Mohamed Qanyare Afrah محمد قنيري افرح | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Security | |
| In office May 1995 – July 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Ibrahim Omar Shaaweye |
| Succeeded by | Mohamed Nur |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1941-08-01)1 August 1941 SomaliaCeelbuur |
| Died | 29 June 2019(2019-06-29) (aged 81) Nairobi,Kenya |
| Other political affiliations | United Somali Congress |
| Occupation | Political activist |
Mohamed Qanyare Afrah (Somali:Maxamed Qanyare Afrax,Arabic:محمد افراح قنياري}(1941–2019) was a Somali faction leader and politician who was based south ofMogadishu in theDaynile District.[1] He came in third position in Somalia's first election as a federal country[2] on 10 October 2004 and was subsequently appointed minister of public security in the government of Prime MinisterAli Mohammed Ghedi, He served as minister of security in 2006 but was dismissed after ignoring calls by the Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi to stop fighting forces of theIslamist Courts.[3] He continued to participate actively in Somali political affairs being reelected to the first post transitional federal parliament of Somalia as a member of parliament, he resigned from his seat representing his (Murusade) clan in the summer of 2013, his seat in theFederal Parliament of Somalia was taken over by his son Cabdiweli Mohamed Qanyare.
Mr. Qanyare Afrah joined theSomali Police Force after Somali independence in 1960, he rose to the level of Police Corporal before fleeing into exile in neighboring Kenya in the 1970s. In Kenya his brother Hassan Qanyare Afrah a well established business man who had built Speedways Trans - Africa a road haulage company, that grew into one of the preeminent commercial transportation enterprises in East and Central Africa of the 1970s and 1980s, invested in and became a shareholder in Mohamed Qanyare truck haulage company.[4] In exile Mohamed Qanyare was a noted critic of the regime of Somali dictatorSiad Barre, financially supporting different opposition movements against the former dictator, this support led to him being declaredpersona non-grata by the then President of the Republic of Kenya and close personal friend of Siad Barre andDaniel arap Moi.
Qanyare was one of the founding members and financiers of theUnited Somali Congress (USC) created in Rome Italy on January 26, 1987, he had been from the start a strong supporter of the legitimacy of the self proclaimed government ofAli Mahdi and was a key facilitator of the splinter faction known as the "USC Mahdi," because of their following ofAli Mahdi Mohamed of (Mudulood) clan. The USC Mahdi faction was distinct from another branch run byMohamed Farah Aideed, but he eventually changed sides serving as Minister of Interior in the so-called "Salbalaar" government administration set up by the USC/SNA faction led byMohamed Farah Aideed.
During the early period of the civil war between 1993 and 1999 Qanyare was an active participant in several peace conference's held in Egypt, Ethiopia & Kenya, he was considered to be a fairly well established warlord, who derived income from several checkpoints around the mainBakaraa market commercial area of Mogadishu, as well as taxing the activities of theDayniile airstrip, one of the many airstrips around the city of Mogadishu open at that time due to the closure of the main airport, as well as being a shareholder in the El-Ma'an port[citation needed]. used by Mogadishu businesses in lieu of the decade long closure of the main Mogadishu port.
In February 2001, Qanyare was persuaded to join theTransitional National Government (TNG).[5] He served as the fisheries minister. In 2004, he was a presidential hopeful, but lost toAbdullahi Yusuf Ahmed.[6]
In December 2004, Qanyare was appointed the position of Security Minister in theTransitional Federal Government (TFG). At the time, he was described as "one of Somalia's most heavily armed politicians" having a 2,000 man militia with dozens oftechnicals. He was also described as "a prominent businessman who runs an airstrip near the capital used by international aid agencies and importers of the stimulant leafqat grown in Kenya and chewed by Somali men."[7]
On 8 November 2005, a noticeable rift in the TFG was reported when Qanyare, along with fellow fraction leader and Commerce Minister Muss Sudi Yalahow, refused to meet with Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi until the capital was relocated to Mogadishu. At the time,Jowhar, the seat of rival fraction leaderMohammed Dheere, was being considered as a capital seat instead because it was less violent. In early February 2006, Qanyare was pushing an alternate proposal to move the government seat toBaidoa, which irked Dheere greatly.
Qanyare later lost his post after entering into battle with the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in theSecond Battle of Mogadishu.
Mohamed Qanyare was a member of theAlliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-Terrorism (ARPCT), a group of Mogadishu warlords who sought to counter the growing influence of the ICU. The group was funded by the USCIA. Intermittent fighting between the ARPCT and rivals, including theIslamic Courts Union (ICU) took place early in 2006, such as a four-day battle which concluded on March 27, 2006.[8]
During the months of May - June 2006, the ARPCT fought with the ICU for control over the ruined capital. The ARPCT lost, and Qanyare and other warlords were forced to flee or capitulate to the ICU.
On June, Qanyare and his forces were forced out of the Deyniile neighborhood.Garam-Garam was the "chief Commander of the militiamen loyal to Mohamed Qanyare" until he surrendered after the Second Battle of Mogadishu.[9] Qanyare was the only warlord in Somalia who have never been supported by Ethiopia. In any regard, after the battle, Qanyare stayed in Somalia while all other warlords defected to Ethiopia.[10]
For Qanyare's disobedience acting against the TFG government in entering into the conflict with the ICU, Qanyare along with other warlords wererelieved of their government posts.
In July 2006, after regrouping a force of 150 men in Derri in central Somalia and escaping an assassination attempt by the ICU, Qanyare joined the TFG government atBaidoa to seek safe haven.Mohamed Dooli was mentioned as one of Qanyare's militia commanders at this time.[11] Islamists bristled at the news.[12]
On 29 December after theFall of Mogadishu to the government, Mohamed Qanyare returned to the capital and made a plea for the federal government to not disarm the militias.[13] On December 31, surrounded in headquarters compound by a dozentechnicals, he claimed to have 1,500 men under his command, and asserted government control over Mogadishu was an illusion.[14]
In January 2007, Mr. Qanyare Afrah “Militia Men”, along withMuse Sudi Yalahow were the first warlords of Mogadishu to disarm, turning over their weapons and committing their militiamen to the government, though some ofSuudi's arms remained in other locations controlled by Qanyare and Mohamed Dhere. The arms were accepted by the chief commander of the government army, Along with General: Brise and Naji and other dignitaries.[15]
As of 2014[update] Mr. Qanyare Afrah “Family” was living in semi-retirement in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. He passed away in Mogadishu on 29 June 2019.[16]