Somali Insurgents Attack Arriving Ugandans

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001127 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/E AND A/S FRAZER E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/08/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PREF EAID ASEC MOPS SO ET UG SUBJECT: Somali Insurgents Attack Arriving Ugandans Classified by PolOff John O'Leary. Reason 1.4 (b) & (d). ¶1. (C) Summary. Mortars interrupted the welcoming ceremony on Tuesday (3/6) for the first contingent of arriving Ugandan troops. Ethiopian troops engaged in a firefight with unknown gunmen the same day, and insurgents attacked a Ugandan vehicle convoy on Wednesday (3/7). As many as 16 Somali civilians were killed and 24 wounded in the two incidents. There were 10 reported murders in Mogadishu on the same two days which appear to be related to the insurgency. There are claims that former Islamic Courts military commanders are preparing to join the fighting in Mogadishu. Carjacking is a growing problem in the capital. Due to the hijacking of the M/V Rozen, the WFP is having difficulty finding reputable ships to carry food aid to Somalia. We should anticipate attacks on the port when the ships bringing the Ugandans' heavy military equipment arrive in Mogadishu. End summary. ¶2. (U) Around 1330 hours Tuesday afternoon (3/6),unknown attackers lobbed between six and eight mortar rounds at the military side of Mogadishu International Airport where a ceremony was in progress to welcome the initial Ugandan AMISOM contingent of 400 soldiers who had arrived several hours earlier. Reports indicate little damage, but one Somali was wounded by shrapnel. A neighborhood watch contingent reportedly encountered an insurgent mortar team and forced it to withdraw. The airport attack occurred despite the presence of heavily armed Ethiopian troops at the field and reported Ethiopian helicopter patrols over the surrounding neighborhoods. ¶3. (U) Earlier Tuesday (3/6),an Ethiopian patrol came under small arms and RPG fire in a Somali neighborhood. Three civilians were reported killed and six wounded. Accounts vary as to whether the Ethiopians were hunting insurgents or trying to disarm local residents. ¶4. (U) Reports indicate that 11 other Somalis were killed by small arms fire in four separate incidents, also on Tuesday (3/6). A police colonel, his friend, and two bystanders were shot in the afternoon by unknown gunmen at a central intersection in Mogadishu. A senior Muslim cleric and three businessmen were also shot in the afternoon by unknown gunmen; the victims reportedly were trying to establish a watch program to prevent insurgents from using their neighborhood as a launching pad for mortar attacks against the TFG and the Ethiopians. Three other men were reported killed by unknown assailants in two separate incidents. Motives were not readily apparent in these last three killings, which could be due to personal animosities or criminal pursuits as well as to insurgent activity. ¶5. (U) Mogadishu was calm Tuesday night, but fighting resumed Wednesday evening (3/7) when unknown insurgents using RPGs and small arms attacked a Ugandan convoy in central Mogadishu in the vicinity of the K-4 intersection. According to reports, two Ugandans were injured and up to 13 civilians were killed and 20 injured in the crossfire. Despite attacks, Ugandan troops continue to arrive in Mogadishu. ¶6. (U) Earlier Wednesday (3/7),two police officers searching vehicles were reported killed by unknown gunmen using small arms, also at the K-4 intersection. ¶7. (U) Incidents of carjacking reportedly are increasing in Mogadishu, forcing passenger buses to remain garaged. ¶8. (C) The hijacked ship, M/V Rozen remains in the hands of pirates as ransom negotiations continue. According to U.S. military reporting, the pirates lowered their demand from $1 million to $150,000. The ships owners countered with $50,000, which the pirates rejected. WFP reports that it is having difficulty finding reputable ships to carry additional food aid to Somalia because of the piracy. Although the government of Puntland has vigorously condemned the incident and has requested U.S. military assistance to free the vessel, the TFG has not contacted us for assistance. At our urging to speak out against the piracy, the Somali Ambassador to Kenya used a Wednesday press conference to issue a statement calling on the pirates to release unconditionally the ship and its crew. ¶9. (U) The pro-Islamists website "Goobjoog" stated on March 6 that former Islamic Courts militia commanders have returned to Mogadishu where they are reconstituting their NAIROBI 00001127 002 OF 002 militias. ¶10. (U) In a pre-recorded audio tape played on Mogadishu's Radio Koran, a man claiming to be al-Shabaab leader, Aden Hashi Ayro, called on Somalis, and especially the youth, to rise up against Ethiopian and AMISOM troops. He claimed that loyal fighters were still present in Somalia's major cities; but he insisted that the various mortar attacks on government targets were launched by the Ethiopians, not by the Islamists. ¶11. (C) Comment. Given the attacks on the arriving Ugandans at Mogadishu International Airport and at the K-4 intersection, we should anticipate attacks on the port when the DynCorp-chartered ships bearing the Ugandans' heavy equipment arrive in Mogadishu. End comment. Ranneberger