Military and armed-group figures
Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki
Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki (about 1944–2015) was a veteran of the Ogaden fighting of the 1960s and 1970s and a leader in al-Itihaad al-Islamiya. He founded the Ras Kamboni Brigade, was a military leader of the Islamic Courts in 2006, and in February 2010 merged his faction into al-Shabaab. The US designated him in 2004. He died of illness in Middle Juba on 27 May 2015.
Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-TurkiHassan Turki · Sheikh Hassan Turki
- Lived
- 1944 to 2015
- Known as one of
- Military and armed-group figures
- Era
- The Republic, 1960 to 1991; Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 3 sources
In short
Hassan al-Turki took part in armed movements for about fifty years, from the Ogaden revolt of the 1960s to al-Shabaab. This page records his public role from the sources, without taking sides.
Ogaden and al-Itihaad
Wikipedia records that he was born in about 1944 in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia and belonged to the Reer Abdille, Ogaden, Darod. He fought in the 1963–65 Ogaden revolt, was in the Western Somali Liberation Front and fought in the 1977–78 Ogaden war (Wikipedia, Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki). Garowe Online reported that he studied in Saudi Arabia (Garowe Online, 28 May 2015). He was a leader of al-Itihaad al-Islamiya (Wikipedia).
Designation, 2004
On 3 June 2004 the US State Department designated him under Executive Order 13224. In a 2007 interview with Al Jazeera Arabic he rejected this, saying "I am not a terrorist" (Wikipedia, citing the State Department and Al Jazeera).
The Islamic Courts and the Ras Kamboni Brigade
Garowe Online records that he was a military leader of the Islamic Courts Union in 2006 (Garowe Online). After the courts broke up in December 2006 he formed the Ras Kamboni Brigade in the Juba valley near the Kenyan border. Stanford's Mapping Militants project records that on 20 August 2008 the brigade and al-Shabaab took Kismayo after two days of fighting; that the brigade joined Hizbul Islam in January 2009, with al-Turki as deputy chairman; and that a US air strike targeted him in 2008 without killing him (Mapping Militant Organizations, Ras Kamboni Brigade). Wikipedia, citing the Los Angeles Times, records that the March 2008 strike hit homes in Dhobley.
Al-Shabaab, 2010–2015
In February 2010 his faction formally joined al-Shabaab and pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda. A rival faction under Ahmed Madobe formed the Ras Kamboni Movement, which opposes al-Shabaab (Mapping Militants). The Long War Journal estimated the brigade at 500 to 1,000 fighters at the time (Mapping Militants, citing the Long War Journal).
He died on 27 May 2015 in Hargeisa Yarey, Middle Juba. The al-Shabaab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage said he died of undisclosed complications; Garowe Online gave his age as 73 and recorded a US reward of US$3 million (Garowe Online).
Sources differ
- When the brigade was founded. 2006, 2007 or January 2008.
- Earlier claims. Wikipedia records a claim, from a 2015 Somali-language report, that he was responsible for a 1989 killing in Mogadishu, and an Al Arabiya report that he fought US forces in 1993. Both are given there as reported claims.
Read the primary sources yourself
- Mapping Militant Organizations, Stanford University, "Ras Kamboni Brigade": profile.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-Turki · en.wikipedia.org
- Garowe Online, 28 May 2015 · garoweonline.com
- Mapping Militant Organizations, Ras Kamboni Brigade · mappingmilitants.org
Hassan Abdullah Hersi al-TurkiHassan Turki · Sheikh Hassan Turki
- Lived
- 1944 to 2015
- Known as one of
- Military and armed-group figures
- Era
- The Republic, 1960 to 1991; Rebuilding without a state, 1991 to 2012; Who holds power, 2012 to now
- Sources
- 3 sources
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