Sunday December 31, 2023

Somalia and the breakaway region of Somaliland have agreed to resume dialogue to resolve outstanding issues, after long-running political tensions and years of deadlock.

The deal signed on Friday followed two days of talks mediated by Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh, the first of their kind since 2020 when similar negotiations stalled.

“After lengthy discussions, the two sides have agreed to resume the process of talks… with the focus on issues of national interest to reach a sustainable solution,” said a joint statement published by the Somali presidency.

The northern region has been seeking full statehood since claiming independence from Somalia in 1991, a move fiercely opposed by Mogadishu and not recognised internationally.

Somaliland has often been seen as a beacon of stability in the chaotic Horn of Africa region, although political tensions surfaced there earlier this year, spilling over into deadly violence.

Under the Djibouti pact, the two sides agreed on a roadmap for talks in 30 days as well as collaboration on security and the fight against organised crime and pledged to work together on peace and stability in conflict zones.

The signing of the deal was overseen by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Somaliland leader Muse Bihi Abdi.

Previous rounds of talks between the two sides have been held on and off between 2012 and 2020 but failed to make any headway.

The Djibouti agreement was welcomed by Workneh Gebeyehu, executive secretary of regional grouping Igad, which Somalia joined in November.

“(I) emphasise the importance of peaceful means and dialogue in resolving difficulties and grievances in all our member states,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.

The British embassy in Somalia also hailed the move as a “vital step towards reconciliation” in a post on X.

Somaliland, a region of 4.5 million people with a long coastline on the Gulf of Aden, is a former British protectorate.

It prints its own currency, issues its own passports and elects its own government but its quest for statehood has gone unrecognised, leaving it poor and isolated.

Political tensions surged earlier this year, leading to deadly violence between Somaliland’s forces and clan militias loyal to Somalia which challenged the authority of the self-declared republic.

However, the region remains relatively stable in comparison to Somalia, one of the poorest countries on the planet which has witnessed decades of civil war and Islamist insurgency.

by CYRUS OMBATI
Sunday December 31, 2023

A New Jersey man, allegedly inspired by Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel was arrested in Kenya, after allegedly seeking to join al Shabaab terror group in Somalia, authorities said Friday.

Karrem Nasr, a 23-year-old Garden State resident and U.S. citizen who also went under the name Ghareeb Al-Muhaji, was taken into custody in Nairobi on December 14 before being taken to the United States on Thursday, federal prosecutors said.

He was extradited to New York to face charges of attempting to provide material support to al-Shabaab, the Somalia-based terror group affiliated with al-Qaida.

Nasr, “motivated by the heinous terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas” on October 7, “devoted himself to waging violent jihad against America and its allies,” according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office out of the Southern District of New York.

The suspect “was prepared to kill and be killed” and “specifically aspired to be a martyr for the jihadi cause,” according to a criminal complaint.

Nasr is said to have specifically wanted to join al-Shabaab and traveled from Egypt to Kenya on December 14 “for purposes of ultimately joining and training with” the militant group, the FBI agent wrote.

He had planned to travel to Somalia to join the terror group before he was picked up by Kenyan authorities on December 14, officials said.

Nasr has been charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

He allegedly told an FBI “confidential source” that he was born and raised in the United States but had moved to Egypt this year to study Arabic.

The suspect’s mother had been pressuring him to come back to America and Nasr said his parents had no idea about his hopes to join jihadists, the FBI said.

“They want their children to see life, be doctors, engineers, and make a lot of money,” Nasr told the FBI source on December 10, according to the complaint.

“As I said, they do not want their children be mujahedeen and scholars. She wants me to come back to America to continue my education and work.”

The complaint quotes messages with the confidential source and postings online in which Nasr said he had been thinking about engaging in jihad for a long time and was particularly motivated by the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel.

In recent public social media posts, Nasr warned “Jihad” was “coming soon to a US location near you,” posting airplane, bomb and fire emojis.

Nasr flew from Egypt to Kenya on December 14, according to federal officials.

Prosecutors said he planned to transit into Somalia before Kenyan authorities took him into custody.

Nasr, of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, is charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

This is the latest such incident involving foreigners wanting to join the terror group in Somalia amid heightened operations to address the menace.