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ICRC - Bulletin No. 3 - Horn of Africa
Drought News DROUGHT NEWSLETTER February 2006 
UN Somalia Humanitarian Monthly Analysis Somalia Fact Sheets Mogadishu Fact Sheet Puntland Fact Sheet South Central Fact Sheet Somaliland Fact Sheet AMIIN AMIR ARTS News in Audio 
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Shir
jaraa'id: Shariif Xasan iyo
Shiikh Xasan Dahir Aweys November 25, 2006  Somalia Latest News
Somali speaker says Ethiopian troops must leave
NAIROBI, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Ethiopia has a massive military force of 15,000 men in Somalia and will be to blame for any war in the chaotic Horn of Africa state, the speaker of parliament in Somalia's interim government said on Sunday ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali war fears spark exodus from southern town as battle looms
MOGADISHU, Somalia: Somalia's government has sent hundreds of troops backed by Ethiopian soldiers to recapture a strategic town seized by the country's powerful Islamic movement, witnesses and military officials said Sunday as dozens of families began fleeing the area. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalia: Foreign Intervention Will Only Destabilize Country
The Security Council is mulling over a draft resolution that purports to sanction military intervention by foreign forces to prop up one political entity in Somalia. ---------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopians Said to Patrol Somali Road MOGADISHU, Somalia, Nov. 22 -- Hundreds of Ethiopian troops were patrolling a strategic road that leads to the southern town of Baidoa, where Somalia's interim government is based, after a brief but intense firefight in the area this week, witnesses said Wednesday. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali warring parties seek unity to help flood victims The United Nations on Friday expressed concerns over a looming humanitarian crisis in Somalia but noted that rival groups have expressed willingness to work together to assist flood victims. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists mass troops, brace for war Somali Islamists say they have poured thousands of fighters and heavy equipment into front line positions as they brace for clashes with the Somalian Government and its Ethiopian allies. ---------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopia threatens major offensive against Somali Islamists Ethiopia has confirmed that it is prepared to launch a major military offensive against Islamists in neighbouring Somalia. ---------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopia warning draws Somali ire MUGADISHU (BBC)-- The Islamic body that controls much of Somalia has reacted angrily to comments by Ethiopia that it is prepared for an attack by its eastern neighbor. ---------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopia 'ready for Islamist war' Ethiopia has made preparations for a conflict with the Islamists who control much of southern Somalia, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has told MPs. ---------------------------------------------------------- Witnesses: 6 Ethiopian soldiers killed in ambush by Somalia's Islamic fighters MOGADISHU, Somalia: Islamic fighters ambushed an Ethiopian military convoy on Sunday, killing six Ethiopian soldiers and wounding 20 others, eyewitnesses said, in the first known skirmish between the rival forces maneuvering for control in Somalia. ---------------------------------------------------------- African flood rescue gathers pace International aid agencies have launched a massive relief operation to help 1.8 million people affected by heavy flooding in the Horn of Africa. ---------------------------------------------------------- Crocodiles kill five in flood-hit Somalia MOGADISHU, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Crocodiles have killed five people forced to wade through floodwaters devastating Somalia, officials said on Sunday, as the interim government appealed for international help. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali regions in Kenya and Ethiopia should be part of Somalia, says Somali Islamic leader MOGADISHU, Somalia: Somalia's Islamic leader wants the Somali regions of Kenya and Ethiopia to be part of Somalia, he said in a radio interview, reviving the idea of a "Greater Somalia," which caused tensions in the 1970s and was a cause of the war with Ethiopia. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali gov't criticises Islamic movement khat ban MOGADISHU, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Somalia's interim government criticised the rival Islamic movement on Saturday for formally outlawing the popular stimulant leaf khat in Mogadishu and other parts of the country that are under its control. ---------------------------------------------------------- Islamists 'take key Somali town' An Islamist militia that controls much of Somalia has clashed with fighters loyal to a warlord who backs the transitional government. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists, government-allied troops clash MOGADISHU, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Eight people were killed when troops from a powerful Somali Islamist movement clashed on Sunday with fighters allied to the interim government a day after it rejected a peace initiative. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists back peace talks Somali's powerful Islamist leaders say they have agreed to hold new peace talks with the fragile transitional government to avert an all-out war. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali lawmakers hold separate talks MOGADISHU, Somalia - A delegation of Somali lawmakers broke ranks with the government and traveled to the capital Sunday to hold peace talks with the country's Islamic militia, the latest sign of cracks in the fragile administration. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali speaker to visit Islamists for talks MOGADISHU, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The speaker of Somalia's interim government will meet the country's Islamists at their Mogadishu stronghold to try to rescue peace talks that collapsed last week in Sudan, both sides said on Saturday. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Canadians fear war at home As the debate about the rights of dual citizens living abroad continues within the federal government, members of Canada's Somali community say they're worried Canadian relatives will be stranded if war breaks out in their East African homeland. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamic courts rebuff U.S. terror warnings NAIROBI, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Somalia's Islamic courts on Friday criticized warnings issued by the United States that they may be planning suicide attacks in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali pirates hijack ship off the country's lawless coast MOGADISHU, Somalia: Six Somali gunmen hijacked a commercial ship off the country's lawless coast and were demanding a ransom of US$1 million (€780,000), an official said Saturday. ---------------------------------------------------------- Islamic leaders ban Somali elopements MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Islamic leaders have banned Somalis from marrying without the consent or knowledge of their parents, saying such unions violate Islam. ---------------------------------------------------------- Islamic courts refuse peace talks The Islamic Courts Union, which controls much of southern Somalia, has refused to meet the interim government for peace talks unless Ethiopian troops leave the country. ---------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopia, Eritrea back rival Somali factions NAIROBI -- Thousands of Ethiopian and Eritrean troops are in Somalia, backing opposing sides in the struggle for control of the strategic country, according to a confidential UN briefing paper. The involvement of the two Horn of Africa rivals could set the stage for a regional war. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali govt says going to peace talks with Islamists MOGADISHU, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Somalia's government said on Saturday it had decided to attend a third round of peace talks in Sudan with rival Islamists. ---------------------------------------------------------- Kenya: Somali Refugee Influx Decreases, UN Refugee Agency Reports The arrival rate of Somalis pouring into neighbouring Kenya to escape factional fighting has dropped to about 300 people a day from a high of over 1,000 three weeks ago, the United Nations refugee agency said today, citing border officials. ---------------------------------------------------------- Kenya: US to join IGAD Somali suicide bomb probe Nairobi, 10/27 - The United States would be allowed to join investigation into the suicide bomb attack which targeted Somali interim leader Abdullahi Yusuf, a Kenyan official affirmed here Thursday. The Somali government has put forth a formal request for detailed investigation into the attempted assassination last month which, Kenya, the Chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), said was on track to undertake the assignment. ---------------------------------------------------------- Kenya convicts Somalis of piracy Ten Somalis have been found guilty of piracy and hijacking by a court in the Kenyan port of Mombasa. The convicted men, who will be sentenced next week, were arrested earlier this year off the Somali coast. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists cut fuel supply to government base MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Increasingly assertive Somali Islamists are stopping fuel shipments reaching Baidoa, dealers and officials said on Wednesday, cutting off supplies to the weakened government's base in the city. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali rivals gird for war outside government seat BAIDOA, Somalia, Oct 25, 2006 (AFP) - Rival fighters loyal to Somalia's weak government and powerful Islamist movement girded for battle Wednesday outside the government's temporary seat here as tensions between the rivals soared. ---------------------------------------------------------- War is close, Ethiopia tells Somali rebels Ethiopia upped the ante with the Islamist rulers of Somalia's capital yesterday, saying it is on the edge of war following their repeated declarations of jihad against Addis Ababa. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists Threaten Attack on Government Base Islamist forces in Somalia are threatening to attack Baidoa, base of the country's weak interim government. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists claim capture of Ethiopian officer KISMAYO, Somalia -- Somalia's powerful Islamist movement claimed Tuesday to have captured an Ethiopian military officer in fierce weekend battles with a militia allied to the country's weak government. ---------------------------------------------------------- Troops massing around Somali town Somali government troops and Islamist rebels are massing around the central town of Burhakaba a day after it was taken by government forces. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists ready to retake town Heavily armed Islamist fighters have gathered near Bur Hakaba, a strategic southern Somali town, a day after their allies were chased out by government troops. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists: Ethiopia's Army Aids the Interim Government The Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC) accused the Ethiopian army on Saturday of aiding the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces in the occupation of Bur-Hakaba, the Somali Net news agency reports. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali, Ethiopian Forces Retake Town MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Somali government forces backed by Ethiopian soldiers have retaken a main town between the capital and the government's base from Islamic fighters, residents said Saturday. ---------------------------------------------------------- Islamists clash with southern Somali militia KISMAYU, Somalia, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Troops loyal to powerful Somali Islamists clashed with rival militia fighters in a southern town, killing four and stoking fears of mounting violence in the Horn of Africa nation, residents said on Monday. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalia: Islamic Courts Confirm Their Attendance in Khartoum Talks The Arab League has refuted a report that Somalia's president Abdulahi Yusuf and Premier Ali Mohammed Gedi had dispatched a message to the League justifying over a meeting with Arab League representatives that would come to Baidoa, southern Somalia. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalia: Police Chief Given 24 Hours to Leave Baidoa The Somali government police Chief Gen. Ali Madowe has been given a deadline of 24hrs to desert Baidoa, the temporary base for the tenuous government. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists shut down former warlord’s radio station MOGADISHU - Somalia’s powerful Islamist movement shut down a private radio station in the capital at the weekend, saying it backed the agenda of a vanquished US-backed warlord alliance, officials said on Monday. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalia: New Somali Passport Approved For the first time, the Somali cabinet ministers have approved the establishment of new Somali passport ---------------------------------------------------------- Djibouti to Hold Summit to End Somali Violence Somalia's neighbor to the north, Djibouti, will host a regional summit in November in an attempt to prevent further escalation in the region, the London-based daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat reports. ---------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopia Reacts to Threat of Jihad by Somali Islamists Ethiopia has again said it has no troops in Somalia and that it will not unilaterally attack Somalia unless attacked by the Islamists. Yesterday, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, leader of the Supreme Islamic Council of Somalia declared jihad or holy war against Ethiopia for invading Somalia. ---------------------------------------------------------- Tolerance a test for Masiphumelele dwellers Baraka, give me two onions. The order, in a confident voice, was from the diminutive figure standing on the step. From the hole in the window not much bigger than a child's head, a dark, lean hand produced the desired merchandise in exchange for the R1 offered. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalia's woes grow in Kenyan refugee camps Mohammed Abdi Guhad sits idly in the shade of a makeshift wooden kiosk, explaining his plan to return to Somalia and fight for the country's powerful Islamist movement. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali government denies Ethiopian military help BAIDOA, Somalia, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Somalia's interim government said on Tuesday its brief takeover of an outpost of its Islamist rivals was to check security and denied reports its fighters had Ethiopian troops with them. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalis vow holy war on Ethiopia Somalia's Islamists have accused Ethiopian troops of attacking a town and have vowed a "holy war" in revenge. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali force leaves town after brief takeover MOGADISHU, Oct 9, 2006 (AFP) - Somali government soldiers, allegedly backed by Ethiopian forces, pulled out of a town near the government base in south central Somalia on Monday, after briefly seizing control from a pro-Islamist militia. ---------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopia 'helps seize Somali town' Ethiopian forces have reportedly helped Somali soldiers to seize control of a town in southern central Somalia, prompting leaders of the Islamic militia to declare a holy war against Ethiopia. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalia: Hopes for the Somali Passport to Function in Emirates After Long Period of Ban The Somali passport that has internationally been invalid for more than a decade is now hoped to function again after this announcement was made by Islamic Courts executive leader Sheik Sharif who returned to his homeland on Sunday from the Emirates. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali government troops take pro-Islamist town: source MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali interim government forces backed by Ethiopian troops captured a town held by pro-Islamist fighters on Monday in the first military setback to months of Islamist expansion, an Islamist source said. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Militiamen Arrest 100 Protestors BAIDOA, Somalia -- Dozens of people protested Saturday against an Islamic militia that has seized much of southern Somalia, a day after the group appointed a new administration in the country's third largest city. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Outcasts Return to Ramadan Fold MOGADISHU — Ramadan came up this year for Somalis carrying the breeze of charity and hope of repentance for many of the social outcasts, with mosques opening the doors for beggars and thieves to put them on the right direction. ---------------------------------------------------------- KY Father Tells Police He Killed Children UPDATE, FRI, 12:00 PM: Police found four children dead Friday morning, in a Louisville housing complex, after a man went to police headquarters saying he killed his family. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalis protest against new leaders in Kismayo KISMAYO, Somalia, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Somali Islamists arrested 35 people and shot in the air to disperse a protest in Kismayo against the new administration at the key port it seized last month, witnesses said on Saturday. ---------------------------------------------------------- One Thousand Somali Refugees a Day Crossing into Kenya The UN refugee agency reports a dramatic increase this week in the number of Somali refugees entering Kenya. Since Wednesday, about a thousand refugees a day have been crossing the border – as the Islamic Courts Union militias continue their advance in the Juba Valley. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists vow holy war against enemies Somalia's radical Islamic leaders held a rally on Wednesday that drew thousands of mostly women and students in the port city of Kismayo, and vowed to wage holy war against any group that tries to stop their military advances. ---------------------------------------------------------- Kenya: UN envoy begins 7-nation Somali peace mission Nairobi, 10/04 - United Nations Secretary-General`s Special Representative for Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, Tuesday begun a seven- nation mission to promote peace and reconciliation in Somalia, with a visit to Ethiopia where he held talk s with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, UN officials said here. ---------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopia donates ammunitions to Somali government – report Oct 3, 2006 (MOGADISHU) — Officials of the presidency of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) are said to be transporting ammunition from Dolo in Ethiopia-Somali border. Reports say the ammunition has been donated to the TFG by Ethiopia. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalia: Ramas Political Party Spokesperson Blames Puntland President for Financial Mismanagement The semiautonomous region of Puntland, northeast Somalia, has been blamed for mishandling the salaries supposed to be given to Puntland armed forces. ---------------------------------------------------------- Specialists urge US to focus on Somali strife WASHINGTON -- Africa specialists criticized the Bush administration yesterday for not paying more attention to the increasingly volatile situation in Somalia, saying that senior officials were consumed by their efforts to stop the fighting in the Darfur region of Sudan. ---------------------------------------------------------- 3 Arrested in Somali Assassination Try BAIDOA, Somalia -- Somali police investigating a car bomb assassination attempt on the president arrested three suspected members of a fundamentalist Islamic group Thursday and recovered explosives, an official said. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists quell third port city protest KISMAYO, Somalia (Reuters) - Somali Islamists shot in the air to disperse a protest in Kismayo on Thursday against a ban on the popular leafy stimulant khat, in the third demonstration since the group seized the port city this week. ---------------------------------------------------------- Defections boost Somali Islamists Kismayo - A southern Somali warlord and hundreds of fighters in his wing of a local militia defected to the country's powerful Islamist movement on Wednesday in a new blow to the weak government. ---------------------------------------------------------- Writethru: Somali Islamists disarm warlord militia in Kismayo A southern Somali warlord and his fighters were disarmed Wednesday in the southern port city of Kismayo, just days after Islamist forces took over the town. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali port 'falls' to Islamists The last port in southern Somalia outside the control of the Islamic Courts (UIC) movement has reportedly fallen to the militant ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalia's Islamists seize seaport KISMAYO, Somalia — Hundreds of Islamic militiamen in heavily armed trucks took over the southern town of Kismayo, one of the last seaports that had been outside their control in Somalia, witnesses said Sunday. ---------------------------------------------------------- Islamists advance on Somali port: officials KISMAYO, Somalia (Reuters) - Somali Islamist militia were advancing on the strategic port of Kismayo on Friday with the aim of seizing it to expand their control of the Horn of Africa nation's south, officials said. ---------------------------------------------------------- Resocializing Somali fighters MOGADISHU, Somalia // Beginning as a teenager, militiaman Abduallahi Mohammed Nur rarely ventured into the Mogadishu streets without an AK-47, which he often used to harass civilians and extort money at checkpoints. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists stage execution Somalia's Islamist group have carried out their first execution since seizing the capital, Mogadishu, in June. Hundreds turned out to witness a 25-year-old man convicted of killing a businessman shot dead by firing squad. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists move toward strategic port NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States held a direct meeting in recent weeks with a key Islamist leader from Somalia and demanded the handover of "terrorists" believed to be in Mogadishu, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. ---------------------------------------------------------- U.S. has direct contacts with Somali Islamists NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The United States held a direct meeting in recent weeks with a key Islamist leader from Somalia and demanded the handover of "terrorists" believed to be in Mogadishu, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali terror plot suspect's statements admissible in U.S. court CINCINNATI Statements made to investigators by a Somali man accused of plotting to blow up a shopping mall can be used as evidence in his trial, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday. ---------------------------------------------------------- Trocaire expresses its concern at the deteriorating situation in Somalia Recent weeks have witnessed a marked deterioration in the political and security situation in Somalia. Escalating tensions between the country's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the increasingly powerful Islamic Courts Union (ICU), have thrown a pall of uncertainty and renewed violence over this long troubled country. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalia: American CIA Explosive Experts Are Due to Arrive in Somalia in 24 Hours The United States government was quick to respond the Somali transitional government's appeal to find international help over probing the double car bombings that engulfed the lives of at least 11 and injured dozens. The blasts took place in Baidoa town that, temporarily houses government buildings. ---------------------------------------------------------- SOMALIA: Hear our Voices -"I do not want to live in Mogadishu" DADAAB, 20 September (IRIN) - My name is Ibrahim Sherif Nur. I am a 30 year-old Somali newcomer to Ifo refugee camp, which is located in Kenya's Northeastern Province. ---------------------------------------------------------- CIA to Participate in Somali Bombing Investigation Mogadishu, Asharq Al-Awsat- Somali President Abdullah Yusuf Ahmed has stated that the bombing attempt on his life the day before yesterday bared the hallmarks of al-Qaeda. ---------------------------------------------------------- Boy killed as Islamists raid cinema A 13-YEAR-OLD boy was killed and three others wounded overnight when Somali Islamic militia raided a cinema hall in southern Mogadishu to break up a crowd watching an English premier league match, witnesses said. ---------------------------------------------------------- Nun's death may be linked to Pope - Somali Islamist MOGADISHU, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The killing of an Italian Catholic nun in Mogadishu on Sunday may well be linked to anger among Muslims about Pope Benedict's recent remarks on Islam, a senior source among Somalia's Islamists said. ---------------------------------------------------------- Gunmen slay Italian nun in Somali capital Gunmen shot and killed an elderly Italian nun at a children's hospital in the Islamist-controlled Somali capital amid outrage over Pope Benedict XVI's comments about Islam, witnesses said. ---------------------------------------------------------- Three Somali Men Arrested For Possession Of African Drug Three men are facing charges after prosecutors say they were caught with an illegal African drug in Queens Wednesday. The three Somali men were arrested for allegedly having 13 pounds of the drug called khat. It’s a leaf common to Africa but considered a narcotic here. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali envoy says Islamists march on major port MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A Somali government envoy accused Islamist militia on Wednesday of marching towards the strategic southern port of Kismayo in a bid to expand their control of the Horn of Africa nation's south. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalia: A Man of the People SHEIKH SHARIF AHMED presents an easy demeanour despite the daunting challenges facing him as the head of the newly formed Somalia Union of Islamic Courts. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali radio station returns to air minus music MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- A Somali radio station closed by Islamists for playing local love songs deemed to encourage immorality returned to the airwaves Monday after pledging to stop broadcasting music. ---------------------------------------------------------- Libya launches mediation between Ethiopia, Somali courts Sept 9, 2006 (CAIRO) — Libya has launched a mediation between the Ethiopia and the Somali Islamic militia; according to a report by a ban-Arab daily the Ethiopian Prime Minister and the Chief of the Islamic Courts attended a meeting last week organised by the Libyan leader. ---------------------------------------------------------- US Firms Plan Somali Operations CAIRO — US security firms have designed plans to run covert military operations in support of Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf's interim government against the influential Islamic Courts with CIA and United Nations officials being kept posted on the schemes, a British newspaper revealed on Sunday, September 10. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalis left to a life in limbo as peace talks are put on hold At the height of its popularity, the Hotel Dal Hiis, in the Marere district of southern Somalia, teemed with British and Italian tourists spending their days lazing by the pool or going out on safari in search of lions. ---------------------------------------------------------- Another Somalian murdered in Cape Town Yet another Somalian citizen has been murdered in Cape Town. Two armed robbers entered a shop in Du Noon in Milnerton. Shots were fired and a 27-year old man sustained a fatal bullet wound to his chest. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Government Ready To Negotiate With Islamic Militia Controlling Its South NAIROBI, Kenya — Somalia's government has bowed to the inevitable and attempted to make a deal with the powerful Islamic militia controlling much of the country's south. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalis face persecution in Maine On a hot July night, a few dozen Somali men were kneeling shoulder-to-shoulder in prayer at a storefront mosque here when the door opened and the frozen head of a pig, an animal considered unclean in Islam, rolled across the floor. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists say Ethiopian presence blocks talks KHARTOUM, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Peace talks between Somalia's interim government and a rival Islamist movement cannot advance until Ethiopian troops who support the government are removed from Somali soil, a senior Islamist said on Tuesday. ---------------------------------------------------------- Rival Somali factions agree on national army Somalia’s interim government and a rival Islamist militia announced on Monday that they had agreed – in principle - to form a national army. ---------------------------------------------------------- Leaders push Somali peace plan Nairobi - East African leaders pushed ahead on Tuesday with a contested plan to send peacekeepers to Somalia, despite a separate military deal between the country's rival powers that appeared to block foreign intervention. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali rivals optimistic on talks Delegation leaders from Somalia's interim government and its main rival, the Union of Islamic Courts, say they are optimistic about peace talks. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali parties to talks to ease tension in Somalia reaffirm commitment to peace KHARTOUM, Sudan Negotiators in talks aimed at easing tensions in Somalia reaffirmed Saturday that they are committed to peace, but one side, the Islamists who control most of southern Somalia, warned that foreign interference in the country is "a recipe for the renewal of civil war." ---------------------------------------------------------- Somalia: No Shift in My Stance On the Somali Government, Says Islamist Leader Leader of the consultative council of Somalia's Islamic courts, Sheekh Hassan Dahir Aweys has brushed aside reports by local and international media that he pledged his allegiance to the transitional federal government of Somalia which is based in Baidoa. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali attacks continue The killing of another Somali in Cape Town has brought the total of Somalis killed in the Western Cape this year to 28. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Taliban-Style Rebels Settle In (AP) An Islamic court has been governing this central Somalia town for less than a week, operating out of a crumbling stone building furnished with green plastic chairs, but already its leader is envisioning greater things. ---------------------------------------------------------- Coleman, Kennedy seek hearing on money transfer regulations WASHINGTON - Sen. Norm Coleman and Rep. Mark Kennedy are seeking a congressional hearing in Minnesota to help preserve neighborhood money-transfer businesses that some Somalis in this country rely on to send money back home. ---------------------------------------------------------- Islamic Militia Expands in Somalia BELET WEYNE, Somalia -- An Islamic militia that controls most of southern Somalia is now expanding into the center of this Horn of Africa country, imposing order after years of anarchy but also sparking worries of an emerging Taliban-style regime. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists tell Ethiopia: Leave or face full-scale war Islamists controlling much of southern Somalia warned Ethiopia on Thursday of "full-scale war" unless it withdraws troops allegedly sent to defend the country's weak transitional government. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali woman is flogged for drugs A Somali woman has been flogged in public for selling cannabis by Islamist militias who now control the capital. ---------------------------------------------------------- Mogadishu port reopened The Islamic Courts Union, a Somali militia, has reopened the seaport in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, for the first time in 11 years as the group continues to expand its control over the country. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists, foreign trainers open militia camp MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's powerful Islamist movement opened a militia training camp on Wednesday with trainers from Eritrea, Afghanistan and Pakistan, witnesses said. ---------------------------------------------------------- Embattled Somali PM Forms New Cabinet BAIDOA, Somalia -- Embattled Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi named a new Cabinet Monday, two weeks after the old one was dissolved amid a rift within the U.N.-backed transitional government over how to respond to the growing influence of Islamic militants. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali PM Gedi names new cabinet BAIDOA, Somalia (Reuters) - Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi named a slimmed down 31-member cabinet on Monday in an effort to rejuvenate a government crippled by infighting and threatened by powerful Islamists. ---------------------------------------------------------- Plans announced for Somali peacekeeping force NAIROBI -- East African defense chiefs expect to have the vanguard of a peacekeeping force for Somalia ready by the end of next month, officials said Friday, despite fierce objections from powerful Islamists in the chaotic Horn of Africa nation. ---------------------------------------------------------- More Ethiopian troops enter Somalia Hundreds more Ethiopian troops have arrived in the town of Baidoa, the seat of Somalia's largely powerless transitional government, officials and witnesses say. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists call national forum SOMALIA'S newly dominant Islamist movement says it will organise a national forum to chart the lawless country's future, further bypassing the weak government it threatens. ---------------------------------------------------------- Getting back to business in Somalia Thousands of Somalis are streaming across the border into refugee camps in Kenya. They are fleeing the insecurity in their homeland since Islamist militants seized power earlier this year. At the same time, Somali businessmen living abroad are spotting new opportunities under the new regime and are flying home with potential deals in mind. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali transitional government to work with Eritrean rebel group NAIROBI, Kenya -- Somalia's weak, U.N.-backed transitional government will work with an Eritrean rebel group because it claims the Eritrean government is supporting Islamic groups who control most of southern Somalia, officials said. ---------------------------------------------------------- Kenya: Uneasy Calm Returns to Mogadishu An uneasy calm has returned to anarchy prone Mogadishu and Sheikh Shariff Ahmed Hassan, the leader of the Islamic Courts Union, has been instrumental in the town's long walk to normalcy. ---------------------------------------------------------- African Military Experts Discuss Peacekeeping Mission for Somalia NAIROBI, Kenya — Top African military officials are studying a proposal to send a 3,500-strong peace force by October to Somalia, where an internationally recognized government appears increasingly weak in comparison to and its fundamentalist Islamic rivals. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists break up meeting of moderate clerics MOGADISHU -- Hardline Islamists controlling much of southern Somalia forcibly broke up a meeting of moderate clerics in the capital Thursday, further asserting their authority in the lawless nation. ---------------------------------------------------------- UN envoy urges Security Council to press for dialogue in Somalia The senior UN envoy to Somalia on Wednesday urged the UN Security Council to press the disputing parties in the country to resume a dialogue which he said has been postponed for a second time. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists seize key port Islamists in control of much of southern Somalia have seized a key port without any fighting, in a new blow to the country's weak interim government. ---------------------------------------------------------- Somali Peace Talks Delayed Again Talks between officials in the Somali interim government and Islamists have been postponed again Islamists are protesting against the alleged deployment of Ethiopian forces in the country. ---------------------------------------------------------- Islamist militia take key Somali port: residents MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamist militia took over a key port in central Somalia on Wednesday, expanding a territorial push from their base in Mogadishu that is denting the interim government's aspirations to national authority. ---------------------------------------------------------- 'Pull out Ethiopian troops' Mogadishu - The Islamic militia controlling key parts of Somalia have asked for Kenya's help in ousting Ethiopian troops deployed to protect Somalia's transitional government, said Kenya's deputy foreign minister Moses Wetangula on Monday. ---------------------------------------------------------- Kenya sends delegation to Mogadishu for meeting with militants MOGADISHU, Somalia -- The Islamic militants who control Somalia's capital and much of the country's south are "moderate and peace-loving people," a member of Kenya's parliament said Saturday after meeting with the group in Mogadishu. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali troops: we'll fight militants Troops in Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region said on Thursday they were ready to fight Islamic militants who are trying to spread their influence to the central part of the country after taking control of much of the south. --------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopia warns of Somali dangers Ethiopia has warned that Somalia's transitional government is in danger of being sidelined by the growth in power of the country's Islamic Courts. --------------------------------------------------------- Northern Somali region braces for Islamist advance MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Forces allied to Somalia's interim government in the northern Puntland region are ready to repel any attack by Islamists, a regional police chief said on Friday. --------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopian troops clash with Somali-based rebels Ethiopia says its troops have engaged separatist rebels in the east of the country, killing 13 and capturing several senior commanders, after they crossed the border from Somalia. Ethiopia accuses both Eritrea and Islamic leaders in Somalia of fomenting civil unrest in Ethiopia. --------------------------------------------------------- Tuju challenges countries on Somalia FOREIGN Affairs minister Raphael Tuju yesterday challenged the international community to intervene in restoring peace and stability in Somalia. --------------------------------------------------------- Can the Somali Crisis Be Contained? Nairobi/Brussels, 10 August 2006: Somalia is on the verge of a new war which can only be contained if both sides and the international community take urgent steps to pull together a government of national unity. --------------------------------------------------------- SOMALIA: Premier consults over cabinet composition NAIROBI, 10 August (IRIN) - The prime minister of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG), Ali Muhammad Gedi, is consulting widely as he tries to form a new cabinet that would reflect the diversity of Somali society, a government official said on Thursday. --------------------------------------------------------- Somalia militia may spark fresh bloodshed Mogadishu - Somali Islamic militia on Thursday announced plans to seize control of the central regional capital of Galkayo, sparking a massive deployment by their rivals and raising the spectre of renewed bloodshed in the shattered east African nation. --------------------------------------------------------- Islamist fighters seize Somali town MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's powerful Islamist movement seized a town on the Ethiopian border on Wednesday and said its fighters were advancing on a government stronghold, stoking fears of more clashes with the interim administration. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali MPs defy Ghedi over talks Members of Somalia's interim parliament say they intend to travel to Sudan for more peace talks with Islamic courts that control the capital, Mogadishu. --------------------------------------------------------- More Somali officials quit in protest at PM BAIDOA (Reuters) - Somalia's interim government unravelled further on Wednesday with the resignation of another four top officials who cited as their reason the prime minister's reluctance to reach out to a rival Islamist movement. --------------------------------------------------------- Islamists reach out to Somali ministers amid mass exodus The supreme leader of Somalia's Islamists has invited ministers who have resigned from the transitional government to join his movement and lashed out at embattled Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi for failing to govern the shattered African nation. --------------------------------------------------------- Eritrea: Reinstating a Strong Somali State Recent developments in Somalia have made it distinctively clear that the conflicts in the country had really been between the entire Somali people on the one hand and the TPLF regime on the other. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali PM survives ousting vote He faced the vote after 19 ministers resigned, apparently dissatisfied at his government's reluctance to forge an agreement with Islamist courts. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali PM Accuses Middle East Trio of Backing Terrorists Somalia's prime minister is accusing three Middle East nations of trying to destroy the transitional government. --------------------------------------------------------- INTERVIEW-Don't exaggerate Somali crisis, African Union urges NAIROBI, July 29 (Reuters) - Despite the murder of a minister, Somalia's crisis should not be exaggerated and negotiations are still key to finding a political solution, the African Union envoy to Somalia said on Saturday. --------------------------------------------------------- Murdered Somali minister buried Hundreds of mourners in the Somali town of Baidoa have attended the burial of a minister in the transitional government a day after he was shot dead. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali parliament postpones PM no confidence vote BAIDOA, Somalia, July 29 (Reuters) - Somalia's interim parliament postponed on Saturday debate on a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi, whom some lawmakers want to remove as a prelude to a peace deal with Islamists. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali cabinet resignation crisis At least 19 ministers and deputy ministers in Somalia's transitional government have resigned, a cabinet minister has told the BBC. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali lawmakers seek to remove PM Gedi from power MOGADISHU, July 27 (Reuters) - Somali legislators are trying to remove Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi from power, in a move government sources said on Thursday was aimed at persuading rival powerful Islamists to enter peace talks. --------------------------------------------------------- Eritrea suspected of sending arms in cargo plane According to an anonymous source of the Islamic Courts cited by Reuters the aircraft was loaded with sewing machines, gifts from a friendly government --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists mull peace talks with government MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamist leaders met in Mogadishu on Wednesday to decide whether to return to talks with the fragile interim government that many see as the only hope for averting war in the Horn of Africa country. --------------------------------------------------------- Somalia's Islamists decline talks Islamic courts controlling the Somali capital will not take part in talks with the government unless Ethiopian troops leave Somalia, an official says. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists and government clash The fighting on Saturday was the first between the two sides and many Somalis fear it may signal a slide to war in the Horn of Africa country. --------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopia 'seizes new Somali town' Ethiopian troops have reportedly moved into another town in south-western Somalia, two days after entering the country to protect the weak government. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamist orders 'holy war' A Somali Islamist leader has ordered a "holy war" to drive out Ethiopian troops, after they entered the country to protect the weak interim government. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali militia threaten Ethiopia Islamic militia leaders in Somalia have threatened to wage what they called a holy war against Ethiopia unless it withdraws its troops from Somalia. --------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopian troops enter Somalia Hundreds of Ethiopian troops in armoured vehicles have entered the central Somali town of Baidoa, home of the country's transitional government. --------------------------------------------------------- Somalia Gov't Agrees to Talks With Militia MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Somalia's weak transitional government has agreed to attend peace talks with the Islamic militia controlling most of the country's south, a government spokesman said Tuesday. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali embargo 'should stay' Mogadishu - The supreme leader of Somalia's increasingly powerful Islamist movement said on Tuesday that easing a 14-year-old United Nations arms embargo on the lawless nation would be a "fatal mistake". --------------------------------------------------------- SOMALIA: TFG welcomes calls for dialogue NAIROBI, 18 Jul 2006 (IRIN) - Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has welcomed efforts by the International Contact Group (ICG) to create an inclusive dialogue to end the decade-old conflict in the Horn of Africa country. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamist warns against peacekeepers MOGADISHU: The supreme leader of Somalia’s increasingly powerful Islamist movement yesterday warned world powers against backing peacekeepers for the lawless nation where his forces are now dominant. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali govt says will form team to meet Islamists MOGADISHU, July 16 (Reuters) - Somalia's government agreed on Sunday to form a committee to attend future peace talks with the country's newly powerful Islamists, after rejecting a round of planned negotiations over the weekend. --------------------------------------------------------- Islamists 'respect Somali govt' Khartoum - Somalia's Islamic courts have agreed to respect the legitimacy of the fragile government and continue talks despite a rebuff by the president, said an Arab League envoy on Saturday. --------------------------------------------------------- Islamists, Somali govt can never agree, says warlord MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's interim government and the Islamists who now control Mogadishu can never share power because they have conflicting ideologies, a recently defeated top warlord said on Saturday. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists respect govt legitimacy: Arab League KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Somalia's newly powerful Islamists have agreed to respect the legitimacy of the fragile government and continue talks despite a rebuff by the president, an Arab League envoy said on Saturday. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali cabinet snubs peace talks Somalia's weak, UN-backed government has called for a delay in peace talks with Islamists who control the capital, which had been scheduled for Saturday. --------------------------------------------------------- Islamists close in on Somalian government The ruined town of Baidoa, where ragged gunmen roam bullet-scarred streets, is Somalia's alternative capital. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali government boycotts talks MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's interim government decided on Friday to boycott peace talks due to take place in Sudan at the weekend in protest at alleged ceasefire violations by the Islamist movement running Mogadishu. --------------------------------------------------------- Maine community denounces mosque attack LEWISTON, Maine - Earlier this month, Muslim men participating in a serene evening prayer ritual at Lewiston Auburn Islamic Center were sharply interrupted: A severed, frozen pig‘s head, slightly larger than a basketball, was thrown into the mosque. --------------------------------------------------------- Islamists battle Somali warlord militia MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's Islamist militia attacked fighters loyal to defeated warlords in Mogadishu on Sunday in heavy street battles that killed at least 20 people and wounded scores including refugees, witnesses said. --------------------------------------------------------- Five killed as rival Somali factions clash over contract Five people were killed at the weekend and several others seriously injured after rival militia clashed along the Kenya/Somalia border. --------------------------------------------------------- FACTBOX - Key facts on Somali Islamists July 9 (Reuters) - Islamist militia attacked enclaves in Mogadishu held by fighters loyal to defeated Somali warlords on Sunday in a heavy battle that killed at least 15 people. --------------------------------------------------------- Land dispute blamed for Somali uprising MOGADISHU, SOMALIA - The land was little more than a patch of scrub outside the city. But this being Somalia — lawless, fractured and armed to the teeth — it was a patch of scrub that two of the country's most powerful families were prepared to fight over. --------------------------------------------------------- Peace returning to Somalia: Official Doha • Peace and stability is returning to Somalia with the warlords having been defeated and pushed into the oblivion by the Joint Islamic Courts, says a senior visiting Somali official. --------------------------------------------------------- Somalia's U.N.-backed government struggles BAIDOA, Somalia -- In an old grain warehouse spruced up with posters and vinyl flooring, Somalia's president and prime minister watched the swearing in of a regional governor this week, an event that looked like a small step toward government control of this anarchic country. --------------------------------------------------------- Islamist courts flog teens Jowhar - Somali Islamic courts punished 11 teenagers with 40 lashes in public each on Saturday, after they confessed to "un-Islamic behaviour", including smoking marijuana, pretending to be Islamic militia, violence and looting. --------------------------------------------------------- International Delegation Meets Somali Islamists in Mogadishu In Somalia, an international delegation has met with the Islamic group that seized control of the capital Mogadishu on June 5. Officials from Islamic Courts in Mogadishu The team is comprised of 30 diplomats and experts from the European Union, African Union, Arab League and the East African Governmental Authority on Development. --------------------------------------------------------- SOMALIA: The challenges of change NAIROBI, 6 July (IRIN) - The takeover of Mogadishu on 4 June by the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) was the most important political event in Somalia in the last 16 years. It removed a political class of clan-based extortionists and dealers in everything from drugs to people, known as 'warlords', which has divided and ruled the country since the collapse of the central state in 1991. --------------------------------------------------------- Forget foreign troops, Somali Islamists tell world MOGADISHU, July 6 (Reuters) - Somalia's newly powerful Islamists told a visiting mission of African, Arab and European officials on Thursday they would not accept a planned deployment of foreign peacekeepers in the turbulent Horn of Africa nation. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists arrest killers of World Cup fans Somali Islamists said on Thursday they had arrested two Muslim militiamen accused of shooting dead two people this week during a protest in central Somalia against a ban on watching the World Cup. --------------------------------------------------------- Somalia soccer shooting arrests The Somali gunmen who shot dead two people watching a World Cup match have been arrested and will face Islamic justice, an Islamist leader has said. --------------------------------------------------------- Somalia: Ethiopian Soldiers Empty Somali Town Reports from Somalia Southern Beled Hawo Township some distances away from the border with Ethiopia and Kenya indicate that Ethiopian forces left the town this morning after staying there for the past days. --------------------------------------------------------- Somalia PM Denies Reports of Ethiopian Troops in Somalia Somalia's interim prime minister has categorically denied reports that Ethiopian troops have entered Somalia, or the town of Baidoa, where the country's fledgling government is based. VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu is in Baidoa and reports that this is the second time in the past two weeks tensions in the Horn of Africa have escalated over unconfirmed reports that Ethiopian troops have crossed over into Somalia. --------------------------------------------------------- U.N. Officials Meet Militia in Somalia MOGADISHU, Somalia -- U.N. security officials met Monday with the Islamic militia that runs Somalia's capital, the first formal contact since the militants' seizure of Mogadishu and much of the south. --------------------------------------------------------- UN delegation meets Somali Islamists in Mogadishu A United Nations security team on Monday held closed-door talks with leaders of the Islamist Courts Union in Mogadishu on the security situation in the Somali capital, where the UN body hopes to resume aid activities. --------------------------------------------------------- SOMALIA: Islamic courts issue Mogadishu travel guidelines NAIROBI, 3 July (IRIN) - The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which currently controls the Somali capital of Mogadishu, has announced new guidelines on travel to the city, saying it wants to boost traveler safety. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists distance themselves from bin Laden MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's powerful Islamist movement on Sunday distanced itself from Osama bin Laden's view that deployment of troops to the Horn of Africa country was part of a crusade to crush budding Islamic rule. --------------------------------------------------------- U.S. fed Somali clan feud that backfired MOGADISHU, Somalia -- The land was little more than a patch of scrub outside the city. But this being Somalia -- lawless, fractured and armed to the teeth -- it was a patch of scrub that two of the country's most powerful families were prepared to fight over. --------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopia denies new Somalia incursion claims ADDIS ABABA, July 1 (Reuters) - Ethiopia denied that its troops crossed into Somalia on Saturday to protect the interim government seat of Baidoa from an attack by the powerful Islamists movement. --------------------------------------------------------- Somalia: Ethiopian Forces Take Control of Somali Town, Source Says Reports from Somalia southwest region of Gedo indicate Ethiopian armed forces interred parts of the region creating tensions. --------------------------------------------------------- Islamic Militia Claims Somalia Authority MOGADISHU, Somalia -- The hard-line Muslim leaders who have seized control of much of southern Somalia claimed authority throughout the country Thursday in yet another blow to the largely powerless but internationally recognized interim government. --------------------------------------------------------- FACTBOX-Facts about hardline Somali cleric Dahir Aweys June 29 (Reuters) - Hardline Muslim cleric, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, was named on Thursday as leader of a 91-member Council of Islamic Courts of Somalia, a body designed to extend the authority of sharia courts across the Horn of Africa country. --------------------------------------------------------- AU rules out direct talks with Somali Islamists BANJUL (Reuters) - The African Union will not mediate directly with Islamists controlling a large swathe of Somalia despite its determination to restore peace and central authority to the country, a senior official said on Thursday. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists seek expansion, ratify radical MOGADISHU, June 29 (Reuters) - Mogadishu's Islamist rulers sought to expand their authority across Somalia on Thursday and ratified a hardline Muslim cleric suspected of al Qaeda ties as their overall leader in moves sure to spread alarm in the West. --------------------------------------------------------- U.S. won't deal with Somalia Islamist WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A State Department spokesman said Monday the U.S. would not deal with the new leader of the Islamic militia in Somalia because of his alleged ties to al Qaeda. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists name US-wanted cleric to top post MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's newly powerful sharia courts have appointed a leading Islamist on Washington's list of most wanted terrorists as the head of their new parliament, officials said on Sunday. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali refugees laud new home The war in Somalia and the years he spent in Kenya's refugee camps represent another life, another world for Musa Matan. --------------------------------------------------------- Egypt hails Somali leaders' agreement CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit has hailed the Arab League-sponsored agreement reached by rival Somali leaders in Khartoum, a ministry statement said. --------------------------------------------------------- 'Radical' heads Somalia militia A prominent Somali cleric who is on the US list of terror suspects has been named as head of an Islamist militia that controls the capital, Mogadishu. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Militia to Probe Reporter's Death The Islamic militia controlling Somalia's capital said Saturday it was investigating the slaying of an award-winning Swedish journalist, who was fatally shot while covering a demonstration in Mogadishu. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali expats dread thought of leaving Qatar DOHA • With peace eluding their strife-stricken homeland now for more than a decade, not many among an estimated 800 Somalis living in Qatar know what they would do if they have to suddenly leave this country. --------------------------------------------------------- Negotiations yield Somali truce, mutual recognition KHARTOUM, Sudan -- The interim government of Somalia and the Islamic Courts movement, which controls the capital, Mogadishu, agreed yesterday to stop military campaigns, recognize each other, and meet again on July 15. --------------------------------------------------------- Recent Calm in Mogadishu Allows Polio Immunization Campaign UNICEF, the UN children’s fund, says the recent calm in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, has allowed hundreds of thousands of children to be immunized against polio. --------------------------------------------------------- Cameraman killed at demonstration in Somalia A Swedish cameraman has been shot dead in the Somali capital Mogadishu while attending a demonstration. --------------------------------------------------------- Mobile phone helps one Somali refugee send long-distance SOS GENEVA, June 23 (UNHCR) – The mobile phone bleeped twice in the London offices of the UN World Food Programme and shuddered briefly. A cancelled meeting? A free mobile upgrade? No. This time, an appeal, direct from a disaster zone in the Horn of Africa. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali rivals agree to recognize each other KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The interim government of Somalia and the Islamic Courts movement which took control of the capital Mogadishu this month recognized each other on Thursday after their first direct high-level talks in Sudan. --------------------------------------------------------- Rivals agree Somalia peace deal Somalia's government and the Islamic group that controls the capital have agreed to end military campaigns at peace talks in Sudan --------------------------------------------------------- Somalia: Arab-Somali Committee Meeting to Show Support for Somali Gov't - Amr Moussa The Arab League Secretary Amr Moussa said Wednesday that the Arab-Somali committee meeting in Sudan is to support the Somali government and to exhibit the Arab League's stepping up to the plate to take part in resolving regional crises. --------------------------------------------------------- Sudan, Arab League greet Somali delegates for peace talks June 22, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The head of the Arab League greeted the Somalian president and representatives of Islamic militias that control most of the warn-torn country for talks in Khartoum on Wednesday. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali factions in Sudan for talks The head of the Arab League on Wednesday greeted the Somalian president and representatives of Islamic militias that control most of the warn-torn country for talks in Khartoum on Wednesday. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali rivals head to Khartoum for peace talks Delegations from Somalia's transitional government and the rival Islamic alliance were due to travel to Sudan on Wednesday to participate in Arab League-led mediation efforts, officials said. --------------------------------------------------------- Global Islamists behind Somali takeover: president ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Somalia's interim president said on Tuesday the Islamist militia which has captured Mogadishu from secular warlords could not have succeeded without support from Muslim fundamentalists across the world. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali govt 'deserves support' Cape Town - Somalia's embattled transitional government deserves the support of South Africa and others, says Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota. --------------------------------------------------------- Somalia 'a haven for al-Qaeda' Mogadishu - An old cleric, a young warrior and a desecrated Italian cemetery are at the centre of the debate on whether Somalia has become a haven for al-Qaeda terrorists. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Accuses Ethiopian Troops of Intervening JOWHAR, Somalia, June 17 -- The leader of the Islamic militias that seized Somalia's capital this month said Saturday that 300 Ethiopian soldiers had entered the country to help his rivals. --------------------------------------------------------- Border war feared as Somali Islamists vow holy war against Ethiopia Mogadishu/Nairobi - The leader of Islamic courts Union Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed accused Ethiopia of trying to destroy Islamist rule in Somalia, threatening a new war should Ethiopia meddle in Somalia's internal politics. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali warlords flee Two Somali warlords, who lost control of the capital Mogadishu to Islamist militia earlier this month, have fled the country. --------------------------------------------------------- Islamic takeover seen good for Somalia business EL MAAN, Somalia (Reuters) - The stabilization of Mogadishu after Islamist leaders ousted U.S.-backed warlords has dealt a blow to pirates and given a boost to business in the Horn of Africa nation, a prominent Somali businessman said. --------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopia Puts Troops On Somali Border (AP) An Ethiopian official said Saturday that Ethiopian troops were on the border with Somalia. --------------------------------------------------------- Ethiopia rejects Somalia claims Somalia's Islamist leader says 300 Ethiopian soldiers have crossed the troubled state's border - a claim denied by Ethiopian officials. --------------------------------------------------------- Yemen to host Somali talks, state Web site says SANAA, June 16 (Reuters) - The leaders of Somalia's Islamic Courts, whose militia controls the capital Mogadishu, have agreed to hold talks with Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed in Yemen, a Yemeni state-run Web site said on Friday --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists say no plans for own government MOGADISHU, June 16 (Reuters) - Islamists who have taken control of Mogadishu and a wide swathe of Somalia said on Friday they had no plans to start their own government and promised to crack down on extremists in their midst. --------------------------------------------------------- U.S. has an unhappy history of involvement in Somalia Somalia, with an estimated population of 8.8 million, was formed in 1960 from two European colonies, British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland. Americans best remember it, however, for the Oct. 3, 1993, battle between American soldiers and Somali militias that ended with the deaths of 18 Americans. That fighting was depicted in the 2001 film "Black Hawk Down," which was based on a book by the same name. --------------------------------------------------------- Somalia's Islamic Courts Pledge to Keep Out Terrorists The leader of Somalia's newly powerful Islamic courts has written the U.S. government, pledging to help prevent his country from becoming a terrorist haven. --------------------------------------------------------- Int'l Somali Group Meets, Arabs Excluded UNITED NATIONS — With the Arab League excluded from the meeting, a US-inspired international group on Somalia met in the United Nations on Thursday, June 15, to discuss a unified strategy on the country following the victory of the Islamic Courts over US-backed warlords. --------------------------------------------------------- US-called meeting pushes relief, talks for Somalia UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A U.S.-organized meeting called on Somalia's warring factions on Thursday to stop fighting and give relief agencies full access to the country's suffering population. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists capture key town Somali Islamic fighters have captured the town of Jowhar from warlords a week after driving them from the capital, Mogadishu, 90km to the south. --------------------------------------------------------- Islamist militias capture Somali town Somali Islamist militias have seized the town of Jowhar from regional commanders, whom they unseated from the capital last week. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali leader says he only wants order MOGADISHU, Somalia, June 13 (UPI) -- Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, the leader who now controls the capital of Somalia, says that he does not want to establish an Islamic state. --------------------------------------------------------- Fighting erupts in Somali town of Jowhar - residents MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamic militia armed with heavy artillery have launched an attack on the Somali town of Jowhar, where warlords had taken refuge after their defeat in Mogadishu, residents said on Wednesday. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali warlords 'forced to flee refuge' Islamist fighters who seized control of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, from secular warlords have forced them from the nearby town to which they had fled, witnesses said today. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali warlords flee as Islamists close in Jowhar - Three United States-backed Somali warlords on Tuesday fled their last remaining stronghold of Jowhar, to where they had escaped after being routed in Mogadishu by Islamic fighters, an AFP correspondent witnessed. --------------------------------------------------------- Top UN envoy meets with Somali leaders on political, humanitarian situation 13 June 2006 – Continuing his series of high-level talks on the political situation in Somalia and the humanitarian assistance needed after recent, intense battles there, the Special Representative of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Francois Lonsény Fall, has met with local Somali leaders in Nairobi, Kenya. --------------------------------------------------------- Sanctions put on Somali warlords East African countries have agreed to impose sanctions including a travel ban on a group of Somali warlords recently defeated in a battle for Mogadishu. --------------------------------------------------------- Toothless Somali government looks to gain some bite Somali leaders met with regional government ministers on Tuesday to try to find a way to empower Somalia's United Nations-backed government, which watched from the sidelines as a fundamentalist Islamic militia battled warlords and seized its capital. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Islamists celebrate victory over warlords They wave their Kalashnikovs and grenade launchers, proclaiming they are the new Mujahedin. Their leaders talk international power politics while imposing strict sharia laws. Yet some of the fighters we speak to do not want to be photographed, in case they want to emigrate to the West should events in Mogadishu take a turn for the worst. --------------------------------------------------------- Islam's gunmen rout Somali warlords A HARDLINE Islamic sheikh linked to Al-Qaeda was tightening his grip on the devastated capital of Somalia this weekend after the defeat of secular warlords who have terrorised the city for 15 years. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali anger over World Cup TV ban MOGADISHU, Somalia — Islamic militiamen in control of Somalia's capital fired guns in the air and cut electricity to makeshift cinemas to prevent people from watching the World Cup, witnesses said. --------------------------------------------------------- Soldiers deployed in Somali town Somalia's transitional government has deployed soldiers in its temporary seat, northwest of the capital Mogadishu, a day after clashes between rival forces killed at least seven people and wounded eight. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali govt urges Islamists to hand over arms MOGADISHU, June 10 (Reuters) - Somalia's interim government has called on Islamist gunmen, who seized Mogadishu from an alliance of warlords, to hand over their weapons in the hope a disarmament would allow lawmakers to return to the capital. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali Militia Leader Denies al-Qaida Ties MOGADISHU, Somalia — The leader of the Islamic militia tightening its grip on this lawless nation wears cheap sandals and rides in an old truck with two bodyguards in a town where a dozen is standard. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali president's compound hit Gunmen have attacked the compound of Somalia's interim President Abdullahi Yusuf in the central town of Baidoa. --------------------------------------------------------- Somali officials, Islamists talk MOGADISHU—The Islamic militia that defeated U.S.-backed warlords and seized nearly all of southern Somalia held talks yesterday with Somalia's largely powerless interim government on the future of the lawless nation. -------------------------------------------------------- |
