Divided we fall. A similar one like this crashed in Laasqoray. Last year

Anyone with the right credentials given the circumstances we are in but Ade is fine with me. Nurudin would make a great leader.

Thanks for the Info Duke. Certainly. Puntland's upcoming election will be watched very closely. Bolstering security is of paramount importance as it has been the source of International outcry and the most attention that Somalia needed. Puntland's political, economic leverage and good image can be restored with the right change of leadership and it should serve the model for stabilization and reconstruction of the rest of Somalia. If U.S secretary was reported to have asked the Security Council Ministerial Meeting this month for the deployment of multinational peacekeeping troops in Somalia due to the Pirate Phenemenon, there's no doubt that security in Puntland will be the first priority in the overall grand vision for Somalia. This is a unique opportunity to seize upon and thus set our country on the path to freedom from its captive status quo.

Phantom election and baseless claims of a land whose people are pro-union and fiercely independent shall give them international recognition? At least that has been their never-changing and tireless mantra. King, I read somewhere that Somaliland militia receive routine training from American officers in Ethiopia in violation of Somalia's sovereingty and the ban on weapons, according to a UN monitoring agency on weapons trade and smuggling. Even such efforts by the outsiders could not tip the balance in the secessionist triangle.

There's no question about his resignation but as to what date exactly. Is that what the spokesman is saying Horn?

Aaliyah, the pirate phenomenon has a big impact on the current policy shift.

It will be essential for the P.M to call for a new national peace process. The president indeed fell out of favor when he branded the take over of Kismayo as a local issue, which indeed infuriarated Ethiopia's PM who saw the port city as a potential outlet and conduit for weapons to his homegrown insurgents. And since the so called International Community sub scribe to whatever decisive action Ethiopia takes in regards to her own interest in the region, they have no choice but to withdraw their endorsement of him and his grand vision. Now the pressure is on the PM not look his reconcoliation efforts from a very narrow window. The parliament is riven by division and mutual suspicion and distrust, so it will be interesting to find who will be the next person to lead us and restore the Somali Republic. -cell

When will vote be cast Duke?

The fact that the International Crisis Manufacturing Group a.k.a ICG called for the president's resignation before his term ends tells much that a change.of strategy in dealing with Shabaabs has been adopted by the International powers that be led by the U.S government. I think the strategy was formulated by well-known Somali intellectuals which was received and debated on by the U.S Senate and its subcommittee. A change of policy is seen as extremely viable to reverse Shabaab's consolidation of power and expansion in Southern Somalia. The agreed upon view is to force Ethiopia and Abdullahi Yusuf out simultaneously, empower the one-segment, self-styled moderates and write a new Constitution which will be put on Referendum. But prior to the referendum, a massive awareness will be made to the public through the local media, traditional roles and elders' participation and last but not least business leaders irrespective of their past or current public crime. By going with this new policy with enough financial support from EU and UN , the Shabaabs will easily be marginalized and the claim over Og'aden region renounced. The $M question is are the war-wearied and traumatized Somali people ready for a new era of tribal and religious war? -cell

Mansa, It's been a long time since we both were very active on this board. I guess life has turned to be too demanding. U right we should accept a big share of the blame but it's credulous to exonerate the AL, IGAD, Italy and partially the US who have been a major obstacle to peace. The fact that they either passively or actively interfere in our internal affairs and the form of government we supposed to have without a genuine financial commitment relative to much tinier and less influential states is highly suspect. They are sympathetic to our suffering but noncommittal. -Cell

I personally don't believe that such alleged recruitment exist, of course on the internet "The FBI is trying to find out whether there are recruitment networks helping the men travel to Somalia"Source: wsj

These elders/sultans/garads are a men of peace and honor and they must be accorded the respect they deserve from us. Let's not belittle the values they represent or made them political clowns. They wield legitimate power and politicians of Puntland in particular seek their official endorsement before running for an office. To call them a puppet is unacceptable behaviour and it denigrates their values, power and social position.

Taking one side of the conflict oftentimes suggests an ulterior motive as IGAD obviously seems to have adopted this stance as their default policy of dealing with Somalia's myriad and complex problems.Will that only worsen the desired outcome , practically yes but in theory the Somali people are made the scapegoat of their country's unrest. In truth, the PM has come up with a ridiculous plan that sidesteps the real issues. Instead he has squandered both time and resources on self-serving indivuals, some religious and a large fraction of them former warlords of the same clan. I don't understand how will his government work without having the president and a signicant number of MPs on board? -Fr. Cell

I don't really know his relationship with Kigame as both have different nationalities. The link between the two general reinforces the wrong perception that African's loyalty to their tribe transcends national interest and patriotism. Gen. Kaunda claims with pride that he is Congelese who is fighting for the economic rights of the people of Congo. He also claims that his movement to liberate Rwanda from Kabila's dictatorship is joined by Congelese of many stripes and not only Tutsis. The fact that Joseph Kabila is obstinate about meeting him contrary to Nkunda who is pushing for direct talks with great concern tells it partially.

The guy is a politician n speaks very well. In this interview, He catches, the BBC correspondent Mark Doyle, off guard on the alleged link of Rwanda. "The Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda says that if the Kinshasa government does not engage in serious dialogue on power-sharing, he will broaden the war and go for the capital itself. General Nkunda talked to our correspondent, Mark Doyle, in the mountains outside Goma."BBC Listen Not that long, I have read a bloomberg article whose title I don't remember which states that Congo produces $1 trillion worth of raw materials every year while ordinary people are dying of starvation and preventable diseases. Congo - the chief source of the West's raw materials

Lyzie G, what is the surprise news of the immigration status of his aunt? Will it have any impact on Nov 4. I will be glued to my plasma Tv on Tuesday night.

Welcome Home!

Somali girl stoned to death after rape claim The Associated Press Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.02.2008 Mogadishu Somalia — A 13-year-old girl who said she had been raped was stoned to death in Somalia after being accused of adultery by Islamic militants, a human-rights group said. Dozens of men stoned Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow to death Oct. 27 in a stadium packed with 1,000 spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo, Amnesty International and Somali media reported, citing witnesses. The Islamic militia in charge of Kismayo had accused her of adultery after she reported that three men had raped her, the rights group said. Initial local media reports said Duhulow was 23, but her father told Amnesty International she was 13. Some of the Somali journalists who first reported the killing later told Amnesty International that they had reported she was 23 based upon her physical appearance. Calls to Somali government officials and the local administration in Kismayo rang unanswered Saturday. "This child suffered a horrendous death at the behest of the armed opposition groups who currently control Kismayo," David Copeman, Amnesty International's Somalia campaigner, said in a statement Friday. Somalia is among the world's most violent and impoverished countries.A quarter of Somali children die before age 5; nearly every public institution has collapsed. Fighting is a daily occurrence. Islamic militants with ties to al-Qaida have been battling the government and its Ethiopian allies since their combined forces pushed the Islamists from the capital in December 2006. In recent months, the militants appear to be gaining strength.The group has taken over the port of Kismayo, Somalia's third-largest city, and dismantled pro-government roadblocks. Source: AP

All I have to add into this tragic day of unfair trial and corporal punishment to which the young girl had to go through and the excrutiating pain and suffering in her final moments is that the Islamists have straitened the broad mercy of Allah. They have become violently immoderate, merciless self-styled clerics. Though it's becoming widespread knowledge of the charges that their use of our religion as a political tool, that what is really unacceptable is their whimsical tenacity to experiment, for the first time, the Shariah, when the whole nation is wrecked by outstanding unresolved cases/issues of clan feuds. it's time that we condemn in the harshest terms the pent-up charges that the murdered child was subjected to in the absence of her parents and relatives. She even resisted and wept profusely the militias who dragged her into the stadium. Dragging our weary and sick society into their own tyrannical terms is the impending ruin of our society--traditionally free, independent and egalitarian.

Informative, forward looking, inclusive, moderate,n inspiring.thanks.

Thnks for the laughter.

^It's a haunting image runtii but you should show patience and ask Allah for guidance from injustice, ignorance, and harm.

Allow U Naxariiso. Gacan ka xaqdaran baa ciqaabtii ugu xun aduunka marsiisey.

VOA/Somali conducted an interview with the father of the deceased, Ibrahim Nur Dhuhulow. He lives in Hagardhere Refugee camp. He is asked several questions on her DOB, biography, etc. She was born in 1995, but she had lived in the camp since she was 4 years. She was at least 14 years of age Her father says that his girl was raped by three gun men, at the Kismayo beach, and when she in fact braved the stigma (most rape incidents go unreported) and reported the cruel incident, she was sentenced to be stoned to death. He described her as little girl who loved to finish school before she gets married. Please listen to the interview. You can skip the headline. VOA/Somalia

hours ago WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States condemned Wednesday a wave of suicide bombings in Somalia which it blamed on "a small minority of violent extremists." "The United States condemns the terrorist attacks in Somaliland and Puntland," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement. "We offer our sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims." Five suicide car bombs ripped through key targets Wednesday in northern Somalia, including UN offices and a presidential palace, killing 19 people and the five bombers, officials said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks in Somaliland and Puntland, which rattled a regional heads of state summit in Nairobi aimed at speeding up peace efforts in the southern and central parts of Somalia. "These senseless attacks highlight the determination of violent extremists to undermine peace and stability throughout Somalia and the Horn of Africa," McCormack said. "The United States continues to support the efforts of all those working to transform the region through a commitment to democratic and representative governance, economic recovery, and lasting peace and reconciliation," it said. "The actions of a small minority of violent extremists bent on continued chaos and destruction will not be allowed to defeat the desire and aspirations of the Somali people for lasting peace and stability," it added. Source: AFP