The 'Belgian waffle' - Mary HARPER

 

The words 'Somalia' and 'conference' seem glued together. There have been several this year alone - in London, Turkey, Tokyo and now in Brussels... The Brussels one on 16 September is about a 'Somali-led' 'New Deal' for Somalia. 

The UN top man for Somalia, Nick Kay, told the BBC that the Brussels meeting was 'the last international conference on the horizon' for Somalia - let us see.....

The Islamist group, Al Shabaab, which controls most of the southern and central parts of Somalia described the conference as "Belgian waffle".

Here's something I did for the BBC ahead of the conference:

  

(CUE: The European Union and Somalia are on Monday 16 September co-hosting a conference in Brussels on a 'New Deal' for Somalia. The New Deal process -- which was endorsed at a conference on aid-effectiveness in 2011 -- is meant to give fragile countries more power in deciding their development needs. Somalia -- which has been in a state of conflict for more than two decades -- is the ninth country to adopt the New Deal. Mary Harper reports:)

Somalia is a good test case for the New Deal. It certainly fits the criteria for a fragile state, given that for six years in a row it has come top of the list of the world's most failed states. The New Deal focusses on peace and state-building. Without these, goes the argument, there can be no meaningful development, and aid money simply goes to waste. This has certainly been the case in Somalia, where billions of dollars have been thrown at a problem that refuses to go away. By putting Somalia in the driving seat, the idea is to give it more power to determine a way forward, rather than letting expensive foreign consultants identify priorities. The EU and Somalia argue that now is a good time to adopt the New Deal. They say the country has entered a new era, with a new, more legitimate government and progress on the security front. But massive problems remain. A recent UN report said financial mismanagement was continuing on a massive scale - a charge the Somali government denies. The government controls very little territory, and relies for it security on thousands of foreign troops. The self-declared republic of Somaliland -- a large territory in the north-west is refusing to attend the conference. Without its buy in, any impact of the New Deal will be limited. With so many challenges, it is possible that the Brussels meeting will simply be the latest in the long list of expensive conferences on Somalia that end with ambitious communiques but have little or no impact on the development of the country.

The self-declared republic of Somaliland is not going. I spent a lot of time trying to find out whether the semi-autonomous region Puntland was going - this is what I was told on September 12 by Puntland President Farole's assistant. 

Dear Mary,

Thus far Puntland has not received an official invite to attend Brussels Conf, as Puntland requested 'special arrangement' to attend the Conference given its Aug 5 suspension of relations with Federal Government, and Puntland says Federal Government with a tampered constitution cannot represent Puntland at Brussels Conf.

Without special arrangement invite, Puntland will not attend Brussels Conf.

Regards,

Yusuf Hassan
Presidential assistant

I on September 15 received this update from Farole's assistant, so Puntland is going to the conference after all.....


Dear Mary,

An update. Puntland Delegation led by Pres Farole incl Minister of Health Dr Ali Warsame just landed at Brussels 11am Sunday. The President was invited directly by EU for Puntland Government to attend the conference and for Pres Farole to address the conference opening ceremony.

Yusuf

The Mogadishu-based Heritage Institute for Policy Studies has written this assessment of the conference: Heritage Institute on New Deal

EU pledges 650 million euros to Somalia

International donors meet in Bruseels to approve a "New Deal" for Somalia to drive its economic and political recovery.

Attacks by Al Shabab have dented confidence in Somalia's security [EPA]

The European Union is pledging 650 million euros to Somalia for 2013-16, said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. "Somalia has made important progress this year," Barroso said after talks with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Monday, adding however that "problems and challenges remain." "This funding will contribute to all peace- and state-building goals," said EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, adding that the bloc would additionally continue to fund the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia. International donors began work on a "New Deal" for Somalia to drive its economic and political recovery after two decades of bloody civil war. Some 50 high-level delegations from Africa, Europe and the Gulf were attending the one-day meeting in Brussels, along with aid groups and global finance institutions. The New Deal Compact, to be approved on Monday, sets out the government priorities and outlines future international support. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said he was "very grateful" for all the effort made on behalf of his country, highlighting four priorities among the many tasks ahead -- security, legal reform, public finances and economic recovery. But Somalia's al-Shabab rebels, which control wide swathes of southern Somalia, on Monday dismissed the conference as a waste of time. "It's a bit like Belgian Waffles: sweet on the outside but really has not much substance to it. They are just hollow promises of Kufr," the group said on Twitter. High on the agenda are plans to get one million children into school in a country that has one of the world's lowest enrolment rates -- with only four of every ten children in class. Shabaab attacks In recent months, however, several deadly al-Shabab attacks have dented confidence. In June, a suicide commando assault on a fortified UN compound in the centre of Mogadishu killed 11. At least 18 people were killed in Mogadishu on September 7 when two blasts rocked a popular restaurant, an attack quickly claimed by the al-Shabab. With insecurity growing, in August medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) closed all its operations in Somalia, after 22 years of working in the Horn of Africa troublespot. As well as a military training mission in Somalia, the EU runs an anti-piracy operation off the Somali coast, where attacks on shipping have fallen steadily in the past year. Mohamud's government came to power last September after more than a decade of transitional rule.

Source: AFP

Why Somaliland does not attend ‘New Deal for Somalia’ conference

While supporting the New Deal process and welcoming of the donors’ engagement, Somaliland has  chosen not to participate in the Conference as the country’s national needs and priorities are very different to Somalia’s, writes Mohamed Behi Yonis. said Mohamed Behi Yonis is Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation, Republic of Somaliland. 

Mohamed Behi Yonis is Minister
of Foreign Affairs & International
Cooperation, Republic of Somaliland.

Despite facing many pressing problems, both in Europe and elsewhere, it is encouraging to see that EU leaders are going to focus on my region today, in a Conference – the New Deal for Somalia, that will sanction a clear and improved framework for international donors’ engagement with the Somali people.

The Horn of Africa has for a long time been seen as one of the world’s most troubled regions. It has been defined on the front pages of Europe’s newspapers by conflict, repression, famine, terrorism and piracy. Thanks to international support, Somalia has made important progress since 2012 but it remains very fragile and in need of further assistance to achieve stability, security and good governance.

To that end, Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, and Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, will gather in Brussels with a number of donors and beneficiaries.

Somaliland whole-heartedly welcomes the New Deal for Fragile States process, inaugurated in Busan in 2011 by a group of donors and post-conflict countries, as it offers a more effective mechanism to deliver development assistance to our country.

However, while supporting the New Deal process and welcoming of the donors’ engagement, we have chosen not to participate in the Conference. Somaliland and Somalia find themselves at two very different stages of development, and we therefore feel that our presence at this particular Conference, co-hosted by Somalia, would not be appropriate. We Somalilanders have governed ourselves in conditions of peace and stability for the last 22 years, and our country is at the “transformative” stage of development, whereas Somalia has yet to recover from more than two decades of civil war and much of its territory remains outside government control. Somaliland’s national needs and priorities are very different to Somalia’s.

This does not mean that we do not wish to engage with the EU —Somaliland is extremely grateful to the EU for its strong support and friendship across a whole range of important issues.

And it does not mean that we are not willing to speak and cooperate with Somalia. In 2012 the international community agreed to support a Dialogue between Somaliland and Somalia and we held three rounds of talks so far.  The objective is to clarity our future relationship and in the short-term we hope to cooperate on issues like security and trade.

Somaliland declared its independence from Somalia in 1991, after a civil war in which 50,000 Somalilanders were killed, and our capital, Hargeisa, was reduced to rubble by bombs.

That independence was strongly endorsed by a referendum in 2001, and by the results of 5 democratic nation-wide elections held since that time.

We have built a separate state, which meets in full the criteria of customary international law for statehood, and which our peaceful and hard-working citizens are proud of.

We will not cooperate in attempts to rebuild the former unified state of Somalia, if it purports to include Somaliland. Nor can we cooperate in any effort to use aid as a lever to force Somaliland to become part of Somalia.

In line with our support for the New Deal process, the Somaliland Government and civil society have together adopted a document based on New Deal principles, the Somaliland Special Arrangement (SSA).  This is fully compatible with our National Development Plan, and therefore reflects our own priorities.

Our intention is that the SSA will form a distinct and separate component of the broader Somali New Deal Compact, facilitating coordination between the donor community and Somaliland at the level of both government and civil society.  The Federal Government of Somalia has had no input into this document.

We wish to settle our differences with Somalia peacefully and without outside pressure. It is in our interests to see Somalia recover its former stability, provided that it does not compromise our own stability, nor our people’s desire for Somaliland to be recognised as an independent state.

We support the New Deal, and hope to be able to work with the EU in the future to build not only a strong, stable and democratic Somalia, but a strong, stable, democratic and independent Somaliland too.

Source: euractiv.com

EU must not turn a blind eye to abuses in Somalia

An armed man stands guard at the scene of two explosions in Mogadishu on 7 September. At least nine people were killed in the Somali capital Mogadishu when two blasts ripped through a busy parking lot near the National Theatre, police said. AFP PHOTO / Mohamed Abdiwahab

Today Monday 16 September,  EU and Somali leaders meet in Brussels for the New Deal for Somalia Conference. The conference will negotiate a new Compact for Somalia, which will frame future relations between Somalia and the international community. Last week the EU announced a further €124 million for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). As they gather at the table to negotiate and set out priorities, they must remember what’s at stake.

There are over one million people who are displaced within Somalia, with an estimated 369,000 living in Mogadishu. Conditions for internally displaced people (IDP) are dire. A recent Amnesty International mission to the country found substandard shelters made of cloth or plastic sheets, with  pieces of cloth serving as  doors.

Last January, the Somali government announced a plan to relocate hundreds of thousands of IDPs from Mogadishu to proposed camps outside  the city. The reasons for the relocation were reported to be associated with security and the development of the capital, and were cited as a first step towards returning internally displaced people to their places of origin – most of which are in areas of ongoing conflict and insecurity.

Though the planned relocation is on hold, displaced people have been moved regardless, mainly through forced evictions. Attempts to resist on the side of those being evicted has at times been met with force from security forces, including gun fire resulting in injuries and deaths, including of a child. Those who are evicted are moving to the Afgooye corridor, outside the city, where government presence is weak, and armed groups are able to operate.

With insecurity the norm in settlements for displaced people, rape and sexual violence are a constant threat, particularly for women and girls. One 14-year-old girl living in a displacement camp in Mogadishu was raped in her shelter as she was recovering from an epilepsy attack. She told Amnesty International: “I woke up to find a man who was undressing me and I tried to scream but he grabbed me by the throat and so I could not scream. My cousin (aged 4) woke up and he told her to be silent. He did his business and then ran away.”

The United Nations report in 2012 there were at least 1,700 cases of rape in IDP settlements, of which at least 70% were carried out by armed men wearing government uniforms.

There have also been allegations of rape against members of the peacekeeping AMISOM. In August  a woman was reportedly abducted in Mogadishu by four people in government uniforms and taken to AMISOM barracks where she alleges she was drugged and raped on multiple occasions.

Investigations, prosecutions and convictions for rape and other forms of sexual violence are rare in Somalia, so survivors have little incentive to file complaints with the police. Some women have faced additional abuse and stigmatisation if they do report the crime.

The situation in Somalia remains extremely complex, as the country emerges from two decades of conflict. But the EU must not turn a blind eye to human rights abuses and are themselves accountable for EU funding in Somalia. Instead, it must foreground human rights considerations in all its work with Somalia. It must urge the Somali authorities to hold those in the security forces to account for their conduct. EU funding to the Somali government and AMISOM must be conditional on those bodies setting up systems to monitor conduct of armed forces, and ensure there are investigations into human rights abuses. With so much at stake for the lives of the Somali people, the EU must not pass up this opportunity.

Somaliland: Why Barclays wants to cut Somalia’s 'money transfer' lifeline

Many Somalis rely on money sent from family in Britain, but the tap may be turned off 

The irony is that, just one month before Barclays’ announcement, Dahabshiil received a ringing endorsement in the US. Seeking a solution to transparency problems with Somali MTOs, a US Bankcorp spokesman said: “We are pleased that we may have recently found a solution with one remitter – Dahabshiil… We are currently in discussions with this remitter to ensure all parties understand the terms and requirements necessary.”

Peter Popham, Hargeisa, Somaliland

Shamis Abokor was once Somalia’s hottest pop singer, belting out love songs in front of thousands of adoring fans.

Then she suffered a disastrous stoke and for the past 16 years she has been confined to her tiny concrete home, cared for by relatives. Today, aged 78, she is bedridden and semi-paralysed. She survives with dignity thanks to her daughter in the UK, who sends her hundreds of pounds every month via a Somali money transfer operator (MTO) called Dahabshiil.

A few streets away in his tidy, windowless office, Ahmed Aliubaxle is a symbol of why Somaliland, the self-declared independent republic in the north-west, is so different from Mogadishu and points south, still racked by civil war. His father emigrated to Birmingham, made some money in property and sent it home, where Ahmed used it to import used vehicles from Dubai and re-selling them. He is now the boss of a major freight forwarding company, moving everything from wheelchairs to construction equipment across the world.

But Somaliland, like the rest of the country, has no banks, so he depends on Dahabshiil for his firm’s growth. “Without Dahabshiil I would have no way to get cars from Dubai or a generator from China,” he explains. “The only way would be to fly to China with a suitcase full of dollars.”

Across town, Alima Abdi’s little grocery shop is no more than a window in a stone wall, but it helps feed her and her five children. It was set up with the help of her sister who works in London, and still sends $200 a month.

Ms Abokor, Mr Ahmed and Ms Abdi are just three of the millions of Somalis who owe their survival to “the economy of compassion” – the relatives abroad who send regular sums month after month and year after year. The total remitted annually is believed to be about $1.3bn (£830m), or half of Somalia’s national income, and dwarfs international aid. At least 40 per cent of Somalis depend on these payments: the true figure may be much higher, because the remittances are often divided among numerous relatives. Somalis in the UK alone remit some $500m a year.

With a federal government shakily holding on to power in Mogadishu and violence significantly reduced, Somalia and the EU co-host a conference of international donors in Brussels today, intended to chart a new course to peace and prosperity.

But on 30 September, those hopeful prospects will be thrown into jeopardy when Barclays closes the accounts of 250 Somali MTOs, including Dahabshiil, which is much the biggest of the lot.

Barclays initially announced, in a letter to Dahabshiil and others dated 8 May, that the accounts would be closed on 30 July. It wrote: “Acceptance and eligibility criteria have been amended for customers in this sector,  which unfortunately means we will no longer be able to provide banking services to businesses that fall outside of these.”

For everyone involved in helping to haul Somalia back from the brink after its years of civil war and famine, the disastrous implications were immediately clear. Simon Levine of the Overseas Development Institute said: “The famine of 2011 is largely over, so we’re back to the situation where one in seven young children are so skinny that they are classified as ‘acutely malnourished’… If Barclays pull out of Somalia and there is no way to send money, what happens when families whose kids are already malnourished lose a quarter of their income? And what happens to the economy, to jobs, to investment when a quarter of the money just disappears? There is a risk that the consequences could be even worse and much longer-lasting than the 2011 famine itself.”

Ahmed Aliubaxle, freight forwarder: 'Without Dahabshiil … the only way would be to fly to China with a suitcase full of dollars'

For the international aid community, the severing of the remittance pipeline threatens to spark a new Somali emergency. And the effect on the agencies is even more direct than that, because in the absence of banks, they depend on the MTOs to funnel aid money to their Somali projects. The vast majority of them, including Oxfam, Care International and World Vision, use Dahabshiil, as does the United Nations.

Founded in 1970 in Burao, near Hargeisa, Dahabshiil’s head office is in Whitechapel in east London, while in Somalia it has 268 agencies across the country. Inside Somaliland, where its dominance is overwhelming, it describes itself as a bank and fulfills all of a bank’s normal functions.

With 5,000 employees spread across 150 countries, this family-owned company has become big and profitable enough to keep abreast of the ever-changing regulations of the banking sector in Europe and the US. During a 15-year relationship, Barclays has regularly acknowledged that Dahabshiil is fully compliant with industry regulations.

As a UK banking industry insider confirmed, it is US not British regulators that are setting the pace in the crackdown, following the massive fines imposed last year on HSBC ($1.9bn) and Standard Chartered ($330m) for facilitating money-laundering. “The main pressure is from the US regulator,” he said. “They are the ones on the hunt.”

The irony is that, just one month before Barclays’ announcement, Dahabshiil received a ringing endorsement in the US. Seeking a solution to transparency problems with Somali MTOs, a US Bankcorp spokesman said: “We are pleased that we may have recently found a solution with one remitter – Dahabshiil… We are currently in discussions with this remitter to ensure all parties understand the terms and requirements necessary.”

The Barclays bombshell provoked a storm of protest and concern, and Barclays responded by extending the deadline to 30 September. But it has so far refused to contemplate a U-turn. Writing to Oxfam, Anthony Jenkins, the Barclays chief executive, said: “There are a number of serious concerns about the operation [of MTOs], with the sector at particular risk of being used for the transmission of the proceeds of crime, for money laundering, and for terrorist financing. This risk is exacerbated by a lack of transparency on who the remitters and end-receivers are in transactions.”

In Nairobi last week, Abdirashid Duale, Dahabshiil’s chief executive, said: “It’s all to do with fear. The banks are worried about Somalia because all they read is bad news about piracy, Al-Shabaab [the militant Al-Qa’ida offshoot] and so on – but they never go to Somalia to see for themselves. They fear that some day, something might happen, and ever since 9/11 Somalia has been harassed and stigmatised because of that fear. But the fact is that all the 9/11 terrorists used Western banking institutions… We are not asking any favours. If any company broke the law, they should face the law.”

Mr Duale has drafted a set of proposals to address the banks’ fears: improving the institutional capacity of the MTOs in technology and compliance systems, setting up third-party monitoring and certification inside Somalia, helping the Somali government to introduce biometric scanning to remove uncertainty about the identity of recipients, and setting up a fund which would effectively insure the Western banks against financial penalties. He also agrees on the need for greater collaboration between Somali MTOs. “We Somalis need to work together, or we will die together,” he said.

But so far there is no indication that Barclays will grant the MTOs a year of grace, as Oxfam and others have demanded. So what solutions are open to Somalis who want to maintain the lifeline to their families?

The obvious answer is to go back to the old-fashioned, unregulated, hole-in-the-corner hawala firms, which rely on the trust between members of the same Somali clans. “Somalis will find a way,” said Ed Pomfret, Oxfam’s campaigns and policy manager in Somalia. “We’re asking Somalis to pack suitcases with cash and carry it to Mogadishu. For a government dedicated to fighting money laundering, that doesn’t make any sense.”

Killing the patient to cure the disease...

$1.3bn

Total remitted to Somalia annually, about half of its national income

40

Percentage of Somalis relying on remittances

250

MTOs who will have their UK accounts closed

Source: independent.co.uk

Somalia 'New Deal' to drive recovery from civil war

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, right, gestures a he and European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton address the media prior to an EU Somalia conference at the Egmont Palace in Brussels Monday, Sept. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

BRUSSELS: International donors began work Monday on a "New Deal" for Somalia to drive its economic and political recovery after two decades of bloody civil war.

EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton said President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud faced one of "the most difficult challenges in the world".

"I hope this will be a really significant moment" for Somalia, Ashton said as she went into the meeting with the president.

Mohamud said he was "very grateful" for all the effort made on behalf of his country, highlighting four priorities among the many tasks ahead -- security, legal reform, public finances and economic recovery.

Some 50 high-level delegations from Africa, Europe and the Gulf are attending the one-day meeting in Brussels, along with aid groups and global finance institutions.

In January, Mohamud won the first formal US recognition of a Somali government since the 1991 overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre sparked a bitter civil war.

Over the past year, the government and parliament have worked without interruption but are not yet strong enough to secure international loans and are therefore dependent on grants.

The New Deal Compact to be approved Monday sets out the government priorities and outlines future international support.

Ashton said the deal was "the beginning of a long road".

But Somalia's hardline Islamist Shebab rebels, which control wide swathes of southern Somalia, on Monday dismissed the conference as a "Belgian waffle" and a waste of time.

"It's a bit like Belgian Waffles: sweet on the outside but really has not much substance to it. They are just hollow promises of Kufr", or infidels, the group said on Twitter.

High on the agenda in are plans to get one million children into school in a country that has one of the world's lowest enrolment rates -- with only four of every ten children in class.

Between 2008 and 2013, the European Union provided 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in aid -- 521 million euros in development cooperation and 697 million euros for security.

Most security funding went to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), comprising some 17,000 troops and launched in 2007 with UN Security Council approval.

It props up the government in Mogadishu and has fought alongside its army, seizing a string of towns from the Islamist Shebab rebels.

In recent months, however, several deadly Shebab attacks have dented confidence.

In June, a suicide commando assault on a fortified UN compound in the centre of Mogadishu killed 11.

And at least 18 people were killed in Mogadishu on September 7 when two blasts rocked a popular restaurant, an attack quickly claimed by the Shebab.

With insecurity growing, in August medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) closed all its operations in Somalia, after 22 years of working in the Horn of Africa troublespot.

As well as a military training mission in Somalia, the EU runs an anti-piracy operation off the Somali coast, where attacks on shipping have fallen steadily in the past year.

Mohamud's government came to power last September after more than a decade of transitional rule.

Source: dailystar.com

Cagafcagafyo Jabuuti ku dumiyay dhismayaal sharci darro ah

Cagafcagaf duminaysa dhismayaal sharci darro ah oo magaalada Jabuuti ku yaala. [Xarbi Cabdullahi Cumar/Sabahi]

Maamulka magaalada Jabuuti ayaa illaa iyo badhtamihii August duminayay boqolaal dukaan, cooshado iyo meelaha yar yar ee lagu cunteeyo kuwaas oo laga dhisay meelaha caamka ah iyada oo aan wax sharci ah loo haysanin.

Iyada oo ay garab socdaan booliis badan, ayaa cagafcagafyadu ay xaafadaha waawayn ee caasimada Jabuuti ka burburinayeen dhismayaasha ganacsiga ee sharci darrada ah taas oo hoos imaanaysa ololaha loogu magac daray "Jabuuti waa Magaalo Nadiif ah". Ololaha ayaa sidoo kale wax ka qabanaya qashin ka qaadidda waddooyinka magaalada.

Ololahan ayaa bilawday August 17-deedii, markii ugu horraysayna wuxuu beegsaday xaafadaha Ward 1 and Ward 2, iyo fagaaraha wayn ee magaalada ee Maxamuud Xarbi.

Hawlgallada nadiifinta Ward 3 ayaa bilawday Arbacadii (September 11-keedii) waxaana la rajaynayaa in uu gaadho afarta xaafadood ee dhimman usbuucyada soo socda.

Gawaadhida khidmada waddooyinka ayaa uruurinaya baabuurta la nacay iyo qashinka ku firirsan waddooyinka xaafadahaas, oo ah kuwa ugu qadiimsan caasimadda.

Unug booliis ayaa 24-ka saacadood la dhigay xaafadaha shaqadu ka socoto si aysan milkiilayaasha ganacsiga aan sharciga ahayn ugu soo noqonin aaggaas.

Dhibaato caam ah

Ganacsiga sharci darrada ah ayaa ahaa mid dhibaato caam ah keenay kaas oo sababay xaalado ammaan darro, Saciid Ayaanle, oo ah madaxwaynaha xaafadda Boulaos ayaa sidaas yidhi.

"Sharciyada hadda jira oon la waafaqeyn iyo dhaqanka aan fiicnayn ee xubnaha bulshada qaarkood ay samaynayaan, kuwaas oo ficilkoodu uu waxyeelo soo gaadhsiiyay xaaladda nolosha iyo deegaanka ayaa nagu khasbay in aan wax ka qabano," ayuu u sheegay Sabahi. "Waxaa waajib nagu ah in aan wax ka qabano jahawareerka iyo dhismayaasha sharci darrada ah ee degay waddooyinka caamka ah iyaga oo aan haysanin oggolaansho."

Dhismayaalka sharci darrada ah ayaa dhib ku noqday nolosha shacabka, Maxamuud Saalax oo ah shaqaale magaalada Jabuuti ayaa sidaas yidhi.

Shacabka magalaada Jabuuti deggan oo waddo ganacsi isugu soo ururay ka dib markii shaqaalaha dumintu ay dhulka la simeen dukaano iyo cooshado la dhisay iyaga oo aan oggolaansho loo haysanin. [Xarbi Cabdullahi Cumar/Sabahi]

"Shacabka deggan dhismayaasha Aagga Xarbi ayaa dhibaato ku qabay in ay ka tagaan xaafadahooda sababta oo ah kabatole, cooshadle ama dukaan raadiyaha lagu sameeyo ayaa waddadoodii xidhayay taasina lama aqbali karo," ayuu yidhi.

September 6-deedii, ayaa ciidanku wuxuu geeyay in ka badan 100 askari Waddada Sheekh Houmed, oo loo yaqaano Waddada 13-aad si ay u nadiifiyaan, taas oo ka mid ah waddooyinka ugu muhiimsan magaalada.

Muumin Axmed oo magalaada Jabuuti u shaqeeya ayaa ciidanka kaalmadooda uga mahad naqay, kuna nuuxnuuxsaday sida ay uga go'an tahay ixtiraamka nadaafadda waddada iyo inaan la xidhin waddada. Wuxuu sheegay in tallaabooyin adag laga qaadi doono dadka waddooyinka sharci darrada ku dhista ama qashinka ku daadiya.

Axmed ayaa sidoo kale dadka xusuusiyay in ay hadda sharci darro tahay in baabuurta la dhigto Waddada Sheekh Houmed, taas oo laga dhigayo aag cagaaran.

Duqa magaalada Jabuuti Cabulaahi Kayad ayaa aqoonsadey in dadka qaarkiis ay waxyeelo ka soo gaadhi karto burburinta, laakiinse wuxuu ka codsaday dukaanlayda in ay sharciga u hoggaansamaan.
"Waan ognahay in ay jiraan boqolaal qoys oo noloshooda ka soo saarta dhismayaashaas sharci darrada ah in ay saamayn soo gaadhtay," ayuu yidhi. "Laakiinse waxaan tallaabada u qaadnay in aan wax ka qabano sharci darrada, dadaal kastana waan ku bixinaynaa in aan arrintaas sii wadno, waayo meel kasta oo magaalada ah ayey khuseeysaa. Wax walba waan samayneynaa oo aan uga leexanayno isku dhac meelaha loo arko in ay xasaasi yihiin."

Dukaanlayda oon haysanin meel ay aadaan

Dukaanlayda la bara kiciyay, ayaa si kastaba ha ahaatee, aan ku faraxsanayn go'aanka.

Xaawo Aadan, oo ah haweenay ninkeedii dhintay afar caruur ahna haysata, ayaa dukaan cabitaanka iyo sigaarka lagu iibiyo ku lahayd Aagga Xarbi, dukaankaas oo iyada oo arkaysa la gubay.
"Maanta caruurtayda ma quudin karo wax aan sameeyana ma garanayo," ayay u sheegtay Sabahi. "Halkan waxaan joogay ilaa 1980-maadkii, sida dadka kaleba. Maxay u go'aansadeen in ay wax walba maanta dumiyaan?"

Meel cusub in la kiraysto aad ayey qaali u tahay, ayay tidhi. "Maanta, ijaarka bishii oo meel yar oo magaalada ku dhex taala ayaa u dhiganta waxa afar bilood i soo gala, laakiinse wax kale oo aan samayn karo ma garanayo."

Cabdiraxmaan Maxamuud, oo mukhaayad yar ku leh Ward 1, ayaa ka cawday tallaabooyinka ay dawladdu u qaadday ka qaadidda dhulka.

"Sida caadiga ka ah waddamada kale, dawladdu waxay kaalmaysaa dadka leh ganacsiyada aan rasmiga ahayn, laakiinse halkan waa caksi. Way na beegsadaan waxayna burburiyaan ganacsiyadeena," ayuu u sheegay Sabahi.

Laakiin, Xoghayaha Guud ee Wasaaradda Arrimaha Gudaha Siraaj Cumar Cabdulqadir ayaa dhinac iska dhigay eedaymahaas, isaga oo sheegay in milkiilayaasha ganacsiga si kaafi ah looga digay hawlgalka nadaafadda. Dawladda ayaa faafisay qorshaheeda August 3-deedii kana sii daysay farriimo isdaba jooga warbaahinta raadiyaha iyo telefishinka ay dawladdu leedahay labadii usbuuc ee nadaafaddan ka horraysay, ayuu yidhi.

Madaxda ayaa u sheegay Sabahi in ay wadaan qorsheyaal ay aag magaalada ah ugu qoondaynayaan wadhatada magaaladu in ay degaan, laakiinse go'aankii kama dambayska ahaa wali lama gaadhin.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visits Belet Weyne

BELET WEYNE Somali -- President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud greets members of the Somali National Army at Lama Galay Training Camp in Belet Weyne. Members of the SNA are currently being trained at the camp by the Djibouti contingent of AMISOM. AU UN IST PHOTO - ILYAS A. ABUKAR

Coastweek -- Belet Weyne, Somalia’s fifth largest city, is located 315 kms. from the country’s capital Mogadishu.

The city was first liberated from the extremist group al Shabaab in September 2011 by Ethiopian troops, but was taken over by the Djiboutian contingent of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in September 2012.

Today life in Belet Weyne has largely returned to normal, and the city bustles as residents go about their daily business.

Women stand along the streets in Belet Weyne to greet Somalia's President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, during his visit to the the city. AU UN IST PHOTO - ILYAS A. ABUKAR

AMISOM soldiers, members of the Djiboutian contingent, stand guard during the arrival of the Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, to the city of Belet Weyne. AU UN IST PHOTO - ILYAS A. ABUKAR

An AMISOM soldier, belonging to the Djiboutian contingent, shakes the hand of a young boy in the village of Kabhanley during a meeting setup by AMISOM to facilitate a land deal between two neighboring clans. AU UN IST PHOTO - ILYAS A. ABUKAR

A soldier from the Djibouti Contingent guards a nomad herding his camels near Belet Weyne, Somalia. AU UN IST PHOTO - ILYAS A. ABUKAR

‘Milestone’ talks to set Somalia on road to recovery

 

Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Photo/AFP

By AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE 

BRUSSELS, Sept 15 – The EU hosts a “milestone” international conference on Somalia on Monday aimed at underpinning economic and political recovery after two decades of bloody civil war.

Some 50 high-level delegations from Africa, Europe, the Gulf and elsewhere are expected for the “New Deal in Somalia” event, gathering President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, other Somali leaders, world aid groups and global finance institutions.

“We will not just be managing conflict, on Monday we will be signalling and kick-starting the consolidation of peace and stability in Somalia,” said Alexander Rondos, the EU’s Horn of Africa envoy.

Britain’s ambassador to Somalia Neil Wigan said the conference was “a major milestone” after the country’s remarkable progress over the last year.”

With diplomats hoping to see more than a billion euros in pledges, Wigan said “our combined efforts will maintain momentum and deliver the change that the people of Somalia desperately need.”

In January, Mohamud won formal US recognition of his government for the first time since the 1991 overthrow of diciator Mohamed Siad Barre that plunged the country into civil war.

For the past year it has seen a president, government and parliament function without interruption but the fragility of its institutions means it cannot yet be given loans and will have to accept grants.

At stake Monday will be the approval of a New Deal Compact setting out the federal government’s political, security and economic priorities, agreeing a fund to support the programme, and ways of monitoring international support in the future.

High on the current agenda is a Somali campaign to get one million children into school in a country that has one of the world’s lowest enrollment rates — with only four of every ten children in class.

In the 2008-2013 period, the European Union provided 1.2 billion euros in aid to the country — 521 million euros in development cooperation and 697 million euros in the field of security.

The largest slice of that is funding for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), comprising some 17,000 troops and launched in 2007 with UN Security Council approval.

It props up the weak central government in Mogadishu and fights alongside its army, seizing a string of towns from the Islamist Shebab.

But the authorities have been dealt a number of setbacks in recent months, including several deadly Shebab attacks.

Their most brazen recent attack was a suicide commando assault on a fortified UN compound in the centre of Mogadishu in June that killed 11.

And at least 18 people were killed in Mogadishu on September 7 when two blasts rocked a popular restaurant, police said, in attacks quickly claimed by Shebab Islamists.

As well as a military training mission in Somalia, the EU runs an anti-piracy operation off the Somali coast, where attacks on shipping have fallen steadily in the past year.

Mohamud’s government came to power last September after more than a decade of transitional rule.

State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2012 - Watch Video

Natural resource development projects such as logging and dams, oil and mineral extraction and large-scale agriculture have been successful in generating vast revenues across the globe. But at what cost to minorities and indigenous peoples?

In its flagship annual publication, State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2012, Minority Rights Group International documents hundreds of case studies about marginalized groups who have been adversely affected by exploitation of the resources found on, or under, their ancestral lands. It also considers land rights around the world.

Watch this video to find out more and download the full report at www.minorityrights.org on 28 June 2012.

For untold stories from minorities and indigenous peoples, visit www.minorityvoices.org.