The Fighting in Lower Shabeelle is a Symbolic War between Good and Evil and Somalia’ Future Stability May Largely Hinge on its Outcome.

opinion article:)____________________

The current fighting in Lower Shabeelle between the indigenous Biyomaal clan and the Habar Gidir settlers from the central regions of Somalia is the culmination of the grandiose expansionist ambitions of the Hawiye clan. Ever since the great genocide against Darod civilians in Mogadishu, which resulted in the city becoming a one clan city, the Habar Gidir have set their sights to engage in land grab against the peaceful inhabitants of southern Somalia.  

The Hawiye’s land grab has started in the nearby region of Lower Shabeelle where a large number of their clansmen have started to resettle in the region. The Lower Shabeelle region would eventually become a Habar Gidir springboard for invading other regions in the south such as Lower Jubba and Bay regions.

For nearly twenty years, the indigenous people of Lower Shabeelle have endured a brutal occupation which includes their farms being taken over by the Habar Gidir invaders. The occupiers even started to ration and sell the precious water of the Shabeelle River to the locals.
Meanwhile, the Habar Gidir clan has used different hats from the so-called Islamic courts to al Shabaab to disguise the clannish nature of their land grab and occupation. In fact, the region has become the private domain of some of Somalia’s most thuggish militia leaders such as the notorious warlord, Yusuf Indho-Cadde.

The Habar Gidir has also used the region to destabilize and invade the neighboring   regions in the south such as the Lower Jubba region. Starting in the late 1990s and until few years ago,    the unruly and violent clan had ruled the port city of Kismaayo through proxies.

After the so-called permanent government was formed nearly a year ago, the indigenous people in the region rightly thought that it was time for the brutal occupation of their land to come to an end. Instead, they were subjected to a new form of colonialism. The government in Mogadishu, which is dominated by pro-land grab factions of the Hawiye-akin to the hardline Jewish settlers in the Palestinian territories, has appointed to the region a new administration ninety percent of whose members are from the recent Habar Gidir settlers.  In addition, the government has recruited the region’s security forces totally from the occupying clan. The locals have since resorted in the language the occupiers are most receptive to:  violence. Since the flare-up of the recent fighting, the normally tranquil region has turned into a killing field. Meanwhile, the occupiers, with help from Culusow’s government, are using all sorts of brutality to subdue and crush the indigenous uprising.

A Victory for the Biyomaal Locals May Bring an to End to The Hawiye-Led Government’s Foot Dragging Approach on Federalism:
A victory for the indigenous people in the Lower Shabeelle may go a long way in helping cement the implementation of federalism which the current Culusow government is trying to derail at all costs. The President seems to be implementing and trying to impose his clan’s will and interests on other Somali clans in contravention of the constitution. This includes his attempt to impose a centralized system of government on the country- a step which most other Somali clans vehemently oppose.

In fact, a defeat for the occupiers in Lower Shabeelle is tantamount to a defeat of anti-federalism, greed, land grabbing and aggression. On the other hand, a victory for the Biyomaal clan is a victory for sanity, federalism and respect of neighbors. It may also lead to more stability in neighboring regions such as Lower Jubba where Culusow and his cohorts are hell bent on destabilizing in order to achieve their clan’s land grabbing ambitions throughout southern Somalia.

As a result, it is incumbent upon all other Somali clans, particularly clans that have a blood relationship with the Biyomaal such as the Darods (Through their great matriarch, Doombiro Dir) and other true Dir clans (I am excluding here those who claim to be Dir when it is convenient for them and other times claim to be Arabs. Note: The shrine of an alleged Arab ancestor in Maydh attests to the said clan’s dual contradictory claims-one of which is clearly for convenience) , to support the Biyomaal clan both financially as well as militarily in order to ensure the defeat of the clan that was largely responsible for the nation’s turmoil in over twenty years. In a nutshell, a victory for the indigenous Biyomaal clan against the land grabbing neo-colonialist Habar Gidir clan embodies a victory for good against evil!!!