VZCZCXRO2377
OO RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNR #2600/01 3220507
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 170507Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7601
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 002600 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E 
 
E.O. 12356:  N/A 
TAGS: MOPS PGOV SOCI SO
SUBJECT:  SOMALIA - MERKA, OTHER LOWER SHABELLE TOWNS CHANGE HANDS 
 
1.(SBU) Summary:  From November 11 - 13, in what appeared to be a 
scramble for territorial control, al-Shabaab and former Islamic 
Court Union (ICU) militias allied with the moderate Islamist 
Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS) Chairman Sheikh 
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed have separately taken control of five Lower 
Shabelle towns, including the important port town and regional 
capital Merka. In Merka, al-Shabaab capitalized on internal clan 
dynamics to oust the militia of warlord Indha-Adde, a move welcomed 
by the Biyamal/Dir, the dominant subclan of Merka's inhabitants, who 
had felt marginalized by Indha-Adde's Habr Gedr/Ayr administration 
and militias. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Separately, ICU militias loyal to ARS Chairman Sheikh 
Sharif moved into Elesha Biyaha, an IDP settlement between Afgoye 
and Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab's take over of Lower Shabelle towns 
strategically bordering Mogadishu is both a show of defiance of the 
Djibouti accord and a display of power and control.  End Summary. 
 
------------- 
Al-Shabaab 
Daggers Drawn 
------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Between November 11 to 13, al-Shabaab militias took control 
of the Lower Shabelle towns of Qoryoley, Bulla Marer, Owdheegle, 
Janaale and Merka.  The strategic port city of Merka, Lower 
Shabelle's regional capital, had been under the control of militias 
loyal to Sheikh Mohamed Yusuf "Indha-Adde" (a former 
warlord-turned-cleric and ICU minister of defense who is now 
formally allied with ARS-Asmara but generally viewed by Somalis as a 
self-interested warlord).  Al-Shabaab met little resistance in 
capturing Merka on November 12. 
 
----------------- 
Shabaab Exploits 
Clan Resentments 
---------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Post's contacts in Somalia told us that the Biyamal/Dir 
subclan, the dominant subclan in Merka over the years, had felt 
marginalized by Habr Gedir/Ayr subclan militias under Indha-Adde's 
command.  Embassy contact Mukhtar Mohamed, himself an Ayr, told us 
that although the Biyamal are the majority in Merka, employment 
opportunities in most of the 33 local and international agencies 
which operated there went to Indha-Adde's clan.  In addition, 
Mohamed said, the local administration in Merka forced residents to 
pay high taxes. Al-Shabaab exploited existing resentments to expel 
the former administration, a move welcomed by the locals, Mohamed 
said.  Abdi Ismail, a Mogadishu-based freelance journalist, 
confirmed that it was an al-Shabaab militia --the majority of which 
are Digil and Mirifle with an admixture of other clans-- that seized 
control of Merka. 
 
¶5. (SBU) An international aid worker with excellent contacts in 
Merka told us that al-Shabaab's entry had been orderly and had not 
been resisted by the residents.  Shortly after taking control of 
Merka, an al-Shabaab spokesman had addressed the residents, had 
requested calm, and said that all in the city should go about their 
business.  The compounds of the World Food Program and other 
international NGOs had not been harmed by al-Shabaab, our contact 
reported.  Employees of the agencies had been told by their NGO 
leaderships to stay at home pending talks with al-Shabaab 
representatives. 
 
------------------- 
Sheikh Sharif's ICU 
------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) On November 12, ICU militia loyal to Sheikh Sharif 
reportedly occupied Elasha Biyaha, a large IDP settlement between 
Afgoye and Mogadishu, in Lower Shabelle.  Spokesman Abdirahim Adow 
alleged that the ICU was forced to take action after residents 
complained of insecurity and exploitation by the local 
administration. 
 
¶7. (SBU) On November 12, Mogadishu residents were treated to a rare 
show of courage by a group of prominent Mogadishu clerics.  The 
sheikhs gathered at abu-Huraira Mosque (an al-Shabaab controlled 
mosque near Bakara Market) and openly criticized the use of force 
for whatever reason. Both Ismail and Mukhtar told us that the 
congregation at the mosque was associated with both al-Shabaab and 
the ICU.  One month ago it had been unthinkable to criticize the use 
of violence at abu-Huraira without provoking retribution by 
al-Shabaab.  Mogadishu contacts pegged the shift to Sheikh Sharif's 
growing influence in the wake of his recent visit to Somalia.  The 
clerics, Ismail said, took the podium in succession and extensively 
quoted from Islamic sources in condemned the violence. (A recent 
incident in Kismayu, where a minor was stoned to death was also 
 
NAIROBI 00002600  002 OF 002 
 
 
condemned, albeit indirectly.)  The speeches at the mosque were 
broadcast in full by some radio stations while others carried 
excerpts on their daily news programs. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Al-Shabaab's capture of Merka and the other Lower Shabelle 
towns is a show of defiance intended to sabotage the Djibouti 
process and demonstrate that they are in control on the ground on 
the heels of ARS Chairman Sheikh Sharif's travel to Somalia 
following the declaration, in Djibouti on October 26 of an ARS - TFG 
unity government.  In a November 13 telephone call with Special 
Envoy Yates, Sheikh Sharif indicated that al-Shabaab's entry into 
Merka was not the last chapter of the struggle now under way for the 
Lower Shabelle. 
Ranneberger