Shipping executive details pirate hijacking off Somalia

The ransom demand was "outrageous," but the targeted company could not ignore the pleas for help from the skipper of a ship captured by increasingly agitated pirates off Somalia.
The tension-filled nightmare, one of six hijackings of Japanese-affiliated ships in the year from autumn 2007 off the coast of Somalia, ended after the company paid the pirates.
"We weren't sure whether paying ransom would resolve the ordeal, but we decided that we couldn't put the crew's lives at risk," an executive of the shipping company targeted in the attack said. The Asahi Shimbun received details of the hijacking on condition that the company's name, the date of the incident, the ransom amount paid and other details not be revealed.
The shipping company first learned that something was wrong when it received a call from a naval rescue team of a Scandinavian country saying it had "intercepted an emergency signal from one of your ships." The ship, manned by a crew of several dozen Asians, was traveling through waters off Somalia en route from Southeast Asia to Europe. After company officials could not contact the ship by phone, they worked with a crisis management consultant and a lawyer to deal with the situation. The company later learned that about eight pirates in two small boats stormed the stern of the larger merchant vessel using ladders. Armed with guns, the pirates rounded up the crew. ..more..http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200906270071.html

Kenya-Somalia Winds of War

(Nairobi, Kenya) Yesterday, reports surfaced that al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab in Somalia was plotting to blow up a critical bridge in northern Kenya. In response, Kenya placed some military installations on high alert status with all leave time and off days cancelled.
Also, a Kenyan Police Rapid Response Unit has been dispatched to guard the bridge.
All vehicles and passengers are being thoroughly searched. "Our security is on high alert," government spokesman Alfred Mutua said during the weekly briefing in Nairobi on Thursday. [...]
In North Eastern Province, which borders Somalia, security forces were working to thwart possible infiltrations and cross-border movements by Islamist fighters. Most police stations and police posts across the barren frontier had been reinforced, according to police sources.With a waiver of the UN arms embargo, military arms are flowing to the government of Somalia, led by embattled President Sheikh Sharrif who Osama bin Laden calls an enemy. Reportedly, arms and ammunition are being supplied through and from nearby African countries with costs being reimbursed by the U.S. (More)

somali Commemorating Independence Day,Somali Independence Day Marked In Minneapolis

http://www.dowladnimo.com/index.php?action=fullnews&showcomments=1&id=2142
The military parade on National Day will offer the public a unique opportunity to see "Somalian Technical" display" of advanced military technology, the Presidential ... Siad Barre last president
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxUo_uGjb3w
The Somali National Army was, up until 1991, made up of the army, navy, air force, and air defense command.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRkaPyyEwgA&feature=related
Dark Day .history of Somalia .January 26, 1991.Collapse of the somali nation( Key Players )
The Somali Conflict Root causes , peace-building strategies

Happy Independence Day, Happy Birthday somalia

Gathered Friday in many towns in central Somalia to commemorate 26 of June, the freedom day of northern Somalia and when the flag of Somalia was erected.
Northern Somalia, now the breakaway republic of Somaliland gained its independence from Britain in 26 June 1960 and the first Somali flag was erected in Somalia soil.Residents in central Somali towns said hundreds of people have gathered in Dhusamareb, Guriel, and Balanbal towns in Galgaduud region in central Somalia where Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a controls. and puntland
The demonstrations were organized by Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a religious organization and officials from the organization addressed to the people.
The officials said they were commemorating the day when the first Somali flag was invented and erected in the soil of Somalia.They have also talked about the desecration of graves by al Shabaab in southern Somalia and condemned the actions of destroying graves.
Somalia’s president Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed and prime minister Omar Abdirshid Sharmarke sent congratulations to the Somali people in the corners of the world commemorating the 49 anniversary of when the Somali flag was erected and the freedom day of north Somalia.
Somali Independence Day Marked In Minneapolis
http://wcco.com/local/somali.independence.day.2.1061924.html

US gives Somalia about 40 tons of arms, ammunition

WASHINGTON, June 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. government has provided about 40 tonnes of weapons and ammunition to Somalia's embattled government in the past six weeks to help it fight Islamist insurgents, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the United States spent less than $10 million on what he described as small arms and ammunition as well as on payments to other nations to train Somali government forces. While the State Department confirmed on Thursday that it was providing weaponry to the government, it had not previously provided details on the type, cost or amount. The senior State Department official told reporters the United States began providing the arms soon after Somalia's al Shabaab insurgents began a major offensive against the fragile transitional federal government (TFG) in early May. Al Shabaab, which is seen as a proxy for al Qaeda, controls most of south Somalia and all but a few blocks of the capital Mogadishu. The official said Washington feared that it could destabilize the region and turn Somalia into a safe haven for foreign Islamists and "global terrorists."
"We've shipped probably in the neighborhood of 40 tonnes worth of arms and munitions into Somalia," the official said. "We remain concerned about the prospects of an al Shabaab victory, and we want to do as much as we can to help the TFG."
The United States funded the purchase of arms for the Somali government and also asked the Ugandan and Burundian troops in the country to give the government weapons and then reimbursed them, the official said...more..http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N2649445.htm

U.S. Government Condemns Amputations in Somalia

Friday, June 26, 2009

The U.S. government condemns in the strongest possible terms the double-amputations carried out on four Somali boys in Mogadishu today. This barbaric act, carried out by al-Shabaab as punishment for theft, is a gross perversion of Islamic and Sharia law. The boys’ families have been punished as well: they will spend the rest of their lives caring for these permanently disabled young men.

Al-Shabaab claims to be working in the best interests of Somalia. Today’s actions were yet another demonstration of their complete disregard for the welfare of Somalis.

Somalia: Puntland leader Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed “Farole,”, Minnesota. Reception, dinner

http://picasaweb.google.com/somalitalk/Farooleminnesota#5353372883625102978

Al-Qaeda fleeing Pakistan for Somalia, Yemen

In a sign that efforts to root out militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan may be making headway, American officials say members of al-Qaeda are beginning

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKoeTQeiSBQ

"Somalia: Militant Islamists Try to Draw Kenya Into a Trap",

As Somalia's transitional government fights for its existence and the region's governments debate how to respond, guest columnist Daniela Kroslak argues strongly against another foreign military incursion. Instead what is needed, she writes, is more international investment in the political process aimed at re-orienting and broadening reconciliation efforts already under way.
Kenyan media have been abuzz in recent days with speculation that Nairobi and its allies in the region could be planning a military operation to prop up the fragile Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu, which is under siege from militant Islamist factions led by Al-Shabaab.
Official rhetoric against the Somali Islamists has been hardening: Nairobi increasingly fears the TFG could collapse unless the international community provides it with additional troops to hold its ground.
The deadly suicide bombing in Beledweyne last week that killed the TFG’s security minister, Omar Hashi – a key figure in the regime’s military counter-offensive against Al-Shabaab – came as another shocking reminder of the group’s capacity to undermine the interim government. In a sense, the TFG is fighting for its very survival. Resurgent militant Islamist groups are clearly bent on overthrowing the current regime. President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed has imposed a state of emergency to deal with these threats.
Despite the gravity of the current situation, the calls for foreign military intervention in Somalia are ill-advised. The TFG and its supporters have circulated dire warnings of a high number of foreign jihadi combatants in order to create panic about Somalia being on the verge of becoming another Afghanistan, the new den of international Al-Qaeda militants. This threat is supposed to also justify a foreign intervention.
Under Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the former leader of the Islamic Courts Union who was elected president last February, the TFG has regained some legitimacy and holds potentially valuable keys to a political settlement. It is more representative of central and southern Somalia’s populations and can probably articulate an Islamic vision for Somalia which will rally the support of its majority, contrary to the jihadists whose practice of Islam is foreign to the country...more..http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6185

Obama appoints Mehret Mandefro as a White House Fellow

WASHINGTON, DC – The White House announced today the appointment of 15 outstanding men and women to serve as White House Fellows. The 2009-2010 class of White House Fellows represents a diverse cross-section of professions including medicine, business, media, education, non-profit and state government, as well as two branches of the U.S. military. The 2009-2010 class of Fellows and their biographies are included below.
"We are thrilled that these exceptional men and women will be joining us here in Washington for the next year," said First Lady Michelle Obama. "The program not only allows for a variety of perspectives to come together, offering expertise and experience to benefit the administration’s efforts, but these Fellows in turn carry what they’ve learned to their own communities to benefit Americans far beyond the walls of the White House..more..http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/10181

Somalia: Stakeholders Face-Off in Washington

(VIDEO) Hearing: Prospects for Lasting Peace and a Unified Response to Extremism and Terrorism
There is plenty of misinformation in Washington and other world capitals about the true situation in Somalia.The U.S. Congress has invited Somali stakeholders to Washington, D.C., to testify in front of the House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health. The hearing, scheduled for Thursday June 25, will allow Somali political actors to speak directly to U.S. policymakers and present a case for ending the 19-year old Somali civil war.
The showdown in Washington will offer testimonies from three presenters from Somalia - Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed "Farole," President of Puntland; Terrorism in Pseudo-State Somaliland Foreign Minister Abdullahi Mohamed Du'ale??? and Mr. Mohamed Oomar, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Mogadishu. Ugandan Defense Minister, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga, will also address the Congressional hearing on the theme, " Somalia: Prospects for Lasting Peace and a Unified Response to Extremism and Al-Shabab Terrorism." It is an important Congressional hearing, since it is the first time U.S. policymakers will be exposed to first-hand testimony from Somali officials who wield influence and power in Somalia. The Puntland government's decision to send a high-level delegation to Washington can be translated as an indication of how serious Puntland is about peace and stability in Somalia.
There is plenty of misinformation in Washington and other world capitals about the true situation in Somalia. Supporters of the TFG, if the name still applies, tell the world that the TFG controls Mogadishu and is a government. In reality, the only factual thing about the TFG is the "transitional" part of its name - it is neither "federal" nor a "government." Supporters of Somaliland often flood Internet sites with misinformation, labeling other regions of Somalia as "violent" while portraying Somaliland Somali to be "peaceful and democratic." In reality, there is no democracy in Somaliland, so.. .***Witness and Briefers have been added and Dualeh from Somaliland. has been removed.where an African dictator has extended his mandate illegally two times since 2008. While many regions of Somaliland enjoy peace, the conflict with Puntland over Las Anod city is a present-day danger and the SOMALILAND town of Burao has long been a major base for Islamist guerrillas waging war in southern Somalia.
In Puntland, the situation is unique as new President Farole won a peaceful election in January and has already made progressive steps to restore the region's image as a stable and governable part of Somalia. President Farole has articulated his government's plan to combat piracy and to protect the region's marine resources. In Puntland, there is a strong desire for change, as demonstrated by the organized and peaceful election followed by the smooth transition of power.
The U.S. government has an opportunity to listen to Somali officials present separate cases in efforts to restore national order in the country. Beyond the talk, it is time for a dramatic shift in U.S. policy regarding Somalia. If U.S. policy does not change, the alternative is that Islamist guerrillas will take over south-central Somalia and pose a serious threat to peace and stability beyond war-ravaged Horn of Africa country.http://www.internationalrelations.house.gov/hearing_notice.asp?id=1093
Original date published: 22 June 2009
Source Url: http://allafrica.com/stories/200906230005.html?viewall=1

KENYA GOVERNMENT IN CRUCIAL MEETING OVER CRISIS IN SOMALIA

Kanini Evans Kariuki

COME on and gather together to find a way out..............for this is a..........trinitrotoluene..........!!!Somalia is on fire. The Horn of Africa nation is troubled. For 19 years now!Powerful explosions erupt. The staccato burst of machine gun fire shatters the air. Endless battles on the battered battle grounds rage.Blood oozes a merciless trickle. Profusely. Humanity in Somalia, yes war-ravaged Somalia, is threatened with decimation.Groans of pain rent the air..........Screams of grief break the peace, the silence. The what?..........the everything..............the world in Somalia turns upside down..................everything is blasted into smithereens.........hell breaks loose................Wails of frustration...........wails of despair pour out.........to the pinnacle of what?.................paranoia?Disillusioned Somali civilians flee to seek sanctuary in their sister states. Others in.....far-away lands...........a vicious cycle of events?Countless Somalis are killed.........hundreds maimed...........thousands get displaced............Crying shame?Even the VIPS are not spared. Some of them are killed. Killed by suicide bombers. Some of them are forced to flee.Flee from their motherland. Some of them are left...........confused.............at sea about it all?And fear hangs over the heads of the innocent.........fleeing Somali citizens like what?.............The Sword of Damocles?....................Disagreement, confusion and chaos reign. Uncertainty takes center stage.Is Somalia pregnant? Is Somalia on the throes of giving birth to a new republic? Will Somalia President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed maintain his hold on to power? Will the status quo remain? Will the Radical groups triumph? Will they collapse?In the face of this instability in Somalia that has caused a lot of brouhaha in the world,threatening to spill over the East African region, the Kenya government held a crucial security meeting on June 24th this year.Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki chaired the crucial meeting of the National Security committee to deliberate on the worsening situation in Somalia...more..http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/107622

King Of Pop Michael Jackson dies at 50

CNN) -- Entertainer Michael Jackson has died after being taken to a hospital on Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest, according to multiple reports including the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press. CNN has not confirmed his death..more..http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/25/michael.jackson/index.html

U.S. providing weapons to Somali government, officials say.US Providing 'Urgent' Arms Aid to Somali Government.U.S. more firmly embraces shaky gov

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States is providing weapons and ammunition to Somalia's transitional government as it fights al Qaeda-linked Islamic militants, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said Thursday.At the request of that government the State Department has helped to provide weapons and ammunition on an urgent basis," he said."This is to support the Transitional Federal Government's efforts to repel the onslaught of extremist forces which are intent on destroying the Djibouti peace process."Kelly said the weapons shipments are in accordance with U.N. Security Council resolutions, which ban some arms shipments to Somalia.There is growing concern that Somalia could be the next base for al Qaeda as U.S. forces pound their positions in Afghanistan and Pakistan. CIA Director Leon Panetta recently said that the intelligence agency is keeping tabs on the region as a possible destination for fleeing al Qaeda operatives."Our concern right now is that likely safe haven.s are areas in the Horn of Africa, like Somaliaand Yemen, that are countries that because of their political status can be attractive to al Qaeda in order to operate there," Panetta said earlier this month."We are focusing on those countries as well in order to ensure that there is no safe haven for al Qaeda as we continue to pressure them, continue to push them, and hopefully continue to make the effort to destroy them, not only in Pakistan but throughout the rest of the world."Somalia is not new territory for al Qaeda, according to CNN's terrorism analyst Peter Bergen."Al Qaeda was running training camps in Somalia in the early and mid-1990s," he said. "If this is now coming back, this is something that al Qaeda has already done and it's worrisome for the future. ...more..http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/25/us.somalia.weapons/index.html?eref=rss_latest

".US Providing 'Urgent' Arms Aid to Somali Government"

The State Department said Thursday the United States is providing urgent military aid to Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, the TFG, to help it repel what is termed an "onslaught" by Islamist rebels. U.S. officials are also renewing their criticism of alleged Eritrean support for Somali extremists. The Obama administration, which has given strong political support to the besieged Somali administration, is backing that up with an emergency shipment of weapons and ammunition help prevent a militant takeover of the chronically-unstable African state.mmunition help prevent a militant takeover of the chronically-unstable African state...more..http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-06-25-voa43.cfm

U.S. more firmly embraces shaky government in Somalia

http://www.startribune.com/world/49132017.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ

Somalia & jihadists: A government under the cosh!

The Fragile government of Somalia is in deep trouble and, according to one of its officials, “scared witless”. Hence its panicky call on June 20th for troops from neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia to come to its rescue or see the country fall into the hands of jihadist fighters linked to al-Qaeda. Hence, too, the reluctance of its diplomats to heed a call from their foreign ministry to return from abroad to Mogadishu, the capital, for “retraining”. That was hardly surprising, since a teenage suicide-bomber had just blown up Somalia’s ambassador-designate to South Africa, along with its interior minister.Fighting in Mogadishu has again emptied the coastal city of many of its poorer inhabitants. A 4,300-strong force consisting mainly of Ugandans and Burundians under the African Union’s aegis is unable to keep the peace. The government’s own troops are ill-equipped and rarely paid.By contrast, a commander of the jihadist group known as the Shabab (meaning “Youth”) struck a cockier note, promising that foreign troops would be killed; Somali cats and dogs would eat them. “Somali young mujahideen,” he said, “will fight any troops deployed here until our last holy fighter passes away.” It is easy to see which side thinks it has the upper hand.The Shabab’s confidence and sense of direction has been boosted by an influx of foreign fighters. Aides of Somalia’s embattled president, Sharif Ahmed, say there may be over 2,000 of them. Western intelligence sources think fewer. One of its bomb experts, Abu Mansour al-Amriki, appears to be a white American. Other al-Qaeda fighters have come from Pakistan and Afghanistan and may recently have helped assassinate Mogadishu’s police chief as well as clan elders and local journalists. The group’s slick internet propaganda echoes al-Qaeda. The Shabab says it has set up three units of suicide-bombers. At first they were mainly foreign but now they tend to be Somali boys educated in the movement’s religious schools.Kenya and Ethiopia are loth to step in. Neither can afford a big military offensive. Both have large Somali minorities. The Shabab says it downed a Kenyan military helicopter flying along the border last month, though Kenya denies it. In any event, the Shabab says it “will destroy the tall glass buildings in Nairobi” unless Kenya pulls its troops back from the border. Any terrorist attack would badly hurt Kenya’s already shaky tourist industry and may well deter foreign investors. In any case, Kenya is unlikely to send its forces into Somalia unless it is attacked first.Ethiopia withdrew most of its troops from Somalia earlier this year, after losing perhaps 800 of its men. A few Ethiopian soldiers are thought to remain discreetly inside Somalia, rallying armed opposition to the Shabab. But Ethiopia’s government has no appetite for sending in troops all over again. Ethiopian officials dislike being portrayed as stooges for the previous American administration’s war on terror and say their troops would return only under an international mandate and in smaller numbers. “We don’t want to be the horse taking the chestnut out of the fire and then being whipped by everyone and his grandmother,” says Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s prime minister. Yet he cannot stomach a jihadist state across his border, backed by his enemy, Eritrea.The last hope for Somalia’s wobbly government may be the United States, which has once again secretly begun to supply it with arms. But that may be too late to save the day.
From The Print Edition of The Economist

Somali Islamists cut off hands

Al-Shabab Terrorist barbaric court go for arm and leg

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Mogadishu2C-Somalia/photo//090625
/481/28bb8618b73c47a0b1ba6192bab9943a//s:/ap/20090625/ap_on_re_af/af_somalia_11

Welcome to the world of sharia law. More on this story. "Somalis watch double amputations," from Reuters, June 25:Hardline Islamists in Somalia have carried out double amputations on four men for stealing phones and guns.

They have each had a hand and foot cut off after being convicted by a Sharia court in the capital earlier this week.More then 300 people, mainly women and children, watched as masked men cut off their limbs with machetes.The four men reportedly admitted to the robberies, but were not represented by a lawyer and were not allowed to appeal against their sentence.The al-Shabab group, which controls much of southern Somalia, has carried out amputations, floggings and an execution in the port of Kismayo but such punishments are rare in the capital.The amputations were carried out in the open in front of an al-Shabab military camp in the north-east of Mogadishu.A local resident said the four men cried out during and after the amputations. Each man had his right hand and left foot cut off."'Help, help, help!' one of them shouted," Mohamed Abdi told the BBC.Eyewitnesses estimate the age of the four men - Aden Mohamud, Ismail Khalif , Jeylani Mohamed, and Abdulkadir Adow - to be between 18 and 25.Mr Abdi said the whole process took about an hour to complete.

'Torture'

Human rights lobby group Amnesty International has condemned the amputations."These punishments amount to torture," said Tawanda Hondora, Amnesty's Africa deputy director.The group says that committing torture could amount to a war crime.After the four were sentenced to double amputations on Monday, mosques in the area announced through their loud speakers that the amputations would take place at 0800 local time on Thursday.Al-Shabab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage told journalists that the amputations were a warning to all thieves??."If they are caught red-handed in similar circumstances, they will face amputation," he said.He also said al-Shabab would look after the welfare of the amputees...

Some Background On This Story "

Somali court postpones amputations, citing weather / Insurgent Court in Somalia Delays Amputations for Theft Suspects

Government Military Commander, General Yusuf Hussein Dumal

Somali government military commander, Release Statement Regarding terrorist spreading false rumors, (wounded during fighting)? he said on his statement ,he doesn't have any Injury and "He is very healthy. Defense Force Working Hard for Defeat The Islamist terrorist. He called (the injury report)"wishful thinking" he "called Desperate Attempt fromTerrorist and Terror Sympathizer Media,They Showing their true colors , MOSTLY HAWIYE terrorist group fed false information to HAWIYE media and The jihadist media ..Add Wahbi Media..he said this a fine example .Alsharqul Awsat has repeatedly shown its pro terrorist bias (Pro-Terrorist) , spreading terrorist propaganda,

http://aawsat.com/details.asp?section=4&article=524680&issueno=11166

Somalia Government Announces Plan to Defeat Insurgents in Mogadishu

Suicide Bombings Increase in Somalia

Exclusive Pictures , Somalia:Al-Shabab claims the suicide attack killing security minister »
Last week, a top Somali government minister was killed in a suicide bombing claimed by Al-Shabab militants opposed to the government. It was the latest of about a dozen al-Shabab-related suicide attacks that have rocked Somalia for the past three years. A professor in the United States has a theory about why suicide bombings, suicide attack are becoming increasingly common in a country that had never seen one prior to 2006. On September 18, 2006, a suicide car bomber rammed his car into a convoy escorting the president of Somalia's transitional federal government at the time, Abdullahi Yusuf, in the central town of Baidoa. The Somali leader was unhurt, but the attack killed his brother and four of his bodyguards. The attack took place around the time when President Yusuf and his U.N.-backed interim government approved neighboring Ethiopia's plan to amass troops inside Somalia to fight the Islamic Courts Union, a coalition of moderate and hard-line Islamists who had taken over Somalia in June of that year. The suicide bombing in Baidoa was a turning point for Somalia, whose citizens, up until then, were reluctant to believe that a tactic used by extremists around the world would be imported to be used against Somalis. Professor Robert Pape at the University of Chicago in the United States has been studying suicide terrorism cases since 1980. He says by inviting Ethiopian troops to invade Somalia, he believes the Somali government created an ideal trigger for the country's first suicide attack. "From 1980 until the end of 2008, there were nearly 1,800 suicide terrorist attacks around the world," Pape said. "Ninety-five percent of those attacks have occurred in a specific context -- that is in the context of a foreign military occupation of a country. For instance, before the U.S. invasion in March, 2003, Iraq never experienced a suicide attack in its history. Since our invasion, this has become the largest suicide terrorist campaign that we have witnessed." In late December, 2006, Ethiopia defeated the Islamic Courts Union and installed the government of Abdullahi Yusuf in its place. A violent Islamist-led insurgency ensued and Ethiopia kept thousands of troops in Somalia to prop up the weak government.Pape says in Somalia, the occupation of troops loyal to a Christian-dominated government in Addis Ababa, backed by the United States, was viewed by most ordinary Somalis as a threat to the country's sovereignty. And it gave al-Shabab, the al-Qaida-linked militant wing of the Islamic Courts Union, the popular support it needed to recruit, re-group, and to carry out increasingly deadlier suicide attacks. ..more..http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-06-24-voa47.cfm?rss=war

The Somali people are not only in Somalia

I am from the northern region of Somalia- what the secessionists otherwise call “Somaliland”. Unlike the rest of African countries below the Sahara, Somalia is inhabited by one people sharing the same religion, culture, language and origin. The Somali people are not only in Somalia but also in Eastern Ethiopia (the Ogaden), Djibouti and Northern Frontier District of Kenya (NFD).Before Europeans and Ethiopia carved up the Somali homeland in the Horn into five parts, there was no such a thing as British Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, French Somaliland, Ethiopian Somaliland and NFD. There were only free Somali clans in the Horn. Those clans in former British Somaliland also belonged to clans across the artificial colonial border. Hence they were not an entity having separate cultural, language religious or legal roots that separated them from the rest but only an artificial creation of the British.When British colonial era ended in 1960, the two former European colonial entities- British and Italian Somaliland- immediately united to become the United Somali Republic or Somalia as it is mostly known, an indication of the desire for union among the peoples separated by colonial rule for nearly a hundred years.For the information of the pro-Somaliland lobbyists, only one clan among the five clans in former British Somaliland supports secession. If every disgruntled clan or tribe were to be given self-determination, there will be no African state given their fragility. Those who are vying for Somalia’s break-up are only digging the grave for many other African countries. Our neighbours, Ethiopia and Kenya, are the ones to lose most. Don’t play with fire lest you burn yourselfTerror Free Somalia Foundation Vote for Limit to Submission best somali documentaries of 2008still very relevant today. Al Shabaab and their arab Wahhabi backers present a great danger for Somalia ..The Enemy WithinLimit to Submission (Somali Documentary 1980) part 1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWTuvwgWmow Somali -Ethio conflict and it starts from the early daysLimit to Submission (Somali Documentary 1980) Part 1
Africa: New Challenges But Strong Commitment on U.S. Africa Policy, Says Carsonhttp://terrorfreesomalia.blogspot.com/2009/06/africa-new-challenges-but-strong.html
Washington Hearing: Committee on Foreign Affairs http://terrorfreesomalia.blogspot.com/2009/06/washington-hearing-committee-on-foreign.html
State Department’s Greg Garland Discusses Somalia http://terrorfreesomalia.blogspot.com/2009/06/state-departments-greg-garland.html

Somali President asks for Arab military support in face of rebels

June 24 (KUNA) -- The Somali president asked the Arab foreign ministers who held a scheduled meeting here on Wednesday for various forms of aid.Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed asked the Arab states in a letter addressed to the foreign ministers for Arab-African military support to quell the armed insurgency in his country, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa told the officials during the meeting.The Somali president asked for economic, political and military support to help the Somali government confront the forces "that have been trying to undermine the regime and spread chias in the country," Moussa told the ministers, reading excerpts of the message by Sheikh Ahmed.Sheikh Ahmed asked for deployment of African and Arab military forces in his country to back up the government and foil the schemes of the "the evil and terrorist forces." He also asked for financial help for aiding the Somali army and make it able to restore law and order to the country.The Somali government has faced an armed insurgency by irregulars, mainly Islamic fundamentalists. (end) mab.mfm.rk KUNA 241645 Jun 09NNNN

Africa: New Challenges But Strong Commitment on U.S. Africa Policy, Says Carson

Washington, DC — (TF.SF) The United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Johnnie Carson, promised Tuesday that he will "remember to listen and not forget to learn." Briefing the African American Unity Caucus in Washington, DC, Carson outlined a broad agenda, saying the Africa policy of the Barack Obama administration will focus on four key areas, Promoting and strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law; Assisting in the prevention and resolution of conflicts; Encouraging long-term development and growth; and Working with African nations to address old and new challenges. "Enormous progress" over the last 15 years "is evident," said Carson, citing successful elections in Ghana and South Africa over the last six months.Nine African nations are "clearly defined as free and democratic," he added, referring to a Freedom House poll. Another 23, according to this poll, are "partially free." He said that in 1973 most African nations were categorized as "not free.""We constantly have to encourage those in civil society to be the voice and conscience of their countries, and we have to promote constitutional democratic governments, strong court systems, strong legislatures, regular elections, free media, and religious tolerance," Carson said.There are huge challenges, Carson told the caucus. "Democratic instability in Kenya" is a large concern. In Sudan, despite a peace deal reached in 2005 "all is still not perfect; all is still not well."Although he gave no details, Carson noted that rival Sudanese parties have been engaged in talks in Washington this week. Some analysts think that the 2011 referendum on whether the south continues as a part of Sudan will be postponed.Zimbabwe, Somalia and the eastern Congo are also of great concern. Global recession is battering Africa.And there are new previously unforeseen challenges, said Carson. Global warming heads this list. The ice glacier atop Mount Kenya is rapidly melting and may actually disappear in another decade or two. Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro is suffering the same fate. The loss of water from spring snow melt will affect both commercial and non-commercial lowland crops.Drug trafficking "is now a significant issue," said Carson. In Guinea-Bissau, there is "strong suspicion" that the recent assassinations of presidential candidate Baciro Dabo and former defense minister Helder Proenca may be related to the drug trade. Carson called the West African nation Africa's first "narco-trafficking state."Solutions to all of Africa's problems, and helping the continent reach its full potential, won't come quickly or easily, but, said Carson, "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is actively engaged. Full stop!"More money will be going into agriculture for two reasons, he continued: "One is to lift people out of poverty and the other one is to help grow agriculture,"Furthermore, in his experience, "No president has engaged Africa this early." Obama will visit Ghana next month and has accepted an invitation to attend the World Cup in South Africa next year.Other visits to Africa are likely, said Carson, either on the way to, or coming from, other parts of the world.