Hassan Aweys
Encyclopedia
Hassan Dahir Aweys (born 1935) is a Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...

 political figure who was added to the U.S. government's list of terrorists in 2001. Aweys was the head of the 90-member shura
Shura
Shura is an Arabic word for "consultation". The Quran and Muhammad encourage Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with those who will be affected by that decision....

 council of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) of Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

  and was viewed as one of the more radical leaders of the Union, which promoted shari'a and directed the militias that took control of the Somali capital of Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....

 in June 2006. An eight-member executive committee was headed by the more moderate Sharif Ahmed, although the BBC stated that he was the "real power" of the organization. Aweys resigned from the ICU on December 28, 2006, at the end of ICU rule in Mogadishu.

He has been accused of being part of the Wahhabi movement within Islam, but personally maintains his Sufi background.
He hails from the Habargidir -- Cayr
Cayr
Ayr is a Somali clan, part of the Habar Gidir group .-Relations with the Islamic Courts Union:...

 subclan of Hawiye
Hawiye
The Hawiye is a Somali clan. Members of the clan primarily live in central and southern Somalia, in the Ogaden and the North Eastern Province , and in smaller numbers in other countries. Like many Somalis, Hawiye members trace their ancestry to Irir Samaale...

.

History

During the regime of Siad Barre
Siad Barre
Mohamed Siad Barre was the military dictator and President of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1991. During his rule, he styled himself as Jaalle Siyaad ....

, Aweys was a colonel in the Somali National Army (SNA)
Military of Somalia
The Military of Somalia was, up until 1991, made up of the army, navy, air force, and air defense command. The outbreak of the Somali Civil War during that year led to the de facto dissolution of the national armed forces. However, efforts to re-establish a regular armed force by a re-constituted...

 during the 1977 Ogaden War
Ogaden War
The Ogaden War was a conventional conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia in 1977 and 1978 over the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. In a notable illustration of the nature of Cold War alliances, the Soviet Union switched from supplying aid to Somalia to supporting Ethiopia, which had previously been...

 against Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 during which he was decorated for bravery.

He is a member of the Ayr (clan), which is part of the Habar Gidir
Habar Gidir
The Habar Gidir are a Somali clan, part of the larger Hawiye group.The clan has produced some prominent Somali figures, such as Abdullahi Issa, the chairman of the Somali Youth League and first Prime Minister of Somalia prior to independence, Dr...

 group, which is a Hawiye
Hawiye
The Hawiye is a Somali clan. Members of the clan primarily live in central and southern Somalia, in the Ogaden and the North Eastern Province , and in smaller numbers in other countries. Like many Somalis, Hawiye members trace their ancestry to Irir Samaale...

 sub-clan.

1994-2002: Al-Itihaad panget al-Islamiya (AIAI)

In the 1990s, Aweys headed al-Itihaad al-Islamiya
Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya
Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya or AIAI is a defunct Islamist militant group in Somalia that was added to the U.S. list of terrorist organizations on September 24, 2001...

 (AIAI), an Islamist
Islamism
Islamism also , lit., "Political Islam" is set of ideologies holding that Islam is not only a religion but also a political system. Islamism is a controversial term, and definitions of it sometimes vary...

 group that was responsible for terrorist attacks on hotels and markets in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

, Dire Dawa
Dire Dawa
Dire Dawa is one of two chartered cities in Ethiopia . This chartered city is divided administratively into two woredas, the city proper and the non-urban woreda of Gurgura....

, Jijiga
Jijiga
Jijiga is a city in eastern Ethiopia and the capital of the Somali Region of that country. Located in the Jijiga Zone approximately 80 km east of Harar and 60 km west of the border with Somalia, this city has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 1,609 meters above sea...

, and Harar
Harar
Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...

, and was originally funded by al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...

 leader Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...

 which was linked to the 1998 United States embassy bombings
1998 United States embassy bombings
The 1998 United States embassy bombings were a series of attacks that occurred on August 7, 1998, in which hundreds of people were killed in simultaneous truck bomb explosions at the United States embassies in the East African capitals of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. The date of the...

 in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

.

Dahir Aweys was part of AIAI leadership which took over large parts of Somalia immediately following the collapse of the Somali Central Government. From 1991 to 1998, AIAI's Gedo
Gedo
Gedo is an administrative region , formerly part of the historic Upper Juba Region in southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. Gedo is a region created in 1980s and is bordered by the Ogaden in Ethiopia, the North Eastern Province in Kenya, and the Somali regions of Bakool, Bay,...

 Region branch led by former Somali High Court Judge Mohamed Haji Yusuf maintained formidable forces. Gedo district seats of Lugh, Balad Hawo and Burdubo were all run by IAIA forces. Lugh was entirely governed by AIAI. At the time, there were other regional military authority Somali National Front (SNF)
Somali National Front
The Somali National Front was a political revolutionary movement and armed militia in Somalia.-History:Initially made up of loyalists to former President of Somalia Siad Barre and the remnants of the Somali National Army forces after his ouster from office, the SNF's intent and goal was to...

 running parts of Gedo. Dahir Aweys settled in Lower Shabelle when some disputes came of light in Lugh's Al-Itahad leadership.

On September 18, 1996, the Ethiopian army invaded Lugh and forced out most of the AIAI forces. The following two years, the war front changed into what was later to become the Mountains War of Gedo. And the war this time was between SNF and AIAI. The Ethiopian regime just armed SNF militias. Ethiopians gave SNF an estimated 800 to 1000 small arms and around a dozen heavy weapons. The Gedo war ended when both sides agreed on a truce, and general peace with a peace conference held in El Ade on December 1998 was concluded.

AIAI was destroyed later in the 1990s by a force led by Abdullahi Yusuf and funded by Ethiopia.

On November 7, 2001, Aweys was named a 'supporter of terrorism' in a supplement of Executive Order 13224
Executive Order 13224
Executive Order 13224 is an executive order signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on September 23, 2001 as a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks....

 of United States President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

. Aweys is also on the terrorist list of the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

.

When Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed is a veteran Somali politician. He is one of the founders of the Somali Salvation Democratic Front, as well as the Puntland State of Somalia, where he served as the autonomous region's first President...

 was elected President in 2004, Aweys declared that he would support the new leader, even if he pursued former elements of al-Itihaad, as long as the country was ruled according to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

.

2004-2006: Islamic Courts Union (ICU)

After the defeat of AIAI
Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya
Al-Itihaad al-Islamiya or AIAI is a defunct Islamist militant group in Somalia that was added to the U.S. list of terrorist organizations on September 24, 2001...

 Aweys played a key role in setting up a system of courts according to the shari'a by local businessmen desperate for order, becoming its spiritual head. The Courts brought relative stability to areas under its control, after years of turmoil. The Courts' notion of order was strict, including stoning
Stoning
Stoning, or lapidation, is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject, yet everyone involved plainly bears some degree of moral culpability. This is in contrast to the...

s for serious crimes such as rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

 and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

. At first it only controlled the area of north Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....

, but it gained support from many Somali's following the random violence committed by the warlords who controlled southern Mogadishu. Beginning 2004, eleven of these courts folded into an umbrella organization, the Islamic Courts Union, which fielded a formidable militia. A UN report in early 2006 stated that Aweys was receiving military support from Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...

, as part of the ongoing conflict between it and Ethiopia, though Eritrea denies the claim.

Following the Union's victory in Mogadishu in June 2006, Aweys rose to be the head of the shura committee, replacing Sharif Sheik Ahmed. The Courts' second-in-command Sheikh Abdulakdir Ali stated day-to-day matters would be handled by Sharif Sheikh Ahmed's executive committee.

On July 21, 2006, Hassan Aweys, in a radio broadcast, urged holy war on Ethiopian
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 troops stationed in Baidoa
Baidoa
Baidoa is a city in south-central Somalia, situated by road northwest of the capital Mogadishu. It is the capital of the Bay region, which is traditionally inhabited by the Digil and Mirifle clans....

 to support the UN-backed government of Somalia.

On November 17, 2006, the Sheik spoke to Shabelle Radio about the formation of a Greater Somalia
Greater Somalia
Greater Somalia refers to those regions in the Horn of Africa in which ethnic Somalis are and have historically represented the predominant population. Greater Somalia encompasses Somalia, Djibouti, the Ogaden of Ethiopia and the North Eastern Province of Kenya. Pan-Somalism refers to the vision...

, uniting the Somali people scattered across the Horn of Africa. He stated, "We will leave no stone unturned to integrate our Somali brothers in Kenya and Ethiopia and restore their freedom to live with their ancestors in Somalia.". He is wanted by interpol for terrorism charges and there is reward of US$5,000,000 on him and his family

Regional concern had been heightened since November 2 2006, when the US Embassy in Nairobi issued a terrorist warning of suicide attack threats in Kenya and Ethiopia.

On December 19, 2006, he received medical treatment in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 just before the beginning of the war against the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government
Transitional Federal Government
The Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...

 (TFG) and Ethiopian troops.

On December 21, 2006, as the fighting intensified with Ethiopia, he took a flight to an undisclosed location with Yusuf Mohammed Siad Inda'ade, and rather than news of medical treatment, it was said he was on the hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...

.

On December 27, 2006, Aweys, along with a group of several hundred fighters from the Hizbul Shabaab wing of the ICU fled Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....

, presumably to the former AIAI base at Ras Kamboni
Ras Kamboni
Ras Kamboni is a town in the Badhaadhe district of Lower Juba region, Somalia, which lies on a peninsula near the border with Kenya. American officials have said that it has served as a training camp for extremists with connections to Al-Qaeda; al-Sharq al-Awsat reported in May 1999 that al-Qaeda...

. On December 31, 2006, he vowed to fight on, and called for others to create an insurgency against the government. Meanwhile, a heavily armed column of government and Ethiopian troops advanced from Mogadishu through Lower Shabelle towards Kismayo. They reached Bulo Marer (Kurtun Warrey district) and were heading to Baravo.

In January 2007, his whereabouts remained generally unknown, but it was believed he was ailing.

2007-2009: Alliance for the Liberation of Somalia (ARS)

In September 2007, he emerged in Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...

 forming a new rebelion.

The Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...

 peace-talks between the ARS and the TFG, however, led to a split in the organisation, with the Djibouti-based "moderate" faction led by Sheikh Sharif Ahmed eventually signing the agreement and joining the TFG and the Eritrea-based "hard-liner" faction led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys refusing to do so and advocating continuation armed resistance.

2009-2010: Hizbul Islam (HI)

In early 2009, four major rebel groups, Sheikh Aweys' Asmara
Asmara
Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people...

-based wing of the ARS, Sheikh Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki's Ras Kamboni Brigade, Jabhatul Islamiya
Jabhatul Islamiya
Jabhatul Islamiya also known as the Somali Islamic Front was an Islamist insurgent group 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...

 and Muaskar Anole
Muaskar Anole
Muaskar Anole also known as Anoole, Caanole, Mu'askar Anole, Mucaskarka Caanoole, Caanoole Mu'askar, Mucaskarka al-Furqan, al-Furqan Camp or al-Furqan Forces was an Islamist militia in Somalia...

 joined together to form a new group called Hizbul Islam, vowing to continue the rebellion against the new government of Sheikh Shair Ahmed. Although the group was initially led by Sheikh Omar Iman Abubakar
Omar Iman Abubakar
Sheikh Omar Iman Abubakar, , also known as Abu Bakar, was the chairman of the Somali Islamist insurgent group Hisbi Islam, which was formed in 2009 to fight Sharif Ahmed's government. Abu Bakar is a high ranking official in Hassan Dahir Aweys' Eritrean based faction of the Alliance for the...

, he stepped down on 26 May, 2009 in favour of Sheikh Aweys taking the position of chairman.

On April 23 2009, Aweys returned To Somalia declaring a war on the African Peace Keeping Forces AMISOM
He made clear that he would not meet Somali
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

 President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 sheikh Sharif Ahmed
Sharif Ahmed
Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is the current President of Somalia and former Commander in Chief of the Islamic Courts Union .-Biography:...

 saying:
"Mr Sharif's government was not elected by the Somali people and it is not representing the interests the Somali people,"

He also accused the President of being an instrument of the International Community
International community
The international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...

 and on 9 May 2009, Hizbul Islam and al-Shabaab and tried to topple the Government of President Shiikh Shariif Shiikh Ahmed by opening the 2009 Battle of Mogadishu
Battle of Mogadishu (2009)
The Battle of Mogadishu started 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. It ended up becoming the largest battle in Mogadishu since the...

, which lasted for months, in which the Islamists managed to gain territory but failed ultimately to topple the regime. Mogadishu residents reported that they saw foreign fighters in the frontline of the battle, raising concerns that Somalia may become the next terrorist safe haven after Iraq and Afghanistan.

In June 2009, it was rumoured he had been killed during the Battle of Wabho
Battle of Wabho
The Battle of Wabho was a large battle fought on Friday, June 5, 2009 between on one side, rebels of Hizbul Islam and al-Shabaab and on the other side a pro-government militia Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a over is a district of Galgadud named Wabho...

. He later dismissed reports that he was killed or heavily injured.

After the Battle of Kisimayo (2009)
Battle of Kisimayo (2009)
The Battle of Kisimayo erupted on October 1, 2009, after the alliance ruling Kisimayo, Somalia broke down. Sheikh Ahmed "Madobe" and his Ras Kamboni Brigade forces tried to expel al-Shabaab from the city but were overpowered and the battle resulted in an al-Shabaab takeover of Kisimayo....

 the group was involved in an unsuccesfull power-struggle with al-Shabaab in which Hizbul Islam was ultimately forced to surrender, after which they merged with al-Shabaab on December 20, 2010 under the banner of al-Shabaab, dropping the name Hizbul Islam.

2010-present: Al-Shabaab (HSM)

Since joining al-Shabaab, he has was involved in the power struggle between Sheikh Mukhtar Robow (Abu Mansoor) and Sheikh Moktar Ali Zubeyr
Moktar Ali Zubeyr
Sheikh Moktar Ali Zubeyr also known as Muktar Abdirahman "Godane", Ahmad Abdi Godane, Ahmad Abdi Aw Muhammad, Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr and Muqtar Abdurahman Abu Zubeyr, was the Emir of Harakat Al-Shabab Mujahideen, which currently is the most prominent insurgent group in Somalia...

 (Godane), during which he supported Abu Mansoor in demanding that Godane would step down as the group's Emir.

Sheikh Aweys is described as al-Shabaab's spiritual leader.

External links

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