Surgery to reconstruct a Somali war victim’s face has gone well and doctors  expect her to remain in a Queensland hospital for another week.

Ayaan Mohamed’s face was disfigured when she was shot as an infant in  Somalia’s brutal civil war.

Years after the horrific injury, she was granted a chance to have “a face  like everyone else” when the Wesley Hospital in Brisbane offered to rebuild her  face.

Ayan Mohamed, a shy, 25 year old Somali woman, will have surgery in Brisbane on Friday to repair horrific damage caused by a gunshot wound to the face. Photo: Amy Remeikis

The 25-year-old flew to the Sunshine State capital earlier this month, with  the help of two local Rotary clubs, which helped fund-raise and secure her  visa.

Ms Mohamed underwent the long-awaited facial reconstruction surgery on  Saturday.

The procedure went for 11 hours and required a team of 20, including  surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses.

Wesley Hospital surgeon Dr John Arvier and Dr David Chin said the surgery  went exactly as planned.

The two doctors said in a statement late on Saturday they were grateful for  the messages of support from Australians and those in Somaliland.

“Ms Mohamed is expected to be in the Wesley Hospital for about a week and  then will continue to be monitored as an outpatient,” the statement read.

Wesley Hospital is part of Uniting Care Health, which is covering the  hospital costs.

This week Dr Arvier told reporters the operation would require tissue from  the side of her face, skin from her forearm and a synthetic implant to cover a  hole between her eye socket and jaw.

Former Somaliland first lady Edna Adan Ismail said Ms Mohamed was looking  forward to having a face like everyone else.

Ms Mohamed was initially denied a medical visa last year but, following a  petition from 40,000 people, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison approved a  second visa.

Read more:

Source:brisbanetimes.com.au

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An Ethiopian woman who says she was gang-raped in Sudan has been convicted of “indecent acts”.

The woman of 18 was three months’ pregnant at the time of the alleged attack.

She was arrested after video of her allegedly being sexually abused was circulated on social media.

Three men who admitted having sex with the woman and two who distributed the video were reportedly sentenced to being whipped.

The three were each sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery, while two got 40 lashes for distributing indecent material, according to women’s rights group Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA).

‘Brutal’

The woman was sentenced to a one-month jail term but this was suspended because she is pregnant, her lawyer, Samia al-Hashmi, told the AFP news agency.

She was also fined 5,000 Sudanese pounds ($880; £530).

She had also faced charges of adultery and prostitution, which could have led to a penalty of death by stoning, but these were dropped after she convinced the court she was divorced, reports SIHA.

The campaign group says the woman was house-hunting when she was lured to an empty property and attacked in Omdurman, just across the River Nile from Khartoum.

It says she now faces deportation.

The group’s regional director Hala Elkarib condemned the conviction, saying it would prevent women from reporting sexual abuse.

“The levelling of immigration charges against the victim further denies her protection by the state and protracts the punishment and emotional stress against her whilst she has been subjected to the most brutal of crimes,” she said.

Sudanese law is based on Sharia and women have been punished for wearing trousers or not covering their hair.

Source: Punch

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(Reuters) – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe turned 90 on Friday, far from home on a medical trip that has intensified concerns about his health and stoked a simmering succession battle in a country under his thumb for more than three decades.

When Mugabe left for Singapore this week, spokesman George Charamba maintained the official denial of reports that Africa’s oldest president was suffering from prostate cancer, saying the trip was for a “routine and long-planned” cataract operation.

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe attends the swearing-in ceremony of his Mozambican counterpart Armando Guebuza for a second term in office in the capital Maputo, January 14, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Grant Lee Neuenburg

Charamba assured Zimbabweans that Mugabe would be back home for his official birthday celebrations on Sunday, but the timing of the trip – just days before the milestone – has fired up speculation that Mugabe’s health is failing.

In an interview with state television, his traditional mouthpiece, Mugabe claimed to be “as fit as a fiddle” but his slow speech and puffy appearance only made tongues wag harder.

“I know he’s a very old man and we should not expect him to look like a 25-year boxing champion or rugby player, but it’s exactly for that reason that he should be retiring,” said one 50-year-old currency trader after seeing the interview.

As with many Zimbabweans discussing a leader accused of staying in power by force, he did not want his name to appear in print.

A June 2008 U.S. diplomatic cable published by Wikileaks said Mugabe had prostate cancer that had spread to other organs, and had been urged by his physician to step down from office.

But Mugabe went on to win another five years in power at an election last year that he says will allow him to quell factional fighting in his ZANU-PF party over who will one day fill his shoes.

“When the day comes and I retire, yes, sure, the day will come. But I do not want to leave my party in tatters. I want to leave it intact,” he said in the state television interview.

JOICE VS. THE CROCODILE

Joice Mujuru, Mugabe’s deputy in both the government and the ZANU-PF party, is leading the race to replace him, analysts say, closely followed by Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa – a powerful former defense minister nicknamed ‘The Crocodile’.

If Mugabe dies without resolving the succession issue, there are fears ZANU-PF could implode in a factional fight with the potential to suck in the military.

The constitution says if the president dies mid-term, the ruling party will elect a successor. ZANU-PF’s charter says this must be done at a party congress where, technically, any aspiring leader can contest.

Mujuru has consolidated her support base with newly-elected provincial executives but she needs Mugabe’s open endorsement to overcome reservations in the top ranks of the army about her capacity to lead, analysts say.

“It’s fair to say nothing is given, that there will be no coronation but a contest for power,” said Eldred Masunugure, a political science professor at the University of Zimbabwe.

“It is also very likely that this fight will get into the last round in Mugabe’s absence,” he said.

Besides fears of outright political unrest, many of the southern African nation’s 13 million people worry that Mugabe and ZANU-PF big-hitters are preoccupied with succession at the expense of an economy desperate for revival.

In an commentary titled “Echoes of the end of an era,” the private Zimbabwe Independent newspaper said Mugabe was struggling to address serious problems, not least capital flight since last year’s election and a plunge in business confidence.

“Zimbabwe now seems to be running on auto pilot,” the paper said. “There appears to be some loss of control.”

(Editing by Ed Cropley and Andrew Heavens)

Source:Reuters

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Wararka maanta waxaad ku dhageysan doontaan: Madaxda Dowlada oo ka hadashay weerarkii shalay lagu qaaday madaxtooyada, Al shabaab oo sheegtay weerarkas iyo warar kale

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By Mohamed Elmi

The U.S. State Department and many Somalis around the world have condemned the cowardly attack on the Villa Somalia Compound by al-Shabab on February 21. According to an AP report, the attack “underscores a worrying new trend in Mogadishu…many weapons given to Somalia’s military can no longer be accounted for, including rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and bullets.”  The al-Shabab attack on the presidential compound  is the culmination of a series of murderous attacks in the last couple of weeks.

The government of Hassan is hampered by accumulating evidences of graft. Current public- sentiment is catching up to a long train of abuses, corruption, embezzlement, acceptance of violence, and minimal services. President Hassan has lost all credibility; that he represents a continuation of the past has gained currency in the eyes of many local and international stakeholders. On October 30, Somalia’s central bank governor, Ms. Yussur Abrar resigned in protest for a financial scandal case that implicated the president himself and his chief of staff, Kamal Dahir Gutale; an ugly fight with his former prime minister, Said Shirdon, added to the quagmire.

One common view held as to the cause of the dysfunctional leadership in Mogadishu is a misalignment of priorities and reckless disregard for the needs of the public. Altuschild and Kumar (2010) defined needs as “the measurable gap between two conditions – “what is” (the current status quo) and “what should be” (the desired status or state)” People normally expect their governments to assess the extent of the needs for security, social services, good governance, and the rule of law. One would fairly expect unity of direction and the subordination of personal interest to public interest under the leadership of Hassan and his Prime Minister, Abdiweli, given the massive international support at their disposal, that they would seize the opportunity to formulate good policies, fight corruption, prioritize strategies and execute them. Instead, the performance of Hassan’s government has been dismal and disappointing.

Maladministration

Maladministration is perpetuated by international support, which emphasizes differences of approach to reinstituting the Somali statehood. Competing interests of different actor have always worked against genuine efforts to rebuild the nation. But this fact alone does not absolve Hassan’s government of public indictments.  Here are some facts on Hassan’s performance:

- Aid money or grants intended to finance budget deficits are unaccounted oftentimes or diverted to personal accounts in shadow overseas banks. Western donors were rattled by the resignation of two governors of the central bank. According to Reuters, a report by “UN experts last year said they had evidence of graft in the way the central bank was run, prompting the then-governor to resign, though he denied the charges” (Reuters, 2014, Jan. 31).

- Efforts to build national security infrastructure have been severely undermined by charges of corruption.  An initial assessment by the UN Monitoring Group for Somalia and Eritrea found that a large stockpile of small arms grenades and rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons are diverted to local black markets through a strong clan network. Hassan’s government has also failed to comply with “the provisions of paragraph 9 of resolution 2111” (Chopra, 2014).

- Hassan’s government has not put in place the necessary administrative and security safeguards for the management, supply, registration, and storage of national arms and ammunition, which often fall into the wrong hands.

Hassan and his cohorts has failed to execute their onerous responsibilities when, either by acting alone or in concert with others, they pursue a narrow political agenda; President Hassan is a member of an Islamist-leaning group (known as the New Blood) with which he draws much support in the daily functions and operation of his government; his tendency to micromanage the affairs of the Executive branch by concentrating power in the hands of a few loyalists is another case in point.

Another problem is the top-down international policy that prefers to concentrate all support for institution-building projects in and around Mogadishu, neglecting peripheral regions such as Puntland, Somaliland and Jubaland. This approach completely ignores the cumulative effect of two decades of social and political fragmentation in Somalia. Mogadishu is “no longer the most integrated Somali city in the Horn of Africa” as Yasin R. Ali correctly highlighted in the past. Yet the West as well as rich Arab countries is less receptive to the idea of more wider and comprehensive approach to the recovery and reconstruction of Somalia a.k.a Somalia’s New Deal: a mechanism of fair distribution and allocation of nation-building projects, limiting the influence of Mogadishu in general.

The renowned novelist Nuruddin Farah (2013) lamented the West’s indifference to President Hassan’s incompetence; the deficiency has come with a huge price as it’s evident of the latest UN report, which found many cases of graft and corruption. The sale of ammunitions and rocket-propelled grenades by a network of Abgal and Habargidir sub-clans of the Hawiye clan at the local black market has rattled the United Nations after its partial lifting of the arms embargo (Chopra, 2014). Were the consequences all known or unintended?  A serious commitment to reconciling the differences of the Somali people is needed to extend the federal mandate to the rest of the country. Farah warns of the West’s predisposition to insulate Hassan’s government from legitimate concerns against his government. “In a country torn by decades of war, the number of political panhandlers scavenging for scraps on which to feed their ambitions is too great to count” (Farah, 2013)

The Turkey Phenomenon

On the other hand, Turkey has drawn a lot of criticism in Somalia. In Mogadishu, Turkey sustains the status quo of lawlessness and unaccountability through its current policy of slash fund, which it calls “cash aid”. A system of authorization and of records is absent. Policies and procedures that should account for the documentation and use of public finance is missing as the former central bank governor himself used to pick up the cash in boxes from Turkey’s embassy. To pull the invisible average person in Somalia out of abject poverty, how can we weed out corruption and scrutinize those who hold positions of authority if Turkey abets such methods of business transactions widely utilized and accepted by drug cartels?

This neocolonial policy (call it Asian trade monopolies) exploits the vulnerability of young African states.  In simple terms, it goes like this: Enter the African market, avoid by all means the interference of friendly states that commit systematic violations of human rights, close every bilateral deal through the delivery of cash aid, bribe local officials to win favorable trade deals; in return, help build local infrastructures such as primary schools and roads not on the basis of equitable criteria but at the discretion of local bosses, and divert potential public and international scrutiny of questionable practices through shrewd public relations campaign.

Like the Chinese in Africa, Turkish nationals have come to Mogadishu in droves to reap fortunes in Somalia, acquiring estates for a fraction of their value and marrying local beautiful women. As concerned citizens, we strongly urge that Somali officials be held accountable for the UN reported charges of malfeasance and embezzlements (restrictions of travel and freeze on their bank accounts are necessary measures). Likewise, the international community must expose, scrutinize and censure the practice of powerful emerging Asian states roaming freely in Africa.

Mohamed Elmi
Email:ahafinance@gmail.com

—————-

References

Chopra, J. (2014). Report on the Monitoring Group for Somalia and Eritrea Pursuant to the Security Council.

Farah, N. (2013, October 14). Somalia’s Leader: Look Past the Hype. The New York Times.

The Associated Press. (2014, February 21). 9 attackers dead: Somalia president palace attack. AP.

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By Marina Barsoum

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has said Nile Basin countries should consult and decide on a mutual agreeable arrangement prior to the construction of any dams that impact several countries, stated Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy.

Fahmy met Kikwete Sunday to address several important issues, among them the crisis over the Grand Renaissance Dam Ethiopia aims to build.

Egypt`s Foreign Minister, Nabil Fahmy, meeting with the Tanzanian President

Interim President Adly Mansour sent a written message with Fahmy to the Tanzanian president focused on strengthening bilateral ties between Egypt and Tanzania in different fields.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Badr Abdel Ati told Ahram Online that the reaction of the Tanzanian president on the issue of the Renaissance Dam was “positive.”

“The Tanzanian president was understanding on the situation and stressed that no country should suffer or be harmed from the consequences of the Renaissance Dam,” said Abdel Ati.

On an official Facebook page, Fahmy posted on Sunday the details of his meeting with Kikwete, and how understanding the latter was to the fact that Egypt depends on the Nile for almost 95 percent of its water.

Fahmy also addressed the relationship with the African Union and the importance of a speedy resolution with its Peace and Security Council to allow Egypt — suspended from the organisation following the army’s ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 — to return to its natural role within the union as one of its founding members, noting that upcoming presidential elections would be a crucial step in this regard.

It was also posted that the Tanzanian president explained during the meeting that notification and consultation with downstream countries should take place prior to the establishment of any project that would affect the flow of Nile waters.

Kikwete then said Tanzania would do its utmost to ensure the Nile remains a source of cooperation between Nile Basin countries.

Abdel Ati told the state-owned MENA news agency that cooperation between Nile Basin countries should proceed with an emphasis on dialogue and understanding of the needs of others, in order to achieve common benefits for all countries.

The planned Grand Renaissance Dam is a $4.2 billion hydro-electric dam on the Blue Nile, one of the main tributaries of the Nile.

The project has been a source of concern for the Egyptian government since May last year, when images of the dam’s construction stirred public anxiety about possible effects on Egypt’s share of Nile waters, the country’s main source of potable water.

Meanwhile, project leader Semegnew Bekele says construction of the Renaissance Dam is progressing according to schedule.

Bekele said that 30 percent of the project is already completed.

Source:Ahramonline

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MOGADISHU ( Reuters) - Somalia’s al Qaeda-linked militants said they had planned to either assassinate or abduct President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud when they attacked the presidential compound on Friday.

At least 11 people were killed when the militant group al Shabaab blasted through a gate with a car bomb and fought a gunbattle with guards at the heavily-fortified compound known as Villa Somalia.

“The main objective of attacking the palace on Friday was to assassinate the so-called Somali president or kidnap him,” al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage told Reuters on Saturday. “We sent well-trained Mujahideen from our special forces to bring us the president dead or alive.”

In the past few weeks, the Somali capital of Mogadishu has been hit by a series of suicide bomb attacks claimed by al Shabaab, who were pushed out of the city in mid-2011 but have continued to wage a sustained guerrilla campaign.

The strike was another reminder of the threat still posed by the rebels and how Somalia’s fragile government is struggling to impose order more than two decades after the fall of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre tipped the country into chaos.
Police said the attackers wore uniforms similar to those of the presidential guards, and some wore suicide vests during the well-coordinated attack.

The chief of staff of the office of the prime minister and a former chief of intelligence were killed, along with all nine militants who staged the attack, the government said.

“In 2006, Ethiopian troops came but we chased them and by then we were weak,” said Rage. “But now we are strong and determined to fight back and eliminate the Ethiopian troops.”

Officials from the presidency were not immediately available to comment on Rage’s remarks.But President Mohamud said on Friday the attack would not stop his government’s work to rebuild Somalia and called al Shabaab a “marginal group on the brink of extinction”.

The offensive could drive al Shabaab fighters into the dense bush of the Lower Shabelle, a region that includes Barawe and lies between the capital Mogadishu and another main port to the south, Kismayu.

Additional troops joining the peace force from Ethiopia are expected to spearhead the offensive. Ethiopian troops have in the past been involved in similar drives against the rebels.

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By Kaleyesus Bekele

The British Oil company prospecting for oil in the Ogaden basin, New Age, has noted oil and gas flow in its appraisal well Elkuran-3. New Age started drilling the appraisal well last October, with a targeted depth of 2,850 meters. Reliable sources told The Reporter that a crew was drilling the well when it noted oil and gas flow at a depth of 1200 meters on February 12, 2014.

“Oil and gas shows were noted throughout the intervals,” the source said. The results are similar to that of Tenneco, the American company that drilled the first exploration well in the Elkuran locality in the 1970s. “Tenneco’s drilling crew encountered similar results in 1972,” the source said.

A petroleum expert told The Reporter that oil and gas flow does not necessarily mean that there is a commercial deposit. “Oil and gas flows are very common in that region, especially in the Elkuran and Hilala localities. More exploration work is needed,” the expert said.

Sources said the reservoirs at Elkuran-3 have low porosity and permeability and will likely require acid or fracture stimulation to produce the necessary commercial levels.

“Oil and gas-condensate was recovered from one of sample zones. At the base of the well, a flow of gas was encountered and the drilling is suspended in order to mobilize test equipment to evaluate this zone. A decision has also been taken to deepen the well to below the initial planned target depth of 2,300m, to evaluate the deeper sandstone zone which is considered to have a significant gas condensate potential,” the source said.

New Age (African Global Energy) Limited works in the Ogaden basin Block 7, 8 and the Adigala concessions with its partner, Africa Oil, the Canadian oil firm. New Age engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas, primarily in the African region. The company holds licenses for 13 onshore and offshore blocks in Congo-Brazzaville, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Kurdistan, covering an area of approximately 88,000 sq.km.

According to the company’s official website, it has a portfolio of development, appraisal, and exploration assets, with 37.5 million barrels of oil equivalent of gross probable reserves, 17.1 million barrels of oil equivalent of gross contingent resources, and 702.2 million barrels of oil equivalent of gross prospective resources. New Age (African Global Energy) Limited was founded in 2007 and is based in London.

Source: Reporter

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Wararka maanta waxaa ka mid: Xukuumada Soomaaliya oo ka arinsaday xaalada amni darada Muqdishu ka gadaal weerarkii ay Al Shabaab ku qaaday xarunta madaxtooyada iyo warar kale.

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By Mohamed Ahmed

Three words comes to mind when I think of the current state of Somalia: clan politics, corrupt leadership and Insecurity. Many people want to adopt the convention of dispatching these inconvenient fact to the past memory hole, but unfortunately today  South  Somalia is unable to free itself from the narrowness and shortsightedness of the above three points. One only needs to read the current report by the UN Monitoring group and see how South Somali politics is toxic and confusing. It is as if some in the administration are going about their illegal business with a brazen assurance. Corruption, I came to realize, is too frail a word for what is happening in South Somalia. The greatest crack in the pot was exposed recently by UN Monitoring group report to the Security Council. The most startling point of the report was the funneling of weapons to Al-shabab by some in the current administration. This makes you wonder if the weapons are funneled to Al-shabab, with whom, or what, is Hassan administration at war with?  It is as if there is innumerable termite boring away the foundation of these make-believe-government while the international community covers it with corrugated sheet on the exterior! I’m actually questioning now the assumption that President Hassan sheikh administration is genuinely engaged in tackling insecurity in south Somalia.

Pesky Al-shabab

As recent Al-shabab attack on February 21st so vividly proved, Mogadishu is not back to normalcy yet. The sad truth, which surely most Somali knows, is that Al-shabab believes in divine sovereignty and express deep frank disdain for popular secular governments. One can understand why Al-shabab’s religion/political movement bent on social and moral reform can appeal to many poor folks. After the recent attack by Al-shabab, President Hassan Sheikh first address was not to Somali people, but to UN special representative, Nicholas Kay. The leaders of Al-shabab saw this as an open goal and took to the air to convince the people how the foul claws of western imperialism have clutched at the heart of Somali government leaders. They opted to use their warped religious justification and interpretation in wooing more support for their corrupt views. Despite Somali government having borrowed muscles of African Union, they still even lose the propaganda war to Al-shabab.
The African Union military response to Al-shabab didn’t achieve success beyond sporadically securing one main road in Mogadishu. It is in this moment, where Somali people are facing many undercurrent that are pulling them left and right, that Al-shabab takes advantage. The recent bold growth, proliferation, and increasing sophistication of Al-shabab will pull the country back to the drawing board. To attack the problem, I think Somalia president should embrace the advice of   columnist, Faisal Roble in involving the security apparatus of regional states like Puntland. A better ameliorative measure will be to reduce the effect of Al-Shabab by turning the public against them. Indeed if there is a secret to speedy recovery, it rests primarily on the help of all Somali stakeholders. It is hard to imagine a solution to Al-shabab without regional governments working together in support of their mutual interests!Somaliland has been lucky since 2008, but that doesn’t mean Somaliland has any superior tactics to curb terrorism. It is just that Somaliland citizens decided not to accommodate a group that finds Islam not restricted to personal piety, but a comprehensive ideology that encroaches on political and public life.

Enemy Within

By now, most thoughtful people would take the UN report as self-evident. I was surprised to read tweets of a very prominent Somali opinion writer dismiss the UN Monitoring report as a Western alarmist sensational report. So much for a fecund imagination! Often I feel the most useful perspective of Somalia is one of neurotic. Everyone supports institution building only if it confirms to their narrow interest. Whether you see the report as sinister or ridiculous, the facts are clear. You have a government that have grown insensitive to running a clean government! One only feels that not only South Somalia is suffering from insecurity, but that the entire administration is decaying layer by layer. So far current Somali government administration has been schizophrenic and not able to create an environment that support a vision that includes reconciliations, accountability, and forgiveness. It is as if they’ve grown insensitive to their misery. It doesn’t take much brilliance to realize that there is a big problem in Villa Somalia. It would take time and great effort to try to reverse this injurious report. More and more, if you look at the record of insecurity in Mogadishu, the yearning of security by the president circle is one bad joke! Since the war against Al-shabab has serious international implications it goads the international community – for the danger it brings to the rest of the world-to funnel more money into the coffers of Somali leaders. The very nature of these circumstances makes me suspect whether Al-shabab attacks spring from the same source that it attacks.

Invisible Horizon of United Somalia 

As the open-ended dialogue continues between Somalia and Somaliland, the elegiac lament for Somalia unity is only a dream for now. Currently, South Somalia can’t reasonably expect to live in a perfect harmony with itself. Although as a Somali, I find comfort in believing that all Somalis will be better off with a united Somalia, I’m afraid to admit the current State of Somalia is too uncertain to provide that elusive unity! It would come as no shock to acknowledge at this point, in rather a scornful tone, that I’m against the ways of Mogadishu politics! I’m not optimistic or positive about the prospect of Somali unity at this time, if anything I believe Somalia will vitiate and encumber the little progress made by Somaliland. Yes, I understand why some would argue that Somaliland is one clan project, but I beg to differ. In spite of its many flaws, however, Somaliland has provided a maximum opportunity for its citizens to exercise the freedom of self-determination-that is, they decided to live under laws of their own choosing. In the world of today no one people will take occupation as a sign of complacency. Many of the clans within the borders of Somaliland are happy to have Somaliland flags hoisted in their cities. Now, whether this is due to pressure from outside or within is yet to be seen, since they have not been presented with a feasible alternative to Somaliland. No one person residing in Somaliland and subject to its laws can be denied the rights that are available to others.

Somaliland fostered the development of its people more fully than Mogadishu adminstration could feasibly present at this time as an alternative. The establishment of Modern Somaliland-the creation of political legitimacy and creation of sense of national identity- didn’t come all at once. If anything it was a long route with occasional divisive and subversive political orders. But today Somaliland is at a place where it cannot be overpowered and swept aside by emotional rallying cry of Al-shabab. To understand why it is reasonable for Somaliland to commit itself to political equality among its citizens, one needs not to look no further than South Somalia, and see what is in store if they dare not free themselves from narrowness and shortsightedness of tribal identity! One can prognosticate what the future for Somaliland would look like if they dare try to entertain the woeful bleak politics of Mogadishu. Somaliland is a place where burlesquing of president by a television station is the big story of the week. They should bristle at the suggestion of being told they have the same priority as an administration with insecurity problems like Mogadishu. The international community always insisted that the antidote to Somali crisis is to pump more resources into Mogadishu only, but that has shown to be flawed. One is reminded of the golden rule “he who has the Gold makes the rule” .Unfortunately, the international community gave the gold to the wrong team. Yet, nothing could illustrate more vividly the visible failure of Somalia than what is happening in Mogadishu today.  Although, the relation between Somalia and Somaliland is extraordinarily complicated-Since neither side wants to cede ground over their political differences-one area they can be of help to each other is deterring Al-Shabab! Whether tomorrow produces a new engagement with Somali politics and abiding reality of insecurity-or a continue reluctance to address such reality-would in large part determine the fate of Somalia!

Mohamed Ahmed
Email:HNUR1814@GMAIL.COM

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By Tom Kelly and Tim Shipman

Britain is donating more than £90million a  year to Somalia despite strong warnings that its corrupt government is arming Al  Qaeda-backed terrorists.

David Cameron has approved the huge handouts  to the war-torn East African country in an attempt to stop it becoming the next  Afghanistan. But a leaked United Nations  report has warned of ‘high level and systematic abuses’ by Somali government  officials who have passed weapons and ammunition to Al Shabaab – the Al  Qaeda-linked Islamic fanatics behind last year’s Kenyan shopping mall massacre  in which 67 people died.

Terrorists: Somalian government officials are said to have handed weapons over to members of the militant group al Shabaab

A separate study revealed that many of these  organisations have been forced to hand over large sums in ‘protection money’ to  Al Shabaab to be allowed to work there – even during the drought and famine of  2011 when nearly 260,000 Somalis died. 

And nearly £500,000 of British aid and  supplies has previously been stolen by Al Shabaab militants.

The revelations last night prompted MPs to  renew calls for a portion of Britain’s £11billion international aid budget be  diverted to help flood victims in the West Country and the Thames  Valley.

More than 290,000 people have now signed the  Daily Mail’s petition urging the Government to raid the aid budget to help pay  for the clean-up.

Ian Liddell-Grainger, the Tory MP for  flood-hit Bridgwater in Somerset, told the Mail: ‘This is new evidence of what  many MPs have warned about for years – that our aid money ends up in the wrong  hands.

‘There are a lot of countries where we  shouldn’t be sending aid because we’re not helping the locals and often the  money finds its way to despicable people.

We need to remember that  charity begins at  home. There are people in need here.’

Stewart Jackson, the Tory MP  for Peterborough, said: ‘Taxpayers are willing to  support overseas aid if it  goes to deserving people. But when it goes to Third World kleptocrats and  terrorists they will be concerned. We need a reassessment of aid when there are  pressing priorities at home.’

Somalia was plunged into  lawlessness after President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.

However, International Development Secretary  Justine Greening has said Britain  is forging a ‘new and special relationship  with Somalia’ and must fund  it to stop it slipping back into ‘terrorism, famine  and insecurity’.

The Prime Minister also hosted an  international conference in London last  year, in which he pledged to help the  country rebuild its security  forces to tackle insurgents.

Mr Cameron said: ‘If we ignore it we will be  making the same mistakes that we made in Afghanistan in the 1990s. I’m not  prepared to let that happen.’

A Department for International Development  spokesman said: ‘This report provides absolutely no evidence that any UK funds  have gone to Al Shabaab.

‘DfID works in  Somalia because creating a more stable and prosperous world for the UK means  tackling the causes of poverty, disease and terrorism at the root.’ 

Source:Mailonline

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By CHATULA  KAMPO

A SOMALI woman has appeared in court for assaulting another Somali woman over unpaid dues amounting to K3,200.
Laden Mohammed, 27, was demanding payment of circulation pyramid money commonly known as ‘Chilimba’ amounting to K3,200.
Mohammed, 27, of 0211 in Ndeke Township in Ndola appeared before Ndola Magistrate Ben Akende yesterday for trial.
She was charged with assault and occasioning actual bodily harm and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The particulars of the offence were that the accused on November 20, last year, in Ndola assaulted Sadi Abudulai thereby occasioning her bodily harm.

Abdulai told the court that she had known the accused for three years and stayed in the same area in Ndola.
She said she was engaged in a monthly ‘chilimba’ with the accused person for five months.
Abudulai said on the material date, she went to the accused’s house to claim the money at around 21:00 hours.
“When I started demanding for my money at her house, she started throwing stones at me, I got wounded on the left side of my ribs,” she told the court.

Abdulai said she later went to Ndola Central Hospital where she was treated and a medical report was issued.
She then reported the case to the police and the accused was arrested on the same day.

Magistrate Akende adjourned the case to March 20, this year for continued trial and extended the police bond for the accused person.

Source: Times of Zambia

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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Hooded soldiers carrying sniper rifles have unleashed a sweeping crackdown across Mogadishu in a hunt for militants and weapons after the country’s al-Qaida-linked militants group’s latest attack on the country’s presidential palace.

Soldiers have been deployed on the city’s key roads following the Friday attack, when multiple car bombs and seven gunmen tied to the militant group Al-Shabab tried to penetrate the presidential palace. Al-Shabab’s spokesman vowed that the group would succeed in killing Somalia’s president in a future attack.

“The operation is underway,” police Capt. Mohamed Hussein said of increased security measures seen in the capital on Sunday and Monday. “We have rounded up many suspects, but the real criminals will be discovered after investigations.”

The tightened security and the latest attack reflect the ongoing threat from al-Shabab, which has not controlled the capital and the port city of Kismayo since 2011 but still carries out suicide bombings against African Union troops, the U.N., the Somali government and prominent Mogadishu businesses.

Al-Shabab in recent weeks has increased its attacks, sending mortars into the city and apparently carrying out targeted killings. Then on Friday came its attack on the presidential seat of power.

“The enemy has attacked our national symbol of the presidential palace,” Abdullahi Godah Barre, Somalia’s interior minister, said after a cabinet meeting Saturday. “Therefore, we shall take a punitive action in response to that attack.”

Responding to criticism of lax security, Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamed said the attack would not derail the plan to oust militants from their last strongholds in Somalia’s southern countryside.

“Our plan for the offensive against the enemy will not stop,” he said.

Somalia’s security minister, who bore the brunt of criticism from Mogadishu residents, warned of tougher security measures in the capital. Soon after, Somali troops were kicking in doors to arrest suspects.

“They didn’t leave anything unturned. They also took my husband with them as well,” said Sharifo Abdi, who lives with her husband and seven children in the city.

Residents in the Somali capital who have experienced decades of war fear heightened violence in coming months. Many are not sure the security forces can defend the city against insurgent-style attacks.

“We hope they can, but it’s a matter of days until they take another blow,” said Hassan Ali, a university student in Mogadishu. “Constant efforts will allow us to regain our faith in the government, instead of a few days of frantic efforts followed by a slide backward.”

One security expert Mohamed Sheikh Abdi said al-Shabab is increasing attacks in Mogadishu in order to throw off a looming offensive in the areas of the country they control.

“It is unlikely that the government would go ahead with the offensive against al-Shabab while the capital is on fire,” he said.

Source: AP

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Press Release

Mogadishu, 24 February 2014 – H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the President of Federal Republic of Somalia today chaired the first High Level Partnership Forum with the United Nations Special Representative for the Secretary General, H.E. Nicolas Kay. Participants included the Ministers of Foreign Affairs,  Security, Finance, and Interior & Federalism,  Special Representative of the AU,President of Galmudug, the Mayor of Mogadishu, representatives from Jubba Administration, Civil Society Groups, Ambassadors and representatives of International Community,

The President first expressed his condolences to the families of those who have lost loved ones during the terrorist attack in Villa Somalia.  The President said “I would ask you very carefully not to take these occasional acts of terrorism, however, large scale they may appear, at face value. They are designed to fool everyone into thinking everything is ruined in Somalia. That is not the case.”

The President continued to say “Everyone in this room today knows how much progress we have made in the past two years. That is one reason we are all here to discuss the process by which Somalia is rebuilding its security, it’s political systems and laying down the foundations for future economic development and prosperity.”

The President speaking on the issue of the Arms Embargo said “The Federal Government of Somalia has fully cooperated with the UN Monitoring Group during their assessment mission. We have since responded to the UN Security Council and sent concrete evidence to address the discrepancies highlighted in the UN Monitoring Group -a matter that could have been easily avoided if the Group posed their questions and concerns to us. We also have measures to address weapons and ammunition management, including the establishment of a multilateral committee, targeted technical training for armoury specialists and improved reporting standards.”

The President highlighted the importance of ACTION and DELIVERY of the pledges that was made in Brussels on 16 September 2013, as our people are anxiously waiting the promises from our International partners. The President said “the Government took initiatives to establish a Financial Governance Program that would provide greater oversight, transparency and accountability to our financial institution. We have opined our doors and laid down our financial institution to open scrutiny to an independent panel. We the government and the International donors need urgently to ACT and DELIVER? It is time for the COMPACT to be operational. Our people were given high hopes, which must be delivered on the ground.”

“It is essential that pledges are honoured in order to sustain confidence in the New Deal. We must demonstrate unequivocally to Somalis that the progress they deserve is coming. We cannot afford to fail in this joint endeavour.”

The President concluded “We are now ready to move beyond words and process, however essential, to ACTION and DELIVERY.” END

Abdirahman Omar Osman (Eng. Yarisow)
Senior Advisor & Spokesperson
Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia
E 1: yarisow@presidency.gov.so
E 2:engabdirahman@gmail.com
Twitter: @thevillasomalia; @engyarisow
Facebook: Eng. Yarisow

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Wararka maanta ee Raadiyo Wardheer waxaad ku dhageysan doontaan: Dowlada oo iska fogeysay eedeyntii dhawaan ay soo jeedisay kooxda QM u qaabilsan lasocodka xayiraadka hubka ee Soomaaliya iyo Elatiriya, wasiirka warfaafinta oo  isbitaalka ku booqday wariye Axmed Saciid oo ku dhaawacmay Qaraxii jimcihii ka dhacay madaxtooyada iyo warar kale

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Mogadishu: Somalia’s president is urging donors to fulfil aid pledges made to his fledgling government, while the UN is appealing for aid money, saying that 50,000 children are at risk of death from malnutrition.

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PHOTO | FILE Seafarers Union of Kenya secretary-general Andrew Mwangura (left) addressing a press conference

The union’s secretary-general Andrew Mwangura said families of the two, who are cousins, were expected home two days before their abduction after completing their contract in Mogadishu.

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BY SYLVIA WAKHISI

As a little boy, Ahmed Dubow Subanea dreamt of owning and running his own business. His dream became a reality sooner than he had thought.

At an age when many of his peers are pursuing their tertiary education, the 22-year-old is a successful entrepreneur; the owner of a business specializing in car parts.

AHMED DUBOW SUBANEA grew up in an arid area, raised by a widowed father, and walked 20km to school. He says he was determined to not let the hardship be for naught. (PHOTO:STANDARD)

As he narrates the hardship that preceded the successful business that has earned him millions of shillings, he blames no one for the difficulties he faced, but appreciates each process as a means to achieving great goals.

“I was born in a little known village called Korakora in Garissa. Every day, we woke up to the scorching sun, but we did not let the harsh environment drive us to despair; we lived the best way we knew how, and worked hard,” says Ahmed.

This attitude has contributed to the man he is today. It helped to prepare him for the harsh realities of the business world.

Ahmed’s father, Dubow Subanea, who now works with the Kenya Police Reserve, was once a ranger with the Kenya Wildlife Service, and founded the Bouralgy Giraffe Sanctuary (now known as Garissa Giraffe Sanctuary). His mother was a teacher at Korakora Primary School, and passed away when he was a little boy.

“For the better part of my life, I was brought up by my father, who refused to remarry so that he could devote himself to looking after us until we grew up. It was not easy, but he managed to be our father and mother, and did a good job,” he says.

With no schools around his village, Ahmed and his four siblings had to walk about 20 kilometres in their quest to get an education. But this did not dampen his spirits to work hard and excel in his studies.

“My father always encouraged us to do our best in school so that we could succeed in life. This gave me the zeal to wake up early every morning and run to school with the hope that one day, all the suffering would be a thing of the past.”

While in high school, school fees proved to be a problem as his father could not afford the full amount. Luckily, the head teacher intervened so that Ahmed could complete his studies.

“I owe him a lot; he helped to pay my school fees from his own pocket,” the businessman recalls.

After completing his high school education, in 2010, Ahmed enrolled at the Africa Nazarene University for a diploma course in Information Technology.

His first job, which he got while still a student, was at an IT firm in Hurlingham. After five months, he joined Hass Petroleum, where he worked in the lubricants department. In 2011, he joined Car and General Retread Limited, where he worked as a sales executive. Thus began his love affair with tyres,

“This job gave me the chance to travel to different towns. As I moved around, I felt the need to venture into something that would enable me give back to the society. That is when the idea of venturing into business struck my mind,” says Ahmed.

“I felt that I was not getting any satisfaction been employed. I wanted to be an employer.”

Though he started small with only a few tyres to sell and a car wash, his vision to make the business bigger and serve more clients propelled him to work even harder.

“Sometimes, expectations are too high as people start a business and want to make a million shillings in a month or two. This get-rich-quick mentality has killed many start-ups.”

Ahmed’s company, Nairobi Tyres, deals in tyres, tubes, rims, batteries and related items, and has two branches; one in Eastleigh and the other in Embakasi. These businesses bring in several hundred thousand shillings every month. He has four full-time employees.

In addition, he is also the country manager of Quick Transportation Services, a truck company that deals with the transportation of large cargo within the East African region.

His parting shot: “Mahatma Gandhi once said: You cannot sit and wait for things to come your way. You must struggle for it. Hence having a long-term plan and working through it persistently is the way to go.”

Source: standardmedia.

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Wararka aan idiin heyno maanta waxaa ka mid ah: Dilal siyaaba kala duwan ugu dhacay Muqdisho, maxadweynaha Soomaaliya oo sheegay in ay Ciidanka dowladu helaan mushaar toos ah iyo warar kale

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By Mohamed F Yabarag

Last Friday’s Al Shabaab attack on Villa Somalia is the clearest indication that there is a complete security breakdown in Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud’s government. Had the incumbent decided to come out a few minutes earlier to perform his prayers in the mosque, the country could have the first dead president since the troubles started two decades ago, and since the assassination of the late Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke on 15th October, 1969. The fact that some of the terrorists have managed to enter inside Villa Somalia following a huge double suicide explosion at one of the main gates, and had to reach all the way to the mosque and kill a former security general and a senior government official shows that nobody is save at the presidential palace anymore. The minister of interior, who was believed to be in the mosque according to reports, could have been Al Shabaab’s biggest scalp had the terrorists who entered the mosque took a little time to identify their target accurately.

The recurring broad daylight attacks on government institutions, its personnel and other important public targets by Al Shabaab terrorist group has increased at an alarming rate since the current Islamist-leaning government of Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud came to office. What happened in Villa Somali on Friday is a total failure on the part of Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud’s administration that only a few months ago ousted former Prime Minister, Saacid, for failing his duties on issues related to national security. Government failures are usually measured on the collective performance of its ministers, including those in charge of big portfolios such as security, foreign affairs and economy. The minister of national security, who was ironically instrumental in the dismissal of Premier Saacid, and should have been the first to be sacked, had retained his post in mysterious circumstances as President Hassan fought tooth and nail to keep his man in the government. Most Somalis were intrigued about the behavior of President Hassan in this saga. Some even sensed a foul play. One might be tempted, therefore, to ask as to why a minister whose portfolio has dismally failed to protect the citizens of Mogadishu and its immediate environs is clinging to this important post. Something is amiss here. To say there is a lapse of security at villa Somalia is an utter understatement.

Somali minister of Interior, Abdulkarim Hussein

The security apparatus in Somalia lies in tatters and there is a big possibility that some terrorist operatives have access to Villa Somalia, or maybe inadvertently incorporated into the presidential guards and other national security agencies. Some are even pointing the finger of blame to the top officials of the government for facilitating this massive security breach. The fact that the terrorists were reported to be wearing the same uniform as those of the presidential guards is further evidence to support this theory.

If Al Shabaab can reach the corridors of power with such ease, then something big is wrong with intelligence gathering capabilities of the security apparatus of the Somali state. Without any shadow of a doubt, the security personnel of Villa Somalia is infested with moles and Al Shabaab sympathizers who want to see the country slide into a complete anarchy and chaos. No wonder why the UN Monitoring Group has insisted on the restoration of UN arms embargo on Somalia, which was lifted early last year by the Security Council. In its report to the Security Council’s sanctions committee, the U.N. Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group recommends either restoring the full arms embargo or at least tightening notification and reporting requirements related to arms deliveries. This is an indictment to Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud’s government who failed both Somali people and the goodwill of international communities in equal terms.

In the same report, The Monitoring Group continued and identified a number of issues and concerns over current management of weapons and ammunition stockpiles by the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), which point to high-level and systematic abuses in weapons and ammunition management and distribution. Without any shadow of a doubt the trust bestowed to the current government headed by President Hassan by the international community is fading away fast, and the prospect of the country sliding back to the dark days of warlords, civil strife and man-made famine is now more likely than ever before.

If President Hassan has to arrest this violent trend and regain the confidence of the Somali people and that of the international communities who recently casted doubt over his leadership, with the US intelligence chief even calling him a week President, he needs to react now and fast by dismissing the minster of national security forthwith. This should be followed by a wholesale vetting on the country’s national security apparatus, including its top leaders. Defectors from Al Shabaab terror group, often paraded in front of TV cameras before hastily integrated into various security apparatus, should be thoroughly screened and should not be given important posts for a long period. Finally, officers of high caliber with proven intelligence gathering skills, selected from all Somali clans, and not only from dominant Hawiye clan, should be recruited to lead the nation’s security apparatus. If all exhausted and security problems of Mogadishu continue to persist, major government departments should be relocated to other safer places like Puntland. Unlike Somaliland, Puntland has never declared to secede from Somali. The culture of nepotism based on clan favoritism, the main feeder of security problems, must cease immediately if the country has to move forward. Somalis have so many enemies – both in and outside of the country. Any weakness on the part of Somali government, and there are many right now, will mean vultures descending into the country and finishing us off once and for all.  This is time to act and perch Al shabaab operatives from within the Somali government.

Mohamed F Yabarag
Email:myabarag@gmail.com
Wardeernews contributor

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