VZCZCXRO3657
PP RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHNR #2759/01 3461210
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111210Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7875
INFO RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 002759 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENTITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/E AND A/S FRAZER 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SO
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - ARS Delegation Arrives in Mogadishu, Rallies 
Support 
 
REF:  A) Nairobi 2543   B) Nairobi 2755 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  On December 10, ARS Chairman Sheikh Sharif Ahmed 
and more than twenty other ARS leaders arrived in Mogadishu.  This 
is expected to be a permanent relocation.  Sheikh Sharif was 
encouraged to make the journey by supporters, who urged immediate 
action on the ground in light of recent inroads by al-Shabaab.  Upon 
arrival at Mogadishu airport, Sharif was warmly welcomed by 
residents, ARS supporters and TFG administrators.  The ARS 
delegation was composed of members of both the High Level Committee 
(HLC) and the Joint Security Committee (JSC,) who joined their TFG 
counterparts already in Mogadishu.  Although an armed group 
associated with Asmara-based elements of the ARS launched an attack 
in Mogadishu, Sharif and the others were unharmed.  The Embassy 
released a public statement (paragraph 9) in support of the ARS 
mission.  End Summary. 
 
---------------------------- 
Relocating Base to Mogadishu 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, Chairman of the Alliance for the 
Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), led more than twenty ARS leaders in 
relocating to Mogadishu on December 10.  This was Sharif's second 
trip to Somalia since the Islamic Courts Union was ousted in 2006. 
In late October, the Chairman visited Jowhar, in Middle Shebelle 
region, and Buloburde and Beletweyne towns in Hiran region (Ref A). 
Taking off from Djibouti, the ARS delegation landed at Mogadishu 
airport and was warmly welcomed by AMISOM, ARS and Islamic Court 
supporters, members of the Transitional Federal Government, 
including Police Commissioner General Abdi Awale Qeybdiid, and 
Benadir regional administrators.  Sheikh Sharif and some members of 
the group are staying at Lafweyne Hotel in north Mogadishu while the 
rest of the ARS leaders are staying at Nasahablood Hotel near K4 
junction in south Mogadishu. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) An ARS leader and member of the JSC told us that due to 
the recent inroads by al-Shabaab and other armed groups into the 
territory that Islamic Courts-allied groups had previously 
controlled (Ref B), Sharif supporters from the region came to 
Djibouti to express the seriousness of the situation.  These ARS 
commanders convinced Sharif of the immediate need to take action on 
the ground and to demonstrate practical progress on the Djibouti 
process.  So far, the visit has been very positively received by the 
public who after learning of the arrival, flooded live radio shows 
with calls of support. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The trip was facilitated by the UN Political Office for 
Somalia (UNPOS) and UNPOS officials told us that this was not a 
visit, but a relocation of the ARS to Mogadishu.  The ARS delegation 
included five from the HLC and four from the JSC and many other 
members of the ARS Executive ommittee and Central Committee who 
were based in Djibouti after leaving Asmara earlier in the year. 
According to UNPOS, there are now 58 members of the HLC and the JSC 
who are now in Mogadishu.  (Note: Several TFG ministers, officials, 
and MPs who are part of the committees were already in Mogadishu). 
 
 
---------------------------- 
ARS Factions Oppose the Move 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Immediately upon arrival, Sheikh Sharif and the ARS leaders 
met with local elders and well-wishers, but the support is not 
universal.  Early morning December 11, an armed group associated 
with the Asmara-based members of the Alliance for the Re-liberation 
of Somalia (ARS-A) launched mortar attacks on TFG bases at Villa 
Somalia in Mogadishu's Wardhigley district.  The fighting is not in 
close proximity to where the ARS leaders are staying.  Ten were 
reported killed and many others injured, though none in the ARS 
delegation. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Abdirahim Isse Adow, a former Sheikh Sharif ally during 
the Union of Islamic Courts period and now ARS-A spokesman, claimed 
responsibility for the attack.  Isse said Sheikh Sharif's arrival in 
Mogadishu was a betrayal of the "resistance cause" and that it 
showed he had sided with the "enemy" against Somalis.  During a 
December 10 press interview, ARS-A leader Hassan Dahir Aweys did not 
answer the journalist's question of whether he sees Sheikh Sharif's 
visit as a bold political step towards reconciliation and one that 
will seal the DJ agreement.  Aweys only spoke in general terms 
saying that a visit to Mogadishu now is siding with the enemy. 
 
NAIROBI 00002759  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Prior to their departure from Djibouti, persons affiliated 
with ARS-A leaders contacted Sheikh Sharif and advised him to land 
at Iseley airstrip, about 20 km northeast of the capital, rather 
than Mogadishu airport.  They suggested that many Somalis would take 
exception at Sharif landing at Mogadishu airport with AMISOM 
support.  Sharif initially agreed as a gesture of good faith to 
reconcile with his former allies and encourage their support for the 
Djibouti process.  The same persons later advised Sharif that 
security at Iseley airstrip could not be guaranteed because it is 
controlled by no particular faction.  Recognizing that these former 
allies were trying to delay the mission, Sharif moved forward with 
the planned departure and arrival at Mogadishu airport. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) While this move is intended to re-establish Sheikh Sharif 
and the ARS base to Mogadishu, Sharif (and other ARS leaders as 
required) are expected to travel to other parts of Somalia and 
internationally as the need arises.  Sharif plans to hold a press 
conference to speak at length to the Somali people about his 
mission.  One of Sharif's close confidants, who is also in 
Mogadishu, told us that under the leadership of Sheikh Sharif, the 
ARS is committed to finding a solution to the Somali problem.  He 
said they are prepared to do whatever it takes to do find a peaceful 
solution, no matter the risks. 
 
----------------- 
Mission Statement 
----------------- 
 
¶9.  (U) In support of the ARS mission into Mogadishu, Embassy 
Nairobi issued the following public statement: 
 
ARS Chairman Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's Return to Mogadishu 
 
The U.S. government welcomes the December 10 return to Mogadishu of 
Chairman of the Alliance for the Re-liberation (ARS) of Somalia 
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.  Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's presence 
in Mogadishu, after an absence of almost two years, is a practical 
step in the creation of a meaningful unity government. 
 
We urge all Somalis to support the ARS's efforts to effect, in 
active cooperation with the Transitional Federal Government, 
reconciliation through the Djibouti Process.  We urge as well those 
groups and individuals who have opposed the peace process to join 
efforts to create a unity government and end the suffering in 
Somalia. 
 
RANNEBERGER