UN Glad to See Appointment of New Somali Prime Minister

by Nick Freundlich
The article
Somalia has not had a central government since 1991, and continuing violence has plagued the region, displacing around one million people in recent months.  However, Colonel Nur Hassan Hussein has been appointed the Prime Minister of the Federal Transitional Government of Somalia.  This appointment could lead to decreased violence and perhaps the [...]

Fighting in Somalia Gets Even Worse

By Aly Singer
Fighting in Mogadishu has caused fifty people to die in the last twenty-four hours. People say this recent fighting started when a group of soldiers attempted retrieve a body of a soldier that was being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu. The capital has seen little peace since December, when Ethiopian troops backing [...]

At least 50 Somalis killed in 24 hours in Mogadishu (Lena Bell)

War has once again intensified in the Horn of Africa, but the conflicting sides are not clearly defined. Fighting appears to be taking place between Ethiopian troops supporting the unstable Somali government and Islamic insurgents. Fighting in the past twenty four hours, killing fifty people, has been the bloodiest since April, when over 1600 people [...]

Somali plunged into fresh crisis as PM quits (Marc Mechanic)

Somali plunged into fresh crisis as PM quits
By Barney Jopson
The Somali Prime Minister, Ali Mohamed Gedi, resigned on Monday after a while of fighting with the country’s president.  This is a terrible sign for the country and leads it into a further political crisis.  There is an element of hope in the country that a [...]

Displaced Somalis Living Under ‘Extremely Harsh Conditions’

Nick Freundlich
The article
An estimated 90,000 people have been displaced from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, due to fighting between insurgent groups and the Ethiopian army. More than half of these refugees have gone to live in the nearby city of Afgooye, others have settled in makeshift towns between Mogadishu and Afgooye, and others have [...]

The Situation in Mogadishu Deteriorates

By Aly Singer
 
Yesterday, November 1st it was reported that almost 90,000 additional residents fled Mogadishu among increased fighting and a worsening security situation. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) about 88,000 people fled the Somalia capital because of increased fighting. This figure is more than had left in [...]

Somalian Pirates Strike Again!

By Aly Singer
Today, the US Navy rescued a South Korean vessel from pirates in waters off Somalia, according to a high ranking official in the Somalian government. The craft had been hijacked overnight, amid a rash of similar incidences, by the security men who were assigned to guard it. The high rank official, speaking to [...]

Battles rock Mogadishu for second day (Eve)

Fighting in the Mogadishu, the Somalian capital, has continued on for a second day.  The Ethiopian forces are one of many apparent rebel groups that have attacked the capital city, and already there are 15 known to be dead and many more missing.  Citizens are hiding in their houses or attempting to flee the city, and [...]

The Somali people: Blind cattle or simply realistic?

by Ann Noling
In a BBC article published last Friday, Mark Doyle discusses former Somali president Abdulkassim Hassan’s qualifications to win the recently created Mo Ibrahim Prize for Good Governance. Hassan was the President of Somalia from 2000 until 2004; his government was created and ended by meetings of clan leaders. All recent (those who left [...]

The Ogaden Crisis Getting Attention from the United Nations

By Isaac Rauch
In a previous post, Bram wrote that he was wondering  “why there has been so much  media attention on Darfur and  basically nothing on Ogaden” . Well,  Ethiopian newspapers are picking up the story. The story talks about the aid being sent to the region on behalf of both the United Nations and [...]