SOMALIA - TFG MEMBER DESCRIBES CONTACT WITH AWEYS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 000707

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/E

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/07/2019
TAGS: PGOV PINR PTER PREL SO ER SU
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - TFG MEMBER DESCRIBES CONTACT WITH AWEYS
IN SUDAN

REF: ASMARA 103

Classified By: Somalia Unit Counselor Bob Patterson for reason 1.4 (d).


1. (C) Summary: Recently-appointed TFG Intelligence Chief
Mohammed Sheikh, who arrived in Nairobi from Khartoum April
6, told us April 7 that Minister of Justice "Janaqow" spoke
twice by telephone with ARS-Asmara Chairman Hassan Dahir
Aweys, who was also in Khartoum, at the end of March. The
calls occurred at the suggestion of TFG President Sheikh
Sharif while "Janaqow" and Sheikh were attending
IGAD-sponsored counterterrorism training in Khartoum. Aweys,
Sheikh said, refused to meet with "Janaqow," perhaps because
he expected that President Bashir would return from the March
30 - 31 Doha Arab League Summit with Sheikh Sharif ready to
meet instead. Sharif resisted pressure from the Government
of Sudan, and returned to Mogadishu. Sheikh described Aweys
as a diminished figure, and alleged that the TFG did not see
him as a threat. End summary.

Minister Contacts Aweys
in Khartoum
--------------


2. (C) In an April 7 meeting, recently-appointed Transitional
Federal Government (TFG) Chief of Intelligence Mohamed
Sheikh, accompanied by his assistant Abdisalaam Guled,
confirmed that he had been in Khartoum during the March 30 -
31 Arab League Summit in Qatar in order to attend
IGAD-sponsored counterterrorism training. Attending the
training with him, Sheikh said, was TFG Minister of Justice
Abdirahman Mohamed "Janaqow." During their stay in Sudan,
"Janaqow" had learned that Alliance for the Re-liberation of
Somalia (ARS)-Asmara Chairman Hassan Dahir Aweys had arrived
in Khartoum from Asmara. After receiving permission from TFG
President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who was attending the
Arab League Summit, "Janaqow" called Aweys to propose a
meeting.


3. (C) Aweys, Sheikh said, refused two separate offers to
meet. Sheikh suspected that either Aweys at that time
believed that President Bashir would bring President Sharif
with him from Doha for a more serious fact-to-face, or that
Aweys, who had recently arrived in Khartoum, was uncertain
what strategy to adopt in the meeting. After the two
telephone calls, there was no further contact with Aweys,
Sheikh said. Sheikh arrived in Nairobi April 6. "Janaqow"
left Khartoum and is visiting his family in Sanaa.

Little Pressure from
Khartoum, More from Qatar
--------------


4. (C) Sheikh said that "Janaqow" and he had urged, in their
telephone call to Sheikh Sharif, that the President not bend
to any pressure from Bashir to meet with Aweys. Sheikh
Sharif resisted any pressure there might have been and
traveled to Mogadishu from Doha at the conclusion of the Arab
League Summit. In an interview with the BBC Somali Service
before departing, Sheikh Sharif did complain about pressure
from Qatar to negotiate with hardliners, including presumably
Aweys, in exchange for a $3 million per month, six-month
grant to the TFG. Sheikh Sharif reportedly rejected the
money rather than begin negotiations with hardcore opponents
of his government.


5. (C) According to Sheikh, the Government of Qatar has
pressured the TFG to find an accommodation with anti-TFG
hardliners since Sheikh Sharif's return to Mogadishu after
being elected President in January. A delegation of Qatari
ulamaa had reportedly visited the TFG President in Mogadishu
soon after his election, and urged him to force out AMISOM,
include hardliners in his government, adopt Sharia, and
dissolve the transitional Parliament. Sheikh Sharif,
according to Sheikh, rejected the ulamaa's suggestions in a
letter.


6. (C) The intense pressure on Sheikh Sharif from Qatar at
the March 30 - 31 Arab League Summit was reflected, according
to Mohamed Sheikh, even in al-Jazeera television coverage of
the event. Instead of an interview with the TFG President,
al-Jazeera coverage on March 31 featured an interview with
Hizbul Islamiya Chairman and Aweys confederate Omar Iman.
Sheikh Sharif's only appearance on al-Jazeera was in a group
shot of Summit leaders.

Aweys's Standing

NAIROBI 00000707 002 OF 002


--------------


7. (C) Mohamed Sheikh thought that Aweys's standing in
Somalia had been damaged by his long stay in Asmara and the
defections of many of his ARS-Asmara confederates Aweys's
trip to Khartoum had likely been orchestrated by Bashir
during his post-ICC indictment trip to Eritrea and could be
read as a sign of Aweys's desperation. Rumors of Aweys's
"imminent" return to Mogadishu were no longer taken
seriously, and the TFG, Sheikh said, was not anxious to have
him join, although its Djibouti Process mandate to effect
reconciliation meant that it would, of course, make
good-faith efforts to negotiate with Aweys if the opportunity
arose.

Comment
--------------


8. (C) The Somalia Unit has been the object of regular visits
by Aweys envoys, like the Ayr Ugas, who have unrealistically
suggested that the TFG be scrapped and a new reconciliation
process launched with Aweys at its center. TFG contacts
largely agree with Mohamed Sheikh that Aweys has lost stature
during his time in Asmara and that no clear strategy in his
trip to Khartoum is apparent. Some still believe that a
return by Aweys to Mogadishu could send an initial shock wave
through the reconciliation process, but that ultimately it
would do little to alter the balance of power in the capital.
RANNEBERGER