Reuters
BRUSSELS — European Union (EU) experts say the US is pushing for deployment of a regional peacekeeping force in Somalia and this could trigger a wider war in the region, European commission sources said on Tuesday.
However, a US state department official in Washington said: “The whole premise that the US wants to forcibly impose an outside peacekeeping mission on to that situation in Somalia, that is 100% false.” The official declined to be named.
The commission sources said its department for African development had warned EU governments that such a deployment could give cover for a larger military operation against the Islamists who control Mogadishu.
The warning said a peacekeeping operation without the consent of all sides would be seen as an “invading force” and exacerbate the risk of conflict.
A United Nations Security Council committee is considering what action to take after receiving a report last week that there were extensive illegal arms flows into Somalia, both to the Islamic Courts Union and to the shaky interim government.
The sources said US officials had drafted a document calling for a partial lifting of the arms embargo and the deployment of a regional peacekeeping force.
One EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some members shared Brussels’ misgivings but Britain and France were reluctant to oppose the US due to the “terrorism issue”.
European Commission experts were also concerned the EU could come under pressure to fund a regional force through its Africa Peace Facility. The African Union has requested €15m for the mission.
US officials have said the administration is considering several ideas for Somalia, possibly including a regional force. The US has made it clear that neighbouring countries such as Ethiopia and Eritrea should not be allowed to interfere in Somali affairs.
The Brussels experts say a regional force could legitimise an Ethiopian military presence denied by Addis Ababa, and undermine EU-backed efforts to reach a political settlement. For more story...
Ethiopian deaths spark fears of devastating war (Independent)
By Leonard Doyle, Foreign Editor
Published: 23 November 2006
First two Ethiopian trucks were destroyed by land mines, then Islamic fighters opened fire on the convoy, which witnesses said was made up of more than 80 vehicles and headed for Baidoa, the headquarters of Somalia's transitional government.
By the time it was over six Ethiopian soldiers were dead, and as many as 20 injured, in a battle that many predict will be the opening salvo in a devastating regional war.
The shootout last Sunday - the first known battle between the forces jockeying for control in Somalia - could have devastating consequences for up to 12 countries, while bringing George Bush's War on Terror to the Horn of Africa. Washington and its Ethiopan ally like to paint the Islamic Courts as a terrorist umbrella backed up with thousands of jihadi fighters. However, the spreading crisis now threatens to draw in a wide array of belligerents, including hardline jihadi fighters and al Qaida operatives.
The Islamic Courts are a loose coalition of Islamists - including many moderates - drawn from the country's Hawiye clan, the most powerful group in southern Somalia, and have a well trained militia and independent sources of funding.
The movement's reputation for strict Islamic code was underscored this week, when nearly 100 people were arrested for watching a film in Merka, a seaside town about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Mogadishu.
Yesterday hundreds of Ethiopian troops were seen patrolling a road leading to Somalia's transitional government headquarters after the brief but intense firefight in the area this week. Ethiopia has vowed to "crush" the Islamic Courts movement, which has ousted the country's government set up under UN auspices two years ago.
Ethiopia says it has sent "military advisers" - not soldiers - into Somalia. But the country's Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, has promised to send tens of thousands of troops across the border if the Council of Islamic Courts attacks.
Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew the country's dictator and turned on each other. Formed with the help of the UN two years ago, the current administration has failed to assert any real control outside the southern town of Baidoa.
The rise of the Islamic Courts, and the prominence of jihadi Islamists within the organisation, has sent shock waves through the international community. Washington says the Courts are shielding al Qaida terrorists responsible for bombing its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
Kenya is alarmed by links between the Courts and its own Islamic dissidents. Ethiopia sees the courts as a direct threat and a proxy for its enemy Eritrea.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia have also for decades vied to ensure Somalia is little more than a satellite state.
A report prepared for the US State Department by the former US ambassador to Ethiopia and Somalia, Prof David Shinn, warns that 12 countries could be drawn into the conflict.
The report has underscored the reality that the perennial bloodshed and instability in Somalia is a product of a ferocious regional power struggle.
Source: The Independent
Published: 23 November 2006
First two Ethiopian trucks were destroyed by land mines, then Islamic fighters opened fire on the convoy, which witnesses said was made up of more than 80 vehicles and headed for Baidoa, the headquarters of Somalia's transitional government.
By the time it was over six Ethiopian soldiers were dead, and as many as 20 injured, in a battle that many predict will be the opening salvo in a devastating regional war.
The shootout last Sunday - the first known battle between the forces jockeying for control in Somalia - could have devastating consequences for up to 12 countries, while bringing George Bush's War on Terror to the Horn of Africa. Washington and its Ethiopan ally like to paint the Islamic Courts as a terrorist umbrella backed up with thousands of jihadi fighters. However, the spreading crisis now threatens to draw in a wide array of belligerents, including hardline jihadi fighters and al Qaida operatives.
The Islamic Courts are a loose coalition of Islamists - including many moderates - drawn from the country's Hawiye clan, the most powerful group in southern Somalia, and have a well trained militia and independent sources of funding.
The movement's reputation for strict Islamic code was underscored this week, when nearly 100 people were arrested for watching a film in Merka, a seaside town about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Mogadishu.
Yesterday hundreds of Ethiopian troops were seen patrolling a road leading to Somalia's transitional government headquarters after the brief but intense firefight in the area this week. Ethiopia has vowed to "crush" the Islamic Courts movement, which has ousted the country's government set up under UN auspices two years ago.
Ethiopia says it has sent "military advisers" - not soldiers - into Somalia. But the country's Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, has promised to send tens of thousands of troops across the border if the Council of Islamic Courts attacks.
Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991, when warlords overthrew the country's dictator and turned on each other. Formed with the help of the UN two years ago, the current administration has failed to assert any real control outside the southern town of Baidoa.
The rise of the Islamic Courts, and the prominence of jihadi Islamists within the organisation, has sent shock waves through the international community. Washington says the Courts are shielding al Qaida terrorists responsible for bombing its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
Kenya is alarmed by links between the Courts and its own Islamic dissidents. Ethiopia sees the courts as a direct threat and a proxy for its enemy Eritrea.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia have also for decades vied to ensure Somalia is little more than a satellite state.
A report prepared for the US State Department by the former US ambassador to Ethiopia and Somalia, Prof David Shinn, warns that 12 countries could be drawn into the conflict.
The report has underscored the reality that the perennial bloodshed and instability in Somalia is a product of a ferocious regional power struggle.
Source: The Independent
The Rise of an Islamist Somalia
By Daniel Mandel
New York Post November 16, 2006
Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, fell to the pro-al Qaeda Supreme Council of Islamic Courts back in June. As the group gradually takes control of the rest of the country, the U.S. government still can't decide what to do about it.
That America is loath to intervene in Somalia is easy to understand; U.S. forces got a bloody nose there in 1993 at the hands of Somali warlord Mohammed Farrah Aideed (the "Black Hawk Down" episode). But "hands off" seems pretty foolish, too - for the Islamic Courts is not just another gang like the conglomerate of warlords it defeated in June; it's an al Qaeda ally.
Its chief is Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, who has been on the official U.S. list of global terrorists since November 2001. Aweys headed the Courts' precursor in the '90s, the al Ittihad al Islamiya, which was funded by al Qaeda, and he's one of one of three men wanted in connection with the 1998 al Qaeda bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
It was armed thugs under the command of an al Qaeda-trained Aweys protégé, Aden Hashi 'Ayro, who gunned down Sister Leonella Sgorbati in Mogadishu on Sept. 17 - after another Islamic Courts cleric, Sheik Abubukar Hassan Malin, called for Pope Benedict's murder for the pontiff's remarks on Islam.
Western nations continue to disburse humanitarian aid in Somalia - but Mideast states send jihadists and the money to arm them. Afghan, Kashmiri, Pakistani, Palestinian and Syrian fighters are entering the country. Money from that estimable American ally, Saudi Arabia, is the Islamic Courts' chief source of funds.
The old, fractious, largely unarmed but internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government is still holding out in parts of the country. Its president, Abdullah Yusuf Ahmed, even survived a Sept. 18 suicide car bombing (Somalia's first) that killed six of his officials. But the Courts are now poised to launch an offensive against the remnants of the prior government in the inland city of Baidoa.
What is America doing? Begging Islamic Court-backing neighbors (like Eritrea) not to "destabilize" the situation. The State Department's spokesman, Sean McCormack, reassures us brightly that it is "working with the Arab League" - that is, with those munificent Saudis and others - to somehow form a coalition between the failing government and the Islamic Courts.
In other words, the State Department is pressing for successful rebels to join with the government they're fighting to replace. State's efforts may explain why the speaker of the Somali parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden, recently made a beeline to Mogadishu to come to terms with the Islamic Courts, without consulting President Ahmed or anyone else, a move that might cause the legal government to collapse altogether.
The United States, in short, is wasting time and talent working with dubious allies to entrench an al Qaeda ally. Instead, it should be orchestrating the forces at its disposal to eliminate the Islamic Courts before the group subjugates a country strategically located at the Horn of Africa - only a boat ride from Yemen and thus the Mideast's gateway to black Africa.
The U.S. military is stretched by other commitments, but the 1,600-strong Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa is based in nearby Djibouti, with Marines, special-operations forces, civil-affairs teams and a U.S. and international naval task force. And next-door Ethiopia has a military force with experience fighting Somali Islamists, having destroyed the al Ittihad al Islamiya in the mid-'90s. In July, Aweys called for a jihad against the Ethiopian forces, estimated at 4,000 strong, who are reported to be preparing to defend Baidoa against the Courts' attack.
But all this will amount to little without purposeful American direction - instead of diplomatic myopia and an empty "peace process."
Daniel Mandel is a fellow in history at Melbourne University.
Source: Frontpagemag.com.
New York Post November 16, 2006
Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, fell to the pro-al Qaeda Supreme Council of Islamic Courts back in June. As the group gradually takes control of the rest of the country, the U.S. government still can't decide what to do about it.
That America is loath to intervene in Somalia is easy to understand; U.S. forces got a bloody nose there in 1993 at the hands of Somali warlord Mohammed Farrah Aideed (the "Black Hawk Down" episode). But "hands off" seems pretty foolish, too - for the Islamic Courts is not just another gang like the conglomerate of warlords it defeated in June; it's an al Qaeda ally.
Its chief is Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys, who has been on the official U.S. list of global terrorists since November 2001. Aweys headed the Courts' precursor in the '90s, the al Ittihad al Islamiya, which was funded by al Qaeda, and he's one of one of three men wanted in connection with the 1998 al Qaeda bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
It was armed thugs under the command of an al Qaeda-trained Aweys protégé, Aden Hashi 'Ayro, who gunned down Sister Leonella Sgorbati in Mogadishu on Sept. 17 - after another Islamic Courts cleric, Sheik Abubukar Hassan Malin, called for Pope Benedict's murder for the pontiff's remarks on Islam.
Western nations continue to disburse humanitarian aid in Somalia - but Mideast states send jihadists and the money to arm them. Afghan, Kashmiri, Pakistani, Palestinian and Syrian fighters are entering the country. Money from that estimable American ally, Saudi Arabia, is the Islamic Courts' chief source of funds.
The old, fractious, largely unarmed but internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government is still holding out in parts of the country. Its president, Abdullah Yusuf Ahmed, even survived a Sept. 18 suicide car bombing (Somalia's first) that killed six of his officials. But the Courts are now poised to launch an offensive against the remnants of the prior government in the inland city of Baidoa.
What is America doing? Begging Islamic Court-backing neighbors (like Eritrea) not to "destabilize" the situation. The State Department's spokesman, Sean McCormack, reassures us brightly that it is "working with the Arab League" - that is, with those munificent Saudis and others - to somehow form a coalition between the failing government and the Islamic Courts.
In other words, the State Department is pressing for successful rebels to join with the government they're fighting to replace. State's efforts may explain why the speaker of the Somali parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden, recently made a beeline to Mogadishu to come to terms with the Islamic Courts, without consulting President Ahmed or anyone else, a move that might cause the legal government to collapse altogether.
The United States, in short, is wasting time and talent working with dubious allies to entrench an al Qaeda ally. Instead, it should be orchestrating the forces at its disposal to eliminate the Islamic Courts before the group subjugates a country strategically located at the Horn of Africa - only a boat ride from Yemen and thus the Mideast's gateway to black Africa.
The U.S. military is stretched by other commitments, but the 1,600-strong Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa is based in nearby Djibouti, with Marines, special-operations forces, civil-affairs teams and a U.S. and international naval task force. And next-door Ethiopia has a military force with experience fighting Somali Islamists, having destroyed the al Ittihad al Islamiya in the mid-'90s. In July, Aweys called for a jihad against the Ethiopian forces, estimated at 4,000 strong, who are reported to be preparing to defend Baidoa against the Courts' attack.
But all this will amount to little without purposeful American direction - instead of diplomatic myopia and an empty "peace process."
Daniel Mandel is a fellow in history at Melbourne University.
Source: Frontpagemag.com.
Somali leaders and diplomats search for a way to avoid war (International Herald Tribune)
AIROBI, Kenya: Cool seasonal rains have slowed the march to war between Somalia's Islamic militants and the secular government, but in the weeks ahead the tropical sun will break through the clouds, dry the muddy roads, shrink the flooded rivers and, many fear, ignite a civil war.
There have been minor skirmishes in the past few weeks. After 20 years of neglect, Somalia's road system is in tatters and virtually impassable when it rains. That means neither side can move troops or maintain supply lines. No one wants to fight in the mud.
Diplomats are trying to take advantage of the military stalemate to break the diplomatic deadlock. When the rains end, the fighting could begin. Read more ...
There have been minor skirmishes in the past few weeks. After 20 years of neglect, Somalia's road system is in tatters and virtually impassable when it rains. That means neither side can move troops or maintain supply lines. No one wants to fight in the mud.
Diplomats are trying to take advantage of the military stalemate to break the diplomatic deadlock. When the rains end, the fighting could begin. Read more ...
United States issues warning of terrorist attacks in Kenya and Ethiopia (e Canada Now)
The United States embassy located in Nairobi, Kenya has issued a warning that “extremists from Somalia” are planning to launch suicide bomb attacks in Kenya and Ethiopia. The warning comes as the U.S. says it has received information that specifically mentions the use of suicide bombers that will blow up “prominent landmarks” inside of Ethiopia and Kenya.
The Department of State has said that they are concerned “about terrorists in Somalia with links to outside terrorist groups.”
“These threats specifically mention the execution of suicide explosions in prominent landmarks within Kenya and Ethiopia. [The] terrorist threats [are] emanating from extremist elements within Somalia which target Kenya, Ethiopia and other surrounding countries,” said the statement.
The statement addes that all Americans need to “be vigilant” and to use “extreme caution” while traveling in any of those areas of Africa.
Source: E Canada Now
The Department of State has said that they are concerned “about terrorists in Somalia with links to outside terrorist groups.”
“These threats specifically mention the execution of suicide explosions in prominent landmarks within Kenya and Ethiopia. [The] terrorist threats [are] emanating from extremist elements within Somalia which target Kenya, Ethiopia and other surrounding countries,” said the statement.
The statement addes that all Americans need to “be vigilant” and to use “extreme caution” while traveling in any of those areas of Africa.
Source: E Canada Now
Somali Islamists make war "inevitable"- Ethiopia (Sudan Tribune)
Nov 2, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia has warned that neighboring Somalia’s powerful Islamist movement was "making conflict inevitable" by refusing to meet the country’s weak government for peace talks.
In a blunt assessment of the situation in Somalia delivered a day after negotiations collapsed in Sudan, the Ethiopian foreign ministry blamed "extremist" Islamists for the failure of the talks and looming war.
"The extremists who are setting the tone are not for peace. Rather they are making conflict inevitable," said ministry spokesman Solomon Abebe.
"From the peace talks, we can understand that the extremists are not serious about peace," he told AFP.
Abebe accused the Islamists of deception by refusing to meet with the government until Ethiopian troops, who they alleged are in Somalia, withdraw.
"They have used it to buy time and their excuse is (a) lame excuse," he said. He maintained that the Islamists had repeatedly violated two earlier accords with the government by continuing to expand their territory.
Solomon also chided the international community for failing to address the alleged threat posed by the Islamists, whose supreme leader is designated a "terrorist" by the United States for alleged Al-Qaeda links.
"The international community ... didn’t take the challenge seriously," he said. Full story..
In a blunt assessment of the situation in Somalia delivered a day after negotiations collapsed in Sudan, the Ethiopian foreign ministry blamed "extremist" Islamists for the failure of the talks and looming war.
"The extremists who are setting the tone are not for peace. Rather they are making conflict inevitable," said ministry spokesman Solomon Abebe.
"From the peace talks, we can understand that the extremists are not serious about peace," he told AFP.
Abebe accused the Islamists of deception by refusing to meet with the government until Ethiopian troops, who they alleged are in Somalia, withdraw.
"They have used it to buy time and their excuse is (a) lame excuse," he said. He maintained that the Islamists had repeatedly violated two earlier accords with the government by continuing to expand their territory.
Solomon also chided the international community for failing to address the alleged threat posed by the Islamists, whose supreme leader is designated a "terrorist" by the United States for alleged Al-Qaeda links.
"The international community ... didn’t take the challenge seriously," he said. Full story..
African Taliban threatens Ethiopia
The African Taliban are upset that during recent talks the Somali government and the rest of the world did not submit to their will. So in order to convince Ethiopia and other Christians to get in line, they will try their favorite tactic, blowing shit up.
International Herald Tribune:NAIROBI, Kenya: Extremists in Somalia have threatened to carry out suicide bombings in the Horn of Africa, the U.S. embassy in Nairobi said Thursday, the latest sign that the chaos in Somalia could engulf this volatile region.
The embassy, in a warning to Americans living or traveling in Kenya, said it has received reports of "extremist elements" targeting Kenya, Ethiopia and "surrounding countries," which it did not name.
"These threats specifically mention the execution of suicide explosions in prominent landmarks within Kenya and Ethiopia. American citizens are advised to remain vigilant and to use extreme caution when frequenting prominent public places," the statement said. A spokeswoman at the embassy said she had not seen the warning and could not comment.
Suicide attacks are exceedingly rare in Somalia. In September, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf narrowly escaped a suicide car bomb; that was believed to be the first time such a tactic was used in the country…
…The U.S. embassy's warning came one day after talks collapsed between Somalia's official government and the Islamic group, which has taken over the capital, Mogadishu, and much of the country's south since June. The government, meanwhile, controls only the western city of Baidoa.
A leading member of the militia Thursday blamed Ethiopia for the breakdown.
Oh, and it's not just blow up anything, they want to blow up, you know, civilians and tourists. But they promise to murder Ethiopian civilians and tourists in a peaceful introspective sort of way. Islam demands no less.
Remember for the African Taliban (and most Islamic Radicals), their hirabah is always the other guys fault. They thought they might have been wrong once but they were mistaken.
Source: The Jawa Report
International Herald Tribune:NAIROBI, Kenya: Extremists in Somalia have threatened to carry out suicide bombings in the Horn of Africa, the U.S. embassy in Nairobi said Thursday, the latest sign that the chaos in Somalia could engulf this volatile region.
The embassy, in a warning to Americans living or traveling in Kenya, said it has received reports of "extremist elements" targeting Kenya, Ethiopia and "surrounding countries," which it did not name.
"These threats specifically mention the execution of suicide explosions in prominent landmarks within Kenya and Ethiopia. American citizens are advised to remain vigilant and to use extreme caution when frequenting prominent public places," the statement said. A spokeswoman at the embassy said she had not seen the warning and could not comment.
Suicide attacks are exceedingly rare in Somalia. In September, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf narrowly escaped a suicide car bomb; that was believed to be the first time such a tactic was used in the country…
…The U.S. embassy's warning came one day after talks collapsed between Somalia's official government and the Islamic group, which has taken over the capital, Mogadishu, and much of the country's south since June. The government, meanwhile, controls only the western city of Baidoa.
A leading member of the militia Thursday blamed Ethiopia for the breakdown.
Oh, and it's not just blow up anything, they want to blow up, you know, civilians and tourists. But they promise to murder Ethiopian civilians and tourists in a peaceful introspective sort of way. Islam demands no less.
Remember for the African Taliban (and most Islamic Radicals), their hirabah is always the other guys fault. They thought they might have been wrong once but they were mistaken.
Source: The Jawa Report
Horn of Africa is now terror territory (Daily News)
Horn of Africa is now terror territory
October 23, 2006 Edition 1
Chris Tomlinson
NAIROBI: From the Red Sea to Lake Victoria, the Horn of Africa is one of the few places in the world where, if careful, a traveller can move 2 300km across four countries without producing a passport or encountering a single government official.
These footpaths, back roads and rivers have been used for centuries by merchants and slave traders, explorers, smugglers and bandits. Rebels easily sneak around the central governments in the big cities. So could any traveller. Even a terrorist.
Corrupt governments, porous borders, widespread poverty and discontented Muslim populations have created a region ripe for Islamic fundamentalism. The Horn of Africa, home to about 165 million people, is roughly half the area of the United States.
The six countries that make up the Horn Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya and Djibouti - could become the next major front in the war on terrorism. Kenyan police earlier this year caught a smuggler trying to bring in an anti-aircraft missile.
Kenya, and Tanzania just to its south, have already been victims of Al-Qaeda terrorism, with the bombings at the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in 1998, and attacks on a hotel and an Israeli airliner in Kenya in 2002. The attacks emanated from neighbouring Somalia, which has had no effective central government since 1992, and has a growing Islamic fundamentalist movement.
Western and regional diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic, said they believe another terrorist attack could be eminent.
Robert Rotberg, director of Harvard University's programme on Intrastate Conflict and Conflict Resolution, said every country in the region is at risk because radicals see an opportunity to take advantage of weak, unpopular governments. Ethnic Somalis are the common denominator in the Horn of Africa, and their large presence in neighbouring countries has long been a source of conflict. In the mid-1970s, then Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre advocated expanding the country's borders to unite all Somali-speaking people in Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. [Read more..]
US envoy accuses Eritrea of attacking Ethiopia through proxies in Somalia (AND)
US envoy accuses Eritrea of attacking Ethiopia through proxies in Somalia
October 23, 2006,
By www.andnetwork .com
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today expressed outrage at the Ethiopian government’s continued silence about the report linking their security forces to nearly 200 deaths during two waves of protests over election results in 2005, and called for immediate passage of his bill to promote human rights and democracy in Ethiopia when Congress reconvenes.
Smith—who is the Chairman of the Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations Subcommittee and author of the “Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006” (H.R. 5680)—said “Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s silence speaks volumes. The regime refuses to comment on the report, most likely because they never expected it to see the light of day. We have a responsibility to hold them accountable for their brutal actions as well as their subsequent efforts to suppress this inquiry.”
Smith added “this report should prompt the House to move on my bill when we reconvene. We must send a message to the Ethiopian government that these actions will not be tolerated.”
The independent Commission of Inquiry report found that Ethiopian security forces fatally shot, beat or strangled 193 people protesting election fraud last year—a number that far exceeds the Ethiopian government’s official death toll. The report also states that these demonstrators were unarmed, yet the majority died from shots to the head.
Wolde-Michael Meshesha, a vice chairman of the 10-member panel who conducted the investigation, said the Ethiopian government tried to suppress the inquiry and he has stated in news reports that he was told to change the results two days before the release of report. Meshesha fled Ethiopia in the wake of controversy surrounding the report and is in Europe seeking asylum.
The report comes well over a year after the first wave of violence, despite the Prime Minister's assurance to Rep. Smith during a meeting in August 2005 that there would be an expeditious and transparent investigation.
"This delayed, secret report, as well as the repeated delays in the trial of the opposition leaders, human rights activists and journalists, demonstrates an outright contempt for rule of law and due-process," Smith said.
The “Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006” aims to bring democratic reform and accountability to Ethiopia by limiting U.S. security assistance to peacekeeping and counter-terrorism only; denying visas to anyone who was involved in the June and November 2005 killings of demonstrators; and by assisting political prisoners, indigenous Ethiopian human rights organizations, independent media, civil society and to promote legal training. Smith’s legislation passed the House International Relations Committee last June.
“This legislation helps strengthen the will of the Ethiopian people who want freedom and democracy, and will bring positive change to the circumstances that have limited progress in Ethiopia. It should be brought up for immediate consideration when the House reconvenes next month,” said Smith.
Ethiopian Review
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October 23, 2006,
By www.andnetwork .com
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today expressed outrage at the Ethiopian government’s continued silence about the report linking their security forces to nearly 200 deaths during two waves of protests over election results in 2005, and called for immediate passage of his bill to promote human rights and democracy in Ethiopia when Congress reconvenes.
Smith—who is the Chairman of the Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations Subcommittee and author of the “Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006” (H.R. 5680)—said “Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s silence speaks volumes. The regime refuses to comment on the report, most likely because they never expected it to see the light of day. We have a responsibility to hold them accountable for their brutal actions as well as their subsequent efforts to suppress this inquiry.”
Smith added “this report should prompt the House to move on my bill when we reconvene. We must send a message to the Ethiopian government that these actions will not be tolerated.”
The independent Commission of Inquiry report found that Ethiopian security forces fatally shot, beat or strangled 193 people protesting election fraud last year—a number that far exceeds the Ethiopian government’s official death toll. The report also states that these demonstrators were unarmed, yet the majority died from shots to the head.
Wolde-Michael Meshesha, a vice chairman of the 10-member panel who conducted the investigation, said the Ethiopian government tried to suppress the inquiry and he has stated in news reports that he was told to change the results two days before the release of report. Meshesha fled Ethiopia in the wake of controversy surrounding the report and is in Europe seeking asylum.
The report comes well over a year after the first wave of violence, despite the Prime Minister's assurance to Rep. Smith during a meeting in August 2005 that there would be an expeditious and transparent investigation.
"This delayed, secret report, as well as the repeated delays in the trial of the opposition leaders, human rights activists and journalists, demonstrates an outright contempt for rule of law and due-process," Smith said.
The “Ethiopia Freedom, Democracy and Human Rights Advancement Act of 2006” aims to bring democratic reform and accountability to Ethiopia by limiting U.S. security assistance to peacekeeping and counter-terrorism only; denying visas to anyone who was involved in the June and November 2005 killings of demonstrators; and by assisting political prisoners, indigenous Ethiopian human rights organizations, independent media, civil society and to promote legal training. Smith’s legislation passed the House International Relations Committee last June.
“This legislation helps strengthen the will of the Ethiopian people who want freedom and democracy, and will bring positive change to the circumstances that have limited progress in Ethiopia. It should be brought up for immediate consideration when the House reconvenes next month,” said Smith.
Ethiopian Review
Search for similar stories
Specialists urge US to focus on Somali strife (Boston Globe)
Islamist advance seen to threaten a wider conflict
By John Donnelly, Globe Staff September 28, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Africa specialists criticized the Bush administration yesterday for not paying more attention to the increasingly volatile situation in Somalia, saying that senior officials were consumed by their efforts to stop the fighting in the Darfur region of Sudan.
In Somalia, Islamist militias have taken one town after another in the south-central part of the fractured nation since capturing the de facto capital Mogadishu in June. Now, they appear poised to attack the small town of Baidoa near the country's western border with Ethiopia.
Baidoa is the base of the increasingly powerless Somali transitional federal government, which is backed by the United States and Ethiopia. Analysts predict that if the Islamists attack the town, which appears likely, the conflict could evolve into a wider war with Ethiopia. [Full story here]
By John Donnelly, Globe Staff September 28, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Africa specialists criticized the Bush administration yesterday for not paying more attention to the increasingly volatile situation in Somalia, saying that senior officials were consumed by their efforts to stop the fighting in the Darfur region of Sudan.
In Somalia, Islamist militias have taken one town after another in the south-central part of the fractured nation since capturing the de facto capital Mogadishu in June. Now, they appear poised to attack the small town of Baidoa near the country's western border with Ethiopia.
Baidoa is the base of the increasingly powerless Somali transitional federal government, which is backed by the United States and Ethiopia. Analysts predict that if the Islamists attack the town, which appears likely, the conflict could evolve into a wider war with Ethiopia. [Full story here]
Ethiopia can beat malaria with its latest programme, says official at UN children’s agency (UN News)
28 September 2006 – Ethiopia has a chance of defeating malaria, its biggest killer, an official from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today as the Horn of Africa country’s Government launched a major push against the disease ahead of the annual transmission season.
Speaking at the launch in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, UNICEF Country Representative Bjorn Ljungqvist said: “We now have an historic opportunity to get on top of malaria. We can make this killer disease as manageable as measles and other childhood conditions in the West.”
Malaria infects nine million Ethiopians each year and can kill more than 100,000 people, mostly young children, within just a few months during an epidemic. The peak of the annual transmission season is October to November.
The three-pronged programme will cost at least $140 million over the next three years and is being supported by UNICEF, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Bank and several foreign governments and public agencies.
Under the campaign the distribution of insecticide-treated malaria nets across the country is being expanded drastically. Before 2004, there were only 1.8 million nets; by the end of this year there will be eight million nets and that number will increase to 20 million by 2008.
Ethiopia will start treating the overwhelming majority of its malaria cases with the drug Coartem, which has a 99 per cent success rate, compared with the 36 per cent rate of the current preferred drug, Fansidar.
Health posts around the vast country are also being supplied with cheap rapid diagnostic test kits that can detect serious malaria cases within minutes, avoiding the delays that come with sending samples from patients to distant laboratories.
Mr. Ljungqvist urged international donors to keep up their support of the campaign as it continues, especially “the hard-to-fund parts of any malaria campaign – the monitoring and evaluation and the general management costs to run such a large operation.”
Source: UN News Centre
Speaking at the launch in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, UNICEF Country Representative Bjorn Ljungqvist said: “We now have an historic opportunity to get on top of malaria. We can make this killer disease as manageable as measles and other childhood conditions in the West.”
Malaria infects nine million Ethiopians each year and can kill more than 100,000 people, mostly young children, within just a few months during an epidemic. The peak of the annual transmission season is October to November.
The three-pronged programme will cost at least $140 million over the next three years and is being supported by UNICEF, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the World Bank and several foreign governments and public agencies.
Under the campaign the distribution of insecticide-treated malaria nets across the country is being expanded drastically. Before 2004, there were only 1.8 million nets; by the end of this year there will be eight million nets and that number will increase to 20 million by 2008.
Ethiopia will start treating the overwhelming majority of its malaria cases with the drug Coartem, which has a 99 per cent success rate, compared with the 36 per cent rate of the current preferred drug, Fansidar.
Health posts around the vast country are also being supplied with cheap rapid diagnostic test kits that can detect serious malaria cases within minutes, avoiding the delays that come with sending samples from patients to distant laboratories.
Mr. Ljungqvist urged international donors to keep up their support of the campaign as it continues, especially “the hard-to-fund parts of any malaria campaign – the monitoring and evaluation and the general management costs to run such a large operation.”
Source: UN News Centre
Ethiopia blames Eritrea’s inability to ’behave like a normal state’ (Sudan Tribune)
Sept 28, 2006 (UNITED NATIONS) — Ethiopia told the U.N. General Assembly it wants to normalize relations with Eritrea because it needs durable peace, but it accused its Horn of Africa neighbor of refusing to "behave like a normal state."
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war, but their border was never settled. In April 2002, following a 2 1/2-year border war, an international boundary commission awarded the key town of Badme to Eritrea — but Ethiopia has refused to implement the deal.
Ethiopia’s deputy U.N. ambassador Negash Kebret, addressing the assembly’s ministerial meeting on its final day on Wednesday, said his country was committed to peace and security in the Horn of Africa region — much as its foe might try to disrupt the efforts.
"Ethiopia will not allow its dispute with Eritrea to distract it from its focus on development, although this is the main mission of Eritrea since the conflict began eight years ago," Kebret said.
[Read full story here]
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war, but their border was never settled. In April 2002, following a 2 1/2-year border war, an international boundary commission awarded the key town of Badme to Eritrea — but Ethiopia has refused to implement the deal.
Ethiopia’s deputy U.N. ambassador Negash Kebret, addressing the assembly’s ministerial meeting on its final day on Wednesday, said his country was committed to peace and security in the Horn of Africa region — much as its foe might try to disrupt the efforts.
"Ethiopia will not allow its dispute with Eritrea to distract it from its focus on development, although this is the main mission of Eritrea since the conflict began eight years ago," Kebret said.
[Read full story here]
Ethiopia launches bold tourist programme (Business in Africa)
Addis Ababa - Banking on a combination of cultural diversity, natural scenes and historical sites, Ethiopia has embarked on an ambitious tourism development programme that would make it a leading destination of holidaymakers in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2020, Culture and Tourism minister Mohamed Dirir said on Monday.
Though the number of foreign tourists visiting Ethiopia and earnings from the industry doubled over the last decade, the industry still accounts for a meager 2 percent of the national GDP.
"We have set forward a strategic plan that focuses on the improvement of services at the existing hotels and resorts in order to achieve this goal," said Dirir.
"We are considering seriously of branding Ethiopia for what it offers to tourists destined to Africa."
In 2005 Ethiopia hosted 227 398 tourists compared to 184 077 arrivals the previous year. In terms of receipts, the country posted $134.5mn in 2005 - an increase of $20.2mn compared to 2004.
According to the minister, the government's commitment to enhance the role of tourism in the economy, and the increasing public and private investment in the development of infrastructure were basic factors that contributed to the humble rise in tourism earnings.
To provide momentum to the new plan for the industry, the government has drafted a legislation that would be ratified soon on upgrading Ethiopia's Hotel and Tourism Institute. Also, a tourism investment code was in the pipeline.
"A major priority area will be the elimination of supply barriers in the hotel, transport and tour operator sectors," Dirir said, adding that both domestic and international players would be encouraged in order to enhance the role of the private sector in tourism.
Though an ancient country that was believed to be the cradle of mankind, Ethiopia was like a man who overslept and is now waking up when the sun is already high in the sky to find its rank in the tourism industry. South Africa, being more politically correct, claimed to be the cradle of humankind.
One would ask: 'What has this East African country to offer other than monuments and a history of feudalism that was punctuated with internal rivalries, repulsion of colonial expansionists, and a military dictatorship alongside a chronology of natural disasters?'
In a bid to lure tourists from overseas, authorities in Ethiopia said what has been done on the promotion side so far was not enough to kick-start the industry's growth.
They were taking an unusual step to send 'Lucy' aka 'Dinknesh', the famed paleontological discovery of human fossils dating back 3.5 million years, on a 'know-Ethiopia tour' of museums in the United States.
The dates of her itinerary were yet to be fixed, but officials confirmed it would be in the near future. [For more..click here]
Though the number of foreign tourists visiting Ethiopia and earnings from the industry doubled over the last decade, the industry still accounts for a meager 2 percent of the national GDP.
"We have set forward a strategic plan that focuses on the improvement of services at the existing hotels and resorts in order to achieve this goal," said Dirir.
"We are considering seriously of branding Ethiopia for what it offers to tourists destined to Africa."
In 2005 Ethiopia hosted 227 398 tourists compared to 184 077 arrivals the previous year. In terms of receipts, the country posted $134.5mn in 2005 - an increase of $20.2mn compared to 2004.
According to the minister, the government's commitment to enhance the role of tourism in the economy, and the increasing public and private investment in the development of infrastructure were basic factors that contributed to the humble rise in tourism earnings.
To provide momentum to the new plan for the industry, the government has drafted a legislation that would be ratified soon on upgrading Ethiopia's Hotel and Tourism Institute. Also, a tourism investment code was in the pipeline.
"A major priority area will be the elimination of supply barriers in the hotel, transport and tour operator sectors," Dirir said, adding that both domestic and international players would be encouraged in order to enhance the role of the private sector in tourism.
Though an ancient country that was believed to be the cradle of mankind, Ethiopia was like a man who overslept and is now waking up when the sun is already high in the sky to find its rank in the tourism industry. South Africa, being more politically correct, claimed to be the cradle of humankind.
One would ask: 'What has this East African country to offer other than monuments and a history of feudalism that was punctuated with internal rivalries, repulsion of colonial expansionists, and a military dictatorship alongside a chronology of natural disasters?'
In a bid to lure tourists from overseas, authorities in Ethiopia said what has been done on the promotion side so far was not enough to kick-start the industry's growth.
They were taking an unusual step to send 'Lucy' aka 'Dinknesh', the famed paleontological discovery of human fossils dating back 3.5 million years, on a 'know-Ethiopia tour' of museums in the United States.
The dates of her itinerary were yet to be fixed, but officials confirmed it would be in the near future. [For more..click here]
Somali president survives bomb attack (Daily News)
MOGADISHU (Somalia): As the Somali president left parliament, few noticed when his security detail ushered him from his three-ton armoured car to an ordinary car. It was a simple, routine security measure that saved his life.
Moments later a massive car bomb exploded outside the makeshift parliament building of Somalia's virtually powerless government in Baidoa, destroying President Abdullahi Yusuf's armoured car and killing his brother and four other members of the presidential detail.
Though Yusuf had moved to another car, his driver lost a hand in the blast. The president then alighted and escaped on foot with guards, witness Abdisalam Mohammed Nor Hassan said. Other witnesses said the president was cut by flying glass.
As Yusuf fled, a gun battle broke out between his bodyguards and eight suspected accomplices of an apparent suicide bomber. Six were killed and two were captured, the country's Foreign Minister Ismail Mohamed Hurre said.
No one so far has claimed responsibility. Two people were arrested, Hurre said. He had no details on the suspects. [For more..click here]
Moments later a massive car bomb exploded outside the makeshift parliament building of Somalia's virtually powerless government in Baidoa, destroying President Abdullahi Yusuf's armoured car and killing his brother and four other members of the presidential detail.
Though Yusuf had moved to another car, his driver lost a hand in the blast. The president then alighted and escaped on foot with guards, witness Abdisalam Mohammed Nor Hassan said. Other witnesses said the president was cut by flying glass.
As Yusuf fled, a gun battle broke out between his bodyguards and eight suspected accomplices of an apparent suicide bomber. Six were killed and two were captured, the country's Foreign Minister Ismail Mohamed Hurre said.
No one so far has claimed responsibility. Two people were arrested, Hurre said. He had no details on the suspects. [For more..click here]
US to launch $20 mln project to promote Ethiopian rural economy (Sudan Tribune)
Sept 18, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — The United States is to launch tomorrow a twenty millions USD project to help the Ethiopian rural economy and employment.
The United States would continue supporting the private sector through the US Agency for International Development with a view to increasing rural incomes and employment.
“Agribusiness Project” would be officially launched on Tuesday in the presence of concerned ministries and associations.
The project would provide technical support to increase productivity of coffee, flowers, leather and oil seeds.
The project would last for five years and is expected to enable the country to obtain 450 million USD in the first three years and aims to increase it to 1 billion USD after five years.
According to the American Embassy and the USAID executive officers, some 20 million US Dollars is earmarked for the execution of the project.
The project would be executed in Oromia, Amhara, Tigray as well as South Ethiopia Peoples’ State.
Source: Sudan Tribune
The United States would continue supporting the private sector through the US Agency for International Development with a view to increasing rural incomes and employment.
“Agribusiness Project” would be officially launched on Tuesday in the presence of concerned ministries and associations.
The project would provide technical support to increase productivity of coffee, flowers, leather and oil seeds.
The project would last for five years and is expected to enable the country to obtain 450 million USD in the first three years and aims to increase it to 1 billion USD after five years.
According to the American Embassy and the USAID executive officers, some 20 million US Dollars is earmarked for the execution of the project.
The project would be executed in Oromia, Amhara, Tigray as well as South Ethiopia Peoples’ State.
Source: Sudan Tribune
Gun shootings targeted at a plane carrying UN staff in Gedo, southern Somalia (Shabelle)
UN relief operations in Somalia’s Garbaharey district in Gedo region southern Somalia has got stuck after tribal militias in area have opened fire at UN airline.. [Full Story..]
Gun shootings targeted at a plane carrying UN staff in Gedo, southern Somalia (Shabelle)
UN relief operations in Somalia’s Garbaharey district in Gedo region southern Somalia has got stuck after tribal militias in area have opened fire at UN airline.. [Full Story..]
Flower growers threaten to move to Ethiopia (Walta)
Addis Ababa, September 12, 2006 (WIC) – Investors in floricultural development in Kenya have been threatening to relocate their business to Ethiopia due to poor infrastructure and security,The East African Standard reported. [Full Story...]
Ethiopian govt. fears war with Somali Islamists in lieu of Eritrea. (Shabelle)
Hassan Kalkata
( Sh.M.Network) Since the Islamic courts union took over the Somali capital and its surroundings.Ethiopian government’s concern grows over a major battle between the Islamic court’s militias and its forces what it called Eritrean embroil.
There are accusations and counter -accusations between Ethiopian and Eritrean governments meddling into the internal affairs of the anarchic Somalia.
Arch-foes Ethiopia and Eritrea, who are accused of supporting the rival Somali sides, are believed having made a political battle ground for the anarchistic country Somalia, but they often deny these accusation while there are some clear cut proofs as some independent sources confirm
Ethiopian authority accused of its rival, Eritrea of giving logistic and military support to the Islamic courts union which is enjoying broader support from almost the entire community of Somalia, on the other hand Eritrea accuse Ethiopian the same manner of supporting the weak Somali TFG based in Baidoa the provincial capital of By region .
Somalia engaged bitter war Ethiopia over territorial dispute in 1977 which left hundreds.Ethiopia is now said to be afraid of Islamic courts to launch a war against its territory in lieu of Eritrea.
When the Ethiopian officials asked about the military intervention waging in Somali territory, in reply they often describe the move as “border tight security”
Islamists in Somalia deem Ethiopian authority is hostile to Somali community and has a great grudge against Somali people in which the Islamists claim they defend their country what the called enemy of “Islam Ethiopia” but are the Islamic courts ready to fight with Ethiopia on behalf of Eritrea?.
Source: Shabelle Media Network
( Sh.M.Network) Since the Islamic courts union took over the Somali capital and its surroundings.Ethiopian government’s concern grows over a major battle between the Islamic court’s militias and its forces what it called Eritrean embroil.
There are accusations and counter -accusations between Ethiopian and Eritrean governments meddling into the internal affairs of the anarchic Somalia.
Arch-foes Ethiopia and Eritrea, who are accused of supporting the rival Somali sides, are believed having made a political battle ground for the anarchistic country Somalia, but they often deny these accusation while there are some clear cut proofs as some independent sources confirm
Ethiopian authority accused of its rival, Eritrea of giving logistic and military support to the Islamic courts union which is enjoying broader support from almost the entire community of Somalia, on the other hand Eritrea accuse Ethiopian the same manner of supporting the weak Somali TFG based in Baidoa the provincial capital of By region .
Somalia engaged bitter war Ethiopia over territorial dispute in 1977 which left hundreds.Ethiopia is now said to be afraid of Islamic courts to launch a war against its territory in lieu of Eritrea.
When the Ethiopian officials asked about the military intervention waging in Somali territory, in reply they often describe the move as “border tight security”
Islamists in Somalia deem Ethiopian authority is hostile to Somali community and has a great grudge against Somali people in which the Islamists claim they defend their country what the called enemy of “Islam Ethiopia” but are the Islamic courts ready to fight with Ethiopia on behalf of Eritrea?.
Source: Shabelle Media Network
Irrigation projects that ensure food security of 3mln people underway in Oromia state (Walta)
Addis Ababa, September 12, 2006 (WIC) - The Oromia Irrigation Development Authority disclosed that it has launched irrigation development projects which would ensure food security of three million people in the state. [Full Story..]
Ethiopia grants clemency for 263 prisoners (Sudan Tribune)
Sept 12, 2006 (ADDIS ABAB) — Ethiopia has granted its first-ever amnesty to 263 prisoners, commuting the death penalty against 11 of them, state media reported Tuesday.
President Girma Woldegiorgis gave clemency to 237 inmates while the remainder received reduced prison terms to mark the Ethiopian New Year, which falls on September 11.
"The prisoners were provided with the clemency and reduction of prison terms as they have repented and shown good disciplines while they were in prison," President Girma was quoted as saying. Convicted rapists and those convicted of corruption were not included in the amnesty.
Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for comment on the amnesty and it was not clear if any opposition leaders who were jailed last year were among those freed.
More than 100 independent journalists, opposition leaders and aid workers are on trial for treason and attempted genocide after violent protests following disputed 2005 elections.
London-based human rights group Amnesty International has called the defendants "prisoners of conscience who have not used or advocated violence."
In January, Britain withheld 50 million pounds (US$87 million; A73 million) in aid to Ethiopia’s government, redirecting it to humanitarian agencies or local governments because of concerns about the central government’s handling of the unrest.
Source: Sudan Tribune
President Girma Woldegiorgis gave clemency to 237 inmates while the remainder received reduced prison terms to mark the Ethiopian New Year, which falls on September 11.
"The prisoners were provided with the clemency and reduction of prison terms as they have repented and shown good disciplines while they were in prison," President Girma was quoted as saying. Convicted rapists and those convicted of corruption were not included in the amnesty.
Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for comment on the amnesty and it was not clear if any opposition leaders who were jailed last year were among those freed.
More than 100 independent journalists, opposition leaders and aid workers are on trial for treason and attempted genocide after violent protests following disputed 2005 elections.
London-based human rights group Amnesty International has called the defendants "prisoners of conscience who have not used or advocated violence."
In January, Britain withheld 50 million pounds (US$87 million; A73 million) in aid to Ethiopia’s government, redirecting it to humanitarian agencies or local governments because of concerns about the central government’s handling of the unrest.
Source: Sudan Tribune
Bad times for Kenya's flower sector (East African)
CATHERINE RIUNGU reports that according to figures from the Horticultural Crops Development Authority, flower export earnings had dropped from $297.2 million to $243.2 million by July
Kenya's flower industry has expressed fears that dropping profits, possible mechanisation of post-greenhouse operations and a hostile business environment could result in massive job losses.
The Kenya Flower Council said late last week that for the first time in 30 years, the flower industry has suffered a 15 per cent decline in profits.
According to figures released by the Horticultural Crops Development Authority, flower export earnings fell from Ksh22 billion ($297.2 million) to Ksh18 billion ($243.2 million) by July. More losses are anticipated following an unusually long warm summer in Europe, which will affect exports since sales are usually high during the cold season.
The big producers, who control more than 50 per cent of flower exports, say they are considering mechanisation of post-greenhouse operations, which will render many workers in the labour-intensive sector redundant. [More...]
Kenya's flower industry has expressed fears that dropping profits, possible mechanisation of post-greenhouse operations and a hostile business environment could result in massive job losses.
The Kenya Flower Council said late last week that for the first time in 30 years, the flower industry has suffered a 15 per cent decline in profits.
According to figures released by the Horticultural Crops Development Authority, flower export earnings fell from Ksh22 billion ($297.2 million) to Ksh18 billion ($243.2 million) by July. More losses are anticipated following an unusually long warm summer in Europe, which will affect exports since sales are usually high during the cold season.
The big producers, who control more than 50 per cent of flower exports, say they are considering mechanisation of post-greenhouse operations, which will render many workers in the labour-intensive sector redundant. [More...]
Chinese firms win telecom contracts in Ethiopia (Sudan Tribune)
Sept 10, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — The Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) signed a memorandum of understanding with three Chinese telecom companies on a telecom infrastructure development project.
ETC has designed a four-year expansion project which would enable it to increase the number of mobile phones from the existing 1.5 million lines to seven million, the number of land lines from one million to four million and to lay a 6 km optical fibre backbone network. So far, the corporation has installed a 4,000 km optical fibre network across the nation.
The total cost of the telecom infrastructure development project is estimated at 2.4bn dollars.
ZTE Corporation, Huawei Technologies and Chinese International Telecommunication Construction Corporation (CITCC) are the three Chinese firms recruited for the project.
The minister of capacity building, Tefera Walwa; Minister of Transport and Communications Junedin Sado; the Chinese ambassador to Ethiopia, Lin Lin, and other dignitaries attended Wednesday 6 September the signing ceremony held at the Sheraton Addis.
Eight companies had submitted financial proposals to the corporation. Western telecom giants like Siemens, Nokia, Alcatel and Eriksson are among the list. But ETC selected the Chinese firms.
On the hand, the Chinese telecom company, ZTE Corporation, announced its plan to build an assembly plant in Ethiopia that manufactures telecommunications equipment.
(Reporter/ST)
Source: Sudan Tribune
ETC has designed a four-year expansion project which would enable it to increase the number of mobile phones from the existing 1.5 million lines to seven million, the number of land lines from one million to four million and to lay a 6 km optical fibre backbone network. So far, the corporation has installed a 4,000 km optical fibre network across the nation.
The total cost of the telecom infrastructure development project is estimated at 2.4bn dollars.
ZTE Corporation, Huawei Technologies and Chinese International Telecommunication Construction Corporation (CITCC) are the three Chinese firms recruited for the project.
The minister of capacity building, Tefera Walwa; Minister of Transport and Communications Junedin Sado; the Chinese ambassador to Ethiopia, Lin Lin, and other dignitaries attended Wednesday 6 September the signing ceremony held at the Sheraton Addis.
Eight companies had submitted financial proposals to the corporation. Western telecom giants like Siemens, Nokia, Alcatel and Eriksson are among the list. But ETC selected the Chinese firms.
On the hand, the Chinese telecom company, ZTE Corporation, announced its plan to build an assembly plant in Ethiopia that manufactures telecommunications equipment.
(Reporter/ST)
Source: Sudan Tribune
Ethiopian policy riles N. American Jews (Jerusalem Post)
North American Jewish leaders are calling a Finance Ministry proposal to reduce the rate of Ethiopian aliya a major breach of trust that could have serious ramifications for Israel-Diaspora relations.
The move comes after the American Jewish community has committed to collect more than $300 million to help Israelis affected by the recent war. Now some are questioning the Diaspora's role in raising money for Israel given that the earlier pet funding priority of Ethiopian aliya, undertaken at the behest of the government, has been seriously downgraded. [More..]
The move comes after the American Jewish community has committed to collect more than $300 million to help Israelis affected by the recent war. Now some are questioning the Diaspora's role in raising money for Israel given that the earlier pet funding priority of Ethiopian aliya, undertaken at the behest of the government, has been seriously downgraded. [More..]
Addis, US intervention saw the rise of Islamic courts (East African)
THE CONCEPT OF THE ISLAMIC Courts, owes its origins to lawlessness that engulfed Somalia following the break up of government in 1991
Initially, the Courts were clan-based units that operated in various neighbourhoods of Mogadishu and was limited to dispensing Sharia-based justice in the absence of government institutions, and was seen as the only way the clans could deal with criminals in their midst.
The Islamic courts was first introduced in 1992 in the Medina area, near the international airport, where marauding gangs were looting people's property with impunity. Religious elders met and decided that the only way to reign in criminals was to introduce religious courts to dispense justice based on Islamic law.
Soon after, other clans who live in various parts of the city followed suit. Security improved and criminal activities dropped sharply. [More..]
Initially, the Courts were clan-based units that operated in various neighbourhoods of Mogadishu and was limited to dispensing Sharia-based justice in the absence of government institutions, and was seen as the only way the clans could deal with criminals in their midst.
The Islamic courts was first introduced in 1992 in the Medina area, near the international airport, where marauding gangs were looting people's property with impunity. Religious elders met and decided that the only way to reign in criminals was to introduce religious courts to dispense justice based on Islamic law.
Soon after, other clans who live in various parts of the city followed suit. Security improved and criminal activities dropped sharply. [More..]
Ethiopia earns $1.8bn from exports
Addis Ababa – Ethiopia secured $1.8bn from exports during the last budget year, said the ministry of trade and industry.
The upbeat ministry public relations and information office head, Hailu Abebe, said the figure was $189.6mn better than the previous period.
Adebe said that exports would continue to receive special attention, especially with studies being conducted into floriculture and roasted coffee development, to maintain rapid economic growth.
He said trade agreements and joint chambers of commerce had been set up with several countries and co-operation on investment with Sudan, Nigeria and Iran had been scaled up.
He added that the country was receiving help from the European Union with regards to its efforts to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO). -BiA Online
Source: Business in Africa
The upbeat ministry public relations and information office head, Hailu Abebe, said the figure was $189.6mn better than the previous period.
Adebe said that exports would continue to receive special attention, especially with studies being conducted into floriculture and roasted coffee development, to maintain rapid economic growth.
He said trade agreements and joint chambers of commerce had been set up with several countries and co-operation on investment with Sudan, Nigeria and Iran had been scaled up.
He added that the country was receiving help from the European Union with regards to its efforts to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO). -BiA Online
Source: Business in Africa
Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya to vacinate 3 million children (eitb)
The vaccination campaign, which will run Sept 9-12, should be followed by two more in November and December in high-risk areas around the borders between the three states.
Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia will vaccinate nearly 3 million children against polio in a bid to stamp out the paralysing disease, which has re-emerged in the Horn of Africa, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday. [More..]
Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia will vaccinate nearly 3 million children against polio in a bid to stamp out the paralysing disease, which has re-emerged in the Horn of Africa, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday. [More..]
The crisis in the Horn of Africa: Nomads with no future (IOE)
Sitting on grass mats, under the shade of acacia trees in Ethiopia's Borana rangelands, more than 350 nomadic herdsmen and women from 60 tribes in 18 countries gathered to discuss their future. [More..]
Trini UN Peacekeeper Ejected from Eritrea (Breaking News)
A Trinidad and Tobago national who was working as a peacekeeper in Eritrea, an embattled country in northern East Africa, has been ejected by the government which accused the Trini of spying.The Trinbagonian was given 24 hours to leave the country together with four other UN staff. [More..]
Russia to help UN stabilize situation in Ethiopia, Eritrea (Trend)
Author: А.Mammadov
04.09.2006
(RIA Novosti) - Russia will give support to the UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea to stabilize the situation in the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sunday, reports Trend.
"I want to express support for the UN mission. We will closely cooperate with our partners within the UN, including the Security Council, so that the mission's new mandate, after it is prolonged, can be used to bring stability to the region," Lavrov said at a meeting with the mission's acting head during his visit to Ethiopia.
Source: Trend News Agency
04.09.2006
(RIA Novosti) - Russia will give support to the UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea to stabilize the situation in the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sunday, reports Trend.
"I want to express support for the UN mission. We will closely cooperate with our partners within the UN, including the Security Council, so that the mission's new mandate, after it is prolonged, can be used to bring stability to the region," Lavrov said at a meeting with the mission's acting head during his visit to Ethiopia.
Source: Trend News Agency
Somali Islamists, government agree interim peace accord (Turkish Press)
Somalia's powerful Islamic movement and weak government signed an interim peace accord here that calls for the formation of a unified national army and police force, officials said.
The four-point agreement reached after three days of Arab League-mediated talks commits the two sides to respecting a previous June 22 mutual recognition and truce pact and not to seek military aid from neighboring states, they said. [More..]
The four-point agreement reached after three days of Arab League-mediated talks commits the two sides to respecting a previous June 22 mutual recognition and truce pact and not to seek military aid from neighboring states, they said. [More..]
MoFA says Eritrean move diversionary tactic from country's internal problems (Walta)
Addis Ababa, September 03, 2006 (WIC) – Eritrea’s false propaganda and strategy of weakening Ethiopia through mercenaries, which is a pretext to its internal political and economic crisis, will only manifest its anti-peace activities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said. Full Story..
Ethiopian and Ugandan military officers train Somali government forces in Daynunay, southern Somalia (Shabelle)
Mogadishu 02, Sep. 06 ( Sh.M.Network) - Somali president Abdulahi Yusuf Ahmed has joined an opening a ceremony held in Daynunay military camp, suburb of Baidoa, a temporary headquarter for the Somali largely tenuous federal government. Full Story..
The first UN World Food Program ship docks at Mogadishu’s port (Shabelle)
Mogadishu 03, Sep. 06 ( Sh.M.Network) - A vessel carrying UN World Food Program aid supplies had docked at Mogadishu’s international seaport. The ship is reported to be loaded with food aid and other supplies. Full Story..
Military Defections Continue in Ogaden (Garowe)
Reports reaching our service desk from the town of Bilcile confirm the defection of up to twenty-eight soldiers from the Ethiopian military stationed there. Full Story..
Ethiopia to open a consulate in South Sudan’s Juba (Sudan Tribune)
Aug 31, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Ethiopian government said it will open a consulate in the capital of southern Sudan Juba, joining other neighbouring courtiers like Egypt, Kenya and Uganda. Full Story..
Horn of Africa: Effects of drought persist despite rainfall (Sudan Tribune)
Aug 28, 2006 (NAIROBI) — The March-May rainfall in most of the areas of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia that had suffered drought was insufficient to restore food security and residents would continue to need emergency humanitarian support until the end of 2006, according to early warning agencies. Full Story..
UN warns of new Darfur disaster (BBC)
The UN's most senior humanitarian official has warned that Sudan's Darfur region faces a new humanitarian disaster owing to lack of security. Full Story..
Top leader of the Islamic courts in Somalia flies to Khartoum for peace talks (Shabelle)
Mogadishu 28, August. 06 ( Sh.M.Network) A high level delegation led by the chairman of the executive council of Somalia’s Islamic courts flew to the Sudanese capital yesterday to attend the second round of talks between the transitional federal government of Somalia and the Islamic courts. Full Story..
Eritrea fails convince AU and IGAD not to send peace keepers to Somalia (Shabelle)
Mogadishu 27, August. 06 ( Sh.M.Network) Eritrean government said to began making successive contacts with both Arab and African countries so as to convince them to renounce helping the Somali transitional federal government and to drop their decision of sending peace keeping forces to Somali to restore peace and order to the war- devastated country since 1991. Full Story..
Lethal floods bring disaster to Horn of Africa (CNN)
NAIROBI, Kenya (Reuters) -- A disastrous cycle of drought and flood has hit the Horn of Africa, bringing misery and death to some of the continent's poorest regions. Full Story..
Somali woman is flogged for drugs (BBC)
A Somali woman has been flogged in public for selling cannabis by Islamist militias who now control the capital. Full Story..
Islamists in Somalia spell doom for all (Standard)
The inexorable rise to power of extremists in Somalia raises troubling questions about the prospects of peace in East Africa and the Horn of Africa as a whole. Full Story..
Puntland leader addresses Somalia Islamists, warlords and Ethiopia (Garowe)
The president of the semiautonomous State of Puntland in northern Somalia disclosed on Thursday that Ethiopian troops are inside Puntland regions. Full Story..
Somali Islamists, foreign trainers open militia camp (Reuters)
MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somalia's powerful Islamist movement opened a militia training camp on Wednesday with trainers from Eritrea, Afghanistan and Pakistan, witnesses said. Full Story..
Somalia Rulers Reopen Main Seaport (Town Hall)
The seaport in the Somali capital reopened Wednesday for the first time in 11 years, the latest sign that the city's Islamic fundamentalist rulers are trying to restore confidence after more than a decade of anarchy. Full Story..
Kenya, Ethiopia seek to end border conflicts (Standard)
Officials from Kenya and Ethiopia met on Wednesday to seek ways to end persistent cross-border conflicts. Moyale and Marsabit districts security committees held talks with a delegation from the Ethiopian Government, which accuses local residents of harbouring Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) rebels. Full Story..
US policy threatens war in Horn of Africa (World Socialist Web)
The threat of a full-scale war erupting in Somalia is now a real possibility. Ethiopian troops are congregating along the Somali border, amid allegations that the so-called Union of Islamic Courts, which now controls the capital city of Mogadishu and a growing part of the country, is being armed by Eritrea. Ethiopia and Eritrea, headed by nationalist regimes that were originally allies, fought a bloody war in 1998-2000 in which tens of thousands died. Full Story..
Ethiopia: WFP Says Flooding Far From Over - 118,000 Affected (WF)
With heavy rains continuing to pound much of Ethiopia, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today that 118,000 people - with hundreds killed or missing - have been hit by devastating floods in the past month and warned that the numbers of displaced, homeless and severely affected could rise further. Full Story..
Sudan: Armed Youth Voluntarily Disarm in Jonglei (IRIN)
Young men eyed the 1,300 guns laid out in a field in the southern Sudanese town of Akobo. The rifles would once have been worth a fortune to these members of the Lou Nuer, who typically used weapons to defend themselves or to raid neighbouring villages. Full Story..
Somalia: Somalis Now Seek Power Sharing Deal (East African)
A major reorganisation of the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is expected if the ongoing pursuit of a power-sharing formula succeeds. Sources close to both the TFG and the Islamic Courts Union told The EastAfrican that chances are that the post of the prime minister, currently held by Ali Mohamed Ghedi, could be given to the Islamic Court's chairman, Sheikh Shariff Ahmed, as part of the power-sharing deal. Full Story...
Islamic courts ban exporting charcoal and cutting plants
(SomaliNet) The council of Islamic Courts (CIC) controlling Somalia capital Mogadishu and other key parts in central and southern of the country has nullified on Sunday 4.5 formula in which Somali tribes shared the power. It originally initiated from the former transitional national government formed in Djibouti in 2000 and the current transitional federal government itself follow the same practice. Full Story..
South Sudan tribes lay down arms (Peninsula)
AKOBO, Sudan • More than 1,200 rusted Kalashnikovs and machine guns were laid out on a football pitch in Akobo, south-east Sudan yesterday, raising hopes that clashes that killed hundreds of people earlier this year will end. The peaceful civilian disarmament was the first of its kind in a former flashpoint of tribal violence in south Sudan where a January 2005 peace deal ended more than two decades of civil war. Full Story..
Ethiopia troops head for Baidoa (BBC)
Ethiopian troops are approaching the Somali town of Baidoa, seat of Somalia's transitional government. Full Story..
US joins Ethiopian flood battle (BBC)
US troops have joined emergency rescue operations in Ethiopia where flash floods have killed hundreds of people and left tens of thousands homeless. Full story..
Somalia: Finding an End to the Somali Crisis (IRIN)
The new rule and relative security in areas dominated by Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) offers long-awaited humanitarian space. Full story..
Foreign-based players ‘not for Eritrea tie’ (Standard - Kenya)
Harambee Stars coach Bernard Lama says he is not keen on calling up foreign-based players for the African Nations Cup qualifying match against Eritrea on September. Full Story..
Somalia: Seven Countries to Send Troops to War-Torn Country - The Nation (Nairobi)
Seven countries yesterday resolved to deploy soldiers to keep peace in Somalia in a few weeks.
They have started revising an Operational Deployment Mission Plan for presentation to the UN Security Council to allow for the lifting of an arms embargo in the region. Full Story..
They have started revising an Operational Deployment Mission Plan for presentation to the UN Security Council to allow for the lifting of an arms embargo in the region. Full Story..
Ethiopia: Poor Communication Hampering Flood Response (IRIN)
Efforts to reach thousands of people displaced by floods in eastern Ethiopia have been hampered by poor communication and the pastoralist nature of those affected, an official said. Full Story..
Somalia: UN Envoy Urges Security Council to Maintain Pressure for Resumption of Talks (UN News)
The international community must maintain the United Nations arms embargo on Somalia, refrain from interfering in the strife-torn Horn of Africa country's internal affairs and urge the disputing parties there to resume dialogue, the senior UN envoy to the nation told the Security Council today. Full Story...
Eritrea: One Reported Killed in Landmine Explosion (IRIN)
The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) is investigating landmine explosions in which two boys were reportedly wounded, one fatally, south of the Eritrean capital, Asmara. Full Story..
Ethiopia: Accused of Inactivity, Oromia Investors Lose Land (Addis Fortune)
Punishing investors accused of showing inadequate advancement in their projects, the Oromia Investment Commission has repossessed 324ht of land from 24 flower farming developers. The decision was based on Commission evaluations carried out since last May. Full Story..
Ethiopia: Flash Flood Kills 125 in the South (IRIN)
As many as 125 people were killed and at least 6,000 affected by heavy rains on Sunday night, which forced the Omo river to burst its banks and flood five villages in remote southern Ethiopia, officials said on Tuesday. Full Story..
Somalia's PM calls for ceasefire (BBC)
Somalia's interim Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Ghedi has called for a ceasefire with the Union of Islamic Courts, which controls the capital. Full Story..
Ethiopia's 2-week flood toll hits 381 (KnoxNews)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Torrential rains spilled a river from its banks in southern Ethiopia, killing at least 125 people as it submerged five villages, knocked down grain silos and swept away cattle, a police official said Monday. Full Story..
Somali Islamists urge Kenya to push for Ethiopian withdrawal (Sudan Tribune)
Aug 14, 2006 (MOGADISHU) — The Islamic Courts Union militia controlling key parts of Somalia have asked for Kenya’s help in ousting Ethiopian troops deployed to protect Somalia’s transitional government, Kenya’s Deputy Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula said on Monday. Full Story..
Ethiopia warns of Somali dangers (BBC)
Ethiopia has warned that Somalia's transitional government is in danger of being sidelined by the growth in power of the country's Islamic Courts. Full Story..
Kenya to deport suspected Ethiopian rebels
Isiolo, Kenya - Suspected Ethiopian rebels arrested in joint operations in northern Kenya will be deported to Ethiopia after serving jail terms, a local official said on Saturday. Full Story..
Somalia is on the brink of becoming the fourth front in the U.S. war on terror (Shabelle)
Somalia got Americans' attention was in October 1993, when U.S. Delta Force commandos and Army Rangers were dropped into its capital city, Mogadishu, to capture two aides of a Somali warlord. The mission was successful, but two Black Hawk helicopters were downed by Somali militia, and in the ensuing firefight, 18 Americans died. Images of an Army Ranger's body being dragged through the streets horrified U.S. households. Full Story..
Somalia: As Civilians Flee Fighting, UN Refugee Agency Warns Their Numbers Could Rise (UN News Service)
The United Nations refugee agency, which is currently caring for thousands of Somalis who fled to Kenya to escape fighting between warlords and the Union of Islamic Courts, today warned that that if violence intensifies, more will cross the border. Full Story..
Ethiopia: Army Kills 13 ONLF Mercenaries, Apprehends Others (Daily Monitor)
Ethiopia defense force killed 13 Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) mercenaries and apprehended other military officers in the eastern part of the country, Security officials said on Thursday. Full Story...
Somali path to peace said can only be curved by Africans
Addis Ababa, August 10, 2006 - In its issue Sunday Times said that the stability of the interim government in Somalia is a major concern to neighbouring countries in the Horn and the Eastern African region. Full Story..
Ethiopia's flower export earnings up 73%
Addis Ababa – Ethiopia’s flower exports grew by 73 percent during the most recent fiscal year to reach $22mn, the ministry of trade and industry has said. Full Story..
Ethiopia rebels 'ready for talks' (BBC)
Separatist rebels in Ethiopia say it is untrue that they are not willing to talk peace with the government. Ethiopian troops are currently engaged in a big operation to flush out Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebels near the border with Somalia. Full Story..
A region endangered by Islamists, guns and its own swelling population (Economist)
BOSSASO is an exit point from the Horn of Africa and it is bursting. This port in northern Somalia already has 300,000 people, up from 50,000 in the 1990s. More arrive each day. It is a raw place: entrepreneurial, resilient, armed to the teeth. It is also diseased, inadequate and famished. The port's champions reckon it could spread along the inky blue shore like a little Dubai, prospering on exports of livestock and frankincense. But such a future, which now looks a fantasy, depends on the stability of the Horn, which these days is looking only a little less fantastical. Full Story..
Death toll in Ethiopia's worst flood hits 254
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - The death toll from floods in eastern Ethiopia rose to 254, making it the worst flood disaster in the impoverished Horn of Africa nation's history, officials said. Full Story..
Chad, Sudan reopen borders, resume diplomatic relations (Sudan Tribune)
Chad and Sudan have reopened their borders and resumed diplomatic relations they severed four months ago, Chad’s government spokesman has said. Full Story
Somali Cleric vows to extend power around Galkaio
Mogadishu 10, August. 06 ( Sh.M.Network) The head of Islamic supreme council Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys confirmed his militiamen reached some areas in Central Somali regions. Full Story..
Malaysian oil company to develop Kalub, Hilala natural gas reserve
Addis Ababa, August 09, 2006 (WIC) - A Malaysian Oil Company, Petronas, has reportedly won the bid for the development of the Kalub and Hilala natural gas reserve in eastern Ethiopia. Full Story...
Ethiopian Beauty Among Top Miss Universe Finalists
Ethiopia's Dina Fekadu was included among the 20 women, deemed most beautiful in the world at the 2006 Miss Universe contest. But there is more to the 21-year old from Wollega, in western Ethiopia, than beauty alone. Full Story..
Ethiopia ratifies Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
Vienna, 9 August 2006: Ethiopia has deposited its instrument of ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) with the United Nations Secretary-General on 8 August 2006, bringing the total number of ratifications to 135. The number of ratifying States in the Africa geographical region now stands at 33. Full Story..
Ethiopian general defects to Eritrea, official says
Aug 9, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — An Ethiopian general has defected to his country’s bitter rival, neighboring Eritrea, an official said Wednesday. Full Story...
Somali exiles long to live in peace (BBC)
Dadaab is a city of rags. Thin branches fashioned into tent frames draped with colourful pieces of cloth, are all that shelter the people here from sand and sun in this settlement in northern Kenya, 60 km from the Somali border. Full Story..
Somalia: IGAD Warns Ethiopia, Eritrea On Meddling
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) has warned Eritrea and Ethiopia to stop taking unilateral actions that undermine the powerless but internationally-recognised transitional government of Somali. Full Story..
UN envoy discusses Darfur with AU, Sudan officials
The UN special envoy to Sudan held high-level talks today on Darfur with an adviser to Sudanese President Omar al Bashir and the AU special representative in Sudan. Full Story..
Anti Islamist rally in central Somalia
(SomaliNet) Anti Islamist protest attended by hundreds of people has been held on Tuesday in south of Galkaayo, capital town of Mudug region in centralSomalia where Sa’ad sub-clan of Habar-gidir clan dominate. Full Story..
Ethiopia: Reaching a Milestone, Ethiopia Hits $1 Billion in Exports (Addis Fortune)
Ethiopia's revenues from exported items surpassed the threshold of one billion dollars for the first time, thereby creating much excitement within the government circles. Full Story..
East Sudan peace talks begin, long road ahead (Sudan Tribune)
Aug 7, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — A second round of east Sudan peace talks opened late on Monday in what promises to be a long road to resolving a lingering low-level revolt in the economically important region of the country. Full Story...
Ethiopian ‘weed’ has a green future
Addis Ababa - British firm Vernique Biotech would soon commercially exploit a plant grown only in Ethiopia. Full Story..
Somalia's leaders sack government (BBC)
The leaders of Somalia's crisis-ridden interim government say they have resolved their differences and agreed to dissolve the cabinet. Full Story..
Hundreds dead, missing in Ethiopia (China Post)
Nearly 200 people are dead and hundreds more missing after floods swept through an eastern Ethiopian town over the weekend, police said on Monday. Full Story..
Ethiopia, World Bank sign $289 mln loan, grant agreement (Sudan Tribune)
Aug 7, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — Loan and grant agreements totally amounting to 29.7 million U.S. dollars were signed here on Monday between the Ethiopian government and the World Bank, according to a press release on Monday. Full Story..
Ethiopia Continues Efforts of Ensuring Interests of Somali People (Ethiopian Herald)
The Ministry of Information has called for further consolidation of efforts launched to stop the Eritrean government-backed extremist forces in Mogadishu, who are engaged in destabilizing the Horn of Africa region. Full Story..
Somali leaders resolve their rift (Baltimore Sun)
Associated Press
Originally published August 7, 2006
MOGADISHU, Somalia // Aided by an Ethiopian mediator, the leaders of Somalia's weak, U.N.-backed government have resolved their differences over how to deal with an increasingly strong Islamic militia that controls much of the south, officials said yesterday. Full Story..
Originally published August 7, 2006
MOGADISHU, Somalia // Aided by an Ethiopian mediator, the leaders of Somalia's weak, U.N.-backed government have resolved their differences over how to deal with an increasingly strong Islamic militia that controls much of the south, officials said yesterday. Full Story..
EU mulls action against Eritrea (BBC News)
The European Commission is considering action against Eritrea in protest at food aid being sold, and the proceeds used for government work programmes. Full Story..
Sudan: Darfur Rebel Leader to Be Honoured in Khartoum (IRIN)
The chairman and commander-in-chief of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) in Darfur, Minni Minnawi, is expected to arrive in Khartoum on Saturday to be sworn in as assistant to President Umar al-Bashir. Full Story..
US supports Ethiopia's defending for Somali government.
MarkaCadey) - US secretary state official Moccmeck says “according to the international law US will support every step towards Ethiopia's defending for Somali government. Full Story..
Somali leaders reach consensus on dealing with Islamists (Sudan Tribune)
Aug 6, 2006 (MOGADISHU) — Somalia’s three top leaders have resolved their differences over how the transitional government should respond to the rise of Islamic militants, who now control most of the country’s south, officials said Sunday. Full Story..
Scores killed in Ethiopia floods (BBC News)
Almost 200 people are reported to have died after a river burst its banks and floodwaters swept through the city of Dire Dawa in eastern Ethiopia. Full Story..
Eritrea denies Somalia a proxy battleground with Ethiopia (Sudan Tribune)
Aug 4, 2006 (NAIROBI) — Eritrea yesterday denied charges it is backing Islamists in Somalia to fight a proxy war with arch-rival Ethiopia, which has sent troops to support the weak Somali government. Full Story..
Sudan: Deaths of Aid Workers Threaten Darfur Operations (IRIN)
Escalating violence in the volatile Darfur region has left more aid workers dead over the past two weeks than during all the previous years of conflict, jeopardising one of the world's largest aid operations, a United Nations official said on Thursday. Full Story..
Ethiopia attacking Ogaden rebels (BBC News)
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi says his government has been conducting "military sweeps" against rebels in Ethiopia's Somali region. Full Story..
Islamists tightening their grip on a lawless Somalia (Times Online)
The crackle of automatic gunfire echoes through the potholed streets where donkey carts deliver water, firewood and qat, a mild narcotic chewed by the city’s militiamen. Full Story..
Increased insecurity hampers medical assistance in Darfur - MSF (Sudan Tribune)
Aug 3, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medical activities in Sudan’s troubled region are suspended on the ground because of the volatile security situation. Full Story..
It’s end of the political party (East African Standard)
The political party as an instrument in governance is dead in Kenya, political scientists have said.
Tom Mboya The parties neither have ideologies nor structures that can survive party founders, according to political scientists Adams Oloo, Prof Njuguna Ng’ethe and Prof Peter Wanyande.
Full Story..
Tom Mboya The parties neither have ideologies nor structures that can survive party founders, according to political scientists Adams Oloo, Prof Njuguna Ng’ethe and Prof Peter Wanyande.
Full Story..
Comparing Issayas and Mugabe (Awate) By Nunu Kidane
This may seem like a mindless task, comparing which of the two is more evil than the other, but bear with me…there are some lessons here.
While the West is busy demonizing Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe, we hear relatively little of the deeds of our dear President. Read More..
While the West is busy demonizing Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe, we hear relatively little of the deeds of our dear President. Read More..
29 ministers leave Somali government (CNN)
BAIDOA, Somalia (AP) -- Somali leaders were struggling to regroup Wednesday after 29 politicians left the government, saying the virtually powerless administration should reconcile with Islamic militants who have taken over the capital. Full Story..
UNMEE press briefing notes 03 Aug 2006 (ReliefWeb)
MILITARY:
General Overview
The military situation in the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) and Adjacent Areas is stable but tense. Routine troops movements have been noticed on both the Ethiopian and Eritrean sides. The ban imposed by the Eritrean Government on UNMEE helicopters is still in place. Read More..
General Overview
The military situation in the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) and Adjacent Areas is stable but tense. Routine troops movements have been noticed on both the Ethiopian and Eritrean sides. The ban imposed by the Eritrean Government on UNMEE helicopters is still in place. Read More..
Somali MPs ready to go to talks (BBC News)
Members of Somalia's interim parliament are ready to travel to Sudan for more peace talks with Islamic courts that control the capital, Mogadishu. Full Story..
Meles says motive of Eritrea is destabilizing East Africa
Addis Ababa, August 02, 2006 (WIC) - The motive of Eritrea in arming the Mogadishu based Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) is its desire to disrupt the prevailing peace in the Horn of Africa, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told the BBC. Full Story..
Why Ethiopia is on war footing? (BBC News)
The history of Somalia and Ethiopia is marred by distrust, animosity and war. Suspicion of neighbouring expansionism and political extremism is deeply rooted in both states.
Reports that Ethiopian troops have crossed Somalia's border and setup camp in Baidoa, home to the weak Somali transitional government, will not surprise seasoned observers of the often stormy relationship between the Horn of Africa rivals. Read More..
Reports that Ethiopian troops have crossed Somalia's border and setup camp in Baidoa, home to the weak Somali transitional government, will not surprise seasoned observers of the often stormy relationship between the Horn of Africa rivals. Read More..
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