The AfricaNews articles of Muhyadin
SOMALIA: 20 years thirst for drop of peace
Twenty years of the armed conflict in Somalia have taken massive toll on the people who are victimized by violence, abuse, disease, poverty and ignorance. Women and children have been at the suffering end and the once lively country is thirty for a drop of peace. The worst place where the daily attacks hit hardly is Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia. - "It is not only killings that have affected residents in Mogadishu but women are missing their husbands and children, some were forced to live different places, some have not heard each other for years," a civil sociality activist Abdikadir Salad told AfricaNews.
"Young boys are addicted to drugs, children got orphaned a…Sudan boycotts EU-Africa summit in Libya
Sudan is boycotting African-European summit that begins in Libya on Monday in protest at EU pressure on President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir not to attend, foreign ministry said. "Mr Bashir will not attend the summit and Sudan pulling out of at any level," said Sudanese foreign Minister Ali Ahmad Kari. - The minister who walked out of the closed door meeting after declaring Khartoum’s decision told reporters that Bashir’s no-show was to avoid embarrassment to Libya that hosting the summit gathering 80 nations.
The minister said the decision was taken "under pressure from Europe" and that he had received instructions to pull out of the pre-summit ministerial talk…Six AU peacekeepers arrested in Somalia
African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia has arrested six of its soldiers after two civilians were killed in indiscriminate gunshot in Mogadishu. The incident occurred Tuesday as convoy of heavily armed peacekeepers opened fire on civilians at a road between the international airport and the strategic Km 4 Area in South Mogadishu. - Nearly 10 civilians among them children were also wounded in the accident. The commander of the peacekeepers serving the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), Major General Nathan Mugisha, has apologized. Maj. Gen. Mugisha termed the incident unfortunate and shared with the Somali people their grief. He said that one of the wounded was being t…
4000 people die in Somalia between 2009/10
The death toll in Somalia's ongoing war has increased during the last two years, local human rights group told AfricaNews. The increment comes as shelling and fighting between government forces backed by AU peacekeepers and rebels reaches high proportions in the capital Mogadishu. - The lifeline Africa, the emergency traffic Ambulance service in Mogadishu said that at least 4260 people were killed in Mogadishu during 2009 and 2010.
The deaths of 2,171 people were a result of the clashes and shells that happened between January to October this year, a statement from the organization said.
Another 12,567 people were also wounded in the clashes of 2009 and 2010 among them 2,903 wom…Bashir to attend IGAD summit in Ethiopia
Sudan president Omar Hassan al-Bashir will fly to African Union headquarter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the 15th extraordinary Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) Summit on Sudan. Al-Bashir would lead a delegation to the special summit to take stock of the progress of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). - The summit begins Monday and is to encourage the parties to ensure full implementation of the remaining CPA agreement that brought a referendum that may divide African’s largest nation.
The Igad brokered CPA was signed in 2005 by the Government of Sudan and the Southern based Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Army (SPLMA) to end two decades of warf…Kenya suspends six police officers
Kenyan authority had suspended six police officers over allegations of being involved in smuggling of foreigners into the country. The officers including the North Eastern deputy PPO Philip Ndolo were interdicted following investigations that had been made by the country's police headquarters. - Others included a former deputy Provincial Criminal Investigations Officer (PCIO) in the province who had been transferred to Nairobi, a former OCPD in Garissa, his DCIO and two other senior commanders.
The officials who were handed their letters last week were asked to hand over government equipment until they are cleared.
The police headquarters had carried out secretly investigations fo…Sudan arrests nine human rights activists
Sudan detained nine Darfur activists among a prominent human rights lawyer, just weeks ahead of a southern referendum timetable. "The total number arrested is nine activists -- all of them from Darfur. One of them is a very active lawyer in the Darfur lawyer's association," a civil society leader Elbaqir Mokhtar said. - The leader said the soldiers are targeting the Human Rights and Advocacy Network for Democracy (HAND), for which most of those arrested, worked for.
He said there is no information about charges against them or even where they were being detained. Mokhtar said the arrests began on Saturday but continued until last night.
A source in Sudan's National …US renews Sudan economic sanctions
US president Barack Obama renewed US economic sanctions on Sudan for at least one year, keeping pressure on Khartoum to hold referendum on timetable. Obama said in a letter sent to members of Congress that the sanctions on Sudan was extended to long-standing economic sanctions, a notice required by law each year to keep them in place. - "Therefore, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared with respect to Sudan and maintain in force sanctions against Sudan to respond to this threat," the letter said to Congress.
The sanction which was first imposed on Sudan's support for regional terrorism in 1997 has banned all trade and investment…Tanzanian man jailed for double voting
A Tanzanian court has jailed Daudi Gindishi, 41, three years in prison after he was convicted of voting twice during general elections on Sunday. The Maswa district court has said the penalty should be a lesson to other people with similar habits. Local media reported the judgment happened on Monday. - The court would not consider the suspect’s defence who says this was his first offence. Magistrate Thomas Mtani said voting twice is very serious offence and sentenced the jail term without the option of paying the fine.
The security police arrested the man on Sunday because of suspicious of voting twice, the Tanzanian’s Citizen Newspaper reported.
The Chama Cha Demokrasia n…Somali forces sell weapons to Islamists
A former commander in the Somali military has admitted that government soldiers sell arms to insurgents seeking to topple western backed government. A former Chief of Staff of Somalia's Military, major general Yusuf Hussein Osman, says unpaid soldiers offered to sell their guns and ammunition to the enemy - Mr. Osman who served as the chief of staff in 2009 said the soldiers are not being paid their $100 monthly wage a long period.
“The biggest source for rebels’ arms is government forces. Unpaid soldiers get money from rebels and then hand to their arms”, said Maj.General Osman in an exclusive interview with AfricaNews.
Those who sell their guns to Islamist insu…Somali president, speaker clash over new PM
Somali president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and Parliament speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden clashed on approving a newly nominated Prime Minister Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. The tension rose after speaker of parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden postponed a vote to approve the PM after the assembly descended into chaos. - The parliament meeting which was scheduled to hold on Saturday was deferred into Wednesday to conduct a secret vote rather than an open one.
But Somali president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Sunday indicated the secret vote was unconstitutional.
A press statement released by President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said the 1960 constitution decreed the legislative body should express confid…Somalia: AU demand air and naval blockades
Somalia’s parliament fails to approve PM
Somalia's parliament failed to endorse a newly nominated PM Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. The speaker of parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, postponed a vote to approve the PM after the assembly descended into disarray. Lawmakers got into a commotion on whether the vote should be conducted in secret or openly. - As the chaos begun, the speaker of parliament announced that the vote will be held in secret and shall be postponed until Saturday. The newly prime minister needs MPs’ approval to carry out his duties.
Last week, Somali president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed appointed a Somali-American to be the new prime minister to replace Somali-Canadian Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, who r…Kenya arrests 39 Somali migrants
Kenya detained 39 Somali migrants who entered the country illegally. District commissioner Munzin Abdullatif said the migrants were arrested in two different locations after residents informed the police. "The foreigners were arrested in two different places within Mwachambe Forest, a few kilometres from where the 64 were arrested on Thursday night," said the district commissioner. - Mrs Abdullatif said the immigrants had not valid papers to stay in the country. The foreigners who most of them could not speak in either English or Kiswahili had come from Somalia via Nairobi and heading to South Africa, she added.
“We are investigating to determine how they entered the count…Somali pirates hold 26 foreign ships
Somali pirates are holding at least 26 foreign ships with 474 seafarers, an international maritime body Ecoterra said on Monday. The maritime group said among the 474 seafarers is an aging British couple and other five Somali born hostages from a breakaway region of Somaliland who are languishing in the pirates' hands. - "At least 26 foreign vessels plus one barge are kept in Somali (pirates) hands against the will of their owners as of Oct. 17, 16h00 UTC, while at least 474 hostages or captives -- including an elderly British yachting couple and the 5 new hostages from Somaliland -- suffer to be released," Ecoterra International said.
But the European Union Naval Force Som…Ethiopia releases rebel prisoners
Ethiopia released rebel prisoners captured from the country's most active group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). The Somali regional state prison commission said that the prisoners were freed in accordance with the recent peace agreement signed between the Ethiopian government and the ONLF. - Last week, some leaders of a breakaway Ethiopia rebel group of ONLF met with government officials in Addis Ababa to sign a peace deal.
The Ethiopian government claims that the breakaway group represents around 80 percent of the main group but the spokesman of the main group dismissed it as Addis Ababa's propaganda.
State prison commissioner Abdi Bedi Ousman said human right…Burundi refutes killing 22 ex-rebels
Burundi police denied that it had executed at least 22 members of a former rebel group. A police spokesman, Pierre Chanel Ntarabaganyi said: "It is not the first time the president of the Association for the Protection of Detainees and Human Rights have made accusations which are totally false." - Pierre Chanel Ntarabagnyi said that former rebel members had died during clashes between security forces and armed groups.
The head of the rights group, Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, accused that police agents or intelligence services summarily killed at least 22 militants of the National Liberation Forces (FNL).
"Small groups travel around and loot, kill and rape, and when police fa…Sudan: Abyei referendum deadline impossible
Leaders in North Sudan have said it is now impossible to hold a referendum on the future of an oil-rich region along the country's north-south border. "We have reached agreement that it is not possible to hold the vote in Abyei on 9 January," Al-Dirdiri Mohammed Ahmed, of the ruling National Congress Party, told reporters. - “The vote will run into a number of problems if it goes ahead on that date,” he said.
The vote on Abyei region is scheduled to take place at the same time as the referendum on southern independence. Abyei residents would decide whether to remain in the north or join the south.
It was part of the 2005 deal that had ended Africa’s l…Somali-American is new Somali PM
Somali president Sharif Shiekh Ahmed appoints a Somali-American to be the new prime minister. Ahmed said: "I hereby nominate Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed to be the prime minister of Somalia. His appointment came after long discussions and consultation with many concerned parties." - Abdullahi Mohamed who was educated at a community college in New York State replaces Somali-Canadian Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, who resigned last month. Sharmake resigned after a long-running feud with the president.
The 48-year-old told the local media he will give priority to security issues. “I will work with both the parliament and cabinet, and hope to work closely with President Sheikh Sh…South Sudan promises no fresh violence
South Sudan president Salva Kiir vowed that the country would not return to civil war. "There is no reverse to this peace agreement and no going back to war", first vice president of Sudan and president of the semi-autonomous south, Kiir said. - Speaking at the launch of a political conference for over 20 southern parties in Juba, Salva said:"We have suffered a lot and we don’t want to see people suffering again."
"We want peace and no return to war. No drop of blood should be shed again," he said.
The three day conference in Juba is aimed to establish common principles between all political leaders to support a free, fair and transparent referendu…Somali Islamists suspend Khat flights
Somali Islamist rebel had suspended operations at a local airport outside Mogadishu used for Khat flights from neighbouring Kenya. Officials said Al-Shabaab fighters who stormed the KM 50 airport in south of Mogadishu on Tuesday disarmed all of its guards and took control of the facility. - Khat is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
The group informed the traders that all airport services had been suspended temporarily. An official from Al-Shabaab said the airport may be operational later.
The Al-Qaeda linked group of Al-Shabaab has already banned selling Khat in public places in region under their control.
The KM 50 airport is the largest…Uganda seizes Museveni biography book
Ugandan Authorities had seized 500 copies of a book critical of President Yoweri Museveni, officials said. The book, "The Correct Line? Uganda under Museveni", was written by Olive Kobusingye, whose brother, Kizza Besigye, is challenging Museveni for the presidency in elections next year. - The Uganda Revenue Authority seized the book which shipped from a UK publisher last Tuesday at Entebbe airport.
It is investigating whether the content could cause social disorder, an official told AFP.
"I wouldn't call it confiscation," said Sarah Birungi Banage, spokeswoman for the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), confirming the customs department has taken possession of th…Somalia: Pirates hijack ship with 20 Filipinos
Somali pirates have seized a Japanese ship with 20 Filipino crews on board in the Somali Basin, the European Union naval force said on Monday. A Danish warship was sent to investigative the Panama-flagged MV IZUMI ship early Monday after owners received a distress signal on Sunday. - "In the early hours of October 11 the captain of the vessel made contact with the Danish warship, stating that pirates were in charge of the MV Izumi," the EU Naval force spokesman Lt. Col. Per Klingvall said in a statement.
The ship which is now traveling to Somalia is around 170 miles (274 kilometers) south of the Somali capital of Mogadishu. The French warship FS Floreal is monitoring the situat…Sudan president warns of new civil war
Sudan President Omar Hassan al-Bashir accused the country's southern autonomous leadership of breaking terms of a peace deal. He warned a conflict could re-erupt if the two sides did not resolve disputes before referendum vote. al-Bashir's speech raised the stakes in a war of words between Khartoum and former rebel group of the Sudan people's liberation movement (SPLM), the south government. - The president said he is still committed to hold the referendum on the south’s independence, which is planned to take place on 9th January, 2011 but insisted both sides first had to settle differences over the site of their borders. He said they must also think of how to share oil,…EU to monitor south Sudan referendum
Sudan and European Union have agreed that EU observers monitor the upcoming referendum in January. "We signed a memorandum with the European Union to facilitate the work of their observers," the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission spokesman Jamal Mohammed Ibrahim told reporters. - The commission expects that 80 EU observers will come in the region for the exercise.
"The EU remains committed to support the referendum in Sudan," said Carlo De Filippi, the head of the EU delegation in Khartoum. "The European Observation Mission is an independent body who will cover both the registration and polling periods."
EU observers monitored Sudanese parliamentary elec…Kenya arrests German terror suspect
Kenya police detained a German man on suspicion of terrorism and deported back to his home. Sascha Alessadro Bottcher, 23, a Muslim convert, is thought to have arrived in Kenya en route to Somalia to join that country's Al-Qaeda linked group of Al-Shabaab. - The man flew from Frankfurt airport, onboard a Condor Air aircraft and landed Kenya through the Moi International Airport.
Kenya was tipped off by German authorities who received a letter written by Bottcher to his mother which said he is going to Somalia and would not return alive.
The German foreign ministry confirmed on Tuesday that a Geman man had been held by Kenya but declined no further details.
The Berlin based new…Ethiopia's Zenawi sworn in as PM
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been sworn into office for another five years following four months disputed landslide election win. He will nominate new ministers this week. The Ethiopia's rulling party of People's Revolutionary Democratic Front and its allies have won 545 seats in the 547 parliament members. - The country’s biggest opposition coalition, the eight-party Medrek, won only one seat in the parliament but did not trust the electoral board.
Medrek and other Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP) demanded re-run election, saying the vote was rigged. The country's electoral board and Supreme Court denied the demands.
Meles who overthrew the communis…Tanzania: Vodacom to reach 10m subscribers
A mobile phone operator Vodacom has announced plans to expand its subscribers in Tanzania. Vodacom Tanzania managing director Dietlof Mare declared the company's ambition is to reach over 10 million subscribers. Vodacom is now subscribed to more than 8.5 million phones in Tanzania. - “We are market leaders and our goal is to remain in number one position in terms of the number of subscribers, quality of services provided and the value for money”, he said in Dar es Salaam.
He was speaking at the firm’s 10th anniversary; Mare described Vodacom’s 10-year-old operation as “rewarding, exciting and highly challenging”.
He said his company is now lead…Kenya: Eleven Somali pirates jailed 55yrs
Kenya has sentenced 11 Somali pirates to five years each in jail for piracy on Wednesday. They were sent under lock and key for attempting to hijack a Liberian-flagged merchant ship in the Indian Ocean last year. The pirates tried to seize the Safmarine container ship in April, last year, but naval force from a French warship foiled it. - The French warship Nivose had handed the pirates to the Kenya authorities for trial. The men were aged between 22 and 34 year.
They were identified as Liban Ahmed, Ali Hassan, Tahlil Hassan, Abdinasir Hassan, Osman Farah, Abdullahi Omar, Abdi Hassan, Ahmed Dahir, Hassan Ahmed, Hirsi Hassan and Mohamed Dahir.
Defence lawyer Jared Magolo said the men …Kenya detains 34 illegal Somalis
Kenyan Police have arrested 34 Somali migrants last weekend at the border town. The migrants were heading to Nairobi as a transit place to other countries, police said. Two taxi drivers were also detained for trying to negotiate with the security personnel to release the migrants. - The migrants who were escaping the escalating violence in their homeland are 22 males and 12 females.
They had paid 220 dollars each to dealers to bribe their way from Somalia to Nairobi and then on to Mombasa from where they make their way to other countries abroad, police added.
At least 17,000 illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa flee to South Africa annually. Most of them transit through Kenya, ac…Dutch police free Somali terror suspect
Dutch police released a Somali-born British man who was arrested on suspicion of terrorism. Prosecutors said the man was freed on Wednesday to depart from the Netherlands. He was arrested over the weekend at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport where he was a transit to Uganda. He arrived from John Lennon Airport in Liverpool to Entebbe, Uganda. - He was detained after a tip-off that he was planning to engage in terrorism in Somalia. However, investigators failed to confirm the information.
Dutch and British authorities questioned the man as well as other witnesses and carried out searches. But "The investigation failed to confirm the information received on Sunday, September 19,"…Dutch police arrests Somali terror suspect
Dutch Police arrested a Somali-born British man on suspicion of terrorism. The man was arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport en route from England's Liverpool to Entebbe, Uganda. Reports say the man may have links with a foreign terror group, possibly Somalia's Al-Qaeda linked group, Al-Shabaab. - The police arrested him as he was already boarded his plane. Schiphol is one of Europe's largest airports, and a major transit point for flights to the Middle East and Africa. The Netherlands' investigative police is rejecting to comment the event.
But Evert Boerstra, a spokesman for the Dutch prosecutor's office, said police were tipped off by British authoriti…Kenya: Seven pirates jailed 5yrs
Seven Somali pirates have been sentenced five years in jail in the east Africa nation of Kenya. Mombasa court jailed the pirates on charges for attempting to hijack a a German ship march in this year. The men were trying to seize a German Ship, MV Spessart upon the high seas and further causing fear among the crew of the ship. - The prosecutors had been told that the pirate men were armed with AK47 Rifles, Rocket propelled Grenades, skiffs and other weapons which they used to terrorize the crew.
The men were handed over to the Kenyan authorities for prosecution after being arrested at the high seas.
The pirates lawyer Jared Magolo argued that their continual stay will be more of a bur…Somali Islamists tell president to resign
Islamist rebel militias asked Somali president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed to step down as he had failed establishing order in the country. "President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed ought to leave. He has nothing for the people except a call for more foreign troops that massacre Somalis," Hassan Dahir Aweys, leader of Hisbul Islam, told reporters. - The leader who has led a three-year insurgency against government urged Somalia's Muslims to unite and join the war.
"I urge Islamists to unite. Areas under the control of Islamists are peaceful. They are the good Muslims who can rule the country," Aweys said on Tuesday evening.
A former army colonel Hassan Dahir Aweys is political…Suicide bomber kills 15 Somali MPs
A suicide bomber and a gunman stormed a Mogadishu hotel popularly patronized by Somali officials and killed 15 parliamentarians, an official and eye witnesses told AfricaNews. Al-Qaeda linked group of Al-Shabaab on Monday announced a heavy offensive attack against government forces and AU peacekeepers. - "They have murdered15 MPs and government forces are surrounding the hotel area," a Somali official told AfricaNews on phone. Al-Shabaab militias attacked the Muna hotel located in government territory in Mogadishu. The Islamists fired at the hotel and one of them blew himself up inside the building, according to a witnesses. An official from Al-Shabaab who asked not to be n…
Plotters of Ugandan blasts arrested
The suspected brainpower of the July 11 twin bomb attacks on Kampala, Uganda said on Thursday he was motivated by "rage against the Americans." Issa Ahmed Ruyim claimed his membership of Somali Islamist rebels group of Al-Shabaab which has taken responsibility for the blasts killing 76 people. - Ruyima, a 33-year-old, said that he joined Al-Shabaab in 2009 and stated responsible for sourcing bomb-making material.
"I am very sorry for the loss of life that happened because of my actions," he told reporters at a military news conference.
He was among four suspects - all Ugandans - presented to the media in Kampala at a press conference where the authorities declared …Somali forces seize rebel bases in Puntland
Security forces from the semi-autonomous region of Puntland seize the last base used by Al-Shabaab linked militants led by warlord Mohamed Said Atom. Puntland's senior commander Omar Abdullahi said that his force attacked militias' bases near the Galgala Mountains in northern Somalia. - After briefly exchanged gunfire, the rebels fled the village, according to Puntland officers and local residents.
"We have taken control of the last base where the Atom trained his Somali and foreign terrorists. This base was the biggest one for the group”, said a commander Omar Ali who was in the place.
Other officials confirmed to AfricaNews that two Puntland soldiers were kille…Somalia: Al-Shabaab ousts Christian aid group
Somali Islamist rebels have ousted three Christian aid agencies for spreading Christianity in the country. The Al-Qaeda linked group Al-Shabaab said that the World Vision, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency and Diakonia must immediately leave the country. - "Acting as missionaries under the guise of humanitarian work the organizations have been spreading their corrupted ideologies in order to taint the pure creed of the Muslims in Somalia," Al-Shabaab said in a statement released on Monday.
Al-Shabaab warned that any other agencies promoting the Christianity will face "appropriate disciplinary measures."
World Vision office in Nairobi said that the group se…Uganda: 3 Kenyans charge for twin attacks
A Ugandan court has charged three Kenyan men with the murder of 76 people killed in deadly blast attacks mid July in the capital Kampala. Mohamed Adan Abdow, 25, Hussein Hassan Agad, 27, and Idris Magondu, 42, were charged for three counts of terrorism and 10 of attempted murder. - The men who appeared in court on Friday in a Kampala court did not speak during their trial and will remain in custody until their next trial on 27 August.
Hussein Hassan Agad was identified as a preacher of Islam while Magondu was identified as an employee of a trading company in Nairobi, Kenya.
The men were arrested on 12 July, a day after two serious attacks hit Ethiopia village restaurant and rugby club…DRC: 140 killed in boat wreck
At least 140 passengers died in a boat accident in the Democratic Republic of Congo after an overloaded vessel capsized on a river in the west of the country. The boat carrying about 250 passengers mostly businessmen, farmers and students to Congo's capital overturned on the Kasai River near Maluku district. - Local officials said on Thursday that the death toll increased from 130. Xavier Nsingi, navy commander of the National Transport Office said the death toll could be more than 200 deaths as a result of the accident.
DR Congo government said that the disaster may have been caused by low water levels on the river due to the dry season.
The River is widely used throughout the DR…Uganda: Images of attackers released
Uganda Police released on Sunday images of two men suspected to be behind the twin attacks on Uganda killing at least 75 people. "Our intelligence so far confirms that last Sunday's bomb attacks were suicide attacks," Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, Uganda's national police chief, told reporters. - The Interpol investigators which helped Ugandan for the investigation have posted on their web photos of the men.
"By making these photos public, we believe someone, somewhere could recognize one or both of these men," Interpol quoted the head of the Ugandan police.
Interpol said the photos of the suspects’ faces were rebuilt from remains found at the scenes of …US supports AU mission in Somalia
US urges Sudan to work with ICC
The US called on Sudan government to work with The International Criminal Court day after the ICC issued another arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir. "The United States strongly supports international efforts to bring those responsible for genocide and war crimes in Darfur to justice... - “... and believes that there cannot be a lasting peace in Darfur without accountability," a White House spokesperson Mike Hammer said.
"We continue to call on the government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict to co-operate fully with the International Criminal Court," he said in a statement which did not name al- Bashir.
The United States …Somalia on its knees for urgent support
Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed is seeking urgent support from the international community to help his government combat Islamist insurgents. He told the emergency summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) his government cannot fight the rebels alone. - “Somalia is in the hands of Al-Qaeda and extremist groups. The whole issue needs urgent treatment,” Ahmed said at the summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“The Somali state is facing a very hard attack from the terrorist groups, which are allied with Al-Qaeda,” the president told leaders from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and Djibouti who came together in the Ethiopian capital to review the c…Exclusive: ``Peace is under Somalia`s trees``
Somalia is one of the several African nations marking 50th anniversary of independence this year. However, it remains a dangerous place to live while other countries thrive. A prominent peace activist said the troubled nation can feel peace when the locals realize the need to sit under the tree to iron issues out. - AfricaNews’ Somalia expert Muhyadin Ahmed Roble spoke to Professor Abdurahman M. Abdullahi (Baadiyow), who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Mogadishu University on the way forward for the horn of Africa. He is a prominent peace activist and scholar. He writes on variety of issues, particularly on Islam and its modern development in Somalia. AfricaNews: Somalia…
Somalia: Eight journalists wounded
Eight Somali journalists were injured on Tuesday after mortars hit at a police school in Abdiasis district of northern Mogadishu. The pressmen were covering a news conference organized by Al-Shabaab spokesman in the training facility at a base that had been seized since Monday. - Four of the wounded journalists were identified as Ilyas Ahmed Abukar, Abdirisak Elmi Jama, Abdinasir Idle and Muse Mohamud Jisow.
The journalists alleged that the attackers knew that a press conference was taking place at the base. One told AfricaNews on phone that the attackers were against their covering of the press conference.
Somalia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. I…Kenya prisoners to vote
Prisoners in Kenya have been given the right to vote in the upcoming referendum for a new constitution. The court indicated on Wednesday to ensure that the prisoners were registered within the next 21 days. It asked Attorney General Amos Wako to facilitate the use of jails as voting stations. - The ruling was giving by the interim Independent Constitutional Dispute Resolution Court (IICDRC) on Wednesday. The Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) has already refused to register inmates for voting in referendum on august 4.
But in a one-and-a-half hour judgment read by Justice Samuel Mukunya, the IICDRC learned that the Constitution did not ban inmates from voting in the referend…Kenya: Sim registration to cut crime
The Kenya government has ordered the registration of all mobile phones and sim cards to cut mobile phone crimes. Mobile phone subscribers have until the end of July to register their numbers or will be disconnected from their networks. - The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Dr Bitange Ndemo, said henceforth new subscribers are obliged to register their lines at the place of purchase.
“It is the government intention to have all mobile subscribers known by their identity. This initiative will no doubt make us achieve this within the shortest time possible,” Dr Ndemo said.
He said the move was aimed to tackle terrorism, drugs-trafficking, money-laundering,…Two Sudan rebel leaders surrender to ICC
Two Sudan rebel leaders who were suspected war crimes have surrendered to International Criminal Court in The Hague on Wednesday. "Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus, both suspected of having committed war crimes in Darfur, Sudan, arrived voluntarily this morning at the International Criminal Court," a statement said. - "Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus, both suspected of having committed war crimes in Darfur, Sudan, arrived voluntarily this morning at the International Criminal Court," said a statement released by ICC.
The suspects will stay at the location assigned to them by the court, until their first appear…Somalia ban viewing of WC 2010
Somalis caught watching the 2010 World Cup would be given a maximum of 30 lashes in public. The Al-Qaeda linked group of Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam which control most of southern Somalia and parts of Mogadishu have declared the global football showpiece ongoing in South Africa un-Islamic. - Hizbul Islam spokesman Mohamed Abdi Aros urged the rest of the country to respect the ban on the FIFA tournament or would face the wrath of the insurgents.
"We are warning all the youth of Somalia not to dare watch these World Cup matches. It is a waste of money and time, and they will not benefit anything or get any experience by watching madmen jumping up and down," he told BBC.
Hizbu…Yemen to deport 320 Ethiopian migrants
Yemen is deporting 320 Ethiopia migrants including 59 women who entered the country illegally, the country's Interior Ministry announced. Officials said the migrants were fleeing poverty and are in search of jobs but have been detained at the Taiz governorate, south-weastren part of Yemen. - The Interior Ministry has ordered the Immigration and Passport Authority in the region and the Prisons Authority to coordinate efforts to arrange for the transportation of the detainees to Sana'a before being deported to Ethiopia.
The Yemen Immigration Department has deported over 500 Ethiopian nationals since the beginning of the year.
About 74,000 migrants from the Horn of Africa used…Exclusive: ``No end to Somalia piracy yet``
The alarming rate of piracy in Somalia is causing the economy and security a lot. The act has called for global concern and collaboration to combat it but the pirates are getting sophisticated daily. A prominent peace activist forecasts that piracy would aggravate until the crisis ends. - AfricaNews Somalia expert Muhyadin Ahmed Roble spoke to Professor Abdurahman M. Abdullahi (Baadiyow), who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Mogadishu University on the way forward. He is a prominent peace activist and scholar. He writes on variety of issues, particularly on Islam and its modern development in Somalia.
AfricaNews: What is your view about the pirates’ call that Russia exec…Ugandan army kills 16 rebels
The Uganda army has killed 16 rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the Central African Republic (CAR) in the past few days. Ugandan army spokesman lieutenant colonel Felix Kulayigye said that the country's army killed five LRA men on May 29th while another 11 were killed on the 30th. - "Our squads are continuing to hunt down the LRA and this time, they landed on some groups and they engaged them in a fight,” army Spokesman told DPA.
Since 2008, LRA leader Kony with his militias has been on the run after regional States launched a chase to nab him after he rejected to sign a peace deal with Uganda. It is also alleged that his fighters have been moving in the f…Ethiopia: Opposition call for new elections
Ethiopia's opposition leaders have called for a re-run of Sunday's poll, saying they were not free and fair. Merera Gudina, head of Ethiopia's main opposition said that they will not accept the results, which gave Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to lead the country for another five years. - "We will not accept the results and we will call for (a new) election," Merara Gudina, a main leader of the eight-member Medrek opposition coalition told AFP.
Earlier, another opposition leader Hailu Shawel has also called for re-run elections.
Early results show that Ethiopia's ruling party has won 499 of the 536 seats that were being contested.
On Tuesday, thousands of…Meles retains power in Ethiopia elections
Ethiopia's ruling party has won national elections, officials from electoral board said. Merga Bekana, Ethiopia's electoral board chairman said that the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front and its allies have won a majority of votes from nine of 11 regions. "As far as the provisional result is concerned, the EPRDF has won," Bekana said. - The party also is ahead in 20 of the capital's 23 parliamentary seats, wi th only two left to report results in the capital, Addis Ababa.
Victory was widely expected and it means that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi would lead the country another five years. Meles who overthrew the communist government of Mengistu …EU trains 400 Somalis in Uganda
The European Union is training 400 Somali forces in Uganda as part of its support to Somali government battling Islamist insurgents. About 2,000 Somali troops are expected to be trained in western Uganda town of Bihanga. "We are expecting more to come," said EU mission public relations officer Pita Juan. - Juan added: “However, that will depend on the things happening in Somalia.”
This addition training support was funded by United States of America. AU has already said they expect to train 6,000 troops to take over the country’s security.
“The military support is part of a comprehensive engagement in Somalia with a view to responding to the priority…Somalia: Militia attack FM station
Dozens of armed Al-Shabaab fighters stormed Somaliweyn Radio - an independent broadcasting house - in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, managers said on Friday. According to the station's website the militants took FM transmitters after the insurgents had seized the area from government forces. - "Al-Shabab fighters came into our premises and took the FM transmitter,” a journalist of the station confirmed to AfricaNews on condition of anonymity. “They gave us no reason for the raid," he added.
"We are asking them to bring back the equipment of the station,” stated Saida Sheikh Ahmed at Somaliweyn office in Brussels.
The main rebel group of Al-shabaa…Ethiopia: Rebels claim killing 94 soldiers
Rebels in Ethiopia claimed on Tuesday to have seized an army base and killed 94 soldiers in a major operation. A statement from the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said the insurgents captured the garrison at Malqaqa which located the road between Jijiga and Harar in eastern Ethiopia. - "The Ethiopian regime's forces lost 94 soldiers and the casualties of the ONLF were minimal given that our forces had the advantage of the element of surprise," the group said.
But the Ethiopian government denied the ONLF’S claim and described it as completely unfounded and big lie. The government confirmed the attack but said it had been repelled and all the rebels were killed…Somalia: Speaker resigns, new PM soon
Somali president Sharif Sh Ahmed has revealed that he will name a new cabinet soon after disagreement between parliament speaker Aden Mohamed Nur and Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali on Sunday. He said the announcement would be made within a month. - “I accepted to form a new cabinet which will help the country overcome these difficult times,” Sharif told a press conference in Mogadishu.
"As you know, the country has been in political turmoil and we need to end that crisis," the president said.
AfricaNews reporter said the announcement would be made without the current prime minister resigning or being sacked.
The Speaker of Parliament Aden Mohamed Nur who jo…Somalis embark on deadly voyage to SA
War and poverty have and are forcing Somalis to carry out deadly voyages to South Africa in search of riches and peace. AfricaNews reporter Muhyadin Ahmed Roble who has gone through such a dangerous journey not to South Africa but to Kenya, now profiles the journey of a young Somali to South Africa. - No one knows the exact figure of migrants living in South Africa but the Institute of Race Relations believes that there are between three and five million - equivalent to the country's total white population.
In 2004, the United Nations said 7,118 refugees and 3,893 asylum applications from Somali live in South Africa but the Somali community in South Africa has said that the number is…Sudan: Killers of peacekeepers arrested
Sudan has arrested gunmen suspected of killing two U.N.-African Union peacekeepers in the Sudanese war-torn region of Darfur, local official said. The governor of South Darfur Abdel-Hamid Moussa Kasha confirmed the arrest of the suspected men who ambushed a military convoy of three vehicles with 20 personnel. - The ambush which took place near Katila village, 85 kilometres south of Eddal Fursan, South Darfur, killed two peacekeepers and seriously wounded another three. Sudan police spokesperson, Mohamed Abdel Majid told Sudanese’s news agency, SUNA, that they are investigating and collecting data, pointing out that the regular forces were still hunting down the remaining members of…
Africa: Grannies meet over HIV/AIDS effects
About 500 grandmothers from 13 sub-Saharan African countries have converged in Swaziland to discuss HIV/AIDS and its effect on their lives. Many of the frail looking women who are taking part in the conference are caring for their grandchildren after losing their own adult children because of the menace. - Selected grannies came from Canada and are being sponsored by the Swaziland for Positive Living (Swapol), the Canadian-based Stephen Lewis Foundation and the Swazi government. The organizers said that they are planning to form a solidarity movement of African grandmothers to attract targeted aid. The purpose of the conference is to allow grandmothers to share their experiences and …
Somali Islamists vow to end piracy
A Somali Islamist group Hizbul Islam that seized the port town and major pirate hub of Harardhere on Sunday vows to end piracy in the troubled African country. The group is bent on imposing the strict Sharia law of Islam in the central town of Harardhere, 500 km north of the capital Mogadishu. - Sheikh Ahmed Abu Yahya, a senior Hizbul Islam commander said: "From now on, Harardhere is one of the Somali towns where Islamic Sharia will be implemented.
"There will be no piracy or any kind of robbery here. From now on people will obey Islamic law."
He added in an AFP report: "Our presence here will change the image of this town which the bandits destroyed."
Dozen…Egypt: Police shoot two African migrants
Egyptian police shot dead two African migrants on Sunday as they were trying to cross the border into Israel, security officials said. Egyptian border police has said that an Eritrean migrant and another unknown African migrant who tried to sneak into Israel illegally were shot dead on Sunday after they refused orders to stop. - Police identified an Eritrean migrant who were killed migrants as a 35-year-old.
Both men were shot dead after ignoring warning shots to stop while trying to climb over the barbed wire fence marking the frontier.
Observers say increased violence at the border is partly due to the increasing popularity of the route, seen as safer than risking passage by sea from…Sudan: Rebels release UN peacekeepers
Four South African peacekeepers that were kidnapped in the Sudanese war-torn region of Darfur earlier this month were released, the UN said. UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni who confirmed the releasing of peacekeepers said that they arrived in the capital of south Darfur, Nyala. "They are in good health," he added. - The four UNAMID peacekeepers, two men and two women, were abducted April 11 as they left their base near the capital of south Darfur, Nyala.
Nyala hosts two million residents and it is the centre of operations for several humanitarian agencies based in Darfur.
The People's Democratic Struggle Movement who kidnapped the peacekeepers already demanded $US400, …EU captures eight suspected pirates
A Spanish navy seized eight suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia, Spain Defence ministry said. The Spanish frigate Victoria which forms part of EU anti-piracy mission held a whaleboat and various skiffs, on which the ministry said arms and other materials suitable for use in pirate attacks were discovered. - The ministry said in a statement that the Spanish navy destroyed the whaler and took its eight crew members on a skiff toward the Somali coast.
The Spanish defence ministry also European defense ministries agreed on Sunday to extend their anti-piracy mission in the area beyond 2010.
Somali pirates, who have made over $60 million for a ransom, only last year, have reportedly c…Ethiopia: 3 million without toilets in Addis
About three million residents of Addis Ababa - one of the biggest cities in sub-Saharan Africa - have no access to toilets, according to a new report by the city authorities. It revealed: "Out of this nearly 25 percent of the population have no access to toilets and defecate in rivers crossing the city." - Speaking at the launch of the report, Mekuria Haile, a senior local government official said Ethiopia cannot endure any more waste in rivers and roads, and want to make sure that the city is clean and a better place to live. “We should be ashamed. Addis Ababa is fighting against solid waste management and health problems posed by unsafe drinking water and inadequate sani…
Djibouti: President gets third term
Djibouti's lawmakers on Monday approved a constitution amendment allowing President Ismail Omar Guelleh to run for a third term. The 59 MPs spent over an hour reviewing the constitution and pruned down the presidential mandate from six to five years. - "The procedure is that the bill should be adopted at its first reading by the Assembly," the speaker of the National Assembly, Idriss Arnaoud Ali, told AFP.
"Thereafter the president of the republic can either decide to hold a referendum to validate the constitutional amendment or he can ask members of parliament to examine the law a second time, in which case it must be passed by two thirds of them.
"It is the p…Sudan: 19 election observers expelled
Election observers were expelled from polling centres in south Sudan in the wake of the national multi-party election, according to the Sudanese Network for Democratic Elections (SUNDE). It said said security forces walked them out at several centres in Juba, the capital of south Sudan on Tuesday. - SUNDE accused Sudan’s authorities of "obstruction".
Nineteen observers were taken from three voting places in Kator South Constituency by unknown security personnel.
"The observers were taken to the public security office and eventually detained at the police of the public order office near Konyo Konyo market", SUNDE said. They were released on Wednesday, the group…EU to monitor Ethiopian election
Ethiopian government and the European Union have agreed that EU observers monitor that country's national elections in May, officials said. "The mission will be composed of approximately 200 persons," the EU representative in Ethiopia Dino Sinigallia said during a signing ceremony with the electoral commission. - Thijs Berman, the Dutch head of the EU mission who has already headed a team to observe Afghanistan’s national election in 2009, is due to arrive in Ethiopian’s capital of Addis Ababa on Wednesday.
"The elections in Ethiopia will be observed by international standards," AFP quoted another European diplomat.
The general election will hold o…Sudan extends election period
Sudan's first national multi-party election in 24 years has been extended by two days, the country's National Election Commission announced on Monday. The Commission has said that the election will now run until Thursday, amid glitches in the voting procedure due to delays and mistakes. - "There is a two-day extension throughout the whole country. It is to give more time to the voters," Sudan's National Elections Commission (NEC) Secretary-General Jalal Mohamed Ahmed told Reuters.
The Commission said that the decision comes to guarantee technical problems will not stop anyone from voting.
The Africa’s largest nation election is part of the deal that ende…DRC forces recapture Mbandaka airport
UN peacekeeping troops and Democratic Republic of Congo forces have carried a combined offensive against local militia and recaptured Mbandaka airport in the northwestern DRC. Congolese Military officials said government forces backed by UN peacekeepers re-seized the airport in Mbandaka town, the capital of Equateur province. - "We have taken back control of the airport. It is now in our hands," Reuters news agency qouted Congolese General Janvier Mayanga.
He added that several soldiers and police have been killed in the fighting but declined further details.
"MONUC is here too -- they supported us and have done a lot of work to really help us," he also told Reuter…Mozambique: 29 Somali migrants arrested
Mozambique immigration officials have arrested 29 Somali migrants who were heading to South Africa to escape the escalating violence in their homeland. Police officers said the fleeing party who claimed to be refugees was seized on Sunday in two minibuses. - Ernesto Serote, police spokesman in Zambezia province, said one of the vehicles was driven by an off-duty police officer.
Mozambique is increasingly becoming a transit point for illegal immigrants to gain entry into South Africa, said Serote.
At least 17,000 illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa flee to South Africa annually. Most of them transit through Kenya, according to the International Organization for Migration’s re…DR Congo refutes report of massacre
The Democratic Republic of Congo has rejected the Human Rights Watch's report that said that the Lord's Resistance Army rebels had killed about 300 people in December. DR Congo's Justice Minister Lessa Bambi Luzolo said that the Human Rights Watch report was not a serious report but said only 25 civilians died. - "When it comes to victims in the civilian population, the number of victims is no more than 25," Lessa Bambi Luzolo.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said 321 people were massacred in a killing that happened in DRC's remote northeast in December but Luzolo rejected any massacres.
"A few people attacked in passing by uncontrolled elements of …Sudan: Bashir threatens referendum
Sudan president Omar Hassan al-Bashir has threatened that if former southren rebels rejected to participate in next month's polls, a southern referendum would not occur. Bashir said the Sudan government will not accept a postponement to the national election. "Not even for one day". - But Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), former rebel group, said the polls cannot be free and fair election.
Sudan People's Liberation Movement Deputy Secretary-General Anne Itto told media that South Sudan president Salva Kiir will be meeting with Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Tuesday as to discuss concerns about the fairness of the upcoming election.
Speaki…Somali forces demolish IDPs homes
Somali government forces have destroyed some 500 homes near the main airport in Mogadishu, capital of the lawless and war-torn nation, Somalia, because of security concerns. About 1000 displaced people, who were demolished their houses on Thursday, are homeless and sitting the open in the Afisoyoni village. - Fatima Osman Ali, a mother of six children told local media that she does not know anywhere to go. “I and my children will be here until we get a home,” she said.
Somali forces demolished the village after Somali president and interior minister signed the order released by Mogadishu's mayor.
Last week, Mogadishu’s mayor was quoted that Islamist rebel group…Kenya: Police arrest three terror suspects
Kenya police have arrested three suspected terrorists as they were planning to fly to Somalia, police officials said. The three suspects who were on board a plane that is carrying aid to Somalia attempted to fly to Mogadishu and were arrested at Wilson airport on Thursday. - The suspects identified as Suleman Essa a Somali-American citizen, who is on a terror watch list; Canadian Ahmed Ali Hassan and Kenyan Muhammed Hussein Hash and police arrested them as they are on board a plane carries aid to Somalia, according to AP.
A local Capital fm quoted a police source as saying “The three suspects are being questioned to establish their activities in the country. They are being investiga…Sudan threatens to expel poll observers
Sudan president Omar Hassan al-Bashir has threatened on Monday to sack foreign election observers after they said April's vote should be postponed. Bashir said the international election monitors were brought in Sudan to see the free and fair election but not to intervene in Sudan's affairs. - "If they interfere in our affairs, we will cut their fingers off, put them under our shoes, and throw them out," president al-Bashir was quoted.
Speaking to his supporters in the eastern town of Port Sudan, Bashir said "We have accepted the arrival of foreign observers for the elections."
The Carter Center, which runs the only long-term monitoring mission in the cou…Somalia: EU arrest 29 pirates
A French warship which forms part of EU anti-piracy mission off the Somali coast has arrested 22 suspected pirates, France Defence ministry said. The statement added that the navy held pirates from six separate boats in the Indian Ocean. - 11 Somali pirates who were using a mother boat and two accompanying skiffs were seized by French navy while they were trying to attack French oceanographic vessel.
The ministry said the pirates were sailing about 180 nautical miles east of Mogadishu.
Another three suspected pirate boats were held about 90 nautical miles to the south. Another statement from the ministry said the pirates were being held on board the Nivose.
Another seven Somali pira…Floods kill six people in Kenya
Floods in Kenya killed at least six people and left dozens missing. The floods which hit parts of Kenya also washed more then 200 cattle and left hundreds of people homeless, Police said. The country's Red Cross said the flood which hit Nakuru have drowned three people while other three were washed away by floods in Marsabit. - "Those killed in Marsabit are young children who were washed away as they played in an open field in Dukana area”, AFP news agency quoted a police officer.
"We have received reports of people missing and over 2,000 cattle heads washed away. People have been advised to move to higher grounds because we don't know how soon the rains will go …Drought hits Somaliland
The administration in Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland has appealed to international aid agencies to bring humanitarian aid for hundreds of thousands of civilian. The officials said the wake of prolonged drought effected children in the region. - The Somaliland's ministry for planning and National Aid Co-ordination released that 40% of Somaliland's 3.5 million populations which is equivalent 1.4 million people need aid.
Ali Ibrahim, minister for planning and National Aid Co-ordination told IRIN radio that the failure of the rains in last year has caused the people need water-trucking, construction and rehabilitation of boreholes, rehabilitation and desilting of dam…Africa: Vodafone launches cheapest phone
A mobile phone operator Vodafone has announced what it claims to be the lowest-cost mobile phone on earth. The Vodafone 150 has said at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that costumers will have access to phone with price of less than US$15, and is meant at developing world. - The services will initially be launched in eight African countries including South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana and Congo as well as India and Turkey in Asia and Europe.
Mobile subscribers will reach five billion in this year, with most growth in the developing world, according to the UN predicts.
In Africa, mobile subscribers have reached 448.1 million representing a 20% rise, accor…Kenya: President, PM in a tug of war
Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki has canceled on Sunday evening the decision of Prime Minister Raila Odinga to suspend two ministers of his government. The PM Odinga suspended the ministers of agriculture and education over the Maize and Free Primary Education scandal but hours later the president Mwai Kibaki lifted the suspensions. - Kibaki has said that the PM had no authority to sack ministers, adding the decision was reached without any consultation.
“The legal provisions on which the Prime Minister acted do not confer him the authority to cause a minister to vacate his or her office,” president Kibaki said in his statement.
“The war against corruption will be succes…Africa: 448m mobile network subscribers
Mobile subscribers in Africa have reached 448.1 million representing a 20% rise, according to a latest report from Ovum Research. In 2008, the figures stood at 373 million subscribers meaning an additional 75 million new people have been recorded in just one year. - The African mobile market took off about 2000 but the industry revealed wonderful growth in 2009.
MTN Nigeria was listed as the largest mobile operator in Africa and defeated South African representative and Vodacom SA.
The report also said the new comers are Ghana’s Zain, Cote d’Ivoire’s GreeN, Kenya’s EKTL or Etisalat Misr in Egypt and have released fast growth in customer base , overtaking long e…ICC drops charges against Sudan rebel leader
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands has dismissed war crimes charges against Sudan rebel leader Bahar Idriss Abu Garda. The rebel leader was accused of arranging the killing of 12 African Union peacekeepers in Darfur in 2007. But ICC prosecutors ruled that there was not enough proof to lead a trial. - "The chamber is not satisfied that there are substantial grounds to believe that Mr Abu Garda can be held criminally responsible as either a direct or indirect co-perpetrator," the court said in a statement.
Abu Garda who was a top member of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), the main rebel group in Darfur, is the first Sudanese rebel leader to ap…Microsoft launches Vista software in Amharic
US software giant Microsoft has launched Windows Vista in Amharic, the national language of Ethiopia. "Launching the Amharic version software is a major step forward for Amharic to be a language of technology", Director of the Ethiopian ICT Development Agency (EICTDA), Debretsion Gebremichael has said. - 40 scholars from the Addis Ababa University took part in the translation of the software, Debretsion said. EICTDA has a plan to translate the same operating software into many other local languages, he added.
“So far, 830,000 words are translated into Amharic. This will allow creating customized local solutions, and stimulating the development of the local IT economy.…Kenya: Cancer kills 50 people daily
Statistics in Kenya has shown that about 50 Kenyans die daily from various forms of cancers. About 80,000 cases of cancer are diagnosed each year, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) CEO Dr Jotham Micheni announced. All patients can only use the required treatment at KNH which is the largest referral hospital in East and Central Africa. - All the patients can only use the required treatment at KNH which is the largest referral hospital in East and Central Africa.
“We have very few specialists in oncology and therefore human resource for health in terms of cancer is definitely a major challenge,” Dr Micheni said.
In Kenya only four specialized oncologists (cancer specialists) a…Somalia: No orthopedic specialists for injured
The main hospital in Mogadishu, the capital of war-torn Somalia, lacks orthopedic specialists required to treat the increasing number of patients losing their limbs as a result of insurgent attacks in the country. Hospital authorities said most of those awaiting treatment are young. - "30 of them need specialized treatment that is not available in the country," Mohamed Yusuf, the director-general of Madina Hospital told IRIN news.
Hundreds of patients have been unable to access orthopedic treatment since 2009 and only few can afford specialized treatment, Yusuf said. "98 percent of the patients are too poor," he said.
He said 95 percent of the wounded people treate…EU troops to train Somali soldiers
The European Union has agreed on Monday to send troops to train up to 2,000 Soldiers from the Somali government battling with Islamist insurgents. The Mission led by Spain will involve about 200 European Union forces and begin in spring of this year in Uganda, according to EU foreign ministers. - The Mission comes as Somali government led by moderate president Sharif Sh. Ahmed which controls a few areas in the capital requested to train 6,000 strong police forces.
Al-Qaeda inspired Al-shabaab group which is trying to toppling internationally-backed President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed runs most of southern Somalia and parts of Mogadishu.
EU foreign ministers said in a joint statement after me…Sudan: Six men hanged to death
Six Sudanese men have been hanged in Sudan's capital on Thursday for their various roles in a demonstration staged at a refugee camp, officials and witnesses said. They were convicted for killing 13 policemen in a deadly clash between police and residents in 2005 at the Soba Aradi Camp in Khartoum. - The clashes erupted in May, 2005 a few months after the end of Sudan's north-south civil war, as police tried to force refugees out of the Soba Aradi Camp in Khartoum, the official news agency SUNA reported.
Thirty civilians and 14 security forces were killed in the event. Most of those arrested for violence were released; except the six people who were sentenced to death.
The si…Sudan: 45 killed, 102 wounded in battle
At least 45 people were killed in Sudan after clashes between two rival tribes in the volatile southern region, witnesses said. Sudan People's Liberation Movement, a former rebel group which now operates as an army in the semi-autonomous south has said clashes began after Nuer tribesmen attacked Dinka villagers in Warrap state. - The group was not able to provide immediate casualty toll but the AFP news agency has quoted an independent local source that at least 45 people were killed and 102 were wounded in the attack.
Clashes between rival tribes happen repeatedly in south Sudan because of disagreements over natural resources. Sources also said livestock were stolen and this led t…Somalia: Terror attack on mosque foiled
Security forces in northern Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland said on Saturday they had foiled an attack on a mosque in Hargeisa where the Iman has criticized militant suicide bombings. Security forces have recovered six rockets and two mortar bombs meant for the attack. - Residents reported to the police when they saw two suspected men trying to place explosives and bombs close to the mosques in Hargeise late on Saturday. Police officials said they arrested one of them while the other man escaped.
Mohamed Saqadi Dubbad, the commander of Somaliland's security forces, said a woman saw the two in the act.
He told reporters in Hargiesa, capital of Somaliland, the woman …Somalia: 20 killed, 40 wounded in battle
At least 20 civilians were killed on Thursday evening and 40 others wounded after mortars and artillery shells hit the capital Mogadishu, according to eye witnesses' account. The deadly clashes erupted after Islamist insurgents fired at the presidency building, residents told AfricaNews. - The African union peacekeepers and government forces patrolling the presidential place returned mortars and artillery shells to southern Somalia where the Islamists control.
A resident Aweys Ahmed told AfricaNews on Thursday that mortars and artillery shells hit the civilian houses.
Ali Muse, director of Mogadishu's ambulance service, has confirmed the collection of about 19 civilians and…Student enrollment increases in Somalia
School students has increased in Somalia breakaway state of Somaliland since 1991, moving the literacy rate from 20 percent to 45 percent, education ministry officials said. In Somaliland state, some 45,223 students went to school in 2009 while since 1991 at least 1,019 students enrolled in schools. - Abdi Abdillahi Mohamed, the Director of Planning in Somaliland's Ministry of Education said: "School enrollment [in primary and secondary schools] has increased dramatically". "We hope to encourage high school leavers to be self-employed," he added.
Ali Abdi Odowa, Director-General in the education ministry told IRIN that the rise in students enrollment was due to a…2009: Nine journalists killed in Somalia
The number of journalists killed around the world rose to a record 70 in 2009, largely in part due to a slaughter in the Philippines and Somalia, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said. Somalia was the second most deadly country for journalists with nine media deaths in 2009. - According to the press group, those fighting in Somalia have carried attacks against the Somali press, murdering journalists and seizing news outlets.
On 3rd December, three Somali journalists were killed in same place after suicide bomb hit at a university graduation ceremony in the Somali capital Mogadishu.
Al Arabia camera journalist Hassan Zubeyr Haji and Mohamed Amin Adan shabelle reporter were amo…SA: Four arrested for killing Somali
South Africa Police have announced that four suspects have been arrested for allegedly killing a 20-year-old Somali man in his shop in Cape Town. The Somali was murdered when a man went to the shop on Delft residence in Cape Town under the pretense of using the pay phone at around 13:45 on Wednesday. - Police spokesperson Captain Joe Wilson said the unidentified assailant then insisted that the shopkeeper open the door, adding that the killer attacked the Somali when he obliged.
Police said the suspect hit his victim on the left side of the chest with a knife after which six other men joined the killer in looting the shop and bolted. They left with unspecified quantity of cell phones…Five people sentenced to death in Ethiopia
An Ethiopian court has sentenced five people to death and 33 others to life in jail for plotting to assassinate government officials. Prosecutors have said on Tuesday that the convicted people were members of the Ginbot7 (15 May) led by the main opposition challenger in the disputed election in 2005. - Four of the five were sentenced in absentia while the fifth, opposition leader Melaku Tefera, was in court for the verdict.
"All were accused of conspiring to overthrow the constitutional government by force, to destroy development projects, to assassinate senior government officials and instigate the armed forces to rise against the constitutional order," a Justice Ministry spoke…Somalia: Fresh fighting kills nine people
At least nine people were killed on Monday and thirty two others were wounded after a bomb blast and separate mortar and artillery shells in Mogadishu, Somalia, witness said. The shells come after insurgents fired a mortar attack on the Banadir regional building in Mogadishu, where Somalia's parliament was holding its first session in months. - Somali government forces fired mortars and artillery shells to the main market of Bakara and other parts of the capital, a resident in Mogadishu told AfricaNews by phone on Monday.
A journalist Abshir Abdi Ahmed at the Radio Voice of Democracy in north Capital said that a mortar attack hit the compound of the station and killed the station dir…Ethiopian troops back in Somalia
Ethiopian troops have crossed back into Somalia, witnesses in strategic town of Beledweyn and Balanbale in central Somalia said. Ethiopian troops return comes as Islamist rebel group, Hisbul Islam, which controlling towns near at the border of Somalia and Ethiopia started operation in the area. - Residents in Beledweyn told AfricaNews that they saw convey of Ethiopian troops digging trenches in Kalabeyr, a town 22Km (14 miles) from the Somali border and Ethiopia. They said Ethiopian forces left the border town of Ferfer in Ethiopia and entered to Kalabeyr which links central and south regions.
Reports say former Somali government officials in the region are coming with Ethiopian troops. E…UN Security Council to sanction Eritrea
The UN Security Council agreed to impose an arms embargo on Eritrea. The Council also decided to impose travel bans and freeze assets of government and military leaders supporting Somali insurgents, officials said. Eritrea is accused of providing insurgents with money and weapons as to overthrow the Somali government. - Eritrea denies supporting Al-Shabaab and says there is no reason for imposing the sanctions.
Western diplomats on the 15-nation Security Council said most members of the team have decided to support a Ugandan-drafted resolution to punish Eritrea and will approve it by next week.
The resolution informs Asmara to stop all support to armed groups and their members, includi…Sudan: Gunmen attack peacekeepers
Gunmen have attacked the United Nations and African Union peacekeepers in Darfur region, west Sudan. The insurgents exchanged fire with the peacekeepers for about 25 minutes in a third attack in less than a week, officials told the media on Wednesday. The target was on the Pakistani forces. - The unidentified gunmen fired on the Pakistani forces unit on Tuesday afternoon as it was leading a convoy outside Nyala, south of Darfur Capital, The UNAMID mission said.
No injury was reported. The attackers fled the scene after a Unit from Nigerian UNAMID soldiers intervened, force communications chief Kemal Saiki said.
Saiki told Reuters that it is a shame for the rebels to target UNAMID. …Nigerian to head Darfur peace-keeping forces
Nigerian diplomat Ibrahim Gambari is to become the new head of the UN-Africa Union peacekeeping mission in Sudan's Darfur region from January 1, 2010, a spokeswoman for UN chief Ban Ki-moon said. Gambari was a former UN chief envoy to Myanmar and also former Nigerian foreign chief envoy to Darfur. - Ibrahim Gambari, 65, will replace Congolese diplomat Rodolphe Adada, a former foreign minister of the Republic of Congo, who stepped down in August, 2009.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon notified the Security Council about the appointment in a letter to Burkina Faso's U.N. Ambassador Michel Kafando, the current council president, UN chief Ban ki-moon spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.
…AU condemns killing of Somali ministers
The African Union has condemned a bomb explosion which killed at least 19 people, including three government ministers and two journalists in the Somali capital Mogadishu. A suicide bomber disguised as a woman and attacked a crowded graduation ceremony for medical students from a local university. - The killed Somali ministers include Qamar Aden Ali, the country's health minister, Ahmed Abdulahi Waayeel, the minister of education, and Ibrahim Hassan Addow, the minister of higher education.
Dubai-based Al Arabiya Television said one of its cameramen, Hasan al-Zubair, had been killed while Shabelle Media has already reported that its journalist Mohamed Amin Adan shabelle was killed in …``Release my son in Guantanamo``
Adar Mohammed Yusuf, a Somali mother, whose son is in incarceration at the Guantanamo Bay, is pleading for the release of her son whom the warlords in Mogadishu arrested in 2004. He was handed over to the United States of America. She told AfricaNews her son did not commit any crime. - Adar, 62, said her son - Guled Hassan Duran – is innocent. She told AfricaNews: "If my son is a terrorist, why isn't he charged accordingly in a court of law.”
She said the decision of the Washington government is upsetting the son’s family of four young kids and the wife. “I am calling on the Somali government and human rights groups to look at my son’s case.”…Somalia: Pirates negotiate, deny arms claim
One of the Somali pirates that allegedly kidnapped a Panamanian-flagged ship with 18 crew members on board insisted that the ship was not carrying weapons. Isse Abdi Ahmed said they are negotiating a ransom demand with the owners. Mohammed Iqbal, the ship manager confirmed that report from Dubai. - The hijacked crew according to the VOA includes 15 Indians, two Pakistanis and one Somali. Reports say a group of Somali Businessmen - the Juba General Trading Company - had hired the al-Mizan ship to carry cargo from the United Arab Emirates to Mogadishu.
A spokesman of the group Abdirisaq Abdulkadir Sabriye told the Al-Shahid news website in Somalia that: "Our ship has carried 3,000 tons…Kenya: Suspected pirates on trial
Seven suspected Somali pirates who attacked a French fishing boat last month were handed to the Kenyan government on Monday for trial. The pirates who allegedly attacked MV Frigate Karlshure some 350 nautical miles east of the Somali capital Mogadishu were brought to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. - Seven suspected Somali pirates who attacked a French fishing boat last month were handed to the Kenyan government on Monday for trial. The pirates who allegedly attacked MV Frigate Karlshure some 350 nautical miles east of the Somali capital Mogadishu were brought to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.
The port police chief Ayubu Gitonga said the seven suspects were put on trial on Tuesday. Th…Somalia: Gunmen free abducted Kenyans
The two Kenyans who were abducted last Sunday were released from hostage last Monday night in the capital Mogadishu, a Somali official said. The manager of the printing company where the two work, Abukar Ali, said on Tuesday they are safe and have left the Horn of Africa to their native Nairobi. - Last Sunday a group of 10 armed masked men entered the Hamar Adde printing centre near Abu Hureira Mosque in Mogadishu market of Bakara, which is under the control of the Islamist group of Al-shabab and abducted the two Kenyans and two Somalis.
Abduction of foreigners and aid workers is common phenomenon in Somalia now. The country has not known peace since the overthrow of Dictator Mohamed Siad…Somalia: Insurgents capture strategic town
Somali insurgents have recaptured the strategic town of Beledweyn in Hiran region after heavy fighting broke out between the Somali government forces and Islamists rebel group. Five people were killed and nine others wounded on Wednesday at Jente Kundishe, some 206 miles (332Km) north of Mogadishu. - A resident in Beledweyn Jama Osman Ali told AfricaNews on phone that Hizbul Islam - one of the rebel groups - attacked the base of the Somali government forces outside of the town.
Muse Abdi Arale, commander of Hizbul Islam said they attacked the main base of the government forces in central Somalia, adding "we recaptured the strategic town of Beledweyn".
Arale accused Ethiopian …Somalia: Civilians return home
Hundreds of Somali displaced civilians have started to return to the port town of Kismayo, southern Somalia, a day after heavy fighting ensued between Islamist rivals. A resident of Kismayo town Omar Ali told Africa News by phone that "now Al-shabaab are controlling the city and its calm". - Hundreds of Somalis fled from their houses during Saturday’s fighting which left at least eight people dead while hospital officials said another 50 were injured in the fighting among Islamist rivals Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam.
Calm has returned to the city of Kismayo while Al-Shabaab Militias are patrolling the city, according to residents. Extremist group of Al-Shabaab captured the …
