February 23, 2012 | Daily Monitoring Report.

Main Story

UN votes to increase Somalia peacekeeping force

Feb 23 – Source: The Guardian – 813 words

The UN security council has voted to increase an African Unionpeacekeeping force in Somalia to nearly 18,000 troops in a bid to defeat extremist rebels and help stabilise the country after more than two decades of chaos.

The vote to boost the Amisom force of east African troops came as a joint Ethiopian and Somali government offensive wrested control of the central city of Baidoa from the al-Shabaab rebels. It boosted hopes at a conference in London on Thursday aimed at consolidating the government in Mogadishu, bringing greater stability to the country, and combating piracy which has thrived on Somalia’s lawless coastline.

Responding to a Guardian report that the British government had considered air strikes against the al-Shabaab militia, which has vowed fealty to al-Qaida, the Somali prime minister, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, said: “Targeted strikes against al-Qaida in Somalia we would welcome. But we have to be sure we protect the lives and safety of Somali citizens.”

The UK sponsored the security council resolution that increased the Amisom force and widened its mandate. Speaking after the vote, the British ambassador to Nato, Mark Lyall Grant, said: “For the first time it authorises Amisom to use all necessary means to reduce the threat from al-Shabaab, and therefore to conduct more robust and offensive operations.” The resolution also imposed a ban on the export of Somali charcoal, a principal source of funding for the rebels.

The Somali prime minister welcomed the UN security council vote, which puts Kenyan troops in Somalia under AU command, after Nairobi launched its own offensive against al-Shabaab bases over its northern border. They will fight alongside Ugandan and Burundian troops already in the AU force and a fresh contingent from Djibouti. Amisom, which has been in the country since 2007, has scored a string of victories, taking Mogadishu last August and driving al-Shabaab fighters out of the centre and south of the country. Reports from Baidoa on Wednesday said that Ethiopian and Somali government tanks and troops had swept into the town, while the insurgents had melted into the surrounding forest.

Speaking in London on the eve of the conference, Ali said the long-term solution to Somalia’s security problems was a robust home-grown army, navy and coastguard, and that the only enduring solution to the al-Shabaab insurrection and chronic piracy was economic.”We must be ready to welcome and assist large numbers of defectors from the extremist ranks, and give them ways of making an honest living,” Ali said. “The long-term answer to piracy lies inland. Its root causes are lawlessness and poverty. The opportunity cost for young Somalis to take to the seas is zero. Lots of lives have been lost and lots are in prison. We have to offer alternative livelihoods.”

The Somali prime minister said he hoped the London conference, which will bring together about 50 governments and international organisations, would mark a tipping point in Somalia’s fortunes. “We expect this to be a game-changer for Somalia. These are the expectations of the Somali people. We think it will succeed,” he said at a meeting of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. David Cameron told parliament that the conference would seek to galvanise an international effort to transform Somalia.

“It means working with all the parts of Somalia, which has been more blighted by famine, by disease, by violence, by terrorism than almost any other country in the world, to give that country a second chance,” the prime minister said. He argued there were already tentative signs of progress.
According to the European Union’s naval anti-piracy patrols, pirates hijacked six vessels in the last six months of 2011, compared with 19 in the first four months of that year. Ransoms last year cost the shipping industry about £86m.

Key Headlines

Somali PM praises TFG Ethiopian troops for taking Baidoa (Radio Mogadishu)
Somalia’s future is discussed at London conference (BBC World)
World seeks ‘second chance’ for Somalia (The Telegraph)
UK to double military aid for Somalia (The Independent)
Landmine blast hits Ethiopian army in Baidoa town civilians killed (Radio Shabelle)
A government official killed in Mogadishu (Radio Shabelle)
Somalia MPs now support today’s conference in London (The Star)
Ban welcomes UNSC decision to beef up AU Mission in Somalia (Kuwait News Agency)
Leaders meet in UK over fragile Somalia’s future (AP)

PRESS STATEMENT

The African Union welcomes the decision by the Security Council to enhance United Nations support to its mission in Somalia

22 Feb – Source: AU – 605 words

The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Jean Ping, welcomes the adoption, today, by the United Nations Security Council of resolution 2036 (2012), which significantly enhances the UN support package to the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

This resolution comes in response to the request made by the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) in its communiqué of 5 January 2012. In that communiqué, the PSC, having endorsed the jointlyâ€ elaborated AUâ€ UN Strategic Concept for the new phase of AMISOM operations, urged the UN Security Council to expeditiously consider and authorize the support required for the immediate implementation of the Concept, in order to take advantage of the unique opportunity created by the operations being conducted against Al Shabaab in different parts of Somalia and, thereby, consolidate the security gains made and move the peace process forward.

In particular, the resolution supports the decision made by the PSC to increase AMISOM’s force strength from 12,000 to 17,731 uniformed personnel; expands accordingly the UN support package for the Mission; and authorizes the inclusion, into the support package, of the reimbursement of vitallyâ€ needed force enablers and multipliers. The increase in the AMISOM force strength will facilitate the integration of Kenyan and Djiboutian troops into AMISOM, whose mission is to provide support for Somalia’s Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) in their stabilization efforts and pursuit of political dialogue and reconciliation. The Chairperson of the Commission thanks the UN Security Council and Secretaryâ€ General for the decision reached today. He said: “With today’s resolution, an important milestone has been reached. The decision taken by the Security Council is a further testimony to the commitment of the UN to help AMISOM and the Somali leadership to consolidate the important gains made on the ground and the progress recorded towards the completion of the transition process.

The resolution is also a clear indication of the importance that the world attaches to the AU’s efforts in Somalia and recognition that the AMISOM’s work is vital to global and regional security, including the fight against terrorism and piracy. More generally, it is an important step in the efforts by the AU and the UN to build an innovative and forward looking partnership to address the daunting challenges of peace and security in Africa”.

The Chairperson of the Commission notes that the adoption of the resolution comes on the eve of an important meeting of world leaders in London, which will discuss all aspects of the situation in Somalia, with the view of facilitating a holistic and coordinated approach and galvanizing support for the efforts being made on the ground by the Somali leadership and AMISOM.

The Chairperson of the Commission stresses that AMISOM has successfully completed the first phase of its original concept of operations by helping the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) secure the Somali capital, Mogadishu. “With the integration of the new contingents, the second phase of operations – expansion out of the capital – has now commenced,” he said. “At this critical juncture, I welcome the growing contribution from the region and the integration of Djiboutian and Kenyan forces under AMISOM control, which will join increasing numbers of troops from Burundi and Uganda.

I equally welcome the invaluable assistance provided by Ethiopia, and pay tribute to the Ethiopian National Defence Forces and the TFG forces, which, with the support and cooperation of the local population, have just taken control of the city of Baidoa from the al Shabaab terrorist group, following the liberation of Beledweyne and other areas”.

The adoption by the Security Council of the resolution enhancing support to AMISOM, together with the London Conference, demonstrate a renewed sense of urgency and proactiveness from the international community to seize the present opportunity to further peace and reconciliation in Somalia.

Somalia: An opportunity that should not be missed

Feb 22 – Source: ICG – 533 words

If the international community can agree on but a few core policies, there is the best chance in years to foster peace in Somalia. Somalia: An Opportunity that Should Not Be Missed, the latest International Crisis Group Policy Briefing, examines the build-up to the special international conference on Somalia, which takes place in London on 23 February, bringing together senior representatives from more than 50 countries and international organisations. The British initiative seeks to develop a consensus on a new political framework for tackling the multiple challenges faced by the war-torn country.

“Somalia has the world’s attention again”, says Comfort Ero, Crisis Group’s Africa Program Director. “The mandate of the feeble and dysfunctional Transitional Federal Government (TFG) expires in a half-year and should not be renewed. Troops from the African Union Mission (AMISOM), Kenya and Ethiopia are keen to further weaken the still potent extremist movement, Al-Shabaab. This confluence of factors presents a genuine chance for peace and stability in the south and centre of the country”.

The root cause of Somalia’s many troubles – terrorism, piracy, periodic famine and constant streams of refugees – is collapse of effective governance, with resulting chronic conflict, lawlessness and poverty. The most effective and durable solution is to build gradually an inclusive, more federal structure most clans can support. Otherwise, Al-Shabaab, whose emir recently pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, or some similar successor and other disparate groups of would-be strongmen with guns, will exploit continued dissatisfaction with Mogadishu and innate Somali hostility to “foreign occupation”.

Renewed interest in Somalia has brought renewed jockeying for influence. The divergence of views is neither new nor surprising, considering the complexity of the crisis and Somalia’s geopolitical importance. The entry of new actors such as Turkey, which has supported the TFG, increases the difficulty of consensus. Te immediate need is to keep the focus on strategic goals and build unity of purpose over the outstanding issues and potential solutions.

The London Conference should agree on the new political framework and principles for governing Somalia. It must rebuild internal cohesion among core members of the International Contact Group, and enhance the role of Turkey and other Muslim nations in the stabilisation efforts. It should also endorse the formation of a truly inclusive deliberative body that represents all clans and most regions of the country and that can form an interim government to replace the TFG if necessary.

Al-Shabaab has been hard-pressed militarily over the past year, but to maintain momentum and consolidate gains, AMISOM should quickly assume full tactical and operational command of what are still poorly-coordinated, essentially autonomous efforts by the AU mission, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somali allies. This may require an expansion of its limited mandate (peace enforcement and stabilisation) and greater resources, as well as closer UN/AU cooperation.

“Al-Shabaab is resilient and will seek to regain strength by exploiting popular discontent with the TFG, its lack of progress, corruption and unwillingness to genuinely reach out and reconcile with other groups and sub-national entities”, cautions EJ Hogendoorn, Crisis Group’s Horn of Africa Project Director. “Unless a more appropriate political framework is developed for Somalia, Al-Shabaab or its successor will remain a regional and wider international concern for many years to come”.

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali PM praises TFG, Ethiopian troops for taking Baidoa

23 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-kulan, Radio Mogadishu – 171 words

Somalia’s Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has applauded the Somali and Ethiopian forces for taking Baidoa, al Shabaab’s strategic stronghold in the south-west of the country. Speaking to the State-owned Radio Mogadishu, the PM said the capture of Baidoa is of huge significant for the Somali government, promising that his government will continue its fight against al Shabaab until they will clear the group from the entire country.

The PM who is among a number of senior government figures attending the Somalia conference in London called on the public to work with the government top restore law and order in the country.

On Wednesday, Ethiopian and Somali troops took control of Baidoa town after al Shabaab fighters pulled out of the town, allowing Somali and Ethiopian forces to seize the town on Wednesday without a battle. Baidoa is a business route for most commodities that are transported from Mogadishu to other towns in the region. It also has an airport, which the rebel group is thought to have used to bring in weapons.

Landmine blast hits Ethiopian army in Baidoa town, civilians killed

23 Feb – Source: Shabelle – 158 words

A big landmine blast struck Ethiopian troops in the heart of Baidoa town, 250km away south of Mogadishu on Thursday morning, the first attack since the militants were pushed out of the town Wednesday, residents say. The explosion occurred at a cross road in Baidoa as the Ethiopian troops were trying to conduct security operations. The blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) that hit the army in military vehicles in the area. Local residents said security forces had sealed off the area around the blast site.

It was unclear whether there were any fatalities sustained by the Ethiopian troops, but locals said several civilians were killed by the army who opened fire at crowds nearby the scene. No comments were immediately available from the Al-Qaeda linked militants of Al-Shabaab who withdrew from the strategic town of Baidoa on Wednesday with no battle against allied forces from Somali government backed by Ethiopian troops.

Al Shabaab opposed London conference

23 Feb – Source: Radio Kulmiye – 166 words

Al shabaab has today issued a demonstrating message directed to the London conference. Al shabaab millitants says London conference is a worthless for Somalis and it is deceiving tactic for the country which the west wants to uphold its ideology said the commanders of the millitant group of Al shabaab, pointing it as a meaningless conference the negotiations which brokered by the British government, at least 50 goverment due to attend the conference which is opening in London today. Al-Shabaab, which has recently joined al-Qaeda, confirmed that it had withdrawn its forces from Baidoa as part of a “tactical retreat” and threatened to start a guerrilla war in response.

“The takeover does not mean that the enemy will enjoy the city, there will be more bloodshed,” said Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim, an al-Shabaab commander, according to the residents live in the areas. A Somali government military commander in the town said his forces were moving to the outer edges of the town to ensure they had full control of it.

TFG forces conduct security operation in Mogadishu

23 Feb – Source: Mareeg Online – 110 words

Somali Security forces have started a major security operation in several neighbourhoods of Mogadishu’s Wadajir district, officials say. The operation is aimed at stamping out rebel elements hiding within the locals in these neighbourhoods, according to the area Deputy District Commissioner, Hussein Botan Hassan. Hassan told the reporters that their forces have already nabbed several suspects shortly after kick starting the operation in Bula-Hubey neighbourhood. But he did not revealed the exact number of suspects they are holding for now. He, however, said the operation is part of government strategy to secure the city after TFG and the African Union Force pushed rebel fighters out of the city August last year.

TFG’s defense minister pledged to recapture all of southern Somalia from al-Shabaab

22 Feb – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Somalia Report – 98 words

Somali Minister of Defense Mohamed Mo’allin Nur said that his government is planning to expel al-Shabaab militants from southern Somalia in the coming days. “The TFG security committee expects in the near future that al-Shabaab will be out of Somalia with the help of AMISOM, Kenya and Ethiopia because they are merely bringing harm to Somalis living in their regions,” said the minister. He called on the young al-Shabaab fighters in the battle to withdraw from the militants and surrender themselves to the government, saying they were brainwashed and forced to take part the ongoing combat in Somalia.

A government official killed in Mogadishu

23 Feb – Source: Shabelle – 129 words

Unidentified gunmen have shot and killed a Somali government official in Wadajir district in the Somalia’s war-torn capital, Mogadishu on Thursday morning, witnesses told Shabelle. The Deputy Commissioner of Wadajir district for Somalia’s Transitional Federal government (TFG) Mo’allin Mohamud Saney told Shabelle Media that unknown masked men with pistols assassinated Tuure digtiin Afrah, Hawo Tako village chief as he was sipping a tea at a café near big market.

Witnesses say the assailants escaped from the scene after shooting the official. Security forces have reached at the area and made search operations and investigation related to the incident. No has so far claimed the murder, but the deputy of Wadajir district commissioner for Somalia government Mo’allin Mohamud Saney accused the militants of al-Shabaab of being behind the assassination.

Security Council lifts asset freeze on a Somali-owned Barakat Group of Companies

22 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 158 words

The UN Security Council Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee has lifted the asset freeze on Al-Barakat Group Companies, which was in 2001 allegedly identified as being one of the single largest terrorist financiers. The committee said the asset freeze on the company was lifted on 22 June last year after concluding its consideration of a de-listing request submitted through the Ombudsperson established pursuant to Security Council resolution 1904 of 2009, and after considering the Comprehensive Report of the Ombudsperson on this de-listing request.

The committee said there are no more suspicions that Barakat have close links with Al-Qaeda, a terrorist group in the face of the international community. The ban was lifted from all the activities associated with the company including its Telecommunications, Bank and Exchange wings.
The asset freeze was imposed on the company December 2001 shortly after the 9/11 attack in New York following allegations that the company is associated with Al-Qaeda which claimed responsibility of the attack.

REGIONAL MEDIA

World leaders to discuss Somali crises

23 Feb – Source: Al Jazeera – 692 words

World leaders are set to meet with members of the Somali government to co-ordinate efforts against piracy, poverty and famine, and to discuss the country’s civil war. Forty countries will be represented at Thursday’s conference in London, and attendees include Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, and Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general.

Other participants at the conference include the European Union, the African Union and the Arab League, as well as the head of the breakaway Somaliland region. Gatherings similar to Thursday’s meeting in the past 20 years have resulted in many foreign commitments of aid, but in little progress on the ground, sceptics say.

Britain, the country organising the conference, says the aim of the event is to galvanise policymakers’ attention and to better co-ordinate a sometimes disjointed international response to Somalia’s many challenges.

The conference will not be examining the clan-based politics which affect several aspects of Somali life and play a role in everything from business and piracy to the distribution of humanitarian aid. Nevertheless, some analysts say that Somalis are expecting real progress to be made during the talks in London.

Talks start in London to discuss stability in war-ravaged Somalia

22 Feb – Source: Daily Nation – 392 words

A major conference on war-ravaged Somalia that has become a global threat for harbouring extremist groups starts in London on Thursday.
The conference comes at a time when the international community is optimistic the country is slowly regaining stability and normalcy following the success of the African Union Mission in Somalia and the Kenya Defence Forces to wipe out Al-Shabaab militia in most parts.

President Kibaki, who is leading a high powered Kenyan delegation, is among world leaders — including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and Ethiopia Prime Minister Meles Zenawi — at the meeting hosted by UK Prime Minister David Cameron. President Kibaki is scheduled to give a report on KDF operations which started in October last year.

Somalia MPs now support today’s conference in London

23 Feb – Source: the Star – 133 words

A section of Somalia’s MPs who had expressed doubts in the London conference now say they have confidence that the meeting might offer a solution to their troubled country.

Speaking yesterday a head of today’s conference bringing together over 40 leaders fro Africa and Middle East, the MPs retracted their suspicion over the conference and the UK`s interest in Somalia after they termed as “assurance” the had got from the British Prime Minister David Cameroon through interviews with the Somali media on Tuesday.

According to Awad Ahmed Ashareh, a Somali MP and the Chairperson of the Information, Culture, Public awareness and Heritage for Somalia parliament, Cameroon had assured through the interview that the London process is all-inclusive and it will not be used to recognise Somaliland and other breakaway administrative units in Somalia.

Ban welcomes UNSC decision to beef up AU Mission in Somalia

23 Feb – Source: Kuwait News Agency – 164 words

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon late Wednesday welcomed the Security Council’s unanimous decision earlier in the day to expand the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) from 12,000 to 17, 731 uniformed personnel, and to put it on a sound financial footing through the enhancement of the UN Logistical Support Package.

“An expanded AMISOM is critical as it provides support to the Transitional Federal Government in extending its authority across a wider area of southern and central Somalia, as well as to significantly degrade the insurgencys (Al Shabaab) military capability across the country,” his press office said in a statement.

Ban also underlined that military gains need to be consolidated through continued progress by Somalias political leaders in the implementation of the Roadmap for ending the transition, which is the basis for lasting peace and stability in the country. He said he was looking forward to tomorrow’s London Conference on Somalia as an “opportunity to strengthen international efforts in support of peace and stability in Somalia.

Boats ‘replenish’ al Shabaab weapons supplies at Kismayu

22 Feb – Source: Africa Review – 196 words

Two boats loaded with weapons have docked at the rebel-held Somalia harbour of Kismayu, witnesses said. Kismayu, located about 500km south of Mogadishu, is under the control of Islamists Al-Shabaab, who recently announced joining forces with the Al-Qaeda terror group.

Residents told Shabelle, an independent media in Mogadishu, that they witnessed the offloading of weapons from unknown origins on Tuesday. Some sources who preferred anonymity for security reasons, described the consignment as comprising light and heavy weapons.

Residents also reported that top Al-Shabaab officials had been meeting in Kismayu since Tuesday. The meetings, the residents who contacted the media in Mogadishu believed, were about the war the movement was facing on different fronts, especially in Juba and Gedo regions.

Call for world aid to rebuild a Somalia ‘at a crossroads’

23 Feb – Source: National (UAE) – 642 words

For nearly two decades, Somali and foreign leaders have met annually in the shadow of a civil war that has led to the deaths of up to one million people. The Horn of African nation has been without an effective government for 21 years, crushed by famine and infamous for its marauding pirates.

But this year, many of the representatives of the 50 nations and international organisations gathering in London can detect what the British foreign secretary, William Hague, sees as “a glimmer of hope” for that divided land.

Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, prime minister in the transitional Somali government whose mandate ends in August, yesterday described his country as being “at a crossroads” and said he hoped the conference would deliver a internationally financed aid package to rebuild Somalia.

“It is at a very critical juncture in its history,” he said in a BBC radio interview. “We are moving from an era of warlordism, terrorism, extremism and piracy and we are moving into an era of peace, stability and normalcy. Twenty years of lawlessness, violence and chaos is enough. Somalis are ready to move on.”

Inevitably, a shadow over the proceedings will be cast by those who are not there, especially the militants of Al Shabab who, despite recent setbacks, control large chunks of central and southern Somalia, and who last week aligned themselves with Al Qaeda.

Somali PM urges foreign powers not to hurt civilians

23 Feb – Source: Coastweek, Xinhua – 391 words

Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali on Wednesday welcomed targeted airstrikes by foreign powers on terrorists’ camps in his country, but said they should ensure civilian safety first. Ali, who was here attending a conference on Somalia, told Xinhua:

“I have not talked about that with the European governments but targeted echelon airstrikes is a welcome opportunity — but we have to make sure that the safety and the property and the lives of the Somali people are protected.”

“This is of utmost priority for us, we don’t want them striking inadvertently kids going to school—that would be unforgivable if they did so. “But on the other hand we welcome the opportunity for them to strike at terrorist camps,” he said.

Somali Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab, which controls much of the southern and central parts of the war-torn country, joined forces with al Qaeda’s global network in early February.

Kenya under AMISOM as Somalia troops boosted

22 Feb – Source: Capital News – 512 words

Kenyan troops already in Somalia will now operate under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) command after the UN Security Council increased the AU force there by nearly 6,000 troops to 17,731 and gave it explicit mandate to go on the offensive against Islamist militants.

The 15-nation Council unanimously agreed on a resolution that will more than double international funding for the Somalia military operation to about $550 million a year. Resolution 2036 was prepared by Britain ahead of an international conference in London that is being attended by among others President Mwai Kibaki to deliberate the need to boost support for efforts by Somalia’s Transitional Government to re-establish control in the country.

“Security is not in itself a sufficient answer to the multiple crises in Somalia,” said Britain’s UN ambassador Mark Lyall Grant after the vote. Ethiopian troops, who took control of the Al Shabaab stronghold of Baidoa on Wednesday, will however not be part of the force. Baidoa was the seat of Somalia’s transitional parliament until the hard-line militant group captured it three years ago.

“But it is a key element of the overall strategy that the international community is now developing towards Somalia.” The London conference hosted by UK Prime Minister David Cameron was to deliberate on the political process that must be initiated in view of the expiry of the term of the Transitional Federal Institutions later this year.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Leaders meet in UK over fragile Somalia’s future

23 Feb – Source: AP – 858 words

Somalia’s fragile leadership, its neighbors and international allies are meeting in London in the hope of speeding the troubled east African nation’s progress toward a stable government and containing the threat from Islamic militants who some fear could export terrorism to Europe and the United States.

About 50 nations and international organizations will attend the one-day summit Thursday, including Somalia’s Western-backed transitional government, officials from the northern breakaway republic of Somaliland, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

However many are skeptical the talks can agree on concrete steps to address Somalia’s complex problems — pirates who target international shipping, the al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab which holds territory in the country’s center and south and the effects of a lengthy famine which Britain’s government estimates have killed between 50,000 and 100,000 people. Others suspect the attention of Clinton and world leaders is currently focused on more urgent troubles, including the crisis in Syria — which will be discussed in meetings on the sidelines of the conference.

Somalia’s future is discussed at London conference

23 Feb – Source: BBC News (UK) – 215 words

World leaders are attending a major conference on the future of Somalia in London to focus on finding peace and ending threats of terrorism and piracy. As it opened, UK Prime Minister David Cameron said he hoped the process would generate “new momentum”. Somalia has endured more than two decades of civil war and famine.

Representatives from many Somali factions are also attending, but not the Islamist group which controls much of the centre and south of the country. The UK has described Somalia as the “world’s worst failed state” but said it needs a “second chance”.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC the conference was about aiding “a failed state without Western intervention”. Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, among a number of senior government figures attending the event, has warned the country is at a “critical juncture” and needs more international help.

US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi and UN chief Ban Ki-moon are among the leaders due to join the discussions. On Wednesday, the UN Security Council approved a resolution increasing the number of African Union (AU) troops in Somalia by 5,000 to more than 17,000. Council members also agreed to extra funding for the mission and to extend its mandate.

Foreign Secretary speech ahead of the London Conference on Somalia

23 Feb – Source: UK in Botswana – 1034 words

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to Lancaster House ahead of the London Somalia Conference. I know many of you have travelled a long way to be here. I have just met the delegation from Wales – they are particularly welcome, as my wife is keen for me to note – but also from all over the United Kingdom and from Somalia itself. Wherever you have come from, you are very welcome.

Tomorrow the largest gathering of countries and organisations ever to come together to discuss Somalia will meet in this very room. The conference will include the President and Prime Minister of Somalia, the President of Somaliland, seven Somali delegations, leaders from across Africa, the Secretary General of the Union Nations, and many Foreign Ministers from around the world. Our Prime Minister initiated this conference because Somalia matters greatly to the United Kingdom; and the involvement of all these nations and organisations confirms that Somalia’s stability and security matter to the whole world. And there are just three things that I want to tell about tomorrow’s conference.

The first is that it is not about imposing a solution on the people of Somalia. Only they can determine their future and we cannot make their decisions for them. As the Prime Minister said this week, the aim of the conference is to try “to get the whole of the world behind the efforts of the Somali people who are building a stronger, safer and more prosperous country”. Somalis in Somalia and around the world are at the forefront of our minds as we host this conference.

They have endured twenty years of conflict, suffering, deprivation, violence and hunger – but show the most remarkable resilience, courage and love for their country in their determination to rebuild Somalia. I met some of them when I visited Mogadishu three weeks ago, and I pay tribute to them and to all of you here tonight who support Somalia in many different ways.

As I pointed out to the House of Commons when we debated this issue ten days ago, the amount of money that Somali people around the world send back to their country is greater than all the international aid from all the countries of the world that the country receives each year, which is a striking illustration of that bond and that commitment. And I believe that, if a country’s greatest asset it its people, then Somalia can consider itself rich indeed.

You are all here tonight as representatives of the Somali people, and we have done our utmost to speak to members of the Somalia diaspora here in Britain and overseas as we prepared the strategy that we will discuss tomorrow. From Cape Town, where I was last week, and in Nairobi before that to Birmingham and Bristol we have held events for British Ministers to meet Somali community groups, and on Monday the Prime Minister hosted a gathering in Number Ten Downing Street for the same purpose. I thank Chatham House and the Council of Somali Organisations for their part in supporting these discussions, which really have made a contribution to our thinking and our policy.

The second thing I want to tell you is that we believe it really is a historic moment of opportunity for Somalia – and we hope you share the same sense of optimism, despite the immense challenges that are still ahead. The fact that I was able to be the first British Foreign Secretary to visit Somalia in twenty years was because of the success African Union Forces and Somali leaders have had in regaining control of Mogadishu and restoring authority in different parts of Somalia.

There is an opportunity this summer to forge a more representative political process for the people of Somalia, and to provide more of the development and regional support that the country needs. Now really is the time for us to seize that moment of opportunity and to coordinate international assistance in meaningful ways behind Somali efforts, and that is what I believe all the countries gathered here in London are determined to do. And I hope that what we have done will give you confidence. I was proud when I visited Mogadishu to do so with our new Ambassador to Somalia for twenty years. And I dug for myself the first hole in the ground where our new Embassy will stand.

And my third message to you is that this really is an important priority for our Government. We know that what happens in Somalia has consequences for the entire region and the whole world. Hundreds of thousands of refugees remain encamped in neighbouring countries. Two decades of chronic insecurity have created in some places a breeding ground for piracy and terrorism which has a direct impact on our own national security here. Sailors from around the world have been kidnapped from the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Citizens from Europe and North America have been taken from Kenyan territory and held to ransom. And the terrorist tactics of Al Shabaab are a direct threat to our own security and to many other people around the world, as well as a source of suffering for Somalis.

We are serious about working with others to help Somalia get back onto its feet, and we will maintain that commitment over the coming years. We are also joined this evening by a large number of British Members of Parliament from all Parties including members of the All Party Parliamentary Group and the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, who I thank for their longstanding interest in this area. They are proof of the fact that the people of Somalia have a strong friend in the United Kingdom, and many people who have supported it through thick and thin and will continue to do so in the future.

So tomorrow we hope to agree with our partners a more coherent, and better coordinated, international strategy for Somalia: including action to support the political process, to help eradicate piracy, to support human rights, justice and development and to help the recovery of Somalia.

Somali PM would welcome air strikes against militants

23 Feb – Source: Reuters – 238 words

Somalia’s prime minister said on Wednesday he would welcome targeted air strikes against Islamist fighters in his country and predicted the militants could be defeated within a month. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told Reuters Insider television in an interview That he had not discussed possible air strikes with the United States or Britain, which hosts an international conference on Somalia on Thursday that he is taking part in.

“Targeted air strikes on al Qaeda is a welcome opportunity. But we have to make sure that we protect the life and the safety and property of the Somali people,” he said. Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday that mounting concern over the threat posed by pirates and al Shabaab Islamist militants in Somalia had led Britain and other European Union countries to consider the feasibility of air strikes against their logistical hubs and training camps.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron would not confirm the report, saying: “We have been very focused on pursuing a different strategy to a military strategy.”

Full coverage of the London Conference on Somalia

22 Feb – Source: Foreign Common Wealth Office – 44 words

Over 40 governments and multilateral organisations will come together with the aim of delivering a new international approach to Somalia. This is where you’ll be able to keep up to date with latest news from around the web on the London conference on Somalia….

Somalia conference seeks to galvanise peace push

22 Feb – Source: Reuters – 200 words

African, Arab and Western nations worried by Somalia’s turmoil meet on Thursday to coordinate efforts against militants and pirates seen as growing threats to global security and ramp up measures to end famine and clan violence.

Sceptics say the London conference of 40 countries including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon risks producing fine words but no action: They point to ineffective similar gatherings in the past 20 years involving a corrupt Somali elite skilled in extracting support from Western aid bureaucrats and foreign peacekeepers.

But the British organisers have sought to temper expectations, explaining that the aim of the event is to galvanise policymakers’ attention on Somalia to better coordinate a sometimes disjointed international response.

Kenyan teens groomed to fight for Somali terrorists

22 Feb – Source: CNN – 724 words

Asha Mohamed sits in her cramped room in Pumwani slum clutching a tiny photo of her son, Harun. He’s dressed in a blue-striped tie framed by a crisp white T-shirt — a typical 15-year-old Kenyan high school student.

But in September he vanished. “Harun woke up very early and asked his sister “what time is it?” says Asha. He kept on asking her again and again. Then, at four in the morning, he left the house.”

In her heart, Asha knew where he had gone, but the text messages later confirmed it. Harun left his school and home in Kenya to fight for al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab. “It started when he was 14. He came to me many times and said “mom, I am going to Somalia to fight Jihad.” I thought he was just playing.”

For years, Al Shabaab has targeted Somalis abroad to fight in their campaign to overthrown the weak transitional government. Now Kenyans, with no ethnic link to Somalia, are joining the Jihad.

Turkish aid to Somalia totals $365 million

23 Feb – Source: Trend – 208 words

Turkey has sent $365 million (TL 640 million) in cash and in-kind aid to Somalia over the past year, a statement by the Prime Ministry Public Diplomacy Coordinator’s Office said on Wednesday Today`s Zaman reported

The Public Diplomacy Coordinator’s Office released a statement on Turkish assistance to Somalia ahead of the International Conference on Somalia, which will be held in London on Thursday. Famine killed 29,000 children in Somalia last year, and Turkey has spearheaded efforts to send aid to the drought-stricken country and its similarly afflicted neighbors.Ä°stanbul hosted a conference on Somalia that was attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in May 2010.

With Turkey’s call, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) convened at an extraordinary session on Aug. 17, 2011, and $350 million in aid was collected for Somalia, the statement noted.A number of senior members of the Turkish state have visited Somalia, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who paid a visit to the Somali capital of Mogadishu last year.

US considering sanctions on Somalia ‘spoilers’

23 Feb – Source: AP – 503 words

The US is mulling the possibility of imposing sanctions on “spoilers” blocking political progress in Somalia, a US official said Wednesday on the eve of a London conference to address the country’s troubles. “We would contemplate imposing both travel restrictions and visa bans on individuals who serve as spoilers in the political process,” the senior US State Department official told reporters under the cover of anonymity. These sanctions could involve officials within the Somali transitional government (TFG), he added.

“We are saying very clearly that individuals who undermine political progress” towards the implementation of basic structures intended to replace the TFG by August “should be held accountable,” he stressed. “We have indicated (this) in various discussions with TFG officials and also with other Western partners,” he added.

Another US official said sanctions are likely to be discussed at the London conference, which kicks off on Thursday. The US official called the summit: “One of the largest and most important international conference held on Somalia in recent years.

Conference should focus on positives, argue Somali business leaders

Feb 23 – Source: The Independent – 710 words

The build up to the London conference on Somalia has focused on what doesn’t work in the Horn of Africa nation – the coastguard, the central government, the security services – but the answer to the country’s crisis lies in examining what does work, argue Somali business leaders.

Piracy, famine, kidnappings and a multi-sided battle against Islamic militants the Shabab dominate headlines in a country routinely referred to as the world’s most-failed state. But there are regions of Somalia that are enjoying comparative stability and strong economic growth, argues Abdirashid Duale, the CEO of the region’s leading money transfer company Dahabshil. Studying what’s working in the relatively peaceful regions of the country may hold the key to solving the crisis in the southern and central regions which have been worst hit by war and famine.

“Many outsiders are not seeing the full picture,” said Mr Duale. “It is true that politically, certain regions of Somalia have failed, but there are significant regions – particularly Somaliland, Puntland and Galmudug – that have benefited from diaspora investment and are relatively stable.” Much of the focus at the London talks will be international efforts to solve the Somali crisis but the biggest investor in the country – at $2bn annually — is the Somali diaspora itself, he points out. “The conference addresses issues that are highly political, but if the Somali region is to be rehabilitated, then its business community – domestic and international – must be central to any agreed plan,” said Mr Duale.

For two decades international engagement with Somalia has been dominated by the alternating approaches of military occupation or containment. Despite the disastrous effects of various military interventions, particularly the Ethiopian invasion in 2007, the first approach has remained popular with policy makers. While up until the Horn of Africa famine spurred a major international response the policy of containing Somalia’s problems within its borders was the preferred policy option in a region heavily impacted by the US war on terror.

There has been very little focus on taking what hasn’t failed in Somalia which typically revolves around the national obsession of trade, in sectors like livestock, and newer fields like telecoms and money transfer. When the success of Dahabshiil and other money transfer systems has been discussed it has often been talked about in terms of blocking alleged funding of extremist groups like Shabab with its self-avowed links to al Qa’eda. In December US banks in Minnesota, which is home to America’s largest Somali community shut down remittance services following the conviction of two ethnic Somali women for raising funds for the Shabaab.

“Blocking remittances to Somalia from the diaspora in the US is very damaging to those who depend on that source of income to survive,” said Duale. “Following the recent case in Minnesota, I would urge the international community not to follow suit.” He points out that annual remittances represent the largest capital inflow to the Somali region, “far greater than the funding it receives in international aid.”

There is widespread frustration in the Somali business community that the remittance system is being targeted while aid to Somalia’s dysfunctional central government is being increased despite its atrocious track record which includes embezzling funds meant to pay its soldiers who have then sold their weapons to the Shabaab.

The London gathering backed by the British foreign office is expected to strengthen support to Somalia’s transtional federal government (TFG) despite its history of squabbling and theft of foreign aid. There are calls for any new funding to focus on the education system and boosting economic efforts that could offer alternatives for young Somalis otherwise vulnerable for recruitment by radicals or pirates.

“Many of Somalia’s key business sectors are already thriving, while civil servants and government officials are often poorly paid and unaccountable, so the political process needs to catch up,” said the Dahabshiil boss. The strongest message from business and community leaders has been the need for a solution led by Somalis themselves to their country’s enduring crisis.

“While the support of the international community is crucial, solutions to Somalia’s problems must be Somali-led,” said Mr Duale. “The functioning administrations in certain regions show they are more than capable. The international community should recognise what Somalia has achieved and how it has achieved it.”

UK to double military aid for Somalia

Feb 23 – Source: The Independent – 172 words

British backing for African forces tackling Islamist insurgents will be doubled today as more than 50 countries head to London to discuss ways of stabilising the country. David Cameron will open the conference with a warning that the turbulence in the failed state threatens the security both of Africa and of Western nations.

The summit, which will be attended by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will aim to build on the tentative political progress in Somalia.

The UN has agreed a boost to numbers of African Union soldiers in the country and Mr Cameron will announce that funding for its military presence is to increase from £5m to £13m. The cash would be used for logistical support.

British sources confirmed Britain and other EU nations had examined the feasibility of air strikes against fighters from al-Shabaab, as well as the pirates operating off the coast. However, they played down the prospect of any imminent action, insisting they wanted AU forces to take the lead in any conflict.

We can’t ignore Somalia, warns David Cameron

Feb 23 – Source: The Independent – 289 words

The world will “pay a price” if it ignores the plight of Somalia, David Cameron said today. Opening an international conference in London on the crisis-stricken east African state, the Prime Minister said that it was in the interests of the international community to help restore stability after two decades of turmoil. “These problems in Somalia don’t just affect Somalia. They affect us all,” he said.

“In a country where there is no hope, chaos, violence and terrorism thrive. Pirates are disrupting vital trade routes and kidnapping tourists. “Young minds are being poisoned by radicalism, breeding terrorism that is threatening the security of the whole world. “If the rest of us just sit back and look on, we will pay a price for doing so.”

Representatives of more than 50 countries and international organisations are attending the high-level event at Lancaster House, including United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and the leaders of neighbouring African nations. Mr Cameron said he hoped the conference would mark a “turning point” for Somalia and put in place the “building blocks” of a more stable nation.

He welcomed the decision by the UN Security Council to increase the strength of the African Union force in the country (Amisom) – which succeeded last year in driving the extremist al Shabaab group from the capital Mogadishu – from 12,000 to 17,700 troops. He said Amisom needed to be able to put the al Qaida-linked al Shabaab “permanently into retreat”.

Mr Cameron also called for further action against the Somali pirates, calling for the creation of an international taskforce on ransoms. “Let’s set the ultimate ambition of stopping these payments because in the end they only ensure that crime pays,” he said.

Somalia to get millions in rebuilding aid

Feb 22 – Source: The Independent – 188 words

Millions of pounds of aid for Somalia is expected to be announced at a major conference in London tomorrow, as politicians seek to break the cycle of violence and start to rebuild the country. Somalia remains one of the poorest nations in the world. Wracked by civil war and without a central government for more than two decades, it has become a hotbed for terrorism and piracy.

Representatives of more than 50 governments and international organisations, including the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the UN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon, will arrive in London tomorrow for an international conference which hopes to prove a catalyst for rebuilding the failed state.

With piracy and terrorism now considered a global security threat, the international community is attempting to fight the root causes of poverty and conflict in the Horn of Africa nation. Britain is expected to announce a comprehensive package, including a £20m contribution to a new stability fund, which aims to draw areas away from armed violence by supporting the national reconciliation process, local peace deals and community-driven initiatives. The fund will mean a significant increase in support targeted at the most war-torn areas.

Why a London Somali chose to run the most volatile capital in Africa

Feb 23 – Source: London Evening Standard – 1600 words

Mohamed Nur was living with his wife and family in Camden when he was called to meet the man who wanted to appoint him to one of the world’s most dangerous jobs. The visitor to London was the President of Somalia; the job that of mayor of its war-torn capital Mogadishu.

“I said no,” recalls Nur, who was busy running an internet café after a career as a local council worker. “Why should I risk myself? Why should I risk my family? London had been my home for 17 years. But Mogadishu is the city where I was born and brought up. So now I am back here.” That decision made him responsible for the most violent city on the planet, with only basic infrastructure and a humanitarian crisis the United Nations describes as the worst in the world.

In 1993 dead American servicemen were dragged through Mogadishu’s streets after the failed operation dramatised in the film Black Hawk Down. For the past two years African Union troops have been fighting against the fiercely anti-Western Islamist al Shabaab militia, which this month allied with al Qaeda and is at war with the Somali government.

“In London there is the law, there are the police, there is a system that is functioning,” says Nur. “Here there is no law. When I leave my home in the morning to go to the office, I don’t know whether I will reach there safely. When I’m coming back, I don’t know if I will safely reach my home.

“Wherever I go, there are two trucks filled with bodyguards with heavy weapons. You cannot have a chat with your friends and cannot go out by yourself. Al Qaeda announced that Somalia will be the front line in East Africa. That means we are at war with al Qaeda. Always there are people after me.” See Johnnie Shand Kydd’s pictures from Somalia in our gallery.

Nur was chosen because in London he had been active as a community co-ordinator for the city’s 70,000-strong Somali community, a position that led to him catching President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed’s attention as he travelled to and from Mogadishu. When he started in the post last July, his wife Shamis, younger sons and grandchildren stayed in the UK. The reason: Somalia is simply too dangerous for him to want to risk their lives along with his own.

The scale of Mogadishu’s problems is clear from the moment you arrive at its airport. The wreck of a cargo plane, its engine blown off by a rocket-propelled grenade, lies on the runway and the only safe transport through its potholed streets is in a heavily-armoured military personnel carrier protected by edgy African Union soldiers manning Soviet-made 7.62 PKM machine guns.

Every building is pockmarked by bullet holes. Refugee camps filled with those who fled drought-hit regions of the country last summer cover areas of abandoned ground. The boom of tank fire in the city outskirts can be heard as troops wrestle for control of disputed areas.

“We cannot win this war by ourselves – Somalia needs support to get professional soldiers, coastguards and police,” Nur insists, before ticking off the most serious problems: pirate gangs who rule coastal villages; al Shabaab’s control of much of southern and central Somalia; the famine; the increasingly aggressive al Qaeda presence.

Piracy and terrorism, he says, make Somalia not just a national problem but “a regional problem, an international problem”. Piracy originally began as a reaction to illegal fishing by foreign trawlers -which left local fishermen destitute – and the dumping of toxic waste in Somali waters, resulting in local people taking the law into their own hands.

Last year, however, Somali pirates attacked 439 vessels, hijacking 45 and taking 802 hostages. The captured ships are ransomed for an average of £2.5 million dollars, making piracy the country’s most profitable businesses. It can also be one of the more dangerous. When pirates hijacked a Russian container ship carrying crude oil, Russian marines immediately stormed it and placed all the captured Somali pirates on an inflatable with no food or navigation equipment. None survived.

“These boys risking their lives as pirates are desperate,” says Nur. “They have two choices: either to take a chance and get money or die. When you talk to them, they say: ‘I’m going to die of hunger anyway’. So instead of dying of hunger they think it’s better to risk dying at sea. The international community needs to get us out of this mess.”

World leaders are meeting in London tomorrow to try to do just that. The London Somalia Conference, called by David Cameron and hosted by the British Government, will be attended by statesmen including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. They are hoping to agree a plan to address Somalia’s problems and challenges.

William Hague this week called it a “moment of opportunity” for the “world’s most failed state for the past 20 years”, saying “Britain is in a position to bring the world together, to do the right things to get the right political process.” Somalia’s Prime Minister, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, agrees that the conference offers the best chance for a generation to break the impasse that has seen his country fail to have a nationwide government since President Mohamed Siad Barre’s ousting in 1991. That coup unleashed bloody conflicts between ruthless warlords and militia groups that have defied all previous peace initiatives.

“Somalis are sick and tired of being sick and tired,” he told me. “Imagine the child who was five in 1991 when the government collapsed. Today he is 25 and he has not seen any institutions functioning: schools, hospitals, police force, law and order. We have to move on and this is the chance to do so.”

Despite Somalia’s dangers and daily violence, progress is being made. When African troops first landed in the city two years ago they came under mortar fire as they advanced up the beach to establish a foothold around the airport. Since then, the 9,700-strong force from Burundi, Djibouti and Uganda has been fighting building-by-building to reclaim control of the city from al Shabaab.

Now the front line runs through bushland to the capital’s west. Neither side has air support so the scene is one of almost First World War simplicity, with African Union troops manning trenches protected by sandbags and barbed wire as they scan the ground in front for potential attackers. The only heavy weaponry is an ageing T55 tank, a Soviet Union relic long obsolete in most of the rest of the world.

In the city behind, however, a semblance of normality is returning. The roads may remain covered in rubbish, and many buildings have been reduced to little more than rubble, but along the busiest thoroughfares shopfronts are being freshly painted and new street lights flicker at night.

“When I started in July the administration was bankrupt,” says Nur. “There were no tools, not even a broom. Mogadishu consists of 16 districts but the government was only controlling six of them. The markets used to close at 4pm. Forget about walking or driving at night. “Now we are in control of all the districts. You see people moving around, shops are open until 11pm. People are repairing their own houses. People are opening new businesses. Confidence is coming back.”

But despite the positives, major problems remain. Last year’s famine continues to decimate the lives of those in the 138 aid camps in Mogadishu alone. Whole families are housed in makeshift structures built from cast-off plastic sheeting and cardboard. Across the country some 2.3 million are on food aid. More than 325,000 children remain acutely malnourished.

The international community is so concerned about corruption that it prefers to channel funds through international NGOs rather than the country’s government. For the same reason, the government is not allowed to buy weapons or ammunition without first securing United Nations’ approval and oversight.

At the same time, al Shabaab and its al Qaeda allies are increasingly resorting to the insurgent tactics familiar from Baghdad and Kabul. The day after I left Mogadishu a car bomb exploded outside the police headquarters and two more were planted at checkpoints as militiamen sought to enter the city.

A Western official in Mogadishu confides that even if tomorrow’s conference achieves the extra African Union troop numbers and multi-million pound investment that Somalia needs, it would still take 20 years at best for the country to fully get back on its feet. “It takes as long to get out of a situation like this as it does to get into it,” he says. “But at present the amount spent by the international community combating al Qaeda in Somalia each year is the same as is spent combating it in Afghanistan each day. Clearly there has to be a redirection of resources into this country if the problem is not to worsen.”

Whatever is decided, Mogadishu’s mayor insists he will be staying. “When I was growing up Mogadishu was one of the most beautiful cities and I feel sad when I see the state of the people now,” he says. “I want to show them there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“Maybe one day I may get up and realise I have had enough because this job is extremely challenging, but for now I still have the strength to go on. Or maybe it will not be my choice. Maybe you will turn on the radio tomorrow and hear there has been a car explosion and the mayor of Mogadishu is dead. That is the reality of life here.”

PM to appeal for Somalia support

Feb 23 – Source: London Evening Standard – 330 words

David Cameron is to appeal to international leaders to step up support for Somalia in an effort to stabilise the country described as “the world’s most failed state”. Representatives of more than 50 countries are gathering in London for a high level international conference amid fears the east African nation is becoming the new breeding ground for international terrorism.

Mr Cameron said he wanted to “forge a new momentum” and put in place the “building blocks” to create a stronger and safer Somalia after two decades blighted by war, piracy, terrorism and famine. Among the senior figures attending will be United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as well as the leaders of neighbouring African states.

Hopes for progress have risen in recent months after troops from the African Union force in the country (Amisom) succeeded in driving the Islamist al Shabaab group from the capital Mogadishu. They were further bolstered by reports that the al Shabaab stronghold of Baidoa in the south west of the country has fallen to troops from neighbouring Ethiopia and Somali government forces.

The UN Security Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to increase the Amisom presence from 12,000 troops to 17,700 while increasing funding and expanding its area of operations. Nevertheless al Shabaab remains in control of much of the country and earlier this month it underscored its commitment to violent extremism by publicly declaring its affiliation to al Qaeda.

A recent report by the Royal United Services Institute thinktank estimated that there were currently around 200 foreign fighters in training camps in the country – with around a quarter of them coming from Britain. The report echoed a warning made by MI5 director general Jonathan Evans in 2010 that it was “only a matter of time” before there were terrorist attacks on the streets of Britain inspired by those fighting in Somalia. With the London Olympics later this year, Mr Cameron has acknowledged that the security threat from al Shabaab was “real” and “substantial”.

World seeks ‘second chance’ for Somalia

Feb 23 – Source: The Telegraph – 815 words

About 50 nations and international organisations will attend the one-day summit on Thursday, including Somalia’s Western-backed transitional government, officials from the northern breakaway republic of Somaliland, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. However many are sceptical the talks can agree on concrete steps to address Somalia’s complex problems – pirates who target international shipping, the al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab which holds territory in the country’s centre and south and the effects of a lengthy famine which Britain’s government estimates have killed between 50,000 and 100,000 people.

Others suspect the attention of Clinton and world leaders is currently focused on more urgent troubles, including the crisis in Syria – which will be discussed in meetings on the sidelines of the conference. Somalia has had transitional administrations for the past seven years, but not had a functioning central government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a longtime dictator and turned on each other, plunging the nation into two decades of chaos. The weak UN-backed administration – which holds the capital, Mogadishu, with the support of about 12,000 African Union soldiers – has been boosted by recent offensives against al-Shabab and UN approval Wednesday for an increase in the size of the peacekeeping mission.

“We are moving from an era of warlordism, terrorism, extremism and piracy and we are moving into an era of peace, stability and normalcy,” Somali prime minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told BBC radio. “Twenty years of lawlessness, violence and chaos is enough. Somalis are ready to move on.”British Prime Minister David Cameron said the London conference would try to bolster tentative signs of progress, including a recent fall in the number of pirate attacks off Somalia’s coast.

The European Union’s naval antipiracy patrol said pirates hijacked six vessels between May and December 2011, compared to 19 between January and April. Ransoms last year cost the shipping industry about $135 million.

“It means working with all the parts of Somalia – which has been more blighted by famine, by disease, by violence, by terrorism than almost any other in the world – to give that country a second chance,” Cameron told lawmakers on Wednesday. In New York, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to authorise an increase in the African Union peacekeeping force – known as AMISOM – from 12,000 to about 17,700 and expand its areas of operation in an effort to intensify pressure on militants.

Al-Shabab – which earlier this month formalised its relationship with al-Qaida – is currently being hit from three sides in Somalia, pressed out of Mogadishu by AMISOM soldiers, while Kenyan forces who moved into Somalia in October pressure the militants from the south and Ethiopian forces sweep in from the west. The leaders of Kenya and Ethiopia, who sent in troops amid concerns that Somalia’s instability would spread over their borders, are attending the London talks.

Western intelligence agencies worry that al-Shabab militants, including foreign fighters trained in Somali camps, could attempt to mount attacks in Europe and the U.S. In Britain, which hosts the 2012 Olympics in July, spy agencies are recruiting Somali language specialists.

“The security threat is real, it is substantial. It is based on the fact that al-Shabab is an organisation that has now explicitly linked itself to al-Qaida, and it encourages violent jihad not just in Somalia but also outside Somalia,” Cameron told the BBC Somali service television.

Officials estimate about 40 people have travelled from the U.S. to Somalia to join al-Shabab since 2007, and that around 50 Britons are currently fighting there. Security officials believe Somali training camps are now being used by foreign extremists with no ties to the country, many of whom have been squeezed out of Pakistan’s borderlands.

In a message posted to a recognised Twitter feed, Al-Shabab accused Cameron of “meddling in Islam affairs in the hope of reviving a hopeless dream of a British Empire” by holding the talks. Eritrea, which is accused by Somalia and the U.N. of providing support to al-Shabab, has been refused an invitation.

UN votes to increase Somalia peacekeeping force

Feb 23 – Source: The Guardian – 813 words

Amisom, which has been in the country since 2007, has scored a string of victories, taking Mogadishu last August and driving al-Shabaab fighters out of the centre and south of the country. Reports from Baidoa on Wednesday said that Ethiopian and Somali government tanks and troops had swept into the town, while the insurgents had melted into the surrounding forest.

“We must be ready to welcome and assist large numbers of defectors from the extremist ranks, and give them ways of making an honest living,” Ali said. “The long-term answer to piracy lies inland. Its root causes are lawlessness and poverty. The opportunity cost for young Somalis to take to the seas is zero. Lots of lives have been lost and lots are in prison. We have to offer alternative livelihoods.”

The Somali prime minister said he hoped the London conference, which will bring together about 50 governments and international organisations, would mark a tipping point in Somalia’s fortunes. “We expect this to be a game-changer for Somalia. These are the expectations of the Somali people. We think it will succeed,” he said at a meeting of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.David Cameron told parliament that the conference would seek to galvanise an international effort to transform Somalia.

There is no one better placed to help Somalia than the Somalis themselves

Feb 23 – Source: The Guardian, by Mary Harper – 910 words

Somalia has been without effective central authority for more than 20 years. Often seen simply as a home to pirates, starving people and insurgents linked to al-Qaida, the country does not hold a lot of world records. According to reputable commentators and institutions, Somalia has the world’s “dodgiest passports”, “worst humanitarian crisis”, “most corrupt government” and “most dangerous capital city”. It has come top of theFailed States Index for the past four years.

So why should four and a half hours of talks at Lancaster House on Thursday make a difference? Is it not just an expensive waste of time – especially when all previous efforts have failed, including nearly 20 international conferences and half a dozen military interventions – to bring together nearly 60 world leaders and just eight Somalis? There is, understandably, a lot of scepticism about the meeting. There is even hostility from some Somalis, who see it either as a neo-colonial enterprise or an irrelevant talking shop. But there are also reasons for hope.

Having been to several pre-conference gatherings and spoken to senior British officials, I’ve been struck by their lack of arrogance. There seems to be a genuine interest in listening to, and learning from, a wide group of Somalis, and a willingness to admit the blunders of the past. Another reason for optimism is that, unlike previous efforts, the London meeting is not a peace conference. It is not about micro-managing Somalia’s internal political problems. That task – as British foreign secretary William Hague made clear when he said: “We can help get Somalia on its feet, we cannot do the running for it” – is the responsibility of the Somalis.

It would be a real achievement if this conference resulted in Somalia’s problems being handed back to the Somalis themselves, because they have proved they do things best when they are left alone. They did it in the self-declared republic of Somaliland, which – since breaking away from the rest of Somalia in 1991 – has built itself up from the rubble of war into the most democratic place in the Horn of Africa, developing a unique political system that combines modern democracy with traditional respect for elders.

In 2006, even battle-scarred Mogadishu briefly achieved a degree of stability. For six months, before they were driven out by a US-backed Ethiopian invasion that was accused of having links to al-Qaida, a coalition of sharia courts controlled the city and other parts of southern and central Somalia.
Like Somaliland, the courts were successful in restoring order because they evolved from the bottom up. They gained support because – as with Hamas in the Palestinian territories and, to a lesser extent, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt – they provided essential services to a neglected population. As one woman in Mogadishu said: “They made safety and peace for the citizens a priority. They made sure every robber gave up his gun. Everything was calm and quiet. It was like Allah answered all our prayers.”

Perhaps the most striking sign of hope in Somalia is the economy. Certain sectors are booming, not least livestock, money transfer and telecommunications. Somalia may be the world’s number one “failed state”, but it also exports more live animals than any other country on Earth, trade that is worth billions of dollars a year. Somalia is not blessed with abundant natural resources, although there is talk of oil and natural gas. But what it lacks in natural gifts, it more than makes up for in human resources.

Moreover, there is a deep aptitude for business. This is partly due to the centuries-old clan networks that enable Somalis to raise money rapidly and move it around, relying purely on trust. But it is also because there is a widespread can-do attitude. Perhaps because they have had to live on the edge for so long, Somalis tend to seize the moment, and are not afraid to take risks.

Somalia can be reborn as a country of progress and prosperity

Feb 23 – Source: The Guardian, by Mohamed Sharif Mohamud – 831 words

The term “failed state” was coined by President George W Bush to be the byword of US policy in Somalia. The country was put on the list of those associated with terrorism and, thereafter, any country that risked relations with Somalia was subject to American sanctions.

As a result, the international community was dissuaded from having dealings with Somalia, and it became isolated. America’s attitude encouraged north-east African powers to perpetuate their strategy of destabilisation, giving them licence to settle accounts with Somalia under the pretext of combating terrorism. They hoped to demoralise the Somalis, to plunge them into a state of despair from which they would never again try to rise.

Yet Somalia is not a failed state. It was defeated by the weight of the resources at its adversaries’ disposal, but never succumbed. And it is still fighting for emancipation and self-determination. Yes, there is warlordism, terrorism, piracy, and a history of natural disaster. Yes, displacement, refugees and a lack of state authority are problematic. But these issues result directly from sustained foreign intervention and the deliberate fragmentation of the country into fiefdoms, enclaves and tribal territories.

That the conflict in Somalia has a local dimension – rooted in oppression, nepotism, exclusion, injustice, lack of economic opportunity and civil disobedience – is impossible to ignore. But without foreign interference, local issues would be less critical; they could be managed and controlled. The reality is that the big powers have relied on Ethiopia, their major ally in Africa, to decide their strategies in the Horn of Africa.

William Hague, the UK foreign secretary, implicitly conceded as much in a speech before the Somali community at Chatham House earlier this month. He said: “We know the international community has not always got it right in the past and that we can easily make mistakes, even when our intentions are good.” Irrespective of the lack of government regulation and protection, Somalis have formed networks – both within the country and across borders and continents – that are bound together by ties of family and trust.

Two major financial institutions that emerged out of the ashes of the destruction are Dahabshiil international bank and Salama bank. Both have their head offices in Djibouti for legal and security reasons. Their services cover all Somalis and all regions to the tiniest village, a feat that would have been impossible under the old government.

With the help of such initiatives, Somali capital has migrated to Kenya and Dubai, where Somalis excel in every field. In Dubai, they are the biggest re-exporter after the Iranians. In Kenya, they have competed successfully with the Asian business community and achieved significant results in telecommunications, money transfers, transport and real estate. Their business networks extend to the Middle East, South Africa, Tanzania, South Sudan, Congo and Central Africa. The private sector and non-governmental organisations have supplanted the administration in offering services such as education, health and manufacturing.

“Somalis worldwide provide more than $1bn in remittances back to Somalia each year – more than the international community provides in aid,” Hague pointed out in his Chatham House speech. What’s more, Somalis inject $1bn annually into the economy of Kenya. This is variously due to the high returns offered by Kenya’s economy, partnerships with Kenyan Somalis, the sharing of 800km of common border, and Kenya’s role as an outlet for Somalia’s informal economy.

Somalia looks to future at London conference

Feb 23 – Source: AP – 656 words

World powers meet with Somalia’s fragile government in London on Thursday to build on progress in the struggle against Islamist militants, pirates and poverty after two decades of unrest. The meeting of some 50 nations and organisations, including US Secretary of StateHillary Clinton and UN chief Ban Ki-moon, comes a day after Somalia announced a major victory over the Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab rebels.

But the world will be under pressure to come up with concrete steps for the Horn of Africa nation when the focus is on other troubles, with Syriaset to be discussed at meetings on the sidelines of Thursday’s conference. The US is considering a push for sanctions on “spoilers” blocking political progress in Somalia, which could involve officials within the country’s transitional government (TFG), a senior State Department official revealed on Wednesday.

“We would contemplate imposing both travel restrictions and visa bans on individuals who serve as spoilers in the political process,” the US official told reporters under the condition of anonymity. Britain said its “primary objective in Somalia is to seek a lasting political solution that will bring peace and security to the country, and reduce threats to the UK”.

“With engagement from attendees at the highest level, the conference will agree a series of practical measures to support Somalia,” the Foreign Office said in a statement. Opening statements by British Prime Minister David Cameron are due to start around 1000 GMT and there will be a press conference by the key players around 1600 GMT.

Other participants at the conference include the European Union, the African Union and theArab League, as well as the head of the breakaway Somaliland region. The head of Somalia’s weak western-backed government, Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, insisted on the eve of of the conference that his country was “moving into an era of peace, stability and normalcy.”

He admitted however that his hopes for a “huge Marshall Plan for Somalia” — echoing the US aid scheme to rebuild post-war Europe — were dim, saying: “I really have no clue of what they will say tomorrow.” Somalia has had no effective government since 1991 and in recent years the Shebab rebels and other militant groups have taken an increasing hold on large parts of the country.

But in recent days Somalia has recorded a series of gains. The Somali premier said on Wednesday that Somali and Ethiopian troops seized back the southwestern city of Baidoa, which had been one of the Shebab’s main bases, leaving the group’s fighters in central Somalia increasingly isolated.

Britain in particular has warned of the danger posed by the Shebab, with Cameron saying Wednesday that the group “encourages violent jihad not just in Somalia but also outside Somalia”. Osama bin Laden’s successor Ayman al-Zawahiri announced last week that Shebab fighters had officially joined ranks with the al-Qaida network.

Somali militia reels after offensive

Feb 23 – Source: Wall Street Journal – 500 words

Ethiopian and Somali troops captured one of the last strongholds of al-Shabaab, the militant Islamist group that has held much of Somalia in its violent grip for six years—the latest advance in a pan-African campaign that has left the group facing defeat.Al-Shabaab fighters withdrew Wednesday from Baidoa, a town about 160 miles northwest of the capital in the country’s Bay region, after their positions were overrun by Ethiopian troops and militiamen allied with Somalia’s provisional government.

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“Clearly, despite the challenges encountered by Somalia over the past 20 years, the country has a lot to offer. It is capable of a rebirth and will one day stand on its feet again to pursue the march of progress, restoring its dignity and assuming equal status with other members of the international community”

Somalia can be reborn as a country of progress and prosperity

22 Feb – Source: The Guardian – 832 Words

The term “failed state” was coined by President George W. Bush to be the byword of US policy in Somalia. The country was put on the list of those associated with terrorism and, thereafter, any country that risked relations with Somalia was subject to American sanctions.

As a result, the internationalcommunity was dissuaded from having dealings with Somalia, and it became isolated. America’s attitude encouraged north-east African powers to perpetuate their strategy of destabilisation, giving them licence to settle accounts with Somalia under the pretext of combating terrorism. They hoped to demoralise the Somalis, to plunge them into a state of despair from which they would never again try to rise.

“Somalia aid groups and experts welcome renewed international attention, but warn that a focus on either state-building or military action alone could make things worse rather than better.”

Will a London conference help set Somalia on path to peace?

22 Feb – Source: CS Monitor – 1009 Words

After two decades of despair, there are tangible signs of progress in Somalia. African Union forces, together with the armies of Kenya and Ethiopia have managed to push back an Al-Qaeda-allied militia force and create the kind of breathing space that the Somali government needs to start functioning. Food aid donations and successful crops have helped end Somalia’s worst famine in more than 20 years.

Now, donor nations and regional partners are gathering in London for a British-sponsored conference starting tomorrow to help figure out a way forward that could lead to sustainable peace in Somalia. Donor groups, Somali politicians and activists, and neighboring allies such as Ethiopia and Kenya will be gathering to discuss security, humanitarian efforts, internal politics, and the perennial question of how to break the cycle of violence within Somalia.

“Dahabshiil is an example of how the entrepreneurial strata in Somali society has survived the country’s long-running upheaval. It combines diaspora expertise and money with a particularly strong desire to support communities back home, and in doing so to make a healthy profit in an underdeveloped business environment.”

Making Money In Somaliland: Meeting Abdirashid Duale, CEO, Dahabshiil

22 Feb – SomalilandPress/African Arguments – 781 Words

Abdirashid Duale is CEO of Dahabshiiland a proud Somalilander. Dahabshiil is one of the biggest international money transfer companies in the Horn of Africa and I caught up with him between trips (his, not mine) between London, Hargeisa (the capital of Somaliland) and Dubai – where Dahabshiil has its second main office.

Duale himself is a representative of Somalia’s most successful export – its energetic business community; running offices from multiple international locations, and making money in what are pretty difficult circumstances. Positioned in the Northern part of the Somali region, knowing how to refer to Somaliland can difficult – it claimed independence in the early 1990s and has run its own affairs (quite successfully) since, despite receiving no official recognition from international bodies such as the UN. This is a major sore point for the Somaliland population, and could prove a bigger challenge at the upcoming ‘London Conference’ on Somalia’s future than its convenors perhaps realise.

“While most foreign organisations remain cooped up at the heavily guarded Amisom base by the airport, some 200 Turkish nationals are now living and working in the city on a variety of projects, ranging from construction to logistics and aid.”

Turkey – Somalia aid pioneers?

22 Feb – Source: BBC – 487 Words

But on a windswept hilltop along the coast a few miles south of the capital, Mogadishu, a giant, almost ludicrously neat, brand new tented camp for displaced families stands as a monument to what foreigners can achieve here with the right approach.

“We’ve had no security problems yet,” said Alper Kucuk, deputy head of the Turkish Red Crescent delegation to Somalia, as we toured the camp surrounded by our own guards and a contingent of soldiers provided by the local administration.

“We have 2,100 tents for 12,000 people. Somalis treat us like their family and we are sure that anyone who has the willingness to do something for them will be very welcome,” said Mr Kucuk.

Top tweets

@SomaliThinker Why is the ‘world’ so obsessed in sending foreign troops to #Somalia? There’s enough trained Somali military-pay them regularly #SomaliaSpeaks

@faithcnn: International conference on #Somalia includes about 40 countries, but are the voices on the ground represented? #ldnsomalia

@mrevgenylebedev A hugely important conference on #Somalia is held in London today. Last week I was in Mogadishu, talking to key players: independent.co.uk/news/world/afr…

@OxfamEAfrica Conflicting policies on #Somalia must end bit.ly/xqRqdC by @RosebellK on @ch16org #LdnSomalia

@JuliaBlocher Great slideshow: surviving #Somalia. Amid strife, Faduma sells samosas to raise her children & orphans of her relatives bbc.co.uk/news/world-afr…

@TBIJ Revealed: how the US has been bombing #Somalia since 2007, with up to 162 people killed thebureauinvestigates.com/2012/02/22/mil…

@wangadoodski If there was no interference by whites, the civil war in #Somalia would have lasted 2 weeks or today it would be fought with sticks n stones

@1PreciousSophie If you want peace, if you want to your country to re-live then first step is to Educate yourselves ! The go back and work there !! #somalia

@JohnnySober Somalis take note: the outcomes of the London Conference on #Somalia were leaked even before the conference started. A foregone conclusion?

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Image of the day

Image of the day A major conference on Somalia starts in London on Thursday to discuss stability in the war-ravaged Horn of African nation.