Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, at a community meeting in Benton Harbor, Michigan on the plight of jailed BANCO leader Rev. Edward Pinkney. Belinda Brown of Benton Harbor holding cellphone. (Photo: Allan Pollock).
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Imperialists pledge aerial bombardments in attempt to crush opposition forces
By Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire
News Analysis
A recent statement issued by the Obama administration indicates that it is planning to carry out aerial bombardments in the Horn of Africa nation of Somalia. The announcement comes amid intense fighting in the capital of Mogadishu between the two Islamic resistance movements, Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam and the U.S.-backed Transitional Federal Government that is ruling the country.
It is broadly acknowledged that the TFG only controls a small section of the capital having conceded other areas in Mogadishu and throughout the south and central regions of the country to both resistance organizations. The U.S. in financing the presence of a African Union peacekeeping force known as AMISOM which consists of approximately 5,000 troops from the pro-western regimes of Uganda and Burundi.
Complicating matters further, there has been growing hostility between Hizbul Islam and Al Shabab, resulting in clashes over the control of the southern port city of Kismayo. Hizbul Islam has stated its willingness to engage in dialogue with Al Shabaab but has refused to hold negotiations with the TFG headed by Sheikh Shariff Sheikh Ahmed.
Sheikh Ibrahim Bare Mohammed, the Deputy Commander in the Bandir region for Hizbul Islam, pledged to retain control of the areas occupied by his organization . “We are controlling many parts of Mogadishu and we will defend these areas because we are already here.”
The Hizbul Islam official continued by saying that ‘”We cannot accept our enemy controlling this region and we are not afraid of the American government. We will defeat any attack from the Somali government.” (Garowe Online, March 8)
U.S. officials have said that “What you are likely to see is air strikes and Special Ops moving in, hitting and getting out.”(Garowe Online, March 8) The Obama administration has continued the same policy carried out against Somalia by the previous regime of George W. Bush.
Gen. Mohamed Gelle Kahiya, the recently appointed commander of the TFG military, confirmed that the U.S. would be involved in the offensive. The Obama administration, just like its predecessors, views the nation of Somalia as strategic to imperialist interests.
According to the New York Times in an article on March 5, “The United States is increasingly concerned about the link between Somalia and Yemen, a growing extremist hot spot, with fighters going back and forth across the Red Sea in what one Somali watcher described as an ‘Al Qaeda exchange program.” (NYT, March 5)
In order to minimize casualties and exact maximum damage to the Somali people, the U.S. Special Forces are training and coordinating the TFG to stage ground operations while they are involved in bombings from the air and offshore. “This is not an American offensive,” says U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson. “The U.S. military is not on the ground in Somalia. Full stop.”
However, the New York Times reports in the March 5 article that “The Americans have provided covert training to Somali intelligence officers, logistical support to the peacekeepers, fuel for the maneuvers, surveillance information about insurgent positions and money for the bullets and guns.”
This same articles continues saying that “Washington is also using its heft as the biggest supplier of humanitarian aid to Somalia to encourage private aid agencies to move quickly into ‘new liberated areas’ and deliver services like food and medicine to the beleaguered Somali people in an effort to make the government more popular.”
The Obama administration has increased U.S. military assistance to Somalia over the last several months. The New York Times admits that during 2009, when the TFG was on the verge of collapse, the U.S. sent in millions of dollars in weapons.
In addition to the Obama administration’s commitment to launch military strikes against Somalia, the activity of various European imperialist states and Canada, are designed to increase pressure on the resistance forces in the country.
On March 5, European Union Naval spokesperson Commander John Harbour revealed that his forces have anticipated a spike in so-called piracy attacks off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden.
“We know they’re coming,” said Harbour. “We’re taking the fight to the pirates.” (Associated Press, March 5)
On the same day the French frigate Nivose reported seizing 35 “pirates” in three days off the coast of Somalia. In four operations between March 1-5, eleven people were reported taken into French custody with the assistance of a Spanish maritime airplane that was engaged in the European Union military mission in the region.
The EU initiated what it calls the “Atalanta Anti-Piracy Mission” in December 2008 in a concerted plan with the U.S., NATO and other countries to guarantee safe passage for vessels traveling through the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, which is noted as the busiest shipping lane in the world.
However, despite this massive build-up over the last 15 months, it has not eliminated attacks on ships by Somalis seeking compensation from firms for use of the waterways. In April of 2009, the U.S. Navy shot dead three Somali teenagers who had held a U.S. boat in the Gulf of Aden. One 16-year-old was taken into custody and is awaiting trial in New York City charged with crimes under U.S. law.
Somalia and the “War on Terrorism”
In preparation for the upcoming offensive against Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam in Somalia, the Canadian, British and U.S. governments have taken measures against expatriates living in these imperialist states. Canada has agreed to list Al Shabaab as a “terrorist group” purportedly to prevent the organization from raising funds inside the country.
In a March 8 statement, Vic Toews, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety stated that “This government is determined that terrorist groups do not receive support from Canadian sources.” (WIC, March 8) The Canadian authorities have announced that anyone convicted of aiding the Somali resistance organization will be guilty of a criminal offense.
The government of the U.K. is taking similar action against Al Shabaab, claiming that the Somali group is connected to Al Qaeda. “I have today laid an order which, subject to parliamentary approval, will proscribe Al Shabaab. Proscription is a tough but necessary power to tackle terrorism and is not a course of action we take lightly,” according to Home Secretary Alan Johnson. (Reuters, March 3)
In the United States, a man was recently brought to New York City in order to face charges of assisting a foreign “terrorist” organization. The indictment unsealed on March 8 claims that Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed had traveled to Somalia in April 2009 and was trained at an Al Shabaab camp.
Al Shabaab has been designated by the U.S. as a “terrorist” organization.
In 1992, the administration of George H.W. Bush sent thousands of U.S. Marines into Somalia under the banner of United Nations Mission “Restore Hope.” Over the next 18 months, Somali resistance forces fought the U.S. military which engaged in brutal acts of occupation and aggression against the people.
As a result of the losses by U.S. military forces, the Clinton administration withdrew from the country. After 2001, Somalia became a central focus of the so-called “war on terrorism” which is really designed to establish U.S. imperialist control over the Horn of Africa region and the surrounding waterways.
In 2006, the U.S. administration of George W. Bush, financed and coordinated a military invasion by the pro-western government in neighboring Ethiopia. Most of the Ethiopian soldiers withdrew in January 2009 but have periodically entered the border regions to carry out operations against the resistance forces of Al Shabaab.
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