HARGEISA (Somalilandpress) — Security forces in Somalia’s northern breakaway enclave of Somaliland said on Saturday they had foiled an attack on a mosque in Hargeisa where the imam had spoken out against militant suicide bombings.
Somaliland prides itself on its relative stability, unlike southern parts of the failed Horn of Africa state, where hardline rebels from the al Shabaab group control large swaths of territory and are battling a weak Western-backed government.
But al Shabaab, which Washington says is al Qaeda’s proxy in Somalia, wants to extend its influence north into Somaliland and neighbouring, semi-autonomous pro-government Puntland.
[ad#Google Adsense (336×280)]
Mohamed Saqadi Dubbad, the commander of Somaliland’s security forces, said six rockets and two mortar bombs were recovered from Imam Sheikh Aden Sira’s mosque after a local woman saw a suspected bomber carrying the explosives in a jacket.
“She thought he had stolen what he was carrying and ran to grab him,” Dubbad told reporters. “The man could not free himself, but he threatened the woman, saying: ‘I will blow you up with me if you do not release me,’ so she released him.”
Imam Sira had been critical of suicide bombings carried out by al Shabaab insurgents in southern Somalia, and officials said he had received death threats from the militants.
Al Shabaab hit Somaliland and Puntland with synchronised suicide blasts that killed at least 24 people in October 2008.
A court in Hargeisa has sentenced five men to death in absentia for the bombings, which struck the Ethiopian embassy, the local president’s office and a U.N. building. It said they were on the run in other parts of Somalia.
Somaliland, which has long sought international recognition as sovereign state, declared itself indepedent in 1991.
GAROWE (Somalilandpress) — At least one person was killed and another wounded in a confrontation between civilians and Puntland state police in the town of Garowe on Friday, locals report.
Media reports say residents from Western suburbs of Garowe came out to put down a fire that has gutted a petrol station and several shops. The fire was successfully extinguished by the determined locals using buckets of water.
[ad#Google Adsense (336×280)]
The locals frustrated with the government, later took to the streets to protest about the lack of fire fighting equipment in the city. They say they desperately need a new firetruck to protect their brush-fire prone community, however they were met by heavily armed police who unleashed a hail of bullets.
They wounded two men, one later died while in hospital.
Until now no one knows how the fire began but it is believed it started from the petrol station and spread to neighbouring shops.
With a population of 33,000 inhabitants,Garowe is the capital and third largest city in Puntland after Bossasso and Galkayo, however the city only has one old firetruck that was donated by the town of Bossasso.
The deadly protest comes hours before Abdirahman Mohamud Farole, the president of Somalia’s semi-autonomous northern region, is set to celebrate his first anniversary since coming to power.
LUANDA (Somalilandpress) — Gunmen have fired on a bus carrying Togo’s football team to the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, wounding players and reportedly killing the driver.
The attackers machine-gunned the vehicle after it crossed from the Republic of Congo into Angola’s oil-rich territory of Cabinda.
Rebels who have been fighting for the region’s independence later said they had carried out the attack.
The organisers of the tournament, which starts on Sunday, say it will go ahead.
The Angolan government called the incident an “act of terrorism”.
The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (Flec), which said it carried out the attack, has fought for independence for several decades, but entered a ceasefire in 2006.
In a statement quoted by Portugal’s Lusa news agency, the group said: “This operation is only the start of a series of targeted actions that will continue in all the territory of Cabinda.”
Togo is due to play its first cup game in Cabinda on Monday. The Confederation of African Football confirmed that the tournament would go ahead as planned, despite the violent attack.
Angolan Sports Minister Goncalves Muandumba said security for the competition would be stepped up to guarantee “all the conditions necessary for the success, tranquility and security of the people and their belongings”.
‘Under shock’
Nine people, including at least two players, were wounded during the shooting, reports said. Central defender Serge Akakpo was among those hurt and back-up goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale was also reportedly injured.
Romanian side FC Vaslui confirmed that Mr Akakpo, who joined the club from French side Auxerre last year, was shot and badly injured in the attack. The 22-year-old was out of danger after being struck by two bullets and being treated by doctors, the club said.
The team’s communications manager was among those seriously wounded in the shooting.
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor was also on the bus but is unhurt. Speaking to the BBC, he described the incident as “one of the worst experiences of his life”.
“I’m still under shock,” Mr Adebayor said. “I was one of those who carried the injured players into the hospital – that is when I realised what was really going on. All the players, everyone was crying, calling their mums, crying on the phone, saying their last words because they thought they’d be dead.”
The bus was travelling to Cabinda from the squad’s training ground in the Republic of Congo when the shooting happened.
“This was an act of terrorism,” Cabinda affairs minister Bento Bembe told Reuters news agency.
Football’s highest governing body, Fifa, said it was troubled by the incident.
“Fifa and its president, Joseph S Blatter, are deeply moved by today’s incidents which affected Togo’s national team, to whom they express their utmost sympathy,” the body said in a statement.
Competition officials said they had not known that the Togolose team had decided to drive directly to Cabinda.
They said they had expected the squad first to fly to the Angolan capital, Luanda, and from there to Cabinda.
Shot ‘like dogs’
The head of the Togolese football federation told AFP news agency that the driver had died.
Togo striker Thomas Dossevi told France’s RMC radio that several players were “in a bad state” after the attack.
CABINDA
Oil-rich province cut off from the rest of Angola by DR Congo
Flec rebels fought for region’s independence
Rebels laid down arms in 2006 but some unrest continues
Angola had dismissed concerns about staging games there
“We were machine-gunned, like dogs,” he said. “At the border with Angola – machine-gunned! I don’t know why. I thought it was some rebels. We were under the seats of the bus for 20 minutes, trying to get away from the bullets.”
The identities of those injured – who also included team staff – have not yet been confirmed.
Togo’s first game in the tournament is due to be against Ghana on Monday.
But midfielder Alaixys Romao told RMC the team was likely to pull out of the 16-nation cup.
“No-one wants to play,” he said. “We’re not capable of it.
“We’re thinking first of all about the health of our injured because there was a lot of blood on the ground.”
HARGEISA, 8 January 2009 (Somalilandpress) – As the new year and the new decade commences, we have countless expectations here in Somaliland. To mention only few, international recognition, better life, economic development, and most importantly, we are impatient to get free and fair elections done.
In this article I will be highlighting the major actions we need to take, emphasizing the threats and opportunities we are facing in a long-ignored corner of the continent-Africa. I will be focusing on three major areas: Political, Economical and social issues.
Politics:
To begin with, we have been through an extremely challenging year, 2009, where the political unrest was a common phenomenon, the worst in 15 years. Thanks to God, we have settled now. In 2010, we are expecting four major elections: the presidential, the local governments and two parliamentary elections (both Elders and Representatives). Thus this will be a tough year and we need to work harder to achieve them all. In one hand, it seems to be impossible to accomplish because we couldn’t held only one election in two years. But on the other hand, it is very much likely that we can attain- considering the recent agreement between the political parities and the dedication of the newly elected Electoral Commission. And all we can say is to be optimistic and hope for the best because “The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy”. Let me also argue the stakeholders to speed up their efforts to take us out of the doubt.
[ad#Google Adsense (336×280)]
Similarly, we are waiting the world to look as more closely then before, we have been disregarded for two decades and I believe we have to be taken more seriously at this very year. The first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is “the right of self determination”, which states that “All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development”. So we did! Why don’t they accept?!
To reaching our goals, we need to strengthen our system of governance, security and foreign policy, and that is what we need to place on the top of our agenda in the new year. Knowing that many countries will come as they admire our unilateral determination and dedication, there is no reason to retreat but move forward.
Lastly, we live in a hostile Horn, where new ways of extremism threaten our existence, meaning we have to be more careful than ever before and make use of the past experiences. Let us all remember that, as Mandella once said, “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere”.
Long life Somaliland,
Thanks for reading………. The other parts are coming soon.
___________________________________________________________________________________________ Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial
Minneapolis, 7 January 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Three young men are dead after a shooting at a grocery store in south Minneapolis and police believe the gunman may be on the loose.
The shooting occurred around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday at the Seward Market and Hamal Meat grocery store on Franklin Avenue.
According to Sgt. William Palmer, police think the someone might have tried to rob the store.
He said all three victims were declared dead at the scene.
In the hours after the shooting, police searched the area with dogs. But as of 11:30 p.m. they had not made any arrests.
The store is located on E. Franklin Avenue near 24th Street in city’s Seward neighborhood, a middle-class area south of downtown with a significant population of Somali immigrants.
The three victims may have ties to the Somali community. Members of the community were seen crying and hugging near the crime scene.
[ad#Google Adsense (336×280)]
Neighbors familiar with the store said it was equipped with surveillance cameras. But police have not confirmed that.
The deaths bring the total number of homicides in Minneapolis to four for the year. At this time last year, there were no homicides.
In all of 2009, Minneapolis recorded 19 homicides, the lowest number in more than two decades and far below the city’s high of 97 in 1995.
The triple homicide is getting some high-level attention. Both Mayor R.T. Rybak and Police Chief Tim Dolan went to the scene. Rybak made a plea to the community and asked that anyone with any information come forward.
The first homicide of 2010 occurred Saturday. Police found Dontae Deshun Johnson, 31, shot to death outside a vehicle on 6th Street N. No one has been arrested in the case.
York, January 6, 2010(SomalilandPress)— The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about deteriorating press freedom conditions in Puntland, including detentions, censorship, harassment, and direct attacks by police officers.
January 6, 2010
His Excellency Abdirahman Mohamed Mohamud Farole
President of Puntland
Presidential Palace
Garowe, Puntland
Via e-mail
Dear Mr. President,
The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned about deteriorating press freedom conditions in Puntland, including detentions, censorship, harassment, and direct attacks by police officers. Many of these disturbing attacks have targeted the U.S. government-funded Voice of America and one of its reporters, although several local reporters say they are seeing an overall pattern of harassment.
Mohamed Yasin Isak, a local correspondent for Voice of America, was released from custody today after being held without charge for 17 days at the offices of the Puntland Intelligence Services in Bossasso. The detention appears to contravene Puntland law requiring that charges be filed within 48 hours of arrest.
Isak has faced prior harassment as well. In August 2009, police briefly detained Isak and Radio Galkayo reporter Abdullahi Hersi, local journalists told CPJ. Police told Isak to stop his work for VOA, they said. The detention came shortly after VOA aired a report detailing allegations that the son of a former governor was involved in a killing.
In October, Deputy Information Minister Abdishakur Mire ordered FM stations not to air VOA reports for one week, and he directed Isak and two other VOA journalists, Abdulkadir Mohamed and Nuh Muse, to stop working in the region. The ministry said in a statement that the station had not reported objectively, but it did not elaborate.
One month later, police shot at least 15 times at Isak’s car at a checkpoint in front of the regional governor’s office in Galkayo, the Media Association of Puntland reported. Isak suffered a wound to his left arm, local journalists told CPJ. Police commander Col. Muse Ahmed Muse Hasasi told local reporters that an unidentified officer fired because the journalist’s car was speeding and appeared suspicious, according to news reports. Speaking to CPJ, Isak denied the allegations. Hours before the shooting, local journalists told CPJ, Hasasi had come uninvited to a meeting of local reporters and threatened Isak with unspecified harm. Journalists had gathered to discuss a recent episode in which security forces assaulted several reporters and blocked others from attending a local government meeting.
Police shot at another reporter in December. An unidentified officer at Galkayo Airport opened fire on Radio Galkayo Director Hassan Jama without provocation, according to local reports. Jama, who did not know why he was targeted, said two of the shots narrowly missed him.
That no officer has been held accountable in these attacks reflects a climate of impunity that undermines the rule of law and contravenes constitutional protections for freedom of the press. Mr. President, many local journalists saw you as a supporter of press freedom when you were elected in January 2009. But the actions of your government in these cases reflect intolerance and repression. In addition, several local journalists have told CPJ that they face ongoing threats and intimidation from Puntland security and police officers.
We call on you to order an immediate investigation into the shootings of Isak and Jama, to halt government-sponsored harassment and censorship, and to ensure journalists are allowed to work without threat or intimidation. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Joel Simon
Executive Director
Committee to Protect Journalists
While the eyes of most pundits and spies are on the current Military Action in Yemen. The Situation on the other side of the Gulf of Aden needs just as must focus as there is currently towards Yemen. The Situation in Somalia does not show any sign of improving anytime in the near future. In recent days Al-Shaabab the Islamist Militia with alleged links to Al-Qaida has driven the World Food Program out of Southern Sudan. There are now reports that a Somali clan which has 300,000 Refugees currently sheltered in Kenya has stated that it will protect the Kenyan Border. In 2009 the Islamists threatened to attack Kenya for its support of the Western Initiative to restore a functioning government in Mogadishu. And the Situation regarding Somaliland cannot be ignored anymore either. It’s time for the long delayed elections which have been delayed so often to finally take place in Somaliland. Where are the NDI and the IRI?
Speaking of Kenya the reports that the ICC will be looking into the violent aftermath of the December 2007 Elections are evidence of a major problem. Despite the Current Government and it efforts to show harmony Graft is a problem and the reports of the influx of weapons into the Western Part of the Country do not bode well for the next electoral cycle.
Although it has not been mentioned by the US Media (Which is not a surprise to this reporter) Ethiopia and Eritrea had a border clash on New Year’s Day. Although this was a small scale firefight this action taken into context with a reported operation by the Eritrean Opposition and the UN Security Council imposing Sanctions against Eritrea for its reported actions in Somalia pose serious challenges for the Eritrean Government. It is now being seen as part of the Problem with tensions in the region and not part of the solution. This aspect will have to change for any Efforts for Peace in the Region to move forward.
Writing on Confused Eagle I raised Concerns regarding recent reports of actions that have been taken by the Ugandan Government particularly with Military Operations against the LRA and other actions taken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For far too long the US has provided a Blank Check to Uganda and to Ethiopia as a matter of fact. Both of these countries need some oversight within Washington.
This is a lot of information to digest. There are various US interests at stake here. It is time for the Administration to take the blinders off. There are other areas of concern here besides the Islamists in Somalia and Yemen.
—————————————————————————————————– Views expressed in the opinion articles are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the editorial. The Author Comments on US Policy towards Africa and Publishes Confused Eagle on the Internet. It can be found at confusedeagle.livejournal.com
(SomalilandPress)-It was sunset and my memory strong-willed to participate one of the beautiful nights of presenting books organized by Hargeisa Readers Club. This club planned for mainstreaming the youth in Somaliland in the course of reading talent and exchange of Ideas connected with how to translate and present the books. Setting up a successful club like HRC is by no means easy in an environment that is known for its negativity. Creating a club that seeks to convey positive messages for youth to obtain the guidance and support they need in this challenging stage of life is even more difficult in Somaliland. On 18 December, 2009 at 7:00pm the club presented a book called; Diwaanka Qosalka written by Jamal Ali Hussein.
The ceremony took place in Mansoor Hotel in Hargeisa, where eventually the club holds its gigantic reading ceremonies. The hotel is in the west of the city where all most every body can have an easy access by taking bus. Countless number of men and women were seen in the ceremony hall and the corridors of the hotel. The ceremony opened with Holly Koran recitation by a member of HRC. Mr: Hamse was co-chaired the ceremony and started the speech introducing the book writer by all participants who came in the ceremony. Later on, the session began and people were listening attentively.
Mr. Jamal is a graduate of the Hartford University with a master of Business Administration accompanied with Certified Public Accountant (CPA). In spite of his young age, he managed to finish his degrees in professional accounting at the SIDAM institute in Mogadishu. Now he is the CEO Citibank’s branch in Ivery Cost and one of the 100 influence people of that bank. He is a hero in my life, students loves his success and believes he has a significant role model in his society. His role as a banker did not divest him from writing books and practicing social work. Jamal is great man, a role model to all Somali Landers, very brave and walking on the path of putting his nation on the map of the world
As Jamal took the microphone, people started laughing and asking each other what story that you read in the book called Diiwanka Qosalka might be including his presentation. All the people listening courteously what their comedic writer says. In that night people participating the ceremony where couldn’t keep laughing.
I first heard of “Jamal” more than 3yrs ago. He started in that time charitable activities by visiting various education centers including SOS Sheikh Secondary School. His aspire throughout these visits was to prop up the needed students and amend their lives for better. Jamal’s passion for helping his society upshot to offer a scholarship for two students from Sheikh School to go Uganda and study medicine. In fact, this observable success encouraged me to be a social worker and rivet charity activities. Involvement of society’s charitable purposes is not an easy chore, but needs hard work, devotion and strong will. You Somali Landers in and out, are you ready caring for orphans, blind and those with special needs through your pocket. We have to join our efforts to support students and help for those who are not able to pay the fee of Primary Schools, Secondary Schools or even Universities.
[ad#Google Adsense (336×280)]
As students we all have shining ambitions about the future we would like to success, but sooner or later, these ambitions began to lessen with out standing role models in our side except Jamal Ali Hussein who change and improve the lives of many students. I believe that any positive change in society can be done through Charity work.
We have to keep in mind that Hargeisa Readers Club carrying a huge responsibility on their shoulders empowering the youth in order to gain power and visibility. Though in Somaliland the importance of young people were not recognized by our societies, But the growing influence of young people as Hargeisa Readers Club attesting the community that their voices to be heard.
Last but not least, as Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) said, “By Him whose hand my soul is, Allah does not bestow His Mercy except on merciful one”
Written by: Farhan Abdi Suleiman (0day)
Hargeisa, Somaliland
Tell: 4401132
_____________________________________________________________________________ Farhan is a graduate of the University of Hargeisa and is a regular contributor to Somalilandpress. He is also a social worker in Somaliland.
HARGEISA, 5 January 2010 (Somalilandpress) – Despite its name, the propeller-driven Dash flies slower than its companion, the Dornier jet – taking three hours or more from Nairobi’s JKIA to Hargeisa. And for most of the time, you are flying over the parched yellow-browns of northern Kenya and into Somaliland.
I was in for a surprise when we reached Hargeisa. The last time I was there was back in 1999, and my memory was of a smallish and rather ramshackle town. But it was a very proud town: capital of what was once the old British colony that had disentangled itself from the chaos of Somalia to the south and east (previously, the old Italian colony, but that’s not the reason for the chaos, you’ll understand).
Yes, Somaliland had good reason to be proud. It had regretted its hasty decision at Independence in 1960 to join the ”Greater” Somalia, and so activated one of the five points of the star on the new Somalia flag (the ones left out were Djibouti, the Ogaden in Ethiopia and, of course, north-eastern Kenya).
After the rapid disintegration of Somalia following the fall of Siad Barre in 1991, Somaliland reverted to its old name, declared its independent statehood, and set about rebuilding its institutions and infrastructures.
[ad#Google Adsense (336×280)]
The minefields were cleared; order was restored; the roads were opened up; money flowed in from the diaspora by means of an informal but highly effective system based on trust; and a government was established through a concentrated series of consultations using traditional approaches to conflict resolution. But, concerned about the possible effects of creating a precedent, the rest of the world didn’t recognise Somaliland’s separateness. It still doesn’t. Despite the progress the country has made.
The progress is for anyone to see in Hargeisa now – in the expanded estates, the wide streets, the flamboyant buildings, and in the mushrooming advertising hoardings. It’s not a Dubai, a Nairobi or a Kampala – but it’s a world away from the devastation of Mogadishu.
I wasn’t able to properly explore the city because, though the threat to security is not at all as strong as it is to the east and south, it is still a possibility. And so I became a kind of prisoner in the Ambassador Hotel – a very comfortable place, I must say, in which to be a kind of prisoner.
But on one of my six days, I was able to escape. We drove out west in a convoy to Borama, the capital of the Awdal region, and just 10 km from the border with Ethiopia. For over two hours, we travelled through a flat and fairly arid landscape, even though the rains had not long ended.
”When I was a boy,” my Somali companion said, ”there were lots of trees along this way – many different varieties. But see how few there are now – and look at how the thorn bushes have taken over.” We also passed two crippled and rusting tanks – reminders of the bitter civil war that had raged across these plains.
Before this trip, I had re-read one of my favourite books about the Horn – Gerald Hanley’s, Warriors: Life and death among the Somalis. A British officer during the Second World War, he was also a kind of prisoner, marooned in charge of a platoon of Somalis for months on end in the bush to the north of Mogadishu.
This is how Hanley describes the people he had come to respect in more ways than one: ”Of all the races of Africa, there cannot be one better to live among than the most difficult, the proudest, the bravest, the vainest, the most merciless, the friendliest: the Somalis.” And that is why I am looking forward to going back to Somaliland and Puntland a few times during the year ahead.
(SomalilandPress)-I have been taking Somali language class for the last month and a half now, and essentially I have distributed the same signs of my student behavior as I have for every other language I have attempted: I show up every class (sometimes late), copy word for word from the board, and absorb absolutely none of the information. (I find the fact that I am an instructor of a foreign language highly ironic.)
While my fellow classmates are asking about the proper conjugation of words, I am still trying to figure out if annagu is he or she. (Wait. I just checked. It’s actually “we” exclusive, a fascinating concept I have not yet run across in my brief flirtation with other languages. My instructor is nice enough, but I just haven’t been able to hold interest after a certain point . . . with every language I have attempted. (As a matter of fact, this entry is being written during what will probably be my final Somali class for awhile.)
What always quickly becomes apparent to me are the words most dear and used to those who are natives of the language. Asalam walekum and walekum asalam, although Arabic, are used almost 100 percent of the time when greeting friends and strangers alike. Nabad, meaning simply “peace”, was one of the first Somali words I learned. As my students shared with me recently, if things are going well, the first person shares peace with the second one. If things are possibly going poorly, the first person questions whether there is peace with the second person. Although I come from a country that has not recently come through a civil war, I still think it is a lovely way to greet people and I plan to incorporate it long after I have departed from Somaliland.
