Djibouti: How Much Do We Know About the La Chaumere Bombers?

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Djibouti demands explanation over a male and female suicide bomber suicide bombers from Somaliland after the May 25th bomb attack leaves 20 dead and 15 others wounded in a restaurant popular with Westerners
Djibouti demands explanation over a male and female suicide bombers from Somaliland after the May 25th attack that leaves over 20 people dead and 15 others wounded in a restaurant popular with Westerners

By Ahmed Abdi,

MUSE Robleh Herad, 36, and Hodan Mohammed Isse, 29, were involved in the deadly attack at a La Chaumere restaurant, which left 20 people dead and 15 others wounded.

Herad entered the second room of the La Chaumere restaurant where International soldiers were sitting and blew up himself, within seconds later his wife Mrs. Herald followed and blew herself up in the first room where others were playing pool table.

Born and raised in Dire-Dawa, one of the historic commercial cities of the Ogaden region, Herad, who hails from Furla’be sub-clan of Issa went Karachi, Pakistan in 2007, where he met Hodan who hails from Issa Muse sub-clan of Isaaq and was born in Somaliland’s Berbera seaport city. As Students in Pakistan and as reliable sources confirmed to Waagacusub Media that both of them were carrying Ethiopian passports.


In 2009, the couple went to Somali’s capital of Mogadishu and lived with a man named Moalim Burhan from Dir sub-clan of Gadabursi (Samaron), whose kinship have been executed along with Ibrahim Haji Jama mee’aad aha Ibrahim al-Afghani by Al-Shabab on 20 June 2013.

The couple that blew themselves up in Djibouti went to Dire-dawa through Hargeisa, the Capital city of Somaliland in December 23,2013. According to sources close to Al-Shaba, at that time the couple left their suicide vests in Hargeisa.

On May 22,2014, their suicide vests that were hidden inside a commercial truck arrived in Djibouti only a day after they (couple) crossed through the border town of Lowya-ade with the help of a member of Djibouti Police immigration, Suleiman Waberi, Officials from Somaliland that are investigating the case told Waagacusub media.

In 2013, Herad and his wife among other suicide bombers were sent to Addis Ababa in a bid to conduct series suicide attacks, but the mission was unsuccessful after their fellow Jihadi suicide bomber, Ahmed Abdi from Isaaq, blew himself up in Addis Ababa on Oct 13,2013 which Ethiopia arrested a large number of people allegedly assisting the terror group.

Ethiopia’s anti-terrorist police and U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia found Abdi’s passport and have learned in their search that he received a large sum of money through one of Somali money transfer agent which legally serve in Addis Ababa.

Reliable sources indicate that the suicide attack that occurred in Djibouti facilitated by Ministers in Somaliland’s Silaanyo cabinet and members of intelligence services of Djibouti that hail from Issa’s sub-clan of Furlabe and Odah-gob.

In January 3, 2012, Al-Shabab planned to conduct suicide operations in Djibouti mainly on strategic areas such as train rail-road and specific hotels. Individuals that assigned to conduct the terror attacks on behalf of Al-Shabab were from Issa clan.

Factors that Contribute Djibouti’s Insecurity

Djibouti President’s Issa sub-clan of Ma’masan and other Issa clans such as Furlabe are fighting each other for the control of the Djibouti city and clans’ competition for political power of Djibouti started since the failed attempt of coup d’état by Col. Yassin Yabe on Dec 7, 2000, which the enduring dictator survived through the help of his  clan-man General Zakaria Sheikh Ibrahim, Chief of the Army forces.

Ismail Omar Guelleh (IOG) of Djibouti, has sacked many politicians and government workers of his major rival clans and replaced them with minority clans that have less threat to his power.

IOG had sacked Yassin Yabe before the failed coup d’état attempt and he has learnt from such and not placing any one that hails from a powerful clan in any of the important positions. He appointed the head of Djibouti National Police, Col. Abdi Abdullahi who is null and void and  the defense minister, Mr. Abdulkadir Mohammed Kamil both  hail from minority clan of Urweine.

Ismail Omar Guelleh is not only sacked any one that may bring challenge  to him, but also imprisoned, detained, or otherwise harassed without a fair and transparent  trial, often without due process. Major clans of Issa  are angry over Ismail’s ruthless policy and improper dealing towards them.

Mr. Guelleh, who inherited the power in 1999 from his Uncle and the country’s first president Hassan Guled Abtidon changed the constitution to allow himself to govern at least for six more years, which many translated to a constitutional dictatorship.

Despite, high employment rate in Djibouti, Djiboutians see the only U.S base in Africa the best place to work and get a well-paid salary and of course rewarding one. Many Djiboutians that lack the skills that Philippines in Camp Lemonier have, are very upset and say that foreigners are taking their jobs .Moreover, Many Djiboutians were fired from their jobs at U.S Base for no apparent reasons and could not find someone that has to standing up for the U.S Base workers.

However, Djibouti shared border with Somali region of Ogaden and Somaliland and  has been struggling against contraband over the past five years.

Djibouti hosts the United States’ only military base in Africa, where drones are operated from. Earlier this month the US signed a $63m a year for 10-years lease for the base known as Camp Lemonnier. The tiny East African country has also contributed troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia.

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