Bososo sea port has been seen a ship carrying vessel of weapons to puntland government as reported Horseedmedia.The second news came in a press statement by the Puntland government dated November 19, 2010.
Witness are saying that they have seen Vehicles with artillery and armed Wagons down lauding from the Vessel named Noora Moon 1, which registered in Panama.
It is not known, where the ship comes from, but residents are reported that it is part of struggle to empower puntland government’s forces as to keep security.
The Government of Puntland wishes to convey its gratitude and appreciation for the support provided and pledged by the International Community, tangible or intangible, as agreed between the various stakeholders.Then comes this AP report in the Washington Post that really stirs the pot.
However, in line with the spirit of Public private partnership sanctioned in the final communiqué of the “Istanbul Conference for Somalia” of May 2010, in order to pursue priority government goals and objectives, it was necessary to obtain the services of Saracen International, a private service provider. This company, in a Public Private Partnership with the government, has embarked on a comprehensive program to assist the government of Puntland to build its capacity in order to regain control of its territorial waters and marine resources, fighting against the pirates and the Unregulated, Unlicensed, Illegal Fishing in the Puntland territorial waters.
The Puntland Marine Force is a newly established law enforcement body as part of the Puntland security forces, which will be trained and mentored by Saracen International, with the mandate to protect the international maritime line off the coast of Puntland as well as the marine resources of the State of Puntland.
However, this marine force will enhance security in its area of operations and contribute to the general safety and security of the people of Puntland, particularly in the coastal regions on land and at sea.
The Government of Puntland is of the firm belief that Saracen International will make a significant contribution to establish, train and mentor the Puntland Marine Force according to the strict rules, guidelines and restrictions that are issued by the highest office of the Puntland government.
The Associated Press has determined through telephone and e-mail interviews with three insiders that training for an anti-piracy force of up to 1,050 men has already begun in Puntland, a semiautonomous region in northern Somalia that is believed to hold reserves of oil and gas.While the media has yet to speculate, private intelligence companies and experts are quietly pointing the finger towards either Kuwait or UAE (Dubai).
But key elements remain unknown - mainly who is providing the millions of dollars in funding and for what ultimate purpose.
Pierre Prosper, an ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues under former President George W. Bush, told AP he is being paid by a Muslim nation he declined to identify to be a legal adviser to the Somali government, focusing on security, transparency and anti-corruption.
Prosper said the donations from the Muslim nation come from a "zakat fund," referring to charitable donations that Islam calls for the faithful to give each year. The same donor is paying for both training programs.
The AP report, which is worth reading in full, continues:
The new force's first class of 150 Somali recruits from Puntland graduated from a 13-week training course on Monday, said Mohamed Farole, the son of Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole. The son, who is a liaison between the government and journalists and diplomats, told AP the new force will hunt down pirates on land in the Galgala mountains.The UN report on Mohamed Said Atom says:
The range lies 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of the nearest main pirate anchorage but is home to an Islamist-linked militia that complains it has been cut out of energy exploration deals.
The Islamist militants led by Mohamed Said Atom have clashed with government forces several times this year. A March report by the U.N. accuses Atom of importing arms from Yemen and receiving consignments from Eritrea, including mortars, for delivery to al-Shabab forces in southern Somalia.
MOHAMED SA'ID "ATOM" has engaged in acts that threaten the peace, security or stability of Somalia. ATOM has directly or indirectly supplied, sold, or transferred to Somalia arms or related materiel or advice, training, or assistance, including financing and financial assistance, related to military activities in violation of the arms embargo. ATOM has been identified as one of the principal suppliers of arms and ammunition for al-Shabaab operations in the Puntland region. He is described as the leader of a militia that emerged in 2006 in the eastern Sanaag region of northern Somalia. The militia comprises as many as 250 fighters and has been implicated in incidents of kidnapping, piracy and terrorism, and imports its own weapons, in violation of the arms embargo. ATOM has established his force as the principal military presence in the area, with a primary base near Galgala and a secondary base near Badhan. According to some information, ATOM is aligned with al-Shabaab and may receive instructions from al-Shabaab leader Fu'aad Mohamed Khalaf.It is important to note here that Mohamed Said Atom is not driven by ideology, rather his motivations are money. The bigger issue here is that his clan operates from Galgala, the region in Puntland where the rare earth minerals and oil happens to be. The government is taking over the resources, apparently has the financial investment to do it, has the perfect excuse in both piracy and arms support of al-Shabab, and apparently also has the support of the United Nations.
Furthermore, ATOM is reportedly involved in arms trafficking into Somalia. Information from a number of sources indicates that his forces receive arms and equipment from Yemen and Eritrea. According to a December 2008 report, an eyewitness described six such shipments during a four-week period in early 2008, each sufficient to fill two pickup trucks with small arms, ammunition, and rocket-propelled grenades. According to a Bossaso businessman familiar with the arms trade, ATOM's consignments do not enter the arms market, suggesting that they are either retained for the use of his forces or are transferred to recipients in southern Somalia, where al-Shabaab operates.
ATOM's forces were implicated in the kidnapping of a German aid worker, in the kidnapping of two Somalis near Bossaso, and in a bombing of Ethiopian migrants in Bossaso on 5 February 2008, which killed 20 people and wounded over 100 others. ATOM's militia may also have played a secondary role in the kidnapping of a German couple captured by pirates in June 2008.
During a US State Department press conference on December 2, 2010, PJ Crowley was asked about the private Army in Puntland.
QUESTION: -- one real question here. Are you aware of the standing up of a private anti-piracy force in Somalia in the breakaway state of Puntland? It’s an effort that seems to be going on with the advice of at least two former senior U.S. officials who have not - one a former CIA guy and one a former State Department official --The following comments were made by Abdirahman Mohamed Farole during a visit a few days ago to Kuwait.
MR. CROWLEY: Yeah.
QUESTION: -- who have spoken on the record about this. Can you - do you know anything about this, what it is?
MR. CROWLEY: We are aware that Puntland authorities have contracted with a private security company to assist them with counter-piracy operations in the region. We were not consulted about this program. We are not funding it. And we are concerned about the lack of transparency regarding its funding objectives and scope.
QUESTION: So you don’t know who is funding it, but you are definitely not?
MR. CROWLEY: We have not been involved. We might have some awareness of who is involved.
QUESTION: Well, then what kind of transparency are you worried about?
MR. CROWLEY: Well, as I said, our concerns are funding objectives and scope.
QUESTION: I mean, who is doing - who is behind them or who is behind it?
MR. CROWLEY: Well, I mean, for example, we’ve seen the reports. We’re checking into them. I’m not sure that we know much more at this point.
Puntland's leader said that the government of Puntland "will not seek approval" from anyone when it comes to security matters.Saracen has a terrible reputation internationally because that organization is corrupt, which is probably why they are also very successful in Africa. Are they training this new Army? It is unclear, but I doubt it.
"For nearly two years, we have requested the international community to help us establish anti-piracy troops and to construct monitoring stations along Puntland's coast to fight pirates…but we received no answer," the president said.
He indicated that there are "questions" about Puntland's agreement with Saracen International, a South Africa-based maritime security company that inked a deal to train anti-piracy troops in Puntland last month.
"What is important is that Puntland improves its security. Without sufficient security, there can be no investment because investment depends on security and stability," Puntland's leader said.
He noted that the anti-piracy troops, which are to number 1,050 soldiers when training completes, will still need equipment and telecommunications gear in order to commence the fight against Somali pirates who threaten the world's shipping lanes.
President Farole said that only African Union peacekeepers (AMISOM) are allowed to bring weapons to Somalia under U.N. regulations, adding: "We will continue to seek equipment and other support for our anti-piracy troops when training completes."
He indicated that the Puntland-Saracen agreement is "in the spirit of the Istanbul Declaration, which encourages public-private partnerships" for Somalia.
If I was guessing, I would guess the unnamed Arab nation providing the funding is Kuwait, and the private security group is actually Threat Management Group (TMG) of Agility (Kuwait-based), who was hired by the Puntland government in December of 2009.
“The new democratically elected Government of Puntland face some daunting challenges but in their first 12 months of Governance have shown stiff resolve and delivered some early results in their commitment to eradicating piracy.’’ said Mark Mitchell, President and Co-founder of TMG.African Oil Corp. is a Canadian company. Range Resources and Red Emperor are both Australian companies. Based on public financial information of the various companies, oil equipment is being constructed in China and is being stored in Dubai. This private Army does not appear to have anything to do with anti-piracy, at least not at first. This is about resources and it has been decided by business interests that Mohamed Said Atom is in the way.
Mitchell said he is confident that with the additional support of TMG the Government will continue to plan and execute operations and build on a policy of zero tolerance for any group or individuals not willing to adhere to the laws and regulations of the State of Puntland.
Mitchell, along with TMGs Director of International Operations Gerard Righetti, recently spent time in Puntland making a full assessment of the Government Forces and security infrastructure. They also visited Puntland’s major cities, economic zones and main infrastructure like Hospitals, Boassaso Sea Port and Airport. Mitchell stated, “This partnership will continue to build on the success story of Puntland and the additional training delivered to the Puntland Police and Security Forces that TMG will provide will bear fruits and strengthen Puntlands ability to Police and enforce their laws and regulations and make Puntland and Somalia an attractive option for International investment and continued development”.
As the head of a clan, this won't end well for the clans residents in Galgala. Is this the beginning of something positive in Somalia? Time will tell, but history says no.
I have no moral position on this. Everyone is corrupt in Somalia and there are never any good guys, so picking sides is futile. I see this unfolding as an interesting study in globalization, where business interests replace global government inaction on behalf of local leadership inside a failed state - and this indeed is an alternative model to the US/NATO model in Afghanistan in regards to how to deal with failed states. The execution can be expected to be ugly, brutal, and violent - everything one already finds when dealing with insurgencies inside a failed state.
That probably explains the UN reaction, which describes the reaction of everyone watching from the outside looking in.
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Updated: Mark Mitchell emails to say TMG was sold in 2010 and our support finished about the middle of 2010. Looks like I guessed wrong.
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