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The ambulance service is the latest in their long list of specifically targeted campaigns to win the support of the population. Some of the earlier operations undertaken by Al-Shabab to win the hearts and minds of the Somalis include:
-Construction and refurbishment of roads
-Construction and refurbishment of canals and bridges
-Iftar sessions for the needy
-Assistance of the needy through Zakat, particularly after the closure of WFP and other aid organisations
-Market refurbishment and establishment of separate livestock markets
-Elimination of Checkpoints used for extorting money
-Reconciliation between tribes and settling of age-old tribal feuds: in particular the centuries old tribal feud between the Garre and Gaaljecel tribes.
-Establishment of Islamic courts to fairly adjudicate between people. This has given the poor people and those considered by society to be inferior to justly demand their rights.
A loud reply came back: MAYA! (no!)We see that the enemy is shelling the city without discriminating between soldiers and civilians; and even during the nights when people are praying Tahajjud (night prayer) they keep shelling us. They claim that mortars were fired from the Bakara market, but I ask you by Allah, are there any mortars fired from the Bakara? You live and work here, so have you ever seen the Mujahideen firing mortars from this market? Even if we did fire from here, wouldn’t the public run away from us?
This only reveals to us the enmity of these crusaders. And since these enemies keep shelling our people indiscriminately it has become incumbent upon us to establish an ambulance service to give aid to our injured people instead of carrying them on wheelbarrows. This service is completely free of charge for everyone and you can call free on either 118 or 117 and an ambulance will be with you within minutes.
These guys [Al-Shabab] have a way with people. I just don’t understand why Sheikh Sharif can’t be this open and develop such a relationship with his people. If they continue like this for some time, I can almost guarantee you that they will have full support of the population behind them, making any international effort to oust them extremely difficult.
Al-Shabab present themselves as vanguards of Somali interests and have developed an understanding on some levels and a friendly rapport with majority of the locals. One of the journalists I spoke to at the event today was surprised to see the Al-Shabab governor of Banadir mingling and shaking hands with the public without slinging a gun around his shoulder or a swarm of armed body guards at his either side:
These guys [Al-Shabab] have a way with people. I just don’t understand why Sheikh Sharif can’t be this open and develop such a relationship with his people. If they continue like this for some time, I can almost guarantee you that they will have full support of the population behind them, making any international effort to oust them extremely difficult.
The Somali government, on the other hand, is often criticised for neglecting the population and one of the main reasons why many Somalis have lost faith in the government lies in its inability to provide services to the public. Confined only to a few blocks and beset by internal strife between the parliamentarians and continuous defections of her soldiers, the Somali government has been unable to delve into this fertile ground of winning the people’s hearts and minds. If anything, most of the actions of the government have proven to be in fact detrimental to their cause. Take for example the Somali government soldiers’ constant inter-battles that often result in the death of civilians or the arbitrary arrest of Madrassa teachers and religious men on the pretence that they are somehow associated with Al-Shabab, though no sound evidence is ever produced or the dozens of checkpoints within their limited territory where the underpaid soldiers often rob people of their belongings.
SomaliStar,
Why do Shabab avoid confrontations with the Brotherly Burundians, distant cousins of the Hawiye ? Is it because the Brotherly Burundians are not cowards like the Ugandans or the Arab run Shabab and avoid as much as possible casualties amongst the native Hawiye people ?
A loud reply came back: MAYA! (no!)We see that the enemy is shelling the city without discriminating between soldiers and civilians; and even during the nights when people are praying Tahajjud (night prayer) they keep shelling us. They claim that mortars were fired from the Bakara market, but I ask you by Allah, are there any mortars fired from the Bakara? You live and work here, so have you ever seen the Mujahideen firing mortars from this market? Even if we did fire from here, wouldn’t the public run away from us?
it will be used for suicidemission. mark my word.
how can killers save life? makes no sense
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