 Ethopian soldiers ready themselves for departure after a ceremony in Baidoa, Somalia, marking the inclusion of Ethiopia into the African Union Mission in Somalia on January 22, 2014. [AFP PHOTO / AU UN IST / TOBIN JONES |
By Osman Mohamud
Saturday, March 15, 2014
When the Somali National Army and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces intensified their joint military operations against al-Shabaab this month and forced the group out of several key towns, al-Shabaab countered with a campaign to persuade Somalis that the Ethiopian troops serving under AMISOM were invading their country.
In an audio message broadcast on Radio Andalus, a mouthpiece for al-Shabaab, and posted on pro-militant websites on March 9th, al-Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane called on Somalis to wage jihad against the Somali and AMISOM forces, singling out the Ethiopians in particular as invaders.
Godane said the Christian crusader campaign against Muslims in East Africa, especially the Somali people, has always been led by Ethiopia in collaboration with the West. He said the military campaign against al-Shabaab aims to partition Somalia into several regional states that would then be divided between neighbouring countries.
"The first priority [of the military campaign] is to divide what is left of the country between Ethiopia and Kenya under the guise of regional administrations. The second objective is to loot the natural resources of the country both directly and indirectly through the apostate government," Godane said. "The third objective is to fight against the implementation of sharia under al-Shabaab rule and prevent the people from finding peace and a good life under their religion."
"The fourth one is to once again incite in the country into violence based on communities and tribes after they have become united under the law of God," he said. "Their fifth objective is how Ethiopia can realise its dream of once and for all getting its hands on the coastal areas of Somalia."
Godane's message came in the wake of the allied forces' renewed military campaign against al-Shabaab, an operation Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said "will continue until we recapture all territory".
A desperate attempt to open old wounds
Retired Colonel Dahir Timoade, who served in the Somali army during the Mohamed Siad Barre administration, said Godane's message was a desperate attempt to open old wounds for the sake of his recruitment efforts.
The challenge Somalis face today is not related to their territorial independence from other countries, but rather how to eliminate al-Shabaab, he said.
"I believe that all people from Africa are our brothers, and we are the ones who called on them [for help]," he told Sabahi, adding that Ethiopian forces have the same mandate as other troops serving under AMISOM.
"Something to be joyful about today is that people in the territories liberated from al-Shabaab by the AMISOM soldiers, whether they are Ethiopians, Ugandans, Djiboutians or from the other troop-contributing countries, can now live freely and in peace," Timoade said.
Al-Shabaab has failed in its attempts to distort Islam for its own benefit and is now resorting to using old political disputes to win support, he said.
"Somalis have only one enemy and that is al-Shabaab, and the world is ready to support us in eliminating it. We are not blind to what [Godane] is trying to achieve," he said, adding that the public must "understand his words clearly" and not fall prey to his speech.
Sahra Mohamed, a 28-year-old resident of Mogadishu's Hamar Weyne district who studied business and management at Kampala International University, said Godane's message was indicative of al-Shabaab's weakness.
"Ahmed Godane's power and pride has come to an end and that is why he wants to remind the people of a past history so that he can get support for his group similar to the support that people gave the Islamic Courts Union [ICU] of Somalia in 2007," she said, referring to the surge of public support al-Shabaab, which had functioned as the military unit of the ICU and was beginning to work on its own, received when Ethiopian troops first entered Somalia to assist the Transitional Federal Government in securing Mogadishu.
Yesterday's enemies are today's friends
"However, people now understand the intentions of al-Shabaab regarding the Ethiopian troops who have joined AMISOM," she told Sabahi. "These are the forces that are capturing [areas controlled by al-Shabaab] and they will leave when they uproot all the terrorists because they are in the country through an agreement."
"Al-Shabaab should recognise that the public does not want them," she said.
"The only way that al-Shabaab will go away is to get collaboration from the international community in our attempt to eradicate the difficulties the militants are imposing on us," she said. "Forget Ethiopia, we will seek even support from Israel for the war against al-Shabaab and we are ready for it."
Ahmed Jama, a 30-year-old resident of Hodan district in Mogadishu who studied management and commerce at Mogadishu University, said it was surprising that Godane, who is fighting alongside many foreign fighters that he brought into the country, wants to tell the people that AMISOM troops are "invaders".
"First, who has asked Ahmed Godane to lead Somali affairs? He needs to know that he is a criminal who led foreign people who are international terrorists to his country," he told Sabahi.
"Educated Somalis know there are many countries in the world that have engaged in war with one another in the past, and yet today they collaborate and work together," he said. "Ethiopians are our brothers and we might have fought yesterday, but it is important that we have good relations and interdependence between us now."
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