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Somali Famine: Ghana
Schoolboy Raises Aid Money |
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Andrew Andasi (L) met WFP representative
Ismail Omer to ask for advice |
Accra,
Ghana, August 13, 2011 – An 11-year-old Ghanaian
schoolboy has so far raised more than $500 (£300)
for victims of the famine in Somalia.
Andrew Andasi launched his campaign last week after
watching footage of people walking in search of
food.
He told the BBC he wanted to raise a total of $13m
during his school holidays from private donations.
After a meeting with the UN World Food Programme
Bank director in Ghana to ask for advice, Andrew set
up a bank account for donations on Tuesday.
Read full text.
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Mogadishu, Somalia, August 13, 2011 – The Somali
President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has pledged
everything in his government’s power to rid Somalia
of the radical Islamist group Al-Shabaab.
He was speaking in the Tanzanian capital Dar
el-Salaam on Wednesday a few days after forces of
the African Union helped the Somali army to expel
Al-Shabaab from Mogadishu.
Read full text.
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Andrew Andasi (L) met WFP representative
Ismail Omer to ask for advice |
Nairobi, Kenya, August 13, 2011 – The U.N.'s top
diplomat for Somalia said Wednesday that there are
significant improvements in the security situation
in Mogadishu after the surprise withdrawal on
Saturday by al-Shabaab insurgents from the city.
Augustine Mahiga said the fighters have been
weakened by national and African Union forces, and
that they have split up as they pull back from the
Somali capital.
Ambassador Mahiga told reporters via a
teleconference from Mogadishu that al-Shabaab's
so-called tactical retreat has fragmented the
fighters into three groups.
"One column going southwards, another going
westwards, and another going northwards - and they
are still on the move," said Mahiga. "This already
weakens their consolidated strength."
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Ayinde O. Chase
Washington, D.C., United States, August 13, 2011 –
U.S. President Barack Obama has approved an
additional $105 million in new drought and famine
aid to East Africa. According to White House press
secretary Jay Carney the aid money is for “urgent
humanitarian relief efforts.”
The emergency move came during Jill Biden’s visit on
Monday with the White House vowing the United States
will continue to help those who desperately need
food, shelter, water and medicine.
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August 9, 2011: A UN investigation into recent
terrorist plots against AU (African Union) leaders
has revealed that Eritrea was providing support for
Islamic terror groups via Eritrean embassies. In
particular, UN investigators found evidence of
Eritrean support for an aborted terror attack on an
AU summit meeting in Ethiopia this past January.
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Jerry Rawlings, African Union envoy to
Somalia, speaks to displaced people during a
July visit to camps in southern
Mogadishu. Photograph: Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP
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Africa's leaders have been criticized for their slow
response to drought warnings, but private donations
win praise
Nairobi, Kenya, August 13, 2011 –
Months before the UN officially declared famine in Somalia,
on 20 July, much of the eastern African press was
already reporting looming drought and growing food
insecurity. Now, the failure of government to
respond to warning signs has become a dominant
theme.
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By
Kristalina Georgieva
and
Andris Piebalgs.
Starving children stare at us from newspaper pages
every day now in wide-eyed, mute appeal. Somalia is
again in the grip of a humanitarian disaster, the
world's largest at this time. When we visited the
region in the last weeks, we were both shocked by
the suffering and impressed by the resilience of the
Somalis in the face of the worst hardships
imaginable.
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Ibby
Farah - my City under 18 Player of 2010/11 |
Cardiff, Wales, August, 13, 2011 – TEENAGER Ibby
Farah made a first-team impact for Cardiff City this
week – and manager Malky Mackay has spelled out what
he expects.
Grangetown-boy Farah, 19, made his full debut at
Oxford United and produced an all-action display,
hitting the bar and a post.
“Ibby has great energy, but lacks direction and
great knowledge about the game,” said Mackay. “But
they are things that can be taught..
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US and Nigerian naval officials meet to
discuss the increased risk to shipping from
pirates off the coast of west Africa.
Photograph: Sunday Alamba/AP |
London, UK, August 13, 2011 – Pirate attacks off the
coast of west Africa have increased sharply, figures
show, raising fears that the region could emulate
Somalia as a menace to shipping.
Nigeria and Benin have reported 22 piracy incidents
so far this year, including two in recent days, the
International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said. Benin did
not suffer any such attacks last year.
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Interview With UN
Envoy To Somalia Augustine Mahiga |
Hargeysa,
Somaliland,
August 13,
2011 (SL
Times) – UN
Envoy to
Somalia Mr.
Augustine
Mahiga
visited
Somaliland
last week,
and was
interviewed,
in Hargeysa,
by
Somaliland
Times’
editor,
Yusuf Abdi
Gabobe.
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SA,
Tanzania Don't Recognize Somaliland |
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South Africa's Minister of International
Relations and Cooperation Maite
Nkoana-Mashabane adjusts earphones.
Image by: TOBIAS SCHWARZ / REUTERS
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Pretoria, SA, August 13, 2011 – South Africa and
Tanzania are not yet ready to recognize Somaliland
and believe it should not be split off from Somalia
according to the foreign ministers of Tanzania and
South Africa.
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Haabsade
Condemns Puntland, Charges It With Kidnapping |
Hargeysa, Somaliland, August 13, 2011 (SL Times)
– Somaliland Minister of Information, Ahmed Abdi
Haabsade strongly condemned Puntland’s armed
attack on peaceful Somaliland officials which
resulted in the murder of the chairman of
education in Sool, Hasan Muhammad Dahir.
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Sharmarke
Saeed Nur Wins Quran Competition |
Hargeysa, Somaliland, August 13, 2011 (SL Times)
– The competition for the recitation of the
Qur’an by heart which was going on in the
country, and at Ali Matan mosque in particular,
was concluded in Hargeysa.
The participants in the competition came from
Somaliland’s various regions. The competition
was in two categories: the memorization of 30
parts of the Qur’an and the memorization of 15
parts of the Qur’an.
Sharmarke Saeed Nur won the 30 parts category.
He is from Hargeysa and he received a prize of
$700, a Qur’an and a certificate.
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Awdal Parliamentarians
Meet Their Constituents |
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Borama, Somaliland, August 13, 2011 (SL Times) –
Four members of Somaliland parliament, from Awdal
region, met with their constituents in Borama. The
meeting took place at Rays hotel, and its main
purpose was to strengthen communication between the
parliamentarians and their constituents and to hear
directly from citizens about the issues that concern
them.
The decision to meet with the constituents was made
by the parliament at large which, in an earlier
session, instructed its members to go back and meet
with their constituents in order to collect
information, ideas and issues that citizens want
parliament to act on.
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Berbera, Somaliland, August 13, 2011 (SL Times) –
Two men who were accused of raping a 15-year old
girl were tried and convicted in a Berbera court.
Speaking about this case, the chief judge of Sahil
region, Osman Suldan-Ibrahim Daahir, confirmed to
the Somali language newspaper Haatuf that the trial
took place and that the court sentenced each of the
culprits to 10 years in jail. The Judge stressed
that they had been lately seeing crimes that did not
used to happen before. In addition to sentencing
crimes that were committed on land, the judge said
they had also tried and convicted pirates from
Puntland, Somalia and Somaliland.
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, August 13, 2011 (SL Times) –
Alpha 2 soundly beat Hoobaan, scoring three goals
against them while Hoobaan scored only one goal.
The match took place at the 31 May stadium in
Hargeysa. Both teams are part of group A. The other
game was between Red Sea and Morny. Red Sea landed a
goal in Morny’s net early in the game, but Morny
persevered and was able to even the score, and the
first half ended in a draw. No goals were made in
most of the second half, but towards the end, Red
Sea scored and won the game 2-1.
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Hargeysa,
Somaliland, August 13, 2011 – The vice President of
Somaliland, Abdirahman A. Ismail (Saylici), chaired
a Ministerial Meeting at the Presidential Palace on
Thursday to discuss providing aid to famine-stricken
Somalia. The gathering held behind closed doors
marked a major milestone in Somaliland foreign
policy, it is the first time Somaliland will
dispatch a humanitarian aid to another state.
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Workers carry sacks of food at a World Food
Programme distribution center in Kenya.
Photograph: Schalk Van Zuydam/AP
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Humanitarian aid agencies forced to use costly air
delivery or ship food to less convenient ports that
lengthen delivery time
Mark Tran
Nairobi, Kenya, August 13, 2011 – Piracy is
hampering the delivery of food aid to Somalia,
forcing relief agencies to use aircraft or less
convenient ports that lengthen delivery time, the
African Development Bank's chief economist said on
Thursday.
Mthuli Ncube said concerns over piracy have not
lessened as the international community steps up its
relief effort for around 12 million people in the
Horn of Africa in
need of emergency aid as a result of drought,
exacerbated by conflict in Somalia.
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Airstrike Kills
Taliban Militants Who Shot Down Helicopter |
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Washington, August 13, 2011 – The commander of U.S.
and NATO forces in Afghanistan says an airstrike has
killed the militants responsible for last week's
helicopter crash that killed 38 Americans and
Afghans.
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UNHCR Readies For
Transfer Of Somali Refugees To New Camp Areas |
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DADAAB, Kenya, August 13, 2011 – Staff from UNHCR
and partner organizations were on Friday completing
preparations for moving Somali refugee families from
this weekend into a new area of the Dadaab refugee
camp complex in northern Kenya.
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Unicef has lined up Star
Wars actor Ewan McGregor
to front a fundraising appeal
for people in east Africa
affected by drought and famine.
Photograph: Unicef/PA |
By
Mark Tran
London, UK, August 13, 2011 – Unicef, the UN agency
for children, has enlisted Ewan McGregor - the actor
best known for his roles in Trainspotting and the
Star Wars prequels - in a campaign to raise money
for the drought and famine that has affected 12
million people in east Africa.
McGregor, an
ambassador for Unicef UK, will appear on cinema
screens urging audiences to contribute £5 via text
message donations before turning their phones off.
Cinema chains Odeon, Vue and Picture house are
partnering Unicef in the appeal. The clip will also
be broadcast online and on television.
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It would be great if Canada made the first
move – an overdue act of largesse |
By Gary Geddes
When I came out of the Internet café in a cavernous
basement onto the dirt road in downtown Hargeysa, a
small creature brushed my leg and shuffled ahead. It
was a baboon, sidling toward a small table of fruit
attended by a middle-aged woman.
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Somaliland Flag |
By Timothy Walker
Amid the independence celebrations in Juba, South
Sudan, on July 9, many observers might have
overlooked the presence of representatives of
Somaliland, a territory that hopes to imitate South
Sudan’s example soon. An autonomous self-declared
territory that broke away from the Republic of
Somalia in 1991,
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Nairobi/Mogadishu, August 13, 2011 — Humanitarian
agents have welcomed the 6 July move by Somalia's
militant Al-Shabaab group to pull out of the
capital, Mogadishu, saying this would boost the
city's security as well as access to vulnerable
populations.
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By Michael Anderson
Part 3 of 3 applying lessons learned in Somaliland
to Afghanistan.
A new team took over for my team two weeks ago, and
I have returned to the United States. As is often
the case, I didn’t have a chance to write about all
of the things I wanted to write about.
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On Friday, five
Somali pirates will be sentenced in Rotterdam, the
Netherlands. A further 700 Somalis are either
convicted or awaiting trial for charges of piracy in
14 different countries.
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US
Policy Is Forcing Somaliland To Look For Allies Elsewhere |
The reports
coming from southern Somalia of thousands of people
starving, or on the brink of starvation, are grim indeed. It
is only right that Somaliland should do whatever it can to
alleviate this situation. Somaliland has already taken
thousands of refugees from Somalia, opened its ports for
relief supplies, and has set up a committee to coordinate
aid to Somalia. But as Somaliland takes part in this
international humanitarian effort, it is important that
Somaliland should make clear to the international community,
especially the US, that they cannot use humanitarian relief
as an excuse to deny development aid to Somaliland. Why are
we saying this? Because after two decades of US policy
toward Somaliland, the record is now clear that despite all
the sweet rhetoric with which it is wrapped, this policy, in
concrete terms, is to extend to Somalis the sort of
assistance that prevents mass starvation but not much beyond
that.
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Somaliland Finally Comes Out Of Its Shameful Silence
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By Bashir Goth
Somaliland has finally spoken. It says it is ready
to participate in the international efforts aimed at
easing the suffering of the starving Somali people
who are experiencing what the UN has described as
the worst humanitarian disaster.
As welcome as this step may be, many conscientious
Somalilanders, and other Somalis as well, may see it
as too little too late.
As the world, moved by the unimaginable extent of
human suffering caused by drought and war in
Somalia, rushed to secure shelter, food, medicine
and comfort for the tens of thousands of barely
walking human skeletons arriving Mogadishu and
Somalia’s neighboring countries, Somaliland decided
to watch the unfolding catastrophe of its kin and
kith with shameless indifference.
For almost a month since the UN officially declared
famine in the regions of Bakool and Lower Shabelle
of Southern Somalia on July 20, 2011, starving
Somalis trekked to neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia
while tens of thousands were internally displaced in
Mogadishu and elsewhere.
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Will Somaliland Be The
Next State In The Horn???? |
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By Ali H. Ismail Jirdeh (Ali Shombe)
A finance and Media Expert
The cry for “self-determination” in the horn of
Africa has been persistent and loud over fifty years
just like Balkan countries in central Europe, the
two regions affected by the cold war most in
different ways. The Balkans was welcomed to the
world community as well parts of the horn countries
while Somaliland is solely are rejected even though
seems more legitimate then most of the countries.
The last one that was already put to the test once
more in the independence quest of the political
future is Southern Sudan. No one seriously doubts
the outcome this nations wishes is Prosperity for
Southern Sudanese people, the secession is the end
of years of tyranny and suffering of southern
Sudanese b society in the hands of Arab league and
governments just like Somaliland.
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Why Americans Should
Care About Famine In Africa |
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By William H. Frist
Why should Americans care about the unfolding crisis
in Somalia when our own economy is in chaos?
To shed some light on that question, I joined Dr.
Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, on a
fact-finding mission over the past several days to a
Somali refugee camp close to the Kenya-Somalia
border.
We saw the answer as we listened to a grief-stricken
mother of five, who had marched for 15 days across
the parched Somali land to find food and security in
a border camp. They arrived malnourished, sick and
thirsty to a camp of 430,000 other refugees. They
competed with 1,500 others who had made it to the
camp that day, only to find it filled to capacity.
Inside they would find adequate food and water.
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Somalia: Henry
Kissinger And Me, Circa 1980 |
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President, Operation USA
How long has Somalia endured cycles of violence,
political dismemberment and famine?
Without giving away my advanced age, just after
Ronald Reagan was elected but before he was sworn
in, Henry Kissinger was desperately trying to
reprise his roles as U.S. Secretary of State and
National Security Advisor. Kissinger knew
President-elect Reagan was not especially fond of
him and Reagan's Transition Team out and out
detested him... but he must have thought having
worked for President Nixon (whom we now know was
prone to anti-Semitic outbursts which were captured
on tape in the Oval Office) and President Ford, that
he was far more qualified for a high level foreign
policy post than were any of Reagan's people.
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Could Somali Famine
Deal A Fatal Blow To Al-Shabaab? |
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Nearly
all al-Shabaab areas are expected to be hit
by famine
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By
Farouk Chothia
Somalia's militant Islamist group al-Shabaab is in
crisis, as it battles to cope with the famine that
is far worse in areas under its control than other
parts of the country, leading to reports of splits
in the leadership of the al-Qaeda-linked group.
The famine has forced hundreds of thousands of
people to flee the Lower Shabelle and Bakool regions
in search of food.
Many are escaping to the capital, Mogadishu, where
over the weekend the group made what it called a
tactical withdrawal of its forces from the northern
suburbs that were under its control.
Others are walking for days to reach camps in
neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia, arch-foes of
al-Shabaab.
"It is not a good picture for al-Shabaab," says
US-based Somali journalist Abdirahman Aynte, who is
writing a book on the movement.
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