The pro-government militias of Ahlu Sunnah wal Jamaa (ASWJ) and Ras Kamboni have strongly opposed President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who on Monday spoke out against Kenya’s military operation aimed at removing al-Shabaab.
Both groups accused Sheikh Sharif of not being committed to ousting al-Shabaab and called on the international community to act.
“We already suspected that Sharif doesn’t want to chase al-Shabaab from the country since he was the leader of this group,” Sheikh Mohamed Hussein, ASWJ spokesman in southern Somalia, told Somalia Report. “Kenya is our ally and we are requesting they stay in Somalia until we defeat al-Shabaab.”
“The government and our forces are not capable of defeating al-Shabaab so we have to get help from neighboring countries. Even Ethiopia and the president must apologize to the Kenyan government as soon as possible or we will not work together,” he added.
Meanwhile, a fighter from Ras Kamboni – which has worked with Kenyan military to seize the coastal district of the same name - told Somalia Report on condition of anonymity that the group met last night in Dhobley and vowed to oppose the president.
“Kenya is not different from Uganda and Burundi. They came here to help the Somali people,” he said. “If Uganda and Burundi were not in Mogadishu, al-Shabaab would destroy the government. All east African countries must cooperate in the fight against the terrorists, even inside Somalia, if it’s needed.”
Hundreds demonstrators also marched through Dhobley, carrying placards condemning Sheikh Sharif's stance.
Dhobley elder Mahmoud Cige told Somalia Report that the president was wrong to say what he did.
"We are very sorry about the speech ... we welcomed with open arms the Kenyan forces because they helped and trained Somali government forces and Ras kamboni pro-government militia in the recent years," he said.
Army spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir last week told Somalia Report the goal is reach Kismayo and there have been no indications that Kenya is threatening TFG's control of the country.
Bad History
Sheikh Sharif seems to be the lone voice speaking out against Kenya’s intervention even though the TFG has agreed to cooperate with Kenya. Kenya sent in its troops after a spate of kidnappings of foreigners from inside their border. Kenya has long wrestled with how to prevent Somali incursion which dates back to poaching, robbery and other violent acts. The concept of a buffer zone was suggested by roundly criticized by both Ethiopia and U.S. diplomatic sources.
Sheikh Sharif's singular hostility to Nairobi's intentions may go back to his experience a senior figure in the Islamic Courts Union. The ICU was viewed as an Islamic fundamentalist threat and was ousted by Ethiopia’s foreign assisted, 2006 invasion and from which grew al-Shabaab. When members of the ICU were being rounded up, hunted and killed, Sharif abandoned his family in Mogadishu and headed for the Kenyan border.
On January 22, 2007 he gave himself up and was transferred to Nairobi where he was interrogated and held "for his protection" until he was allowed to go to Yemen. Sharif is a product of Sudanese, Egyptian and Libyan education and despite his direct connection to al-Shabaab and al-Qaeda leaders like Hassan Dahir Aweys and Aden Hashi Farah he is a respected member of the Idriseeyah sect of Sufi Islam. He may be also be saying what many Somalis feel but reserve opinions until they see how the Kenyan invasion ends.
Sheikh Sharif's appointment as president was supposed to give new impetus to efforts to bring his former allies to the table for talks, but instead be being of viewed as a moderate Islamist he was instead denounced as a Western lackey and an Islamic fundamentalist at the same time.
Sheikh Sharif alluded to Kenya coming in uninvited, although Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula insisted they had the backing of the Somali government.
“When a neighbor is in a problem and invites you, it does not become an invasion. Somalia has been having problems with these militias ... and they reached a point and probably thought Somalia is not big enough and they decided to spill over to Kenya,” he said last week after returning from a meeting in Mogadishu where he sealed an agreement with the TFG to work together against al-Shabaab.
"How can it be said to be an invasion and here we have a government delegation that went inside Mogadishu to hold talks with the government of Somalia," he added. "We remain friendly nations with a common objective of driving off al-Shabaab."
The president's comments are unlikely to make any difference to the offensive, but public opinion back home displays an unease with Kenya's actions, particularly security implications inside the nation.
Al-Shabaab threatened to launch attacks in Nairobi, and two grenade attacks in the space of 24 hours, which killed one and injured around 30, have left many Kenyans on edge. Al-Shabaab has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, but ordinary Kenyans are increasingly nervous that insurgent operatives in the large Somali community in Nairobi are just getting warmed up.
A large attack could galvanize public opinion against the incursion, and despite the government saying it has stepped up security, there is little sign of such action. Security checks at upmarket shopping malls frequented by middle-class Kenyans and westerners remain as lax as ever. Some malls have no checks whatsoever on people entering the premises, while others rely on private security guards poking around half-heartedly in bags.
Even these searches target only men, missing the fact that female suicide bombers are becoming increasingly common around the world.