Hiiraan was among the first regions in south Somalia to fully support the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) when it desperately craved for caging. Unlike many other regions in the country, Hiiraan opened its doors wide open for the utilization of TFG at its pleasure. That good-will gesture was soon rewarded with depressing humiliations, including, among other ill-fated things: the installation of rather unpopular governor, discriminating Hiiraan militia against Puntland militia and the detention of a high ranking military official charged with training the National Force of the TFG for undeclared reasons. People of Hiiraan, unable to characterize the situation, now retroactively recalled their support for the TFG.

  Three Strikes, Three Players & Three Implications:

In California , there was a state law that sentenced criminals to life in prison if they commit felony three times. That law was better known as “Three Strikes” This Hiiraan-humiliation story has three strikes, three players and three implications.

•  While Hiiraan was in the middle of gubernatorial dispute, following the death of the legendary Col. Qalaad, Prime Minister Ali Ghedi nominated Yusuf Dabageed the Governor of Hiiraan, adding fuel to the fire. Hiiraan is one of only two regions Prime Minister Ghedi singled-out for his nomination, the contentions Benadir being the second one.   Mr. Dabageed was all but unpopular in Hiiraan, and thus was first unaccepted by most Hiiraanians. But most importantly, people of Hiiraan felt betrayed and, that their views of their leadership were never considered for this nomination as clearly indoctrinated in the constitution. Nonetheless, most citizens of Hiiraan, generally known for compromises, later approved Mr. Dabageed as their interim Governor.

•  The Executive Branch of TFG turned first into Hiiraan among many regions for military help at the inception of the so-called National Force. Despite the first strike, people of Hiiraan gave the TFG the benefit of the doubt and sent 1200 of their most capable sons to Mustaxiil for military training. This deal was orchestrated by President Abdullahi Yusuf with the Ethiopians. Alongside some 1500 strong Puntland militias, Hiiraan forces continued the training course for several months. For Hiiraan, the plan was supervised and coordinated by Deputy Defense Minister, Hon. Omar Adan Hassan & Minister of Government for Reconstruction and Resettlement, Hon. Ibraahim Xabeeb. At the end of the training, Puntland militia were showered with uniforms, weaponry and sophisticated military equipment including night vision. Hiiraan Militia, on the other hand, were provided with uniform left-over and no single machine gun.   Hon. Ibraahim Xabeeb raised the issue to the top man, President Abdullahi Yusuf, only to be told that “Puntland Militia resemble the National Forces and that Hiiraan Militia are quite not there yet, therefore ineligible for equipment”. In fact, in an interview with the BBC, President Yusuf bluntly reiterated this “I told the yelling man [Hon. Ibraahim Xabeeb] that I would not be reinforcing an already armed militia”. Mr. Xabeeb was also interviewed for this issue and he confirmed that he was informed by Puntland commanders on the ground they were advised that Hiiraan Militia are not capable enough to carry sophisticated weaponry from Ethiopia. Mr. Xabeeb, angry and frustrated, came back to Beledweyn. This was a high caliper humiliation against people of Hiiraan and, a typical of Abdullahi Yusuf.

It was a devastation to Mr. Xabeeb and his credibility. Confused and disoriented, Mr. Xabeeb hauled his men to a camp near Beledweyn until further notice. Meanwhile, Mr. Xabeeb revisited his political position so much that he appeared with Hon. Shariif Hassan in London last week.

•  The third and the most gruesome humiliation against people of Hiiraan came just last week when a high ranking official, charged with training the so-called National Army in the Kongo camp near Jowhar was abruptly detained by the forces of the notorious Mid-Shabelle man, Mohamed Dheere. This official, Col. Ali Hassan Shiine was en route to Kongo fresh from Beledweyn when his car was detoured to the ever-notorious Central Jowhar Correction Facility for unknown reasons. President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Ghedi were both present in Jowhar at the time of his detention and never commented. In fact, a local journalist attempted to question Prof. Ghedi about this atrocity only to be dragged away and jailed, too. Col. Shiine was later released and swiftly deported from Jowhar. He remains in shock and awe. Back in Beledweyn, he told reporters that Puntland officers were in charge of his interrogation. Neither Mohamed Dheere nor the Executive Branch ever produced any documentation to substantiate the rationale to detain this officer. Cabinet Ministers from Hiiraan in Jowhar have resisted little or not at all in fear of their own safety. The matter remains sealed and embarrassingly unnoticed. Rumors point to the fact that Col. Shiine is a highly intelligent, well trained and a technocrat whose guts included a top-down overhaul of the training methodology, including recruitment policy used in Kongo. This, say the rumors, sent chills into Abdullahi Yusuf's half-planted body and triggered him to conspire with the naturally-childish Mohamed Dheere to quell Col. Shiine's menace.

The Players:

What remains depressingly sad about this entire saga is that the jury who convicted Hiiraan three times consists of three men: President Abdullahi Yusuf, Prime Minister Ali Ghedi and Chairman Mohamed Dheere. What is even sadder is that people of Hiiraan were convicted in Hiiraan one and half times out of the three, often with the help of supposedly patriotic Hiiraanians.   Mohamed Dheere has proven to be above all rules and regulations. Earlier, he refused to be the advisor of the President when the President's small aircraft couldn't land in the-then dusty air strip in Jowhar. In a sinister comments, he later defamed Hon. Ambassador Fall. And, he audaciously threatened Hon. Omar Hashi, the deft spokesman of Mogadishu Camp and Hiiraan native.

The Implications :

As a result, the implications upon the TFG is enormous in three fundamental ways:

1. People of Hiiraan will permanently disassemble their support for the TFG. In fact, symptoms have already begun in Hiiraan and elsewhere. Last week, upon the humiliated deportation of Col. Shiine, masses gathered in central Beledweyn and burned down photos of the three players: Yusuf, Ghedi & Dheere.
2. Serving officers in Prof. Ghedi's cabinet from Hiiraan will face tremendous pressure should they continue to operate in Jowhar. They have to switch gears towards more central position in the next several weeks. Or, they may even super-sonically turn 180 degrees southbound; to Mogadishu . This symptom has also commenced with Mr. Xabeeb's photo-op meeting with Speaker Shariif in London last week.

1. Other regions such as Bay, Bakool & Gedo who contributed troops to the doomed National Force will inevitably learn from Hiiraan's experience and revisit their strategy. As a matter of fact, reports of troops from Gedo abruptly returning from Waajid to Luuq are already on the surface.

The biggest looser from the humiliation of Hiiraan, it appears, is the TFG – Jowhar camp. It will pay the costly ultimate price. Collaterally, Mohamed Dheere, the naturalized Jowhar leader and native of Mogadishu , seems to have alienated people Hiiraan so much that he will probably pay some price at some point.

Ibrahim Sheikh-Nor

Contact: ibrahim.sheikhnor@gmail.com

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