text:
Somali Armed Forces
|Somali Armed Forces
Xoogga Dalka Soomaaliyeed
القوات المسلحة الصومالية
Emblem of the Somali Armed Forces
|Service branches
Somali National Army[1]
Somali Air Force[1]
Somali Navy[1]
|Mogadishu, Somalia
|Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
|Minister of Defense
|Abdulkadir Sheikh Dini
|Chief of Army
|Mohamed Adam Ahmed
|Military age
|Available for
military service
2,260,175 (2010 est.; males)
2,159,293 (2010 est.; females), age 18–49
|Fit for
military service
1,331,894 (2010 est.; males)
1,357,051 (2010 est.; females), age 18–49
|Reaching military
age annually
101,634 (2010 est.; males)
101,072 (2010 est.; females)
|Active personnel
|Percent of GDP
|0.9% (2005)
|Foreign suppliers
European Union
United States
Gulf states
The Somali National Armed Forces (SNAF) are the military forces of Somalia, officially known as the Federal Republic of Somalia.[3] Headed by the President as Commander in Chief, they are constitutionally mandated to ensure the nation's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.[4]
The SAF was initially made up of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Police Force.[5] In the post-independence period, it grew to become among the larger militaries in Africa.[6] Due to patrimonial and repressive state policies, the military had by 1988 begun to disintegrate.[7] By the time dictator Siad Barre fled in 1991, the armed forces had dissolved.[8] As of January 2014, the security sector is overseen by the Federal Government of Somalia's Ministry of Defence, Ministry of National Security, and Ministry of Interior and Federalism.[9] The Somaliland, Puntland and Khaatumo regional governments maintain their own security and police forces.
Middle Ages to colonial period
Historically, Somali society conferred distinction upon warriors (waranle) and rewarded military acumen. All Somali males were regarded as potential soldiers, except for the odd religious cleric (wadaado).[10] Somalia's many Sultanates each maintained regular troops. In the early Middle Ages, the conquest of Shewa by the Ifat Sultanate ignited a rivalry for supremacy with the Solomonic dynasty.
Many similar battles were fought between the succeeding Sultanate of Adal and the Solomonids, with both sides achieving victory and suffering defeat. During the protracted Ethiopian-Adal War (1529–1559), Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi defeated several Ethiopian Emperors and embarked on a conquest referred to as the Futuh Al-Habash ("Conquest of Abyssinia"), which brought three-quarters of Christian Abyssinia under the power of the Muslim Adal Sultanate.[11][12] Al-Ghazi's forces and their Ottoman allies came close to extinguishing the ancient Ethiopian kingdom, but the Abyssinians managed to secure the assistance of Cristóvão da Gama's Portuguese troops and maintain their domain's autonomy. However, both polities in the process exhausted their resources and manpower, which resulted in the contraction of both powers and changed regional dynamics for centuries to come. Many historians trace the origins of hostility between Somalia and Ethiopia to this war.[13] Some scholars also argue that this conflict proved, through their use on both sides, the value of firearms such as the matchlock musket, cannons and the arquebus over traditional weapons.[14]
At the turn of the 20th century, the Majeerteen Sultanate, Sultanate of Hobyo, Warsangali Sultanate and Dervish State employed cavalry in their battles against the imperialist European powers during the Campaign of the Sultanates.
In Italian Somaliland, eight "Arab-Somali" infantry battalions, the Ascari, and several irregular units of Italian officered dubats were established. These units served as frontier guards and police. There were also Somali artillery and zaptié (carabinieri) units forming part of the Italian Royal Corps of Colonial Troops from 1889 to 1941. Between 1911 and 1912, over 1,000 Somalis from Mogadishu served as combat units along with Eritrean and Italian soldiers in the Italo-Turkish War.[15] Most of the troops stationed never returned home until they were transferred back to Italian Somaliland in preparation for the invasion of Ethiopia in 1935.[16]
In 1914, the Somaliland Camel Corps was formed in the British Somaliland protectorate and saw service before, during, and after the Italian invasion of the territory during World War II.[10]
1960 to 1991
Just prior to independence in 1960, the Trust Territory of Somalia established a national army to defend the nascent Somali Republic's borders. A law to that effect was passed on 6 April 1960. Thus the Somali Police Force's Mobile Group (Darawishta Poliska or Darawishta) was formed. 12 April 1960 has since been marked as Armed Forces Day.[17] British Somaliland became independent on 26 June 1960 as the State of Somaliland, and the Trust Territory of Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) followed suit five days later.[18] On 1 July 1960, the two territories united to form the Somali Republic.[19]
After independence, the Darawishta merged with the former British Somaliland Scouts to form the 5,000 strong Somali National Army.[20] The new military's first commander was Colonel Daud Abdulle Hirsi, a former officer in the British military administration's police force, the Somalia Gendarmerie.[10] Officers were trained in the United Kingdom, Egypt and Italy. Despite the social and economic benefits associated with military service, the armed forces began to suffer chronic manpower shortages only a few years after independence.[21]
Merging British Somaliland Italian Somaliland caused political controversy. The distribution of power between the two regions and among the major clans in both areas was a bone of contention. In December 1961, a group of British-trained northern non-commissioned officers in Hargeisa revolted after southern officers took command of their units.[22] The rebellion was put down by other northern Noncommissioned officers (NCOs), although dissatisfaction in the north lingered.[23]
The force was expanded and modernized after the rebellion with the assistance of Soviet and Cuban advisors. The Library of Congress writes that '[i]n 1962 the Soviet Union agreed to grant a US$32 million loan to modernise the Somali army, and expand it to 14,000 personnel. Moscow later increased the amount to US$55 million. The Soviet Union, seeking to counter United States influence in the Horn of Africa, made an unconditional loan and fixed a generous twenty-year repayment schedule.'
The army was tested in 1964 when the conflict with Ethiopia over the Somali-inhabited Ogaden erupted into warfare. On 16 June 1963, Somali guerrillas started an insurgency at Hodayo, in eastern Ethiopia, a watering place north of Werder, after Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie rejected their demand for self-government in the Ogaden. The Somali government initially refused to support the guerrilla forces, which eventually numbered about 3,000. However, in January 1964, after Ethiopia sent reinforcements to the Ogaden, Somali forces launched ground and air attacks across the border and started providing assistance to the guerrillas. The Ethiopian Air Force responded with punitive strikes across its southwestern frontier against Feerfeer, northeast of Beledweyne and Galkayo. On 6 March 1964, Somalia and Ethiopia agreed to a cease-fire. At the end of the month, the two sides signed an accord in Khartoum, Sudan, agreeing to withdraw their troops from the border, cease hostile propaganda, and start peace negotiations. Somalia also terminated its support of the guerrillas.[10]
During the power vacuum that followed the assassination of Somalia's second president, Abdirashid Ali Shermarke, the military staged a coup d'état on 21 October 1969 (the day after Shermarke's funeral) and took over office.[24] Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, who had succeeded Hersi as Chief of Army in 1965,[10] was installed as President of the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC), the new government of Somalia.[24] The country was renamed the Somali Democratic Republic. In 1971, he announced the regime's intention to phase out military rule.
In 1972, the National Security Court, headed by admiral Mohamed Gelle Yusuf, ordered the execution of Siad Barre's fellow coup instigators, Major General Mohamed Aynanshe Guleid (who had become the Vice President), Brigadier General Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Lieutenant Colonel Abdulkadir Dheel Abdulle.[25]
The U.S. Army Area Handbook wrote in 1976:[26]
In mid-1976 the military command structure was simple and direct. Major General Samantar was not only commander of the National Army – and therefore commander of the organizationally subordinated navy and air force- but also secretary of state for defence and a vice president of SRC and thus a member of the major decision-making body of the government. Holding the two highest.. posts, he stood alone in the command structure between the army and President Siad, the head of state. When in July 1976 the SRC relinquished its power to the newly appointed SSRP, Samantar retained the portfolio of the Ministry of Defense. The country's real power appeared to be in the SSRP's Politburo, of which Samantar became a vice president. Before the military coup, command channels ran directly from the commander of the National Army to army sector commanders who exercised authority over military forces.. in the field, and by 1986 combat units had been reorganized along Soviet lines. There is no indication that either the chain of command to lower echelons or the organisation of combat units has changed significantly since the coup.
In July 1976, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the army consisted of 22,000 personnel, 6 tank battalions, 9 mechanised infantry battalions, 5 infantry battalions, 2 commando battalions, and 11 artillery battalions (5 anti-aircraft).[27] Two hundred T-34 and 50 T-54/55 main battle tanks had been estimated to have been delivered. The IISS emphasised that 'spares are short and not all equipment is serviceable.' The U.S. Army Area Handbook for Somalia, 1977 edition, agreed that the army comprised six tank and nine mechanised infantry battalions, but listed no infantry battalions, the two commando battalions, and 10 total artillery (five field and five anti-aircraft) battalions. (Kaplan et al., DA Pam 550-86, Second Edition, 1977, p. 315)
Three divisions (the 21st, 54th, and 60th)[28] were formed, and later took part in the Ogaden War. While the IISS did not list them in July 1976, there is evidence that they were formed as early as 1970 or earlier: Mohamud Muse Hersi has been listed by somaliaonline.com as commander of the 21st Division from 1970 to 1972,[29] and Muse Hassan Sheikh Sayid Abdulle as commander 26th Division in 1970–71.
Under the leadership of General Abdullah Mohamed Fadil, Abdullahi Ahmed Irro and other senior Somali military officials formulated a plan of attack for what was to become the Ogaden War in Ethiopia.[30] This was part of a broader effort to unite all of the Somali-inhabited territories in the Horn region into a Greater Somalia (Soomaaliweyn).[31] At the start of the offensive, the SNA consisted of 35,000 soldiers,[32] and was vastly outnumbered by the Ethiopian forces. Somali national army troops seized the Godey Front on 24 July 1977, after the 60th Division defeated the Ethiopian 4th Infantry Division.[33] Godey's capture allowed the Somali side to consolidate its hold on the Ogaden, concentrate its forces, and advance further to other regions of Ethiopia.[34] The invasion reached an abrupt end with the Soviet Union's sudden shift of support to Ethiopia, followed by almost the entire communist world siding with the latter. The Soviets halted supplies to Barre's regime and instead increased the distribution of aid, weapons, and training to Ethiopia's newly communist Derg regime. General Vasily Ivanovich Petrov was assigned to restructure the Ethiopian Army.[35] The Soviets also brought in around 15,000 Cuban troops to assist the Ethiopian military. By 1978, the Somali forces were pushed out of most of the Ogaden, although it would take nearly three more years for the Ethiopian Army to gain full control of Godey.[34]
Following the 1977–78 Ogaden campaign, Abudwak became the base for the SNA's 21st Division.[36]
The shift in support by the Soviet Union motivated the Barre regime to seek allies elsewhere. It eventually settled on Russia's Cold War arch-rival, the United States, which had been courting the Somali government for some time. The U.S. eventually gave extensive military support. Following the disastrous Ogaden War, Barre's government began arresting government and military officials under suspicion of participation in the abortive 1978 coup d'état.[30][37] Most of the people who had allegedly helped plot the putsch were summarily executed.[38] However, several officials managed to escape abroad where they formed the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF), the first of various dissident groups dedicated to ousting Barre's regime by force.[39] Among these opposition movements were the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM) and Somali Democratic Alliance (SDA), a Gadabuursi group which had been formed in the northwest to counter the Somali National Movement (SNM) Isaaq militia.[40]
In 1981 one of three corps headquarters for the ground forces was situated at Hargeisa in the northwestern Woqooyi Galbeed region. Others were believed to be garrisoned at Gaalkacyo in the north-central Mudug region and at Beled Weyne in the south-central Hiiraan region. The ground forces were tactically organized into seven divisions. Allocated among the divisions were three mechanized infantry brigades, ten anti-aircraft battalions, and thirteen artillery battalions.[5]
In 1984, the government attempted to solve the manpower shortage problem by instituting obligatory military service.[21] Men of eighteen to forty years of age were to be conscripted for two years. Opposition to conscription and to the campaigns against guerrilla groups resulted in widespread evasion of military service. As a result, during the late 1980s the government normally met manpower requirements by impressing men into military service. This practice alienated an increasing number of Somalis, who wanted the government to negotiate a peaceful resolution of the conflicts that were slowly destroying Somali society.
However, as the 1980s wore on, Siad Barre increasingly used clanism as a political resource.[41] Barre filled the key positions in the army and security forces with members of three Darood clans closely related to his own reer: the Marehan, Dulbahantes, and Ogaadeens.[42] Compagnon wrote in 1992: "Colonels and generals were part of the president's personal patronage network; they had to remain loyal to him and his relatives, whether they had command or were temporarily in the cabinet."[43] As a result, by 1990 many Somalis looked upon the armed forces as Siad Barre's personal army. This perception eventually destroyed the military's reputation as a national institution. The critical posts of commander of the 2nd Tank Brigade and 2nd Artillery Brigade in Mogadishu were both held by Marehan officers, as were the posts of commander of the three reserve brigades in Hargeisa in the north.[44]
By 1987 the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency estimated the army was 40,000 strong (with Ethiopian army strength estimated at the same time as 260,000).[45] The President, Mohamed Siad Barre, held the rank of Major General and acted as Minister of Defence. There were three vice-ministers of national defence. From the SNA headquarters in Mogadishu four sectors were directed: 26th Sector at Hargeisa, 54th Sector at Garowe, 21st Sector at Dusa Mareb, and 60th Sector at Baidoa. Thirteen divisions, averaging 3,300 strong, were divided between the four sectors – four in the northernmost and three in each of the other sectors. The sectors were under the command of brigadiers (three) and a colonel (one). Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan has been reported as 26th Sector commander from 1986 to 1988. Walter S. Clarke seemed to say that Barre's son [Maslah Siad] was commanding the 77th Sector in Mogadishu in November 1987.[46]
By the mid-1980s, more resistance movements supported by Ethiopia's communist Derg administration had sprung up across the country. Barre responded by ordering punitive measures against those he perceived as locally supporting the guerillas, especially in the northern regions. The clampdown included bombing of cities, with the northwestern administrative center of Hargeisa, a Somali National Movement (SNM) stronghold, among the targeted areas in 1988.[47]
Compagnon writes that:[48]
From the summer of 1988 onwards, there was a combination of political repression against targeted clans and private use of violence by predatory units and individuals of the former 'national' armed forces – already in the process of disintegration – who used their power to rape, kill, and loot freely. The ..distinction between private illegitimate violence and public coersion disappeared. Many former military men later joined the clan militias or the armed gangs.
Military exercises between the United States and the Siad Barre regime continued during the 1980s. 'Valiant Usher '86' took place during the U.S. fiscal year of 1986, but actually in late 1985, and the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit participated in Exercise Eastern Wind in August 1987 in the area of Geesalay.[49] U.S. Army elements conducted training with the Somali 31st Commando Brigade at Baledogle Airfield outside Mogadishu in 1989.[50]
As of 1 June 1989, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated that the Army comprised four corps and 12 division headquarters.[51] At the time, the military had decreased considerably in size.[52] The IISS noted that these formations 'were in name only; below establishment in units, men, and equipment. Brigades were of battalion size.'[51] Units and formations listed in 1990 within six military sectors included the twelve divisions, four tank brigades, 45 mechanized and infantry brigades, 4 commando brigades, 1 surface-to-air missile brigade, 3 field artillery brigades, 30 field battalions, and one air defence artillery battalion.[53]
In mid-November 1989, rebel forces briefly captured the Mudug province's capital Galkayo, Human Rights Watch reported in September 1990. They reportedly seized significant quantities of military equipment at the 4th Division Headquarters, including tanks, 30 mobile anti-aircraft guns and rocket launchers. However, the rebels were unable to take most of this equipment so they incinerated it. Government forces thereafter launched massive reprisals against civilians residing in the regions corresponding with the 21st, 54th, 60th and 77th military sectors. The impacted towns and villages included Gowlalo, Dagaari, Sadle-Higlo, Bandiir Adley, Galinsor, Wargalo, Do'ol, Halimo, Go'ondalay and Galkayo.[54]
The various rebel movements eventually succeeded in ousting the government altogether in the ensuing civil war that broke out in 1991. The Somali National Army and all related military and security forces finally dissolved.[8] In 1992, the 15-member Security Council imposed an arms embargo via United Nations Security Council Resolution 733 in order to stop the flow of weapons to feuding militia groups.[55] Much equipment was left in situ, deteriorating, and was sometimes discovered and photographed by intervention forces in the early 1990s.
Transitional period
It was reported on November 7, 2001, that Transitional National Government (TNG) military forces had seized control of Marka in Lower Shabelle.[56] From 2002, Ismail Qasim Naji served as the TNG military chief.[57] He was given the rank of Major General. The TNG's new army, made up of 90 women and 2,010 men, was equipped on 21 March 2002 with guns and armed wagons surrendered to the TNG by private parties in exchange for money, according to TNG officials. TNG president Abdulkassim Salat Hassan instructed the recruits to use the weaponry to "pacify Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia by fighting bandits, anarchists and all forces that operate for survival outside the law." But the TNG controlled only one part of Mogadishu; rival warlords controlled the remainder.[58] Some TNG weapons were stolen and looted in late 2002.[59] During this time, the TNG was opposed militarily and politically by the rival Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC).
Eventually the leadership of the SRRC and the TNG were reconciled, and the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was formed in 2004 by Somali politicians in Nairobi. Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed from Puntland was elected as President.[60][61] The TFG later moved its temporary headquarters to Baidoa.[60] President Yusuf requested that the African Union deploy military forces in Somalia. However, as the AU lacked the resources to do so, Yusuf brought in his own militia from Puntland. Along with the U.S. funding the ARPCT coalition, this alarmed many in south-central Somalia, and recruits flocked to the ascendant Islamic Courts Union (ICU).[62]
A battle for Mogadishu followed in the first half of 2006 in which the ARPCT confronted the ICU.[63] However, with local support, the ICU captured the city in June of the year. It then expanded its area of control in south-central Somalia over the following months, assisted militarily by Eritrea.[62] In an effort at reconciliation, TFG and ICU representatives held several rounds of talks in Khartoum under the auspices of the Arab League. The meetings ended unsuccessfully due to uncompromising positions retained by both parties.[60] Hardline Islamists subsequently gained power within the ICU, prompting fears of a Talibanization of the movement.[64]
In December 2006, Ethiopian troops entered Somalia to assist the TFG against the advancing Islamic Courts Union,[65] initially winning the Battle of Baidoa. On 28 December 2006, the allied forces recaptured the capital from the ICU.[66] The offensive helped the TFG solidify its rule.[63] Ethiopian and TFG forces forced the ICU from Ras Kamboni between 7–12 January 2007. They were assisted by at least two U.S. air strikes.[67] On 8 January 2007, for the first time since taking office, President Ahmed entered Mogadishu from Baidoa as the TFG moved its base to the national capital.[68] President Ahmed brought his Puntland army chief with him, and Abdullahi Ali Omar became Somali chief of army on 10 February 2007.[69]
On 20 January 2007, with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1744, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was formally authorised, making it possible to securely assure the government's presence in Mogadishu.[70] Seven hundred Ugandan troops, earmarked for AMISOM, were landed at Mogadishu airport on 7–8 March 2007.[71]
In Mogadishu, Hawiye residents resented the Islamic Courts Union's defeat.[72] They distrusted the TFG, which was at the time dominated by individuals from the Darod clan, believing that it was dedicated to the advancement of Darod interests in lieu of the Hawiye. Additionally, they feared reprisals for massacres committed in 1991 in Mogadishu by Hawiye militants against Darod civilians, and were dismayed by Ethiopian involvement.[73] Critics of the TFG likewise charged that its federalist platform was part of a plot by the Ethiopian government to keep Somalia weak and divided.[74] During its first few months in the capital, the TFG was initially restricted to key strategic points, with the large northwestern and western suburbs controlled by Hawiye rebels.[75] In March 2007, President Ahmed announced plans to forcibly disarm militias in the city.[73] According to the ISA, a coalition of local insurgents led by Al-Shabaab subsequently launched a wave of attacks against the TFG and Ethiopian troops.[76] The allied forces in return mounted a heavy-handed response.[77]
All of the warring parties were responsible for widespread violations of the laws of war, as civilians were caught in the ensuing crossfire. Insurgents reportedly deployed militants and established strongholds in heavily populated neighborhoods, launched mortar rounds from residential areas, and targeted public and private individuals for assassination and violence.[76] TFG forces alleged to have failed to efficaciously warn civilians in combat zones, impeded relief efforts, plundered property, in some instances engaged in murder and violence, and mistreated detainees during mass arrests.[76][78] According to HRW, the implicated TFG forces included military, police and intelligence personnel, as well as the private guards of senior TFG officials. Victims were often unable to identify TFG personnel, and confused militiamen aligned with TFG officials with TFG police officers and other state security personnel.[78]
In December 2008, the International Crisis Group reported:[79]
Yusuf has built a largely subservient and loyal apparatus by putting his fellow Majerteen clansmen in strategic positions. The National Security Agency (NSA) under General Mohamed Warsame ("Darwish") and the so-called "Majerteen militia" units in the TFG army operate in parallel and often above other security agencies. Their exact number is hard to ascertain, but estimates suggest about 2,000.[80] They are well catered for, well armed and often carry out counter-insurgency operations with little or no coordination with other security agencies. In the short term, this strategy may appear effective for the president, who can unilaterally employ the force essentially as he pleases. However, it undermines morale in the security services and is a cause of their high desertion rates.
Much of the problem building armed forces was the lack of functioning TFG government institutions:[81]
Beyond the endemic internal power struggles, the TFG has faced far more serious problems in establishing its authority and rebuilding the structures of governance. Its writ has never extended much beyond Baidoa. Its control of Mogadishu is ever more contested, and it is largely under siege in the rest of the country. There are no properly functioning government institutions.
Also in December 2008, Human Rights Watch described the Somali National Army as the 'TFG's largely theoretical professional military force.' It said that 'where trained TFG military forces appear, 'they were identified by their victims as Ethiopian-trained forces, often acting in concert with ENDF (Ethiopian National Defense Force) forces or under the command of ENDF officers.'[82] HRW also said that 'Human Rights Watch's own research has uncovered a pattern of violent abuses by TFG forces including widespread acts of murder, rape, looting, assault, arbitrary arrest and detention, and torture. Those responsible include police, military, and intelligence personnel as well as the personal militias of high-ranking TFG officials.'[82]
HRW went on to say: 'The TFG has deployed a confusing array of security forces and armed militias to act on its behalf. Victims of the widespread abuses in which these forces have been implicated often have trouble identifying whether their attackers were TFG police officers, other TFG security personnel, or militias linked to TFG officials. Furthermore, formal command-and-control structures are to a large degree illusory. TFG security forces often wear multiple hats, acting on orders from their formal superiors one day, as clan militias another day, and as autonomous self-interested armed groups the next.'[82]
In April 2009, donors at a UN-sponsored conference pledged over $250 million to help improve security. The funds were earmarked for AMISOM and supporting Somalia's security, including the build-up of a security force of 6,000 members as well as an augmented police force of 10,000 men.[83] In June 2009, the Somali military received 40 tonnes worth of arms and ammunition from the U.S. government to assist it in combating the insurgency.[84]
In November 2010, a new technocratic government was elected to office. In its first 50 days in office, the new administration completed its first monthly payment of stipends to government soldiers.[85] It was the first of many Somali administrations to announce plans for a full biometric register for the security forces. While it aimed to complete the biometric register within four months, little further was reported. By August 2011, AMISOM and Somali forces had managed to capture all of Mogadishu from Al-Shabaab.[86]
In October 2011, following a weekend preparatory meeting between Somali and Kenyan military officials in the town of Dhobley,[87] the Kenya Defence Forces launched an attack across the border against Al-Shabaab, aiming for Kismayo.[88][89] In early June 2012, Kenyan troops were formally integrated into AMISOM.[90]
In January 2012, Somali government forces and their AMISOM allies launched offensives on Al-Shabaab's last foothold on the northern outskirts of Mogadishu.[91] The following month, Somali forces fighting alongside AMISOM seized Baidoa from the insurgent group.[92] By June 2012, the allied forces had also captured El Bur,[93] Afgooye,[94] and Balad.[95] Progress by the Kenya Army from the border towards Kismayo was slow, but Afmadow was also reported captured on 1 June 2012.[96]
Federal period
The Federal Government of Somalia was established in August/September 2012. On 6 March 2013, United Nations Security Council Resolution 2093 was passed. The resolution lifted the purchase ban on light weapons for a provisional period of one year, but retained restrictions on the procurement of heavy arms such as surface-to-air missiles, howitzers and cannons.[55]
On 13 March 2013, Dahir Adan Elmi was appointed Chief of Army at a transfer ceremony in Mogadishu, where he replaced Abdulkadir Sheikh Dini. Abdirisaq Khalif Hussein was appointed as Elmi's new Deputy Chief of Army.[97]
In August 2013, Federal Government of Somalia officials and Jubaland regional representatives signed an agreement in Addis Ababa brokered by the Government of Ethiopia, which said that all Jubaland security elements will be integrated within the Somali National Army. The Juba Interim Administration would control the regional police.[98]
In November 2013, UNSOA (United Nations Support Office for AMISOM) was required by the UNSC to support the SNA across South Central Somalia. Their mandate consisted in consolidating and training a force of 10,900 Somalis, officially to fight al Shabab forces.[99] The SNA force would initially be trained by the AMISOM contingents. On the passing of specific UN requirements,[100] designated SNA battalions would then participate in joint operations with AMISOM. UNSOA's support during the period comprised food supplements, shelter, fuel, water and medical support.[101]
In early March 2014, Somali security forces and AMISOM troops launched another operation to remove Al-Shabaab from the remaining areas in southern Somalia under its control.[102] According to Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, the government subsequently launched stabilization efforts in the newly liberated areas, which included Rab Dhuure, Hudur, Wajid and Burdhubo. However, there were continuing concerns that not enough was being done to revitalise and secure the newly liberated areas. By 26 March, the allied forces had liberated ten towns within the month, including Qoryoley and El Buur.[103][104] UN Special Representative for Somalia Nicholas Kay described the military advance as the most significant and geographically extensive offensive since AU troops began operations in 2007.[105]
In August 2014, the Somali government launched Operation Indian Ocean.[106] On 1 September 2014, a U.S. drone strike carried out as part of the broader mission killed Al-Shabaab leader Moktar Ali Zubeyr.[107] U.S. authorities hailed the raid as a major symbolic and operational loss for Al-Shabaab, and the Somali government offered a 45-day amnesty to all moderate members of the militant group.[108]
In October 2014, Federal Government officials signed an agreement in Garowe with Puntland, which said that the Federal and Puntland authorities will work to form an integrated national army.[109] In April 2015, another bilateral treaty stipulated that Puntland would contribute 3,000 troops to the Somali National Army.[110] In May 2015, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the heads of the Puntland, Jubaland and Interim South West Administrations signed a seven-point agreement in Garowe authorizing the immediate deployment of 3,000 troops from Puntland for the Somali National Army.[111] The leaders also agreed to integrate soldiers from the other regional states into the SNA.[112]
In 2016 The Economist reported that the SNA did not exist as a cohesive force due to high rates of desertions and many soldiers being primarily loyal to clan leaders rather than the government.[113]
Somali National Army from 2008
Training and facilities
In November 2009, the European Union announced its intention to train two Somali battalions (around 2,000 troops), which would complement other training missions and bring the total number of better-trained Somalian soldiers to 6,000.[114] The two battalions were expected to be ready by August 2011.[115] In April 2011, 1,000 recruits completed training in Uganda as a part of the agreement with the EU.[116]
Powerful vested interests and corrupt commanders were, as of February 2011, the largest obstacle to reforming the army. Some newly delivered weaponry was sold by officers. The International Crisis Group also said that AMISOM's efforts at assisting in formalizing the military's structure and providing training to the estimated 8,000 SNA soldiers were problematic. Resistance continued to the establishment of an effective chain of command, logical military formations and a credible troop roster. Although General Mohamed Gelle Kahiye, the respected former army chief, attempted to instill reforms, he was marginalized and eventually dimissed.[117]
In August 2011, as part of the European Union Training Mission Somalia (EUTM Somalia), 900 Somali soldiers graduated from the Bihanga Military Training School in the Ibanda District of Uganda.[118][119] 150 personnel from the EU took part in the training process, which trained around 2,000 Somali troops per year.[119] In May 2012, 603 Somali army personnel completed training at the facility. They were the third batch of Somali nationals to be trained there under the auspices of EUTM Somalia.[120] In total, the EU mission had trained 3,600 Somali soldiers, before permanently transferring all of its advisory, mentoring and training activities to Mogadishu in December 2013.[121]
In September 2011, President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed laid down the foundation for a new military camp for the army in the Jazeera District of Mogadishu. The $3.2 million construction project was funded by the EU and was expected to take six months to complete.[122]
In June 2013, Egyptian engineers arrived to build new headquarters for the Somalia Ministry of Defence.[123]
In February 2014, EUTM Somalia began its first "Train the Trainers" programme at the Jazeera Training Camp in Mogadishu. 60 Somali National Army soldiers that had been previously trained by EUTM in Uganda would take part in a four-week refresher course on infantry techniques and procedures, including international humanitarian law and military ethics. The training would be conducted by 16 EU trainers. Following the course's completion, the Somali soldiers would be qualified as instructors to then train SNA recruits, with mentoring provided by EUTM Somalia personnel.[124] A team of EUTM Somalia advisors also started offering strategic advice to the Somali Ministry of Defence and General Staff. Additionally, capacity building, advice and specific mentoring with regard to security sector development and training are envisioned for 2014.[125]
In February 2014, Chief of Staff Brigadier General Dahir Adan Elmi announced that Somalia's Ministry of Defence began holding military training inside the country for the first time, with Somali instructors now teaching courses to units that joined the armed forces. He also indicated that SNA leaders had created new numbered units for the army, and that the soldiers were slated to have their respective name and unit placed on their uniform. Additionally, Elmi stated that the military had implemented a new biometric registration system, wherein each recently trained and armed soldier is photographed and fingerprinted.[126] By the end of 2014, 17,000 national army soldiers and police officers had registered for the new biometric remuneration system.[127] 13,829 SNA soldiers and 5,134 Somali Police Force officials were biometrically registered in the system as of May 2015.[128]
In July 2014, the governments of the United States and France announced that they would start providing training to the Somali National Army.[129] According to U.S. Defense Department officials, American military advisers are also stationed in Somalia.[130]
In September 2014, 20 Somalian federal soldiers began training courses in Djibouti, which were organized by the government of Djibouti.[131]
In September 2014, a Somali government delegation led by Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed attended an international conference in London hosted by the British government, which centered on rebuilding the Somali National Army and strengthening the security sector in Somalia. Ahmed presented to the participants his administration's plan for the development of Somalia's military, as well as fiscal planning, human rights protection, arms embargo compliance, and ways to integrate regional militias. The summit also aimed to increase financial support for the Somali military. British Prime Minister David Cameron in turn indicated that the meeting sought to outline a long-term security plan to strengthen Somalia's army, police and judiciary.[132]
In March 2015, the Federal Cabinet agreed to establish a new commission tasked with overseeing the nationalization and integration of security forces in the country.[133] In April 2015, the Commission on Regional Militia Integration presented its plan for the formal integration of regional forces, with UNSOM providing support and strategic advice.[128]
In April 2015, the federal Ministry of Defence launched its new Guulwade Plan (Victory Plan), which provides a roadmap for long-term development of the military. It was formulated with technical support from UNSOM. The framework stipulates that international partners are slated to provide capacity-building as well as assistance for joint operations to 10,900 Somali national army troops, with these units drawn from various regions in the country.[128]
As of April 2015, UNSOM coordinates international security sector assistance for the SNA in accordance with the Somali federal government's priority areas. It also provides advice on recruitment of female officers, strictures on age appropriate military personnel, legal frameworks vis-a-vis the defence institutions, and a development strategy for the Ministry of Defence. Beginning in the month, the US government also funded the payment of 9,495 army allowances.[128]
In May 2015, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud officially opened a new military training camp in Mogadishu. Construction of the center began in 2014 in conjunction with the government of the United Arab Emirates. Situated in the Hodan district, it is one of several new military academies in the country.[134]
As of May 2015, the federal government in conjunction with UNSOM was working toward establishing a comprehensive, international standards and obligations-compliant ammunition and weapons management system. To this end, capacity-building for the physical management of arms and bookkeeping was being developed, and new storage facilities and armouries for weapons and explosives were being constructed.[128]
Strength and units
In August 2011, the TFG announced the creation of a new Special Force. Consisting of 300 trained soldiers, the unit was initially mandated with protecting relief shipments and distribution centers in Mogadishu. Besides helping to stabilize the city, the protection force is also tasked with combating banditry and other vices.[135]
In March 2013 there were six trained brigades around Mogadishu, two of which were deployed at the time. Each brigade includes three to six battalions of around 1000 soldiers apiece, or 18,000 to 36,000 troops in total. Of these, an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 soldiers are currently in service.[136]
According to the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, the six SNA brigades around Mogadishu were as of July 2013 largely composed of officers from various Hawiye sub-clans, with some Marehan-Darod and minorities also present in certain units. Of the brigades, five primarily consisted of Abgaal, Murosade and Hawadle soldiers. In February 2013 the 2nd Brigade was under the command of Brigadier General Abdullahi Osman Agey. The 3rd Brigade over the same period comprised 840 fighters, most of whom belong to the Hawiye-Habar Gidir/Ayr clan. The unit was around 30% to 50% smaller in size than the other five brigades that are garrisoned in the larger Banaadir region. Led by General Mohamed Roble Jimale 'Gobale', it occupied an area outside of Mogadishu and Merka and along the Afgoye corridor. The Monitoring Group reported that many 3rd Brigade fighters had been drawn from around 300-strong militias controlled by Yusuf Mohamed Siyaad 'Indha Adde', a close associate of Jimale and the former Eritrean-backed chief of defence for the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia-Asmara. However, Siyaad was by then no longer part of the SNA's official military structures.[137]
As of May–June 2014, the army reportedly consists of an estimated 20,000 soldiers. Of these, the majority are men, with around 1,500 female SNA officials.[2]
The Fifth Brigade was identified in reporting about a New Zealand UN advisor.[138] Later, on June 9, 2014, Garowe Online referred to the Fifth and Sixth Brigades of the SNA, in Lower Shabelle.[139] The 5th and 6th Brigades have played a pivotal role in the battle against Al-Shabaab, including in Mogadishu and Afgoye. With a post-training drop-out rate of around 10%, the vast majority of the EUTM-trained soldiers have continued to serve in the Somalia national security forces after their initial period of training abroad, and their units have remained intact. The standard of the EUTM-trained troops is regarded as being high relative to the brigades around Mogadishu. Overall, the Somali armed forces' combat capability has strengthened due in part to having both more combat experience and international support, including training, leadership and planning facilitation.[140]
In February 2014, the Federal Government concluded a six-month training course for the first Commandos, Danab ("Lightning"), since 1991.[141] Training had been jointly carried out by Somali military experts and U.S. government personnel. The Army Chief of Staff Brigadier General Dahir Adan Elmi said that the new Commandos hail from different parts of the county. The Commandos will be headquartered at the former Balli Dogle air base (Walaweyn District, Lower Shebelle).[141] The training of the first Danab unit had begun in October 2013, and included 150 soldiers. As of July 2014, training of the second unit was underway. According to General Elmi, the special training is geared toward both urban and rural environments, and is aimed at preparing the soldiers for guerrilla warfare and all other types of modern military operations. Elmi said that a total of 570 Commandos are expected to have completed training by U.S. security personnel by the end of 2014.[130]
Guulwade [Victory] Plan
On 26 March 2015, the Defence Working Group under the New Deal structure held its first meeting since November 2014. Discussions focused on the Guulwade (Victory) Plan of the Federal Government, developed with technical assistance from UNSOM. The plan outlines the Somali national army's arms and equipment needs for improved joint operations, consistent with the AMISOM concept of operations, and provides a framework for the first phase of longer-term development of the national army. The plan was presented by the Ministry of Defence and endorsed at the meeting of the Working Group on Peacebuilding and State-building Goal 2 (security) in Mogadishu on 23 April 2015.[142][143]
Under the Guulwade Plan, a total of 10,900 national army troops, comprising units from the regions, would receive support from international partners for participation in joint operations with AMISOM and capacity-building as part of development of the army. The figure does not include the 3,000 troops from Puntland due to be integrated into the national army, which are fighting Al-Shabaab in the Galgalo mountains. Alternative arrangements will be needed to enable those troops to receive international support.[142]
Special Forces
The Danab ("Lightning") Special operations Battalion is part of the elite Somali National Army component that also includes the Commando Brigade which is also headquartered in Balidogle, Somalia It has been established to conduct special operations, covert operations, special reconnaissance, counter intelligence, counter terrorism, counter insurgency, amphibious and asymmetric warfare in and outside Somalia.
This force of Somalia's National Army is trained to strike with precision, targeting the country's hot spots and terrorism targets, fashioned after the U.S. Army's Delta Force or Navy SEALs.[144]
Somali special forces are subordinated under the MOD Special Operations Command to a brigade-level command structure.
Somalia has signed military cooperation agreements with Turkey in May 2010,[145] February 2014,[146] and January 2015.[147]
In February 2012, Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali and Italian Defence Minister Gianpaolo Di Paola agreed that Italy would assist the Somali military as part of the National Security and Stabilization Plan (NSSP),[148] an initiative designed to strengthen and professionalize the national security forces.[149] The agreement would include training soldiers and rebuilding the Somali army.[148] In November 2014, the Federal Parliament approved a new defense and cooperation treaty with Italy, which the Ministry of Defence had signed earlier in the year. The agreement includes training and equipping of the army by Italy.[150]
In November 2014, Somalia signed a military cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates.[151]
Turkey has signed an agreement with Somalia, to open its first military base in Africa in which Turkish military officers will train Somali soldiers and troops from other African countries to fight against Al-Shabaab terrorist organization. The base, which has been approved by the United Nations, will be Turkey's second military base abroad and will be set up in capital Mogadishu. With the agreement between the Turkish and Somali governments, over 1,500 Somali troops will be trained by 200 Turkish military officers, the Turkish army is also planning to build a military school in Somalia to train officers.
"This military training center will also be an important base to provide military training to all of Africa," Emil Tekin, an official from the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
Army equipment
Army equipment, 1981
The following were the Somali National Army's major weapons in 1981:[5]
Army equipment, 1989
Previous arms acquisitions included the following equipment, much of which was unserviceable ca. June 1989:[51] 293 main battle tanks (30 Centurion from Kuwait[152] 123 M47 Patton, 30 T-34, 110 T-54/55 from various sources). Other armoured fighting vehicles included 10 M41 Walker Bulldog light tanks, 30 BRDM-2 and 15 Panhard AML-90 armored cars (formerly owned by Saudi Arabia). The IISS estimated in 1989 that there were 474 armoured personnel carriers, including 64 BTR-40/BTR-50/BTR-60, 100 BTR-152 wheeled armored personnel carriers, 310 Fiat 6614 and 6616s, and that BMR-600s had been reported. The IISS estimated that there were 210 towed artillery pieces (8 M-1944 100mm, 100 M-56 105mm, 84 M-1938 122mm, and 18 M198 155 mm towed howitzers). Other equipment reported by the IISS included 82mm and 120mm mortars, 100 Milan and BGM-71 TOW anti-tank guided missiles, rocket launchers, recoilless rifles, and a variety of Soviet air defence guns of 20mm, 23mm, 37mm, 40mm, 57mm, and 100mm calibre. As of 1 June 1989, the IISS also estimated that Somali army surface-to-air defense equipment included 40 SA-2 Guideline missiles (operational status uncertain), 10 SA-3 Goa, and 20 SA-7 surface-to-air missiles.[51]
Army equipment, 2012–2015
In May 2012, over thirty-three vehicles were donated by the U.S. government to the SNA. The vehicles include 16 Magirus Trucks, 4 Hilux Pickups, 6 Land Cruiser Pickups, 1 Water Tanker, and 6 Water Trailers.[153] On 9 April 2013, the U.S. government approved the provision of defense articles and services by the American authorities to the Somali Federal Government.[154] It handed over 15 vehicles to the new Commandos in March 2014.[155]
In April 2013, Djibouti presented the SNA with 15 armoured military vehicles. The equipment was part of a larger consignment of 25 military trucks and 25 armoured military vehicles.[156]
The same month, the Italian government handed over 54 armored and personnel carrier vehicles to the army at a ceremony in Mogadishu.[157]
As of April 2015, the Ministry of Defence's Guulwade Plan identifies the equipment and weaponry requirements of the army.[128]
Somali Air Force
The Somali Air Force (SAF) was originally named the Somali Air Corps (SAC), and was established with Italian aid in the early 1960s. It emerged from the Italian "Corpo di Sicurezza della Somalia" that existed between 1950 and 1960, during the trusteeship period just prior to independence. The SAF's original equipment included eight North American P-51D Mustangs, Douglas C-47s and MiG 23s, which remained in service until 1968. The air force operated most of its aircraft from bases near Mogadishu, Hargeisa and Galkayo. An air defence force equipped with Soviet surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft guns was in existence by 1992.[158]
By January 1991 the air force was in ruins.[8] In 2012, Italy offered to help rebuild the air force.
According to CQ Press' Worldwide Government Directory with Intergovernmental Organizations, Somalia's reconstituted air force as of 2013 is led by Maj. Gen. Nur Ilmi Adawe.[1]
Somali Navy
The Somali Navy was formed after independence in 1960. Prior to 1991, it participated in several joint exercises with the United States, Great Britain and Canada. It disintegrated during the beginning of the civil war in Somalia, from the late 1980s.[10] In the 2000s (decade), the central government began the process of re-establishing the Somali Navy.[159]
On 30 June 2012, the United Arab Emirates announced a contribution of $1 million toward enhancing Somalia's naval security. Boats, equipment and communication gear necessary for the rebuilding of the coast guard would be bought. A central operations naval command was also planned to be set up in Mogadishu.[160]
Minister of Defence
|Abdulkadir Sheikh Dini
|27 January 2015 – Present
|Federal Government of Somalia (FGS)
|Mohamed Sheikh Hassan
|17 January 2014 – 27 January 2015
|Federal Government of Somalia (FGS)
|Abdihakim Mohamoud Haji-Faqi
|4 November 2012 – 17 January 2014
|Federal Government of Somalia (FGS)
|Hussein Arab Isse
|20 July 2011 – 4 November 2012
|Transitional Federal Government (TFG)
|Abdihakim Mohamoud Haji-Faqi
|12 November 2010 – 20 July 2011
|Transitional Federal Government (TFG)
|Mohamed Abdi Mohamed
|21 February 2009 – 12 November 2010
|Transitional Federal Government (TFG)
|Aden Abdullahi Nur
|Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP)
|Muhammad Ali Samatar
|Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP)
Chief of Army
|Took command
|Left command
|Maj. Gen Ismail Qasim Naji
|14 April 2005[161]
|10 February 2007[69]
|Maj. Gen Abdullahi Ali Omar
|10 February 2007[69]
|21 July 2007[162]
|Brig. Gen Salah Hassan Jama
|21 July 2007[162]
|11 June 2008[163]
|Maj. Gen Said Dheere Mohamed
|11 June 2008[163]
|15 May 2009[164]
|Maj. Gen Yusuf Osman Dhumal
|15 May 2009[164]
|10 December 2009[165]
|Brig. Gen Mohamed Gelle Kahiye
|6 December 2009[165]
|18 September 2010[166]
|Brig. Gen Ahmed Jimale Gedi
|18 September 2010
|28 March 2011
|Maj. Gen Abdulkadir Sheikh Dini
|28 March 2011[167]
|13 March 2013[168]
|Brig. Gen Dahir Adan Elmi
|13 March 2013[168]
|3 September 2015 (S/2015/801, p. 24)
|Maj. Gen Mahamed Aadan Ahmed
|– - 2015[168]
|continue (S/2015/802, p. 24)
Military ranks
In July 2014, General Dahir Adan Elmi announced the completion of a review of the Somali National Army ranks. The SNA in conjunction with the Ministry of Defense is also slated to standardize the martial ranking system and eliminate any unauthorized promotions as part of a broader reform.[169]
As of 1977, Somalia's army ranks were as follows:[5]
- 1 2 3 4 Martino, John (2013). Worldwide Government Directory with Intergovernmental Organizations 2013. CQ Press. p. 1462. ISBN 1452299374.
- 1 2 Guled, Abdi (30 May 2014). "Female soldiers increasingly joining military ranks in Somalia". The Daily Star. AP. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
- ↑ "The Federal Republic of Somalia – Provisional Constitution" (PDF). Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- ↑ "The Federal Republic of Somalia – Provisional Constitution". Retrieved 13 March 2013. Chapter 14, Article 126(3).
- 1 2 3 4 "Somalia: A Country Study – Chapter 5: National Security" (PDF). Library of Congress. c. 1981. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012.
- ↑ See discussion in Abdullah A. Mohamoud, State collapse and post-conflict development in Africa : the case of Somalia (1960–2001). West Lafayette, Ind. : Purdue University Press, c2006
- ↑ Daniel Compagnon, 'Political decay in Somalia: From Personal Rule to Warlordism,' Refuge, Vol 12, No. 5, November–December 1992, 9.
- 1 2 3 Nina J. Fitzgerald, Somalia: issues, history, and bibliography, (Nova Publishers: 2002), p.19.
- ↑ "SOMALIA PM Said "Cabinet will work tirelessly for the people of Somalia"". Midnimo. 17 January 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Library of Congress Country Study, Somalia, The Warrior Tradition and Development of a Modern Army, research complete May 1992.
- ↑ Saheed A. Adejumobi, The History of Ethiopia, (Greenwood Press: 2006), p.178
- ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica, inc, Encyclopedia Britannica, Volume 1, (Encyclopaedia Britannica: 2005), p.163
- ↑ David D. Laitin and Said S. Samatar, Somalia: Nation in Search of a State (Boulder: Westview Press, 1987).
- ↑ Cambridge illustrated atlas, warfare: Renaissance to revolution, 1492–1792 By Jeremy Black pg 9
- ↑ W. Mitchell. Journal of the Royal United Service Institution, Whitehall Yard, Volume 57, Issue 2. p. 997.
- ↑ William James Makin. War Over Ethiopia. p. 227.
- ↑ "Puntland Forces mark 50th anniversary of Somali Armed". Garowe Online. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica, The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, (Encyclopaedia Britannica: 2002), p. 835
- ↑ "The dawn of the Somali nation-state in 1960". Buluugleey.com. Retrieved 2009-02-25.
- ↑ A transcript of a Reuters report of June 26, 1960 says that, during the independence ceremony for Somaliland "..Nearly 1,000 British-trained Somaliland Scouts were then handed over to the Prime Minister by Brigadier O. G. Brooks, the Colonel Commandant." http://www.slnnews.com/2015/06/somaliland-independence-26th-june-1960-the-world-press/
- 1 2 Library of Congress Country Study, Somalia, Manpower, Training, and Conditions of Service (Thomas Ofcansky), research complete May 1992.
- ↑ Michael Walls and Steve Kibble, "Beyond Polarity: Negotiating a Hybrid State in Somaliland", Africa Spectrum, 2010.
- ↑ Library of Congress Country Studies Somalia, Problems of National Integration, Library of Congress, research completed May 1992.
- 1 2 Metz, Helen C. (ed.) (1992), "Coup d'Etat", Somalia: A Country Study, Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, retrieved 21 October 2009
- ↑ Mohamed Haji (Ingiriis), http://www.hiiraan.com/op4/2010/dec/17095/somalia_from_finest_to_failed_state_part_iii.aspx. See also Abdirashid A. Ismail, Somali State Failure, Players, Incentives AND INSTITUTIONS, Helsinki.
- ↑ Kaplan et al, Area Handbook for Somalia, Second Edition, 1977, p.315
- ↑ IISS Military Balance 1976–77, p.44
- ↑ Abdullahi Yusuf Irro once commanded the 60th.
- ↑ http://www.somaliaonline.com/community/showthread.php/41100-Profile-of-new-leaders.Garad-Abdiqani-voices-his-support-Rep-of.-SOOL-SANAG-amp-CAYN
- 1 2 Ahmed III, Abdul. "Brothers in Arms Part I" (PDF). WardheerNews. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
- ↑ Lewis, I.M.; The Royal African Society (October 1989). "The Ogaden and the Fragility of Somali Segmentary Nationalism". African Affairs. 88 (353). doi:10.2307/723037. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
- ↑ Gebru Tareke, "The Ethiopia-Somalia War", p. 638.
- ↑ Urban, Mark (1983). "Soviet intervention and the Ogaden counter-offensive of 1978". The RUSI Journal. 128 (2): 42–46. doi:10.1080/03071848308523524.
- 1 2 Gebru Tareke, "From Lash to Red Star: The Pitfalls of Counter-Insurgency in Ethiopia, 1980–82", Journal of Modern African Studies, 40 (2002), p. 471
- ↑ Lockyer, Adam. "Opposing Foreign Intervention's Impact on the Course of Civil Wars: The Ethiopian-Ogaden Civil War, 1976–1980" (PDF). Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ↑ IRIN Special Report on Central Somalia, 13 May 1999.
- ↑ ARR: Arab report and record, (Economic Features, ltd.: 1978), p.602.
- ↑ New People Media Centre, New people, Issues 94–105, (New People Media Centre: Comboni Missionaries, 2005).
- ↑ Nina J. Fitzgerald, Somalia: issues, history, and bibliography, (Nova Publishers: 2002), p.25.
- ↑ Ciisa-Salwe, Cabdisalaam M. (1996). The collapse of the Somali state: the impact of the colonial legacy. HAAN Publishing. p. 104. ISBN 187420991X.
- ↑ Compagnon, 1992, 9.
- ↑ Compagnon, 1992, 9, see also 'Somalia: Military Politics,' Africa Confidential, 27, No. 22, 26 October 1986, 1–2.
- ↑ Daniel Compagnon, 'Political decay in Somalia: From Personal Rule to Warlordism,' Refuge, Vol 12, No. 5, November–December 1992, 9, cited in Mohamoud, 2006, p.127
- ↑ 'Somalia: Military Politics,' Africa Confidential, 27, No. 22, 26 October 1986, 1–2.
- ↑ Defense Intelligence Agency, 'Military Intelligence Summary, Vol IV, Part III, Africa South of the Sahara', November 1987, 12
- ↑ Walter S. Clarke, Background Information for Operation Restore Hope, Strategic Studies Institute, p. 27.
- ↑ "Somalia — Government". Library of Congress. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
- ↑ Daniel Compagnon, 'Political decay in Somalia: From Personal Rule to Warlordism,' Refuge, Vol 12, No. 5, November–December 1992, 9
- ↑ United States Marine Corps, Restoring Hope in Somalia with the Unified Task Force, 63.
- ↑ http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/213227-bring-backs-from-somalia-deployment/
- 1 2 3 4 IISS Military Balance 1989–90, Brassey's for the IISS, 1989, 113.
- ↑ History and Development of the Armed Forces
- ↑ Helen Chapin Metz, Library of Congress Country Study, Somalia, Army Mission, Organization, and Strength, research complete May 1992.
- ↑ Human Rights Watch
- 1 2 "UN eases oldest arms embargo for Somalia". AAP. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
- ↑ http://www.irinnews.org/report/28116/somalia-government-military-takes-control-of-marka
- ↑ "The Lives of 18 American Soldiers Are Not Better Than Thousands of Somali Lives They Killed, Somalia's TNG Prime Minister Col. Hassan Abshir Farah says". Somalia Watch. 2002-01-22. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
- ↑ Dan Connell, Middle East Report, "War Clouds Over Somalia," 22 March 2002, at http://www.merip.org/mero/mero032202
- ↑ http://somalilandtimes.net/Archive/43/4300.htm
- 1 2 3 "Background and Political Developments". AMISOM. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ↑ Wezeman, Pieter D. "Arms flows and conflict in Somalia" (PDF). SIPRI. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
- 1 2 Interpeace, 'The search for peace: A history of mediation in Somalia since 1988,' Interpeace, May 2009, 60–61.
- 1 2 "Ethiopian Invasion of Somalia". Globalpolicy.org. 14 August 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ↑ Ken Menkhaus, 'Local Security Systems in Somali East Africa,' in Andersen/Moller/Stepputat (eds.) , Fragile States and Insecure People,' Palgrave, 2007, 67.
- ↑ Central Intelligence Agency (2011). "Somalia". The World Factbook. Langley, Virginia: Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
- ↑ "Profile: Somali's newly resigned President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed". News.xinhuanet.com. 29 December 2008. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
- ↑ International Crisis Group, Somalia: To Move Beyond the Failed State, Africa Report N°147 – 23 December 2008, 26.
- ↑ Majtenyi, Cathy (8 January 2007). "Somali President in Capital for Consultations". VOA. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- 1 2 3 "Somalia's army commander sacked as new ambassadors are appointed". Shabelle Media Network. 2007-04-10. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 2012-11-09.
- ↑ Williams, Paul D. "Into the Mogadishu maelstrom: the African Union mission in Somalia." International Peacekeeping 16.4 (2009): 516.
- ↑ More Ugandan troops arrive in Mogadishu, Xinhua via People's Daily Online, 8 March 2007.
- ↑ "Power vacuum in Somalia as factions fight". Garowe Online. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- 1 2 McGregor, Andrew (26 April 2007). "The Leading Factions Behind the Somali Insurgency" (PDF). Terrorism Monitor. V (8): 1–4. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
- ↑ Menkhaus, Ken. "Somalia: What Went Wrong?". The Rusi Journal. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
- ↑ Cedric Barnes, and Harun Hassan, "The rise and fall of Mogadishu's Islamic Courts." Journal of Eastern African Studies 1, no. 2 (2007), 158.
- 1 2 3 "Somalia comes full circle". ISA. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
- ↑ Leggiere, Phil. "Somalia: The Next Challenge – Homeland Security Today". Center for American Progress. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- 1 2 ""So Much to Fear" – Human Rights Abuses by Transitional Federal Government Forces". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
- ↑ International Crisis Group, 'Somalia: To move beyond the failed state,' Crisis Group Africa Report 147, 23 December 2008, 22.
- ↑ Crisis Group footnote is 'Crisis Group interviews, Mogadishu, Baidoa, April 2008.'
- ↑ International Crisis Group, 'Somalia: To move beyond the failed state,' Crisis Group Africa Report 147, 23 December 2008, 43.
- 1 2 3 Human Rights Abuses by Transitional Federal Government Forces in 'So Much to Fear: War Crimes and Devastation in Somalia'
- ↑ Donors pledge over $250 million for Somalia
- ↑ Reuters, US gives Somalia about 40 tons of arms, ammunition
- ↑ "Security Council Meeting on Somalia". Somaliweyn.org.
- ↑ Independent Newspapers Online (2011-08-10). "Al-Shabaab 'dug in like rats'". Iol.co.za.
- ↑ Kenya launches offensive in Somalia
- ↑ "Somalia government supports Kenyan forces' mission". Standardmedia.co.ke.
- ↑ Joint Communique – Operation Linda Nchi
- ↑ "Kenya: Defense Minister appointed as acting Internal Security Minister". Garowe Online. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- ↑ "Al-Shabaab Evicted from Mogadishu". Somalia Report. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
- ↑ "Ethiopian forces capture key Somali rebel stronghold". Reuters. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
- ↑ Ethiopian troops seize main rebel town in central Somalia
- ↑ "Somali al-Shabab militant stronghold Afgoye 'captured'". BBC. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ↑ "Somali forces capture rebel stronghold". Google News. Agence France-Presse. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
- ↑ "Somalia forces capture key al-Shabab town of Afmadow". BBC. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
- ↑ Shabelle.net, Somalia changes its top military commanders
- ↑ "Somalia: Jubaland gains recognition after intense bilateral talks in Ethiopia". Garowe Online. 28 August 2013. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ↑ "Support to Somali National Army (SNA)". UNSOA. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
- ↑ "Resolution 2124". unscr.com. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
- ↑ "Briefing to the UN Security Council by Ambassador Nicholas Kay, Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Somalia, 11 March 2014". ReliefWeb. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
- ↑ "Somalia: Federal Govt, AMISOM troops clash with Al Shabaab". Garowe Online. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
- ↑ "SOMALIA: The capture of Qoryooley is critical for the operations to liberate Barawe, Amisom head says". Raxanreeb. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
- ↑ "SOMALIA: Elbur town falls for Somali Army and Amisom". Raxanreeb. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ↑ "Somalia, AU troops close in on key Shebab base". AFP. 22 March 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
- ↑ "SOMALIA: President says Godane is dead, now is the chance for the members of al-Shabaab to embrace peace". Raxanreeb. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ↑ "Pentagon Confirms Death of Somalia Terror Leader". Associated Press. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ↑ "US confirms death of Somalia terror group leader". Associated Press. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ↑ "Somalia: Puntland clinches deal with Federal Govt". Garowe Online. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ↑ "Somalia: Puntland to contribute 3000 soldiers to Nat'l Army, another deal signed". Garowe Online. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ↑ "Somalia leaders call for Brussels pledges review at Garowe Conference". Garowe Online. 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ↑ "Communiqué on FGS and regional states meeting in Garowe". Goobjoog. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ↑ "Most-failed state". The Economist. 10 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ↑ Donors pledge over $250 million for Somalia
- ↑ http://shabelle.net/article.php?id=6246
- ↑ 1000 Somali Recruits Complete training in Uganda
- ↑ International Crisis Group, Somalia: The Transitional Government on Life Support, Africa Report 170, 20 February 2011, p.16
- ↑ "900 newly trained Somali soldiers dispatched from Ugandan military school". Bar-Kulan. 2 September 2011.
- 1 2 "Special Forces In Mogadishu". Hiiraan Online. 7 September 2011.
- ↑ IRIN News, 14 May 2012, via Africa Research Bulletin-PSC, 1–31 May 2012, p.19287C.
- ↑ "EU military training programme launches in Somalia". Sabahi. 26 February 2014.
- ↑ "President Sharif Opens Military Camp in Capital". SomaliaReport. 16 September 2011.
- ↑ "Egypt to help re-build Somali Ministry of Defence". Sabahi. 5 June 2013. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- ↑ "EUTM Somalia starts its training activities in Mogadishu". EUTM Somalia. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
- ↑ "Mission description". EUTM Somalia. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
- ↑ "Somali National Army commander: Reviving army will take time". Sabahi. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
- ↑ "Somalia's Year of Delivery". Goobjoog. 31 January 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Report of the Secretary – General on Somalia – S /2015/331". United Nations Security Council. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ↑ "US and France agrees to train Somali National army". Buraan News. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- 1 2 Dan Joseph, Harun Maruf (31 July 2014). "US-Trained Somali Commandos Fight Al-Shabab". VOA. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ↑ "Djibouti to train federal government forces". Goobjoog. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ↑ "An international conference in London on Somali security". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ↑ "Somali Cabinet Ministers agree financial management committee to work temporarily". Goobjoog. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- ↑ "Somali president officially opens new military training centre in Mogadishu". Goobjoog. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- ↑ Khalif, Abdulkadir (14 August 2011). "Somalia to set up aid protection force". Africa Review. Retrieved 26 June 2012.
- ↑ Kwayera, Juma (9 March 2013). "Hope alive in Somalia as UN partially lifts arms embargo". Standard Digital. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
- ↑ "Report S/2013/440 of the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea pursuant to Security Council resolution 2060 (2012): Eritrea" (PDF). UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea. Retrieved 26 June 2014., page 19, para. 50–51 & footnote 44.
- ↑ http://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/magazine/222915/stationed-somalia.
- ↑ Somalia: Rival Soldiers in Deadly Battle Again As PM Calls for Calm, http://allafrica.com/stories/201406100182.html/Garoweonline.com, 9 June 2014.
- ↑ Claes Nilsson, Johan Norberg. "European Union Training Mission Somalia – A Mission Assessment" (PDF). European Union Training Mission Somalia. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- 1 2 Mohyaddin, Shafi'i (8 February 2014). "Somalia trains its first commandos after the collapse of the central government". Hiiraan Online. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- 1 2 http://www.globalsecurity.org/military//world/somalia/sna.htm
- ↑ http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2015_331.pdf
- ↑ "Somalia's new war order". thestar.com. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
- ↑ "Turkey-Somalia military agreement approved". Today's Zaman. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
- ↑ "SOMALIA: Ministry of Defense signs an agreement of military support with Turkish Defense ministry". Raxanreeb. 28 February 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
- ↑ "Press Release: Erdogan's Somalia Visit". Goobjoog. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- 1 2 "PM meets Italian Defence minister, IFAD director and addressed Rome 3 students". Laanta. 2 February 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ↑ "Press Release: AMISOM offers IHL training to senior officials of the Somali National Forces". AMISOM. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ↑ "SOMALIA: Parliament approves Somalia's military treaty with Italy". Raxanreeb. 4 November 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
- ↑ "UAE, Somalia sign military cooperation agreement". Kuwait News Agency. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ↑ "Arms Trade Register". SIPRI. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
- ↑ "PRESS RELEASE: AMISOM hands over military vehicles to the Somali National Army". AMISOM. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
- ↑ "U.S. eases arms restrictions for Somalia". UPI. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ↑ "SOMALIA: U.S donates military vehicles to newly trained Somali Commandos". Raxanreeb. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
- ↑ "Djibouti donates armoured vehicles to Somalia". Sabahi. 5 April 2013. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ↑ "Italy Hands over Military Consignment to Somali Government". Goobjoog. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ↑ Somalia, A Country Study, 1992/3, 205.
- ↑ "Somalia to Make Task Marine Forces to Secure Its Coast". Shabelle Media Network. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ↑ "UAE committed to contribute US$1 million to support Somali naval security capabilities, says Gargash". UAE Interact. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ↑ "Somali cabinet fills key posts". Al-Jazeera. 14 April 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
- 1 2 "Peaceful day for Somalia reconciliation conference" garoweonline.com
- 1 2 "Somalia's Interim President Appoints New Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces" hiiraan.com
- 1 2 "Somali president names new military chief amid insurgent push" topnews.in
- 1 2 "Somalia fires heads of police force and military" reuters.com
- ↑ "Somali president fires top commanders" hiiraan.com
- ↑ "Salad Gabeyre Kediye Was a Brigadier General In The Somali Military And A Revolutionary". Banaadir Weyne. 2 April 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- 1 2 3 "Somalia changes its top military commanders". Shabelle Media Network. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
- ↑ "Somalia: Military Chief warns counterfeit military ranks". Raxanreeb. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- Defense Intelligence Agency, 'Military Intelligence Summary, Vol IV, Part III, Africa South of the Sahara', November 1987
- International Crisis Group, Somalia: The Transitional Government on Life Support, Africa Report 170, 20 February 2011.
- Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Abuses by Transitional Federal Government Forces in 'So Much to Fear: War Crimes and Devastation in Somalia', December 2008
- Library of Congress Somalia Country Study 1992
- Abdullah A. Mohamoud, State collapse and post-conflict development in Africa : the case of Somalia (1960–2001). West Lafayette, Ind. : Purdue University Press, c2006 (DT407 M697 S).
- Williams, Paul D. "Into the Mogadishu maelstrom: the African Union mission in Somalia." International Peacekeeping 16.4 (2009): 514–530.
Further reading
- Adam, Hussein M. "Somalia: Personal Rule, Military Rule and Militarism." The Military and Militarism in Africa, Dakar: CODESRIA (1998): 355–97.
- Baffour Agyeman-Duah, The Horn of Africa: Conflict, Demilitarization and Reconstruction, Journal of Conflict Studies, Vol. 16, No. 2, 1996, accessed at https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/JCS/article/view/11813/12632#a50
- Brian Crozier, The Soviet Presence in Somalia, Institute for the Study of Conflict, London, 1975
- Irving Kaplan, Area Handbook for Somalia, American University, 1969 and 1977.
- Nilsson, Claes, and Johan Norberg, "European Union Training Mission Somalia: A Mission Assessment", Swedish National Defence Research Institute, 2014.
- Robinson, Colin (2016). "Revisiting the rise and fall of the Somali Armed Forces, 1960–2012". Defense & Security Analysis. 32 (3): 237–252. doi:10.1080/14751798.2016.1199122.
External links
- Anderson, Jon Lee (14 December 2009). "The Most Failed State". The New Yorker. Retrieved 18 May 2015. – includes notes on state of Somali Navy
- Air Combat Information Group, Somalia, 1980–1996
- "Weapons at War", a World Policy Institute Issue Brief by William D. Hartung, , May 1995, chapter III: Strengthening Potential Adversaries (12th paragraph), Somalia.
This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html.


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"Even Mommies Need Jesus"
For today's "Tuesday's Tidbits," I want to introduce you to Mary DeMuth, whom I mentioned in yesterday's post. I met Mary years ago at church and got to know her through women's Bible studies. Then, she was an aspiring writer. Now, she's a published, recognized author of numerous articles, several novels and two non-fiction parenting books. Her latest work, Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture, just hit bookstores. Writing it while she and her family were missionaries in France, Mary gleaned from that challenging situation some fascinating truths about parenting. I'm thumbing through the book this week, and I think you should too! Listen in on a conversation with Mary, as she describes postmodernity and discusses her approach to parenting.
Why did you write this book? Aren't there already a bazillion parenting books out there?
Yes, I do believe there are a bazillion. I always struggle when I write a parenting book because I feel so darned small and weak. I don't parent perfectly. But, we did live through two and half years in France, the hotbed of hyper-postmodernity. We had to learn how to parent our kids in that culture. It occurred to me that the things we learned would be helpful to American parents too.
What does postmodern mean? And why should it matter to parents?
Postmodernism is the waiting room between what used to be a modern worldview and what will be. Postmoderns believe that rationalism and/or more education doesn't necessarily create a better society. They typically don't embrace the notion of absolute truth, though they reach for the transcendent. The question for parents is how will we mine the current worldview, even as it shifts? What in it can we embrace as biblical? What is not biblical? What I've seen in the church is a fearful adherence to what is familiar. So we cling to modern ideas, even though they may not be biblical, and shun postmodern ideas even when they might be biblical. Our children will meet this shifting worldview no matter what our opinion of it is.
How can a parent help their children prepare for the world outside their door?
Become a conversational parent. Talk to your kids. Listen. Share your story. Dare to believe that God has much to teach you through your kids. Be humble enough to learn from them. Create a haven for your kids, an oasis in your home that protects, supports, and gives kids space to be themselves. Take seriously the mandate that you are responsible for the soul-nurturing of your children.Teach your children to joyfully engage their world, while holding tightly to Jesus' hand. Teaching this comes primarily from modeling it in your own life. Do you engage your neighbors? Are you more interested in God's kingdom than your own? Admit your failures openly with your children, showing how much you need Jesus to live your daily life.
Are you saying that authentic parents don't always have it all together as some would like to think?
Yep! We are all frail, needy humans. If we present ourselves as perfect parents, never failing, always doing this correctly, we show our children we have no need of Jesus. We also set up a standard of perfection—that to be a Christian, one has to be perfect. This can lead to our children creating elaborate facades or hiding behind masks. I'd rather have my children see that even mommies make mistakes. Even mommies need Jesus every single day.

subset: commoncrawl


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text:
Depression Disabled Single Mom Seeks Grant Money To Make Herself Proud
by Donna McCarty
(Merryville, Louisiana, USA)
My name is Donna. I'm 53 years old. I've been on disability for two years. I'm not able to work because of health issues. I don't have an education.
As for my childhood, it wasn't a good one. I didn't like to go to school because my sister and I were always made fun of, not only by our classmates, but also by teachers. I learned that adults could be very hateful.
My father and mother divorced when I was seven years old. My mother left my dad for a woman. My dad had full custody of us three kids. He is the best. He raised us on his own.
My mother passed away when I was 11 years old. It was said she overdosed, but my dad and a lot of others say that her own mother killed her.
I truly hated going to school. I would try anything not to go. I even went as far as trying to take my own life more then once, the first time when I was only nine or ten years old.
I ended up dropping out of school very early. I guess you could say that I had a breakdown. I never got on drugs or anything like that.
I got pregnant at 20 years old the first time I was with a man, but about two weeks later I was raped so I became a single mom.
My son's father has never been in his life but I always told him that his father was a good man.
I have always worked hard but didn't have any skills or education. A few years ago I moved to Corpus Christi, Texas to stay with my brother.
I tried to get my GED but didn't finish because of health issues. I've been married more then once and have always been made fun for not having an education. I always tried to hide that, but adults can be hateful.
It seems like I've been depressed my whole life. But when I had my son he gave me reason to wake up each morning. He is my everything and I'm so proud of him. At times though, I feel that I've failed him as a mother.
I would love to make him proud of me. I have always had a dream of being a photographer. I want to be proud of myself.
I would love to prove to myself that I could do this, that maybe I do have something in myself.
I've felt I have always been a nothing to others and to myself. I am getting help for my depression, and I'm requesting a grant to make a dream come true.


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Kiva, a site that enables person-to-person loans, has just added a new category of green loans to help borrowers move to cleaner and safer forms of energy, green agriculture, transport and recycling. Loans made through Kiva generally go to individuals or entrepreneurs in the developing world, but some do go to people in the U.S.
With the new green loans, 66-year-old Concepción (pictured), a farmer in Tarma, Peru, got a 12-month $550 loan to buy natural fertilizers. The amount of the loans vary, but individual lenders can contribute from $25 up.
More than 500,000 entrepreneurs have received loans via Kiva, and the company has an impressive repayment rate of 98.71 percent. 81.38 percent of loans are made to female entrepreneurs.
The secret of Kiva's success seems to be the personal nature of the loans and the fact that individual lenders feel they can make a difference even when contributing small amounts. Kiva works with micro-finance groups worldwide who know their local communities and manage relationships with borrowers.
Last year Kiva received a $5 million grant from impact investment fund the Omidyar Network. The grant will match up to $2 million in loans transacted on the site during 2010 and 2011. The Omidyar Network was started by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, and it funds startups and projects that can bring about positive social or environmental change.
Kiva was founded in 2005 and is based in San Francisco.


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A gratifying aspect of XC has been the contribution of sounds of poorly known species and regions to the collection by locals. The sounds of Sitta ledanti from Algeria are a point in case. It was only discovered in 1975 in an area of northern Algeria and is endemic to that country. It turns out Algerians like Karim Haddad, organised in AquaCirta, are working to safeguard the only forests that the birds live in: mount Babor, the forest of Guerrouche and the forests of Tamentout and Bouafroune, the latter two going without formal protection up to this day. Only last month they secured evidence of its occurrence at a fifth location, the Lerabaa forest of Ouadjana in Jijel province. Excellent.
Algerian Nuthatch Sitta ledanti
What is xeno-canto?
xeno-canto is a website dedicated to sharing bird sounds from all over the world. Whether you are a research scientist, a birder, or simply curious about a sound that you heard out your kitchen window, we invite you to listen, download, and explore the bird sound recordings in the collection.
But xeno-canto is more than just a collection of recordings. It is also a collaborative project. We invite you to share your own bird recordings, help identify mystery recordings, or share your expertise in the forums. Welcome!
Latest News
You all know James Bradley for his great recordings, mostly from East Africa. Now, he has reviewed and drastically improved the XC maps for over 250 species that occur in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. As a little example, check out the map of Retz's Helmetshrike.
All kudos to James for this majestic effort! In the process, we have set up a way to handle batches of improved map cut-outs using some standards and guidelines.
We would love to do more similar projects, especially for other parts of Africa, as well as Asia. This is not for the faint-hearted: a deep knowledge of the birds of a country or region is required, as is some computer literacy, access to local literature, and a sense of biogeography. Any takers, please drop us a line at email@example.com.
Thanks for your kind words Rolf, and for the opportunity to contribute to these maps!
For those interested in checking out some updated East Africa distributions, maps edited include those for species classed as forest dependent birds of Kenya and Uganda (Bennun et al. 1996).
2 replies :: Your reply
The distribution maps are an integral part of XC thanks to the continued efforts of one man: Rolf de By. For many years now he's kept about 10000 maps up-to-date, fixing errors, catching up with taxonomic changes... Rolf has helped XC to sort out all kinds of other things as well, so we felt we really had no other option than to ask him to formally join the team. And he accepted! So from now on it is Bob, WP, Sander, Jonathon & Rolf.
Thanks & congratulations to Rolf. The maps are so valuable that I often come on XC just to see the maps and that combined with where recordings have taken place is a special type of data.
Good to hear. The maps are terrific!
2 replies :: Your reply
.... after a number of trials we think we've now succesfully changed the upload limit to 128MB. For the moment, still mp3 only. Use highest possible bitrates....!!
Good day yesterday, lots of contributions and just as important: quite a bit of error checking. Keep it up everyone :-) !
Latest Additions
- XC476580: Green-tailed Towhee by Sue Riffe from United States
- XC476579: Grey-headed Nigrita by James Bradley from Kenya
- XC476578: Eurasian Scops Owl by Richard Folkening from Greece
- XC476577: Cassin's Finch by Ed Pandolfino from United States
- XC476576: American Redstart by William Whitehead from United States
- XC476575: Cassin's Finch by Ed Pandolfino from United States
- XC476574: Fulvous Whistling Duck by Guy Kirwan from Brazil
- XC476573: House Wren by David Darrell-Lambert from Canada
- XC476572: Grey Catbird by David Darrell-Lambert from Canada
- XC476571: Great Horned Owl by David Darrell-Lambert from Canada
- More...
Great work!
Latest Mysteries
- XC476557 by Matthew L. Brady from Indonesia
- XC476554 by Gerda van Deelen from Netherlands
- XC476553 by Gerda van Deelen from Netherlands
- XC476552 by Matthew L. Brady from Indonesia
- XC476550 by Gerda van Deelen from Netherlands
- XC476546 by Matthew L. Brady from Indonesia
- XC476538 by David Hollie from United States
- XC476367 by Frédéric Cazaban from France
- XC476329 by Tristan Lowery from United States
- XC476319 by Bates Estabrooks from United States
- More...
Latest Articles
- IOC updates december 2018 by Willem-Pier Vellinga
- Identification of some Brazilian elaenias by voice by Jeremy Minns
- Mimicry of Western Bonelli Warbler by the Common Redstart in Northern Europe by Jacques Comolet-Tirman
- IOC updates 23 July 2018 by Willem-Pier Vellinga
- New website using XC - Northern Birdsong by Stein Ø. Nilsen
- More...


text:
ACT Test
The ACT is a test given to high school juniors who plan to attend college, in order to test their knowledge base. You'll make arrangements to take it through your high school guidance office, and you'll pay a small fee. It's given several times a year, all over the nation. Scores on the ACT test range from 1-36, and can have a huge impact on whether or not you're admitted to the college of your choice. In addition to an optional essay portion, there are four sections of the ACT exam: math, English, reading, and science.
Because the test is so important, and can have such a huge impact on your future, it's important to do as well as possible on the test. And if you choose, you can retake the test in your senior year. If you score higher, you can have that score sent to colleges instead. If you score lower, you can use the results from the other ACT test. It's up to you which score to use, which means taking it again and getting a lower score can't hurt you, but only help you. So if you think you can do better, you should definitely give it a shot.
Click here to download StudyGuideZone.com's free ACT Study Guide
Free ACT Practice Test
ACT English Practice Test
ACT Reading Practice Test
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Test Dates
What to expect on the ACT Test
Skill Building Exercises
Reading Comprehension
Basic Grammar
Punctuation and Capitalization
Algebra 1 Practice Questions
ACT Exam Review on YouTube | ACT Test Study Guide


text:
This article makes a strong case for the benefits available from attaching dual monitors to office PCs — larger electronic workspace, eliminated annoyances like the need to frequently Alt-Tab between applications and fewer trips to the printer to name a few. The author does note some potential problems, particularly if an IT department doesn't actively encourage and support the practice — end users may need some initial technical support, including a video card upgrade that can support separate video output. Employees may also resist a second monitor over concern for lost desk space or uncertainty about the benefits of dual monitors.
The article is replete with glowing testimonials by end users who display email on one monitor, a browser window on a second and, in some cases, an application on a third, all the while seamlessly moving their cursor from one monitor to another. Vendor support for dual monitors is growing, particularly in the form of chip sets, and the Windows operating system has had built-in support for multiple monitors for years.
When insurance firm Durkin Agency Inc. moved to electronic documents last year it installed multiple monitors on desktops to make it easier for employees to open documents and use applications in tandem. The agency estimates that dual monitors have helped increase employee productivity by 10%.
Source: Patrick Thibodeau, Computerworld; Mar 26, 2007


text:
Greg, one of the engineers on the Management Reporter Support team, wrote today's blog, which is focused on helping you add more meaningful calculated columns to your Management Reporter reports by using PERIODS in a calculation.
Use PERIODS in a calculation when you want to divide the amount in a column by a specified number of periods that will vary based upon the report date. Using PERIODS in a calculated columns allows you to add additional information to your reports that provide more insight into how your business is performing. For example, you may want to see what the average sales are for the past three months.
To create this, add a CALC column. In this column, enter BASE for the period. Then in the formula cell, enter the column letter you want to divide. In this example, periods 1 through 3 are totaled and then divided by the period. This will show you an average for the three months. Essentially, this calculation says add the actual amounts in Columns B, C and D, then divide by the total number of periods, based upon the report date.
When you generate the report, the average column will divide the total of columns B through D by 3.
Note that since the numbers of periods is based upon the report date, if you had run this report in Period 2, the total sales would have been divided by 2 instead. Or, if you had run it for period 12, the total would be divided by 12.


text:
My Cinema Lightbox: Now With More Sizes, More Colors & More Fun!
Don't you just love old Hollywood? The black and white? The unforgettable lines from classic films? And you know those retro cinema signs? The ones they used to have up outside old theatres that announced the movie showtimes for that night? Of course you do—everyone knows those. You can even still see them on the few and far between old theatres that are still kickin' around town. But you don't have to head to the movies to get your fix of old Hollywood. No, no. You can get that old Hollywood feel right in your very own home. Or office. Or… well, you get the idea.
We launched the Original Cinema Lightbox in the fall of 2015 and we've been leaving a trail of happy customers everywhere the product goes. And, what started with the one and only Original is now oh so much more. We've listened to our customers and have built even more products and add-ons for you to have fun with.
Have you seen our SHOP page recently? Well, if you haven't, let us give you a run down.
For your smaller spaces, children's rooms or for those of you that need a travel-size, we've got the Mini Cinema Lightbox. All the lightbox fun in a smaller, more compact size that you can tuck anywhere.
Or, if "Go Big Or Go Home" is more your motto, you're in luck! We also offer the XL Cinema Lightbox, which is perfect for storefronts or big events!
We've gone beyond the basics and now offer letter packs with different fonts, colours and symbols for you to choose from so you can push your creativity to the limits and make your messages even more dazzling. (And hey, you don't have to pick just one! Collect them all!)
Sick of burnt out batteries? We know some of you were. So, as of last month, you can now order a DC adaptor to charge up your lightbox. Plug that baby in and let your sign shine for hours on end.
And we've got more on the way, you guys.
On August 15th we will launch a brand new Mini Letter Pack with colored letters and fun celebration-themed symbols, and an XL Letter Pack with black and red letters and symbols. (What's more classic old Hollywood than that?)
We've also been doing some dreaming, and we think we might throw another size into the mix for those longer messages. To keep up to speed on what's coming next, sign up for our newsletter (at the bottom of this page) and be the first in the know!
We've seen our product featured in Hello Magazine, Chatelaine, and on UrbanDaddy, Product Hunt and VAT19.com. We won "Best Booth" and "Best New Exhibitor" at the Toronto CanGift show in February. What can we say—everyone loves these!
My Cinema Lightbox is decor and lighting, all at the same time. It gives you the chance to get inspired and to use your imagination. This is a fun, creative and memorable way to get your message across—whatever you message may be.
So go ahead, order your My Cinema Lightbox today and create words to live by.
And we want to see what words you come up with! Share photos of your My Cinema Lightbox message on social media using the hashtag #MyCinemaLightbox so we can see what you're creating out there. There's nothing that gets us giddier than that.


text: Digital Energy Drink Makers Shift Their Damage Control Strategies By Patrick Coffee|March 20, 2013 Share By Patrick Coffee|March 20, 2013 Share The makers of extra-caffeinated sugar water products like Monster, Rock Star and 5-Hour Energy are having a tough time. After being tied to several deaths and suffering through a few rounds of terrible PR, they've decided to shift their strategies by dropping the "dietary supplements" tag and referring to their products by their proper name: beverages. Our question: how did they get away with that for so long? In calling their products what they so obviously are, the makers of these drinks are also subjecting themselves to new regulations–and avoiding others. They now have to list exactly how much caffeine each can contains, but their spokespeople no longer have to let the FDA know when someone draws a link between the "beverages" and their adverse health effects. Of course, nothing about the contents of these cans will change. Isn't it strange how a little bit of labeling can do so much? The drink companies have also begun pushing back aggressively against the highly publicized cases of teenagers who supposedly died after consuming their products by calling press conferences and hiring their own teams of physicians to dispute previous findings (not that their paid-for testimony will be "biased" or anything). This legal strategy is frankly shocking: Monster recently threatened to sue a childhood nutrition specialist (who holds a doctorate in the science) after her newsletter for children stated that kids shouldn't consume caffeinated energy drinks–and the article didn't even mention any brands by name! Will this scorched-earth approach reassure concerned parents? We don't know, but we're awaiting a lawsuit as we write this post. Share http://adweek.it/2kLjgRR copy Adweek Adweek