UN special rep tells Xamar its over!

[Idilinaa]

Never negotiate with terrorists dawg that's like the oldest rule in the book these aren't reasonable folk the only deal they'll agree to is one that gives them more power. Not only that you want clan elders to negotiate terms you done lost ur mind these elders will happily give up everything if the guys on the other side of the table are the same clan as them.

You wanna defeat AS you have to punch lower than them be willing to do things they aren't willing to do. The side willing to take things farther always wins that's war in a nutshell for you.

A lot of AS recruitment isn't even ideological , many people are coerced, blackmailed, or pressured into joining. Negotiations aren't about giving them power, they're a tool to fragment and weaken the group by peeling away those who aren't hardcore militants.

If you want a real-world example, look at how the Somali region of Ethiopia (Ogaden) stabilized. They didn’t defeat insurgency with pure force , they set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and invested in grassroots governance. Local councils were empowered, which fostered clan dialogue, built trust, and expanded inclusive governance.

That model worked. The same thing happened in Waqooyi Galbeed and Puntland , it was traditional elders and local agreements that brought stability, not endless military campaigns.

You can’t bomb your way to peace. Real, lasting solutions are always rooted in local legitimacy and representation.

 

[3LetterzMM]

A lot of AS recruitment isn't even ideological , many people are coerced, blackmailed, or pressured into joining. Negotiations aren't about giving them power, they're a tool to fragment and weaken the group by peeling away those who aren't hardcore militants.

If you want a real-world example, look at how the Somali region of Ethiopia (Ogaden) stabilized. They didn’t defeat insurgency with pure force , they set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and invested in grassroots governance. Local councils were empowered, which fostered clan dialogue, built trust, and expanded inclusive governance.

That model worked. The same thing happened in Waqooyi Galbeed and Puntland , it was traditional elders and local agreements that brought stability, not endless military campaigns.

You can’t bomb your way to peace. Real, lasting solutions are always rooted in local legitimacy and representation.

Your wrong though a lot of people support the movement for what it is. You have to understand they've been around for 20yrs now that's a whole generation that's been born and raised under AS to these young men Al Shabaab is all they know and dying in jihad against the kuffar SNA and AU is the only way they will go to heaven.

Even if you strip away the people that dont really want to fight you still got the top commanders leading tons of young adults in AS territory who where brainwashed into being loyal subjects it's enough to keep the war going on. What do you plan on giving AS cause if you want something ur gonna have to give something otherwise this isn't even a negotiation ur just strong arming them to do what you want.

In these terrorist controlled land the SNA are the bad guys the kuffar I say instead of wasting tons of time "rehabilitating" and letting tons of people die trying to fix the image I say use it. You're already the bad guys so fight dirty bomb your way thru these fucks. When your image is already in the gutter you dont have to worry about maintaining it so you can use all the underhanded tactics you want to bring em down Somalis dont respond well to this nicey nice bullshyt you gotta put fear into the whole country show em how being a terrorist will destroy you and your families lives I bet they put the guns down.

 

[AbrahamFreedom]

Lots of Somalis from Somaliland and Puntland in Dubai financially supported the ICU through donations. They also gave lots of moral support but that goes without saying. Al Shabab will go north of Galkacyo. Their propaganda videos and communication materials are top quality for Somali standards.
.
The Somalia government is incredibly incompetent and weak and cannot defeat Al Shabab. I know of a guy who got a very senior role heading an organization with the HSM government. He has zero strategy or overall organizational skills, like many Somalis, but also more shocking, he's below average in intelligence. I have been told he got fired from jobs in Canada. Somalia has no hope.

 

[Idilinaa]

Lots of Somalis from Somaliland and Puntland in Dubai financially supported the ICU through donations. They also gave lots of moral support but that goes without saying. Al Shabab will go north of Galkacyo. Their propaganda videos and communication materials are top quality for Somali standards.
.
The Somalia government is incredibly incompetent and weak and cannot defeat Al Shabab. I know of a guy who got a very senior role heading an organization with the HSM government. He has zero strategy or overall organizational skills, like many Somalis, but also more shocking, he's below average in intelligence. I have been told he got fired from jobs in Canada. Somalia has no hope.

The ICU was not the same as today’s Al-Shabaab. Back then, people from the North supported what was seen as a legitimate Somali-led governance model , moderate, inclusive, and rooted in Somali traditions. Not some fringe, foreign-inspired extremist ideology like what Al-Shabaab represents now.

Let’s also be honest, for over two decades, Al-Shabaab hasn’t gained a foothold in Waqooyi, Puntland, or even the Somali Region (Ogaden) of Ethiopia , areas much closer to their operations. And that’s not by accident.

Since you mentioned government “incompetence,” I guess it was that same "incompetent Somali" leadership in Puntland that crushed ISIS within weeks , dismantling their networks, cutting off their finances, and clearing every base they had. Ending their presence in the process.

They must’ve done all that after getting “fired from their jobs” and with zero “organizational skills,” right?

The only reason Al-Shabaab even exists today is because of the power vacuum and chaos unleashed by the 2006 U.S.-backed Ethiopian invasion. That foreign intervention destroyed the ICU, which was actually bringing order, and opened the door for extremist groups to take root.

The same foreign intervention persists which sustains it.

Let’s not rewrite history or equate two very different movements.

Somalia still has hope because its resilience is proven , local communities consistently resist extremism, regions are developing at their own pace, and Somali-led solutions are taking root in places untouched by foreign interference. The capacity is there , what’s needed is space to lead without sabotage.

Your wrong though a lot of people support the movement for what it is. You have to understand they've been around for 20yrs now that's a whole generation that's been born and raised under AS to these young men Al Shabaab is all they know and dying in jihad against the kuffar SNA and AU is the only way they will go to heaven.

Even if you strip away the people that dont really want to fight you still got the top commanders leading tons of young adults in AS territory who where brainwashed into being loyal subjects it's enough to keep the war going on. What do you plan on giving AS cause if you want something ur gonna have to give something otherwise this isn't even a negotiation ur just strong arming them to do what you want.

In these terrorist controlled land the SNA are the bad guys the kuffar I say instead of wasting tons of time "rehabilitating" and letting tons of people die trying to fix the image I say use it. You're already the bad guys so fight dirty bomb your way thru these fucks. When your image is already in the gutter you dont have to worry about maintaining it so you can use all the underhanded tactics you want to bring em down Somalis dont respond well to this nicey nice bullshyt you gotta put fear into the whole country show em how being a terrorist will destroy you and your families lives I bet they put the guns down.

You’re just talking for the sake of it at this point. You clearly don’t understand how AS operates, and the way you're casually calling people the "k-word" shows you’re not any different from them in mindset. If we were to take even half of what you're suggesting seriously, we'd be no better than the group we're trying to defeat.

I’ve already broken this down before when @X29 asked , their power doesn’t rest on popular legitimacy, but on fear, coercion, and financial extortion. Here's how they actually function:

Their power is not based on popular legitimacy, but on fear, coercion, and financial extortion.

Alshabaab rules through violence, coercion, intimidation, blackmailing and extortion, they don't get true local support or consent in a voluntary way.

This is how i would characterize them

Violence & Terrorism – They use assassinations, bombings, and armed attacks to silence opposition and create fear.

Coercion & Intimidation – Communities comply out of fear of retaliation, not because they support them.

Extortion & Blackmail – They impose illegal taxes on businesses, transport, and even aid organizations.

Infiltration & Espionage – They use informants and spies to monitor and punish those who resist.

Exploiting Weak Governance – In areas where the Somali government is weak or absent, they fill the power vacuum by force.

Religious Propaganda – They falsely claim to enforce Sharia law, but their actions contradict Islamic principles.

Here is how local Somalis at large view them:

Most Somalis reject them – They only survive because people fear their brutality.

Communities fight back – Local uprisings (e.g., Macawiisley resistance) prove that people want them gone.

They destroy economic growth – Businesses pay "taxes" out of fear, not loyalty.

They target innocent civilians – Bombing markets, schools, and mosques only alienates them further.

So no , the solution isn’t to “bomb your way through.” The solution is strategic, local, and community-led. That’s how real counter-insurgency works.

 

[The Oponian Guild]

Lots of Somalis from Somaliland and Puntland in Dubai financially supported the ICU through donations. They also gave lots of moral support but that goes without saying. Al Shabab will go north of Galkacyo. Their propaganda videos and communication materials are top quality for Somali standards.
.
The Somalia government is incredibly incompetent and weak and cannot defeat Al Shabab. I know of a guy who got a very senior role heading an organization with the HSM government. He has zero strategy or overall organizational skills, like many Somalis, but also more shocking, he's below average in intelligence. I have been told he got fired from jobs in Canada. Somalia has no hope.

All these extremist outfits are one and the same, led by southern warlords turned supposed awliya who after seeing that mooryanimo iyo unuka leh won’t win them Somalia, begun to manipulate religion. People often for example dismiss the ties between aweys Al ittihad and aideed, the ssdf used to listen in on their radio communications during the war and they’d call each other often insulting the people of the north east and aweys would take glee in the fitna he’d caused by pitting the local ulama against their kinsmen etc etc, we’ve seen this before. Manipulation of religion and the dropping of the khaki for the imamad is nothing new.

 

[The Oponian Guild]

It's not surrender, it's standard counter-insurgency practice. No successful counter-insurgency campaign anywhere in the world has been won through military force alone. At some point, reconciliation, dialogue, and reintegration are necessary components , especially with lower-level operatives or communities/individuals drawn in by circumstance rather than ideology

Look at examples like Colombia with FARC, or the various programs used in Northern Ireland against the various militant terror orgs. The aim is not to reward criminals, but to break the insurgency’s cohesion, isolate hardliners, and reduce the group’s recruitment base.

You don’t negotiate from weakness ,you negotiate strategically to weaken them. That’s not surrender; that’s smart policy.

Read this publication by a prominent Somali scholar

Dialoguing and negotiating with Al-Shabaab: the role of clan elders as insider-partial mediators​

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17531055.2020.1863099

It's conclusions pretty much echo what i've voiced. You guys don't get that Alshabaab is sustained by the illegitimacy of FGS and foreign meddling. Otherwise they would have been done away with long ago and quickly.



They absolutely fought and defeated the warlords. The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) wasn’t just a political accommodation , it was a direct response to the chaos and brutality caused by the warlords who filled the power vacuum after the collapse of the central government and emerged from Proxy groups. These warlords were often backed by foreign interests and were largely responsible for fragmenting Mogadishu and exploiting the population.

The ICU, formed from a coalition of grassroots Sharia courts, gained popular support precisely because it restored stability and security by pushing out these warlords, not by co-opting them. While there may have been cases where some defected or were reconciled later, the early ICU rise was clearly a result of decisive military and civic victories over them.

Name just one instance in which said warlords dealt with by military action? Doesn’t that also go against your previous statement about dialogue over conflict?

 

[Idilinaa]

All these extremist outfits are one and the same, led by southern warlords turned supposed awliya who after seeing that mooryanimo iyo unuka leh won’t win them Somalia, begun to manipulate religion. People often for example dismiss the ties between aweys Al ittihad and aideed, the ssdf used to listen in on their radio communications during the war and they’d call each other often insulting the people of the north east and aweys would take glee in the fitna he’d caused by pitting the local ulama against their kinsmen etc etc, we’ve seen this before. Manipulation of religion and the dropping of the khaki for the imamad is nothing new.

Yes, yes , the same warlords once known for their secularism, who later reinvented themselves as a U.S.-backed “anti-terrorist coalition” and collaborated with the CIA and Mossad to suppress Sharia courts and Islamic governance in Mogadishu… were actually secret Islamists in disguise the whole time? Makes perfect sense.

U.S. secretly backing warlords in Somalia

The United States secretly is supporting secular warlords who are fighting Islamic groups for control of Somalia's capital.

www.nbcnews.com

I suppose those same “Islamists” were revealing their extremist nature when they:

- Removed illegal checkpoints to enable free trade

- Reopened schools, with a rise in female enrollment

- Issued travel visas so Somalis could move freely

- Called for democratic elections

- Established a coast guard to combat illegal maritime activity

- Utilized Somali xeer customs and conflict mediation practices

- Rehabilitation and re-education centers to reform various former members of warlord militias.

- Implemented re-distributive welfare programs in a socialist style to support the poor and war-affected

- Combat exploitation of people and environmental destructions like deforestation.

- Opened up hospitals and clinics

- Cleaned up entire areas and built waste collection systems.

Yes , clearly textbook signs of religious extremism.

The jokes really do write themselves. Some of you are so boxed in by factional loyalty or old grudges tied to defending groups like the SSDF that objectivity goes out the window. For you, it’s never about the facts , it’s identity/grievance politics wrapped in historical revisionism.

And this is coming from someone who accuses others of “revisionism”? Get real.

 

[Idilinaa]

Name just one instance in which said warlords dealt with by military action? Doesn’t that also go against your previous statement about dialogue over conflict?

They were defeated multiple times militarily, but the decisive turning point was the Battle of Mogadishu in 2006:

Battle of Mogadishu (2006) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

And no, military action and dialogue aren’t mutually exclusive. That’s a false dichotomy. You can weaken a group militarily while simultaneously engaging segments of it politically to fracture and diminish its cohesion. That’s actually standard counterinsurgency practice across the world.

Relying on only military force doesn’t resolve the root causes or reintegrate people into society. But ignoring the military dimension altogether is equally naive. You need a multi-pronged strategy , and that’s the distinction you’re missing.

 

[The Oponian Guild]

Yes, yes , the same warlords once known for their secularism, who later reinvented themselves as a U.S.-backed “anti-terrorist coalition” and collaborated with the CIA and Mossad to suppress Sharia courts and Islamic governance in Mogadishu… were actually secret Islamists in disguise the whole time? Makes perfect sense.

View attachment 362024

U.S. secretly backing warlords in Somalia

The United States secretly is supporting secular warlords who are fighting Islamic groups for control of Somalia's capital.

www.nbcnews.com

I suppose those same “Islamists” were revealing their extremist nature when they:

- Removed illegal checkpoints to enable free trade

- Reopened schools, with a rise in female enrollment

- Issued travel visas so Somalis could move freely

- Called for democratic elections

- Established a coast guard to combat illegal maritime activity

- Utilized Somali xeer customs and conflict mediation practices

- Rehabilitation and re-education centers to reform various former members of warlord militias.

- Implemented re-distributive welfare programs in a socialist style to support the poor and war-affected

- Combat exploitation of people and environmental destructions like deforestation.

- Opened up hospitals and clinics

- Cleaned up entire areas and built waste collection systems.

Yes , clearly textbook signs of religious extremism.

The jokes really do write themselves. Some of you are so boxed in by factional loyalty or old grudges tied to defending groups like the SSDF that objectivity goes out the window. For you, it’s never about the facts , it’s identity/grievance politics wrapped in historical revisionism.

And this is coming from someone who accuses others of “revisionism”? Get real.

This isn’t the “gotcha” moment you think it is, the fact of the matter is, the ICU did not battle the said warlords, it co-opted them, otherwise it wouldn’t have gotten to the heights it did. Who provided their weapons? Their manpower? The local warlords who they co-opted. It’s you who’s boxed in by this inexplainable attachment to an outwardly “pious” outfit that was engaging in clan warfare (yes there’s proof) and not even properly implementing sharia, but a primitive form of it (chopping the hands of teens for stealing from markets)

 

[reer]

All these extremist outfits are one and the same, led by southern warlords turned supposed awliya who after seeing that mooryanimo iyo unuka leh won’t win them Somalia, begun to manipulate religion. People often for example dismiss the ties between aweys Al ittihad and aideed, the ssdf used to listen in on their radio communications during the war and they’d call each other often insulting the people of the north east and aweys would take glee in the fitna he’d caused by pitting the local ulama against their kinsmen etc etc, we’ve seen this before. Manipulation of religion and the dropping of the khaki for the imamad is nothing new.

hasan dahir aweys:


December 28, 2006
..........
..........
The minority clans who are marginalized by those administrations should be welcomed and influenced. The Wagerdha’a sub-clan of the Marehan should to be supported and hostilities promoted within other sub-clans of the Marehan.
........

Shiikh Hassan Dahir Aweys (signed)

https://wikileaks.org/wiki/Translation_of_Aweis_Letter.doc

 

[The Oponian Guild]

The ICU was not the same as today’s Al-Shabaab. Back then, people from the North supported what was seen as a legitimate Somali-led governance model , moderate, inclusive, and rooted in Somali traditions. Not some fringe, foreign-inspired extremist ideology like what Al-Shabaab represents now.

Let’s also be honest, for over two decades, Al-Shabaab hasn’t gained a foothold in Waqooyi, Puntland, or even the Somali Region (Ogaden) of Ethiopia , areas much closer to their operations. And that’s not by accident.

Since you mentioned government “incompetence,” I guess it was that same "incompetent Somali" leadership in Puntland that crushed ISIS within weeks , dismantling their networks, cutting off their finances, and clearing every base they had. Ending their presence in the process.

They must’ve done all that after getting “fired from their jobs” and with zero “organizational skills,” right?

The only reason Al-Shabaab even exists today is because of the power vacuum and chaos unleashed by the 2006 U.S.-backed Ethiopian invasion. That foreign intervention destroyed the ICU, which was actually bringing order, and opened the door for extremist groups to take root.

The same foreign intervention persists which sustains it.

Let’s not rewrite history or equate two very different movements.

Somalia still has hope because its resilience is proven , local communities consistently resist extremism, regions are developing at their own pace, and Somali-led solutions are taking root in places untouched by foreign interference. The capacity is there , what’s needed is space to lead without sabotage.



You’re just talking for the sake of it at this point. You clearly don’t understand how AS operates, and the way you're casually calling people the "k-word" shows you’re not any different from them in mindset. If we were to take even half of what you're suggesting seriously, we'd be no better than the group we're trying to defeat.

I’ve already broken this down before when @X29 asked , their power doesn’t rest on popular legitimacy, but on fear, coercion, and financial extortion. Here's how they actually function:






So no , the solution isn’t to “bomb your way through.” The solution is strategic, local, and community-led. That’s how real counter-insurgency works.

The ICU was not supported in the north, you’re confusing them with Al Ittihad which was exterminated in the nineties.

 

[The Oponian Guild]

hasan dahir aweys:


December 28, 2006
..........
..........
The minority clans who are marginalized by those administrations should be welcomed and influenced. The Wagerdha’a sub-clan of the Marehan should to be supported and hostilities promoted within other sub-clans of the Marehan.
........

Shiikh Hassan Dahir Aweys (signed)

https://wikileaks.org/wiki/Translation_of_Aweis_Letter.doc

Same thing with his Al ittihad jig that failed in the north

 

[Idilinaa]

This isn’t the “gotcha” moment you think it is, the fact of the matter is, the ICU did not battle the said warlords, it co-opted them, otherwise it wouldn’t have gotten to the heights it did. Who provided their weapons? Their manpower? The local warlords who they co-opted. It’s you who’s boxed in by this inexplainable attachment to an outwardly “pious” outfit that was engaging in clan warfare (yes there’s proof) and not even properly implementing sharia, but a primitive form of it (chopping the hands of teens for stealing from markets)

It literally fought directly with its own forces and there were multiple armed confrontations across Mogadishu and surrounding areas. The ICU didn’t “co-opt” the warlords; it defeated them militarily and dismantled their checkpoints and militias.

and the ICU rose to their heights because because it transcended clan, factional, and regional lines It emerged from grassroots support , not through warlord alliances.

You’re trying to rewrite history here. The ICU’s rise was precisely because it challenged the power structure the warlords held ,not because it absorbed them.

There are no credible reports or verified documentation showing that the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) engaged in extreme punishments like chopping the hands of teenagers for petty theft during their brief governance in 2006.

They actually implement Sharia Courts much like how Somalis used to in cities and coastal towns throughout history.
What people don't also know is that they implemented Xeer law as well.

Somalia: Not Just Islam - How Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts Used Local Customs

Somalia: The Use of Local Customs by the Union of Islamic Courts

Analysis - Perceptions of Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts have often exaggerated the role of Islam and its radicalisation.

allafrica.com

They were pretty much implementing a very authentic traditional form of Somali governance. They were pretty moderate from a western perspective, since they didn't implement severe punishments or anything that would be deemed radical or grotesque Taliban style. They also didn't restrict peoples freedoms in far reaching ways and under them there was an increase in educational enrollment for girls and they went far to safeguard the safety of women and they didn't restrict womens employment or involvement in civic life. They also didn't force burkha.

I have shared before a study on how even minor clans were operating their own sharia courts and were granted high degree of political inclusion and reduction of discrimination that came with the courts swift justice.

Read this:
Transformation of Communal Sharia Courts of Mogadishu into a unified bureaucratized judiciary.
The Sharia Courts of Mogadishu: Beyond "African Islam'' and "Islamic Law"

It's funny how you rely on levying this baseless accusations in attempt to ignore the broader institutional, social, and security reforms they introduced like including disarmament, reopening schools, enabling trade, and enforcing law and order after 15 years of chaos.

 

[Zak12]

The local warlords who they co-opted

How is that different from Somaliland and Puntland accepting former warlords/militia members into their government and society? Guys like Morgan and Bixi are still walking freely.

Background doesn't really matter in Somalia since one can easily reintegrate back into society regardless of their past actions or affliations. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was literally the leader of the ICU but America accepted him as the president of the newly formed Somali government.

 

[reer]

Same thing with his Al ittihad jig that failed in the north

they couldnt shed the hawiye nature of icu leadership. indhocade went from being a menace in the shabelle valley to sheekh.

Madaxa Amniga ee Golaha Maxkamadaha Islaamiga Soomaaliyeed Sheekh Yuusuf Max’ed Siyaad (indhacadde) oo uu dhinaciisa midig fadhiyo ku xigeenkiisa dhinaca amaanka sh: muqtaarroobow ( abuu mansuur )
https://www.somalitalk.com/2006/dec/13dec046.html

what a quote.

sharif called some kismayo protestors remnants of the previous regime. went straight to qabiil.

التشكيلة الجديدة في كيسمايو استوعبت جميع الشرائح والقبائل الموجودة في المنطقة. وهؤلاء (المحتجون) عبارة عن بقايا النظام الأول (حكم سياد بري) نحن سنمنحهم فرصة لأنهم لن يتمكنوا من فعل شيء.
The new formation in Kismayo has included all the groups and clans present in the area. These (protesters) are remnants of the former regime (Siad Barre’s rule). We will give them a chance because they won’t be able to do anything.

https://www.aljazeera.net/news/2006/10/9/شيخ-شريف-إثيوبيا-مشكلتنا-وتظاهرات

 

[The Oponian Guild]

It literally fought directly with its own forces and there were multiple armed confrontations across Mogadishu and surrounding areas. The ICU didn’t “co-opt” the warlords; it defeated them militarily and dismantled their checkpoints and militias.

and the ICU rose to their heights because because it transcended clan, factional, and regional lines It emerged from grassroots support , not through warlord alliances.

You’re trying to rewrite history here. The ICU’s rise was precisely because it challenged the power structure the warlords held ,not because it absorbed them.

There are no credible reports or verified documentation showing that the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) engaged in extreme punishments like chopping the hands of teenagers for petty theft during their brief governance in 2006.




It's funny how you rely on levying this baseless accusations in attempt to ignore the broader institutional, social, and security reforms they introduced like including disarmament, reopening schools, enabling trade, and enforcing law and order after 15 years of chaos.

It did co-opt warlords, Aweys, the one they call indhocade who used to charge people money for water. Why can’t you come to accept that the bulk of its muscle was provided by the warlords?

 

[The Oponian Guild]

How is that different from Somaliland and Puntland accepting former warlords/militia members into their government and society? Guys like Morgan and Bixi are still walking freely.

Background doesn't really matter in Somalia since one can easily reintegrate back into society regardless of their past actions or affliations. Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was literally the leader of the ICU but America accepted him as the president of the newly formed Somali government.

Morgan isn’t a part of the PL government.

 

[Zak12]

Morgan isn’t a part of the PL government.

He is still walking around. Imo there should be an investigation or trial because of his past.

 

[Idilinaa]

The ICU was not supported in the north, you’re confusing them with Al Ittihad which was exterminated in the nineties.

People in Somaliland/Puntland sent them donations and financial support and did fundraising for them. Hundreds from Somaliland join their ranks as well

That's what @AbrahamFreedom was referring to that i responded to

It's speaks to their legitimacy that they got such broad support cross regionally, even from the businesses community that donated to them and that funded them.

 

[Idilinaa]

It did co-opt warlords, Aweys, the one they call indhocade who used to charge people money for water. Why can’t you come to accept that the bulk of its muscle was provided by the warlords?

Reform and reintegration are normal in post-conflict transitions , bringing in former rivals can help stabilize and unify. But that doesn’t mean those figures built the movement.

Figures like Indha Adde aligned with the ICU when they saw it was gaining ground, but by then, the ICU had already defeated several key faction leaders militarily.