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Somalia’s Insurgents
Embrace Twitter As A Weapon |
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By Jeffrey Gettleman
Nairobi, Kenya — Think of it as the Battle of
the Tweets.
Somalia’s powerful Islamist insurgents, the
Shabaab, best known for chopping off hands and
starving their own people, just opened a Twitter
account, and in the past week they have been writing
up a storm, bragging about recent attacks and
taunting their enemies.
“Your inexperienced boys flee from
confrontation & flinch in the face of death,” the
Shabaab wrote in a post to the Kenyan Army.
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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, December 17, 2011 – This week
the UN launched its consolidated appeal for Somalia
for 2012, requesting UN agencies and their
humanitarian partners to provide a $1.5 billion fund
for the continuing humanitarian efforts needed in
Somalia. Nearly four million people (almost half of
the Somali population), 2.8 million of whom are in
Al-Shabaab-controlled areas of South-Central
Somalia, remain in need of emergency aid including
food, water, shelter and health services.
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Washington, December 17, 2011 – U.S. Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta said Tuesday that U.S.
operations against al-Qaida are now concentrating on
key groups in Yemen, Somalia and North Africa.
Panetta said efforts against the al-Qaida affiliates
depend on American partnerships with countries like
Djibouti. The military base in this tiny port nation
in the Horn of Africa is the launch point for U.S.
drones used for intelligence, surveillance and, at
times, strikes against insurgents in terror
hotspots.
Panetta told troops stationed at the base that he
will visit Libya, becoming the first Pentagon chief
to travel to the embattled country, which is
emerging from an eight-month civil war.
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A
fighter allied with the Federal Government
of Somalia in Bur Gabo, Southern Somalia, on
December 14, 2011.
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By David McKenzie
Bur
Gabo, Somalia, December 17, 2011 – We had tried for
weeks to get access to Kenya's incursion into
lawless Somalia. The go finally came from the Kenyan
military in a text message late one Saturday night.
We're told to be at the Nairobi's military airbase
before dawn.
"Bring our own flak jackets," we were told.
In
October, the Kenya defense forces surprised many by
sweeping into Somalia to take on Al Shabaab, an
Islamic militant group bent on overthrowing the weak
transitional government.
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Photo: AP
Asha and Muna wait for assistance outside
the UNHCR office in Galkayo town. Muna , is
sleeping on the floor because she could not
withstand the pain in her thigh. She was
stabbed by a rapist on Nov. 26 2010. |
Nairobi, Kenya, December 17, 2011 – The United
Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Violence Against
Women Rashida Manjoo spoke to reporters in Nairobi
Friday about her just-concluded mission to Somalia,
where she examined the occurrence of gender-based
violence there.
One of the things that struck Manjoo during her
10-day mission was what she called the
“privatization” of violence against women and girls
in the wider Somali society.
She noted that a lot of attention has been paid to
sexual violence occurring within camps for the
internally displaced.
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Geneva, December 17, 2011 – The United Nations is
appealing for $7.7 billion to provide emergency aid
during 2012 to 51 million people across 16
countries. Eleven of the 16 nations are in Africa.
The beneficiary countries include Central African
Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo,
Djibouti, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Niger, the
occupied Palestinian territory, Philippines,
Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
The United Nations warns many of the tens of
millions of people in 16 beneficiary countries will
not survive without emergency aid. It calls them the
most vulnerable people in the world -- people who
suffer from a range of crises, including war,
drought, famine and disease.
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Phyllis Macay Bob Riggle were murdered by
Somali pirates, along with their friends
Jean and Scott Adam
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Pirate Attack Resulted in Murder of Four U.S.
Citizens
NORFOLK, VA, December 17, 2011 —Mohamud Hirs Issa
Ali, a/k/a Sanadaaq, 32, and Jilani Abdiali, a/k/a
Ilkasse, 20, both of Somalia, were sentenced today
in Norfolk federal court to life in prison for their
acts of piracy against the S/V Quest, which
resulted in the murder of United States citizens
Scott Underwood Adam, Jean Savage Adam, Phyllis
Patricia Macay, and Robert Campbell Riggle.
Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern
District of Virginia; Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant
Director in Charge of the FBI’s New York Field
Office; Alex J. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of
the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; and Mark Russ,
Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal
Investigative Service (NCIS) in Norfolk, made the
announcement after the men were sentenced by United
States District Judge Mark S. Davis.
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Istanbul, Turkey, December 17, 2011 – Kenya's
foreign minister, while in İstanbul for a
Turkey-Africa summit, lauded Turkey's outpouring of
support for and leadership in drought-afflicted
Somalia on Thursday.
Foreign Affairs Minister and presidential candidate
Moses Wetangula told Today's Zaman in an exclusive
interview, “Turkey has come to Somalia with
commitment, enthusiasm and great capacity.”
Turkey, which has sent hundreds of millions of
Turkish lira in aid to the country in fundraising
campaigns since the start of Ramadan, has been
called a leader among the international community in
Somalia.
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United Nations Special Representative for
Somalia Augustine P. Mahiga (R) meets with
Somalia parliament speaker, Sharif Hassan
Sheik Adan (L) and president Sheik Sharif
Sheik Ahmed (C) at Mogadishu's presidential
palace in Mogadishu, Somalia, October 2010.
(file photo)
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Roma, Italy, December 17, 2011 – The speaker of
Somalia's parliament has rejected an effort to oust
him from power, in the war-torn country's latest
political crisis.
Speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan spoke to VOA's
Somali Service a day after fistfights broke out in
parliament between his opponents and supporters.
Adan said Thursday that the vote had no legitimacy
because he is out of the country, in Italy. He also
said the number of votes against him was much lower
than reported.
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Somaliland On China Radio International: 2011-10-10
Phantom States |
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Interview
On Chinese-Somaliland Agreement |
Click
here to
listen to
Radio France
Internationale's
interview
with Jamal
Gabobe about
the
agreement
between
Somaliland
and Chinese
investors.
The
Interview
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Mindesta Options First
Mineral Exploration Permits Issued by Republic of
Somaliland |
Ottawa,
Canada,
December 19,
2011 –
Mindesta
Inc. ("Mindesta"
or the
"Company") (OTC.BB:
MDST.OB -
News) wishes
to announce
that it has
decided to
focus its
efforts on
mineral
exploration
in East
Africa, and
in
particular
the Republic
of
Somaliland
and
Ethiopia, as
it believes
the region
has very
attractive
geology and
an improving
political
environment.
As initial
steps in
executing
this
strategy,
the Company
has
appointed C.
Tucker
Barrie
Ph.D., P.
Geo. as Vice
President,
Corporate
Development
and has
entered into
an option
agreement to
earn up to
an 80 per
cent
interest in,
and
ultimately
acquire 100%
of, the
first two
mineral
exploration
permits
issued by
the Republic
of
Somaliland.
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Minister Of Foreign Affairs Testifies At Upper
House, Says Delegation Will Visit Egypt |
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 17, 2011 (SL Times) –
Somaliland Minister of foreign affairs, Dr Muhammad
Abdillahi Omar testified on Somaliland’s foreign
policy at the Upper House.
Members of the Upper House wanted to know about the
direction and developments in Somaliland foreign
policy and the foreign minister’s repeated
unaccompanied trips abroad, and had invited him four
previous times to appear to appear before them but
he ignored their requests in all those four
occasions.
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Multi-Purpose Youth Center In Borama |
Borama, Somaliland, December 17, 2011 (SL Times) –
The Director General of the Ministry of Sports
Mustafe Mohamud Qodah led a government delegation
for the ribbon cutting ceremony for a Multi Purpose
Youth Center in Borama which took place on Dec.12th.
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Former
Minister Of Religious Affairs Warns Against
Extremist Groups |
Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 17, 2011 (SL
Times) – Somaliland’s former Minister of
Religious Affairs, Sheikh Ahmed Muhumed Ahmed
warned against the threat that extremist groups
pose for Somaliland. The former minister was
responding to the recent announcement of the
formation of a group called Hizbullah in
Somaliland’s capital, Hargeysa.
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Somaliland First Lady
Attends Conference On Homeless Children |
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Hargeysa,
Somaliland, December 17, 2011 (SL Times) –
Somaliland first lady, Amina Sheikh Muhammad Jirde (Amina
Waris) along with Minister Ismail Mumin Arre
attended a conference on the plight of Somaliland’s
homeless children.
The conference took place at Mansoor hotel and was
organized by Havoyoco, Save the children and the
ministry of justice. Other participants in the event
included members of Hargeysa’s city council and
organizations that are interested in the situation
of children.
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 17, 2011 (SL Times) –
UDUB party has announced that nominees for the
position of president and vice president should
submit their CVs within 15 days to the General
Secretary of the party.
The announcement came in the form of a statement
released by the current temporary Secretary General
of UDUB, Mr Abdihalim Muhammad Muse.
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Hargeysa, Somaliland, December 17, 2011 (SL Times) –
A conference to highlight the phenomenon of child
labor and the danger it inflicts on children was
held at Hargeysa’s Mansoor hotel.
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Buro, Somaliland, December 17, 2011 (SL Times) – The
team of Hawd region made it to the finals of the
Somaliland regional soccer competitions when it
defeated Awdal 1-0. Both teams played well.
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London, UK, December 17, 2011 – Officials of
Somaliland have made an official visit to the United
Kingdom (UK) and Wales and met with their
parliamentarians.
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Mogadishu Dares To
Dream Of A New Future As Militants Are Driven From
Somali Capital |
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For the first time in two decades, a
recognized government has some measure of
control over about 90 per cent of Mogadishu,
including all of its strategic points,
notably the airport, seaport and biggest
market Photo: REUTERS |
After 20 years of chaos, there are signs that
Mogadishu is becoming safer as African Union forces
push back the Islamic extremists of al-Shabaab.
By David
Blair
Mogadishu, Somalia, December 17, 2011 – A gunshot
echoed across the jagged shells of homes pulverized
by battle. Obeying orders to "watch and shoot", a
soldier had taken aim with his heavy machine gun
down a road bleached white by the sun, spotted a
target and fired a 0.5 inch round.
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Syrians Rail Against
Arab Inaction |
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A
Syrian wounded refugee (C) shouts slogans as
he takes part in a protest, organized by
Lebanese and Syrians, in solidarity with
Syria's anti-government protesters, in the
port city of Tripoli, northern Lebanon
December 16, 2011. (REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim) |
Beirut, Lebanon, December 17, 2011 – Tens of
thousands of Syrians protested under the banner “The
Arab League is killing us” Friday as the Arab League
indefinitely postponed a meeting on the crisis
because of divisions over how to proceed with an
initiative to end the violence.
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A
contractor walks between trucks returned
from Iraq to Camp Arafjan in Kuwait December
16, 2011.
Credit: REUTERS/Caren Firouz |
Baghdad, Iraq, December 17, 2011 – American soldiers
signed over their last military base to Iraqi
officials on Friday with the U.S. troop pullout
drawing to an swift end nearly nine years after the
invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.
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By
Elizabeth Royall – Part II
The
Role of Local Governance in Postconflict Countries
After expounding upon problems facing postconflict
countries, the time comes to begin digging out of
the hole of failed policies and good intentions to
more productive policies.
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Young people play at the Mogadishu beach
which had been a no-go zone for three
years. Pictures: File |
By Charles Onyango-Obbo
World and regional powers are now in a big rush to
simultaneously tackle three big and intractable East
African problems — the Somalia war, the crisis in
eastern DR Congo, and the risk of South Sudan
imploding.
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The incredibly awkward comedy stylings of U.N. Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon.
By Colum Lynch
It's not easy for U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
to make light of world events.
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Students from around the world sort through the issues
By Dan
Simpson
Last week an issue that is important to me -- the
future of Somalia and the Horn of Africa -- was
addressed at a local conference organized by the
World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh.
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By Channing
Kennedy
Like a lot of small countries on the wrong side of
post-colonialism, Somalia’s GDP is deeply dependent
on remittances, money sent back home from abroad by
migrants who leave the country to find work.
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Two
Different Government Responses |
Two ugly
events took place recently in Somaliland: the murders in
Seemaal and the announcement of the formation of an
extremist religious party called Hizbullah. The government’s
response to these two events, however, was a study in
contrast. In the case of the murders in Seemaal, the
government took immediate action and mobilized substantial
resources to handle the situation, and rightly so. But in
the case of the announcement of the formation of an
extremist religious organization called Hizbullah (the Party
of God) in its capital, there was no government response to
speak of. It is not clear why the government decided to keep
quiet and to do nothing regarding the matter of Hizbullah,
but there is little doubt that this new organization poses a
threat to Somaliland’s peace and security. All one has to do
is listen to its leaders speak for a couple of minutes, and
one will quickly conclude that this organization has no
loyalty to Somaliland’ s independence or political system.
Actually, it is not just that they do not have any loyalty
to Somaliland, they want to abolish Somaliland’s
constitution.
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Again, ONLF Is Behind
Seemaal Killing |
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By Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi
I have read an article titled: “Seemaal Murders, an insult
to Injury” which appeared on pro-ONLF website
“Wardheer News”. The author Mohamed F. Yabarag, a
known diehard supporter of terrorist group ONLF, is
trying to fuel tension between the Somaliland tribes
in Gabiley and Awdal states.
Let us examine closely, why the author is fueling the tension
in this area: Isaias Afewerki regime is training
hundreds of ONLF guerilla in Asmara, Eretria, to
battle Ethiopian military in Somali region of
Ethiopia. Asmara administration provides weapon to
the trainees, and sends to Ethiopia.
The question is how will the trainees reach the landlocked
Ethiopia: Djibouti is hosting strong foreign forces
making it difficult to smuggle through. The border
between Ethiopia and Eritrea is very sensitive and
under UN observation. This had made almost
impossible for the ONLF to deliver the new trainee
militant into Ethiopia, which undermines the
objectives of the training.
In 2010, a boat loaded with an estimated 240-300 fresh
fighters of ONLF from Asmara arrived in the ancient
coastal town of Zeila. The freshmen were than
smuggled across Somaliland by three ONLF secret
lorries pretending to be carrying food products.
The Somaliland Police intercepted the plan and
clashed with the militant, arresting five of them
alive and killing other hundred. The police seized
weapon, Eritrean money, communication equipment and
training manuals that were in Somali and Amharic
languages.
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Disclose The Sources
Of Your Campaign Finances Or Else |
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By Yusuf Dirir Ali
Thanks to President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud, Who
showed a great courage and full-kind-heartedly
fulfilled his campaign promise. The field is now
open for all those who want to contend in the
Somaliland political arena.
The current administration did not only give the
opportunities to compete and form political parties
but also the public media and especially the
national TV is impartially put under the disposal of
all parties. Unlike previous administrations, this
current administration put its party in level field
with other parties and I hope it is ready to
congratulate the future winning parties in the
upcoming local council elections even if the ruling
party fails to become one of the winners.
It is up to the competing parties to show us some
graciousness, vision and more importantly promise to
become open and transparent from the very inception
to the end of the race. We want the candidates to
respect the intelligence of their constituents.
Political parties must not only fulfil the
conditions put forward by the Party Registration
Commission and the National Electoral Commission,
but must also reveal the sources of their campaign
funds. We want to see the names of real people or
companies that donate to these campaigns. More
importantly we want the electoral Commission to
limit all party contributions and the maximum amount
allowed for campaign expenditures.
What we see now on the ground is everything but
transparency. We see prospective party leaders
crisscrossing the country with convey of tens if not
hundreds of sport utility vehicles. They throw
lavish parties for the rich and the mighty clan
elders. The poor and weak majority do not get passes
to these plentiful parties, but instead they get
reserved spots along the roadsides and under the
Somaliland baking sun.
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Why Not Somaliland? Wy
Couldn’t We And Can’t We...? |
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By Hassan H.
After more than 20 years, who do we blame for the
lack of diplomatic recognition and how do we go
around this never-ending “somali-wayn” quagmire to
attain our goal? To be blunt and humble at the same
time, I think we can only blame ourselves, to
certain degree, and of course our past and current
governments! Well, some will argue that Kosovo,
South-Sudan, South-Ossetia, Abkhazia...all had
powerful political friends such as (respectively),
the West and Russia...Even thought, legally
speaking, we, Somalilanders have a stronger case
because we existed as an independent nation already
(which means our cause is not in conflict with that
“sacred AU and UN territorial indivisibility act).
But yet, we seem to be having hard time convincing
the world to our, well justified, cause and win some
friends. Yes, as she said, that famous singer,
“Gadhba gadhbaa la tusaayeh, gacalkeen miyuu lumay...”
Gacalkeen or our supposed friends are, unfortunately
the anti-democratic-arab-muslim brothers who sadly
ganged up on our beloved democratic
Somaliland...Why?...Because we are simply the
example and the embodiment of Hope and Progress, in
all the sense of the words, unlike them. But
still...why couldn’t or can’t we win the heart and
mind of the “free world” or those of Kosovo,
South-Sudan, Eritrea, South-Ossetia, Abkhazia... at
least? Well, this is leading me back to one of my
above questions: Who to blame for this stalemate?
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Collective Punishment
Of Gabiley Community |
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By Ayaan Hassan
As the 2012 local election approaches, the situation
in Gabiley is taking a sharp turn for the worse as
the government is making a desperate attempt to
quell fears of a looming legitimacy crisis in the
region. The government viewed the killing of three
men in Seemaal town the occasion to punish citizens
for the growing signs of more broadly-based popular
unrest in Gabiley.
Everything started when, in a staged video interview
widely posted on Somali websites, Abib aw Ahmed
Ateye, who claimed to have witnessed the incident,
named the men who have allegedly committed the crime
on 5 December. According to Ataye’s dramatic and
highly flawed eyewitness account, powerful
government officials and influential leaders were
behind the killings. The inconsistent witness linked
the killings to Somaliland’s army chief General Nuh
Tani, Kulmiye party’s Chairman Musa Bihi, the
President’s political advisor Abib Timacade and the
revered Sheikh Mohamud Sheikh Muhumud Rageh.
After viewing the graphic video the same day,
President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud “Sillanyo” sparked
the witch-hunt campaign against Gabiley people with
his junior-like press release describing Seamaal's
minor crime as an "atrocious act" - “Dilka
Foshaxum." The aggressive tone in the statement
set in motion the events that led to the sheep-like
condemnation of the killings in the media.
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