Notices by Zecharias Zelalem (zekuzelalem@dair-community.social), page 2

@JoshPaul you should consider giving Bluesky a shot

According to the Nation newspaper, Abdullahi actually phoned his daughter a day before the video release to tell her that he was alive, and that she'd see evidence soon.

Nine years later, the town of El Adde and much of southern Somalia remains in Al Shabab hands, making a rescue very complex and unlikely.

Could the sudden publishing of fresh footage signal a desire to engage in prisoner exchange talks?

https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/uasin-gishu/kin-believe-kdf-soldier-abducted-by-al-shabaab-presumed-dead-is-alive-after-seeing-video-4891664

In response to the unexpected release of footage showing Abdullahi alive, his daughter took to Kenyan media to plead for assistance in rescuing her father, detailing here in English, the toll that the last nine years has taken on her family. She explained that the Kenyan military has looked after the family over the course of the past nine years, with Abdullahi presumed dead.

Source: NTV.

Known as the worst day in the history of the Kenyan military, Kenyan troops, part of an African Union peacekeeping contingent in Somalia, were attacked at their base in the town of El Adde in southwestern Somalia, on January 15th 2016. Badly prepared Kenyan troops suffered 100-200 dead, and Al Shabab later released a high quality video production documenting the attack.

The video of Abdullahi was released on the 9th anniversary of the El Adde raid.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35658500

Surprising news out of Somalia: Al Shabab have released a video depicting Abdullahi Issa Ibrahim, a Kenyan soldier who was captured by the militants during the 2016 El Adde battle. That battle saw Al Shabab raid a Kenyan base in the Somali town of El Adde, and badly prepared Kenyan soldiers suffered huge losses.

Abdullahi's family had long assumed him dead. Now aged 61, he surfaces on an undated clip pleading the Kenyan government for his rescue.

It is unclear what Al Shabab's intentions are.

@Meron well...tell him if he can name and shame whoever received that 10 million birr bribe...maybe he can get some time reduced on his sentence :)

@RobertoArchimboldi They are absolutely amazing. But yeah, for now they are more active on X than anywhere else.

@ohmu @ditol I'll urge her to be more active :) she has replied in this thread

@NWengrov Stay safe tomorrow! I too can't wait to see footage of hostage family reunions very soon. Hope this holds.

@mayintoronto Yup! Fingers crossed that this is the end

Groundbreaking. Reuters are reporting that a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas has been secured. Could Gaza finally see an end to the onslaught?

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-ceasefire-appears-close-us-egyptian-leaders-put-focus-coming-hours-2025-01-14/

@DutchCheryl Yes! That is the last we heard as well. We attended a virtual press conference with both Dutch and UAE police, and the Emiratis confirmed to us that they wanted to put Kidane on trial for financial crimes in the UAE, and that when they were done with him, they would likely send him off to the Netherlands. Since then, we've heard precious little

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-sudan-arrest-world-most-wanted-human-trafficker

The nightmarish stories of migrants in Libya are endless.

With Trump's presidency beginning next week, I'm expecting a greater concentrated effort to demonize migrants/asylum seekers. But nobody chooses to be born in a warzone. Human resilience and a desire for survival would push anyone to use their instincts and get out while they can. Migration is human.

For more on all things migration via Libya...I encourage you to follow @Meron , who is an absolute heroine.

FIN.
https://youtu.be/IQdeQ-9nXow

Anyways...a little bit about the policies that many right wing political parties are pushing these days with regards to immigration.

Among those beheaded that day, 30 year old Tesfay Kidane. He fled Eritrea, and applied for asylum in Israel and was rejected. Israel keeps migrants like him in detention facilities, offering to let them out if they take up an offer & leave the country.

With no prospects, Tesfay decided to leave and try Libya. Israeli xenophobic migration policies sealed his fate.

The executioner in the video was a masked man who spoke fluent North American English. But because none of the victims were westerners, the CIA or other intelligence agencies made no effort to publicize the name of the homegrown terrorist the way they did with "Jihadi John," because unlike Jihadi John (Mohammed Emwazi) this guy's victims were poor African migrants.

Libya has seen the emergence of all kinds of brutal armed entities, most of whom made life hell for the migrants they encounter in their territory.

In 2015, the so called Islamic State produced a gruesome video showing the beheadings/shootings of 28 Ethiopian & Eritrean migrant that the group kidnapped, and targeted for their faith.

It's a particularly unforgettable, traumatizing tragedy, which led to riots and mass mourning processions in Ethiopia.

https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/19/africa/libya-isis-executions-ethiopian-christians/index.html

What kind of people are the migrants? They aren't the "rapists" and criminals Elon Musk wishes they all were. Pushed away from their homelands by oppressive and genocidal regimes, the "civilized world" then pushes them back into the sea, or into the path of the traffickers who trade in their blood and limbs.

Thousands are held like Naima in trafficker warehouses in Libya. In 2021, I wrote about a particularly brutal trafficker kingpin, and interviewed survivors.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/ethiopia-libya-human-trafficking-migrants-escape-justice

European friends, do look at the track record of the EU on dealing with migration from Libya with greater scrutiny. The EU has had a history of funding all kinds of violent groups, from brutal coast guard units, to human traffickers and even Russian Wagner affiliated militia groups, who are paid to kidnap, and return migrants aboard boats back to Libya.

An earth shattering 2023 Al Jazeera investigation was especially revelatory.

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2023/12/11/with-europes-help-a-libyan-brigade-accused-of-killings-returns-refugees

There is footage of Naima being tortured, but I'm not uploading it here. Here's Middle East Eye coverage if you'd like. There are so may Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somali families who have sold their homes, properties/possession to pay ransoms to Libyan traffickers, that I'm frankly surprised that Naima's story went viral and made headlines.

It's important that we all comprehend the fallout of Obama's "mistake" in Libya.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/libya-video-reveals-young-ethiopian-woman-being-tortured-ransom

In the Horn of Africa, people have grown so accustomed, even numb to such disturbing images. Because the tragic plight of migrants like Naima and their families is all too common nowadays. Wars and oppression send millions fleeing the Horn of Africa. Human traffickers make a killing through extortion, rape and murder.

Since the NATO led overthrow of Gaddafi, Libya has become a hub for such abuses. We are too familiar with it, I'm hoping others can at least be aware.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/18/libya-is-hell-126-refugees-rescued-in-the-mediterranean-say