The Pirates of Somalia_ Inside Their Hidden World - Jay Bahadur [129]
4. Al-Shabaab’s targets were thoughtfully chosen to deliver that message. In Hargeysa, the organization bombed the presidential palace, the Ethiopian embassy, and UN Development Programme headquarters, perhaps in response to Somaliland president Dahir Riyale Kahin’s plans to pass a (largely toothless) anti-terror law. In Bossaso, the target was the Puntland Intelligence Service, a CIA proxy funded by the American government. The two bombings claimed the lives of at least thirty people.
5. UN Monitoring Group on Somalia, Report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia pursuant to Security Council resolution 1853 (2008), S/2010/91, March 10, 2010, http://www.un.org/sc/committees/751/mongroup.shtml, 39.
6. William Bolitho, Twelve Against the Gods (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1929), 8.
APPENDIX 2: THE VICTORIA GANG
1. The material in the following analysis draws heavily from Stig Jarle Hansen’s comprehensive report, Piracy in the Greater Gulf of Aden: Myths, Misconceptions and Remedies, NIBR Report 2009:29 (Oslo: Norwegian Institute for Urban and Regional Research, 2009), http://en.nibr.no. All subsequent quotations are from this report.
2. Ion Tita-Calin, “Dezvşluirile foştilor prizonieri ai piraşilor somalezi” [Revelations from former Somali pirate prisoners], Cuget Liber, July 28, 2009, http://www.cugetliber.ro.
An Antonov prop plane operated by Jubba Airways, Djibouti, June 2009.
Next stop: Somalia. (Courtesy the author)
Boyah, a pirate leader who has claimed to have hijacked more than twenty-five ships, with a Blue Jays T-shirt slung over his shoulder. (Courtesy the author)
A Toyota Surf, the vehicle of choice for pirates. The “18” on the license plate indicates that it has been recently registered. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)
The view from the mayor’s office, Garowe. (Courtesy the author)
The house of a pirate, Garowe. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)
President Abdirahman Farole (right) and Abdisamad Ali Shire (centre) in Dangorayo, the first stop on the president’s visit to Bossaso, February 2009. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)
Presidential palace, Bossaso. The Italian architecture harkens back to Somalia’s colonial period. (Courtesy the author)
Puntland Finance Minister Farah Ali Jama (left), Interior Minister General Abdullahi Ahmed Jama Ilkajir (centre), and Vice President Abdisamad Ali Shire (right) discuss politics over lunch, Qardho. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)
Elders in Armo gather to bring an inter-clan dispute to President Farole’s attention. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)
Qardho prison: much-needed, but not yet operational. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)
The redoubtable Colonel Omar, dressed in his characteristic striped track suit, on the beach at Eyl. The Colonel served as my guide (and unofficial bodyguard) during my second trip to Somalia. (Courtesy the author)
The Puntland Coast Guard during the tenure of the Hart Security. (AP Photo)
Eyl Dawad: reports of pirate mansions have been greatly exaggerated. (Courtesy the author)
The author in the village of Dangorayo, February 2009. (Courtesy Mohamad Farole)
A broken down refrigerated transport container, indicative of the state of Eyl’s fishing economy. (Courtesy the author)
The Nugaal River, evaporating at the onset of the hagaa, the second of Puntland dry seasons. The river originates in the highlands of Ethiopia, flowing into the Indian Ocean at Eyl. (Courtesy the author)
My bodyguard Said, on the beach at Eyl. The MV Victoria, a German-owned cargo ship hijacked on May 5, 2009, is just visible at the horizon (centre). (Courtesy the author)
The MV Victoria, being held at Eyl, June 2009. (Courtesy the author)
Minions of the pirate leader Computer, a reported psychic, loading the day’s supplies for the Victoria. (Courtesy the author)
The MV Marathon, a Dutch-owned cargo ship captured on May 7, 2009, being held at Dhanane. (Courtesy the author)
One of the Marathon