COMMENTARY ON ISLAMIC WEBSITES
Amiir Nuur - The pro-al-Shabaab website published a lengthy commentary and audio recording threat message directed at semi-autonomous State of Puntland with the arrival of al-shabaab leaders at Galgala Mountainous. The Islamist website released an audio recording by Sheikh Abdulqadir Mumin in Galgala, a well-known Muslim cleric who repatriated from the West and joined al-Shabaab in 2010. "Puntland authority have become friends of infidels and treated Muslims as enemies. They treated non-believers as the best of human beings and portrayed Muslims as the worst people. They imprisoned Muslims while allowing infidels to peacefully enjoy the streets of Puntland. Puntland authorities obeyed the non-believers over Muslims by recognizing the UN, they implemented its charters and they enacted a man-mandate constitution. They also fought against Allah and killed so many youngsters who opted to implement Sharia law in the region." Sheikh Mumin also stated that Puntland take orders from United States and they are under guidance of Ethiopians. Sheikh Mumin issued a threat and warning messages to the Puntland soldiers, "I am warning you, Our mujahideen will seize Puntland region one day, since no one could win against God’s Religion and Allah’s Soldiers will win at the end." He also addressed the people of Puntland "Perhaps you are saying that we are marginalized, arrested and we are scared', that will not be an excuse. Allah’s land is vast, every individual must go where he could obey his God." "Holy War has Started now and the fighting has spread to the entire Somali nation and every one must take the gun and fight for his religion, Puntlanders must act like the southerners," said. Somali Language
POLITICS
Ahram Online - Al-Qaeda-allied al-Shabaab advocates its followers to open a new front in northern Somalia, as they found themselves cornered by Ethiopian, Kenyan and African Union armies in the south. Somalia's al-Qaeda-allied al-Shabaab have urged followers to open a new front in the northern breakaway region of Puntland, as the rebels find themselves encircled by regional armies in the south. Influential hardliner Sheikh Abdulqadir Mumin, who issues Islamic decrees for areas under the command of the extremist gunmen, has recently left the al-Shabaab stronghold of Afgoye, outside Mogadishu, for the north.
SECURITY/AL-SHABAAB
Capital News - Police said on Friday they were interrogating a suspected terrorist who has confessed to having traveled to Somalia to receive training from al-Shabaab. Abdullah Abdul-Majid, aka Abul, was arrested on Thursday last week on suspicion of involvement in the grenade attacks at Nairobi’s country bus station, which killed nine people and wounded dozens of others, last month. "On arrival in Somalia at Dobley, he was met by al-Shabaab members who inducted him into the mujahideen. He stayed in Dobley for two weeks, while arrangements were being made for his transfer to Baidoa," the suspect told police.
Al.com - According to an unconfirmed report out of Somalia on Friday, Daphne-born Omar Hammami, 27, was executed by fellow members of the terrorist group al Shabaab on April 4. A Washington, D.C.-based group that monitors the war on terrorism said, however, that it questions the accuracy of the report, the second in 13 months reporting Hamammi’s demise. A Somali website said it had received a report that Hammami, a leader in the group al Shabaab, was executed on April 4 by other al Shabaab members. Hammami, who used the name "Abu Mansour al-Amriki" or "The American," appeared in a video last month in which he said he was afraid for his life because of disagreements within the organization.
World Politics Review - With vast untapped oil reserves reported in Somalia and just off its coast, piracy emanating from the Horn of Africa is impinging on India’s future energy sourcing opportunities as well. Further complicating India’s plans for the region is the nexus between Somali pirates and the al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabab, which still has a significant presence in central Somalia and provides sanctuary to pirate fleets operating out of the central Somali city of Harardhere in return for a share of the bounty. If left unchecked, al-Shabab may also become capable of threatening various connectivity projects India is building in the region. As a result, India is likely to coordinate with Somalia’s neighbors and the United States in the effort to contain the group’s virulent jihadism and stabilize the area.
MARITIME
The Epoch Times - Cap't Miro Alibasic from Croatia was en route to Oman aboard his crude-oil tanker Zirku. As they passed through the notorious Gulf of Aden, every sailor’s nightmare since antiquity materialized before his eyes - pirates were attacking his ship from all directions. Around 50 heavily armed Somalis in small skiffs, dispatched from a mother ship, surrounded the supertanker, attempting to board. "I was trying to avoid it by zigzagging and using water canons. But once I lost speed, they hooked me. There was nothing I could do," recalls Alibasic.
OP-ED
Hiiraan Online - The author, Lead borehole engineer Abdullahi Mohamud comments about the oil and gas explorations in Puntland, and depicts the depicts the Puntland oil drilling as a positive step and one that could set a trend for the rest of Somalia. The author concluds, "I strongly believe that economic agreements will end our fractious wars and disputes, and oil can be at the forefront of this. In Armo, Puntland (near where the Shabeel Wells are being drilled) tribes put aside their territorial disputes and clashes to engage in economic agreements so that oil exploration can operate in the area safely. These examples will hopefully be the template for Somalis as the country moves into oil exploration."
PHOTO ESSAY
BBC Africa - This is a 8-photo essay showcasing the Mogadishu's Fish Market and return of normality to Mogadishu fishing community and beach goers after defeating al-Shabaab in the capital.
RADIO ROUNDUP
Radio Mogadishu - A pro-government radio station
Somali security forces in Baidoa town of Bay region seized a female al-Qaeda-linked member, who threw grenades at a government checkpoint at Baidoa town. It is also reported that the National Security Forces started massive security operations after the anti-peace militias attacked the TFG bases in Baidoa on Thursday night.
Radio Al-Furqaan - A pro-al-Shabaab radio station
Sheikh Mohamed Omar Hassan, the chairman of al-Shaabaab mujahideen of Banadir region, issued an interview to Radio Al-Furqaan declaring that TFG officials facilitated al-Shabaab's recent suicide bombing at the National Theater. The Banadir chairman stated that they will continue to target every TFG member and their supporters until they liberate the land from the enemy.
The TFG and Ethiopian troops in Bakool region have banned Somali women from wearing the Islamic hijab. The TFG chairman of Bakol region Mohamed Tool issued the anti-Islamic order, and the Somali women of Bakool have expressed their disappointment with TFG's order.
Radio Andalus - A pro-al-Shabaab radio station
At least one pro-infidel militia member was killed and several others were injured after two pro-infidel militias fought over khat in the town of Beledweyne in the Hiiraan region on Friday. Local residents told Radio Andalus that an old man was among the casualties.
The pro-infidel militias have raped four underage girls and their mother in the Hiliwa district of Mogadishu on Friday. An eyewitness told Radio Andalus that the militias have badly tortured the victims. This is not the first time that the pro-infidel militias have been reported as raping Somali women, it is become routine in the areas under their control.
Radio Kulmiye - An independent radio station
Speaking to Radio Kulmiye, the Somali Minister of Defense Hussein Arab Isse stated that Somalia is currently undergoing a bloody war with insurgents. Mr. Isse, who attended in a AU ministerial meeting in Addis Ababa, stated that the ministers discussed in depth the security issues of Somalia. The member nations of the African Union were urged to take part in the peacekeeping mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM.
Radio Bar-Kulan - An independent radio station
Kenya announced it will sending about 850 more troops to Somalia, after their forces were integrated into AMISOM. The Kenyan move is designed to meet a troop quota assigned to Kenya since it was incorporated into AMISOM. An estimated 4,600 Kenyan troops are now in Somalia battling with the outlawed Al-Shabaab militant group since mid-October last year. The 850 soldiers are expected to return to Kenya once additional troops from Sierra Leone arrive. The remaining Kenyan forces will fight alongside troops from Sierra Leone, concentrating in Somalia’s southern sector under the command of a KDF brigadier. The current Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) is lead by Col. Cyrus Oguna, and he will be relocated to Mogadishu as the AU force spokesman.
Ahlus Sunna wal Jamaa (ASWJ) administration in central Somalia has pledged to establish local administrations for the areas which ASWJ seized from al-Shabaab in Hiiraan and Galgadud regions. ASWJ Spokesman of central regions Abdullahi Sheikh Abdirahman alias Al-Qadi told Bar-Kulan Radio that the residents of those regions will be given the opportunity to decide their own destiny and to govern themselves. The spokesman also stated that the ASWJ group will respect local peoples's decisions in establishing district level authorities to safeguard the prevailing law and order in these districts.