Thursday s move to add Somali terror suspects to the list was politically symbolic but would not lead to their imminentcapture, says J. Peter Pham , director of the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington. You generally can t draw a direct causal link between largeawards being offered through the Rewards for Justice program andsenior terrorist figures being apprehended, he says. It has been helpful at finding lower level people, but in theSomali context it is a politically symbolic move that puts thesemen beyond the pale and in a special category where there can be nosoft landing for them in the future. Who's on the list? The list includes Al Shabab s founder, Ahmed Abdi aw-Mohamed, alsoknown as Ahmad Abdi Godane or Mukhtar Ali Zubeyr, for whom thelargest reward of up to $7 million is offered. His formal announcement linking Al Shabab to Al Qaeda in Februaryis thought to have helped prompt Thursday s announcement. Up to $5 million is also offered for each of his associates,Ibrahim Haji Jama, Fuad Mohamed Khalaf, Bashir Mohamed Mahamoud,and Mukhtar Robow, and up to $3 million for Zakariya Ismail AhmedHersi and Abdullahi Yare. Al Shabab s terrorist activities pose a threat to the stabilityof East Africa and to the national security interests of the United States , and the seven individuals named are [its] key leaders, theState Department said in a statement. Could it backfire? There were concerns, however, that including some of the namescould backfire and destroy chances of senior Al Shabab commandersagreeing to peace talks with Somalia s Transitional Federal Government (TFG). What s interesting is who s in and who s out, saysAbdirashid Hashi, Horn of Africa analyst for the International Crisis Group in Nairobi , Kenya . Mukhtar Robow was previously seen as a moderate, but he s therewith money on his head and any suggestion that he might agree totalks with the government is now very unlikely. More likely he llrun for his life. Both Dr. Pham and Mr. Hashi agreed that Thursday s announcementwould increase already growing pressure on Al Shabab. Under sustained assault from Kenyan military forces, African Union peacekeepers, and Somali government troops it has recently lostkey towns. There were reports Wednesday that Al Shabab commanders were alsofleeing Kismayo , the group s last major urban stronghold, although Islamistleaders denied this. I am an expert from phonebatteryreplacement.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Rechargeable External Battery Case , Nokia Mobile Phone Batteries, Sony Ericsson Battery Replacement,and more.
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