Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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04DJIBOUTI381 | 2004-03-14 13:43:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Djibouti |
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available. |
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000381 |
1. (C) Emboff met Djiboutian Army Captain Abdullahi Youssouf for coffee on March 13. The primary focus of the meeting was to gain insight into the status of recent Djiboutian military discontent (see reftel). Conversation also touched on the railroad explosion in the late evening of March 12. The consensus upon discussion of the topics was that the Djiboutian military pay problem was quieted for the moment but not resolved and that the railroad attacks were becoming increasingly embarrassing but remained largely a mystery. End Summary. MILITARY DISCONTENT -------------------------- 2. (C) In a conversation on March 13 with Djiboutian Army Captain and Commander of the Djiboutian Demining program, Captain Abdullahi Youssouf, Emboff sought to get an update on the reported (see reftel) discontent amongst the rank and file military in the country's interior. Youssouf confirmed that the military units in the districts of Dikhil, Obock, and Tadjoura had refused to accept their salaries on February 28 due to a paycut from the Chief of Staff. Youssouf commented that Djiboutian Chief of Staff General Fahti was forced into this decision by the Minister of Finance, Elmi Bouh, who continued to cut the resources made available to the Djiboutian military. Youssouf noted that while intervention by senior military officers in the districts and with the Presidency had calmed nerves and resulted in a restoration of that month's salary cut no one had seen a budgetary restoration at the level of the Ministry of Finance. Soldiers and officers alike were unsure how events would play out at the end of this month when the same crisis will arise. 3. (C) When Emboff queried Youssouf on the possibility that the new "Civilian Corps" proposed by President Guelleh had placed undue financial strains on the military tasked with training them, Youssouf replied that this was not the case. Youssouf commented that the new project was funded independently. He said the project is aimed at engaging some of Djibouti's unemployed and undereducated youth. It will train 2,000 Djiboutian youth in basic vocational skills over the course of two years and then reinsert them into the Djiboutian economy. The military is charged with the initial "formation" of the pilot group of 500 youth in order to instill "discipline", according to Youssouf. After their basic training course with the military the youth will be assigned to one of any number of Djiboutian public institutions from the Telecom to his own military engineering unit in order to gain a trade or skill. During the two year apprenticeship the government has committed to feeding the youth and paying them a 10,000 DF (approx. $60 U.S.) per month stipend. RAILROAD EXPLOSION -------------------------- 4. (C) The latest in what has become regular bombings of the Djibouti-Ethiopia railway occurred in the late evening of March 12. The detonation took place in Djibouti city not far from where the railroad passes behind the French Military Hospital. The charge was placed on the track itself and detonated only three minutes after the passing of the train according to sources. USLO chief received reports that a piece of the steel rail landed near a convenience store several hundred meters from the detonation, implying a degree of professionalism in the placement of the charge. No one was injured in the blast. Captain Youssouf commented that since the Djiboutian authorities had taken extra precautions to protect the train itself from attack the "terrorists" were clearly now expanding their sabotage efforts to the rail. (Comment: Mission officers have not noted the "extra precautions" to which Youssouf refers. End Comment) He said that he was under significant pressure from above to respond to such incidents but was uncomfortable with the degree of training his deminers had to handle such ordinance. His sense was that the more "embarrassed" Djiboutian leadership became over their inability to solve the intelligence/investigative riddle these ongoing bombings posed, the more pressure he and his mid-tier colleagues would continue to feel. Hypotheses for motive range from disgruntled ethnic Oromos expelled in the Government's latest immigration policy to Ethiopian Government complicity to support their trucking industry. In any scenario, Mission security personnel do not feel this issue impacts directly on U.S. interests. BIO --- 5. (C) Captain Youssouf is an impressive up and comer in the Djiboutian Armed Forces. He was the driving force behind the successful completion of Djibouti's demining campaign and their declaration of "mine safe" status. He is 34 years old and married with two children. His Father was Afar and his mother Issa. He speaks Somali, some Afar, French, and good English. He is close to and well respected by General Zakaria, the Djiboutian Military number 2. He recently returned from a tour of duty at Centcom's Coalition City in Tampa, Florida. COMMENT -------------------------- 6. (C) Budgetary differences between Finance Minister Bouh and former Police Chief Yacin Yalah Galab were at the heart of the 2001 "Coup d'Etat." It will be interesting to watch events unfold as we approach pay day at the end of this month. 7. (C) The saga of the Djibouti-Ethiopia railway continues in relatively benign fashion. The most significant disruptive impact of the bombings is the interruption of vegetable imports from Ethiopia which directly affects the average Djiboutian consumer. When the train is delayed or unable to transport vegetables the volume of vegetables arriving in the city decreases dramatically which drives up prices. Interestingly, it also diverts the remaining volume of vegetables that arrive to truck traffic. Hence the rumors that truck owners may have an interest in disrupted rail service. End Comment. RAGSDALE |