Abdiweli Heibeh

Somali Man Sentenced

2011-04-29T15:51:00.001-07:00

Friday, April 29, 2011
AP
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A federal judge sentenced a Somali man to 10 years in prison for failing to acknowledge ties to two global terrorist groups after he was arrested near the Texas-Mexico border in 2008, the U.S. Justice Department said Thursday night.
Ahmed Muhammed Dhakane, 25, prompted the Department of Homeland Security to issue an alert in May 2010 asking Houston-area authorities to be on the lookout for a suspected member of al-Shabaabp, an al-Qaida ally based in Somalia. That warning came when two new charges of lying on a U.S. asylum application were filed against Dhakane, who had been arrested on immigration charges in Brownsville, across the Rio Grande from Matamoros, Mexico, in March 2008.
Dhakane pleaded guilty on Nov. 2 to two counts of lying on his asylum application, and the Justice Department said in a statement that he failed to acknowledge he had been a member of, or associated with, al-Barakat and Al-Ittihad Al-Islami, from prior to Sept. 11, 2001, until January 2003.
Al-Barakat is a financial transfer network; Al-Ittihad al-Islami, or the Islamic Union, wants to impose Islamic law in Somalia. Both are on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of global terrorist groups with links to al-Qaida, according to the indictment against Dhakane.
U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in San Antonio sentenced Dhakane to 10 years behind bars, and ordered that he be placed under supervised release for three years after completing his prison term.
The Justice Department said Dhakane also provided false information concerning his entry into the United States when he claimed he and his wife traveled from Somalia to Mexico via Russia, Cuba, Costa Rica and Guatemala. Instead, the statement said, from June 2006 until March 2008, Dhakane resided in Brazil where he participated in — and later ran — a large-scale human smuggling enterprise
Dhakane also lied about his traveling partner, a minor he claimed was his wife. The Justice Department said she was actually a smuggling client, that the pair were never married, and that Dhakane repeatedly raped and eventually impregnated her prior to traveling to the U.S. He also threatened to have her killed if she told authorities he had raped her, and that they were never married, according to the statement.
Citing a Justice Department memo and other documents it obtained, the San Antonio News-Express reported in March that federal officials believed Dhakane helped "violent jihadists" from East Africa sneak through Mexico and into Texas.
Despite his pleading guilty to making false statements while under oath in the immigration proceedings, Dhakane has denied that he smuggled potential terrorists into the U.S., and also says he never helped groups accused of funding terrorism.

Somalia Old Photos

2007-09-21T01:54:00.000-07:00

My Life as a Diplomat

2007-05-31T18:26:00.000-07:00

WATCHING from afar, people find it difficult to understand the intractability of the conflict in Somalia. The cycle of violence, almost mysteriously, remains uninterrupted. Peace breaks out. Victory is declared, as it was a couple of weeks ago when President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed’s Transitional Federal Government declared its triumph over the rival Islamic Courts Union and the clan-based militia fighting alongside it. And then the violence quickly erupts again

Appointment of Special U.S. Envoy to Somalia Brings Mixed Reactions

2007-05-31T18:11:00.000-07:00

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month appointed a special U.S. envoy for Somalia, ending more than 10 years of no diplomatic presence in the African nation. But some experts and local Somalis say the move is too little, too late.

80 killed as Somalia fighting continues

2007-05-31T17:58:00.000-07:00

At least 80 people, including many civilians, have been killed in intensified fighting in Somalia over the past two days, according to hospital sources.

Somalia: Former defense minister welcomes the loss of his cabinet post

2007-05-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

Former Somalia defense minister but now member of Parliament Bare Aden Shire Hirale for the first time Sunday spoke out the reasons he lost his post in the cabinet while talking to the local media.

Somalia clan fighting kills at least 10

2007-05-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

MOGADISHU, May 13 (Reuters) - Clashes triggered by land disputes and revenge killings between two rival Somali sub-clans have killed at least 10 people, elders said on Sunday.

In Somalia, shock and awe, followed by stalemate

2007-05-13T16:06:00.000-07:00

By David Ignatius Daily Star staffMonday, May 14, 2007
"Get it done quickly and get out." That, says a senior US diplomat in Addis Ababa, was the goal of the little-noticed war that Ethiopia has been fighting, with American support, against Islamic extremists in Somalia. But this in-and-out strategy encounters the same real-world obstacles that America is facing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Somalia: UN Humanitarian Official Urges Country Let Aid Reach Its People

2007-05-13T16:05:00.000-07:00

UN's top humanitarian official, John Holmes, has arrived in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday as two bomb explosions which claimed the lives of four occurred at the center of the gun-infested city.

Kenya: It’s very dangerous for civilians in Somalia right now

2007-05-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

Djibouti (HAN) May 2nd, 2007 - According to the regional observers "It’s very dangerous for civilians in Somalia right now," said Ann Corbett, a Kenya specialist for Amnesty International. "Kenya’s action in closing its

AU peacekeepers begin patrols in Somalia

2007-05-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

MOGADISHU (AP) -- African Union peacekeepers patrolled the streets of Somalia's capital Tuesday for the first time since they arrived in March, moving out after the government declared victory over Islamic insurgents.

Officer on the Street in San Diego is a Chief in Somalia

2007-03-23T09:59:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 21, 2007 San Diego Police Officer Abdiweli Heibeh's story is an epic tale -- part-tragedy, part rags-to-riches adventure. He has survived bombings and house arrest in Mogadishu, served as a major in the Somali army, trained at a top U.S. Army base and worked an ice cream truck while waiting for asylum.

Belarus cargo plane attacked in Somalia, nobody hurt

2007-03-12T17:08:00.000-07:00

MOSCOW, March 12 (Xinhua) -- A Belarussian transport plane was attacked as it was landing at an airport in Somalia on Monday, but no one was hurt, the Interfax news agency reported citing a Belarussian official.

Somalia - James Swan to the Baltimore CFR

2007-03-12T17:04:00.000-07:00

Good evening, and thank you, Frank Burd, for your kind introduction. I am glad to have this opportunity to meet with the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs and discuss the topic you suggested to me for tonight: Somalia.

Opinions are mixed about why Twin Cities alone see dispute over alcohol, Muslim cabbies

2007-03-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

Muslim taxi drivers serve airports throughout the country. Yet a dispute about cabbies refusing on religious grounds to take passengers with alcohol has flared only in the Twin Cities.

UN's Man in Somalia Says To Embrace and Not Question the Baidoa Government

2007-03-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

UNITED NATIONS, March 2 -- Jump in and take a side. That was the message of Eric Laroche, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Somalia, speaking to reporters on March 1. Mr. Laroche chided most "international NGOs" for not being where the humanitarian problems are.

UPDF starts Somalia peace mission

2007-03-02T19:31:00.000-08:00

AT least six explosions rocked the Somali capital Mogadishu yesterday as Ugandan peacekeepers started arriving in the lawless Horn of Africa country, BBC and Reuters reported.

AU seeks funding for Somalia peacekeeping mission

2007-02-28T22:54:00.000-08:00

Mogadishu 01, March.07 ( Sh.M.Network) The African Union (AU) appealed today for urgent funding to activate a peacekeeping mission aimed at stabilising Somalia where an insurgency is brewing after a war over the New Year.

Advance team of African peacekeepers arrives in Somalia, says official

2007-02-28T22:53:00.000-08:00

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The advance team of an African peacekeeping force to Somalia arrived unannounced in the country on Thursday, said a senior police officer.

Navy ready to support rescue of hijacked ship

2007-02-28T22:51:00.000-08:00

U.S. warships are operating in waters near a U.N. cargo vessel that has been hijacked off the coast of Somalia, but Navy commanders have not been formally asked to assist in any rescue, a Navy spokesman said Wednesday.

Ugandan troops head for Somalia

2007-02-28T22:48:00.000-08:00

KAMPALA — Ugandan military officials were in talks with some of the warlords in Somalia ahead of the country’s deployment of peacekeepers, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said.

End of the TFG and the way forward

2007-02-26T18:30:00.000-08:00

Somalis and Experts on Somali Affairs have recently witnessed a history without a known parallel. Much efforts and ink have been spent on analysing and discussing many noteworthy history events such as the transformation of the notorious.....

Somalia: Warlordism, Ethiopian Invasion, Dictatorship, and America's Role: I.A. Samatar

2007-02-26T18:22:00.000-08:00

The American sponsored UN Security Council Resolution on Somalia in December 2006 prepared the grounds for an Ethiopia invasion of Somalia. This resolution authorized the deployment of an African Union force, excluding Ethiopia, Kenya, .....

Kenya Illigally Detains, Renders Ogaden to Ethiopian Militray

2007-02-26T15:10:00.000-08:00

The Ogaden Human Rights Committee, (OHRC), endorses rights based perspectives to the overall well being of humanity, and particularly to the rights of the people of Ogadenia.

Muslim Cabbie Charged With Running Over Students After Religious Dispute

2007-02-20T09:37:00.000-08:00

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Muslim cabdriver from Somalia ran over two college students near Vanderbilt University after getting into an argument with them about religion, police said.

Reconciliation Talks Begin in Somali

2007-02-06T17:29:00.000-08:00

MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Somalia's government began a weeklong meeting Monday with elders, traditional chiefs and representatives of aid groups as part of efforts to try to reconcile Somalis after 16 years of conflict.

Ethiopia: Any contribution made by current rulers?

2007-02-02T18:35:00.000-08:00

Ryszard Kapuscinski the Polish author and journalist has died at the age of 74. In his book Cesarz(The Emperor) he described the last days of Negus Haile Selassi. And with it the des-functioning of the feudal system that owned Ethiopia in these times.

Ethiopia cholera death fears grow

2007-02-02T18:31:00.000-08:00

Some 570 people have died in Ethiopia during what aid agencies say is a cholera outbreak.

Uganda: Points to Ponder Before Entering Somalia

2007-02-02T17:28:00.000-08:00

Posted to the web February 1, 2007
Joshua Muvumb, KampalaUGANDA is one of the countries poised to send troops to Somalia. It is, however, important to consider the following factors. All Somalis claim to have a common ancestor - the Arab Abu Taalib.

Suspected cholera outbreak kills scores in Somalia

2007-02-01T16:14:00.000-08:00

JOWHAR, Somalia, Feb 1 (Reuters) - A suspected outbreak of cholera has killed up to 121 people in Somalia in the past week, hospital sources and local elders said on Thursday.

Somalia: U.S. - Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

2007-02-01T16:07:00.000-08:00

Posted to the web January 17, 2007
Kamurai Mudzingwa, Harare
THE United States finally attacked Somalia on the pretext of targeting suspected Al-Qaeda rebels.

Uganda: Soldiers for Somalia deployment to get more cash

2007-02-01T16:02:00.000-08:00

The Ugandan army has said its soldiers who will be deployed in Somalia as peacekeepers will earn five times their wages. This

Ethiopian Intervention in Somalia

2006-07-01T02:57:00.000-07:00

Djibouti (HAN) February 2nd, 2007 - Just one moth after the Ethiopian government officially recognized it had sent troops into Somalia, the first contingent of Ethiopian troops have started pulling out of Mogadishu. Although African Union (AU) troops are not expected to be deployed in Somalia for at least two weeks.

U.S. looks at diplomatic presence in Somalia

2006-07-01T02:54:00.001-07:00

WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The United States is considering whether to have a diplomatic presence in Somalia, where Islamists were ousted from the capital at the end of last year, the State Department said on Thursday.

Burundi joins Somalia peace force

2006-07-01T02:54:00.000-07:00

Burundi has offered to contribute to the proposed African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, following an AU appeal for soldiers.
Foreign Minister Antoinette Batumubwira told the BBC that Burundi could send up to 1,000 troops.

Somalia: Displaced Families Find New Homes With UN Assistance

2006-07-01T02:46:00.000-07:00

(New York) February 1, 2007
Posted to the web February 1, 2007
Under an ambitious pilot programme in the northern Somalian port city of Bosaso, United Nations agencies, a non-governmental organization (NGO) and local communities have joined forces to relocate 120 internally displaced families who have fled intense fighting as well as 30 local poor families.

Somali Teen was Shot and Killed in Boston

2006-06-28T20:52:00.001-07:00

Teen whose family escaped war-torn Somalia slain in Boston
June 27, 2006

BOSTON Globe --A teenager who escaped with his family from war-torn Somalia and planned to attend college in the fall was shot and killed by 15-year-old boy, authorities said.

East African Youth were Honored in San Diego

2006-06-26T00:24:00.000-07:00

San Diego Police Department’s Multi-Cultural Community Relations Office in collaboration with Somali Family Services and other community leaders honored 52 East African Youth...