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Tag: Somalia

  • Famine: Organisation calls for increased humanitarian aid for Somalia

    Famine: Organisation calls for increased humanitarian aid for Somalia

    An International charity organisation on Monday called on donors to increase humanitarian aid to help avert famine in Somalia where the lives of some 2.7 million people are at risk.

    In a statement issued on the eve of London for Somalia humanitarian conference, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) warned that half a million people today are on the brink of famine.

    “The international community saved thousands of lives in Somalia last year, and helped stop a famine before it could happen.

    “Less humanitarian aid now threatens to throw the country back into a deeper crisis, even towards catastrophe,” NRC Regional Director Nigel Tricks said in a statement.

    The focus of the High-Level Event for the Humanitarian Situation in Somalia is to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in Somalia and generate political and financial momentum for the 2018 humanitarian response and recovery.

    The Tuesday event will bring together senior decision makers and partners to agree on how to plan and fund the 2018 humanitarian response, address priority gaps, review lessons from the successful 2017 famine prevention response and how these can be applied to best effect in 2018.

    According to the charity, while the country dodged famine in 2017, 2.7 million people today are living in what the UN describes as crisis or emergency phases of hunger.

    “Aid works, as humanitarian aid saved countless lives in Somalia in 2017, but 2018 promises a new year of crisis.

    “Somalia’s forecast includes continued drought for several regions this year,” Tricks said.

    Read Also: Two senior UN officials in Somalia to help tackle food insecurity

    “Without a focused effort by government and the international community to maintain support for Somalis at risk, thousands of people may be pushed back over the edge,” he warned.

    According to the charity, the humanitarian community seeks 1.5 billion U.S. dollars for programs to sustain and rebuild the drought and conflict stricken country in 2018 with focus on drought.

    A catastrophe was averted in 2017 as donors, governments and agencies heeded crisis warnings, and acted quickly to help hold off another famine.

    This year the situation is urgent as 5.4 million Somalis will need
    humanitarian aid.

    According to the charity, no fewer than 300,000 children under age five are acutely malnourished, including 48,000 severely malnourished children who face an increased risk of death.

    Some 1.1 million people fled their homes due to drought and conflict in 2017 in Somalia, adding to the one million people who were already displaced within the country from previous years.

    NAN

  • Suicide bomber kills 13 in police academy

    Suicide bomber kills 13 in police academy

    A suicide bomber in police uniform blew himself up inside a police training camp in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu on Thursday, killing at least 13 police officers, officials said.

    Police spokesman Maj. Mohamed Hussein said the attacker, with explosives strapped to his body, infiltrated the General Kahiye Police Training Academy and struck during a police parade.

    Abdikadir Abdirahman, the director of Amin Ambulances, told Reuters: “We have carried 13 dead people and fifteen others who were injured from the police academy.”

    The militant Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack.

    “We will give details of casualties later,” said Abdiasis Musab, the group’s military operations spokesman.

    Al Shabaab carries out frequent bombings in Mogadishu and other towns.

    It is waging an insurgency against the UN-backed government and its African Union allies in a bid to topple the weak administration and impose its own strict interpretation of Islam.

    The militants were driven out of Mogadishu in 2011 and have since been steadily losing territory to the combined forces of African Union peacekeepers and Somali security forces. (Reuters/NAN)

  • U.S. air strike kills 100 militants in Somalia – Military

    U.S. air strike kills 100 militants in Somalia – Military

    The U.S. military said on Tuesday that an air strike targeting an al Shabaab camp had killed 100 militants.

    In a statement, U.S. Africa Command said the strike had been carried out 125 miles (201 km) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu and that the U.S. would continue to target militants.

    The strike was carried out in coordination with Somalia’s federal government.

    NAN reports that the Trump administration has more than doubled the number of U.S. troops in Somalia this year, putting them at the highest level since the 1993 Black Hawk Down episode that left 18 Americans dead.

    There are now more than 500 U.S. troops stationed in the east African country ravaged by civil war, Politico reported, the most since two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down and a pilot captured in Mogadishu more than two decades ago.

    It is the latest development in Trump’s strategy of expanding military commanders’ authority in the battle against jihadis in Africa.

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    The U.S. is now transporting more troops to Somalia to advise and train Somali troops in a bid to combat radical Islamists who have long operated in the failed state.

    As well as ramping up its troop presence in the country, the Pentagon has quietly increased its drone operations in Somalia.

    Since the beginning of 2017, the U.S. military has conducted 28 drone strikes against radical Islamists in Somalia.

    More than half of those—15 strikes—have been conducted since the beginning of September.

    The U.S. Africa Command conducted a total of 15 strikes in the whole of 2016.

    The strikes have predominantly targeted Al-Shabab, the group affiliated with Al-Qaeda that has been waging an insurgency against the Somali government since 2006.

    U.S. officials are also concerned about a growing presence of the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group in the country, and a potential influx of ISIS fighters into the country as the group loses territory in Iraq and Syria.

    The rival group to Al-Shabab has established a presence in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland in the north of Somalia.

    But Al-Shabab remains the most deadly jihadi force in the country, carrying out a series of large-scale bombings in Somali cities. The group carried out two major attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, in October.

    In one attack, on October 14, a huge truck bombing killed more than 350 people and injured at least 400 more. Authorities blamed Al-Shabab, although no group claimed responsibility for the attack.

    The truck stopped before its intended target and detonated while stationary, leaving open to speculation its final destination.

    Officials believe that the real target of the blast may have been a compound housing soldiers or the Somali foreign ministry.

    Read Also: Inter-Agency Rivalry Over in the Military, Says CDS

  • Africa must reposition its economy to attract investors – Osinbajo

    Africa must reposition its economy to attract investors – Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called on Africa to reposition its economy in the direction that will attractive investors because investment depends on the advantages derivable.

    Osinbajo made this call while interacting with a committee of African Ambassadors to Indonesia led by the dean of the group, Ms Alice Mageza of Zimbabwe, on the sideline of his two-day working visit to Jakarta.

    The Ambassadors include those of Egypt, Ethiopia, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan and Tunisia.

    Mr Laolu Akande, Spokesperson to the Vice President on Media and Publicity disclosed this in a statement made available on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The statement quoted Osinbajo as saying that Africa’s indices of having the lowest integration statistics as well as the lowest GDP ratio can only be reversed by preparing the continent for quality investments that will benefit the people.

    The vice president, who was responding to questions from the Ambassadors on the future of Africa’s economic prosperity, said, “the quality and quantum of potential investors in Africa is huge.

    “But that the way that such investments will go will depend on the advantages that the investors get from investing in such economies.

    “We in Africa must prepare our economies in that direction that attracts such huge and qualitative investments. It is for us to push and we must push,’’ he said.

    On the kinds of investments that Africa desires, Osinbajo said African must focus on the manufacturing sector.

    He noted, “the most important thing for Africa is that whoever wants to invest in our countries should start in manufacturing.’’

    He, however, urged African diplomats in Indonesia to work together in the quest for attracting investment opportunities to Africa.

    Osinbajo said, “if you negotiate together, it is probably going to be more effective than if we negotiate separately.’’

    Earlier, Vice President met with Indonesian business leaders under the auspices of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where he stressed the need for Indonesian companies to increase their investment portfolios in Nigeria.

    “Nigeria would like to see more Indonesian companies invest in the manufacturing sector even though there are quite a few activities going on in Nigeria; there is also room for more collaboration and cooperation.

    “The opportunities in the various sectors comprising oil and gas, manufacturing are huge because the major incentive lies in the market, the Nigerian and the West African markets.’’

    Giving an overview of ongoing projects in Nigeria and collaborations between Indonesian and Nigerian businesses, Osinbajo said Nigeria would need a rolling stock in its railway revitalization project.

    He outlined the various incentives given by the Federal Government to attract investors into Nigeria as, government’s efforts at increasing foreign exchange availability through the NIFEX market.

    Others he said include approval of pioneer status for some category of companies to enjoy a range of incentives; establishment of special economic zones; initiatives to increase foreign exchange availability and opening up of marginal fields.

    Earlier, some members of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry also expressed concern about the declining value of the Indonesia-Nigeria trade which currently stands at $1.70 billion dollars from $3.18 billion in 2012.

    The chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Rosan Roeslani said, “being the 15th largest economy in the world, Indonesia through its investors is desirous of increasing its portfolios to levels that justify Nigeria’s position as the country’s biggest trading partner in Africa.’’

    He said Osinbajo’s visit to Indonesia and meeting with the business leaders are strong indications that Nigeria is ready to take her pride of place among Indonesia’s biggest trading partners in the world.

    On her part, the Chief Executive Officer of Indonesia Exim Bank, Shintya Roesly expressed the readiness of the bank to support the revitalization of trade relations between both countries.

    She said this will be through the financing of import and export activities with a view to making even the balance of trade between the two countries.

    Roesly stressed the need for creation of a roadmap and the establishment of a working group with timelines to enhance trade development between both countries.

    Mr Daniel Purba, the representative of PERTAMINA – Indonesian state-owned oil and Natural Gas Corporation said the company has already opened discussions with stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

    According to him, this is with the view to investing in Nigeria’s upstream assets.

    There were other interests expressed by investors in the railway, aviation, agriculture and foods sectors.

    The Vice President was accompanied to the meeting by Mr Hakeem Balogun, Nigeria’s Ambassador to Indonesia; Dr Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Mines and Steel Development; Hajiya Zainab Ahmed.

    Others include the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning; Sen. Babafemi Ojudu, the Political Adviser to the President, and other top government officials.

    NAN

  • Bomb Attack Victims: Somalia appeals for humanitarian support

    Bomb Attack Victims: Somalia appeals for humanitarian support

    Somalia on Monday appealed to the international community to provide assistance to enable the government to respond to crisis following bomb attack in Mogadishu on Saturday, which had so far claimed more than 276 lives.

    The country’s Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management said the government had raised a team of ministers to coordinate and oversee the overall response to the national crisis.

    The ministry added that a government-led National Emergency Operations Centre had also been activated in line with the national disaster management policy to help respond to the crisis.

    It noted that “government had appealed to all actors on ground to coordinate the emergency operations centre so as to reach all victims affected by the deadly attack.”

    So far, Kenya, Turkey and Djibouti are among countries that offered medical assistance following the deadly attack that shocked the international community.

    A bomb-laden truck exploded at a busy junction in central Mogadishu lined with government buildings, restaurants, hotels and kiosks, killing 276 people and injuring over 300.

    The blast destroyed buildings and set vehicles ablaze, in one of the worst such attack to date in the capital, which suffered nearly three decades of violence.

    No group, including Al-Shabaab terror group which usually carries out such attacks, has claimed responsibility for the latest attack.

    The ministry said the team at the National Emergency Operation Centre was assisting with victim identification, information and data management, coordination of hospitals response across the city and providing logistics support.

    It said rescue workers had continued to work in the area and so far the death toll stood at 276 and
    300 injured.

    “However, these numbers may rise as more victims continue to be rescued from the rubbles in the surrounding area,” it said. (Xinhua/NAN)

  • UN pledges to avert worsening food crisis in North-East Nigeria

    UN pledges to avert worsening food crisis in North-East Nigeria

    The UN says it is doing everything possible to avert further deterioration of the food scarcity by victims of Boko Haram crisis in the North East.

    Mr Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, stated this at a press briefing on Monday in New York.

    According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, the food crisis in the northeast is going to deteriorate between now and the end of August, if there is no any action to prevent that.

    The deputy spokesman said “we have raised attention, as you know, including at the level of the Secretary‑General, to the food crisis there.

    “We have been trying to get humanitarian contributions to Nigeria.

    “As you know there are four countries – Nigeria, South Sudan, Yemen and Somalia.

    “We have tried to get more assistance to areas in need so that there is no food crisis, and we will continue with that,” said.

    Haq said, however, that the UN had no specific deadline to get the funding for the food supplies in the northeast.

    “This is something that we and the various agencies of the UN system have been pursuing and will continue to pursue until the material conditions on the ground improve,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that U.S. President Donald Trump recently approved 121 million dollars in aid to feed people facing food crisis because of drought and conflict in Northeast.

    The fund was approved through the U.S. Agency for International Development and the project would be carried out by the World Food Programme.

  • Starvation: Nigeria, Somalia, two others get Trump’s $639m aid

    Starvation: Nigeria, Somalia, two others get Trump’s $639m aid

    U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday promised 639 million dollars in aid to feed people facing starvation because of drought and conflict in Northeast Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

    Of the funding, 121 million dollars would go to Nigeria, according to Rob Jenkins, Acting Head, Bureau of Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

    Similarly, more than 191 million dollars would go to Yemen, 199 million dollars to South Sudan and nearly 126 million dollars for Somalia.

    “With this new assistance, the United States is providing additional emergency food and nutrition assistance, life-saving medical care, improved sanitation, emergency shelter and protection for those who have been affected by conflict,” USAID said in a statement

    Jenkins said conflicts in all the four countries had made it difficult to reach some communities in need of food.

    “We’re in a dire situation right now. The situation in southern Ethiopia fortunately does not rise to the dire situation of the other four, but the situation is deteriorating and might very well be catastrophic without additional interventions,” he said.

    Jenkins said that USAID was also concerned about the situation in southern Ethiopia, adding that Washington had already provided some 252 million dollars this year to Ethiopia, “but the needs continue to grow.”

    Trump’s pledge came during a working session of the G20 summit of world leaders in Hamburg, Germany, the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Executive Director, David Beasley, said on the sidelines of the meeting, according to Reuters.

    “We’re facing the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two,” Beasley said, describing the pledge as providing a “godsend” to the suffering millions and the global food agency fighting hunger worldwide.

    The new funding brings to over 1.8 billion dollars aid promised by the U.S. for fiscal year 2017 for the crises in the four countries, where the UN had estimated more than 30 million people needed urgent food assistance.

    Beasley said the U.S. funding was about a third of what the WFP estimated was required this year to deal with urgent food needs in the four countries in crisis as well as in other areas.

    The WFP estimates that 109 million people around the world will need food assistance this year, up from 80 million last year, with 10 of the 13 worst-affected zones stemming from wars and “man-made” crises, Beasley said.

    ” We estimated that if we didn’t receive the funding we needed immediately that 400,000 to 600,000 children would be dying in the next four months,” he said.

    Trump’s announcement came after his administration proposed sharp cuts in funding for the U.S. State Department and other humanitarian missions as part of his “America First” policy.

    Beasley said the agency had worked hard with the White House and the U.S. government to secure the funding, but Trump would insist that other countries contributed more as well.

  • Kenya: Police foils planned Somali militants attack

    Kenya: Police foils planned Somali militants attack

    The Kenyan police said it arrested six men suspected of planning an attack sponsored by the al Shabaab militant group from neighboring Somalia.

    In recent weeks, the East African nation has lost 20 officers in various attacks, mostly on deserted roads in the vast northern region bordering Somalia, in which the militants used Improvised Explosive Devices.

    Joseph Boinnet, the Inspector-General Police, said in a statement that two of the suspects were Kenyans and the others were Somali nationals.

    Police also seized assembled explosives, four suicide vests and bomb-making materials such as TNT.

    “The six had been dispatched from Burhanche in Somalia by their commanders to launch attacks in Kenya,” Boinnet said.

    Kenyan security forces worked with their counterparts in Somalia to foil the attack and to capture the suspects.

    The captured men were being interrogated to establish the extent of the entire network, Boinnet said.

    Kenya has faced a constant security challenge from across the border ever since it sent its troops into Somalia in late 2011, to help defeat the al Shabaab militants and restore order.

  • London Conference on Somalia

    SIR: An international conference on Somalia opened last week in London under the auspices of the UK government and the United Nations as part of efforts to restore peace and put the fragile government back on track.

    The conference’s major theme focused on the security architecture that the federal government must agree with the federal member states including what the future of Somalia National Army should look like and how to counter terrorism while protecting human rights.

    I believe this conference is coming at the right time with the focus on the above mentioned themes but, I think the international community and donor agencies should focus attention on food crisis and peace negotiations with the al-Shabab group more than any other items.

    The Horn of Africa is in dire need of urgent help, there is currently humanitarian crisis that is affecting the lives of thousands.

    CNN reports that fears of famine grow as hundreds have died; and the Somalia President Muhammad Abdullah Farmajo has declared a national disaster for a prolong drought that has forced about half of the county’s population to urgent food assistance and sparked fears of a potential famine.

    According to WHO, more than $4.4bn is needed to the famine catastrophe, and more than 6.2 million people – half of Somalia population needed urgent humanitarian aid, including almost three million who are going hungry.

    This figure is staggering; therefore the international donor agencies most do something now to save the lives of children and other people in need of urgent help!

    While there are reports that the ongoing conflict with the al-Shabab group is further blocking access to food, the conference should find a way of ending the crisis and the UN should call for a ceasefire so that food and medicines as well as other relief materials can be provided.

    It is our hope a lasting peace will be achieved in Somalia and other regions in Africa and the world over.

     

    • Abdullateef Tanko A.

    nayashit@yahoo.com

  • U.S; American service member killed in Somalia

    A U.S. service member has been killed in Somalia during a Somali-led mission against the al-Shabaab militant group, military officials said on Friday.

    U.S. Africa Command said the service member died on Thursday while U.S. forces were advising and assisting a Somali National Army operation about 40 miles (60 km) west of Mogadishu near Barii, Somalia.

    “U.S. forces were conducting an advise and assist mission alongside members of the Somali National Army,” it said in a statement.

    “U.S. forces are assisting partner forces to counter al-Shabaab in Somalia to degrade the al Qaeda affiliate’s ability to recruit, train and plot external terror attacks throughout the region and in America.”

    A Mogadishu-based security source told Reuters that the two other U.S. servicemen were wounded during the operation, when U.S. troops were hunting an al Shabaab commander near the Shabelle river,

    There were no casualties among the Somali special forces, he said.

    Al-Shabaab wants to overthrow the weak Western-backed Somali government and impose its own strict brand of Islamic law.

    Somalia has been torn apart by civil war since 1991, when clan-based warlords overthrew a dictator and then turned on each other.