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Mauritania coup chief wins vote amid fraud claims
NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania — Nearly a year after seizing power in a military putsch that ousted Mauritania’s first freely elected leader, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz won the presidency Sunday in a landslide vote his opponents decried as a fraudulent “electoral coup.”
The poll was officially held to restore civilian rule, but critics say little is likely to change in this moderate Islamic republic on the western edge of the sand-swept Sahara: Power will remain in the hands of the 52-year-old retired general who spent his life in the military and resigned only to legitimize his grasp on it by running for president.
“We’ve gone backward to an era of dictatorship,” said Boubacar Ould Messaoud, who heads an organization that fights a tradition of slavery that continues here despite being banned.
“Aziz is no democrat,” Messaoud said.
“He is a soldier, and like all soldiers, he should stay in his barracks.
There will be no difference between this regime and the junta” he ruled.
Aziz, however, styles himself as a defender of democracy who staged a coup only to prevent the country from reverting to a past epoch of repressive rule — which he helped end with an earlier putsch, in 2005.
The final result announced late Sunday by Interior Minister Mohamed Ould Rzeizim gave Aziz 52 percent of the vote, enabling him to avoid a runoff.
The count must be validated by the constitutional court before it becomes final.
Parliament speaker Messaoud Ould Boulkheir came in second with 16 percent, while veteran opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah was third with 13 percent, Rzeizim said.
The main opposition candidates rejected the final outcome even before it was announced, saying the count had been “prefabricated.” In a statement, they accused Aziz of carrying out “an electoral coup d’etat.”
“We refuse to recognize these results and call on the international community to create a commission to investigate to expose this manipulation,” Boulkheir told reporters.
In a victory speech, Aziz said his staff and supporters had “committed no fraud.” He said the vote could not have been rigged because results from each polling station had to be approved and signed by rival parties before being forwarded to the electoral commission headquarters.
Several hundred international observers are monitoring the vote. But key delegations from the African Union and French speaking countries have released their findings.
Lawyer Bouhoube Yni of the nation’s independent electoral commission — whose 15 members represent the rival political parties — said no serious complaints or proof of fraud had been received so far.
Messaoud spokeswoman Amal Mint Abdallahi said the opposition was preparing to formally submit its complaints. Among them: allegations Aziz’s camp handed out ballots pre-marked in his favor and paid voters to cast them; the voters then returned with empty ballots taken from polling stations to prove they had done so, she said.Abdallahi also alleged Aziz’s camp fabricated false identity cards and illegally inflated voter lists.
After nightfall, Aziz supporters sent red and white fireworks bursting into the air above Nouakchott in celebration. They crisscrossed the sandy streets, honking horns relentlessly, chanting his name. Others hung out the windows of dilapidated Mercedes Benzes and pickup trucks waving posters of the unsmiling former general.
In his speech, Aziz vowed to eradicate terrorism and ensure his army is equipped to do so. He also said the government must also fight poverty in equal measures, “because the cause of terrorism is poverty.”
On the eve of the vote, police exchanged gunfire with two alleged members of an al-Qaida-linked terror cell that had claimed responsibility for gunning down an American teacher here last month. The pair was detained, and one was found wearing an explosive belt.
The U.S. has expressed concern over the steady spread south from Algeria in recent years of al-Qaida’s North Africa branch. While Washington never recognized Aziz’s junta, it is keen to maintain Mauritania as a bulwark against the terror group and prevent the moderate Muslim nation from sliding toward extremism.
Saturday’s election represents a chance for the desert nation straddling the Arab and African worlds to resurrect billions of dollars in pledged international aid, which was cut after Aziz ousted President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi last August. Restarting that aid will be no easy task: Aziz will first have to convince skeptical donors that democracy has really been restored.
Mauritania has suffered five coups since independence from France in 1960, and has been led by military rulers for most of the past three decades.
Born Dec. 20, 1956, Aziz joined the armed forces at the age of 21. Since 1998, he served as head of the presidential guard, a post that allowed him an influential, behind-the-scenes role in the top echelons of power and politics for a decade.
Together with a small clique of the country’s senior military brass, he helped foment a popular putsch in 2005 that ended the two-decade dictatorship of Maaoya Sid’Ahmed Ould Taya and paved the way for unprecedented freedoms.
But when the same military group led by Aziz staged another coup last year, many viewed it as a setback to the nation’s democratic gains.
Aziz says he acted to protect the country’s nascent democracy; Abdallahi, the president, had begun appointing members of the old regime to senior government posts and was trying to censor the press.
Aziz’s junta quickly found itself isolated for breaking the constitutional order, and met unexpected political resistance at home.
Elections offered a way out.
From the beginning, though, Aziz had a huge advantage over his opponents — who only joined
the race a few weeks ago after his junta was replaced by an interim government of national unity that was charged with overseeing the weekend ballot.
Unlike his opponents, Aziz was also able to take advantage of the machinery of state to carry out public works projects like paving roads. He cast himself as “president of the poor,” dropping the prices of electricity, water, sugar and gas by as much as a third.
Associated Press Writer Ahmed Mohamed contributed to this report.
The Rest @ Breaking News from Taragana
Monday, August 03, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sufi Islamists Defeating al Shabaab
Date: 31 Jul 2009
The nature of the intractable civil war in Somalia is undergoing a change, with Sufi groups taking up arms against Al-Shabaab, adding an ideological, sectarian dynamic to the conflict, Georg-Sebastian Holzer writes for ISN Security Watch.
For the first time ever, Sufi groups under attack are taking up arms and are effectively fighting Al-Shabaab with popular support on the rural plains of central Somalia. This new axis of conflict, where Islamist fighters are battling one another along religious lines, has the potential of changing the conflict dynamics in the long run.
Somalis are generally moderate Sufi Muslims, embracing music, dancing and mediation. They do not share the strict, Saudi-inspired Wahhabi interpretation of Islam of the hard-line Al-Shabaab group.
Over the last two decades of civil war, characterized by a lack of central government, Sufi leaders had managed to steer clear of clan and political wars, but this pragmatic and moderate approach came to an end when Al-Shabaab fighters began desecrating their religious shrines in the south of the country late last year.
An impressive example is Al-Shabaab's policy in the port city of Kismayo. The group not only tore down an abandoned 60-year-old Roman Catholic Church to replace it with a mosque, but they targeted Sufi sites, among them ancient graves of cleric sand other prominent Sufis – sites Al-Shabaab deemed un-Islamic. These attacks hit hard at local religious sentiments.
As moderate Sufi scholars increasingly felt discriminated against and targeted for ascriptive reasons, they found themselves engulfed in what they perceived as a religious, zero-sum identity conflict. Hence, they decided to take up arms and thereby changed the dynamics of the Somali conflict.
Rashid Abdi, a Somalia analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG) in Nairobi, tells ISN Security Watch that this development comprises a "terra incognita [as] we are now seeing contours of an ideological, sectarian war for the first time" in Somalia.
A clear, but limited challenge
On 7 May, Al-Shabaab fighters were able to launch an attack on the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in the capital Mogadishu only a few blocks away from Villa Somalia, the presidential palace. However, this is only part of the story, as in a fragmented country like Somalia political developments often vary drastically from region to region.
Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a, a well-organized Sufi resistance group, is militarily active only in the central Somali region of Galgaduud. In January, the group openly engaged Al-Shabaab militias in intense fighting, reportedly killing at least 35 people and injuring more than 60 others in Dhusamareeb.
By Georg-Sebastian Holzer for ISN Security Watch
Source: International Relations and Security Network (ISN)
The nature of the intractable civil war in Somalia is undergoing a change, with Sufi groups taking up arms against Al-Shabaab, adding an ideological, sectarian dynamic to the conflict, Georg-Sebastian Holzer writes for ISN Security Watch.
For the first time ever, Sufi groups under attack are taking up arms and are effectively fighting Al-Shabaab with popular support on the rural plains of central Somalia. This new axis of conflict, where Islamist fighters are battling one another along religious lines, has the potential of changing the conflict dynamics in the long run.
Somalis are generally moderate Sufi Muslims, embracing music, dancing and mediation. They do not share the strict, Saudi-inspired Wahhabi interpretation of Islam of the hard-line Al-Shabaab group.
Over the last two decades of civil war, characterized by a lack of central government, Sufi leaders had managed to steer clear of clan and political wars, but this pragmatic and moderate approach came to an end when Al-Shabaab fighters began desecrating their religious shrines in the south of the country late last year.
An impressive example is Al-Shabaab's policy in the port city of Kismayo. The group not only tore down an abandoned 60-year-old Roman Catholic Church to replace it with a mosque, but they targeted Sufi sites, among them ancient graves of cleric sand other prominent Sufis – sites Al-Shabaab deemed un-Islamic. These attacks hit hard at local religious sentiments.
As moderate Sufi scholars increasingly felt discriminated against and targeted for ascriptive reasons, they found themselves engulfed in what they perceived as a religious, zero-sum identity conflict. Hence, they decided to take up arms and thereby changed the dynamics of the Somali conflict.
Rashid Abdi, a Somalia analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG) in Nairobi, tells ISN Security Watch that this development comprises a "terra incognita [as] we are now seeing contours of an ideological, sectarian war for the first time" in Somalia.
A clear, but limited challenge
On 7 May, Al-Shabaab fighters were able to launch an attack on the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in the capital Mogadishu only a few blocks away from Villa Somalia, the presidential palace. However, this is only part of the story, as in a fragmented country like Somalia political developments often vary drastically from region to region.
Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a, a well-organized Sufi resistance group, is militarily active only in the central Somali region of Galgaduud. In January, the group openly engaged Al-Shabaab militias in intense fighting, reportedly killing at least 35 people and injuring more than 60 others in Dhusamareeb.
- Subsequently, Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a succeeded in driving Al-Shabaab insurgents out of several towns of the region.
- In their place, the Sufi movement has established its own incipient local administration, liaising with UN officials and patrolling the locality.
- Grassroots support and local clan-backing has allowed this new movement to transform rapidly from a civil to a military force.
Roland Marchal, a senior research fellow at the National Center of Scientific Research in Paris, tells ISN Security Watch that Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a "represents clearly a challenge to Al-Shabaab but eventually also the TFG. [However,] it is limited at this stage."
It appears that the accomplishments of Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a imply two realities.
- First, the severe Wahhabi governing methods of Al-Shabaab, which echo those on view in Pakistan's Swat Valley and include stonings and amputations, elicit little local support. In fact, the same could be observed of all radical Islamic groups in Somalia since the 1990s. Today, popular resistance to the insurgency is reported more frequently and conducted more openly. For example, on 26 March, hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in protest against a ban on the sale of the narcotic khat. In reaction, Al-Shabaab further intensified its strategy of coercion and intimidation of the Somali population by carefully selected assassinations and arrests of clan elders, several of whom have been murdered. In the latest high profile assassination, Omar Hashi Aden, the Minister of National Security, was killed along with 30 other people in a large-scale suicide car bomb in Beletwyne on 19 June, which led to a strong condemnation by a broad cross-section of Somali society.
- Second, the wide territorial dominance of the jihadists is perhaps more a function of the lack of any countervailing force than an indicator of any innate strength. Actually, the movement should be weakened considerably, since two of its political pillars have been removed by the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops and the introduction of Sharia law by the new government.
According to Roland Marchal, "Al-Shabaab is benefiting first of all [from] the weaknesses of the other groups. The TFG is highly dysfunctional for political reasons which the UN and the West do not want to assess, as this would need a change of strategy (if there exists any today). […] Al-Shabaab may not be so powerful militarily speaking, but it is the smartest to keep the warfare in conditions that are suitable for its low membership and its lack of popular support."
Consolidating support
Asked by ISN Security Watch if outside actors to the conflict see the Sufi awakening as an opportunity to counterbalance Al-Shabaab, Marchal says that indeed "there seems to be a growing trend among western countries to narrow gaps and make sure that gains in Galgaduud may consolidate and provide the TFG supporters with hope which they need today."
However, he says, this would be a serious cause for concern if Ethiopia and the US wanted to help Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a, as this may provoke also new problems: "[on the one hand] between this group and the TFG, as their relations are already poor; [on the other hand] between this group and the Somali people as [western] support may undermine their legitimacy."
In any case, the TFG already is already attempting to take matters into their own hands. On 21 June it signed an agreement with Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama'a in which they agreed to cooperate in the political, security, humanitarian and development areas.
At the same time, the TFG appointed a former official of the Hizbul Islam insurgent group, which fights alongside Al-Shabaab, Sheikh Yusuf Mohamed Siad Inda'ade, as state defense minister.
For now however, none of these attempts and changes in the dynamics of Somalia's civil war has been able to fundamentally change the current stalemate between the TFG and the insurgent groups, prolonging the ongoing war.
Georg-Sebastian Holzer is a Research Assistant at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC. He focuses on conflict management with a regional specialization on the Horn of Africa.
The Rest @ Relief WebBy Georg-Sebastian Holzer for ISN Security Watch
Source: International Relations and Security Network (ISN)
where did the Boko Haram followers get their arms?
Was it a case of an alleged violent criminal being deliberately executed while in police custody, or was he killed while making a genuine attempt to escape?
These are the questions being asked in Nigeria about the death of 39-year-old Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the Boko Haram sect, who was killed on 30 July.His sect had exchanged fire law enforcement agencies over five days in several parts of Northern Nigeria.
The violence started in Bauchi, where the sect claims its mosque was attacked on 26 July. It then spread to Maiduguri. An estimated 500 people died before the trouble was quelled.
Human Rights Watch officials working in Nigeria have demanded an "immediate investigation into the killing", which they described as "extrajudicial".
"Boko Haram" means "Western education is haram [forbidden under Islamic law]" and the sect is the latest manifestation in Nigeria of a radical version of Islam, reflexes of which have wreaked havoc in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan.
As a result, Boko Haram has been labelled by some people as a "Nigerian Taliban". But very little is known about it.
It does bear a striking resemblance to the Maitatsine sect which caused riots in Kano in December 1980 in which at least 4,000 people died.
Then, the deaths of its leader and so many of his followers – their "martyrdom" – did not eradicate the movement. The activities of Maitatsine movement caused further losses of life in Maiduguri and Kaduna in October 1982 and in Yola in February and March 1984. As the anniversary of Maitatsine's death approaches each December, the authorities become apprehensive and beef up security throughout the areas where remnants of the Maitatsine sect are suspected to exist.
This precedent set by the Maitatsine sect therefore bodes ill for the authorities if they hope that as a result of the death of Mohammed Yusuf that Boko Haram would disappear. Video of him after his arrest, and later of his bullet-ridden body, shown on national television, will be used to propagate his teaching that a reward awaits the faithful after death.
But this sort of belief is disowned by some Muslims. Addressing members of a Nigerian internet discussion forum, one Muslim wrote:
I must say I never knew about these undesirable elements parading themselves under the guise of religion. The religion of Islam never deny (sic) people the right to education. To the contrary, there are verses in the Qur'an urging Muslims to go seek knowledge even in very far places (the country China was used in one instance).
On the issue of the abuse of the human rights of the dead Mohammed Yusuf, another member of the forum wrote:
Hey, all crimes are NOT the same. When someone organises people, arms them to the teeth and start (sic) slaughtering innocent citizens recklessly, in the name of religion, there should be no time to be talking about rule of law.
To which Mohammed Yusuf, had he been alive, would no doubt have retorted, "Didn't I tell you that western education is poison?"
What the authorities will be asking themselves, though, is this: where did the Boko Haram followers get their arms?
Boko Haram ('Boko' = modified Latin alphabet introduced by the French and English colonial authorities at the beginning of the 20th century for the Hausa language, [from English "book"][1][2] or [derivatively] non-islamic [usually western] education[3] and 'Haram' = Arabic for "forbidden") is a Nigerian militant Islamist group that seeks the imposition of Shariah law throughout all 36 states of Nigeria.
The group was founded in 2002 in Maiduguri by Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf. In 2004 it moved to Kanamma, Yobe State, where it set up a base called "Afghanistan", used to attack nearby police outposts, killing police officers.[4] Yusuf is hostile to democracy and the secular education system, vowing that "this war that is yet to start would continue for long".[5]
In Bauchi the group was reported as refusing to mix with local people. The group includes members who come from neighbouring Chad and speak only Arabic.[6][7]
Boko Haram opposes not only Western education, but Western culture and modern science as well.[8] In a 2009 BBC interview, Yusuf stated that the belief that the world is a sphere is contrary to Islam and should be rejected, along with Darwinism and the theory that rain comes from water evaporated by the sun.[9]
-Source Wikipedia
These are the questions being asked in Nigeria about the death of 39-year-old Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the Boko Haram sect, who was killed on 30 July.His sect had exchanged fire law enforcement agencies over five days in several parts of Northern Nigeria.
The violence started in Bauchi, where the sect claims its mosque was attacked on 26 July. It then spread to Maiduguri. An estimated 500 people died before the trouble was quelled.
Human Rights Watch officials working in Nigeria have demanded an "immediate investigation into the killing", which they described as "extrajudicial".
"Boko Haram" means "Western education is haram [forbidden under Islamic law]" and the sect is the latest manifestation in Nigeria of a radical version of Islam, reflexes of which have wreaked havoc in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan.
As a result, Boko Haram has been labelled by some people as a "Nigerian Taliban". But very little is known about it.
It does bear a striking resemblance to the Maitatsine sect which caused riots in Kano in December 1980 in which at least 4,000 people died.
Then, the deaths of its leader and so many of his followers – their "martyrdom" – did not eradicate the movement. The activities of Maitatsine movement caused further losses of life in Maiduguri and Kaduna in October 1982 and in Yola in February and March 1984. As the anniversary of Maitatsine's death approaches each December, the authorities become apprehensive and beef up security throughout the areas where remnants of the Maitatsine sect are suspected to exist.
This precedent set by the Maitatsine sect therefore bodes ill for the authorities if they hope that as a result of the death of Mohammed Yusuf that Boko Haram would disappear. Video of him after his arrest, and later of his bullet-ridden body, shown on national television, will be used to propagate his teaching that a reward awaits the faithful after death.
But this sort of belief is disowned by some Muslims. Addressing members of a Nigerian internet discussion forum, one Muslim wrote:
I must say I never knew about these undesirable elements parading themselves under the guise of religion. The religion of Islam never deny (sic) people the right to education. To the contrary, there are verses in the Qur'an urging Muslims to go seek knowledge even in very far places (the country China was used in one instance).
On the issue of the abuse of the human rights of the dead Mohammed Yusuf, another member of the forum wrote:
Hey, all crimes are NOT the same. When someone organises people, arms them to the teeth and start (sic) slaughtering innocent citizens recklessly, in the name of religion, there should be no time to be talking about rule of law.
To which Mohammed Yusuf, had he been alive, would no doubt have retorted, "Didn't I tell you that western education is poison?"
What the authorities will be asking themselves, though, is this: where did the Boko Haram followers get their arms?
- The army said they had rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s.
- There have been incidents thefts of arms from some Nigerian military garrisons, and the authorities will have to ascertain whether the sect's arms were bought locally or from abroad.
- In either case, the authorities must find it worrying that arms are so easily procured in the country.
Boko Haram ('Boko' = modified Latin alphabet introduced by the French and English colonial authorities at the beginning of the 20th century for the Hausa language, [from English "book"][1][2] or [derivatively] non-islamic [usually western] education[3] and 'Haram' = Arabic for "forbidden") is a Nigerian militant Islamist group that seeks the imposition of Shariah law throughout all 36 states of Nigeria.
The group was founded in 2002 in Maiduguri by Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf. In 2004 it moved to Kanamma, Yobe State, where it set up a base called "Afghanistan", used to attack nearby police outposts, killing police officers.[4] Yusuf is hostile to democracy and the secular education system, vowing that "this war that is yet to start would continue for long".[5]
In Bauchi the group was reported as refusing to mix with local people. The group includes members who come from neighbouring Chad and speak only Arabic.[6][7]
Boko Haram opposes not only Western education, but Western culture and modern science as well.[8] In a 2009 BBC interview, Yusuf stated that the belief that the world is a sphere is contrary to Islam and should be rejected, along with Darwinism and the theory that rain comes from water evaporated by the sun.[9]
-Source Wikipedia
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Iran Bank Tejarat, Romania Bank ProCredit
Iranian Bank Tejarat may have tried to establish a relationship with Romania SC ProCredit Bank SA.on or around 16 July 2009. Bank Tejarat is on the OFAC List
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Are these Missing Friends Jihadis?
I welcome Comments if anyone has any information to add...
-Shimron
Here is a facebook account of a “Merrel Dillion” who was connected with “Shawn Carter” as a “friend” (before he deleted his account). For some reason unknown to me “Merrell” uses his photo as her/his profile pic. I also have the photos of the others who were connected with him as “friends” on Facebook.
Here is a satellite map of Markaz Fajr, where we studied, and here’s a link to their website
Here is the location where we students stayed in two floors of an apartment building, the al-Haramain mosque we had across the “road”, and the Wikipedia link for al-Haramain
18 Burundian Soldiers Get Mystery Illness In Mogadishu
Nairobi — Six Burundian soldiers are still admitted at a Nairobi hospital with symptoms of an unidentified illness, an African Union official said on Tuesday.
Gaffel Nkolokosa, spokesman for the AU envoy to Somalia, said 12 soldiers have recovered and had travelled back to Burundi.
"The medical team from the African Union and Burundi Government is investigating the cause of the illness in the contingent," said Gaffel Nkolokosa, who declined to speculate on the cause of the illness or what the symptoms were.
According to the African Union Mission for Somalia in Nairobi, the soldiers were evacuated from Mogadishu three weeks ago and brought to Kenya for further treatment after exhibiting similar symptoms.
An official at the Burundi Embassy admitted there were some Burundian soldiers in hospital but declined to comment further on the matter saying he was not authorised to speak to the press.
There are 43,000 [I think he means 4,300-Shimron]-soldiers from Burundi and Uganda in Mogadishu defending key sites and helping government sources fight off regular attacks from hardline insurgents.
The Rest @ The Nation by way of All Africa
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Burundi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
at a Glance
Soldiers Still Hospitalised With Mysterious Disease
UBA Seeks Operating Licenses in Kigali and Bujumbura
Burundi, Rwanda Entry Into Customs Union Timely
The Country's Untold Story
EAC Customs Union Comes Into Force in Rwanda And Burundi
Gaffel Nkolokosa, spokesman for the AU envoy to Somalia, said 12 soldiers have recovered and had travelled back to Burundi.
"The medical team from the African Union and Burundi Government is investigating the cause of the illness in the contingent," said Gaffel Nkolokosa, who declined to speculate on the cause of the illness or what the symptoms were.
According to the African Union Mission for Somalia in Nairobi, the soldiers were evacuated from Mogadishu three weeks ago and brought to Kenya for further treatment after exhibiting similar symptoms.
An official at the Burundi Embassy admitted there were some Burundian soldiers in hospital but declined to comment further on the matter saying he was not authorised to speak to the press.
There are 43,000 [I think he means 4,300-Shimron]-soldiers from Burundi and Uganda in Mogadishu defending key sites and helping government sources fight off regular attacks from hardline insurgents.
The Rest @ The Nation by way of All Africa
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My Account Make us your home page RSS Contact Privacy
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Sign up for FREE daily 'top headlines' by email »
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SELECT -- Regions/Countries -- Africa Central Africa East Africa North Africa Southern Africa West Africa --- Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Congo-Brazzaville Congo-Kinshasa Côte d'Ivoire Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa Sudan Swaziland São Tomé and Príncipe Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Western Sahara Zambia Zimbabwe
SELECT -- Topics -- AGOA AIDS Africa on the Move Agribusiness Aid and Assistance Arms and Armies Arts Athletics Banking Book Reviews Books Business Capital Flows Children Climate Commodities Company Conflict Construction Crime Currencies Debt Ecotourism Editorials Education Energy Environment Food and Agriculture From allAfrica's Reporters Game Parks Health Healthcare and Medical Human Rights ICT Infrastructure Investment Labour Land Issues Latest Legal Affairs Malaria Manufacturing Media Migration Mining Music Music Reviews NEPAD NGO Oceans Olympics Peacekeeping Petroleum Polio Pregnancy and Childbirth Privatization Refugees Religion Science Soccer Sport Stock Markets Sustainable Development Terrorism Trade Transport Travel Tuberculosis Urban Issues Water Wildlife Women World Cup --- Central Africa Business East Africa Business North Africa Business Southern Africa Business West Africa Business --- Asia, Australia, and Africa Europe and Africa International Organisations Latin America and Africa Middle East and Africa U.S., Canada and Africa --- From AllAfrica Photo Essays Special Reports
allafrica.com Enter your search terms
web
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Burundi
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
at a Glance
Soldiers Still Hospitalised With Mysterious Disease
UBA Seeks Operating Licenses in Kigali and Bujumbura
Burundi, Rwanda Entry Into Customs Union Timely
The Country's Untold Story
EAC Customs Union Comes Into Force in Rwanda And Burundi
Salah Osman Ahmed of Brooklyn Pleased Guilty to Shabaab Link
Brooklyn Park man will plead guilty to supporting terrorists, attorney says
Second terrorism suspect to plead guilty today.
Salah Osman Ahmed, 26, will plead guilty in federal court today to providing material support to terrorists, according to his attorney.
Ahmed, a part-time security guard from Brooklyn Park, is accused of traveling to Somalia in December 2007, allegedly to train with al-Shabaab, an Islamic militant group that federal officials say has links to al-Qaida.
Ahmed's attorney, James Ostgard, said late Monday night that his client will plead guilty to a single count -- providing material support to terrorists -- before U.S. District Judge James Rosenbaum.
In exchange for the guilty plea, Ostgard said three other counts will be dismissed at Ahmed's sentencing: Conspiracy to Kill, Kidnap, Main and Injure and two counts of giving false information to law enforcement.
Ahmed was one of two men indicted by a grand jury in February for training with al-Shabaab. Abdifatah Yusuf Isse, 25, of Seattle, Wash., also has admitted to federal investigators that he trained with the terrorist group. Isse has already pleaded guilty.
The indictments for both men were made public two weeks ago after Ahmed was arrested on his way to his security job. Isse had been in custody since his arrest in Seattle in February.
By JAMES WALSH, Star Tribune
The Rest @ The Minniapolis Star Tribune
Second terrorism suspect to plead guilty today.
Salah Osman Ahmed, 26, will plead guilty in federal court today to providing material support to terrorists, according to his attorney.
Ahmed, a part-time security guard from Brooklyn Park, is accused of traveling to Somalia in December 2007, allegedly to train with al-Shabaab, an Islamic militant group that federal officials say has links to al-Qaida.
Ahmed's attorney, James Ostgard, said late Monday night that his client will plead guilty to a single count -- providing material support to terrorists -- before U.S. District Judge James Rosenbaum.
In exchange for the guilty plea, Ostgard said three other counts will be dismissed at Ahmed's sentencing: Conspiracy to Kill, Kidnap, Main and Injure and two counts of giving false information to law enforcement.
Ahmed was one of two men indicted by a grand jury in February for training with al-Shabaab. Abdifatah Yusuf Isse, 25, of Seattle, Wash., also has admitted to federal investigators that he trained with the terrorist group. Isse has already pleaded guilty.
The indictments for both men were made public two weeks ago after Ahmed was arrested on his way to his security job. Isse had been in custody since his arrest in Seattle in February.
- Investigators say the indictments are part of a larger, ongoing investigation into the disappearance of up to 20 Twin Cities men of Somali descent over the past two years.
- Family members and federal officials believe the men have returned to Somalia to fight in a continuing civil war.
- Family members or federal officials have confirmed that at least four of those Minnesota men have been killed.
By JAMES WALSH, Star Tribune
The Rest @ The Minniapolis Star Tribune
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