Warbixintii Qaramada Midoobay maxay ka sheegtay qolyaha kasoo horjeeda Jubaland Barre Adan Shire ‘Hiiraale’ and Hassan Galad 24. Former leaders of the now defunct JVA, notably Barre Adan Shire ‘Hiiraale’ (Darod / Marehan) and Hassan Galad (Hawiye / Habar Gedir / Ayr), have been instrumental in the Government’s planning of the March 2013 deployment of Darod / Marehan forces to a position 40 kilometers from Kismayo.30 Approximately 200 forces were dispatched from the town of El Waak and were funded by officials in the office of Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon (Darod / Marehan).31 25. From El Waak the force passed through roughly a dozen Al-Shabaab checkpoints on its way towards Kismayo without any resistance.32 A key broker between these forces and Al-Shabaab was Abdurahman Filow33 (Darod / Marehan), a former commander under Hiiraale’s JVA and who was a senior Al-Shabaab commander in Kismayo before being expelled by KDF and Ras Kamboni forces in September 2012. Moreover, the Al-Shabaab ally, Mohamed Wali Sheikh Ahmed Nuur (Darod / Marehan) (profiled in S/2011/433, paragraphs 320 and 321), guaranteed unopposed passage for the El Waak force through Al-Shabaab-controlled territory.34 26. While Filow has recently allied with officials in the FGS, he has continued to operate as an Al-Shabaab commander, leading recruitment drives in Jamaame in March 2013, and organising an Al-Shabaab attack on Kismayo on 4 April 2013, in which militants fired four explosive projectiles between the old airport and the city university.35 Hiiraale, meanwhile, relocated in late April 2013 from Mogadishu to Kismayo with a detachment of personal militia and has proclaimed himself as the president of a new regional government of Jubaland. Foot notes 30 A Somali Government official told the Monitoring Group on 1 March 2013 that Hiiraale and Galad had arrived in Mogadishu to ‘seek the reactivation’ of the JVA through FGS support. A separate Somali government official told the Monitoring Group on 15 March 2013 that the march on Kismayo was coordinated through the Office of the Prime Minister, and involved Hiiraale and Galad. 31 Interview with Somali Government official with access to the planning discussions, 15 March 2013. 32 Ibid., and corroborated by two diplomatic security sources and a Marehan source with access to Hiiraale’s entourage, 11 April 2013. 33 Ibid. According to confidential military intelligence reports, during the course of late 2012 and 2013, Filow has negotiated with the FGS to convert Darod – Marehan Al-Shabaab fighters into government-aligned forces within the ranks of ASWJ. Military intelligence reports state that Filow was once a commander of Hiiraale’s and was involved in plans to stage hit-and-run attacks against Kismayo following Al-Shabaab’s retreat from the city in September 2012. Military intelligence reports him as having attempted to integrate Marehan forces into ASWJ. 34 Information provided by Somali Government official with access to planning discussions, 15 March 2013, and by Marehan sources with access to government circles. A separate Somali government official informed the Monitoring Group that Ahmed Nuur had been in discussions with Hiiraale prior to the 6 March 2013 attack to commit political support from his Marehan allies in Gedo region. 35 Information of Filow’s continuing involvement documented in several confidential military intelligence reports during early 2013. Details of 4 April 2013 attack on Kismayo provided by military intelligence officer, 2 May 2013. ___ 27. According to a source in direct contact with Ahmed Nuur and Abdi Wal, both men consider themselves to be part of the same alliance, and have worked with Hiiraale to pressure FGS officials to integrate more Marehan and Ayr elements into Somali security forces.36 In addition, Hassan Galad appears to be merging his forces with militias loyal to Gobale and Indha’adde in the Merka-Afgoye axis.37 These are clear indications that Hiiraale and Galad, who once spearheaded the JVA, are connecting with spoiler networks from the Ayr clan, as described above. Support from Eritrea 28. The Monitoring Group has received numerous reports about the warming of relations between Asmara and Mogadishu, and has obtained evidence of Asmara’s control of political agents close to the Somali Presidency and some of the individual spoilers referred to above. 29. A key foreign policy advisor to President Hassan Sheikh is Ahmed Abdi Hashi ‘Hashara’, a former leader within ARS-Asmara who is known to have received financial support from Asmara at least as late as 2012.38 In 2012, Hashara described General Jama Mohamed Ghalib, referred to above, as his political ally and announced his intent to create a new accord between the FGS and former members of ARS-Asmara.39 30. The Monitoring Group has obtained direct testimonies and concrete evidence of Eritrean support to Abdi Wal and Mohamed Wali Sheikh Ahmed Nuur. A source on the Eritrean payroll in direct contact with Abdi Wal has confirmed that Abdi Wal has admitted in closed-door meetings and that he is acting as an agent for the Eritrean government.40 General Ghalib has referred to Ahmed Nuur as a key ally of his.41 31. In addition to these testimonies, the Monitoring Group has confirmed meetings in Khartoum in late December 2012 between Ahmed Nuur and Mohamed Mantai, the Eritrean Ambassador to Sudan. During these meetings, options for Eritrean financial support to Ahmed Nuur were discussed.42 Telephone records of Ahmed Nuur’s Somali telephone number also show direct contact with a landline in Eritrea. 32. Mantai, a former military intelligence officer, has a history of operating in Somalia and was expelled from Kenya in 2009 after he returned from Somalia following meetings with Al-Shabaab agents (see S/2011/433, annex 8.5). Additional information about Mantai, and Eritrean support to Somali spoiler networks appears in the separate Eritrea report of the Monitoring Group report on Somalia and Eritrea. ————————-
Posted on: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 13:46:52 +0000
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