JANTA JOORNO DI PALERMO IYO  CIRIBTIRKA AL SHABAB.

Janta joorno di Palermo waa erey Talyaani ah kaasi oo ka hadlaya qorshaha 100 maalmood ee lagu xoreeyay magaalada Palermo ee dalka Talyaaniga.

Ra’iisul wasaaraha Somalia Max’ed C/laahi Farmaajo ayaa qabsaday in xukuumadiisa ay 100 maalmood ku cirib tireyso Canaasiirta AL Shabab ee caadaystay inay baa ba’shaan shacabka Somaliyeeed.

Ra’iisul Wasaaraha Xukuumada Federaalka KMG ah ee Soomaaliya Mudane Maxamed Cabdullaahi Maxamed Farmaajo oo ay weheliyaan Ra’iisul wasaare kuxigeenka ahna wasiirka Gaashaandhigga Mudane C/xakiin Xaaji Maxamed Fiqi iyo Wasiirka Arrimaha Gudaha iyo Amniga Qaranka Mudane Cabdishakuur Sh. Xasan Faarax ayaa booqday Taliska Ciidanka Daraawiishta oo xarun u ah ciidamo lagu soo tababarayay muddo labo sano ah qeybo kala duwan oo dalka gudihiisa iyo dibaddiisa isugu jira, gaar ahaana Tuulada Carmo ee gobolka Bari.

Ra’iisul Wasaaraha ayaa halkaasi khudbad ugu jeediyay ciidanka Daraawiishta oo ay tiradoodu dhameyd 500 oo Askari isagoo u sheegay in laga sugayo waajib adag kaasoo ah xoreynta dalka iyo amni ku soo celinta “Waqti badan ayaa la idin geliyay, waad soo tababarateen, waajib culus ayaana la idinka sugayaa, dhanka xukuumadeydana wey ku dedaaleysaa sidii aad waajibaadkiina Askarnimo u  heli laheydeen” ayuu yiri Ra’iisul Wasaaraha oo ku adkeeyey ciidankaasi in aysan waxyeeleyn dadka shacabka ah balse ay gacan qabtaan “Qofka dumarka ah ee waayeelka ah haddii aad aragtaan gacan qabta, oday waayeel ah haddii aad aragtaana sidoo kale gacansiiya, balse ha furanina haddii kale waxaad noqoneysaan dambiilayaal aan ku camal falin wixii la soo baray”.

Ra’iisul Wasaaraha ayaa sidoo kale Askartan xasuusiyay in dalka Soomaaliya, gaar ahaana magaalada Muqdisho ay ku sugan yihiin kooxo Soomaali ah oo Nabad iyo dowlad-diid ah oo uu sheegay inay kaashanayaan dagaalyahano Ajnabi ah oo ka soo hayaamay dalal ay ka mid yihiin Pakistan, Afganistan iyo Jejniya loogana baahan yahay inay ka saaraan dalka.

Saraakiisha hogaamisa ciidankaasi Daraawiishta ayaa Ra’iisul Wasaaraha u sheegay in muddo labo sano aaney wax mushaar ah qaadan ayna xukuumada ka rajeynayaan inay si deg deg ah ugu bilowdo mushaar, waxaana Ra’iisul Wasaaraha oo ka jawaabaya arrinkaasi uu u balan qaaday inay helayaan wixii xuquuq Askarinimo ah.

Ugu dambeyntiina Ra’iisul Wasaaraha ayaa salaam sharaf ka qaatay ciidankaasi, isagoona mid mid u gacan qaaday uguna hambalyeeyey dedaalkooda.

Somali community in Bonn were celebrated a welcomed returning of the Somali embassy in Germany.

The ambassador of Somali embassy in Bonn Mohamud Mohamed said that “we were very happy to get back our embassy to Germany who ware sold to Germany by the former ambassador to Germany so we will get it.

This is the second embassy to returns hand of government since 199.

“It is uninhabitable, so we have to renovate it then we will move in,” said Ambassador Mohamud Mohamed Tifow.

A court in Germany has ruled that a former Somali embassy building, sold off after the collapse of the Somali government was illegally sold.

When the government of then President Siad Barre collapsed in 1991, civil strife engulfed the country and all the diplomatic ties with foreign governments ceased.

However, Somalia has been without functional government since the fall of the late dictator Mohamed Siyad Barre.

The president of Uganda Yoweri Museveni and the president of south Africa Jacob Zuma are taken meeting about the situation of Somalia in the Pretoria city.

The meeting’s main objectives are to take information about what is going on of Somalia.

The President Museveni was on Friday addressing a joint press conference with host President Jacob Zuma at the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria city.

Mr. Museveni who was in south Africa gave the president of South Africa information About what is happening in the Somalia and how there participate AU troops.

During the press conference, President Zuma announced a donation of equipment worth 7,000,000 Rand  to the Oliver Tambo Military Academy in Kaweweta, Nakaseke District.

The two presidents discussed gave briefing detail of the situation in Somalia included security, humanitarian assistance, reconciliation,  and the needs for the International Community to working with the Government of Somalia.

At least two soldier’s dead and other wounded after am posh attach in the Hiran region of central Somali.

The confrontation between Somali government troops and Al shabab Extremists group in the Hiran region of central Somalia, after some soldiers tried to take over a checkpoint at the kalabeyr outside Beletweyn.

Witnesses told the somaliweyn three soldiers of the Somali transitional federal government were also injured in the clash, the regional of the capital.

Men who not be record his name said “a number of camels were caught in the crossfire between the warring soldiers”

Most of the region’s districts are under Al Shabaab militia control while Somali forces are based at the Kalabeyrka junction.

The Hiran region is a under control of militia group it is one of the most dangerous places in Central Somalia.

The Somali federal government TFG has named new ambassador to Sudan at the Somali embassy in Khartoum.

The new ambassador Ahmed Malim told press after met with Sudan president Omar Hassan Al-basher where approved to present Somali government in Sudan.

The President of Sudan H.E Omar Al- basher has accepted credentials immediately from the new Somali ambassador to Sudan Mr. Ahmed malin.

“The President of our friendly country his Excellency Omar Hassan Al-basher has accepted my credentials as the new Somali ambassador to Sudan, and I would like to thank the President for the acceptance” said Mr. Ahmed Fiqi the new Somali ambassador to Sudan.

“I went to assist the Somalia people and Somalia student who are in Sudan and other community of Somalia” Said that Mr. Ahmed Malin.

Sudan is the one of the most popular of Somalia who are resident and studies in Sudan universities and refiners.

Ahmed Malin fiqi the new ambassador to Sudan whose credential was accepted immediately the Sudan government.

KAMPALA, Uganda, Nov. 24 (UPI) — Uganda is hosting a regional security meeting on Somalia’s al-Shabaab militant group.

U.N. and top security chiefs from nine countries attended the two-day conference in Entebbe, The New Vision newspaper reported Wednesday.

Uganda’s chief of military intelligence, Brig. Gen. James Mugira, said the conference’s agenda included a study into links between militant groups and individuals in the region and the supply of arms, material and training for al-Shabaab.

He said, “The meeting will also discuss financial support to al-Shabaab and methods of financing operations” along with initiatives to combat the growth of al-Qaida influence through existing and new measures.

Another topic on the conference agenda is updating lists with possible new names for submission to the U.N. Security Council for inclusion on the U.N. proscription registry of individuals and organizations involved in terrorist activity.

The security chiefs will share additional information regarding individuals and entities already subjected to U.N. sanctions. Individuals and entities believed to be associated with al-Qaida or involved in threats to peace and security in Somalia will also be considered for possible addition to the sanctions list.

Nairobi – Kenya’s authorities have arrested seven young men, including a Nigerian with a British passport, on suspicion of attempting to reach Somalia and join an al-Qaeda-linked group there, local media reported Tuesday

The Daily Nation, quoting a coastal police official, said the six Kenyans and the Nigerian were arrested on the small island of Lamu as they boarded a speedboat with the intention of reaching nearby Somalia.

The men were in possession of materials promoting jihad and allegedly admitted they had been radicalized by an imam at a mosque in the coastal town of Mombasa.

Insurgent group al-Shabaab is fighting to oust the Western-backed government in Somalia. Hundreds of foreign fighters are believed to back the group, which carried out a suicide bomb attack in Uganda in July.

Kenya has a significant Muslim population, as well as a large Somali diaspora.

Source: m&c

Mogadishu: On the eve of the Muslims Eid Al Ad-ha, the president of the United States of America Barack Obama on Friday sent a congratulatory message to his Somali counterpart Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed to wish him a good Eid festival.

An emailed press statement from the office of Somali President said Friday that the kind message from Obama shows the great cooperation between both countries and how the United States is interested in reintroducing peace into the war-torn horn of African country.

“The American people join Michele and me in extending best wishes to you and all Somali people as you are celebrating the Eid Al Ad-ha” the United States president said in his message to Somali leader which was distributed to the media through Somali presidential information office on Friday.

“It is my hope that people every where will embrace the sprit of devotion and sacrifice that the Eid Al Ad-ha embodies and continue their efforts to achieve peace and goodwill among all human kind in compassionate and selfless manner” President Obama said in his congratulatory message.

“May you and the people of Somalia enjoy many blessings in the years to come” Obama added in his statement.

President Obama’s Message to Somali president comes as Muslims around the world are due to celebrate the Eid Al-Ad-ha on the next Tuesday.

By Jason Straziuso (CP) – 2 hours ago

NAIROBI, Kenya — Three gunmen from Somalia crossed the Kenyan border and killed a community organizer working with Somali refugees, officials said Monday, a cross-border incursion that underscores the threat militants pose to Kenya.

The victim, Ibrahim Mohamed, had reportedly been encouraging Somali asylum seekers not to return to Somalia, and based on that he became a target, said Emmanuel Nyabera, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR.

“We can confirm he was one of the refugees we were working very closely with,” Nyabera said.

Three gunmen followed Mohamed up to the Kenyan border before gunning him down on Kenyan soil and then returning to Somalia, where they came from, said Aggrey Adoli, the police chief in northeastern Kenya.

Officials said quietly that al-Shabab — Somalia’s most feared militant group — was likely behind the incursion.

Adoli said his region faces no imminent threat from al-Shabab fighters across the border.

“We are internally safe. But we are taking all precautions because we have a lawless country next door,” he said.

UNHCR last week appealed to Kenyan authorities to halt the return of Somali refugees from the border town of Mandera. The U.N. agency said local authorities had ordered more than 8,000 Somali refugees to cross back into Somalia despite what UNHCR said was “substantial risk.”

The refugee camp at Mandera was primarily comprised of children, women and the elderly, UNHCR said. The forced returns, UNHCR said, violates Kenya’s Constitution, its Refugees Act and international law.

However James ole Serian, Kenya’s top government official in the northeastern region, said that Kenya allows Somali refugees in when there is danger but that “when there is no danger we don’t.”

“We are a sovereign country and we have the right to allow in anyone we want to,” he said.

About 10,000 Somalis crossed the border to Mandera during recent fighting in Somalia, Serian said, and authorities provided them with water, food and shelter. But as the fighting subsided “all of them had returned to Somalia of their own free will.” He said fighting in the Somali border town of Bula Hawo has stopped.

He argued that aid groups are trying to “capitalize on the plight of Somalis” by saying that they are stuck at the border.

“If they want to help Somalis why didn’t they go to Bula Hawo,” he said. “Kenyans were the ones helping Somalis. The NGOs (aid groups) wanted to set up a camp for refugees in Mandera. A camp for what? Somalis said they wanted to return to their country and all of them had already returned to Somalia.”

Serian said the last of the refugees left Mandera three days ago.

The High Court is on Monday expected to deliver judgement in a case involving the controversial sale of Somalia State land in Nairobi during its civil war as Kenyan top officials watched.

The sale of the diplomatic property on which the embassy of the Republic of Somalia sat, during its lowest moment in history when Kenya was expected to be the custodian, might embarrass the host State Kenya within the world of diplomacy.

The case brings into sharp focus the role Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka could have played in his official capacity then as Kenya’s diplomatic point-man.

Even more curious in the case is a certificate he signed in his capacity as Foreign Minister, which has featured in the court case. The certificate, produced in court by the purchasers of the property said Kenya had no diplomatic relations with Somalia and did not recognise any envoy from the neighbouring country.

At the time, three junior envoys from Somalia were protesting the sale of the embassy. Interestingly, the day after Kalonzo signed the certificate on the status of the Somalia Embassy, the three envoys were arrested.

Though Kalonzo, who is out of the country, was not directly involved in the case, Kenya is represented by Attorney General Amos Wako’s office.

Interestingly, of the Sh15 million in sale agreement, only a payment receipt of Sh8.8 million was produced in court as evidence. It was not immediately clear where the balance went.

The AG did not file any submissions or defence. Kalonzo’s Personal Assistant Mr Kaplich Barsito said: “The VP is aware of the case. But we are on official duty out of the country en route to South Korea.”

Kaplich said the VP hopes the court will protect the Somali government property.

“His certificate produced in court is only reflective of the diplomatic relations and cannot be used to sanction the sale of the property of the people of Somalia.”

The interest the case is attracting is discernible from the fact that senior officials from the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia flew into the country on Sunday and are expected at the Nairobi Law Courts where the judgement will be delivered.

The certificate on the status of the embassy at the time was used as the ‘license’ to fast track the sale and to arrest staff at the embassy who resisted the transfer. On Monday attention will be on Justice Msagha Mbogoli’s Court number 14, as he delivers what could be a landmark judgement regarding the status of a Foreign State’s property when it is in disarray.

The property standing on five acres of land was transferred to Nairobi businessmen Suleiman Rahemtulla Omar and Zarina Sulieman Omar by former Somali ambassador Ahmed Sheikh Mohamud for Sh15 million. The property located in the high cost Spring Valley, at the junction of Brookside Drive and Lower Kabete Road, is currently estimated to be worth Sh500 million.

During the hearing of the case, the certificate from Kalonzo, which was interpreted to mean that he okayed the sale, was produced by lawyers. The certificate was signed on February 21, 1995, when Somalia was going through one of its worst times in the civil war.

In the certificate, which appeared to disown a group of diplomats who were opposed to the sale, Kalonzo said: “Somalia became incapable of entering into diplomatic relations with Republic of Kenya and establishing or maintaining a diplomatic mission in Kenya when its civil authority collapsed on January 26, 1991, with the ouster of former President, the late Siad Barre.”

The certificate went on: “The Republic of Kenya has no diplomatic relations with Somalia and does not recognise the existence of the Somalia Embassy and its former diplomats in Kenya in terms of the Vienna Convention following the collapse of the Government or civil Authority in Somalia in January 1991.”

Citing the Privileges and Immunities Act and the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, Kalonzo also said Mohammed Omar Aden, Muse Fahiye Hersi, Zeynab Ali Osman, or any former Somali diplomats accredited to the Republic of Kenya by the Government of Somalia did not enjoy any diplomatic immunity under the laws of Kenya.

The three former diplomats of Somalia were then protesting against the sale of the embassy and are the plaintiffs in the case.

After Kalonzo’s letter, the three diplomats were arrested.

On January 25, 1995, barely three days after Kalonzo’s letter, over 25 officers from police and Immigration went to the compound and arrested everybody including the diplomats and everything including Somalia Government property was impounded and the buyer took over the property.

According to international practice, when a diplomatic property is being sold, the Foreign Minister of the host country is supposed to be informed and his consent secured, diplomatic sources told The Standard.

But on Monday, many Kenyans would want to know what the High Court would say about what seems to be dereliction on the part of the Foreign Affairs ministry then.

The case comes hot on the heels of the Tokyo Embassy saga in which irregularities caused public outrage and forced Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula to step aside alongside his Permanent Secretary Mr Thuita Mwangi last week.

The case was filed by the former diplomats who sought legal redress and moved to court in a bid to recover the prime asset through a civil suit against the purchaser of the property. They want the courts to declare the sale illegal and cancel transfer of the property. In an amended plaint, Republic of Somalia is enjoined as the third plaintiff and a number of high-ranking Somalia officials.

During the hearing the AG was invited to the case and he restated the government’s position by affirming the contents of the certificate by the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Kalonzo) to the extent that there was no Somalia Government by 1994, which could authorise the sale and transfer of the property.

Lawyer Fred Athuok who is appearing for the Somalia Government argued there was clear evidence that the purported sale of Somali Embassy property was illegal and fraudulent.

Athuok had argued before Court that the Ministry of Lands of Kenya was wrong in sanctioning the sale and transfer of Somalia Embassy property and with available evidence, the ministry should cancel the transfer and registration as it is allowed to do so.

The property was then residence of the Somalia Ambassador, but it became the embassy-cum-residence when it moved from International Life House. The Somali Government bought it in 1973.

Yesterday, on visiting the property we found it occupied by tenants whose identity we could not immediately establish.

A guide to the Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities in Kenya spells out that when a foreign government intends to sell real property which it already owns in Kenya, the representative mission should inform Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation.

Where a foreign government owns real property wishes to alter its use like changing a chancery into ambassador’s residence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should be informed.

(AFP) – 3 hours ago

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s parliament on Sunday approved Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed as the country’s new prime minister by a large majority.

President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed named Abdullahi, a little-known figure and holder of US citizenship, as prime minister on October 14 to replace Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, who resigned following a dispute with the president.

Speaker of the house Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden said “297 out of 392 have endorsed the prime minister … who has now got parliament’s confidence vote.”

The president and the speaker had been at loggerheads over the appointment, with the United Nations’ top envoy for Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, flying into Mogadishu last week in a bid to defuse the row.

Abdullahi, who was born in Mogadishu in 1962, must now form a government which will in turn need lawmakers’ approval.

Abdullahi worked in the Somali embassy in the United States in 1985 and then obtained a master’s degree in political science from the State University of New York in Buffalo before going on to hold senior local government positions there.

Since the formation of the Transitional Federal Government in neighbouring Kenya in 2004, the relationship between Somalia’s president and the prime minister has been contentious, hampering government efforts to impose its authority nationwide.

Somalia has had no central government since a civil war erupted with the 1991 overthrow of former president Mohamed Siad Barre.

The fragile transitional government has been confined to just a few streets in Mogadishu where Islamist Shebab insurgents have waged a war since May 2009 to topple the administration.

Its survival has only been guaranteed by a contingent of African Union troops from Uganda and Burundi.

Under a power-sharing accord for the transitional government, the president, the prime minister, the speaker of parliament and the supreme court chief cannot be from the same clans.

The agreement known as the 4.5 formula divides Somalia into four major clans and an alliance of minority clans. Sharif is a member of the Hawiye clan and the new premier is from the Darod clan.

Addis Ababa, October 28, 2010 (Addis Ababa) – The government of Ethiopia gave appointments to special envoys, ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiaries and ambassadors of Ethiopia to abroad, the Office of the Prime Minister announced here on Wednesday.

1, Seyoum Mesfin,  2. Girma Birru 3. Dr. Kassu Illala 4. Ambassador Teshome Toga 5. Degife Bula. 6. Mulugeta Alemseged 7. Hilawe Yosef 8. Ambassador Mohammed Dirir 9. Hassan Abdella 10. Dr. Tekeda Alemu 11. Gifti Abasiya 12. Dr. Mohammed Hassan 13. Kassahun Dendir 14. Dr. Yehsimebrat Mersha 15. Markos Tekle 16..Lelalem Gebreyohannes 17. Dr. Bogale Tolosa 18. Minelik Alemu 19.Dr. Mohammed Gudeta 20. Misganaw Admasu 21. Ambassador Dr. Kua Wang Tutlam were appointed as special envoys and ambassadors extraordinary nd plenipotentiaries of Ethiopia. 1. Merwan Bedri 2. Ababi Demise 3.Dr. Gebeyeu Ganga 4. Mule Tarekegn 5. Tesfaye Yilma 6. Tebeje Berhe 7. Bereded Animut 8. Dereje Asfaw 9.Ambassador Aman Hassan 10.Alemayehu Sewagegn 11. Mesfin Chernet 12. Dr. Bitew Getnet 13. Shamilo Fitamo 14. Ambassador Mohammed Ali 15. Dr. Desta Woldeyohannes were appointed as ambassadors of Ethiopia. The appointment shall be put into effect as of Wednesday. The appointment was given based on education and leadership qualification of the individuals.

BRUSSELS (AP) – Islamist militants in Somalia will soon pose more of a terrorist threat than those based in Afghanistan, Interpol’s secretary-general said Thursday.

Ronald K. Noble told The Associated Press that Somali militants will eclipse Afghanistan in terms of threats in the next five to 10 years.

Speaking on the sidelines of a conference on west African security in Brussels, Noble said that law enforcement was “seeing more and more terrorist activity originating in Somalia. For us, we believe that the Afghanistan in the next five to 10 years will be Somalia.”

Somalia, which has not had a functional government in two decades, is in the grip of an Islamist insurgency spearheaded by al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked movement whose militancy has been of increasing concern to Western law enforcement agencies, especially after it claimed responsibility for attacks in Uganda’s capital during the World Cup final that killed 76 people.

The attacks, the group’s first outside Somali territory, were seen by analysts as an indicator of its international ambitions.

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb also is of growing concern — on Thursday the group released its first video of a group of hostages that was seized two weeks ago in Niger.

The terrorist group has invaded large swaths of the desert region spanning portions of Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Algeria. Famous tourists spots like Timbuktu, in Mali, are now on the no-go list of numerous foreign embassies, including the U.S. and France.

Interpol is an organization that links law enforcement agencies in 188 countries to help cross-border policing and efforts to tackle major crime

Two independent radio stations in Mogadishu were on Sunday taken off air and their equipment were also confiscated by Islamist rebels, station staff said.

The stations, HornAfrik Radio and Global Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) were separately raided by heavily armed fighters from the two Islamist groups of Al Shabaab and Hezbul Islam respectively. “We were ordered to switch off the radio and the management was told that the station would be under the control of Hezbul Islam,” Ahmed Abdi Hassan, a reporter with GBC told Xinhua.

Fighters from Al Shabaab group have also stormed the station building of HornAfrik radio in the insurgent stronghold of Mogadishu and forcibly taken away the FM equipment and computers in the station studio.

It was not immediately clear why the Islamist groups have raided stations in the section of the Somali capital where they control.

Neither group nor station owners has officially commented on the surprise takeover of the two independent radio stations.

One of the stations, HornAfrik, has been off the air for few days before the news of its takeover emerged on Sunday. Some reports suggest that differences between the station management have led to its closure after one side sought the intervention of Islamist fighters from Al Shabaab.

The stations have been neutral in their coverage of the conflict between the Somali government and Islamist groups as well as the African Union peacekeeping troops backing the Somali government forces.

The Al Shabaab Islamist movement which controls much of south and centre of Somalia has previously confiscated the equipment of two Mogadishu radio stations while another, Holy Quran Radio or IQK, which has been independent, has now been turned into a mouthpiece of the radical group after they took it over.

All radio stations in the insurgent held provinces in south- central Somalia have either been closed down or taken over and turned into a pro-Islamist media while no independent media is allowed to operate freely in the Islamist controlled areas.

Islamist groups have banned local radio stations from airing music or calling the groups other than their full official names.

Several journalists have been killed or wounded for the past two years in Somalia which has not had an effective government for almost a decade, and is considered one of the worst places for journalists to operate.

It has unfortunately become the norm for the Somali people and the international community to observe top Somali leaders quarrelling publicly and engulfed in a quasi personal/professional conflict that unresolved may destroy the already fledgling national institutions. From President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan and his PM Dr. Ali Khalif, to President Abdullahi Yusuf and his PMs Ali Mohamed Ghedi and Nur Adde to the current quandary between Sheikh Sharif and PM Sharmarke, Somalia has not been fortunate to produce stable leadership at the top that is capable of envisioning and setting a national tone for conflict resolution, good governance and permanent statehood.�

At a time when the nation is under a relentless attack from extremist groups and poorly trained government soldiers and AU forces are putting their lives on the line, it is disheartening to see the offices of the President, Prime Minister and Parliament utterly consumed in conflict, bringing to a screeching halt all other crucial government businesses.  It appears to the many civilians caught in the crossfire in Somalia that their leaders are completely oblivious to their deteriorating humanitarian conditions and that jockeying for power and prestige is the only game in town.

Undoubtedly many challenges await these leaders between now and the end of the institutional term of office in August 2011. Nothing meaningful has been achieved thus far in preparing Somalia to move from transitional governance status to permanent statehood and the new draft constitution under development for a while is now a new source of contention between these leaders.

Hiiraan Online joins the International Community and the Somali public in calling for the TFG leadership to amicably resolve their differences, remain cohesive and focused on security and crucial transitional tasks necessary at this critical time. TFG Leadership needs to refocus all their efforts in defeating its enemy and stabilize the volatile nation that desperately needs peace, reconciliation, good governance and permanent statehood.

Three in the first four days. Three in 85 minutes last night. The Great British gold rush just keeps gathering momentum at these European Championships. Jessica Ennis played a captain’s innings on the penultimate night in the Montjuic Olympic Stadium, clinching the heptathlon title with a championship record score, after Dai Greene had won the 400m hurdles in commanding fashion. Then came the man whose Midas touch had started the British ball rolling on the opening night.  Last Tuesday night Mo Farah won the 10,000m at his leisure, toying with the opposition before putting them out of their misery by sprinting clear with 300 metres to go. Last night, with the 5,000m crown on the line, the burgeoning golden boy of British athletics brought his Midas touch to bear with the class of the truly great distance runner that he has become.

At the last European Championships in Gothenburg four years ago, Farah was beaten to the gold in the 5,000m by a tantalising 0.09sec – by the fast-finishing Spaniard Jesus Espana. Last night, the Somali-born Londoner could hardly have avenged that painful defeat in a more emphatic fashion.

Taking the lead with three laps to go, Farah ratcheted up the pace by degrees. It was the kind of thumbscrew treatment administered by the Inquisition in these parts once upon a time. It condemned poor Espana to a long, slow defeat, and silenced the Spanish crowd

Farah was away and clear before he swept into the home straight. He crossed the line in 13min 31.18sec. Espana was almost two seconds behind. Farah had grabbed his title, and completed the 5,000m and 10,000m double – the first British runner ever to do so at one of the four major championships: Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth Games. As he sank to his knees on the track, Farah was finally overtaken. Emotion succeeded where Espana had failed. The tears came flooding down. And with good reason.

In the 66-year history of the European Championships, before last night only four men had been strong enough to achieve the men’s distance double on the track: the great Czech soldier Emil Zatopek in 1950, Zdzislaw Krzyszkowiak of Poland in 1958, Juha Vaatainen of Finland in 1971, and Italy’s Salvatore Antibo in 1990.

“In the home straight, I just dug and dug,” Farah reflected, confessing that he had been unaware of the winning gap that he had created. “Four years ago, it was at that point where Espana came past me,” he said. “I didn’t want to look behind. I was telling myself to just dig and dig, and push and push. I’m just so happy that I’ve won.”

Ennis, meanwhile, had to push and push to add the European heptathlon crown to her expanding portfolio of titles, after lining up for the seventh and final event, the 800m, with a lead of only 18 points. Having won World Championship gold by a whopping 258 points in Berlin last summer, and the world indoor pentathlon title in Doha in March by 86 points, it was unfamiliar territory for the Sheffield woman who has established herself as the planet’s leading female all-rounder by some distance over the course of the last 18 months.

Sure, the gold was still hers to lose. Natalya Dobrynska would have to beat her by 1.25sec to snatch it from her, and on previous best times the Ukrainian was some three seconds slower over the two-lap distance. Still, the pride of the Steel City needed to show her mettle. Having failed to mount a sustained challenge to Ennis in either Berlin or Doha, in the preceding six events in Barcelona Dobrynska had suddenly rediscovered the kind of form that propelled her to Olympic gold in Beijing two years ago.

When the gun fired for the start of the 800m, Ennis shot into the lead and pushed the pace from the front. The gold looked to be in the bag. But then Dobrynska went for broke, sweeping past with 250 metres to go – only for Ennis to respond with interest. Regaining the lead with 180 remaining, the Briton sprinted to a clear victory in 2min 10.18sec.

Ultimately, Ennis pocketed the gold with 45 points to spare and with a lifetime best tally of 6,823 points, eclipsing Carolina Kluft’s championship record but missing Denise Lewis’s 10-year-old British record by a measly eight points. “I am so happy and so relieved,” Ennis said. “It has been a really tough couple of days. I’ve been pushed all the way and it’s a brilliant relief to have crossed that line and won the gold medal.

“On the start line for the 800m I was so nervous, knowing that if Dobrynska got ahead of me it would cost me the gold. With everyone doing so well and us winning so many medals, I kind of thought, ‘I don’t want to let anyone down’.”

There are high hopes of a seventh British gold medal on the final day today, courtesy of the men’s 4 x 400m relay quartet. There would also have been hopes of another from the men’s 4 x 100m relay team had their challenge not come to grief with a cock-up in the baton-passing department between Marlon Devonish and Mark Lewis-Francis in the semi-finals yesterday.

Still, there are also strong medal chances today for Lisa Dobriskey in the 1500m and the women’s 4 x 400m relay team. Another three medals of any description would eclipse the record British haul, the 18 gleaned in Split twenty years ago.

There were five medals in total last night, including a silver medal lining for Michael Rimmer in the 800m. With 250 metres to go, the Southport athlete had eased into the lead and was starting to wind up the pace. As he was doing so, however, he was being closely shadowed by Marcin Lewandowski, the other major contender. As Rimmer rounded into the home straight, the Pole moved alongside him and the pair were locked in a neck-and-neck duel until the last 10 metres.

At that point the Briton finally buckled. Lewandowski edged past to claim the win in 1min 47.07sec. Rimmer finished second in 1:47.17, his face unable to disguise his disappointment. “I gave it my all,” he said. “But fair play to Lewandowski. I dearly wanted to become the first British winner for 20 years.”

A graduate in history, Rimmers could not quite close the gap back to Tom McKean’s golden run in Split in 1990. Still, the 24-year-old joined one all-time British great in having to settle for 800m silver on the European Championship stage. Steve Ovett finished second to the Yugoslav Luciano Susanji in Rome in 1974 and to the big, barrel-chested Olaf Beyer of East Germany in Prague in 1978.

Euro stars

In Barcelona, the British team have so far won 16 medals: 6 golds, 6 silvers and 4 bronze. As well as yesterday’s victories for Jessica Ennis in the heptathlon and Dai Greene in the 400m hurdles, Mo Farah won the 5,000m and the 10,000m, Andy Turner took the 110m hurdles title and Phillips Idowu won the triple jump. At the 2006 European Championships in Gothenburg, GB bagged 11 medals – one gold, five silvers and five bronze. The 4×100m relay team took gold. In 2002 in Munich, Britain collected 12 medals – five golds, two silvers and five bronze. The winners were Paula Radcliffe in the 10,000m, Colin Jackson in the 110m hurdles, the 4×400m relay team, Steve Backley in the javelin and Ashia Hansen in the triple jump.

Giles Lucas

Final-day medal hopes

Chris Tomlinson

7.10pm: men’s long jump

After 10 attempts, Tomlinson has yet to win a medal at a senior outdoor championship. Could it be 11th time lucky tonight for the towering Teessider who broke Lynn Davies’s ancient British record eight years ago? He jumped a season’s best of 8.20m on Friday, the third-longest jump in the qualifying round, behind the 8.27m achieved by both Eusebio Caceres of Spain and Christian Reif of Germany. The field also includes the injury-plagued Andrew Howe, the defending champion from Italy.

Past GB winner Lynn Davies, 1966

Lisa Dobriskey

8.15pm: women’s 1500m

At the World Championships in Berlin last summer, Dobriskey executed a tactical race of near perfection to take the silver medal behind Maryan Jamal of Bahrain, missing gold by a tantalising 0.01sec. Three weeks ago the woman from Ashford in Kent was sitting pretty at the top of the European rankings and No 1 contender for Barcelona. Then Anna Alminova returned from a drugs ban to clock a stunning 3min 57.86sec in Paris. The Russian will start favourite. Hannah England and Steph Twell also go for GB.

Past GB winners None.

Best GB performance Kelly Holmes, silver 1994

Women’s 4×400m relay

8.40pm

The British squad travelled to Barcelona without Christine Ohuruogu, the injured Olympic 400m champion, but in the first round yesterday the GB quartet – consisting of Nicola Sanders, Vicky Barr, Marilyn Okoro and Lee McConnell – finished second in their heat, behind Russia, the red-hot favourites for gold. With Perri Shakes-Drayton, winner of the 400m hurdles bronze medal on Friday, likely to replace Okoro for the final, a medal becomes a realistic possibility.

Past GB win 1969

Men’s 4 x 400m relay

8.55pm

A run of five British triumphs was brought to an end by the French in Gothenburg four years ago but the historical trend looks likely to be restored. With a quartet of Martyn Rooney, Michael Bingham, Conrad Williams and Rob Tobin, Britain will start as the team to beat. The Belgians might run them close, with Kevin Borlée – who win the exciting individual 400m final ahead of Bingham and Rooney on Friday night – and his twin brother, Jonathan, to draw upon. Nonetheless, the championships should finish as they started on the track on Tuesday: with gold for Great Britain.

Past GB wins 1950, 1958, 1974, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002

The Inter-governmental Authority on Development member countries yesterday agreed to immediately deploy 2,000 troops to restore sanity in Mogadishu under siege by Al Shabab militants.

A Somali political analyst told VOA the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional organization, is incapable of resolving the ongoing crisis in Somalia.

Afyare Abdi Elmi, a professor of international affairs at Qatar University, said there are reasons to believe that Ethiopia is making efforts to inject itself into the ongoing Somali peace process by using IGAD’s mandate to achieve its objective.

“IGAD to me is a very weak regional organization, which is often dominated by the regional power, which is Ethiopia. So, basically, Ethiopia is trying to re-insert itself by using IGAD and it is trying to dominate the peace process in general,” he said.

IGAD’s Assembly of Heads of State and Government kicked off a two-day summit in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, Sunday

The summit, among other things, discussed the way forward in attaining a lasting solution for security and political problems that have plagued Somalia for decades.

The two-day summit was also scheduled to review the 36^th Extraordinary Session of the IGAD Council of Ministers, a report of the IGAD Military Experts’ Mission to Somalia, and consideration of the draft communiqué of the 15^th Extraordinary Summit of IGAD Heads of State and Government.

But, professor Elmi said the regional bloc has demonstrated its inability to resolve the Somali crisis.

“It (IGAD) cannot pay even its own budget, let alone resolve the conflicts that are taking place in the region. So, it’s almost impossible to even expect as little as helping the region or, perhaps, some of the countries within the region,” Elmi said.

He further said that whenever a regional power such as Ethiopia tries to push its agenda in the Horn of Africa region, it usually uses IGAD as an instrument to attain its objective, a charge Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government denied.

Ethiopia has often said that it is committed to working with the Somali government, as well as the international community, to help resolve the escalating crisis in neighboring Somalia.

Established in 1986 with its headquarters in Djibouti, IGAD members comprise Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda.

Prime Minister Zenawi is currently the chairman of the IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government.

Professor Elmi said the international community should have seized “precious” moments to help resolve the Somali crisis.

“The international community has missed so many opportunities in the past. There were times that the momentum was on the side of the international community, and those who (were) willing to ginger (make more lively) the situation, and obviously we have missed that. The international community should be firm and talk to the leadership of the TFG (Transitional Federal Government) and tell them that this cabinet is way too large,” Elmi said.

Source: VOA

Eritrean Ambassador to Qatar Ali Ibrahim Ahmed and Djibouti’s Ambassador to Qatar Mahamadi Ali Mahamade exchange the minutes of the agreement, signed in Doha yesterday, in the presence of  HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud

Doha -The minutes of the agreement to resolve the border dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti were signed at the Foreign Ministry headquarters here yesterday.�

The agreement was signed in Doha on June 6 this year by Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki, Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh and HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al- Thani as a mediator and witness. �

The minutes were signed by Eritrean Ambassador to Qatar Ali Ibrahim Ahmed on behalf of the government of Eritrea, and Djibouti’s Ambassador to Qatar Mahamade Ali Mahamade on behalf of the government of Djibouti. 
The minutes were also signed by HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud, on behalf of the government of Qatar as the mediator and witness.

Ciidamada Booliiska ee Koonfur Afrika ayaa xiray afar qof oo loo heysto isku daygii dil ee lagu toogtay General u dhashay Rwanda oo masaafuris u jooga Koonfura Afrika.

Afhayeen u hadlay ciidamada booliiska ayaa sheegay in laga yaabo in dad kale loo xiro dhacdadaasi.

General Kayumba Nyamwasa ayaa laga toogtay caloosha xilli uu ka soo laabtay dukaan uu wax ka iibsanayay.

Xaaska Generalka ayaa ku tilmaantay in ay ahayd isku day dil oo ay ka danbeysay dowladda Rwanda.

Wasiirka arrimaha dibedda ee Rwanda ayaa beeniyay eedeyntaasi.

General Nyamwasa ayaa magangelyo u tagay Koonfur Afrika bishii February, kadib markii ay isku dhaceen Madaxweynaha Rwanda, Paul Kagame.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Augustine P. Mahigao of the United Republic of Tanzania as his Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS).  Mr. Mahiga replaces Mr. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah ( Mauritania) who has served in the position from September 2007.

Mr. Mahigabrings to this position many yearsof both Government and United Nations experience.  He combines extensive experience in conflict management, mediation, humanitarian and recovery/development activities.  In particular, Mr. Mahiga has lengthy and pertinent experience in the Horn of Africa and other parts of the continent, which will be invaluable in his new position.

Since 2003, Mr. Mahiga has served as the United Republic of Tanzania’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.  In this capacity, he has been actively involved in various United Nations reform initiatives, including co-facilitating negotiations on establishing the Peacebuilding Commission (2005) and co-chairing intergovernmental consultations on System Wide Coherence reforms, including Delivering as One in eight pilot countries (2008).  Ambassador Mahiga has been engaged in intergovernmental and informal working groups on issues of development, peace and security, human rights, and strengthening the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union.

Before joining the Tanzanian Foreign Service in 1983, Mr. Mahiga worked in the President’s Office as Acting Director General and Director of Research and Training from 1977–1983.  He served in various capacities with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), including as Chief of Mission to Liberia, Coordinator and Deputy Director of the humanitarian and refugee crisis in the Great Lakes Region, and UNHCR Representative in India, Italy, Malta, the Holy See and the Republic of San Marino.

Mr. Mahiga holds a PhD in Philosophy and International Relations from the University of Toronto, Canada.  He was born on 28 August 1945 and is married with three children.

The Secretary-General expresses his deep appreciation to Mr. Ould-Abdallah for his dedicated service and exemplary leadership on Somalia over the last three years.  During his tenure, Mr. Ould-Abdallah has worked hard to bring international attention to Somalia — one of the world’s worst humanitarian and political crises.  Through his efforts, the people of Somalia have the Djibouti Peace Agreement, on which current peace and reconciliation efforts in Somalia are built on, as well as the recently adopted Istanbul Declaration that serves as a political pact between the International community and the Somali people on political, security, development and reconstruction issues.

Source: UN, Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Russia releases captured Somali pirates: official
ATTENTION – ADDS quotes from Russian officials, detail ///

MOSCOW, May 7, 2010 (AFP) – The Russian defence ministry said Friday that it had released a group of Somali pirates who were captured in the Gulf of Aden by its naval forces after seizing a Russian oil tanker.
“This is connected with there being an incomplete international legal basis” to keep them detained, the defence ministry’s chief spokesman Colonel Alexei Kuznetsov told the Interfax news agency.
A Russian defence ministry spokeswoman contacted by AFP confirmed the report but declined to give further information on the pirates’ current location.
Russian investigators had said Thursday that the 10 captured pirates would be brought to Moscow to face charges.
The pirates were captured when marines from a Russian warship stormed the tanker, called the Moscow University, in a dramatic rescue mission.
The tanker’s 23-person crew had avoided being taken hostage by barricading themselves in a secure cabin and were unharmed.
Russian officials on Friday urged the international community to develop legal procedures for dealing with pirates.
“In our view, the international community should take effective and urgent measures on this,” Russian foreign ministry spokesman Igor Lyakin-Frolov told Echo of Moscow radio.
“One of the difficult parts of countering maritime piracy is the problem of establishing jurisdiction over those suspected of piracy and armed sea attacks, as well as investigating such people and bringing them to justice.”
Moscow’s ambassador to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, said he would raise the issue of creating a “unified legal basis for fighting piracy” at a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council on May 19, Interfax reported.
The Kommersant daily, citing sources close to the investigation, reported that the problem which had forced Russia to release the pirates was that some of the captured pirates claimed that they were actually hostages themselves, who had been forced to raid the oil tanker by real Somali pirates.
Some Russian media reports suggested that the captured pirates could have been released to Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia where local authorities could put them on trial.
ao/sjw/boc

Dadaab, Kenya (ECHO) -As conflict and the break-down in law and order continues in Somalia, an increasing number of Somalis are fleeing the insecurity across the country. Many end up in the Dadaab refugee camps in the east of Kenya, which now host around 270,000 people. The European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) is a major funder of the camps. ECHO’s Director General, Peter Zangl, has recently visited Dadaab to make his own assessment of the humanitarian needs there.

Question: What is the current situation in Dadaab?

Peter Zangl: According to figures released by the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, there are around 270,000 refugees now living in Dadaab. The number of new arrivals increased dramatically from the beginning of 2008 following an intensification of fighting in Somalia. In 2008 more than 61,000 new refuges were registered while in 2009 over 72,000 arrived. In the first quarter of 2010, the arrival rate has averaged over 4,800 per month.

Q: What are conditions like for refugees in Dadaab?

PZ: One of the most striking aspects of life in Dadaab is that on the surface, it seems so normal. But that normality masks the reality of over-crowding. The three camps, Dagahaley, Ifo and Hagadera which make up Dadaab were built for just 90,000 people around twenty years ago. There is now more than three times that amount. Inevitably, with such overcrowding, the services are stretched. Water delivery is a key issue. The Dadaab area has a plentiful supply but it is becoming increasingly difficult to supply it to all the refugees. The infrastructure of the ageing water network is nearing the end of its useful life and the increase in refugees is putting further pressure on the system.

Q: What support is ECHO providing?

PZ: In 2009, ECHO provided €10 million (US$13.2m) to fund a variety of interventions in Dadaab including food aid, water and sanitation services as well as health care. Already this year, we have provided an additional €3 million (US$4m) in funding. I visited a food distribution centre, a hospital and a latrine construction project all of which ECHO is funding.

Q: What is being done to deal with the overcrowding issue?

PZ: The Kenyan government recently agreed to allocate extra land to extend the Ifo camp and it is expected that ECHO will be involved with UNHCR in the expansion programme. I visited the site of the new extension, which will accommodate around 80,000 people. This should ease the congestion considerably.

Q: What is the future for the refugees of Dadaab?

PZ: Some of the refugees, I spoke to have been living in Dadaab for over 17 years. They told me that they would not return home until the fighting has stopped. The outlook for their return in the short term is not good. In the meantime, it is important that education in the camps is looked into in order to provide a better future for the children who are living there.

The humanitarian interventions, towards which the European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) contributes, have ensured the basic needs of this very vulnerable population are being meet. The challenge in these situations is to go beyond providing the conditions for basic survival and ensuring that the refugees have a decent standard of living.

Source: European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO)

As far as The Southern Somalis are concerned, the people who are destroying Somali are from The Break away republic OF Somaliland who wants to entertain international recognition. Perhaps the Southern Somalia´s woes and wars; are the efforts of people from Somaliland who want to achieve international recognition for Somaliland. There has been no time for political settlement in the south, rehabilitation or reconstruction. The- population from southern Somalia have scattered around the world and Most do not know where their loved ones are and whether they are still living or dead. They live in fear under a heavy Shabab military presence, led Axmed Cabdi Goodane, also known as Moktar Ali Zubeyr Godane the Amir of Shabab who is from Somaliland. according

Ahmed Abdi Ow Mohamud Godane was born in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland 10 July 1977. • He is from Arab sub-clan in Isaq clan, one of the dominant clan in northern Somalia . • He had received a scholarship in Pakistan funded by Saudi blind millionaires. • He used to visit in Afghanistan during holidays

In 2001, physically tin, Godane returned to Hargeisa, Somaliland . He began preaching in Abu-Bashir mosque in central Hargeisa between 2002 and 2003.

He was working for Ex-Barakat Telesom, Somaliland .

Later Godane left from Somaliland follwing a row with some of his group over a large amount of money they roped from an Ethiopian businessman and then come to southern Somalia. Godane and Afkhani both had trainings in Afghanistan and made friends in southern Somalia where they diverted their mission and doubled it.

When the Islamic Courts Union came to power in southern Somalia in 2006 Mr. Godane who gave himself the name ´Abu-Zubeyr became the general secretary for ICU.

During the start of the war with Ethiopia late 2006, Godane got wounded and flown to Sudan for medical treatment. • He was brought back in southern Somalia February 2007 where he continued his terror mission.

In southern Somalia, People suffer a continued armed Shabab presence, and daily human rights violations that are perpetrated with impunity and with no independent investigation of these crimes.

According to reliable sources, then the former business man and man with money coming from Somali land is definitely the evil in southern Somalia. But should the Somali Landers covertly be backing him as their candidate to insatiability in Southern Somalia? Which I don’t think so; he is implicated in war crimes and crimes against humanity. These men and many other Somalilanders in Shabab ranks were largely responsible for the instability of the South Somalia and kin and for the destruction of Somalia.

They should be brought to court to answer for their crimes and, given that, I believe it is morally and ethically impossible to throw one’s monetary or material support behind either of these criminals from Northern Somalia.

Southern Somali have always been at warlord sponsored wars. However this war is different and it has to be one that is getting monetary and material support from Northern Somalia and other State sponsors. The international community should monitor this situation closely.

Mahdi Haile
E-mail: somalisolutions@gmail.com

MANKATO — You could see it in the face of the little girl in the traditional Somali dress as she smiled shyly and handed him a bouquet of flowers.

You could see it in Lul Ahmed, a Somali immigrant and 11-year resident of Mankato, whose slightly trembling hands fussed over vats of sambusa, rice and chicken that he’d soon be tasting.

And it was clear that when Somali immigrants got off the elevator, their eyes scanned the room for a most unusual guest.

The man of the hour was Abukar A. Arman, Somalia’s special envoy to the United States, and perhaps one of the most important Somalis to ever step foot in Mankato.

He was in town Friday to visit city and community leaders, and leaders from the local Somali community.

Arman, whose office is in Washington, D.C., made a trip to Minnesota this week to visit Somali leaders in the Twin Cities. Minnesota, Arman said, has the largest Somali population in the nation.

And while Arman was here, Hashi Shafi, executive director of the Somali Action Alliance in Minneapolis, convinced him he should take a drive south to visit the ever-growing Somali community in southern Minnesota.

Shafi’s decision was helped along by Ahmed, a tireless advocate for Somali interests in the Mankato area.

“We asked him to come to southern Minnesota,” Ahmed said. “We don’t want everything to go on in the Twin Cities, we want to play our role. We want to be leaders, not followers.”

Arman said he’s interested in hearing what every Somali community in the United States has to say, and that’s partly what prompted his visit.

Somalia’s recent history has been tumultuous. And, ever since the infamous “Blackhawk Down” incident in which American lives were lost in an environment of civil unrest, Arman said relations between Somalia and the U.S. have been strained.

But the Somalian government, he said, is in the process of trying to improve relations with the U.S, and of trying to encourage Somali immigrants to be good representatives of their country.

“My effort has been to rally different communities and get them involved in that process, and to get them to become productive members of the communities where they live,” Arman said.

Also part of his visit, he said, is to provide a morale boost to Somali immigrants who may have become disenchanted with their homeland.

“In the past few years, it’s been dangerous to even visit Somalia,” Arman said. “Somalians, by and large, have been deprived of that love of country.”

Things are trending the other way now, he said, and he’s hoping Somali immigrants can soon be proud again of where they come from.

Bukata Hayes, executive director of the Greater Mankato Diversity Council, said the envoy’s visit was historic.

“I think it’s critical,” he said.

For years, Somalians didn’t even have an envoy to the U.S. Now they do, and he came to Mankato, which has a vibrant Somali population.

“This is very significant,” he said. “We’re making global connections.”

Ahmed said she was excited to show Arman the strength of the local Somali community, how they work together, how their students have adapted to American public schools and have succeeded at Minnesota State University and South Central College

Mohammed Ali Samantar is the only living vestige of the Barre regime, the last government in two decades to exercise central control over Somalia and, not coincidentally, the last that was impudent enough to try. When Siad Barre was finally overthrown in 1991, Samantar, who had served as defense minister and prime minister, fled, in a storm of bullets, to Italy. He eventually made his way to Fairfax, Va., where he lived in suburban obscurity until a group of Somali nationals discovered him, hired a lawyer, and sued for damages.

According to his accusers, the Barre regime committed unforgivable acts of violence against them and their families, offenses spanning a range of brutality from arbitrary detention, to torture, rape and extrajudicial killing. Samantar was allegedly aware of the crimes being perpetrated against civilians and yet failed to stop them. The suit was dismissed by a federal district court and then reinstated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. It is now pending before the Supreme Court, where a peculiar coalition of defenders is urging reversal.

Among them, to the confusion of some observers, are five prominent pro-Israel organizations. In joint amicus briefs, the groups insist that as a former government official, Samantar should be immune from suit. To hold otherwise, they warn, would violate international law and set an inviting precedent for Israel’s enemies and their supporters in the human-rights community.

The arrival of the Israel lobby adds geopolitical intrigue to a case that already read like a Ludlum thriller. And because it speaks to real and immediate consequences, it lends concreteness to a discussion that would have otherwise carried on in the abstract. It is one thing for a lawyer to appeal to legal authority for the proposition that the courts of one nation ought not sit in judgment of the acts of another; it is quite another for five groups purporting to represent the interests of the Israeli government to advise that doing so in this case would be to declare open season on Israeli officials in U.S. courts.

It is not without some irony that organizations claiming to represent Israel, a state conceived in the wake of unprecedented state-sponsored violence, find their wagon hitched to the cause of an alleged war criminal. Nor does the position square, at least not at first glance, with less expansive interpretations of sovereign immunity advanced by the lobby’s constituents in the past. Just this year, Israeli victims of rocket fire on the Lebanese border sued the Iranian government, by way of its central banks, on the theory that it provided material support to Hezbollah, the source of the rockets. Last December, a pro-Israel group in Europe sued leaders of Hamas in a Belgium court, invoking what it described as the court’s “universal” jurisdiction over cases arising from war crimes. In both cases, sovereign immunity was an obstacle standing between Israeli interests and a favorable judgment; here, in Samantar’s case, supporters of Israel invoke it as a shield.

Nearly 1,000 suits against Israelis
In fact, Israel is far more likely to find itself on the receiving end of a human-rights suit. According to one report, nearly 1,000 suits have been filed globally against Israeli officials and military personnel alleging war crimes and other abuses. The defense ministry expects some 1,500 more will follow, many stemming from military operations in the coastal territories, but also some taking aim at the less violent aspects of Israeli anti-terror strategy, including one suit describing the security fence as a “crime against humanity.” An Israeli newspaper published a “wanted” list of current and former officials who are among the common named defendants. The list, which was republished in briefs to the court, reads like a who’s who in Israeli political and military history.

The forums for these suits vary, but they commonly feature developed Western countries that have lowered the drawbridge for human-rights litigants. Steering many of the cases are nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), some based in the Middle East with ties to the Palestinian government, others based in the West. In these suits supporters of Israel see pretext. They describe a more sinister objective, a coordinated effort to bring Israeli officials into federal courtrooms: The idea is to delegitimize Israel, but not before dragging officials through an invasive and costly discovery process. Do it enough and Israeli officials will start thinking twice before traveling to the United States, or, worse yet, before assuming roles that could expose them to suits.

In the immediate term, the briefs warn, relations between the United States and Israel will suffer. Like any partnership, the US/Israeli alliance benefits from a rich and ongoing exchange of people and ideas. For the exchange to thrive, current and former Israeli officials must be able to travel to and within the United States without fear of being served with a lawsuit. By way of illustration, the American Jewish Congress recounts the story of Moshe Ya’alon, a retired Israeli general who was recently summoned to court upon arriving in Washington for a think-tank forum. The complaint, which sought damages for civilian deaths resulting from a battle on the Lebanese border between Israel and Hezbollah, was perfunctory. With respect to Ya’alon, it alleged only that he served in the army chain-of-command during the relevant period. The district court dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds and the D.C. Circuit affirmed, concluding that the immunity of a foreign state extends to its former officials. Ya’alon never had to step foot in a courtroom.

Now suppose that instead of Washington, he had been served with the suit 15 minutes away, in Arlington, Va. In that event the dismissal of his suit would have been appealed to the Fourth Circuit, which, as we learned in Samantar’s case, does not share the D.C. Circuit’s view on official immunity. In other words, had Ya’alon booked a hotel across the river, he might well still be there today.

A statutory nightmare
Naturally, US-Israeli relations didn’t figure into the Supreme Court’s questioning at oral arguments. The justices had assembled to resolve a disagreement among the federal circuit courts over whether sovereign immunity extends to officials. Accordingly, they trained their focus on Samantar and his theory of the case, which rests on the off-stated maxim that one equal has no dominion over another equal. That this saying, which encapsulates the principle of sovereign immunity, is most commonly recited in Latin suggests something about its vintage. It is as close to a truism as a proposition can come in a foggy discipline like international law, and it is an animating principle of the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA). That law changed the way U.S. courts process suits against foreign governments. Before 1976, a court needed the go-ahead from the State Department before docketing such cases. When this approach proved unwieldy, Congress vested gate-keeping authority in the federal courts and then cabined it by stripping them of jurisdiction over suits against foreign states that don’t fit within a narrow set of exceptions.

Until recently it was generally accepted that these same protections applied to foreign officials. After all, a suit against a foreign official acting on behalf of a state is effectively a suit against the state. True, the caption may list the Minister of Defense rather than the Ministry of Defense, and the plaintiff may have his sights set on a personal bank account rather than the national treasury, but in either case the court is sitting in judgment of the state’s actions. It has intuitive appeal, this idea. It also has the support of the majority of the federal circuits.

But as the Fourth Circuit pointed out below, the argument is without support in the one place it needs it most — the text of the FSIA. FSIA extends sovereign immunity to “foreign states” as well as their “agencies and instrumentalities,” but it remains silent on the matter of foreign officials. For supporters of broad immunity, this omission is proof that the identity of interests between a foreign sovereign and its officials is self-evident. Congress, they argue, had no reason to split hairs, to try to distinguish the indistinguishable. Opponents insist that if Congress wanted to extend immunity to foreign officials, it would have said so.

Another wrinkle
The theory that foreign officials are immune from lawsuits encounters a more mystifying problem in the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA), a federal law that permits victims of state-sponsored torture to bring suit in the United States against culpable foreign officials. The TVPA is one of the statutes supplying the cause of action in the suit against Samantar, but that’s not why it’s important. Rather, as Justice Kennedy pointed out during oral arguments, the text of the TVPA appears to make a mockery of the proposition that foreign officials are never amenable to suit in U.S courts. To read the law any other way would be to watch it evaporate, an entire congressional enactment rendered useless, leaving torture victims a right without a remedy. The court, Justice Kennedy reminds, is not in the business of reading entire statutes out of existence.

Supporters of immunity for foreign officials counter that allowing the case to proceed against Samantar would be just as devastating for FSIA. As a preoccupation of Justice Breyer’s, this argument soaked up a fair amount of the court’s time. The consensus is that opening officials to suits would allow litigants to undermine the intent of the FSIA without actually violating it. In Ya’alon’s case, instead of suing the Ministry of Defense, a lawyer with his wits about him would simply name Ya’alon, the former head of army intelligence, and the suit would survive. “What you are saying,” Breyer concluded, “is that FSIA is only good against a bad lawyer.”

Hedging, counsel for the plaintiffs reminded the Court that jurisdiction is not the only hurdle between a foreign official and liability. Once a plaintiff establishes jurisdiction, there are other age-old immunity doctrines that shield foreign officials from suit. There is the head of state doctrine, for instance, which protects current and former leaders from prosecution and civil liability, or the doctrine of diplomatic immunity, a similar, if more controversial, safeguard for diplomats and their staff. But there is no small difference between immunity from suit and immunity from liability. To have the former without the latter is to have comfort without convenience; it is, so to speak, the difference between putting up and showing up.

The Supreme Court is thus left to choose between two seemingly impossible outcomes. Extend sovereign immunity to foreign officials and the Torture Victim Protection Act is gutted, along with U.S. credibility in the human rights community. Expose them to suit and make hash of one of the core objectives of the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act—saving key allies the expense and embarrassment of defending national security decisions in US courts. To the extent possible, courts generally try to read conflicting statutes in a way that gives effect to both. But even with so much hanging in the balance, coexistence between the TVPA and the FSIA appears impossible. Unimpressed and evidently undecided, the justices took the case under advisement.

Sam Singer is a 2009 graduate of Emory Law School and a staff law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Canadain Somali Congress

The Canadian Somali Congress recently hosted a community town hall meeting in Ottawa in order to discuss issues of importance to the Canadian Somali community with the Federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Transport Minister John Baird.  The main issues that were brought up included immigration issues as well as problems that are constantly faced by Canadian Somalis at borders and airports.  The event also provided the community with an opportunity to hear from Minister John Baird on his recent trip to Ethiopia that was undertaken by him to try and secure the freedom of Canadian Somali Bashir Makhtal.  For the benefit of those community members that couldn’t attend this important event, here are the main points that were raised by the community and the two ministers in the meeting:
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Opening remarks:
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Transport minister John Baird spoke to the community about his ongoing efforts to secure the freedom of Canadian Somali Bashir Makhtal from illegal Ethiopian detention.  The Minister told the community that one of the results of his recent trip to Ethiopia is that he is now working to meet certain requirements that the Ethiopian government has put in place before they agree to finally release Bashir.  He concluded his remarks on this subject by promising that he will continue to work hard on this case until Bashir Makhtal comes home.

Immigration minister Kenney spoke at length about Government of Canada’s engagement with the Somali community here as well as with the nation of Somalia.  He spoke about the fact that it was the government of Brian Mulroney that opened the doors to thousands of Somali refugees as they made a new home in Canada in the late 80s and early 90s.  The minister also hailed the strong leadership shown by Ahmed Hussen of the Canadian Somali Congress on the issue of the deaths of Canadian Somalis in Alberta and the integration of young members of the community into the mainstream

Questions and Answers:
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Issue of bringing a large number of Somali refugees to Canada

There were numerous questions from the audience that asked the immigration minister whether the Canadian government is willing to bring hundreds or even thousands of Somali refugees that are living in refugee camps around the world.  For example, Ahmed Hussen pointed out that the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya is now the largest camp in the world and has families there that have been living in it for two decades.  Minister Kenney in principle said that he is willing to bring a large number of Somali refugees to Canada if certain conditions are met.  He said that if the community through an organization like the Canadian Somali Congress reached an agreement with the Government of Canada in terms of contributing to some of the settlement costs of the refugees, he would be willing to work with the community to bring a large number of Somali refugees to Canada.  He urged the Canadian Somali Congress to follow up on this issue by talking to the Vietnamese community and learn about how they successfully brought thousands of Vietnamese refugees to Canada. �

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Problems encountered by Canadian Somalis at borders and airports:
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Many people at the event asked the two ministers questions regarding difficulties experienced by Canadian Somalis at the US border and at airports.  Transport minister John Baird answered this question by stating categorically that Canada does not engage in racial profiling.  He told the community that if they have documented proof of cases where they have been racially profiled then the community should bring these cases forward so that those officials who engage in racial profiling can be removed from those positions.  The minister also noted that there are now many Canadian Somalis who work at the Ottawa airport.
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Immigration backlogs and delays in sponsorships faced by Canadian Somalis:
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There were some questions that dealt with the issue of immigration backlog and delays faced by Canadian Somalis in spousal and family reunification sponsorships.  Immigration minister Jason Kenney answered this question by speaking about the enormous backlog faced by Canadians and foreign nationals from all parts of the world and that this was not a problem that is peculiar to the Somali community.  He spoke about the fact that Canada is the second-most desired destination of immigrants around the world.  He added that he would be willing to work with the community through the Canadian Somali Congress in order to look at ways to improve services and speed processes at Canadian diplomatic missions that are used by Somali refugees and by Canadian Somalis when they travel abroad.  The minister said that he is willing to consider hiring more staff if that is what is needed to solve this problem facing the community.  As an example, the minister revealed that he will soon undertake a trip to Nairobi, Kenya in order to see for himself whether there are ways to improve consular services at the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi.

The National President of the Canadian Somali Congress, Ahmed Hussen, concluded the meeting by thanking the two ministers for taking time off their busy schedule to meet the community on a Sunday afternoon.  He spoke about the challenges facing the community but also pointed out the success and dynamism of the Canadian Somalis.  For example, he pointed out that the entrepreneurial spirit of our community has resulted in the revitalization of Alberta avenue, an area of Edmonton that was previously known for crime and destitution.  Ahmed also spoke about the fact that the vast majority of the Canadian Somali community are no longer immigrants and that most of them no longer need immigrant settlement services.  What they need is for the Government of Canada to work with the community in order to make sure Canadian Somali youth who are the majority of the community, get access to adequate jobs and professions.  In short, the Canadian Somali community wants to integrate quickly so as to enjoy the fruits of the mainstream

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A veiled female journalist (who also happens to be wearing a snug denim skirt) sits in a soundproof studio with a fuzzy microphone in front of her face.

“Salaam Aleikum,” she says, greeting a man who has called in to the radio station.

� Jehad Nga for The New York Times (Enlarge image)The station is a beacon of freedom for reporters, editors, technicians and disc jockeys all across Somalia.

“Yes, hello,” he replies anxiously. “I want to talk about pirates. These guys aren’t being treated fairly.”

In a booth next door, news producers prepare the daily diet of mayhem and more: three bodies found in Bakaro market; President Sheik Sharif preaches reconciliation at a mosque; Islamic scholars speak out about the Shabab insurgent group cutting off hands; the livestock market is looking up and the price of goats, thank God, is steadily rising.

Good Morning. . .Mogadishu!

This is a typical day at Radio Mogadishu, the one and only relatively free radio station in south central Somalia where journalists can broadcast what they like — without worrying about being beheaded. The station’s 90-foot antennas, which rise above the rubble of the neighborhood, have literally become a beacon of freedom for reporters, editors, technicians and disc jockeys all across Somalia who have been chased away from their jobs by radical Islamist insurgents.

Whoever controls Mogadishu, controls Radio Mogadishu, and since the station opened in 1951 that has meant nattily dressed Italian administrators, a short-lived democratic government, a military dictator, various warlords and assorted thugs, Islamist sheiks and now a weak but internationally recognized transitional government that does not have a grip on the capital but is ensconced in the hilltop neighborhood where the station is.

Radio Mogadishu’s 100 or so employees are marked men and women, because the insurgents associate them with the government. The journalists eat and sleep here, rarely venturing out. Most get paid a few hundred dollars a month. Some, like the station’s senior political correspondent, Abdi Aziz Mahamoud Africa, strut around the compound in baggy jeans and Western-style jerseys that could get them killed in other parts of town.

A platoon of Ugandan soldiers, part of the African Union peacekeeping mission here, is hunkered down behind sandbags at the station’s gate, the business end of their rifles trained on the warren of shot-up streets and blasted-out homes outside. Few people even live here anymore. Somalia has become one of the most dangerous places in the world to practice journalism, with more than 20 journalists assassinated in the past four years. “We miss them,” Mr. Africa said about his fallen colleagues.

He cracked an embarrassed smile when asked about his name. “It’s because I’m dark, really dark,” he said.

Mr. Africa used to work at one of the city’s other radio stations (the city has more than 10) but decided to move on after fighters with the Shabab dropped by and threatened to kill the reporters if they did not broadcast pro-Shabab news. Mr. Africa called the Shabab meddlers “secret editors” and now he carries a gun.

“I tried to get the other journalists to buy pistols,” Mr. Africa remembered. “But nobody listened to me.”

Another reporter, Musa Osman, said that his real home was only about a mile away.

“But I haven’t seen my kids for months,” he said.

He drew his finger across his throat and laughed a sharp, bitter laugh when asked what would happen if he went home.

The digs here are hardly plush. Most of the journalists sleep on thin foam mattresses in bald concrete rooms. The station itself is a crumbling, bullet-scarred reflection of this entire nation, which has been essentially governmentless for nearly two decades.

One of the buildings on the compound is a heap of pulverized rubble with a blown-out ceiling. “Black Hawk Down,” one young journalist explained, almost proudly. The building was apparently bombed in 1993, when the station was run by Gen. Mohammed Farah Aideed, a notorious Somali warlord whose militiamen fought against American troops in a vicious street battle later immortalized by the book and film, “Black Hawk Down.”

Mr. Aideed’s mustachioed, almost goofy-looking visage still gazes from a wall, along with sepia-toned photographs of Somalia’s last dictator, Gen. Mohammed Siad Barre. Nearby is an old dog-eared timetable for Somali airlines titled, “The White Star Service.” The White Star has not flown for years.

In a city where relentless small-caliber gunfire has reduced just about every monument, library and place of note to a pile of sun-bleached concrete block, Radio Mogadishu may be one of the last surviving repositories of Somali history. In a shadowy back room, past ancient turntables and gutted speakers with wires shooting out, are miles and miles of reel-to-reel tapes stacked floor to ceiling in 10-foot-high racks. They are carefully labeled in fading ink: old speeches, cultural songs, patriotic songs, interviews with nomads and other mementos of a vanishing culture. Every week, some of the tapes are dusted off and played on a show called “Reminisces.”

“This place is a cultural treasure, believe it or not,” said Mukhtar Ainashe, a presidential adviser.

The United Nations is trying to help the Somalis convert the vintage tapes to compact discs before humidity and time overtake them. The fledging Somali government is also pouring in resources, like a new transmitter that will expand coverage from a few miles to more than 60, because Radio Mogadishu is seen as a key piece of its hearts-and-minds strategy to pull the public over to the government’s side.

But the journalists here insist they are not merely public relations agents.

They air the speeches of insurgent leaders, they say, and stories about government soldiers robbing citizens.

“If the government does something bad,” Mr. Africa said. “We report it.”

Kenya serves as “a major base” for Islamist groups battling Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government, the United Nations says in a recent report that also details the Kenyan government’s training of TFG forces — in apparent violation of a UN embargo.

Kenyan nationals account for about half of all foreigners fighting in Somalia under the banner of the Al Shabaab insurgency force, the report says.

Many of these fighters are recruited through a support network in Nairobi consisting of “wealthy clerics-cum-businessmen, linked to a small number of religious centres notorious for their links to radicalism,” the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia states in its March 10 report.

Leaders of Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam, the other main insurgent group in Somalia, “travel with relative freedom to and from Nairobi, where they raise funds, engage in recruitment and obtain treatment for wounded fighters,” the Monitoring Group finds.

Some African and European diplomats based in Nairobi meanwhile engage in visa fraud that enables the smuggling of illegal migrants into Europe and other destinations for fees of about $12,000 for a man and $15,000 for a woman, the UN says.

The ambassador of an African country to Kenya reportedly plays a key role in this visa fraud scheme, the report adds.

The Nairobi embassy of another country in the Horn of Africa is said to funnel cash on a monthly basis to insurgent forces inside Somalia. “An estimated $1.6 million of such funding may have passed through Kenya alone in 2008,” the report says.

The Monitoring Group criticises the Kenyan government for its failure to co-operate with UN investigations of breaches of the arms embargo established by the Security Council in 1992.

“One notable exception,” the report adds, “was the Kenya Police Criminal Investigations Division, which provided valuable assistance to the Monitoring Group.”

The report also cites Kenyan authorities’ denials of “sanctions-busting” activities that the UN charges they have carried out or abetted.

The Monitoring Group points in particular to military training that Kenya conducted last year on behalf of the TFG for some 2,500 youths recruited from inside Somalia and from northeastern Kenya, including the Dadaab refugee camps.

Kenyan officials have acknowledged training TFG police officers, but “initially denied any other type of training,” the Monitoring Group notes.

In the absence of authorisation from the United Nations, such training initiatives are in violation of the arms embargo.

The Monitoring Group further confirms that Kenya’s training of TFG recruits involved numerous “irregularities,” including recruitment of children and Kenyan citizens as well as “false promises of financial remuneration.”

The Mosque connection

In detailing connections between Somalis in Nairobi and insurgent fighters in Somalia, the Monitoring Group names several mosques in the Kenyan capital.

“The networks organised around these institutions have long provided both ideological leadership and a resource base for Somali militants,” the UN report states.

It describes a 31-year-old cleric “believed by the government of Kenya to have obtained Kenyan nationality under false pretences,” as a key leader of one such mosque. The cleric issued a fatwa in February 2009 calling for attacks on the TFG and Amisom troops, the report says.

It identifies another leader of the same mosque, “who travels freely between Nairobi and Mogadishu.”
He regularly engages in online forums with Al Shabaab recruiters and trainers in Mogadishu, the report says.

Source: The East African

* Djibouti president hopes for third mandate starting 2011
* Sees Somalia situation improving
* Expects up to 6 pct GDP growth in 2010
* Chinese to transform port into region’s shipping hub

The president of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh signalled in an interview that he was prepared to run for a third six-year term if lawmakers amend the constitution in the small Horn of Africa nation.

The national assembly is expected to decide next week on an extension of presidential terms in office and speculation has surrounded his plans to run for a third mandate.

“This is a demand from our population and this will be next year. Let us wait for the outcome of the national commission that is working on the subject,” Guelleh said in an interview on Saturday at the 19th century French colonial presidential palace on the shores of the Indian Ocean.

Asked if he would accept the parliament’s decision to approve a third term, he said: “If it’s God’s will.”

Guelleh took office in 1999 and his second mandate expires in April 2011

Djibouti, a former French colony which separates Eritrea from Somalia, hosts France’s largest military base in Africa and a major U.S. base. Its port is used by foreign navies patrolling busy shipping lanes off the coast of Somalia to fight piracy.

Guelleh said he believed the situation in Somalia was improving.

“I think the situation is better than before. There is some sort of fed-up (mood) among the Somali people especially of Mogadishu’s citizens which suffer from this opposition. I think that (President) Sheikh Sharif (Ahmed) will prevail,” he said.

Since 2007, fighting between pro-government militia and the Islamist al Shabaab group — which Washington sees as al Qaeda’s proxy in the region — has killed more than 21,000 Somalis and driven 1.5 million from their homes.

Ahmed joined a Western-backed peace process and was voted president of Somalia in January 2009 in an election which took place in Djibouti.

Guelleh said he was not planning to send more troops to Somalia on top of the 450 Djibouti has pledged to boost a 5,000 strong African Union force there.

Relations between Djibouti and neighbouring Eritrea under President Isaias Afwerki remain hostile.

The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Eritrea in December, accusing it of destabilising the region by providing funds and arms to Islamist insurgents in Somalia. Eritrea has denied the allegations.

“We are now in the process of implementation of the resolution which we hope will make this guy more flexible to the international community,” Guelleh said, referring to Isaias. “He must abide by international law.”

Guelleh said he expected Djibouti’s 2010 gross domestic product (GDP) to come in above a 5.4 percent estimate by the International Monetary Fund.

“We have not so much been affected by the financial crisis. We hope that there will be an influx of foreign direct investment which will boost our economy. We hope that we will achieve 5.7 or even 6 percent,” he said.

Chinese will be Djibouti’s biggest investors next year and in 2012, Guelleh said. “The Chinese will help make the port of Djibouti the biggest hub in this region. That will cost nearly half a billion U.S. dollars,” he said.

“We’ll have an electrified railway from Djibouti to Addis Ababa — also by the Chinese. And we’ll have geothermal energy. And we are in discussions with French investors (about) wind farms.”

(Reporting by Martina Fuchs; Additional reporting by Abdourahim Arteh; Editing by Noah Barkin)