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Eritrea Rejects Charges
It Supports Somali Rebels |
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Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki rejected
accusations that he backs Somalia's
extremist Shabaab rebels (AFP/File, Michele
Sibiloni) |
Kampala,
Uganda, August 20, 2011 (SL Times) – Eritrean
President Issaias Afeworki rejected Thursday
accusations by a UN monitoring group that he backs
Somalia's extremist Shabaab rebels and that his
country was behind a bombing plot on Addis Ababa.
"It is very sad that all these fabrications have
made their way into the minds of many," Issaias told
reporters in Kampala at the end of a three-day state
visit.
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The Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, and his wife, Emine, meet refugees
at a camp in Somalia. Photograph: Umit
Bektas/Reuters |
Mogadishu, Somalia, August 20, 2011 – The Turkish
prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has visited
Somalia to draw international attention to the
famine sweeping across the Horn of Africa.
Erdogan, who was accompanied in Mogadishu by his
family and five cabinet ministers, has appealed for
more food aid for the drought-hit country and lashed
out at wealthy western countries for not doing more.
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Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images
Children run toward workers distributing hot
meals in Mogadishu Thursday. Some 12 million
people in parts of Ethiopia, Djibouti,
Kenya, Uganda and Somalia are at risk of
starvation in the wake of the region's worst
drought in decades. |
Mogadishu, Somalia, August 20, 2011 – More than
300,000 children in the Horn of Africa are severely
malnourished "and in imminent risk of dying" because
of drought and famine, the head of the U.N.
children's agency said Friday.
The United Nations says that tens of thousands of
people have died in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and
Djibouti — and the organization warns that the
famine hasn't peaked. More than 12 million people in
the region need food aid, according to the U.N.
"The crisis in the Horn of Africa is a human
disaster becoming a human catastrophe," UNICEF
Executive Director Anthony Lake told reporters.
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A
paramedic attends to internally displaced
children suffering from cholera inside a
ward at Banadir hospital in Somalia's
capital Mogadishu, August 18, 2011. |
Nairobi, Kenya, August 20, 2011 – The World Health
Organization (WHO) and the UN children's agency
(UNICEF) have warned that cholera and acute diarrhea
cases are on the rise in famine-stricken Somalia.
WHO Representative for Somalia Marthe Everard said
on Thursday that lack of safe water, bad sanitation,
overcrowding in camps and the shortage of food will
escalate the spread of infectious diseases such as
cholera and pneumonia and increase the death toll,
Xinhua reported.
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Nairobi, Kenya, August 20, 2011 –
As the drought
continues in the Horn of Africa, the annual World
Water Week (8/21-27) is about to begin. The event,
sponsored by the Stockholm International Water
Institute, examines the world’s major water issues.
No stranger to drought
“I don’t think the current crisis that we are
experiencing in the Horn of Africa is directly
related with drought, or at least drought is not the
main cause of the problem,” said Dr. Ana Cascao,
program manager at the institute, who’s been
studying Africa’s water concerns.
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Mogadishu, Somalia, August 20, 2011 – Sacks of
grain, peanut butter snacks and other food staples
meant for starving Somalis are being stolen and sold
in markets, an Associated Press investigation has
found, raising concerns that thieving businessmen
are undermining international famine relief efforts
in this nearly lawless country.
The UN's World Food Program acknowledged for the
first time that it has been investigating food theft
in Somalia for two months. The WFP strongly
condemned any diversion of "even the smallest amount
of food from starving and vulnerable Somalis".
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Abuses by All Sides Contribute to Current Crisis
Nairobi, Kenya, August 20, 2011 –
All parties to
Somalia’s armed conflict have committed serious
violations of the laws of war that are contributing
to the country’s humanitarian catastrophe, Human
Rights Watch said in a report released today. All
sides should immediately end abuses against
civilians, hold those responsible to account, and
ensure access to aid and free movement of people
fleeing conflict and drought.
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Fuad
Abdalla Abdo Fitini |
Q & A with Fuad Abdalla Abdo Fitini
Fuad Abdalla Abdo Fitini, 55, is a computer network
engineer who has lived in Carmichael since August
2008. He was born in Burao in Somaliland in eastern
Africa, part of Somalia.
Fitini arrived in the U.S. as a foreign student in
January 1980, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree
in computer science from the State University of New
York-Long Island and a bachelor’s degree in
information technology from DeVry University. He
returned to Somaliland in November 1985.
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By Fatuma Noor
Mogadishu, Somalia, August 20, 2011 – AL-Shabaab
could have left its bases in Southern Somalia, but
does it mean the end of the group or simply a change
of tactic?
Whatever the case, the Transitional Federal
Government (TFG) should not rejoice at what could be
a temporary setback.
Initially, al-Shabaab filled a vacuum many residents
needed after years of fighting by competing with
warlords. For Somalis, the militia group presented a
sense of hope that the decades-long war would be at
an end.
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Chinese To Handle
Somaliland Port Extension |
Hargeysa,
Somaliland,
August 20,
2011 ---
Chinese
petroleum
firm
PetroTrans
is to carry
out
extension
works to the
port of
Berbera, in
the wake of
signing a
transaction
agreement
with the
government
of the
breakaway
enclave of
Somalia.
The Horn of
Africa has
been
attracting
increased
investment
in the area
of
exploration
by foreign
oil firms,
due to its
proximity to
east Africa,
where oil
has been
discovered
in Uganda
and natural
gas found in
Tanzania.
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Somaliland President Returns After Visiting Ethiopia
And China |
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, August 20, 2011 (SL Times) –
Somaliland President Ahmed Sillanyo returned home
after visiting Ethiopia and China. He was met at
Hargeysa’s Egal international airport by Vice
president Abdirahman Abdillahi Zaylai, leaders of
parliament, ministers, and other officials.
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Somaliland Traditional Leaders Urge Citizens To
Contribute To Somalia’s Famine Relief |
Hargeysa, Somaliland, August 20, 2011 (SL Times)
– Twelve Somaliland traditional leaders called
on Somalilanders both inside and outside the
country to contribute generously to the famine
relief of their brothers in Somalia.
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Abdiaziz
Muhammad Iman Wins Wajale Qur’an Competition |
Wajaale, Somaliland, August 20, 2011 (SL Times)
– The competitions for reciting the Qur’an from
memory ended in Wajaale, and a ceremony to mark
the occasion was held at Nur mosque. The
competition was between students from various
religious schools, particularly, Hussa and
Ihsaan schools.
Among the dignitaries who took part in the
ceremony were the Imam of Nur Mosque, SOMTEL
officials, Sheikh Ishaaq Sheikh Mursal, parents,
and many distinguished guests.
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Safari Center Beats
Hooban; Red Sea Loses To Alpha-2 |
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, August 20, 2011 (SL Times) –
The month of Ramadan soccer contests that has been
going on at the 31st May stadium have entered an
interesting phase with the first round having just
ended.
Four teams from Group A met at the stadium this
week. The first game was between Red Sea and Alpha-2
. Red Sea played an uncharacteristically poor game
which ended in Alpha-2 winning it 1-0.
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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, August 20, 2011 (SL Times) –
President Girma Woldegiorgis here on Wednesday held
talks with Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed
Mahamoud.
The two parties on the occasion discussed on ways to
further enhance existing relations between Ethiopia
and Somaliland.
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Mogadishu, Somalia, August 20, 2011 (SL Times) – The
President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, paid a
surprise visit to Mogadishu this week. He was
accompanied by some of his ministers including the
minister of foreign affairs. He was met at the
airport by Somalia’s President Sheikh Sharif.
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Mogadishu, Somalia,
August 20, 2011 (SL Times) – Security officials in
Somalia say a drone crashed in the capital,
Mogadishu, on Friday, but they did not provide
details about who was operating the unmanned
aircraft.
Officials told VOA (Somali Service) the drone
crashed into a house near the Libyan Embassy on
Friday. The site is located in the city's
southwestern Hodan district.
Authorities, who asked not to be identified, said
African Union troops and an unidentified group of
men took away the wreckage.
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General view of the Tema oil refinery near
Ghana"s capital Accra March 28, 2005.
REUTERS/Yaw Bibini
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, August 20, 2011 (SL Times) –
Somaliland has struck a deal with Chinese
businessmen to extend its Berbera port as well as TO
build a refinery and new roads in the breakaway
northern enclave, its president said.
Ahmed Mohamed Sillanyo said Somaliland, which
declared its independence from Somalia in 1991 but
has not been formally recognized internationally,
said the new deal would boost its economy and
strengthen ties with Horn of Africa neighbors.
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Militants Storm
British Council In Afghan Capital In Deadly Attack |
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Islamabad, Pakistan, August 20, 2011 – Suicide
bombers stormed Britain's cultural center in the
Afghan capital Friday, triggering hours of fighting
that killed at least nine people.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the
assault, that took place on the 92nd anniversary of
Afghanistan's independence from Britain.
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Supermodel Fears For
'Forgotten' Somalia |
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Somali-born fashion model and entrepreneur Iman says
the much of the world has 'given up on Somalia'.
New York, August 20, 2011 – Since she left Somalia as a teenager,
fashion icon Iman has been back to her homeland many
times during the country's crises.
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By
Karen DeYoung
Washington,
August 20, 2011 –
The State Department’s
2010 “Country Reports on Terrorism” landed with
more of a whimper than a bang this week, a curiously
out-of-date commentary on a fast-changing world.
Even the administration itself seemed to find little
news in the document--there were none of the usual
previews and briefings that have accompanied release
of the annual report in years past.
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Colorful crowds marched, walked, or danced
along Independence Avenue in Hargeysa (AFP,
Pete Chonka) |
By Timothy A. Ridout
Washington, August 20, 2011 – Somaliland, in
northwestern Somalia, is not experiencing famine.
Nor will it. Like southern Somalia, Somaliland has
been hit hard by drought and there are food
shortages, but famine will not occur. It is a
functioning democracy and, as economist Amartya Sen
has explained, democracies do not have famines.
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Isaisas Afewerki |
By Ryan Mauro
As unlikely as it may seem, a U.N. report says that
Al-Qaeda’s Somali affiliate, al-Shabaab, is being
financed by the “Christian” dictator of Eritrea,
Isaisas Afewerki. The report also implicates the
regime in a massive bomb plot against the African
Union in Ethiopia in January. Al-Shabaab has proven
frighteningly effective in recruiting Americans, and
any regime helping it must be immediately placed on
the State Department’s list of State Sponsors of
Terrorism.
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Somalia's Islamist rebels have pulled out of
Mogadishu, but they remain in control of areas worst
affected by famine and drought
Xan Rice in Nairobi
The Islamist rebel group al-Shabaab controls most of
southern Somalia. Despite announcing a withdrawal
from Mogadishu 10 days ago, the insurgents remain in
charge of the areas of the country worst affected by
famine and drought. Affiliated to al-Qaida and
anti-western in outlook, al-Shabaab leaders have
allowed few outsiders to gain a real insight into
their methods and motivations. The following
information is drawn in part from two reports, the
International Crisis Group's Somalia's Divided
Islamists, published last year, and the July 2011
report of the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia
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We all know what went wrong the last time the
international community tried to end a crisis in
Somalia. But we've forgotten what went right.
By John L. Hirsch
This month has seen some of the grimmest news in
years out of Somalia, a country that has become
shorthand for despair. Since a famine began sweeping
the war-torn country in July, tens
of thousands of
Somalis have died of starvation, and many more have
sought refuge elsewhere. On Aug. 8, the U.S.
government announced that
it was pledging another $105 million to alleviating
hunger in the Horn of Africa, bringing total U.S.
support during the famine crisis to more than $500
million.
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The detention of Ahmed Warsame in the US has renewed
the discussion about possible cooperation between
the powerful Somali Islamist insurgent movement Al-Shabaab
and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Christopher
Anzalone assesses the links.
By
Christopher Anzalone
The Obama administration’s July announcement of its
capture and secret two-month detention and
interrogation of a young Somali man, Ahmed Abdul
Qaadir Warsame, has renewed discussion about the
possible links between the powerful Somali Islamist
insurgent movement Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen
(Movement of the Warrior-Youth, hereafter “Al-Shabaab”)
and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the
Yemen-based organization that has proven itself to
be the most capable of striking far outside of its
base of operations.
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Southern Leaders Are Responsible For Somalia’s Famine |
The Arabic
saying “ma ashbaha al-yawm bilbariha” (how today is so much
like yesterday) captures very well what is going on in
southern Somalia. In the early 1990s, the conflict in
southern Somalia was between warlords, particularly Aidid
and Ali Mahdi. War, killings and mass starvation led to one
of the biggest international relief operations in history,
the American led Operation Restore Hope. That intervention
failed miserably and left a bitter taste in the mouths of
Americans when they saw their servicemen killed and their
bodies dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. President
Clinton called it the worst moment in his administration.
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Now That Al-Shabaab
Appears To Have Gone, It Is Time To Tackle The Real
Enemies Within |
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By Liban Obsiye & Yusuf Salah
It is excellent to see the President of Somalia
Sheikh Sharif walking round neighborhoods that he
could only dream of capturing a week ago. Like love
struck tourists in a new place he and his appointed
ministers take turns to visit the Mogadishu football
stadium and shopping areas previously under Al-Shabaab
control.
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Eyes Frozen To Sky* |
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By
Bashir Goth
The following haiku poem
grieves the unending plight of the Somali people.
Life is however stronger than any misery, and the
poem had to end with a note of defiance, embracing
the resilience and strength of the human spirit.
War in my country
No rain to wash the blood
- weeping in winter
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Simple Economics
Overpowers Complicated Politics |
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By Isahak Ahmed
In regards to Somaliland, the world remains at a
constant crossroads; either invest and accept a
nation that has flourished without direct
international aid but rather with the eager
entrepenurmanship of the private sector or watch at
the sidelines as it continues to define the key
concepts of emerging capitalistic markets through a
democratic governing body.
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Sadly, Tribal
Vilifications Thwart Somali Intellectuals’ Efforts
To Help Their People! |
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By Noah Arre
It is sad that Somalia had collapsed more than two
decades ago and remains in comatose to date. And it
is equally sad that its people are on the verge of
extinction as their lives go from bad to worse year
after year!
The current Somali famine in which the caring world
community is rushing food, medicine and other
lifesaving supplies to the starving Somalis will do
a lot to save the lives of kids and mothers whose
debilitated bodies may however, be beyond any
biological repairs. And it is sad that over the
years, malnutrition has had its toll on Somali kids
and their mothers. And the barely alive skeletal
human pictures one sees on the internet, television
or other media outlets lately, makes any person with
human heart to break down to tears. And certainly
the Somali intellectuals wherever they are thankful
to the caring world community for remembering again
Somalia during this difficult time and mobilizing
resources to help!
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In Midst Of Sever
Drought In East Africa, Puntland Governor Slaughters
Somaliland Officials |
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By Dalmar Kaahin
The governor of Bari (Puntland), a
pirate-infested region in Somalia, just like a local
thug desperate for attention, time and time again,
proved to be the most ruthless, self-centered, and
reckless gangster in Horn of Africa. From anarchic
Somalia to peaceful Somaliland, the governor left no
stones unturned to stir mayhem in the region. But
never before did his thuggish behavior shocked the
region as much as his latest barbaric onslaught
against unarmed Somaliland officials near the town
of Taleh, in Sool province, of Somaliland, sent
shockwaves throughout Somaliland.
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Save Somalia From Another Round Of Warlordism:
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By: Abdirahman Waberi
Washington DC
The subtle rhetoric from this new generation of
International Aid Organizations (IAOs) in the midst
of a looming human suffering in Somalia ‘AGAIN’,
triggers a chilling reminder in many Somalis who are
old enough to remember just two decades ago and how
those same organizations screwed up a humanitarian
mission by lethargically opting dangerous strategy
to save a hopeful nation. This time, the world is
watching!
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Who Will Benefit From A Us Debt Default To Cause A
Recession? |
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By
Ali H. Ismail Jirdeh (Shombe)
Journalist and Financial Analyst
Based in Hargeysa, Somaliland
Today, the capitalist world has been shaken to its
core values as stock markets dive at the news that
Standard and Poor credit evaluation agency has
downgraded the stand of US government's credit
rating. The move lowering credit stand of the
world’s largest borrower from AAA down to AA+ the
second tier level of Wall Street credit rating
system is a big deal as we are all finding out this
week. The stock markets from the most Eastern nation
of the world New Zealand share market is down 3
percent in opening trade with other Asian markets
(including Japan's Nikkei) reporting a 1 certain
level of decline so far.
Also major world currencies are taking a battering
as the US considers printing more money in order to
keep liquidity flows going. This means that the kiwi
dollar is already on the up which is bad news for
exporters who have struggled with its ongoing rise
against the US dollar throughout this year. Further,
the kiwi has also risen against the euro after this
morning's decision by the European Central Bank (ECB)
to purchase Italian government bonds in a bid to
keep the European sovereign debt crisis from
spreading further.
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The Looming Danger That Africa & International
Community Needs To Confront Wisely |
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By Omer Hussein Dualeh,
The situation in the Horn of Africa is basically of
that of famine and unprecedented drought affecting
many countries, but when this catastrophe eases, and
the Shabaab leaves the operating theater, there is
another danger that I foresee coming without any
doubt, unless the International Community addresses
it wisely.
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Somaliland: Probing The International Common Sense |
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By Dr. Yusuf Dirir Ali, MD
If a child living in a Western country claims to
have been abused by his parents, the first thing the
healthcare workers, police and social services do is
to take that child into a safe heaven and away from
the allegedly abussive parents. The same thing
happens when ever a women claims to have been
physically and or psychologically abused. I believe
it is noble to protect all human beings from
physical and psychological harm. However, the
Western democracies must use the same yard stick for
the rights of all human beings and not selectively
impound these human rights to their citizens and to
their borders.
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