This past week, in Somalia…

Shabaab Squabbles

The big news of the week barely snuck in under the wire… al-Shabaab’s golden boy and top online recruiter, US citizen Omar Hammami (nom de guerre Abu Mansoor al-Amriki), has been reported as incapacitated. No, not by a Hellfire missile, but by the Islamist organization itself, who reportedly arrested al-Amriki after he had been invited to a meeting in Gobweyn village, 15 kilometers north of Kismayo.

The alleged arrest follows three days after al-Amrikireleased a short videoin which he expressed fears that al-Shabaab would assassinate him due to differences over “matters of Shariah and matters of strategy.”

Why al-Amriki would walk into an al-Shabaab convention if he believed himself likely to be murdered by his erstwhile allies is a mystery. Perhaps he had been reassured by speaking with the al-Shabaab intelligence agent interviewed this week by Somalia Report,who insisted that the group had no intention of harming even a single hair in his beard.

The other account of the arrest–that of al-Shabaab agents busting down the door of al-Amriki’s Marka home as he was visiting his wife and child–seems equally implausible.

The arrest of al-Amriki is the latest in a series of factional disputes that continue to plague the Shabaab. At a meeting in Kismayo on Wednesday, Mukhtar Robow and Ahmed Ali Godane–the leaders of al-Shabaab’s nationalist and transnationalist factions, respectively–continued their ongoing feud, on this occasion bickering over the much-hyped al-Shabaab merger with al-Qaeda last month.

Robow, who commands al-Shabaab’s core of Rahanweyne fighters in their clan heartland of Bay and Bakool regions, has in the past pushed to establish an Islamic state within Somalia, but has expressed little interest in the global Islamist agenda.

Ultimately, Robow is aware that he has an independent power base by virtue of his Rahanweyne clan linkages, which will always guarantee him a seat at the negotiating table with the TFG. Godane, a Somalilander Isaaq caught far away from home, is reliant on al-Shabaab’s flagging support from foreign fighters and donors. If Shabaab goes, so does he… if a drone doesn’t find him first.

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Further Advances for TFG and Kenyan Forces

TFG and Kenyan forces advanced to within 30 kilometers of Bardhere–the largest city in Gedo still under the control of al-Shabaab–capturing the village of Taraaka on Friday morning. Bardhere’s strategic value is obvious, as it contains one of three major bridges spanning the Juba river, connecting Gedo to Bay region. Should Bardhere fall, the principal Shabaab supply line linking Kismayo to Bay and Bakool will be cut, putting further pressure on the organization as the Ethiopian/TFG/Kenyan noose continues to tighten around central Somalia.

In Mogadishu, TFG and AMISOM forces continued to peel off territory from the Islamists, expelling al-Shabaab militants from the eastern outskirts of Karan district. With the capture of a key position in Heliwa district several weeks ago, pockets of al-Shabaab fighters remaining in the capital are now primarily confined to Daynille, northwest of the city center.

Suicide Bombing

On Wednesday, a suicide bomber detonated himself inside a restaurant in Mogadishu’s presidential compound, Villa Somalia, killing three and injuring six. The attack was carried out by a former Islamic Courts Union (ICU) member, reportedly granted access by a Villa Somalia employee, according to government sources.

They Threw a Demonstration…But Nobody Came

A meeting of Somali members of parliament, elders, and religious leaders was held on Tuesday, with the aim of forcing the resignation of UN Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) Augustine Mahiga, whom they accused of partisan activities and insulting the parliament.

The spokesman for the gathering, Sheikh Ahmed Dicisow, declared that an anti-Mahiga protest would take place on Friday, which, he boasted, would draw one million protestors (the population of Mogadishu is estimated at about 800,000–not counting the hundreds of thousands of IDPs).The campaign buses that the Sheikh had undoubtedly chartered to ferry additional demonstrators from the surrounding countryside must have sat idly by, because even Mogadishu’s residents didn’t show up.

If there was ever a sign that Somali politicians are out of touch with the priorities of their alleged constituents, this would be it.

Somalia… A Center of Culture and Learning?

Good things happen in Somalia sometimes. This week, Somalia Report covered two such stories, the opening of Lower Juba University in Kismayoand the re-opening of the Somali National Theater, which has crumbled into ruin over the last two decades.

Lower Juba University is to focus on health studies, a rare offering in Somali universities, and the National Theater opened this afternoon with performances of song, traditional dance, plays, and comedy. Perhaps you’ll wake up to a critical review of the performances in tomorrow’s Somalia Report. It would be a first.

The Great Yellow North

Ahmed Silanyo, president of the breakaway region of Somaliland, pulled yet another Silanyo, firing about a quarter of his cabinet on Wednesday. Reportedly fed up with their “lack of talent,” Silanyo axed seven of his ministers, including both the minister of finance and his deputy.

After a senior official banned the media from reporting on the election scheduled for January 2013, the government of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland revealed that there may not be any election at all… at least until the following year. Puntland’s draft constitution, set to be finalized in April, would extend the term of the sitting president from four to five years.

…and that was this past week, in Somalia

Best wishes, and may all your travels be pirate-free.

Jay Bahadur

Managing Editor, Somalia Report