Exclusive: Somalia Central Bank a 'slush fund' for private payments - U.N.

People walk outside Somalia's central Bank in Hamarwayne district, south of capital Mogadishu May 16, 2013. REUTERS/Omar Faruk

By Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Money at the Central Bank of Somalia is not used to run government institutions in the war-torn Horn of Africa country, with an average 80 percent of withdrawals made for private purposes, according to a U.N. report seen by Reuters on Monday.

The confidential report by the U.N. Group of Experts to the Security Council's Somalia and Eritrea sanctions committee blamed a patronage system - dubbed the "khaki envelope" practice after the color of the stationery carried to the Ministry of Finance - for preventing the creation of state institutions.

"In this context, the fiduciary agency managed by PricewaterhouseCoopers was reduced to a transfer agent that could not ensure accountability of funds once they reached the Somali government," the report said.

"Indeed of $16.9 million transferred by PWC to the Central Bank, $12 million could not be traced," it said. "Key to these irregularities has been the current governor of the Central Bank, Abdusalam Omer."

PricewaterhouseCoopers, Omer and the Somalia U.N. mission did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Omer, 59, is a dual Somali-U.S. national who left Somalia at age 16 and returned in January to become governor of the Central Bank in a country with a shattered economy and broken financial system.

The overthrow of a dictator in 1991 plunged Somalia into two decades of violent turmoil, first at the hands of clan warlords and then Islamist militants, who have steadily lost ground since 2011 under pressure from an African Union military offensive.

Somalia was virtually lawless and unable to assert authority until a Western-leaning government was elected last year.

The U.N. report said all bank decisions were made by Omer because there were no board members in place and the bank does not operate as a government body subject to policy decisions or oversight from integrity institutions and parliament.

"On average, some 80 percent of withdrawals from the Central Bank are made for private purposes and not for the running of government, representing a patronage system and a set of social relations that defy institutionalization of the state," it said.

The experts said Somali Finance Minister Mohamud Hassan Suleiman had tried to reduce the scale of the patronage system, but "it is so pervasive as to be beyond his control without a fundamental restructuring of the system."

CENTRAL BANK A "SLUSH FUND"

Under the patronage system, a person can ask Somali leaders for a private payment "that cannot be resisted for personal or other reasons," the U.N. report said. A senior politician signs a note authorizing the payment, which is honored either directly at the Ministry of Finance or the Central Bank, the report said.

"This custom is also called the 'khaki envelope' procedure on account of the color of the envelopes seen carried to the Ministry of Finance," it said. "Since banks in Somalia, including the Central Bank, cannot make electronic transfers internally or externally, all transactions are made in cash."

The report found that between September, when the new government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud came to power, and April, almost three-quarters of withdrawals from the Central Bank were made for private individuals.

"Such statistics indicate that the CBS has effectively functioned as a 'slush fund' for the (patronage) system rather than as a financing mechanism for government expenditures," the U.N. experts said.

The report noted that Mohamud's government "cannot necessarily be faulted for the continuing patterns of corruption per se, but it can be held responsible for the appointment of individuals involved in past or present corruption."

According to Central Bank accounts, a cashier at the Ministry of Finance, Ahir Axmed Jumcaale, was responsible for withdrawing the greatest amount of funds.

The report said that between 2010 and 2013 Jumcaale withdrew $20.5 million in his name, which was then used for individual payments under the patronage system by successive finance ministers or finance officials.

An individual named Colonel Abdiqaadir Moalin Nuur took out $4.7 million between 2010 and 2013, the second largest amount of money, according to the report, which said there was no explanation for his withdrawals.

The International Monetary Fund officially recognized the Somali government in April, ending a 22-year hiatus, and last week offered technical support and advice, a first step in efforts to secure debt relief for the country.

Also last month, the Central Bank of Somalia published its first annual report since civil war erupted in 1991, putting the total debt at $3.2 billion. To win debt relief offered to poor nations, it has to draw up a financial management plan.

(Editing by Christopher Wilson)

Somalia: The Godane Coup and the Unraveling of Al-Shabaab

ANALYSIS
The week of June 19th was a bloody milestone for the course of jihad in Somalia as the leaders of Al-Shabaab clashed in Barawe, a coastal city in the south. That conflict led to the killing of some of the top echelon of the terror group and the escape of others. What this violent encounter portends for the future, however, is far more serious than it appears at first glance.

In a single stroke, Ahmed Abdi Godane, the emir of Al-Shabaab who goes by the nom de guerre of "Abu Zubeir," managed to re-align the radical group's leadership dynamics and further consolidated his power by getting rid of his major detractors. His loyalists killed two co-founders of Al-Shabaab, including his former deputy and longtime friend, Ibrahim Al-Afghani, and chased away Hassan Dahir Aweys and Mukhtar Robow, the former spokesman for the terror group.

Aweys is now in custody in Mogadishu, as the government decides his fate. Robow, on the other hand, is believed to have fled to the Bay and Bakol region where his Rahanweyn clan is based. Al-Afghani, Aweys and Robow have complained about Godane's authoritarian tendencies and the heavy-handed approach in dealing with foreign jihadists. On April 26th, an Al-Shabaab assassin loyal to Godane attempted to kill the American jihadist and Alabama native, Omar Hammami, after the latter had gone public in criticizing Al-Shabaab.

Godane's latest attempt to finish off his rivals in the movement has paved the way for his sole leadership of Al-Shabaab which has historically been ruled instead through collective leadership. The clash offers a blunt assessment of what has gone wrong with the group's leadership and how conflicts are resolved. Godane has opted for a violent method of conflict resolution which will likely lead to questions about his legitimacy as the supreme leader of jihad in Somalia.

It is, however, too early to gauge the impact this conflict may have on the young fighters of the militant group. At least currently, Godane has the support of Shaikh Hassan Hussein Adam, an influential young cleric based in Kenya and a sympathetic supporter of Al-Shabaab. A month ago, "Shaikh Hassan," as he is popularly known, issued a fatwa (religious edict) that permitted the extermination of Godane's rivals because they were sowing discord and dissension in the ranks of the mujahidin in Somalia.

The escape of Mukhtar Robow also poses a serious problem for Godane. Most of Al-Shabaab's foot soldiers belong to the Rahanweyn clan. In a country where clan sometimes supersedes religious loyalty, it is not clear what Robow's influence will be on his fellow Rahanweyn fighters. Hassan Dahir Aweys' surrender to the Somali government is not likely to cause any ripple effects for the Al-Shabab fighters because the septuagenarian radical leader and his group, Hizbul Islam, only joined Al-Shabaab in 2009. Robow, however, has been a major leader of Al-Shabaab since its formation a decade ago and, hence, his loyalty remains unquestioned.

The recent clash is likely to dampen and perhaps even rupture Godane's ties with Al-Qaeda central and further cements the perception in some Al-Qaeda circles that Al-Shabaab is interested in a local jihad rather than a global one. Two months ago, Ibrahim Al-Afghani wrote an open letter to Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda, in which he criticized Godane for targeting foreign jihadists, imprisoning them in secret detention centers in the areas the terror group controls, and even killing them. For the last several weeks, reports that are critical of the course of jihad in Somalia have appeared on websites sympathetic to Al-Qaeda.

The American jihadist, Hammami, was most vociferous in his lashing out at Godane and publicly requested that Al-Qaeda intervene. There were even unconfirmed reports that Al-Qaeda had asked Al-Shabaab to appoint Ibrahim Al-Afghani as its emir but Godane maneuvered to block that al-Qaeda instruction. At any rate, the recent upheavals in the Somali branch and the purging of some of its leaders will not endear Godane to Al-Qaeda central. In addition, the marginalization and hunting down of foreign fighters, such as Omar Hammami, will also soil the reputation of Al-Shabaab as the main attraction for global jihad.

For the last few weeks, Al-Shabaab has increased its attacks in Mogadishu, raising the perception that the militant group is still a force that can destabilize the nascent government of President Hassan Mohamoud. To the contrary, the recent spike of violence in the capital is an indicator that the group is far weaker than it was thought to be. The group has been successful in attacking soft targets, such as the UN compound, perhaps to distract its fighters from debilitating fragmentation among its leaders. It is unlikely that this terror group will vanish from the political scene in Somalia in the near future, Godane and his followers will continue to exploit the government's inability to exert its control outside Mogadishu.

Godane's coup, while in essence a movement that is eating its own children, may, indeed, pave the way for the fragmentation of the militant group along clan lines. The nagging question then will be to what extent Godane, a northerner operating in the deep south of Somalia, is able to remain head of what is generally a southern jihadi phenomenon? Moreover, the influx of foreign jihadists into Somalia has, for all practical purposes, decreased and further eroded the place of that country in the annals of global jihad.

Hassan M. Abukar is a Somali writer and a political analyst.

Surgeon Fahima Osman leaves her underdog status behind

An undated but recent image of Fahima Osman credit: Sandy Nicholson. fahimaosman@hotmail.com For Focus Canada Day feat (Sandy Nicholson)

by ERIN ANDERSSEN, The Globe and Mail

Standing in the bare-bones operating room in Hargeysa, Somaliland, Fahima Osman knew her patient, a 26-year-old man with a bowel obstruction, wouldn’t make it without surgery. Back home in Canada, she’d have no doubt she could save him – as she did a few months later for an elderly Toronto woman who went home just three days later. But here, the hospital lacked a proper life-support system and optimal anesthetic. Even sutures were in short supply.

In the end, although the surgery itself went well, the young man died as soon as his breathing tube was removed. Looking down at him, Dr. Osman realized, “I don’t have the heart for this.”

Not an easy conclusion because, if anyone can claim to have heart, it’s Fahima Osman. She first appeared in The Globe and Mail a decade ago as part of The New Canada, a series that explored the rise in interracial marriage, the shift in gay rights and the goals of young aboriginal Canadians in an attempt to see a changing nation from the perspective of the diverse, educated 20-somethings who define the next generation.

About to become the first Canadian-trained doctor in Toronto’s Somali community, Dr. Osman was a remarkable example of an immigrant success story. A refugee to Canada at the age of 11, she had been raised by loving parents with no formal schooling in a large family where money was always tight.

In 2003, she was 25, a year away from graduating and planning to become a surgeon in Canada. But she also dreamed of volunteering back in Somaliland, the former British protectorate that had become part of Somalia only to break away after her parents had left.

“We are all brothers and sisters in the world,” she said in 2003. “We all have a duty to help each other. It was just a matter of luck that we’re born privileged and not a kid starving in Africa.”

However, determination and a bright mind aren’t always enough.

Dr. Osman had trained well – working as an emergency-room surgeon at Toronto’s North York General hospital, as well as in rural communities in northern Ontario, believing the experience would help her most on the ground in Somaliland.

Yet she wasn’t ready for the shortages in basic medical supplies and staff she would encounter. Other doctors did their best under the circumstances, but she felt helpless. Losing the young man in 2011 was her breaking point. “It was a case that opened my eyes,” she says. “I was naïve before. You want to save the world. You live and you learn.”

Rather than just give up, she returned to Canada to build her surgical career and find another way to help. She also fell in love, marrying Hosni Zaouali, a Tunisian who was completing his MBA in Quebec when they met at a fundraiser in Montreal. He is now the co-founder and director of Voila Learning, a nonprofit that tutors Canadians in French online, and uses the proceeds to support a virtual school for young Africans.

Last month, Dr. Osman completed a fellowship in breast cancer surgery at the University of Toronto, and is currently in Paris, on her own initiative, to study oncoplastic surgery, a cutting-edge technique that improves the cosmetic appearance of the breast after the tumour is removed.

Two years ago, still thinking of Somaliland, she started work on a master’s degree in public health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, to learn more about developing the health care system in low-income countries. “I need to help myself before I help anyone else,” she says.

Dr. Osman realized that what Somaliland needs aren’t more Canadian-trained doctors doing their best to patch holes, but locally trained surgeons and specialists to build a better system, one that truly understands the country’s culture and circumstances. So she now plans to create a foundation to work toward that goal by providing money and mentors. She has already begun to build links with more advanced medical schools in neighbouring Ethiopia, since there are no surgical-residency programs in Somaliland.

After all, Dr. Osman understands better than most the value of mentors and support networks, particularly when you are a trailblazer in your community.

“Everybody loves an underdog,” she says, “and my story was that.”

Growing up, she had no professional role models and no outside incentives to succeed, other than her family’s belief in her abilities and the decorative A-plus letters she hung all around her bedroom. Even a high-school guidance counsellor once chided her for aiming too high.

In university, she jokes, she became a “doctor groupie,” badgering friends with relatives in the medical profession, doggedly pursuing anyone willing to offer advice over coffee.

She focused on her own goals for so long, she says, that it was only last year, sitting in a class on social capital at Johns Hopkins, that she truly realized how she had beaten the odds just to be in that lecture hall. Her more well-off peers had built-in stepping stones, thanks to their parents and the opportunities that circumstance afforded them.

Poor kids, even the best students, have to be “exceptional” to succeed – just like a country struggling to build a medical system virtually from scratch. “They have to work 10 times harder to become successful,” Dr. Osman says.

And so Fahima Osman, older, wiser and no longer defined by her underdog status, has one piece of advice for Canada: Look out for young people like her, who have big goals and bright talents but may need a helping hand.

That means preserving social programs in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, she says, and having successful professionals reach out to students to guide their choices. If the country needs inspiration, it can find her in surgery, still trying to saving the world, one way or another.

Chinese factory accused of poisoning Somaliland water supplies

The tanning factory has been accused by local people of dumping dangerous chemicals and causing health complaints

Bags of corrosive material lay open, spilling harmful substances on to the floor of the Jeronimo compound. Photograph: Sean Williams

by Sean Williams, guardian.co.uk


A Chinese-owned tanning factory based in Somaliland has been accused of dumping dangerous chemicals in waterways. But the government has failed to intervene for fear of spooking foreign investment, according to local people.

Jeronimo Group of Industries and Trading PLC, a subsidiary of Chinese glove-making firm Phiss, is the first and only foreign-owned company in the breakaway east African state. It has been operating a factory in the village of Dar-Buruq, 60km outside the capital Hargeisa, since 2008.

People living near the factory have made numerous complaints about respiratory problems. A former worker at Jeronimo named Ibrahim said that one day, while mixing chromium compounds without a mask, he was overcome by the smell and fell down, hitting his head. "The company did not take me to the hospital," he says. "To this day I still have breathing problems." Other locals confirmed many health complaints had been made.

When the Guardian investigated the Jeronimo compound it found an unbearable smell, and workers with no face masks or proper shoes and sacks of corrosive material spilling onto the factory floor.

Industrial waste is dumped in local waterways, the company admits, but it is adamant it has adhered to local and international rules governing the tanning industry. Livestock, which comprises up to 80% of local trade, has disappeared as animals refuse to drink the water and their herders move elsewhere, said one village elder. "[The livestock industry here] is dead, which has also created poverty," says Mohammed, a local government official. "The water here was free; God-given. Now people have to buy it from travelling sellers. A 20-litre jerry can costs 10,000 Somaliland shillings ($0.80). It is too much."

Foreign investments like Jeronimo are seen as vital in proving Somaliland's worth as an independent nation, a point not lost on Dar-Buruq's residents. "We've talked to ministers, deputy ministers. Each time our arguments are passed on to someone else," one village elder says. "The government considers that it is fighting a broader war internationally to attract foreign investors. So if this one is clamped down on it will have a negative impact on that."

President Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo's government has done little to stop the factory from dumping waste, despite continued appeals from locals.

Somaliland's chamber of commerce secretary general, Ibrahim Ismail Elmi,said that while a seven-minister delegation was sent to inspect Jeronimo in 2008, the situation has been "under review" ever since.

But another senior official, who asked to remain anonymous, added: "We suspect them [Jeronimo]. They use poisons and chromes are getting into the river." Jeronimo has a $6m agreement with the Somaliland government, the official claims, that has to be paid in full should the firm be shut down. "We don't have the capacity to refund them, so we just give advice."

"If the government was worried about these health issues, they should have checked before we came," says Li Fai La, the factory manager . Rather than remove or recycle effluent, he said the company dumps industrial waste "in water 3km away from the factory." Although he did not specifiy what percentage of waste is dumped, the Guardian understands the factory has no waste management system in place.

Li believes the complaints are economically driven, and says that he has considered moving Jeronimo to neighbouring Ethiopia. "You can go to the factory now," he says. "Yes, the smell is bad but trees are growing and there are fish in the water nearby."

Edward Snowden expands asylum requests to 21 nations, but gets no immediate takers

WASHINGTON National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, believed to be in legal limbo in the Moscow airport, expanded his requests for asylum to 21 countries, including China and 13 European nations, according to WikiLeaks, but his options seemed to be narrowing on Tuesday.

WikiLeaks legal adviser Sarah Harrison delivered the requests for asylum to an official at the Russian consulate at the Moscow airport on Sunday, according to the website. WikiLeaks said some of the requests had already been delivered to the appropriate embassies.

The WikiLeaks statement said requests were made to China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, India and European countries. Snowden had planned earlier to seek asylum in Ecuador and had requested asylum in Russia, according to the anti-secrecy group.

Early Tuesday, however, the Kremlin said Snowden had repealed his request to stay in Russia because of the terms for protection given by Moscow.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin said Monday that former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden will have to stop leaking U.S. secrets if he wants to get asylum in Russia, but added that Snowden has no plan to quit doing so.

Poland rejected Snowden's asylum request on Tuesday, and officials in Germany, Norway, Austria, Spain and Switzerland said that he could not apply for asylum from abroad. Many European countries require an asylum request to be made on their soil.

Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said Snowden had made a request for asylum in Poland, but the request had faults and was rejected. He did not elaborate.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, coincidentally wrapping up a long-planned visit to Moscow, said Tuesday that his government had not yet received an official asylum request from Snowden, but that it would be considered if and when received.

He deserves the world's protection. He has not asked us for it yet. When he does we will give our answer," Maduro told the Reuters news agency in Moscow.
Last week, it looked as if Snowden might get asylum in Ecuador, but after a phone call from Vice President Joe Biden, Ecuador's president seemed to shy away from a commitment.

"We can't process an asylum request because Snowden isn't on Ecuadorean soil, and when he arrives, if he arrives, we will seek the opinion of the U.S.," President Rafael Correa said on Sunday.

Snowden, who has been on the run since releasing sensitive NSA documents, is believed to have been in Moscow airport's transit zone since his arrival from Hong Kong on June 23. The U.S. has annulled his passport.

Meanwhile, WikiLeaks posted a statement Monday evening said to be from Snowden that slammed President Obama for "using citizenship as a weapon."

"Although I am convicted of nothing, it has unilaterally revoked my passport, leaving me a stateless person," Snowden said in the statement. "Without any judicial order, the administration now seeks to stop me exercising a basic right. A right that belongs to everybody. The right to seek asylum.
"Their purpose is to frighten, not me, but those who would come after me."

The expanded requests for asylum came as the Obama administration contends with European allies angry about the release of documents that alleged U.S. eavesdropping on European Union diplomats.

r. Obama, in an African news conference with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, said the U.S. would provide allies with information about new reports that the NSA had bugged EU offices in Washington, New York and Brussels. But he also suggested such activity by governments would hardly be unusual.

"We should stipulate that every intelligence service -- not just ours, but every European intelligence service, every Asian intelligence service, wherever there's an intelligence service -- here's one thing that they're going to be doing: They're going to be trying to understand the world better, and what's going on in world capitals around the world," he said. "If that weren't the case, then there'd be no use for an intelligence service."

The latest issue concerns allegations, published in the German newsweekly Der Spiegel, of U.S. spying on European officials. French President Francois Hollande demanded Monday that the U.S. immediately stop any such eavesdropping and suggested the widening controversy could jeopardize next week's opening of trans-Atlantic trade talks between the United States and Europe.

"We cannot accept this kind of behavior from partners and allies," Hollande said on French television.

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters in Berlin, "Eavesdropping on friends is unacceptable." He declared, "We're not in the Cold War anymore."

Even before the latest disclosures, talks at the upcoming free-trade sessions were expected to be fragile, with disagreements surfacing over which items should be covered in or excluded from an agreement. The United States has said there should be no exceptions. But France has called for exempting certain cultural products, and other Europeans do not appear eager to give up longtime agricultural subsidies.

Obama said the Europeans "are some of the closest allies that we have in the world." But he added: "I guarantee you that in European capitals, there are people who are interested in, if not what I had for breakfast, at least what my talking points might be should I end up meeting with their leaders. That's how intelligence services operate."

Nonetheless, Obama said he'd told his advisers to "evaluate everything that's being claimed" and promised to share the results with allies.

Obama said "there have been high-level discussions with the Russians" about Snowden's situation.

"We don't have an extradition treaty with Russia. On the other hand, you know, Mr. Snowden, we understand, has traveled there without a valid passport, without legal papers. And you know we are hopeful that the Russian government makes decisions based on the normal procedures regarding international travel and the normal procedures regarding international travel and the normal interactions that law enforcement has. So I can confirm that."

Putin didn't mention any Snowden effort to seek asylum in Russia, and spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to say what the Russian response might be. Putin insisted that Snowden wasn't a Russian agent and that Russian security agencies hadn't contacted him.

Three U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss the Snowden case, said Washington's efforts were focused primarily on persuading Russia to deport Snowden either directly to the United States or to a third country, possibly in eastern Europe, that would then hand him over to U.S. authorities.

In a sign of the distrust generated by the Der Spiegel report, the German government said it had launched a review of its secure government communications network and the EU's executive, the European Commission, ordered "a comprehensive ad hoc security sweep."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday he didn't know the details of the allegations, but he still played them down, maintaining that many nations undertake various activities to protect their national interests. Kerry failed to quell the outrage from allies, including France, Germany and Italy.

A spokesman for Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, said, "The European Union has demanded and expects full and urgent clarification by the U.S. regarding the allegations."

According to Der Spiegel's report, which it said was partly based on information leaked by Snowden, NSA planted bugs in the EU's diplomatic offices in Washington and infiltrated the building's computer network. Similar measures were taken at the EU's mission to the United Nations in New York, the magazine said.

It also reported that the NSA used secure facilities at NATO headquarters in Brussels to dial into telephone maintenance systems that would have allowed it to intercept senior officials' calls and Internet traffic at a key EU office nearby.

As for Snowden, White House national security spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the White House won't comment on specific asylum requests but reiterated its message to all countries that he "needs to be expelled back to the U.S. based on the fact that he doesn't have travel documents and the charges pending against him."

Regarding possible effects on U.S. interactions with Russia, she said it remains the case "that we don't want this issue to negatively impact the bilateral relationship." 

Egypt military gives President Morsi 48 hours to reach agreement with opposition, or face political transition

CAIRO Egypt's powerful military warned Monday that the nation's first democratically-elected leader in decades had just 48 hours to answer the demands made by thousands of anti-government protesters calling for his ouster, or it would intervene to force a political transition.

The military's ultimatum was, it said, a "last chance."

In a statement read on Egyptian state television, Defense Minister Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sissi lamented that conservative Islamist President Mohammed Morsi and the largely younger opposition movement, which has led massive protests calling for early elections, had failed to reach an agreement during the previous week.

"If the demands of the people are not met by the expiry of this deadline (by Wednesday), the Armed Forces will announce a road-map for the future, and procedures that the Armed Forces will oversee with the participation of all political and national streams, including the youths, who were and still are the real force that ignited their glorious revolution, and without the exclusion of any party," said the statement.

The military's ultimatum, read by an unnamed official over a still photo of al-Sissi, came hours after anti-Morsi protesters stormed the Cairo headquarters of his Muslim Brotherhood party, ransacking and looting it.

Reuters reports that a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party denounced the ultimatum, saying "everyone" was opposed to a statement he likened to a "military coup."In the statement, al-Sissi called Sunday's protests -- which drew hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets of Cairo and other major Egyptian cities -- "glorious," and said that through the demonstrations, the Egyptian people had made their message loud and clear, and they deserved a response.

At least 16 people were killed and more than 780 injured in the violence Sunday and early Monday, Health Ministry spokesman Yehya Moussa told state television.

CBS News correspondent Clarissa Ward reported that Cairo's central Tahrir Square was largely quiet Monday morning, but the demonstrations usually gather steam in the afternoon and early evening. Egyptians were also bracing for another wave of unrest, as the protest movement issued its own ultimatum on Monday, giving Morsi until Tuesday afternoon to step down, or face a fresh round of national civil disobedience.

Ward said many Egyptians blame Morsi for their country's economic woes and deteriorating security situation, including a spike in murders and sexual assaults since he came to power. Since he won the nation's first democratic elections since the Arab Spring ouster of long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak, Morsi has divided the nation along similar lines to the revolution itself -- pitting a largely moderate youth from the cities, against more conservative Egyptians who back the Muslim Brotherhood and President Morsi.

Morsi still enjoys huge support. His backers were also on the streets in Cairo and other cities on Sunday, though in smaller numbers, and some said they were prepared fight to defend the president.

Opponents accuse Morsi of running the nation in contradiction to the ideals of the Arab Spring, saying he has been too eager to place other Brotherhood leaders into positions of power and not eager enough to share the power among other political groups in the country.

Earlier Monday, organizers of the protests called on the military to state openly it supports them.

While the statement from al-Sissi was careful to state that the military would not take an active role in any political transition process, the threat that one would be launched if Morsi failed to heed the demands of the opposition was tantamount to military support.

The announcement was greeted by jubilation in Tahrir Square.

According to the Egyptian constitution, if a sitting president loses the confidence of the public he can be removed from power and the chief justice of the nation's high court would step in to oversee a transition administration.

Ahead of the protests, the military last week warned it would intervene to stop the nation from entering a "dark tunnel."

Ergayga Qaramada Midoobay Oo Xalay Ka Jawaabay Su'aalo Laga Weydiiyay Wada Hadalka Somaliland iyo Somalia Iyo Qodobo Kale Oo Somaliland Khuseeya

Ergayga Qaramada Midoobay u qaabilsan Somaliland iyo Somaliya Danjire Nicholas Kay, ayaa xalay ka jawaabay su'aalo lagu weydiiyay barta uu ku leeyahay twitterka, kuwaas oo qaar ka mid ahi ay ku saabsanyihiin Somaliland.

Ergayga Xoghayaha guud ee Qaramada Midoobay oo maamula xafiiska cusub ee UNSOM oo bedelay xafiiskii hore ee UNPOS, waxa su'aalaha la weydiiyay ka mid ahaa bal inuu rajaynayo in wada hadalka Somaliland iyo Somaliya u qorshaysan inuu dhawaan Turkiga ku dhex maraa, xal lagaga gaadhi karo khilaafaadka dhinaca  hawada ee labada dal u dhexeeya, wuxuu ku jawaabay, "Xaqiiqdii waan rajaynayaa. Iskaashiga ayaa  macno sameeya. Duulimaadyada Qaramada Midoobay oo taggaa, Somaliland dan ayay u tahay."

Mar la su'aalay ergayga bal inuu damaanad qaadi karo inaanu xafiiskiisa UNSOM meeqaamkeeda  hoos u dhigayn dawladda la doortay ee Somaliland, wuxuu ku jawaabay, "Halkan uma joogno inaanu meeqaam tirno cid. Waxaanu taageersanahay wax kasta oo ay Hargeysa iyo Muqdisho isla gaadhaan."

Su'aal kale ayaa la weydiiyay ergaygan oo uu nuxurkeedu ahaa sida uu arko midowgii Somaliland iyo Somaliya ee 1 Julay 1960 iyo inay laba kala noqon doonaan 53 sannadood ka dib, wuxuu ku jawaabay, "UNSOM waxay doonaysaa  inay ka caawiso Hargeysa iyo Muqdisho inay gaadhaan jawaab qancisa. Xubnaha Qaramada midoobay ayaa aqoonsada wadamada, maaha annaga oo u shaqeeya wadamada xubnaha ah."

Ergayga waxa la weydiiyay su?aalo kale oo la xidhiidha xaaladaha siyaasadeed ee Somaliya sida Kismaayo, xadhiga Xasan Daahir Aweys iyo arrimo kale.

Geesta kale, ergayga ayaa dhawaan bartiisan uu ku leeyahay twitterka, wuxuu bogaadin iyo hambalyo ugu diray Wasiirka cusub ee arrimaha dibadda Somaliland Md. Maxamed Yoonis Biixi, oo uu ku tilmaamay nin ay saaxiib yihiin.xigasho/geeska/afrika

Ethiopia iyo Masar oo heshiis hordhac ah ka gaaray muranka wabiga Niil

Wasiiradda arrimaha dibedda Ethiopia iyo Masar Tedros Adhanom iyo Kamel Amr

Dowladdaha Masar iyo Ethiopia ayaa toddobaadkan kulankii ugu horreeyay yeeshay tan iyo markii uu soo baxay khilaafka biyo xireenka dowladda Ethiopia ay ka sameesaneyso korantada.

Wasiiradda arrimaha dibedda Ethiopia iyo Masar Tedros Adhanom iyo Kamel Amr ayaa kulan ay ku yeesheen magaalada Addis Ababa ee xarunta dalka Ethiopia, waxa ay ku saxiixdeen halkaas heshiis ah in la qabolojiyo xiisadda ka taagan labada waddan ee ku qotanta wabiga Niil.

“Waxaan ku heshiinay in si degdeg ah labada wadan ay u magacaabaan guddi farsamo oo ka soo tala  bixiya heerka ay hadda wax marayaa xag farsamo iyo siyaasad,” Sidaas waxaa saxaafadda u sheegay Salaasadii wasiirka arrimaha dibedda Ethiopia Tedros Adhanom

Wasiirka arrimaha dibedda Masar Kamel Camr oo isna shirka jaraa’id ka hadlay ayaa in dhammaan wax yaabaha ay ka wadahaleen isaga iyo dhiggiisa Ethiopia ay ahaayeen wax aad u wanaagsan.

Wakaalada wararka AFP ayaa ku soo warrantay in la badan wasiir arrimo dibadeed ay muujiyeen in mustaqbalka la qaban doono kulamo kale oo dheeraad oo looga hadlo xaaladda biyaha wabiga Niil.

“Xiriirka Masar iyo Ethiopia waa weli mid jirra waa wadamo walaalo ah, waxaa noo furan labo arrin waa in aan si wadajir ugu dabaalano ama aan u quusno . waxaan u maleenayaa in dooq Ethiopia uu yahay dooq Masar in si wadajir ah loogu dabaasho,” sidaas waxaa yiri Mr Tedros oo ay soo xigatay wakaalada wararka AFP..

Kulankan ayaa yimid markii dowladda Masar ay ka soo horjeesatay Ethiopia in ay biyo xireen ka sameesato wabiga Niil taasoo ay dooneyso in ay koranto ka dhaliso.

Masar waxa ay ka digtay yaraansho ku imaanaya biyaha la siiyo 84-milyan oo qof oo ku nool dalkeeda.

Toddobaadkii horre, madaxweynaha Masar Mohamed Morsi ayaa sheegay in aaney doonin dagaal balse in aan laga waantoobi doonin wax kasta oo lagu difaacayo biyaha ay lee dahay Masar.

Mr Morsi ayaa yiri wax kasta oo noo furan kama laaban doono si aan u difaacno biyaha aan lee nahay, taasoo dadka wax odorasa ay lee yihiin waxaa loo fasiran karaa in Masar ay diyaar u tahay dagaal.

Baarlamaanka Ethiopia ayaa toddobaadkii horre isku raacay in wax la badalo heshiiskii lagu qaybsaday wabiga Niil, waxaana ay hoosta ka xariiqeen in wax badan la siiyay waddamada Masar iyo Sudan.

Waddamoi badan oo ku yaalla qaaradda sida Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya iyo Burundi ayaa dhawaan ku heshiiyay in wax laga badalo heshiiskii lagu saxiixay wabiga Niil, sannadkii 1929-kii kaasoo ay garwadeen ka ahayd dowladda Britain.

Dowladda Ethiopia wayaa sheegtay in biyo xireenka ay dhisaneyso ay uu ku kici doono ilaa $4.7bn (£3.1bn) kaasoo bixinaya mashruuc koranto oo gaaraya ilaa 6,000 megawatts.

Wabiga Niil waxaa uu wuxuu biyo siiyaa 11 waddano oo sida laga soo xigtay dadka ku xeel dheer arrimahana wuxuu gaarayaa 6,695.

Ugaas Maxamed Weli oo ka baxsaday Shabaabka kana hadlay Beesha Habargedir

Ugaaska Beesha Sade ahna Afhayeenka Beelaha Daarood Ugaas Mohamed Wali Sheikh Ahmed Nur

Isbad-badalka siyaasadeed waa mid la arko hadba wadciga sida uu kugu qabto,Taageere hore oo shabaabka si weyn ula dhacsanaa ayaa hadda quus iyo kalsooni laabasho sameeyey.

Ugaaska Beesha Sade ahna Afhayeenka Salaadiinta Beelaha Daarood Ugaas Maxamed Wali Sheekh Axmed Nuur oo kamid ahaa Odayaasha Dhaqanka Soomaaliyeed ee Shabaab ka tirsan ayaa  mar hore .ka goostay shabaabka.

Ugaas Maxamed Wali oo carar hadda ku jooga meel ka mid ah gobollada Dhexe ayaa waxa uu ka hadlay bur burka ku yimid shabaab sheegayna diin ku gambadka inay u wacan tahay.

Maxamed Wali waxa uu sheegay dhinaca kale Beesha Habar gidir inay khiyaantay Shiikh Xasan Daahir una gacan gelisay gacan cadow ayna ku baaqayaan in mar kale Habar gidir ay soo furtaan Shiikh Xasan sida uu yiri.



Maxamed Wali ayaa wuxuu ka hadlay Shabaabka iyo xaalada ay ku sugan yuhuun sheegyna in wax diin ah asyan wadi ummana ay iska qato, wuxuu kaloo sheegay in  in dowladda lala dagaalao madaama dibna loo soo bilaabo wadatashi hor leh iyo dowladd cususb.


Ugaaska Beesha Sade ahna Afhayeenka Salaadiinta Beelaha Daarood Ugaas Maxamed Wali Sheekh Axmed Nuur oo kamid ahaa Odayaasha Dhaqanka Soomaaliyeed ee Shabaab ka tirsan ayaa  wuxuu ka goostay shabaabka

Yuusuf Garaad “Shiikh Xasan Daahir Aweys Ha La Download gareeyo”

Yuusuf Garaad Cumar Axmed ayaa warbixin ka qoray soo baxsashada Xasan Daahir Aweys oo hadda ku sugan magaalada Cadaado ee xarunta maamulka iyo Xeeb.

Warbixinta Yuusuf Garaad ayaa ku billaabatay : Dhowr maalmood ayuu Xasan Daahir Aweis joogaa magaalada Cadaado.

Dowladdu sida ay ka yeesho arrintiisa indhaha ayaa lagu wada hayaa. Ma soo qaban doontaa? Ma xiri doontaa?

Maxkamad ma soo taagi doontaa?

Ma sii deyn doontaa? Ma dhoofin doontaa?

Ma iska indha tiri doontaa?

Mise jago ayay u magacaabi doontaa?

Arrntaas waxaa aad u daneynaya dadka ehelkoodii ay Shabaab dishay iyo kuwa nool ee weerarrada Shabaab ku naafoobay.

Waxaa fiirsanaya oo kale kuwa al Shabaab ku maqan oo go’aan ku qaadan doona in ay sidiisa oo kale ay ku dhiirradaan iyo in kale. Xubnaha al Shabaabka ee hadda xabsiyada ku jira laftoodu dowladda wey eegayaan.

Shabaka Soomaaliyeed oo dhan ayaa u dhegataagaya. Waxaa wehliya Dowladaha gobolka ee dhibaatada tooska ah al Shabaab u geystay oo dabcan aan war la’aani hayn, aragti la’aanna aan ahayn.

Haddaba dowladdu maxay samayn doontaa? Maxayse kula tahay in ay sameyso?

Intaa ka sokow, Xasan Daahir Aweis, xogta uu ka hayo al Shabaab ma ahan mid yar. Muxuu ogyahay? Muxuu indhihiisa ku soo arkay?

Muxuu maqlay? Maxay la eg tahay tabarta al Shabaab? Yay gacan ka helaan gudaha iyo dibaddaba? Maxay ku dirireen gudahooda? Yaase doonaya in ay sidiisa oo kale ay ka soo baxaan?

Maxaa lagu qalday dhallinyarada noloshoodii qiimaheeda lala ekeysiiyay hal bambaano? Kuwaas oo marar badan noqday qofka keliya ee dhintay markii ay is qarxiyeen. Diyaarse ma u yahay, mise yaqaan si loo delete gareyn karo  farriintaas, si dhallinyaradaas naftooda loogu badbaadiyo umadda Ilaaheeyna ay uga nabad gasho?

Ciidammada ammaanku xogta ay ka helaan wadaadkan waxaa laga yaabaa in ay u suurta geliso in ay mustaqbalka ku fashiliyaan weerarro iyo qaraxyo ay Shabaab damacsanayd. Sidaana lagu badbaadiyo nafta dad maanta nool.

Kooxaha Sirdoonka ee ay ahayd in ay search gareeyaan sirta, Sirtii oo socota ayaa iyaga soo doonatay oo pop up sameysay.

Waa in ay sida ugu dhakhsiyaha badan u download gareystaan, qaarkeedna ay u sharegareeyaan.

Somalia, LRA operation commanders changed

President Yoweri Museveni

newvision

By Raymond Baguma

President Yoweri Museveni has made changes within the UPDF field commanders serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) as well as the AU Regional Intervention force against the LRA based in South Sudan.

In the transfers, Brig. Dick Olum who has been the overall commander of the Regional Taskforce against remnants of LRA in South Sudan and Central African Republic (CAR) moves to Somalia as the commander of the Ugandan contingent.

Brig Sam Kavuma now takes over from Brig. Olum as the Commander of the AU-authorized Regional Task Force headquartered in Yambio, South Sudan. Kavuma recently graduated from Kenya National Defence College.

Since September last year, Brig. Olum has been commander of the intervention force which includes troops from the countries affected by the LRA - South Sudan, Uganda, DR Congo and CAR.

Similarly, the UPDF has been deployed in Somalia under the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) since January 2007 to support efforts to stabilize the war-torn Somalia.

Brig. Olum takes over from Brig. Michael Ondoga who has been the contingent commander of the deployed troops under "Uganda Battle Group Ten" (UGABAG 10) in Somalia.

Brig. Ondoga now becomes Uganda's Military Attaché at Uganda's High Commission in Kenya, replacing the late Brig. Clovis Kalyebara who passed away recently.

Brig. Peter Elwelu now becomes the commander of the UPDF 2nd infantry division based in Mbarara. Brig. Elwelu who has hitherto been the commander of the Moroto-based 3rd Division, replaces Brig. Patrick Kankiriho who died recently.

In a statement, the UPDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Paddy Ankunda said, "These appointments are a continuous process of the efforts towards professionalism of the UPDF by our Commander in Chief. We congratulate the Commanders upon their new appointments and wish them the best returns in their respective tours of duty."

Xukuumada Somalia oo Si Aadaminimada ka Baxsan u Jidhdishay Odayaashii Dhaqanka HabarGidir ee Keenay Xasan Daahir Aweys Markii Ay Diideen In Dawlada Loo Dhiibo Daawi Sawiro Naxdin leh & Banaanbax Rabshado Wata Oo Haatan Ka Socda Muqdisho

Muqdisho - Waxaa habeen ka hor si layaab leh loo jir-dilay odayaal aad u fara badan oo kasoo jeeda beesha Habar-Gidir kadib markii ay garoonka Muqdisho kasoo dejiyeen Xassan Daahir oo ay Cadaado ka keeneen ayna ka dhega adeygeen in ay dowlada u dhiibaan halkaasna a uga haraan.

Odayaasha ayaa la sheegay in ciidanka sida gaarka ah u tabobaran ee Xukuumada Xasan Sheikh Maxamuud loona yaqaano Gaashaan ay si aadaminimada ka baxsan u jidhdileen kadib markii ay si aad ah u diideen in dowlada Soomaaliyeed ay la wareegto Xassan Daahir oo isagu Baraawe Doon kaga soo fakaday  isaga oo baxsad ka ahaa Ciidamada Amniyaadka ee uu hogaamiye Amiirka Shabaab Axmed Cabdi Godane oo qudha ka jaray Ibraahim Afgan iyo Macalim Burhan oo ka mid ahaa hogaamiyayaasha ugu sareeya Al Shabaab Al Mujaahidiin.

Dhanka kale Waxaa Xiligan dibad bax rabshado wata ay dhigayaan dad u badan Beesha Habar Gidir kana soo horjeeda Xariga Sheekh Xasan Daahir Aweys iyo garaacistii loo geestay qaar kamid ah Xubnihii Xasan Daahir Cadaado ka keenay ayaa hada kasocda Muqdisho.

Dibad baxa oo ah mid rabshado wata ayaa xoogiisa waxa uu kasocdaa Taribuunka halkaas oo lagu arkayo dad careesan oo dhagxaan ku tuuraya gaadiidka iyo goobaha ganacsi kana soo horjeeda Xariga Sheekh Xasan Daahir Aweys oo hada ku xiran Xarunta Nabad Sugida Muqdisho.
Rasaas ayaa mararka qaar laga maqlaa halka uu dibad baxu kasocdo waxaa sidoo kale halkaasi Gaaray Ciidamo katirsan Dowlada, waxaa sidoo kale la maqlayaa dhawaqa Ambalaasta iyadoona aan la ogeyn sida ay hada xaalku yahay iyo dhibaatooyinka ka dhashay Dibad baxaan oo ah mid wali socda.

Dadka Dibad baxyada dhigaya ayaa ah kuwa aad u careesan oo dhagxaan iyo ulo wata kuwaa oo si weyn u taageersan Sheekh Xasan Daair Aweys kana soo horjeeda sida ay Dowlada Soomaaliya ula dhaqantay wadaadka kasoo baxsaday Al-Shabaab.

Race Is On To Save Millions of Somalis and Their Vital UK Remittance Lifeline

Millions of Somalis are in danger of losing nearly $500m in vital remittances following news that Barclays is to withdraw banking services from up to 250 Money Service Businesses (MSBs) in the UK, including Africa's largest, Dahabshiil, along with a number of other Somali MSBs.

The bank's decision follows an industry-wide cull which has seen the likes of Barclays, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland scrutinise the money-service sector more closely and change their eligibility criteria for MSBs. Barclays recently informed three-quarters of the money-service companies that use its accounts that it no longer wanted their customers – and gave until mid-July to find alternative banking facilities. Barclays' decision is understood to be part of a strategy to exit the money transfer sector as a whole in a bid to reduce the risk of further money laundering accusations and negative media headlines.

The decision has caused an outcry in the sector, with industry bodies, such as the UK Money Transmitters Association (UKMTA), a trade body for Britain's payments sector, mounting an industry campaign to highlight the damaging effects Barclays' decision will have on the sector. Evidence gathered by UKMTA suggests that as many as 75 per cent of UK money transmitters have experienced problems obtaining or retaining a bank account. UKMTA further believes that as many as 25 per cent of MSBs that have registered with HMRC have not been able to trade because of problems in obtaining banking facilities.

UKMTA is concerned that high street banks are discriminating against registered MSBs wanting to open bank accounts—leading to financial exclusion for both for MSBs concerned and the individual consumers who wish to send remittances.

Dominic Thorncroft, Chairman of UKMTA, said: "The bottom line is that the banks are closing the accounts of FCA authorised and HMRC registered MSBs without justifiable cause. Britain's money transfer industry is currently one of the most dynamic in the UK financial sector. However, if this trend continues it will have a disastrous impact on its development, as MSBs depend on their banking partners in order to provide their services.
"Barclays' decision is extremely damaging and disappointing for the sector. Clearly, Barclays' has the right to make its own commercial decisions, but it would appear that it has taken a particularly exclusive approach; perhaps only choosing to work with companies that send money to the less difficult regions."

Dahabshiil, an authorised payment institution under the Payment Services Regulation of the FCA, is one of the MSBs hardest hit by this decision as it is now faces a race against time to secure a new UK banking licence, so that it can continue to provide a vital service to the majority of the British Somali public and to international organisations, such as the United Nations, Save the Children and the World Food Programme.

Abdirashid Duale, CEO of Dahabshiil, said: "Dahabshiil understands it is one of a number of money service businesses that have been affected by Barclays' decision.

"Naturally, Dahabshiil is appealing this decision and would like to emphasize that to date Barclays' has acknowledged that our Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing policies are fully compliant with industry regulations.

"As an authorised payment institution under the Payment Services Regulation of the FCA, Dahabshiil hopes that the good faith and reputation we have established with Barclays over the past 15 years will allow us to come to a mutually beneficial resolution.

"In the meantime Dahabshiil remains fully operational while it explores a number of alternative banking arrangements, so that we can continue to provide a vital service to the majority of the British Somali public and to international organisations, such as the United Nations, Save the Children and the World Food Programme."

Having banked with Barclays for over 15 years, Dahabshiil received written notice from the bank on 8 May explaining that due to a change in Barclays' eligibility criteria for its MSB clients, the bank wished to terminate its relationship with Dahabshiil by 10 July 2013.

The Somali Money Services Association (SOMSA), a UK trade body for the money transfer industry, which has 17 members, has confirmed that 12 of its members have already lost their accounts with major banks in the UK, including Barclays and HSBC. Five others face imminent bank account closures.

Omar Abdinur, Vice Chairman at SOMSA, said: "The action of the banks to close the accounts of licensed and regulated Somali MSBs will have dire consequences across the Somali region as its people have no other alternative to send and receive money.

"It will not only seriously damage the flows of cash to the vulnerable Somali people, who depend on remittances for their livelihood, but it will threaten the economic and political stability in fragile parts of Somalia.

"Furthermore, it could have the unintended consequence that customers who rely so heavily on these money transfer companies might be pushed underground into the hands of unlicensed, unregulated and illegal providers."

With only a handful of financial institutions operating in Somali regions, the Somali people are exceptionally dependent on money-transfer services, with remittances serving as a lifeline for an estimated 40 per cent of the population.

According to the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, nearly £1bn is remitted to Somali regions every year from émigrés in the UK, Europe, US and the Middle East. Dahabshiil – which channelled life-saving assistance to millions of Somalis during the famine of 2011 – suggests its UK licence affected by Barclays' decision sends more than £400m a year heading back to the Somali regions and its neighbouring countries.

The average transaction through Dahabshiil, the largest private sector employer within the Somali regions, is $100 - $200, which is the typical amount that an average Somali family needs to live on for a month in the region.

Dr Laura Hammond, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Development Studies at SOAS, said: "What is at stake is a lifeline that provides essential support to an estimated 40 per cent of the population of Somalia. Somali MSBs provide fast, reliable and secure transmission of funds from the diaspora – estimated at approximately 1.5 million people – to their relatives at home. In addition, many other diaspora groups from the Horn of Africa – in Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan – send remittances to their family members using the same companies.

"As a researcher, I have seen first-hand the impact that remittances have on preserving the resilience of individuals and communities in the Horn of Africa. Some of us have done in-depth research on the uses of remittance funds. In one such recent study, 73 per cent of remittance recipients said that they use the money they receive from their relatives – averaging $2040 per year – to pay for basic food, education, and medical expenses. One-third of recipients said that they would not be able to afford basic food if the remittances were stopped. Moreover, one-quarter of recipients said that they receive support from a single relative living in the UK."

Not only does Dahabshiil provide essential services to the global Somali community, it also makes it possible for international humanitarian and development organisations to provide vital support to Somalis in a country that lacks a more formal public banking system and where war and famine are recurrent visitors.

Most of the large relief and development organisations, including the United Nations Development Programme, Oxfam, CARE, and others, use Dahabshiil to pay their staff, procure assistance, and even in some cases to facilitate distribution of cash payments to food-insecure households as part of their cash-for-work schemes.

Simon Davis, Director of AML CFT Compliance Ltd, who is working with several international organisations on this matter, said: "While banks have the commercial prerogative to choose with whom they work, the humanitarian impact this decision will have on the Somali population must not be overlooked.

"Remittances to Somali-inhabited regions provide a stable capital flow that far exceeds what the regions receive in aid. If remittance companies are prevented from operating, the international aid organisations that also use these licensed providers may be left with virtually no other means to transfer funds to where they operate in the Horn of Africa.

"An end result is that much needed financial transactions to the Horn of Africa especially will decrease, and cash sent to the region may become more vulnerable to the risks of money laundering. Licensed money remitters may be forced to close, thus cutting off much needed financial life-lines for their customers, which will only favour underground black-market services.

"The regulated United Kingdom Money Remittance Companies remitting into the Horn of Africa do fully comply with the United Kingdom Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing policies and international standards. In the interim period it would be beneficial if banking facilities could continue to be extended to these companies whilst affected businesses can fully explore their business options."

Such is the role of MSBs in the UK-Somalia corridor; they were recently recognised at a London conference co-hosted by the British Prime Minister and the Somali President, attended by delegates from more than 50 countries and international organisations.

This news also coincides with the Somali President's attendance at the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland, where he thanked the international community for its support in developing the region and the British Prime Minister's long-term commitment to developing a better future for the Somali regions and its people.

Dahabshiil now hopes to see a resolution similar to the situation which occurred in the US in late 2011 when Sunrise Bank, which provided services to Somali MSBs, announced it would close their accounts. After 16 months of lobbying, protests, and negotiation between the Somali-American financial services association, the Somali-American community, federal authorities, banks, and elected officials such as Congressman Keith Ellison, the accounts have continued to remain open to avoid disrupting a lifeline to people living in Somali regions and refugee camps in neighbouring countries.

The International Association of Money Transfer Networks (IAMTN), the global trade body for the money transfer industry argues that greater transparency of banks' selection process for MSB partners is required. It also believes that a lack of clear industry compliance directives will not only curtail competition and increase cost to the consumer, but as a result reduce the availability and accessibility of money services to millions of clients – including an unbanked majority.

Leon Isaacs, Managing Director of IAMTN, said: "None of the banks that have revised their 'eligibility' criteria have shared the rationale with their clients. Yet many of the providers caught in the crossfire have complied with every piece of government regulation, are registered by the FCA, and pass money laundering checks and audits with HMRC. As such, there is clearly a discretionary selection process for deciding which MSBs remain banked which is impossible to manage without understanding whether any changes in the operational models can be made to meet the criteria.

"We understand that banks have serious and legitimate concerns concerning money laundering. These of course extend to money transfer operators. We think that the best way to work to manage these concerns is to promote responsible, transparent, and accountable systems in line with existing regulations and Know-Your-Customer standards, rather than taking actions that will actually close all legitimate channels by which funds are sent to some countries. With or without offering services to MSBs, the banks are already exposed to the risk of money laundering and terrorism financing. The industry is ready to work with the banks and regulators to find a suitable and long term solution. MSBs already work closely with the Serious Organised Crime Agency along with other law enforcement agencies in the UK and across the globe."

Somali families' banking lifeline under threat

Jamal Osman Reporter

by Jamal Osman Reporter

A money transfer system allowing UK families to send cash back home is under threat after Barclays said it wouldn't do business with transfer firms. Jamal Osman reports on the problem facing Somalia.

Hawa Abdulle, a Somali mother, her children and their extended family members are able to eat a simple meal thanks to family members who live in Britain. Millions of Somalis depend on money sent to them by relatives living abroad.

In fact, money transfers are the backbone of the Somali economy. British-Somalis send up to £100m every year and for their relatives back home, it makes up 60 per cent of their annual income.

But word has reached Somalia that because of a decision by British banks, this crucial pipeline is about to be cut off.

"We have heard the British are stopping our money," Ms Abdulle told us. "We depend on this little money that our relatives send us. We request the British, please do not stop this money coming. We don't have any other income to pay for our children's school, rent or anything else."

From their office on the streets of Mogadishu to their base here in London, Somali money transfer firms, locally known as Hawalas, is how the society stays connected.

Under pressure

Hawalas have already been under pressure especially since the US terrorist attack on 11 September, 2001. Western governments have introduced many rules and regulations to control the flow of money. British authorities have access to Hawalas's database and monitor how much money people send. And if they are suspicious about certain transactions they often call for an interview.

We have heard the British are stopping our money. We depend on this little money that our relatives send us- Hawa Abdulle

Like many immigrants, I go into one of the Hawala shops to send money to my family back home. It's fast, reliable and the only legal way to make sure my relatives can eat, send children to school and get basic medical assistances.

But time is running out for the Hawalas we use to transfer money to Somalia. These companies deposit our money into their British bank accounts. Most of the London-based banks have already stopped dealing with Hawalas. Barclays was the last one to do it.

'Underground' threat

Now Barclays has written to Dahabshil, the largest Hawala in Somalia, and hundreds of companies like it telling them from next month, their accounts will be closed. And without British bank accounts these businesses won't be able to operate legally.

Abdirashid Duale, chief executive of Dahabshiil said: "We have a 15-year relationship with Barclays. As far as the account closure, we just received a letter which has been a surprise to us... This kind of action will go opposite of what the banks are trying to do.

"If they are talking about money laundering and system, the closure of these accounts will lead to people going underground and sending money illegally. And I don’t think that is the interest of the UK or Barclays or the humanitarian situation that needs to be addressed."

'Criminal activity'

However Barclays is concerned that criminals and terrorists could use the existing system. In a statement, their spokesman said: "It is recognised that some money service businesses don't have the proper checks in place to spot criminal activity and could therefore unwittingly be facilitating money laundering and terrorist financing.

"We want to be confident that our customers can filter out those transactions…we regret the inconvenience that moving to another bank will cause. To assist customers find alternative banking services, we have given them double the normally permitted time, and will extend that where it is appropriate to do so."

Like many immigrants, I go into one of the Hawala shops to send money to my family back home - Jamal Osman

Somali activists, who are angry about the decision made by Barclays have set up a petition calling on the government to intervene and to recognises the important role that remittances play in supporting the economy and people of Somalia. On Monday, the Foreign Office convened a meeting to consider in detail the issue of remittances to Somalia, which was also attended by the Home Office, the HMRC, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the department for international development.

A foreign office spokesperson told us: "officials are preparing an assessment of the impact on the economy and people of Somalia of Barclays' decision to terminate banking services for a large number of money service businesses."

In Somalia, this industry is seen as the only successs story and a lifeline for millions. But later on Barclays told Channel 4 News it has now decided it will extend the deadline for some companies including Dahabshil. This will give some hope to millions of people but unless Somali companies find an alternative bank, a crisis may still be on the horizon.

Somalia: Endgame for Aweys - But Al-Shabaab Will Continue

ANALYSIS

Finally, the fate of Hassan Dahir Aweys - Somalia's foremost Islamist - has been determined. While details of the operation that led to his apprehension are unclear, he appears to have voluntarily surrendered to the Ximan & Xeeb administration - a tiny district in central Somalia from which he hails.

This should surprise no one who has been paying attention to Aweys' declining fortunes. He had long been waging a fierce battle with Al-Shabaab and became the dark horse within the hardliners (who distrusted his national ambition). Fortunately for Aweys, his primarily nationalist ideology kept him off of the US's most wanted list.

As most counterterrorism experts have been quick to point out, his capture does not spell the end for Al-Shabaab or terrorist activity in Somalia. Quite the contrary, it may encourage hardliners to stage more deadly assaults in order to counter the view that Al-Shabaab is on the back foot.

Aweys regularly showed dissatisfaction with Al-Shabaab's intolerant ideology and unflinching militancy. He openly condemned, for instance, the assassination of Omar Hashi, who was then the Minister of Defense within the Transitional Federal Government.

For more than three decades, Aweys defined Somalia's narrative of political Islam, earning him both friends and foes within the Islamic movements. He was among the founders of AIAI (Ittahad al-Islamiyyah) - arguably the country's largest ever armed militant Islamist group. For years, he used the spectre of the AIAI to drum up political and financial support, mainly from the Gulf States, to pursue his own political ambitions. In doing so, he argued that Islam is the only answer for Somalia and can be the only uniting factor against tribalism and factionalism.

Before he merged with Al-Shabaab, Aweys was a polarizing figure in the Islamist movement hell-bent on becoming its supreme leader - a title he held during the reign of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in 2006. That dream was, however, dashed when he joined Al-Shabaab and became a marginal figure. Since then his popularity has faded further and he has become unable to appeal to the broader political Islamic movement in Somalia.

What's next?

To the hardliners, Aweys' surrender represents an act of defection and, more crucially, a victory for their global Jihadist agenda - an agenda that Aweys long opposed.

If Aweys has struck a truce with the Somali government, as it seems, then Al-Shabaab will issue a Fatwa calling for his death as an apostate. To counter the likely Fatwa, Aweys will return to preaching sermons to debase hardliners and their sabotage of Islam.

In the best-case scenario, Aweys' capture may also make it easier for the government to engage with other key moderate defectors like Mukhtar Robow - this is likely to be useful for any future negotiation between Al-Shabaab and the government.

Either way, the government should not be lulled into thinking that Aweys' capture will end the conflict in Somalia. But the news probably came as a relief to the government which has of late been plagued by a wave of lethal suicide attacks against its precarious security apparatus.

Of course, Aweys' capture has symbolic significance in the wider war against the rise of Islamism in Somalia and in this respect was overdue. However, it will not prove a decisive event in the war against Al-Shabaab.

Abdihakim Ainte is a Somali analyst and commentator. You can tweet him @Abdikhakim