From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Tue Jul 29 2008 - 09:35:47 EDT
Somalia- CIA revives counterterrorism group in somalia - Islamist
website
Tuesday 29 July 2008
Up to four CIA officials have arrived in Mogadishu and are being
accommodated in a house near Villa Somalia presidential palace islamist
website said.
The four agents were accommodated together with Somali officials, whose
identities are not known.
The CIA officials are reviving the Counterterrorism Alliance, whose work
was suspended after it was found to have detained innocent people who
had not been involved in anti-American activities and were routed by the
Islamic courts union fighters before them selves were ousted by
Ethiopian backed Somali troops.
The website says the first phase of the alliance was headed by the
faction leaders that destroyed the country as the second phase of the
alliance was led by Muhammad Adan Muhammad (Bidar), who used the
services of Darwish, Muhammad Dhere, Nur Daqle, Ahmed Askar, among other
men, to round up people for him.
It also added that these men failed to capture individuals sought by the
Americans. Instead, they rounded up street beggars and Tabliqis [Muslim
missionaries] and detained them in the building bearing the inscription
STS, flanking Villa Somalia presidential palace.
Qaadisiya website also says These men had submitted photos and names of
[detained] individuals but the American intelligence agency could not
find persons they were looking for.
A man named Ali Shimbir, who is currently in Nairobi, has been appointed
to head the third phase of the alliance, He son will arrive in Mogadishu
to take charge of anti-Oneness of God operations Qaadisiya says.
The CIA agents visiting Mogadishu have held highly sensitive talks with
some Ethiopian officials, as numerous Ethiopian troops kept security at
the venue of the highly sensitive meeting.
The US officials are soon departing Mogadishu and returning to Nairobi,
from where Ali Shimbir, who has been appointed head of the third phase
of the counterterrorism alliance, will depart.
The United States has kept a wary eye on Somalia since the attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, fearing that extremists would take advantage of the
country's anarchy to use it as a base of operations, just as occurred in
Afghanistan in the 1990's.
The Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT)
was a Somali alliance created by various warlords and businesspeople.
The alliance included Botan Ise Alin, Mohammed Dheere, Mohamed Qanyare,
Musa Sudi Yalahow, Nuur Daqle, Abdi Hasan Awale Qeybdiid, Bashir Rage
Shirar, Abdirashid ilqeyte, Omar Muhamoud Finnish and others. Some of
them were ministers in the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of
Somalia.
The warlords, who were fighting the Islamists said they were acting out
of principle, not pay.
"These terrorists want this country to adopt a Taliban style," said
Hussein Gutale Rage, a spokesman for the warlords' alliance. "The
Americans have not given us anything so far. We share their hatred of
terrorism."
US says that the UIC members were included in some clerics in the
terrorism list including Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and Hassan Turkey.
The alliance has been destroyed by the Islamic courts union fighters
those dispose of the alliance although after six months they restored
peace and security they have been ousted by Ethiopian backed Somali
troops.
But the islamists are still waging guerrilla wars against Somali
government and the presence of the Ethiopian troops.
By: Abdi Guled
Email: naasir0513@hotmail.com
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