Al-Qaeda fugitive sighted in Somalia
NAIROBI, 17 MAY 2003 (The Stratis Times)--Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, the fugitive whose sightings have prompted security scares across East Africa, is one of the FBI's most wanted men and considered a main player in the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
Mohammed, from the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean, is accused of masterminding the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi and is also believed to be the linchpin in last November's attacks on a hotel in Mombasa.
The US State Department is offering a US$25-million (S$43-million) reward for his capture.
It is the same bounty offered for Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, Washington's prime suspect in the Sept 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. MORE
Saturday, May 17, 2003
Friday, May 16, 2003
80 feared dead in Gulf of Aden
MOGADISHU, 17, MAY 2003(The News)-- More than 80 Somalis and Ethiopians were feared dead after a wooden boat they were travelling in from Somalia to Yemen was seen floating in pieces in the Gulf of Aden, a Somali diplomat said on Friday.
Passengers of another boat making the same voyage said that they saw 17 bodies, including two they recognised to be crew members, pieces of wood and water barrels from the vessel, said Hussein Haji Ahmed Muhammad, acting consul at the Somali Embassy in Yemen.
Muhammad said that he had spoken to passengers of the second vessel, which made it safely to Yemen. Residents in the north-eastern Somali port of Bossaso said that the boat, called a dhow, which had broken up had left Mareg village, near Bossaso, on Monday with 85 passengers, 40 of them were Somali and rests of 45 were Ethiopians. Yemeni fishermen told Yemeni authorities that they had seen lots of bodies in the sea, Muhammad said. He said that he did not have any further details.
MOGADISHU, 17, MAY 2003(The News)-- More than 80 Somalis and Ethiopians were feared dead after a wooden boat they were travelling in from Somalia to Yemen was seen floating in pieces in the Gulf of Aden, a Somali diplomat said on Friday.
Passengers of another boat making the same voyage said that they saw 17 bodies, including two they recognised to be crew members, pieces of wood and water barrels from the vessel, said Hussein Haji Ahmed Muhammad, acting consul at the Somali Embassy in Yemen.
Muhammad said that he had spoken to passengers of the second vessel, which made it safely to Yemen. Residents in the north-eastern Somali port of Bossaso said that the boat, called a dhow, which had broken up had left Mareg village, near Bossaso, on Monday with 85 passengers, 40 of them were Somali and rests of 45 were Ethiopians. Yemeni fishermen told Yemeni authorities that they had seen lots of bodies in the sea, Muhammad said. He said that he did not have any further details.
BA 'targeted by al-Qaeda'
LONDON, 17 MAY 2003 (BBC)--The suspension of UK flights to and from Kenya was sparked by a specific threat by terror network al-Qaeda to British Airways, a Kenyan minister has said. The UK Government halted flights by British airlines to the east African country on Friday amid fears an al-Qaeda terrorist attack on a British jet was imminent.
Kenya's national security minister said the threat had been directed at British Airways planes flying to the capital Nairobi.
"Intelligence reports received indicate that British Airways was a target of attacks - that is why they took such pre-emptive measures but we are assuring them and other international airlines that Kenya has stepped up security everywhere," said Kenyan minister Chris Murungaru.
He added that the "timeframe" for the attacks was from this week until the end of May.
The Kenyan flight ban was introduced as the Foreign Office issued a new warning of a "clear terrorist threat" in six East African countries - Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda. MORE
LONDON, 17 MAY 2003 (BBC)--The suspension of UK flights to and from Kenya was sparked by a specific threat by terror network al-Qaeda to British Airways, a Kenyan minister has said. The UK Government halted flights by British airlines to the east African country on Friday amid fears an al-Qaeda terrorist attack on a British jet was imminent.
Kenya's national security minister said the threat had been directed at British Airways planes flying to the capital Nairobi.
"Intelligence reports received indicate that British Airways was a target of attacks - that is why they took such pre-emptive measures but we are assuring them and other international airlines that Kenya has stepped up security everywhere," said Kenyan minister Chris Murungaru.
He added that the "timeframe" for the attacks was from this week until the end of May.
The Kenyan flight ban was introduced as the Foreign Office issued a new warning of a "clear terrorist threat" in six East African countries - Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda. MORE
UN Appeals for Funds to Fight Polio in Somalia, Sudan
NAIROBI, 17 MAY 2003 -- Two UN agencies appealed for 275 million dollars to wind up vaccinations against polio in Somalia and Sudan, warning of a disaster if a cash shortfall persisted. AFP quoted the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as having said in a joint statement that they require "substantial external financial resources" to fill "a 275 million dollar gap to finish the (immunization) job by 2005."
"A lapse in funding for Somalia and Sudan would not only jeopardize the goal of stopping polio transmission, but could allow the virus to spread to other regions," the statement said.
"If the initiative falters now in Somalia and Sudan, the consequences would be disastrous," it warned.
UNICEF and WHO said early this year, lack of enough cash had scaled back the polio eradication operation. The war against polio, which hits children, in Somalia and Sudan started in 1997 and 1993 respectively.
NAIROBI, 17 MAY 2003 -- Two UN agencies appealed for 275 million dollars to wind up vaccinations against polio in Somalia and Sudan, warning of a disaster if a cash shortfall persisted. AFP quoted the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) as having said in a joint statement that they require "substantial external financial resources" to fill "a 275 million dollar gap to finish the (immunization) job by 2005."
"A lapse in funding for Somalia and Sudan would not only jeopardize the goal of stopping polio transmission, but could allow the virus to spread to other regions," the statement said.
"If the initiative falters now in Somalia and Sudan, the consequences would be disastrous," it warned.
UNICEF and WHO said early this year, lack of enough cash had scaled back the polio eradication operation. The war against polio, which hits children, in Somalia and Sudan started in 1997 and 1993 respectively.
Kahin sworn in as Somaliland's President for for a five-year term
HARGEISA, 17 MAY 2003--Dahir Riyale Kahin took the oath on May 26 as the first elected president of Somaliland since the former British colony restored its sovereignty and seceded from Somalia.
Kahin and his Vice President Ahmed Yussuf Yassint were sworn in a ceremony attended by members of Somaliland's two legislative chambers, cabinet members, foreign dignitaries and other personalities.
The swearing-in came as the climax of a dramatic election in which the ruling party UDUB won by a slim majority and the opposition Kulmiye party contested the election results. The court issued a verdict on 13 May upholding the Election Commission's outcome and giving the victory to UDUB.MORE
HARGEISA, 17 MAY 2003--Dahir Riyale Kahin took the oath on May 26 as the first elected president of Somaliland since the former British colony restored its sovereignty and seceded from Somalia.
Kahin and his Vice President Ahmed Yussuf Yassint were sworn in a ceremony attended by members of Somaliland's two legislative chambers, cabinet members, foreign dignitaries and other personalities.
The swearing-in came as the climax of a dramatic election in which the ruling party UDUB won by a slim majority and the opposition Kulmiye party contested the election results. The court issued a verdict on 13 May upholding the Election Commission's outcome and giving the victory to UDUB.MORE
Thursday, May 15, 2003
SOMALIA: Puntland talks hit snag
NAIROBI, 15 MAY 2003 (IRIN-- Peace talks to end conflict in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland have become bogged down over the issue of power-sharing, sources in Bosaso told IRIN on Thursday.
Talks have been under way in Bosaso, the commercial capital, since 10 May, between the Puntland administration of Col Abdullahi Yusuf and "the armed opposition" led by Gen Ade Muse Hirsi. But they have stalled "over the issue of power-sharing and the formation of a new cabinet", the sources said.
Ade Muse is said to have insisted on the removal of certain individuals from the Puntland administration and on the formation of a new cabinet, demands rejected by Abdullahi Yusuf.
"This is the reason why the announcement of a peace agreement - which was to have been made on Wednesday - was delayed," the sources said.
The two sides are also said to have disagreed on the length of a new administration in Puntland, before elections are held.
However, Puntland's acting information minister, Abdishakur Mire Adan, denied that the talks were faltering.
"There are some minor technical difficulties which should be resolved by the end of today [Thursday]," he told IRIN. "The people of Puntland want peace, and neither we, the Puntland administration, nor Ade Muse can deny this. The talks will succeed. We have no choice."
Abdishakur said an official statement on the outcome of the talks "will probably be issued on Sunday".
NAIROBI, 15 MAY 2003 (IRIN-- Peace talks to end conflict in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland have become bogged down over the issue of power-sharing, sources in Bosaso told IRIN on Thursday.
Talks have been under way in Bosaso, the commercial capital, since 10 May, between the Puntland administration of Col Abdullahi Yusuf and "the armed opposition" led by Gen Ade Muse Hirsi. But they have stalled "over the issue of power-sharing and the formation of a new cabinet", the sources said.
Ade Muse is said to have insisted on the removal of certain individuals from the Puntland administration and on the formation of a new cabinet, demands rejected by Abdullahi Yusuf.
"This is the reason why the announcement of a peace agreement - which was to have been made on Wednesday - was delayed," the sources said.
The two sides are also said to have disagreed on the length of a new administration in Puntland, before elections are held.
However, Puntland's acting information minister, Abdishakur Mire Adan, denied that the talks were faltering.
"There are some minor technical difficulties which should be resolved by the end of today [Thursday]," he told IRIN. "The people of Puntland want peace, and neither we, the Puntland administration, nor Ade Muse can deny this. The talks will succeed. We have no choice."
Abdishakur said an official statement on the outcome of the talks "will probably be issued on Sunday".
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
SOMALIA: EC funds landmine action
NAIROBI, 14 MAY 2003 (IRIN) - The European Commission has approved a major project to support the second phase of a nationwide landmine impact survey for Somalia.
In a statement on Wednesday, the EC said it had allocated €1.5 million (US $1.73 million) to the project.
An EC official told IRIN that this second phase - to be implemented by the UN Development Programme and the UN Office for Project Services - will be carried out in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland and southern Somalia, particularly in the Baidoa area, "security and access permitting".
The first phase of the project was carried out in the self-declared republic of Somaliland between 1 May 2002 and March 2003.
Landmines have been extensively used in Somalia, during conflicts with Ethiopia in the 1970s and 1980s and during the civil war in the 1990s when all sides to the conflict laid mines. Almost all regions of Somalia have been affected by mines or unexploded ordnance (UXO).
The project will include technical assistance for the Somali authorities to develop a mine-action policy, strategy for clearance and implementation of the Ottawa convention on antipersonnel mines, the statement said.
"The survey will provide Somalia and international donors with quantifiable, standardised data regarding the impact of landmines and UXO upon communities there," it added.
The official also said the project was aimed at "producing a countrywide mine-action plan" based on the results of survey.
[ENDS]
NAIROBI, 14 MAY 2003 (IRIN) - The European Commission has approved a major project to support the second phase of a nationwide landmine impact survey for Somalia.
In a statement on Wednesday, the EC said it had allocated €1.5 million (US $1.73 million) to the project.
An EC official told IRIN that this second phase - to be implemented by the UN Development Programme and the UN Office for Project Services - will be carried out in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland and southern Somalia, particularly in the Baidoa area, "security and access permitting".
The first phase of the project was carried out in the self-declared republic of Somaliland between 1 May 2002 and March 2003.
Landmines have been extensively used in Somalia, during conflicts with Ethiopia in the 1970s and 1980s and during the civil war in the 1990s when all sides to the conflict laid mines. Almost all regions of Somalia have been affected by mines or unexploded ordnance (UXO).
The project will include technical assistance for the Somali authorities to develop a mine-action policy, strategy for clearance and implementation of the Ottawa convention on antipersonnel mines, the statement said.
"The survey will provide Somalia and international donors with quantifiable, standardised data regarding the impact of landmines and UXO upon communities there," it added.
The official also said the project was aimed at "producing a countrywide mine-action plan" based on the results of survey.
[ENDS]
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