Raskamboni Movement | |
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Leaders | Sheikh Ahmed Madobe [1] (Chairman) Sheikh Dahir Ahmed Abdullahi (Deputy chairman) |
Dates of operation | October 2009–present |
Group(s) | Ogaden |
Headquarters | Kismayo [2] |
Active regions | Jubaland |
Ideology | Islamism Pan-Islamism Jihadism |
Size | <1,000 (2010) [3] [4] |
Allies | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Opponents | ![]() ![]() Barre Hiiraale militia |
The Raskamboni Movement (Somali : Xarakada Raaskambooni) is a jihadist Islamic movement led by Sheikh Ahmed Madobe, the current president of the Jubaland state in southern Somalia. After fighting with Al-Shabaab they managed to capture Kismayo with the help of Kenya.
Alliance for the Reliberation of Somalia - Asmara wing (ARS-A) and JABISO militias, which were aligned with al-Shabaab in Hiiraan and Mogadishu refused to support the Ras Kamboni Brigades, meanwhile Muaskar Anole remained neutral. The fighting led to a split within the Ras Kamboni Brigades, with a faction led by Ahmed Madoobe fighting against al-Shabaab and a faction led by Hassan al-Turki siding with al-Shabaab. [4]
The Battle of Kismayo was won by al-Shabaab, which then expelled Madobe's Ras Kamboni Brigades from the city. [5] In the battles that followed, in November 2009, Madobe's forces were overpowered by al-Shabaab and its local allies. It was then forced to withdraw from the Lower Jubba region and most of southern Somalia. [4] [5] In February 2010, al-Turki's branch declared a merger with al-Shabaab. [4]
On 20 December 2010, Hizbul Islam merged with al-Shabaab [6] and the Raskamboni movement then allied with Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a and the Transitional Federal Government. [7] [8]
The Raskamboni engaged al-Shabab militiamen on March 13, 2011, in the village of Dif. The movement claimed to have destroyed a number of Al-Shabaab military vehicles in the fighting, [9] which left at least five dead. [10]
On April 3, 2011, the Raskamboni movement, in conjunction with Transitional Federal Government forces and the Kenyan Air Force, captured the border town Dhobley from Al-Shabab. [11] [12]
In July 2012, it was reported that they staged a rescue operation to free four kidnapped aid workers from the Norwegian Refugee Council. [13]
In September 2012, a reconstituted Somali National Army assisted by AMISOM troops and Raskamboni militia reportedly re-captured Kismayo from Al-Shabaab insurgents during the Battle of Kismayo (2012). [14] [15]
In February 2014, Al-Shabaab militants launched a string of attacks in Kismayo targeting Raskamboni members, including an IED that tore through a vehicle carrying the group's members and killed several civilians. [16] On 19 February, Raskamboni militants began an intensive search operation in the city after the group's security chief, Isse Kamboni, was shot dead by one of his bodyguards, a former Al-Shabaab member. According to eye-witnesses, Raskamboni subsequently started hunting down Al-Shabaab suspects. Many Raskomboni fighters were seen patrolling the streets, and more than 150 civilians were detained at the local police stations in connection with Isse's assassination. Seven civilian deaths were also reported during the clampdown with some accusing the militia of using the clampdown as an excuse to stifle dissent. [17] Hundreds of elders and businessmen had earlier fled the city. [18]
Kismayo is a port city in the southern Lower Juba province of Somalia. It is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubaland region.
The fall of Kismayo occurred on January 1, 2007, when the troops of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and Ethiopian forces entered the Somali city of Kismayo unopposed. It came after the Islamic Courts Union's forces faltered and fled in the Battle of Jilib, abandoning their final stronghold.
Sheikh Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki was a Somali Islamist who was a senior leader within al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI) and the Islamic Courts Union (ICU).
The Battle of Ras Kamboni took place during the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia at the start of 2007. It began Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) militia backed by United States military air power launched an offensive on Ras Kamboni, a town near the Kenyan border which was the last major urban stronghold of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) as it with withdrew deep into the south.
Yusuf Mohammed Siad Indhacade, aka "Inda'ade" is a Somali former Minister. In 2011 he was a General in the Somali National Army. He hails from the Ayr sub-clan, part of the Habar Gidir, which is a branch of the Hawiye clan. For a short period he was Somali Minister of Defence (Somalia).
The Battle of Kismayo began on August 20, 2008 when islamist fighters took the battle to the militias loyal to warlord Barre Hiiraale in Kismayo. Fighters began an offensive to conquer the Southern Somali port of Kismayo from the pro-government militias. Three days of fighting reportedly killed 89 people and injured 207 more. The Islamists led by Ahmed Madoobe and Hassan Turki have successfully captured the city after intense fighting. On August 22, the pro government militias led by Barre Hiiraale have eventually left the city.
The 2009 timeline of events in the Somalia War (2006–2009) during January 2009 is set out below. From the beginning of February the timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present) is set out following the conclusion of the previous phase of the civil war.
The Somali Civil War (2009–present) is the ongoing phase of the Somali Civil War which is concentrated in southern and central Somalia. It began in late January 2009 with the present conflict mainly between the forces of the Federal Government of Somalia assisted by African Union peacekeeping troops and al-Shabaab militants who pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda during 2012.
Hizbul Islam, also known as Hizbul Islaami, Hisbi Islam, or Hezb-ul Islam, was a Somali Islamist group formed after four Islamist groups merged to oppose the new Somali government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. The four groups were: Hassan Aweys' the ARS-A, Jabhatul Islamiya, Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki's the Mu'askar Ras Kamboni and Muaskar Anole, the Marehan clan's Militia and Harti clan's militia. These groups previously took part in the fighting against the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia.
The Battle of Mogadishu (2009) started in May with an Islamist offensive, when rebels from al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam attacked and captured government bases in the capital of Mogadishu. The fighting soon spread, causing hundreds of casualties, and continued on at various levels of intensity until October. The battle's name usually includes the year, when referenced, in order to distinguish it amongst the nine major Battles of Mogadishu during the decades long Somali Civil War.
A series of battles in Hiraan, Shabeellaha Dhexe and Galgudug, between rebels of al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam and Somali government forces and ICU militants loyal to the government, erupted during spring 2009. The fighting led to al-Shabaab capturing major government strongholds and Ethiopian forces re-entering Somalia and setting up bases in Hiraan. There was a halt in fighting during a government offensive in Mogadishu, which started on May 22.
Muaskar Anole also known as Mu'askar Anole, Mucaskarka Caanoole, Mucaskarka al-Furqan, al-Furqan Camp or al-Furqan Forces was an Islamist militia in Somalia. The group participated in the 2006–2009 insurgency against Ethiopia and in January 2009 merged with the Asmara based wing of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, the Ras Kamboni Brigade, led by Sheikh Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki and Jabhatul Islamiya to form Hizbul Islam which became the second most powerful insurgent group in Somalia which continued fighting the TFG and AMISOM peacekeepers, after Ethiopian withdrawal. Little is known about the group.
The Ras Kamboni Brigades also known as the Ras Kamboni Brigade, Muaskar Ras Kamboni or Mu'askar Ras Kamboni was an Islamist insurgent group active in Somalia, which took part in the anti-Ethiopian insurgency and later in the insurgency against the new Transitional Federal Government of Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. It was founded by Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki, who was a commander of the Islamic Courts Union and the commander of its predecessor Itihaad al Islamiyah. In January 2009, after the Ethiopian withdrawal they merged with the Asmara-based wing of the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia, led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, Jabhatul Islamiya, led by Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Hayle and Muaskar Anole to form Hizbul Islam and continue the war against the TFG. During the 2009 Battle of Mogadishu, where in Hizbul Islam took part, Hassan Turki led a group of fighters from the Ras Kamboni Brigade from Kisimayo to Mogadishu as reinforcements, to join the battle.
The Battle of Mogadishu (2010–11) began on 23 August 2010 when al-Shabaab insurgents began attacking government and African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) positions in the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab began its offensive after its spokesman said the group was declaring a "massive war" on troops sent by AMISOM, describing its 6,000 peacekeepers as "invaders". In December 2010 the number of AMISOM troops was increased to 8,000 and later to 9,000. The battle's name usually includes the years, when referenced, in order to distinguish it amongst the nine major Battles of Mogadishu during the decades long Somali Civil War.
Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islaam better known as Ahmed Madobe, is a Somali, Politician and a former Militant who is the current President of the Jubaland State of Somalia and the Chairman of the Raskamboni Movement.
Azania, officially the Republic of Azania, was a self-proclaimed autonomous state of Jubaland in southern Somalia that existed from 2011 to 2013. A group of Somali politicians proclaimed the creation of Azania on 3 April 2011 in Nairobi, with Mohamed Abdi Mohamed as its President. The state's main intentions were to contest al-Shabaab, which largely controlled Jubaland.
Early in the morning on 1 April 2011 Somali troops and Raskamboni troops launched an attack on the strategic town of Dhobley, a few hundred Somali troops attacked the town from the Kenyan border. After a few hours of attacks the Somali troops seized Dhobley, resulting in a counterattack from Al Shabaab. Al Shabaab received reinforcements from Afmadow and Kismayo but the counterattack failed. Somali Armed Forces remained control over Dhobley and lost 3 soldiers during these operations.
Operation Linda Nchi was the Kenya Defence Forces' invasion of southern Somalia beginning in 2011. The Kenyan government declared the operation completed in March 2012, but its forces then joined AMISOM in Somalia.
This is a 2012 timeline of events in the Somali Civil War (2009–present).
The Battle of Kismayo was an offensive led by the Kenya Defence Forces, under the codename Operation Sledge Hammer, to seize the port city of Kismayo, Somalia, from Al-Shabaab from 28 September 2012. Members of the Raskamboni movement militia were part of the amphibious force.
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