General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Ismail Qasim Naji (, ) (born December 17, 1969) in Borama, Somalia was the chief of staff of the

Transitional Federal Government The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) (, , ) was internationally recognized as a provisional government of the Somalia from 14 October 2004 until 20 August 2012. It was established in Nairobi, Kenya, following the Transitional National Govern ...

(TFG) of

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

and currently the Somali ambassador in Oman. He has served as a senior officer of the Somali army since the administration of

Siad Barre Mohammed Siad Barre (, Osmanya script: , ''Muhammad Ziād Barīy''; 6 October 1919 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali military officer, politician, and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 Janu ...

, who was removed from power in 1991. Before the formation of the TFG, he also commanded the army of the predecessor

Transitional National Government The Transitional National Government (TNG) was the internationally recognized central government of Somalia from 2000 to 2004. Overview The TNG was established in 20 April–5 May 2000 at the Somalia National Peace Conference held in Arta, Djibo ...

(TNG) of Somalia between 2002 and 2004.

Military service

Somali National Army

Transitional National Government

From 2004 to 2004, Gen. Naji served as the military chief of the

(TNG). During this time, the TNG was opposed militarily and politically by the rival Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC), backed by Hussein Mohamed Farrah Aidid (son of the late warlord

Mohamed Farrah Aidid Mohamed Farrah Hasan Garad ( ; ; 15 December 1934 – 2 August 1996), popularly known as General Aidid or Aideed, was a Somali military officer, diplomat, and warlord. Educated in both Rome and Moscow, he began his career during the 1950s servi ...

), Mohamed Dhere, and others. Eventually the leadership of the SRRC and the TNG reconciled.

Transitional Federal Government

In November 2004, the TNG was succeeded by the establishment of the

(TFG). On April 15, 2005, Gen. Naji was appointed Chief army commander of the TFG. In October 2005, a report by the UN Monitoring group quoted Gen. Naji as having accepted a large shipment of goods from

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

in contravention of UN sanctions on arms imports, including 5,000 weapons, hand grenades and antipersonnel mines. In November 2006, Gen. Naji acknowledged the defection of TFG militia to the

Islamic Courts Union The Islamic Courts Union () was a legal and political organization founded by Mogadishu-based Sharia courts during the early 2000s to combat the lawlessness stemming from the Somali Civil War. By mid-to-late 2006, the Islamic Courts had expanded ...

(ICU). On January 17, 2007, Gen. Naji reported what was believed to be Sheikh

Sharif Sheikh Ahmed Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed (, ; born 25 July 1965) is a Somali politician who served as the 7th President of Somalia from 2009 to 2012. Before his presidency, he became the Chairman of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) from 2004 to 2007 and the A ...

's briefcase, filled with documents, was recovered by government forces from a jungle hideout in southwestern Somalia as conflicting reports emerged the ICU leader had been arrested near the Dadaab refugee camp in the

Garissa Garissa ( Arabic: قارسا) is the capital of Garissa County, Kenya. It is situated in the former North Eastern Province. Geography The Tana River, which rises in Mount Kenya east of Nyeri, flows through Garissa. The Bour-Algi Giraffe ...

district of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. On February 10, 2007, he was replaced as army chief-of-staff by Abdullahi Ali Omar.

Subsequent career

The same day he was dismissed as army chief-of-staff (February 10, 2007), Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi appointed Ismael Qasim Naji to the position of

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naji, Ismail Qasim Living people Members of the Transitional Federal Parliament Chiefs of Defence Force (Somalia) Ambassadors of Somalia to Oman 1969 births