A Somali man who admitted that he trained with terrorists in Somalia and helped construct a terrorist training camp was released from jail on Thursday pending sentencing.
Abdifatah Yusuf Isse, 25, pleaded guilty to supporting terrorists and has been cooperating for months with investigators working on the case of up to 20 Minneapolis men who returned to jihad in Somalia. He was released after agreeing to pay $25,000 if he does not appear in court when required. U.S. District Judge James Rosenbaum, who has been presiding over the cases of Isse and others indicted, agreed to Isse's release last Friday, according to court documents.
Isse is believed to be the first of the Somali men charged and jailed for aiding terrorists to be released.
He will be sent to a halfway house and will have to wear electronic monitoring equipment, according to conditions set by Rosenbaum.
Isse was one of the first men indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of providing material support to terrorists and conspiracy to kill, kidnap, maim or injure. Since then, 14 men have been indicted or charged in one of this country's largest counterterrorism investigations since 9/11. Four of the men, including Isse, have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Others are missing and are presumed to have fled to Somalia.
Isse, of Seattle, Wash., was arrested Feb. 24, 2009, at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. At the time, he said he was going to Tanzania to participate in an internship. He had previously left Minneapolis for Somalia in December 2007.
His attorney, Paul Engh, argued in court papers for Isse's release, noting his cooperation with authorities and the seemingly endless time until sentencing.
On Thursday, Engh would only say: "This kind of case takes a lot longer to complete than the ordinary. His hard incarceration was no longer necessary, in light of the attendant delays."
Source:startribune.com/
Showing posts with label Somalia ordeal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Somalia ordeal. Show all posts
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Italy offers Somalia help, urges others to follow
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Italy offered on Thursday to help form an anti-terrorist police force for Somalia and urged other international donors to fulfil pledges of support for the beleaguered government in the Horn of Africa nation.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told reporters after meeting Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed that Italian military police, or Carabinieri, were ready to train such a force in neighbouring Kenya.
Two rebel groups hold sway in much of southern and central Somalia and the government controls only a few blocks of the capital Mogadishu, propped up by a 5,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force, Amisom.
Western nations say the chaos in Somalia, which has lacked central government since 1991, is giving Islamist militants a safe haven to train and plot attacks in the region and beyond.
"We offered to President Sharif to form a very robust anti-terrorist police for Somalia," said Frattini after their talks in Kenya's capital Nairobi.
The Amisom force has prevented insurgents from overrunning the capital and driving out the Western-backed government, but government troops have made little headway against the rebels.
Fighting since the start of 2007 has killed more than 21,000 Somalis and driven 1.5 million from their homes. Washington accuses one rebel group -- al Shabaab -- of being al Qaeda's proxy in the country.
The chaos on land has also allowed piracy to flourish in the busy shipping lanes off Somalia. The International Maritime Bureau said there were 217 attacks last year by Somali pirates.
Source:af.reuters.com/
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told reporters after meeting Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed that Italian military police, or Carabinieri, were ready to train such a force in neighbouring Kenya.
Two rebel groups hold sway in much of southern and central Somalia and the government controls only a few blocks of the capital Mogadishu, propped up by a 5,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force, Amisom.
Western nations say the chaos in Somalia, which has lacked central government since 1991, is giving Islamist militants a safe haven to train and plot attacks in the region and beyond.
"We offered to President Sharif to form a very robust anti-terrorist police for Somalia," said Frattini after their talks in Kenya's capital Nairobi.
The Amisom force has prevented insurgents from overrunning the capital and driving out the Western-backed government, but government troops have made little headway against the rebels.
Fighting since the start of 2007 has killed more than 21,000 Somalis and driven 1.5 million from their homes. Washington accuses one rebel group -- al Shabaab -- of being al Qaeda's proxy in the country.
The chaos on land has also allowed piracy to flourish in the busy shipping lanes off Somalia. The International Maritime Bureau said there were 217 attacks last year by Somali pirates.
Source:af.reuters.com/
AP Interview: Interpol hunting pirate money
Interpol has seen no proof so far that terror groups like al-Qaida are profiting from big-money ransoms paid out to pirates operating off eastern Africa, the international police group's No. 2 said Tuesday.
Jean-Michel Louboutin spoke to The Associated Press as Interpol opened a closed-door, two-day conference at its Lyon headquarters on tackling the money trail in piracy.
Interpol will create a task force to crack down on maritime piracy "in all its facets," said Interpol Secretary-General Ronald K. Noble in a statement Tuesday. It did not elaborate.
The conference, the first of its kind, has brought together over 100 experts, investigators and policy makers from 42 countries and international organizations, Interpol said.
The International Maritime Bureau reported Thursday that sea attacks worldwide surged 39 percent to 406 cases last year. Somali pirates' raids on vessels accounted for more than half.
Owners of merchant marine ships often feel compelled to pay ransoms to save crews and cargo. Ransom demands linked to piracy off the Horn of Africa now average US$2.2 million, Interpol said.
"If we compare the ransoms sought today compared to those of a few years ago, the increase has been incredible," Louboutin said.
He said he had "no certainty" that al-Qaida or an affiliate insurgent group in Somalia, al-Shabab, receive cash from piracy.
"But nothing indicates that it won't get there," he said.
The players behind the piracy -- the "investors," raiders and corrupt officials -- don't use banks, so tracking the money flows is tricky, Louboutin said.
"All that is cash transferred from hand to hand. That's why it's difficult to trace," he said. Somali warlords often gain their clout by spreading money within their networks, he said.
Analysts say Somalia's two decades of lawlessness have fueled the increase. The attackers often speed out to sea in small skiffs armed with grappling hooks and automatic rifles.
International maritime patrols including U.S. and European warships that chaperone vessels through narrow sea lanes between Somalia and Yemen have helped stem piracy in recent months, French officials have said.
Shipping companies have been arming themselves. Guards on the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama used guns and a sound blaster to repel a pirate attack in November -- the second one on the merchant marine ship in seven months.
Louboutin said Africa generally is increasingly becoming a focus for Interpol, noting that he and Noble have traveled there in recent months.
Over the last year, Interpol has taken part in efforts to combat child slavery, illegal trafficking of ivory and distribution of counterfeit drugs in Africa, Louboutin said.
Interpol has a counter-narcotics operation dubbed Project "White Flow" to stem the flow of cocaine from South America through Africa to Europe; it has also fostered airport security in Africa.
"There are a lot of irons on the fire," Louboutin said. "We have a focus on Africa to help the continent respond better to the challenges of organized crime today."
Louboutin also decried the excessive reliance on military action -- whether on piracy in Africa, or in the fight against terrorism in places like Afghanistan -- instead of training police in research, investigation and evidence-gathering as part of the judicial process.
"These are the answers, instead of putting machine guns at a road intersection and saying 'my zone is secure'," he said. "Many countries in the world don't have judicial police or FBIs."
With its massive computer database, Interpol acts mainly as support service or go-between among national police forces in its 188 member states. But many police forces, which retain sovereignty of action at home, don't share information enough, Louboutin said.
A Nigerian man's attempt to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas Day, which was not defused by police or counterterrorism agents, was case in point, he said.
"We saw a recent example of that: If information had been shared, and recorded in the database -- if you saw what happened on Dec. 25..." Louboutin said. "That should serve as a lesson."
"The culture of secrecy: It kills," Louboutin said.
Source:businessweek.com/
Jean-Michel Louboutin spoke to The Associated Press as Interpol opened a closed-door, two-day conference at its Lyon headquarters on tackling the money trail in piracy.
Interpol will create a task force to crack down on maritime piracy "in all its facets," said Interpol Secretary-General Ronald K. Noble in a statement Tuesday. It did not elaborate.
The conference, the first of its kind, has brought together over 100 experts, investigators and policy makers from 42 countries and international organizations, Interpol said.
The International Maritime Bureau reported Thursday that sea attacks worldwide surged 39 percent to 406 cases last year. Somali pirates' raids on vessels accounted for more than half.
Owners of merchant marine ships often feel compelled to pay ransoms to save crews and cargo. Ransom demands linked to piracy off the Horn of Africa now average US$2.2 million, Interpol said.
"If we compare the ransoms sought today compared to those of a few years ago, the increase has been incredible," Louboutin said.
He said he had "no certainty" that al-Qaida or an affiliate insurgent group in Somalia, al-Shabab, receive cash from piracy.
"But nothing indicates that it won't get there," he said.
The players behind the piracy -- the "investors," raiders and corrupt officials -- don't use banks, so tracking the money flows is tricky, Louboutin said.
"All that is cash transferred from hand to hand. That's why it's difficult to trace," he said. Somali warlords often gain their clout by spreading money within their networks, he said.
Analysts say Somalia's two decades of lawlessness have fueled the increase. The attackers often speed out to sea in small skiffs armed with grappling hooks and automatic rifles.
International maritime patrols including U.S. and European warships that chaperone vessels through narrow sea lanes between Somalia and Yemen have helped stem piracy in recent months, French officials have said.
Shipping companies have been arming themselves. Guards on the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama used guns and a sound blaster to repel a pirate attack in November -- the second one on the merchant marine ship in seven months.
Louboutin said Africa generally is increasingly becoming a focus for Interpol, noting that he and Noble have traveled there in recent months.
Over the last year, Interpol has taken part in efforts to combat child slavery, illegal trafficking of ivory and distribution of counterfeit drugs in Africa, Louboutin said.
Interpol has a counter-narcotics operation dubbed Project "White Flow" to stem the flow of cocaine from South America through Africa to Europe; it has also fostered airport security in Africa.
"There are a lot of irons on the fire," Louboutin said. "We have a focus on Africa to help the continent respond better to the challenges of organized crime today."
Louboutin also decried the excessive reliance on military action -- whether on piracy in Africa, or in the fight against terrorism in places like Afghanistan -- instead of training police in research, investigation and evidence-gathering as part of the judicial process.
"These are the answers, instead of putting machine guns at a road intersection and saying 'my zone is secure'," he said. "Many countries in the world don't have judicial police or FBIs."
With its massive computer database, Interpol acts mainly as support service or go-between among national police forces in its 188 member states. But many police forces, which retain sovereignty of action at home, don't share information enough, Louboutin said.
A Nigerian man's attempt to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas Day, which was not defused by police or counterterrorism agents, was case in point, he said.
"We saw a recent example of that: If information had been shared, and recorded in the database -- if you saw what happened on Dec. 25..." Louboutin said. "That should serve as a lesson."
"The culture of secrecy: It kills," Louboutin said.
Source:businessweek.com/
SOMALIA: Hospital desperate for specialists
MOGADISHU, 21 January 2010 (IRIN) - As conflict continues in Somalia, the main hospital in Mogadishu, the capital, lacks orthopedic specialists to handle the increasing number of patients with broken limbs, a doctor has said.
"Currently, the patients with the most serious injuries are mostly young; 30 of them require specialized treatment that is not available in the country," Mohamed Yusuf, the director-general of Madina Hospital, told IRIN. "Since 2009, we have seen hundreds of patients requiring orthopedic treatment but very few of them can afford specialized treatment; 98 percent of the patients are too poor."
Mogadishu has borne the brunt of the fighting in Somalia, which pits an opposition Islamist group against government troops. The country has been conflict-ridden since 1991 when President Siad Barre was ousted. Although a transitional government is in place, fighting continues in Mogadishu as well as in southern and central parts of the country.
Yusuf said 95 percent of the patients treated in Madina were victims of gunshots and artillery shelling. Of these, he said, 45 percent have limb injuries; 9 percent have chest wounds, 8 percent head injuries and 8 percent stomach injuries.
"We treat and sometimes operate on those with stomach wounds but injuries of the legs are problematic to treat here because we don't have an experienced orthopedic doctor to reconstruct broken bones," Yusuf said. "The most difficult cases involve injuries where a bullet hit the bone, causing fragmentation. Reconstruction using special metal is required but at the moment we do not have a doctor specializing in this sector in the country."
Yusuf said the International Committee of the Red Cross was the main agency supporting Madina and supplying medicine but the availability of specialist doctors remained a challenge: "The only foreign doctors here are from Qatar, working in the maternity sector."
At the same time, Yusuf said the number of injured children was increasing. Most of them, he said, were victims of mortar shelling and since there was no orthopedic expertise available locally, many ended up becoming disabled.
Habiba Ahmed, 41, mother of a nine-year-old boy with spinal injuries, told IRIN: "My child has been suffering for almost four months now, parts of his bones are missing; he was injured when a mortar hit our home. I have come to Madina Hospital for him to be treated but I am told he requires treatment outside the country, which I cannot afford. My child remains disabled."
A report released by Amnesty International on 21 January says indiscriminate attacks in 2009 by all parties to the armed conflict resulted in thousands of civilians killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.
The UN estimates that at least 1.5 million Somalis are internally displaced while 3.7 million require humanitarian aid.
Source:irinnews.org/
"Currently, the patients with the most serious injuries are mostly young; 30 of them require specialized treatment that is not available in the country," Mohamed Yusuf, the director-general of Madina Hospital, told IRIN. "Since 2009, we have seen hundreds of patients requiring orthopedic treatment but very few of them can afford specialized treatment; 98 percent of the patients are too poor."
Mogadishu has borne the brunt of the fighting in Somalia, which pits an opposition Islamist group against government troops. The country has been conflict-ridden since 1991 when President Siad Barre was ousted. Although a transitional government is in place, fighting continues in Mogadishu as well as in southern and central parts of the country.
Yusuf said 95 percent of the patients treated in Madina were victims of gunshots and artillery shelling. Of these, he said, 45 percent have limb injuries; 9 percent have chest wounds, 8 percent head injuries and 8 percent stomach injuries.
"We treat and sometimes operate on those with stomach wounds but injuries of the legs are problematic to treat here because we don't have an experienced orthopedic doctor to reconstruct broken bones," Yusuf said. "The most difficult cases involve injuries where a bullet hit the bone, causing fragmentation. Reconstruction using special metal is required but at the moment we do not have a doctor specializing in this sector in the country."
Yusuf said the International Committee of the Red Cross was the main agency supporting Madina and supplying medicine but the availability of specialist doctors remained a challenge: "The only foreign doctors here are from Qatar, working in the maternity sector."
At the same time, Yusuf said the number of injured children was increasing. Most of them, he said, were victims of mortar shelling and since there was no orthopedic expertise available locally, many ended up becoming disabled.
Habiba Ahmed, 41, mother of a nine-year-old boy with spinal injuries, told IRIN: "My child has been suffering for almost four months now, parts of his bones are missing; he was injured when a mortar hit our home. I have come to Madina Hospital for him to be treated but I am told he requires treatment outside the country, which I cannot afford. My child remains disabled."
A report released by Amnesty International on 21 January says indiscriminate attacks in 2009 by all parties to the armed conflict resulted in thousands of civilians killed and hundreds of thousands displaced.
The UN estimates that at least 1.5 million Somalis are internally displaced while 3.7 million require humanitarian aid.
Source:irinnews.org/
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Funds still needed for Lindhout after Somalia ordeal
Freed Canadian kidnap victim Amanda Lindhout and her family still require the financial generosity of Canadians, says one of a pair of Calgary businessmen who spearheaded a campaign to raise ransom money.
Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan were abducted in Somalia in August 2008. The two were freed late last month. Fundraising efforts for the ransom payment were kept quiet so as not to disrupt negotiations.
"She has a lot of recuperation to go through," said Michael Going, president and co-founder of the Good Earth Café chain, and co-trustee of the Amanda Lindhout trust along with Calgary businessman Steve Allan.
'Needs for rehabilitation'
"There will be need for additional fundraising," said Going. "Having Amanda and Nigel released was absolutely crucial as a first step. But there are ongoing needs for rehabilitation and to get the family back on their feet.”
Going said he was approached in early October to attend a fundraiser for Lindhout. And he soon became a co-trustee of the Amanda Lindhout trust because the tragic story of the young Canadian journalist held captive in Somalia resonated deeply with him.
"There was some media coverage at first in August of 2008 and it struck a chord with me," Going told CBC News.
"It was a pretty tragic story. In my case, I couldn’t hear the facts and meet the people and … not be compelled to get involved."
Hundreds gave support
Going would not divulge how much money was raised and turned over to the Somalian kidnappers, which has been reported as between $600,000 and $1 million.
Going’s brother and nephew were briefly held on trumped-up charges in Serbia 10 years ago, before eventually being released.
"I had some idea of the trauma a family goes through," he said. "It just ripples through so many family and friends."
Going is reluctant to take credit alone for spearheading the drive to raise funds to meet the ransom demand.
"I’m just one of literally hundreds of people who have come to the support of the families throughout Calgary, Canmore, Rocky Mountain House, Red Deer not to mention the Australian side as well."
He said everyone took a pragmatic approach, setting aside ethical questions about whether kidnappers should ever be rewarded.
"The precedent of rewarding some bad guys who take people hostage — that precedent has been set," he noted. "You’d be surprised throughout the world how many thousands of hostage-taking incidents there are. The way I looked at it was there were two people in grave danger and that outweighed everything else."
Going said he looks forward to meeting Lindhout soon, but in the meantime her family has completely exhausted their financial resources and she will need funding for psychological rehabilitation. Donations can be made at any Bank of Montreal location to the Amanda Lindhout trust.
Source:abc.ca/
Lindhout and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan were abducted in Somalia in August 2008. The two were freed late last month. Fundraising efforts for the ransom payment were kept quiet so as not to disrupt negotiations.
"She has a lot of recuperation to go through," said Michael Going, president and co-founder of the Good Earth Café chain, and co-trustee of the Amanda Lindhout trust along with Calgary businessman Steve Allan.
'Needs for rehabilitation'
"There will be need for additional fundraising," said Going. "Having Amanda and Nigel released was absolutely crucial as a first step. But there are ongoing needs for rehabilitation and to get the family back on their feet.”
Going said he was approached in early October to attend a fundraiser for Lindhout. And he soon became a co-trustee of the Amanda Lindhout trust because the tragic story of the young Canadian journalist held captive in Somalia resonated deeply with him.
"There was some media coverage at first in August of 2008 and it struck a chord with me," Going told CBC News.
"It was a pretty tragic story. In my case, I couldn’t hear the facts and meet the people and … not be compelled to get involved."
Hundreds gave support
Going would not divulge how much money was raised and turned over to the Somalian kidnappers, which has been reported as between $600,000 and $1 million.
Going’s brother and nephew were briefly held on trumped-up charges in Serbia 10 years ago, before eventually being released.
"I had some idea of the trauma a family goes through," he said. "It just ripples through so many family and friends."
Going is reluctant to take credit alone for spearheading the drive to raise funds to meet the ransom demand.
"I’m just one of literally hundreds of people who have come to the support of the families throughout Calgary, Canmore, Rocky Mountain House, Red Deer not to mention the Australian side as well."
He said everyone took a pragmatic approach, setting aside ethical questions about whether kidnappers should ever be rewarded.
"The precedent of rewarding some bad guys who take people hostage — that precedent has been set," he noted. "You’d be surprised throughout the world how many thousands of hostage-taking incidents there are. The way I looked at it was there were two people in grave danger and that outweighed everything else."
Going said he looks forward to meeting Lindhout soon, but in the meantime her family has completely exhausted their financial resources and she will need funding for psychological rehabilitation. Donations can be made at any Bank of Montreal location to the Amanda Lindhout trust.
Source:abc.ca/
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