Thursday, 29 January 2009
Somalia prepares for new leader
Somalia's parliament has sworn in new opposition members as it prepares to elect a new president.
Sunday, 18 January 2009
Ethiopia begins Somalia pullout
source http://news. bbc.co.uk/ 2/hi/africa/ 7808495.stm
Ethiopian military forces have begun pulling out of Somalia after two years helping the transitional government fight insurgents.Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's spokesman said the withdrawal would take several days.A convoy of about 30 Ethiopian vehicles loaded with troops and equipment left the Somali capital, Mogadishu.Hours earlier a roadside bomb killed two Ethiopian soldiers and a number of civilians died when troops opened fire."The withdrawal of our troops from Somalia has entered the implementation phase," Bereket Simon, special adviser to the Ethiopian premier, told Reuters news agency."The withdrawal is not an event that can be completed within a day. It will be finalised as quickly as possible."Ethiopia has suffered a steady drain on its resources and a constant trickle of casualties but has received much blame and scant praise for its deployment, the BBC's Elizabeth Blunt reports from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
Bomb attack
About 3,400 Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers from the African Union in Somalia are taking up positions vacated by the Ethiopians. Witnesses say the start of Friday's withdrawal passed without incident as a convoy of trucks loaded with troops, mattresses and other equipment left Mogadishu.A long column of vehicles left the capital for the small town of Afgoye, south-west of the capital, on the road to Baidoa and the border.But at least four civilians died earlier in the day when Ethiopian troops on patrol opened fire after two of their number died in a roadside blast at a busy junction in the south of the capital."A bomb exploded near a group of Ethiopian soldiers at the K4 crossroads," Somali police colonel Ali Hasan told AFP news agency."There were many civilian victims."Addis Ababa announced late last year that it would fully withdraw from Somalia by the first days of 2009.There are fears the withdrawal of the 3,000-strong Ethiopian force could lead to a power vacuum and that violence will continue despite a peace deal between Somalia's transitional government and one of the main opposition factions.Others say the pullout, together with this week's resignation of President Abdullahi Yusuf, could make it easier for a new government to be formed, including moderate Islamist forces.The president's critics had accused him of obstructing of a peace deal with the Islamist-led armed opposition.One hard-line opposition group, al-Shabab, seen as key to any prospect of a lasting peace, is snubbing the idea of power-sharing and has said Somalia risks a new civil war.Our correspondent says its involvement in Somalia has not been a happy one for Ethiopia.The first push, at Christmas 2006, went like clockwork. Opposition melted away before the Ethiopians and the transitional government was saved from imminent collapse.But our correspondent says that the government has not managed to use the time the Ethiopians bought it to establish a soundly based administration while the insurgency has revived in a more extreme form.Government forces only control parts of Mogadishu and the town of Baidoa.Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991.
posted by Amare Abebaw,Ethiopia
Ethiopian military forces have begun pulling out of Somalia after two years helping the transitional government fight insurgents.Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's spokesman said the withdrawal would take several days.A convoy of about 30 Ethiopian vehicles loaded with troops and equipment left the Somali capital, Mogadishu.Hours earlier a roadside bomb killed two Ethiopian soldiers and a number of civilians died when troops opened fire."The withdrawal of our troops from Somalia has entered the implementation phase," Bereket Simon, special adviser to the Ethiopian premier, told Reuters news agency."The withdrawal is not an event that can be completed within a day. It will be finalised as quickly as possible."Ethiopia has suffered a steady drain on its resources and a constant trickle of casualties but has received much blame and scant praise for its deployment, the BBC's Elizabeth Blunt reports from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
Bomb attack
About 3,400 Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers from the African Union in Somalia are taking up positions vacated by the Ethiopians. Witnesses say the start of Friday's withdrawal passed without incident as a convoy of trucks loaded with troops, mattresses and other equipment left Mogadishu.A long column of vehicles left the capital for the small town of Afgoye, south-west of the capital, on the road to Baidoa and the border.But at least four civilians died earlier in the day when Ethiopian troops on patrol opened fire after two of their number died in a roadside blast at a busy junction in the south of the capital."A bomb exploded near a group of Ethiopian soldiers at the K4 crossroads," Somali police colonel Ali Hasan told AFP news agency."There were many civilian victims."Addis Ababa announced late last year that it would fully withdraw from Somalia by the first days of 2009.There are fears the withdrawal of the 3,000-strong Ethiopian force could lead to a power vacuum and that violence will continue despite a peace deal between Somalia's transitional government and one of the main opposition factions.Others say the pullout, together with this week's resignation of President Abdullahi Yusuf, could make it easier for a new government to be formed, including moderate Islamist forces.The president's critics had accused him of obstructing of a peace deal with the Islamist-led armed opposition.One hard-line opposition group, al-Shabab, seen as key to any prospect of a lasting peace, is snubbing the idea of power-sharing and has said Somalia risks a new civil war.Our correspondent says its involvement in Somalia has not been a happy one for Ethiopia.The first push, at Christmas 2006, went like clockwork. Opposition melted away before the Ethiopians and the transitional government was saved from imminent collapse.But our correspondent says that the government has not managed to use the time the Ethiopians bought it to establish a soundly based administration while the insurgency has revived in a more extreme form.Government forces only control parts of Mogadishu and the town of Baidoa.Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991.
posted by Amare Abebaw,Ethiopia
Thursday, 8 January 2009
Peacekeeper killed in Mogadishu
An African Union peacekeeper has been killed and another one injured by a roadside bomb in the Somali capital.
It comes days after the AU warned it may have no option but to leave Somalia unless its force was bolstered.
Ethiopia has begun withdrawing its 3,000-strong force from Somalia, two years after it helped the interim government oust Islamists in power.
In a separate attack, a man working for the UN was killed by three masked gunmen in south-west Gedo region.
Ethiopia's departure follows an agreement with the Somali transitional government and the more moderate wing of the Islamist-led political opposition during UN-sponsored reconciliation talks in Djibouti.
But government forces only control parts of capital, Mogadishu, and the town of Baidoa.
While Islamist and nationalist insurgents have vowed to overthrow what remains of the government, whose president resigned last month.
Battles with al-Shabab
The 3,600-strong AU force has faced frequent attacks from Islamist insurgents - especially the al-Shabab group - in the capital, Mogadishu.
The latest attack brings the number of AU troops killed in Somalia to nine, since the first Ugandan troops were deployed there in 2007.
A spokesman for the AU force said the incident took place on the outskirts of Mogadishu, when a convoy of peacekeepers was hit by an improvised explosive device.
The shooting in Gedo took place on Tuesday while Ibrahim Hussein Duale was monitoring a school feeding in a World Food Programme-supported school in Yubsan village.
Witnesses say the gunmen approached him while he was seated, ordered him to stand up and then shot him, the UN said in a statement.
The leader of a pro-government militia fighting al-Shabab in Gedo, Barre Hiraale, told the BBC's Somali Service that al-Shabab was behind the attack.
Mr Hiraale is a member of parliament and former warlord of Kismayo where he was ousted by al-Shabab fighters earlier this year.
On Tuesday his fighters took the town of Bardhere in Gedo from al-Shabab and fighting has been reported in neighbouring Bai region, considered one of the main bases for al-Shabab.
Observers say Mr Hiraale is being armed by the withdrawing Ethiopian troops, an allegation he denies.
UN criticised
Over the last year fighting has displaced roughly half of Mogadishu's population and half the country is dependent on food aid.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 and in that time thousands have also fled to neighbouring Kenya.
Thousands of refugees have fled to neighbouring Kenya
Meanwhile, the UN's refugee agency has come in for criticism for saying recently that Somalis fleeing the civil war would be better off staying with relatives as the agency had no space in the main camp just over the border.
Dadaab camp on Kenya's eastern frontier with Somalia was designed for 90-000 refugees, but is now struggling to cope with three times that number, and hundreds more arrive every day.
The BBC's Peter Greste in Nairobi says that last year, more than 60,000 turned up at the gates after sneaking or bribing their way through the border that has been officially closed for most of the past two years.
But according to Judy Wakahiu of the Refugee Consortium of Kenya, not accepting refugees amounts to an abrogation of the UNHCR's responsibilities.
"I don't think its right to do that because according to the mandate of the UNHCR, they are supposed to receive and protect refugees regardless of the number," she told the BBC.
Kenya's immigration minister has admitted keeping the border closed has created problems, but has insisted that national security comes first.
Our reporter says the government has been negotiating with local communities for the past two years to acquire land for another camp near the border, but so far those communities have remained hostile.
It comes days after the AU warned it may have no option but to leave Somalia unless its force was bolstered.
Ethiopia has begun withdrawing its 3,000-strong force from Somalia, two years after it helped the interim government oust Islamists in power.
In a separate attack, a man working for the UN was killed by three masked gunmen in south-west Gedo region.
Ethiopia's departure follows an agreement with the Somali transitional government and the more moderate wing of the Islamist-led political opposition during UN-sponsored reconciliation talks in Djibouti.
But government forces only control parts of capital, Mogadishu, and the town of Baidoa.
While Islamist and nationalist insurgents have vowed to overthrow what remains of the government, whose president resigned last month.
Battles with al-Shabab
The 3,600-strong AU force has faced frequent attacks from Islamist insurgents - especially the al-Shabab group - in the capital, Mogadishu.
The latest attack brings the number of AU troops killed in Somalia to nine, since the first Ugandan troops were deployed there in 2007.
A spokesman for the AU force said the incident took place on the outskirts of Mogadishu, when a convoy of peacekeepers was hit by an improvised explosive device.
The shooting in Gedo took place on Tuesday while Ibrahim Hussein Duale was monitoring a school feeding in a World Food Programme-supported school in Yubsan village.
Witnesses say the gunmen approached him while he was seated, ordered him to stand up and then shot him, the UN said in a statement.
The leader of a pro-government militia fighting al-Shabab in Gedo, Barre Hiraale, told the BBC's Somali Service that al-Shabab was behind the attack.
Mr Hiraale is a member of parliament and former warlord of Kismayo where he was ousted by al-Shabab fighters earlier this year.
On Tuesday his fighters took the town of Bardhere in Gedo from al-Shabab and fighting has been reported in neighbouring Bai region, considered one of the main bases for al-Shabab.
Observers say Mr Hiraale is being armed by the withdrawing Ethiopian troops, an allegation he denies.
UN criticised
Over the last year fighting has displaced roughly half of Mogadishu's population and half the country is dependent on food aid.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 and in that time thousands have also fled to neighbouring Kenya.
Thousands of refugees have fled to neighbouring Kenya
Meanwhile, the UN's refugee agency has come in for criticism for saying recently that Somalis fleeing the civil war would be better off staying with relatives as the agency had no space in the main camp just over the border.
Dadaab camp on Kenya's eastern frontier with Somalia was designed for 90-000 refugees, but is now struggling to cope with three times that number, and hundreds more arrive every day.
The BBC's Peter Greste in Nairobi says that last year, more than 60,000 turned up at the gates after sneaking or bribing their way through the border that has been officially closed for most of the past two years.
But according to Judy Wakahiu of the Refugee Consortium of Kenya, not accepting refugees amounts to an abrogation of the UNHCR's responsibilities.
"I don't think its right to do that because according to the mandate of the UNHCR, they are supposed to receive and protect refugees regardless of the number," she told the BBC.
Kenya's immigration minister has admitted keeping the border closed has created problems, but has insisted that national security comes first.
Our reporter says the government has been negotiating with local communities for the past two years to acquire land for another camp near the border, but so far those communities have remained hostile.
Monday, 29 December 2008
Somalia's president quits office
Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed was appointed president four years agoSomalia's President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed has told parliament he is resigning.
The news comes a few days after the resignation of the man he had recently appointed as prime minister.
Ex-Prime Minister Mohamed Mahamud Guled quit last week saying his appointment was destabilising the government.
Mr Yusuf, elected four years ago, said he had failed to bring peace. The parliament speaker would take over leadership responsibilities.
'Failed in duty'
He addressed parliamentarians in Baidoa, saying: "As I promised when you elected me on October 14, 2004, I would stand down if I failed to fulfil my duty, I have decided to return the responsibility you gave me."
In his speech, broadcast on national radio, he said: "When I took power I pledged three things.
"If I was unable to fulfil my duty I will resign. Second, I said I will do everything in my power to make government work across the country. That did not happen either.
"Third, I asked the leaders to co-operate with me for the common good of the people. That did not happen," he said, according to Associated Press news agency.
Mr Yusuf had faced criticism for appointing Mr Guled in defiance of Somali MPs, who said the dismissal of his predecessor, Nur Hassan Hussein, two weeks previously, had been illegal.
The president had clashed in recent months with Mr Nur over attempts to negotiate a peace deal with the Islamist-led armed opposition.
Mohamed Mahamud Guled said he had chosen to resign "so that I am not seen as a stumbling block to the peace process which is going well now".
Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Somali arms ban 'repeatedly broken'
Somalia has been largely lawless since Siad Barre was removed from power in 1991 [File: EPA]A 16-year embargo on arms shipments to Somalia has been repeatedly violated, according to a United Nations report.
The illegal trafficking of weapons is fuelling the conflict between government forces, Ethiopian troops and armed opposition groups, with supplies financed by Eritrea arriving from Yemen, the UN report published on Friday read.
"Most serviceable weapons and almost all ammunition currently available in the country have been delivered since 1992, in violation of the embargo," the UN group monitoring the embargo said in the report. "Commercial imports, mainly from Yemen, remain the most consistent source of arms, ammunition and military material to Somalia."
Armed opposition groups have retaken control of large areas of the Horn of Africa nation, launching near daily attacks on the transitional government forces and their Ethiopian allies.
The report said breaches in the embargo are being financed from sources "including the government of Eritrea, private donors in the Arab and Islamic world and organised fund-raising activities among Somali diaspora groups".
Ethiopia and Eritrea, which have been accused of fighting a proxy-war in Somalia, have been in dispute over their shared border since a bloody conflict ended in 2000.
Criminal gangsThe report said that criminal gangs, including pirates operating off the coast, were adding to the lawlessness in the country and are "typically self-financing, employing the proceeds from piracy and kidnapping to procure arms, ammunition and equipment".
The illegal trafficking of weapons is fuelling the conflict between government forces, Ethiopian troops and armed opposition groups, with supplies financed by Eritrea arriving from Yemen, the UN report published on Friday read.
"Most serviceable weapons and almost all ammunition currently available in the country have been delivered since 1992, in violation of the embargo," the UN group monitoring the embargo said in the report. "Commercial imports, mainly from Yemen, remain the most consistent source of arms, ammunition and military material to Somalia."
Armed opposition groups have retaken control of large areas of the Horn of Africa nation, launching near daily attacks on the transitional government forces and their Ethiopian allies.
The report said breaches in the embargo are being financed from sources "including the government of Eritrea, private donors in the Arab and Islamic world and organised fund-raising activities among Somali diaspora groups".
Ethiopia and Eritrea, which have been accused of fighting a proxy-war in Somalia, have been in dispute over their shared border since a bloody conflict ended in 2000.
Criminal gangsThe report said that criminal gangs, including pirates operating off the coast, were adding to the lawlessness in the country and are "typically self-financing, employing the proceeds from piracy and kidnapping to procure arms, ammunition and equipment".
"Some of these groups now rival or surpass established Somali authorities in terms of their military capabilities and resource bases," it said.Earlier this week, the UN Security Council passed a resolution authorising the use of land operations against Somali pirates, who have captured dozens of ships and held hundreds of crew members for ransom over the past year.The Security Council on Friday voted for the mandate of the monitoring group, which recommends groups and individuals who should be blacklisted for their role in the arms trade, to be extended for another year.
Somalia's transitional government, which is based in the central town of Baidoa because of the security situation in the capital Mogadishu, has effective control over only a small part of the country. Somalia has had no effective government since a coup removed Siad Barre from power in 1991, leading to an almost total breakdown in law and order.
Somalia's transitional government, which is based in the central town of Baidoa because of the security situation in the capital Mogadishu, has effective control over only a small part of the country. Somalia has had no effective government since a coup removed Siad Barre from power in 1991, leading to an almost total breakdown in law and order.
Somali group seeks Sharia expansion
Fighters with Al-Shabab, an armed group that has taken control of the southern city of Kismayu, have told Al Jazeera they plan to impose Islamic law across Somalia.
Kismayu, Somalia's third biggest city, was once one of the most dangerous places in the south of the country.
However, relative calm has been restored to Kismayu after the Al-Shabab Mujahideen Movement and one of its key allies, the Raaskambooni Camp Mujahideen, seized control of the city from local clans three months ago.
Abu Ayman, the leader of the Raaskambooni Camp Mujahideen, told Al Jazeera: "We want to use Kismayu as an example and a model of our rule to the rest of Somalia.
"Our aim is to get residents in faraway towns inviting us to come and govern them according to the way of Allah. The calm in Kismayu has benefited its down-trodden most."
Most of Kismayu’s residents agree with Ayman, saying they are now able to go about normal life without fear of attacks by marauding gangs of armed men who had terrorised them periodically for nearly 18 years.
"I remember times when young boys with knives used to rob us of our daily earnings. Now we can carry lots of money without any fear of being robbed," Mohammed Fundi, a porter and Kismayu resident, said.
Seyyid Ali, also a porter in the city, said: "We used to be sort of enslaved. When we load six lorries, we used to be paid for just one or two. Today we get wages equal to our output. We have justice here."
Peace, at a price
But Mohammed Adow, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Kismayu, said the apparent peace had come at a price.
In depth
“International aid agencies, the lifeline of Somalia’s poor, fled the town because of the fighting.
"They have still not returned as the Islamists have little tolerance for anything - or anyone – foreign," he said.
Adow said that "the suffering is huge as the poor are largely left to fend for themselves".
Kismayu has been left with just one hospital to serve the needs of nearly one million people from the city and surrounding areas.
The hospital used to be run by Medicins Sans Frontieres, who were forced to abandon the centre eight months ago after members of staff were killed.
Now, it is common for just one doctor to be on duty at a time, and medical supplies are dwindling.
Total breakdown
Dr Ali Hassan, who works at the hospital, said: “Our needs are many. Imagine a hospital like this operating without assistance from government or aid agencies. We have a shortage of drugs, equipment and staff are not motivated in any way."
Adow described the people of Kismayu as "numb to the myriad problems surrounding them".
"We used to be sort of enslaved... today we get wages equal to our output. We have justice here"
Seyyid Ali, porter and resident of Kismayu"They [residents] have survived the vagaries of war. They have weathered the almost 20 changes in Kismayu’s administrations over the past 18 years and its people have learned to live with and obey any group that has the upper hand," he said.
Somalia has had no effective government since a coup removed Siad Barre from power in 1991, leading to an almost total breakdown in law and order across most of the country.
The only relative stability experienced by some parts of the country came during the brief six-month rule of the Islamic Courts Union in 2006.
However, they were driven out of the capital Mogadishu, and other areas, by Ethiopian and government troops – sparking an upsurge in fighting.
Ethiopia is due to remove its troops from war-torn Somalia by the end of the year
Kismayu, Somalia's third biggest city, was once one of the most dangerous places in the south of the country.
However, relative calm has been restored to Kismayu after the Al-Shabab Mujahideen Movement and one of its key allies, the Raaskambooni Camp Mujahideen, seized control of the city from local clans three months ago.
Abu Ayman, the leader of the Raaskambooni Camp Mujahideen, told Al Jazeera: "We want to use Kismayu as an example and a model of our rule to the rest of Somalia.
"Our aim is to get residents in faraway towns inviting us to come and govern them according to the way of Allah. The calm in Kismayu has benefited its down-trodden most."
Most of Kismayu’s residents agree with Ayman, saying they are now able to go about normal life without fear of attacks by marauding gangs of armed men who had terrorised them periodically for nearly 18 years.
"I remember times when young boys with knives used to rob us of our daily earnings. Now we can carry lots of money without any fear of being robbed," Mohammed Fundi, a porter and Kismayu resident, said.
Seyyid Ali, also a porter in the city, said: "We used to be sort of enslaved. When we load six lorries, we used to be paid for just one or two. Today we get wages equal to our output. We have justice here."
Peace, at a price
But Mohammed Adow, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Kismayu, said the apparent peace had come at a price.
In depth
“International aid agencies, the lifeline of Somalia’s poor, fled the town because of the fighting.
"They have still not returned as the Islamists have little tolerance for anything - or anyone – foreign," he said.
Adow said that "the suffering is huge as the poor are largely left to fend for themselves".
Kismayu has been left with just one hospital to serve the needs of nearly one million people from the city and surrounding areas.
The hospital used to be run by Medicins Sans Frontieres, who were forced to abandon the centre eight months ago after members of staff were killed.
Now, it is common for just one doctor to be on duty at a time, and medical supplies are dwindling.
Total breakdown
Dr Ali Hassan, who works at the hospital, said: “Our needs are many. Imagine a hospital like this operating without assistance from government or aid agencies. We have a shortage of drugs, equipment and staff are not motivated in any way."
Adow described the people of Kismayu as "numb to the myriad problems surrounding them".
"We used to be sort of enslaved... today we get wages equal to our output. We have justice here"
Seyyid Ali, porter and resident of Kismayu"They [residents] have survived the vagaries of war. They have weathered the almost 20 changes in Kismayu’s administrations over the past 18 years and its people have learned to live with and obey any group that has the upper hand," he said.
Somalia has had no effective government since a coup removed Siad Barre from power in 1991, leading to an almost total breakdown in law and order across most of the country.
The only relative stability experienced by some parts of the country came during the brief six-month rule of the Islamic Courts Union in 2006.
However, they were driven out of the capital Mogadishu, and other areas, by Ethiopian and government troops – sparking an upsurge in fighting.
Ethiopia is due to remove its troops from war-torn Somalia by the end of the year
Somali president 'to resign'
Somalia's newly appointed prime minister resigned earlier in the day to avoid a political standoff [AFP]Abdullahi Yusuf, the Somali president, is expected to resign in the next few days, his spokesman said.
Hussein Mohamed Mohamud, a spokesman for the president, said on Wednesday: "The president has already written his resignation letter and he is expected to announce it on the coming Saturday."
Mohamud declined to give any further details on why the president would be stepping down, saying it "is not good for me to predict or explain his reasons".
However, Yusuf's office issued a statement to Al Jazeera denying the president intended to resign and that he would continue to lead the country.
The announcement came shortly after Mohamed Mohamud Guled, Somalia's newly appointed prime minister, resigned in an attempt to reconcile warring government factions.
Yusuf appointed Guled on December 16, after firing Nur Hassan Hussein.
"After evaluating the current situation in Somalia, I have decided to resign," Guled told reporters outside his home.
"I stood down so that I am not seen as a stumbling block to the peace process which is going on well now."
The Somali parliament refused to approve the appointment of Guled, and the international community also backed Hussein.
The African Union welcomed the news of Yusuf's expected resignation.
"If his decision is to resign, I would congratulate him," said Nicolas Bwakira, the African Union Commission's Special Representative for Somalia.
"It is, overall, a good move. It will give the opportunity to all parties to form a new leadership," he said. "It will resuscitate the peace process."
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