Residents begin rebuilding their lives in Kismayu

[Hard-Rock]

Life is slowly returning to normal in the Somali port city of Kismayu as residents who fled the fighting between Al-Shabaab and allied forces led by the Kenya Defence Forces start flocking back.


The returnees, who had fled in their thousands to refugee camps in Kenya and other places, are now trying their hand at different economic activities.


In telephone interviews on Wednesday, a number of residents said they had started rebuilding their lives by engaging in fishing, small businesses and subsistence farming.


A Mr Jumale, a marine expert, said fishing around Kismayu, which has declined in the past decade, is yet to improve.


“It was at its worst when the fanatical Al-Shabaab took control of all economic activities four years ago,” he said.


Another resident, Mr Abdulkadir Mohamed, said farming is gradually picking up. “There is an increasing number of banana plantations along Juba River while fruit and vegetables are being delivered to the markets in large quantities,” he said.


Mr Mohamed said the livestock sector is expected to recover following rains in the area.

Investors trickle in


“The drought experienced in 2011 significantly reduced pastoralists’ herds but the long rains appear to be reversing the trend,” he said.


Other residents said they saw a brighter future as investors start to trickle in.


“We expect increased capital injection in 2013,” said a businesswomen who preferred anonymity for security reasons. She said Somalis in the diaspora were also expected invest in the region.


And with peace returning to Kismayu, the Somali National Army, backed by Amisom troops, have intensified attacks against the few remaining Al-Shabaab strongholds.


On Sunday, they took control of Jowhar, the provincial capital of Middle Shabelle, capturing the airport and nearby Burane and Mahaday.


Media reports said Al-Shabaab militants fled without putting up a fight.


The Al-Qaeda linked terrorist group has been weakened after its ouster from Kismayu.


It has been releasing videos on the Internet urging foreign jihadists from all over the world to come and join the fight in Somalia.


Analysts say Al-Shabaab’s focus on recruiting foreign fighters and its increasing use of the English language on social media shows the militant group’s shrinking influence in Somalia, according to online newspaper Sabahi.



“The media war on the Internet being waged by Al-Shabaab to recruit foreign fighters is a sign of the level of its desperation and failure to recruit Somalis from inside the country,” Mr Abdullahi Abdirahman, vice president of the Somali Media Centre in Mogadishu, told Sabahi.


In September 2011, Al-Shabaab opened a Twitter account and almost exclusively uses English in all its posts.


“The fact that Al-Shabaab has resorted to using English is an indication that its target audience is not the Somali people in the country but foreigners,” Mr Abdirahman said. He said Kenya is among countries it has targeted to recruit fighters.


Mr Hashim Ahmed, a Mogadishu-based political analyst, said the group is targeting foreign terrorists with Western passports who “might help expand the range of operations beyond Somalia”.


“There are several foreign fighters within the ranks of Al-Shabaab with Western, African and Asian citizenship,” Mr Ahmed told Sabahi, saying it was difficult to come up with an exact number.


Last month, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said al-Shabaab was on the verge of being effectively defeated in Somalia.


“We have no relationship [with al-Shabaab] and we do not intend to have one with the foreign fighters in Somalia. The only option for them is to leave the country,” he said.


In Mogadishu, things are looking up with the first weekly commercial flight between the Somali capital Mogadishu and the regional capital Beledweyne, 335 km to the north being launched over the weekend.


The commercial flight to Beledweyne was preceded by a similar one between Mogadishu and the port town of Kismayu, 500 km south of Mogadishu, last Friday.


AMISOM Force Commander, Lt Gen. Andrew Gutti said has said they are consolidating their defences in Mogadishu by targeting the remaining Al shabaab strongholds.


“Our joint forces are now consolidating the city’s defences and I appeal to the residents to remain calm,” he said.


More people are also returning to Mogadishu as Amisom intensifies efforts to pacify Al Shabaab.

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Residents- ... index.html

[DANGIRL]

Insh'allah, things will continue to progress.

[Hard-Rock]

Insh'allah, things will continue to progress.

Amiin, the Diaspora is flocking with development project but security needs to be strengthen.

[DANGIRL]

Insh'allah, things will continue to progress.

Amiin, the Diaspora is flocking with development project but security needs to be strengthen.

People i know in the UK are waiting for the green light to set up business there.

Kismaayo and the rest of Jubba have will bright future.