British Prime Minister: Somalia Has Unique, Unprecedented Opportunity For Better Future; Somali Militants Target Khat Cafe's In Britain For Recruits
ANDERSON: Very warm welcome back and if you are just joining, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD here on CNN. First, let's get you a check of the world headlines at this point. On the eve of talks among world powers to try to end the bloodshed in Syria at least 88 people have been killed there today. The UN says the military assault on civilians mounts to apparent, quote, "crimes against humanity." And U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the opposition to Syrian national council is emerging as an alternative to the Bashar al Assad regime. Britain's prime minister says Somalia has an unprecedented opportunity to secure a better future. Speaking at a meeting convened in London, David Cameron told world leaders that failure to act will put their security at risk. A presidential apology for the burning of Korans by U.S. troops did not stop protests in Afghanistan. Barack Obama called the burnings an error. But demonstrations continue. And two U.S. troops were killed by a gunman in an Afghan army uniform earlier. And the U.S. and the United Nations are condemning Thursday wave of attacks of both Baghdad and other parts of Iraq. The death toll stands at 44 with more than 200 injured. Investigators say most of the explosions and shootings happened within a two hour time frame and could have been coordinated. No one, though, as yet has claimed responsibility. Well, United Nations is getting tough on Syria with a rapidly growing death toll as a backdrop. The UN is identifying Syrian commanders and other high ranking officials who may be responsible for what it calls widespread systematic and gross human rights violations. My colleague Jim Clancy joining me now from CNN center -- Jim.</s>JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they had a special commission, Becky. And the United Nations says that that body collected evidence and Syrian forces shot unarmed civilians, shelled residential areas, tortured prisoners, including children. Independent UN investigators are now calling for those who ordered and carried out such crimes against humanity to face prosecution. UN investigators interviewed some 400 victims and witnesses and say high and mid-ranking military officials are implicated. Brazilian investigator Paulo Pinheiro, head of the inquiry.</s>PAULO PINHEIRO, UN INVESTIGATOR: We have demonstrated a consistent pattern in terms of arbitrary detentions, torture, killing of children, gross human rights relations and the practice of some crimes against humanity.</s>CLANCY: Now Pinheiro says they handed it over to the high commission for human rights, the high commissioner, a list of 35 names of individuals, military officers as well as the names of military or security units believed responsible for these crimes. Now it's another report, Becky. Some will argue it only confirms what's already abundantly obvious. It would take action by the security council to refer these charges for prosecution to the international criminal court and of course China and Russia could again cast a veto to protect Bashar al Assad. Nadim Houry of Human Rights Watch, though, says the UN report will have an affect.</s>NADIM HOURY, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: I think the pressure is building up not only on Syria, but also on countries like Russia and China. You know, they may be impervious to what the world thinks about them, but ultimately they also must be watching TV, they also must be realizing that a policy of standing by Assad is basically enabling the ongoing killing of civilians.</s>CLANCY: Now as part of the Friends of Syria group the foreign ministers from the U.S., France, the UK, and European Union are going to be meeting Friday in Tunisia to talk about that report and its findings. But if it only comes to talk, Becky, it's not going to stop the slaughter in Homs and elsewhere across Syria. Crimes are being committed, that's being documented. The question is what is anyone going to do about it?</s>ANDERSON: Yeah. Let's hope we get an answer sometime soon. Jim, thank you for that. While the focus of world leaders will turn to Syria tomorrow, today was Somalia taking center stage. At a meeting in London there were calls for greater cooperation to restore peace and stability to a country wrecked by years of war. Yesterday Somalia's prime minister told me that a solution would not come cheaply.</s>ABDIWELI MOHAMED ALI, SOMALI PRIME MINISTER: 20 years of lawlessness, 20 years of civil war, 20 years of chaos has taken its toll on the economy of Somalia, on the infrastructure of Somalia. So to (inaudible) the country, to bring Somalia back to the community of nations needs a quite a lot of money.</s>ANDERSON: Have you got a figure in mind?</s>ALI: This requires billions of dollars.</s>ANDERSON: While there were pledges of humanitarian aid today, it seems the hosts of the conference had different priorities. Here is what Britain's foreign secretary told me earlier.</s>WILLIAM HAGUE, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: That's not what this conference is for. It's not about the nation, it's about the political process of Somalia is going to have a legitimacy in their political process. It's about getting the funding for the African Union forces so that they can secure more of the country. We did that at the UN security council after a unanimous vote at the security council. It's about cooperation on piracy. And we're signing many agreements on that this afternoon. And it's about highlighting the humanitarian needs so that they do get -- so that the money does flow and the stability is there.</s>ANDERSON: All right. Well, that stability is not just important for Somalia, of course. The country has become a breeding ground for terrorism with militants recruited from across the globe as Nima Elbagir discovered right here in London.</s>NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are no signs, no distinguishing features to help any other than those who already know what awaits the other side of this battered doorway. This is hidden camera footage of a marfish, the cafe British Somalis come to to chew the vegetable stimulant khat. On the table, you can see bags of the plant which is flown in from Kenya. Although khat is legal in the UK, marfish are closed off to outsiders. At another marfish we see a camera entry system overlooking a locked doorway. We're refused entry. In the past, journalists have been attacked for attempting to report on the goings on inside the cafes. For years, marfishes have been believed to be at the center of criminal activity. Now CNN has learned, they may also be a recruiting ground for Islamic militants. Abukar Awale is an anti-khat campaigner here in the UK. He know only too well the paranoia and isolation khat addiction engenders in the young men in the marfishes. Seven years ago he was one of them.</s>ABUKAR AWALE, ANTI-KHAT CAMPAIGNER: These young people become vulnerable. You know, we're not clearly thinking. And are paranoid (inaudible). And that's when they start to hate the rich public, especially the police. And they are thinking everybody is out there to get them. And that's exactly the kind of individual the likes of Al Shabbab are targeting. Of course, they are moving forward. They are changing the techniques. So it's no longer in the (inaudible) and the madrasas they are targeting, they are looking for the marfishes now. And we -- there has been come crazies here in UK where the young people have been taken away from marfishes back to Somalia. And there are now young people from the marfishes (inaudible) now who are missing and we don't know where they are.</s>ELBAGIR: The families of many of these young men were too afraid to speak to us, but CNN has confirmed that as recently as within the last month two young men aged 18 and 20 have been reported missing. Both were khat addicts. And both, their families are convinced, have been recruited to fight by Al Shabbab. And that, one relative told us, is effectively a death sentence. It's not just in the marfishes that young Somalis are being targeted for radicalization, the internet has become a treasure trove for radicals. And Al Shabbab openly boasts of having dozens of recruiters online at all hours selling their videos in English to their target audience.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you are fighting for (inaudible). We are fighting for justice, because we are defending our land and our families.</s>ELBAGIR: Even those families who know their children are safely at home and not immune from extremists, this Somali mother agreed to be interviewed because she said her experience is an all too common one in the British-Somali community. She's asked that we not identify her.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son is a good, active young boy, outgoing, lost by many, many people. He loved to play football. He started changing by becoming addicted to the internet. Many different sites, YouTube, Facebook. I noticed a lot of change from him. He started saying, "mom, please take me abroad to study Islam." I supported him as any mother would. And I too him to Nairobi to a boarding school. After weeks of him staying in the school, he disappeared.</s>ELBAGIR: Her son had gone to fight for Al Shabbab. And although she said she was able to convince him to leave Somalia, she still lives in fear that either the British authorities or the militant group itself will one day come after him. She hopes other parents will be able to guard their children from what happened to hers. But even as the international community struggles to find a solution to Al Shabbab's increasingly sophisticated recruitment methods, the local British Somali community is fighting back Belada (ph) means alarm in Somali. Abdi Shire wrote the song after a suicide bomber detonated himself in the middle of a high school graduation in Mogadishu. Today, it's one of the most popular Somali songs of all time. And although it's raised awareness, it's also made him a target.</s>ABDI SHIRE, ACTIVIST: It hurt some people who were not happy, the public to be told, you know, what was right. So as a result of that being threatened with death as you probably heard. So people want to silence me and, you know, keep quiet. And I have received emails, telephone calls asking me to shut up.</s>ELBAGIR: But Abdi says he's not afraid. His duty is to show his community that the extremists cannot win.</s>SHIRE: Before we wrote Belada (ph) nobody was able to challenge or say anything against Al Shabbab. And, you know, we believe that song encouraged people to speak up, to rise up and, you know, challenge Al Shabbab and other people who are actually destroying Somalia.</s>ELBAGIR: For Somalis in the UK, the extremism and fear they thought they'd left behind in their homeland have followed them here. And as the world finally moves to act cohesively on Somalia, many Somalis told us that they no longer believe anywhere is safe. Nima Elbagir, CNN, London.</s>ANDERSON: Frightening stuff. All right. Coming up next, Vladimir Putin's answer to the angry protesters trying to prevent his reelection. More than 100,000 people turned out to support him. What he said about next week's election is next.