Tuesday, August 2, 2011

U.S. Greenlights Aid to Shabaab-Controlled Areas

WASHINGTON, Aug 2, 2011 (IPS) - The Barack Obama administration promised Tuesday that the U.S. would not prosecute relief agencies for delivering aid to parts of Somalia controlled by the Islamist insurgent group al- Shabaab, despite concerns that unrestricted aid in the failed state would be diverted to the wrong hands.

"We have issued new guidance to allow more flexibility to provide a wider range of aid to a large number of areas in need," a senior administration official said during a conference call Tuesday with reporters. "We hope this guidance clarifies that aid workers who are partnering with us to help save lives under difficult and dangerous conditions are not in conflict with U.S. law and regulations that seek to...limit resources flowing to al- Shabaab."
Officials on the call said U.S. anti-terrorist policies will take a back seat to the 2.2 million lives now hanging in the balance in famine-stricken parts of southern Somalia, where humanitarian groups have blamed U.S. aid restrictions for hampering their efforts to provide assistance to the most desperate people.
While there have been bans in place that prevent terrorist groups from profiting from U.S. humanitarian funds and resources, the U.S. has not specifically prohibited aid to people in need in southern and central Somalia, one senior administration official clarified.
But after the U.S. State Department added al-Shabaab to its official list of terrorist organisations in 2008, humanitarian groups have complained of feeling constrained in their efforts inside Somalia due to fears that they will face legal ramifications from the U.S. Treasury for carrying out the necessary costs of doing business with al-Shabaab. The group routinely demands tax payments and transportation tolls from agencies seeking access to their territory.
Officials ameliorated those concerns in Tuesday's briefing.
"What we are mainly concerned about is creating the flexibility in all possible ways so that assistance can be provided," one official said.
In a separate briefing circulated Tuesday, State Department spokesman Mark Toner explained that under the new policy, the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will be authorised to "provide grants and contracts to fund non-governmental organisations providing humanitarian assistance in Somalia, including in areas under the de facto control of al-Shabaab."
Those groups would be protected from facing prosecution "in the event their operations may accidentally benefit al-Shabaab", Toner said.
The policy shift is expected to allow more U.S. aid to be directed to the World Food Programme's (WFP) operations in Somalia, which were restored last month after they suspended all operations in January 2010.
One official on the call explained that operating requirements made it impossible for successful relief efforts to be carried out in 2010 when the insecurity of the operating environment reached a new level.
"It's one of the most dangerous operating environments on the globe," that same official added, reminding reporters that 14 WFP aid workers were killed in al-Shabaab territory in 2008.
The United Nations said Tuesday that more than 12 million people in the Horn of Africa region are in need of aid and has issued an appeal for an additional 1.4 billion dollars, warning that famine is expected to extend to the entire country of Somalia by September if the international community does not rush to provide assistance.
Yet even with these newly relaxed provisions, officials said access to al-Shabaab territories will still be the greatest challenge in mitigating the crisis.
A central al-Shabaab spokesperson said on Jul. 14 that they would welcome assistance from Western organisations that "did not have an agenda". However, when famine was declared in the territories a week later, al-Shabaab responded by denying that anyone was starving in their territories and moved to uphold the formerly-imposed ban on Western aid.
One U.S. official said - with so many mixed messages from al-Shabaab - it was unlikely that any "grand bargain" could be struck to allow U.S.-funded operations complete access to southern Somalia, but she saw feasible ways to deliver assistance through targeted interventions, directed by experienced partner organisations whose understanding of operating within the particular security conditions was deemed appropriate. She said the U.S. has already engaged extensively with those "implementing partners".
"We do not believe that al-Shabaab is absolutely monolithic," another official explained. "Our experience has been that there are places in southern Somalia where we have been able to deliver aid even though those people are in areas controlled by al- Shabaab."
Toner and other officials - speaking on the condition of anonymity because the policy plans have not yet been finalised – declined to provide any precise language on the policy shift, affirming that the immediate focus should be to deliver food and health aid to the neediest areas as quickly as possible. One official on the call said the specifics would be worked out over time.
"There is a risk here quite honestly…there is some risk of diversion," he admitted. "I think we have decided that it's worth it to risk some diversion, we'll do everything we can to avoid that but the humanitarian need is compelling. The dimensions of this famine, of this humanitarian crisis, are such that we've got to put taking care of people first."
"Our number one goal at this point is to save lives," another official added. "Time is not on our side."
(END)

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Ex-Somali Police Commissioner General Mohamed Abshir

Ex-Somali Police Commissioner  General Mohamed Abshir

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre with general Mohamad Ali samater
Somalia army parade 1979

Sultan Kenadid

Sultan Kenadid
Sultanate of Obbia

President of the United Meeting with Prime Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Egal of the Somali Republic,

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Seyyid Muhammad Abdille Hassan

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire

Sultan Mohamud Ali Shire
Sultanate of Warsengeli

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre

Commemorating the 40th anniversary of Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre
Siad Barre ( A somali Hero )

MoS Moments of Silence

MoS Moments of Silence
honor the fallen

Honourable Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre and His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie

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

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)

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.

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

Soomaaliya الصومال‎ Somali Republic
Somalia

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