Defining a failed state

Somalia has no functioning central government, no judicial system and last year, an estimated 700,000 of its people became refugees.There are daily gun battles involving a bewildering array of rag tag militias, smugglers, Ethiopian troops and clan warlords.Around 8,000 people — mostly civilians — died in 2007 alone. Most chillingly, the United Nations says more than three million Somalis, just under half of the population, require regular food aid just to survive.
The respected U.S. magazine, Foreign Policy, gives Somalia top ranking on a list of "failed states."more,http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/08/25/f-somalia-analyze.html

Insurgents Briefly Capture Key Town in Show of Defiance

NAIROBI, March 26 -- Islamist insurgents battling for control of Somalia briefly seized a strategic town Wednesday, the latest sign of how feeble the country's internationally backed transitional government has become. The takeover of Jowhar, about 55 miles north of Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, was the most recent in a series of advances by a radical Islamist faction of a broader insurgency against the transitional government and the Ethiopian military that installed it more than a year ago. In the past month, the faction -- known as al-Shabab and recently designated a terrorist organization by the United States -- has briefly asserted control of at least six towns in southern Somalia, a show of force underlining the fact that the Somali government has little control over the Horn of Africa nation. more http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/26/AR2008032602972.html

A motion of no confidence against Nur Adde tabled by some MP'S

In parliamentary session held in baidoa ,the the Somali parliament discussed a motion on bringing the Somali government to book.The meeting was different from the normal parlimentry session as about 190 mps were taking part the meeting who were mostly supporting this motion against premier Nur adde's government.Mp ali osoble read before the parliament the failures and the successes of the government during its existence.The session presided by dhalxa decided to bring the prime ministers government to account within twenty four hours.Motion comes after government lost control third largest City in the country to terrorist al shabaab. In recent times, Kismayo and the Lower Jubba and gado "Jubbaland" regional administrationegion was ruled by Marehan clans(Darod) political alliance with TFG .clan-military leaders fought on the same side as TFG troops against the Islamic Courts forces . Kismayo is the third largest city in the country, and only second in importance to Mogadishu in the south. One would think that TFG leaders would recognize the value this port city has for the country, and that failure here would ultimately reflect failure elsewhere. TFG doesn't any single ounce of legitimacy in Jubbaland .TFG doesn't distribution any resources jubbaland. The TFG cannot afford to keep the strategic port city of Kismayo in the hands of al shabaab Terrorist. Prime Minister nur addehis predecessors pm geedi both never never set foot in the region. Hawiye clan With (USC ) leadership of Terrorist muhammad farah caydiid cometed war crime in the region in1991 and 1992

al- shabaab Terrorist official addresses residents of seized southern port city

Terrorist , Al-Shabaab, has addressed Kismaayo city residents for the first time. Terrorist Robow (Abu-Mansur), the spokesman of the armed religious movement al-Shabaab, delivered a multifaceted lengthy speech to a gathering of people in Kismayo city, Jubadda Hoose Region (Southern Somalia).jubbaland state somalia The Al-Shabaab spokesman "Our fighters are pursuing Marehan clan army (jubbland army)that controlled Kismayo] He also stated that jehadist administration would be set up for the city.Speaking on the recent fighting in Kismayo city and other places in lower Jubba Region, the al-Shabaab jehadist spokesman claimed that they attained major victories in the fighting. Terrorist said the war they were waging would not be confined to lower Jubba and middle Jubba regions but it would be carried out "elsewhere as well" "Thank God for granting us victory over those who brought the enemy into the country, and we say to them that we will follow them every place where they set foot," Terrorist said. This is the first time the al-ShabaabTerrorist spokesman has delivered a speech in Kismayo since they [Islamists] captured the city. (The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) said on Sunday that it had wrested control of the southern port city from clan militias a day earlier.ICU Terrorist forces moved into Kismayo at the request of its residents, and the city "will remain under Islamic control", Terrorist sheik Ibrahim Shukri, a spokesman for the ICU in , which controlled the capital, Mogadishu, and much of the south for six months in 2006. two foreign journalists - a Canadian woman and an Australian man - were kidnapped while travelling near Mogadishu on Saturday, two Somali civilians said.Journalists and relief workers are frequently abducted for ransoms in Somalia, even those who travel in convoys heavily guarded by freelance armed men.A report on the website of Canada's National Post newspaper identified the woman as 27-year-old Amanda Lindhout.her father, John Lindhout, as saying she had recently arrived in the country with an Australian friend who was also kidnapped.An official at the hotel where the two were staying in Mogadishu identified the man only as Nigel, a 27-year-old from Australia.Their Somali translator was also kidnapped, according to reports from Mogadishu.In Kismayo, the International Committee of the Red Cross delivered by plane two tons of medical supplies to Kismayo Hospital on Saturday, said Nicole Engelbrecht, an ICRC spokeswoman. also fighting in Afmadow, about 110km northwest of Kismayo, during which 135 people were wounded.She said the agency did not have details of fatalities.
The last UN peacekeeping force in Somalia included American troops who arrived in 1992 and tried to arrest warlords and create a government.The US involvement ended in October 1993, when hawiye Clan USC Terrorist now ICU\al shabaab Terrorist shot down a US Army Black Hawk helicopter during a battle that killed 18 American soldiers.Since then, Ethiopian troops have helped Somalia's fragile transitional government push the Islamists from power in Mogadishu and much of the south, but failed to establish security or improve living standards.

al shabaab jehadist shoot dead Mogadishu district judge

al shabaab Gunmen have shot dead Mogadishu's Wadajir district judge near the town's main market. He died on the spot.The judge, whose name is Sheikh Hassan, was shot dead while he was leaving the court for his house as he was passing through Hawataka Division of Wadajir district.Wadajir district commissioner Ahmad Hasan Ado said the judge had passed away. However, local police shot dead one of those who carried out the attack.Somalia's current transitional government is trying to maintain control of the capital, with the help of the better-equipped Ethiopian forces and TFG forces but the al shabaab jehadist insurgents intensified their insurgency against it.

Conditions may be ripe for Al Qaeda in Somalia

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-shabab25-2008aug25,0,1932841.story

Somalia’s runners provide inspiration

BEIJING – Samia Yusuf Omar headed back to Somalia Sunday, returning to the small two-room house in Mogadishu shared by seven family members. Her mother lives there, selling fruits and vegetables. Her father is buried there, the victim of a wayward artillery shell that hit their home and also killed Samia’s aunt and uncle.
This is the Olympic story we never heard more..http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/track_field/news?slug=cr-somalirunners082408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Yaa ubaneeyay Al-shabaab in ay Weerar ku qaadaan Dad Muslimiin ah? Al-shabaab Waxaay Sheegteen Kismaayo in Islaamku Qabsaday, ma Gaalo ayaa awal joogt

Dedicated to the men, women and children who lost their lives; those brave people who gave their lives (Jubbaland State of Somalia) city of kismayo

(Merehan tribe)Defending City from al shabaab Terrorist Jihadist Islamists cowards”:

first time we used history of the plog

native language, Somali,

Marka hora waxaan Tacsi tiiraanyeleh udirayaa dhamaan beesha Sade iyo inta daysa xaquuda bila aadamka iyo xaquuqda Maxaaabiista marka labaad waxaan Ticsi udiraa Eheladii ay katageen Wiilashaash waxaana leeyahay intii dhimatayna Alaha unaxiista intiikana Samir iyo imaan Allha kasiiyo Eheladoodi .waxii kadhacay Magaalada kismaayo waaa wax ku abuuray naxdin iyo layaab iyo filanwaa Shacabka soomaaliyeed Dal iyo Dibadba waxuuna ucanbaaraynaayaa si aan kala harlahayn gaaar ahaan beesha Sade waxay leedahay Dhiiga wiilashaas ee daaahirka ah kuma tagaayo bilaash ama sahal.YAA lagu barta Falka noocaas ah ?Canbaaray kadib markii la'eega taariikhda ay jiraan Ururka Alshaab iyo falaka ay gaysteen mudadaas ayay dad ku waxay iswadiinaya Su'aalo dhowr ah oo ay mid yihiiin Alshaab yay u'adeegaan maxay tahay Caqiidadooda matakfiiriyiinbaa? su'aalahaas iyo kuwa kalaba ayay iswaydiinayaan dad badan oo ukuurgala falalka Ururka Alshaaab.
hadba intuu jiray Ururka Alshaab waxuu geysta Xasuuqyo aad ubadan oo uu kula kacay qayba kamid ah Buslshada Soomaaliyed oo ay ogu horeeyan Dad aan waxba galabsan (dad rayid ah ) iyo Dhlinyaro ay kuqabteen dagoolo (maxabiis) kuwaas oo dil kooda lagu fuliyay Duruufa aan ku haboonayn in qofka dil lagu fuliya Dadkana naxdin badan ku abuurtay Duruufahaas oo ayna ogalayn Diinta islaamka ee ay Alshaab u nisbasheeganayaan.
waxaa kamid ah tii kadhacday Gobalada dhexe iyo Dagaanka Dayniile halkaas oo ay ku gowraceen wiilal yaryar oo ay kuqabqabteen Dagaal (Diig qabow )iyo macana dara iyo qaab ay Culumada kusheegeen Diin laanDadki oo tii layaaban ayaa hadana imaada midaan hadaba Alshaab ma Takfiirbaa oo dadka dhan magaalo ayay uhaystaan? mise waa dhalinyaro aan aqoon macanaha dilka qofka Muslimka ah iyo Maxaabiista dagaalka iyo walibo Qawaaniinta Caalamiga ah?habba Ururka Alshaab waxay layimaaden waxyaba aanan lagu baran SAAXADA soomaliya asal iyo raadna aan ku lahayn Diinta Islaamka oo ayagu inta badan ay ku gabanayaan hadaba waxaa ladhihi karaa Alshaab waxay fulinayaa Ajanda Qarsoon oo ay ogu adeegayan Cadawga kusoo duulay Dalka Somaliya . maxaayeelay Cadowga Iyo Alshabab waxay isku si'u Gumaadan Umada Alshbaab waxy qabtaan way gowracaan cadawgana sidoo kala hadaba maxay kula duwan yihin ?
Yaa kadanbeeyay Xasuuqii kismaayo ?waxaa la orankaraa xasuuqaas waxaa gaystay laba qola. 1: Alshabaab: marka dib loo jaleeco falalka Ururka Alshabab ee ay kudheehan tahya Cadaawada ay uqaban shacabka waxaashaki la aan ah in ay falkas gaysteen xibna katirsan falkaan ayaa ahaa mid lasoo abaabulay ooy isku raacsanayeen nimanka sheegta Madaxta Al-shabaab. oo yagu uhorseeda Shabaabka Gumaadka shacabkooda ogona dhiga waxaan diinta asalku lahayn diin waxaa masuuliyada koobad qaaday Uruada lawareegay Magaalada kismaayo Alshab & Maxkmadaha.iyo dadka lasoo qaldaymarkii la'eega dhamaan waxyaabahaas waxaa ladhihi karaa falkaas waxaaka danbeeyay Al-shaab waxaana amarka bixiyay Hassan turki & Mansuur roobow oo ayagu ah niman kusifoobay sifada Takfiirka .2: kulug lahaansho qabiil waxaa meesha kamarnayn Gacan fulaynimo oo aydu u'aragta in ay guul utahay maxaa biis iyo dhaawac ladilo in ay Guul noqonaysa markii ay meeshaas dhaafin wayday una barbar dhigaan Awooda Beesha SAde kuwaas oo horay ogu dhuumanayay Magaalada kana faa'iidaystay galintaanka Alshabaab maadaama ay kufashilmeen awood kuqabsiga kismaaya ujoodadu ay thay khasaara gaarsiiya Beesa Sade fulinaaya amarada C/laahi yuusuf iyo Afguduud ragaas oo ay kufogaadatay Colaada Beesha Sade ..ayadoo saasthay ayaa masuu liyada koobaad waxay dusha kasaaran tahay labada nin ee kala ah Turki & mansuur .Shabka Somaaliyeed maxaa lagudboon?maxaa lala wadaagi karaan Ururka Alshabaab? kadib markay cadaatay in ay falinaaya Danah Cadawga ayna yihiin Takfiir oo ay banaysteen Dhiiga Dadka muslimiita ah.maxaa yeelay ma ahan marki ogu horaysay oo ay gaysteen Alshabaab Gumaad waxaana xusuusmudan Xasuuqii iyo gawricii ay kulakacen Alshaab dhalinyaridi kasoo jeeday Besha Ree xaaji saleebaan (Habargidir ) iyo kuwii ay kugowr gowraceen Dagmada Dayniile ee Gobolka Banaadir iyo wiilsha yar yar ee ay bostooladaha usoo dhiibaayaan ee ay leeyihiin Dadka soo laaya markaan eegnay Dhamaan Falalkas soo mahaboona in aan Dib ufiirano Ajandaha qarsoon ee Alshaab.sooma haboona in aan ogaana in ay Shacabka la JiahadaayaanMaxaa lagudboon Kuwaku abtirsada Beesha Sade ilama ahan marna in ay raali ka yihiin Gumadka iyo dhaawac tirka Wiilasha hadaba mala oarankaraa Awoodiina waxay kabadin wayda in'aad indhaha ka eegataan waxii halkas kadhacay .hadaba haday arintu saas tahay waxaan kula talin lahaaa dhamaan Dhalinyara Ku abtirsata Beesha Sade in ay joojiyaan wax laqaybsiga Ururka Takfiirka Alshaab .maxaa yeelay Alshab waa Danbiilayaal waxay danbi kagaleen Diinta Islaamka Umada soomaliyeed iyo Xuquuqda bila'aadamka hadaba nin ilaahay Danbi kaglay waxa kudaba dhigay waalayaab!!marka waxaan idinkugu baaqaya inaad kitaabka EEBE dib ogu labataan ood kala ogaatan Driiqa san iyo ka Sawaabka ah Beesha Sade maxaa lagudboon marlabad waxaaan Tacsi udiraa Ehaladii iyo dhaman beesha Sade waxaan umalayn dhibkasto oo dhaca waa wax xisaabsan waxuuna leyahay qaab loo waajaho marka waxaan kula talinaaya Besha Sade in ay samaysa Baaritaan waxaan filaayaa Dadbadan ayaa jooga meesha Xasuuqu kadhacay waaa in lasoo kala cadeeyaa haday kadanbeeyaan Alshab iyo haduu kadanbeeya qabiilba si loola xisabtama gacanku dhiigla yaasha waa in ay besha kuraadisaa xog qaaabkasta iyo wad aksta oo loo mari kara xaqiiqda waxii dhacay ..Mohamed Abdulkadir warsame warsameciya@hotmail.com

Piracy ransoms funding Somalia insurgency

By Daniel Wallis
NAIROBI (Reuters) - An explosion of piracy this month off the coast of Somalia is funding a growing insurgency onshore as the hijackers funnel hefty ransom payments to Islamist rebels, a maritime official said on Sunday.
A record four ships were seized in 48 hours last week off the anarchic Horn of Africa nation, meaning Somali pirates are currently holding hostage four cargo vessels, two tankers and a tug boat, along with about 130 crew members.
The spike in attacks at sea has coincided with a rise in assaults on land by radical al-Shabaab insurgents, including the capture on Friday of Somalia's strategic southern port Kismayu.
The United States say al-Shabaab is a terrorist group with close ties to al Qaeda. Experts say some of the businessmen and warlords who command the pirates are also funding the rebels.
"The entire Somali coastline is now under control of the Islamists," Andrew Mwangura, head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, told Reuters in an interview.
"According to our information, the money more..http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSLO00572320080824

Corpses litter Somali port

A man lies injured on a pavement. Bodies littered Somali port in southern Somalia and unidentified planes soared overhead yesterday. Bodies littered this strategic port in southern Somalia and unidentified planes soared overhead yesterday, a day after it was seized by Islamist rebels in fighting that killed at least 70 people. The loss of Kismayu to the al-Shabaab insurgents was another blow for Somalia's interim government, which signed a peace deal with some opposition figures last week that has only seemed to stoke violence in the Horn of Africa nation. "We are now collecting the corpses lying in the streets," resident Mohamed Farah, 55, told Reuters. "The town is calm today and we're busy burying the victims of the fighting. The Islamists are at the abandoned sea and air ports, and people here are hoping to reopen their businesses." Since the start of last year, al-Shabaab rebels have been waging an Iraq-style insurgency of mortar attacks, roadside bombings and assassinations, targeting PresidentAbdullahi Yusuf's administration and its Ethiopian military allies. Underlining the insecurity, residents and a security source said gunmen kidnapped two Western journalists, an Australian man and a Canadian woman, at Elasha near Mogadishu yesterday.
"They left us this morning to visit internally displaced camps ... now they are nowhere to be found," said Mohamed Ajos, head of security at the capital's Shamo Hotel, where the pair were staying. "They are believed to have been kidnapped."
A spokesman for Somali opposition hardliners based in Eritrea congratulated the insurgents on seizing Kismayu. "We'll continue our war against militiamen and all troops until we rule the whole country by Islamic law," said Ismail Adow of the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia. "God willing, we shall establish an administration for Kismayu in the coming days," he told Reuters by telephone from Asmara. The artillery and gun battles that broke out on Wednesday around the port were the heaviest in the area for months. Medical workers said at least 140 people had been wounded. Fearful residents said large, unidentified aircraft could be seen flying over the area since then. "We don't know what will happen, but we are scared," said 35-year-old Hussein Ahmed.

Islamic militants control key Somali port

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Islamic militants said Saturday they had seized control of Somalia's third largest city after three days of fighting that left about 70 people dead and saw thousands flee Kismayo The Islamic courts movement, which controlled the capital, Mogadishu, and much of the south for six months in 2006, said it wrested control of the southern port city of Kismayo from clan militias. About 70 people were killed during the fighting which started Wednesday and 170 were wounded, said Dr. Ali Hassan of Kismayo Hospital. Nicole Engelbrecht more...http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/somalia

Somali al shabaab kidnap two Western journalists-residents

MOGADISHU, Aug 23 (Reuters) - al-shabaab kidnapped two Western journalists on Saturday near Somalia's capital Mogadishu, residents and a security source said.
The pair, believed to be an Australian man and Canadian woman, were apparently seized during a visit to camps for displaced civilians at Elasha, south of the city.
"We heard that unknown gunmen abducted two foreign journalists, a white man and a white woman," Fatuma Ali, a primary school teacher in Elasha, told Reuters by telephone. more.http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/WAL350316.htm

Freelance odyssey turns into nightmare

http://www.theage.com.au/national/freelance-odyssey-turns-into-nightmare-20080824-41ev.html

Notes From a Failed State

from: Emily Meehan
dispatches: Notes from different corners of the'

somalia

tank Fund for Peace puts Somalia at the top of its Failed States Index, and the Ibrahim Index of African Governance ranks Somalia as Africa's biggest failure. Emily Meehan recently spent four months in Kenya and Somalia.
Background on U.S. security concerns in Somalia

http://www.slate.com/id/2197706/entry/2197708/

Djibouti Agreement

The United States welcomes the implementation phase of a process begun by the Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia to promote peace and stability in Somalia. The August 18 signing of the Djibouti Agreement by representatives of these two groups officially starts this crucial phase. We thank the government of Djibouti for hosting these important talks, and the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General for his leadership in facilitating them. The United States was represented at a senior level at the talks to demonstrate support for the process. The United States reaffirms its support for rapid deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Somalia, and calls on all Somalis who seek peace and stability to support implementation of the Djibouti Agreement.
2008/659 http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2008/aug/108787.htm

Somali rebels take port city as death toll hits 70

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLM61249320080822?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews

Al Shabaab Terrorist Capture Kismayo Again

Fighting between jubbaland army from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marehan clan and the Terrorist al Shabaab ,Fighting in southern Somalia killed at least 200 people,correspondent in the southern port city of Kismayo reported that 120 wounded persons are currently being treated at the local hospital.Al Shabaab now control 100% of Kismayo," according to our correspondent.The fighting erupted 8/20/08 , Reliable sources in Kismayo say the fighters of Al-Shabaab on arrived kisamyo the town 8-14-2008 Al Shabaab capture Kismayo yastarday al- shabaab Suffers its Biggest Defeat in kismayo in three days of fighting, witnesses said.Kismayo is completely under the control of the Islamists Agian ,Fighting erupted between Islamist fighters and a local militia in Kismayo, 500 kilometres south of the capital Mogadishu, late Wednesday for control of the town.

Scores killed in Somali clashes

At least 50 people have reportedly been killed in clashes in the Somali capital Mogadishu and the port of Kismayo. Some 30 people have been killed in two days of fierce fighting between Islamists and a clan militia in Kismayo, a BBC reporter says.
Some mortars landed near the compound of President Abdullahi Yusuf, who is currently out of the country. Another landed near a mosque in the busy Bakara market, killing at least six people, a witness told the BBC. At least 3,000 people are reported to have fled the fighting around Kismayo. more.. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7575207.stm

Ethiopian FM blasts Somalia’s leaders

Ethiopia has blasted Somalia’s political leaders for getting bogged down in ”internal squabbles” while millions of Somalis live on the brink of a humanitarian disaster in a country that remains violent and ungoverned.
Thousands of Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia at the end of 2006 to reinstall an interim government headed by president Abdullahi Yusuf. But it has a tenuous grip on power and its time in office has been marked by growing insurgency, clan warfare, and the mass displacement of civilians more..http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f14285cc-6f85-11dd-986f-0000779fd18c.html?nclick_check=1

SOMALIA: Fighting forces civilians to flee Kismayo IDP

NAIROBI, 21 August 2008 (IRIN) - Fighting between Islamic insurgents and forces of the local administration in Somalia's port city of Kismayo entered a second day on 21 August, displacing hundreds of families, with dozens killed, sources told IRIN. "Our estimate is that 3,000 families [18,000 people] were displaced by the fighting yesterday," Ali Bashi Abdullahi, the head of the Fanole Human Rights Organisation, said. The fighting, between the Al-Shabab group and the forces of the local administration, was reported to be spreading to other parts of the city from its initial concentration in the neighbourhoods of Fanole, Isku filan and Farjano, in the north and northeast of the city, according to Abdullahi. more http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=79921

Call for Action: Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow

WHAT YOU CAN DOYou can write a letter to the representatives of Somalia, the African Union, and various UN human rights offices to encourage them to take action by investigating this murder, bringing the perpetrators to justice, and denouncing the actions of these insurgents.

SAMPLE LETTER

Subject: Subject: Stoning of Asha Ibrahim Dhuhulow in Somalia
Dear [Sir / Madam],
We are deeply concerned to learn about the stoning to death of Aisha Ibrahim Dhuhulow, a 13 year old Somali girl who was publically tortured and murdered Monday October 27 2008 in the local square in Kismayu, Somalia.
Accused of adultery, Aisha Ibrahim Dhuhulow was buried up to her neck in front of around 1000 people while stones were hurled at her head. Witnesses to the stoning said the militants, known as al-Shabaab, accused the woman of adultery and extracted a confession. Although all standard interpretations of “sharia” (or, collections of various Muslim laws and their interpretations) dictate that adultery must be proven by four eye witnesses in a court of law, the Somali Concern Group reported that the killing was extra-judicial, and that the woman did not receive a trial.
Stoning is not mentioned anywhere in the Quran and is considered by many respected Muslim scholars to be un-Islamic. Many Muslim nations such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Tunisia, Algeria and others have banned death by stoning. Despite calls for abolition from around the globe, stoning still occurs in several countries, either under law or by the community.
Members of al-Shabaab apparently publicized the execution, killing the woman in front of hundreds of people at the town square. When a relative and others pushed forward to rescue the victim, guards opened fire, killing a child. Islamist leaders have reportedly apologized for killing the child, but offered no such repentance for the stoning of Dhuhulow.
Stoning is a grave and serious violation of International Human Rights Law. Stoning breeches the International Convention of Civil and Political Rights (1966). Somalia acceded to the convention in 1990.
Article 6 of the ICCPR states that “in countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes”, of which adultery is not.
Article 7 of the ICCPR states that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. This last injunction is reinforced in the 1985 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) to which Somalia acceded in 1990.
Although the killing was carried out by non-state insurgents, Article 2 of the CAT states that “each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.”
Somalia is one of the only countries in the world that has not signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
We encourage you to use your influence and authority to promote and preserve human rights, peace and security in the region. We urge a prompt and impartial investigation into this grave case. Members of al-Shabaab as well as every individual who took part in the stoning must be brought to justice, and the African Union should take due diligence in taking every possible measure in order to prevent any such violation of women’s human rights from reoccurring.
We thank you for your urgent attention to this matter.
Yours Sincerely,
[Your name / your organization]
ADDRESSES:
Representatives of Somalia
The Somali Prime Minister OfficeHE.
African Union
African Union HeadquartersP.O. Box 3243, Roosevelt Street (Old Airport Area)W21K19, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaFax: +251 11 551 78 44
Social Affairs CommissionerAdv. Bience P. GawanasFax: +251 11 550 49 85
Directorate of Peace and SecurityMr Geofrey MugumyaFax: +251 11-552 58 72dpeace@africa-union.org
Directorate of Women, Gender and DevelopmentMrs. Litha Musyimi-OganaFax: +251 11-551 78 44dgender@africa-union.org
United Nations Human Rights Bodies
Ms. Yakin ErturkSpecial Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Its Causes and ConsequencesOffice of the UN High Commissioner for Human RightsPalais des NationsCH-1211 Geneva 10SwitzerlandFax: +41 22 917 9006urgent-action@ohchr.org
Mr. Manfred NowakSpecial Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or PunishmentOffice of the UN High Commissioner for Human RightsPalais des NationsCH-1211 Geneva 10SwitzerlandFax: +41 22 917 9006urgent-action@ohchr.org
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Womenc/o Division for the Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social AffairsUnited Nations Secretariat2 United Nations PlazaDC-2/12th FloorNew York, NY 10017United States of AmericaFax: + 1-212-963-3463
Ms. Navanethem PillayOffice of the High Commissioner for Human RightsUnited Nations Office at Geneva1211 Geneva 10, SwitzerlandFax: + 41 22 9179022
Ms Yanghee LeeCommittee on the Rights of the ChildOffice of the High Commissioner for Human RightsUnited Nations Office at Geneva1211 Geneva 10, SwitzerlandFax: + 41 22 9179022
Please also copy all correspondence to wluml@wluml.org
BACKGROUND
Somalia: Woman stoned to death for adultery29/10/2008: Somali Islamists have stoned to death a woman accused of adultery, witnesses said, the first such public killing by the militants for about two years. (Independent / Reuters)
The woman was placed in a hole up to her neck for the execution late yesterday in front of hundreds of people in a square in the southern port of Kismayu, which the Islamist insurgents captured in August.
Stones were hurled at her head and she was pulled out three times to see if she was dead, witnesses said. When a relative and others surged forward, guards opened fire, killing a child.
“A woman in green veil and black mask was brought in a car as we waited to watch the merciless act of stoning,” one local resident, Abdullahi Aden, told Reuters.
“We were told she submitted herself to be punished, yet we could see her screaming as she was forcefully bound, legs and hands. A relative of hers ran towards her, but the Islamists opened fire and killed a child.”
The European Union’s presidency condemned the stoning.
“The EU … condemns a particularly vile execution, which the Islamist insurgents who took control of the city deliberately publicised,” it said in a statement.
The Islamists last carried out public executions when they ruled Mogadishu and most of south Somalia for half of 2006. Allied Ethiopian and Somali government forces toppled them at the end of that year, but they have waged an Iraq-style guerrilla campaign since then, gradually taking territory back.
As when they ruled Mogadishu in 2006, the Islamists now controlling the Kismayu area are again providing much-needed security, but also imposing fundamentalist practices such as banning forms of entertainment seen as anti-Islamic.
Relatives of the woman executed in Kismayu, whom they named as Asha Ibrahim Dhuhulow, were furious.
“The stoning was totally irreligious and illogical,” said her sister, who asked not to be named. “Islam does not execute a woman for adultery unless four witnesses and the man with whom she committed sex are brought forward publicly.”
Islamist leaders at the execution said the woman had broken Islamic law. They promised to punish the guard who had shot the child in the melee around the execution.
“We apologise for killing the child. And we promise we shall bring the one who opened fire before the courts and deal with him accordingly,” one unnamed Islamist leader told the crowd.
28 October 2008
Source: The Independent / Reuters