The Democratic Party candidates for Senate District 24 visited Rockwood to discuss the issues facing their constituents and answer audience questions ahead of the May 15 primary. Source: Hiiraan Online

Two men are dead and two others are in hospital in critical condition following a shooting in Etobicoke early Friday. Source: Hiiraan Online

The Central Bank of Somalia (CBS) and Somali Financial Institutions (SFIs) are taking crucial steps to modernize national payments systems. Supported by the World Bank, the CBS and private financial institutions are streamlining their efforts to strengthen the inter-bank payment, clearing and settlement systems in Somalia. Source: Hiiraan Online

Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo on Friday halted selling, leasing and allocation of public land amid grabbing of public properties is increasing. Since fall of Somalia’s central government in 1990s, the public premises and government institutions had been occupied by individuals. President Farmaajo said his government will assign committee to probe the land issue. ” I want to make clear for Somali Public that we will assign a national level committee to investigate land issues in order to make sure that public land is not used for a private purpose,” said the President in a post on Villa Somalia Twitter account. “Waxaan u xaqiijinayaa shacabka Soomaaliyeed in guddi heer qaran ah aan u saari doono arrimaha la xiriira dhulka si baaritaan dhab ah loogu sameeyo, loona hubiyo inaan dhul dan guud loo adeegsan dan shakhsiyadeed.” — Villa Somalia (@TheVillaSomalia) January 19, 2018 There have been numerous allegations of corruption regarding the selling of public land with claims of fake title deeds finding way into the official system. “In accordance with article 43 of the provisional constitution of Somalia land is the first resource and basic for the lives of the public,” Farmaajo affirmed. The president’s decision could also be seen as a move to get the situation right and build an effective system even as he puts his administration in order. It is not only public land which facing scramble, lack of legal precedents and multiple ownerships of private land over time make it difficult to resolve land ownership in the city. Land and property ownership in Mogadishu remains an emotive and complex issue dating back to the collapse of the government in 1991 and even before. Somalia which is recovering from two decades of civil war is now experiencing construction boom and land value has significantly shot up and investors locally and from abroad are struggling to get a piece leading to rise of speculators and land brokers. The post Somalia: Exploitation of public land is barred, Gov’t assigns national committee appeared first on Caasimada Online.

Muqdisho (Caasimada Online)-Waxaa goordhow caawa ah Garoonka Diyaaradaha Aadan Cadde ee magaalada Muqdisho kasoo degtay Diyaarad siday Maxaabiis Soomaali ah oo laga keenay dalka India. Maxaabiistan oo tirro ahaan la sheegay inay gaarayaan 41 Maxaabiis ayaa waxaa imaanshiyahooda Muqdisho ku wehlinaayay Mas’uuliyiin ka tirsan dowlada Somalia oo iyagu ka doonay dalka India. Mas’uuliyiinta Maxaabiistan kala yimid dalka India ayaa waxaa kamid ahaa Xeer Ilaaliyaha Guud ee Qaranka Axmed Cali Daahir, Safiirada Soomaaliya ee dalka Hindiya iyo xubno kale. Waxaa maxaabiistaan kusoo dhaweeyay Garoonka Diyaaradaha Aadan Cadde Ra’isul wasaaraha Xukuumadda Federaalka ah ee Somalia Xasan Cali Khayre, Guddoomiye ku-xigeenka labaad ee Baarlamaanka Golaha Shacabka JFS Mahad Cabdalla Cawad, Wasiirka Amniga, Wasiirka Cadaaladda, Wasiirka Caafimaadka, Wasiiru Dowlaha Wasaaradda Arrimaha Dibadda, Xildhibaano iyo masuuliyiin kale. Maxaabiistan oo kala danbiyo ah ayaa isugu jira dhalinyaro iyo kuwo da’ ah, waxaana isla Garoonka kula wareegay Guddi uu u xilsaaray Ra’isul wasaare Kheyre oo ay ku jiraan Xubno ka tirsan Wasaarada Caafimaadka. Maxaabiista ayaa waxaa ka muuqday diif waxaana xusid mudan in goortii laga soo dajiyay Garoonka Aadan Cadde ay halkaa ku ilmeeyen. Dhinaca kale, Maxaabiista haatan dalka la keenay ayaa horey racfaan u qaatay oo ah in laga qafiifiyo waqtiga, balse waxaa diiday Maxakamad ku taalla dalkaasi, oo go’aamisay in xukunkoodi ay dhameystaan. Caasimada Online Xafiiska Muqdisho Caasimada@live.com The post Diyaarad siday Maxaabiis laga keenay dalka India oo caawa kasoo degtay Muqdisho & RW Kheyre oo Garoonka uga hortagay appeared first on Caasimada Online.

Waxaa Tacsi loo dirayaa dhamaan Ilma Gees Cade geerida kubtimid Hooyo Dahabo farah Isse (Dahabo kharshe) oo ku geeriyootay Minnesota USA date 18/01/2018 time 10:30 pm USA time . Waxaa Marxuumada Illaahay looga baryayaa Jano waarta iyo dambi dhaaf iyo in ilaahay samir ka siiyo dhamaaan Ehelka oo idil. Jaaliyada Puntland ee Denmark ayaa sigaara ugu tacsiyeynaya Mahdi Gees Cade geerida ku timid Hooyadiis Dahabo

Guriceel (PP) ─ Madaxweynaha Somalia, Maxamed C/laahi Maxamed [Farmaajo] iyo wafdi uu hoggaaminayo ayaa gaaray degmada Guri-ceel ee Gobolka Galgaduud, halkaasoo si weyn loogu soo dhaweeyay. Safarka Madaxweynaha ayaa waxaa ku wehlinaya Madaxweynaha Galmudug Axmed Ducaalle Geelle Xaaf, Madaxa Xukuumadda Galmudug Sh. Maxamed Shaakir Cali Xasan, Wasiirro iyo xildhibaano ka kala tirsan Dowladda Somalia iyo xubno kale. Degmada Guri-ceel waxaa Madaxweynaha iyo wafdigiisa kusoo dhaweeyay Maamulka degmada, qaybaha kala duwan ee bulshada oo ay ugu horreeyaan wax-garadka iyo dhallinyarada, saraakiil ciidan iyo mas;uuliyiin kale. Sidoo kale, Shacabka Guri-ceel ayaa Madaxweynaha uga hortagay duleedka degmada iyagoo watay calanka Somalia iyo Sawirka Madaxweynaha, iyagoo ku dhawaaqayay Madaxweyne kusoo dhawoow magaaladaada. Madaxweynaha ayaa soo dhaweyntiisa kaddib wuxuu shacabka magaaladaas uga mahad-celiyay soo dhaweynta loo sameeyay, isagoo xusay inuu kulamo la qaadan doono shacabka degmadaas. Dhanka kale, Amiga Guri-ceel ayaa si aad ah loo adkeeyay, waxaana sugida amniga iska-kaashanaya ciidanka dowladda Federaalka, kuwa Galmudug iyo ciidamada AMISOM, iyagoo hawlgallo ka sameeyeen gudah degmada, iyagoo kusoo qabqabteen xubno hub ku dhex-haystay magaalada ka hor inta uusan Madaxweynaha gaarin. Ugu dambeyn, Madaxweynaha Somalia ayaa safarka uu ku marayo qaybo ka mid ah dalka waxaa la filayaa inuu kusoo gaba-gabeeyo degmada Caabud-waa ee Gobolka Galgaduud. PUNTLAND POST The post Madaxweyne Farmaajo iyo wafdigiisa oo si weyn loogu soo dhaweeyay Degmada Guriceel appeared first on Puntland Post.

Dhuusamareeb (Caasimada Online)-Dowlada sida aadka ah u daneeya arrimaha Somalia ayaa si diiran usoo dhaweeyay Midnimada dhexmartay maamulka Galmudug iyo Ahlusunna ee maalinimadii shalay qalinka ku duugay qodobada Heshiiskoodii harsanaa. Heshiiska iyo Midnimada ayaa waxaa soo dhaweeyay sida Qaramada midoobay, Midowga Afrika, Midowga Yurub, Urur goboleedka IGAD, Dowladaha Jabuuti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda iyo Britain. Dowladahaani saaxiibada la ah Somalia ayaa hambalyo isku mida u diray Galmudug iyo Ahlusuna taa oo daba socta dhammaystirka heshiiska shalay lagu soo afmeeray Magaalada Dhuusamareeb. Daneeyayaashaa Caalamka ayaa sidoo kale bogaadiyay tallaabadii ay horay u qaadeen Hogaamiyaha Galmudug Axmed Ducaale Geelle Xaaf iyo Madaxa xukuumadda ee maamulka Galmudug Sheekh Maxamed Shaakir Cali Xasan, iyagoo soo dhaweeyay dedaalkii ay ku bixiyeen ka mira dhalinta mideynta labada maamul. “Waxaan soo dhaweyneynaa heshiiskii mideynta 18-kii bishan Dhuusa-mareeb ay ku gaareen Galmudug iyo Ahlusuna, maanta waa maalin reer Galmudug ay ka baxayaan kala qeybsanaanta iyo colaadaha ka jirta gobolladan, waa guul u soo hoyatay guud ahaan shacabka Soomaaliyeed.” Madaxweyaha Dowladda Federaalka Soomaaliya Madaxmed C/laahi (Farmaajo), Madaxda Maamul Goboleedyadii ka soo qayb galay munaasabaddii mideynta labada maamul iyo matalayaasha beesha Caalamka ee ka qayb galay xafladdaasi ayaa dhammaan dhinacyada kula dardaarmay inay adkeeyaan heshiiska lana shaqayaan dowladda dhexe. Docda kale, Xubnaha Beesha Caalamka ee shalay ka qeyb galay Munaasabadii Dhuusa-mareeb ayaa waxaa ka mid ahaa Wakiilka QM ee Arrimaha Soomaaliya Keating, Wakiilka gaarka ah ee Midowga Afrika ahna Madaxa Howlgalka AMISOM ee Soomaaliya Ambassador Francisco Madeira, Wakiilka IGAD, Safiirka Itoobiya, iyo saraakiil kale oo QM ka tirsan. Caasimada Online Xafiiska Dhuusamareeb Caasimada@live.com The post Beesha Caalamka oo cadeysay Mowqifkooda ku aadan midnimada Galmudug & Ahlusuna appeared first on Caasimada Online.

Cash assistance provided with EU humanitarian support helps refugees as well as the local economy. © WFP/Miguel Tomas Over the past two years, EU humanitarian support has been instrumental to the World Food Programme’s (WFP) work in Djibouti. Every month, WFP ensures 18 500 refugees are given assistance in the form of food and cash. WFP’s Miguel Tomas meets Kalsouma who has been living as a refugee in Djibouti since more than 25 years. Djibouti, a country with a desert-like climate, where two out of five people live in extreme poverty, hosts over 26 000 refugees. The vast majority of them reside in camps. Kalsouma Ahmed Adbi, a wife and mother of six, is one of them. She and her family fled their home in Somalia in 1991 to escape from the war. They have been living in the Ali Addeh camp ever since. Settling in wasn’t easy. With no fixed income and six children to feed, Kalsouma and her husband struggled to take care of their family. “When I arrived here, it was difficult,” she says. “I couldn’t have a normal life anymore.” Djibouti is home to more than 26 000 refugees, the vast majority of whom live in camps. © WFP/Miguel Tomas However, with the support she receives from the World Food Program (WFP), things have changed for the better. Funding from the European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department allows WFP to provide Kalsouma and thousands of others like her with a combination of food and cash. This mixed form of assistance helps refugees and asylum seekers get the food they need to stay healthy. “Now, our situation is better and I can choose what my family and I eat,” smiles Kalsouma. “Thanks to the food and cash we receive, we have a more varied diet which includes milk, vegetables and meat.” Kalsouma can now take better care of herself and her family. This has not only improved her health, but has also given her the opportunity to work and earn money within the camp. Back in Somalia, she used to help her husband manage a sewing workshop and this experience has come in handy during her time in Ali Addeh. “Being healthy allows me to work,” she says. “I now sew handkerchiefs and handbags, earning money to help my family.” Cash assistance allows refugees like Kalsouma to choose what they eat. © WFP/Miguel Tomas When thinking of the future, Kalsouma remains hopeful. Her children are doing well and she is happy that her two little boys, Hanas and Dini, can go to school. “I hope that one day peace will be restored in Somalia and we will be able to return home,” she says. “In the meantime, I wish I could have my own sewing workshop in Djibouti and provide consistent support to my family.” Cash assistance offered by WFP thanks to the EU’s humanitarian funding means much-needed relief for refugee families but also a considerable boost for Djibouti’s economy, with thousands of refugee shoppers buying food in local shops and markets. Source: Europe By Miguel Tomas, Strategic Planning Consultant, WFP Djibouti @WFP

The Central Bank of Somalia (CBS) and Somali Financial Institutions (SFIs) are taking crucial steps to modernize national payments systems. Supported by the World Bank, the CBS and private financial institutions are streamlining their efforts to strengthen the inter-bank payment, clearing and settlement systems in Somalia. This development follows a five-day consultative forum held in Nairobi, Kenya on National Payment Systems Development. The forum focused on establishing public-private understanding and creating a common ground regarding the most efficient and effective way of setting-up national payment systems in Somalia. An Automated Transfer System (ATS) and National Switch will complement each other, with the ATS facilitating large payments and the National Switch facilitating interoperability of retail payment systems in Somalia, and open doors to manage international payments in country from a single platform. “National payment systems contribute to the development of modern financial markets and promotion of market-based financial service provision,” said Abdishakur Mohamud, Central Bank of Somalia. “Centralizing clearing which denotes the process of transmitting, reconciling and, in some cases, confirming transactions prior to settlement, potentially including the netting of transactions and the establishment of final positions for settlement. The process turns the promise of payment into the actual movement of money from one account to another with speed, lower cost, reliability, and convenience, and settlement will contribute to financial stability in Somalia, and evoke domestic and foreign trust in Somali financial institutions.” The expectation is that this development will have a positive impact on economic activity, management of monetary aggregates, transaction costs, and development of new financial products which can become important sources of fee income for financial institutions. These developments also bring Somalia one step closer to the standards and norms of international financial systems. Among the commitments for the implementation of national payment systems is work towards industry harmonization and standardization of a tiered Know Your Customer (KYC) system for transactional accounts, including use of a shared interbank digital ID system; to enhance fraud and credit risk control; and promotion of centralized clearing and settlement that will contribute to financial stability in Somalia. “With the Central Bank leading this process, it is clear that the financial governance capabilities of Somali authorities are increasing,” said Thilasoni Benjamin Musuku, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank. The World Bank supports CBS in strengthening central bank supervision and regulation through the Somali Core Economic Institutions and Opportunities (SCORE) Program. The SCORE program is the first in a series of projects to develop legal, regulatory and policy framework for financial institutions supervision and regulation in Somalia. The objectives are to improve the enabling environment for financial and private sector development, and catalyze private investment and job creation across Somalia. SCORE is funded by the Multi Partner Fund (MPF). The Multi Partner Fund works predominantly through Somali authorities and includes institution-building, economic growth and urban development activities. MPF is supported by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID), the European Union (EU), Germany’s KfW Development Bank, the Swedish International Development Cooperation (SIDA), the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the Swiss Agency for Development Co-operation (SDC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the World Bank’s State- and Peacebuilding Fund (SPF). www.worldbank.org

MOGADISHU, Somalia – The U.S. military says it has carried out an airstrike in Somalia that killed four members of the al-Shabab extremist group. A statement Friday from the U.S. Africa Command says the strike was carried out Thursday about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northwest of the port city of Kismayo. The statement says no civilians were killed. The U.S. military carried out more than 30 drone strikes last year in the long-chaotic Horn of Africa nation after President Donald Trump approved expanded military efforts against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab. The extremist group was blamed for the October truck bombing in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, that killed 512 people. A U.S. strike early this month killed two al-Shabab extremists and destroyed a vehicle carrying explosives, “preventing it from being used against the people in Mogadishu.” AP

Jowhar (PP) ─ Ciidamo isugu jira Mareykan iyo Somalia ayaa xalay hawl-gal qorsheysan ka fuliyay tuulada Jameeco Jiliyaale oo qiyaastii 50-km u jirta magaalada Jowhar ee xarunta gobolka Shabeellaha Dhexe. Ciidankan oo watay gaadiidka dagaalka, ayaa waxaa cirka ka taageerayay diyaarado kuwa qummaatiga u kaca ah, waxayna beegsanayeen madaraso ay Al-shabaab wax ku barayeen carruur yar-yar. Goob-joogayaal ku sugan tuulada ayaa sheegaya in hawl-galkan lagu dilay shan qof oo uu ku jiro madaxii Al-shabaab u qaabilsanaa madarsadan wax lagu barayay carruurta. Sidoo kae, Ciidanka hawl-galka fuliyay ayaa horay u kexeystay caruurtii wax lagu barayay dugsigaas, sida ay warbaahinta u xaqiijiyeen qaar ka mid ah dadka deegaankaas ku nool. Dhanka kale, Xaaladda deegaanka Jameeco-jiliyaale ayaa maanta daganayd, waxaana la sheegayaa in ciidamadii hawl-galka fuliyay ay deegaankaas isaga baxeen, kaddib markii ay qorshahood fuliyeen. Ugu dambeyn, weerarkan ayaa qayb ka ah hawl-gallo gaar ah oo ay xiliyadii u dambeeyay la beegsanayeen xoogagga Al-shabaab ee ku sugan qaybo ka mid ah gobollada Soomaaliya. PUNTLAND POST The post Ciidammo isugu jira Somali iyo Ajnabi oo weerar qorsheysan ka fuiyay Shabeellaha Hoose appeared first on Puntland Post.

MOGADISHU, Somalia — The U.S. military says it has carried out an airstrike in Somalia that killed four members of the al-Shabab extremist group. Source: Hiiraan Online

Saaxiibada daneeya arrimaha Soomaaliya oo ay ka mid yihiin Qaramada Midoobay, Midowga Afrika, Urur Goboleedka IGAD, Dowladaha Jabuuti, Itoobiya, Kenya, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda iyo Britain ayaa hambalyo isku mida u diray dhammaystirka heshiiska Galmudug iyo Ahlusunna ee ka dhacay Magaalada Dhuusamareeb, 18-kii bishan. Daneeyayaashaa Caalamka ayaa sidoo kale bogaadiyay tallaabadii ay horay u qaadeen Madaxweynaha Galmudug Axmed Ducaale Geelle (Xaaf) iyo Madaxa xukuumadda ee maamulka Galmudug Sheekh Maxamed Shaakir Cali Xasan, iyagoo soo dhaweeyay dedaalkii ay ku bixiyeen ka mira dhalinta mideynta labada maamul. “Waxaan soo dhaweyneynaa heshiiskii mideynta 18-kii bishan Dhuusa-mareeb ay ku gaareen Galmudug iyo Ahlusuna, maanta waa maalin reer Galmudug ay ka baxayaan kala qeybsanaanta iyo colaadaha ka jirta gobolladan, waa guul u soo hoyatay guud ahaan shacabka Soomaaliyeed.” Ayaa lagu yiri qoraalka ka soo baxay Beesha Calaamka. Madaxweyaha Dowladda Federaalka Soomaaliya Madaxmed C/laahi (Farmaajo), Madaxda Maamul Goboleedyadii ka soo qayb galay munaasabaddii mideynta labada maamul iyo matalayaasha beesha Caalamka ee ka qayb galay xafladdaasi ayaa dhammaan dhinacyada kula dardaarmay inay adkeeyaan heshiiska lana shaqayaan dowladda dhexe. Xubnaha Beesha Caalamka ee shalay ka qeyb galay Munaasabadii Dhuusa-mareeb ayaa waxaa ka mid ahaa Wakiilka QM ee Arrimaha Soomaaliya Keating, Wakiilka gaarka ah ee Midowga Afrika ahna Madaxa Howlgalka AMISOM ee Soomaaliya Ambassador Francisco Madeira, Wakiilka IGAD, Safiirka Itoobiya, iyo saraakiil kale oo QM ka tirsan. Puntlandi.com

Hinda Adan, with her three children waiting at a Red Crescent mobile clinic in Lamadhadher in Togdheer region © IFRC By Corrie Butler, IFRC Driving through the rural landscapes of Somaliland, the views are breathtaking – towering blue mountains cutting the glaring sky over dry, thorn-bushed desert. Small dome-like temporary houses, known as ‘aqals’, dot the arid terrain. These belong to nomads who have survived in these harsh conditions for generations, but for the first time, they are facing an uncertain future. Years of consecutive drought have spiralled Somaliland’s nomadic communities into a devastating food crisis. Their ability to pack up and move livestock to better grazing pastures would normally give them a major advantage over other farmers. But the unprecedented drought has caused most – if not all – of their camels, sheep and goats to die and, with them, their livelihoods. The Somali Red Crescent Society, in partnership with the IFRC, is present throughout Somaliland and Puntland, helping communities to respond to the growing challenges that vulnerable groups, including nomadic communities, face. Dorothy Francis, Operations Manager of IFRC’s Somalia Complex Emergency Appeal, explained: “The nomads are the ones that are suffering the most because their livelihoods have always been based on livestock and that’s based on access to water. “Because the crisis has deepened, there hasn’t been the rain we expected, so we see coping strategies becoming more negative. They are selling everything. They are leaving home to go further and further away to work so families are being broken up.” Signs of malnutrition Hinda Adan, a nomad and mother of four, visited a Red Crescent mobile health clinic in Lamadhadher village, south of Burao, Somaliland, to have her children screened to determine signs of malnutrition. Before the drought, her and her husband were successful livestock herders, owning 120 sheep, goats and camels. They had everything they needed. But the drought has killed almost all their livestock – only ten goats remain. “Our life depends now on these ten goats,” said Hinda. “We have one to two meals a day. We prioritize our children – to feed them first.” However, Hinda still feels luckier than others, including her neighbours: “The family had to split up three of their children among relatives. It affected their entire home. It is affecting our entire community,” she says. Bringing humanitarian assistance to nomadic communities is one of the biggest challenges the Red Crescent faces, as their regular movement means it is often difficult to reach them reliably. “Often, we arrive in a community to find that [the nomads] have gone to the next area,” explained Hussein Mohamed Osman, Berbera branch secretary for the Red Crescent in the Sahil region. “It also proves to be very costly to travel long distances to reach them.” “Often, we arrive in a community to find that [the nomads] have gone to the next area,” explained Hussein Mohamed Osman, Berbera branch secretary for the Red Crescent in the Sahil region. “It also proves to be very costly to travel long distances to reach them.” One of Somali Red Crescent’s flagship services is its mobile clinics, which are able to travel off-road to remote villages to provide health care services, particularly to nomadic communities who need it most. Built to adapt to the needs on the ground, the mobile clinics can spend half a day or multiple days in one village. As drought conditions have worsened, the Red Crescent has increased the number of skilled health care workers in each team to prioritize the rising cases of malnutrition among children and expectant mothers. Understanding local needs IFRC is supporting the Somali Red Crescent in supplementing their urgent needs over the next three months, including emergency cash for food and other items. All humanitarian assistance is carefully considered to meet the teams’ needs and allow them to remain mobile: jerry cans and aqua tabs to ensure water is clear, and shelter products to keep them warm in the cool desert evenings, including blankets, sleeping mats and tarpaulins. Although IFRC and the Red Crescent are helping to ensure short-term emergency needs are being met, efforts to implement longer-term interventions have started, which helps communities become more resilient to future emergencies. This includes rehabilitating 95 berkeds – or small dams – in the densely populated areas that have no access to water; rehabilitating wells and other water points; and, where some rain has come, providing villagers with the means to plough their farmland. “What we are trying to do is cover an entire community with everything so we’ll have a cleaner, safer, healthier community – providing them with food, providing them with water, providing them with shelter,” explained Dorothy. “It is a huge task but IFRC is working with a very strong Red Crescent society. We are managing to reach the most vulnerable people. We are doing the best we can.” Fatima Mohamed Yusuf, a nomad in Togdheer region, is one of the community members who received much-needed health care in a Somali Red Crescent mobile clinic close to her temporary settlement. The drought came at a devastating cost to her and her family, who lost 270 sheep and goats. “If there is no rain, I worry for my remaining livestock and I worry for myself and family. Allah only knows when the rains will come,” said Fatima. Vital partnerships to tackle drought IFRC is working closely with the Somali Red Crescent and global partners to continue supporting the needs of the most vulnerable people, but the fight to prevent famine is not over. Somaliland is currently categorized as a stage four emergency (crisis) and could easily descend into famine. It was only six years ago that Somalia experienced a famine that killed a quarter of a million people. IFRC will help to ensure Somalia never has to experience famine again. Thanks to the generous support of the global community through the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, seven million Swiss francs has been donated to the IFRC Emergency Food Crisis Appeal in Somalia, which will help to bring life-saving support to 353,000 people in some of the most isolated, vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities. Relief Web

Somalia has been plagued by conflict since the early 1990s MOGADISHU, Jan 19 – Somali authorities said troops stormed a school run by al Shabaab on Thursday night and rescued 32 children who had been taken as recruits by the Islamist militant group. “The 32 children are safe and the government is looking after them. It is unfortunate that terrorists are recruiting children to their twisted ideology,” Abdirahman Omar Osman, information minister for the Somali federal government, told Reuters on Friday. “It showed how desperate the terrorists are, as they are losing the war and people are rejecting terror.” Al Shabaab said government forces, accompanied by drones, had attacked the school in Middle Shabelle region. It said four children and a teacher were killed. No comment was immediately available from the Somali government on the reports of casualties or the use of drones. “They kidnapped the rest of the students,” said Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military spokesman. “Human Rights Watch is responsible for the deaths of the students and their teacher because it pointed fingers at them,” he added. In a report this week, the New York-based rights group said that since September 2017, al Shabaab had ordered village elders, teachers in Islamic religious schools, and rural communities to hand over hundreds of children as young as eight. The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militia is fighting to topple the U.N.-backed Somali government and establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of Islam’s sharia law. Somalia has been plagued by conflict since the early 1990s, when clan-based warlords overthrew authoritarian ruler Mohamed Siad Barre then turned on each other. In recent years, regional administrations headed by the Mogadishu-based federal government have emerged, and African Union peacekeepers supporting Somali troops have gradually clawed back territory from the Islamist insurgents. Reuters

The newly elected Somaliland President Musa Bihi Abdi says maintaining peace and stability in the region is one of his priorities. During a state visit to Ethiopia, he said Somaliland’s agreement to host a U-A-E military base will not affect security in any neighbouring countries. CGTN’S Girum Chala Sat down with President Musa Bihi Abdi

FILE – Soldiers from the Somali army train in Mogadishu, March 28, 2013. The Somalia national army killed at least seven al-Shabab militants Thursday and destroyed their base during an operation in southern Somalia, officials and residents said. Somali army General Ismail Sahardid, the 43rd Infantry Division commander, told VOA Somali that the forces took control of Bar-Sanguni town, 45 kilometers (28 miles) south of the coastal city of Kismayo. “Our army launched a surprise attack on the militants’ hideouts late Wednesday and continued pursing them since the early hours of Thursday,” Sahardid said. “During the operation we killed seven of the militants, including local leaders of al-Shabab’s Amniyat unit, responsible for the group’s intelligence.” The general said that despite initial resistance, his forces destroyed several of the militants’ bases and vehicles they have been using to transport fighters, and they recovered ammunition. “We have inflicted heavy military losses on them and captured two of their vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft machine guns,” Sahardid said. Bar-Sanguni residents who spoke to VOA Somali on condition of anonymity said they heard explosions as government soldiers engaged in a gunbattle with the militants for several hours early Thursday. “It was around just before dawn Thursday morning when the Somali army entered the town. We first heard a fierce exchange of heavy gunfire and explosions,” one resident said. “As the day wore on, we saw government soldiers taking strategic positions in the town and searching the al-Shabab military bases, with seven dead bodies of the militants lying in the streets,” another resident said. Bar-Sanguni, under al-Shabab control for many years, is where the militant group has been organizing guerrilla attacks against government soldiers and Kenyan troops serving under the African Union peacekeeping mission (AMISOM) in Jubaland state. Tax on residents Sahardid said the militants in this area have been imposing zakat, or a tax, on the local population. “We have freed the local civilians who have been suffering under the militants’ harsh control, where they have been extorting their money and their livestock through what they call zakat,” said Sahardid. The operation came as Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and Michael Keating, U.N. special representative for Somalia, hailed the completion of a power-sharing agreement signed in December between Galmudug state and the Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a. Ahlu Sunna is a moderate group that was founded to promote Sufi Islam in Somalia, which decided years ago to take up arms against the radical al-Shabab group, which is believed to be linked al-Qaida. In an event held Thursday in the central Somali town of Dhuusa Marreeb — attended by Somalia federal and regional leaders and foreign diplomats — Galmudug state President Ahmed Duale Ghelle “Xaaf” and Ahlu Sunna leader Sheikh Shakir vowed to join forces in the fight against al-Shabab. Under the power-sharing agreement, Sheikh Shakir will be the executive leader of Galmudug state. VOA

Human Rights Watch says the armed group has recruited thousands of children for indoctrination and to become frontline fighters MOGADISHU/NAIROBI, Jan 18 – Somalia’s Islamist militant group al Shabaab on Thursday denied that it was threatening and abducting civilians to hand over their children for indoctrination and military training. Al Shabaab has been fighting for years to topple Somalia’s central government and rule the Horn of Africa country according to its own interpretation of Islamic law. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday that the armed group began ordering elders and teachers in rural parts of the southern Bay region in mid-2017 to provide them with children – as young as eight – or face reprisals. But an al Shabaab spokesman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation the group does not recruit members below the age of 15, and that no one is forced to join. He said children were being sent to Islamic religious schools to be educated. “There is an al Shabaab rule in the areas we control that children should learn, and we give them teachers at boarding madrasas where they study. We have agreed with the clan elders about the education of their children,” he said. “When students complete their education, we return them to their parents. No one is forced to join our forces. We do not want children in the remote areas to become as ignorant as animals,” he added, declining to be named. HRW says the armed group has recruited thousands of children for indoctrination and to become frontline fighters over the past decade, and its religious schools – which began in 2015 – are pressured to teach al Shabaab’s curriculum. “The group should immediately stop abducting children and release all children in their ranks,” said Laetitia Bader, HRW’s senior Africa researcher. “The Somali government should ensure these children are not sent into harm’s way.” Gamal Hassan, Somalia’s minister for planning, investment and economic development, said he was not surprised by reports of aggressive child recruitment by the group. He did not provide any response to how authorities would better protect children. “Al Shabaab continues to do activities which are illegal, immoral and against humanitarian law,” Hassan told a conference on Wednesday. “So I am not surprised they do that. They used to do that, and now they continue to do that.” The insurgents, who are allied with al Qaeda, were driven out of the capital Mogadishu in 2011. They have also lost nearly all other territory they previously held after an offensive by Somali government troops and African Union peacekeepers. Al Shabaab, however, remains a formidable threat and has carried out bombings in Mogadishu and other towns against military and civilian targets. Reuters

COLUMBUS — A federal judge on Friday is scheduled to sentence an Ohio man who plotted to kill military members in the U.S. following a delay in the case when a previous judge withdrew. Source: Hiiraan Online

MOGADISHU, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Somali authorities said troops stormed a school run by al Shabaab on Thursday night and rescued 32 children who had been taken as recruits by the Islamist militant group. Source: Hiiraan Online

MOGADISHU, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Somali authorities said troops stormed a school run by al Shabaab on Thursday night and rescued 32 children who had been taken as recruits by the Islamist militant group. Source: Hiiraan Online

Madaxweynaha Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya Mudane Maxamed Cabdullaahi Farmaajo waxa uu ka walaacsanyahay jiritaanka warar sheegaya ku xadgudub dhulalka danta guud ee caasimadda Muqdisho. Madaxweynaha ayaa yiri “Sida uu tilmaamayo Qodobka 43aad ee Dastuurka Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya dhulku waa khayraadka koowaad iyo saldhigga nolosha dadka. Ilaa inta laga soo saarayo habraacyada sharci ee waafaqsan Qodobka 43aad ee Dastuurka, dhulka dowladda lama hibeyn karo, bixin karo, lamana wareejin karo.” “Iyada oo la ilaalinayo hantida qaranka ee dhul, cir iyo bad waxaan u sheegayaa shacabka Soomaaliyeed in wixii dhul ah ee la iibiyay ama la hibeeyay ama la kireeyay keddib 8-dii Febraayo, 2017 uusan haysan ogolaansho sharci ah. Haddii uu jiro muwaadiniin iibsaday ama kireystay dhul danta guud, waxaan u sheegayaa in iibsigaas uu yahay mid sharci darro ah.” “Markii la I doortay, waxaan ballan qaaday inaan ilaalinayo ammaanada la ii dhiibay, dhulka dowladdana wuxuu kamid yahay ammaanadaas. Waxaan u xaqiijinayaa shacabka Soomaaliyeed in guddi heer qaran ah aan u saari doono arrimaha la xiriira dhulka si baaritaan dhab ah loogu sameeyo, loona hubiyo inaan dhul dan guud loo adeegsan dan shakhsiyadeed.” Madaxweynuhu wuxuu farayaa dhammaan hay’adaha ay khuseyso arrintan inaan la bixin karin dhul dowladeed oo aan kusoo bixin wareegto Madaxweyne, lana soo marin habraac waafaqsan shuruucda u yaalla dalka.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki’s visit to Cairo last week was a sign of how the crises in the Middle East and the conflict over Nile waters shape alliances in the Horn of Africa. In the Middle East, Qatar and Turkey are clearly aligned on one side and Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are aligned on the other. Other countries have diverse and varying relations with the members of both camps. Syria and Iraq are close to Egypt which supports their efforts in the war against terrorism, while Saudi Arabia has softened its rhetoric against the Bashar Al-Assad regime in Damascus and the ruling Shia forces in Baghdad in an effort to lure them away from their powerful Iranian ally. The Yemeni position remains uncertain, mired as that country is in a military and political standstill while deteriorating humanitarian conditions have brought it to the brink of famine. In the Nile Valley Basin, tensions are rising between Egypt and Ethiopia over technical issues related to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Negotiations have stalled and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri’s recent visit to Addis Ababa failed to break the deadlock. Ethiopia, the largest country in the Horn of Africa, is worried by a number of issues. Prime among them is the success of Eritrea, Addis’s sworn enemy, at breaking through the isolation that it had suffered since its independence from Ethiopia in 1991. Asmara had taken advantage of the war in Yemen, turning away from its former allies, the Houthis, and granting Arab coalition forces access to its military base at Assab, which it has leased to the UAE. Asmara has also relinquished its support for the terrorist Al-Shabaab Al-Mujahideen movement in Somalia in exchange for joining the bloc of countries that have declared an embargo against Qatar. This has opened the doors to Egyptian and Gulf arms, according to the Europe Centre for Foreign Policy Advice. To the east and south, Addis is worried, on the one hand, by the fact that Al-Shabaab in Somalia remains undefeated and, on the other hand, by Mogadishu’s inclination towards both the Eritrean enemy and Egyptian rival. Developments in Somaliland also make Ethiopia uneasy. Somaliland, which seceded from Mogadishu in 1991 but remains unrecognised by the rest of the African and international communities, now leans towards the UAE which has poured in investment, in order to develop the strategic Berbera port for the purposes of the war in Yemen. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are the key partners in the Arab coalition which has been fighting in Yemen since 2015 against the Ansar Allah “Houthi” movement, which Abu Dhabi and Riyadh claim is backed by Iran. The $442 million Berbera port development project is being carried out by the Dubai-based development firm DP World. The revamped port is expected to generate some $1 billion in investment for the development and modernisation of Somaliland’s infrastructure, according to the International Crisis Group which noted the trip made by Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo to the UAE in order to strengthen relations between the two countries. However, Somalia still claims sovereignty over Somaliland which may cast a shadow over the legitimacy of the agreement over the port. Ethiopia is also concerned by the increasing Arab presence in the Horn of Africa. The International Crisis Group observed that Somaliland and DP World offered Addis a 19 per cent commercial stake in the Berbera port but this did not assuage Ethiopia’s fears. With regard to Mogadishu, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are keen to lure Somalia in view of its strategic importance and so as to be better poised to take measures to avert the spread of terrorism to other countries. Although Mogadishu has declared itself neutral in the conflict involving the embargo against Qatar, it agreed to the construction of a Turkish military base. The $500 million base will accommodate 200 Turkish soldiers and train 10,000 Somali soldiers. This has rekindled Ethiopian fears that the Somalis might stage a repeat of former Somali president Siad Barre’s bid to seize control of the Ogaden region in Ethiopia. As Martin Plaut, head of the Horn of Africa Department at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London, suggested, such an attempt would bring a particularly lethal brew of conventional warfare and terrorism. With regard to Sudan, Ethiopia has nothing to fear, according to the Europe Centre for Foreign Policy Advice. Sudan is too preoccupied by its own concerns. Khartoum lost two-thirds of its hard currency income due to the independence of the oil rich South Sudan. As a consequence, it lifted fuel, food and medicine subsidies triggering demonstrations to which Khartoum responded by extending the state of emergency in (central west) Kordofan and (eastern) Kassala. It then deployed armed forces supported by militias in Kassala at the border with Eritrea on the grounds that it had intelligence of a possible Egyptian-Eritrean attack. Khartoum subsequently retracted this claim. On the day of Afwerki’s visit to Cairo, Sudanese Army Chief-of-Staff Lieutenant General Emadeddin Adawi arrived in Addis Ababa to meet with Ethiopian Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn. There were signs, here, of an alliance in the making. While a number of Sudanese opposition members believe that the government in Khartoum could embark on a war against its Eritrean neighbour, it would be the first time since President Omar Al-Bashir came to power, in 1989, that Sudan fought a war outside its boundaries. Haidar Ibrahim, a professor of political science, observed that the regime in Khartoum is fascist and, accordingly, likes to project a militaristic spirit. However, if it suffered any defeat abroad, it could find itself unseated by popular uprisings or armed insurrection. As for Eritrea, it is one of the most insular countries in the continent, to the extent that it has been called the “African North Korea”. But its regime has been struggling to emerge from isolation and, as mentioned above, its use of the Arab coalition’s war in Yemen has worked to open doors and attract some investments into ports, mining and livestock exports. The Gulf-Egyptian alliance has also helped strengthen the Eritrean position vis-à-vis Ethiopia and Djibouti, especially with the withdrawal of Qatari peacekeeping forces from the border islands that are under dispute between Asmara and Djibouti. Nevertheless, any war between neighbours could destroy the fragile economy and send the country back to square one. For this reason, Eritrea needs perpetuation of the status quo more than its neighbours. This said, it appears that all three countries — Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea — are very nervous about the rising tensions for fear of the spectre of a war that would decimate their economies and wreak untold human and material losses. Ahraam