Via the Independent , another grim report from Somalia…
”United Nations and African Union compounds in Jowhar were led by a man so thin that he looked almost frail with a row of grenades strapped to his chest. The man was Aden Hashi Ayro – to the Americans al-Qa’ida’s chief killer in east Africa, but to many Somalis a nationalist fighting for his country and for Islam against the US and their corrupt client warlords.What is not in dispute is that Ayro has been one of those most instrumental in the sweeping successes enjoyed by the Islamic forces, and that even in a place bristling with gunmen, such as the capital, Mogadishu, he inspires genuine fear. What has also emerged is that many of his fighters are Somalis returning from the diaspora to the West.”
Via the Independent, another grim report from Somalia…
But this detail is fascinating…. “Those storming the buildings in Jowhar, just 50 miles from Mogadishu, spoke English with American and British accents and the same tones can be heard among others in Mogadishu. Some said they did not want their photographs taken because they wanted to seek work in the West.”