Updated information on the Bajuni in Somalia including whether there is an active Bajuni community residing in Kismayu and/or Brava today; whether a Hawiye militia attacked Kismayu in June 1996 with a view to eliminating ethnic Bajunis; whether at the beginning of the war in 1990, any militias forcibly recruited young Bajuni men and kidnapped Bajuni women to serve as cooks and wives; also information on the political leadership offered by Mohamed Rajis Mohamed of the Somali National Union (SNU), including his participation in the recent Cairo Agreement of December 1997, and whether he offers democratic representation for the Bajuni [SOM29281.E]

In addition to the information contained in numerous Responses to Information Requests on the Bajuni available at Regional Documentation Centres, a political science professor, who specializes in Somalia and Somaliland politics at the College of Holy Cross in Worchester, Massachusetts, stated that the situation of the Bajuni in Somalia has not changed since the fall of Siad Barre in January 1991(1 May 1998). He further stated that the Bajuni do not have tribal linkages, or militias, are defenseless, and that the majority of them currently live in refugee camps in Kenya and Yemen (ibid.).

A doctoral student at York University, in Toronto, who specializes in the history of the Benadir people in Somalia corroborated the above information adding that the traditional homelands of the Bajuni and the Bravanese, which were originally in the Kismayu coastal zone, have been occupied by warring Somali factions (5 May 1998). Patrick Gilkes adds that "most of the individual parcels of land were taken over by Hawiye in 1991 - 1992 as they drove the Darod out" (Sept. 1994).

The doctoral student also claimed that there is no active Bajuni community in Kismayo because the majority of the Bajuni and Bravenese are in refugee camps outside Mombasa in Kenya (5 May 1998). A 28 report posted on the internet by UNCHR office in Nairobi (http://www.reliefweb.int) states that 1,400 refugees were scheduled to be repatriated to Somali's Bajuni islands in April 998, and that Jomvu refugee camp in the coast province of Kenya would be closed after the repatriation.

In 1994 Kismayo was divided between the Marehan and the Majerteen (Ken Menkhaus & John Prendergast May 1995, 84). According to the Office of the UN Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator for Somalia, Marehan militias launched a surprise attack on Kismayo city on 14 June 1996 causing severe fighting between the Majerteeen and Marehan militias (1 May - 30 June 1997). For information on the consequences of this attack particularly on the Bajuni/Bravanese (sometimes referred to as Somali Arabs), please consult Response to Information Request SOM26163.E of 17 February 1997 available at Regional Documentation Centres.

In the fall of 1997, General Morgan of the Somali Patriotic Movement/Somali Salvation Alliance (SPM/SSA), and Colonel Abdi Mahdi of the SPM/Somali National Alliance (SPM/SNA) signed a joint declaration "recommending the formation of a joint security team, a regional administration, and the introduction of Sharia Law in the Lower and Middle Juba regions" (ibid., Jan. 1998, 3). The UN office further states that the situation in Kismayo between 1 September and 31 October 1997 was "calm," following reconciliation talks between the Majerteen and Marehan clans (ibid.).

However, a 1 April 1998 Inter Press Service (IPS) report claims that renewed "fierce fighting" between forces loyal to the Marehan led by General Omar Haji Mohamed and those of the Majerteen led by General Said Hirsi "Morgan" was threatening the safe delivery of UN humanitarian emergency supplies to the southern regions of Middle and Lower Juba, Lower Shebelle, Gedo and Bakool districts, "where flooding has severely affected 657,00 people." According to the doctoral student fighting between the two Darod subclans: the Majerteen and the Marehan, currently continues in Kismayo and the town is under the control of General Mohamed Hirsi Morgan (5 May 1998).

The political science professor stated that Mohamed Rajis Mohamed, the founder and leader of the Somali National Union (SNU) is a medical doctor by profession, and has been an active participant in Somalia's peace initiatives including the Cairo Agreement of December 1997 (1 May 1998). The doctoral student added that the SNU represents the interests of the Reer Hamar, the Bajuni and the Bravenese (5 May 1998). He further stated that Mohamed Rajis Mohamed is stationed in the town of Mombasa in Kenya. He claimed that although Mohamed Rajis Mohamed alleges to represent the Bajunis, Bravanese and the Reer Hamar, he is a self-appointed and self-sponsored leader, who does not consult with the elders of these communities. Nonetheless, he added, he has been actively involved in the peace talks and is one of the signatories of the recent Cairo Agreement of 17 December 1997.

For information on the situation in Kismayo in early 1997, please consult the Report on the Nordic Fact-Finding Mission to Central and Southern Somalia 15 February to 14 March 1997, which is available at Regional Documentation Centres. Information on whether, at the beginning of the war in 1990 in the Kismayo area, militias forcibly recruited young Bajuni men and kidnapped Bajuni women to serve as cooks could not be found among reports consulted by the Research Directorate.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References


Doctoral student specializing in the history of the Benadir in Somalia, York University, Toronto. 4 May 1998. Telephone interview.

Inter Press Service (IPS). 1 April 1998. Moyiga Nduru. "Somalia: U.N. Expresses Concern Over Renewed Fighting." (NEXIS)

CSIS Africa Notes [Washington, DC]. May 1995. Ken Menkhaus and John Prendergast. "Governance and Economic Survival in Postintervention Somalia," (Compiled in Information Session on Country Conditions on Somalia. Toronto. 15 February 1996)

Danish Immigration Service. May 1997. Report on the Nordic Fact-Finding Mission to Central & Southern Somalia 15 February - 14 March 1997. (Copenhagen: Danish Immigration Service).

Gilkes, Patrick. September 1994. The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991-1994. Bedfordshire, UK: Save the Children Fund, UK.

Political science professor specializing in Somalia and Somaliland politics, College of Holy Cross, Worchester, Massachusettes. 1 May 1998. Telephone interview.

United Nations. January 1998. "From Relief to Development in Somalia: Situation Report for the Period 1 September - 31 October 1997." Nairobi: Office of the United Nations Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator for Somalia.

_____. July 1997. "From Relief to Development in Somalia: Situation Report for the Period 1 May 30 - 30 June 1997." Nairobi: Office of the United Nations Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator for Somalia.

UNHCR. 28 March 1998. "UNHCR Flies Somali Refugee Home." (http://www.reliefweb.int)

Additional Sources Consulted


Africa Confidential [London]. 1991-1992. Vols. 32 & 33.

Africa Research Bulletin [Oxford]. 1991-1992. Vols. 27-29.

Human Rights Watch. September 1990 - February 1992.

Horn of Africa Bulletin. 1990 - 1991. Bols. 13 & 14.

Gilkes, P.S. September 1994. The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991-1994. Bedfordshire, U.K.: Save the Children's Fund.

The Invention of Somalia. Edited by Ali Jamale Ahmed. 1995. Lawrenceville, NJ: The Red Sea Press.

Electronic sources: DIRB Databases, Global News Bank, Lexis/Nexis, Internet, REFWORLD (UNHCR dtabase), World News Connection (WNC).

Two oral sources could not provide information on the requested subject.