M2 PRESSWIRE, December 29, 2003
Fighting in central Somalia displaces 1,500 families
Repeated fighting between clans in Galgaduud region in central Somalia has led to the displacement of over 1,500 families. The majority of the displaced are women, young children and the elderly. An estimated 400 to 500 households fled fighting between the militia of the Marehan and Dir in Heraale, Abudwaaq district, and another 1,100 households fled fighting between the Murusade and Duduble clans in Elbur district. According to a recent assessment by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Food Security Assessment Unit of the
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the humanitarian consequences are serious.
Fighting has led to the destruction of houses, water stores, and the looting and killing of livestock. The displaced live in poorly constructed shelters made of sticks and cloth that provide little protection against the weather. Access to clean water and health facilities is limited, and poor autumn rains have caused additional hardship for people and have adversely affected the health of livestock. With the loss of their herds, many of the displaced have lost their main source of livelihood.
Efforts by clan elders to reconcile the differences between the various militia groups in both disputes have so far been unsuccessful. "I urge the conflicting parties to refrain from further fighting, to resolve their differences peacefully and to ensure that the rights of civilians are fully respected", said Calum McLean, chief of OCHA for Somalia. "To be able to offer assistance, the humanitarian community must be allowed unrestricted and safe access to those affected", he added.
No international aid agencies are currently working in the conflict area and there has been no access by the United Nations for years due to a combination of fighting, poor infrastructure and landmines.
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BBC Monitoring International Reports, December 28, 2003/Source: Xog-Ogaal, Mogadishu, in Somali 27 Dec 03
SOMALIA: EIGHT PEOPLE SAID KILLED FOLLOWING FRESH FIGHTING IN CENTRAL REGION
Fresh fighting has been reported near Qansax Dheere (in central Somalia region). The fighting is said to be between two rival clan militia groups.
At least eight people, among them, a child have been killed and scores of others wounded in the fighting, which occurred in areas between Ufurow and Qansax Dheere towns yesterday.
The cause of the fighting between area residents is not yet known, although other reports say that it was a revenge fighting.
BBC Monitoring International Reports, December 27, 2003/Source: Xog-Ogaal, Mogadishu, in Somali 27 Dec 03
SOMALIA: INTER-MILITIA FIGHTING KILLS EIGHT IN SOUTH CENTRAL
Fresh fighting between clan militias near Qansadheer has killed at least eight people including a small child and wounded several others.
The fighting took place yesterday (26 December) between Ufurow and Qansadheer districts (south central Somalia).
The cause of the fighting could not be established immediately, although reports say it was triggered off by neighbouring villages in revenge for previous incidents.
BBC Monitoring International Reports, December 24, 2003/Source: Xog-Ogaal, Mogadishu, in Somali 24 Dec 03
SOMALIA: NEW POLITICAL PARTY LAUNCHED IN CENTRAL TOWN
A new (political) party named the National Democratic League was yesterday launched in Beled Weyne town, the capital of Hiiraan Region (central Somalia). Dr Abdirahman Abdulle Ali was elected chairman of the new party while Eng Abdiwahid Abdulle Abdi was elected vice-chairman. Abdikarim Husayn Idow was elected secretary-general of the party.
The party will have an executive committee, made up of 13 members and a central committee made up of 41 members.
Many local officials and other esteemed guests from the neighbouring areas attended the inauguration ceremony and welcomed the launch of the party.
BBC Monitoring International Reports, December 23, 2003/ Source: Qaran, Mogadishu, in Somali 23 Dec 03
RENEWED FIGHTING IN CENTRAL SOMALIA CLAIMS 15 LIVES
At least 15 people have been killed and more than 30 others wounded in a serious fighting that erupted in Ceel Buur (Galgaduud Region, central Somalia) between the rival clans that have been fighting there. The (renewed) fighting was sparked off when one of the two warring clans chanced upon the forces of the other clan inside the town.
An assortment of weapons were used during the fighting, which caused the death of many people and loss of property. Several civilian houses were destroyed in the fighting.
Despite mediation efforts to try and stop the fighting, there are fears of another renewed round of fighting.
BBC Monitoring International Reports, December 23, 2003/ Source: Radio Uganda, Kampala, in English 1000 gmt 23 Dec 03
UGANDA: FORMER SOMALI PREMIER HAILS MUSEVENI'S REGIONAL PEACE EFFORTS
President Yoweri Museveni has received former Somali prime minister, Prof Ali Khalif, who paid a courtesy call on him last evening at State House, Nakasero (in Kampala).
The former Somali premier paid glowing tribute to President Museveni for his untiring efforts in trying to bring about peace in the Great Lakes region as well as in Somalia.
He commended the (National Resistance) Movement government for the hospitality accorded to him, to Somali nationals who are staying in Uganda and those others on transit. (Passage omitted)
XINHUA,December 23, 2003
Ugandan president meets former Somali prime minister
KAMPALA -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni Monday evening received former Somali Prime Minister Ali Khalif Galaydh who paid a courtesy call on him at the State House in Kampala.
The former Somali premier paid glowing tribute to Museveni for his untiring efforts in trying to bring about peace in the Great Lakes region as well as in Somalia, according to a press release issued here Tuesday by the State House.
Galaydh commended the Ugandan government for the hospitality accorded to Somali nationals who are staying in Uganda and those others in transit.
Galaydh was accompanied by a former minister of state in the Somali government Buri Mohamed Hamza.
On Monday, Museveni also met with a delegation of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to discuss peace efforts in Somalia.
The delegation of the Somalia IGAD Facilitation Committee was led by Kenyan Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka.
Museveni is the chairman of IGAD member countries which include Kenya, Uganda, the Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia.
Africa News, December 22, 2003/BYLINE: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
Somalia; Massive Displacement in Galgadud
Inter-clan fighting in Somalia's central Galgadud region has left over 2,000 families displaced and the numbers are growing, local sources told IRIN on Monday.
Dr Ahmed Madhi, who works at the hospital in the regional capital Dusa-marreb, said the health situation was critical and facilities were overwhelmed by casualties of the fighting. "The hospital [in
Dusa-marreb] does not have the equipment, drugs and the expertise to treat the number and type of wounds we are receiving," he said. "We have no surgeon and not enough drugs for patients."
He appealed to aid agencies to come to the assistance of the victims "and to save lives".
A statement issued by the UN on Monday said fighting between rival militia of the Marehan and Dir (Fiqi Muhumad sub-clan), had left an estimated 400-500 households displaced in Heraale, Abudwaaq district.
A further 1,100 households had fled fighting between the Murusade and Duduble clans in Elbur district, added the statement by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. It described
the humanitarian situation as serious.
"I urge the conflicting parties to refrain from further fighting, resolve their differences peacefully and to ensure that the rights of civilians are fully respected," said Calum McLean of UN-OCHA (Somalia). He added that humanitarian workers must be allowed "unrestricted and safe access" to the affected people.
The majority of the displaced are said to be women, young children and the elderly. The fighting has also led to the destruction of houses, berkads (water stores), and the looting or killing of livestock, the UN statement said.
Mediation efforts on the part of elders and religious leaders from neutral clans have so far failed to resolve the dispute, but are said to be continuing.
BBC Monitoring International Reports,December 21, 2003/Source: Qaran, Mogadishu, in Somali 20 Dec 03
ETHIOPIA SAID POSTING HIV POSITIVE SOLDIERS TO SOMALI BORDER
A prominent Somali medical doctor has accused Ethiopia of posting (Ethiopian) HIV positive infantry soldiers at its border with Somalia. Dr Salad Farah Gutale, who is a very well known Somali doctor in Mogadishu, said that Ethiopia was sending soldiers infected with HIV/AIDS to work at its border with Somalia. "Ethiopian soldiers diagnosed HIV positive are sent to its border with Somalia," Gutale said.
In a meeting attended by many Somalis from different social groups, Dr Gutale told the gathering to discuss the HIV/AIDS menace openly and courageously.
Associated Pres, December 18, 2003
Residents return to their homes in central Somalia after three days of fighting which killed more than 50 people
BYLINE: MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN; Associated Press Writer
DATELINE: MOGADISHU, Somalia: Hundreds of people returned to their homes in central Somalia on Thursday during a lull in three days of fighting between rival gunmen which killed dozens of people, residents said.
The gunmen from rival subclans in Heraale, about 320 kilometers (200 miles) north of Mogadishu, agreed to stop fighting while traditional elders mediated between the warring parties, residents said.
Hospital workers in the region said by telephone that more than 50 people were killed in the violence which broke out Monday and 70 others wounded.
Some residents, who did not want to be identified for fear of retribution, said the fighting may have stopped because the gunmen have run out of ammunition.
The last confrontation between fighters from the Marehan and Dir subclans over land occurred in November and left nearly 100 people dead.
Somalia has been ruled by heavily armed clan-based factions since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohammed Siad Barre.
Despite numerous attempts by regional countries to bring peace to the Horn of Africa nation, the country has not had an effective central government since Siad Barre's ouster.
The latest peace process began in October 2002 in neighboring Kenya, but it has been dogged by disputes between the Somali delegates and shows few signs of reaching a conclusion.
Associated Press, December 18, 2003
Women set up their first chamber of commerce in Somalia
DATELINE: MOGADISHU, Somalia: Somali women have set up their first chamber of commerce, a sign of the growing importance of women in the economy of the war-torn nation in the Horn of Africa.
Known as Wabi Shabelle in Somali, the organization was established Wednesday by more than 80 businesswomen from Somalia's four major regions with the help of the Italian aid agency, COSPE.
Chairwoman Asha Usman Ugas said the group would help women with information technology, legal counsel and would even offsetting business losses.
Following the ouster of longtime president Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991 by rival clan leaders, Somalia was plunged into chaos and war-induced famine. There is still no effective central government, but commercial activity has picked up markedly in the past five years with the decline in serious clan-based fighting.
A local economic think tank in Mogadishu estimates that 70 percent of women in Somalia are their families' main breadwinners. Many women have turned to trading and the import-export business while men remained involved in political and inter-clan wrangling.
BBC Monitoring International Reports, December 21, 2003/Source: Qaran, Mogadishu, in Somali 20 Dec 03
SOMALI RELIGIOUS SCHOLARS DEMAND BANNING OF CONDOMS
Religious scholars, Mogadishu doctors and other Somali intellectuals have jointly taken an antagonistic stance against the use of condoms, which the local media has been popularizing for the past
few days.
After an extensive meeting held at Al-Hayat Hospital, they released a communique calling for the total prohibition and banning of condoms. The umbrella Somali Ulema Council issued a (separate)statement in which it said the use of condoms would encourage promiscuity, which is the root cause of the HIV/AIDS. They called those running the (advertisement) campaigns promoting the use of condoms as either infidels or groups enticed by unbelievers, accusing them of not taking promiscuity into consideration. The religious scholars also stressed that all Somalis were Sunni Muslims 100 per cent.
Sheikh Nur Barud who is the chairman of the Somali Council of Ulema while addressing in the (collective) meeting said: "Use of condoms will increase adultery. The infidels whose acts are being imitated do not observe the (Islamic) religion and do not live by it".
Abdullahi Ma'alin who is a lawyer said at the meeting: "Let's warn the people against Allah's torment and punishment, even if they are dying of any disease which is nothing in comparison with Allah's torment and his punishment".
For his part, the chairman of Mogadishu shari'ah courts said the only way to protect against adultery was to punish the adulterer in accordance with the Islamic law.
Some doctors say there are some people infected with the HIV/AIDS currently spreading the disease in Mogadishu.
Most of the religious scholars in Mogadishu discussed the issue in their Friday (19 December) sermons, warning about the dangers and problems that could arise from promiscuity.
BBC Monitoring International Reports.December 21, 2003/Source: Qaran, Mogadishu, in Somali 20 Dec 03
SOMALIA: NEW PREMIER SUBMITS HIS POLICY STRATEGY TO PARLIAMENT
The new TNG (Transitional National Government) premier, Muhammad Abdi Yusuf, has submitted a new plan (of work) to parliament. The new plan, which comprised several items, was distributed to members of parliament last Thursday (18 December) and the members were requested to review the plan within 24 hours. The new plan that the TNG premier submitted included the following items: completing the reconciliation process, ensuring peace and stability in the country as well as reviving Islamic culture and values. Enlightening the society, creating economic sources,
strengthening of foreign relations and completing of national institutions and basic national law, were also part of his new plan.
The plan will be discussed in tomorrow's parliament session which will be attended by the prime minister himself. The interim parliament reserves the power to either approve the new plan or reject it.
Agence France Presse, December 17, 2003
Somali leaders"retreat' in Kenya postponed indefinitely
DATELINE: NAIROBI: A consultative meeting of Somalia's faction leaders attending a peace conference in Kenya has been postponed indefinitely, Kenya's Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka said Wednesday.
The meeting, dubbed "Somali Leaders Retreat", was aimed at building consensus had been planned to begin in the Kenya port city of Mombasa on Thursday, Musyoka said in a statement.
The gathering was organised the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the regional body trying to broker peace in Somalia, the Horn of Africa country without a functioning government and riven by factional violence since 1991.
Musyoka gave no reasons for for the postponement of the "retreat", but sources close to the Somali talks said there is a dispute among the faction leaders over whom among them should be invited to the gathering.
The meeting was an attempt to give a smaller of number of participants in the ongoing peace conference in Nairobi an opportunity to build consensus on fundamental issues before rejoining other delegates in the peace talks.
Somali warlords, clan leaders, interim government officials and representatives from civil society have since October last year been attending talks aimed at restoring the first semblance of a national administration since the collapse of president Mohammed Siad Barre's regime in 1991.
In September, delegates to the talks endorsed a transitional federal charter that was immediately rejected by several key figures, including the head of the current transitional goverment.
NBC Nightly News (6:30 PM ET) - NBC, December 12, 2003/ANCHORS: TOM BROKAW/ REPORTERS: PETE WILLIAMS
Federal officials upset over disclosure of Minnesota man with alleged al-Qaeda ties being arrested
In the US war on terror tonight, federal officials are said to be furious over the disclosure that a Minnesota man suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda has been arrested. NBC's Justice Department
correspondent Pete Williams explains who the man is and why officials had hoped to keep his arrest a secret.
PETE WILLIAMS reporting:
For the past five days, a Minnesota college student has been secretly held in this jail. His wife says he was arrested Monday evening in their Minneapolis apartment. Officials confirmed today he's Mohammed Warsame, age 30, of Somali background from Canada. A Minnesota newspaper, which first reported the arrest this week, today revealed his name.
And government officials tonight say they're upset that it was leaked since they had hoped Warsame would cooperate and possibly even agree to gather further information about al-Qaeda, intelligence that could provide valuable insights into current al-Qaeda operations.
Authorities picked up Warsame on a material witness warrant after having him under surveillance. They suggested that he might have some knowledge of al-Qaeda training camps and could provide further information on the time that Zacarias Moussaoui spent in one.
Today, Warsame's wife, Fartun Farah, appeared at a news conference with her daughter and aunt arranged by a Somali community group. She says her husband is no terrorist, that she has no knowledge of any al-Qaeda connections and that her husband loves the United States just as he does his home country of Canada.
And now, with even his wife publicly discussing his arrest, any hopes of an intelligence pipeline are gone, and officials are launching an investigation of how this sensitive information leaked out, dashing hopes of generating a source inside al-Qaeda. Pete Williams, NBC News, Washington.
National Post (Canada) December 12, 2003 Friday National Edition
Canadian arrested in U.S. linked to 9/11 suspect: FBI
BYLINE: Stewart Bell
DATELINE: TORONTO
TORONTO - A Canadian suspected of associating with al-Qaeda has been arrested in Minneapolis and is being held because he is believed to have important information about accused terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui.
Mohammed Abdullah Warsama, 30, was taken into custody on Tuesday after a lengthy investigation by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force.
He is being detained under tight security and secrecy.
Reynald Doiron, a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs, said yesterday Ottawa is aware of the arrest, adding the man had requested help from the Canadian government.
"We have been notified by the U.S., and the Canadian Consulate in Minneapolis is arranging, as we speak, to obtain consular access, and no other information is available at this time."
Mr. Warsama was born in Somalia in 1973 but came to Canada as a refugee in 1991. He is suspected of having information that supports terror allegations against Mr. Moussaoui, the suspected "20th hijacker" in the 9/11 attacks. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that, according to U.S. law enforcement officials, the man is familiar with Mr. Moussaoui's activities at an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan several years ago.
The name of the arrested man has not been released by U.S. authorities, but the National Post has learned he is Mr. Warsama, a naturalized Canadian from Toronto who has been living in the United States since 2001. He is the latest Canadian citizen to be arrested abroad on a terrorist-related matter. Israeli officials disclosed last week they had captured a Palestinian-Canadian they say was recruited and trained by Hamas to carry out sniper and bomb attacks in North America.
The Minneapolis case has been sealed by a U.S. judge and Mr. Warsama appeared in federal court behind closed doors, prompting complaints from civil rights advocates. "I can make no comment at all," said Dan Scott, the public defender said to be representing Mr. Warsama.
But officials said Mr. Warsama had not been charged and that he was being held as a material witness. He may be transferred to the Eastern seaboard, where Mr. Moussaoui is on trial for conspiracy.
Mr. Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, is the only person facing charges in the United States in connection with the attacks of Sept. 11. Prosecutors allege he was part of the conspiracy that led to the World Trade Center attacks. He was arrested in Minnesota on Aug. 16, 2001, after a flight school told police he was training to fly a Boeing 747 but showed no interest in learning how to land.
He received money from Ramzi bin al-Shibh, the leader of the Hamburg al-Qaeda cell behind the 9/11 attacks, and allegedly trained at Khaldun Camp, a notorious al-Qaeda base in eastern Afghanistan, in April, 1998. If the Canadian does possess information that could assist in the prosecution of Mr. Moussaoui, his participation in the trial would be welcomed by U.S. authorities, who fear their criminal case could be close to collapse.
Mr. Moussaoui wants to cross-examine three captured al-Qaeda leaders whom he says can prove his innocence, including bin al-Shibh, but the United States fears that would damage the war on terrorism.