Musa Sudi Yalahow
Encyclopedia
Muse Sudi Yalahow is a notorious Somali
warlord who served as Trade Minister in the Transitional Government
of Ali Mohammed Ghedi
. He was dismissed in June 2006 after ignoring government requests to halt fighting with the Islamic Courts Union militia.
, the interim president of Somalia after the outbreak of the civil war in 1991 and faction leader in northern Mogadishu. As the deputy Chairman of United Somali Congress
/Somali Salvation Alliance (USC/SSA) of Ali Mahdi Muhammad, Yalhow headed the administration in the Medina district of southern Mogadishu when the civil war broke out in the early 90s. Yalahow draws support from the Abgal, one of the largest Hawiye
clans. Ethiopia
initially showed interest in him because of his opposition to Hussein Aideed, and supported the leader in his opposition against the new interim government. Local and international media reports documented the arrival of weapons trucked into Mogadishu
from Ethiopia for Yalahow. There were many reports of the faction leader visiting the Ethiopian Somali region - particularly Gode, the capital of the Ogaden
area - to receive weapons and meet Ethiopian military and government representatives.
In August 1998, Ali Mahdi Muhammad and South Mogadishu warlords Hussein Aideed and Mohamed Afrah Qanyare
set up a joint administration for Mogadishu, which was rejected by Yalahow, Osman Ali Atto
and Hussein Haji Bod. Fighting erupted in early March between loyalists of Yalahow and militiamen funded by the business community in northern Mogadishu after Yalahow tried to impose taxes at the Karan market in northern Mogadishu. The fighting claimed 22 lives and subsided March 15 after Abgal elders arranged a cease-fire and resumption of negotiations.
However, fighting flared up again on March 17 and 18, 1999 bringing the total number of casualties to 38 people and 88 injured since the fighting began. The dispute disrupted public transport and telephone lines were cut. Yalahow rejected a plan by elders to end the latest round of fighting and refused to withdraw the tax demand. In addition, another round of clashes was reported between clan militias of Yalahow and those of the Mogadishu governor Hussein Ali Ahmed. The fighting which began later, in mid-March was more political in nature and not a continuation of the fighting sparked by a dispute over taxation rights. This dispute reportedly ended with Yalahow's takeover of equipment belonging to a north Mogadishu radio station which supported Ali Mahdi Muhammad, his former ally. Yalahow, whose militia were now well armed, declared he would never recognise a joint administration established by his rivals. He later changed his mind when offered the post of third deputy chairman of the proposed authority.
In March 2001 his militia kidnapped nine aid workers from Médecins Sans Frontières
who were vaccinating children against polio.
(TNG) movement. The two battled over the control of the airstrip, as well as over control of sections of Mogadishu. On February 26, 2002, fighting broke out between the two warlords again, killing at least twelve people. Yalahow lost a technical and an unarmed pickup to Finish in the fighting.
In late May heavy fighting in Mogadishu left 60 people dead and over 100 wounded, most reportedly non-combatants, as militias of Muhammad Habib and Yalahow, both members of SRRC, attacked the house of Dahir Shaykh Dayah, the Interior Minister of TNG. The fighting had reportedly displaced thousands of families, particularly in north Mogadishu.
Clashes between rivals again flared up in Mogadishu in July, ahead of the proposed peace talks in Nairobi
, leaving 30 people dead and 50 wounded. Most of the victims were civilians caught in the crossfire or killed when artillery shells struck residential houses. The dead included many children.
Renewed fighting was reported in Middle Shabelle, with 20 fatalities in related inter-clan clashes, and again resumed in early September, leaving 15 people dead and over 30 wounded in two days of fighting in north Mogadishu. Each of the two warlords then claimed to be the head of the USC
/SSA and the leadership feud became the cause of further fighting in 2003.
(TFG) was organized in 2004, Musa Sudi Yalahow was one of the 275 selected members of the Transitional Federal Parliament
enumerated in the official list of August 29, 2004. His term expires in 2009.
On March 20, 2005, it was reported Yalahow was arrested in Kenya
, along with other TFG members of parliament for brawling over an argument which stemmed from the debate over whether to allow peacekeepers from Ethiopia
, Djibouti
and Kenya to help restore the TFG to power.
Yalahow's militia is based in Mogadishu and he partly controls the lucrative Daynile Airport, which is northeast of Mogadishu. The airport is a source of income as international aid agencies use it as well as people who are importing or smuggling goods into the capital. In October 2005, the Somali Transitional Federal Government ordered that Daynile be closed. Yalahow, though a Minister in the government, warned that he would shoot down any plane which followed the government's orders not to land there.
(ARPCT) in order to fight the Islamic Court Union. Fighting between the ICU and ARPCT claimed more than 350 lives and Yalahow's militia occupied the International Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC)-run Kensaney hospital. The ICRC issued a statement that the hospital was taken by Yalahow's fighters, despite repeated calls by the ICRC) and the Somali Red Crescent Society for medical facilities to be spared, that the hospital was clearly marked with the red crescent emblem and that the military operation impeded the access of new casualties to the hospital. Keysaney hospital was the only medical facility in Mogadishu North offering surgical services for the war-wounded at the time.
The Somali Justice Advocacy Center called on the United Nations
(U.N.) to bring Yalahow to the International Criminal Court
(ICC) for violation of the 48 and 51(5) (b) of additional protocol of deliberate prevention of wounded civilians from receiving medical assistance, the indiscriminate shelling of civilian populations and the complete take over of Keysani Hospital. Somalia is not a party to the court, and therefore would have to consent or be referred by the UN Security Council in order for the court to have jurisdiction. In June 2006 the regional body IGAD threatened to do this to warlords it termed "spoilers". (See also: Cases before the International Criminal Court
)
On June 5 Yalahow withdrew from Mogadishu to the warlord stronghold of Balad
, a town 30 km north of Mogadishu, which was also taken by the ICU days later.
The Somali Prime Minister, Ali Mohammed Ghedi
removed Yalahow from office, saying Yalahow had opposed his government and peace initiatives and undermined their reconciliation activities. He said Yalahow's actions fueled violence and unrest and his militia had killed innocent civilians.
On January 12, 2007, the same day as the Battle of Ras Kamboni
ended marking the last major campaign to defeat the ICU, Somali warlords tentatively agreed with President Abdullahi Yusuf
to disarm their militias
and to direct their members to apply to join the national army or police forces. An estimated 20,000 militia were said to exist throughout Somalia. Mohamed Qanyare Afrah said the clans were "fed up" with militias and agreed to disarm his own men. Muse Sudi Yalahow was less conciliatory and made veiled threats that if dissatisfied, people might oppose the government.
On January 17, 2007, Mohamed Qanyare Afrah and Muse Sudi Yalahow were the first warlords of Mogadishu to disarm, turning over their weapons and committing their militiamen to the government, though some of Sudi's arms remained in other locations controlled by Qanyare and Mohammed Dhere. The arms were accepted by the chief commander of the government army, General Naji.
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
warlord who served as Trade Minister in the Transitional Government
Transitional Federal Parliament
The Transitional Federal Parliament of the Somali Republic is an interim Parliament of Somalia formed in neighboring Kenya in 2004.The Transitional Federal Parliament has 550 members representing Somalia's clans, Islamist opposition, representatives of citizens' groups and the Somali...
of Ali Mohammed Ghedi
Ali Mohammed Ghedi
Ali Mohamed Ghedi was the Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia from 2004 to 2007. He was relatively unknown in political circles upon his appointment as prime minister in November 2004. He is affiliated with the Abgaal subclan of Mogadishu's Hawiye clan, one of...
. He was dismissed in June 2006 after ignoring government requests to halt fighting with the Islamic Courts Union militia.
United Somali Congress/Somali Salvation Alliance (USC/SSA)
Yalahow is a relative of Ali Mahdi MuhammadAli Mahdi Muhammad
Ali Mahdi Muhammad was president of Somalia from January 1991 to November 1991. He rose to power when Mohamed Farrah Aidid forced then president Mohamed Siad Barre out of office. Muhammad, however, was not able in that time to exert control over the country...
, the interim president of Somalia after the outbreak of the civil war in 1991 and faction leader in northern Mogadishu. As the deputy Chairman of United Somali Congress
United Somali Congress
The United Somali Congress is one of the major political and paramilitary organizations of Somalia. Formed in 1988, it played a key role in the ouster of the government of Siad Barre, and became a major target of the so-called Operation Restore Hope campaign in 1993...
/Somali Salvation Alliance (USC/SSA) of Ali Mahdi Muhammad, Yalhow headed the administration in the Medina district of southern Mogadishu when the civil war broke out in the early 90s. Yalahow draws support from the Abgal, one of the largest Hawiye
Hawiye
The Hawiye is a Somali clan. Members of the clan primarily live in central and southern Somalia, in the Ogaden and the North Eastern Province , and in smaller numbers in other countries. Like many Somalis, Hawiye members trace their ancestry to Irir Samaale...
clans. Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
initially showed interest in him because of his opposition to Hussein Aideed, and supported the leader in his opposition against the new interim government. Local and international media reports documented the arrival of weapons trucked into Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
from Ethiopia for Yalahow. There were many reports of the faction leader visiting the Ethiopian Somali region - particularly Gode, the capital of the Ogaden
Ogaden
Ogaden is the name of a territory comprising the southeastern portion of the Somali Regional State in Ethiopia. The inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Somali and Muslim. The title "Somali Galbeed", which means "Western Somalia," is often preferred by Somali irredentists.The region, which is...
area - to receive weapons and meet Ethiopian military and government representatives.
In August 1998, Ali Mahdi Muhammad and South Mogadishu warlords Hussein Aideed and Mohamed Afrah Qanyare
Mohamed Afrah Qanyare
Mohamed Afrah Qanyare , is a Somali politician who was based to the south of Mogadishu Dayniile neighborhoods.Somali PM one of the political Flexible activity Mohamed Qanyare Afrah- United Somali Congress :...
set up a joint administration for Mogadishu, which was rejected by Yalahow, Osman Ali Atto
Osman Ali Atto
Osman Hassan Ali Atto is a Somali warlord, affiliated with the Somali National Alliance.- Background :He is a member of the Somali Hawiye clan, sub-clan Habar Gedir Osman Hassan Ali Atto (born 1940) is a Somali warlord, affiliated with the Somali National Alliance.- Background :He is a member of...
and Hussein Haji Bod. Fighting erupted in early March between loyalists of Yalahow and militiamen funded by the business community in northern Mogadishu after Yalahow tried to impose taxes at the Karan market in northern Mogadishu. The fighting claimed 22 lives and subsided March 15 after Abgal elders arranged a cease-fire and resumption of negotiations.
However, fighting flared up again on March 17 and 18, 1999 bringing the total number of casualties to 38 people and 88 injured since the fighting began. The dispute disrupted public transport and telephone lines were cut. Yalahow rejected a plan by elders to end the latest round of fighting and refused to withdraw the tax demand. In addition, another round of clashes was reported between clan militias of Yalahow and those of the Mogadishu governor Hussein Ali Ahmed. The fighting which began later, in mid-March was more political in nature and not a continuation of the fighting sparked by a dispute over taxation rights. This dispute reportedly ended with Yalahow's takeover of equipment belonging to a north Mogadishu radio station which supported Ali Mahdi Muhammad, his former ally. Yalahow, whose militia were now well armed, declared he would never recognise a joint administration established by his rivals. He later changed his mind when offered the post of third deputy chairman of the proposed authority.
In March 2001 his militia kidnapped nine aid workers from Médecins Sans Frontières
Médecins Sans Frontières
' , or Doctors Without Borders, is a secular humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland...
who were vaccinating children against polio.
Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC)
In December 2001 his forces lost control over the Jazira airstrip. He had split from his "right-hand man and deputy," Mahmud Muhammad Finish, who was also of the Da'ud subclan of the Abgal clan. Yalahow became a senior leader of the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), while Finish was loyal to the Transitional National GovernmentTransitional National Government
The Transitional National Government of Somalia was established in April–May 2000 at the Somalia National Peace Conference held in Djibouti....
(TNG) movement. The two battled over the control of the airstrip, as well as over control of sections of Mogadishu. On February 26, 2002, fighting broke out between the two warlords again, killing at least twelve people. Yalahow lost a technical and an unarmed pickup to Finish in the fighting.
In late May heavy fighting in Mogadishu left 60 people dead and over 100 wounded, most reportedly non-combatants, as militias of Muhammad Habib and Yalahow, both members of SRRC, attacked the house of Dahir Shaykh Dayah, the Interior Minister of TNG. The fighting had reportedly displaced thousands of families, particularly in north Mogadishu.
Clashes between rivals again flared up in Mogadishu in July, ahead of the proposed peace talks in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
, leaving 30 people dead and 50 wounded. Most of the victims were civilians caught in the crossfire or killed when artillery shells struck residential houses. The dead included many children.
Renewed fighting was reported in Middle Shabelle, with 20 fatalities in related inter-clan clashes, and again resumed in early September, leaving 15 people dead and over 30 wounded in two days of fighting in north Mogadishu. Each of the two warlords then claimed to be the head of the USC
United Somali Congress
The United Somali Congress is one of the major political and paramilitary organizations of Somalia. Formed in 1988, it played a key role in the ouster of the government of Siad Barre, and became a major target of the so-called Operation Restore Hope campaign in 1993...
/SSA and the leadership feud became the cause of further fighting in 2003.
Transitional Federal Government (TFG)
When the Transitional Federal GovernmentTransitional Federal Government
The Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...
(TFG) was organized in 2004, Musa Sudi Yalahow was one of the 275 selected members of the Transitional Federal Parliament
Transitional Federal Parliament
The Transitional Federal Parliament of the Somali Republic is an interim Parliament of Somalia formed in neighboring Kenya in 2004.The Transitional Federal Parliament has 550 members representing Somalia's clans, Islamist opposition, representatives of citizens' groups and the Somali...
enumerated in the official list of August 29, 2004. His term expires in 2009.
On March 20, 2005, it was reported Yalahow was arrested in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, along with other TFG members of parliament for brawling over an argument which stemmed from the debate over whether to allow peacekeepers from Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
and Kenya to help restore the TFG to power.
Yalahow's militia is based in Mogadishu and he partly controls the lucrative Daynile Airport, which is northeast of Mogadishu. The airport is a source of income as international aid agencies use it as well as people who are importing or smuggling goods into the capital. In October 2005, the Somali Transitional Federal Government ordered that Daynile be closed. Yalahow, though a Minister in the government, warned that he would shoot down any plane which followed the government's orders not to land there.
Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT)
In February 2006 Yahalow joined the United States-backed warlord coalition, the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-TerrorismAlliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism
The Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism was a Somali alliance created by various warlords and businesspeople. The alliance included Botan Ise Alin, Mohammed Dheere, Mohamed Qanyare, Musa Sudi Yalahow, Nuur Daqle, Abdi Hasan Awale Qeybdiid, Omar Muhamoud Finnish and others...
(ARPCT) in order to fight the Islamic Court Union. Fighting between the ICU and ARPCT claimed more than 350 lives and Yalahow's militia occupied the International Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC)-run Kensaney hospital. The ICRC issued a statement that the hospital was taken by Yalahow's fighters, despite repeated calls by the ICRC) and the Somali Red Crescent Society for medical facilities to be spared, that the hospital was clearly marked with the red crescent emblem and that the military operation impeded the access of new casualties to the hospital. Keysaney hospital was the only medical facility in Mogadishu North offering surgical services for the war-wounded at the time.
The Somali Justice Advocacy Center called on the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
(U.N.) to bring Yalahow to the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
(ICC) for violation of the 48 and 51(5) (b) of additional protocol of deliberate prevention of wounded civilians from receiving medical assistance, the indiscriminate shelling of civilian populations and the complete take over of Keysani Hospital. Somalia is not a party to the court, and therefore would have to consent or be referred by the UN Security Council in order for the court to have jurisdiction. In June 2006 the regional body IGAD threatened to do this to warlords it termed "spoilers". (See also: Cases before the International Criminal Court
Cases before the International Criminal Court
So far, the International Criminal Court The Court As of end September 2010, the Office of the Prosecutor had received 8,874 communications about alleged crimes...
)
On June 5 Yalahow withdrew from Mogadishu to the warlord stronghold of Balad
Balad, Somalia
Balad is one of the districts of Middle Shebelle region of Somalia. It is located about 36 kilometers northeast of the capital city of Mogadishu. It has an area of with an estimated population of 480,000. Most of the population is Mataan Abdulle, part of Wabudhan from Abgaal clan of Hawiye...
, a town 30 km north of Mogadishu, which was also taken by the ICU days later.
The Somali Prime Minister, Ali Mohammed Ghedi
Ali Mohammed Ghedi
Ali Mohamed Ghedi was the Prime Minister of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia from 2004 to 2007. He was relatively unknown in political circles upon his appointment as prime minister in November 2004. He is affiliated with the Abgaal subclan of Mogadishu's Hawiye clan, one of...
removed Yalahow from office, saying Yalahow had opposed his government and peace initiatives and undermined their reconciliation activities. He said Yalahow's actions fueled violence and unrest and his militia had killed innocent civilians.
Return to Mogadishu
On January 6, 2007 Yalahow returned to Mogadishu from exile.On January 12, 2007, the same day as the Battle of Ras Kamboni
Battle of Ras Kamboni
The Battle of Ras Kamboni was a battle in the 2006-2007 Somali War fought by the Islamic Courts Union and affiliated militias against Ethiopian and the Somali Transitional Federal Government forces for control of Ras Kamboni , a town near the Kenyan border which once served as a training camp for...
ended marking the last major campaign to defeat the ICU, Somali warlords tentatively agreed with President Abdullahi Yusuf
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed is a veteran Somali politician. He is one of the founders of the Somali Salvation Democratic Front, as well as the Puntland State of Somalia, where he served as the autonomous region's first President...
to disarm their militias
Disarmament in Somalia
After two decades of violence and civil war and after the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia captured Mogadishu and Kismayo, the TFG attempted to disarm the militias of the country in late 2006...
and to direct their members to apply to join the national army or police forces. An estimated 20,000 militia were said to exist throughout Somalia. Mohamed Qanyare Afrah said the clans were "fed up" with militias and agreed to disarm his own men. Muse Sudi Yalahow was less conciliatory and made veiled threats that if dissatisfied, people might oppose the government.
On January 17, 2007, Mohamed Qanyare Afrah and Muse Sudi Yalahow were the first warlords of Mogadishu to disarm, turning over their weapons and committing their militiamen to the government, though some of Sudi's arms remained in other locations controlled by Qanyare and Mohammed Dhere. The arms were accepted by the chief commander of the government army, General Naji.
See also
- Disarmament in SomaliaDisarmament in SomaliaAfter two decades of violence and civil war and after the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia captured Mogadishu and Kismayo, the TFG attempted to disarm the militias of the country in late 2006...
- Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-TerrorismAlliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-TerrorismThe Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism was a Somali alliance created by various warlords and businesspeople. The alliance included Botan Ise Alin, Mohammed Dheere, Mohamed Qanyare, Musa Sudi Yalahow, Nuur Daqle, Abdi Hasan Awale Qeybdiid, Omar Muhamoud Finnish and others...
- Rise of the Islamic Courts
- Cases before the International Criminal CourtCases before the International Criminal CourtSo far, the International Criminal Court The Court As of end September 2010, the Office of the Prosecutor had received 8,874 communications about alleged crimes...