Economist: Somalia’s new president vows to beat back jihadists, then talk to them. An interview with Hassan Sheikh Mohamud

[bidenkulaha]

Somalia’s new president vows to beat back jihadists, then talk to them

An interview with Hassan Sheikh Mohamud

www.economist.com

 

[bidenkulaha]

Speaking to The Economist in a heavily fortified hotel in Mogadishu, he says it was the sight of his successor ripping up the fragile gains of the previous decade that prompted him to run for office again. The populist Farmaajo sidelined the leaders of Puntland and Jubaland, two powerful regional states, and wangled loyalists into running the other three. He lashed out at critics and packed his cronies into the federal security forces, which then threatened to disintegrate violently along clan lines. Whoever has run Somalia, a labyrinth of clan loyalties has long prevented the emergence of a true sense of national unity.

Farmaajo upset foreign allies, too. He drew closer to Qatar and Turkey at the expense of other influential states in the Gulf. He picked fights with neighbouring Kenya and Djibouti. His cosying up to Eritrea and its vicious dictator, Issaias Afwerki, was particularly unpopular.

By contrast the avuncular Mr Mohamud, an academic and civil-rights campaigner, has a more conciliatory flavour. He has moved fast to mend bridges with opponents at home and abroad. Said Deni, president of Puntland, the oldest and strongest of the five federal states (excluding the breakaway would-be country of Somaliland), notes that one of Mr Mohamud’s first moves after winning the election was to invite all Somalia’s regional leaders to a meal together. He promised them he would share power and complete a new federal constitution. “It was a good speech,” concedes Mr Deni grudgingly (the two ran against each other in the election).

 

[bidenkulaha]

Meanwhile America, which in February took the unusual step of banning visas for Somali officials who disrupted the electoral process, says it will send hundreds of troops back into Somalia to help the government fight al-Shabab. “[Mr Mohamud] is somebody we can work with,” says an American official.


But he can expect a rough ride. Al-Shabab, which was knocked back in his first term, is resurgent and still controls much of the countryside (see map). “Most of the districts we liberated have been lost again,” he laments. Though al-Shabab rejected the election, it may well have hoped that Farmaajo would win. On his watch it was widely believed that the jihadists had infiltrated state institutions, especially the security apparatus. “The previous government had no plan to fight al-Shabab,” says Mr Deni. The group has spread across the country. Few places are safe from the jihadists. To journey just a few hundred metres down the road from the international “green zone” by the airport to meet the president, your correspondent had to be accompanied by seven soldiers in a jeep and a mounted machinegun.

 

[bidenkulaha]

Al-Shabab is well entrenched in the territories it controls. Its people still extort cash from businesses and conscript children into their guerrilla units. They also run courts and provide basic goods and services. The new president says that al-Shabab today collects more tax revenue than the federal government does. Local businessmen say the group mediates legal disputes more cleanly and efficiently than the official courts. “They’ve established a state within a state,” says the president.

So does he have a coherent plan for fighting them? “To defeat al-Shabab the government must out-compete it on service delivery,” argues Ahmed Abdullahi Sheikh, a former commander of the Danab, an American-trained fighting unit. Mr Mohamud, a moderate Islamist with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, also stresses ideology. “Our vision is to take the Islamic narrative from al-Shabab and show the people that the state protects their faith. This means waging a multi-front war.”

 

[bidenkulaha]

That may be a bit glib. A lasting solution will probably also require negotiations with al-Shabab. During his previous term Mr Mohamud tried to win over defectors with promises of an amnesty, mainly in vain. Now he concedes that the battle will end at the negotiating table—but not yet. The last big offensive against al-Shabab was in 2019. Mr Mohamud says he intends to launch a new one, first to contain the jihadists, then to push them back deeper into the countryside. In theory talks could then begin. In practice this could take years. Al-Shabab has certainly proved resilient as well as ruthless.

Mr Mohamud’s previous term was a mixed bag. His cabinet was fractious and unstable. Corruption was especially rampant. Like his successor he failed to organise a direct election on time, settling instead for an indirect one whereby members of parliament were elected by delegates chosen by about 14,000 clan elders. He too was indirectly elected. This time, though, he comes armed with experience and a reservoir of goodwill. He will need to seize advantage of both.

 

[Jiron]

Goodluck to the president, may his term bring us peace and love

 

[Woke1.4rm.Shibis]

As usual president HSM eith his great interviews .
No negotiation with terrorists these al Shabaab terrorists work for foreign countries why negotiate with them ?!

 

[bidenkulaha]

As usual president HSM eith his great interviews.

No negotiation with terrorists these al Shabaab terrorists work for foreign countries why negotiate with them ?!

Absolutely. Excellent to see the President be willing to speak to international media and give interview/press conferences to be held to account.

It’s clear in the article that HSM believes AS need to be killed. He just believes when they’re destroyed, negotiations can start from a position of strength from the government.

Imo this is unrealistic as long as these people are khawariij.

 

[Thegoodshepherd]

As usual president HSM eith his great interviews .
No negotiation with terrorists these al Shabaab terrorists work for foreign countries why negotiate with them ?!

The problem with HSM is not that he is not smart enough. The problem is that he is corrupt, even by Somali standards

HSM knows what needs to be done, but the beeso is all he can see. Hopefully he has stolen enough the first time and will now try to leave a legacy of some kind.

 

[peacemaker]

The problem with HSM is not that he is not smart enough. The problem is that he is corrupt, even by Somali standards

HSM knows what needs to be done, but the beeso is all he can see. Hopefully he has stolen enough the first time and will now try to leave a legacy of some kind.

a bantu dictator once told people to re-elect him, when they aske why he relied:

"i stole 500 million, i am content now and will focus on the nation, if you choose a new leader he will spend first term stealing and looting"

so they picked

hassan sheikh is corrupt, but farmajo was a shaytan and corrupt,

better the devil i know than a new devil i dont or the hunter gatherer moryaan who marked ONLF terrorist, every OG in here has someone who has died fighting for ONLF

are my father and brother terrorist? are we garac where a langab Marehan will label us terrorist for defending our own land from gaalo? did we attack Somalis or Muslims but gaalo?

USA, EU, UK gaalo refused to label us terrorist and told zinawi to go to hell -which he is in now Alhamdulillah

farmjao spent 5 years waging a war on Ogaden, for no reason, at least when hassan was doing it he did not want another darood state jubaland to be created

let him loot the country, hassan will not be remembered in a decade and just wanted money

, but farmajo wanted to destroy me for generations to come with his Ethiopian booty licking antics when he is the head of a so called sovereign country ,

i would understand if he was somaliland, puntland, a small regional tribal fiefdom being bullied, but him, he was a danger beyond anyone could fathom,