For Immediate Release PRESS RELEASE 025/2009 SRSG welcomes the second meeting of Joint Security Committee in Mogadishu Nairobi, 12 August 2009 – The UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has welcomed the convening of the Joint Security Committee held in Mogadishu as continuing efforts towards reforming and improving security in Somalia. This is the second meeting to be... 

ANKARA — A Turkish frigate intercepted a skiff off Somalia and captured five pirates Tuesday on suspicion that they were preparing for attacks, the Turkish military said. The Gaziantep, operating with NATO forces in the region, seized the skiff in the Gulf of Aden with the help of a helicopter and amphibian commandos, the statement said. The operation was launched after intelligence that the boat... 

Aug 11 (Reuters) – Somali kidnappers released six foreigners on Tuesday seized in November in central Somalia, an official told Reuters. Here is a timeline of kidnappings of foreigners being held in Somalia: April 2008 – A Briton and a Kenyan working on a U.N.-funded project were seized by gunmen and taken to Jilib town, 280 km (175 miles) south of Mogadishu. They are still being held. August... 

Communiqué Conference with Former Senior Somali Military and Police Officers 1-5 August 2009, Washington DC, USA The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) convened a conference of former senior military and police officers of the Somali National security forces in Washington DC from 1st to 5th August 2009. The conference was co-chaired... 

Secrets of Clinton’s private meetings In Summary •In front of the cameras, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used diplomatic language. Behind closed doors, her message was tougher •US to shame chaos suspects The US Government will name and shame key perpetrators of Kenya’s post-election violence and individuals involved in corruption. It will also ban them from visiting the country,... 

Kenya revealed on Friday that it had deported an Eritrean diplomat “for security reasons” hours before the country’s Foreign Minister made an abrupt visit to Nairobi seeking audience with President Kibaki. The diplomat is the second Eritrean to be expelled from Kenya in as many months on grounds of “security” — which is diplomatic speak for involvement in activities that undermine the host... 

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN CAPE TOWN — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday that the United States was ready “to put meat on the bone” in its relations with South Africa after discussing regional issues, like the instability in Sudan and the war in Somalia, with Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s new president. The talks were part of a broader American effort to revive the friendship between... 

FBI Investigating Mpls. Travel Agency Owner By: Mark Albert and Nicole Muehlhausen A south Minneapolis business owner, accused of swindling travelers out of airline tickets, could now be part of an FBI investigation into missing Somali men, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has learned. Minneapolis Police arrested Ali Mohamud, 35, Thursday after he came back to Minnesota from out of state. He was charged in Hennepin... 

* President says his government cannot beat insurgents alone * Security threat could become uncontainable By Abdiaziz Hassan NAIROBI, Aug 7 (Reuters) – Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed asked for more international help on Friday to battle hardline insurgents after holding what he called an historic meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton pledged strong support for Ahmed’s... 

United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) For Immediate Release PRESS RELEASE 024/2009 Nairobi, 6 August 2009 – The United Nations Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, has welcomed the meeting between the US Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Somalia’s President, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed. “Today’s meeting in Nairobi is most important. It... 

Government Makes Cultural, Military Inroads as Rebel Factions Quarrel By Stephanie McCrummen Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, August 7, 2009 NAIROBI, Aug. 6 — After a decade of U.S. concern that Somalia could become a base for terrorists bent on launching attacks across the region, many analysts say that al-Qaeda’s Somali sympathizers are at their weakest, and perhaps also at their... 

MOGADISHU, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) — The radical Islamist group of Al-Shabaab in Somalia on Thursday denied any connection with a terror plot in the southern Australian city of Melbourne. “We have nothing to do with that and we believe it is meant to blackmail the (detained) youths into spying for the enemies of Islam,” Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Rageh, Spokesman for the Al-Shabaab told reporters... 

By Sue Pleming NAIROBI (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets Somalia’s president on Thursday, showing U.S. support for a fragile government which is battling against militants including al Shabaab insurgents. Australian police said this week they had uncovered a plot to attack an army base in Sydney by men with alleged links to al Shabaab which Washington accuses of... 

* Australia may ban Somalia-based Islamist group * Charged man shouts out innocence in court * Arrests coincide with concern about radicalised Westerners * Government orders security review of military bases (Adds four more men charged, court quotes, background) By James Grubel CANBERRA, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Australian police charged four more men on Wednesday with planning to attack an army base... 

A man was critically hurt Monday afternoon when the car he was driving and a light-rail train crashed in Minneapolis, Metro Transit said. Witnesses told police that the driver had gone around a crossing arm, Metro Transit spokesman Bob Gibbons said. The crash happened about 3:40 p.m. near E. 35th Street and Hiawatha Avenue as the car and train were headed south, Gibbons said. The car, a 1995 Honda,... 

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has told Fatah activists that the Palestinian movement seeks peace with Israel, but that “resistance” remains a right. Abbas made his comments to more than 2,000 delegates at the opening of Fatah’s conference in Bethlehem, a three-day meeting seen by many as an opportunity to reform and rejuvenate the party. “Although peace is our choice,... 

Somali leader says US-Somalia meeting important MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s president on Tuesday described his upcoming meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as a “golden chance” for his war-torn country. Clinton kicked off an 11-day Africa trip — her longest overseas journey to date as the top U.S. diplomat — by flying to Kenya where she was expected... 

* Sanctions threat against Eritrea will not work * Somali government doomed to fail * Now is the time for inclusive political dialogue By David Clarke NAIROBI, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Eritrea wants a peaceful and united Somalia and believes now is the best time in nearly two decades to foster genuine political dialogue involving all in the Horn of African nation, Eritrea’s information minister... 

By Sonali Paul MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australian police arrested four men linked to a hardline Somali group on Tuesday, charging them with planning a commando-style suicide attack on a military base and underlining that the country remains a target for Islamists. The four were arrested during dawn raids on 19 properties across the southern city of Melbourne after a seven-month investigation involving... 

By Shaun Tandon WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left on a wide-ranging trip to Africa starting in Kenya, where she will seek action to stabilize neighboring Somalia and push for free trade with the continent. The seven-nation, 11-day trip is to be Clinton’s longest since she became the top US diplomat six months ago and her first to sub-Saharan Africa, where some had feared... 

ADDIS ABABA — An Ethiopian-born Canadian was on Monday sentenced to life in prison for terrorism-related charges by the high court in the capital Addis Ababa. Bashir Makhtal was last week convicted on three charges mainly of inciting rebellion by aiding and abetting armed opposition groups in Ethiopia and being a senior member of a rebel group. “After finding the defendant Bashir Makhtal guilty... 

Ahmedou meeting with Somali-Canadian Diaspora On July 31, 2009, the Canadian Friends of Somalia, a non-profit organization based in Ottawa had arranged a meeting between the Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) of the United Nations, Mr. Ahmedou Ould Abdalla and the members of the Somali Diaspora from Ottawa, Toronto, and Edmonton including academics and community leaders. The meeting... 

Canadian Somali Congress condemns the unjust conviction of Canadian citizen Bashir Makhtal in Ethiopia and calls on the Canadian government to save Bashir from possible execution Press Release July 28, 2009 The Canadian Somali Congress is extremely disappointed by the conviction of Canadian citizen Bashir Makhtal in an Ethiopian court on July 27, 2009. Mr. Makhtal could face the death penalty after... 

The conflict between insurgent groups and government forces in Mogadishu has displaced over 133,000 people, since 1 June 2009.1 (15 Jul) 99,000 people are reported to have left Mogadishu, these people went to: 37,000 to Afgooye settlements (25,000 to Ceelasha settlements, 7,200 to Lafoole settlememts) (Shabelle Hoose) 18,000 to Shabelle Dhexe (6,000 to Jowhar) 8,000 to Galgaduud (4,000 to Ceel Dheer) 6,700... 

Somali lawmakers reject controversial maritime deal between Kenyan and Somalia www.chinaview.cn 2009-08-01 21:02:38 MOGADISHU, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) — The Somali parliament on Saturday overwhelmingly rejected a controversial maritime agreement signed between Somali government and Kenya last April. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was reached between the two coastal states in accordance with...