Failure by African Union officials to account for millions of dollars for Somalia operations has dried up payments for the 4,500 peace-keeping troops after upset donors abruptly halted disbursements.A top diplomat says this could affect the morale of the soldiers to tackle threats from radical Al Shabab militants bidding to topple Sheik Sharif’s beleaguered Federal Transitional Government.Ambassador Nicholas Bwakira, AU’s special representative to Somalia, told the Voice of America in an interview published yesterday, that Ugandan and Burundian troops in the restive Mogadishu were last given allowances in May.“This has a very bad impact on the morale of the troops and that of the government concerned,” the envoy said, citing already 80 deaths of AU troops, as further disincentive. Uganda has lost 37 troops in Somalia while Burundi, the other only troop-contributing African country, has had 43 of its soldiers felled, mainly in roadside bomb explosions.With each soldier on duty in Mogadishu budgeted to earn an average $550 (about Shs1 million) each month, the arrears due to the 3,000 UPDF soldiers alone over the months, the seventh being the ending November, thus add to some $11.6 million (Shs21.6 billion).Yesterday, Defence Spokesman Felix Kulayigye, said the ministry has been “engaging” officials at the AU headquarters over the financial blues, but the outstanding arrears for the peacekeepers is for four months.“We are confident the matter will be sorted out sooner rather than later,” he said, adding, “Our troops know that they are not in Mogadishu for money. They have a mission to accomplish and are doing their work very well.”He said soldiers deployed on the Somalia mission are having their monthly pay from the army here wired to their accounts regularly. The bad news is that AU is broke and incoming international financing, including under the $295 million (Shs551 billion) pledged at the April donor’s conference in Brussels, is but just a trickle.For instance, the Somali government has thus far got three million dollars of the pledged funds, with the US offering $2 million and the Arab League $1 million. The Somali Treasury Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman, who spoke to the Voice of America, worried about a bleak future for his government that is now stuck with a programme to train 10,000 Police as well as 5,000 soldiers.“Most of the regions in [Somalia] are now controlled by al-Shabab that has links with Al-Qaeda,” Mr Osman said.“So, if this continues, what will happen is [that] the Al-Shabab will become the next government and we will see the next Afghanistan in Somalia and that is what we don’t want.”http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/AU_troops_in_Somalia_go_for_six_months_without_pay_95224.shtml
Friday, November 27, 2009
AU troops in Somalia go for six months without pay
Failure by African Union officials to account for millions of dollars for Somalia operations has dried up payments for the 4,500 peace-keeping troops after upset donors abruptly halted disbursements.A top diplomat says this could affect the morale of the soldiers to tackle threats from radical Al Shabab militants bidding to topple Sheik Sharif’s beleaguered Federal Transitional Government.Ambassador Nicholas Bwakira, AU’s special representative to Somalia, told the Voice of America in an interview published yesterday, that Ugandan and Burundian troops in the restive Mogadishu were last given allowances in May.“This has a very bad impact on the morale of the troops and that of the government concerned,” the envoy said, citing already 80 deaths of AU troops, as further disincentive. Uganda has lost 37 troops in Somalia while Burundi, the other only troop-contributing African country, has had 43 of its soldiers felled, mainly in roadside bomb explosions.With each soldier on duty in Mogadishu budgeted to earn an average $550 (about Shs1 million) each month, the arrears due to the 3,000 UPDF soldiers alone over the months, the seventh being the ending November, thus add to some $11.6 million (Shs21.6 billion).Yesterday, Defence Spokesman Felix Kulayigye, said the ministry has been “engaging” officials at the AU headquarters over the financial blues, but the outstanding arrears for the peacekeepers is for four months.“We are confident the matter will be sorted out sooner rather than later,” he said, adding, “Our troops know that they are not in Mogadishu for money. They have a mission to accomplish and are doing their work very well.”He said soldiers deployed on the Somalia mission are having their monthly pay from the army here wired to their accounts regularly. The bad news is that AU is broke and incoming international financing, including under the $295 million (Shs551 billion) pledged at the April donor’s conference in Brussels, is but just a trickle.For instance, the Somali government has thus far got three million dollars of the pledged funds, with the US offering $2 million and the Arab League $1 million. The Somali Treasury Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman, who spoke to the Voice of America, worried about a bleak future for his government that is now stuck with a programme to train 10,000 Police as well as 5,000 soldiers.“Most of the regions in [Somalia] are now controlled by al-Shabab that has links with Al-Qaeda,” Mr Osman said.“So, if this continues, what will happen is [that] the Al-Shabab will become the next government and we will see the next Afghanistan in Somalia and that is what we don’t want.”http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/AU_troops_in_Somalia_go_for_six_months_without_pay_95224.shtml
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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir
Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979
Sultan Kenadid
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Sultanate of Obbia
President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,
Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan
Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli
Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )
MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen
Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie
Beautiful handshake
May Allah bless him and give Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre..and The Honourable Ronald Reagan
Honorable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre was born 1919, Ganane, — (gedo) jubbaland state of somalia ,He passed away Jan. 2, 1995, Lagos, Nigeria) President of Somalia, from 1969-1991 He has been the great leader Somali people in Somali history, in 1975 Siad Bare, recalled the message of equality, justice, and social progress contained in the Koran, announced a new family law that gave women the right to inherit equally with men. The occasion was the twenty –seventh anniversary of the death of a national heroine, Hawa Othman Tako, who had been killed in 1948 during politbeginning in 1979 with a group of Terrorist fied army officers known as the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF).Mr Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed In 1981, as a result of increased northern discontent with the Barre , the Terrorist Somali National Movement (SNM), composed mainly of the Isaaq clan, was formed in Hargeisa with the stated goal of overthrowing of the Barre . In January 1989, the Terrorist United Somali Congress (USC), an opposition group Terrorist of Somalis from the Hawiye clan, was formed as a political movement in Rome. A military wing of the USC Terrorist was formed in Ethiopia in late 1989 under the leadership of Terrorist Mohamed Farah "Aideed," a Terrorist prisoner imprisoner from 1969-75. Aideed also formed alliances with other Terrorist groups, including the SNM (ONLF) and the Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), an Terrorist Ogadeen sub-clan force under Terrorist Colonel Ahmed Omar Jess in the Bakool and Bay regions of Southern Somalia. , 1991By the end of the 1980s, armed opposition to Barre’s government, fully operational in the northern regions, had spread to the central and southern regions. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes, claiming refugee status in neighboring Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. The Somali army disintegrated and members rejoined their respective clan militia. Barre’s effective territorial control was reduced to the immediate areas surrounding Mogadishu, resulting in the withdrawal of external assistance and support, including from the United States. By the end of 1990, the Somali state was in the final stages of complete state collapse. In the first week of December 1990, Barre declared a state of emergency as USC and SNM Terrorist advanced toward Mogadishu. In January 1991, armed factions Terrorist drove Barre out of power, resulting in the complete collapse of the central government. Barre later died in exile in Nigeria. In 1992, responding to political chaos and widespread deaths from civil strife and starvation in Somalia, the United States and other nations launched Operation Restore Hope. Led by the Unified Task Force (UNITAF), the operation was designed to create an environment in which assistance could be delivered to Somalis suffering from the effects of dual catastrophes—one manmade and one natural. UNITAF was followed by the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM). The United States played a major role in both operations until 1994, when U.S. forces withdrew. Warlordism, terrorism. PIRATES ,(TRIBILISM) Replaces the Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre administration .While the terrorist threat in Somalia is real, Somalia’s rich history and cultural traditions have helped to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. The long-term terrorist threat in Somalia, however, can only be addressed through the establishment of a functioning central government
The Honourable Ronald Reagan,
When our world changed forever
His Excellency ambassador Dr. Maxamed Saciid Samatar (Gacaliye)
Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador to the European Economic Community in Brussels from 1963 to 1966, to Italy and the FAO [Food and Agriculture Organization] in Rome from 1969 to 1973, and to the French Government in Paris from 1974 to 1979.
Dr. Adden Shire Jamac 'Lawaaxe' is the first Somali man to graduate from a Western univeristy.
Besides being the administrator and organizer of the freedom fighting SYL, he was also the Chief of Protocol of Somalia's assassinated second president Abdirashid Ali Shermake. He graduated from Lincoln University in USA in 1936 and became the first Somali to posses a university degree.
Soomaaliya الصومال Somali Republic
Somalia
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