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Osman Hassan Ali Atto (1940 – September 5, 2013), also spelled Ato, was a controversial Somali businessman, faction leader, and politician affiliated with the
Somali National Alliance The Somali National Alliance (abbreviated SNA) was a political alliance formed on 16 June 1992 by four different rebel groups that had been in opposition to the regime of Somali President Siad Barre. They would represent one of the major faction ...
.


Early life and career

Jutta Baykoni, ''Instabile Staatlichkeit, Zur Transformation politischer Herrschaft in Somalia'', 2001, pp. 89-90


Somali Civil War

Atto was the
khat Khat or qat ( ''ch’at''; Oromo: ''Jimaa'', so, qaad, khaad, khat or chat, ar, القات ''al-qāt'') is a flowering plant native to eastern and southern Africa. Khat contains the alkaloid cathinone, a stimulant, which is said to cause e ...
industry leader during the early 1990s, when he was second in command to
Mohammed Farah Aidid Mohamed Farrah Hassan Aidid ( so, Maxamed Faarax Xasan Caydiid; ar, محمد فرح حسن عيديد; 15 December 1934 – 1 August 1996) was a Somali general and diplomat. Educated in both Rome and Moscow, he served as a chief in the Italian ...
. Aidid thus became the strongest faction leader. Atto was captured by
Task Force Ranger Operation Gothic Serpent was a military operation conducted in Mogadishu, Somalia, by an American force code-named ''Task Force Ranger'' during the Somali Civil War in 1993. The primary objective of the operation was to capture Mohamed Farra ...
on September 21, 1993, from a location near Digfer Hospital. The Rangers had made an earlier attempt at Atto's capture, but missed him by seconds. In a speech at a church in Daytona, in January 2002, William Boykin, responsible for the operation, recounted, "There was a man in Mogadishu named Osman Atto... He went on CNN and he laughed at us, and he said, 'They'll never get me because
Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...
will protect me.'" The arrest was later portrayed in the 2001 film '' Black Hawk Down''. In an interview with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, Atto indicated that many aspects of the movie are factually incorrect. He took exception with the ostentatious character chosen to portray him; Atto does not look like the actor who portrayed him, smoke cigars, or wear earrings, facts which were later confirmed by SEAL Team Six sniper
Howard E. Wasdin Dr. Howard E. Wasdin, D.C.' (born Howard E. Wilbanks on November 8, 1961) is a former member of the United States Navy who served as a sailor in the Atlantic Fleet as well as a Navy SEAL. Following his honorable discharge, he co-wrote the auto ...
in his 2012 memoirs. Wasdin also indicated that while the character in the movie ridiculed his captors, Atto in reality seemed concerned that Wasdin and his men had been sent to kill rather than apprehend him. Atto additionally stated that he was not consulted about the project or approached for permission, and that the film sequence re-enacting his arrest contained several inaccuracies: "First of all when I was caught on 21 September, I was only travelling with one
Fiat 124 The Fiat 124 is a small family car manufactured and marketed by Italian company Fiat between 1966 and 1974. The saloon superseded the Fiat 1300 and was the basis for several variants including a station wagon, a four-seater coupé ( 124 Sport Cou ...
, not three vehicles as it shows in the film... And when the helicopter attacked, people were hurt, people were killed... The car we were travelling in, and I have got proof, it was hit at least 50 times. And my colleague Ahmed Ali was injured on both legs... I think it was not right, the way they portrayed both the individual and the action. It was not right. On July 9, 1994 the Lower Jubba Peace Conference led to a peace agreement signed by Atto as the
Somali National Alliance The Somali National Alliance (abbreviated SNA) was a political alliance formed on 16 June 1992 by four different rebel groups that had been in opposition to the regime of Somali President Siad Barre. They would represent one of the major faction ...
(SNA) representative and by general Hersi Morgan of the
Somali National Front The ''Somali National Front (SNF)'' ( Somali: ''Dhaqdhaqaaqa Jabhada Soomaliyeed'') was a politico-military organization that operated in southern Somalia during the Somali Civil War and represented one of the major factions involved in the conflic ...
(SNF). However, Hersi Morgan's adversaries in Lower
Jubba Thawb ( ar, ثَوْب "garment"), also spelled thobe or tobe and known by various other names in different regions, is an ankle-length robe, usually with long sleeves. It is commonly worn in the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, North Afr ...
, the
Absame clan The Darod ( so, Daarood, ar, دارود) is a Somali clan. The forefather of this clan was Sheikh Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, more commonly known as ''Darood''. The clan primarily settles the apex of the Horn of Africa and its peripherie ...
, did not take part, making the peace accord stillborn. In late 1994, Atto's car drove over a land mine and broke both his feet.


War against Aidid

The
U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
asserted, in its Country Report for Somalia for the year 2000, that the killing of Yusuf Tallan, a former general under the Barre regime, was connected to Atto. The report did not provide specific corroboration for the assertion. Militiamen loyal to Atto are also alleged to be responsible for a July 14, 2001, ambush of a
World Food Programme The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
(WFP) relief convoy near Mogadishu, in which six persons were killed. In 2004, the Chairman of the Security Council Committee described Atto as an individual who exemplifies "the interaction between looting and the exploitation of Somalia's resources and infrastructure and the financing of warfare".


Transitional Federal Government (TFG)

On May 30 he was kidnapped by the ICU, who were waging an insurgency against the Ethiopian troops and the Somali government soldiers. Atto was kidnapped by insurgents manning a checkpoint while he was driving to Mogadishu. The Islamic Courts later released him. On August 5, 2013, Atto died of natural causes at his Mogadishu residence.


Airports and checkpoints

United Nations S/2006/229 Security CouncilDistr.: General 4 May 2006 Original: English 06-30515 (E) 050506*0630515* Letter dated May 4 2006 from the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia addressed to the President of the Security Council, p.17 and 18


See also

*
United Somali Congress The United Somali Congress (USC) was one of the major rebel organizations in Somalia. Formed in 1987, it played a leading role in the ouster of the government of Siad Barre in 1991, and became a target of the Unified Task Force campaign in 19 ...
*
Hussein Mohamed Farrah Hussein Mohamed Farrah Aidid ( so, Xuseen Maxamed Faarax Caydiid, ar, حسين محمد فارح عيديد) (born August 16, 1962) is the son of General Mohamed Farrah Aidid. His father was leader of the Somali National Alliance (SNA), the o ...
*
Musa Sudi Yalahow Muse Sudi Yalahow ( so, Muuse Suudi Yalaxoow; Arabic: موسى سودي يالاهو) was a Trade Minister in the Transitional Government of Ali Mohammed Ghedi. He was dismissed in June 2006 after ignoring government requests to halt fighting with t ...
*
Transitional Federal Parliament The Transitional Federal Parliament of the Somali Republic (TFP) ( so, Golaha Shacabka Federaalka Kumeelgaarka ee Jamhuuriyada Soomaaliya; often ''Baarlamaanka Federaalka Soomaaliya'') was the national parliament of Somalia from 2004 until 2012. ...


References


External links


"In Somalia, a Chameleon Thrives"
by Donatella Lorch, ''The New York Times'', Monday July 31, 1995]
"Letter from Mogadishu, a world of dust"
by William Finnegan, ''The New Yorker'', March 20, 1995. (interview with Atto begin sixth paragraph from the bottom) *http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Newsletters/HB7895_SOM.html
warlord_threatens_peace_force_in_somalia
*https://web.archive.org/web/20061118055427/http://www.netnomad.com/atobio.html *''Somalis Try to Avert Showdown'' http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0201/17/se.06.html Transcript of interview with Atto by C. Amanpour on CNN, aired 17 Jan. 2002 20.00 ET
BBC News Analysis: Somalia's powerbrokers, January 8, 2002
Includes picture of Atto.
''Land of the Gun'', interview with Atto by Kevin Sites, Yahoo News, 29 September 2005
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atto, Ali Osman 1940 births 2013 deaths Somalian faction leaders Somalian prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of the United States military Members of the Transitional Federal Parliament Somali National Alliance politicians Battle of Mogadishu (1993)