[Garowe] President Hassan Sheikh has sacked the Chief of the Somali National Army [SNA] Odowaa Yusuf Rageh, effectively ending a career of a young general, who has been spearheading the fight against al-Shabaab ...... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... faceless myrmidons for the last years
General Odowaa was replaced by Brigadier General Ibrahim Sheikh Muhiyadin. The Italia-trained Muhiyadin was previously the commander of the presidential guards during the previous term of the current president.
The sacking of Rageh comes amid a reported slowdown in the war on al-Shabaab and an unprecedented delay in launching of the second phase. The first phase which lasted for seven months in Galmadug and HirShabelle states led to the liberation of 80 areas.
The president, who had previously declared "total war" on al-Shabaab, announced that Somalia had reached an agreement with Kenya, Æthiopia, and Djibouti for the deployment of non-ATMIS troops to the country who are set to assist the military in the second phase of operations against the al-Shabaab in Jubaland and Southwest states.
Gen. Rageh is the youngest commander ever to lead the Somalia army and had vast military experience after training in Uganda and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... and directly participating in serious ground combats. He was appointed by former President Farmajo in 2019.
His dismissal also comes a day after HirShabelle leader Ali Gudlawe Hussein sacked Hiiraan region Governor Osman Jeyte, who was the symbol of the fight against al-Shabaab having been a key mobilizer of clan militia. His sacking,which he has since declined, was widely condemned by many, including Federal MPs.
Whether setbacks or choreographed political moves, the dismissal of the two could trigger serious ramifications in the fight against al-Shabaab. Somalia military is preparing to take security responsibilities from the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] and the country says over 20,000 have been prepared.
Later this month, the first batch of 2,000 AU soldiers is set to leave the country with additional 3,000 also expected to leave later on. The al-Shabaab group has been carrying out sporadic retaliatory attacks mainly targeting security forces within military bases.
BREAKING: Ibrahim Sheikh Muhyadin Addow has been appointed as a new commander of Somali National Army, replacing Brigadier General Odowaa Yusuf Rageh, amid plans to start the 2nd phase of the offensive against Al Shabaab in Somalia. pic.twitter.com/W8fT4T8foy
— Shabelle Media Network (@ShabelleMedia) June 19, 2023
#1
One wonders what the US role is in all this:
--Somali President, Austin Discuss Future, Partnership During Pentagon Meeting. June 21, 2023 |DOD News |
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III welcomed Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to the Pentagon today praising the Somali leader for real progress at a very dangerous time. Austin said the two men are meeting at a key moment in Mohamud's presidency as the African Union begins a drawdown in the country and Somali forces are stepping up.
#2
The farce of Somalia being an actual functioning country with an actual, functioning military is such a fitting example of the Biden Administration's incompetence. It is a parasitical miasma of graft and extortion entirely sustained by the US Taxpayer with no realistic value to US national security or interests!
"Overall, U.S. security assistance to Somalia and peacekeeping operations in the country amounts to approximately $3 billion over the last decade, making Somalia among the most significant recipients of security aid in sub-Saharan Africa.Mar 20, 2023"
"In 2016 The Economist reported that the SNA did not exist as a cohesive force due to high rates of desertions and many soldiers being primarily loyal to clan leaders rather than the government.[145]" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Armed_Forces
[Garowe] In compliance with Somali Transition Plan [STP], a number of African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Transition Mission in Somalia [ATMIS] troops have started handing over some of the Forward Operating Bases [FOBs] to Somalia National Army [SNA] ahead of planned strategic withdrawal.
According to reports, the Burundian forces serving in ATMIS handed over Xaaji Cali [Haji Ali] Forward Operating Base, Middle Shabelle region, to Somali forces as part of the ATMIS drawdown. ATMIS plans to complete the withdrawal of 2000 soldiers from Somalia by the end of this month.
The Burundian contingent is the second largest in ATMIS and has played a key role in degrading al-Shabaab ...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... snuffies in several parts of HirShabelle, a state which was initially a home to the krazed killers. Most of the soldiers serving in the contingent participated in the first phase of operations against the group.
Statistics from the Federal Government of Somalia indicate that over 3,000 al-Shabaab snuffies were killed in the first phase with the country now planning the second onslaught in Southwest and Jubaland states. Recently, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud made changes in the top most leadership of the SNA, which saw him sack army chief Gen. Odowaa Yusuf Rageh.
The exit of Burundi soldiers is a huge indicator that the African Union could not stay in Somalia beyond schedule, with December 2024 set aside as the deadline. The Union has close to 22,000 strong force which has been conducting peace operations within Somalia for the last 15 years.
Recently, the government of Somalia confirmed that it had trained over 20,000 soldiers who are going to take over from AU forces, having been also equipped to take security responsibilities. Critics argue that the exit of the ATMIS troops could give al-Shabaab more room to antagonize locals.
[SUDANTRIBUNE] The governor of the Darfur region has appealed to the Security Council for an extension of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) mandate to investigate the continuous and recent atrocities perpetrated against civilians in western Sudan.
In a video speech released on June 19, Minni Minawi addressed the deteriorating security situation in Darfur, specifically highlighting the alarming reports of a mass exodus of civilians from El-Geneina to Chad. This displacement was triggered by the liquidation of the state governor and the systematic targeting of civilians along ethnic lines.
Minawi stressed the urgent need for international community intervention to address the escalating violence and bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice. He emphasized the vital role that the ICC plays in ensuring accountability and promoting peace in conflict-affected regions.
"Since the Darfur case has been referred to the International Criminal Court since 2004 and is still relevant today, I call on the UN Security Council to enhance the ICC mandate with investigating the significant offences and liquidations that are currently occurring," he said.
The governor’s plea comes amidst growing concerns over the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Darfur, as reports of widespread violence, displacement, and human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... abuses continue to emerge.
He further called on the warring parties to cease fighting, urging the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to halt the violence. He added that the war devastated the country, leading to Sudanese citizens fleeing or suffering from this tragic situation.
The SLM leader, who is currently outside the country, also called for an inclusive political process to end the conflict and address its underlying causes.
The SLM and some armed and political groups have refused to join a political process based on the framework agreement of December 2022 and have called for the inclusion of all their allied factions.
Minawi condemned the liquidation of the West Darfur governor, Khamis Abakr, stating that he "was killed by treachery." He also denounced the liquidation of Native Administration figures, warning that this could lead Sudan to a situation similar to what happened in Rwanda.
Addressing the "party that commits these crimes" without explicitly naming the RSF, he appealed for an end to targeting tribal and civil leaders. He urged them to pursue their political goals without resorting to "racist liquidations."
He added that the current situation in Darfur is reminiscent of the past, but this time the violence is more severe due to the greater capabilities of the aggressors.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/22/2023 00:00 ||
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#1
As usual the Sudan Tribune outdoes itself in disguising the ethnic war (Arab vs. African) occuring in Darfur. Which ethnicity is leading the exodus to Chad? Is the Governor of Darfur using the ICC to cover his own tracks?
[Rudaw] Yazidis in Shingal on Tuesday received the bodies of their loved ones who were killed and buried in mass graves by the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS).
Thirty-nine bodies were returned to the Yazidi homeland from a forensic hospital in djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... after being kept in Baghdad for two years, according to Rudaw’s Lamya Rasul.
Hundreds of family members awaited the bodies of their loved ones who came back in caskets covered by the Iraqi flag.
"We have been in contact with the forensic hospital for three or four years to receive the bodies back and today we received them," a relative of one of the Yazidi victims told Rudaw. "We ask for the return of the remaining missing bodies. The people wait for the bodies of their relatives."
This is the fifth round of Yazidi families taking back the bodies of their families, and the first time receiving them from Mosul.
"ISIS destroyed us," a Yazidi woman who lost her brother said. "He was our father that took care of us."
Around 95 mass graves of Yazidis killed by ISIS exist all over Iraq and only 43 of them have been exhumed.
The exhumation of mass graves began in 2019 in Shingal and then was halted for around one year due to the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... pandemic. It resumed in October 2020.
The process is being carried out by the Iraqi government in coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and is overseen by the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by ISIS (UNITAD).
In March, a mass grave was exhumed in Hardan village in Shingal, recovering the bodies of at least 30 Yazidis.
In February last year, the KRG and Iraqi government exhumed six Yazidi mass graves in Hardan, which contained 131 bodies.
[AnNahar] Israeli defense exports hit an all-time high of $12.5 billion last year, with Arab countries that recently established ties accounting for nearly a quarter of purchase contracts, officials said Wednesday.
The defense ministry, which oversees and approves the exports of Israel's defense industries, said one quarter of deals were for drone systems, with "missiles, rockets and air defense systems" making up another 19 percent.
Ministry figures show total exports have doubled over the past nine years.
A breakdown of the regions to which the goods are exported showed a leap among Abraham Accords countries from $853 million (nine percent) in 2021 to $2.96 billion (24 percent) in 2022.
The U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords from 2020 saw Israel normalize ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.
The defense ministry would not provide further details.
"Global instability increases the demand for Israeli air defense systems, drones, UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and missiles, and we continually work to preserve our capabilities and strengthen them," defense ministry director general Eyal Zamir said in a statement.
The German parliament was set to approve a $4.3 billion deal later Wednesday to purchase Israel's Arrow 3 air defense system, as the country moves to bolster its defenses following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.
#1
In the case of the arab buyers, this is a tacit admission that they will never go war with Israel, and that they have cousins that they have more concerns about.
That it's also current state of the art doesn't hurt, either.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
06/22/2023 13:28 Comments ||
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[Rudaw] The intelligence branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Monday accused 20 foreign countries of creating an "emotional atmosphere" and fueling the protests in the aftermath of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini’s death.
Amini’s death while in police custody in September ignited Iran’s longest protest movement in the past four decades, initially calling for greater freedoms before turning into a revolution with calls for the overthrow of the Islamic regime.
The IRGC and its paramilitary Basij led a violent mostly peaceful crackdown against the protesters, killing hundreds of people and wounding thousands others. Tehran’s response to the demonstrations was heavily criticized by the international community.
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... interpreted the international community’s solidarity with the protesters as supporting the unrest and "riots" in the country.
"Investigations by the IRGC intelligence organization show the role and participation of the intelligence services of nearly 20 countries in the riots," Mohammad Kazemi, head of the IRGC intelligence services, told Iranian state media on Monday.
Among the countries mentioned by Kazemi were the United States, the United Kingdom, Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , United Arab Emirates, and the Islamic republic’s arch-nemesis Israel.
The intelligence head accused the French embassy of using diplomats to collect information about the protests and the security situation in Iran, and accused the intelligence services of the US, UK, and Israel of working together to "reactivate" a project of assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists.
Kazemi also alleged that meetings had occurred between the UAE and Israeli intelligence services to support the protesters.
Iran and Saudi Arabia announced that they were restoring diplomatic in February, seven years after they severed ties in 2016 when Iranian protestors attacked the Saudi diplomatic mission in Tehran in retaliation to the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shiite holy man. The UAE also severed ties with Iran in 2016 as a show of support with the Kingdom.
The US, UK, and European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... imposed several sanctions on Tehran over its brutal crackdown on the protesters in the country.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/22/2023 02:10 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
