Pro-Government Militias

Pro-Government Militia Website

Documentation for Raskamboni / Raas Kaambooni

Aug. 20, 2012
BBC Monitoring Africa – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

Today marks the end of term for Somalia's Transitional Federal Government which has ruled for the past eight years.

Aug. 27, 2012
BBC Monitoring Africa – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

Allied forces comprising of Transitional Federal Government of Somalia [TFG] forces, those of pro government militia, Raskamboni and Kenyan troops that recently joined AMISOM [African Union's Mission in Somalia] have said they are advancing to southern Somalia port town of Kismaayo [Lower Jubba] with the aim of ousting Al-Shabab forces there.

Oct. 28, 2012
BBC Monitoring Africa – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

Somalia: Po-government militia group imposes restriction on journalists

Raas Kaambooni officers in Kismaayo today informed journalists operating in the city that they cannot transmit news reports without the knowledge of the [city's] administration

Dec. 20, 2012
BBC Monitoring Africa – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

Reports coming in from Kismaayo town, the provincial capital of Lower Jubba Region [southern Somalia], say that fighting erupted a short while ago between Somali armed forces and pro-government Raas Kaambooni militia.

The battle is said to have began when Somali soldiers tried to forcefully dismantle a roadblock set up by some Raas Kaambooni fighters on the slope of Calanley neighbourhood in Kismaayo.

Jan. 14, 2013
BBC Monitoring Africa – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

According to reports from Afmadow District, Lower Jubba Region, the militia of Ahmad Madobe [Raas Kaambooni Brigade] have stolen 100 head of cattle which were being transported to Beled Weyne, Hiiraan Region, by Somali traders.

Jan. 16, 2013
BBC Monitoring Africa – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

Cases of insecurity in the city has been on the rise in recent days amid reports of alleged harassment of civilians by the Ahmad Madobe-led Raas Kaambooni militia

April 4, 2013
BBC Monitoring Africa – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

Spokesman for the association of traditional elders for the unity of Hawiye communities, Peacemaker Ahmad Diiriye Ali who spoke to Shabelle media in Mogadishu regarding affairs on Jubba regions, said that Raas Kaambooni seek to hand over the strategic town of Kismaayo to the Kenya government.
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These remarks by spokesman comes at a time when serious disputes exist on issues related to the creation of administrations for Jubba regions between Raas Kaambooni militia who are in charge of local administration and the Somali government.

June 20, 2013
BBC Monitoring Africa – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

The leader of the pro-Somali government Raas Kaambooni militia group, Ahmad Muhammad Islam, better known as Ahmad Madobe, has condemned the 19 June "cowardly" attack on a United Nations complex in Mogadishu by Al-Shabab fighters, privately-owned Raxanreeb website reports.

June 29, 2013
BBC Monitoring Africa – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

The fighting is between the Raas Kaambooni militia and fighters loyal to former warlord, Barre Hirale, vying for the control of the strategically important port.

June 30, 2013
BBC Monitoring Africa – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

Militia loyal to Shaykh Ahmad Muhammad Islam alias Ahmad Madobe have reportedly taken control of Kismaayo town in southern Somalia and begun looting the household of Col Barre Adan Shire alias Barre Hiiraale.

July 23, 2013
BBC Monitoring Africa – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

Hasan Kasim Warsame, a military official, said that they are making final preparations for an onslaught on Kismaayo which they hope take control of after their ouster by Raas Kaambooni militia, Kenyan troops.

He added that they will fight Kenyan AU troops allied to Raas Kaamboni militia loyal to Shaykh Ahmad Muhammad Islam alias Ahmad Madobe

Oct. 8, 2013
BBC Monitoring Africa – Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

Ahmad Madoobe's Raas Kaambooni militia and Barre Hiiraale's loyalists have been engaging in battles on the outskirts of Kismaayo town after the latter's militia were ousted from the town early this year. The Somali government reportedly sent Barre Hiiraale to Kismaayo days be-fore Shaykh Ahmad Madoobe declared himself president of Jubbaland region leading to in-termittent conflict in Kismaayo town.

Jan. 12, 2016
Mapping Militant Organizations - Stanford University

Available: http://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/489

The Ras Kamboni Movement is an Islamist militia in Somalia that emerged as a splinter group of the Ras Kamboni Brigade in 2010. Since its appearance as an independent group, the Ras Kamboni Movement has been led by Ahmed Mohamed Islam, better known as “Madobe.”
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The other faction of the Ras Kamboni Brigade, led by Madobe, also left Hizbul Islam to form a separate group called the Ras Kamboni Movement, which opposes Al Shabaab. While the Ras Kamboni Brigade effectively ended after it joined Al Shabaab, Madobe’s Ras Kamboni Movement continued to exist as a separate entity after leaving Hizbul Islam. The Ras Kamboni Movement and the Ras Kamboni Brigade are sometimes referred to interchangeably.
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Unlike al-Turki’s followers, the Ras Kamboni Movement strongly opposes Al Shabaab and has allegedly cooperated with government forces against it. (...) In 2012, the Ras Kamboni Movement allegedly worked with a coalition of African Union, Kenyan, and Somali government troops to drive Al Shabaab out of Kismayo. However, some Somali officials denied this cooperation.
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Also in February 2013, in another attempt to consolidate control of Kismayo, the Ras Kamboni Movement allegedly allied with the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)—a Somali nationalist separatist group—and fought against Somali government forces.
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Madobe was initially elected president of Jubaland, but a major rival warlord named Barre Hirale—who is allegedly backed by the Somali government—also declared himself president. Barre Hirale’s militia, like many of the militias fighting the Ras Kamboni Movement, is a Marehan clan militia and has been a principal opponent of the Ras Kamboni Movement in Kismayo. (...). In August, the Ras Kamboni Movement and the Somali federal government concluded an agreement that formally called for a Jubaland interim government and allowed the Somali federal government nominal control of Kismayo. (...) In 2014, Barre Hirale’s militia agreed to talks with the Ras Kamboni Movement and other warring militias in order to end violence in Kismayo.
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There is little available information about the Ras Kamboni Movement’s ideology. The group has been described as Islamist. (...) Abdullahi Mohamud Mohamed, a spokesperson for the Ras Kamboni Movement, has claimed that the group’s principal goal is to expel Al Shabaab from southern Somalia. The Ras Kamboni Movement’s secondary goal, according to Mohamed, is to control the port city of Kismayo as well as to “establish a semi-autonomous state” in the region.
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The Ras Kamboni Movement’s resources mainly come from the group’s control over the city of Kismayo (...). The Ras Kamboni Movement’s main source of outside support has been the Kenyan government, which has often partnered with the group for economic or military purposes.
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The Ras Kamboni Movement is based primarily in Jubaland, an autonomous region in the south of Somalia. (...) Since 2012, the Ras Kamboni Movement has mostly controlled the major port city of Kismayo. The group has conducted street patrols and set up security checkpoints throughout the city. (...)
Most of the Ras Kamboni Movement’s fighters have been from the Ogaden clan, the largest clan in southern Somalia.