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Hargeysa, Somaliland, November 7, 2009
(SL Times) – The newly appointed Somaliland electoral
commission has named a new chairman to lead the seven member
team that will oversee the much-delayed elections.
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Mogadishu, Somalia,
November 7, 2009 (SL Times) – The transitional federal
government of Somalia (TFG) and the semiautonomous regional
state of Puntland on Friday discussed ways to cooperate on
security and the recruitment of the government’s new police
forces.
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Some 3.6
million people in Somalia depend on humanitarian
assistance |
Nairobi, November 7, 2009 –
Aid agencies operating in Somalia say they need more money
but that some donors are holding back, concerned at where
resources might end up in areas too dangerous for
international staff.
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Spain Refuses Demand To
Free Somali Pirates |
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Madrid,
November 7, 2009 — Spain said Friday it would not free two
captured pirates as demanded by fellow brigands who are
holding a Spanish trawler and 33 crew members off the coast
of Somalia.
Three crewmen that had been removed from the vessel and
taken to the Somali mainland by hijackers to add pressure on
Spain to repatriate the arrested pirates were returned to
the ship late Friday, Foreign Minister Miguel Angel
Moratinos said.
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Nairobi,
November 7, 2009 – Don't promote democracy, fire all women,
don't take Sundays off and remove all logos from your
vehicles: these are only some of the 11 new rules Somalia's
Shabaab rebels want to slap on aid groups.
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An
MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicle |
Victoria,
November 7, 2009 — The Seychelles and the US Africa Command
on Friday demonstrated drones to be used to detect Somali
pirate boats that have wreaked havoc in maritime activities
and traffic in the western Indian Ocean.
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Greeley, November 7, 2009 – A man was arrested in Greeley
early this morning just hours after a recent arrival to Fort
Morgan was stabbed to death in front of her apartment house.
The woman, in her early 20s, is one of approximately 600
African refugees including Kenyans, Somalis and Nigerians
living in the northeastern Colorado community, said Fort
Morgan Police Chief Keith Kuretich.
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“They
[al-Shabaab] are forcing women to wear very heavy
clothes, saying they want them to properly cover
their bodies but we know they have economic
interests behind - they sell these kinds of clothes
and want to force people to buy them” President
Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed |
Mogadishu, November 7, 2009 – Islamists
in southern Somalia have stoned a man to death for adultery
but spared his pregnant girlfriend until she gives birth.
Abas Hussein Abdirahman, 33, was killed in front of a crowd
of some 300 people in the port town of Merka.
An official from the al-Shabaab group said the woman would
be killed after she has had her baby.
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Mogadishu, Somalia, November 7, 2009 –
Somali courtship was different in Hassan Aden's day. When he
was a teenager, you gave the girl's parents 11 camels and an
AK-47 assault rifle as bride price, and then waited
respectfully.
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Kenya's Top Earner Gets
Sh3.9m A Month |
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Mr Kuria
Muchiru (left), PriceWatersCoopers senior partner,
during the launch of the “Human Resouces Salary
Survey”. Looking on is the director of human
resource consulting, Mr George Hapisu.
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Nairobi, November 7, 2009 –
The gap between the salaries of senior and junior employees
in Kenya is widening, with a new survey showing that the
highest paid chief executive earns more than 400 times the
lowest paid employee.
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Somalia's Sufis Organize In
Face Of 'Existential' Threat |
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Sheikh
Sharif Sheikh Muhieddin, chairman of Somalia's main
Sufi movement, Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa, reads the Koran
in Nairobi Photo: AFP |
Nairobi, November 7, 2009 – On Thursday
Somalia's main Sufi movement, Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa, wrapped
up an unprecedented conference in Nairobi to strategize its
response to the rise and radicalization of the Shabaab
group.
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UN Takes Aim At Weapons
Trade |
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Treaty intended to stop arms from slipping into the black
market
By Olivia
Ward
Nairobi, November 7, 2009 – In Kenya's lawless slums, you
can rent a gun by the hour with no questions asked. In
Somalia, teenagers boast of using assault rifles to terrify
and rape women. In other parts of Africa, light weapons are
supplied especially for child soldiers.
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China Hosts Meeting On
Somalia Piracy |
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A
Chinese navy warship on patrol in the Gulf of Aden |
Beijing, November 7, 2009 — China on
Friday opened a two-day international conference on efforts
to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden from Somali pirates,
the defense ministry said.
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Somali Rebels Ban Musical
Ringtones On Phones |
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A Somali
militant talks on his phone in Rabdure district,
west of Mogadishu |
Nairobi, November 7, 2009 – Sacdiyo Sheeq
used to love listening to Bollywood movie songs on her
mobile telephone.
But since hardline al Shabaab insurgents seized the southern
Somali port of Kismayu, the 25-year-old's life has changed.
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South Sudan
President Makes First Call For Independence |
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Juba, Sudan, November 7, 2009 – South Sudan's president on
Saturday, October 31, 2009, urged southerners to vote for
independence in a referendum if they wanted to be free, the
closest he has come to calling publicly for the separation
of the
oil-producing region.
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Somalia
Finally Gets GSM Operator to Provide One Code and One Rate
Nationwide |
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Somafone Press Release
Garowe, Puntland-Somalia--Somafone, a GSM mobile network
operator in Somalia, today announced that it has launched
service in the Puntland region including Garowe, Galkaio,
Bosaso and other cities, utilizing hosted managed services
from Tecore Networks, a global supplier of multi-technology
2G, 3G and 4G mobile network infrastructure.
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U.N. Says U.S.
Delays Led to Aid Cuts in Somalia |
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By JEFFREY
GETTLEMAN
NAIROBI, Kenya, November 7, 2009 — United
Nations officials said on Friday that the supply of
critical food
aid to Somalia had
been interrupted and that rations to starving people needed
to be cut, partly because the American government has
delayed food contributions out of fears they would be
diverted to terrorists.
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Puntland’s Sea Pirates Graduate To
Air Piracy |
The Daallo Airlines
plane
Bosaso, Somalia,
November 7, 2009 (SL
Times) – Two men tried
to hijack a Daallo
Airline plane that was
flying from Puntland’s
city of Bosaso to
Djibouti. But the two
hijackers botched the
operation and the plane
returned to Bosaso’s
airport where they were
apprehended after a
shootout with Puntland’s
security.
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Traditional Leader
Garaad Jama Garaad Ali Accused Of Murder |
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Sool traditional
leader Garaad Jama Garaad Ali |
Hargeysa, Somaliland, November 7, 2009 (SL Times) – The Chairman
of UCID party, Eng. Faysal Ali Warabe accused Sool traditional
leader Garaad Jama Garaad Ali of being behind the murder of the
Commander of the 12th infantry division of Somaliland army,
Osman Yusuf Nur in Las Anod.
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Somaliland
Election Commission Takes Over Its Duties |
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Members of
the new Somaliland Election Commission take the oath of
office in a ceremony held at the presidential palace
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, November 7, 2009 (SL Times) – In a
ceremony at Mansoor hotel, the old Somaliland election
commission transferred its duties to the new election
commission.
The transfer went smoothly and was attended by officials
from Somaliland political parties, intellectuals, religious
leaders and other distinguished guests.
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Alleged Terrorist Eludes
Somaliland Security Forces |
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Buroa, Somaliland, November 7, 2009 (SL
Times) – Somaliland security forces tried to arrest an
alleged terrorist but failed to catch him when he ran into a
house.
The name of the alleged terrorist is Saeed Ahmed Jar, and
the security forces wanted to arrest him for being a member
of the terrorist organization al-Shabaab.
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Mogadishu, Somalia, November 7, 2009 (SL Times) – A member of
the Islamist militia Hizb al-Islam shot a medical doctor for
smoking a cigarette. The name of the doctor is Osman Ma’alin
Bidaaray and the incident took place in Afgoi, 30 km south of
Mogadishu.
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Ottawa, Canada,
November 7, 2009 (SL Times) – Mr Dahir Ahmed Farah, the Chairman
of the Djiboutian opposition party MRD, arrived in Ottawa,
Canada, and was warmly welcomed this week. He said he came to
Ottawa in response to a request from the Djiboutian community in
Ottawa.
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British House Of Lords Debates On
Recognition Of Somaliland’s Independence |
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British
Parliament (photofile) |
Written answers and statements, 4 November 2009
Lord Laird (Crossbench) - To ask
Her Majesty's Government what criteria were used in the
decisions to recognize the independence of Eritrea,
East Timor and Kosovo; whether those criteria will apply to
Somaliland; and whether they will raise the matter in the
European Union with a view to gaining agreement on the
recognition of Somaliland's independence.
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Saudi Arabia Resumes Livestock
Trade With Somaliland And Somalia |
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, November 7, 2009 (SL Times) – The
government of Saudi Arabia on Thursday removed an 11-year ban on
livestock imports from Somaliland and Somalia after fears of
Rift Valley Fever were allayed, senior Somaliland officials told
the VOA.
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Somaliland Gov’t And NATO
Officials Meet Aboard Warship To Discuss Piracy |
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Somaliland
government and Sahil regional officials met NATO officer
aboard a naval warship anchored off the coast of
Berbera |
Berbera, November 7, 2009 (SL Times) — Somaliland government
officials and officers from NATO’s anti-piracy mission, which
has warships patrolling the seas off the coast of neighboring
Somalia met aboard a naval warship anchored off the coast of
Berbera.
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Death Toll Rises To 13 In Ft. Hood
Shootings
Alleged shooter wanted discharge from
Army, aunt says |
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Hasan enters 7-Eleven store hours before the shootings |
Ft. Hood, Texas, Washington and Los Angeles,
November 7, 2009 – As authorities continue to search for clues
on what prompted the shooting Thursday at Ft. Hood, the death
toll rose on last night to 13.
Twenty-eight of the 31 people injured in the attack on the
nation's largest military base remain hospitalized. The alleged
shooter, an Army psychiatrist who was wounded during the attack,
is also hospitalized, unconscious and on a ventilator.
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Continued Saudi Air Attacks Kill
40 Houthis |
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F-15 warplanes of the Saudi Air
Force |
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, November 7, 2009 – More
than forty Yemeni Houthis fighters have been killed in the fresh
Saudi Arabia's air attacks on the northern Yemen fighters
holding territory in the border region.
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Islam Feruz: On Celtic's books |
Scottish Football Association chief executive Gordon
Smith believes Islam Feruz has the potential to inspire a whole generation of
immigrant talent to pledge their allegiance to Scotland.
Glasgow, Scotland, November 7, 2009 – Celtic youngster Feruz, 14, last month
became the first player to benefit from a recent rule change that allows British
passport holders to represent any of the home nations, provided they have been
educated in that country for five years.
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Dubai, November 7, 2009 – The Gulf
emirate of Dubai plans to appoint female muftis by the end of next year in an
unprecedented step that could trigger opposition from Muslim conservatives, The
National newspaper reported Tuesday.
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The United Nations General Assembly |
New York, November 7, 2009 – The United Nations General
Assembly has voted overwhelmingly in favor of a report, which accuses Israel of
war crimes as well as crimes against humanity during the weeks-long onslaught on
the Gaza Strip.
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While recent spate of violence and political unrest threatened
to derail the nascent democracy in Somaliland, local initiatives
managed to mitigate the crisis, but for now, the ‘non-state’
remains stranded in an international wilderness, Des Carney
writes for ISN Security Watch.
By Des Carney for ISN Security Watch
A
former British Protectorate until 1960, Somaliland unilaterally
declared its independence from the rest of the Somali Republic
in 1991 after the Somali National Movement overthrew the
virulent Siyad Barre regime in Mogadishu.
While Somalia has grappled with its ‘failed state’ status and
descended into a ‘Paradise Lost’ of inter-clan fighting,
warlords, gun-smugglers, pirates and extremists, Somaliland has
established a unique, hybrid, bicameral system of government
that combines an 82-seat elected parliament and an 82-seat House
of Elders (the Guurti)
consisting of traditional clan leaders.
Following a plebiscite on a constitution in 2001 and a
succession of elections between 2002 and 2005, Somaliland
established a constitutional, multiparty democracy to become a
political rarity in the Horn of Africa.
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By
Amanda Hsiao
A
recent editorial in the Washington Post that calls
for policymakers and the American public to take a hard look at
how to prevent Somalia from becoming a terrorist haven left out
an essential piece of the puzzle—the importance of putting the
safety and welfare of Somali civilians at the front and center
of U.S. policy.
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Must the
United States also intervene in this failed state?
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ONE OF THE rhetorical questions frequently tossed out in the
debate over Afghanistan concerns the brewing trouble in
Somalia and Yemen, both of which are known to host al-Qaeda
cadres and training camps. If it's necessary to pacify
Afghanistan to protect U.S. security, goes the taunt, must
we also intervene in Somalia and Yemen?
Read
full text...
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Genetic Tests For UK Asylum
Seekers Draw Criticism |
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Graphic shows asylum applications received by the
British government |
By MARIA CHENG
London, November 07, 2009 — Britain is using genetic tests
on some African asylum seekers in an effort to catch those
who are lying about their nationality, drawing criticism
from scientists and provoking outrage from rights groups.
Read
full text...
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Donald
Payne Is Misleading Congress Again |
Congressman Donald Payne is at it again. He is doing what he
has been doing for quite some time: misleading US congress about
Somali affairs. This time he has submitted a congressional
resolution that he wants the US congress to discuss and adopt.
We have not seen the original draft but we have come across a
version of it that was published by the Voice of America’s
Somali service. The resolution has these main points:
1. To urge the US government to open an embassy in Mogadishu, to
allow the Sheikh Sharif government to open an embassy in
Washington, and to extend full diplomatic recognition to Sheik
Sharif’s government by the US.
2. To support what Donald Payne described as Sheikh Sharif’s
peace efforts.
3. To thank the African Union troops (AMISOM) for protecting the
government of Somalia.
4. To thank the government of Djibouti and the UN Secretary
General’s Representative to Somalia, Ahmed Ould Abdallah, for
contributing to peace to Somalia
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The Siren-A Somali Short
Story- Part 1 |
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By Yassin Ismail
In ancient Greek mythology, the Sirens where half human
creatures that could lure men to their destruction through
the beautiful songs they sung. To protect themselves from
the Sirens, men would plug their ears so they could not hear
their lovely music.
My friend Khalid had the misfortune to fall in love with a
modern day Siren. Ubah instead of tempting men with her
voice, she caught her victims using her beauty. Her victims
were always careful selected. She would hunt them for sport
and not relent until they unconditionally surrendered their
hearts. She could play with men’s hearts like the cords on a
guitar string. Even the most determined man would find her
charms hard to resist and so it was no surprise that before
long Khalid, who was a very willing victim, to the great
distress of his mother, had fallen madly in love with her.
But, like a true siren Ubah had no warm loving human heart
and therefore could feel nothing but cold contempt towards
Khalid once he revealed his feelings.
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Eritrea’s Repayment Of Its
Fraternal Debt To The Somali People |
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By Ahmed Mohamed Egal
I have just read Sophia Tesfamariam’s diatribe of character
assassination and vilification against Professor Peter Pham
on American Chronicle entitled "ETHIOPIA-Meles Zenawi's
latest ŽIntellectual for HireŽ Exposes Himself" and dated 23
October 2009. Ms Tesfamariam’s rant does not merit
discussion here and Professor Pham’s credentials,
objectivity and work are well known to those with an
interest in the Horn of Africa, hence he needs no defense
against this type of intemperate, personal attack. However,
the piece did make me reflect upon the history of
Somali-Eritrean relations and the current status of this
relationship.
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Somaliland: The Al-Shabaab
Beast Struck Again |
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Al-Shabaab fighters on patrol in Mogadishu |
By
Dalmar Kahin
Last year, on October 29, 2008 Al-Shabaab terror group
carried out a devastating terrorist attack against
Somaliland. Over twenty-two Somaliland citizens—not
Ethiopians or foreigners—perished in the blast. The majority
of Somalilanders have never seen anything but peace because
they were born after the brutal war against Somaliland ended
in the early 90s. However, in October 29, 2009, they were
shocked, dismayed, and traumatized. Al-Shabaab shattered
their oasis of peace and tranquility. A new dawn of
combating against terrorism with very little resource has
begun.
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Somaliland: Col. Osman Yusuf,
A Fighter Against Terrorism |
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By Ahmed
Kheyre
The late Colonel Osman Yusuf Nur who lost his life in a
terrorist attack in Las Anod on Sunday, November 1st was a
fighter against terrorism. Col. Osman Yusuf died doing his
job, a brave man, he went to investigate the first blast and
was subsequently killed in a second blast orchestrated by
cowards who then slinked back to their nest of vipers.
But, these cowards forgot one important thing, the people of
Somaliland stand firm against terrorism. Somaliland is
strong enough to withstand the attacks of terrorism and
defeat it.
Somaliland will not capitulate to terrorism and those who
practice terrorism shall not prevail.
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Somalia, Where
The Teenagers Of Camden Go To ‘Cool Off’ |
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New
Journal reporter Jamie Welham with security guards
at his compound in Hargeysa |
A land feared for its pirates who currently hold a British
couple hostage, Somalia’s reputation for lawlessness is
hampering its bid to get back on its feet after a bitter
civil war. New Journal reporter Jamie Welham recently
visited the African country to discover the true situation
JOURNALISTS have a short life expectancy in Somalia, and as
I touched down on the scorched dirt-track that serves as the
runway at Hargeysa International Airport, protection was
high on my list of priorities.
Six journalists have been killed this year alone. Dozens
more have been thrown into jail to rot. The Foreign Office
advice is unequivocal: don’t go there.
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Giant Crack In Africa May
Create A New Ocean
Study:
Volcanic Boundaries In Ethiopia May Break Apart In Large
Sections |
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University of
Rochester - An opening in desert ground in Ethiopia
is one manifestation of a rift that may eventually
give rise to a new ocean, scientists say. |
A 35-mile rift in the desert of Ethiopia
will likely become a new ocean eventually, researchers now
confirm.
The crack, 20 feet wide in spots, opened in 2005 and some
geologists believed then that it would spawn a new ocean.
But that view was controversial, and the rift had not been
well studied.
A new study involving an international team of scientists
and reported in the journal Geophysical Research Letters
finds the processes creating the rift are nearly identical
to what goes on at the bottom of oceans, further indication
a sea is in the region's future.
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Key Overall Developments
The Flood Information Group (FIG) estimates that at least
16,000 people have been displaced by flooding in Hiraan,
Gedo and Lower Shabelle regions. The floods have damaged
river embankments, collapsed latrines and contaminated
shallow wells. Most of the displaced populations so far have
been able to move to houses of relatives located in elevated
places.
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Al-Shabaab Tightens Grip In Somalia |
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Al-Shabaab fighters on patrol in Mogadishu, 30 Oct
2009 |
By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi, Kenya, November 7, 2009 – Somalia's al-Qaida-linked
al-Shabaab militants are tightening their grip on areas of
the country they already control, imposing new rules and
punishing people they say are violating their radical brand
of Islamic law. Some observers believe until a more powerful
group emerges to bring law and order to the country,
ordinary Somalis are not likely to challenge al-Shabaab's
violence-driven agenda.
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