Abdi Hasan Awale Qeybdiid
Encyclopedia
Abdi Hasan Awale or Abdi Qeybdiid , born in 1948, is a Somali
militia leader, or warlord
, affiliated with the Somali National Alliance
. In December 2006, he led an engagement on behalf of the Transitional Federal Government
(TFG), backed by a sizable contingent of Ethiopia
n troops, known as the Battle of Bandiradley
. He is also the "Mad Abdi" of the July 12, 1993 Abdi House Raid, which presaged the First Battle of Mogadishu.
in 1993. Like Aidid, he is a member of the Sacad sub-clan of the Habar Gedir clan.
In 1993, an assault force of Delta Force
commandos backed up by nearly 140 United States Army Rangers
and four US Army Special Forces
operators under the command of Gen. William F. Garrison
and Col. Lee Van Arsdale
captured Qeybdiid together with Osman Ali Atto
. He stayed in American custody for some months. The arrest is portrayed in the film Black Hawk Down.
By 2001, he was the chief of police over Mogadishu as part of the new Transitional National Government
(TNG).
In 2006, he fought with the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism
(ARPCT) against the Islamic Courts Union in the Second Battle of Mogadishu
. They surrendered on 11 July 2006, the last Alliance forces to do so.
An August 24, 2006 article in the Sudan Tribune alleges Qeybdiid's involvement with a shadowy Ethiopian-backed intelligence unit known as the Central Revolutionary Investigation Department.
In late 2006, after retreating from Mogadishu, he fought under the name of the newly formed autonomous region known as Galmudug
but without any known affiliation or permission as yet. He led its forces, fighting alongside Ethiopia
and Puntland
allies, in the Battle of Bandiradley
.
On January 1, 2007, he returned to Mogadishu where he pled for there to be no reprisals against the defeated Islamists.
, Sweden
on suspicion of genocide
, but released after a hearing in Gothenburg
found insufficient evidence for a prosecution.
In October 2005, the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet
reported that a video recording incriminating Qeybdid had circulated amongst politically active exiled Somalis for a long time. The film showed how the police chief participated in the execution of young boys in the Somali town of Kismayo in 1991. The sequence is described as brutal, showing someone allegedly looking like Qeybdid interrogating a group of captured child soldiers before giving his militamen orders to open fire on them and kill them.
Other claims related to his role in the militia of Mohamed Farrah Aidid
in 1993, the time of the First Battle of Mogadishu.
The Swedish authorities' attempts to interrogate Qeybdid proved fruitless, as he refused to answer questions on the grounds that the interpreter provided for him was a member of an enemy clan. The defence attorney appointed to him said, however, that he maintained his innocence.
It is believed that the murder of Swedish journalist
Martin Adler
in Mogadishu could have been carried out by his followers in retaliation for this arrest. However, rumors abound about the motives behind the killing, and no evidence linking Qeybdid to the murder has ever been produced.
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
militia leader, or warlord
Warlord
A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...
, affiliated with the Somali National Alliance
Somali National Alliance
The Somali National Alliance was a political alliance formed in June, 1992 with Mohamed Farrah Aidid as its head. Its constituents included Aidid's breakaway United Somali Congress faction, the Somali Patriotic Movement and other southern factions. They were one faction in the Somali Civil War...
. In December 2006, he led an engagement on behalf of the Transitional Federal Government
Transitional Federal Government
The Transitional Federal Government is the current internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. It was established as one of the Transitional Federal Institutions of government as defined in the Transitional Federal Charter adopted in November 2004 by the Transitional...
(TFG), backed by a sizable contingent of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n troops, known as the Battle of Bandiradley
Battle of Bandiradley
The Battle of Bandiradley in Somalia began on December 23, 2006, when Ethiopian and Puntland forces, along with Warlord Abdi Qeybdid fought the forces of the Islamic Courts Union defending Bandiradley...
. He is also the "Mad Abdi" of the July 12, 1993 Abdi House Raid, which presaged the First Battle of Mogadishu.
Career synopsis
Qeybdiid rose to prominence as Mohammed Farrah Aidid's interior minister in its clashes with UN forces during the so-called "nation-building" phase of UNOSOM IIUNOSOM II
United Nations Operation in Somalia II was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia, from March 1993 until March 1995....
in 1993. Like Aidid, he is a member of the Sacad sub-clan of the Habar Gedir clan.
In 1993, an assault force of Delta Force
Delta Force
1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta is one of the United States' secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units. Commonly known as Delta Force, Delta, or The Unit, it was formed under the designation 1st SFOD-D, and is officially referred to by the Department of Defense...
commandos backed up by nearly 140 United States Army Rangers
United States Army Rangers
United States Army Rangers are elite members of the United States Army. Rangers have served in recognized U.S. Army Ranger units or have graduated from the U.S. Army's Ranger School...
and four US Army Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
operators under the command of Gen. William F. Garrison
William F. Garrison
William F. Garrison is a retired Major General of the United States Army who was the commander of Operation Gothic Serpent, the military operation launched in 1993 to capture Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid...
and Col. Lee Van Arsdale
Lee Van Arsdale
Lee A. Van Arsdale is an American business executive and former U.S. Army officer. In 2005, Van Arsdale was named chief executive officer of Triple Canopy, Inc., a Virginia-based security services company.-References:...
captured Qeybdiid together with Osman Ali Atto
Osman Ali Atto
Osman Hassan Ali Atto is a Somali warlord, affiliated with the Somali National Alliance.- Background :He is a member of the Somali Hawiye clan, sub-clan Habar Gedir Osman Hassan Ali Atto (born 1940) is a Somali warlord, affiliated with the Somali National Alliance.- Background :He is a member of...
. He stayed in American custody for some months. The arrest is portrayed in the film Black Hawk Down.
By 2001, he was the chief of police over Mogadishu as part of the new Transitional National Government
Transitional National Government
The Transitional National Government of Somalia was established in April–May 2000 at the Somalia National Peace Conference held in Djibouti....
(TNG).
In 2006, he fought with the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism
Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism
The Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism was a Somali alliance created by various warlords and businesspeople. The alliance included Botan Ise Alin, Mohammed Dheere, Mohamed Qanyare, Musa Sudi Yalahow, Nuur Daqle, Abdi Hasan Awale Qeybdiid, Omar Muhamoud Finnish and others...
(ARPCT) against the Islamic Courts Union in the Second Battle of Mogadishu
Second Battle of Mogadishu
The Second Battle of Mogadishu was a battle fought for control of Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia. The opposing forces were the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism , and militia loyal to the Islamic Court Union . The conflict began in mid-February, 2006, when Somali...
. They surrendered on 11 July 2006, the last Alliance forces to do so.
An August 24, 2006 article in the Sudan Tribune alleges Qeybdiid's involvement with a shadowy Ethiopian-backed intelligence unit known as the Central Revolutionary Investigation Department.
In late 2006, after retreating from Mogadishu, he fought under the name of the newly formed autonomous region known as Galmudug
Galmudug
Galmudug is an autonomous region in central Somalia. It is bordered to its north by the Puntland region, to the west by Ethiopia, and to the south by other regions of Somalia.Galmudug's name is derived from a conflation of the Galguduud and Mudug provinces...
but without any known affiliation or permission as yet. He led its forces, fighting alongside Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and Puntland
Puntland
Puntland , officially the Puntland State of Somalia , is a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998....
allies, in the Battle of Bandiradley
Battle of Bandiradley
The Battle of Bandiradley in Somalia began on December 23, 2006, when Ethiopian and Puntland forces, along with Warlord Abdi Qeybdid fought the forces of the Islamic Courts Union defending Bandiradley...
.
On January 1, 2007, he returned to Mogadishu where he pled for there to be no reprisals against the defeated Islamists.
Arrest in Sweden
In 2005, he was arrested in LundLund
-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
on suspicion of genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, but released after a hearing in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
found insufficient evidence for a prosecution.
In October 2005, the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet
Svenska Dagbladet
Svenska Dagbladet is a daily newspaper in Sweden. The first issue appeared on 18 December 1884. Svenska Dagbladet is published in Stockholm and provides coverage of national and international news as well as local coverage of the Greater Stockholm region...
reported that a video recording incriminating Qeybdid had circulated amongst politically active exiled Somalis for a long time. The film showed how the police chief participated in the execution of young boys in the Somali town of Kismayo in 1991. The sequence is described as brutal, showing someone allegedly looking like Qeybdid interrogating a group of captured child soldiers before giving his militamen orders to open fire on them and kill them.
Other claims related to his role in the militia of Mohamed Farrah Aidid
Mohamed Farrah Aidid
General Mohamed Ali Farrah Aidid was a controversial Somali military leader, often described as a warlord. A former general and diplomat, he was the chairman of the United Somali Congress and later led the Somali National Alliance...
in 1993, the time of the First Battle of Mogadishu.
The Swedish authorities' attempts to interrogate Qeybdid proved fruitless, as he refused to answer questions on the grounds that the interpreter provided for him was a member of an enemy clan. The defence attorney appointed to him said, however, that he maintained his innocence.
It is believed that the murder of Swedish journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
Martin Adler
Martin Adler
Martin John Lars Adler was a Swedish cameraman and journalist.Martin Adler was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to a Swedish father and a British mother...
in Mogadishu could have been carried out by his followers in retaliation for this arrest. However, rumors abound about the motives behind the killing, and no evidence linking Qeybdid to the murder has ever been produced.