Global News Post: Somalia

SOMALIA: TFG President, PM Turns Rival as Both Running for Presidency

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">AN NNN-GAROWE ANALYSIS<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">MOGADISHU (NNN-Garowe) -- Transitional Federal Government (TFG) President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas reportedly have not seen eye to eye lately as both politicians have announced they are running for President.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The TFG under President Sharif for most of its tenure was a government barely controlling any districts in Mogadishu but since Al Shabaab’s exit of Mogadishu last year, the city has seen significant advancement in terms of security and development, albeit it still has a great deal to go. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Gaas who was appointed last year played an intricate role with the support of quasi-independent regions in turning the Somalia political process into an all inclusive federal states’ process. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sharif and Gaas to a large number of Mogadishu residents have been a dynamic force – hero like after both survived assassination attempts - that has given the war-torn capital some hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite setbacks and accusations of corruption, the TFG with the support of other regions such as Puntland, Galmudug and Ahlu Sunnah group have ratified a constitution and are less than two weeks away from a permanent government. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, things are changing for the super hero tandem as elections draw close, according to inside sources the beef between the two could threaten the political process. Although highly unlikely because of the huge amount of resources and time invested in ending this political process on schedule. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Gaas publicly announced on Tuesday that he is running for President of Somalia as the transitional government will come to an end Aug 20.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to inside sources after his announcement, Sharif was distraught at his Prime Minister’s decision to run for office.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Unconfirmed reports say that Sharif and Gaas met with officials from the international community on Wednesday for hours, to discuss an unprecedented move by Sharif to reshuffle the TFG at this critical juncture.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Even though there are 11 days left in the current government, the move by Sharif would have dismissed Gaas and many other top officials of their positions. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At the Nairobi meeting earlier this week Sharif walked out of the talks between signatories reportedly annoyed by Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole and Gaas’ delay.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to inside sources, Sharif was upset that the two leaders met alone and had delayed the signatories meeting for 30 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sources close to Gaas said that Sharif was also made evident of the fact that his Prime Minister was running for Presidency leading up to the Nairobi meeting earlier this week, a popular rumor circulating for months which was unconfirmed until Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A popular Prime Minister, Gaas is a worthy contender for the Presidency which could threaten Sharif’s chances of making a return.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The two candidates along with Speaker of Parliament Sharif Hassan Sharif Adan and former Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo are among the most experienced, however their political CV’s have been blemished by a report by the Somalia Eritrea Monitoring Group which accused the politicians of different scales of corruption while in office. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The report which was leaked very close to the presidential elections will have an indeterminate impact on the presidential elections. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As the dynamic duo will divorce in 11 days it will be extremely exciting to watch as a new Somali President will emerge. -- NNN-GAROWE<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

SOMALIA: TFG President, PM Turns Rival as Both Running for Presidency

AN NNN-GAROWE ANALYSIS MOGADISHU (NNN-Garowe) -- Transitional Federal Government (TFG) President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Prime Minister A...

At Least 17 Killed in Somalia Fighting

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">A Somali lawmaker says at least 17 fighters with militant group al-Shabab have been killed in fighting with Ethiopian and Somali government troops.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Parliament member Mohamed Mashru tells VOA the troops attacked an al-Shabab base Wednesday at Agab-Bedey village, near the Somali town of Hudur.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Mashru says he saw the bodies of the al-Shabab fighters lying on the ground after the battle ended.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">His account has not been independently confirmed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Ethiopian troops are in Somalia as part of a multi-nation, three-pronged campaign against al-Shabab.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Kenyan forces have been fighting the group in southern Somalia, while African Union and Somali government forces have pushed the militants out of the capital, Mogadishu.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Al-Shabab once controlled most of southern and central Somalia but has steadily lost ground in the past 18 months.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The militant group, which is allied with al-Qaida, continues to carry out suicide attacks in Mogadishu and retains control of some parts of Somalia. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

At Least 17 Killed in Somalia Fighting

A Somali lawmaker says at least 17 fighters with militant group al-Shabab have been killed in fighting with Ethiopian and Somali governme...

Somalia PM Plans Constitutional Government by August

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">By Peter Heinlein from Mogadishu<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Somalia's Transitional Federal Government is making preparations to hand over power to an elected government in August.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">   </span>The surprising development is being engineered by a Somali-American technocrat intent on ending his native country's reputation as a failed state.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Somalia's Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali is a man with a mission. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Harvard-educated Ali could easily go back to his wife and four children and his career as an academic in the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>A month ago, he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt that killed two of Somalia's top sports officials.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Instead he has chosen to take on what some might call “mission impossible,” returning stability to Somalia after more than 20 years of lawlessness and conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Just a few months ago, southern Somalia was in the grip of drought and famine. Much of the countryside was controlled by al-Shabab, an Islamic extremist group that refused to allow Western aid agencies to provide life-saving food aid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>As a result, thousands of Somalis died.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Today, al-Shabab's grip is broken, due partly to public anger at their callousness, and partly to a African Union-led military force that hit them when they were at their weakest.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A few weeks ago, al-Shabab fighters were forced to pull out of their last few positions in Mogadishu. Prime Minister Ali sees the political vacuum created by al-Shabab's departure as an opportunity for his U.N.-backed government, which until recently was seen as weak, corrupt and incompetent.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"We gained a lot of territory from Shabab.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>They're on the run, and Somalis came to understand they have no tolerance," he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>"They don't have a Somali agenda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Their agenda is an obnoxious agenda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Shabab lost the hearts and minds of the Somali people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>They lost the battle and also lost the war."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Ali and his crew of Western-educated technocrats are racing against the clock to create a constitutional government for Somalia by August, when his administration's mandate expires.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Two weeks ago they finished drafting a new constitution. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In technocratic form, Ali expresses confidence that he can succeed where others have failed by strict adherence to a timetable.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"We have a 'road map.'<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>You know why previous governments failed was because they never had a framework that guides them, that takes them from where they were and to where they want to be," he said. "Now we have a framework. The road map has benchmarks, timelines and deadlines of doing specific jobs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>That's why we've succeeded." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The next steps include forming a convention of elders to select a constitutional assembly that will ratify the constitution. The assembly will then choose members of a slimmed-down parliament that will elect a speaker and a president by July. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The new government would then be ready to take power by August, when Prime Minister Ali's mandate expires. It's a tall order, but he says the progress made in the past few months suggests it can be done.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"Nobody would have thought seven months ago that the whole city of Mogadishu would be secured and safe," he said. "We are a proud country with rich history. We'll get out of this mess and hopefully in the near future you will have a Somalia at peace with itself and its neighbors."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Ali says al-Shabab may continue for some time to be able to stage sporadic terrorist attacks like the one this week that killed two members of parliament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>But he envisions a state that within five years will become a solid member of the community of nations, something that has evaded Somalia for more than two decades. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Somalia PM Plans Constitutional Government by August

By Peter Heinlein from Mogadishu Somalia's Transitional Federal Government is making preparations to hand over power to an elected go...

Twelve Killed & 30 Injured in Bomb Blast at Somalia Market

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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMzF2l1vBVGSyxA1WnkDbG1WtEtHj2mYD0G9DGadBuGPWpg2z57haypty0SWwB5PZqiH3JMG0scyxq90mheV00e0zcIosIBjySRarZYtChAdNwrFAgNX9RqL1GJ9J3B-iAz23VxWVLYk/s1600/2012041016484211.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPMzF2l1vBVGSyxA1WnkDbG1WtEtHj2mYD0G9DGadBuGPWpg2z57haypty0SWwB5PZqiH3JMG0scyxq90mheV00e0zcIosIBjySRarZYtChAdNwrFAgNX9RqL1GJ9J3B-iAz23VxWVLYk/s400/2012041016484211.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">NNN--- A bomb blast in a market in the strategic Somali town of Baidoa Tues April 10 2012 killed at least 12 and injured 30 in the latest in a string of attacks in the war-torn nation. Witnesses said the bomb was detonated after Somali government troops entered the market but that the majority of those killed were civilians. The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) sent 100 Burundian and Ugandan soldiers to Baidoa recently following Ethiopia's capture of the town from the hardline Shebab. Photo Courtesy naharnet.com---NNN<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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Twelve Killed & 30 Injured in Bomb Blast at Somalia Market

NNN--- A bomb blast in a market in the strategic Somali town of Baidoa Tues April 10 2012 killed at least 12 and injured 30 in the latest i...

SOMALIA: Mogadishu Terror Continues, Despite Al-Shabab "Withdrawal"

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT2Hv4852L6lB1MW3Kn275ijgdbuuQtbTJyl1aJwjjyL-wtpk2lfT354b-gQzKvXxdnPDZQs7Zk1VEzqyyhfYWBuB2sbnRWGxaV32h3y3k-h0Gpi8_9h7S4j_5YmXc_TXrC_-ra30OUa4/s1600/201109050610450272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT2Hv4852L6lB1MW3Kn275ijgdbuuQtbTJyl1aJwjjyL-wtpk2lfT354b-gQzKvXxdnPDZQs7Zk1VEzqyyhfYWBuB2sbnRWGxaV32h3y3k-h0Gpi8_9h7S4j_5YmXc_TXrC_-ra30OUa4/s400/201109050610450272.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; font-size: medium; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Photo: <span style="text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://www.irinnews.org/photo/"><span style="color: black;">Kate Holt/IRIN</span></a><span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);"> </span></span></span></i><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">Mogadishu remains insecure months after the </span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; font-size: medium; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">withdrawal of Al-Shabab insurgents<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">NAIROB (IRIN) - Although Al-Shabab insurgents announced their withdrawal from the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in August 2011, insecurity in the city has continued, as evidenced by the targeted killing of a journalist and a bomb blast in the past week.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Abukar Hassan Kadaf, the director of the private Somaliweyn Radio station, was "killed in front of his home at around Magrib time [sunset prayer, 3pm GMT] on 28 February", according to Ahmed Mahamud, a journalist in Mogadishu.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span>"Security will not be achieved in government-controlled areas until those who are responsible for attacks on media workers and activists are held to account," said Michelle Kagari, deputy director for Amnesty International's Africa programme.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span>"Every effort must be made to stop a re-emerging pattern of targeted killings against civil society actors. This includes conducting thorough investigations into the murders, ensuring that perpetrators are brought to justice in fair trials, and re-establishing the rule of law."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mahamud said the current wave of insecurity in Mogadishu was affecting all residents.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span>"On Monday [27 February], five children were killed and 22 injured when a bomb exploded in the field where they were playing [football] in Wardhigley district of the capital," Mahamud said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">He said a security official in the area where the children died had been arrested in connection with the explosion. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Another journalist, who requested anonymity, told IRIN the government had begun recruiting youths who have reportedly defected from Al-Shabab. "The idea is they know Al-Shabab so they can be used to defeat them."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">However, many of the recent killings, including the bomb blast, have been blamed on them, he said. "The so-called defectors are the biggest contributors to the current wave of insecurity."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The journalist said the government had reportedly recruited close to 1,000 such individuals into the National Security Agency (NSA) "and the only requirement for them to get a job with the NSA is to be former Al-Shabab".<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Journalists have become the easiest target, he said. "Senior government officials are tightly guarded, so the perpetrators are looking for easy targets. Unfortunately, journalists are easy to get to and they are high profile. So we fit the bill."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Living</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> <b>in fear</b> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">However, government security forces dismissed the claim that defectors were involved in the insecurity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Khalif Ahmed Ereg, head of the NSA in Benadir region (Mogadishu and environs), said defectors could not carry out the attacks. "These are people who are in our hands. We know where they are and what they are doing at all times." <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ereg blamed Al-Shabab members "who are still hiding among the public; we know it is them and we will catch them".<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Kadaf is the third journalist killed in the past two months, said Mohamed Ibrahim, the Secretary-General of National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSJOs).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In the past, the city was divided between the government and Al-Shabab, "so you knew where the danger was coming from". Now the whole city is under government control, yet "we don't know where the danger is coming from”.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span dir="LTR"></span>"The fact that no-one has ever been booked or brought to court for the death of a journalist sends a message that it is okay to kill one."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Somalia is the most dangerous place in Africa for journalists. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Pressure to flee<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ibrahim said Kadaf's killing had added pressure on journalists in the capital and many might flee, "leaving even fewer journalists to cover the story of Mogadishu and Somalia".<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even the displaced in the city had not been spared, said a civil society source. "They get robbed, raped and even killed sometimes. It is really tragic that seven months after Al-Shabab has been driven from the city we are still living in fear."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">There are an estimated 400,000 internally displaced people in and around Mogadishu, with more coming into the city fleeing fighting between government forces supported by the African Union, Ethiopian and Kenyan troops and Al-Shabab in southern Somalia.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

SOMALIA: Mogadishu Terror Continues, Despite Al-Shabab "Withdrawal"

Photo: Kate Holt/IRIN Mogadishu remains insecure months after the withdrawal of Al-Shabab insurgents NAIROB (IRIN) - Although Al-Sh...

Kenyan Jets Bomb Southern Somalia, 10 Dead

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Suspected Kenyan fighter jets have bombed the southern Somali town of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Jilib</st1:place></st1:city>, killing at least 10 people.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">At least 45 people were also wounded in the attack.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Local officials say Sunday's strike targeted an area where al-Shabab militants were distributing food to internally displaced people. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Reports say many of those killed were civilians, including several children.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Kenya</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> sent an undisclosed number of troops across the border earlier this month to fight Al-Shabab, which is blamed for a series of kidnappings of foreigners on Kenyan soil.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On Saturday, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kenya</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s military chief General Julius Karangi told reporters there is no timeline on the operation against al-Shabab rebels. He said his troops will remain in southern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Somalia</st1:place></st1:country-region> until Kenyans feel safe.<span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Meanwhile on Sunday, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Somalia</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s al-Shabby militants say an American citizen was one of two suicide bombers behind a recent attack on an African Union military base in the capital.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A pro-Shabab radio station and website identified the Somali-American bomber as a young man named Abdisalan. It said he emigrated to the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region> at the age of two.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">U.S.</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> authorities have not verified the claim, although several American citizens of Somali origin are believed to have traveled to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Somalia</st1:place></st1:country-region> to join the insurgency.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On Saturday, two suicide bombers detonated explosives outside the AU peacekeeping base in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mogadishu</st1:place></st1:city>. It is unclear how many soldiers were killed in the attack, but al-Shabab says dozens died. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Al-Shabab is fighting to topple the U.N.-backed Somali government and set up an Islamic state in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Somalia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The militant group has lost ground to Somali government and African Union troops in recent months but still controls considerable territory in southern and central <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Somalia</st1:place></st1:country-region>. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Kenyan Jets Bomb Southern Somalia, 10 Dead

Suspected Kenyan fighter jets have bombed the southern Somali town of Jilib , killing at least 10 people. At least 45 people were also wo...

Somalia Militants: American Suicide Bomber behind Attack

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 5pt 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify;"><country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Somalia</span></place></country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">'s al-Shabab militants say an American citizen was one of two suicide bombers behind a recent attack on an African Union military base in the capital.<br />
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A pro-Shabab radio station and website identified the Somali-American bomber as a young man named Abdisalan. It said he emigrated to the <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">United States</place></country-region> at the age of two.<br />
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<country-region w:st="on">U.S.</country-region> authorities have not verified the claim; although several American citizens of Somali origin are believe to have traveled to <place w:st="on"><country-region w:st="on">Somalia</country-region></place> to join the insurgency.<br />
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On Saturday, two suicide bombers detonated explosives outside the AU peacekeeping base in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Mogadishu</place></city>. It is unclear how many soldiers were killed in the attack, but al Shabab says dozens died. <br />
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Al Shabab is fighting to topple the U.N.-backed Somali government and set up an Islamic state in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Somalia</place></country-region>. The militant group has lost ground to Somali government and African Union troops in recent months but still controls considerable territory in southern and central <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Somalia</place></country-region>. ---VOA News</span>  </div></div>

Somalia Militants: American Suicide Bomber behind Attack

Somalia 's al-Shabab militants say an American citizen was one of two suicide bombers behind a recent attack on an African Union militar...

Deadly Bombing in Mogadishu Marks Return of Al-Shabab

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By Gabe Joselow from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nairobi</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span>  </span><span> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Somali militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mogadishu</st1:place></st1:city> that killed at least 60 people.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Witnesses told VOA's Somali service that two suicide bombers drove a truck into a compound housing Somali government offices. Officials say most of the victims were students who had come to the Ministry of Education to learn the results of exams to study abroad.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the bombing.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The attack is the first in <st1:city w:st="on">Mogadishu</st1:city> since <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Somalia</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s Transitional Federal Government announced in August that it had driven al-Shabab out of the capital, following a successful military operation by government and African Union forces.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Officials at the time said the military victory marked the beginning of the end of al-Shabab.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But, the director of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Africa</st1:placename>  <st1:placetype w:st="on">Center</st1:placetype></st1:place> at the Atlantic Council in Washington, J. Peter Pham, says the militants may be reverting back to a strategy that worked better for them against foreign militaries in the past.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Certainly, Al Shabab, when it withdrew from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mogadishu</st1:place></st1:city> at the beginning of August, several of its leaders threatened to adopt exactly this type of tactic, this type of irregular warfare that had proved so successful against the Ethiopians,” said Pham.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ethiopian troops helped the TFG battle al-Shabab for two years before withdrawing from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Somalia</st1:place></st1:country-region> in early 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Pham says it is not yet clear whether al-Shabab, which has lost resources and popular support in recent months, has the ability to sustain a renewed campaign of violence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But, he says, the TFG has failed to take advantage of its opponent's weaknesses.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“What they should be doing is building up on local support, extending services and presence in the areas that were opened up by Shabab, that's what a government interested in fighting an insurgency would do," he added. "However, knowing the TFG, looking at their record, if this was a wake-up call, I suspect that they've already reached over and hit the snooze alarm.” ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Deadly Bombing in Mogadishu Marks Return of Al-Shabab

By Gabe Joselow from Nairobi The Somali militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Mogadishu t...

Somalia: 43 killed in insurgent fighting in lower Jubba, Gedo regions

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><span>  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOGADISHU (NNN-GAROWE) -- At least 43 people have been killed and 77 wounded in days of fighting in southern Somalia’s Lower Jubba and Gedo regions this week, Radio Garowe reports.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Heavy fighting rocked towns in Gedo region, neighboring the Kenyan border. The fighting was between pro-government militias nominally allied to the UN-recognized TFG administration in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Mogadishu</st1:place></st1:city> and Al Shabaab insurgents.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">At least 28 people including many civilians were killed in two days of fightings on Sept 28 and of fighting in Beled Hawo and Luuq towns of Gedo region, sources added. More than 47 persons were wounded during the armed clashes<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Pro-government militias maintain control of both towns after Al Shabaab insurgents retreated, according to local sources.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Separately, on Sept 30, more than 1,200 Al Shabaab insurgents attacked Dhobley town in <st1:place w:st="on">Lower Jubba</st1:place> region. More than 15 people were killed and 30 wounded during the heavy fighting between insurgents and pro-government militias led by Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Ahmed Madobe) and the Ras Kamboni fighters.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Local sources confirm that Ras Kamboni fighters, who are nominally allied to the TFG, tactically retreated from Dhobley town only to retake the town from Al Shabaab insurgents.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Southern Somalia</span></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> is embroiled in decades of lawlessness and violence, but since 2007 a bloody insurgency has led further instability that threatens the entire Horn of Africa region. -- NNN-GAROWE<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Somalia: 43 killed in insurgent fighting in lower Jubba, Gedo regions

MOGADISHU (NNN-GAROWE) -- At least 43 people have been killed and 77 wounded in days of fighting in southern Somalia’s Lower Jubba and G...

UN warns of rising death rates among Somali children as disease takes a toll

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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4V3RvC8sLuQ4IBSb6hc2ABSgxaEFSnq7CV8Uwd5dDXyuXDL0NJlKU0UqEDiYpLnuJTQGKeSms6ZCXK8Fwz-yQFw30zrbJLg63IT627rlejxosl5vb-TacZwHJEYAvSbWt2fWl8XTxhs/s1600/somalifamineun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_4V3RvC8sLuQ4IBSb6hc2ABSgxaEFSnq7CV8Uwd5dDXyuXDL0NJlKU0UqEDiYpLnuJTQGKeSms6ZCXK8Fwz-yQFw30zrbJLg63IT627rlejxosl5vb-TacZwHJEYAvSbWt2fWl8XTxhs/s1600/somalifamineun.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><br />
</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>A group of Somali women and children wait to be registered at the transit centre in Dollo Ado, Ethiopia</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
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</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Death rates among Somali refugees who have entered Ethiopia to seek succour from famine has reached alarming levels, the United Nations refugee agency reported today, saying that while malnutrition was the greatest concern, a suspected outbreak of measles was responsible for many deaths.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">An assessment of the mortality rate in one of four refugee camps at the Dollo Ado complex in southern Ethiopia found that since the Kobe camp opened in June, an average of 10 children under the age of five have died every day, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said. The Kobe camp hosts 250,000 refugees.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Somali-Diaspora-Journey-Away/dp/0816654573?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Somali Diaspora: A Journey Away" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0816654573&tag=glob036-20" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0816654573" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />“The combination of disease and malnutrition was what caused similar death rates in previous famine crises in the region,” said Adrian Edwards, UNHCR spokesperson, told reporters in </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Geneva, adding that a measles vaccination campaign targeting children between the ages of six month and 15 years in Kobe camp was completed yesterday. Vaccinations will continue in the other camps, he added.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">The majority of refugees arriving in Ethiopia from Somalia are from rural areas and the camps may be the first time they have had access to health facilities, according to Mr. Edwards, who added that the priority for all humanitarian partners is to promote awareness of the health and nutrition programmes available for refugees.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">UNHCR is already working with refugee leaders and outreach workers to raise awareness of measles symptoms and promote hygiene.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Elsewhere in Ethiopia, some 17,500 refugees from Somalia have crossed into the Gode and Afder areas over the past six weeks, according to a joint field mission led by UNHCR and the Government.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Most of the newly arrived refugees have come from the Bakool and Bay regions, while others hail from the Gedo and Hiran regions. The new refugees, 95 per cent of whom are women and children, many in very poor nutritional and health states, will immediately receive a one-month food ration.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">The joint mission voiced concern that a lack of shelter and health care, poor sanitation and overcrowding could lead to disease outbreaks and recommended that essential drugs be rushed to two areas.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Meanwhile, the last of three UNHCR flights to transport humanitarian aid into Somalia landed in Mogadishu on Saturday, completing the delivery of 100 tons of emergency relief supplies. Saturday’s flight carried 45,000 boxes of high-energy biscuits, plastic sheeting for shelter, sleeping mats and blankets, jerry cans and kitchen sets.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">On the same day the agency distributed some 500 emergency assistance packages to residents of Al Adala camp – near the Mogadishu airport – which is sheltering some 2,000 displaced Somali families or approximately 13,000 individuals. Before the current crisis, the Somali capital hosted some 370,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), who have now been joined by an additional 100,000 who flocked into the capital in June and July from the famine-hit southern areas in search of food, water, shelter and medical assistance.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">Many said they were forced to leave the elderly or disabled relatives behind fearing that they would not survive the arduous journey to Mogadishu, which entailed walking for days without food or water. Some said they had been confronted by Al Shabaab militants at roadblocks and discouraged from travelling to Mogadishu.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">The UNHCR team described the conditions in Al Adala site as “grim and dire.” Voices of crying children, punctuated by heavy coughing, could be heard from all corners. Some children lay helpless on the ground, apparently suffering from measles.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">“We plan further distributions of emergency aid in Al Adala and other IDP sites throughout Mogadishu,” said Mr. Edwards. “The entire cargo of the three airlifts will be handed out to the displaced people in need in the Somali capital before the end of the month,” he added.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">In Kenya, UNHCR teams have continued to improve services at the Ifo Extension – which comprises what was previously known as Ifo 2 and Ifo 3 sites – as well as Kambioos camp in the Dadaab refugee complex, according to Mr. Edwards.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">The movement of refugees into Kambioos site, initially scheduled for last weekend, has been delayed and is now expected later this week. Since 28 July more than 15,000 Somali refugees have been moved to the new tents in Ifo Extension shelters. In total, the Dadaab camps are now sheltering more than 440,000 Somali refugees.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/World-Food-Programme-Development-Aid/dp/0333676688?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="The UN World Food Programme and the Development of Food Aid" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0333676688&tag=glob036-20" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0333676688" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />In a related development, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) today strongly condemned any action that would divert even the smallest amount of food from those at risk of starvation and other vulnerable groups in Somalia.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">“WFP would rigorously investigate any allegation of theft of humanitarian food,” Christiane Berthiaume, the WFP spokesperson told reporters in Geneva.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">She said the agency had strong controls to ensure effective food aid distribution in Somalia and disputed the scale of food pilfering appearing in some media reports.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">“WFP was confident that the vast majority of humanitarian food was reaching starving people in Mogadishu and saving lives every day,” said Ms. Berthiaume. “The ‘thousands of bags’ which would have been looted or stolen, according to an Associated Press story, would equal less than one per cent of one month’s food distribution in Somalia,” she added. (UN News)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><br />
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UN warns of rising death rates among Somali children as disease takes a toll

A group of Somali women and children wait to be registered at the transit centre in Dollo Ado, Ethiopia Death rates among Somali refugee...

EGYPTIAN SCHOLARS SAY SOMALIS URGENTLY NEED MUSLIMS' ZAKAT MONEY

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">CAIRO (NNN-PANA) -- Egyptian Muslim Scholars have issued a 'fatwa' -- a legal pronouncement in Islam -- which says that "helping those suffering in Somalia is the top priority at the moment".</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fiqh-Az-Zakat-Yusuf-Al-Qardawi/dp/B004DJAYE6?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Fiqh Az-Zakat" height="320" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004DJAYE6&tag=glob036-20" width="202" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The fatwa said that Muslims should allocate their zakat <img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004DJAYE6" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />money, charity and donations, directly to Somalis who are facing a terrible humanitarian catastrophe.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Somalia-A-New-Approach-ebook/dp/B00439H13S?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Somalia: A New Approach" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B00439H13S&tag=glob036-20" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The statement called on Muslims across the world to quickly act and help save lives in Somalia<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00439H13S" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />, which is ravaged by famine, adding that the aid is in line with Islam’s requirement that all Muslims must give part of their money to help the less fortunate, particularly if they can save lives.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam, which means to purify one's possession of wealth by distributing a prescribed amount to the poor. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Zakat is also the amount of money that every adult, mentally stable, free and financially able Muslim, male and female, has to pay to support specific categories of people. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Many Muslims give their zakat during the holy month of Ramadan, which began on Aug 1.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

EGYPTIAN SCHOLARS SAY SOMALIS URGENTLY NEED MUSLIMS' ZAKAT MONEY

CAIRO (NNN-PANA) -- Egyptian Muslim Scholars have issued a 'fatwa' -- a legal pronouncement in Islam -- which says that "helpin...

Somali refugees at the world's largest refugee complex at Dadaab in north-east Kenya

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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjks1xYrX_HawggEE20Rq-BGZnpleP-czzUrcCKd2e9CElCgqzMjBEu4fmxv9Ijd6Dt7LWJKtLarBaB4EKiuX_pwVWVpgY4qbaSUp58IoP9iWtz4fQFDTpDNenwA_Th8ITKJ4D-qkk7R00/s1600/somalia-refugeesunnews.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjks1xYrX_HawggEE20Rq-BGZnpleP-czzUrcCKd2e9CElCgqzMjBEu4fmxv9Ijd6Dt7LWJKtLarBaB4EKiuX_pwVWVpgY4qbaSUp58IoP9iWtz4fQFDTpDNenwA_Th8ITKJ4D-qkk7R00/s1600/somalia-refugeesunnews.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The United Nations refugee agency said today it urgently needs 45,000 more tents as more Somalis continue to arrive in Kenya after fleeing drought, famine and conflict in their homeland.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">More than 70,000 Somali refugees have arrived at the three camps that make up Kenya’s Dadaab refugee complex during June and July, bringing the overall population there to 440,000, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Transnational-Nomads-Somalis-Refugee-Migrations/dp/1845455096?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Transnational Nomads: How Somalis Cope with Refugee Life in the Dadaab Camps of Kenya (Studies in Forced Migrations)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1845455096&tag=glob036-20" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1845455096" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />“As well as needing food and water, these new arrivals urgently need proper shelter, medical help and other basic services,” UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told a news conference in Geneva.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The agency has moved thousands of tents to Dadaab since the current crisis began but they are still not sufficient for the growing refugee population.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Some 3.7 million people, nearly half the Somali population, are now directly at risk of famine and tens of thousands have already perished. An estimated 12.4 million people in the drought-hit Horn of Africa – Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia – are facing severe food shortages and are in need of international assistance.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Somali-Diaspora-Journey-Away/dp/0816654573?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="The Somali Diaspora: A Journey Away" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0816654573&tag=glob036-20" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos arrives in Kenya today to meet with<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0816654573" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> humanitarian agencies that are responding to the crisis. During her three-day visit, she is also scheduled to visit Dadaab to see for herself the impact of the famine and meet Somalis who have survived the long journey to Kenya.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">UNHCR also said that the second of three planned humanitarian flights landed at Mogadishu airport on Thursday, bringing a 32-ton consignment of shelter and other aid items.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The agency has been shipping relief supplies to Mogadishu by sea and land, but due to the large number of people seeking help in the city after fleeing their famine-hit villages in the south, it decided to airlift supplies to save time.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Teenage-Refugees-Somalia-Speak-Voices/dp/0823924440?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Teenage Refugees from Somalia Speak Out (In Their Own Voices)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0823924440&tag=glob036-20" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0823924440" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Meanwhile, immunizations for 18,000 refugee children in the Kobe camp in the Dollo Ado area of south-eastern Ethiopia began yesterday in response to the recent outbreak of suspected measles. The campaign is expected to end on Sunday and will be extended to the other three refugee camps in the area, said UNHCR.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The agency added that the daily arrival rate into the Dollo Ado area has reduced significantly to some 200 to 300 refugees per day. In addition to the nearly 120,000 Somali refugees hosted in the four camps as well as in the transit centre, there are more than 40,000 Somali refugees in camps in the Jijiga area in eastern Ethiopia. (UN News)<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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Somali refugees at the world's largest refugee complex at Dadaab in north-east Kenya

The United Nations refugee agency said today it urgently needs 45,000 more tents as more Somalis continue to arrive in Kenya after fleei...

Withdrawal of Islamic Insurgents a ‘Golden Opportunity,’ says Somali Government Official

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Peter Clottey</span></b></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Somalia-A-New-Approach-ebook/dp/B00439H13S?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Somalia: A New Approach" height="320" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B00439H13S&tag=glob036-20" width="214" /></a><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B00439H13S" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) says it is launching a program to stabilize the capital, Mogadishu, following the withdrawal of hard-line Islamic insurgent group, al-Shabab.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A spokesman for the group said its decision was a “tactical move” that would allow it to redeploy its troops to other parts of the country.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Somalia's Prime Minister, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, has called the pullout “a tremendous step forward” toward establishing a more stable country.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Government spokesman Abdirahman Omar Osman said the administration’s ability to control the entire capital is a ‘golden opportunity’ for international humanitarian groups to provide aid to more people affected by the ongoing drought and famine.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Described by Washington as a terrorist organization with links to al-Qaeda, al-Shabab has vowed to overthrow the western-backed government and implement the strictest form of Sharia law.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Militants of the group frequently fight government forces and peacekeepers of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Until it relinquished its positions, al-Shabab controlled large portions of Mogadishu.<span>  </span>Government officials said it will expand security to unarmed civilians, despite the militants’ threats to employ guerilla tactics.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Somalia-Conflagration-Identity-Peacebuilding/dp/0745329748?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Understanding the Somalia Conflagration: Identity, Islam and Peacebuilding" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=0745329748&tag=glob036-20" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pirate-State-Inside-Somalias-Terrorism/dp/1569763119?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Pirate State: Inside Somalia's Terrorism at Sea (True Crime)" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1569763119&tag=glob036-20" /></a><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1569763119" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />“We have started a strategy to stabilize Mogadishu,” said Osman.<span>  </span>“What we are<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0745329748" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> planning is law and order [in] those new areas that have come under our control. We are also trying to put in [place] basic infrastructure [including] institutions [that] can provide basic services to our people.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Among the areas receiving enhanced protection are the economic centers of the city.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“We have also planned [to provide security for] the big markets [including] Bakara in order to ensure that the business community [is] not subjected to insecurity or looting,” said Osman.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Al-Shabab barred some aid agencies from proving help to those living in areas under its control. It also accused the United Nations of using the famine as propaganda tool, an accusation both the world body and the TFG sharply deny.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Osman said it’s time for humanitarian aid agencies to move quickly to provide relief to Mogadishu and the rest of the country.(VOA News)<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></div>

Withdrawal of Islamic Insurgents a ‘Golden Opportunity,’ says Somali Government Official

Peter Clottey Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) says it is launching a program to stabilize the capital, Mogadishu, followin...

Somalia: Ban makes impassioned plea for help for famine-hit people

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><strong><span style="font-size: xx-small;">New Somali arrivals in Kobe camp in Ethiopia’s Dollo Ado area are often emaciated, malnourished and exhausted<o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;">Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today made an impassioned plea to the international community to mobilize resources to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Somalia, where severe drought has plunged communities in the southern region of the country into famine.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;">“To save the lives of the people at risk – the vast majority of them women and children – we need approximately $1.6 billion in aid,” said Mr. Ban in an op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times. “So far, international donors have given only half that amount. To turn the tide, to offer hope in the name of our common humanity, we must mobilize worldwide.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;">“This means everyone. I appeal to all nations – both those who fund our work year-in and year-out, and those who do not traditionally give through the multinational system – to step up to the challenge,” said the Secretary-General.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He noted that UN agencies will on Monday gather in Rome to coordinate the emergency response for Somalia and raise funds for immediate relief.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr. Ban also emphasized the need to find ways to deal with vulnerabilities brought on by recurring droughts in the Horn of Africa.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;">“Today’s drought may be the worst in decades. But with the effects of climate change being increasingly felt throughout the world, it will surely not be the last. This means practical measures – drought-resistant seeds, irrigation, rural infrastructure, livestock programmes” – to boost agricultural production, the Secretary-General wrote.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said early warning systems have improved, noting that the current drought was forecast as early as last November. “Looking ahead, we must ensure those warnings are heard in time,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr. Ban called for an end to conflict in Somalia, saying the unrest was exacerbating the consequences of the drought. “As long as there is conflict in Somalia, we cannot effectively fight famine. More and more children will go hungry; more and more people will needlessly die. And this cycle of insecurity is growing dangerously wide,” he wrote.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that an average of 1,000 desperate people are arriving in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, every day seeking help after fleeing famine-stricken regions in the south.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;">“Our latest figures show that in July alone, more than 20,000 people have been displaced into Mogadishu in search of assistance,” UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming told reporters in Geneva. Half that number came from the Lower Shabelle, one of the regions where famine was declared on Wednesday. Another 2,800 originated from the southern area of the Bakool, which is also facing famine, while the rest came from the Bay and Middle Shabelle regions.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Wednesday, UNHCR handed out emergency assistance packages to an estimated 15,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Dharkenley district of southwest Mogadishu, she said.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each package of the 2,500 packages contained a tarpaulin, three blankets, a sleeping mat, two jerry cans, a full kitchen set and utensils. UNHCR plans to distribute an additional 7,500 packages in the coming weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somalis hard hit by the severe food shortages in their country have also been arriving in large numbers in refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia. An estimated 100,000 refugees from Somalia have arrived in camps in Kenya’s Dadaab area so far this year, while another 78,000 have gone into camps in the Ethiopia’s Dollo Ado border area.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Tuesday, some 15 people died as a result of malnutrition and related diseases in the Kobe camp in Ethiopia, having arrived too sick to be saved, according to Ms. Fleming. UNHCR staff in Dadaab, Kenya, have also reported that deaths related to acute malnutrition, particularly among children, are on the rise.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the Dollo Ado transit centre, UNHCR has been providing two hot meals a day, feeding more than 11,000 new arrivals in makeshift shelters.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The UN World Food Programme (WFP) will begin to provide food assistance to 175,000 beneficiaries, with blanket supplementary feeding and general food distribution in Somalia’s Gedo region, which borders Ethiopia and Kenya, the agency’s spokesperson, Emilia Casella, told reporters in Geneva. WFP will also soon start food distributions to 40,000 displaced people in the Afgooye corridor, outside Mogadishu.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additional food airlifts would be delivered to Mogadishu in the next couple of days, according to Ms. Casella. WFP is already assisting about 300,000 IDPs who have entered the city from the south. WFP will start delivering food by air to areas of northern Kenya affected by the drought, which has ravaged large parts of the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia and Djibouti.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a related development, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said it would scale up its response, with a total of 2.23 million children in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia currently estimated to be acutely malnourished.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;">“We are gearing up our logistics to deliver unprecedented supplies of therapeutic and supplementary foods across the Horn,” said Shanelle Hall, the Director of UNICEF’s supply division in a press release. “If we are to save lives, we need to act now – to bring in massive quantities of medicines, vaccines, nutrition supplies into the region as quickly as we are able and then get them out to the children who need it most.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">  </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 12pt;">Relief supplies that were already in the region have been used to reach children in remote drought-affected communities as well as those in camps for refugees and IDPs, she said.(UN News)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></div>

Somalia: Ban makes impassioned plea for help for famine-hit people

New Somali arrivals in Kobe camp in Ethiopia’s Dollo Ado area are often emaciated, malnourished and exhausted Secretary-General ...