Development Blogs.com


SOMALIA: FY 2008 HUMANITARIAN FUNDING via Ainashe.net August 14th, 2008 at 15:45

USAID/OFDA Assistance to Somalia - $47,077,637 USAID/FFP(2) Assistance to Somalia - $197,415,500 State/PRM(3) Assistance to Somalia - $20,100,000 Total USAID & State Humanitarian Assistance to Somalia: $264,593,137 Click here to retreive the full report by the USAID, et, alt. Source:......

SOMALIA: Press Release; UN Political Office via Ainashe.net August 14th, 2008 at 15:53

PRESS RELEASE 0020/2008 Nairobi, 13 August 2008 – The United Nations Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, said he was very pleased that the two main Committees in the Djibouti Agreement are being convened this weekend. After consultations with the Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, it was agreed that the Joint Security Committee (Article 8.) and the High Level Committee (Article 9) will meet in Djibouti from 16 – 18 August. The two sides will have delegations attending each meeting. The Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein as well as the leaders of the ARS, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan plan to attend. The international community, including diplomats from several countries and regional...

“SOMALILAND”: Vital Statistics via Ainashe.net August 8th, 2008 at 15:37

The Relief Web released following short statistical report on northern regions of the Somali Republic. Investments by returning refugees and remittances from those still abroad provide a lifeline to millions in the breakaway Somaliland Republic. Here are some details about Somaliland: GEOGRAPHY: Somaliland is about the size of England and Wales with an area of 137,600 sq km (68,000 sq. miles). It shares borders with Republic of Djibouti to the west, Ethiopia to the south and Somalia to the east. POPULATION: The population of Somaliland is estimated at around 4.0 million. CAPITAL: Hargeisa is the capital of Somaliland with an estimated population of 0.45 million. The other main towns are Burao, Borama, Berbera, Erigabo and Las Anod. LANGUAGE: Somali is the official language. Arabic and...

SOMALIA: EU allocates 13 Million Euros via Ainashe.net August 8th, 2008 at 16:11

According to a Press Pelease by the European Commision: The European Commission has allocated a further €21 million in humanitarian aid for the Horn of Africa: Assistance is being provided to vulnerable populations in Somalia (€13m), Eritrea (€4m) and Ethiopia (€4m). So far in 2008, the Commission has provided nearly €120 million in humanitarian aid, including food aid, to needy people in the Horn of Africa (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda). The funds are channelled through the Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO), under the responsibility of Commissioner Louis Michel. The Press Release went on by saying: The Commission’s assistance will focus on rural populations and internally displaced people (IDPs). It addresses core humanitarian needs, with emergency relief...

SOMALIA: TFG Troops under Fire in Mogadishu via Ainashe.net August 7th, 2008 at 21:25

TFG troops supporting the continuation of the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia came under heavy fire in north Mogadishu as the country is thrown more into anarchy at the cost of more civilian lives. Click here to view the full dispatch by the Press TV. Click here for further news dispatches from......

Islamic Courts Union Better to Pacify Somalia via Ainashe.net August 4th, 2008 at 19:42

Dominic Pkalya of the University for Peace writes: When the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) was driven out of Mogadishu in December 2006 by a combination of Ethiopian and the Transitional Federal Government forces, many pundits were quick to note that Somalia has once again squandered another chance of pacification and statehood. This was based on the understanding that for the six-month period starting in June and ending in December 2006 in which the ICU was in control of Mogadishu and much of central and southern Somalia, a hitherto unprecedented period of peace, order and security was realized. In other words, the security situation was getting much better in this swathe of land that had only known and lived with over 15 years of statelessness, insecurity, clan feuds, thriving warlordism...

SOMALIA: UN Warns Humanitarian Crisis via Ainashe.net March 29th, 2008 at 14:51

According to the United Nations: High levels of malnutrition and the difficulties of delivering aid make Somalia the world’s most pressing humanitarian crisis, the U.N. refugee agency’s representative there said on Tuesday. More than 1 million people have fled their homes in Somalia, which is convulsed by fighting between Ethiopian-backed government forces, Islamist insurgents and an assortment of warlords. “I’ve never seen anything like Somalia before,” Guillermo Bettocchi, representative of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said during a visit to London. “The situation is very severe. It is the most pressing humanitarian emergency in the world today — even worse than Darfur,” he told reporters, referring to the war in western...

SOMALIA: Ethiopia’s Risky Adventure via Ainashe.net March 29th, 2008 at 14:10

Galal Nassar of the Egyptian Al Ahram Weekly writes: US bombers began pounding away at Somali positions as battles escalated between the Somali resistance and the combined forces of the invading Ethiopian army and the Somali interim government. Hardly a day passes without a bombing or assassination in Baidoa, capital of the interim government. The Americans are using their usual excuse: they are trying to kill Al-Qaeda leaders. Somalia’s Islamic resistance seems to have mastered the art of guerrilla warfare, taking control of small towns then abandoning them and disappearing into the population. It is a tactic designed to baffle and frustrate a regular army trying to fight a symmetric war. Where exactly is the enemy? Meanwhile, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and the...

“Somalia urges UN peacekeeping force” via Ainashe.net February 17th, 2008 at 02:03

Edith M. Lederer of the Associated Press writes: Somalia’s transitional government urged the Security Council on Friday to speed up its planning for the possible deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force to replace African Union troops in the war-wracked nation. Somalia’s U.N. Ambassador Elmi Ahmed Duale endorsed a recent appeal by African heads of state to the council “to urgently take steps for the early deployment of United Nations peacekeeping operations to further enhance peace in Somalia.” Ms. Lederer went on by saying: Somalia has not had a functioning government since clan-based warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, sinking the poverty-stricken nation of 7 million into chaos. Its weak transitional government,...

SOMALIA: AU Briefing UN Security Council via Ainashe.net February 16th, 2008 at 19:00

African Union, briefing Security Council on Somalia, appeals for urgent steps to deploy United Nations peacekeeping force to replace Union’s mission SC/9249. Security Council 5837th Meeting (AM) The representative of the African Union this morning conveyed to the Security Council her organization’s solemn appeal for urgent action to deploy a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Somalia, which would replace the African Union’s mission there, to help long-term stabilization and the rebuilding of Somalia. Briefing the Council on the situation in Somalia, Lila H. Ratsifandrihamanana, Permanent Observer of the African Union, said that it was a cause of shared concern. During the last Summit in Addis Ababa, the Assembly of the African Union had endorsed the proposals of...

SOMALIA: “Islamist Insurgency Grows” via CRISIS IN SOMALIA November 19th, 2007 at 02:44

Xan Rice, East Africa correspondent of the Guardian News paper writes: The Islamist-led resistance in Somalia is growing in scale and aggression, with insurgents openly taking on Ethiopian troops and African Union peacekeepers in the capital Mogadishu, in fighting that has killed dozens, possibly hundreds, in the past three weeks. Mr. Rice went on saying: Few people believe that the situation is about to get better. Several experts interviewed by the Guardian say that the insurgents are becoming more powerful. A military analyst and a western diplomat to Somalia, neither of whom wished to be named, warned that the angry mood and conditions that allowed an Islamist movement to defeat a gang of warlords and take power in Mogadishu last year were returning. “We are on a merry-go-round...

SOMALIA: “The Hell That Must Not Be Ignored” via CRISIS IN SOMALIA November 18th, 2007 at 13:35

Anna Husarska of the International Rescue Committee says: Somalia’s internal conflict is propelled by a combustible mix of religion, politics and clan rivalry. Civilians are killed daily in Mogadishu, there are roadside bombs and mortar attacks, and politicians and journalists are targeted. Making matters worse, the country has suffered this year from both floods and drought. This combination of insecurity and natural disasters has displaced huge numbers of people and caused suffering on a scale painful to behold. According to the most recent UN figures, 400,000 people, or roughly one-third of Mogadishu’s population, have fled the city. She continued by saying: Yet Somalia still rarely gets into the headlines. This partly reflects the near impossibility of gathering news. Few...

“Muslims told to unify for knowledge” via Ainashe.net May 28th, 2007 at 13:39

Speaking at the World Islamic Economic Forum on Monday, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Indonesian president was quoted as saying: We appear weak because we have been told we are weak and believed it. In an equally encouraging remark, Abdullah Badawi, Malaysia’s prime minister said: The loss of knowledge and innovation within the Muslim ummah [people] eventually led to the loss of sovereignty and empire. Abdullah Badawi went on by saying: We must rediscover our ability and passion for knowledge and innovation … we must reclaim this legacy. Click here to view the full article on the Pan Arab Al Jazeera TV......

Ethiopia: “Somalia’s Best Friend” via Ainashe.net May 28th, 2007 at 15:03

The Somalia Prime Minister; Cali Maxamed Geedi was quoted as saying: We are very grateful for the sacrifice made by the Ethiopians. Ethiopia is the number one friend of this country. This is where Cali Maxamed Geedi and the fast majority of the Somali people, including myself turn sharply to different and opposing directions. Contrary to what the Prime Minister said, and I must say, with all accounts, Ethiopia has always been, and continues to be Somalia’s worst enemy. Unless one is blind-folded by myopic tribalist agenda, personal greed or irrational self hate, no one need to be a brain-surgeon to understand that Ethiopia is far from being Somalia’s “best friend” as the Prime Minister ignorantly stated.......

“The Historical Common Market of Islam” via Ainashe.net May 28th, 2007 at 15:10

Salahuddin Kasem Khan writes: An Islamic Common Market is a concept which has a firm basis in Islamic History. The establishment of the Islamic State in Medina founded the first Common Market. The dismantling of tribal, cultural and racial barriers by Islam led to a society based on religious brother-hood which transcended geographical boundaries, and as a natural collorary, economic barriers were also simultaneously removed. This new system was to unleash the entrepreneurial and trading energies of the Muslim Arabs, who with the passage of time were determined to establish the greatest economic organisation the world has seen stretching from Morocco to Indonesia. Click here to view the full report on the Islamic Economic......

ETHIOPIAN INVASION: Opinion of Arab & Islamic Press via Long Live SOMALIA! December 28th, 2006 at 02:08

Leoul Mekonen, Sudan Tribune It is clear that the Somali Islamists are enemies to the US but arming and supporting a dictatorial regime with the notion of supporting the enemy’s enemy will not bring positive outcome to the US as well as Ethiopians… It is lunatic to think that the Ethiopian army will crush the Islamists. Instead it will raise the patriotic spirit of Somalis and even those who have had negative attitude towards Islamists will prefer to join them. Any Somali who hates the Islamists will not necessarily like the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia but be compelled to join the jihadists when their airport is bombed by Ethiopian aircraft. Samuel Makinda, Kenya’s Nation Ethiopia’s invasion is unlikely to bring peace and order to Somalia, or to assist...

ARAB LEAGUE: Ethiopia MUst withdraw Its troops via Long Live SOMALIA! December 28th, 2006 at 02:15

The Australian ABC Online reports: The Arab League and the African Union have called for Ethiopian troops to be withdrawn from Somalia immediately. Ethiopian troops are said to be only 30 kilometres north of the capital Mogadishu. Speaking after a joint consultative meeting the chair of the African Union commission, Alpha Oumar Konare, said the three organisations wanted to see Ethiopia’s troops withdrawn from neighbouring Somalia immediately. Mr Konare told journalists at the African Union headquarters that they wanted all parties to cease hostilities and return to peace talks. The Somali Ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdikarin Farah, said it was down to the governments in Baidoa and Addis Ababa to decide when the troops would leave. Click here to view original article....

Assault on Somalia: Kenya will Mediate via Long Live SOMALIA! December 28th, 2006 at 02:20

The South African News 24 reports: Kenya plans to hold talks with Somalia’s embattled Islamic leaders in a bid to end escalating fighting with Ethiopian forces backing government, said diplomats on Wednesday. The talks in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Thursday “will seek ways to urgently end the conflict”, said a diplomat, requesting to remain anonymous. The diplomat said that the Islamic courts leadership has confirmed participation. Asked if Ethiopia and the Somali government would participate in the talks, the diplomat said: “We will deal with only those whom we can manage.” Click here to view the full dispatch....

Ethiopian Troops to Besiege Mogadishu via Long Live SOMALIA! December 28th, 2006 at 02:26

The Gulf News reports: As Arab efforts to stop the war intensified, the UAE yesterday called on Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from Somalia. The appeal was made by Mohammad Hussain Al Sha’ali, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, during a meeting in Abu Dhabi with Mahmoud Ahmad Jaz, an envoy of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who delivered a message to President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Voicing the UAE’s concern over armed hostilities in Somalia, Al Sha’ali urged Addis Ababa to “halt this war” and called for “the withdrawal of foreign forces from Somalia,” WAM reported. He urged Somalia’s neighbours to “encourage reconciliation among Somali factions”. Click here to view the full......

EU Presidency Issues Statement on Somalia via Long Live SOMALIA! December 25th, 2006 at 23:37

Click here to view the full dispatch on Xinhuanet (The Chinese News Agency). You may also click here to view the full......

SOMALIA: EU Condemns Ethiopian Invasion via Long Live SOMALIA! December 25th, 2006 at 23:27

The European Union’s Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, condemned Monday the escalating battles in Somalia. Speaking in Brussels, he was quoted as saying: I express my deepest concern on the reported involvement of foreign forces in Somalia and urge all external players to refrain immediately from intervening militarily in Somali affairs and provoke further violence. Click here to view the full......

ETHIOPIAN INVASION: Death and Destruction in Somalia via Long Live SOMALIA! December 25th, 2006 at 15:49

The Norwegian Newspaper; Dagbladet has a long analytical report. Click here to view the full report. Please note that the article in Norwegian only. Please also note that graphic picture on......

“Risks & High Stakes in the Somalia’s War” via Long Live SOMALIA! December 25th, 2006 at 15:56

Apee Ojulu editor of Gambela Today writes: There has been a sort of unanimity among various advisors in Prime Minister Meles Zenawi government that in an all-out-war they will defeat the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) within few days. Zenawi’s Foreign Ministry warning to the UIC that his administration “will not tolerate an Islamist regime in neighboring Somalia” is an indication of that confidence (see MCT, /22, 2006). But hubris is not a military strategy to win a war. It is a risking scheme. Having mechanized forces, countless warplanes, weapons, backing of the international and capacities to destroy every house in Somalia do not prove to win the war. Recent war between Israeli mechanized army forces against a lesser tech wired Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah forces have...

Afwerki: We Have no Troops in Somalia via Long Live SOMALIA! December 25th, 2006 at 16:02

In an interview he gave to Al-Jezeera Television yesterday, President Isaias Afwerki reiterated that Eritrea did not send troops to Somalia. Click here to view the full article on......

SOMALIA: “Zenawi uses ‘war’ as ploy” via Long Live SOMALIA! December 25th, 2006 at 16:12

Stephanie McCrummen of the Washington Post Foreign Service writes: War or no war with Somalia, Mulunesh Abebayhu wants out. Out of her teaching job, where Ethiopian security forces constantly harass her because of her political views. Out of this city, where hundreds of protesters were killed by police bullets after disputed elections last year. And, if she can manage, out of this country that she believes has plunged into the abyss of dictatorship at the hands of its prime minister, Meles Zenawi, a staunch ally of the United States in the vulnerable Horn of Africa. “He confuses the Westerners so that he can keep ruling,” said Abebayhu, 54, an opposition member arrested along with an estimated 30,000 others in the sweeping post-election crackdown last year. “Our party...

Arab League: Ethiopian Forces Should Pull Out via Long Live SOMALIA! December 25th, 2006 at 16:19

Xinhuanet; the Chinese news agency reports: In a press release, the AL, of which Somalia is a member state, expressed apprehension and regret over maintaining armed clashes between the two sides at war, which has left thousands of Somalis homeless. Click here to view the full......

ETHIOPIAN INVASION: Air Assault on Mogadishu via Ainashe.net December 25th, 2006 at 14:10

The San Francisco Chronicle reports: The aerial and ground assault was the first open admission by Ethiopia’s Christian-led government of its military operations in Somalia, where it has been supporting a weak interim government threatened by forces loyal to the Islamic clerics who control the capital, Mogadishu, and much of the rest of the country. Click here to view the full......

ETHIOPIAN INVASION: Zenawi Made it Official! via Ainashe.net December 25th, 2006 at 14:16

Melez Zenawi the Ethiopian Prime Minister made it clear to everyone that he wants Somalia annexed by forces. Mr. Zenawi was quoted as saying that: Our patience was considered as weakness and we were forced to go to war and the alternative left to us is to speedily bring the war to a successful and victorious end in the shortest time possible. Well, this sounds like a twisted logic! Somalia did not invade Ethiopia....

SOMALIA: The Rush to War Recedes? via Ainashe.net December 19th, 2006 at 11:15

Islamic Courts Union spokesman Abdi-Rahiin Ali Mudey was quoted as saying: Ethiopia has recently asked us to start talks with them so the deadline was basically meant to tell the Ethiopians to withdraw from Somalia, then talks they offered would be possible. Does this mean that the threat of all out war is receding? I am not so sure but I hope that is case. We must give peace a chance. Click here to view the full article on the BBC News....

Zenawi’s Desperate Attempt to Deflect Attention via Ainashe.net December 19th, 2006 at 11:25

Kassa Ayalew; the chairperson of Ethiopian American Civic Advocacy writes: The undemocratic Ethiopian parliament declared war against Eritrea under the pretext that Ethiopia must “stop Eritrean aggression and punish the terrorist invaders” not long a ago. As result of that declaration, about 100,000 innocent soldiers were killed in battlefields and ten of thousands of families and individuals faced tragic deportations and dire humanitarian consequences. The same parliament that has not yet learnt from its past blunder echoed again the readiness and preparation to invade the eastern neighbor Somalia in the name of protecting Ethiopians and the rest of the world from terrorists’ threat. Mr. Ayalew continued by saying: The truth of the matter in waging this war against Somalia is the...