March 12, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somali embassy in Belgium reopened

12 Mar – Source: Radio Mogadishu, SONNA – 132 words

Somali Embassy in Brussels, the capital of Belgium has officially been reopened and started holding services for Somali people in Europe countries, official said. Somali ambassador to the European Union, Noor Hassan Hussein ‘Nor Adde’ confirmed to the National T.V the reopening of the Somali Embassy in Belgium. saying that it started its diplomatic services.

“The reopening of the embassy came after we did a lot of efforts as it was very necessary for Somali communities in European and they are the beneficiaries,” Noor Adde, the ambassador said.

Mr. Noor Adde indicated that there were some matters to be handled quickly in order for needs of Somali communities in European countries to be met . Noor Hassan Hussein was appointed as the ambassador of Italy and representative of European Union for Somali Transitional Federal government in 2009.

Key Headlines

AMISOM Hospital Treats Injured al Shabaab Fighter (AMISOM Force HQ)
Mogadishu mayor accuses aid agencies (Radio Mogadishu Risaala Kulmiye)
African Union strongly condemns terrorist attacks in Nairobi (AU)
Somali embassy in Belgium reopened (Radio Mogadishu SONNA)
Kenyan Somali armies clash with al Shabaab in Lower Jubba (Shabelle)
Somali PM: We will form administrations for liberated regions (Somali National TV Radio Mogadishu SONNA)
Al Shabaab vows “massive” war against TFG Ethiopia troops ( Shabelle)
Man on terror list 3 teens arrested after blasts (Capital News)
Central Somalia state orders major aid groups to cease operations (Africa Review)
Kenyan leaders condemn grenade attacks (China Daily Xinhua)
Ugandan police on alert after Nairobi bus attacks (Daily Monitor)

PRESS RELEASE

AMISOM Hospital Treats Injured al Shabaab Fighter

12 Mar – Source: AMISOM Force HQ – 285 words

An injured al Shabaab fighter who surrendered to AMISOM forces two days ago is currently receiving treatment at the AMISOM’s Level Two Hospital at Halane base. The fighter surrendered to the Ugandan contingent on Saturday afternoon following a failed attack on AMISOM positions at Ex-Control Bal’ad.

“The militant was injured in the leg,” said Lt Col Peter Omola, the Second in Command of Uganda’s Battle Group Nine. “He hid till the afternoon when he came out seeking for help,” he added. The fighter was then rushed to the hospital at the AMISOM base. The AMISOM Force Commander, Maj Gen Fred Mugisha, appealed to the al Shabaab to lay down their arms and join the peace process.

“The people of Somalia have recently made substantial progress in reconciling communities and beginning to rebuild the institutions of their shattered state,” he said, warning that those who continued to kill innocent women and children would be held to account for their crimes.

In August last year, AMISOM forces forced the al Shabaab to withdraw from Mogadishu and the mission is now expanding to areas outside of the city. Somali leaders have taken advantage of the improved security in the capital to reach an agreement on the peace process and the reconstitution of the Somali state.

In September 2011 they adopted a Roadmap to ending the transition. Two sessions of the National Consultative Constitutional Conference held in the Puntland capital, Garowe, have since established a framework for the adoption of a provisional constitution as well as for the creation of federal units in liberated areas. Last month, the UN Security Council passed a resolution raising the AMISOM troop ceiling to 17,731 and allowing for the integration of Kenyan forces.

African Union strongly condemns terrorist attacks in Nairobi

11 Mar – Source: AU – 118 words

The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Jean Ping, condemns the terrorist grenade attacks that took place yesterday in Nairobi.The Chairperson of the Commission expresses AU’s most sincere condolences to the Kenyan Government and to the bereaved families of the victims, and wishes those wounded strength and a speedy recovery. The Chairperson of the Commission reaffirms the AU’s continued support to the efforts of the Kenyan Government in combating terrorism.

The Chairperson of the Commission reiterates AU’s appreciation to Kenya for its significant contribution to the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and to the efforts being made to defeat the al Shabaab terrorist group and bring about lasting peace and stability in Somalia.

SOMALI MEDIA

Mogadishu mayor accuses aid agencies

12 Mar – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Risaala, Kulmiye – 179 words

Mogadishu mayor Mohamud Ahmed Nor ‘Tarsan’ has accused aid agencies of mismanaging the resettlement of internally displaced people. The mayor who held press conference in the Somali capital yesterday blamed aid agencies for sending displaced people to where they were from without proper plan and policy in the latest months.

“If you give $150 to somebody and make him return to a city and he/ she comes back the city with $5 dollar, what have the aid agencies done?” asked Tarsan. He told reporters that aid agencies are required to set a resettlement plan for the internally displaced people. “Some of aid agencies are on trade because they undertake projects which don’t reflect to the needs of the people,” the mayor added.

Somali embassy in Belgium reopened

12 Mar – Source: Radio Mogadishu, SONNA – 132 words

“The reopening of the embassy came after we did a lot of efforts as it was very necessary for Somali communities in European and they are the beneficiaries,” Noor Adde, the ambassador said.

Kenyan, Somali armies clash with al Shabaab in Lower Jubba

12 Mar – Source: Shabelle – 141 words

Deadly clashes between Somali government soldiers supported by Kenyan army and al Shabaab fighters were reported on Monday in parts of Lower Jubba region, south of the country, witnesses say. TFG military officials said the battle that lasted for an hour broke out after the militants of al Shabaab ambushed a military convoy belonging to Somali and Kenya troops at undisclosed village between Tabta and Qoqani towns in south-western Somalia.

News reports from the battlefields in Lower Jubba region of Somalia say that an unconfirmed number of Kenyan soldiers have been killed during their clashes with al Qaeda-linked Somali rebels. No independent reports were immediately available from the fighting other than the claim of Somalia government military officials, but the situation in the area is reported to be calm at the moment.

Somali PM: We will form administrations for liberated regions

11 Mar – Source: Somali National TV, Radio Mogadishu, SONNA – 108 words

Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has on Sunday announced that the government would form administrations for the regions which were liberated from al Qaeda linked group, al Shabaab .

Speaking to the national T.V, Somali premier called on local elders and people in those regions to cooperate with Somali national army in ensuring the security. Prime minister stated that his government is committed to finalize the transitional period in August, adding that they would complete the constitution before that time.

Al Shabaab vows “massive” war against TFG, Ethiopia troops

12 Mar – Source: Shabelle – 157 words

The al Qaeda- associated al Shabaab fighters have on Monday promised massive war and car bombs against Somali and Ethiopian troops in the country, two days after an offensive by the militants killed at least hundred of soldiers. The spokesman of al Shabaab fighters Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rageh also known as Ali Dhere told pro-militant radio station that the group is planning deadly attacks against the Ethiopian troops in Bay region of southern Somalia.

The spokesman also asked local residents in Bay region to help fighters in defeating the Ethiopian troops, whom he says want to massacre the people of Somalia and take over the country’s coast line. “The fighters will never stop their ‘holy war’ against the allied forces in the country until we liberate all Somalia regions and towns, including Baidoa city which has been for several years one of the main rebel-stronghold,” said Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rageh.

Suspected al Shabaab militants arrested in Yemen

12 Mar – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 156 words

Yemeni police have arrested four Somali nationals suspected of being al Shabaab fighters in Lahaj and Ebyan provinces, reports say. Security officials said there are substantial grounds to believe that the four were members of the outlawed al Shabaab militant group from Somalia. They said police arrested the suspects at an area frequented by al Qaeda militants.

Yemeni Interior ministry officials say the Somalia-based al Shabaab has in the last few months sent over 300 fighters to Yemen to fight alongside with al Qaeda. Reports say two of the suspects were arrested in Lahaj province while the other two were arrested in the neighbouring Ebyan province where the Al-Kharaz refugee camp is located.

Al-Kharaz refugee camp is home to over 16,000 Somali refugees who fled their country due to two decade-old conflict and famine related crisis. The suspects who have reportedly arrived in Yemen 10 days ago are undergoing intensive interrogation to determine their motive in Yemen and who they were.

Gunmen Seize WFP aid truck in central Somalia

11 Mar – Source: Mareeg Online – 132 words

Unidentified Somalia gunmen have on Saturday seized a WFP aid Truck with humanitarian assistance at the town of Galinsor in Galgudud region of central Somalia, reports say. Residents in the town says that heavily armed men confiscated early hours in the morning a Trucks with Food & Medical Aid from UN’s world Food Program that Intended Drought-Affected IDPs in central region of Somalia.

The hijacked truck with two men has been travelling from Galka’yo town to central Somalia to deliver aid to hundreds of people at makeshift camps in Galgudud region, a witness in Galinsor town, asking for anonymity. It was not immediately clear the motive behind the Seizure of Aid truck run by WFP in fragile Galgudud region of central war-torn Somalia, where is under the control of Galmudug state of Somalia.

Puntland Leader: Somalia can’t hold talks with Somaliland without consultation

12 Mar – Source: Hadhwanaag Times, Radio Kulmiye, Shabelle – 64 words

The leader of Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland Abdurrahman Sheikh Mohamed Farole set a condition for talks between Somalia government and Somaliland. Mr. Farole noted that the Puntland administration should be included in the consultations about the talks with Somaliland.
He said Puntland has many things that have to do with Somaliland, including fighting in Kalshale, Buhodle and what is going on in Las Anod.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Man on terror list, 3 teens arrested after blasts

12 Mar – Source: Capital News – 531 words

A man whose photograph police circulated last December on suspicion of having terrorism links is among four suspects who are being held over Saturday night’s grenade attacks at the Machakos Bus Station.

Sylvester Opiyo was arrested on Sunday alongside three other young men aged between 13 and 16 years who were found assisting Opiyo’s sister to move into a house in Nairobi’s Umoja estate, according to police and his lawyer.

“It is the same Sylvester Opiyo who was arrested on Christmas Day after the police alluded that he was dangerous and he (at the time) presented himself to the police and he was later released,” his lawyer Chacha Mwita said. “He has a case in Kibera on al Shabaab claims.”

Central Somalia state orders major aid groups to cease operations

12 Mar – Source: Africa Review – 155 words

Four key aid agencies have been stopped from operating in the semi-autonomous central Somalia state of Galmudug. Those barred included the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the deputy health minister of the authority, Mr Abdullahi Mohamed Hassan, said.

The other organisations were named as Relief International and Sopfa, according to reports from Galkayo, the state’s capital located some 750 km north of Mogadishu. Mr Hassan said the groups had failed to register with the Ministry of Interior Affairs, whose minister Abshir Dini Awale accused them of contributing to insecurity in the region.

“Without registration, we could not trace their performances,” said Mr Hassan. Both ministers made simultaneous announcements ordering the aid agencies to immediately cease operations. Galmudug officials have lately been calling for the agencies operating in the authority to register.

Kenya says troops to continue with pacification in Somalia

11 Mar – Source: Coast Week, Xinhua – 912 words

Kenyan troops battling Somali militants have vowed to continue with pacification of liberated areas in southern Somalia as they await deployment in various parts of the Horn of Africa nation next week.

Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) Director of Operations Information Colonel Cyrus Oguna told journalists in Nairobi on Saturday the soldiers will continue with pacification efforts even in areas where the al Shabaab has lost control as there are still remnants who are out to disrupt peace and cause disharmony between KDF and the local community.

“Pockets of al Shabaab managed to carry out attacks about 15 km from the common border of Kenya and Somalia even as the troops have advanced close to 100 km inside Somalia,” he told journalists.

Ugandan police on alert after Nairobi bus attacks

12 Mar – Source: Daily Monitor – 157 words

Uganda security agencies have passed out 180 crime preventers to beef up security in all city taxi parks and bus terminals in the wake of the Saturday night terror attack at a bus station in Nairobi, Kenya, that left at least six people dead. Suspected al Shabaab terrorists are said to have hurled an explosive at Machakos bus station that also injured at least 60 people.

Kampala Metropolitan Police Director Andrew Felix Kaweesi said the police had come up with new measures to beef up security at bus terminals following the unfortunate incident in Nairobi.

“Our focus is now on parks and bus terminals. We have communicated to the managers of bus parks to be very cautious, especially on checking luggage before is loaded onto the passenger vehicles. We have also approached Kampala Capital City Authority to de-register those who don’t comply,” Mr Kaweesi said yesterday.

Ethiopian army commander admits al Shabaab attack

11 Mar – Source: Ethiopian TV – 273 words

(Presenter) The EFDR [Ethiopian Federal Democratic Republic] defence forces have said they are carrying out activities to rid the Somali towns of Baidoa and Beledweyne of al Shabaab and pacifying the people. Ethiopia is also said to be assisting in strengthening the security forces of the Somali Transitional Federal Government [TFG]. Ftih-Aweke Wendwesen has more on that:

(Ftih-Aweke) Col Gebrekidan Gebrematriam recalled at a news conference he gave that troops of the EFDR defence forces, who entered Somalia following requests form the AU, IGAD [Inter-Governmental Authority on Development] and the TFG, had liberated the Bay and Bakol areas, including Beledweyne and Baidoa towns. The colonel said the Ethiopian troops, in conjunction with the TFG forces, were still working in pacifying the area.

(Col Gebrekidan) The first major work of our troops is mopping up the areas. As you know, al Shabaab is a branch of al Qaeda. There are area not yet liberated and [our troops] are mopping up Baidoa and its vicinity. The second major work is pacifying the people. The people are working together with Ethiopian, TFG and Sunna [Ahlu Sunna wal Jama’a] forces in stabilizing the area. The third work is the strengthening of the TFG and Suna forces. All the works in Beledweyne and Baidoa were very successful because they had the backing of the people.

(Ftih-Aweke) Noting that the Ethiopian defence forces were enjoying the support of the people in their mopping up operations, Col Gebrekidan said the troops had managed to stabilize a place called Yurkud after inflicting heavy losses on the al Qaeda-linked terrorist group in a counter-attack they launched after al Shaabab launched an attack this week.

Kenya vows to continue fight against terrorism

11 Mar – Source: Capital News – 359 words

Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has urged Kenyans to remain calm as the government continues to fights terror after a grenade attack on a Nairobi bus station killed six people on Saturday.

Musyoka, visiting survivors at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) on Saturday night said that it was a difficult moment for the country but that the fight against terror was on course. “We urge for calm and we will definitely win the war against terrorism,” he said.

The attack took place at the Machakos country bus station, near the city centre. Earlier, a senior police official who did not want to be named said it was believed several grenades had been thrown at the bus station.

“This is an act of people who think that they can puncture the resolve to fight terror, it is a difficult moment but it should strengthen our resolve and am sure we will win,” said the VP.

Plight of world’s refugees worsening, UN official says

12 Mar – Source: National – 642 words

In the past year, the suffering of refugees across the world has grown worse, says the United Nations’ refugee affairs chief. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, said the recent surge in conflicts and growing numbers of refugees have left governments and aid organisations scrambling to cope, speaking to The National last week.

“We’ve witnessed a multiplication of crises, with little capacity of the international community to prevent them and a huge humanitarian impact,” he said. “At the same time, old crises seem never to die.” In Somalia, a famine that broke out last summer compounds the problems of 1.46 million people displaced internally by a two-decade-old Islamist insurgency.

Crises produced more than 800,000 new refugees in the past year, Mr Guterres said, with many increasingly cut off from aid organisations by war or obstructive governments.

“The difficulty is getting access to populations in conflict situations,” he said. “Because of growing insecurity – but also sometimes because of restrictions that authorities put on humanitarian actors – that access is more limited than it was 10 or 20 years ago.”

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Kenyan leaders condemn grenade attacks

12 Mar – Source: China Daily, Xinhua – 817 words

Kenyan leaders on Sunday condemned grenade attacks in Nairobi that have so far claimed six lives and wounded 63 others still being hospitalized.
Speaking separately, Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and National Security Minister Professor George Saitoti condemned the cowardly attack that was carried out at the Country Bus Terminus popularly known as Machakos Airport by terrorists.

Musyoka said such attacks will not break the Kenya’s resolve to guarantee security to its citizens. He assured that Kenyans will continue to fight terror until those elements that are bent on disrupting peace in the country are defeated.

“We will be more committed to fighting terror. We will not allow terrorists any room in our country,” Musyoka said on Sunday at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) after he visited to condole with the victims and families of those who were injured in the attacks.

Traces of blood, strewn bags and shoes were still visible on the floor of the bus station, where around several buses were still parked, and ambulances were still ferrying the wounded to hospital. The police have since sealed off the areas as investigation is underway to establish the motive of those behind the attacks.

Kenya police arrest 4 over bus blasts, lawyer says

12 Mar – Source: AP – 119 words

A lawyer says Kenyan police have arrested a man and three teenagers over a weekend explosion at a bus stop that killed six people. Mbugua Mureithi said Monday that police arrested Sylvester Opiyo and three teens on Sunday. Opiyo turned himself in to police in December after authorities said he was wanted. He was then released without charge.

Mureithi said police are arresting “the usual suspects” and it was unclear what evidence linked Opiyo to the attack.Police did not answer calls seeking comment.

The police have said they are investigating whether the Saturday night grenade attack was linked to Somalia’s al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militia. Al Shabaab sympathizers have carried out several attacks since Kenyan troops moved into Somalia in October.

Killers without a country

12 Mar – Source: Strategy page – 387 words

After give years of violence, al Shabaab appears to be coming apart. In those five years, al Shabaab has been responsible for over 20,000 deaths and much misery in central and southern Somalia. Al Shabaab has antagonized many local leaders with efforts to impose alien lifestyle rules (based on the Saudi Wahhabi form of Islam). Most Somalis reject Wahhabism and a growing number have gotten organized and armed and fought back. Some al Shabaab groups are moving north, seeking a less hostile environment, but they meet armed resistance wherever they go.

Troops in Yemen arrested four Somali members of al Shabaab. These are believed to be part of several hundred al Shabaab men who have gone to Yemen to assist al Qaeda efforts to establish a religious dictatorship in southern Yemen (and get away from the increasingly anti-al Shabaab atmosphere in Somalia).

In the north, pirates in Puntland have seized a small freighter bringing goods to adjacent Somaliland and are demanding that Somaliland release fellow pirates imprisoned in Somaliland if they want to get the ship and its cargo. In response, Somaliland has asked tribal leaders in Puntland to help get the ship released. In general, the pirates do not harm ships supplying the areas where pirates operate.

Healthcare without borders

12 Mar – Source: Eu Observer – 512 words

The town hospital of Guriceel, in the Galguduud region in central Somalia, is understaffed. The doctors who once worked there have all but fled the fighting that has afflicted the country for decades. Those who remain often lack education. But they do have an internet connection.

Since January 2011, the hospital’s paediatrics department is able to consult with a specialist based in Nairobi, in neighbouring Kenya, via live video streaming. The specialist, himself a Somali national, helps establish the right diagnosis and even talks to the patients’ parents.

The project, a pilot initiative of Doctors Without Borders, is already paying off, Bienvenu Baruani, project coordinator in Nairobi, tells EUobserver. Not only do the children of Guriceel receive better healthcare, its doctors are learning, he says. “At first, 90 percent of diagnoses were changed after specialist consultation. Now, it is about 60 percent.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

:”Contrary to what Mahiga claims, there is no palace coup in Mogadishu. Sheikh Sharif is still the president of Somalia and he has yet to withdraw his support for the Roadmap. There have not been manifestations, other than the usual jockeying for power for post-August 2012, that lead us to believe that something is amiss in Villa Somalia. However, the notion that the “Ala Sheikh group” is controlling the Somali presidency is preposterous. In the complex and complicated political situation of Mogadishu, organized groups, with the exception of the Shabaab, are not as effective as one might assume. It is mostly individual political figures that shape the political process, and often these individuals act on the backdrop of clans, broadly conceived. Therefore, the Islamic groups such as the Tajamuc, al Ictissam, New Blood Islah, and Old-Islah are not independent actors actively involved in shaping policies. There are, though, politicians who are associated with these Islamic movements who are ministers, parliamentarians, or heads of political forums.”

Is There a “Palace Coup” in Villa Somalia?

10 Mar – Source: Wardheer News – 1427 Words

Recently, in an interview, with Somalia Report which was riddled with omissions and evasions, Mahiga intimated that there had been a new political development that Somalis ought to know. There is, according to Mahiga, a palace coup in Villa Somalia, the seat of the Somali presidency.
Who are the culprits?

“The Ala Sheikh group,” Mahiga asserted, “is back in power, which should not be downplayed.”
The Ala Sheikh group, according to the Ambassador, is a group of fundamentalists, anti-power sharing, anti-Roadmap, and similar to the Shabab except they do not carry arms.

Moreover, Mahiga lashed out at former PM Farmajo for attempting to stage a comeback into Somalia’s political landscape and, b) inspiring some members of the Ala-Sheikh group in forming a political forum which, incidentally, Mahiga claims came into existence when Farmajo was briefly in power.

Ambassador Mahiga, in the interview, even dropped a bombshell when he dangled the name of the International Criminal Court in a discussion about those figures in the country that are obstructing the process of peace and reconciliation. These are the people who have, according to Mahiga, “vested interests in the status quo.” These people, the good ambassador warns, “will have to protect themselves against the ICC (International Criminal Court) one day.”

The Somali conundrum will try the patience of the most seasoned diplomat. But in his interview, the ambassador will not be nominated the award for the diplomat of the year . In a frontal attack, Ambassador Mahiga squarely blamed the opportunists and naysayers for the political wrangling in Mogadishu. Farmajo and the Ala-Sheikh group, in essence, are on the forefront.

“What the Conference was successful on was the message to the TFG that it is time was up. The message was unequivocal. Come August 2012, you all are out of a job. To drive the point home, The U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, followed up with a direct threat to “all inside and outside the TFG” not to oppose the expiration of the TFG, and the transition to a successive governmental entity. But it was not all bad. The Somalis were dined, and entertained. They were put in tony 5 star hotels with room service and complimentary bath robes, and then sent on their way.”

London Conference on Somalia and Other Issues

11 Mar – Source: Mareeg Online – 1448 Words

I went to London about a week ago, which coincided with the start of the London Somali Conference. As a member of Lawyers Without Borders, I was keen to evaluate the Conference both from a Somali perspective, and from a legal perspective. While there, I paid attention to what was said, what was not said, and what was done. I had time to reflect since then as to what I believe is important for Somalia, for Somalis and what is important about Somalia to the rest of the world. I have come to the conclusion that they are not the same.

“The lesson appears to be clear: the West has still not figured out domestic counter-radicalization and the British-Somali connection is one that needs to be watched very carefully. Large-scale invasion of Somalia would be counterproductive in terms of reducing the threat to the United Kingdom, as it would only anger the group in Somalia more, as well as feed the underlying narrative that the West is at war with Islam.”

Al Shabaab’s British accent

09 Mar – Source: CNN Blog – 893 Words

Friday’s conviction of Shabaaz Hussein, a former British teaching assistant for donating thousands to al Shabaab is just the latest reason the Somali terrorist group is increasingly a priority for British security services.

With news stories of somewhere in the region of 50 British passport holders fighting alongside al Shabaab, British officials are vigilant to the potential for terrorist plots that might emanate from Somalia in the future.The security of the region was in the spotlight last month at an international conference that drew top government officials from around the world.

It came on the heels of al Shabaab’s announcement that it has officially joined the family of organizations under the al Qaeda banner. The UK-Somalia terrorist connection is not a particularly new one.

“There has been a necessarily long break here. We returned to Somalia, to the busy Central Sector, and have been busy filing some stories since we returned and doing some preparation along with the rest and recuperation that is necessary. There were many lessons learnt and it was probably among the most rewarding jobs I have done (so far this year).”

Vigilance, dry hands, leadership and five more things we learnt from Somalia

11 Mar – Source: Now We Know Blog – 1787 Words

One morning about two weeks ago, one of the soldiers in the base at Tabda in Southern Somalia rushed to the tent under which the officers and the commander sit and asked for permission to drive into the village there.

There was an emergency. A Transitional Federal Government soldier had shot himself and needed to be ferried to the base for treatment by the Kenya Defence Forces stationed there. The victim was a boy who had caught our attention during a tour of the settlement. “Ask him how old he is,” I had told the soldier who was translating for us.

Top tweets

@amisomsomalia #AMISOM Hospital Treats Injured #Shabaab Fighter amisom-au.org/2012/03/amisom…

@Aynte ‏Was this supposed to be a mea culpa by #UN’s top envoy for #Somalia #Mahiga? bit.ly/w7FUju #MahigaMurmurs

@iEthiopia ‏Amb. #Mahiga highlights the Success and Challenges in #Somalia today bit.ly/Aq9OtZ

@ahmedwardigley On #Somalia: Ambassador #Mahiga and the fictitous Ahlu-Shek grou… wardigley.blogspot.com/2012/03/ambass…

@omabha Central #Somalia state orders major aid groups to cease operations – Africa Review dlvr.it/1JTjYP

@alykhansatchu #Somalia is the next Big Thing says Somali Delegate rich.co.ke twitpic.com/8vaozk

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Image of the day

Image of the day Dr. Mama Hawa Abdi, who since 1991 has provided free housing, water, and medical care to thousands of displaced Somalis, over the weekend received The Women of Impact Award From WITW Foundation in New York Photo: Marc Bryan-Brown