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Somaliland:Warring Clans in Taleeh Agree to Reconcile

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unnamed-14-600x350By Goth Mohamed Goth

Attempts by Somaliland government and elders to end the ongoing inter clan contention and to reconcile the two communities in Taleeh,Haysimo district seem to bearing fruits.

The skirmishes between the two warring clans broke out on last week but tensions are still running high.

The mediation delegation led by the Minister of Water Resources and which includes the Governor of Maroodi Jeh region, MPs, local elders have hinted that there are nearing to find a solution which will end the animosity between the two feuding clans in Taleeh town.

Elders of two warring communities showed inclination to reconciliation through a series of meetings and expressed their readiness to reach a settlement to end the long running animosity.

“Some vested elements were stoking war among tribes to stop them from uniting and fighting for their rights”, Mr. Salax Haji Ali Shire, a local elder said.

Somaliland Army units were last week deployed to quell deadly fighting which broke out on Tuesday between the two warring clans in Taleeh district which is situted 180 KM south of Las Anod.

Somaliland Army units were deployed in the area to deter further violence and also stop elements whose action was bent on reigniting fresh bloody inter-clan fighting between the two communities who have been staying in peace.

 

 

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Somaliland:Geedole meets Private sector Educationists

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GeedoleBy M.A. Egge

The education minister Hon. Farah Elmi Geedole has just met with the local operators of private schools.

This Wednesday’s meeting of Prof. Geedole with educationists follows hot on the heels of a similar one he held with public head teachers a week earlier on.

The minister noted that both the public and private schools had similar goals of educating the nation.

He cautioned the head teachers against facilitating schooling “short-cuts’ that hamper educational procedures by allowing the jumping or ‘skipping’ of grades or classes to the detriments of learners.

The private sector educationists pledged their readiness in operating as per policy by adhering to ministerial guidelines.

They, at the same time, hailed the minister for calling for such orientation meetings just as their public colleagues priory welcomed such move.

The minister newly took over the education pool folio a month ago after serving in the agricultural ministry in similar capacity in a tenure described by pundits as one that was quite exemplary.

Somaliland:State, IC are both for advancement of democracy, says the VP

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saylicBy M.A. Egge

The VP H.E. Abdirahman A. Ismael Sayli’i has made it clear that both the international community and the state concur on the advancement and development of democracy in Somaliland.

The VP expressed the sentiments upon jetting back home last mid-week from several weeks of an extensive tour in the Americas.

The VP’s journey took him to the US and Canada whereby he held several meetings across several states in as many cities with the SL diaspora.

“We met die-hard patriotic Somalilanders wherever we went”, he said to a hoard of pressmen at Egal International Airport’s VIP lounge.

He said that his delegation was heartened by the diaspora community who exuded unity and solidarity.

“We all along met exemplary countrymen who lived in harmonious brethrenship”, he said adding that “their minor differences never cut across political partisanship”.

The VP said that the cities of Washington, Minneapolis, Ohio and Seattle were where they largely held talks in the US and that Alberta, Toronto, Ottawa and Edmonton were their itineraries in the Canadas.

VP Seyli’i had also met members of the US congress, senior government officials and some US company executive in the US.

His delegation which also consisted of the state minister of Hon. Ahmed Nour Fahie were met at the airport by several cabinet ministers led by Hon. Hersi A. Hassan of the Presidency aviation, senior government Kulmiye party officials, MPs of both Houses of the National Assemblies Parliament and scores of eminent personalities.

Somaliland:Ship carrying 222 Refugees fleeing the contention in Yemen Arrives in Berbera

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Arriving refugeesBy Goth Mohamed Goth
A small overcrowded ship carrying refugees escaping the contention in Yemen docked in Berbera port earlier on Friday evening.

Somaliland authorities and SRCS officials were at hand to receive the arriving refugees said to be numbering at least 222 mostly of Somali and Ethiopian origins.

The newly arrived refugees told Somaliland authorities that they spent two days and two nights aboard the small ship which nearly sank in rough seas.Arriving refugees.jpg2

Mr. Fahmi Abdi Bidaar, the regional governor of Sahil region speaking to reporters said, “We plan to settle in shelters temporary camp in Berbera. We have received at least 8 ships carrying refugees fleeing the fighting in Yemen to date.

On the 8th of April, a woman gave birth while at sea, on a boat that ferried refugees to Somaliland. Human life was brought forth in the midst of crisis, in desperate conditions.Yemenis are fleeing into any possible haven they consider safe and neighboring countries are already receiving refugees.

https://youtu.be/NIqAUBfLFR8

Somaliland:Saving Cheetah and Stopping their illegal Trade

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Posted on May 1, 2015 by Joan Morris

17322322041_b5c1b53324_z-225x300Three young female cheetahs, captured in the wild and destined to be sold as exotic pets, have been rescued by Born Free Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority. The cats are now safe at the Born Free Foundation’s  Wildlife Rescue Centre in Ethiopia.

The cubs were confiscated at a remote site in Somaliland, taken from illegal traders. The cats are definitely the lucky ones. Upward of 300 cheetahs are taken in the wild every year. Many die in captivity before they can be sold.

The cheetahs first were placed with Guenther Wirth of German Agro Action, a non-governmental organization. Over the years Wirth has taken charge of many confiscated animals in Somaliland, returning them to health before their relocation to Ensessakotteh, Born Free’s Rescue Centre west of Addis Ababa.

The cheetahs’ recent arrival at Ensessakotteh coincided with the official opening of a new onsite visitor and education center, known as The Treehouse, which will enable the team at Ensessakotteh to educate thousands of school children and visitors on the importance of conversation and care for endangered animals such as the rescued cubs

The facility currently cares for 11 cheetahs as well as rescued lions, primates, birds of prey and many other species.

Dr. Zelealem Tefera, Born Free Ethiopia country representative, helped organize the cheetahs’ handover at the Ethiopia-Somaliland border. He called the illegal trade in cheetah “nothing short of alarming.”

“East Africa is being stripped of their fragile population to line the traders’ pockets and supply the irrational demand for exotic pets in the Middle East,” Tefera said in a statement. “This is illegal, unsustainable and cruel. It has to stop.”

Adam M. Roberts, CEO of the Born Free Foundation and Born Free USA, said the organizations are “clamping down on this barbaric trade in vulnerable wild animals.”

CCA beautiful cheetah, saved from the illegal animal trade. (Born Free Foundation)

“Cheetah cubs are snatched at a very young age from the wild, with up to 70 percent of these cubs found dead during confiscations,” Roberts said. “Recruitment back to the wild population is therefore virtually obliterated and this will ultimately result in the eventual extinction of cheetah from the Horn of Africa. I am proud that the Born Free Ethiopia team is leading the way in tackling the illegal trade head-on.”

Born Free and Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority are about to launch the Border Point Project, having secured three years of funding from Britain’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Illegal Wildlife Challenge Fund. Headed by Fetene Hailu, the project will tackle illegal trade at key border point crossings in and out of Ethiopia.

“Born Free has just taken in three cheetah,” Hailu said. “While we could say these are the lucky ones – what does their confiscation and rescue really reflect? That others have died along the way and their removal may well mean the poachers are out there now looking for replacements to supply the demand. While all aspects of trade must be tackled, the Border Point Project will be vital in closing down the trade routes from Ethiopia. We must make trade non-viable for the people who snatch these animals and try to take them over our borders.”

Wildlife Animal rescue, Cats, Conservation

Joan Morris

I’m the Pets & Wildlife columnist for the Bay Area News Group. I’ve also been a professional journalist since 1978.

Source:Animal Life

Cardiff council’s decision to recognise Republic of Somaliland comes under fire from members of city’s Somali community

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Cardiff Council agreed to recognise Somaliland as a sovereign state at a meeting in City Hall in March

SomalieJPGCardiff full council meeting: Pontcanna / Somaliland

 

Members of the Somali community in Cardiff have criticised a motion by Cardiff Council to recognise Somaliland as a sovereign state.

 

The council passed a motion in March to call on the UK Government and Welsh Government to recognise the region as an independent state.

 

However, some groups of expatriates have spoken out against the council’s motion which they claim could threaten cohesion between Somalian communities.

‘Interfering in Somalian politics’

 

Said Dualeh, from Cardiff Bay, originated from northern Somalia and believes Cardiff Council are interfering in politics they “don’t understand”.

 

He said: “We were expecting Cardiff Council to be doing the jobs we have elected them to do which is to work for the local Somalian people in Cardiff, regardless of where they come from in Somalia.

 

“It’s a motion which is interfering in Somalian politics to the detriment of Somalian people in Cardiff, which is disappointing to say the least.

 

“They’re affecting harmony amongst Somalian people in this country.”

 

Somaliland is a self-declared independent state stemming from the British Empire.

 

Internationally it is recognised as an autonomous part of Somalia.

‘Outrageous’

 

Cardiff is the second local authority in the UK to recognise the Republic of Somaliland, after a decision by Sheffield Council.

 

Following the motion being passed by the council, members of the Somaliland community celebrated outside City Hall with dancing and cheering.

 

Cardiff full council meeting: Pontcanna / Somaliland

 

Another member of the Somalian community, who wished to remain anonymous said: “The motion is outrageous, if a small council in Somalia wanted to recognise Scotland as an independent state it would not be a friendly action towards the UK, and we view this in a similar way.

 

“The Somali community in Cardiff has many problems because of huge cuts, youth centres are being shut down and university is becoming inaccessible because of inequality.

 

“Councillors are supposed to be addressing issues like these.”

‘One small step at a time’

 

Labour councillor Lynda Thorne, who proposed the motion, said she understood the differences in opinion but her reason for supporting the motion went back a long way.

 

She said: “A cross-party group visited Somaliland eight years ago and came up with a report which praised Somaliland and those who had introduced democracy in the country.

 

“The motion was on the basis of sustaining democracy and in terms of helping Somaliland be recognised by the United Nations and to bring more investment, jobs, and prosperity there and to the rest of Somalia.

 

“I don’t think we’re meddling, it’s about providing support to a large community in Cardiff.

 

“It could be said as a council we have no power to recognise Somaliland but we’re trying to help that community get support from the United Nations and the UK Government, one small step at a time.”

Source:Walesonline

Gunmen kill a radio journalist in Somalia

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Nairobi, May 1, 2015Unidentified armed men on Wednesday night shot dead Somali journalist Daud Ali Omar at his home in Somalia, according to local journalists and news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on authorities to identify the motive in the murder and apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators.

The gunmen broke in to Daud’s house at around 1 a.m. in the Bardaale neighborhood in the south-central city of Baidoa while the journalist and his wife, Hawo Abdi Aden, were sleeping, news reports and local journalists said. The gunmen shot the two dead and fled the scene before the police arrived, the reports said. Daud and his wife leave behind three children, local journalists said.

“We condemn the murders of Daud Ali Omar and his wife, Hawo Abdi Aden, and call on the south-central administration of Somalia to do their utmost to investigate the terrible crime,” said CPJ East Africa Representative Tom Rhodes. “Allowing the killers to remain at large will only add to the cycle of impunity and increasing violence we are witnessing in Baidoa.”

Daud, 35, was a producer for the pro-government, privately owned station Radio Baidoa, which covered regional violence and local politics, according to local journalists. The station shared news and reporters with the state-run Radio Mogadishu, the same sources said. Daud had also worked as a news reporter Radio Baidoa. Local journalists said he produced a morning talk show called “Good Morning” a few years ago.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Local journalists and police said they suspected the militant insurgent group Al-Shabaab was responsible for the attack and cited the station’s links to the government, according to news reports.

The local Somali Independent Media Houses Association condemned the attack and called for a thorough investigation, news reports said. Police are currently investigating the crime, according to local journalists and news reports.

The murder of Daud and his wife are the latest in a string of attacks in Baidoa in recent months, according to news reports. In the last two months, at least three moderate Islamic scholars have been killed by gunmen suspected of being affiliated with Al-Shabaab, news reports said. In December, a car bomb explosion in a popular restaurant in Baidoa killed Mohamed Isaq, cameraman for the privately owned Kalsan TV station, and freelance journalist Abdulkadir Ahmed.

Somaliland: Written Statement on Behalf of the International Community regarding Elections

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British Office

Hargeisa

01 May 2015

SUBJECT: SOMALILAND PARLIAMENTARY AND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

  1. The International Community welcomes Somaliland’s National Election Commission’s announcement of a timeline for the voter registration process and a June 1, 2016 date for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections.We commend the National Election Commission for abiding by its constitutional mandate to submit an electoral timeline to the President based strictly on a technical process.
  1. The International Community have been consistently reassured to hear the importance that all parties place on following the electoral timeline proposed by the National Election Commission.In a recent visit to Hargeisa, members of the International Community met with a cross-section of key stakeholders (the President, all three Political Parties, and the Guurti) to underline the need to reach the political consensus necessary to facilitate the completion of the voter registration process and to ensure elections take place in June, 2016. Any further delays, not based on technical reasons, will harm public and international confidence in Somaliland’s democratization process.
  1. The International Community stands ready to support Somaliland’s democratization process.

ON BEHALF OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND DEMOCRATISATION STEERING

COMMITTEE

Somaliland Elections. Written Statement on Behalf of the International Community @ 1 May 2015

Somaliland: Human rights defender begins hunger strike protesting imprisonment

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Gulied

Press Release

30/4/2015

The chairman of Somaliland’s Human Rights Centre, Guleid Ahmed Jama, who is currently detained in Hargeisa’s Central Prison and yesterday commenced a hunger strike, should be immediately and unconditionally released said the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP) in a statement released today. This is EHAHRDP’s second public statement on Guleid’s case, and reflects the urgency of his present situation.
Guleid began a hunger strike yesterday, after a delay in issuing court proceedings by the Somaliland government. He is protesting against his imprisonment, the baseless charges being levelled against him, and his lack of access to a court or any mechanism for judicial review.
The East Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project is extremely concerned at Guleid’s ongoing detention, and his health. He is being detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. His arrest, on 18 April, followed an interview he gave to the BBC days earlier, during which he discussed recent executions by the Somaliland authorities and the need for judicial reforms.
After his initial detention at the Criminal Investigation Division, Guleid was moved to Hargeisa’s Central Police Station on 19 April. His bail hearing took place on the same day and was reportedly granted, but police officers at the station refused to release Guleid. Reportedly, this decision was made on the basis that an appeal had been filed by the Attorney General’s Office against the court’s decision to grant bail. On 20th April, Guleid was transferred to Hargeisa Central Prison and informed his next hearing would be scheduled in 7 days. Until now, Guleid has not yet appeared before a court and, on 28 April, commenced a hunger strike. Guleid plans to continue his hunger strike until he is brought before a court to consider his case.
“Eight days ago, EHAHRDP issued an urgent public call for Guleid’s immediate release”, said Hassan Shire, EHAHRDP’s Executive Director. “Since that time, our call has been ignored by Somaliland authorities. He is being held solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, and should not be in prison. We once again call on the Somaliland authorities to show respect for due process and the rule of law, and release him immediately and unconditionally”.
Guleid has been accused of subversive or anti-national propaganda, intimidation of the public and publication or circulation of false, exaggerated and tendencious news capable of disturbing public order, charges which have no factual or legal basis.
To read EHAHRDP’s Press Statement of 21st April 2015, please see:
http://www.defenddefenders.org/2015/04/somaliland-release-human-rights-defender-guleid-ahmed-jama/
For more information, please contact:
Hassan Shire, Executive Director, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project on: executive@defenddefenders.org or +256 772 753 753
John Foley, Advocacy & Research Manager, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project on: advocacy@defenddefenders.org or +256 789 650996/ +44 7944 252 894

New ice plant to boost Somaliland fisheries

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30 Apr 2015

The ice plant was manufactured by Spanish company Tucal with MEP providing advice on the design specifications

A new ice plant to Somaliland will provide a major boost for local fisheries by ensuring that catches are landed in premium condition and enabling the development of the indigenous fisheries sector.

In a project being managed by fishery consultant MacAlister Elliott & Partners Ltd (MEP), the new containerised plant will be able to produce up to 10 tonnes of high quality ice per day.

Stephen Akester of MEP said: “I am not aware of any other ice plant that works in this way where blocks can be cracked to create good quality flake ice with a reasonable shelf life. It is ideal for the hot conditions found in Somaliland – the block ice is compact and can be easily stored by a fishing vessel, and once it is cracked, the flake ice gets quickly down to work by cooling the catch.”

Benefiting fishing boats in the ports of Berbera and Maydh, the plant consists of four flake ice machines and one compactor that converts the flakes into blocks. These blocks can easily be stored by a fishing vessel and smashed to create flake ice, to keep fish cool.

The ice plant was manufactured by Spanish company Tucal with MEP providing advice on the design specifications and strategic consultancy for the project.

It will be operated by fishery company Pontus Marine which has funding from over 1,000 investors looking to improve the economic fisheries potential of Somaliland.

In the first instance, the ice will be used by 15 to 18m vessels targeting pelagic fish such as tuna and kingfish.

Source: worldfishing.net