Hassan Dahir Aweys

Hassan Dahir Aweys حسن طاهر أويس
Born	1935 Somalia
Ethnicity	Somali
Occupation	former colonel militant
Title	Leader of Hizbul Islam

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys (Somali: Sheekh Xasan Daahir Aweys, Arabic: الشيخ حسن طاهر أويس‎) (born 1935) is a Somali political figure who was the head of the 90-member shura council of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) of Somalia. Aweys 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 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 Cayr Subclan of the larger Habargidir clan.

History

During the regime of Siad Barre, Aweys was a colonel in the Somali National Army (SNA) during the 1977 Ogaden War against Ethiopia during which he was decorated for bravery.

Al-Itihaad panget al-Islamiya (AIAI)

Main article: al-Itihaad al-Islamiya

In the 1990s, Aweys headed al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (AIAI), an Islamist group that was responsible for terrorist attacks on hotels and markets in Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, Jijiga, and Harar, and was originally funded by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden which was linked to the 1998 United States embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania.

1991-1998 Gedo Region War

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 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 SNF 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, Ethiopan army invaded Lugh forced out most of 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 Ethiopan regime just armed SNF militias. Ethiopians gave SNF an estimated 800 to 1000 small arms and around dozen heavy weapon. The Gedo war ended when both sided agreed on a truce and general peace when 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 of United States President George W. Bush.. Aweys is also on the terrorist list of the United States Department of State.

When Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed 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.

Islamic Courts Union (ICU)

Main articles: Islamic Courts Union, Rise of the Islamic Courts Union (2006), and War in Somalia (2006–2009)

After the defeat of AIAI Aweys played a key role in setting up a system of courts set up according 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 stonings for serious crimes such as rape and murder. At first it only controlled the area of north Mogadishu, but it gained support from many Somalis following the random violence suffered under the warlords who controlled southern Mogadishu. Beginning in about 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, 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 troops stationed in Baidoa 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, 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, 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 just before the beginning of the war against the UN-backed Transitional Federal Government (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.

On December 27, 2006, Aweys, along with a group of several hundred fighters from the Hizbul Shabaab wing of the ICU fled Mogadishu, presumably to the former AIAI base at Ras Kamboni. 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.

Alliance for the Liberation of Somalia

Main article: Alliance for the Liberation of Somalia

In September 2007, he emerged in Eritrea, forming a new rebel movement.

On 23 April 2009, Aweys returned To Somalia declaring a war on the African Peace Keeping Forces AMISOM. He made clear that he would not meet Somali President sheikh Sharif Ahmed 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 and reliable sources say that Mr Aweys is talking to the leadership of the al-Shabaab Islamist radicals and other Islamist groups, including the newly formed umbrella organisation Hisbul Islam or Islamic Party.

On 9 May 2009, Hassan Dahir Aways' Group (Hisbul Islam) with al-Shabaab and other allies tried to topple the Government of President Shiikh Shariif Shiikh Ahmed in a coup attempt but failed.

Mogadishu residents reported that they saw foreign fighters in the frontline of the battle for the first raising concerns that Somalia may become the next terrorist safe haven after Iraq and Afghanistan .

External links

• Profile: Somalia's Islamist leader

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