TFG Plans To Disarm Mogadishu

C O N F I D E N T I A L NAIROBI 001173 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/E AND A/S FRAZER E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/2017 TAGS: PTER ASEC MOPS SO ET UG SUBJECT: TFG Plans To Disarm Mogadishu Classified by PolOff John O'Leary. Reason 1.4 (b) & (d). ¶1. (C) TFG security chief Mohamed Warsame Farah told EmbOffs on Tuesday (3/13) that TFG troops, in conjunction with Ethiopian and Ugandan military forces, will begin a large-scale security operation on Wednesday (3/14) in Mogadishu aimed at blunting the ongoing insurgency. According to Farah, 15,000 troops (12,000 TFG) will take part in the action, with elements first sealing off the city. The remaining troops will then seal three neighborhoods suspected of harboring Islamic insurgents and go house-to-house in search of "weapons, foreigners, and Shabaab". He expected the operation to take three to four days. ¶2. (C) Farah said that he and his operatives have been laying the groundwork for this operation for the past few weeks, meeting with clan and sub-clan leaders to garner their support for the TFG--or at least to curb their opposition. He indicated that only two sub-clans remained "hesitant" to accept the TFG's authority in Mogadishu. Consequently, he des not expect major resistance when the troops go door-to-door. ¶3. (C) The TFG's goal is to remove weapons from the general public, as well as to stem insurgent activity, said Farah. He believed that residents would surrender their weapons rather than fight to keep them if they believed that the TFG could protect them. Farah said the TFG, therefore, was concentrating troops in Mogadishu to increase citizen confidence in the TFG's policing ability. ¶4. (C) The General indicated that certain citizens with a "special need" to keep firearms at home, such as legitimate businessmen, would be allowed to keep licensed weapons. The TFG, though, wants to disarm the militias and place the fighters into a DDR program; and Farah is in the process of visiting East African and Gulf countries seeking DDR support. Farah acknowledged, however, that a DDR program does not currently exist; and he did not know how the TFG would manage the disarmed militia until one can be brought online. ¶5. (C) According to the pro-Islamist website Xogwaran, TFG President Yusuf had appointed Siad Hersi, aka General Morgan and the "Butcher of Hargeysa" (for his role in the government's attacks in Somaliland in the late 1980s),to head the expected security operation in Mogadishu. General Farah categorically denied that Hersi would have any role whatsoever. ¶6. (U) Comment. The Somali press has been reporting for the past few days that a major security operation was in the offing, noting that Ethiopian troops appeared to be concentrating in and around Mogadishu. Additionally, Deputy Defense Minister Jelle told reporters on Sunday (3/11) that security troops would begin sweeping the city for arms this week. Jelle said that the TFG would have Mogadishu under control within 30 days. End comment. Ranneberger