on the list of the delegates invited to come to the summit, since the defeated movement aided by foreign intelligence is now led by two Sheriffs --Ahmed and Hassan, and these two have no desire of bringing Al-shabaab leadership to Asmara. In any event, Khalif Adale sent an invitation letter (allegedly forged) to Mr Arale who was in hiding then. Khalif Adale also sent to Mr Arale $15,000 to facilitate his travel and instructed him to meet him in Djibouti so they could go together to Eritrea for the summit. The Alshabab Amir took the bait and traveled to Djibouti using a forged passport with a false name. He was not arrested initially as he landed in Djibouti, perhaps because he was using an unknown name. However, after he met Khalif Adale in Djibouti, and as they were trying to board a plane to Eritrea, Ismail Arale was promptly arrested by Djiboutian security agents who were waiting for him at the airport. The Djiboutians immediately turned him over to the American forces in Djibouti. Unlike others , Shariif Ahmed the ICU chief , took regular flights from Nairobi to Asmara by way of Doha, Qatar to reach Asmara, Eritrea.



In fact, some of us suspect that the spies and those connected with foreign intelligence agencies or managed by them became the new ICU leadership. Shariif Ahmed and Shariif Sakiin and many others were the beneficiaries of the new movement. They went from being exiled in foreign land to become president and fiance minister respectively. Shariif Ahmed was shocked and said, " I was hunting for squirrel ,but I got an elephant instead (Arey Dabagaale ayaan Dabin u Dhigtay Maroodi ayaana iigu soo dhacay). Go figure.


With both Alshabab’s Amir and his deputy arrested, and the remaining Alshabab leaders scattered, a group of young, unfamiliar individuals within the organization grabbed the opportunity, and after a quick, unscheduled conference, announced a new leadership for Alshabab.. The new leadership was led by men who were unknown within the Islamist movement in Somalia. A mysterious man by the name “Sheikh Mukhtar Abu Zubayr” was now elected as the Amir of Alshabab. His real name turned out to be Ahmed Abdi Godane from Hargeisa .



He was one of about a dozen young men (the Hargeisa network, as they are called by the intelligence people, because their network was organized in Hargeisa, capital of Somaliland region) who came from the northern Somaliland region at the time of the ICU revolution in southern Somalia. He was rather an unknown figure within the Islamists in both southern Somalia and Somaliland. A fellow Hargeisa network member, Mahad Karatay, became his security chief and right hand man. Another member from Hargeisa , Ibrahim meecaad (Afgaani) later became deputy, but was not a member of the Hargeisa network. He was probably one of the few Somalis who fought in Afghanistan and genuinely believed the war was to expel Ethiopian forces from Somalia . He was later executed by Ahmed Godane after questioning his leadership and targeting of innocent Somalia..



A new war had started within Somalia Islamic movements, fought among the spies who were saved by America, the two Sheriffs and the new Al-shabaab covertly managed by Ethiopian intelligence. One was led by Shariif Ahmed and the other by Ahmed Godane. The result was and still is a disaster that engulfed Somalia for the last ten years.

 

[Veteran]

Ethiopia’s take over of Al-shbaab.

If Ahmed Godane was a questionable figure for the leadership position he got, Mahad Karatay’s ascend was outright suspicious. Mr Karatay was a young man in his early twenties when he joined the Islamist organization “Al-itihad Al-islam” in the early ‘90s. In 1997, after Ethiopian forces defeated Al-itihad forces in the Gedo region bordering Kenya, Mr Karatay became disillusioned with Al-Itihad’s project and left for Kenya. In an event that is yet to be explained, Kenyan intelligence picked up Mr Karatay from Nairobi and handed him over to the Ethiopia intelligence.


It was not until 2005 that Mr Karatay surfaced again, mysteriously, in the high security “Mandera” prison in Somaliland. Apparently, the Ethiopian intelligence, which had unchecked influence over the Somaliland leadership at the time , wanted Mr Karatay (whom they kept for many years) to be released for a mission without attracting any ridicule. During the chaotic 2005 parliamentary elections in Somaliland, Mr Karatay was quietly released from the Mandera prison. During the short period he was inside the Mandera prison, he organized a network of young desperate radicals in the prison, who would, when later released, come join him in Alshabab. When he was released from the prison, Mr Karatay linked up with another team of secretive young men in Hargeisa, who were perhaps separately organized either by Somaliland, the gulf countries, Ethiopia or another international intelligence. This later team was headed by Ahmed Godane. The whole group traveled to southern Somalia and with their money and tight organization, quickly climbed through the ranks of the ICU leadership. Before the ICU collapsed, Mr Karatay was named the chief immigration officer at the Mogadishu international airport. This position allowed him (and his Ethiopian handlers) to keep an eye on the movements of the foreign fighters arriving to join the ICU and also the travel itineraries of the ICU leaders. Mr Karatay’s colleague, Ahmed Godane, meanwhile, got an extremely sensitive post in the ICU. He became the chief secretary of the ICU. He evolved From unemployed Hargeisa drifter to the most important job of all.



How can a small group of newly arrived outsiders from Somaliland got immediately some of themost sensitive jobs within the Islamic Court movement? With both Ahmed Madoobe, the deputy leader and the Amir Ismail Araale in jail, the high positions of Al-shbaab are for grabs. The ICU leadership , especially Sheikh YusufIndhacade and others spearheaded a military confrontation with Ethiopia. When I asked the dean of Mogadishu university why Indhacade was goading Ethiopia for war, he said, " he wanted Ethiopia to crush Al-shabaab militants who took over the ICU". There were many layers of secrets among these groups.



When both the ICU and Alshabab leadership collapsed following the Ethiopian invasion, the Hargeisa network members quickly seized the moment and got the Alshabab leadership for themselves. The remnants of the original Alshabab leadership were simply sidelined, except for Adan Hashi Ayrow. Ayrow, the young, apolitical commander of the Alshabab forces was too powerful and too popular among the fighters to be sidelined. At first, he was accommodated by the network members because the network members also didn’t want to be seen as instigating a coup and grabbing the power for themselves. But he would be eliminated later, thanks to the Ethiopian intelligence giving away his location to their American counterparts. Hec was killed by American air bombardment in central Somalia in May 2008. While it took just two years after the defeat of ICU to target Hashi Ayrow, the Americans took more than six years to eliminate Ahmed Godane. Those who replaced Ahmed Godane are hiding in southern Somalia. With american drone technologies and modern GPS, the Al-shabaab leaders are still unreachable for the last six years.




The New Alshabab


As Hashi Ayrow was eliminated , the new Al-shabaab had open field to implement their agenda. The first act of the new leadership was to create a powerful intelligence agency, the so-called Amniyat. Mahad Karatay, who acted as the security chief of the Hargeisa network, quickly put into action to lead this secret organization. Although none of the members of the Hargeisa network had any official military or security background, it didn’t take much time to assemble and put into action this new powerful intelligence agency. This is because the core membership and leaders of the Amniyat were already there just like Mahad Karatay himself, members connected with foreign intelligence with extensive reach and resources. The Hargeisa network members used the Amniyat to consolidate power. All of the original commanders and leaders of Alshabab were either assassinated or replaced. And in their place, Amniyat members were put in charge. Also, most of the foreign fighters that joined Al-shabaab became very close to Ahmed Godane and strengthened the Amniyaad branch. Later Ahmed Godane used the foreign fighters to eliminate rivals and opposition to his leadership.


After consolidating their hold on power, the new Alshabab leaders worked hard to do what their handlers wanted: manipulate the ignorant, zealous, young men in Alshabab to do Ethiopian intelligence’s dirty work. Ethiopia’s enemies in Somalia were to be eliminated by the “mujahidin” of Al-shabab. This is the time that some of the most prominent Somali politicians, academics, singers , authors, generals and civil society members were either assassinated or bombed. Ethiopia also used Al-shabab to eliminate those within the federal government whom it saw as a threat: Nationalists and Islamists. Alshabab conducted a systematic campaign to rid the federal government of Islamists.



From 2009 till the end of 2019 , Al-shabaab had targeted and killed the best and brightest among Somalis. They targeted heroic Somali generals and those trying to improve the security of the country. In fact, they deployed both suicide bombers and a dozen men to storm major hotel where senior Somali officers were residing. Just few months ago, Al-shabaab terrorists bombed and stormed one of the best hotels in KIsmayo and killed one of the brightest Somali TV presenters from the Diaspora, Hodan Naaleeye. For the last few years KIsmaayo city was peaceful and major incidents of this nature did not take place. When the time came to eliminate those who brought and hope and peace for Somalia , like Ms Hodan, the killers did not spare any efforts to achieve that bloody murder and penetrate a city that did not experience bombing for a long time.



Yet, not one single warlord or pro-Ethiopian politician was ever targeted by Alshabab’s relentless assassination and bombing campaigns to exterminate the best and the brightest. If youlook back, almost all Somali warlords in Mogadishu or else where died of natural causes. During the reign oh president Hassan Sheikh even those who called for security improvement or spoke against Ethiopian policy in Somalia were assassinated. Famed singer Saado Ali were killed in a day light. The killers chased her car sprayed a pullet after crushing and disappeared. While security is an issue today, daylight drive by shooting and escaping is not possible today.

 

[Veteran]

Colonel Cumar Hashi , who crossed from Ethiopia after the agreement that put them in power, was blown in Beledweyne hotel with his entourage of 80 prominent members of Hiiran region. By far , it was the largest bomb ever exploded in Somalia at the time. Atv that time Al-shabaab did not even have a well established logistical presence in Hiiraan region. Strangely, colonel Hashi was one of those who called Jihaad against Ethiopia as a senior member of the Islamic Courts. Yet as soon as he became the interior minister, he crossed to Ethiopia , stayed about a monthand crossed back to Hiiraan with a thousand men. Unbeknown to him a bomb laden vehicles followed him to his hotel. The second biggest one was the one that hit Hotel Shamo which eliminated some of the most prominent members of ICU including four cabinet ministers. Among the notable was Cabdilahi Ahmed Waayeel, the intelectual among the ICU.



The new Alshabab’s second task was to attack and punish the two most anti-Ethiopian clans who were at the forefront of the resistance war against the Ethiopian occupation: the Habar Gidir clan and the Ogaden clan. THese two groups from Galmudug /Mogadishu and Jubbaland were the primary founders of Al-shabaab and ICU. After brutal and relentless attacks, the HG especially the Galgaduud group, were forced to seek the help of their former enemies, the Ethiopians. THey formed a Suffi group called Ehlu Sunna Waljamaaca. Ethiopia armed and organized them to fight Al-shabaab. That Sufi group is still active in central Somalia and their Ethiopian connection is managed today mainly through the intelligence community.



Before confronting the Raaskambooni Brigade, Alshabab also hunted down suspected ONLF (Ogaden National Liberation Front) members in Somalia. The ONLF had established small bases in the region of Jubba during ihe war against the Ethiopian occupation. However, one year after the Ethiopians withdrew from Somalia , Al Shabab destroyed those bases on behalf of their Ethiopian handlers. THeir members either sought refuge in Kenya while others surrendered to Cabdi Illey, the Ethiopian Somali regional president. Hisbul Islaam, another armed, anti-Ethiopian, islamist organization, also disarmed and destroyed.Their leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys hsa to run for his life and surrender to the Somali federal government. Ethiopia achieved success for what it could not get in all out war in Somalia.



In fact, the Raaskaambooni movement who were important segments of Al-shabaab during the war against Ethiopia became their arch enemies. Some might even say that the main reason Madoobe sought the assistance of Kenya was the relentless attacks of Al-shabaab. Today, the former deputy leader of Al-shabaab is an integral part of the Kenyan proxy war in Somalia. He is managed by the Kenyan intelligence while financial resources are provided by the UAE. As events unfolded , the indigenous Somali Islamists of two decades ago, became entangled with foreign intelligence powers they could not adequately handle or match with their limited experience. These movement with no experience of intelligence, diplomacy and world affairs , were used to destroy Somalia from inside with covert intelligence operations.




Ethiopia also used alshabab to implement its design for the region. Ethiopia’s magical economic growth for the last few years was directly a result of Alshabab deliberately targeting both Kenya and Somalia, Alshabab had to maintain a level of violence that made Mogadishu, and Somalia in general, unsafe for Somalis from the diaspora to return or attract foreign investment and became dependent on Ethiopian and other foreign troops for security. They also targeted Kenya in a way that drained Kenyan tourism industry. Kenya lost 71% of its tourism industry. The main question is why Al-shabbab never attacked Ethiopia for the last 10 years?



Some would argue that the EThiopian army is strong and disciplined enough to defend any Al-shabaab attacks, yet, a suicide bomber could not be deterred by the strength of the opponent. It doesn't take much to direct a bomb laden truck to Ethiopian manned checkpoint or even a border entry points. Al-shabaab went as far as Kampala to attack their perceived enemies, but never attacked Ethiopian bases, troops or towns controlled by them since 2009.



Al-shabaab leaders hide in remote area of JUbba and Lower Shabelle region. THeir capacity to manage or execute operations in MOgadishu is limited. Sheikh Cali Dheere might get the microphone to claim everything that happened within the capital, but these attacks and operations are executed by independent cells, regional bosses, criminal cartels and extorsion rachets seeking huge money. Throughout the years the top leaders and ideological leaders of Al-shabaab were from Northern regions of Somalia and Daarood block members. The financial branch and logistics is managed by the mostly by Mogadishu Clan clan, and most of the young men used in the suicide bombings are either from Bay region or other disadvantaged young men whose land is occupied by others in JUbbaland and Lower Shabelle who are empowered by Al-shabaab.



At the same time while foreign money and covert intelligence to be huge part of the Al-shabaab operational success, one can not denying that the Al-shabaab clanless system and merit based way of conducting business as primary attraction to many youths. Many towns in JUbba and Lower Shabelle region young men can select and marry whomever they wish regardless of clan or status. In these towns, when Al-shabaab fighters arrive , the whole town is in a celebratory mood for the anticipation of many weddings. While the local guys are chewing Khat and living a lazy lifestyle, Al-shabaab boys quickly marry the bachelor girls in the town and act like real men.



Yet, other than load a truck with a bomb these rural based fighters can not achieve their goals the way intelligence and cartel members mixed with Al-shabaab inflict casualties in Mogadishu. Everyone including Farmaajo and others know that Sim Cards are used for remote detonation of bombs, yet no one was asking the telecom companies to register phones or eliminate telephone banking



with These actions and many more are some of the cultures that feeds their system. If you want to reduce and eliminate their reach, one must start with the money train, foreign intelligence and business cartels.

 

[embarassing]

Interesting