Police seize explosives in central district

Police have seized explosives in one of the neighbourhoods in Galkayo town following massive security operations today.
The explosives comprised of anti-tank mines, remote controls gadgets and other devices.
Mudug Regional Police Commander Abdirashid Muhammad told the media that despite seizing the explosives, police have not arrested those planning to use them to carry out attacks in Galkayo. He stated that they were pursuing those responsible for the bombing targeting a police convoy in Galkayo two days ago. One police officers sustained minor injuries in the attack. Four separate explosions that claimed the lives of five people and injured dozens, occurred in Gaalkacyo last month, with no arrest made so far. Mudug regional governor had previously accused Islamists of being involved in the attack, as well as planning more attacks in the region. The seizing of explosives today comes as Puntland's President Mahmud Muse Hirsi, aka Adde arrived in Galkayo town on a mission aimed at improving security in region.

Aid workers targeted in Somalia

Hardliners within the Islamist opposition are stepping up their attacks and kidnapping aid workers in an attempt to sabotage the peace talks. A cease-fire was supposed to have gone into effect this week. more http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/africa/080707-Somalia-aid

Somali premier calls for U.N. troops without delay

ADDIS ABABA, July 7 (Reuters) - The international community must deploy U.N. peacekeepers in Somalia without delay or risk worsening insecurity in the Horn of Africa, the country's prime minister warned on Monday during a visit to Ethiopia.
Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein said the U.N. troops were needed to replace Ethiopian forces under the of a peace deal reached last month at U.N.-led talks in Djibouti. more.http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL07100802.html

Khalid Yasin: Terrorist Mastermind -- And Con Man?

May, I had two reports published here at FrontPage concerning international hate sheikh Khalid Yasin’s recent tour through the state of Ohio, “Islamic Hatred in the Heartland” and “The Hate Sheikh’s Tour” with an appearance in Dayton and a weeklong schedule of events at mosques all around the Columbus area and the Ohio State University. more. http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=3ED046D8-BD07-4AE0-9AC9-A064AB09A00F

Meles Zenawi in Japan for G8 summit

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is in Japan to attend the G8 summit. The G8 summit will be held from July 7-9 in Hokkaido, Japan and this is the third G8 summit that Meles Zenawi has attended in recent years. He is expected to hold discussions with G8 leaders on African issues. Ethiopia's Prime Minister has been a regular at this summit of the World's wealthy nations plus Russia. Ethiopia is one of seven countries in Africa attending the G-8 Summit

Britain - Prime Minister Gordon Brown

Canada - Prime Minister Stephen Harper
France — President Nicolas Sarkozy
Germany — Chancellor Angela Merkel
Italy - Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
Japan - Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda
Russia — President Dmitry Medvedev
The United States - President George W. Bush
European Union - European Commission President Jose Manuel

In Somalia, senior UN official dies in gunfire outside mosque

MOGADISHU — Gunmen opened fire on people leaving a mosque in Somalia's capital tonight, killing one of the country's senior United Nations officials and wounding his son and another man, a witness and a family member said.
Attacks on officials, including those working for the UN or aid agencies, are common in Somalia, where Islamic insurgents have vowed to fight an Iraq-style insurgency against the country's weak and corrupt UN-supported government.
Osman Ali Ahmed, the head of the UN Development Program for Somalia, was bloodied and unconscious as he was rushed to a hospital, said Hassan Ali, a witness and a neighbour of Mr. Ahmed's. It was unclear how badly Mr. Ahmed's son and the other man were hurt.
Mr. Ahmed's wife, Masteho Abubakr Yusus, later told the Associated Press that her husband died at the African Union hospital after being shot in the head.
The shooting occurred a day after an explosion killed a Somali official, his wife and four others in Mogadishu.
On June 21, Hassan Mohamed Ali, head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees organization in Mogadishu, was abducted from his home on the outskirts of the capital.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080706.wsomalia0706/BNStory/International/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080706.wsomalia0706

Eritrea: Accused of carrying out a series of large-scale terrorist acts on Somalia territory

Djibouti (HAN) July 6th, 2008 - The Geeska Afrika Online Security reporter in Mogadishu reported today that the Somali Islamist fighters in Southern & Central Somalia have stepped up their activities this season and that the Al-Shabab and Asmara Islamist groups (ARS) are behind a series of murders and attacks against TNG law-enforcement personnel and the Ethiopian soldiers. MORE http://www.geeskaafrika.com/eritrea_05jul08.htm

Abdirahman wins 10,000m

Eugene, OR (Sports Network) - Abdi Abdirahman qualified for his third straight Olympic Games by winning the men's 10,000 meters Friday at the U.S. Track and Field trials from Hayward Field.
The Somalian-born Abdirahman, who became a U.S. citizen months before making his first Olympic Games in 2000, turned in a winning time of 27:41.89 to punch his ticket to Beijing later this summer. A three-time U.S. champion in the 10,000 MORE http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=olymp/news/news.aspx?id=4162437

Allied Ethiopian-Somali troops in Somalia have killed 71 Islamist insurgents

Allied Ethiopian-Somali troops in Somalia have killed 71 Islamist insurgents in an operation launched in central regions late last week, Ethiopia’s state television reported.
Hardline Islamists have been waging an 18-month insurgency that has drawn comparisons with Iraq to undermine the interim government and its Ethiopian backers since the rebels were ousted from Mogadishu and most of southern Somalia in 2007.
“The joint Ethiopian army and forces of the Somali Transitional Federal government destroyed a group of 71 terrorists in a military operation launched in Meteban and Gura’el areas on June 29,” the television report quoted a military spokesman as saying late on Thursday.
“A Canadian colonel, who was being sought for international terrorism, and 13 top leaders of the Islamic Courts Union and al Shaabab were among those killed in the operation,” the report said.
Insurgent troops were preparing to launch an offensive around Meteban and Gura’el areas in central Somalia, he said.
But a spokesman of the Islamist movement said only seven fighters were killed and nine others wounded in the clashes.
“The news from the Ethiopian State Agency is totally fabricated,” rebel spokesman Sheikh Abdirahim Issa Adow told Reuters. “We killed many Ethiopians and burnt their military vehicles but they do not admit to that.”
He denied the insurgents had a Canadian colonel in their ranks. “Ethiopians claimed to have killed Colonel Abdi Ahmed, who we do not know,” Adow said adding that no government soldier was involved in the fighting.
The Horn of Africa country has been in near-perpetual conflict since the 1991

Explosion in Somalia kills Mogadishu official and 5 others

MOGADISHU, Somalia: An explosion killed a Somali official, his wife and four others in the capital Saturday, witnesses and officials said.
In a separate attack, Islamist rebels said they ambushed a convoy of Ethiopian troops allied to Somalia's shaky transitional government more..http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/05/news/Somalia.php

United States Ambassador Michael Ranneberger spoke to MUGUMO MUNENE on a wide range of issues as his country celebrates its 203rd

NATION: How is Kenya doing in the war on terror in your government’s view?
RANNEBERGER: We have an effective partnership with Kenya in the war on terror. We appreciate what Kenya does. Kenya is fighting it because it’s been hit on several occasions. We do cooperate, share information and the Kenyan Government has helped to stop attacks and to apprehend terrorists. We commend Kenya.
NATION: How is the anti-terrorism campaign in neighbouring Somalia going?
RANNEBERGER: Our policy in Somalia is to try and promote a democratic transition in 2009. That is what called for the Transitional Federal Government charter. In order to achieve that, we are helping to promote reconciliation among all Somalis and we are at the same time doing everything we can to combat terrorism in Somalia and to prevent terrorists from making Somalia a safe haven.
Both roles are complimentary and necessary. What’s going on in Somalia is a difficult situation but progress is being made. It’s been too slow but it’s being made. We appreciate the role that Kenya has played and continues to play on regional issues. http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?premiumid=0&category_id=2&newsid=126606

UNICEF Ambassador, Clay Aiken, says organization is making a difference in Somalia despite difficult circumstances

Nairobi, Kenya, A five-day visit to north-west Somalia has UNICEF Ambassador, Clay Aiken, moved by the work that UNICEF is doing under challenging circumstances. ‘In a country that’s better known for conflict, insecurity, drought and floods, it’s truly remarkable that UNICEF is still able to make a difference to the health, education and well-being of Somali children’ said Aiken. more..http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/EGUA-7G6RLY?OpenDocument

Canadian resident Terrorist 'Asparo' killed in Somalia (Somali jehadist)

A former Toronto resident who joined an Islamic insurgency in Mogadishu has been killed this week during violent clashes in wartorn Somalia. Ethiopian troops killed Canadian Terrorist Abdullahi Afrah, 56, late Tuesday during fighting in central Somalia, according to local media reports and various members of Toronto's Somali community.http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/453238 Heavy fighting has been reported in Beletwein after Shabab fighters ambushed an Ethiopian convoy. A Canadian man who became a high ranking member of the Islamic Courts was killed during fighting in central Somalia. Four aid workers were kidnapped in Mogadishu.

Somali Citizen Ayaan Hirsi Ali added to Vail Symposium

Ayaan Hirsi Ali embodies the notion that freedom of discourse and expression is vital to the survival and vitality of liberal democracy. Ali’s 2007 internationally-bestselling memoir, "Infidel," emerged as one of the most electrifying texts of the decade, detailing the violence and oppression she experienced as women growing up in a devout Muslim culture. Ayaan Hirsi Ali embodies the notion that freedom of discourse and expression is vital to the survival and vitality of liberal democracy. Ali’s 2007 internationally-bestselling memoir, "Infidel," emerged as one of the most electrifying texts of the decade, detailing the violence and oppression she experienced as women growing up in a devout Muslim culture. "Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s story is compelling and eye-opening. We are thrilled to be bringing her to this community," said Fraidy Aber, executive director of the Vail Symposium. Ali was named one of Time Magazine’s "100 Most Influential People" of 2005, one of the Glamour Heroes of 2005 and the Prix Simone de Beauvoir in 2008.Born in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1969, Ali had a traditional Muslim upbringing. She embraced Islam, regularly studied the Quran and admired the movement of the Muslim Brotherhood. Her father, a political opponent of the Somali dictatorship, raised the family in exile, bringing them from Somalia to Saudi Arabia, then to Ethiopia and Kenya. In 1992, she was forced into an arranged marriage by her father in a ceremony that she refused to attend. To escape, she fled to the Netherlands. There, she first realized the inconsistencies between the Western society that embraced her and the Muslim culture in which she was raised. Ali earned a degree in political science and served in the Dutch parliament for three years. She began focusing on the challenges of integration for Muslim immigrant groups in the West and advocating for women’s rights in a campaign to reform Islam.
In 2004, Ali acquired an international spotlight following the murder of Theo Van Gogh, the director of "Submission," a short film about the oppression of women under Islam. Van Gogh was assassinated by a radical Muslim, who left a death threat for Ali pinned to Van Gogh’s chest.
A target of violence because of her willingness to speak out against her abandonment of the Muslim faith, Ali refuses to be silenced. Now, Ali lives with round-the-clock protection. She is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington D.C., researching the relationship between the West and Islam, women’s rights in Islam and violence against women propagated in the name of religious and cultural arguments. "One of the recent goals of the Vail Symposium is to bring one high-profile speaker to our deserving community each season," Aber said. "We expect a great response from the community and are seeking supporters for this effort." The Vail Symposium is a non-profit organization dedicated to year-round lifelong learning, through diverse cultural and educational programs that are thought provoking, diverse and affordable

39 killed in Somalia fighting

MOGADISHU (AFP) - At least 39 people were killed on Tuesday in fighting that erupted when Islamist insurgents attacked Somali, Ethiopian and African Union forces in the capital and central region, residents said. The clashes, some of the most serious in months, came a week before a deadline for the implementation of a truce agreement signed by rival factions last month in Djibouti was due to expire.
Thirteen civilians were killed in three southern Mogadishu districts after more than two hours of clashes punctuated by machine-gun fire, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
A mortar landed in a house in K4 district, killing six family members, after fighting erupted when insurgents attacked AU peacekeepers and Somali forces camped in the area, Ahmed Ali Nur, a family member, told AFP more.http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080701/wl_africa_afp/somaliaunrest_080701204803 also Heavy fighting reported in central Somalia region Hiiraan. Heavy fighting between Ethiopian troops with TGF troobs and Terrorist al habaab has broken out close to Beledweyne town the provincial capital of Hiran region in central Somalia Thursday residents said.
Residents say the Ethiopian troops and the Islamic Fighters exchanged mortar fire at Elgal village on northern outskirt of Beledweyne town.the Area populated by Hawiye clan. most of them are Terrorist Sympathizer .officials of the Courts were also killed.
Confidential sources told 35 al shabaab were killed in the battle, with the dead including important senior officials.

Terrorist Insurgents attack venue of Independence Day festival in Somali capital

function to commemorate the 48th anniversary of the independence of southern Somalia, and the unity of northern and southern Somalia was last night held in Mogadishu. Armed groups attacked the venue with mortars on Tuesday. The function, which was organized by the regional administration of Banadir Region [Mogadishu and its environs, was held at Transport Headquarters in Abdiaziz District in Mogadishu. The celebration was attended by officials of the two organs [Executive and Legislative] of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia [TFG] and members of Banadir regional administration. The deputy Speaker of parliament, Osman Elmi Boqore and the TFG deputy prime minister who is also the justice minister, Adan Alio Ibrow, addressed the gathering. The leaders spoke about the reconciliation process and the search for solution to the conflict in Somalia. During the celebration, the sound of mortars fired by armed groups opposed to the policies of the TFG could be heard. However, there are no reports on casualties caused by the mortar attack. Its unidentified the causalities caused by the mortar rounds.

Kenyan Defense Minister Yusuf Hajji urges world to stabilize Somalia

The Kenyan government has called on the international community to stabilize neighboring Somalia which it said is the source of illicit weapons threatening the stability of the entire region.
Speaking during a regional workshop in Nairobi on Tuesday, Kenyan Defense Minister Yusuf Hajji decried the proliferation of illicit weapons from the Horn of Africa region and urged the world to help stabilize war-wrecked Somalia. Hajji said political instability in Somalia where governance institutions have for a long time been ineffective, has been the cause of insecurity in Kenya and other neighboring countries. "The effort to attain meaningful stability in the region, however, faces serious challenges from the protracted anarchy in Somalia ," Hajji told small arms experts from Africa, the United States, Britain and Australia who are meeting in Nairobi. "As the world is fully aware, conflict and lawlessness in Somalia has continued to be the source of all manner of illicit firearms and other activities that are causing havoc to Kenya and the entire region as the rest of the world watch with apparent helplessness," the minister said. He called on neighboring countries to implement international obligation on arms control to prevent the trafficking of weapons into the East African nation. "Let me reiterate that it behooves on all of us, individually and collectively as states, to take every measure to contain any threat and damage that may arise from the use of illicit small arms and light weapons, including Man-Portable Air Defense Systems(MANPADS)," said Hajji. The MANPADS are short-range surface-to-air missiles designed to be fired by an operator on the ground against a target in the air. "In this sense, Kenya calls on the international community to get more involved in processes that are meant to stabilize Somalia." The minister said the east African nation is committed to all measures put in place to curtail the illegal and destructive operations of criminals locally and across the world.The workshop, organized by the Regional Center on Small Arms , brought together coordinators on small arms management, representatives from regional bodies in Africa that address small arms issues, representatives from regional economic communities from around Africa, the African Union, the United Nations and experts on MANPADS from the United States, Australia and Britain.
Source: Xhinua

US helping deploy Nigeria, Burundi troops in Somalia

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, (Reuters) – Washington is ready to help Nigeria send peacekeepers to Somalia, but its priority is supporting a Burundian battalion that is ready to deploy, the top U.S. diplomat for Africa said on Monday.
The African Union had planned to send 8,000 soldiers to the capital Mogadishu to support the U.N.-backed interim government, which faces an insurgency by Islamist rebels. more..http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnWAL057808.html also

US backs term expansion UN commander will go to Somalia .

somalia: US backs term expansion UN commander will go to Somalia
The United States State Department has urged the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to renew the contract of Maj Gen Emmanuel Karenzi Karake, the Deputy Force Commander for the AU/UN Hybrid Force in Darfur (UNAMID). The request to extend Karenzi's contract was forwarded by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer during the weekend.
Karenzi was appointed UNAMID Deputy Force commander in August last year with a mandate of 12 months. According to media sources, Frazer said that Rwandan troops have more than any other force played a pivotal role in Darfur and may be called to play a similar one in a future UN mission in Somalia.
She signalled that Karenzi 'has to stay.' Frazer's statement comes a few days after the US Ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, said that his nation was backing Rwanda's idea of keeping Gen Karenzi in Darfur.

Senator Sam Brownback Calls No Somali government should include factions with ties to al-Qaida or al-Shabaab

I support the broad goal of stability for Somalia and a sustainable peace, let me be clear on an important point. No Somali government should include factions with ties to al-Qaida or al-Shabaab. http://www.aigaforum.com/news/Senator_Brownback_on_Somalia.htm

government forces to deploy Bakol regions

The Somali government send hundreds of heavily armed forces to Huddur District in Bakol Region [southwest of Somalia] after Islamis insurgentt Al-Shabab took the control of the town, wounding the district commissioner and two of his bodyguards officials told .The government forces left from Baidoa town with fifteen battle wagons, artillery weapons and light weapons. Reports say that the government forces arrived areas surrounding the town shortly after Al-Shabab Islamist forces pulled out.Calm has returned to the town and the commercial activities resumed. from Terrorist had previously captured several towns in Bay and Bakol regions, but pulled out soon after.At the arrival of Terrorist Alshabab fighters armed islamist gun men have abducted aid workers in the town .The mine clearing experts from Sweden and Denmark, along with a local colleague were released on Saturday.They were abducted on the same day when fighters attacked the town of Hodur, 370km west of the capital, Mogadishu.A UN security official in Nairobi said the workers were abducted from the International Medical Corps (IMC) compound in Hodur, and that local authorites negotiated with the kidnappers. The official also said that local tribal chiefs were also involved in the talks."The Danish and the Swedish workers were released ... without ransom and they are safe waiting for a flight to Nairobi," said Mohamed Nur Salad, a UN security and safety worker."We have spoken with them and they are well, although they are still in a bit of a state of shock," said Karin Viklunda, a Swedish government spokeswoman in Stockholm.Local residents and aid workers said the fighters attacked the town around 4.30am (0130 GMT) but then withdrew.Hassan Mohamed, a local resident, said the fighters wounded a district commander during an exchange of gunfire in which a bodyguard was killed."They took control of the town and they also raided the IMC compound and took two foreign aid workers," he said.The Dane and the Swede were working for Raddningsverket, a risk assessment and emergency management agency funded by the Swedish government.
They were carrying out a demining training assignment for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).Kidnappings continue
Saturday's abductions are the latest in a series involving humanitarian workers. The fate of six aid workers - two Italians, one British national, a Kenyan and three Somalis - kidnapped in April remains unknown.Aid groups have scaled down operations in Somalia due increased insecurity, largely blamed on Terrorist Islamist fighters who have waged a war since they were ousted by joint Somali-Ethiopian forces in early 2007.

African Union urges UN to take over Somalia peacekeeping

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt The African Union announced on Tuesday that it was extending the mandate of its force in Somalia for another six months but urged the United Nations to take over the peacekeeping mission.
The bloc's 15-member Peace and Security Council underlined the new opportunities for peace in the Horn of Africa country created by a June 9 agreement signed in Djibouti by the transitional government and the main opposition coalition.. more http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080701/wl_africa_afp/africanunionsummitsomalia

Commemorates historic day for Minnesota’s Somali Community

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar issued the following statement to commemorate Somali Independence Day, July 1, 2008. “I am honored to join with Minnesota’s Somali community in celebrating the 48th anniversary of Somalia’s independence from Great Britain and Italy.
“Both as United States Senator now, and as Hennepin County Attorney for eight years, I have worked closely with the Somali community. As a prosecutor, I got to know the community well after two Somali cab drivers were killed and we succeeded in bringing their murderers to justice. On a more pleasant note, I got to know many Somali families because their children were classmates and friends of my daughter when she attended Tuttle Elementary School in Minneapolis.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the United States – and I am honored to represent them in the Senate. I have always believed that America’s strength comes from the diversity of our people. Somalis are among those who contribute so much to the cultural and economic vitality of America, especially here in Minnesota.It is a happy coincidence that Somalia’s Independence Day is so close to our own July 4th Independence Day in the United States. The victory achieved by the people of Somalia in 1960 was the same victory achieved by the people of the thirteen American colonies in 1776: The opportunity to renounce our colonial status and to become an independent, self-governing nation. As a United States Senator, I am committed to working closely with Minnesota’s Somali community to help their country move forward to create a peaceful future. A stable, functioning Somalia is in the interests of both the Somali people and the United States. On this, Somalia’s Independence Day, let us recall the historic achievement of 1960 while also looking ahead with hope for a peaceful and productive future.’’