Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation

Al-Qaida's public show of aid to Somali drought refugees

This article is more than 12 years old
In a first of its kind, al-Shabaab militants took journalists to witness al-Qaida's battle for Somali hearts and minds
Al-Qaida attempting to win hearts and minds in Somalia. guardian.co.uk

For the thousands of drought refugees at the Ala-Yasir camp, it was a moment of palpable anticipation. An announcement was expected. No one knew what it concerned. But in the dusty heat of an interminable dry season, any news at all was something.

For a small group of journalists eager to find out more about life in the camps, the anticipation was no less keen. One driver speculated it could be the first public appearance of the top leadership of al-Shabaab, the Islamist militia that has the upper hand in this part of Somalia. Another driver ventured that the ban on foreign humanitarian agencies – an aid feud that has compounded the plight of millions of drought victims – could be about to be lifted.

Finally, the al-Shabaab media co-ordinator demanded that all the journalists switched off their phones and handed the mobiles over to him.

He took us aside one by one and explained what was going to happen: "An al-Qaida representative, who's an American, is here to distribute aid to those at the camp. It's the first of its kind. After he is introduced he will give out a short statement in English and then talk to some of the refugees. No questions, please."

A 4x4 sped up to the camp. The al-Shabaab spokesman, Sheikh Ali Dhere, plus a tall figure with a masked face, got out of the vehicle. It was clear from his hands that he was white. This man, Abu Abdullah Muhajir, was al-Qaida's official envoy to Somalia. His nationality could not be independently verified. But he read from a statement in an American-English accent. "We are honoured and blessed to take this opportunity to send our heartfelt greetings to our brothers and sisters in Somalia. It's under these strenuous circumstances that we remember the role played by our beloved sheikh, Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may Allah have mercy upon him.

"To our beloved brothers and sisters in Somalia, we are following your situation on a daily basis. And, though, we are separated by thousands of kilometres, you are consistently in our thoughts and prayers."

It was the first time the group had spoken publicly in Somalia and the first time it had distributed aid.

With thousands of destitute people facing an uncertain future, the camps are fertile ground for recruitment by radicals. More than 4,000 people have walked for weeks to get here.

"I have no children left," said Fatumo Osman, one of the first to arrive. "The last one died the day before yesterday. I gave birth to five; all five children I have lost in the drought."

When the rain finally arrived it only made the situation worse. The camp was transformed into miles of muddy water and sludge overnight, barefoot children sliding around in the muck between rows of tents. And with the rain came a controversial decision: the regional governor told the camp elders that now the rainy season had started it was time for people to head back to their villages.

The governor promised to feed the displaced villagers for the next three months, back in their homes, until they could replant and feed themselves.

"We don't want to keep them here forever and they don't want to stay here forever," said a man in charge of food distribution at the camp, who spoke with an English accent and called himself Abu Omar. "So what we are trying to do, we're trying to encourage them, give them an incentive to go back to their farms and cultivate."

Abu Omar said he was British, but his identity and nationality were impossible to confirm independently.

Outside the mosque there was a mixed reaction: some were optimistic, others worried about what the future might be. One villager, Nunay Ibrahim, said: "We have been in the camp for a while. And now it has rained, which is what we have been waiting. We are happy to go back to our farm to plant."

Others were less sure. Ruqiya, with her husband and five children, was displeased. "If I am told to go home what am I to do?" she said, from the back of a truck taking her home. "There is nothing in my home waiting for me … the food I was given, I used most of it in the camp. Back there I never ran out of clean water. Now we are going somewhere with dirty water."

Jamal Osman is a Somali journalist who has reported from the country throughout this year's drought and gained exclusive access to the Ala-Yasir camp because of his previous work. This film project was originally intended to cover the controversial closure of Ala-Yasir. The aid community was concerned about returning displaced people too early without knowing their state of health or what they would have back home. But al-Shabaab argued that they knew the risks involved better than anyone. They cleared the camp of 5,000 people in 24 hours. Osman spent 10 days filming. The appearance of al-Qaida members was unexpected.

More on this story

More on this story

  • Al-Qaida targets Somalia drought victims with cash handouts

  • Al-Qaida fighting for hearts and minds in famine-hit Somalia - video

  • Al-Shabaab training UK residents to fight in Somalia

  • Al-Qaida in Somalia, country rankings on aid and Latin American tensions

  • Al-Qaida and the politics of aid in Somalia

  • Kenya warns of air strikes across southern and central Somalia

Most viewed

Most viewed