INTO THE AL SHABAAB 2

“And in their (the earlier prophets) footsteps We sent
Jesus the son o Mary, confirming the law that had come
before him. We sent him the Gospel, therein was
guidance and light and confirmation of the law that had
come before him, a guidance and an admonition to
those who fear God.” Qur’an:5:46

PART 2: FROM GODANE TO IKRIMA, the finger behind the trigger…

A. SOMALIA.

“Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya“, the the Federal Republic of Somalia, a land whose people’s history dates back to biblical times (trading with Egyptian Pharaohs and other existing powers as early as about 26th century BC, in gold, myrrh, frankincense, spices, wax, animals like giraffes and zebras, and ivory)is bordered by our beloved country Kenya to the southwest. It is a land whose Maritime history was intertwined with  not only the Ancient Egyptians but also the Phoenicians, the Mycenaeans and the Babylonians, and throughout the middle ages: the age of the Adal Sultanate, Warsangali Sultanate, Geledi Sultanate, and the strong centralized administration of the Ajuran Sultanate (- 13th to the 17 century, who successfully resisted the Oromo invasion from Ethiopia, and a Portuguese incursion). They made allies as far as  India, Portugal, China, Arabia, Persia, and even offered refuge to the Hadhrami families from the war torn Yemen and  the Spaniards fleeing from ‘The Inquisition’. According to  Neville H. Chittick’s  “An Archaeological
Reconnaissance of the Horn: The British-Somali Expedition”, archeologists have found Mogadishan coins as far away as the  United Arab Emirates in the Middle East .

On passing by the great city in the 15th century, the anonymous diarist of Vasco Da Gama’s expedition noted that Mogadishu was “a large city with houses of four or five stores high and big palaces in its center and many mosques with cylindrical minarets.” In English, what he meant was, Mogadishu was beautiful.

The Ajuran empire left behind an astronomical, artistic and an extensive  architectural legacy now strewn across the Horn of Africa (of numerous ruined fortifications and  abandoned medieval towns found throughout the
interior of Somalia  and the pristine landscapes of southern Somalia). They invented the Dabshid, a form of martial arts that was subsequently centralized by the Geledis into an annual tournament,  ceremoniously performed in full combat gear, with battle-axes, swords and daggers. The Dabshid is still practised today in parts of Somalia, albeit with less injurious weapons and regalia…and  too, the Ajurans unfortunately left behind the culture of conducting military expeditions against their neighbours (i.e the Oromo), converting those that were captured to Islam: actions whose retaliatory measures devastated both sides in the process.

After war with the Oromo and other external conflicts, the Ajuran Empire of Imams (heads of state), Emirs (Commanders of the army and the Navy) and Wazirs (tax and revenue collectors) slowly declined in power at the end of the 17th century. Due to the extensive loss of both military control and a centralized dispute mediator over its  vast resources, its flourishing port cities and fertile farms were inevitably lost to emerging powers,
the rebels.

Mogadishu, at the height of its success, was the richest city on the East African coast. When the European Age of discovery brought Europe’s then superpower, the Portuguese empire and its superior army, to the East
African coast, all the ill defended but wealthy  Kenyan city-states of Kilwa , Mombasa , Malindi,  Pate and Lamu were systematically sacked and plundered in less than eight years,  the building ‘great Fort Jesus’ at Mombasa now serves as one of the last reminders of those calamitous events. Then, they set their eyes on Ajuran territory, initiating a brave onslaught that lead to the famous battle of Barawa.

Brave indeed, because the Ajurans didn’t run a stable civilization composed of volatile Clan relationships and Jihadist conquests for hundreds of years by holding peace seminars and selling t-shirts. The Portuguese were vanquished so decisively that despite burning and looting Barawa they failed to occupy it, and were so emotionally scarred and terrified of the defence that both the civilians and the soldiers put up, that they opted not for the initial prize jewel Mogadishu, ever,  but for lesser targets like the small little known islands of Socotra located somewhere in the middle east. 

Portuguese tensions in the Indian ocean would remain high for years, and all  punitive expeditions sent by the Portuguese against the Ajurans  would remain unsuccessful.

Soon, with the help of the Ottomans,  the Ajurans attacked  Portuguese colonies in Southeast Africa, sympathising with the Arabs and Swahilis under colonial rule and driving out the invaders from several important cities such as Pate, Mombasa and Kilwa. Though they retaliated and managed to re-take most of the lost cities, the Somali-Ottoman forces would eventually militarily defeat the Portuguese, breaking their economic monopoly across the ocean and freeing the Kenyan towns: a small piece of history that we Kenyans have quickly forgotten.

(Barawa recovered quickly, and fast forwading into the future,  it is now under the Control of the Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen [HSM, commonly known as The Al Shabaab].

According to multiple available military sources, last year in October, in a stealthy assault, the United States Navy SEAL Team Six launched a raid against a beachside house in Barawa, targeting Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr, also known as Muktar Abdirahman
“Godane” , an Afghanistan war veteran, poet, and the current Emir/leader of the Al Shabaab. High at the top of the hit list was also a suspect related to the Westgate mall attack, Abdukadir Mohammed Abdukadir, alias Ikrima: the man who allegedly designed the game-changer Westgate terrorist attack and was also directly involved in the 2002 bombings. He is the 35 year old man on whose head the US government has placed, according to kenyan intelligence sources,
a $9 million (Sh779.4 million) bounty.

Ikrima was spotted by SEALs through the windows of his
heavily fortified compound.
Just after taking cover in secure positions in the compound,  a lone al Shabaab fighter walked out into plain view, smoked a cigarette, and went back inside, giving no indication that he had
spotted the SEALs.

Soon ,the Americans were under siege by the well trained Al Shabaab military. Grenades rained onto their positions while they were peppered with heavy machine gun fire, trying to fight their way closer to their target. They were subsequently out- gunned, and though they escaped with no fatalities, the mission was a failure: Ikrima, the kenyan-born Somali who has international links — potentially stretching
beyond Africa from Europe to Yemen to Pakistan — is still at large.

The Office of the Spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State (the U.S. federal executive department responsible for
international relations) released a media note on March this year, stating that their Rewards for Justice program is offering rewards for information on three
members of the Somalia-based terrorist organization
Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin, al-Shabaab. “The Department has authorized rewards of up to $3 million each for information leading to the arrest or conviction
of Abdikadir Mohamed Abdikadir, Jafar(Ikrima’s one eyed deputy) , and Yasin Kilwe(the Emir for Puntland in northern Somalia)”.

by Vasquo Mercer Lordez

Coming soon…
Part 2(B): Wait, aren’t we and the Somalis supposed to be friends?  What went wrong?..Part 3.Modern Somalia, and The Creation of the Al Shabaab.