HARGEISA, 6 December 2009 (Somalilandpress) – An explosion at a graduation ceremony being held at a hotel in Mogadishu/Somalia has injured many people including two doctors who work at the SOS Hospital in the city.
Dr Abdullahi Hussein, the senior medical officer at the SOS Hospital and his colleague Dr Tahlil Abdi were attending a graduation ceremony for medical students of Banadir University. They were among the invited guests at the ceremony, who also included government ministers and other dignitaries. According to the BBC the huge explosion occurred in a meeting hall of the hotel which held several hundred people. It is reported that at least two government ministers died in the blast including the minister of health.
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An arrangement between Banadir University and SOS Children’s Villages allows medical students from the university to get practical experience at the SOS Hospital. For that reason several SOS medical staff were in attendance at the graduation ceremony.
Dr Abdullahi is a paediatrician who was trained in Mogadishu and first worked at the SOS Hospital in 1991. In 1995 he went to Italy for further training before taking up a post in the UK. He returned to Mogadishu to work for SOS Children’s Villages in 2005 and has been instrumental in keeping the hospital running while setting up a satellite facility in Afgoye, 30 km from the capital. Both Dr Abdullahi and Dr Tahlil are being treated in hospital. A third doctor from Hargeisa in Somaliland, who was an intern at the SOS Hospital, is still missing.
STOCKHOLM, 5 December 2009 (Somalilandpress) — University of Hargeisa Chancellor, Dr. Hussein A. Bulhan and Somaliland Representative Sweden, Mr. Eidarus Sh Adan, visited the Swedish National Defence College in Stockholm on Friday.
The delegation was received at the Swedish National Defence College (SNDC) by Mats Utas, Head of Africa Programme and at the same representing The Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala. Mats Utas gave a brief information about the National Defence College and The Nordic Africa Institute in Uppsala.
Mr Utas joined SDFC in 2009 and focused on researches on informal regimes, networks of power and alternative security providers in fragile African states such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Kongo, the Central Africa Republic, Sudan and Somalia.
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The National Defence College’s task is to contribute towards national and international security through research and development. The college gives courses in crisis management, leadership, military technology, political science with a special focus on crisis management and international co-operation, and security policy.
The Nordic Africa Institute is dedicated to providing timely, critical and alternative research and analysis of Africa in the Nordic countries and to strengthen the co-operation between African and Nordic researchers.
The Institute hosts several categories of guests: study grant holders from Nordic universities as well as guest researchers from Africa and the Nordic countries. Our current guests are listed below.
Dr Hussein A Bulhan informed about Hargeisa University and the Conflict resolution Department. Furthermore, the parties discussed future cooperation between The Nordic Africa Institute, Defence College and Hargeisa University.
Mr Mats Utas showed interest in developing the cooperation between Hargeisa University and The Nordic Africa institute. One of the issues discussed was the possibilities of scholars from University of Hargeisa to visit Sweden and do post graduate research courses as well as participating in seminars in Sweden.
The meeting ended in a good atmosphere and good spirit.
Mr. Bulhan is currently touring a number of EU countries to promote educational ties between University of Hargeisa and European colleges and universities.
On 16th of November, Mr. Bulhan signed an agreement of cooperation with vice-Chancellor Kimberly Matheson of Canada’s Carleton University. The two universities will exchange skills and expertise in range of fields and researches.
Two other Chancellors from two leading Somaliland universities, Professor Abdulsalam Yassin and Professor Suleiman Ahmed Guled of Burao University and Amoud University respectively are currently in Sweden as well for talks with number of Swedish universities. This is the first time, all three Chancellors have visited one country at once and to many Somalilanders it highlights the importance of Sweden when it comes to higher education, development, democracy and conflict resolution.
MOGADISHU, 5 December 2009 (Somalilandpress) — A parcel of land here that sold for $US12,000 ($A12,900) two years ago now costs more than $US20,000 ($A21,500). The price of a nice pair of men’s shoes has gone up from $20 to $50.
The reason: pirates.
The influx of millions of dollars in ransoms has changed life in this coastal Muslim community, driving prices up and creating a schism between the pirate haves and have-nots.
As piracy ramps up again with the end of the monsoon season, the lifestyle of the pirates – big houses, fast cars and easy drugs – is decried by both religious leaders and ordinary villagers.
“The use of drugs such as cannabis and the drinking of alcohol, sex and other obnoxious misconduct are now becoming common within the pirates, causing social problems,” said Sheik Ahmed, a mosque leader in the town of Galkayo. “That is what is worrying us, a lot more than the risk they pose to the foreign ships and crew.”
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Just last month, pirates were paid a reported $3.3 million to release 36 crew members from a Spanish vessel held hostage for more than six weeks. Pirates stand to make tens of thousands from the payment, money that will pulse through the community in gifts, loans and payments to family, friends and businesses.
The European Union Naval Force says pirates now hold 11 ships and 264 crew members hostage off the coast of Somalia. There is little doubt that more ransom money is coming.
“There is mad money circulating here, and it affects everybody directly or indirectly,” said Haji Said, a hotel owner.
A lone paved road passes through the middle of Bossaso, and hotels, businesses and new construction line its sides. SUVs and luxury vehicles from Asia ply the road with American, Somali and Indian music blasting from within.
The price of clothes, shoes and cosmetics is climbing, said Anshur Kamil, a businessman. Pirates do not even have to pay upfront. Those holding ships hostage who have not yet received ransom can buy goods on credit, at elevated prices, and settle up their debts when the ransom money comes in, villagers say.
The pirates pay in dollars and do not bother to haggle, said Khadra Abdullahi, a shop owner in Bossaso, a coastal town on the northern edge of Somalia across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen. “Sometimes they leave change behind, which shows that money is nothing to them.”
When villagers think the price of a cosmetic is too high, their reply is “we are not pirates,” said Abdullahi.
The closer to the pirate dens one gets, the higher the prices go. In the nearby town of Eyl, a cup of tea costs three times as much as in Bossaso. In Eyl, pirates pay $5 for a shoeshine, compared with 50 cents in Bossaso, said Hashim Salad, a store owner.
Two years ago, a teenager named Adani lived on the streets of Bossaso. Now, at only 19 years old, he is a pirate and owns a big house and large truck. He says he has taken part in two hijackings that earned him $75,000 and plans to participate in one more high-seas heist.
“When you have nothing, people despise you, and if they see that you have money, you will be respected,” said Adani, who gave only one name for fear of reprisals. “This next job will be my last in the piracy trade. I know it’s a big risk but I believe in gambling. If I win, I will get married and give up piracy.”
Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said the average ransom has risen from roughly $1 million last year to $2 million this year. He said pirates have been paid more than $100 million in the last two years, although he stressed that the number was an estimate only. No one has hard figures.
“I’m sure there’s some resentment at the way pirates behave and the lifestyle they lead. It’s not a traditional or righteous one,” Middleton said.
Middleton also noted that pirate foot soldiers make not millions, but tens of thousands over a year. The big money goes to the bosses, he said, and they are likely to spend it overseas or invest it.
Clerics and village elders say they do not approve of the pirate lifestyle. Teenagers threaten their parents that they will join the pirates if they do not get their way, said a prominent Bossaso elder, Suldan Mohamud Aw-nor.
Marriage has also been affected by pirates with pockets full of cash. Hundreds of cars escort the bride and groom to the reception, where the house is crammed with expensive furniture, and the bride wears expensive gold jewelry, said Shamso Ahmed, the owner of a beauty salon. Thousands of dollars are paid to brides’ families as a dowry.
“Pirates do not waste time to woo women, but instead pay them a lot,” said Sahro Mohamed. “They did this to several girls I know.”
HARGEISA, 4 December 2009 (Somalilandpress) — Muhammed interrupted me by pounding the ground, laughing out loud and exchanging a few words with Seleban Yussuf , the village’s elder sitting next to him.
“Unbelievable. Can you believe this guy came all the way from America to see Somaliland?,” he said in Somali. “All the way just to talk to us. Sorry Mr. Louis, carry on.”
Indeed, Muhammed Yassin Abdel Llahi was right. There aren’t too many people that make the journey to Somaliland these days. The place is sort of the forgotten corner of what used to be a united Somalia. It has a President, a lower house, an upper house, its own money, and more importantly has been relatively stable for over 15 years. If you imagine Somalia as the number seven, Somaliland is at the top left corner, bordering tiny Djibouti and Ethiopia. It’s one of the most underdeveloped regions I have ever seen.
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Father of seven, Muhammed is the head of over 450 households, based in Ununley, in the heart of Somaliland. He tells me of “changing weather”, of his seven children being away and of the drought that has hit the region and its people. All of the households are pastoralists, caring for animals and living a nomadic life.
The communities we met in Ununley told us that they’ve seen the climate changing in the last decade but “more drastically in the last four years”. In Eastern Africa this means a lack of rain which affects every aspect of life for pastoralist communities. Little rain means no green pastures from which animals can feed themselves. The lack of water and irregular rains have become a critical problem for tens of thousands of herdsmen in the region
As a result, many animals become weak, sick and simply start dying one by one. The Ununley community lost 40% of its livestock last year as animals in search of green areas crumbled under the heat, including the stronger ones like camels and cows.
“This is new for us. We have never seen so many animals dying so quickly. There is even a new phenomenon when a cow or even a camel just collapses and dies right there. They would usually fight for a day or two. I think it’s an illness they have,” Muhammed tells me.
Faced with recurring poor rainy seasons, loss of livestock, loss of lives even, community leaders are wondering what to do next. They are even considering leaving the arid rural areas for the towns in search of a different life. But they are not there yet.
“The thought of splitting our community to go to cities is hard to imagine. What will we do? Beg? For now, we can only pray for rain. With a few days of rain, everything can be good again,” the 45 year old leader told me, nervously biting his nails.
Oxfam’s partner in the region, Candlelight, recently responded to community requests to coordinate water projects. With the communities, it builds water dams, truck water into villages and improve water basins, called Burkads. In some instances, this has literally saved lives.
“Without water, people and livestock will die, but Oxfam has saved this from happening,” explained Safia Hussein Ibrahim, a local villager. “Now we have cash, we can buy food for the children and fodder for the animals. We only ask those who have something to train those who are strong, educate people, give them healthcare. We are expecting God to change our situation in a good way.”
With a few weeks left of what should be the rainy season, the people of Ununley are still hopeful. Despite having lost so much and seen their way of life threatened in the last decade, one thing that has not gone away is their resilience. A few rain showers before the end of the year.
LAS ANOD, 4 December 2009 (Somalilandpress) — Somaliland anti-terrorist forces have arrested six men suspected of planning acts of terrorism in the southern town of Las Anod, the regional capital of Sool on Tuesday [1st December], QaranTv reported.
Somaliland government issued a statement on their website stating the six men were arrested after bomb-making materials and small arms were discovered in their possession.
In a separate press conference in Las Anod, Somaliland’s police chief of Sool region, Mr Farah Awale told local reporters that the weapons consisted of two anti-personnel landmines, mobile phones and bomb-making materials.
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It is not clear if the men have being charged yet but Mr Farah said there was an on-going investigation. The police did not give details of how they arrested the six suspects but said they had been under police surveillance for two weeks.
The arrest comes a month after a roadside bomb killed Somaliland’s 12th infantry division commander, Mr Osman Yusuf and wounded four others in a blast that rocked Las Anod.
Somaliland forces in Sool often combat terrorists who cross the border from Somalia and tribal militants who are opposed to Somaliland.
NAIROBI, 5 December 2009 (Somalilandpress) — Eight people wounded on Thurday’s Mogadishu bombing that ripped through a university graduation ceremony at a hotel were taken to Nairobi for medical treatment.
The wounded, ranging from critical conditions to minor injuries arrived at Nairobi’s Wilson airport and were transferred to African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) medical team for treatment. The eight people consist of three doctors, four students and Somalia’s minister of sports, Mr Sulaiman Olad Roble. The minister, one student, and two doctors are said to be in critical condition. Mr Olad is believed to be taken to ICU of Aga Khan Hospital.
Somalia’s ambassador to Kenya, Mr Mohamed Ali ‘America’ told Somali-tv, Universal Tv that five more wounded will be brought to Kenya for medical attention.
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Somalia often transfers it’s wounded to neighbouring states for treatment due to lack of proper medical facilities and doctors in the country. Thurday’s blast further shattered any hope for the country’s health system as majority of the victims were medical students and doctors. The attack drew wide condemnation from local communities and around the world.
The bomber disguised himself as a woman and walked to the podium midway the graduation ceremony for Banadir University, killing 22 people including three ministers and three journalists – and left more than 40 other people badly injured.
Meanwhile, Somali government buried the minister of education, higher education and health in a national ceremony held at a Mogadishu hospital. The prime minister and president attended the heavily guarded ceremony by government forces and African Union peacekeepers.
Somalia blamed the Al Shabab extremist group on the attack. The U.N.-backed government has requested international help to combat extremists in the country.
Banadir University was established in 2007 by a group of Somali doctors who felt the need for it due to many qualified either becoming victims of the civil war or fleeing the country.
[Photo: injured Somali man transferred to AMREF medical team – Horseedmedia]
HARGEISA, 5 December 2009 (Somalilandpress) — Somaliland Islamic leaders have condemned the suicide bombing that killed 22 people in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. During Friday prayer in Hargeisa’s main mosque, prominent Somaliland religious leaders said the attack was un-Islamic and coward.
Somaliland’s religion leaders said the horrific attack is a complete violation of Islamic law and norms and the perpetrators were no way representative of the Muslim people or Islam.
In Somaliland cafes, streets, shopping malls and hotels the discussion this week has been the attack on Shamo Hotel and were shocked at the fact that the bombing targeted a ceremony for graduating medical students.
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The people of Somaliland said they offer their sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victims. The president of Somaliland, Dahir Rayale Kahin, also said he felt sorrow and offered his sympathy and condolences to the relatives of the victims. Somaliland’s opposition leader, Ahmed Silanyo of Kulmiye party also joined the condemnation of the deadly blast.
The bomber disguised himself as a woman and approached the podium midway the graduation ceremony for Banadir University, killing 22 people including three ministers and three journalists.
Suicide bombings were unheard of in the Horn of African nation before 2007, it is now the weapon of choice for Al qaeda linked Al Shabab group – who are battling weak UN-backed transitional government in Somalia’s south.
Meanwhile, Somaliland government has elevated threat levels and has deployed more police and military personnel on university campuses, hotels, government departments and other places. After 9 pm, Somaliland forces also started to petrol the streets, checking cars and monitoring the movement of people. This comes as Al Qaeda linked, Al Shabab group declared to carry out attacks in Somaliland.
The feeling in Somaliland is utter shock and disbelief, many feel now that most Somalis will turn against the terrorist group.
NEW YORK, 4 December 2009 (Somalilandpress) – Three journalists were among the victims of a suicide bombing at a Benadir University graduation ceremony in Mogadishu today. At least 22 people were killed at Hotel Shamo, including three government ministers, by suspected Islamic insurgents, according to The Associated Press.
Hassan Zubeyr, a cameraman for the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television network and Radio Shabelle reporter Mohamed Amin were killed instantly in the explosion, local journalists told CPJ. Yasir Mairo, who recently took up freelance photography part-time, died of injuries in the hospital, according to local journalists. CPJ was unable to determine immediately if Mairo was on assignment for a specific outlet.
Including Mairo, seven journalists were injured in the explosion, CPJ’s 2009 Press Freedom Award winner Mustafa Haji Abdinur said. Two of the journalists, Reuters photographer Omar Faruk and Abdulkadir Omar Abdulle, a reporter for Universal TV, a local TV station in Mogadishu, are in critical condition and receiving treatment at Medina Hospital in the capital, Abdinur said.
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The three deaths bring the total number of journalists killed in Somalia to nine this year.
“We send our deepest condolences to the families of Hassan Zubeyr, Mohamed Amin, and Yasir Mairo,” said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes. “This heinous act underscores the great dangers journalists face in Somalia. The country’s position as the deadliest country in Africa for journalists has been cemented.”
Mohamed Olad, BBC correspondent and spokesman for the press freedom group Somali Journalists of Foreign Media Outlets, spoke to both journalists moments before the blast. “I am really still in shock,” Olad told CPJ. “I was just speaking to these two colleagues but had left them to interview some of the graduating students.” Hassan and Amin had gone closer to the front of the hotel’s assembly hall to listen to speeches by the government ministers when the bomb exploded, Olad said.
Zubeyr, 31, was a head technician at Radio Shabelle before he left to work as a cameraman at Al-Arabiya in 2006, exiled Radio Shabelle journalist Babuul Nur told CPJ. He is survived by his pregnant wife and four children.
According to Radio Shabelle producer Hassan Osman, his colleague Amin, 24, had lost both of his parents and supported his younger siblings as the sole breadwinner in the family. Amin is the fourth Radio Shabelle journalist killed this year; Radio Shabelle’s director, Mukhtar Hirabe, was gunned down by insurgents in Mogadishu in June. Only five journalists are still working at the Shabelle Radio and Television station in the volatile capital, Osman said.
Mairo, in his early 20s, was an active soccer player and had started working part-time as a freelance photographer recently, local journalists told CPJ. Mairo was the only photographer to cover a suicide car bomb attack against African Union peacekeepers in September that killed 21 people, Olad said.
Somali Information Minister Dahir Mohamud Gelle told the BBC that the suicide bomber was disguised as a woman and used a concealed belt bomb in the packed hall. Gelle confirmed that three ministers including Health Minister Qamar Aden, Education Minister Ahmed Abdullahi, and Higher Education Minister Ibrahim Hassan were killed in the attack. The minister of sports and tourism, Suleiman Olad Roble, a former journalist, was also injured in the explosion, according to local journalists.
The graduating students were receiving their diplomas at the Hotel Shamo, which is based in one of the few areas ostensibly controlled by the government in Mogadishu. Benadir University was set up in 2002 to train doctors to replace those who had fled overseas or been killed in the civil war.
Islamic insurgent groups have been battling the government for control of Mogadishu since December 2006. Rebel groups control must of southern and central Somalia, as well as significant portions of the capital.
_____________________________________________________________________________________ CPJ is a New York–based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information, visit www.cpj.org.
Ethiopian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Tekeda Alemu held talks here Thursday with the visiting Foreign Minister of Somaliland, Abdulahi Mohamed Duale, on elections to be held in that autonomous region of Somalia.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement issued after the meeting quoted Dr. Tekeda as saying that Ethiopia had given prime attention to maintaining peace and stability in the surrounding Horn of Africa region.
He said in particular the effort to maintain peace and stability in Somaliland should further be strengthened as it was significant to bring about peace and development in the Horn of Africa.
Duale said all parties in Somaliland had agreed to make the upcoming elections free, fair and peaceful. He said preparations were underway to hold the elections.
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Meanwhile, commissioners of the newly established Electoral Board of Somaliland have shared experiences with officials of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, according to the ministry.
Somaliland is an autonomous region regarded by all countries as being part of the Somali republic while those which call the area the “Republic of Somaliland” consider it to be the successor state of the former British Somaliland protectorate. Despite establishing its own local government within Somalia in 1991, the region’s self-declared independence remains unrecognized by any country or international organization.
MOGADISHU, 4 December 2009 (Somalilandpress) — At least 19 people have been killed including three government ministers after an explosion ripped through the Shamo Hotel in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, during a graduation ceremony.
A suicide bomber disguised as a woman carried out Thursday’s attack at the hotel during a crowded graduation ceremony for medical students from a local university, Dahir Mohamud Gelle, the Somali information minister, said.
Witnesses said the attack appeared to have targeted government officials.
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It is the deadliest attack to hit Mogadishu for several months. No-one has yet claimed responsibility.
Of the three ministers killed in the blast, one was a woman – Qamar Aden Ali, the health minister. Ibrahim Hassan Adow, the minister for higher education, and Ahmed Abdullahi Wayel, the minister for education, also died.
Also among the dead were two journalists and two professors. At least 50 students were reportedly injured.
Saleban Olad Roble, the Somali sports minister, was also injured in the explosion.
Thursday’s attack is the second time this year members of government have been killed in a suicide bombing.
In June, the national security minister died in a suicide bombing that killed at least 24 people. Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for that attack.
Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston’s reports.
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