SOMALIA - AHLU SUNNA WAL JAMMA GROUPS REQUEST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001297 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/E E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/26/2019 TAGS: EAID MARR PGOV SO SUBJECT: SOMALIA - AHLU SUNNA WAL JAMMA GROUPS REQUEST MILITARY ASSISTANCE REF: A) NAIROBI 1244 B) NAIROBI 1132 C) ADDIS ABABA 1442 D) ADDIS ABABA 1490 Classified By: SOMALIA UNIT COUNSELOR BOB PATTERSON. REASONS 1.4: B,D. -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) On June 23 and 24, Somalia Unit officers met with two groups of representatives from Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamma (ASWJ). Abdikadir Moalim Noor, signatory of the June 21 agreement (ref a) between ASWJ and the Somalia Transitional Federal Government (TFG),led the first group. This group, although hailing from the diaspora, claimed to represent ASWJ Somalia-wide and the ASWJ members "doing the fighting" on the ground in Somalia. Secretary-General of ASWJ in Mogadishu Sheikh Tajir Haji Ibrahim led the second group, which was comprised of some Somalia-based ASWJ members and which seemed to be better versed in the realities on the ground in Somalia. Despite the apparent differences between the groups, all of the ASWJ members expressed strong support for the TFG, and both groups requested that the USG support ASWJ militarily. However, Sheikh Ibrahim,s group stressed the importance of channeling any possible USG material support for ASWJ through the TFG. End Summry. -------------- Representatives of the ASWJ Group "Doing the Fighting" -------------- ¶2. (C) On June 23, Somalia Unit officers met with five ASWJ members from the diaspora who claimed to represent ASWJ throughout Somalia, were present at the signing ceremony on June 21 for the agreement between the TFG and ASWJ (ref a), and some of whom have been in regular contact with USG officials in Addis Ababa. This group included Abdikadir Moalim Noor, ASWJ signatory of the June 21 agreement and son of renowned ASWJ spiritual leader and veteran cleric Moalim Nur Mohamed Siyad; Mahad Ali; Abdisamad Sheikh Mohamud; Mohamed Abdi El; and Warsame Abdi Yusuf. ¶3. (C) Time and again, this group, led by Moalim, claimed to represent the ASWJ group "doing the fighting" on the ground in Somalia. (Note: As further explained in Paragraph 6 below, Moalim,s group is closely associated with the ASWJ fighters in central Galgadud Region in Central Somalia. End Note.) According to Moalim, the June 21 agreement calls for immediate military cooperation between the TFG and ASWJ. Dialogue on political cooperation issues will begin as early as the week of June 29, with three to four representatives from the TFG and ASWJ to sit down to begin negotiations that are expected to take months to complete. While admitting that ASWJ is not looking for positions in the TFG for the time being, and that ASWJ decided to sign the agreement for nationalistic reasons, the five ASWJ members admitted that the negotiations will likely be very difficult. ¶4. (C) Moalim,s group stated that, as part of the June 21 agreement, the TFG will begin to pay the salaries of &11,000 ASWJ fighters8 spread over five regions of Somalia plus Mogadishu. These five regions are: Hiran, Galgadud, Mudug, Bay and Bakool. Moalim agreed to provide Somalia Unit officers with this list once it is finalized "in the next 72 hours." (Note: This 11,000 number is likely very exaggerated. Based on open source reporting and previous conversations with ASWJ leaders on the ground in Somalia, the Somalia Unit estimates there are approximately 1,000 to 2,000 ASWJ fighters present in Galgadud Region who have been involved in past fighting with al-Shabaab. While it is possible that ASWJ groups elsewhere in Somalia will engage al-Shabaab militarily in the future, no other ASWJ groups have engaged in fighting with al-Shabaab to date. End Note.) ¶5. (C) Moalim,s group repeatedly asked that the USG provide military assistance to ASWJ. Arguing that the USG should support ASWJ "now that it is formally aligned militarily with the TFG," Moalim and his colleagues asked for material support in the form of ammunition and weapons. Somalia Unit officers asked the ASWJ representatives for Leahy Vetting information for the ASWJ commanders in the five aforementioned regions, as well as a description of ASWJ,s command and control structure. Moalim agreed to provide this information, and agreed to think about how the USG would actually deliver military support to ASWJ since they are spread over five regions. -------------- -- NAIROBI 00001297 002 OF 002 ASWJ Representatives from Mogadishu And Southern Galgadud Region -------------- -- ¶6. (C) On June 24, Somalia Unit officers met with a different group of ASWJ representatives that included Secretary-General of ASWJ in Mogadishu Sheikh Tajir Haji Ibrahim, ASWJ Spokesman in Hiran Region Sheikh Bashir Sheikh Elmi, Nairobi-based Mogadishu University adviser Dr. Abdi Dahir, and Mogadishu-based Mogadishu University Professor Dr. Yahya Amir. This group, led by Sheikh Ibrahim, represented more of the spiritual side of ASWJ. Most of the group was present at the June 4 meeting in Mogadishu between TFG President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed and ASWJ spiritual leaders (ref b). Sheikh Ibrahim also claimed to have influence over ASWJ fighters in southern Galgadud Region. (Note: As this group explained to us, al-Shabaab,s early-June victory over ASWJ in the town of Wabho in El-Bur Disrict in Galgadud Region created an al-Shabaab "buffer zone" between ASWJ fighters to the north-west in Galgadud, represented by Moalim,s group, and ASWJ fighters to the south-east, represented by Sheikh Ibrahim. According to this group, the Government of Ethiopia has only provided military support to the ASWJ group north-west of El-Bur. End Note.) ¶7. (C) Sheikh Ibrahim alleged that the overwhelming majority of Somalis are ASWJ, and all ASWJ support the TFG and Sheikh Sharif. Sheikh Ibrahim made it very clear that governance by al-Shabaab is unacceptable to ASWJ, and editorialized that a ground-up approach is needed to defeat the spread of al-Shabaab throughout Somalia. He stated that ASWJ could achieve this by organizing in every district and working hand-in-hand with the TFG --an approach that Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Muyihadin, the leader of ASWJ in Somalia-- supports. Members of Sheikh Ibrahim,s group noted that although small differences exist between various ASWJ groups throughout Somalia, they could all easily work together since all ASWJ support the TFG. ¶8. (C) Like Moalim,s group, this group claimed that ASWJ is strong militarily in Galgadud Region. Sheikh Ibrahim,s group went on to claim that in other regions, ASWJ is ready to fight but not currently fighting, and placed Hiran, Gedo, Lower Shabelle and Middle Shabeele in this category. They said that in Mogadishu, ASWJ communities fight back against al-Shabaab when necessary, and cited the fighting in Karaan District the weekend of June 19 as an example. (Note: The group also said that during the fighting in Karaan, the TFG refused to materially assist ASWJ in the fight against al-Shabaab. End Note.) ¶9. (C) Sheikh Ibrahim,s group also asked for military assistance for ASWJ from the USG. However, they caveated this request by asking that any assistance provided to ASWJ be provided through the TFG. The group expressed a concern that if cadres of ASWJ fighters are supplied directly with military support, they will become as, if not more, powerful than the TFG and challenge the TFG,s authority. They also admitted that ASWJ has even less technical capacity than the TFG in most areas of Somalia. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) As Embassy Addis Ababa has noted in numerous messages, the willingness of ASWJ to cooperate with the TFG should be encouraged, as it adds demonstrated strength in key parts of Somalia to a government under siege in the capital. Embassy will attempt to get a copy of ASWJ,s command-and-control document, and will actively encourage the TFG to immediately commence military cooperation, as promised following the June 21 signing. RANNEBERGER