On January 19 2011, Southern Sudan will hold a referendum to decide if the South should secede from the North. It is all but certain that Southern Sudan will be the newest country in the African Union. The South’s secession sets new precedent in Africa. Such precedent presents ONLF with an opportunity to reaffirm and further their struggle to win independence from Ethiopia. The ONLF has enjoyed... 

A call for re organisation As I sat quietly, contemplating on my day, almost half aware, of the noises and the people riding the bus with me, I heard someone murmuring “are you Egyptian..?” he said.  …I carried on looking away through the windows…starring at the nothingness “Are you Egyptian..?” this time I could not ignore the voice it was loud enough to alert me.  I looked... 

The New Prime Minister was appointed on October 14, 2010 and October 20, 2010 the President and the New Prime Minister went to Parliament to plead confirmation but a block led by Sharif Hassan, the Speaker blocked and the speaker insisted that the vote a secret ballot instead of the usual of raising hands. However, it is reported that a deal was struck between the President, the Speaker and Prime Minister,... 

The draft constitution issued by the Independent Federal Commission on July30, 2010 is flawed but the Commission run advertisements through different Media outlets to promote and condition the Somalia people. The draft raises many questions without answers and it is contentious and controversial and it is the product of Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, the Speaker and former Prime Minister Omer Abdirashid... 

Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmajo), the new Prime Minister designate was a former colleague of mine and fellow civil servant in Somalia’s Foreign Ministry. He was there almost a year when I joined the service in mid 1983. In the Foreign Ministry in Mogadishu, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed was a quiet, unassuming, conscientious and capable man. Like many who joined the service, he had idealistic and... 

Strategic Interests by J. Peter Pham, Ph.D. World Defense Review columnis Just when it seems things can get no worse for Somalia’s dubiously legitimate, utterly ineffective, and wholly self-serving “Transitional Federal Government” (TFG), the embattled clique pulls a surprise by sinking even deeper into the mire and, in the process, prolonging the agony of the Somali people and threatening... 

By Liban Ahmad —- Puntland in 2010 has a few in common with Puntland in 2002 when forces led by Mohamud Musse Hersi (Puntland president 2005-2009) waged hit and run attacks against Puntland security forces. It was the decision to remove Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed (Puntland president 1998-2004) to be replaced by by Jama Ali Jama that threw Puntland into a security crisis. Traditional leaders... 

I met the late Dr Mohamed Aden Sheikh in August 2010 in Helsinki. He at the time told me of his illness and its nature. As sick as he was, he actively participated in the conference on Somalia which we attended. At a more personal note together we reminisced about the old days, friends and the sad plight of the Somali people. As sad as his death is, I ask all decent Somalis to join me in celebrating... 

NUSM  PRESS  RELEASE Somalis have become so disillusioned with the failures of successive prime Ministers since the first Somali government was formed in Embagathi in Kenya after more than a decade of anarchy. Few Somalis therefore hold much hope that things might improve with the next Prime Minster. They only have to remember previous prime ministers who lacked integrity, competence or experience.... 

By Dr.Yusuf O. Al-Azhari Every Society in this Universe of ours, frequently plaudits, how people of the past generations had better moral integrity, juxtaposing the social conduct of those of yester year’s with the present time. Often our predecessors are portrayed to have been more matured more responsible and with more self-effacement in their demeanor within their guild. It apprises us of how... 

By Abdishakur Ali Mire Investigative journalism plays a significant role in contemporary media contents with most cases having great influence on their intended target audiences and consequently leads to radical changes in the public. Investigative journalism usually investigates deeply a single topic of interest, often involving drug dealers, corrupt politicians, oppressors; celebrity scandals and... 

September 15, 2010: While the persistent political squabbles among the leaders of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (TFG) are the hallmark of dysfunctional and corrupt regime,  the ongoing dispute over the Draft  Constitution deserves  attention, scrutiny and comment. The externally-driven Constitution-Making Process will deepen the Somali crisis, will perpetuate the chaos and massacre... 

(Mogadishu, Somalia September 1, 2010) Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, President of Somalia, spoke today in the capital city of Mogadishu on the Draft Constitution that has been presented by the Independent Federal Constitutional Commission. In his statement to the media, the president noted that “drafting a constitution for a new Somalia is a solemn national undertaking which must be transparent and beyond... 

By Dr.Yusuf  O.  Al-Azhari Frm. Ambassador There has been recently, highly promulgated row on finding few Somali Americans who were prosecuted as being sympathetic to Al Shabab terrorist group. The US Justice Department and the FBI, announced that four separate indictments were unsealed in the District of Minnesota, the Southern District of Alabama and the Southern District of California charging... 

By Ali H. Abdulla I visited Galgala in 2005 while doing some volunteer work at the University of East Africa in Bosasso. It is a small village that is off the beaten track with no roads, hospitals or proper schools. The people of Galgla are very industrious and are mainly farmers who use irrigation canals to cultivate all kinds of fruit and vegetable. The area is very fertile and is endowed with water... 

STATUS OF SEIZED VESSELS AND CREWS IN SOMALIA, THE GULF OF ADEN AND THE INDIAN OCEAN (ecoterra – 29. July 2010) STATUS-SUMMARY: Today, 29. July2010, 08h00 UTC, still at least 22 foreign vessels plus one barge are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 397 seafarers – including an elderly British yachting couple – plus the lorry drivers from Somaliland... 

When the former special envoy of the UN Secretary General Ahmed Wad Abdalla was encompassed exclusively by concocting political group of a well known Somali Clan, in mid 2008, with the intention to derail the Somali Reconciliation from its real venue of a concrete all inclusive pattern, into a one Clan domination objective with canning political agenda, intended to marginalize one of the major Clans... 

Another military intervention in Somalia is in the works. That is exactly the outcome of the 15th Extra-Ordinary IGAD Summit Meeting held in Addis Ababa on July 5th/, 2010. IGAD decided inter alia “to send 2000 more troops immediately to Somalia and raise another 20.000 to be deployed through out the country with possible intervention by neighbouring States.” Some serious concerns need to be highlighted... 

The recent bombings in Kampala can be characterized as being Al-Shabaab’s waterloo. Al-Shabaab has made strategic blunder by internationalizing the Somali conflict. As of late, some in the foreign policy circles were encouraging the Obama administration to adopt what they termed “constructive disengagement”. It has become all too clear for the United States policy makers that the Transitional... 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Hassan Warsame (703) 623-5273 Jamal Sh. Said (703) 870-5853 Washington D.C, U.S.A somalidiaspora@gmail.com Washington D.C, USA, Thursday, July 15, 2010: The Somali Community of the Washington DC Metropolitan area strongly condemns the terrorist act against the Ugandan people and other victims of this horrific crime; We wish to extend our most sincere condolences to... 

July 11, 2010 The political opportunism pursued by the controversial Speaker of the Transitional Federal Parliament (TFP), Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan has set in motion a chain reaction that has dispelled all claims of legitimacy, sustainability and functionality of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), also known as the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFI). Further efforts to support TFG... 

A healthy democracy depends on more than casting regular ballots, but it rather depends on faith in the processes by which decisions are made. Sadly, this fundamental trust has been broken in the so-called election that you observed in Northwest Somalia or “Somaliland” in June 26, 2010. According the international law and regulations, Somalia is one state and no self proclaimed states can be considered... 

One more time, the International Community (IC) led by the United States is confronted with the urgent necessity to develop a “comprehensive strategy” for Somalia after the counter-terrorism-centered strategy, primarily delegated to Ethiopia (IGAD), has utterly failed. This necessity existed when Obama Administration came into office. Indeed, Prof Ken Menkhaus wrote in February 2009, “While... 

What many people seem to not understand (or for specific reasons refuse to understand) is: More than half of the Somali dominion is based on the Somali seas and thus vital to the survival of the Somali people. Somalia has since 1972 as Territorial Waters (TW) and – overlaying the same area – since1989 as Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) an area of 825,052 square km of Somali Waters... 

On the way to the store, I stole glances at her in my rearview mirror. She stared out the window in silence, appearing as aloof and unconcerned as a Muslim dignitary visiting our small Southern town — I, merely her chauffeur… “The other day, when I dropped her off at school, instead of driving away from the curb in a rush as I usually do, I watched her walk into a crowd of kids, bent...