Ceelcad | Latest News Over The World » English News

AU statement on Kismayu

boodhari — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 10:28:24 +0000

The Somali people and leaders must necessarily capitalize on the security gains made by AMISOM, the Somali security forces and their allies, to further peace and prosperity. They must seize this opportune moment to bring to an end the political disputes that complicates the process of stabilizing Somalia,’ states Ambassador Annadif.

The African Union (AU) Special Representative for Somalia Statement on Kismayo

The African Union (AU) Special Representative for Somalia and Head of AMISOM, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif has called on the feuding parties in Kismayo to immediately end the fighting.

Ambassador Annadif notes that while the overall situation in Somalia continues to evolve positively, the country

-Prof Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the president of the federal states of Somalia has called for peace and reconciliation between the fighting groups in Somalia’s second largest city of Kismayu.

Mr. Hassan said that it was unfortunate for Somalis to fight against each other after 20 years of infighting.

Mr. Hassan added that the federal government warned of these events before as the formation of an administration was rushed in process before even some strategic towns were freed from the Alshabab.

On the other side, the newly appointed UN ambassador to Somalia Mr. Nicholas Kay has urges the fighting sides to stop the fightings.

This comes after a two day fighting in Kismayu broke up between two militia groups

wabmaster

ceelcad@gmail.com

cilmi boodhari

Aqrisatay:57Share on Facebook

Somalia foreign Minister says that she rejected fake deals signed by the transitional government

boodhari — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 10:10:21 +0000

Fowzia Yusuf Haji Adan who is Somalia’s foreign minister speaking with the BBC Somali branch said that she rejected ‘’fake’’ signed deals by the former transitional government.

The cancelled deals include a proposed deal to sell some of Somalia’s long coastline to Kenya which was later rejected by the former parliament.

The foreign minister termed the deal as null and void as the transitional government was ineligible to sign such National deals and had no capacity to do such transactions.

The minister added that the former transitional government went ahead and debated about the issue which was proposed by some few corrupt leaders and later rejected by the transitional parliament.

It has been confirmed that Kenya requested to buy or lease some of the Somalia coastline during the weak Sharif’s government with the Aid of former Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid but the proposed plans failed after it was rejected by the former parliament.

‘’Kenya asked for a deal about the selling of our coastline again and have the right to ask but we rejected the deal’’ said Ms Fowzia.

wabmaster

ceelcad@gmail.com

elmi boodhari

Aqrisatay:69Share on Facebook

AU Special Representative says the upcoming AMISOM meeting with Somali Diaspora is important for the country’s reconstruction efforts

boodhari — Sat, 04 May 2013 20:49:22 +0000

Mogadishu – May 4th, 2013; The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif has expressed optimism that the upcoming AMISOM meeting with the Somali Diaspora in the United Kingdom will facilitate their contribution to the implementation of the Somalia Federal Government’s Six Pillar priority agenda.

Ambassador Annadif said the two-day meeting which is scheduled to take place in London from 9th -11th May is aimed at engaging the views of the Somali Diaspora on the situation in their country and mobilizing the necessary skills from the Diaspora to provide skilled manpower for the rebuilding of the Somalia state.

The AU Special Representative said he was hopeful that the two day event will also enhance appreciation by Somalis in the Diaspora of the mandate and activities of AMISOM in support of the peace process.

“Somalia has reached a very critical stage in its political and economic history. Through this meeting therefore, we in the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) will be seeking to provide a platform through which skilled professionals from the Diaspora can be mobilized to provide the much needed skilled manpower for the rebuilding of their country. Beyond that, the event will also facilitate the creation of an institutionalized and effective channel of communication between Somalis in the Diaspora and AMISOM.” Said Ambassador Annadif.

He noted that although AMISOM has continued to interact and engage with various stakeholders within the country, there has been limited interaction with the Somali Diaspora. “This limited interaction and engagement with the Somali Diaspora which is a critical constituent and stakeholder may have contributed to a lack of sufficient appreciation of the mandate and activities of AMISOM in the AU’s efforts of restoring peace and stability in the country.” He said.

The event will pool participants from Somalis in the Diaspora including their community leaders, professionals, academics, women and youth groups. Civil Society and Media Organizations based in Somalia as well as senior officials of the Federal Government of Somalia and Somalia’s international partners will be in attendance.

wabmaster

ceelcad@gmail.com

elmi osman boodhari

Aqrisatay:191Share on Facebook

Kenyan forces hit Shebab bases around final Somali bastion

boodhari — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 18:00:45 +0000

ceelcad.com

— Kenyan helicopter gunships struck Shebab bases outside the Somali port of Kismayo to clear the way for a takeover of the town abandoned by the Al-Qaeda linked Islamist fighters, the army said Sunday.

Residents said Kismayo was in the grip of lawlessness and a power vacuum, with gunmen killing at least three people since the Shebab pulled out of the city on Saturday, their last bastion to fall.

The Kenyan army said helicopter gunships were attacking Shebab bases outside the city ahead of a final ground assault to occupy the strategic southern city after an advance by Kenyan and Somali troops forced the Islamists out.

However, the power vacuum created by what the Islamists called their “tactical retreat” left Kismayo exposed to chaos as residents waited for the Kenyan and Somali forces to arrive.

Since the retreat of the Shebab, who ruled Kismayo with an iron fist, unidentified gunmen have killed at least three civilians, including a traditional leader, according to residents interviewed by phone from Mogadishu.

“Three civilians were killed, including a traditional elder, by unidentified gunmen, and the town has been very tense since yesterday,” said one resident, Abdulahi Adan, adding that Kismayo had been rocked by heavy explosions overnight.

Another resident, Mohamed Issaq, said at least four civilians had been killed, including two clan leaders.

“There is power vacuum and armed clan militia have started regrouping,” said Dahir Moalim, another resident. “There were gunshots last night and most of the people did not sleep because of the tensions.”

Residents said there was still no sign of African Union troops in the southern city, where the Shebab reportedly busted open the gates of the main prison and the police station before retreating.

“People are in the streets eagerly waiting to witness the changes but so far the Kenyan troops and the Somali soldiers are in the suburbs of the town,” said Shueyb Mohamed.

The Kenyan army said it was doing everything possible to ensure its forces took control of the city “safely” and “in good time”.

“We have received reports of the lawlessness within parts of the city… We want to assure the civilians of Kismayo that their calls for order have been heard,” Kenya Defence Forces spokesman Cyrus Oguna told AFP.

Oguna said that late Saturday other Shebab bases outside Kismayo were destroyed by helicopter gunships and that the Shebab suffered “heavy casualties”.

“In Bardhere, there was a congregation of new Shebab recruits…. We struck them as they were receiving final instruction from their commanders,” he said.

Oguna said there were other air strikes in Berhane, a town near Kismayo, “to clear the path for a ground assault.”

The fall of Kismayo is the latest in a string of major losses of territory over the past year for the Shebab, who have since switched to guerrilla tactics after they lost their strongholds.

Kismayo had been a key source of revenue in the form of charcoal exports, as well as the main entry point for weapons for the Islamists who have been battling Somalia’s fragile Western-backed government since 2007.

The Somali military’s second in command, General Abdikarin Youssouf Dhegobadan, said troops were working on removing security threats before moving into the city.

“Our forces will peacefully walk into the city very soon, but before that there are new plans underlined to tackle the booby traps that are likely planted by the Al-Qaeda militants,” he said.

“The city is already secure but to safeguard the protection of the civilians there should be a sober way of entering the town.”

wabmaster

ceelcad@gmail.com

elmi osman farah boodhari

Aqrisatay:528Share on Facebook

Somalia President Is Inaugurated Four Days After Assassination Attempt

boodhari — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 11:10:08 +0000

ceelcad@gmail.com

Somalia’s new president, Hassan Sheik Mohamud, was inaugurated Sunday amid tight security in the capital, Mogadishu, four days after he survived an assassination attempt.
Related

Somalia’s New President Survives Suicide Bombings (September 13, 2012)
Somalia Selects an Activist as Leader (September 11, 2012)

Mr. Mohamud, a teacher and activist, was elected by lawmakers last week in a contest against Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, who led the transitional government.

The attempt on Mr. Mohamud’s life just after his election highlighted the security challenges he faces as he takes the helm of a volatile country that has not had a stable government for more than two decades. Mr. Mohamud acknowledged the difficulties, saying in his inauguration remarks that security was the nation’s paramount issue. He promised to be an advocate for democracy and to create “an effective justice system” that serves all Somalis.

He also said that his government would “deliver a new democratic beginning.” His predecessor, Mr. Ahmed, said in his remarks that he was happy that a degree of security had returned to Mogadishu. He wished Mr. Mohamud success.

The political process that resulted in Mr. Mohamud’s election, backed by the United Nations, was condemned by Islamist militants, who said it was manipulated by the West. But Mr. Mohamud has broad international support to try to bring stability to his troubled nation.

The inauguration was attended by regional leaders, including the prime minister of Ethiopia and the president of Djibouti.

Augustine Mahiga, the top United Nations representative to Somalia, said Mr. Mohamud’s inauguration was a watershed moment for Somalia.

“This marks the end of the transitional period and the beginning of a new era for Somalia,” Mr. Mahiga said in a statement.

Somalia has made much progress over the past year. Rebels with the Shabab militant group were forced out of Mogadishu in August 2011, allowing businesses to thrive and the arts and sports to return. The militants have either fled to northern Somalia and Yemen, or have retreated to Kismayo, the last major town in Somalia that they control. But occasionally they succeed in breaching security to stage terrorist attacks in Mogadishu, like the assassination attempt on Wednesday by suicide bombers who tried to infiltrate a hotel where the president was addressing reporters.

Mr. Mohamud faces an uphill task in trying to unify the fractious country in the face of the Islamist insurgency, guarantee food supplies and rebuild the bombed-out infrastructure and a variety of civic institutions.

Another challenge is the endemic corruption that has plagued previous governments. Somalia has had transitional administrations since 2004, but it has not had a functioning central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a longtime dictator and then turned on one another, plunging the nation into chaos.

Last month, Somali leaders endorsed a new provisional constitution that expands rights for citizens. The United Nations hopes that Somalis will be able to vote on the document.

Aqrisatay:528Share on Facebook

Museveni Writes To Somalia’s New President

boodhari — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 21:20:57 +0000

President Yoweri Museveni on September 9 wrote a congratulatory message to Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, congratulating him on being elected as President of the Federal Republic of Somalia.

The President congratulated the People of Somalia on their historical achievement that was carried out in a transparent, free and fair manner.
Mohamud defeated the incumbent Sheikh Ahmed Sharif in the Monday election for the war-torn country’s presidency.
Here is Museveni’s full letter to the new President of Somalia.
CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE TO H.E. HASSAN SHEIKH MOHAMUD, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF SOMALIA
On behalf of behalf of the Government, people of Uganda and my own behalf, I wish to extend our warm and heartfelt congratulations to you upon your election as the President of Federal Republic of Somalia.
I also congratulate Somalia’s new Federal Parliament and the people of Somalia for this historical achievement, which was carried out in a transparent, free and fair manner.
Your election as President of Somalia and that of Right Honorable Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawaari, as Speaker of the Somali Federal Parliament is very important and significant milestones towards the achievement of sustainable peace and stability in Somalia.
Uganda also considers conceding by the former president Mr. Sharif Sheik as another sign that the people of Somalia are determined to work together for stability and rebuild your country.
We highly recommend all Somali Leaders particularly the Traditional Elders, Members of the Technical Selection Committee and the Interim Speaker, Hon. Mussa Hassan Abdulle for their dedication and commitment towards the accomplishment of the transition process.
Excellency, I wish to reiterate Uganda’s Commitment to working with you, your government and the people of Somalia in all efforts towards bringing sustainable peace, stability, reconciliation and development in Somalia.
As I renew my warmest congratulations and best wishes, please accept, Your Excellency the assurances of my highest consideration.
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA
9th September 2012
PQ/11
H.E. Hassan Skeikh Mohamud
PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF SOMALIA
MOGADISHU

ceelcad@gmail.com

Aqrisatay:618Share on Facebook

American 710 Strategic interests in Somalia

boodhari — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:31:36 +0000

January 18, 1993

THE OIL FACTOR IN SOMALIA

FOUR AMERICAN PETROLEUM GIANTS HAD AGREEMENTS WITH THE AFRICAN NATION BEFORE ITS CIVIL WAR BEGAN. THEY COULD REAP BIG REWARDS IF PEACE IS RESTORED

By ABDIRAHMAN TARABI
DATELINE: MOGADISHU, Somalia

Far beneath the surface of the tragic drama of Somalia, four major U.S. oil companies are quietly sitting on a prospective fortune in exclusive concessions to explore and exploit tens of millions of acres of the Somali countryside.

That land, in the opinion of geologists and industry sources, could yield significant amounts of oil and natural gas if the U.S.-led military mission can restore peace to the impoverished East African nation.

According to documents obtained by The Times, nearly two-thirds of Somalia was allocated to the American oil giants Conoco, Amoco, Chevron and Phillips in the final years before Somalia’s pro-U.S. President Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown and the nation plunged into chaos in January, 1991. Industry sources said the companies holding the rights to the most promising concessions are hoping that the Bush Administration’s decision to send U.S. troops to safeguard aid shipments to Somalia will also help protect their multimillion-dollar investments there.

Officially, the Administration and the State Department insist that the U.S. military mission in Somalia is strictly humanitarian. Oil industry spokesmen dismissed as “absurd” and “nonsense” allegations by aid experts, veteran East Africa analysts and several prominent Somalis that President Bush, a former Texas oilman, was moved to act in Somalia, at least in part, by the U.S. corporate oil stake.

But corporate and scientific documents disclosed that the American companies are well positioned to pursue Somalia’s most promising potential oil reserves the moment the nation is pacified. And the State Department and U.S. military officials acknowledge that one of those oil companies has done more than simply sit back and hope for pece.

Conoco Inc., the only major multinational corporation to mantain a functioning office in Mogadishu throughout the past two years of nationwide anarchy, has been directly involved in the U.S. government’s role in the U.N.-sponsored humanitarian military effort.

Conoco, whose tireless exploration efforts in north-central Somalia reportedly had yielded the most encouraging prospects just before Siad Barre’s fall, permitted its Mogadishu corporate compound to be transformed into a de facto American embassy a few days before the U.S. Marines landed in the capital, with Bush’s special envoy using it as his temporary headquarters. In addition, the president of the company’s subsidiary in Somalia won high official praise for serving as the government’s volunteer “facilitator” during the months before and during the U.S. intervention.

Describing the arrangement as “a business relationship,” an official spokesman for the Houston-based parent corporation of Conoco Somalia Ltd. said the U.S. government was paying rental for its use of the compound, and he insisted that Conoco was proud of resident general manager Raymond Marchand’s contribution to the U.S.-led humanitarian effort.

John Geybauer, spokesman for Conoco Oil in Houston, said the company was acting as “a good corporate citizen and neighbor” in granting the U.S. government’s request to be allowed to rent the compound. The U.S. Embassy and most other buildings and residential compounds here in the capital were rendered unusable by vandalism and fierce artillery duels during the clan wars that have consumed Somalia and starved its people.

In its in-house magazine last month, Conoco reprinted excerpts from a letter of commendation for Marchand written by U.S. Marine Brig. Gen. Frank Libutti, who has been acting as military aide to U.S. envoy Robert B. Oakley. In the letter, Libutti praised the oil official for his role in the initial operation to land Marines on Mogadishu’s beaches in December, and the general concluded, “Without Raymond’s courageous contributions and selfless service, the operation would have failed.”

But the close relationship between Conoco and the U.S. intervention force has left many Somalis and foreign development experts deeply troubled by the blurry line between the U.S. government and the large oil company, leading many to liken the Somalia operation to a miniature version of Operation Desert Storm, the U.S.-led military effort in January, 1991, to drive Iraq from Kuwait and, more broadly, safeguard the world’s largest oil reserves.

“They sent all the wrong signals when Oakley moved into the Conoco compound,” said one expert on Somalia who worked with one of the four major companies as they intensified their exploration efforts in the country in the late 1980s.

“It’s left everyone thinking the big question here isn’t famine relief but oil — whether the oil concessions granted under Siad Barre will be transferred if and when peace is restored,” the expert said. “It’s potentially worth billions of dollars, and believe me, that’s what the whole game is starting to look like.”

Although most oil experts outside Somalia laugh at the suggestion that the nation ever could rank among the world’s major oil producers — and most maintain that the international aid mission is intended simply to feed Somalia’s starving masses — no one doubts that there is oil in Somalia. The only question: How much?

“It’s there. There’s no doubt there’s oil there,” said Thomas E. O’Connor, the principal petroleum engineer for the World Bank, who headed an in-depth, three-year study of oil prospects in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia’s northern coast.

“You don’t know until you study a lot further just how much is there,” O’Connor said. “But it has commercial potential. It’s got high potential … once the Somalis get their act together.”

O’Connor, a professional geologist, based his conclusion on the findings of some of the world’s top petroleum geologists. In a 1991 World Bank-coordinated study, intended to encourage private investment in the petroleum potential of eight African nations, the geologists put Somalia and Sudan at the top of the list of prospective commercial oil producers.

Presenting their results during a three-day conference in London in September, 1991, two of those geologists, an American and an Egyptian, reported that an analysis of nine exploratory wells drilled in Somalia indicated that the region is “situated within the oil window, and thus (is) highly prospective for gas and oil.” A report by a third geologist, Z. R. Beydoun, said offshore sites possess “the geological parameters conducive to the generation, expulsion and trapping of significant amounts of oil and gas.”

Beydoun, who now works for Marathon Oil in London, cautioned in a recent interview that on the basis of his findings alone, “you cannot say there definitely is oil,” but he added: “The different ingredients for generation of oil are there. The question is whether the oil generated there has been trapped or whether it dispersed or evaporated.”

Beginni 1986, Conoco, along with Amoco, Chevron, Phillips and, briefly, Shell all sought and obtained exploration licenses for northern Somalia from Siad Barre’s government. Somalia was soon carved up into concessional blocs, with Conoco, Amoco and Chevron winning the right to explore and exploit the most promising ones.

The companies’ interest in Somalia clearly predated the World Bank study. It was grounded in the findings of another, highly successful exploration effort by the Texas-based Hunt Oil Corp. across the Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Peninsula nation of Yemen, where geologists disclosed in the mid-1980s that the estimated 1 billion barrels of Yemeni oil reserves were part of a great underground rift, or valley, that arced into and across northern Somalia.

Hunt’s Yemeni operation, which is now yielding nearly 200,000 barrels of oil a day, and its implications for the entire region were not lost on then-Vice President George Bush.

In fact, Bush witnessed it firsthand in April, 1986, when he officially dedicated Hunt’s new $18-million refinery near the ancient Yemeni town of Marib. In remarks during the event, Bush emphasized the critical value of supporting U.S. corporate efforts to develop and safeguard potential oil reserves in the region.

In his speech, Bush stressed “the growing strategic importance to the West of developing crude oil sources in the region away from the Strait of Hormuz,” according to a report three weeks later in the authoritative Middle East Economic Survey.

Bush’s reference was to the geographical choke point that controls access to the Persian Gulf and its vast oil reserves. It came at the end of a 10-day Middle East tour in which the vice president drew fire for appearing to advocate higher oil and gasoline prices.

“Throughout the course of his 17,000-mile trip, Bush suggested continued low (oil) prices would jeopardize a domestic oil industry ‘vital to the national security interests of the United States,’ which was interpreted at home and abroad as a sign the onetime oil driller from Texas was coming to the aid of his former associates,” United Press International reported from Washington the day after Bush dedicated Hunt’s Yemen refinery.

No such criticism accompanied Bush’s decision late last year to send more than 20,000 U.S. troops to Somalia, widely applauded as a bold and costly step to save an estimated 2 million Somalis from starvation by opening up relief supply lines and pacifying the famine-struck nation.

But since the U.S. intervention began, neither the Bush Administration nor any of the oil companies that had been active in Somalia up until the civil war broke out in early 1991 have commented publicly on Somalia’s potential for oil and natural gas production. Even in private, veteran oil company exploration experts played down any possible connection between the Administration’s move into Somalia and the corporate concessions at stake.

“In the oil world, Somalia is a fringe exploration area,” said one Conoco executive who asked not to be named. “They’ve overexaggerated it,” he said of the geologists’ optimism about the prospective oil reserves there. And as for Washington’s motives in Somalia, he brushed aside criticisms that have been voiced quietly in Mogadishu, saying, “With America, there is a genuine humanitarian streak in us … that many other countries and cultures cannot understand.”

But the same source added that Conoco’s decision to maintain its headquarters in the Somali capital even after it pulled out the last of its major equipment in the spring of 1992 was certainly not a humanitarian one. And he confirmed that the company, which has explored Somalia in three major phases beginning in 1952, had achieved “very good oil shows” — industry terminology for an exploration phase that often precedes a major discovery — just before the war broke out.

“We had these very good shows,” he said. “We were pleased. That’s why Conoco stayed on… . The people in Houston are convinced there’s oil there.”

Indeed, the same Conoco World article that praised Conoco’s general manager in Somalia for his role in the humanitarian effort quoted Marchand as saying, “We stayed because of Somalia’s potential for the company and to protect our assets.”

Marchand, a French citizen who came to Somalia from Chad after a civil war forced Conoco to suspend operations there, explained the role played by his firm in helping set up the U.S.-led pacification mission in Mogadishu.

“When the State Department asked Conoco management for assistance, I was glad to use the company’s influence in Somalia for the success of this mission,” he said in the magazine article. “I just treated it like a company operation — like moving a rig. I did it for this operation because the (U.S.) officials weren’t familiar with the environment.”

Marchand and his company were clearly familiar with the anarchy into which Somalia has descended over the past two years — a nation with no functioning government, no utilities and few roads, a place ruled loosely by regional warlords.

Of the four U.S. companies holding the Siad Barre-era oil concessions, Conoco is believed to be the only one that negotiated what spokesman Geybauer called “a standstill agreement” with an interim government set up by one of Mogadishu’s two principal warlords, Ali Mahdi Mohamed. Industry sources said the other U.S. companies with contracts in Somalia cited “force majeure” (superior power), a legal term asserting that they were forced by the war to abandon their exploration efforts and would return as soon as peace is restored.

“It’s going to be very interesting to see whether these agreements are still good,” said Mohamed Jirdeh, a prominent Somali businessman in Mogadishu who is familiar with the oil-concession agreements. “Whatever Siad did, all those records and contracts, all disappeared after he fled… And this period has brought with it a deep change of our society.

“Our country is now very weak, and, of course, the American oil companies are very strong. This has to be handled very diplomatically, and I think the American government must move out of the oil business, or at least make clear that there is a definite line separating the two, if they want to maintain a long-term relationship here.

ceelcad@gmail.com

Aqrisatay:2360Share on Facebook

Somalia’s New President Survives Suicide Bombings

boodhari — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:16:16 +0000

Three suicide bombers attacked the temporary residence of the new president of Somalia as he was giving a news conference on Wednesday, killing an African Union soldier but failing to assassinate any political leaders, witnesses and officials said.
Related

Somalia Selects an Activist as Leader (September 11, 2012)
Times Topic: Somalia

ceelcad@gmail.com

The Somali president, Hassan Sheik Mohamud, had only just been elected to his post by the newly created Parliament on Monday, taking the helm of a fledgling government that is supposed to represent a tangible step toward permanent governance in a country that has been without it for more than 20 years.

Two of the suicide bombers struck, one near the gate and one at the back of the Jazeera Hotel near the airport as the president was giving a briefing for the news media with the visiting Kenyan foreign minister, Samson K. Ongeri.

Another attacker was shot as he tried to scale the walls of the compound, according to a statement from the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

The attack did not interrupt the news conference and the president continued his speech. “This is the Mogadishu we are trying to change,” he said.

Mr. Mohamud was moved to the presidential palace. A statement from his office said that he called the attacks an unsuccessful attempt to demoralize the Somali people. “What happened today, and any other similar attempt, will not divert our focus and our promise,” the statement said.

The attack stood in sharp contrast to the welcoming cheers Somalis have offered the new president.

“I was covered with dust as I was walking on the street near the hotel, and I saw several people lying on the ground,” said Mohamed Farah, who was passing by. “This is a shocking incident reminding us of our long-gone days, but we are expecting brighter future now.”

There were conflicting death tolls after the attack, but the spokesman of the African Union mission, Col. Ali Hamud, confirmed at least four deaths and noted that investigations were still under way.

“Four people have been killed in the attack, among them an African Union soldier,” Colonel Hamud said, “We have secured the hotel.”

The Shabab, an Islamist insurgent group linked to Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack. The government and African Union forces have driven the Shabab out of Mogadishu, but it has been waging relentless attacks against the government and the African forces through suicide and roadside bombs and assassinations. Kenya has also joined in the fight, crossing the border to invade parts of Somalia to fight the Shabab, which it considers a major security threat.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, and the election of the new president on Monday officially marked the end of the internationally backed transitional government and the start of a permanent one.

Many Somalis hope the change is a significant step forward that will help end of the country’s cycle of violence, famine and dire poverty.

“The enemies of peace will not be tolerated to spoil this historic moment for the people of Somalia, who on Monday successfully completed the transition to representative government,” Lt. Gen. Andrew Gutti, the commander of the African Union force, said in a statement.

Aqrisatay:749Share on Facebook

Somalia Selects an Activist as President

boodhari — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 06:32:38 +0000

ceelcad@gmail.com

Hassan Sheik Mohamud, a moderate political activist and academic, took on one of the world’s most challenging political posts on Monday after members of Somalia’s newly created Parliament elected him the country’s next president.

Mr. Mohamud’s election, held in a highly fortified police academy, was heralded as a significant step forward for a country that has endured more than two decades of war and political instability. He will head a fledgling government that replaces the internationally backed transitional administration that had been trying to get Somalia back on its feet.

“I hope that the problems of Somalia will come to an end and Somalia will now turn a new page and that page will be written with good history rather than bad history,” Mr. Mohamud, 56, said after his victory, which was marked by celebratory gunfire across the capital from residents hopeful that he will address the country’s brutal violence, famine and dire poverty.

Mr. Mohamud, chairman of the Peace and Development Party, came in second out of 22 candidates in the first round of voting and then defeated Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, who is the president of the departing transitional federal government, 190 to 79, in a head-to-head runoff.

Mogadishu, once a crumbling, war-torn capital, has shown tentative signs of bouncing back, with reconstructed hospitals, shops and homes. The Shabab, a militant group, has withdrawn from the city but continues to hold onto the port town of Kismayo.

Mr. Mohamud, who is from the town of Jalalaqsi in central Somalia, is a political neophyte but has long worked as a community activist for various nongovernmental organizations in Somalia, including the Center of Research and Dialogue, the International Peace Building Alliance and Unicef. He is expected to name a prime minister, who will form a council of ministers to begin running the long-broken nation.

Augustine P. Mahiga, a Tanzanian diplomat who has been the United Nations special Somalia representative of the secretary general for the past two years, said in a blog post on the eve of the voting that the new leader’s election would mark “one of the most important dates in the history of Somali politics.” He expressed high confidence in the legislative arm of Somalia’s government, saying its members were “capable of delivering a new Somalia in the next four years.”

But the country’s challenges are many, and not everybody was confident that the new leadership would turn Somalia around.

J. Peter Pham, director of the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington, sounded glum. “There is perhaps no better illustration of the hope springing eternal, or delusion,” he said, “than the notion that the imposition from above of yet another interim regime pretending to be the government of Somalia — in this case, the 15th or 16th such entity, depending on how one counts them, since 1991 — will make one iota of difference to the tragedy of the world’s most spectacularly failed state or the heartbreaking suffering of its people.”

Aqrisatay:1207Share on Facebook

Politics Hinders Capture of Somalia’s Kismayo

boodhari — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 10:17:53 +0000

For months, the media have used words like “looming” and “imminent” to describe a long-anticipated, concerted military assault on Somalia’s coastal city of Kismayo, the last remaining stronghold of militant group al-Shabab, and the financial hub for its operation.

Somali government forces and African Union (AU) troops are currently positioned in Miido, a village 80 kilometers west of Kismayo. But clan rivalry and political wrangling my be hindering operations to capture the city, analysts say.

The AU force in Somalia, known as AMISOM, has repeatedly expressed plans to liberate the city from the insurgents and Kenyan and Ethiopian troops have also been approaching the city.

Abdirashid Hashi, of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, notes ground troops can move in if there is a political mechanism in place.

“I think the number one reason is a political issue, Hashi said. “I think if they don’t have a consensus amongst those actors and stake holders, I think it could backfire, it could create a problem for African Union forces. So I think its very important to have some sort of political understanding, what will happen next, the morning after they got to Kismayo.”

On the political front, sources familiar with political talks going on behind the scenes say that one of the key issues major clans agree on is to make Kismayo a business city, but not the capital of a proposed new state in and around Kismayo called Jubaland.

But where should the capital of Jubaland will be?

Members of the Marehan clan are suggesting Bardhere in the Gedo region and members of the Ogaden clan want Buale to be the capital.

Ahmed Madobe the head of the Ras Kamboni faction, aligned with the government forces and AU troops in their fight against al-Shabab, says his group wants to see an inclusive federal state no matter where the capital is located.

He says in the political meetings they want to move away from clan divisions and want people to identify themselves with the regions, cities, districts and villages they hail from and not to identify themselves with their clans.

Jubaland would consist of three regions, Gedo, Middle and Lower Juba. The three regions consist of 15 districts. How to share the positions and what clan should get what territory is another problem.

Abdirashid Hashi says there is the need to organize some sort of temporary administration to govern Kismayo itself before the city is taken.

“They shouldn’t go to Kismayo unless they have a plan who will administer the city and who will provide service to the people,” he said. “They need services and its very important. You know this is not fighting over spoils of war; these are human beings, they have needs.”

Hashi also stressed that the national government has to be involved in the process so that people stop saying this is a foreign process led by Kenya and Ethiopia.

Somalia is in the process of ending an eight-year political transition to establish the first stable central government since 1991. The government already has its hands full negotiating power between the various federal states that make up Somalia, which may one day include Jubaland.

ceelcad@gmail.com

Aqrisatay:1392Share on Facebook