US Biden arrives in Kenya for talks on Somalia and Sudan
Listen Nairobi (Alshahid)— US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Nairobi Monday for a 2 day visit during which he is expected to hold talks on efforts to stabilise the volatile east African region. The plane carrying Biden, his family and the rest of his entourage touched down on Kenyan soil shortly after 8.20 pm [...]
STATUS OF SEIZED VESSELS AND CREWS IN SOMALIA AND THE INDIAN OCEAN 2 June
Listen Nairobi (Alshahid) – MV QSM Dubai sea-jacked in Gulf of Aden – see below – MV RIM SAILS FREE AFTER SOMALI PIRATE SHOOT-OUT (ecoterra) During a serious shoot-out between two rival pirate groups surrounding the sea-jacked MV RIM, leaving 9 Somalis dead, the Syrian crew of the vessel managed to overpower six pirates on [...]
O.N.L.F Statement in Response to Melez Zenawis Press Conference Remarks
Listen Addis Ababa (Alshahid) – A claim made by Ethiopian Prime Minister, Melez Zenawi at his most recent press conference that his regime will “soon sign an agreement” with the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has no basis in reality and is intended to mislead the international community in general and foreign oil firms in [...]
Two Somali gov’t ministers among Mogadishu roadside bomb blast survivors
Listen Mogadishu (Alshahid) – Three senior Somali government officials including two ministers escaped an overnight assassination attempt after roadside explosion in Mogadishu targeted a convoy, killing three people and wounding several others, a government official confirmed Friday. The remotely controlled roadside bomb attack took place in Makka Al Mukarama road in the heart of the [...]
Somali clashes continue to kill and uproot thousands, reports UN agency
Listen Mogadishu (Alshahid) – Renewed fighting between Government troops and armed opposition groups have displaced over 17,000 people from the Somali capital, Mogadishu, over the past month, with more than 14,300 fleeing in the last two weeks alone, the United Nations refugee agency reported today. This brings to 200,000 the number of Somalis estimated to [...]
One in seven Somali children die before the age of five, says UNHCR
Listen Nairobi (Alshahid) – The senseless fighting in Somalia has made it one of the countries generating the highest number of forcefully displaced people in the world, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday. More than 17,000 people have been displaced from their homes in the Somali capital Mogadishu in May only, [...]
Hizbul Islam Order Aid Agencies Out of Hiran Region
Listen Mogadishu (Alshahid) – Islamic rebel group of Hizbul Islam on Wednesday gave aid agencies 24 hours to stop their operations and close their offices in Hiran region I central Somalia, reports and social workers said. The head of the group’s humanitarian affairs Sheikh Shuriye Sheikh Sabriye accused aid agencies of absconding their key responsibilities. [...]
Somalia: Istanbul Declaration
Listen Istanbul (Alshahid) – The Istanbul Conference on Somalia took place in Istanbul from 21-23 May, 2010 reflecting the strong determination of the United Nations, the Government of Turkey and the International Community to work with the Transitional Federal Institutions and the people of Somalia to defeat the cycle of lawlessness, violence and despair in [...]
A Declaration from the Istanbul conference.
Listen Istanbul (Alshahid) – The countries meeting at a U.N.-sponsored conference for Somalia, said that strengthening law enforcement in the impoverished and lawless African nation was essential given the chaotic situation and deepening divisions among militant groups. There were, however, few concrete pledges. “If we do not tackle the basic causes onshore, we will never [...]
UN appeals to global community to support Somalia govt
Listen Istanbul (Alshahid) -UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon while opening an international conference on Somalia on Saturday said that if the global community does not redouble its efforts there will be little chance for peace in the country. ”The only way to restore stability is to support this government in its reconciliation effort and its [...]