Troops foil attack targeting military court chief in Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia - The Somali National Army [SNA] foiled an attack targeting a convoy of military court chief Col. Hassan A Nor in the troubled Gedo region on September 15, officials said, in an attack which would have rather been devastating, given the number of explosives that were planted on a major road.

Security officials said the attackers targeted the military judge and his delegation after completion of their sittings in the troubled Gedo region, which is situated in Jubaland, the western state of Somalia. The judge was handling a number of cases that had been fronted for prosecution.

Officials said that the military removed the explosions before detonating them, adding that the attack would have been a retaliation against the military court, which is mandated to prosecute high profile criminal cases. The top judge was trying Al-Shabaab suspects.

To date, no group is yet to take responsibility for the planned attack but Somalia-based Al-Shabaab militants are known for such acts, which target government officials, security forces and at times, civilians believed to be working closely with the government in the fight against the extremist group.

With almost a dysfunctional judiciary, Somalia has for a long time banked on the military court to try hardcore criminals and Al-Shabaab militants. The military court has often received backing from a section of residents who believe that it has acted in accordance with the law.

The tough-talking military court chief Col. Hassan A Nor had convicted Farhan Mohamud Hassan, who has been serving in the SNA, in a prosecution that exposes infiltration in government institutions by the Al-Shabaab militants, who have been wreaking havoc in the war-torn nation for several years.

The convict, in an interview with local media, confessed joining the Al-Qaida linked group in 2010 in the Kenya-Somalia border town of Balad-Hawo, but would later use the Amnesty given by security forces in Somalia to defect, and was later recruited to the SNA to help in fighting former allies.

But intelligence services in Somalia linked him to infiltration of the SNA having investigated his conduct before being arraigned in the military court. The convict was slapped with a life sentence and would spend his entire life behind the bars for breaching confidence and lying to the state.

Shockingly, Farhan Mohamud Hassan admitted helping Al-Shabaab to transport explosives for Al-Shabaab to Manda Bay in Kenya before the January 5 deadly attack at the US Naval Base, which is used in training regional forces from across East Africa.

"I joined Al-Shabaab in 2010 before defecting to the Somali National Army. However, I helped them in transporting explosives to the Manda Airfield where they waged an attack," Mohamed said in a confession that shocked reporters and the senior military court officials shortly after his conviction.

Gedo region has been experiencing both security and political turmoil for several months now and Al-Shabaab has taken advantage of a conflict between SNA and Jubaland forces, who have been clashing over territorial control. The FGS has been battling to galvanize support from the region.

However, reports from Mogadishu indicated that the federal government of Somalia and the Jubaland administration have reached a compromise and that arrangements have been made to have SNA troops withdrawn. Al-Shabaab is fighting to topple the fragile UN-backed Somalia government.

GAROWE ONLINE