Terror-links put spotlight on Somalia
2001-09-25 22:12
Nairobi - Washington's release of a list of organisations and people with suspected links to terrorism has turned the spotlight back on Somalia, a country in chaos where one of the named Islamist movements is based.
"Al-Itihaad Al-Islamiya (AIAI) is a radical fundamentalist
Islamic organisation present in several countries ... with the goal of setting up an Islamic state (if necessary) with the force of violence," explained a Nairobi-based diplomatic source.
AIAI is one of 11 organisations whose assets President US George W Bush ordered frozen on Monday because of their alleged links to terrorism.
It has in the past carried out terrorist activities, notably in Ethiopia, and is thought to have trained terrorists in Somalia. But there is little, if any, evidence that AIAI is currently employing violence to achieve its goals, or that it poses a direct threat to the United States.
While Washington has not explained why AIAI was included in the asset-freeze list, speculation among analysts in Nairobi has
focussed on the money trail.
Somalia has lacked a functioning state since the fall of
dictator Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991. Consequently, the banking
sector is informal, yet widespread and complex, accommodating in
particular numerous remittances from relatives abroad and payments from within Somalia for imported goods.
There are some indications that AIAI is involved in this system as well as in Somalia's lucrative telecommunications sector.
AIAI members are characterised by their asceticism. They do not smoke or drink, and this lack of certain material needs allows them to channel much surplus income to their cause.
Many Somali watchers, especially among the evacuated expatriate humanitarian community based in Nairobi, are wondering whether AIAI's appearance on Bush's list makes Somalia a likely target for a US strike.
Opinion is sharply divided, with several well-placed sources
expecting some sort of military intervention, perhaps on AIAI camps in Somalia, while others deem such an eventuality unlikely and even counterproductive.
Despite wildfire rumours to the contrary, there has been no
evidence of a US military build-up in the region, and particularly not in Kenya, which has logistical advantages for such an operation, should it take place.
The United Nations hurriedly evaucated Somalia on a "temporary" basis on Monday, but stressed this was merely the consequence of the withdrawal of war-risks coverage in insurance policies for its flights into Somalia.
"I would like to stress that the decision has nothing to do with the security situation in Somalia which remains stable and
unchanged," UN Resident and Humanitarian Co-ordinator Randolph Kent said in an official statement.
But his was not the view of all in the aid business.
The humanitarian branch of the European Union has put pressure
on aid agencies it funds to pull out temporarily from Somalia,
specifically because of security concerns.
And security concerns were behind the decision made by the UN
last week to leave the northeastern port city of Bosasso, in the
self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, where demonstrations
in support of Osama bin Laden were held after the September 11
terror attacks on New York and Washington.
While there is no evidence that AIAI was behind the
demonstations, or even has direct links to bin Laden or his
al-Qaeda organisation, the group has been reported to be a player
in a power struggle that has raged for several months in Puntland.
The only overt accusation that AIAI is a terrorist organisation came from Ethiopia, which managed to militarily thwart the group's activities in Ethiopia's Ogaden region in the mid 1990s, where AIAI was fighting alongside secessionist elements.
In 1996, several people were killed in bomb attacks on Addis
Ababa hotels, for which AIAI claimed responsibility.
On Tuesday, Ethiopia said it had proof of direct links between
AIAI and al-Qaeda. - AFP
- SAPA