19 Aug 2011 – Daily Monitoring Report
Key Headlines:
- Turkish Prime Minister in Mogadishu
- World must end its indifference to Somalia – President Sheikh Ahmed
- Religious leaders called for Muslim-Arab forces to act against al-Shabaab
- Djibouti said planning to deploy troops in Somalia next month
- Turkish delegation plane scraps tarmac at Somalia
- WHO decries increasing cholera cases in southern Somalia
SOMALI MEDIA
Turkish Prime Minister in Mogadishu
19 Aug – Source: Radio Mogadishu – 49 words
The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Mogadishu this morning and was welcomed by the president of Somalia Sheikh Sharif Ahmed at Aden Adde international airport. Mr. Erdogan was accompanied by his family and Ministers. They have planned to visit internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps and hospitals and deliver aid to famine victims.
Somaliland: President returns from China after signing trilateral agreement
18 Aug – Source: Somaliland Press – 293 words
President of Somaliland Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (Silanyo) and the delegation that accompanied him to China has returned to Somaliland at Egal International Airport. President left for China two weeks ago after receiving an official invitation from the government of China and their business community.
The delegations were warmly welcomed by Somaliland Vice President Mr. Abidrahman Abdillahi Saylici, members from the cabinet and the parliament. President Silanyo spoke shortly with the press at the airport’s VIP room by first saying “as you all know the delegation and I left for China two weeks for economic and trade cooperation. Our trip was a success; after a long negotiation we were able to sign a pre-agreement with Chinese firm in the expansion of Berbera Port and the building of Gas and Oil processing facilities in Berbera.
These agreements will have a big effect in the country’s economy thus creating jobs for our unemployed youths. President Ahmed Silanyo did not take any questions from the press, however he promised to speak with the press in the coming days.
Religious leaders called for Muslim-Arab forces to act against al-Shabaab
18 Aug – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Somalia report – 144 words
The Deputy Chairman of the united Muslim leaders Sheikh Abdallah Ben Mahfudh Ibnu Bayya called for the Arab and Islam countries to use force if al Shabaab militias continue to obstruct and act as barrier between the displaced and drought Somalis and humanitarian aid activities.
Sheikh Ben Bayya said “we heard that there is a huge problems in trying to help the drought affected people due to the opposition of al Shabaab insurgents of not allowing aid workers to reach those areas. Therefore, it is obligatory to all the Islamic and Arab countries to use force through the peacekeeping forces in Somalia to allow their humanitarian donations to reach the displaced and starving Somalis.
Sheikh Ben Bayya added that “we can’t tolerate any more as the Somali Civilians are dying every second, and gradually the condition can turn to disaster if we don’t intervene.
http://radiomuqdisho.net/
IDPs in Burao receives relief food
18 Aug – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 119 words
Over 160 drought displaced families from southern Somalia camping in refugee camps in Burao town has received humanitarian relief food comprising of rice, flour and cocking oil from Germany based agency, Green Helmet. Abdirahman Mohamed Wa’eys who is an official with Green Helmet told Bar-kulan that they distributed the relief food in six centers in Togder region with each person receiving 12 ½ KGs of rice, 12 ½ KGs flour and three liters of cocking oil. Hamza Ahmed, another official with the Germany based aid agency, Green Helmet, stated the aid is the first in series of relief foods to the needy people in several areas of Somaliland. Drought displaced families from the region also benefited from the aid.
Djibouti said planning to deploy troops in Somalia next month
18 Aug – Source: Puntlandpost – 120 words
Djibouti president who visited Mogadishu this week said his country will in the next month deploy troops that are to take part in the peace keeping operations in the country. Djibouti president, Ismail Omar Gelleh, also said his country will take part in efforts to deliver assistance to civilians affected by the severe drought in the country. The Djibouti leader visited a number of camps for the internally displaced in the country. “My visit was meant to understand the effects of the drought and the level of need in the country. Frankly speaking, I did not expect it to be of this magnitude and I would like to ask all Somalis to try and help their suffering countrymen,” said Guelleh.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Turkish PM in Somalia to witness drought effects
19 Aug – Source: AFP, Khaleej Times – 237 words
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Mogadishu Friday to witness the devastation of a severe drought that has left some 12 million people in the Horn of Africa facing starvation.
Erdogan’s visit is the first by a non-African leader to the conflict-torn Somali capital in nearly two decades. Somalia is the worst affected country in the region by the prolonged drought that has sparked famine in five areas in the south of the war-ravaged nation. Erdogan, who is accompanied by four ministers, was to tour a camp for the displaced and a hospital in Mogadishu, where more than 100,000 people have fled to recently to seek relief from the drought.
The visit follows Wednesday’s meeting in Istanbul by members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation who pledged to donate 350 million dollars to assist the drought- and famine-stricken Somalis.
Security was tightened in Mogadishu, a city that has been battered by bloody insurgency by the Al Qaeda-affiliated Shabaab rebels fighting to unseat the Western-backed Somali government.
new camp for Somali refugees
18 Aug – Source: Nairobi Star – 156 words
An international organization will set up a refugee camp and transit centre for Somali refugees in the Somali border town of Dobley. Officials of the international organization said yesterday that the move will remove pressure from thousands of the Somali refugees who trek long distances as they cross the border into Kenya.
Dahabo Diriye the chief executive officer for the Rural Organization for Advocacy and Development (Road international) said the camp will also remove pressure on the sprawling Dadaab refugee camps of Daghahley, Ifo and Hagardere.
Diriye said the move will also cut the number of deaths of malnourished children who succumb due to starvation as a result of trekking long distances to refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia. Diriye said his organization has partnered up with a Turkish Aid Organization in distributing relief food to the displaced who were not registered by the UNHCR in the Dadaab refugee camps and the neighboring Dobley town of Somalia.
http://www.nairobistar.com/
I have never funded al-Shabaab – Afewerki
19 Aug – Source: Daily Monitor – 277 words
The visiting Eritrean President, who is facing UN sanctions and diplomatic isolation over his alleged role in destabilizing the Horn of Africa, yesterday dismissed as untrue accusations that he funds terrorism in the region.
Mr. Isaias Afewerki, who ended his three-day visit to Uganda yesterday, was speaking during a press conference at State House, Entebbe. He described al-Shabaab, the terrorist outfit the UN accuses him of supporting as a group unworthy of being discussed.
That was the response he offered to journalists who had asked him to explain his alleged links with al-Shabaab and its operations in Somalia. The visiting head of state, however, said he is ready and committed to ensuring that peace returns to Somalia . “The issue here is not al Shabaab,” he said when asked whether it is true he funds the outfit. “I have not been involved in any wrongdoing and my aim has always been to see a reconstituted, free and liberated Somalia.” He added; “those who talk about al-Shabaab are basing on assumption. Eritrea doesn’t support al-Shabaab.”
Asked whether it is true he tried to bomb an African Union meeting in Ethiopia in an attempt to cause a Baghdad in Addis Ababa’ as said in a UN monitoring report, Mr. Afewerki dismissed the report as a baseless fabrication which will only give the al-Shabaab more power to strike.
“Those who are fabricating these reports as a business are wasting their time,” he said and asked the media to “get out of that mindset that al-Shabaab is an issue worth discussing.” Mr. Museveni who kept interjecting ‘to throw more light’ on Mr. Afewerki’s submissions said he believes his counterpart’s claims about al-Shabaab.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/
World must end its indifference to Somalia – President Sheikh Ahmed
18 Aug – Source: African press Agency APA, Afrique Avenir – 360 words
The president of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia, Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed has warned of the dire consequences if the world reacts with indifference to the worsening humanitarian crisis plaguing his country.
Addressing the summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference in Turkey late on Wednesday, President Ahmed said that the latest famine and the prolonged conflict in Somalia was partly due to the international community’s neglect of the country.
He said for years the world had hesitated as armed groups roam Somalia killing innocent people and deliberately destroying development infrastructure which makes it impossible to deal with humanitarian disasters like the famine that is spreading to the Horn of Africa. He lamented that while the international community had rushed to immediately tackle problems in some countries it chose to be indifferent to the suffering of the Somali people plagued by famine, violence and death.
The OIC meeting in Turkey was called by the Turkish government in a bid to attract more attention to the crisis in Somalia where famine and wars are claiming thousands of lives especially women and children.
Somalia is one of the worst-hit countries in the region where an estimated 2. 5 million people are in danger of death by starvation caused by drought. Western aid agencies are still said to be thin on the ground, many deciding to stay away citing the security situation.
22 plane-loads of aid for Somalia
19 Aug – Source: khaleej Times – 341 words
As of now, a total of nine planes carrying food supplies, and 13 carrying non-perishable necessities have been airlifted from Dubai to Mogadishu and the UN refugee camp in Dabaab, according to UN officials from International Humanitarian City.
In the light of the critical state of the food crisis in Somalia and in appreciation of aid workers around the world, various United Nations agencies based in Dubai announced today as the World Humanitarians’ Day, embracing the theme “people helping people.” Khalid Khalifa, head of the Middle East/Asia Bureau of UN integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) and (OCHA), expressed his appreciation of the high level of global commitment shown by aid workers on the front lines.
“World Humanitarians’ Day is for our colleagues who have given their lives to make whatever difference they can for others during trying times. It’s to show our appreciation to those aid workers who have been kidnapped, tortured, declared missing in action, or have lost their lives. I myself have been an aid worker for many years, helping people cope with national disasters and civil wars. Now I’m trying to do my part from the comfort of an air-conditioned office, knowing what I’m missing on the frontlines,” Khalifa told Khaleej Times.
Brigitte Khair Mountain, Head of United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), outlined the ongoing aid programmes in Somalia from Dubai. “Three planes have airlifted nonfood supplies to Mogadishu, and 10 to Dabaab. The camp at Dabaab has a maximum capacity of 90,000 people, but it is stretched at the moment, housing 450,000 refugees with nowhere else to turn to. We’re currently still in talks with the UAE government on how much money will be channeled to this project from here,” she said.
Currently, the UNHCR’s Dubai warehouse is the largest logistical hub, with the potential to provide non-food supplies to up to 500,000 people in 48 hours. “This is the first time we’re seeing a shift in the Gulf region, as most nations want to engage multilaterally. Hopefully, this will have a higher impact,” she added.
Ethiopian President confers with Somaliland President
17 Aug – Source: Ethiopian News Agency – 97 words
President Girma Woldegiorgis here on Wednesday held talks with Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Mahamoud. The two parties on the occasion discussed on ways to further enhance existing relations between Ethiopia and Somaliland.
President Girma on the occasion said Ethiopia will provide the necessary support in the ongoing efforts to maintain peace and also bring about development in the surrounding areas.
President Ahmed Mohamed Mahamoud on his part expressed Somaliland’s desire to further strengthen existing trade ties and people-to-people relations with Ethiopia. Somaliland is keen to further enhance existing relations on issues related to port utilization, he said.
http://www.ena.gov.et/
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Turkish PM in Somalia to draw attention to famine
19 Aug – Source: Reuters, VOA – 108 words
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Somalia on Friday where he plans to visit relief camps and hospitals to draw international attention to the East African country’s drought and famine situation.
Erdogan was accompanied by his family and four cabinet ministers. Earlier this week, Turkey held a summit of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries, which gave it a chance to display Islamic piety and flex its diplomatic muscle in Africa at a time other emerging powers are also scrambling for trade and investment in the resource-rich continent.
The countries have pledged $350 million in aid to fight famine in anarchic Horn of Africa nation.
http://af.reuters.com/article/
Turkish delegation plane scraps tarmac at Somalia
19 Aug – Source: AP – 120 words
Turkey’s state-run news agency says the wing of a plane carrying a delegation accompanying the Turkish prime minister to Somalia scraped the tarmac upon landing at Mogadishu airport.
The Anatolia news agency said Friday no one among the delegation of journalists, parliamentarians, businessmen and artists was hurt. A journalist on board the Turkish Airlines plane said the incident caused screams and panic. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family flew in the official state jet and were not affected.
Anatolia said the plane was in need of repairs and unfits to fly the delegation back. Erdogan is in Somalia to visit aid camps and to open a Turkish Red Crescent-run camp and field hospital to help the famine-struck country.
WHO decries increasing cholera cases in southern Somalia
19 Aug – Source: Xinhua – 832 words
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday decried increased number of confirmed cholera cases in the Somalian capital Mogadishu, and growing reports of acute watery diarrhea in Kismayo and other crowded urban centers, saying an urgent multi-sector response to contain the spread of this highly contagious disease is being mounted.
The UN health agency said has confirmed cholera in Banadir, Bay, Mudug and Lower Shabelle regions and the number of acute watery diarrhea cases has increased dramatically in the last few months.
WHO Representative for Somalia Marthe Everard said combination of poor sanitation conditions, a shortage of safe water, overcrowding and high malnutrition rates, creates the perfect combination for infectious diseases, such as cholera and pneumonia, to spread and increase the number of deaths. “For the last few years, a network of health workers reporting to the early warning system is in place, however they report through a health facility or mobile clinic.
Yet the large numbers of displaced people in Mogadishu are making it more difficult to record the various diseases,” Everard said in a statement issued in Nairobi. “We urgently need more mobile clinics that will provide basic health care services to the many displaced and who will strengthen the reporting on new outbreaks. This is critical to our response and our ability to save lives.” According to WHO, about seventy-five percent of all cases of acute watery diarrhea are children under the age of five.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/
Kenya’s controversial camp opens
18 Aug – Source: BBC – 565 words
The first 200 Somali refugees fleeing famine and conflict have moved into a controversial camp in Kenya that has been lying empty for several months. The government had stopped work to prepare the Ifo II site because local people resented the permanent buildings being handed over to Somalis.
It has more than 100 houses, three schools and a clinic, but most of the arrivals will be housed in tents. The Dadaab area of north-eastern Kenya is now home to 400,000 Somali refugees. The East African region is suffering from its worst drought in 60 years, affecting 12 million people.
Somalia has been the worst-hit country with two districts suffering from famine and much of the country controlled by the Islamist al-Shabaab group which has banned many aid agencies from its territory.
The BBC’s Mike Wooldridge in Dadaab says relieved officials of the UN refugee agency described it as a very important day as the first Somali refugee family stepped off the bus at Ifo II. UN officials acknowledged that the delay in opening the site had been deeply frustrating but said they realized the impact that such a large number of refugees had on local people.
According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the 116 permanent houses built at Ifo II will be for the most vulnerable families. An estimated 1,500 Somalis are arriving every day at Kenya’s massive Dadaab camp – the world’s largest refugee camp. It is made up of several sites where the refugees are accommodated – Ifo II is an area of the most recent settlement.
UNHCR spokesman Andrej Mahecic told the BBC many of the new arrivals have been staying in makeshift shelters without access to water and sanitation on the outskirts of Dadaab. At Ifo II 1,500 tents have been put up allowing new refugees to be properly cared for, he said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
BLOGS/EDITORIAL/CULTURE
We can’t, and must not, allow more Somali children to die of starvation
18 Aug – Source: daily Nation – 422 words
Every disaster has its icon, the one powerful image which immediately tells you what you are looking at, the one that lives with you for the rest of your life. For me, the heart-rending enormity of the current regional famine was brought home by the pictures we published this week of a man and his wife, Muumino, who walked into a refugee centre in Mogadishu with their starving son, Mahmud. They have come from Lower Shabelle in southern Somalia in search of food and shelter in the anarchic capital.
Mahmud shares a drip with two others, but he is too weak and soon dies. His mother closes his eyes with her thumbs, ties the legs together with a lesso. She ties the face too, covering it with the practiced hand of a woman who has covered many such little faces. She and her husband walk out of the makeshift medical tent, carrying their dead son. The husband is soon overcome, and it is left to the wife to carry their bundle to a tent, possibly their new home.The last frame is of Muumino, alone with the bundle of her son, possibly with nowhere to bury him.
Her eyes are red and swollen with unshed tears, hopelessness and despair and the sheer sense of having come to the end of the road rising off her like a cloud. There has been some debate as to whether the famine in Somalia is all that bad. One school of thought is that, yes, there is a famine, but aid agencies are exaggerating as a means to raising some money in these hard economic times in the West.
The Meteorological Department recently released weather statistics for the last 60 years which showed that whereas there is a bad drought going on in this region, the claim that it is the worst in six decades can be contested. To me all that is immaterial. The disaster that is Somalia speaks to me, as a father and as an African, through the tragedy of Mahmud and his poor parents.
http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/
Somalia too insecure yet
18 Aug – Source: Daily Nation – 184 words
The radical Islamists, Al Shabaab, have been finally driven out of Mogadishu after almost five years of wreaking havoc on the Somali populace. But could it be too early to celebrate? It appears that Al Shabaab have simply made a tactical retreat, given reports that many have hidden their weapons, removed their uniforms, and mingled with the population.
Yet, their withdrawal from combat is a good opportunity for the Transitional Federal Government to stabilize the situation and allow more aid to the starving Somalis. The continued starvation and human rights abuses must now be addressed.
British International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell, who visited Mogadishu this week, noted that up to 400,000 children may starve to death if urgent action is not taken. The TFG and the international community cannot now cite war as a reason for not acting to save the suffering Somalis.
Aid agencies have revealed that the withdrawal of Al Shabaab has not made it easier for humanitarian work, because there is still no guarantee of security. Kenya and Ethiopia, which have leverage over the TFG, must pressure it to institute changes.
http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/
A humanitarian challenge without equal
18 Aug – Source: Daily Nation – 403 words
As we mark World Humanitarian Day today, the biggest humanitarian challenge in the world is the drought crisis in the Horn of Africa – which could become a catastrophe. But it’s a catastrophe we can all help prevent.
If we learn lessons from the past and act fast, we can save hundreds of thousands of lives. And we can stop droughts like this having such an impact in future. The extent of the crisis is daunting and the figures are so enormous that it is easy to forget that each number is a precious human life.
I have had the chance in the past month to see first-hand how people have been affected by this crisis in both Kenya and Somalia.