Early Life
Osman Hassan Ali Atto is a member of the Somali Hawiye clan, sub-clan Habar Gedir (sub-clan Sa'ad and the hiloowle and was born in 1945. Atto is his nickname meaning "skinny". Osman Ali Atto is a former main financier of the Aidid faction, a multi-millionaire businessman, alleged arms dealer and drug trafficker. Atto owns the biggest landed property in Somalia, including many of the buildings in Mogadishu which are rented to relief agencies and the media. Before the Civil War, Atto was a chauffeur to various representatives for the US oil company Conoco. Osman Ali Atto has 22 children. Atto derives significant profits from a tanker-trucking company which operates from a strategically situated truck yard at Eldoret, in north-western Kenya. From there, Atto ships gasoline to Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda. This business is allegedly operated by his relatives. In addition to his Somali passport, Atto uses passports from Kenya, the United States and possibly Italy.
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