Factfile on Somalia

Somalia, where almost 260,000 people -- half of them young children -- died of hunger in a 2010-2012 famine, according to a UN report on Thursday, is an impoverished country in the Horn of Africa.

It has been ravaged by a civil war since the fall of the regime of Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991:

- GEOGRAPHY: Somalia is 637,657 square kilometres (246,200 square miles) in area, including the autonomous northern states of Puntland and Somaliland.

Situated on the "horn" of Africa, it forms the continent's easternmost tip jutting out into the Indian Ocean, has Africa's longest coastline and borders Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya.

- POPULATION: Estimated at 9.5 million.

- CAPITAL: Mogadishu

- LANGUAGES: Somali, Arabic, Italian, English

- RELIGION: Muslim.

- HISTORY: Today's Somalia can be traced to a 7th century AD Arab sultanate.

Its modern history started in the 19th century when European powers vied for control, and Britain eventually established authority over northern Somalia in 1886 and created the protectorate of Somaliland.

Italy later established a colony in southern and central Somalia.

In November 1949, the UN granted independence to Italian Somalia but placed it under an Italian-led trusteeship.

On 26 June 1960, the northern protectorate of Somaliland won independence from Britain. Five days later, Italian Somalia became fully independent and merged with Somaliland.

In 1969, Mohamed Siad Barre seized power and thrust the country into the cold war, siding with the Soviet Union.

After deadly wars with Ethiopia, Barre was eventually ousted in 1991, ushering in a period of civil war that destroyed most state institutions.

From 1992 to 1995 the international community intervened and sought to help victims of famine and restore peace.

The transitional administration, put in place in 2004 and backed since 2007 by an African Union force has been confronted by an uprising by radical Islamist Shebab, linked to Al-Qaeda.

Since late 2011, Kenya and Ethiopia launched military operations in Somalia against insurgents. The latter, driven from the capital in August 2011, have lost almost all their bastions but still control large parts of the south and centre of the country, and have stepped up their guerrilla activities and attacks.

In August 2012 a provisional constitution was adopted and a new parliament sworn in in Mogadishu. The election by parliament of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as president in September capped a long and complex political process, backed by the UN, and designed to give Somalia a real central government.

- ECONOMY AND RESOURCES: Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the world and regularly ravaged by drought. The armed conflict has destroyed much of the country's infrastructure.

According to a UN report published on Thursday, nearly 260,000 Somalis, half of them young children, died of famine between October 2010 and April 2012 during a devastating drought which hit the Horn of Africa.

The livestock sector contributes 40 percent of Somalia's income, and 80 percent of its foreign currency earnings.

PIRACY

Since 2007 an international naval force has been deployed off the coast of Somalia to fight against acts of piracy, which according to the World Bank are at their lowest level for three years.

Somaliland: Three Charged with Ties to 2008 Suicide Attacks in Hargeisa

The attacks were a shock to many in Hargeisa after years of peace

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn) prosecutors say that if convicted of all the charges, the defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

By Christie Smythe

Somalilandsun - Three men charged with supporting the Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab had ties to two suicide bombers from Minnesota; the U.S. says reports Bloomberg News.

The three defendants were "closely associated" with Farah

Mohamed Beledi, a suicide bomber who lived in the Twin Cities and who participated in a 2011 Somalia attack, prosecutors said in a letter filed Wednesday, May 1 in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

Another bomber from Minnesota, Shirwa Ahmed, a 2000 graduate of Roosevelt High School who took part in simultaneous 2008 attacks, was discussed by two of the defendants in detail during intercepted communications, prosecutors said in the filing. Beledi and Shirwa Ahmed were U.S. citizens, according to the document.

The letter, providing supplementary evidentiary material to the defense, was filed in the case of Ali Yasin Ahmed, Madhi Hashi and Mohamed Yusuf. The three were arrested in Africa by local officials in August and taken into U.S. custody in November, according to prosecutors. They were indicted on charges of conspiracy, use of high-powered firearms and providing material support to a foreign terrorist group.

Prosecutors allege that from December 2008 to August, the men participated in weapons and explosives training and a suicide-bomber program with associates of al-Shabaab and were deployed in combat operations to support the group, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda.

FIVE BOMBINGS

Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for five simultaneous suicide bombings in Somalia targeting the Somaliland and Ethiopian government and the United Nations, prosecutors said. The group also carried out a suicide attack on a government checkpoint in Somalia in 2011, prosecutors said.

The three defendants were originally from Somalia, an attorney for Yusuf, Ephraim Savitt, said previously. Yusuf, formerly a bus driver, grew up in Sweden and is a Swedish citizen, according to Savitt.

Savitt and a lawyer for Ali Yasin Ahmed, Susan Kellman, didn't immediately respond to calls for comment today. Harry Batchelder Jr., a lawyer for Hashi, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

If convicted of all the charges, the defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to prosecutors.

The case is U.S. v. Ahmed, 1:12-cr-00661, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).

Source: Bloomberg News |

Ancient art in Somaliland in diplomatic limbo

Country’s unique status prohibits U.N. heritage protection for its caves

HARGEISA, Somaliland — The world’s most famous prehistoric art is in caverns in Europe, but the most recently discovered ancient cave paintings are in a country no other nation recognizes in a region of Africa associated mostly with terrorism, pirates and famine.

The Laas Geel cave paintings in Somaliland in the Horn of Africa are not as old or famous as the art in France’s Lascaux or Spain’s Altamira caves, but the quality is just as good, archaeologists say.

Unlike the European caves, however, Laas Geel has no chance of international protection as a site on the UNESCO World Heritage List because of the region’s complicated diplomatic situation.

Somaliland declared its independence more than 20 years ago and has been building a democracy ever since. But the world still recognizes the region as part of Somalia, which has spent the past two decades in chaos without a functioning government.

Somalia, which restored a government just last year, has not signed the UNESCO World Heritage treaty, so the caves in Somaliland cannot receive U.N. protection.


“We definitely need a heritage protection support,” said Somaliland Foreign Minister Mohamed A. Omar.

“These are a very old and historically and scientifically very important asset which has a global significance. Any help in protecting this is much appreciated by the Somaliland government.”
A French archaeological team discovered the isolated Laas Geel caves in 2002. Guided by villagers whose ancestors had known about the caverns for generations, they found the vibrant paintings in pristine condition.

The dry climate has helped preserve the ancient rock art, depicting nomadic life more than 5,000 years ago.

The Laas Geel caves are in 10 areas of a large granitic outcrop about 37 miles north of Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa, and can reached by the road to the port city of Berbera. The caves sit near a dry riverbed 3 miles off the main road. Traversing the unmarked rutty trail requires a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The outcrops appear ordinary until a close examination of the shallow enclosed areas near the upper reaches.

French archaeologists say the Laas Geel cave paintings are at least 5,000 years old and possibly twice that age.

Some of the paintings show the indigenous nomadic people worshipping cows. Other scenes show giraffes, dogs, antelopes, camels and other animals. In the Somali language, Laas Geel means “where the camels once watered.”

The cave art is reportedly among the oldest found in Africa. Many visitors say this incredible archaeological find deserves to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, despite the diplomatic problems.

With good highway signs, better vehicular access and an improved visitor center, this precious repository of ancient rock art could become a major tourist attraction and economic boost to Somaliland.

The Neolithic Laas Geel cave paintings are similar to the Paleolithic Lascaux cave paintings near Montignac, France. Discovered in 1940, the French cave paintings are thought to be 17,000 years old.

The Somaliland cave art also resembles the Altamira cave paintings discovered in the Cantabria region of northern Spain in 1880. They have been referred to as the “Sistine Chapel of Paleolithic art,” depicting life 18,000 years ago. Many of the scenes at Altamira are centered on bison, bulls and other animals prevalent in Europe at the time.

Somaliland is in one of the most strategic parts of Africa, on the Gulf of Aden. This northern region is part of an ancient world that archaeologists have barely begun to explore — where treasures may abound, in Somaliland and adjacent Puntland.

Somalia has become better known in recent years for its ethnic conflicts, al-Shabab terrorists, pirates, kidnappings and corruption. Drought and famine have added to the humanitarian disaster, which has sent thousands of Somalis fleeing to refugee camps in nearby Kenya.

Somalia’s 2,000-mile coastline was a primary trading route at the time of the Egyptian pharaohs, with ships stopping regularly to trade goods and take on supplies. Somalia was on the spice route to the Far East and India — a key to the Arabian trade link with Africa.

Stories abound regarding the biblical three wise men who brought gifts to the infant Jesus, including frankincense and myrrh — the best in the world — from the hills of Somaliland, formerly known as the “Land of Punt.”

Another archaeological team recently discovered the remains of a 4,500-year-old Egyptian harbor at Wadi el-Jarf, on the Red Sea coast. The port is being linked to ancient Egyptian mining operations that included copper, turquoise and other minerals brought from the south Sinai.

The port also has led to speculation that it was used for voyages to the mysterious Land of Punt in Somalia.

• John Price is a former U.S. ambassador to Comoros, Mauritius and the Seychelles islands. He currently serves as a resident scholar at the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics. He is the author of “When the White House Calls,” and regularly writes commentaries on Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

Somali-Canadian women recruited by terror group, U.S. politicians told

New recruits belonging to Somalia's al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab rebel group celebrate at a military training base in Afgoye, west of the capital Mogadishu, earlier this year.

Photograph by: Feisal Omar/REUTERS , National Post

By Ian MacLeod, Postmedia News

Terrorist recruiters are targeting young Somali-Canadian women to take up arms, the head of the Canadian Somali Congress told U.S. politicians Wednesday.

In testimony before the House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, Ahmed Hussen suggested the reason may be the increased police and security-service attention that's been paid to the recruitment of "dozens" of young Somali-Canadian men from Ottawa and Toronto in recent years.

"Lately, the recruiters have turned their attention to the facilitation of young Canadian Somali women into joining al-Shabab," Hussen said in a prepared statement.

Al-Shabab is the radical Somali youth militia now fully integrated with al-Qaida and which Canada and the United States have banned as an outlawed terrorist group.

Much of the youth recruiting is believed to be through the Internet and an online mix of religious tracts, rap music, videos and recruiting pitches delivered in English. Visiting extremist clerics are another propaganda source.

The fear, said Hussen, is that al-Shabab will employ Canadians and other westerners to extend its reach outside the war- and famine-ravaged East African nation —where it is battling a weak western-backed government to turn the country into an Islamic state.

"There is no shortage of foot soldiers and young men that al-Shabab can recruit in Somalia," Hussen said during questioning by committee members. "Why would they spend all this money, effort and (put themselves) at great risk to recruit westerners, people who hold Canadian, U.S. and British passports?

"It's because we think they have aspirations beyond East Africa. They've proven that by attacking Uganda," he said, referring to an attack last July where two suicide bombers killed 79 people gathered to watch the FIFA World Cup final on television in the Ugandan capital Kampala.

U.S. officials are increasingly expressing concern, too, too, particularly after capturing an al-Shabab commander who, it's alleged, had been a liaison with al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), an active Yemeni group that has tried to strike the U.S.New York Republican representative Peter T. King, presiding Wednesday over the third in a series of controversial congressional hearings examining the radicalization of Muslim-Americans, said committee staff investigators have determined that 40 Americans and 20 Canadians have joined al-Shabab in Somalia.

Critics charge that King's focus on Muslim-Americans plays into the hands of extremists who say Washington is wrongly targeting Islam for the 9/11 terrorism attacks.

King said three Canadians (whom he did not identify) and at least 15 Americans have been killed in fighting. Previously, only one Canadian death was suspected, that of Mohamed Elmi Ibrahim, a University of Toronto student whom al-Shabab said was killed "in battle" last year. He was the first of six Somali-Canadian men who reportedly disappeared from the Toronto area in 2009.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, 18 people have been charged in a scheme to recruit young people from the Minneapolis area to travel to Africa and join al-Shabab. Eight defendants have been arrested, and six have pleaded guilty.

Fourteen people, including several U.S. citizens, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Minneapolis last August on terrorism charges for travelling to Somalia and joining the group.

Canada's first arrest related to al-Shabab was in March, when police detained Mohamed Hersi, 25, as the Canadian was waiting to board a flight from Toronto to Cairo. Police alleged his ultimate destination was Somalia and al-Shabab. He is free on bail awaiting trial on two terrorism-related offences, including counselling a person to take part in terrorist activity.

Hussen could not be reached for comment after delivering his testimony. He has said previously that in addition to the "Somali Six" from the Toronto area, he has been told two young Ottawa men, as well as two young women, also left for the Horn of Africa nation.

His prepared text Wednesday, citing unnamed Canadian national security officials, referred to "the disappearances of dozens of young Canadian Somali males who had travelled to Somalia to fight for the al-Shabab."

In his testimony, Hussen portrayed Canada's estimated 200,000 Somalis as struggling to fit into mainstream Canadian society since fleeing civil war in the late 1990s.

Almost 85 per cent of Somali-Canadians are under the age of 30, with unemployment in Ottawa and Toronto hovering around 40 cent in the group. Many young men have dropped out of school. Those who do persevere often can't find jobs in their professions, he said.

"A minority becomes alienated and fall victim to a narrative that turns them against Canada and the United States — the very countries that have sustained them and also gave refuge to their parents as they fled the brutal civil war in Somalia. This dangerous and constant anti-western narrative is fed to them by radicals in our community who do not hesitate to use these vulnerable youth as gun fodder in their desire to establish a base for the al-Qaida terrorist group in Somalia," he told the committee.

Police and security intelligence work is not enough to counter the threat, he said, nor is working only with religious leaders.

"You need to target the young professionals, people who are coming up, people who are dedicated to the values that have made this country great. Those are the people who have the credibility to turn back against the messaging that leads to radicalization.

Although he spent many years in Toronto, Hussen was living in Ottawa when he founded the Canadian Somali Congress, one of the only national associations claiming to represent Somali-Canadians.

The organization does advocacy work and partners with other agencies, including Jewish Family Services of Ottawa, to organize professional internships for young Somali-Canadians.

Hussen often appears in the media, whether to talk about the issue of Somali pirates, violence claiming the lives of Somali youth living in Alberta or, more recently, pressing the Canadian government to increase its immigration quota from Somalia in light of the worsening famine there.

© Copyright (c)  The Ottawa Citizen

The Somali famine: an African crisis

GEOFFREY YORK
JOHANNESBURG — The Globe and Mail

The first drought warning was issued in August, 2010. Over the next few months, the warnings became increasingly dire and urgent. By March, 2011, experts were predicting a famine in Somalia unless the rains came soon.

The world ignored the warnings, even as tens of thousands of Somalis were already quietly dying and many more were fleeing their homes in a desperate race for survival.

Incredibly, there were a series of 16 warnings by official analysts as the crisis deepened, along with many briefings for relief agencies and donors, yet the world paid little attention. Finally the United Nations declared an official famine in two regions of Somalia in July, 2011. Only then did substantial amounts of humanitarian aid begin arriving.

By then, it was too late for huge numbers of people. Nearly 260,000 Somalis died in the famine, according to new data released on Thursday in the first scientific study of the death toll. The study gives overwhelming evidence to show that this was one of the worst catastrophes since the Ethiopian famine of the 1980s. More than half of the dead were children under the age of five.

Until now, most experts had thought that perhaps 50,000 to 100,000 people had died in the Somalia disaster. Many reports just said “tens of thousands” and left it at that. But the new study establishes that the famine was far more terrible than the world had believed.

"The magnitude of the mortality figures today is truly unsettling," said Philippe Lazzarini, the UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Somalia, in a statement on Thursday.

"The suffering played out like a drama without witnesses," he said. "The report confirms that we should have done more before famine was declared. ... Warnings that began as far back as the drought in 2010 did not trigger sufficient early action."

The estimated 258,000 deaths from the famine were in addition to Somalia’s already sky-high death rate from war, disease and other causes. During the 18 months of the famine, about 290,000 Somalis died of other causes – twice as high as the sub-Saharan average death rate.

The famine added a massive new burden. In Southern and Central Somalia, the famine killed about 10 per cent of all children under the age of five. In some regions, up to 18 per cent of children perished.

"We now have a picture of the true enormity of this human tragedy," said Mark Smulders, senior economist at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

The famine had its origins in the failed rains of 2010, the driest year in the eastern Horn of Africa in 60 years. Harvests were small and livestock were dying. But the drought was soon compounded by man-made factors. War was escalating in Somalia, and the extremist al-Shabab militia was restricting movement in the vast territory under its control. It banned the UN food agency from its territory in 2010 and then banned another 16 relief agencies a year later.

The security risks were a deterrent to relief agencies, which provided less humanitarian aid than they had in earlier crises. Another deterrent was a U.S. law allowing criminal prosecution of relief agencies if their aid reached the hands of groups such as al-Shabab. As a result of all these factors, humanitarian aid fell by about half from 2008 to 2011, even as the needs were rising sharply.

The reduced supply of food triggered a dramatic rise in food prices, at a time when household incomes were collapsing. The combination was catastrophic. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis, already weakened by food shortages, had to flee their homes in search of help. Many were forced into an arduous trek to refugee camps in Mogadishu, Kenya and Ethiopia. Thousands more died on the road, or shortly after arriving in the camps.

After the Somalia disaster, agencies and donors said “never again.” They vowed to learn the lessons and apply them to the next crisis. Yet even as the Somalia famine was easing, a new crisis was rapidly escalating in the Sahel region of West Africa, where 18 million people were affected by food shortages. There, as elsewhere, aid decisions by donors are often still highly politicized and arbitrary, critics say.

"Fundamentally, little appears to have changed," wrote Rob Bailey, a food-security researcher at the Chatham House think tank in London, in a blog commentary on Thursday.

"There are no rules for how early warnings should lead to early action, and a lack of clear processes for how decisions should be triggered, escalated and justified," he said.
"Ultimately, despite having the early warning systems and resources needed to prevent famine, accountability for doing so remains minimal."

In a report last month, Mr. Bailey called for better emergency response plans, stronger supply lines, more advance purchasing of emergency supplies, more flexible planning, and constant revisions as the risk factors change.

The threat of more food crises in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa is increasing, his report said, because of rapid population growth, low farm productivity and rising environmental change.

"Full-blown famine remains a serious threat. The number of people affected by drought-related crises each year in the Horn and Sahel is on an upward trend."

In Somalia itself, the UN estimates that 2.7-million people still need assistance today because of food insecurity. Many regions of the country are inaccessible. The government in Mogadishu has little control of anything outside the capital, and al-Shabab has retained its grip on much of southern Somalia.

One prominent relief agency, Save the Children, says the situation for children in Somalia is still "œextremely serious," and Somali children are dying of hunger.

"While conditions in Somalia have improved in recent months, the country still has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition and infant mortality in the world," said Carolyn Miles, president of Save the Children.

Somali Minnesotans, through the eyes of three generations

by Karla Hult
MINNEAPOLIS - Somali Minnesotans: they are the people of Minnesota most Minnesotans hardly know.

KARE 11 set out to help the greater Minnesota community understand better the Somalis within, most of whom started arriving in this state just a couple decades ago.

Why they came

At this point, it is difficult to determine the exact number of Somalis who call Minnesota "home." Official estimates range from 35,000 to well over 100,000 people.

"The census says one thing, and we Somalis say something else. The number is at least 60,000," said Ahmed Ismail Yusuf, author of Somalis in Minnesota, the latest book in "The People of Minnesota" series published by the Minnesota Historical Society.

While the population number may seem elusive, there's no question why Somalis immigrated. They sought to escape their war-torn country in East Africa, and according to both community leaders and historians Minnesota opened its door.

"What brought them here first was jobs, actually, that were not available anywhere else," Yusuf said, adding that a poultry plant in Marshall, Minn. was among the first companies to hire Somalis.

"When the first group was hired, and they cashed their checks and just realized it was money, they were intoxicated with that itself. Then the word got out," Yusuf said.

Before long, droves of Somalis came to Minnesota for jobs, a strong non-profit network that helped the new arrivals settle in the state and the opportunity to unite with relatives who had already made the trip.

Life Today, according to three generations

Saida Mahamud, 18

Two decades after the first Somalis arrived, some of the younger Somalis consider themselves true Minnesotans.

"I would say I am more Minnesotan, because it's what I've been accustomed to, because I've been living here all my life," said Saida Mahamud, who immigrated with her family when she was just months-old.

Today, the senior at South High School proudly wears her hijab while asserting herself as a leader among her peers.

"My parents really emphasized that they came here to have a better life for me and my siblings, and so our culture is something that we try to be very proud of," Saida said.

Saida has enjoyed her life as a leader both in and out of the classroom, participating in an organization that promotes inter-racial dialogue. But she acknowledges the riots that broke out at South High School in February, believed to be over race, were both an anomaly and troubling.

"I felt like it was almost my brothers and sisters being hurt at that moment," she said.

So Saida commits herself to trying to make a difference for both her home country and the country she now calls home. Next year, she'll attend the University of Minnesota, where she'll pursue a degree in either pre-medicine or social advocacy.

"I'm really grateful for all the things that have come to me and all the opportunities I've been given to be called leader," she said.

Ahmed Jama, 36

It needs neither plane ticket nor passport, but a trip to the Karmel Mall in south Minneapolis all but transports a person to East Africa.

Amid the stalls of Somali goods and entertainment stands an example of Somali entrepreneurship. Ahmed Jama owns two halals, or markets, even though he arrived in Minnesota just six years ago.

Jama says his success is due to a strong work ethic and Somali traditions.

"I was telling you, Somalis, they stick together, they help each other. If I need money, $10,000, $20,000 I know Ahmed he has the money. And my good friend with me, I would borrow from him," Jama said.

Jama, a father of four, hopes to open more markets, believing it's his version of the American dream.

"If you work in Minnesota hard, you know... you will get somewhere. You will reach whatever your dream is," Jama said.

Helga Barre, 70s

A mother of five, grandmother of more than 20, Helga Barre moved to Minnesota on the word of those who'd gone before.

"A lot of Somali people here. Family. That's why she chose Minnesota," Barre said through an interpreter at the Somali Senior Center on Cedar Avenue.

Barre enjoys her life in Minnesota but sometimes misses all that she left behind.

"The difference, when I was in my country, I used to have everything. I was a businesswoman," she said, adding, "That's the difference. I used to be the head of the house, not anymore, not here."

Today, Barre joins other older Somali women doing American aerobics at the senior center. She also shares her wisdom with her children, grandchildren and others like them.

"To be a good kid. Go to study well. Stay out of trouble," she said.

Challenges and hope

Somali leaders acknowledge Somali Minnesotans have gone through some challenges, including the highly publicized recruitment of Somali young men to fight for the terrorist group al-Shabab and crimes related to Somali gangs.  But leaders also hold out hope for better times.

"It looks like all those things are behind us. In the sense that you see less of those now," said Saeed Fahia, the executive director of the Confederation of Somali Community Minnesota.

Fahia and others point out to the significant progress Somalis are making: they continue to hold visible jobs as cab drivers, in retail and at meat processing plants; but Somalis are also attending graduate, medical and law schools and pursuing prominent careers in business or politics.

"There are a lot of good people who are making change there or here. Many people don't understand the vitality of this community -- how strong it is," Fahia said.

Cultural understanding

In the meantime, Somali Minnesotans of all ages remain united in hoping for a better understanding of their Muslim faith and Somali culture. It's the key, they say, to making them a people of Minnesota, more Minnesotans understand.

"The idea of an immigrant who just arrived in the United States [to] make himself or herself something, lives on, just I think the color of their skin has just changed a bit," Yusuf said.

To learn more about Somali Minnesotans, please check out the Minnesota Historical Society website, at: http://discussions.mnhs.org/10000books/somalis-in-minnesota/

 (Copyright 2013 by KARE. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

"BIYO KAMA DHIBCAAN" Tix BAROOR DIIQ u ah Marxuun Macalin Dhoodaan

Waxa Curiyay Abwaanka Da'da Yar ee Abwaanku Dhalay Abdillahi Hassan Ganey 

"Biyo kama dhibcaan" waa gabay gaaban oo aan ugu baroor-diiqayo Abwaankii qaaliga ahaa C/laahi Macallin Dhoodaan. Rabbi haw naxariisto.

Dhudii raage dhacantii qamaan dhalashadii saahid

Dhabtii Sayidka Dhuux iyo Salaan iyo dhawaqyadii Yawle

Dhimbiishii Suldaan Tima-cadiyo dhoolki ina Jaamac

Markuu dhuuntay naxwihii mudada soo dhisnaan jiray

Ninkii gabayga oo dhici lahaa dhalasho nooleeyay

Ninkii dhaqanka oo liici laa dhaabay boqontiisa

Ninkii magaca dhiiqada ka tiray soona dhicinaayay

Geesigii ka dhiidhiyi ogaa dhiilladiyo ceebta

Boqorkeeni suugaantu dhimay Waa dhab geeriduye

Dhada xarafka, dheehiyo milgaha, dhaxalka guurawga

Murti dhafan, oo dhigan, oo ceebta laga dhawray

Tixo dhillan, dheeraadyo lagu rakibay baydka dhinicisa

Maahmaahyo lagusoo dhex daray dhumucda geeraarka

Biyo kama dhibcaan buu ahaa gabayga dhoodaan

Waligiina muu dhawran jirin mana dhabcaalayne

Sida dhool hilaacuu murtida noogu soo dhigaye

Sida dhaan nageeyuu onkoday duhur dharaareede

Sida dhibic guyaad buu da’ay dhamac kaliileede

Sida dheeho geelbuu nafluhu dhamay liskiisiiye

Haday dhagax abwaanadu yihiin dhoobo iyo ciida

Dheeman buu ahaa ina macalin dhamme gaharyowe

Dhaaxuu walaalaha lahaa waar dhagxumo diida

Dhaaxuu cadaawaha ku yidhi hadalo dhiifoone

Dhaaxay wuxuu yidhi dhaceen dhawr gu'dabdoode

In dheer garadki soomaliduu ahaa dhaqan aqoonkiiye

Ruux dhiman mid dhaawacan iyo dhiciska mooyaane

Dhaqankiisa kii nacay iyo dhurwaa nacasa mooyaane

Dhalanteedka kii jecel iyo la'aad dhoqosha mooyaane

Nin dhagaystay waa garanayaa macalin dhoodaane

Allahayaw cadaabaha ka dhawr dhamacda aafaadka

Alahayaw dunuubtana ka dheeg oo kawada dhaafba

Alahayaw fardawsana dhexgee oo dhis uga taag. 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN

Somali Militants Threaten Revenge for Executions

Al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage addresses a news conference outside Somalia's capital Mogadishu, (File photo).

Militant group al-Shabab has promised to retaliate for the execution of 13 suspected Islamist fighters by authorities in Somalia's Puntland region.

In an audio recording posted online, al-Shabab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage said the 13 were "innocent Muslims."  He said the group will issue "tough punishment" to all those involved in their arrest, conviction and execution.

The 12 men and one woman were killed by firing squad, in secret, outside the town of Bosaso on Tuesday.

A local official told VOA they had been convicted of killing a local religious scholar, regional lawmakers and security officials.

Somali, Ethiopian and African Union forces have pushed al-Shabab out of Somalia's major towns and cities but the al-Qaida-linked militant group remains active.

The group claimed responsibility for an attack in Mogadishu last month that killed more than 30 people.

Some of the group's fighters have infiltrated the semi-autonomous Puntland region following al-Shabab's setbacks in southern Somalia.

Search for oil expands in Somaliland

Somaliland hopes that exploration by international oil companies will unearth reserves similar to those in nearby Yemen, and is in talks to increase the number of companies taking on acreage in the quasi-autonomous region.

The region, which considers itself independent from Somalia but is not recognised by the international community, last week signed its second deal with an established international player - Norway's DNO International, a company that merged with the UAE's RAK Petroleum.

DNO's move was preceded by Genel Energy, which signed a production-sharing agreement for two blocks in Somaliland last August. Both companies are already producing oil in the Kurdish region of Iraq, another autonomous region.

DNO plans to begin exploration of its block in Somaliland next year. Like Genel, it has suffered from delayed payments from the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), the result of a dispute between Baghdad and Erbil. Iraq's government considers the oil contracts between the KRG and international oil companies illegal.

Genel will start seismic surveys of its blocks soon, and aims to start drilling for oil next year, said Hussein Abdi Dualeh, Somaliland's minister of mining, energy, and water resources.

This is the first significant step towards establishing the region's oil and gas reserves.

"We have similar geology to Yemen, and Yemen has so far proven about 9 billion barrels of oil, and it hasn't looked at all its prospects. We are very hopeful that we have a similar potential," said Mr Dualeh.

While no other deals are imminent, Somaliland is working to add to the companies committed to the search for oil in the region.

"We are actively engaged with other companies as well," said Mr Dualeh. He said his government has had preliminary talks with Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Petroleum, and even signed a memorandum of understanding with International Petroleum Investment Company, another Abu Dhabi investor. No estimates for oil and gas reserves exist, but Somaliland is proximate to countries that are producing or are gearing up to do so.

Nearby South Sudan is a significant exporter of oil, and recent discoveries are about to kick off a gas boom in Tanzania and Mozambique. On the other side of the Gulf of Aden, Yemen, Oman and Saudi Arabia all produce hydrocarbons.

Mr Dualeh is unconcerned that tensions with Mogadishu, which does not recognise his government, will deter oil companies from coming to Somaliland.

Despite the endemic piracy that plagues the maritime trade routes running through the Gulf of Aden, the minister believes that the region is ideally placed for oil and gas exports.

"If we take this crude to the market, we have the biggest markets in the world facing us," said Mr Dualeh.

Somaliland:President Silanyo: A Great Negotiator And A Great Orator

To some, like me, president Silanyo has a near-omnipotent power at the negotiating tables, carrying with him an indubitable moral authority and gentle but firm sense of fairness.

Whenever he is in meetings, he will first listen to other people in the meetings unless he is disclosing and informing the participants about new information that the participants are unaware of. He does not interrupt others when they are talking, and never would anyone detect that he is controlling the discussion but, in fact, he is. Silanyo would simply listen.
When he finally speaks at these meetings, he slowly and methodically summarizes everyone’s points of view and then unfurled his own thoughts, subtly steering the decision in the direction he wants without imposing it.

The trick of leadership is allowing yourself to be led too. This is the notion that president Silanyo believes. He believes that it is wise to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea. This was actually what he did in last week’s Istanbul Talks of Somaliland and Somalia. He leads from the front whilst at the same time he is not leaving his base behind! He thinks way ahead of his league.

President Silanyo’ leadership and negotiation style is not to tell people what to do but to form a consensus and not to enter an impregnable arguments and negotiations too early without proper ammunition. This act of consensus is conspicuous at a great distance in the way he handled the Somalia and Somaliland Talks in Istanbul last week. It is again conspicuous in the way he consults with the two Houses of Somaliland, the political parties and the civil society before embarking on any major agenda that can have a lasting effect on Somaliland both politically and socio-economically.

Silanyo symbolizes the struggle of our people for Somaliland and his ability to steer the nation through the crisis of Somaliland’s rebirth will earn him the African reputation of benevolent negotiator and quintessential peacemaker. If the Talks with Somalia eventually yield the recognition that Somaliland was yearning for more than two decades; Silanyo will be part of a few African statesmen who have achieved almost universal respect around the world and across the African political spectrum.

In the latest Istanbul Talks, Silanyo expressed no bitterness towards Somaliland tormentors. Instead, he championed reconciliation whilst espousing the principles of two nations living side-by-side and in amicable neighbourly relations. Silanyo is one of the few leaders in Somaliland who are capable of inspiring confidence both inside and outside the country. Few others would manage to unite the disparate Somaliland parties and stand-alone politicians and steer Somaliland from what seems to be the brink of political unrest in the wake of these negotiations. He believes that Somaliland’s ultimate goal can be reached through cooperation and inclusive effort from people from all political persuasions.

There are many significant milestones of his presidency which so far are a great exemplary. As Somaliland’s second democratically elected President in 2010, Silanyo tackled the challenge of the Somaliland’s new strategy of engagement and cooperation with Somalia and he bravely allowed the creation of new political parties in Somaliland. Furthermore, besides campaigning globally for Somaliland, Silanyo focuses his still prodigious energies increasingly on politically empowering the youth, women and minorities in Somaliland.

Silanyo is equally known for taking a strong stand against the giant world powers like Britain- especially in defence of Somaliland. As president, he is unrestrained in embracing the decision he took about the coming Somali Conference in London. He politely and diplomatically declined to attend the conference in spite of the gentle persuasion from the British Prime Minster – David Cameron.

For Silanyo, refusing to attend the coming Somali Conference in London is about tactics, not principles. Throughout his life, he has always made that distinction. His unwavering principle — the overthrow of late Siyad Bare and the achievement of one man, one vote in Somaliland – was immutable, but almost anything that helped him to get to that goal he regarded as a tactic. He is the most pragmatic of idealists in Somaliland.

When he initiated his negotiations with Somalia in February and June 2012, there were many in Somaliland who thought he had lost it. And still there are some elements in Somaliland that beat the drums for non-engagement policy with Somalia. They believe that the president started an unbelievable initiative with a massive risk. But Silanyo’s campaign to persuade these elements and scores of stand-alone politicians that this is the correct course is still on. His reputation is on the line, as they believe.

However, he often explains what he is doing in relation to Somalia/Somaliland Talks slowly and deliberately, so he can bring those skeptics along. President Silanyo wants to take his support base along with him. Because he’s not a bubble-gum leader — chew it now and throw it away later kind of president. He has posterity in mind and the ability to take the long view. And when it comes to Somaliland’s sovereignty, there is no other view possible for him but independence. He thinks in terms of not days and weeks but decades. He knows that history is on his side and that the result that Somaliland wants from these negotiations is inevitable; it is just a question of how soon and how it would be achieved. Silanyo always plays for the long run.

Since when our late president, Mohamed H. Ibrahim Egal PBUH delivered his historical speech on Somaliland’s case at the Somali Conference in Addis-Ababa in 1993 I was always believed that Somaliland has also another great negotiator and a great orator who is so patiently waiting for his time to lead this fledgling young nation one day. He is now leading it.

 Ahmed Ali Aden
 Birmingham
 UK

Afhayeenka Al-shabaab oo sheegay in loo Aar-gudi doono dadkii lagu xasuuqay Duleedka Magaalada Boosaaso

Afhayeenka Xarakada Al-shabaab Sheekh Cali Maxamuud Raage ayaa ku goodisay in loo aargudi doono 13-kii qof ee shalay lagu xasuuqay duleedka Boosaaso ee maamul goboleed Puntland, wuxuuna arrintaas ku tilmaamay fal xasuuq ah ee loo geystay dad aan waxba galabsan.

Sheikh Cali Dheere oo shir jaraa’id ku qabtay deegaannada ay Al-shabaab ka taliso ee Koonfurta Soomaaliya ayaa sheegay in falkan uu ahaa mid fool-xun oo lagula kacay dad muslimiin ah oo lagu eedeeyay wax aysan shaqo ku lahayn, sababta keliya ee lagu haystana ay ahayd inay ahaayeen dad muslimiin ah, wuxuuna u diray tacsi ehellada dadkaas.

Sida ay sheegay Maxkamada Maamulka Puntland in dadkan ay ahaayeen kuwo ay horay u xukuntay maxkamadda ciidamada Puntland, laguna helay dilka Dr. Sheekh Axmed Xaaji C/raxmaan iyo falal kale oo aan kuwaas ka duwanayn, iyagoo sheegay in dilka uu ahaa mid uu Maxkamada maamulka Puntland go’aan ku gaaray.

Sidoo kale, Sheekh Cali Dheere ayaa sheegay inay qaadayaan tallaabo ay ugu aargudayaan dadkaas, ayna beegsan doonaan dhammmaan kuwii bixiyay amarka lagu dilay, kuwii dilka fuliyay, kuwii xukunka riday, kuwii jaasuusay, kuwii marqaati-beenaadka ku furay, isagoo sheegay inay marsiin doonaan mid walba ciqaab adag.

Sheekh Cali Dhere wuxuu ugu dambeyntii, ku boorriyay dadka ku nool Puntland inay u istaagaan sidii ay dhulkooda uga saari lahaayeen wuxuu ugu yeeray gaalada iyo kuwa la safan, isagoo xusay in hadda ay diyaarinayaan gaadiidkii ay kusoo qabqaban lahaayeen iyo xabsiyadii lagu guri lahaa.

Dhs11.6m joint funding for Somalia announced

United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and British Foreign Minister William Hague

LONDON: Dhs11.6 million (£2 million) of joint funding to help Somalia tackle the issue of sexual violence in conflict is to be announced on Wednesday by United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and British Foreign Minister William Hague, at the end of bilateral talks at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, according to a statement issued early morning.

The new funding, agreed during the first State Visit to the UK by the President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, comes ahead of a major London conference on Somalia on May 7 at which tackling sexual violence will be discussed. The Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI) is a top British priority, supported by the UAE.

The Federal Government of Somalia has publicly committed to improving the lives of women in Somalia, addressing the problem of sexual violence and combating the impunity which surrounds these terrible crimes. The £2 million (£1 million each from the UK and UAE) will provide support to the Federal Government, including training and capacity-building and help for them to deliver PSVI recommendations due to be made by the United Nations Team of Experts when they visit Somalia later this year.

Commenting on the announcement, Sheikh Abdullah said: "The UAE applauds the UK's strong leadership in bringing countries together to tackle the unacceptable prevalence of sexual violence in conflict situations. Through this contribution, the UAE is delighted to be able to support the Somali government in its efforts to protect and empower women." British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "Women and girls in Somalia have suffered acutely from sexual violence as a result of the conflict. I am pleased that through the UK's close partnership with the United Arab Emirates we can go some way to supporting the Federal Government of Somalia's efforts to address this issue and improve the lives of women and girls."

The funding will be used to build the Federal Government's capacity to tackle the issue of sexual violence and to support the Federal Government in delivering on recommendations due to made by the Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict's office following an assessment of the issues in Somalia by a Team of Experts.

Two-year ordeal ends as pirates release six hostages in Somalia

COPENHAGEN—Two Danes and four Filipinos who were held hostage in Somalia for more than two years after their ship was attacked by pirates were released Tuesday, the Danish government said.

Danish Foreign Minister Villy Soevndal said the six men were safe on board a Danish navy frigate off Somalia, but gave no further details.

The crewmen were on the Danish cargo ship M/V Leopard when it was attacked on Jan. 12, 2011 off the Somali coast. They were believed to have been held hostage on the mainland.

“For more than two years, ruthless criminals have kept them prisoner,” Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said. “Today, we are pleased that the six seamen have gotten their freedom back.”

She denied that Denmark had paid a ransom.

Defence Minister Nick Haekkerup told reporters that Danish commandos were sent to Somalia to pick up the hostages and escorted them out to the Danish frigate. It was unclear how they were released but Danish TV2 said the six men were freed by the hostage-takers after they had received a ransom.

Some of the hostages received medical assistance, including Soeren Lyngbjoern, who reportedly had been so ill for weeks that he was unable to stand up.

“I am looking forward to receiving medical assistance because I’m very sick,” Lyngbjoern was quoting as telling Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet, which says it spoke with the hostage by telephone after his release.

It was not clear where the hostages were headed but the Danish Foreign Ministry said all six eventually would be reunited with their families. It gave no details.

In September 2011, a Danish sailboat with four adults and three children on board were freed allegedly after a ransom of $3 million was paid. The ship had been seized by Somali pirates, who held it for seven months.

The longest that Somali pirates have held a ship and crew was after the 2010 abduction of 24 crew members on board the Panama-flagged MV Iceberg. They were held for 1,000 days, according to Cyrus Mody of the International Maritime Bureau.

Puntland executes 13 young Somalis including a woman

Puntalnd security forces carried out summary execution of 13 suspected Al Shabaab members today including a woman , local websites have reported. Some of the executed persons were found guilty of killing a Muslim Scholar named Dr Ahmed Sh. Abdirahman in Bossaso in 2011.

The Somalis  that were shot today were mainly young persons  between the ages of 18 -  25 years . Some of them have  previously been  charged with the killing of the scholar and have been sentenced to death by  Puntland court while others were never brought to court. The youth were executed at the outskirts of Bossao city with the presence of Puntalnd security officers, HOL has reported.

The Media was  denied access to the site of the execution or to take photos and report about the act. The place was also secured by the Puntland armed forces and the Puntland navy.

The names of the executed youth that have earlier confessed to  the killing of Dr.Ahmed during the court hearing are :

1. Mr.Ahmed Mohamed Ali  - 18 years old .
2. Mr.Mohamed Abshir Artan  -20  years old
3. Mr.Abdirahmaan Mohamed Ali  - 28 old.
4. Mr.Abdiqani Nur Mohamed (Qorane) -23 years old
5. Miss Ruqiyo Hasan Mahamed Yusuf -25 old
6. Mr. Mohamed Mohamud Saadole - age not stated

Puntland security officials denied to comment on the summary execution of these young Somalis  while  witnesses who requested to stay anonymous said that the youth were taken from Bossaso prison during the night and were ordered to stand in line and then shot by the security forces.

Translated from Somali by Medeshi