Mogadishu,Jun 30 2009 — Somalia’s transitional leader, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed led a delegation of Ministers and Parliamentarians to the Libyan city of Sirte on Monday for the summit of the New Economic Partnership of Africa’s Development.
The African Union Summit titled “Investing in Agriculture for Economic Growth and Food Security” is scheduled for the July 1-3.
The summit is hosted by Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, who is said to strongly support the embattled government of Sheikh Sharif. Source closes to Sheikh Sharif also said the Libyan leader was in favour of President Obama’s military aid for the government of Somalia. Senior State Departments have reportedly admitted to have given Somalia military aid worth $10 million.
Somalia’s foreign Minister, Mr Mohammed Omar already flew into the city to set the stage for President Sheikh Sharif and his delegation.
President Sharif hopes to shore up ties with African leaders while there.
In a separate development, Somalia’s foreign minister, Mr Omar is said to have asked officials from UNDP’s Nairobi office to stop all financial and technical assistance to Somaliland’s government including training of police.
Mr Omar who hails from Somaliland himself is said to have angered his Prime Minister, Mr Omar Abdirashid Sharmake who is against any thing to sabotage relations between the Somali people. There is no confirmation from Somaliland’s government.
UNITED STATES - AUGUST 01: Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., conducts a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on an initiative called "Make It In America" that includes various job creation legislation. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Written by Dalmar Kaahin
Hargeisa, 30 June 2009 — As I watch the video of U.S. congressional hearings convened in Washington DC in June 25, 2009 about the current turmoil in Somalia, a hostile voice echoes in the conference room: “If they [Somaliland people] want to be isolated, they can be assured that I will do all I can to isolate them…” an infuriated man states. Then applauses ensue. See the video: http://international.edgeboss.net/real/international/af06252009.smi
Covering my forehead with one hand, I whisper to myself, “Damn Somali warlords and Alshabaab terrorists are so omnipotent; they seem to be everywhere, even in Washington DC, threatening the democratic republic of Somaliland, and working hard to isolated it”.
I play back the video to watch what I missed: this savage warmonger, or this blood thirsty Alshabaab suicide bomber who lashes out at peaceful Somaliland.
To my utter disbelief, shock, and dismay it isn´t the usual suspect: a Somali warlord, or an Alshabaab terrorist that wants to further isolate Somaliland where its citizens will suffer more for they choose democracy over violence, to settle their difference through dialogues, and to rid of their leaders at the polling stations and not at the killing fields.
But it is none other than an honorable American Congressman Donald Payne, the Chairman of the congressional hearings about Somalia, who is upset about Somaliland´s absence in the hearings. For starters, Somaliland politely excuses itself not to participate in the congressional hearings about Somalia because: for one thing, Somaliland isn´t part of Somalia any more. For another, Somaliland senses that Mr. Pyne supports greater Somalia notion. Such a fear comes true, as he states, “We look forward that one day perhaps they [Somaliland people] will decide they are going to be part of greater Somalia.”
Although Mr. Payne is one of the bravest American Congressmen, a commendable man, who risked his life when he visited Mogadishu this year where he was attacked with rockets, he is either not aware of the historical facts that compelled Somaliland not to even share a table with Somalia, or he received disinformation from Somaliland opponents.
Also, what Mr. Payne ignores is: if United States is entitled to decide which meeting it should participate in, so is Somaliland. For instance, the United States boycotts a number of meetings every year. No one threatens to choke it, or isolate it. If the U.S. finds it is not in its best interest to participate in a meeting, it refuses invitations. Even worse, some times U.S. walks out of International meetings when it doesn´t get its way. Take as an example, in 2001, U.S. walked out of World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa.
So, if U.S. could walk out of World Conference against Racism, why would Somaliland´s decision to avoid joining a conference with Somalia and Puntland—both determined to undermine Somaliland´s existence as a nation—infuriate Mr. Payne?
Ever since the former Somali dictator Gen. Mohammed Siad Barre of the 90s and his notorious henchmen such as, Gen. Mohamed Ali Samatar, a former defense minister and prime minister of Somalia, Col. Yusuf Abdi Ali (Tuke), and Gen. Mohammed Said Hersi Morgan—the butcher of Hargeisa, Somaliland capital—slaughtered over 60,000 Somaliland civilians, and pulverized its cities to dust, understandably Somaliland refuses to touch anything that has to do with Somalia with a ten-foot pole. Both Mr. Samatar and Mr.Tuke live in the U.S. See my article entitled, “Does U.N. Attempt to Recruit Somalia´s Ex-Army Officers Evoke Nostalgia or Poke Old Wounds?” http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/view/105156
Then, is the honourable Congressman, Mr. Payne not aware of the historical facts the compel Somaliland to avoid Somalia´s never-ending chaos? Somalilanders ask.
Somaliland is a country that received its independence before Somalia or Djibouti got theirs. Somaliland refused to participate in all earlier fourteen failed Somali reconciliations meetings held in foreign countries from 1991 to 2008 because Somaliland always remained an oasis in midst of a harsh desert and isn´t affiliated with Somalia any more either; similarly, today Somaliland feels that it has no reason to join the congressional hearings about Somalia. And because the hearings is convened in Washington doesn´t mean Somaliland will jump on the wagon to join the meeting either.
It is a paradox in an American democracy that although Mr. Payne is elected democratically, he, inadvertently, suppresses the wishes of Somaliland people and assures them that he will do his best, use his leverage, his influence, and his authority to further isolated them.
Mr. Payne should know that in fact U.S. needs Somaliland as much as Somaliland needs U.S. A case in point: Somaliland security forces cooperate with those of U.S. to curb terrorism and piracy in Horn of Africa. Also Somaliland intelligent agents share invaluable information with their U.S. counterparts.
Congressman, you may as well know that the Somaliland you threaten to strangle because it politely turns down the invitation to participate in the congressional hearings is in fact the only wall that separates Alshabaab terrorists—bent to attack U.S. interests in East Africa—and the U.S. forces in Djibouti.
Additionally, Somaliland is one the most democratic countries in East Africa, far more democratic than Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Eritrea. As L.A Times writes, “For most of the last decade, Somaliland’s governance and human rights record have drawn praise, particularly compared with those of its neighbors. Somaliland boasts free speech and private newspapers. Its population voluntarily disarmed, reconciled and transitioned into an elected, civilian government.” ‘”The government in Somaliland has a better human rights record than any other government in the Horn, including Kenya,”‘ said Chris Albin-Lackey, an analyst at Human Rights Watch.” adds L.A Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-somaliland17-2009may17,0,3938098.story
Finally, although Mr. Payne´s unjustified economic threats against Somaliland send shockwaves throughout Somaliland and Somaliland Diaspora communities, Somaliland remain determined to cooperate with the United States to confront instability in Horn of Africa. Also, the Somaliland people are grateful to the United States for its understanding of Somaliland´s quest for independency.
Surely, if U.S. could storm of out conferences, Somaliland could choose not to take part of them. Mr. Payne with all due respect, what is good for the United States is also good for Somaliland whether you perceive Somaliland as a poor, weak and trivial country that a single threat from an American Congressman sends shivers down its spine, or not.
Don´t get me wrong. Somaliland people definitely will rejoice to witness Somalia stand on its feet. The sooner Somalia stabilizes itself the better for Somaliland. They also commend Mr. Payne´s tireless efforts to achieve a lasting peace in Somalia. But Somaliland and Somalia are two separate countries.
Also, Somaliland Diasporas encourage Mr. Payne to visit Somaliland and witness how almost twenty years of isolation has devastated the peaceful and democratic people of Somaliland. See for yourself the destitution caused by isolation: poverty, unemployment, none existing health care system and lack of investment to rebuild, schools, hospitals, potholes in the roads and crumpled bridges; see how isolation keeps thousands of children malnourished and denies them access to medicine.
You may be overwhelmed by Somaliland people´s poverty, but you will be amazed by their hospitality and kindness. Without a doubt, a trip to Somaliland will imprint an everlasting impression in your mind. Come to Somaliland, Congressman.
MORONI-An airliner with 150 people on board belonging to Yemeni state carrier Yemenia crashed in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros Tuesday, a senior government official said.
“We don’t know if there are any survivors among the 150 people on the plane,” Comoros vice-president Idi Nadhoim told Reuters from the airport at the main island’s capital Moroni.
Nadhoim said the accident happened in the early hours of Tuesday, but could not give any more details.
“There is a crash, there is a crash in the sea,” said an unnamed official who answered the phone in the Yemenia office in Moroni. He declined further comment.
An airline official in Yemen declined to comment.
Yemenia, which is 51 percent owned by the Yemeni government and 49 percent owned by the Saudi Arabian government, flies to Moroni, according to flight schedules on its Web site.
1996 CRASH
Yemenia’s fleet includes two Airbus 330-200s, four Airbus 310-300s and four Boeing 737-800s, according to the site.
The location of the crash was not immediately known, but a medical worker in the town of Mitsamiouli, on the main island Grande Comore, said he had been called into the local hospital.
“They have just called me to come to the hospital. They said a plane had crashed,” he told Reuters.
A Comoran police source said the plane was believed to have come down in the sea. “We really have no sea rescue capabilities,” he said.
The Comoros covers three small volcanic islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Moheli, in the Mozambique channel, 300 km (190 miles) northwest of Madagascar and a similar distance east of the African mainland.
A hijacked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 crashed into the sea off the Comoros islands in 1996, killing 125 of 175 passengers and crew
(Reporting by Ahmed Ali Amir; Additional reporting by Richard Lough in Antananarivo; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne and David Clarke; Editing by Jon Hemming)
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — A top US diplomat on Monday stressed his country’s support for Somalia’s transitional government, whose control has been hanging by a thread in the face of a fierce Islamist insurgency.
“The US government has always been clear that it is important to support the TFG (transitional federal government),” US Deputy Secretary of State Jacob Lew said during a visit to neighbouring Ethiopia.
“We are engaged in activities consistent with what the countries of the region are involved in.”
Last week, a US official said the United States was giving Somalia’s embattled government urgent supplies of weapons and ammunition to fight off the insurgents.
Islamists launched a nationwide offensive against the administration of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on May 7.
The internationally-backed Sharif has been holed up in his presidential quarters, protected by African Union peacekeepers as his forces were unable to reassert their authority on the capital.
In 2006, Ethiopia, a key US ally in the region, invaded Somalia to remove an Islamist rebellion that had taken control of large swathes of the country.
When it pulled out earlier this year, having failed to stabilise the country, Ethiopia warned it could return at any time should hardliners threaten to take control.
Lew had earlier met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and said he raised US concerns over Ethiopia’s 2005 elections.
“We noted that the 2005 elections were good but expressed that we were troubled at the reduction in space for open public debate …,” he said.
The European Union and other observers said the 2005 elections fell short of international standards, and around 200 people died in violence that erupted after the opposition accused Meles’ party of rigging the ballot.
Several members of the Ethiopian opposition are now in exile or in prison, including Birtukan Mideksa, the head of an opposition coalition.
“We have expressed very strong views that the election next year should be free and fair,” Lew said. “I raised concerns about Birtukan and said the case should be resolved quickly and finally.”
Lew also said the United States was concerned over restrictions Ethiopia has placed on aid groups.
Ethiopia adopted a law early this year stating any local group drawing more than 10 percent of its funding from abroad would be classified as foreign and subjected to tight government control.
(170125) -- MOGADISHU, Jan. 25, 2017 (Xinhua) -- Local people walk past the site of a suicide attack in Mogadishu, Somalia, Jan. 25, 2017. The death toll in Wednesday's attack by Al-Shabaab militants on a hotel in the Somali capital Mogadishu has risen to 15 while 15 other were injured, a senior official said. (Xinhua/Faisal Isse) (zy) (Photo by Xinhua/Sipa USA)
By Paul Goldsmith And Abdi Umar
Nairobi, Jun 30 2009 — Naturally, threats to bring down glassy skyscrapers and demands that Kenya withdraw security forces patrolling the border evoke public alarm.
Sometimes an ostensibly negative and emotionally charged development can flip over into a moment of analytic clarity.
The Al Shabaab surge in Mogadishu may be such a moment, at least we hope so, for those charged with formulating Kenya’s foreign policy.
Post-Barre Somalia has been a complicated crucible of ethnicity, ideology, dire material conditions, and predatorial behaviours geared to micro-to-macro political economies of war.
Add the reverberations of global jihad to this mix and the 18-year old conflict reduces to a clutch of familiar cliches: failed state, clan, warlord, Wahhabi networks, Islamist insurgents, terrorist safe haven, humanitarian crisis, battered civilians and IDPs.
This narrative begs to differ.
Nicholas Naseem Taleb traces what he labels the “narrative fallacy” to the human proclivity for reducing complex phenomena to simple patterns. The narrative fallacy is a function of “our vulnerability to over-interpretation and our predilection for compact stories over raw truths.”
Narratives are powerful but their margin of fallacy increases apace with the volume of information. This dovetails with, as two scholars of Africa have noted, the role of information as more crucial in disordered societies.
In respect to this role, there is information that can be used to falsify the conventional story.
Is Somalia a disordered society, generating an overflow of turbulence roiling what was already a disorderly region; or is it a case of forces within the disorderly region sustaining the disorder following out of the collapse of the Somali state.
Both hypotheses have merit. More significant is the fact that, for the insurgents, external interference is the problem.
Never mind the obvious contradictions, this is the source of the sabre-rattling rhetoric accompanying the latest Al Shabaab surge.
Threats fill the air as another in the series of governments cobbled together outside the country’s borders bites the dust.
Cheeky demands about pulling back your troops raise the pulse and resurrect bad memories. But it helps if we disagggregate the raw truths and fallacies at work.
The first falsehood is that Somalia is an ‘ignored’ crisis. On the contrary, hardly a month passes by without some high level discussions on Somalia in the United Nations, the Contact Group on Somalia, the IGADD meetings, the African Union, and the Arab League. Under the AU banner, foreign troops are embedded inside Somalia, supported, at arms length, by a phalanx of international organisations.
Over the last week, meetings have been held between the Foreign Minister of Egypt and Eritrea, Yemen has called upon a meeting with the Gulf Arabic states, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been making speeches, the United States has made statements, and held a meeting of the TFG and Somaliland in Washington.
The British ambassador to Ethiopia has made a trip to Hargeisa.
The Chinese, Indian, German, French, Russian, American, and British navies trawl the sea, a permanent American military mission observes from bases in Djibouti and Mombasa, NATO planes patrol along the coast, and unseen hands finance an “insurgency,” while the UN organises myriad peace conferences.
State-funded British, American, Saudi Arabian, Egyptian, and Russian (they’re back) broadcasting services beam out high quality signals offering their take on the “Somali crisis” to the millions of nomads.
Somalia turns a whole load of assumptions on their head, and is home to the most sustained piece of double speak on the planet today.
Not ignored, but rather, wilful ignorance characterises this crisis where actors and their proxies do their best to conceal their real motives, no side wants to display its hand, while once again brute force is displacing alternative methods for resolving the unsatisfactory stalemate.
The spokesperson for the African Union forces in Mogadishu repeatedly talks about the need to support the “legitimate government” of Somalia.
The Kenyan Foreign Minister speaks about the urgent need to defend the “legitimate government” of Somalia. The so-called insurgents repeatedly say they not recognise any government in Somalia, and consider the AU forces a brutal external occupying force. What is the reality, and what is “legitimacy” in this context?
The Somalia government claims to be democratically elected, based on supervised selections held at international conventions paid for by the usual four or five Western donors, plus the occasional token input by an Arab regime in the capitals of Kenya, Ethiopia or Djibouti.
At the end of these lengthy proceedings, one is declared president and a retinue shares out ministries, others are named Commissioners for various provinces, or head nonexistent departments.
The real problem begins when the president decides or is induced to go home and rule like other presidents. Unfortunately, the new president ends up becoming irrelevant to the realities unfolding on the ground zero of Mogadishu, Hargeisa and Baidoa. This class of political actors tends to be out of touch with the reality back home — and as we are now witnessing, quick to desert.
The Ministers are content to earn ‘salaries’ for governing from a distance, while demanding an army, police, and now navy paid for by others.
Sixteen governments later, the wonder is that the “international community” and the African Union are so eager to fall into this trap. Now Kenya is being put on the spot, voices in government and the press advocating intervention in circumstances where battle-hardened Ethiopia failed.
Somalia’s Al Shabaab insurgents control entire provinces, all the way from Lamu on the Kenyan border to Mandera. The insurgents have been our neighbours for over a year, controlling every town, and imposing government on the people. None except their salaried and uniformed personnel are allowed to carry arms. The beleaguered “government,” in contrast, has never extended its authority beyond the battered blocks around the heavily fortified Villa Somalia where the internationally recognised president depends on 4,000 AU troops to ensure his physical survival.
It seemed that the IGAD-Western alliance had finally got it right.
But the former Islamic Courts Union chair, Ahmed Sheikh Sharif, has let everyone down. Somali’s are now saying it’s the Abdullahi Yusuf government without Abdullahi Yusuf.
Brute force is once again displacing other methods for resolving the unsatisfactory stalemate. Unfortunately, the MoU conceding to Kenya rights to part of the Somalia’s offshore zone enraged even TFG supporters–implicating the Kibaki part in the larger conspiracy.
Another more positive fact deserves emphasis: through a long and costly process of trial and error Kenya actually solved its Somali problem. The scrawny alley cat is proving to be more formidable than the lion that was once the Somali state and of course each party has to do what it has to do.
Moreover, each player in this game has taken on voluntary a role in the region’s conflicts, and military intervention is not in Kenya’s docket.
At different times, the Ugandan middle classes, the rich Tanzanians, the royalist Ethiopians, the fleeing Rwandese, the elite of Southern Sudan have all left their legacy and capital in Nairobi.
It has benefited further by being a cool place next to all the fighting in Sudan, Somalia, Uganda, revolutionary Ethiopia, an oasis for the aid fraternity where business could be carried out, where money could be banked, where logistics could be organised.
By keeping out of the fray, Kenya was able to play host to aid organisations working in venues as far as Congo.
By keeping out of the fray, by talking to all sides in combat all the time, Kenya could host the northern and Southern Sudanese in their talks.
By being neutral and keeping out of the fray Kenyan could attract all the warlords and sundry and host them in their inconclusive talks without itself becoming a factor in the talks.
True, the Harakat al Shabaab extremists are scary and the situation is pregnant with unknown unknowns. The military option, in this instance, is lose-lose, and the prospects of war is generating considerable angst within Kenya’s Somali community.
For a number of weeks now, a creeping campaign demonising Somalis living in Kenya, caring little for facts, threatens to negate several decades of progress.
After four decades of being treated as a fifth column, Kenyan Somalis have a right to be afraid–very afraid, and have tried to keep under the radar as they prayed that the ill wind would blow itself out.
Curiously, like the TFG president, the alley cat has got the tongues of North Eastern Province MPs and civil society, despite their obvious interest in these affairs. It took Yusuf Haji, the Kenyan Defence Minister, to set the narrative straight.
In his interview with Harun Maruf of the VoA on June 24, he said Kenya had its own large Muslim population and did not feel threatened by the rise or non-rise of a Muslim state on its borders; for while it would defend its own territory, it had no interest in deciding regimes for its neighbours, but was willing to live and let live.
Hassan Aweis Dahir responded in a similar tone.
It is Kenya’s interest to continue the demilitarisation of its northern region and refuse to be drawn into fighting for one group or another. Kenya’s strength is soft power: the Foreign Minister should mobilise the country’s Muslim ulama to sort out the problem with Quranic Aya and Hadith.
Reported by Paul Goldsmith and Abdi Umar. Paul Goldsmith is a researcher based in Meru, while Abdi Umar is a consultant on pastoralist issues in the Horn of Africa.
Hargeisa, 29 June 2009 (Somalilandcurrent)— Ethiopian Airlines has officially delegated Noble Travel Agency to carry out their flight bookings in Somaliland. The agency will have exclusive access to Ethiopian Airlines 1.95 million passenger database and cliets would be able to make bookings with them as well as Ethiopian Airlines affiliated carriers.
Since the suicide attacks in Somaliland in October last year, the Ethiopian Airline’s office was closed and its flights has been suspended due to security concerns. A number of times, there were reports suggesting that the carrier might start resuming its flights via Berbera airport – however, it was not to be.
Speaking to Somalilandpress, the manager of Noble Travel Agency, Mr Abdiqafar Mohamoud Isse said the agency was established in 2006 and has been growing ever since. After the Ethiopian airlines suspended its operations in Somaliland, they have been seeking other alternatives in order to continue their business in the country.
In early March of this year, the Ethiopian carrier invited three traveling agencies from Somaliland to it’s head office in Addis Ababa for contracting bid. Noble Travel Agency was selected as the official winner on the 27th of April – the other two bidders were Olympic Travel Agency and Hargeisa National Travel & Tourism Agency (HNTTA). Mr Abdiqafar, said his agency was selected because of their extensive experience in the field and connections with other carriers such as Xoriyo, Zuhura, Cosob and Daallo airlines.
Ethiopian Airlines has not officially annouced when it will resume it’s flights to Somaliland cities but Addis-Hargeisa travelers can make bookings with Noble Travel Agency, they will be able to connect them with any of the following carriers Air Ethiopia, Xorriyo, Zuhura and Daallo Airlines. Noble Travel plans to lauch their online services soon.
Hargeisa, Jun 29, 2009 (Somalilandcurrent) — World refugee day took place in Somaliland on June 20th at the Ethiopian refugee center. The celebration proceedings were opened by Somaliland Vice Minister of Resettlement, Mr Abdilhamid Garad who said, “I am happy to be with you on this occasion, this is not the first time I participate in these festivities, I have taken part in your celebrations on two previous occasions and I am hoping it will be as interesting and wonderful as the last.”
Ministers, officials from UNHCR and other international NGOs as well as ordinary citizens enjoyed songs, dances and cuisines by Ethiopia’s various ethnic groups who reside in Somaliland.
The head of UNHCR, Mr Abdoulaye Barry, gave a long speech in which he talked among other things about what the UNHCR does to help the refugees. He also revealed that the UNHCR has appealed to other countries to accept the refugees in Somalialnd in their own countries.
Certificates were awarded to number of winners from competitions in tennis and basketball games.
A Large number of refugees from Ethiopia live in Somaliland mainly from the Oromo ethnic group. Many of these groups bring with them rich art from Ethiopia’s diverse culture including hand-crafted, handwoven baskets with vibrant colors of rust, hunter green, cobalt blue, and golden yellow. The Harari women are among the best known for their common-looking grass baskets.
Children receive a meal at a school through the World Food Programme (WFP) in the drought-hit Baligubadle village near Hargeisa, the capital city of Somaliland, in this handout picture provided by The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on March 15, 2017.
Somaliland: press Release Urgent Emergency Humanitarian Assistant
The Vice President
To: All International Agancies And Organizations
Since The Year Of 2007. The “Dayr” and “Gu” rains in Somaliland were below normal rainfall (Deyr 07/08, Gu 08, and Deyr 08/09) and this year’s “Gu” was poor.
As a result, poor pasture, scarcity of water, food and waakened human animal health were experienced. Reports coming from pastoralists are predicting a serious, but looming famine.
According to fewnsnet. The cumulative effects of drought have resulted in a decline in reproduction rates and re-stocking for all species. Moreover, due to poor livestock body conditions, the number of saleable animals in local markets has been declining. It is predicted that the export figures for the current year could drop further. The drought also affects a significant number of urban households whose income and food source are strongly linked to livestock marketing and trade.
The livelihoods of pastoralists are further aggravated by severe food shortages caused by global food inflation and by continuing locust invasions to vegetations where short rains were reported during the “Gu” season of this year.
All the six regions of Somaliland are affected by the drought, and 40% of the estimated populations of 3.5 Millin of Somaliland are affected. That equals to 1.4 million people.
Given the worsening livelihood situation, as well as the deteriorating human and animal health as a result of food shortages, water and lack of fodder for animals, predictions for serious humanitarian catastrophe seem to be imminent that require to be averted.
The government of Somaliland, therefore, appeals to the international community for urgent emergency livelihood assistance to avert severe food shortages and hunger. Moreover, assistance and support to urgent water trucking, rehabilitation of boreholes as well as rehabilitation and distilling of boreholes and dams, and the supplies of necessary medications for affected human and livestock populations will be paramount to avoid break-outs of disease epidemics. Nutritional support to the weak and sick will be also necessary.
The situation is unusual and, therefore, requires quick, rapid, and unusual responses from the international community to deliver humanitarian assistance and supplies.
H.E. Ahmed Yusuf Yassin
Vice President of the Republic of Somaliland and
Chairperson of the National Disaster Management Committee.
Somali’s Ambassador to Kenya Muhamad Ali Nur has said the situation in his country is “very severe” and has consequently appealed for help from the international community.
Speaking during an interview with Kenya’s privately-owned KTN TV at the Somali embassy in the capital, Nairobi, Nur said: “The situation is very severe. We have humanitarian crisis. People are dying daily. People are being displaced, going out of the cities.
“Al-Shabab group who are fighting against the government are not peace-loving people. The are fighting the government. They don’t want peace. The government always welcomed Somali parties and groups to participate in the peace process. Al-Shabab actually – they are the ones who are really indiscriminately killing people. They are the ones responsible for the displacement of people and that is why we have appealed to the international community to enable countries to come and support us. We need nation building” he said in the interview.
“The hospitals are very overwhelmed with injured people, kids especially, young women who are really injured by the shelling of these Al-Shabab groups who are shelling indiscriminately to civilian people”. he added.
Responding to a question as to whether a military intervention was now necessary, he remained evasive saying, “I think apart from that, Somalia needs capacity building. The Somali forces need to be helped. We have now AMISOM [AU Mission to Somalia] troops who are helping peacekeeping forces in Somalia, but on top of that I think the international community need to reassess, re-evaluate, re-help, help again, the Somali forces who will be able to bring peace and stability to Somalia”.
He was asked whether the recent US arms shipment would be of any help. His response:
“I think it will. I think the transitional federal government is a legitimate government and the US is a friendly country who came to help of the plea that we have asked to help us. Well, as we all know that Al-Shabab have been assisted by other countries who do not want peace. For example, Al-Shabab, have been getting assistance by weapons and ammunition from Eritrea, and that is a well-known fact. I think we welcome the assistance we are receiving from the USA.”
He said his government had warned both Kenya and Ethiopia to beef up security along their borders with Somalia. “Some of the border sides in Somalia, for example in Kenya and Ethiopia, we have some Al-Shabab forces around that area. And we have told the Kenya government and the Ethiopian governments to beef up the borders so that foreign fighters or the Al-Shabab fighters will not enter into Kenya and destabilize Kenya”.
Washington, 28 June 2009 (Somalilandcurrent) — The Problems plaguing Somalia show no sign of abating in the near future.
It seems that every other day there has been a Bomb Explosion in Mogadishu killing dozens of people or requests made by the Transitional Government for Assistance have been falling on Deaf Ears.
Is there any hope for the Horn of Africa?
For Almost 20 years Somalia has been in a State of Anarchy. Two Previous Attempts by the United Nations to restore a functioning Government have failed and currently a third attempt is not promising.
Piracy has been a Major Concern amongst the International Community as the Gulf of Aden is a Chokepoint amongst the Shipping Lanes of the World.
Islamic Militants who have been linked to both Al-Qaida and Eritrea have been battling Government Forces in and around the Capital Mogadishu. And in recent day days in a High Profile Incident 4 thieves suffered Cross Amputation for their Crimes.
As a result of the latest fighting 250 people have reportedly been killed and 170,000 have been displaced. The US Government has seen fit to send 10 tons of Arms to support the Somali Government.
The Crisis in Somalia seems to be getting worse.
In the near future a Conference will be held in Washington, DC regarding the Future of Somalia.
What is interesting is for the First Time Somaliland will be asked to attend. However they will not attend due to the fact that they have been invited as a Province of Somalia not as an Independent State which they claim to be.
In another Interesting Fact Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti were not invited to take part in the Washington Conference.
For Several Years now the Somaliland Region has been attempting to have the Independent Community state that they are a Country. In 1998 the Somali Government tried to prevent the region from seceding by Force but was unsuccessful.
After a Meeting with US Officals at the Embassy in Nairobi the Somaliland leadership decided not to attend because their concerns would not be on the Agenda. That is a Legitimate Concern.
The Leaders in Hargeysa don’t want to be lumped into a Solution that may end up being a detriment to Somaliland. After all the Region will be announcing which companies were able to purchase Gas and Oil Exploration contracts this fall. The region does not have a problem with Piracy either.
In the Long Run the US may be making an Error by not increasing contacts with Hargeysa. On this note the Obama Administration deserves some praise. Unlike Previous Administrations they have been talking to Somaliland.
