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Somali President In Bid To Gain Yemeni Military Support
The president of the Somali Transitional Federal Government of Somalia [TFG], Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad, is making concerted efforts to gain military support from his Yemeni counterpart, Ali Abdallah Salih. If possible, President Yusuf wants to return home accompanied by the troops.
Sources close to the president told Qaran that the reason why he [Mr Yusuf] was still in Yemen was because he expects to gain the military assistance from Yemeni president, who is currently out of the country.
President Salih is expected to arrive home today and discuss the matter with his counterpart before the Somali president travels back home.
Source: Qaran, Mogadishu, in Somali 30 Jun 05
Posted on Thursday 30th June at 22:34:16 Somali Speaker Arrives In Mogadishu From Djibouti
The Speaker of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, Sharif Hasan Shaykh Adan, and a large delegation he was heading, returned home today from an official visit to Yemen and Djibouti. Abdullahi Kulmiye has the details.
[Kulmiye] The Speaker, Sharif Hasan Shaykh Adan, and his delegation landed this evening at Number 50 Airport [which is located some 50 km from Mogadishu], Lower Shabeelle Region. The Speaker's delegation left Djibouti this morning where they had been for the past few days.
While in Djibouti, the Speaker held talks with the new UN envoy to Somalia, Francois [Lonseny Fall]. They discussed how to resolve the existing differences between leaders in the Somali government, the ongoing reconciliation and security arrangement in Mogadishu, as well as how to salvage the results of the two-and-half year reconciliation efforts, which had eventually culminated into the formation of the current Somali government. [Passage omitted]
Source: Radio HornAfrik, Mogadishu, in Somali 1600 gmt 30 Jun 05
Posted on Thursday 30th June at 22:33:15 UN To Pay Somali Militiamen Moved Out Of Mogadishu
UN has agreed to pay salaries of militiamen who are currently relocated [outside Mogadishu] at Hilwayn and Lanta Bur camps.
The UN representative to Somali affairs, Francois [Lonseny Fall], during a meeting with Somali Speaker of Parliament Sharif Hasan Shaykh Adan in Djibouti, confirmed that the UN would pay the militiamen salaries, with the Speaker appealing for UN support unto the ongoing security arrangement in Mogadishu.
Speaking to Qaran, a Somali MP said the UN has agreed to pay salaries for the militiamen in the camps. He said some UN officials are expected to visit Mogadishu in the coming days.
Source: Qaran, Mogadishu, in Somali 30 Jun 05
Posted on Thursday 30th June at 22:32:12 Tsunami Aid Ship Hijacked
Nairobi _ A UN-chartered vessel carrying aid for Somali tsunami victims has been hijacked off the coast of Somalia amid a flurry of new piracy warnings for the area, the World Food Programme (WFP) said yesterday.
The freighter hauling 850 tonnes of Japanese and German food aid was seized by unidentified pirates on Monday between Haradhere and Hobyo, about 300km northeast of Mogadishu, it said in a statement.
``It is against international humanitarian law to hinder the passage of humanitarian assistance and there is no justification for hijacking,'' the WFP said.
The WFP country director for Somalia, Robert Hauser, appealed for the immediate release of the ship, its 10-member crew and the food aid and urged ``local authorities and community elders to intervene in this regard''.
The Japanese- and German-donated rice was donated in response to a WFP appeal for assistance to some 28,000 Somalis affected by the Dec 26, 2004 tsunami that devastated countries around the Indian Ocean.
The ship, the St Vincent and the Grenadines-registered MV Semlow, had been on its way from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Bossaso in Somalia's northeast Puntland region when it fell afoul of the pirates in waters deemed highly unsafe by international maritime agencies.
Both the International Maritime Board (IMB), a division of the International Chamber of Commerce, and the United States have issued a series of increasingly dire alerts about threats to shipping off the east and northeast Somali coasts.
Earlier last month, the IMB warned of a surge in piracy in the region and advised vessels not making calls in the region to stay at least 85km, and preferably further away, from the coast of the lawless nation.
The WFP hijacking was the sixth reported piracy incident in Somali waters since March, which included one earlier last month in which a US naval destroyer intervened to save a besieged vessel.
All five earlier incidents have involved armed pirates who, in at least two cases, took crews hostage.
Before Monday, the last reported attack took place on June 6 off Mogadishu when three gunmen in a white speedboat opened fire with automatic weapons on a bulk carrier identified as the Tigris, according to the IMB.
The USS Gonzalez, a US naval ship in the area, responded to the vessel's distress call, came close, fired flares and .50-calibre machineguns and escorted the carrier further out to sea, it said.
There were ``no injuries to crew but gunfire by pirates caused 10 bullet holes on the starboard side near the bridge'', the IMB said in a brief description of the incident.
In March, the United States advised Western shipping firms of possible speedboat-launched terrorist attacks on vessels in the Indian Ocean off the coast of east Africa, including Somali waters.
Tsunami warning system ready next year
A detection system to warn of tsunamis like the one that devastated the coasts of Southeast Asia last December will be operational by July 2006, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) said yesterday.
Unesco's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) also announced that Indian Ocean states will meet in Perth, Australia, on Aug 3 to coordinate the system's implementation.
``The first step is for these countries to be able to detect major earth tremors capable of setting off tsunamis, to pass this information on straightaway to their neighbours and to issue an alert,'' said IOC executive secretary Patricio Bernal.
``Then there is the whole issue of public awareness, which is in fact far more important. A detection system is useless if people who are warned of the danger fail to react,'' he said.
After the Dec 26 tsunami disaster, it was agreed that the infrastructure of the Unesco should be incorporated into a global tsunami warning system.AGENCIES
Posted on Thursday 30th June at 22:27:40 Diarrhoea Kills At Least 15 Children In Somalia
Mogadishu (dpa) - More than 15 children died in one day in Somalia in diarrhoea outbreaks which followed annual floods, health officials said on Wednesday.
The victims came from the Jilib district, about 380 kilometres south of Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia.
Health officials told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the number of children dying of dehydration and other treatable diseases such as malaria and influenza is increasing.
Nurro Hashi, a medical assistance in Mother and Child Health care (MCH) in Jilib, said "we registered a number of victims of malaria, influenza and diarrhoea, but the numbers dying are from diarrhoea'', adding that "we are getting help from the Red Cross and other international NGOs but this is not enough''.
Dr. Mohamed Omar, a specialist in paediatrics, warned that the diarrhoea may be caused by cholera, a serious bacterial infection of the small intestines that is carried in dirty water.
The district commissioner of Jilib, Abdulahi Moalim Hussein, told dpa that "after the floods hit we requested the international community and local businessmen to help the victims'' and received some materials to make shelters from the Red Cross and the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS).
However, he added that "the people dont have all basic needs and live outdoors.''
Khalif Ahmed Abdulle, the administrator of Mugambow village, told dpa that the NGOs provided plastic to cover shanty houses for 450 families in Mugambow, adding "they dont have domestic furniture as the floods washed away all their belongings and farmlands.''
At least 1,200 families have been victims of this year's floods in Jilib and its surroundings.
Muhubo Ali, a mother who lost two of her eight children in the floods, said "we request the outside world not to forget us, because the local community is aware what is happening and has not taken any steps.'' dpa aa pmc
By Abukar Albadri, dpa
Posted on Wednesday 29th June at 22:40:08 Toronto Rapper K'Naan Brings Somalian Experience To Live 8 Stage
TORONTO (CP) - Rapper K'Naan says his childhood ended on his 10th birthday.
That was the day he and two friends found a grenade in the sandy floor of their classroom in the Somalian capital of Mogadishu.
While playing with it, the pin slipped out.
K'Naan quickly tossed the device, causing a huge explosion that destroyed half of the empty building. No one was hurt.
Now 28 and living in Toronto, he tells the story in the liner notes of his debut CD, The Dusty Foot Philosopher, released this week.
"You're normally supposed to write thank you notes there but I just thought I'd better go back to the essence of why I began to even write at all," explained the soft-spoken performer, whose name means "the traveller" in Somalian.
The timing of his CD - 18 politically charged tracks in an African-influenced hip hop style - couldn't be more perfect. On Saturday, K'Naan is scheduled to perform at Canada's Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ont., giving him a cross-country television audience afforded to few beginner artists.
"It seems like something is strangely aligning a few things together," he says.
But he stresses he's not interested in using his troubled past to further his music career.
With his gentle nature, earnest lyrics and lack of flashy bling, K'Naan is somewhat of an anomaly on today's rap scene.
"I did worry for a long time about waving my own flag . . . having a struggle that's very personal and saying "Look! Look! This is important' among a crowd of loud, loud noises. At some point my voice just got louder," he said.
"We all want some form of success but it's never been the primary focus - not even close - for me. Anything I've recorded I've made out of need for myself and for my people."
While the Live 8 concerts are focusing on alleviating poverty, K'Naan also wants to highlight problems in his own country.
Unlike other parts of Africa, Somalia's biggest danger is not AIDS or starvation, he says, but guns.
"It's probably got the worst conditions in all of Africa," said the rapper.
"It hasn't had a central government for 15 years. It's completely gun infested. It's got a lot of problems.
"It's difficult to change that. You need something a lot stronger than an army. You need an ideology to make change."
Born in Somalia, K'Naan fled with his mother, sister and brother in 1991 amid civil war. The family was aboard what turned out to be the last commercial flight out of the country.
The group lived in New York for a short while before settling in Toronto's west-end neighbourhood of Rexdale. K'Naan started out writing poetry "immediately after I learned English."
He became known in his community as a gifted poet, a trait that runs in the family (his grandfather's work has been published).
Like many young people growing up in the 1990s, he quickly turned his poems into rap songs.
His album was produced by Toronto's Jarvis Church and Brian West, who make up Track and Field, the Grammy-winning team that finessed Nelly Furtado's sound.
K'Naan met them while volunteering his rhyming skills for a War Child Canada CD project.
Church says K'Naan's sound brings a much-needed jolt of "social relevance" to the hip hop genre.
"It's such an important part of what's missing from hip hop right now," Church said on the phone from Los Angeles. "He's found a way to do it that doesn't sound preachy."
The first single from the new album is Soobax (pronounced soo-bah), an infectious bongo beat dance track in which K'Naan talks to the gunmen and warlords back home pleading with them to stop "the troubles they have caused."
"The song is very much a protest song against the conditions that produce refugees. I wanted to pay tribute to the faces of struggling people," he said.
On the Net: www.thedustyfoot.com
© The Canadian Press 2005
Posted on Wednesday 29th June at 22:39:07 Annan Urges Somali Parties To Begin Talks On Relocating Interim ...
29 June 2005 – In order to rebuild trust with the people of Somalia and the international community, Somali leaders must begin a serious dialogue to heal their divisions and end the controversy over the relocation of the fledgling government and its institutions from Kenya to Somalia, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report.
"It is of utmost importance that the Transitional Federal Government and transitional federal institutions relocate to Somalia," Mr. Annan says in his latest report to the Security Council on situation in the Horn of Africa nation, which has had no functional central authority for 14 years following the collapse in 1991 of the government of Muhammad Siad Barre.
He notes that although the interim government was formed in Nairobi over eight months ago, deep splits between President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan over its location within the country have stalled a move to either to the Somali capital Mogadishu, or nearby Jawhar.
"There are serious challenges linked to the relocation, including security, the choice of capital city and lack of infrastructure and resources," says Mr. Annan. "However it is clear that the Government's relocation plan has become fraught with controversy and opposition, which could assume further divisions along clan and regional lines."
Calling for "serious dialogue" between the Somali factions to end this controversy, the Secretary-General welcomes the efforts of the leaders in Mogadishu to restore stability there. He also urges the international community to help in providing the necessary technical and material support that would improve the quality of those efforts.
"However, those efforts must become national in order to give confidence to all Somalis," he said, reiterating his appeal to the Transitional Government and Parliament, as a matter of priority to seek an agreement from all faction and militia leaders to cease hostilities and enter into immediate negotiations for a comprehensive ceasefire. "The United Nations is ready to support negotiations for such an agreement, in cooperation with other partners" he adds.
Mr. Annan notes that the second controversial issue facing Somalia is the inclusion of troops from the frontline States (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya) in a future African Union/Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) peace support mission requested by President Yusuf. Once again, a large number of members of Parliament, cabinet ministers and other leaders oppose the deployment of troops from those countries.
The fact that the deployment of any foreign military force in Somalia will require an exemption form the Security Council arms embargo poses a challenge for the international community and the United Nations in particular, says Mr. Annan. A recent report from the Council's Monitoring Group made it clear that weapons and explosives still flowed into the country.
"The enforcement of the arms embargo, with improved monitoring capacity and the establishment of enforcement measures would considerably enhance security in Somalia," Mr. Annan says.
Posted on Wednesday 29th June at 22:36:57 Safrican Envoy Pledges To Mediate Between Disputing Somali Leaders
The prime minister of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia [TFG], Prof Ali Muhammad Gedi, today held talks with a South African delegation headed by South Africa's envoy to Horn of Africa, Lucas Makinwa.
The meeting discussed on how to revive talks between the TFG president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad, the Speaker of the parliament, Sharif Hasan Shaykh Adan, the prime minister and other government leaders, who have disagreed on various issues, causing a split among the leaders.
"We are ready to take part in the reconciliation talks between the Somali leaders, who have a disagreement based on their own constitutional charter. We hope to support them in their reconciliation talks so that they can succeed and salvage the new Somali government," said Mr Lucas. [Passage omitted]
Source: Ayaamaha website, Mogadishu, in Somali
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Posted on Tuesday 28th June at 22:54:47 UN Team To Arrive In Somali Government Temporary HQ 28 June
Reports from Jowhar, the HQs of Middle Shabeelle Region, [central Somalia, also temporary seat of government], say preparations are continuing to welcome a UN delegation expected to arrive today.
Sources close to the prime minister, Ali Muhammad Gedi, say the delegation is expected to leave Nairobi today and will hold talks with government officials in Jowhar led by the prime minister.
The prime minister, Ali Muhammad Gedi, returned to Jowhar yesterday afternoon after attending celebrations to mark Djibouti's independence day.
Source: Radio HornAfrik, Mogadishu, in Somali 0500 gmt 28 Jun 05
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Copyright 2005 BBC Monitoring Service distributed by United Press International.
Posted on Tuesday 28th June at 22:53:40 First Flood, Then Drought - Somalia's Tsunami Victims
Mogadishu (dpa) - Six months after the devastating tsunami that struck Indian Ocean countries and parts of Africa, people in Somalia are still suffering from the disaster's after-effects.
Areas in Somalia hit by the tsunami are now suffering from water shortages leading to animal deaths and increasing water prices.
The price of water in the tsunami-hit areas reached its highest price yet on June 28, Abshir Ali, a member of the community elders of Eyl district, told local reporters.
Ali said that ``the people of Eyl and its surrounding villages have water scarcity problems; the price of one barrel of water (200 litres) reached 140,000 shillings (around 14 U.S. dollars) and the people can't afford to buy.''
Before the tsunami the price of one barrel of water was 4,000 shillings (about 27 U.S. cents).
Ali added ``the animals are dying and we can't get water to give them, because the tsunami waves buried all the water areas of Eyl and their surroundings. The relief organization which promised to repair or support us from the water departments didn't succeed in solving the problem.''
Eyl is located in Somalia's Puntland state near Hafun, where most of the casualties of December's tsunami lived. It is reported that people are now fleeing the region.
Hassan Mohamoud, a member of the local authorities in Puntland state, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the administration doesn't have the capacity to restore the water system of all the tsunami-hit areas and is requesting the assistance of local businesses and the international community.
``We need the help of all donors, local or international,'' he said, adding that ``those people are endangered ... if we wait for help from outside more lives will pass.''
Madina Ali, the mother of five children in Eyl, told dpa that ``we are afraid that the result of this water shortage will include diseases that will kill more of our children and elderly people.''
``Because water is the life and we are lacking the life when we miss water,'' she added.
Although international NGOs such as UNICEF and the WFP have been working in the area, difficulties still persist, forcing people to leave for faraway towns.
Meanwhile the newly-formed transitional government appears to have no plan to help alleviate the suffering of Somalia's tsunami victims. dpa aa pmc
By Abukar Albadri, dpa
Posted on Tuesday 28th June at 22:49:35 Thousands Left Homeless In Puntland Inferno
HARGEYSA, 28 June (IRIN) - At least 2,000 people were left homeless when a fire swept through the Buul Eelaay camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland on Sunday, sources said.
"We have reports that about 350 households were affected by the fire. At least 10 people injured in fire were hospitalised," Amanda Dilorenzo, information officer for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Somalia office, said.
"It [the fire] was likely made worse by the highly flammable material with which the camp's houses were built, as well as poor planning of the camp and strong winds," she added.
Hassan Isse, a local journalist who witnessed the fire, said: "All those who stayed at the camp lost their belongings. They are worried of what to eat and where to sleep."
The blaze, he added, started at about 09.00 GMT on Sunday. Due to the strong summer winds, it engulfed the entire camp within 20 minutes.
Residents at the camp, on the outskirts of Bossaso, lost their monthly food rations donated by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in the fire. Most of the inhabitants were recently returned refugees and people displaced by the protracted civil conflict in parts of Somalia.
Policemen and residents battled the fire for hours, using water tankers and other locally available equipment. The shortage of fire extinguishers slowed down their efforts.
Medical sources in Bossaso Hospital said there were no confirmed deaths, but dozens had been brought in with superficial burns.
Dilorenzo said aid had reached the camp's residents by Monday. The UN Children's Fund, the UN refugee agency, (UNHCR), and local authorities were providing non-food items such as blankets, jerry cans and mosquito nets to between 500 and 700 households, while WFP was supplying food.
It was unclear what triggered the blaze, but according to some locals, the fire started in the camp's food kiosks.
The governor of Puntland's eastern region, Yusuf Mohamed Waays, and the newly elected mayor of Bossaso, Khadar Abdi Haaji, visited the camp on Monday to assess the damage. They appealed for urgent assistance.
A fire in Buul Eelaay in 2004 also caused serious destruction to residents' homes and property.
Posted on Tuesday 28th June at 22:48:26 CPJ Joins Five Groups Demanding Editor's Release
New York, June 28, 2005—The Committee to Protect Journalists joined five local and international press freedom and human rights groups today in writing to Somali leaders to demand the immediate release of Abdi Farah Nur, editor of Puntland's leading independent newspaper Shacab (Voice of the People). Farah was arrested on June 19 and later transferred to a high security prison, where he is being held incommunicado, according to his colleagues.
The letter is addressed to Adde Muse Hirsi, president of Somalia's self-declared autonomous region of Puntland; Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, president of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and former leader of Puntland; and Ali Mohamed Gedi, prime minister of the transitional government. CPJ, the Somali Journalists Network, the Somali Human Rights Defenders Network, Reporters Without Borders, the International Federation of Journalists, and Arab Press Freedom Watch signed the letter.
Posted on Tuesday 28th June at 22:47:39 Somali Gov't To Continue Dialogue, Reconciliation For Stabilization
Somali president said Sunday his government would pursue dialogue and reconciliation in his Horn of Africa nation despite failure to resolve the differences with the parliament speaker.
In a statement issued in Nairobi, President Abdullahi Yusuf said he would continue advancing reconciliation drives in Somalia until the lawless nation stabilizes.
"The president always encourages constructive dialogue within the legal framework of the transitional federal institutions for the utmost interest of the Somali people which is not negotiable for any personal gain," said the statement sent here Sunday.
"The president's aim is to put the country further along the road to peace and security in all the remaining districts and creating the best conditions for human and social development," the statement said.
"The talks will continue until the target is reached or until there is no longer a need," Yusuf noted in the statement.
President Yusuf and Parliament Speaker Sheikh Shariff Hassan Adan have been holding talks in Yemen to resolve disagreements that have split Somalia's fledgling government.
However, the two leaders failed to agree on where the government should be based.
The interim Somali government, which relocated from Kenya on June 13 where it was formed at peace talks last year, is deeply split on where it should be based.
A section of the government including the speaker disagreed with the decision to install the administration in Jowhar, and in May moved to Mogadishu saying it wanted to restore normalcy to the city so the government could operate from there.
Others allied with President Yusuf returned to Jowhar, north of the capital last week. They argue the capital must be pacified before the government can fully relocate there because Yusuf comes from the northeastern Puntland region and does not have a support base in Mogadishu.
The talks in Yemen were also supposed to cover the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Somalia to stop armed militias disrupting the transition.
Yusuf wants peacekeepers but Adan's faction says they are not necessary.
Analysts warn that if the speaker goes ahead to convene a session of parliament in Mogadishu next week and if half of the 275 lawmakers attend, they may consider a vote of nonconfidence in the president, further broadening the rift.
Somalia had no functional central authority for the 14 years following the collapse in 1991 of the government of Muhammad Siad Barre.
Source: Xinhua
Posted on Monday 27th June at 19:58:14 Somali Leader Vows To Pursue Reconciliation
NAIROBI: Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf said yesterday that talks to advance reconciliation in his lawless country would continue following an apparently failed meeting with parliament speaker Sharif Hassan in Yemen.
“The talks will continue until the target is reached or until there is no longer a need,” Yusuf said in a brief statement released to Reuters in Nairobi. The main bone of contention between the two men’s rival factions in the interim Somali government — formed at peace talks in the relative security of neighbouring Kenya last year — is where the returning administration should make its base.
President Yusuf, his prime minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, and lawmakers who support them say the capital Mogadishu is too dangerous and want to settle in the provincial town of Jowhar, 90km north of Mogadishu.
But parliament speaker Sharif Hassan and 100 lawmakers he says are aligned with him argue the government must go to their traditional capital, as stipulated in the interim government’s charter.
It is the 14th attempt to re-establish government in the anarchic Horn of Africa country, whose 10 million residents have been ruled by warlords since military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled in 1991.
Presidential spokesman Yusuf Baribari said the president’s aim was “putting the country further along the road to peace and security in all the remaining districts and creating the best conditions for human and social development”.
Baribari said the talks in Yemen were “another step forward” towards reconstruction. Analysts say the apparent failure of the Yemen talks to agree on a base for the government did not bode well for future reconciliation efforts. But Baribari said: “The president always encourages constructive dialogue for the utmost interest of the Somali people which is not negotiable for any personal gain.”
Posted on Sunday 26th June at 20:04:15 Djibouti President In Talks With Visiting Somali Mps
Djibouti: The president of the rebublic, Ismail Omar Guelleh, today received a delegation of Somali MPs led by the Speaker of parliament, Sharif Hasan Shaykh Aden.
The talks between Mr Sharif Hasan Shaykh Aden, his delegation and the president centred on the efforts being made by Somali officials to install a government in their country [passage omitted].
Source: ADI news agency website, Djibouti, in French 25 Jun 05
BBC Mon AF1 AFEau 260605/mw
Copyright 2005 BBC Monitoring Service distributed by United Press International.
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Posted on Sunday 26th June at 20:02:54 Mismanagement Of Somaliland Port Hinders Development
Afrol News, 24 June - Great opportunities were opened to the famed deepwater port of Berbera in non-recognised Somaliland as Ethiopia needed a new outlet in the 1990s. Somaliland's revenues and geopolitical importance were to increase. Mismanagement and alleged corruption however is leading to declining government revenues as shipping companies avoid Berbera in favour of ports in Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan.
A few years ago, the port of Berbera contributed with an estimated 60 percent to Somaliland's GDP and government revenues. According to non-confirmed figures, revenues from the non-recognised country's main port however have dropped by around 30 percent during the last two or three years. Berbera Port is definitively losing out in the regional competition over the lucrative foreign trade of Ethiopia.
According to several sources, the main reason for the decline of the Berbera Port has been years of mismanagement and a culture of corruption and extortion. Due to ineffective standards, unloading at Berber Port takes two to three times longer than in the competing ports of Bossaso (in Somalia's Puntland region), Djibouti and Port Sudan.
While time spent at Berbera Port is growing longer each time, the unwanted stay also gets expensive. Somaliland authorities in 2002 increased tariffs and taxes for vessels unloading and uploading in Berbera. At the same time, the modernised port of Djibouti lowered taxes and the Bossaso port tariff was almost dropped altogether. Berbera became reputed as a milking cow for the Somaliland government.
Even more annoying for shipping companies are however the non-legal payments demanded during the stay in Berbera. According to 'Somaliland Times', visiting vessels are forced to pay daily fees to port authorities for services not requested, including garbage collection and cleaning. Fees for jobs as unloading, tallying, piloting and anchorage are further collected double, by port authorities and by "a bogus firm," the newspaper found.
Also the World Bank in a recently published study found practices at Berbera Port to be little competitive. "The Berbera Port Authority collects import-export duties, board dues and other charges, and has a monopoly on loading / unloading services. However, the port continues to lack vital cargo handling equipment and storage facilities, and its loading time and cost compare unfavourably with those of privately managed ports," the Bank concluded.
For Ethiopian importers and exporters, the hassle does not stop in the port. According to the World Bank, municipal governments collect inappropriate tolls on the Berbera-Hargeisa road, which is the first passage towards Ethiopia. Compared with the somewhat longer distance between Addis Ababa and Djibouti, the Berbera - Addis Ababa road is in a poor state and has less capacity.
Consequently, Ethiopian businessmen and foreign shipping companies choose alternative routes. The Berbera Port is not gaining from the fact that Somaliland has the friendliest terms with Ethiopia compared with all other neighbours. Despite the unstable relations between Ethiopia and Djibouti, effectively and competitive prices at Djibouti Port have directed more and more regional trade to this facility, making it a regional hub.
The restructuring of Djibouti's port in fact has become a model investment. During the last five years, the port has been privatised and has attracted large investments to make it more effective and modern. Corruption has targetly been rooted out. The only factors hindering an even greater traffic to Djibouti Port is the transport bottleneck to Addis Ababa and the lack of political will in Ethiopia to get more dependent on trade through Djibouti.
A growing number of Somalilanders now urge the government of President Dahir Riyale Kahin to take equal steps to revitalise Berbera Port. Analyst Guled Ismail this week in an article in 'Awdal News' that the answer to the current crisis "is to privatise the port with a controlling majority shares left in the hands of Somalilander businessmen." A privatisation would also bring capital for investment and upgrading, Mr Guled holds.
A possible privatisation of the run-down port has in fact been discussed for years in the Somaliland press. The World Bank and the UN's development agency UNDP have several times recommended such a solution to increase efficiency in Berbera.
Observers however hold that such a solution is very difficult given the power balance in Somaliland. "Despite the highly touted democracy and rule of law in Somaliland, the reality is that the country is still governed on clan-basis and Berbera port is not an exception," a Somalilander journalist today told afrol News.
- The top management of the port comes from the natives of Berbera and the government has little say in the management of the port's revenue and how it is operated, he added. Attempts to privatise the port could provoke tensions between the traditional and economic elite in Berbera on one side and the central government on the other.
After all, the Director of the Port Authority is said to be one of Somaliland's richest and most powerful men, despite his modest salary, several sources hold. He also is said to have the backing of the local business community and clan leaders.
Meanwhile, Somaliland sees its regional importance diminishing from year to year, also making the government's efforts for international recognition of the breakaway republic more difficult. Somaliland lost a great opportunity to become a regional trading hub as Ethiopians were looking for new port facilities in the late 1990s, government critics hold.
By staff writer
© afrol News
Posted on Friday 24th June at 23:53:38 World Vision Plans Response to Somalia Floods
One of the largest Christian relief and development organizations in the world is looking to implement a six-month relief program worth around $1.4 million to help the tens of thousands displaced by foods in Somalia.
World Vision announced last week that the organization planned to respond to the floods that hit Bualle and Sakow districts in southern Somalia are underway. The floods displaced an estimated 32,500 people who are in need of shelter and medicine.
Stephane Vaugon, World Vision Somalia’s Programme Development Manager said the organisation had received a $50,000 commitment from World Vision UK, and had also submitted a funding proposal to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Meanwhile, Vaugon said, World Vision is still appealing for donors to assist towards alleviating the plight of the flood victims.
A World Vision Somalia team that is visiting Bualle this week is conducting a vulnerability assessment and providing immediate medical supplies.
“The water levels have receded from an initial 8.4m to 8m. People are still displaced and we will need to address a possible food shortage in the next two weeks,” said Food Security Coordinator Barnabas Okumu.
In Bualle, the floods submerged 30 villages and destroyed all the crops, while 7 villages are under water in Sakow district.
World Vision has food security, education, health and gender/FGM projects in the affected districts.
Posted on Friday 24th June at 23:50:28 New Crisis For Somalia
Nairobi - Talks to end a bitter dispute over the new home for Somalia's transitional government broke down in rancour on Friday with top officials leaving the Yemen-hosted negotiations to go their separate ways.
After four days of discussions in Saana, the two sides were unable to reach any compromise over where the administration should set up shop and were still divided over the presence of foreign peacekeepers, officials said.
Sources close to both factions said embattled Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, a main political rival, had made no progress at all in bridging the gaps and that the two men would leave Yemen on Friday for different locations in Somalia.
"The president and parliament speaker could not come to any terms in overcoming the divisions within the transitional federal government," said Mohammed Omar, a Mogadishu-based politician with ties to the two camps.
Talks collapsed
"The government of Yemen, especially the president and lawmakers attempted vigorously to reconcile the two men, but unfortunately the talks collapsed," he said. "Both sides are leaving Yemen to arrive in Somalia."
Yusuf was expected to fly from Yemen to his home in the northeastern Puntland region where he was a powerful warlord until being elected president last year while Aden was to travel first to Djibouti and then to Mogadishu.
Aden said that the discussions had yielded no fruit but declined to discuss the specific contentious issues.
"I don't want to go into detail about the peace process, but I can tell you that the negotiations were deadlocked," he said by phone from the Yemeni capital.
Aden represents a powerful faction in the Somali administration, including Mogadishu warlords, that insists the government move to the capital and is fiercely opposed to Yusuf's plan to relocate to the towns of Baidoa and Jowhar.
Yusuf is opposed for security reasons to moving the government to bullet-scarred Mogadishu, the epicenter of the bloody anarchic fighting that has engulfed the lawless nation for the past 14 years.
He is backed by Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi who is now in Jowhar, north of Mogadishu, waiting for the president and attempting to ease the government's set-up in Somalia after the leadership left exile in Kenya earlier this month with great fanfare but no final destination.
As word began to filter out on Thursday that the talks were on the verge of collapse, Yusuf's spokesperson, Mohamed Ismail Baribari, insisted the negotiations were still under way and that the relocation issue was nearly settled.
Ever since Yusuf was elected last year, is government has been beset by internal squabbles, which Somali watchers fear will stymie efforts to restore a functional central authority in the country.
Posted on Friday 24th June at 23:49:17 Somali Leaders Fail To Resolve Differences
MODAGISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Somalia's president and parliamentary speaker have ended talks in Yemen without resolving differences that have split the transitional government as it struggles to set up operations after returning home from exile, an official said Friday.
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden failed to agree on where the government should be based, Deputy Prime Minister Mohamud Abdullahi Jama said.
The president wants government to set up in the southern Somali town of Jowhar, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of the capital, saying Mogadishu is unsafe. The speaker, however, insists they should be in the capital as provided in the transitional constitution, Jama said.
The parliament is expected to meet in Mogadishu on Saturday for its first session in the country since the government was set up, Jama said, even though the president recently declared the legislature in recess for two months.
The leaders also failed to agree on the presence of troops from neighboring countries, including Ethiopia, in a regional force that would be sent to secure the government and key installations, help disarm thousands of militia fighters and train security forces, Jama said.
The president supports troops from neighboring countries. Powerful warlords-turned-cabinet ministers who control Mogadishu and other legislators disagree.
"There are other issues, including the violation of the charter and a pattern of appointment and decision-making that are unilateral, that is on the part of the president and prime minister, that are not consistent with the spirit of reconciliation," Jama said.
A Yemeni Foreign Ministry official said the Somali parliament speaker left Yemen after five days of negotiations with the president.
"Despite Yemeni mediation, the two parties failed to reach an agreement," the official said on customary condition of anonymity.
Somalia has not had an effective central government since clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Warlords then turned on each other, plunging the country of 7 million into chaos.
The transitional government has been based in the Kenyan capital Nairobi since it was set up last year because Mogadishu is too insecure.
Somalia's Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, lawmakers and members of his Cabinet returned home on Saturday, setting up operations in Jowhar. The president, though, has yet to return home.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.
Posted on Friday 24th June at 23:47:26 Somali Leaders Meet To Mend Relocation Rift
Nairobi - Somalia's president and parliamentary speaker met on Thursday to heal a rift concerning the government's return home, while Washington urged a rapid completion of the relocation to end 14 years of anarchy.
The Somali government, formed at peace talks in the relative security of neighbouring Kenya last year, has begun in earnest its long-delayed return to the lawless Horn of Africa nation.
But there still remains a major split over where its base should be: the dangerous capital Mogadishu or the provincial town of Jowhar.
The US state department said in a statement the current Somali reconciliation process - the 14th such attempt since warlords toppled military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and ushered in a state of anarchy in 1991 - was at a critical stage.
"It is imperative that a viable national plan for relocation and security be formally agreed upon by a broad quorum," the statement said.
President Abdullahi Yusuf, who plans to return first to Jowhar to join Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi and more than 70 legislators (MPs), and Parliamentary Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan on Thursday held a third day of talks in Yemen's capital Sanaa.
A faction led by Sharif Hassan and several powerful warlords have already returned to Mogadishu, to prove their point that it is safe enough to be the government's home.
Yusuf flew to Yemen last week for the reconciliation talks after his government bade a formal farewell to Kenya, where it had to remain because of the lack of security at home in anarchic Somalia.
Presidential spokesperson Yusuf Ismail Baribari said the talks were still continuing "having in mind the utmost interests of the Somali people and by encouraging the dialogue within the framework of the transitional institutions."
Yemen's state news agency Saba quoted sources as saying efforts to heal the rift between the two sides "showed positive signs".
"Conciliation efforts are still continuing to bridge further gaps in points of view," it said without elaborating.
In Mogadishu, Religious Affairs Minister Omar Mahamud Mohamed, a warlord commonly known as Omar Finnish who is aligned with the speaker, said the talks were being watched keenly.
"If an agreement were reached between the president and speaker, of course it would have a positive impact on the rifts existing in the government," he said in a telephone interview.
More than 100 MPs are in Mogadishu, where civil society groups have helped dismantle militia checkpoints used to extort money from drivers.
The United States, which withdrew from Somalia after a 1993 peacekeeping mission turned bloody, applauded "the central role played by Somali civil society in pushing for real and lasting security reform in Somalia."
By C Bryson Hull
Posted on Thursday 23rd June at 23:56:39 Somali-Canadian Facing New Charges
TORONTO -- A jailed Somali-Canadian terrorism suspect lied to cover up his associations with other Afghanistan-trained men now living in Canada, U.S. prosecutors alleged yesterday.
Mohammed Warsame, 31, took military training in Afghanistan in 2000 before returning to live in North America, U.S. authorities said.
Jailed for the past year and a half on charges of lending support to al-Qaeda, Mr. Warsame now faces additional charges of lying to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Prosecutors in Minnesota, where Mr. Warsame was studying philosophy at the time of his arrest, say that he initially told them he didn't go to Afghanistan or know anyone from the camps.
But the FBI says they've discovered that he did "maintain frequent contact with such associates who had themselves relocated to Canada, Pakistan, and elsewhere throughout the world," according to a new indictment released yesterday.
The document does not name the men now living in Canada.
Several men accused of taking al-Qaeda-sponsored military training have been arrested in Canada in recent years. Yet security agencies complain that many others are still free because no laws allow the arrest of Canadians who attended camps in Afghanistan before 2001.
Mr. Warsame lived in Toronto for at least a decade before his alleged training in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2001.
A man who knew him in Toronto said yesterday that Mr. Warsame was a "lazy bum who could not hold on to a job" and that going to Afghanistan was just "one of his crazy schemes."
"He was always going from one place to another," said Amjad Sayed, the administrator of Toronto's Jami Mosque. "He had a gypsy in his soul."
Defence lawyer David Thomas described his client in much the same way. "He went there to check it out," he said.
"His primary motive in going to the camps was he ran out of money [in Pakistan] and he got free room and board there."
Mr. Thomas added that "the main issue in this case is: Is he a tourist or he is terrorist?"
He added that the FBI has "a whole slew of his e-mails" and these probably provide grounds for the new charges against Mr. Warsame.
The Somali-Canadian is not charged with being involved in any conspiracy. His lawyers recently filed documents saying that he was studying quietly at home when he was arrested.
"When [Agent] Samit asked him if he had been to Afghanistan, Warsame hesitated because he was afraid to admit that fact," the documents say.
After that, he was taken to an army base and interrogated, and then to jail, where he remains.
By COLIN FREEZE
Posted on Thursday 23rd June at 23:52:34 Transitional President Meets Speaker In Yemen
NAIROBI, 23 June (IRIN) - The transitional Somali president and parliamentary speaker have met in Yemen to try and resolve disagreements that have split Somalia's fledgling government, the deputy prime minister said on Thursday.
President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed travelled to Yemen after leaving the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on 13 June. His Transitional Federal Government (TFG) had been based in Nairobi since it was formed in October, 2004.
Yusuf was later joined by the speaker, Sharif Hassan Shaykh Aden.
"They are trying to formulate a framework for an agreement on all issues that have split the government," Mohamud Jama "Sifir", the deputy prime minister said by telephone from Mogadishu.
He said the Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh had offered to mediate in the "dialogue" between Yusuf and Aden after attempts by Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia to resolve the disagreement failed.
About 100 members of the 275-strong parliament, led by Aden, left Nairobi for Mogadishu last month after opposing a decision by Yusuf and Prime Minister, Ali Muhammad Gedi, to have the town of Jowhar, 90 km north Mogadishu, as the temporary seat of government.
The MPs also opposed a suggestion to include troops from Somalia's immediate neighbours in a proposed peacekeeping force to help stabilise the war-torn Horn of Africa country.
The president and the prime minister said Mogadishu was too dangerous to host the government, and insisted that the government would stay in Jowhar until security was restored in the old capital.
The interim government has already begun establishing itself in Jowhar and Gedi has started working from there. A spokesman said on Wednesday the entire cabinet was expected to move to the city by 1 July, Somalia's independence day.
Somalia has had no functional central authority for the past 14 years, following the collapse in 1991 of the government of Muhammad Siyad Barre. Civil war erupted in the country soon after Barre was toppled as various factions and rival warlords fought for power.
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, which is made up of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Somalia, sponsored two years of talks between the various Somali clans and factions, culminating in the establishment of the TFG.
Posted on Thursday 23rd June at 23:50:37 Somali Leaders Seek To End Split
Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf has been holding talks with the speaker of the Somali parliament, Sharif Hasan Shaykh Adan, in Yemen's capital, Sana.
Observers say they discussed the future of the Somali government, which is split over where to be based.
The president wants it to be in Jowhar in central Somalia until he considers Mogadishu safe enough, but the speaker insists they should be in the capital.
The Kenyan government recently told the exiled government to return to Somalia.
The speaker and more than 100 MPs, including key warlords, went to Mogadishu, but many others, including the president and prime minister, are refusing.
The talks were also supposed to cover the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Somalia to stop armed militias disrupting the transition.
Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Ghedi arrived in Jowhar at the weekend and told Reuters news agency that they were pushing ahead with arrangements to be based there.
"My government has finally moved to Somalia. Jowhar is our base until when Mogadishu is pacified," he said.
However he added that it was a temporary measure and said they had no intention of changing the capital.
Security
Another town, Baidoa, also appears to have been ruled out as too unsafe for the government to use as a base.
Some analysts are already predicting that this peace process, like 14 others before it, has failed.
Troops from Puntland, the president's home region in north-eastern Somalia, are also arriving in Jowhar to improve security ahead of the president's return later this week, according to unconfirmed reports.
An attempt by the president to fly into Jowhar last week when he left Kenya was aborted and he instead flew on to Djibouti.
Poor lighting on the runway was blamed for the switch and work is now under way to improve Jowhar's airport.
Posted on Wednesday 22nd June at 23:38:32 Puntland Forces To Guard President's Residence In Central Somalia
Well armed forces from Puntland have arrived in Jowhar [central Somalia] the night before last night. The forces are said to have been in Feer Feer [eastern Ethiopia] and Beled Weyne [south-central Somalia].
The forces are armed with over 10 technicals [battle wagons] arrived in Jowhar and are led by a man identified as Abdikarim Farah Laqanyo.
The chairman of the regional administration of Middle Shabeelle Region, Muhammad [Umar Habeb, alias Muhammad] Dheere, has for the first time commented on the arrival of the forces and said the duty of the forces will be to guard the residence of the president of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad. He said the forces will also guard houses of ministers.
Muhammad Dheere said the forces are now based in the outskirts of Jowhar town.
Some of them will leave for Xuddur [southwestern Somalia] to reinforces an already existing force in Xuddur.
Source: Ayaamaha website, Mogadishu, in Somali 22 Jun 05
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Posted on Wednesday 22nd June at 23:37:11 Interim Government To Begin Operating From Jowhar
NAIROBI, 22 June (IRIN) - Somalia's interim government has begun establishing itself in the town of Jowhar, where it will be based until security is restored in the capital, Mogadishu, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
"The government is in the process of setting itself up in Jowhar and the prime minister [Ali Muhammad Gedi] laid the foundation for the construction of a larger airport yesterday [Tuesday]," Hussein Jabiri, director of information in the prime minister's office, said.
The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has been based in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, for the eight months since its formation, and only began relocating to Somalia on 13 June.
Jabiri said the entire cabinet was expected to move to Jowhar, 90 km north of Mogadishu, by 1 July, Somalia's independence day.
He said the expansion of the airport in Jowhar would cost US $900,000,and added that the expanded airport would facilitate the work of the government, which was expected to remain in Jowhar for "several months".
Poor lighting at the airstrip in Jowhar had forced a plane transporting President Adullahi Yusuf Ahmed from Nairobi to Somalia on 13 June to fly instead to neighbouring Djibouti. The President later flew to Yemen on official duties.
A section of the government disagreed with the decision to install the administration in Jowhar, and in May moved to Mogadishu saying it wanted to restore normalcy to the city so the government could operate from there.
About 100 members of the 275-strong parliament, led by Speaker Sharif Hassan Shaykh Aden, earlier this month started an effort to rid Mogadishu of illegal roadblocks manned by armed militiamen, who were being asked to move to designated camps in the city.
"The government has no objection to that [efforts to restore security in Mogadishu]," Jabiri said. "It is a positive thing that should be supported."
Somalia had no functional central authority for the 14 years following the collapse in 1991 of the government of Muhammad Siyad Barre. Civil war erupted in the Horn of Africa state soon after Barre was toppled as various factions and rival warlords fought for power.
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, which is made up of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Somalia, sponsored two years of peace talks between the various Somali clans and factions, culminating in
Posted on Wednesday 22nd June at 23:35:05 Yemeni President In Talks With Somali Counterpart
The president of the republic, Ali Abdallah Salih, today received the Somali president, His Excellency Abdullahi Yusuf [Ahmad] and the Somali parliamentary Speaker, Sharif Hasan Shaykh Adan.
The meeting discussed bilateral ties between Yemen and Somalia and cooperation with the Somali authorities in their various capacities, ranging from the presidency, government and the parliament - all with the aim of restoring stability and security to Somalia, as well as protecting its sovereignty, unity and rebuilding the government institutions in the framework.
[Passage omitted: repetitive words in similar vein]
In this regard, the president of the republic, Ali Abdallah Salih, stressed Yemen's determination to back Somalia in its readiness to defend its sovereignty and unity.
He pointed out that Somalia's peace and stability was a matter of concern to Yemen, as well as to all the other countries in the region.
The meeting was attended by the prime minister, Abd-al-Qadir Ba-Jammal; the foreign minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, and the minister of interior, Rashad al-Alimi.
Source: Republic of Yemen TV, Sanaa, in Arabic 1800 gmt 21 Jun 05
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Posted on Tuesday 21st June at 21:44:38 African Countries Urge Somalia To Stem Small Arms Proliferation
NAIROBI, June 20 (Xinhuanet) -- African countries Monday called onthe Somali interim government to stop proliferation of illicit small arms by establishing structures to deal decisively with the menace.
Kenya's Foreign Affairs Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere told a regional meeting in Nairobi that the war-torn Somalia which sharesa porous border with Kenya would soon become an integral part of the sub-regional effort to combat the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons.
"Since they now have a government of their own, which is now making sure that their country is safe and will be developing, they would be of much help if they made sure that the weapons did not get into the hands of criminals," the minister said during theopening of the third Ministerial Review Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons in Nairobi.
Mwakwere noted individual states must ensure militias and rebels do not get access to the fire arms, saying economic and social growth on the continent has been affected by war and crime.
He called on nations to develop mechanism to ensure smuggling of the deadly weapons are prevented.
"Governments must tighten controls to stop the flows of illicitweapons. This means ensuring that embargoes are not broken, brokers are regulated, and that arms smuggling is prevented," the minister stressed.
The meeting which will end on Tuesday is attended by twelve foreign ministers from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania and Somalia.
They are reviewing the progress on the implementation of the Nairobi Declaration on the problem of proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
Somalia though not a signatory to the declaration, was invited as the 12th country. Enditem
Posted on Tuesday 21st June at 21:40:28 Somalia Government Sets Up Base In City Of Jowhar
JOWHAR, Somalia, June 21 (Reuters) - Somalia's fledgling government has set up base in the city of Jowhar until security is restored to the capital Mogadishu, the prime minister said on Tuesday.
The interim government, formed in the relative security of neighbouring Kenya late last year, has repeatedly postponed plans to return to Somalia, citing lawlessness following 14 years without a central authority.
A row over whether the government should be installed in Mogadishu, or the provincial towns of Jowhar and Baidoa had caused a major split in the government, further contributing to the delays.
But, Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi who arrived in Jowhar on Saturday with several ministers, said the government had begun to install itself in the city 90 kms (56 miles) north of Mogadishu.
"My government has finally moved to Somalia. Jowhar is our base until when Mogadishu is pacified," Gedi told Reuters in Nairobi by telephone.
He said there was no intention of changing the capital of the Horn of Africa country of about 10 million from Mogadishu, Somalia's single most dangerous place. Somalia's interim constitution stipulates that it must be the capital, and the government has established a liaison office there.
MOGADISHU IS CAPITAL
"Mogadishu is our capital, but its security is not good," Gedi said from Jowhar, where he attended a ceremony to mark the expansion of the city's airport on Tuesday..
President Abdullahi Yusuf was expected to arrive in Somalia later this week after a visit to Yemen to discuss peacekeeping forces in Somalia.
Residents in Jowhar said business is booming in the city along Shabelle River, known for its fertile farmlands.
The airport is being expanded to accommodate bigger planes. Property prices have jumped since government officials began discussing a relocation there.
"A villa that was going for $50, now costs $500," said businessman Haji Hussein. "This is because people from all regions have come to Jowhar since the government moved in on Saturday."
"Food prices have gone down as demand has increased. Things will be much better once the president settles in Jowhar. People are ready to hand over their weapons as they have realised the value of peace," he added.
Somalia was plunged into civil war after warlords overran the country and ousted military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Conflicts and famine have killed hundreds of thousands ever since.
By Mohamed Ali Bile
Posted on Tuesday 21st June at 21:39:23 Long-Term Development Focus of Post-Tsunami Aid in Somalia
Six months after Somalia was hit by the Asian tsunami, aid efforts have gone beyond the emergency phase and the focus is turning to long-term development. But the absence of a functioning government and continued insecurity is hindering reconstruction efforts.
Most homes, shops, and other buildings in Hafun are heaps of rubble, a painful reminder of the day six months ago when a giant wall of water changed the landscape of the bustling fishing town on Somalia's northeastern coast.
But slowly, painstakingly, the people of Hafun are moving forward in their post-tsunami world.
Assistant program officer Maulid Warfa of the World Food Program's (WFP) Somalia office was among the first to arrive on the scene after the December tsunami, and has visited the town several times since.
Mr. Warfa describes the current situation in Hafun.
"Houses are still destroyed,” he said. “You can hardly see any new buildings. People are still miserable. But, you know, that emergency phase of the situation is no longer there. There is small-scale business and trading is on at [a] very, very minimum scale. They still have here and there, you know, small, small restaurants and small, small shops. As far as the psychological problems are concerned, people seem to get used to the problem. They realized this has happened and they are dealing with it. But people are still very, very vulnerable."
The December 26 tsunami killed as many as 200 people, injured more than 150 and displaced thousands in Somalia, the African country hardest hit by the wave. In the days following the disaster, 30,000 people along the coast were in urgent need of food and other aid.
VOA visited Hafun in January and witnessed first-hand the rubble, broken boats, twisted metal, and other debris scattered along the beachfront where about 300 shops and businesses used to stand. Residents spoke with VOA about the loss of family members and friends.
The World Food Program, the United Nations' children's agency, and a local aid group called Shilcon were among the first to provide emergency services such as food and water distribution, shelter, sanitation, health care, and education.
Emergency officer Robert McCarthy, of the Somalia office of the U.N. children's agency, says the disaster has provided the unexpected opportunity to focus attention on long-term development.
"It also needs to be looked at in the context of Somalia as one of the world's poorest countries and the very tremendous difficulties people face in day-to-day survival,” he said. “So we have approached this as an opportunity to not only replace what was damaged or destroyed, but to try to help these communities to establish more of a conducive level of meeting their daily needs."
Mr. McCarthy says only 60 children attended Hafun primary school before the tsunami. Enrollment is now around 250.
He explains that a new health center is under construction and health care workers, teachers and other professionals are receiving proper training and support so that they can deliver what he calls standard quality services.
Mr. McCarthy says all of Hafun's children are being immunized, and pregnant women have access to care.
But challenges remain. Mr. McCarthy says the quality of the town's water supply is precarious and as many as 500 families are still living in temporary shelters, primarily made of plastic sheeting and branches.
The World Food Program's Mr. Warfa says that Somali's post-tsunami recovery is slow compared to other affected areas of the world because of the absence of a fully functioning government.
"The role of the government is what is not there,” he said. “The World Food Program is not going to feed these people forever, these people need to stand by themselves. They need their boats to do their fishing, they need to get their fishing gear, they need to get their houses repaired, they need to get all those other services that are beyond WFP's capacity and, in which, in the absence of effective government, will continue [to] hamper the livelihood of the people."
Somalia has been without a central government since leader Siad Barre was ousted in 1991. Militias loyal to factional leaders have been battling for control over parts of the country.
A two-year Somali peace process in Kenya resulted in the formation of a transitional government late last year.
A consultant for the Ministry of Environment and Disasters Management, Abdo Bahajj, tells VOA that unlike international aid agencies, the new government has no resources to deal with the crisis and government employees cannot travel to certain affected parts of the country due to insecurity.
"We are trying to help but our help is limited. We cannot help the way the world is going. Still, we have insecurity in the southern part," he explained.
Insecurity is also a problem for aid workers. In the early days in particular, some shipments of emergency supplies were halted in certain parts of the country due to fighting or the threat of attack by militiamen.
The activities of the U.N. children's agency were suspended in Hafun for several weeks recently, when its Boosaaso office closed down at the end of May, following death threats against one of its staff members. The office has since re-opened.
The agency's Mr. McCarthy reiterates the importance of political stability and security in post-tsunami development.
"The cooperation of the authorities remains a cornerstone to what we can do in Somalia and in Hafun,” he said. “The movement toward the establishment of the transitional federal government is a very important step. While we are looking at addressing the consequences of the tsunami, a clear priority is to help Somalia get on its feet to move towards real development and start overcoming so many of these problems that we have seen that place children at greater risk since the civil war in the early 1990s."
Hopes are high in Hafun that the new Somali government will bring the peace and stability needed for reconstruction and beyond.
By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
Posted on Tuesday 21st June at 21:37:43 Puntland Editor Jailed After Weekly Resumes Publication
New York, 20 June: Authorities in the autonomous Puntland region of northeast Somalia arrested Abdi Farah Nur, editor of the weekly Shacab (Voice of the People), after the newspaper resumed publication yesterday in defiance of an indefinite government suspension. Farah was being held without charge in a Garowe jail today, Shacab General Manager Abdirahman Abdulle told Committee to Protect Journalists.
Security agents in two armoured vehicles and led by the local police chief arrested Farah at the newspaper's offices last night, a CPJ source said. Abdulle said the newspaper's management had decided to resume publication after failing to persuade authorities to lift the suspension, now in its seventh week. Copies of the paper were printed and distributed despite the arrest.
On 5 May, the Puntland government ordered Shacab "temporarily suspended" for an undetermined period for publishing unspecified articles that it claimed could lead to unrest. A presidential decree issued after a cabinet meeting cited the government's constitutional responsibility to uphold the unity of Puntland. Fearing arrest at the time, management decided to suspend publication while seeking to contest the ban via legal representation and negotiation, according to Abdulle. But, he said, authorities showed no sign that they would lift the suspension any time soon.
In April, Shacab editor Farah and reporter Abdirashid Qoransey were detained, tried, and acquitted on charges of incitement and insulting the president. Those charges were based on a mid-April article suggesting that citizens with complaints about the Puntland government contact their representatives in Parliament; and a reader's letter criticizing authorities, according to Farah.
"Puntland authorities are acting in an arbitrary and autocratic way toward this independent newspaper and its journalists," said Ann Cooper, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. "We call on Puntland's president, Adde Muse Hirsi, and the transitional federal president, Abdullahi Yusuf, to ensure that Farah is released immediately and unconditionally, and that journalists can work freely in Puntland without fear of reprisal."
Puntland is a self-declared autonomous region in Somalia, which has had no functioning central government since the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in 1991. The Puntland authorities are signatory to a peace agreement signed last year in Kenya, aimed at restoring Somalia to peace and democracy.
Source: Committee to Protect Journalists press release, New York, in English 21 Jun 05
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Posted on Monday 20th June at 21:43:25 Exiled Somali PM Returns
BEIJING, June 19 -- Exiled Somali PM Ali Mohammed Gedi returns to Somalia to set up his govt on home soil.
Hours before his departure from Kenya, Gedi said he will be going to the town of Jowhar where he expects to receive President Abdullahi Yusuf to start stabilizing Somalia.
The towns of Jowhar and Baidoa are the two Somali towns to which the interim government wants to relocate temporarily, until Mogadishu is pacified and secured.
Gedi appealed to the United Nations to expedite the lifting of the arms embargo to Somalia to give way for deployment of the African Union stabilization force to the chaotic nation.
The interim government fears that without foreign peacekeepers, the militia rule in Somalia will prevent ministers and their teams from carrying out their work.
Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, when the administration of Mohamed Siad Barre was toppled.
The transitional government was formed after two years of peace process in Nairobi that brought together factional leaders and others to work out how to end 15-year war. It has stayed in Nairobi since its founding.
The relocation process has been delayed several times amid concerns over security in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and differences over where the government will be based. Enditem
Posted on Sunday 19th June at 19:53:36 Somali Refugees To Be Tanzanian Citizens
DAR ES SALAAM, June 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Some of the Somali refugees in Tanzania are expected to be granted Tanzanian citizenship next Monday when the country marks the World Refugee Day.
A total of 1,320 Somalis, who fled violence in Mogadishu between 1991 and 1995, are being considered for naturalization, according to Chrysantus Ache, country representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The naturalization is planned to be made in Tanga of northeastern Tanzania, where the Somali refugees reside.
These refugees are known as the Bantu Somalis whose origins canbe traded back to Tanga and their ancestors were taken as slaves by the British and the French and later settled in Somalia.
Tanzania has hosted some 800,000 refugees, mostly from neighboring the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Rwanda. Enditem
Posted on Saturday 18th June at 21:35:12 Somalia's Yusuf To Go Home After Yemen Trip-Paper
SANAA, June 18 (Reuters) - Somalia's president said in remarks published on Saturday that he would return home after a visit to Yemen where he would discuss the setting up of his government on home soil six months after it was formed.
President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed told al-Thawra daily he would ask Yemen to contribute to peacekeeping forces in Somalia.
Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, tasked with ending fighting between rival clan warlords, had remained in Kenya since its formation at peace talks last year due to disputes about where inside the country it should be based. "We will discuss with President Ali Abdullah Saleh the foundations needed to strengthen Somali reconciliation and also moving the leadership to the capital Mogadisho especially since this leadership now includes representatives from all Somali factions," Yusuf told the Arabic-language Yemeni newspaper.
"After our visit to Sanaa we will go directly to Somalia for the first time because we feel the situation is moving towards calm and therefore it is possible for us to return."
Yusuf arrived in Yemen on Friday, but it was not clear how long he plans to spend in the Arab country.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi flew home from Kenya on Saturday with several cabinet ministers to advance efforts to install the government.
Somalia's Parliament Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan -- who along with Mogadishu warlords in the government and allied MPs insist on the government being based in the capital -- is also visiting Yemen.
The pro-Yusuf faction of the government wants the administration to be based temporarily in the provincial towns of Baidoa and Jowhar, arguing Mogadishu is too dangerous.
A 1,000-strong force of Ugandan and Sudanese peacekeepers is to deploy in Somalia to restore order and help establish the government, which has no revenues of its own.
"We will ask President Saleh to send Yemeni troops to Somalia alongside other forces from several countries because the presence of such troops will help overcome any difficulties we might face on the security side," Yusuf said.
East African countries have urged the United Nations to lift an arms embargo on Somalia to enable the Ugandan and Sudanese troops to deploy. No date has been set for their arrival.
Yusuf's government is the 14th attempt to restore effective administration to Somalia since it collapsed into chaos after the overthrow of a military ruler in 1991. (Additional reporting by Nairobi bureau)
Posted on Saturday 18th June at 21:32:29 US, UK Spies Hunt Al-Qaeda-Linked Somali Extremists in Kenya
NAIROBI, 17 June 2005 — US and British agents are now in Kenya tracking members of two Al-Qaeda-linked extremist groups thought to have infiltrated the country from Somalia to set up terrorism cells, a senior Kenyan official said yesterday.
Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua said the spies had come to the east African nation to follow up intelligence suggesting that operatives from Al-Ittihad Al-Islamiya and Al-Takfir Wal-Hijra had crossed the border recently.
“We have agents here from the American government, from the British government and other governments who are here working,” he told reporters at a news conference in Nairobi. “They come, they go, they follow their leads.”
“We have been investigating a lot of these so-called cells, so-called organizations and so-called groupings,” Mutua said.
“A lot of them are just suspicions and hearsay and this is one of the cases we are looking into to find out if there is any authenticity (to it),” he said.
An official with the British embassy in Nairobi declined to comment specifically on Mutua’s remarks but confirmed that Britain and Kenya were now actively cooperating on counter-terrorism.
“I can confirm that we are in contact with Kenyan authorities and we cooperate where possible,” the official said.
The two groups in question are both suspected of having strong ties to Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda network, which has claimed responsibility for two deadly suicide attacks in Kenya.
In August 1998, two car bombs went off almost simultaneously outside the embassies of the United States in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam in neighboring Tanzania, killing 224 people and injured around 5,000.
Then, in November 2002, a vehicle packed with explosives drove into the lobby of an Israeli-owned hotel near the port city of Mombasa and detonated, killing 15 people and the three presumed suicide bombers.
Both attacks, and an attempt to shoot down an Israeli airliner leaving Mombasa on the same day as the hotel bombing, were claimed by Al-Qaeda, prompting foreign governments to issue terrorism alerts for Kenya and east Africa.
Washington says that the estimated 2,000-strong Al-Ittihad Al-Islamiya, which wants to impose Islamic law throughout lawless Somalia, are linked to Al-Qaeda and have a presence in Kenya and Ethiopia.
Al-Takfir Wal-Hijra is now believed to have cells in Mogadishu from where it is looking to expand, according to intelligence officials who believe lawless Somalia is a potential breeding ground and base for terrorists.
In 2003, a UN panel said the country’s arms free-for-all makes it a convenient springboard for groups such as Al-Qaeda to launch attacks in the region.
Posted on Friday 17th June at 17:40:34 World Vision Plans Response To Somalia Floods
Plans to respond to the floods that hit Bualle and Sakow districts in southern Somalia are underway. The floods displaced an estimated 32,500 people who are in need of shelter and medicine.
Stephane Vaugon, World Vision Somalia’s Programme Development Manager says the organisation has received a $50,000 commitment from World Vision UK, and has also submitted a funding proposal to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
At this stage, World Vision is looking to implement a six-month relief program worth around $1.4 million. Mr. Vaugon says World Vision is still appealing for donors to assist towards alleviating the plight of the flood victims.
Immediate needs are food, drugs and plastic sheeting. A World Vision Somalia team is scheduled to visit Bualle next week (20 June) for about four days. Their mission is to conduct a vulnerability assessment and to carry immediate medical supplies.
“The water levels have receded from an initial 8.4m to 8m. People are still displaced and we will need to address a possible food shortage in the next two weeks,” said Food Security Coordinator Barnabas Okumu.
In Bualle, the floods submerged 30 villages and destroyed all the crops, while 7 villages are under water in Sakow district.
World Vision has food security, education, health and gender/FGM projects in the affected districts.
Report from Zeba Mbuvi - WV Somalia Communications
For more information on World Vision International visit http://www.wvi.org, or contact us at newsvision@wvi.org
Posted on Friday 17th June at 17:22:34 President Saleh Of Yemen Gets Involved
Presidnet Ali Abdalla Salah of Yemen invited Somali president and the speaker of the house in an attempt to save Somalia’s bogged down national reconciliation process. Somalia’s smooth transition to national governance depends on the outcome of this meeting.
Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed and Sharif Hassan Adan who were elected president and parliament speaker respectively last year became the biggest obstacle rather than leading this fragile nation. The two men belong to different factions and don’t see things eye to eye.
The speaker was nominated and campaigned for by members of defunct government that was established in Arta, Djibouti in 2000. That group applauded when their man was elected as the speaker of the house. That celebration did not last long. Warlords who were responsible for Arta government’s failure regrouped and successfully grabbed the presidential chair.
The two men continued their struggle but this time playing with Somalia’s future. They both accuse each other of misusing the constitution for personal political reasons. The speaker took many parliament members to Mogadishu without consulting the president and the prime minister. His group is now talking about impeaching the president if he does not come to Mogadishu. The president and the prime minister along with the rest of the parliament members still remain in Nairobi, Kenya where the new government was setup last year. They are scheduled to relocate to Somalia in the next few days. They are also talking about getting rid of the speaker by majority vote.
Before president Saleh’s invitation, Kenyan president, IGAD East African (Intergovernmental and Development) and countless Somalis tried to convince the two men that Somalia’s future and the fruits of three years of national reconciliation are at stake. Neither man budged.
Source Somalinet.com
Posted on Friday 17th June at 17:21:39 Helping Police 'Little Somalia'
THE Dip area of Streatham has long been the Somali heartland of South London.
Each week, hundreds flock to its cafes and restaurants to pray and socialise in the streets - but the huge influx brings its share of tension.
The answer could lie in a pioneering scheme having Somalian volunteers help police their own community, writes crime reporter BEN ASHFORD...
HE WEARS a hoody and the latest gangsta rap gear - but Mohamed Islow is no young thug.
"I'm at college at the moment," the softly spoken 17-year-old says.
"My dream is to become an engineer."
As Mohamed goes to show, appearances can deceive in the densely populated area of Streatham known as "Little Somalia" or the Dip. He is one of thousands of Somalis who flock there from across London each week to pray at the Mosque, share news or simply catch up with old friends.
With summer approaching, the cafes and restaurants that line the busy stretch of Streatham High Road are already bustling with life. But with as many as 150 Somalis - mainly men - spilling on to the streets several nights a week, residents have become uneasy. Common complaints include groups of young men blocking pavements, intimidating those who pass, and spitting.
And khat dealing - a legal drug in most of Africa but outlawed in this country - is rife, according to police.
Members of the Somali community admit their people have something of an image problem - but a solution could be close at hand.
Under a pioneering police scheme, Somalis are being invited to police their area alongside officers.
In the past few weeks eight volunteers, including businessmen, shopkeepers and residents, have joined regular foot patrols as community observers - a sort of middle man.
Dad-of-three Saeed Megal, 43, a busy housing worker by day, is one of those who has given up his time.
"Streatham is an important focal place for Somalis," he says.
"They come here from all over London to socialise, to pray at the Mosque or meet friends.
"They don't come to make trouble or cause problems. But when people see large groups of men blocking the pavements, they feel understandably intimidated."
Large street gatherings are an essential part of Somali culture, as Saeed, who lives nearby, explains.
Many elderly, often illiterate, people rely on these meetings for news of their homeland.
"The problem lies in the misunderstanding between different cultures," says Saeed.
"An aural culture is a way of life for Somalis.
"Our country is blighted by war and conflict, the political situation is not stable.
"People can't rely on national newspapers in the same way as in this country. Somalis will meet on the streets and exchange information verbally.
"But these people respect their neighbours.
"If you ask them to move or stop doing something that other people find offensive, they will. The Somalian community is ready to integrate and to change."
From a policing point of view, Saeed's presence has already proved valuable.
His knowledge of Somalian customs and ability to translate has boosted relations, says patrolling partner PC Phyllis Rooney.
"Many of the Somalis who gather here resent being asked to move on because they are not committing crimes.
"With Saeed at our side, we can talk through the problems amicably. In most cases, the groups have been happy to disperse."
The Somali Volunteer scheme, a first for the Met, follows months of talks between Somalian leaders and senior officers and forms part of a larger action plan to regenerate the Dip. Streatham's Chief Inspector, Alistair Sutherland, believes firmly in bringing more Somali volunteers on board.
If funding were to become available, the chief inspector would like to see volunteers become permanent police civilian staff in the shape of police community support officers.
He told the South London Press: "The vast majority who gather at the Dip are there for a lawful purpose, to talk and socialise.
"This must be done in a way that is acceptable to everyone that has an interest in the area, whether they live work or simply visit Streatham.
"Since we introduced the volunteers scheme, the signs have been positive. There has already been a huge reduction in the sale of khat."
Chief Insp Sutherland added: "At the moment there is some way to go to making it an ideal environment for everybody - but this is an excellent start."
South London Press
Posted on Friday 17th June at 17:20:14 WHO Undertakes Emergency Polio Immunisation
NAIROBI, 16 June (IRIN) - An emergency 10-day polio immunisation campaign is due to start on Friday in Somalia after the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned the country could be reinfected with the disease from the nearby countries of Ethiopia and Yemen.
"The outbreaks of polio in Ethiopia and Yemen, coupled with large population movements between Somalia and its neighbours, have put Somali children at risk of polio," David Heymann, a representative for polio eradication at WHO in Geneva, said.
Ethiopia and Yemen are the latest two of 16 previously polio-free countries that have been reinfected due to an ongoing outbreak in west and central Africa, WHO and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a joint statement on Thursday.
Somalia has been polio-free since October 2002, they said.
"The outbreaks in Ethiopia and Yemen have already paralysed 230 children and have infected as many as 40,000 with the disease," he added.
The WHO representative for Somalia, Ibrahim Betelmal, said it "is crucial that all efforts are made to ensure that the polio virus is not allowed to reverse the gains made so far in Somalia".
In addition to Ethiopia and Yemen, Betelmal said the disease had also broken out in Sudan - where 152 children have been paralysed over the past 12 months - as further evidence of the speed at which the disease could reinfect a country.
Friday's immunisation campaign would be an emergency preventive measure to rapidly boost children's immunity to polio.
Supported by WHO and UNICEF, tens of thousands of volunteers, health workers and parents, as well as community, religious and traditional leaders, would move from house-to-house and village-to-village across the country to hand-deliver the polio vaccine to every child under age five.
The immunisation would be carried out on Friday and Saturday in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland; on 18-20 June in the self-declared Republic of Somaliland; and from 24-26 June in the south and central areas of the country.
According to WHO, vaccinators would use the recently developed monovalent oral polio vaccine type 1 (mOPV1), which has been known to boost children's immunity more rapidly than the commonly used trivalent oral polio vaccine.
Organisers of the immunisation campaign have urged all members of the public to participate in the immunisation programme to ensure that all children benefit.
More polio-immunisation campaigns would be held in July, August and September to confirm that all children had received sufficient doses of the vaccine and are adequately protected from the disease.
UNICEF Somalia representative Jesper Morch appealed for even more support for the polio-eradication effort.
"Because of the risk of the reinfection of Somalia and other polio-free countries, it is more urgent than ever to fill a $50 million [US] dollars global-funding gap by July," he said. Of this figure, nearly $2 million was needed for Somalia to continue its immunisation initiatives in the second half of 2005.
"Failure to urgently meet these funding needs will compromise immunisation activities and threaten the polio-eradication effort, not only in Somalia but also worldwide," Morch said.
The 16 previously polio-free countries suffering importations of the polio virus as a result of the 2003-2005 outbreaks in west and central Africa are Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, Mali, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Togo and Yemen.
Posted on Thursday 16th June at 17:58:29 Gunmen Kill Four In Southern Somalia
Armed militiamen have killed four civilians in Beer Xaano, in the outskirts of Kismaayo [southern Somalia] yesterday afternoon and the Jubba Valley Alliance [JVA, who controls Kismaayo] is investigating the matter. The report was received from our reporter in Kismaayo Sahara Abdi Muhammad.
Source: Radio HornAfrik, Mogadishu, in Somali
Posted on Wednesday 15th June at 18:32:04 Somali Chief Blocks Cabinet Move
The warlord controlling the Somali town where the exiled government plans to relocate has said it should move to the capital, Mogadishu, instead.
Muhammad Umar Habeb said Jowhar was too small and lacked the infrastructure to host the new administration.
The move has been delayed nine months because MPs are divided over where the government should be set up.
President Abdullahi Yusuf has insisted on moving to Jowhar and Baidoa amid security concerns in Mogadishu.
Baidoa's warlord, Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade, is also insisting that the transitional government bases itself in the capital.
Wednesday is the deadline for about 100 Somali MPs to leave Kenya -after Mr Yusuf departed on Monday.
Kenya has hosted two years of peace talks which led to Mr Yusuf's election last October and is eager for the Somali parliament to go back home.
'Government split'
Mr Yusuf was expected in Jowhar, 90km (55miles) north of the capital, on Monday but his plane was unexpectedly diverted to Djibouti because of poor lighting on the runway.
Mr Habeb is reported to have mobilised thousands of people to welcome the president involving a huge security operation only to learn the president was not coming.
"Jowhar is a small town and we are advising the government to go to Mogadishu, which is the capital," Mr Habeb told AFP news agency.
"Logistically, we are not capable of hosting the government, which requires more housing, offices and other facilities to run the country."
A move to Mogadishu is backed by the parliament speaker and about 100 MPs, including warlords who control most of the capital.
The disagreement has dogged the new government's attempt to relocate from Kenya, and set up the country's first effective authority for 14 years.
President Yusuf left for Qatar on Tuesday to attend the G-77 summit of developing countries before starting a two-week tour of the Gulf region.
Presidential spokesman Yusuf Ismail Baribari said Mr Yusuf would return to Somalia shortly after.
Posted on Wednesday 15th June at 18:24:05 I'm Guilty Of Attempted Rape..Without A Victim
A MAN was convicted of attempted rape yesterday even though his victim has never been found.
In the first case of its kind Farhan Osman admitted attacking an "unknown person" after being caught on CCTV.
It showed Osman, a 27-year-old Somalian asylum seeker, beating a terrified woman in an underpass in the early hours.
The victim, in her early 20s, was seen shouting for help into the camera before Osman ripped off her clothes and tried to rape her.
He was interrupted by a well built passer-by and the woman fled.
Neither the man nor the victim have been found following the attack in Elephant and Castle in South London.
Osman was arrested minutes later after security guards contacted police. He was brought to Inner London crown court from a psychiatric hospital after being sectioned following his arrest.
He spoke only to plead guilty during the five-minute hearing. He will be sentenced next month.
A prosecution source said: "There's never been a case like this. Appeals were made following the attack but no one came forward. Police are still eager to trace the victim."
Posted on Wednesday 15th June at 18:22:41 UN Aims To Launch Polio Campaign In Somalia
Nairobii - The United Nations children's agency said on Wednesday that it will launch a nationwide anti-polio drive in Somalia this week in a bid to prevent outbreaks in Ethiopia and Yemen from spreading to the lawless country.
Unicef will begin the vaccination campaign in the self-declared autonomous north-eastern region of Puntland on Friday, where it also announced the immediate resumption of work following a nearly three-week suspension due to security fears.
The programme, intended to inoculate millions of Somali children against polio, will start in the breakaway state of Somaliland in the north-west on Saturday and in central Somalia on June 24, it said.
"The outbreaks of polio in Ethiopia and Yemen, coupled with large population movements between Somalia and its neighbours, have put Somali children at risk of polio," Unicef said in a statement.
Outbreaks in neighbouring Ethiopia and Yemen, which lies across the Gulf of Aden, have already paralysed 230 children and infected as many as 40 000 and threaten a resurgence of the disease in Somalia which has been polio free since 2002, it said.
"It is crucial that all efforts are made to ensure that the polio virus is not allowed to reverse the gains made so far in Somalia," Unicef said, noting that the anarchic country has no health infrastructure to deal with infections.
The programme in Somalia is part of a broader UN effort to stem the spread of polio across Africa, in which the World Health Organisation plans campaigns in 23 African nations.
The resurgence of polio, blamed on a suspension of vaccinations in Nigeria for ideological reasons, has knocked a UN programme to eliminate the disease worldwide by the end of 2005.
Somalia, a nation of about 10 million people, has been torn apart by factional warfare since the overthrow in 1991 of strongman Mohammed Siad Barre. - Sapa-AFP
Posted on Wednesday 15th June at 18:19:24 Government Unwelcome In Jowhar, Faction Leader Says
NAIROBI, 15 June (IRIN) - The faction leader who controls the town Jowhar in south-central Somalia said on Tuesday that interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was no longer welcome in the town.
The announcement came after the faction leader, Muhammad Omar Habeb, spent the better part of Monday at the airstrip in Jowhar, waiting for Yusuf's arrival. However, Yusuf's plane did not land in Jowhar as it was diverted to the neighbouring country of Djibouti.
Habeb, popularly known as Muhammad-dhere, was apparently angry because Yusuf went to Djibouti after leaving the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, instead of Jowhar, as planned, a local source said.
Muhammad-dhere, who had mobilised "the entire town" to welcome Yusuf, and his entourage "was at the airstrip for over eight hours waiting for them," Abdikarim Omar, a local journalist working for Radio Jowhar, said on Wednesday.
While the change of Yusuf's itinerary could have been perceived as a snub by those on the ground in Jowhar, Dahir Mire, the permanent secretary in the office of the president, said on Wednesday that Yusuf's plane was diverted to Djibouti due to insufficient lighting at the Jowhar airstrip.
"We were simply late and the plane could not land on a dark airstrip," he said.
Yusuf is not the only TFG member who did not give Muhammad-dhere an explanation.
"He was also angered by Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Gedi's announcement in an interview that he would go to Mogadishu instead of Jowhar," Abdikarim said.
At a news conference at his residence in Jowhar on Tuesday, Muhammad-dhere said he would support the government's relocation to Mogadishu, "but made it clear that he does not want the TFG to come to Jowhar," Abdikarim said.
"Jowhar does not have the capacity to host the government," Muhammad-dhere was quoted as saying.
The towns of Jowhar, 90 km north of Mogadishu, and Baidoa, 240 km southwest of the capital, respectively, are the two Somali towns to which the interim government wanted to relocate to temporarily, until Mogadishu was pacified and secured.
At least 100 members of the 275-strong parliament, led by Speaker Sharif Hassan Shaykh Aden, are in Mogadishu in a bid to stabilise the city. They have been convincing faction leaders to disarm and encamp their militias.
Since the TFG was established in October 2004 in Nairobi, it had announced plans to relocate temporarily to Jowhar and Baidoa several times but remained in the Kenyan capital. The administration had come under increasing pressure recently from the Kenyan government and western diplomats to put their plans into action.
Yusuf's departure on Monday was a show of the government's resolve to return to Somalia.
Muhammad-dhere's new stand, however, "calls into question the TFG's ability to complete the relocation process," a regional analyst, who declined to be named, said on Wednesday.
"The TFG has to come up with a new plan for the relocation. It really does not look good," the analyst said.
However, Mire maintained the government's plan to relocate to Jowhar still stood.
"There is nothing to this incident," he said. "It is already resolved and in the past, and the entire government, including the president, will go to Jowhar."
Posted on Wednesday 15th June at 18:17:11 UNICEF Returns To Somali Region After Threat Scare
NAIROBI, June 15 (Reuters) - The United Nations children's agency said on Wednesday it has resumed work in northeast Somalia after death threats against its staff last month forced it to pull out.
UNICEF said in a statement the decision to end a three-week suspension of operations came after resolving differences with the government of the northeastern region of Puntland, but there was no mention of the death threats.
"Puntland and UNICEF have put their differences behind them and join hands in a shared strong commitment to renewed action for Puntland's children and vulnerable groups," it said.
UNICEF said it had issued the statement jointly with the government of Puntland President Mohamud Muse Hirsi.
The agency said last month it had closed its office in the port town of Bossaso, which serves as the centre of UNICEF's Puntland operations, after several death threats against staff.
The threats underscored the difficulty and danger faced by aid workers who venture into Somalia, ravaged by nearly 14 years of militia fighting.
The semi-autonomous Puntland region is considered relatively safe by Somali standards and has its own government and president. Unlike the northwestern region of Somaliland, which has broken away from Somalia but is unrecognised internationally, Puntland has always stated that it will remain an integral part of Somalia.
Posted on Wednesday 15th June at 18:16:12 Jowhar Leader Urges Somali Government To Move To Mogadishu Instead
The chairman of the political council in the Middle Shabeelle Region [southern Somalia], Muhammad Umar Habeb, alias Muhammad Dheere, today said it was a big burden for Jowhar District [the government's planned relocation base] to accommodate the Transitional Federal Government [TFG], and said there was a need for the government to move to Mogadishu.
Details on this and about a press conference held by Muhammad Dheere today, here is our reporter Awes Fodey:
[Fodey] Muhammad Umar Habeb, Muhammad Dheere, who held a press conference today in Jowhar town, Middle Shabeelle Region, said the initial plan was that the government should relocate to Jowhar and Baydhabo [alternative name Baidoa: Middle Shabeelle and Bay regions respectively], but when people in Baidoa refused to receive the government, it becomes difficult for Jowhar town alone to accommodate the government.
He said Jowhar was small district which cannot meet the government's requirement. He urged the TFG and President Abdullahi Yusuf to relocate to Mogadishu.
Commenting on an earlier agreement in which the [parliament] had approved government's temporal relocation to Jowhar and Baidoa towns, Mr Dheere said the agreement has been violated following a statement by the prime minister last night who announced his government would go to Mogadishu. However, Mr Dheere said the prime minister always has the prerogative to decide where the government would relocate to. [Passage omitted: Mr Dheere's voice]
Source: Radio HornAfrik, Mogadishu, in Somali
Posted on Tuesday 14th June at 21:38:52 Exiled Somali Leader In Djibouti
NAIROBI - After months of delay and unmet pledges to return home, Somalia's government-in-exile finally began to leave Kenya yesterday but a new hitch emerged as the president departed, but never arrived on Somali soil.
After a lavish send-off ceremony hosted by Kenyan leader Mwai Kibaki, Somali transitional president Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed boarded a plane for Somalia but overflew his home country and landed in neighbouring Djibouti.
A correspondent in Djibouti confirmed Yusuf's arrival there, which Somali officials in Nairobi explained as a technical mishap.
The officials blamed darkness and a lack of facilities at the airport in Yusuf's alleged intended destination, the town of Jowhar, and insisted the incident would not compromise the government's long-awaited return to Somalia.
"The president was not ending exile in Kenya by going to another country," one officials said. "This was purely a technical issue ... there are no political complications as such to his landing in Djibouti."
But the development highlighted the difficulties in the relocation of the government which has been based in Nairobi since its creation nine months ago amid a bitter internal dispute over the move home.
And it appeared to confirm doubts that Kibaki's yesterday good-bye party would not mark the reestablishment of a central authority in the lawless country where anarchy has reigned for the last 14 years.
Clashes over where the government should move and intense pressure from its Kenyan hosts to leave have left the penniless administration with no clear base in Somalia yet nowhere else to go.
Even before Yusuf unexpectedly arrived in Djibouti, the senior Somali leadership, riven by infighting between rival clans and warlords, was set to settle in different locations, many of them outside their home country.
Even if he had landed in Jowhar, Yusuf had planned to spend only several hours there before embarking on an extended tour of Arab nations and had stressed that the government's relocation depended on foreign aid.
"Somalia cannot stand alone unless supported by the wider international community and the region," he said, a day after declaring parliament in recess for two months and told legislators to be "brave and go home".
But Yusuf's dismissal of the legislature was immediately challenged by the parliament speaker and his call for bravery muted by the announcement that he would be visiting Gulf states with no set date to return home permanently.
Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi assured Kibaki and others at the reception that the government would indeed be moving home after spending much of the last year holed up in Nairobi hotels.
But while Gedi plans to go to Somalia by the end of the week, officials said his current itinerary calls only for a three-day visit to Jowhar and Mogadishu after which he is to depart for locations unknown.
About 100 of the 275 Somali legislators are now in Mogadishu, including speaker Shariff Hassan Sheikh Aden, who said Yusuf had no right to dissolve parliament and announced that legislators would meet in the capital on June 25.
Aden is one of the main proponents of moving the government to Mogadishu and is fiercely opposed to Yusuf and Gedi's plan to relocate first to Jowhar and Baidoa due to security concerns in the bullet-scarred capital.
In a bid to assist the government's oft-delayed relocation, east African governments agreed to send a peacekeeping force to Somalia and at the weekend asked the United Nations to lift a 1992 arms embargo to ease the mission.
The seven-member Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Sunday asked the world body "to expedite the lifting of the arms embargo to allow for the deployment" of the force.
The first troops in the operation - to be known as IGASOM - are to come from Sudan and Uganda but the two countries have recently balked at sending soldiers because of the security situation in Somalia and a lack of funds.
The Horn of Africa country has been without an effective government since 1991 when strongman Mohammed Siad Barre was toppled, plunging the nation into anarchy.
AFP
Posted on Tuesday 14th June at 15:54:23 Mounting Piracy Off Somali Coast
NAIROBI - The International Maritime Board (IMB) has warned ships transiting Indian Ocean sea lanes off the coast of lawless Somalia to stay as far away as possible from shore due to a surge in piracy there.
In the latest in a series of increasingly dire alerts about threats to commercial shipping in waters off east and northeast Somali, the board said vessels not making calls in the region should stay at least 85km and preferably further away from the coast.
"Eastern and north-eastern coasts of Somalia continue to be high-risk areas for hijackings," the Malaysia-based IMB has said.
"Ships not making scheduled calls to ports in these areas should stay at least 50 miles or as far away as practical from the eastern coast of Somalia," it said, recommending for the first time a distance for captains to use.
The board, a division of the International Chamber of Commerce, said recent attacks, including one earlier this month in which a US naval destroyer intervened to save besieged vessel, underscored the danger to mariners there.
Earlier this year, both the IMB and the US, which issues its own maritime threat assessments, warned of a surge in piracy in Somali waters after three attacks were reported after a quiet spell between March 31 and mid-April.
Those warnings have been renewed regularly but last week, after two new violent attacks - one in late last month and one in earlier this month, the IMB boosted its alert.
All five incidents reported since March 31 have involved armed pirates who, in at least two cases, took crews hostage.
The last reported attack took place on June 7 off the Somalia capital of Mogadishu when three gunmen in a white speedboat opened fire with automatic weapons on an unidentified bulk carrier, according to the IMB.
The USS Gonzalez, a US naval ship in the area, responded to the vessel's distress call, came close, fired flares and escorted the carrier further out to sea, it said.
There were "no injuries to crew but gunfire by pirates caused 10 bullet holes on the starboard side near the bridge," the IMB said.
In March, the US advised western shipping firms of possible speedboat-launched terrorist attacks on vessels in the Indian Ocean off the coast of east Africa, including Somali waters.
AFP
Posted on Tuesday 14th June at 15:53:23 Local Government Election Starts In Puntland
The first local government election is expected to start in Boosaaso, Bari Region [northern Somalia], and the Puntland administration is working towards making the election successful.
The election is expected to start at 9.00 a.m. [local time] at the presidency in Boosaaso, and this is the first local government election to be held in Boosaaso. Three people are contesting for the mayorship of Boosaaso, including the outgoing mayor who was not elected to office.
The election has been held in Garoowe, the regional administration of Puntland where the town's mayor was democratically elected for the first time. [As published, passage omitted]
Posted on Tuesday 14th June at 15:52:11 President Fails To Arrive In Somalia, Plane Diverted
MOGADISHU, June 14 (Reuters) - The plane carrying Somalia's president had to be diverted from landing in his country, and instead flew to Djibouti after he bade a formal farewell to his government's temporary home in Kenya, officials said on Tuesday.
Reuters erroneously reported on Monday that President Abdullahi Yusuf had arrived in the Somali provincial town of Jowhar, after earlier in the day leaving Kenya to set up his government on home soil.
Yusuf had been due to land on Monday night in Jowhar and spend the night there, said Dahir Mire, permanent secretary in the office of the president.
But the plane was delayed in leaving Kenya, and approached Jowhar after nightfall.
"The pilot had to divert the plane to Djibouti because the airstrip in Jowhar has no lights," Mire said.
Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, tasked with ending fighting between rival clan warlords, had remained in Kenya since its formation at peace talks last year due to disputes about where inside the country it should be based.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki hosted a farewell party for the Somali government on Monday.
Presidential spokesman Yusuf Ismail Baribari said the pilot of the plane decided not to risk the landing and headed for the nearest airport with night landing facilities, in neighbouring Djibouti.
"The president really wanted to spend even a night in Jowhar," Baribari said.
Officials say Yusuf will return from a planned tour of several Gulf countries, that was to begin in Qatar on Tuesday, in about two weeks.
Baribari said the president would begin touring Somalia after his arrival to start his day-to-day work as president.
Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Gedi is expected to leave Kenya for Mogadishu on Thursday.
Yusuf's government is the 14th attempt to restore effective administration to Somalia since it collapsed into chaos after the overthrow of military ruler Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991.
Conflict and famine have killed hundreds of thousands of people since then in the country of up to 10 million.
Posted on Tuesday 14th June at 15:45:17 For Somalia’s President, There’s Still No Place Like Home
NAIROBI, June 14 (IPS) - For the moment, it is the homecoming that wasn’t. Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf left Kenya Monday to relocate his transitional government to Somalia. However, the flight carrying the head of state was subsequently diverted to Djibouti.
Reports indicate that poor runway lighting in the southern Somali town of Jowhar prevented the plane from landing. A far larger threat, however, is posed by the lack of security in Somalia, where central government collapsed in 1991 when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted by tribal factions.
The current, interim administration was only established in 2004, after about two years of talks held in Kenya under the auspices of the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). (This regional organisation comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.)
Ongoing concerns about the lack of stability in Somalia, which has been divided into fiefdoms by competing warlords, prevented the country’s new parliament from returning home after the election of Yusuf last October.
The administration has been operating in exile, from the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. However, regional and international pressure for it to take up the challenge of returning home has been growing.
"I can confidently report to you today that the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia is relocating to Somalia as of today," Yusuf said Monday at a farewell party for his government, hosted by Kenyan officials. The event, which took place in Nairobi, was also attended by diplomats and IGAD country representatives, amongst others.
Afterwards, Yusuf and a seven person entourage of political and economic advisors left for the airport, accompanied by Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki.
"The rest of the ministers will follow tomorrow, and everyone will have gone by Friday," said Yusuf Baribari, a spokesman for Abdullahi Yusuf. "It is a great feeling...At long last we are going back to our country to fulfill our duties."
These optimistic statements aside, Somalia’s government is divided over where it should be based.
Yusuf and his allies, who enjoy little support in the capital of Mogadishu, have insisted that the administration set up operations in Baidoa – also in southern Somalia – and Jowhar. A move to the capital would take place once Mogadishu was deemed sufficiently secure.
This policy has been endorsed by a majority of legislators in the 275-member parliament, who voted for the government to have offices in Baidoa and Jowhar, and a liaison office in Mogadishu. However, a sizeable minority of parliamentarians is said to be pushing for an immediate return to the capital. These legislators include faction leaders who control large parts of Mogadishu.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that parliamentarian Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade, who also controls Baidoa, is opposed to having the government relocate to this city – apparently because it may lead to him losing power in Baidoa.
Last month, fighting erupted in the city between forces loyal to two ministers, Sheikh Aden Madobe and Hassan Mohammed Nur Shatigadud, and Habsade supporters – claiming 13 lives. Madobe and Shatigadud support the president’s decision to relocate to Baidoa.
Reports indicate that Habsade also fears the city’s proximity to neighbouring Ethiopia could be to the advantage of Yusuf, accused by some of being an ally of Addis Ababa.
Relations between Ethiopia and Somalia have long been acrimonious. Somalia invaded the Ogaden region of Ethiopia during the 1970s, and Addis Ababa is said to have supported Somali rebels in later years.
In March, Somali legislators voted against a deployment of about 10,000 IGAD peacekeepers in their country, on the grounds that it might include Ethiopian troops. East African foreign affairs ministers apparently decided, later, to avoid deploying soldiers from Somalia’s neighbouring states in any peacekeeping mission to the war-torn country.
Addis Ababa has reportedly been accused of providing military support to Yusuf so that he could attack Baidoa – a charge Ethiopian officials deny.
Matt Bryden, an analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG) who deals with the Horn of Africa, told IPS that opposing factions in the Somali parliament urgently needed to resolve the dispute over government headquarters.
"We need the two sides to come together, talk and reach common ground. With two groups with dissenting views about the capital…we do not have a functioning government in Somalia," he said Monday. The ICG is a Brussels-based think tank.
"It looks as though the president is moving independently. It is a real risk if the two groups do not dialogue," Bryden added. "IGAD must advise President Yusuf to reach out to the opposing side in order to reunify the TNG (transitional national government). If this does not happen, it will be the beginning of the end of the government."
The need for channels of communication to be kept open was also emphasised by Francois Lonseny Fall, the United Nations special representative to Somalia.
"We hope that that the Transitional Federal Government will use this opportunity to further the process of institution building and promoting peace through intensive dialogue on several issues, and in particular on where to relocate to inside Somalia," he said at the farewell party.
Under the agreements negotiated in Kenya, Yusuf is to govern Somalia for five years after which a general election will be held.
Thousands of lives are said to have been lost during the past decade in Somalia, while many citizens have been displaced or forced to flee their country. (END/2005)
Joyce Mulama
Posted on Tuesday 14th June at 15:44:21 Interim Government Starts Relocation
NAIROBI, 13 Jun 2005 (IRIN) - Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia, which has been based in Nairobi since formed eight months ago, began relocating to the country on Monday.
Somali government spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said the relocation from Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, would be completed in a few days.
"This morning [Monday] the president, the prime minister, ministers and members of parliament will attend a farewell ceremony being held for them by [Kenyan] President [Mwai] Kibaki at State House," Dinari said.
Interim President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was scheduled to depart for Somalia following the ceremony, accompanied by cabinet ministers, Members of Parliament and other officials," he said.
His first stop would be in the town of Jowhar, 90 km north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
Dinari said Prime Minister Ali Muhammad Gedi and the rest of the Somali government "will follow within the next few days".
Since the TFG was established in October 2004 Nairobi, it had announced plans to relocate to Somalia several times but it did not do so.
While some government officials are installed in Mogadishu, this is the first time the "president is leading the way," a regional analyst, who requested anonymity, said. "It is a positive sign, and they seem serious this time around."
The new government, which includes several faction leaders, did not relocate sooner because of security considerations. It had recently come under increasing pressure from the Kenyan government and western diplomats to relocate.
On 8 June, hotels in Nairobi asked members of the transitional government to vacate the rooms they have occupied for almost three years.
Earlier, the interim government had decided to relocate temporarily to the towns of Jowhar and Baidao, in south-central Somalia. Yusuf and Gedi have said the government could not function in Mogadishu until the city was pacified and secured.
"This government is determined to establish itself in Somalia, with the help of the international community" Dinari said. "There will be no turning back."
At least 100 members of the 275-strong parliament, led by Speaker Sharif Hassan Shaykh Aden, are already in Mogadishu in an attempt to stabilise the city. They have been convincing faction leaders to disarm and encamp their militias.
The first operation to rid Mogadishu of illegal roadblocks manned by armed militia began on 7 June, in an effort to restore order to the war-torn city.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) council of ministers called upon the UN Security Council to lift an arms embargo it had imposed on Somalia.
In a statement, IGAD asked the UN "to expedite the lifting of arms embargo on Somalia to allow for the deployment" of IGAD peacekeeping troops.
Posted on Monday 13th June at 15:50:41 7,000 Somalis Enter Kenya to Escape Fighting
A group of Somalis have crossed into the country following skirmishes for control of the border town of Bur Hache.
Their number is estimated at 7,000.
North-Eastern provincial commissioner Abdul Mwaserrah said yesterday that they were displaced from Bur Hache, Bulla Hawa, Damasa and Khadija as fighting between rival clan militias spread into neighbouring areas.
Preliminary reports, he said, showed at least 300 heavily armed Garre militiamen stormed Bur Hache and routed Marrehan militias who had taken control of the town, less than 10km from the Kenya border.
The fighting began on Thursday, he said.
Mr Mwaserrah said the displaced people had been trickling into Elwak, Mandera District with few belongings since last week.
They were badly in need of food, he said, and appealed to donors for help.
The district medical officer of health, Dr Bishar Issack, said 10 people with serious gunshot wounds were admitted to the local hospital. Five others were at Elwak Sub-district Hospital waiting to be moved to Mandera.
All the admitted people had bullets lodged in their bodies.
But the PC said the Government would arrest them after recovery and investigate if they were clan militias involved in the border atrocities or civilians.
Some fugitives said 21 people had been killed and 50 others injured.
Kenyan herdsmen who early this year crossed into Somalia in search of water and pasture for their livestock due to drought, were among the people who crossed into Kenya, Mr Mwaserrah said.
He added that the herders were reported to have lost 70 animals when stray bullets caught them.
Armed men who tried to cross into Kenya were repulsed by security forces manning the border, the PC added.
However, Mr Mwaserrah dismissed as unfounded claims that the Garre had regrouped on the Kenyan side and were preparing to return to attack them.
The allegations were attributed to Somalia National Front officials of the Marehan clan.
Copyright © 2005 The Nation. All rights reserved.
Posted on Monday 13th June at 15:47:19 UN Condemns British Policy On Deportees
Britain's policy of forcing failed asylum seekers to return to war-torn countries has drawn an unprecedented public attack from the United Nations.
Christian Mahr, the deputy representative in the Office of the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told The Observer that sending people back to dangerous countries such as Somalia was a recipe for 'chaos' that would make problems worse.
Mahr said the UN had sought talks with the UK government in the hope of persuading it to overturn its hardline policy.
'We've brought this matter up at the highest levels,' he said. 'There have been many instances where people have been returned, despite the Foreign Office's own website indicating it is unsafe for someone to travel there.
'People sent back [to conflict areas] are vulnerable. They may be seen as ripe for kidnapping,' Mahr added.
'Our primary concern is to ask: on what basis are you going against UNHCR advice? Why is it safe to return these individuals? It's a question we find puzzling.' .
The UNHCR has published advisory notices raising concerns about a number of trouble spots including Burundi, Somalia, Ivory Coast and parts of Angola. Earlier this year it urged governments to suspend for three months the deportation of failed asylum seekers to areas affected by the tsunami.
A spokesman for the Home Office said removal was considered on a 'case by case' basis. 'We will only enforce the return of those we are satisfied are not in need of protection. We are committed to the protection of genuine refugees who seek asylum in the UK,' the spokesman said.
But Mahr said too many people were still being sent back to danger zones. 'Does it really make sense to send someone to a situation where they are going to have a difficult time settling down, something that will force them to leave the country again? This just creates a vicious cycle of movement which, in our view, is not good for anyone involved.'
Scared of what will happen to them when they are returned, many rejected asylum seekers opt to 'drop out' of the benefits system in a bid to hide themselves in Britain.
The British Red Cross worked with 25,000 such people who were destitute last year. 'The problem is getting worse,' said a spokeswoman. 'There are more and more people in this position, and it's across the country.'
Kami, 28, from Burundi had her support cut off when she lost a final appeal last April. 'Since then I've been homeless. I've managed to stay with various friends so far but it's very difficult. I'm dependent on them to give me something to eat, and I don't have money to buy milk or nappies for my one-year-old baby, conceived through rape in Burundi.
'I see no future and I'm so desperate that I think of doing something to myself.'
Constance, 34, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, spends her nights sleeping on the steps of a mosque in Croydon.
'I fled to this country because I thought they treated people like human beings but I don't feel I have been treated like a human being at all.'
Jamie Doward and Diane Taylor
Posted on Sunday 12th June at 15:54:26 From Somalia, With Hope
A young mother, two tired little boys and a babe in arms arrived at Thunder Bay International Airport Friday after a long voyage from Somalia.
The boys, aged 7 and 5, clutching teddy bears and plastic shopping bags, looked bewildered as they were greeted to applause and hugs from a small welcoming committee from St. Margaret’s Church.
The two-year-old in his mother’s arms looked curiously at the throng gathered around him.
The family was lovingly embraced in a country where there is no famine, genocide or civil war.
Bodria Ali Mehamed, a widow, and sons Katab, Seifadin and
Yasin can expect to find a much more comfortable life in Thunder Bay than the refugee camp they came from in Africa.
For the children, it was the only “home” they’ve known.
Their father is dead but no one knows how he came to his fate.
“They’ll have some difficulty adjusting because they come from somewhere that’s very hot,” said Biti Issa, who also came from Somalia in 2000 with her mother and three brothers. Her father was also missing and presumed dead.
Issa said they’ll find Northwestern Ontario winters particularly harsh but will eventually get acclimatized.
“It’s very overwhelming,” Karen Rocco, a St. Margaret’s parishioner, said of the move to a new country.
“There’s a cultural change and communication is a major thing.”
Issa said the newly arrived family, although they speak no English, will, like her, pick up the language quickly.
Issa, 13, quickly adapted to her new country. She speaks perfect English and is in Grade 7 at C.D. Howe Public School.
She fell in love with Canada and its multicultural society and she’s confident Bodria and her sons will.
That’s where the small Somali community in Thunder Bay comes into the picture. It will help the family make the transition to their new life.
In a joint sponsorship with the federal government, St. Margaret’s will support the family for two years while the DOORS to New Life Refugee Centre will
provide essential services and guidance to the family.
St. Margaret’s has already sponsored a young man from Sudan and a family from Kosovo.
“Thunder Bay offers a new home and a chance for a better life to a refugee family from
Somalia,” said Gerry Cullen, team leader of refugee sponsorships.
By Jim Kelly - The Chronicle-Journal
Posted on Saturday 11th June at 15:52:50 Somalia Floods Kill 40
Nairobi - Floods caused by heavy rains killed at least 40 people, swept away entire villages and destroyed large amounts of farmland in Somalia last month, said United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) on Friday.
It said, in addition to the deaths, more than 2 000 families in parts of central and southern Somalia and another 270 families in the northwestern breakaway republic of Somaliland were displaced.
Unicef in its monthly review of the situation in Somalia said the raging floodwaters caused extensive damage, including to bridges, as they swept through villages, uprooting large trees and burying property under mud.
Unicef said, one resident of the Somaliland capital of Hargeisa, where the offices of Handicap International and a French charity had to be evacuated, said it was the worst flood in the area since 1953.
The flooding began in late April in both Somalia and neighbouring Ethiopia after torrential rains hit the region.
At least 170 people in Ethiopia's southern Somali state were killed by flash floods or eaten by crocodiles.
Posted on Friday 10th June at 15:55:36 Ugandan President Meets Somali PM Over Peace Process
Ugandan president meets Somali PM over peace process
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Friday afternoon held a meeting with Somali transitional government Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Gedi in Kampala, reported Radio Uganda.
"The president and the Somali premier discussed matters concerning the ongoing peace process and restoration of the Somali nation in which Uganda is playing a major role," the Ugandan government radio said.
"Premier Gedi expressed gratitude to President Museveni for the effort he is in putting in the peace process. He assured him of the transitional government's commitment to the rebuilding of Somalia," the radio added.
Gedi came to Uganda to discuss the Somali process with Museveni, who is also chairman of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development before foreign minister of the seven-member group meetin Kenya on Sunday to endorse the Somali interim government's new relocation plan.
According to a report reaching here on Friday, the east Africa regional ministers will discuss issues of finances, deployment of peacekeeping forces, and security situation in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia.
The Somali transitional government was established in Kenya last year.
Somalia has been without a central government since clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
Source: Xinhua
Posted on Friday 10th June at 15:50:52 Somali Gunmen Re-Erect Roadblocks In Blow For Peace
MOGADISHU, June 9 (Reuters) - Mogadishu gunmen on Thursday re-manned roadblocks that were dismantled just two days ago in an unprecedented drive to prove the violent Somali capital is safe enough to be its Kenya-based government's home.
The checkpoints, where heavily armed militias extort money from passing drivers, re-appeared in a few locations around the coastal capital in a blow to the peace effort, witnesses said.
It prompted a strike by bus drivers -- regular victims of the extortion -- who demanded the roadblocks be completely removed.
A little more than a dozen checkpoints, major sources of income to warlords who have dominated the anarchic Horn of Africa nation since militias deposed dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, have been taken down since Tuesday.
Independent sources said earlier reports that as many as 25 of the roughly 50 in the city were dismantled were mistaken.
On Wednesday, residents threw rocks at a checkpoint that was re-erected near the Bakara Market in a unprecedented display of civil anger.
Though the militia refused to leave, drivers since then have avoided the street to deprive the gunmen money, said Jabril Ibrahim Abdulle of the Centre for Research and Dialogue think-tank in Mogadishu.
The roadblock removal effort, backed by civilian groups working with warlords, was part of a plan to disarm gunmen and train them as police or security at camps around the city.
Businessmen have donated cash and women have sold jewellery to pay for the one million Somali shillings (around $75) given monthly to each militiamen who turns in his guns.
GOING HOME?
The interim Somali government, still based in Kenya where it was formed at peace talks last year, is deeply split on where it should first make its home.
Mogadishu warlords in the government and allied MPs, including Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, insist on Mogadishu, and have travelled there to make the case it is safe.
Others allied with President Abdullahi Yusuf plan to first return to Jowhar, north of the capital, and the southern town of Baidoa, with a liaison office in Mogadishu.
They argue the capital must be pacified before the government can fully relocate there.
Somali officials in Kenya plan to leave next week, after the Kenyan government hosts a farewell on Monday, Kenya's Ambassador to Somalia Mohamed Affey told Reuters.
"There is no deadline. The proposition is that we have a final farewell ceremony hosted by Kenya as the host government for the Somali transitional institutions," Affey said.
"And thereafter, we'll begin the process of returning the MPs still here home, but the process takes time."
The Somali government has repeatedly delayed its return date. Donors are still paying the MPs' bills at Nairobi hotels.
Meanwhile, a long-running fight between two subclans over control of southern town of Garbaharrey flared on Thursday, killing nine and injuring 16, people who fled the town told Reuters by radio.
Militias with heavy machine guns battled for control of the town, considered a strategic business hub because of its location near the Kenya border in Somalia's southwest. (Additional reporting by Bryson Hull and William Maclean in Nairobi)
Posted on Thursday 9th June at 15:58:45 Death Toll Rises As Fighting Continues In Beletweyne
At least 30 people have died since inter-clan fighting broke out on Monday in the town of Beletweyne, south-central Somalia.
More than 70 people have been wounded and hundreds more displaced in the violence, now in its fourth day, local sources told IRIN on Thursday.
The fighting broke out when militias from the Galje'el and Jajele sub-clans clashed on the west side of the town. It was reportedly triggered by a land dispute and revenge killings for the deaths of two Jajele men last week and one Galje'el man on Sunday.
The violence subsided on Tuesday afternoon after elders from a neutral clan intervened, but "resumed with greater intensity on Wednesday", Abdullahi Muhammad, a local journalist told IRIN. "It was the most intense yesterday [Wednesday]."
He added: "Beletweyne has seen fighting before, but never on this scale. It is as though they used the lull on Tuesday to reinforce their positions."
Wednesday's clashes occurred after mediation efforts by a committee set up by a neutral clan failed, Abdullahi said.
The two sides first agreed to a ceasefire on Wednesday, "but later reneged", Shuriye Hussein Hayow, an elder and a member of the committee, said.
When fighting subsided on Tuesday, the mediating committee managed to "bury the dead and take the wounded to hospital", Hayow said.
He said more people are probably affected but remained unaccounted for, as they did not make it to hospital.
The committee also brought to safety families who were stranded in their homes.
"We found people who were trapped in their own homes. They were running out of food and water." Abdullahi said.
He said the majority of those who were killed or injured were civilians, "mostly women and children" caught in the crossfire.
In an effort to reach a ceasefire, the mediation committee invited 10 elders from each side of the conflict to a meeting.
"We are offering to put neutral forces between the fighting parties to ensure that any ceasefire agreement holds," Hayow said. "I am hopeful that this time we will succeed."
Meanwhile, families continue to flee the fighting zone to the relative safety of the eastern side of Beletweyne and surrounding villages.
"The western side of town is like a ghost town. I don't think there will be anyone left if this continues for another day," Abdullahi said.
Posted on Thursday 9th June at 15:56:53 Somali Students Progressing
A year ago, the 10 Somali natives attending classes at Schenley High School in Oakland had no formal education, spoke no English and knew little of life outside a refugee camp.
Most had never even held a pencil.
On Friday, the students demonstrated just how far they have come, using a laptop computer to make PowerPoint presentations to their families and school administrators about some of the things they have learned about Pittsburgh.
"What these young people have accomplished is pretty amazing when you consider that they spent about 10 years in refugee camps in Kenya where the water and food was rationed," said Thekla Fall, program officer for world languages for Pittsburgh Public Schools.
"When they first came here, they were fascinated by things we take for granted, such as water fountains, and now they are using computers. It's a great accomplishment."
There are other signs that the students are beginning to assimilate -- though the girls still proudly wear their brightly colored head scarves and traditional clothing. Several have traded in their sandals for tennis shoes.
The students, who range in age from 16 to 19, are among the thousands of Bantus who streamed into Kenya to flee ethnic persecution in Somalia when that country disintegrated into civil war in 1991.
The U.S. government has agreed to resettle about 13,000 Bantus in the states. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh is helping to find jobs and provide social services to about 150 Somali Bantus here.
Schools Superintendent Andrew King, speaking to the students and parents through an interpreter versed in Kiswahili, praised them and urged them to contact him if they have any difficulties.
"I want you to have the best educational experience possible and learn each and every day," King said. "I want you to feel safe in our schools and enjoy yourselves. If any of you are uncomfortable, I want you to bring your concerns to me."
One student, Sowda Darbane, 16, of Lawrenceville, said while some of the Somalis have been teased by other students, they remain determined to learn.
"Some people treat us bad, but we tolerate what they are doing," she said. "Kids are kids. We just walk away because we love our beautiful teacher and want to learn. It's getting better."
Their teacher, Kathy Ramos, said the teasing is similar to the problems faced by other students who are seen as being different.
Darbane told King the Somalis are happy the district suspended several students who made life in school uncomfortable for them.
Advocates for the Somali students say the district is falling short in its efforts to help them.
In May, the Education Law Center filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education, contending that the district has done a poor job of informing the parents of Somali students about enrollment, immunization requirements, health assessments and other school programs in a language that they understand.
Additionally, the complaint contends that the Somali students are treated unfairly because they are "unnecessarily" segregated from other students.
The students are taught in what the district terms a "sheltered instruction" program, which keeps them out of other classes until their language skills are developed enough for them to be integrated.
By Tony LaRussa
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Posted on Saturday 4th June at 19:00:11 Somali Warlords Resisting New Government Control
Mogadishu, Jun. 03 (FIDES/CWNews.com) - Warlords in Somalia are seeking to place conditions on the rule of a new national government, the Fides news service reports.
The government of Somalia says it will return from exile despite violence in recent days in the southwestern town of Baidoa, which was chosen as the temporary headquarters of the new government. The news came from the government spokesman in Kenya, where the government is presently situated._
Fighting started after a local warlord launched an attack on Baidoa on May 27. Pro-government troops tried to take back the town, and in the fighting at least 15 people were killed and 20 wounded. “The warlord who led the attack is head of a sub-clan which controls Baidoa” local sources told Fides. “The sub-clan is connected with the main clan which controls Mogadishu and which wants the Somali government to be installed in the capital.”
_“The violence was a clear message to the government: “you must come to an agreement with us if you want to install yourselves in Somali territory” the sources told Fides._
Somalia has been without a functioning national government for more than a decade. After months of negotiations in Kenya, last October the representatives of the warlords who have vied for control of the African nation's territory selected a transitional government, now headed by Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi. That government has now begun plans to assert control over the country.
In May, the government announced plans to set up headquarters in the towns of Jowhar and Baidoa, because the capital city of Mogadishu is not yet regarded as secure.
Posted on Friday 3rd June at 18:56:23 Somali Talks Delegates Head Home
A group of delegates to the Somali peace process started relocating to their country yesterday.
Two sets of delegates left for Mogadishu and Joha in line with an announcement last week by Kenya's minister for Regional Cooperation John Koech.
The Somali government's spokesman Yusuf Ismail while confirming that the delegates had left, said President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime minister Mohammed Ali Ghedi would relocate at unspecified date.
He announced that President Yusuf's seat of power will be at Mogadishu and not Baidoa which was early this week rocked by clashes that left 13 people dead and 29 wounded.
A dispute over where to locate Mr Yusuf's divided government has deepen power struggles within his administration.
The President is under pressure from foreign governments and donors to return home from Kenya. The location of the government, which has been based in Kenya since it was formed last year, is a key security issue for Somalia's neighbours.
Yesterday, Mr Ismail told a Press conference at Chester House that the relocation was being done on a free will basis as part of the transition process. The spokesman added that Troops from the African Union will move in after the relocation of the government.
He said the clashes in Baidoa were caused "by people opposed to the peace and stability of the country." While making the appeal last week, Mr Koech urged the international community to help the government settle down and start rebuilding the country.
The minister said that although the Somali government still looked divided, the people at home were anxious to see it united and get down to business.
Initially, he said, it would be based in either Mogadishu, Doha or Padoa towns.
The minister accused the media of portraying Somalia as an irredeemable country.
Early this month, 13 Members of Parliament from three regions in the country announced they had formation a federal State.
The MPs from lower Shabella, lower and middle Juba regions declared they had formed the Federation State of Somali Hinterland.
Led by Dr Ali Mohammed Mohamud (Apollo), they said the State will be autonomous from the transition Central government and will have its headquarters at Brava.
The MPs told the press at Nairobi's Chester House that formation was in line with the Somali Provisional Federal Charter, the laws of the country, its culture and traditions.
Copyright © 2005 The Nation. All rights reserved.
Posted on Thursday 2nd June at 18:53:18 Somalia President Appeals for Calm After Clan Killings
Somalia president Abdulahi Yusuf has called for an end to the conflict in country's second largest city, Baidoa, where at least 13 people were killed and 20 others injured during renewed clan fighting on Monday.
He said his government had initiated dialogue with representatives from the region to iron out differences and avoid further clashes.
Speaking in Nairobi yesterday, Presidential spokesman Yusuf Ismail, said continued fighting in the region would interfere with the relocation of his administration.
"I appeal to all the regions to restrain from actions that may threaten the peace and interfere with the return of our people to Somalia," Ismail said.
He claimed the conflict was as a result of provocation by an a certain group.
However, he said the government would not be stopped from restoring order and the eventual relocation.
"The Government will not change its relocation programme," said Ismail.
He said the bloody fighting was unfortunate and appealed to the international community to continue assisting Somalis.
Copyright © 2005 The East African Standard.
Posted on Wednesday 1st June at 18:55:39 Somali Battle Rages Over Choice Of Capital
Rival factions in Somalia yesterday battled for control of the southwestern city of Baidoa, where President Abdullahi Yusuf plans to establish a temporary capital.
The heavy fighting, which involved truck-mounted anti-aircraft missiles, mortars and heavy machine guns, is blamed for the deaths of 19 people and injuries to 28. The fighting began at about 3.45am, when shooting broke out between militia loyal to rival Somali MPs. At the centre of the dispute is the question of where the capital should be located.
One faction is led by Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade, an MP who has held control of Baidoa for several months.
He is against President Yusuf's plan to move the interim capital to Baidoa. Mr Habsade dismissed Somali media reports that the attackers had taken control of up to half of Baidoa. He accused justice minister Adan Mohamed Nuur Madobe and agriculture minister Hassan Mohamed Nuur Shatigudud of orchestrating the assault to wrest control of Baidoa for President Yusuf, whose administration seeks to disarm all militias and restore effective government for the first time in 14 years.
The dispute over where to install Mr Yusuf's divided government has deepened power struggles in his administration.
The location of the government, based in Kenya since it was formed at peace talks there last year, is a key security issue for Somalia's neighbours in the Horn of Africa, long buffeted by the country's political turmoil.
Mr Yusuf argued that Mogadishu is too violent and that Baidoa and another city, Jowhar, would be safer. Mr Yusuf's opponents maintain that Baidoa and Jowhar are too close to Ethiopia to allow an independent government.
Andrew Meldrum
Tuesday May 31, 2005
The Guardian
Posted on Wednesday 1st June at 18:53:04 Fight Against Corruption In Somalia
The president of Somalia’s northeastern region, Puntland fired many officials in his government after a lengthy corruption and fraud investigation. Fired officials could not prove how a large amount of money missing from government tax and public services accounts was used. The amount of the missing money was not disclosed and no criminal charges were laid so far.
A reliable source told SomaliNet that most revenue from Bosaso airport never reached government accounts and the airport workers from cashiers to the head of the airport knew about the mismanagement. It is not only stolen money but people with connections could use the airport without paying fees or taxes. The source also said other branches of the government are now under investigation and everyone is nervous about it. “Before Mr. Adde came to power, people who had access to money could get rich easily. Now, they are forced to live off their salaries alone.” Said the source.
The new Puntland President Mr. Mohamud Muse, as known as Adde is very strict and doesn’t shy away from firing corrupt officials. He lost some close friends due to his stand on corruption and government accountability.
Source: Somalinet.com
Posted on Wednesday 1st June at 18:46:06 Snowfall In Somalia Reported
The first snowfall on this part of the world has claimed one life and caused extensive damage to properties. Puntland, northeastern part of Somalia has never recorded snowfall before last night when snow storms with high winds destroyed homes in Rako town.
The storm left a blanket of snow on the ground, something residents had never seen in their lives before. Aside from this unexplained snowfall on this tropical land, Somalia has experienced very strange weather in the past few months.
Floods killed people and forced rivers to overflow banks in almost all parts of the country. Many cities from Hargeisa in the north to Baladweyn in central were affected badly by heavy rains and floods. Many people were killed and thousands of livestock washed away by this strange weather. The country is still struggling to recover from last month’s killer weather.
With no effective central government, Somalia doesn’t have weather prediction or climate monitoring systems in place. Somalis think this unusual weather and last night’s previously unheard of snowfall are part of the global warming phenomena.
Source: Somalinet.com
Posted on Wednesday 1st June at 18:45:14 Floods Disrupt Relief Efforts In Somali Region
ADDIS ABABA, 1 June (IRIN) - Floods have disrupted relief efforts in Ethiopia's southeastern Somali Region making travel impossible in some areas, a UN agency said on Wednesday.
Trucks laden with relief items had been stuck on impassable roads for nearly three weeks, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
"Efforts by the government, UN and relief agencies are being hampered by poor road conditions, making travel impossible in some areas," Paul Herbert, OCHA's head in Ethiopia, told IRIN.
New flooding was causing new displacements in an area stretching from Kelafo to Mustahil town, where original floodwaters had receded and people were returning to their homes.
A joint government and UN assessment team arrived in the region on 25 May to assess the scale of the floods and to recommend an appropriate emergency response.
The number affected remains unclear, with conflicting reports of the number of people in need; estimates range from 25,000 to more than 60,000. As many as 154 people are thought to have died in the floods.
The team was expected to re-examine the damage and needs of flood-affected areas in Gode, Jijiga, Kebridehar and Degehabur zones.
Flooding first hit the remote region in late April when Ethiopia's largest river, the Wabe Shebelle, burst its banks. According to OCHA, recent flooding was also reported in the Denan area of Gode zone, while heavy rains had also hit parts of Fik zone.
OCHA added that the Genale and Dawa rivers in the western parts of Somali Region had overflowed their banks, interrupting communications within large parts of Afder and Liben zones.
The agency said road inaccessibility had prevented food aid from reaching many of the flood-affected areas. In addition, floods had hampered efforts by UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) to deliver relief to Gode.
UNICEF, in conjunction with the government's Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC), sent 17 lorries with relief items for flood-affected populations, but seven of the trucks remained stuck on the roads by 29 June.
Until the access problems eased, OCHA said the World Food Programme (WFP) was making arrangements to provide funds, through the DPPC, to transport 870 mt of maize currently in stock in Gode.
The Somali region regularly suffers from severe droughts, with average rainfall of just over 250 mm a year. Flooding usually occurs at this time of the year, and the water is used to regenerate soil for pasture. In 2003, 119 people died in the last major floods in Ethiopia.
Posted on Wednesday 1st June at 18:44:00 Back
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