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Somali Pirates Make A
Blood-Red Sea |
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By Marc
Anderson
Nairobi, Kenya, March 5, 2011 – A warning ignored is an
invitation for disaster, as the recent kidnapping and murder of
four Americans by Somali pirates tragically illustrates. Just as
the casual dismissal of a high voltage sign can result in a
lethal shock, sailing in pirate-patrolled waters can prove
equally fatal.
In 2010 alone,
1,181 hostages were taken by bands of these roving thugs, with
eight reported deaths.
There are
currently close to 700 people being held for ransom. With the
average price being paid out reaching $5 million, kidnapping
remains a lucrative activity for Somali pirates.
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Sridhar
Natarajan/MEDILL
Hamse Osman Hashi served as member of parliament in
the pirate stronghold of Puntland. "They are not
humans, they are barbarians," he said of the
pirates. |
Chicago, March 5, 2011 – Uncertainty and discomfort
punctuate the words of Hamse Osman Hashi. There is very
little in his tone that suggests he is a serving government
official.
Just 25 years old, Hashi is a parliament member in the
pirate stronghold of Northeast Somalia, but he fled from
there fearing for his life. He is seeking asylum in Chicago,
even though his name still figures on the government website
as a member of parliament.
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Washington, March 5, 2011 – The United States is looking at
new strategies to fight pirates off Somalia, who last month
killed four Americans and represent a growing threat to sea
traffic, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on
Wednesday.
"I'm fed up with it," Clinton said in testimony to the
Senate appropriations committee. "We need to do more, and
make it clear that the entire world better get behind what
we do and get this scourge resolved."
Pirates shot dead four U.S. hostages on a private yacht in
waters off Somalia on on Feb. 22, the deadliest incident yet
involving Americans kidnapped for ransom in an expanding
lawless maritime region crossed by key shipping lanes.
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All aircraft to offer
business, economy class travel
Dubai, March 5, 2011 – Djibouti's national carrier Djibouti Air
made its inaugural flight to Dubai yesterday evening,
carrying the new youngest airline CEO in the world on the
flight.
Owned by the government of Djibouti and a UAE private investor, the
airline will fly six-weekly flights from Djibouti to Dubai.
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Ruth Kang'ong'oi
Kigali, Rwanda, March 5, 2011 – Despite the many other
challenges the Somali children face, they are currently
battling the effects of drought following the failure of the
Deyr rains which normally occur between Octobers to January.
According to Robert Kihara, the Communication Officer of
UNICEF Somalia, they are working to provide emergency relief
services to over 900, 000 people across the country.
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Sweden's
center-right Alliance government and the Green Party have
reached an agreement on changes to the country's immigration
policies specifically designed to diminish the influence of
the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats.
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New York, March
5, 2011 – Two Americans have pleaded guilty to conspiring to
murder individuals outside the United States by joining a
Somali terrorist group, prosecutors have said.
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Former
President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings |
Accra, Ghana, March 5, 2011 – Former President Jerry John
Rawlings has called on institutions working towards peace in
Somalia to implement recommendations agreed during the
two-day conference on Somalia in Accra.
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Press Release: Solving The
Problems Created By Puntland Involvement In Somaliland |
Somaliland Foreign
Minister, Dr. Mohamed
Abdillahi Omar
A Statement issued by
the Somaliland Ministry
of Foreign Affairs
Hargeysa, Somaliland,
March 5, 2011 (SL Times)
- The following is a
press statement issued
by Somaliland’s Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and
International
Cooperation on yesterday
March 4, 2011:
“The Republic of
Somaliland adopts a
policy of peaceful
coexistence with all the
countries and regions in
the Horn of Africa. It
is the policy of the
Government to promote
peace and stability and
to seek areas of common
interest that would
allow increased regional
and international
cooperation.
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Malaysian Businessmen
Visit Somaliland |
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Hargeysa,
Somaliland, March 5, 2011 (SL Times) – A delegation of Malaysian
businessmen visited Somaliland this week.
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Pirates Bring
Danish Hostages To Puntland |
Hafun, Somalia, March 5, 2011 (SL Times) – Somali pirates
brought their seven Danish hostages to the coast of Hafun in
Puntland’s Bari region. This news was confirmed by Puntland
administration’s Hafun’s Deputy Governor, Yusuf Abdillahi
Sanyare. The hostages were captured in the Indian Ocean and
include three children.
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Somaliland’s Accountant General
Fired |
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Somaliland’s
Ex-Accountant
General, Mr
Ibrahim Aden Qalib
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, March 5, 2011 (SL Times) – Somaliland’s
Accountant General, Mr Ibrahim Aden Qalib, was fired from his
job this week.
In an interview with the Somali language newspaper Haatuf, Mr
Ibrahim Aden Qalib blamed mainly the President’s Chief of
Cabinet Hirsi Ali H. Hasan for his sacking. He said that Hirsi
Ali H. Hasan had pressed him hard to approve funds and
pay-raises for the Election Commission, and when he refused, the
Chief of Cabinet convinced the President to fire him.
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Jijiga-Togochale road construction nearing completion
By Kaleyesus Bekele
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 5, 2011 – The government of
Ethiopia and Somaliland are trying to solicit fund from the
European Union (EU) for the construction of the road that
connects Ethiopia with Berbera, the Somaliland port. Samson
Wondimu, corporate communications head with the Ethiopian Roads
Authority, told The Reporter that the Ethiopian and Somaliland
governments were trying to secure the fund from the EU that
would be used to rehabilitate the 245 km long Togochale (boarder
town)-Berbera road.
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Andrew
Mitchell MP, the British Secretary of State for
International Development,
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Nairobi, Kenya, March 5, 2011 – British
Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew
Mitchell MP, today announced increased support from
the UK for Somalia, which will go towards improving security and
living conditions for people on the ground.
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Nairobi, Kenya, March 5, 2011 – Somalia and Somaliland are the
latest countries to confirm participation in the Zone Five East
and Central Africa Inter Cities Championships planned for April
in Nairobi, officials disclosed.
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Nairobi, Kenya, March 5, 2011 — More than 50 African Union
peacekeepers have died in fighting in Somalia since a major
offensive against Islamist militants began two weeks ago,
officials told The Associated Press on Friday.
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Meeting In Denmark Paves Way For
Pirate Prisons |
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Copenhagen, Denmark, March 5, 2011 – An international
anti-piracy meeting in Denmark this week hammered out a judicial
framework for how to handle captured pirates, paving the way for
the building of special pirate prisons, the organizer said.
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Fresh Airstrikes Target Libyan Oil
Town |
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Photo:
Reuters
Rebel fighters return fire during shelling by
soldiers loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi
in a battle near Ras Lanuf, March 04, 2011 |
Tripoli, Libya, March 5, 2011 – Libyan fighter planes were
targeting the eastern port of Brega Thursday a day after rebels
celebrated victory over a major counteroffensive by Muammar
Gaddafi’s troops in the strategic port.
Earlier, jubilant
fighters had been roaming Brega's streets firing guns in the
air in triumph, the BBC reported. On Wednesday the town 460
miles east of Tripoli was the scene of a fierce battle between
opposition forces and several hundred pro-Gaddafi troops that
left 14 people dead.
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Ready:
600 soldiers of the Black Watch are on 24-hour
standby to fly in and avert a humanitarian
catastrophe in Libya (file picture) |
Tripoli, Libya, March 5, 2011 –
Britain is to send teams of spies and diplomats into Libya
to help oust Colonel Gaddafi, it emerged last night.
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By Yali Chen
Bangkok, Taiwan, March 5,
2011 – Taiwanese medical staff have volunteered in 229
missions in close to 50 countries during the last 16 years;
one of them was recently carried out in Somaliland.
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By John Campbell
This is a guest post from Michael Baker, the U.S. defense
and naval attaché (designate) to Madagascar, and a former
CFR fellow. The views expressed are his own.
The tragic
deaths of Jean and Scott Adams, Phyllis Macay, and
Robert Riggle at the hands of Somali pirates are sure to
spark more public outrage against pirates and hand wringing
about the efficacy of naval task forces fighting piracy off
Somalia.
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Basic constitutional rules are needed to consolidate gains
in Egypt, writes Greg Mills
The octogenarian Hosni Mubarak has left office. In Cairo,
the euphoria is slowly subsiding. In Tahrir Square, families
take pictures of their children, draped in flags on tanks.
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document
This cable was created on 08 October 2009, according to
WikiLeaks.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 002140
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR AF/E
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/08/2019
TAGS: PREL MARR EAID MOPS PTER SO KE
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - KENYAN FOREIGN MINISTER PULSES
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ON SOMALIA
Classified By: Somalia Unit Counselor Bob Patterson; reasons
1.4 (b,d).
1. (C) Summary: Kenyan Foreign Minister Wetangula on October
8 convened EU representatives and the U.S. for what he said
was an informal discussion of Somalia.
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Africa Oil anticipates that
2011 will be a pivotal year in the Company's progression
with three exploration wells planned to spud during the
year, over 4,000km of 2D seismic to be acquired and an
extensive Full Tensor Gravity (FTG) program planned to aid
in assessing the overall prospectivity of the Tertiary and
Cretaceous Rifts.
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By
Phillip Martin
With Libya's inevitable collapse, Europe will likely see a
tsunami of black refugees sweeping across the Mediterranean.
And Malta and Italy will be the first to feel the impact. To
reach Europe, Sub-Saharan migrants often pass through Egypt,
Tunisia or Libya, where life for black hued residents can be
more than problematic. But despite the dangers, migrants
keep trying to reach Europe - and most do not succeed. Those
who do are often on the move for years before they find a
place to call home.
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Al-Jazeera’s Bias And Racism |
Al-Jazeera’s Arabic
version coverage of the uprisings that have swept several Arab
countries has left very little doubt where it stood on these
issues. It was obviously and unambiguously on the side of the
pro-democracy forces and against the Arab dictators. But that is
not the whole story.
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1969 Military Coup In Somalia
Part LXVI |
By Dr. Mohamed-Rashid Sh. Hassan, Hargeysa, Somaliland
This is the sixty-Sixth article of a series of articles that
Dr. Mohamed-Rashid analyses the military coup and its legacy
Independence and Union: The Birth of the Somali State
On 26th of June 1960, British Somaliland
Protectorate achieved its independence ending about 75 years
of British colonial rule; and after four days joined Italian
Somalia, which achieved its independence on 1st
July 1960. Both the unity and the independence of the two
territories were celebrated with high emotions and national
pride; the first Somali nation-state was born. The first
constitution of the Republic stated in Article 1 Paragraph 3
that Islam is the religion of the new-born state. Unity of
all Somalis in the Horn of Africa under one single state
became the cornerstone of the Somali Foreign policy.
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Tribal Homelands- Lessons From
The SSC Wars |
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Dr. Abdishakur Jowhar
jowharabdi@gmail.com
March 2, 2011
SSC- Objectively Defined: A
well-armed and fierce political-military organization.
Acronym: SSC; Sool, Sanaag and Cayn, two regions and one
district considered alternatively within
Somaliland/Somalia/Puntland state borders; but also tribal
homeland for the members of SSC. Objectives: Liberation of
the land of Dhulbahante people from occupation by Isaak
tribes by force; overcoming the neglect of Puntland State by
creating an exclusively tribal homeland defended by an armed
force independent from all other interests except that of
the tribe. Founded: in Nairobi, Kenya in Oct 2009 by a
predominantly Diaspora based Somali intellectuals.
Leadership of the organization: known as “Hogaanka
Badbaadada iyo Midaynta-SSC.” Acronym: HBM-SSC; roughly
translated as the council for unity and salvation. Funded
and armed primarily by Diaspora based Somalis who believe in
its cause and by those who have a vested interest in seeing
the fall and dismemberment of Somaliland. Leader: Saleebaan
Ciise Ahmed (Xaglatoosiye) A Somali-American. Deputy leader
and Military Commander: Colonel Ali Hassan Sabarey a Somali
Canadian.
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Somaliland Minister Of Foreign
Affairs, Mr. Mahamed Abdillahi Omer Has A Meeting With
Somalia Regional States |
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By Ahmed Omer Farah
As you are aware, Somaliland people have already decided their own destiny, as a
free and independent nation which is keen to live in peace and harmony with all
its neighbors.
We were expecting that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Somaliland will enrich
and accelerate Somaliland Foreign policy through design and implementation of a
programme that in line with the aspiration of the people.
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Somaliland Battles Against
Three Deadly Wars—Clan, Jihad, & Pan-Somalism
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By Dalmar Kaahin
While the International community revives Somalia, an ominous storm
gathers at Somaliland’s borders. The storm gains momentum, and so does the
invasive
war with
ghastly stories to tell. And unlike Somalia’s “Transitional Federal Government”
(TFG) that fights against only Jihadists, Somaliland faces three violent groups
with conflicting ideologies but with one common goal: achieving Somali unity—at
any cost. That is, Somaliland now battles against clan militias, Jihadists,
and pan-Somalism rebels.
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Somaliland And Puntland
Authority Views The (SSC) Group As A Threat To The Region’s
Stability |
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The United States remains righteously concerned about
Somali-American boys travelling to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab. But the U.S.
seems oblivious of the Somali-American adults whom not only generously
contribute to the Horn of Africa’s miseries but also evidently form violent
Al-Shabaab-affiliated rebels that attack Somaliland. Should they be deemed
equally dangerous—a real threat to peace and stability in Horn of Africa? Why
should they be permitted to slip back to U.S. without a hitch and then go back
to Somaliland to wage yet another bloody war?
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