National Security Service (Somalia)

National Security Service (Somalia)

The National Security Service was the primary intelligence service of the government of Siad Barre and the bedrock of its repressive internal security apparatus, existing from 1970 until 1990 when it was formally abolished.

Contents

Organization and structure

The NSS was subordinate to the Interior Ministry, and (in the closing years of the Barré regime) was headed by Abdiqasim Salad Hassan (who would later be a one-time President of Somalia under the Transitional National Government.) Conceived in the Soviet model and organized with the help of the KGB, the NSS was an elite organization whose key officers maintained close links to Barré's Supreme Revolutionary Council.[1][2][3]

NSS prisons

The NSS headquarters and interrogation center in Mogadishu, referred to as Godka or "the Hole", was particularly notorious.[4] Other NSS centers included Mogadishu Central Prison, and stations at Lanta Bur, Labtanjirow and Burwein.

1990 dissolution

In 1990 the NSS was formally dissolved as a palliative measure.[5] However, its abolition was not accompanied by the demise of other security agencies who also had effectively unlimited powers of arrest and detention and similarly notorious reputations for torture and ill-treatment of detainees. These include the President's own bodyguards, the Red Berets; the Dhabar Jabinta (or "Backbreakers") a branch of the military police; the Hangash, another branch of the military police; the Guulwadayal (or "Victory Pioneers"), a uniformed paramilitary group; and the investigative wing of the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP).

Similarly, the decision to dismantle the NSC did not guarantee a fair system of justice because other courts, such as the Mobile Military Court and the Regional Security Court, retained the power to sentence people to long prison terms and even death without any pretense of due process. In an effort to show that the government was opening the political system, President Barre resigned as Secretary General of the ruling party, only to be replaced by a son-in-law who for many years headed the NSS.

Somali politicians with ties to the NSS

Controversy surrounds the activities of the NSS, as well as those politicians who served in or assisted the NSS during the Barre regime. This is a partial list of Somali politicians who had known or alleged ties to the NSS:

Ethiopian president Meles Zenawi and Eritrean president Isayas Afewerki also had reported contacts to the NSS; according to a Somali government official quoted by IRIN news, Zenawi and Afewerki "lived together in a villa behind Tawfiq Hotel, north Mogadishu, and were handled by the National Security Service, provided with travel documents and Somali passports, trained and given a Tigrayan radio frequency".[9] Zenawi's NSS handler was the father of TFG minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • National Security Service — could refer to: National Security Service (Armenia) National Security Service (Kazakhstan) National Security Service (Maldives) National Security Service (Somalia) National Security Service (Turkey) National Security Service (United States)… …   Wikipedia

  • National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan — Kazakh: Қазақстан Республикасы Ұлттық Қауіпсіздік Комитеті; Russian: Комитет Национальной Безопасности Республики Казахстан …   Wikipedia

  • National Intelligence Service (South Korea) — National Intelligence Service 국가정보원 NIS logo Agency overview Formed June 13th, 1961 Preceding agencies …   Wikipedia

  • National Security Guard — Abbreviation NSG NSG Logo Motto Sarvatra Sarvottam Surakhsha …   Wikipedia

  • National Intelligence Service (Greece) — National Intelligence Service Εθνική Υπηρεσία Πληροφοριών Agency overview Formed May 9, 1953 as the Central Intelligence Service Jurisdiction …   Wikipedia

  • National Security Agency — NSA redirects here. For other uses, see NSA (disambiguation). For the Bahraini intelligence agency, see National Security Agency (Bahrain). National Security Agency Agency overview …   Wikipedia

  • National Security Bureau — This article is about Chinese intelligence agency. For Polish government agency, see National Security Bureau (Poland). The National Security Bureau (NSB; Chinese: 國家安全局) is the principal intelligence agency of the Republic of China (Taiwan),… …   Wikipedia

  • National Security Agency (Bahrain) — The National Security Agency or National Security Apparatus (Arabic: جهاز الأمن الوطني‎) is an investigating authority in Bahrain that is associated with but not formally part of the Ministry of the Interior.[1] The NSA was formed after King… …   Wikipedia

  • General Intelligence and Security Service — Old Logo of AIVD Algemene Inlichtingen en Veiligheidsdienst (AIVD), formerly known as the BVD (Binnenlandse Veiligheidsdienst Domestic Security Service) is the General Intelligence and Security Service or The Secret service of the Netherlands.… …   Wikipedia

  • Police Security Service (Norway) — Norwegian Police Security Service Type Government agency Industry Police force Founded 1937 Headquarters Oslo, Norway Area served Norway …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”