Nairobi (RBC) An international aid agency working in Somalia, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has on Wednesday announced that it will close down its primary health care programmes in Dhusa Mareb and Hindere due to security concerns. The organisation said it “has made the difficult decision to close” these facilities which have been operational since 2006 [...]

Malta (RBC) 27 refugees from various African countries left Malta for the United States this morning as part of a resettlement programme. They were seen off by Home Affairs Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici and US Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley. The United States has resettled almost 900 people who arrived in Malta as migrants since 2007.  http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120516/local/27-refugees-leave-for-the-us.419938#.T7NsHxN6AO4.facebook

New York (RBC) 15 May 2012 –Somalia is entering its “most critical stage” as the end of its transitional governing period approaches in August, a United Nations envoy said today, calling for the international community to boost their efforts to help the east African country through its peace and national reconciliation process. “As Somalia faces [...]

Mogadishu (RBC)  Yesterday afternoon at 4:30 pm an AMISOM casspir, an armed military vehicle, lost control and accidently hit a residential fence in Nur-Adunyo in Dharkenley District, Mogadishu. The casspir, being used by the Burundian contingent, lost control due to mechanical failures with the breaks. No civilians were injured during the incident. The incident was [...]

Remarks by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at a Security Council Briefing on Somalia, May 15, 2012 Susan E. Rice U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations U.S. Mission to the United Nations New York, NY May 15, 2012 AS DELIVERED Thank you, Mr. President, thank you, Special Representative Mahiga, for [...]

NAIROBI (RBC) euters) – The European Union’s anti-piracy naval force said on Tuesday it had attacked pirate installations on the Somali coastline by air, the first time it has done so since its mandate was expanded earlier this year. “We believe this action by the EU Naval Force will further increase the pressure on, and [...]

We have been reading on the IFJ website that the organisation is committed and serious with affirmative action on Gender matters. Now how come an IFJ Executive Committee member Omar Faruk Osman, has terrorized, tortured and even tried to rape Federation of African Journalists (FAJ) Treasurer on several occasions and nothing has been done despite [...]

By; Abdalle Ahmed MOGADISHU (RBC)  Somalia’s Al Shabab group has released today the photos and Id cards of Burundian soldier whom they said was killed on Tuesday during a night time attack inDaynile district, RBC Radio reports. The group’s press office published on its twitter account photos and ID card of a soldier named BIZIMANA [...]

Nairobi (RBC) A Swedish national has been arrested in Nairobi in the crackdown on increasing number of foreigners flocking to Kenya to join Somalia’s islamist group Al-Shabaab. Anti-terror police arrested Magd Najjar in Eastleigh after they learnt he was here illegally and was eager to join or had joined the militant group. Police spokesman Eric [...]

NAIROBI (RBC) Tanzania has released a group of almost fifty Somali refugees and asylum seekers that activists say includes three females from Mtwara prison. The Somali embassy in Tanzania helped the group regain their freedom after it negotiated a deal with the country’s Ministry of Interior. Ahmed Abdulsamad Ahmed, one of the freed asylum seekers [...]

By; Abdalle Ahmed Mogadishu (RBC) Reconstruction of the Mogadishu’s main street of Makka Al-Mukarama, one the busiest streets in Somali capital begins which is a sign that shows how life was returning to Mogadishu after years of fighting between insurgent groups and the transitional federal government forces backed by the African Union troops [AMISOM] in [...]

New York (RBC) 12 May 2012 A senior United Nations relief official today urged the international community to build on the effective delivery of aid that helped roll back last year’s famine in Somalia, noting that about 2.5 million people in the Horn of Africa country remain in need of humanitarian support. “Famine conditions are [...]

NAIROBI, Kenya (RBC) —Police on Saturday released a photograph of a German citizen they suspect to have deep connections with terror group Al-Shabaab. The suspect, who goes by the name Ahmed Khaled Mueller, is believed to have entered Kenya illegally. Deputy police spokesperson Julius Owino on Saturday urged the German national to report to the [...]

Opinion What’s all the Huff and Puff of ”Faroole opposes the Constitution’’? Ahmed Ainab ainabanism@gmail.com Apparently the draft constitution is not decentralized enough, and does not deal with state/federal resource, powers, people etc. thus since it’s not  full constitution yet we need to have clear and definite guidelines of the powers between state/federal government. This [...]

By; Abdalle Ahmed Mogadishu (RBC) Al Qaeda leader Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri has called on Somalia’s Al Shabaab group militia to disregard international peace efforts and use guerrilla tactics against Somalia government forces and other regional armies in the country. In a seven minute video message al-Zawahiri urged Al Shabaab fighters in Somalia to continue what [...]

Nairobi (RBC) A Dutch navy helicopter was shot at on Thursday off the coast of Somalia, according to a report by the Ministry of Defence of the Dutch. The Lynx helicopter from the frigate HMS Van Amstel was not in serious danger of being downed. “The unit conducted a reconnaissance flight at high altitude” said [...]

Mogadishu (RBC) Over 600 Somali troops on Thursday completed a six-month training exercise in the western Ugandan district of Ibanda and are destined for the battle zone back home. During the colorful ceremony held at Bihanga Military Training School, the 603 Somali soldiers who trained along with 248 Ugandan soldiers exhibited among others skills in [...]

Nairobi (RBC) The European Union has announced that it will scale up its Somali funding by Sh10.9 billion (€100 million) to support the African Union Mission (AMISOM). The mission was expanded by the rehatting of Kenya Defence Forces early this year. The money will go towards meeting the increased salaries and wages needs of the [...]

 by Abdikhayr Soofe — Today, we lost Abdihayi Osman Garad, a true Somali patriot, a polished intellectual, a man of great integrity, a peace activist, and a courageous Somali who devoted his life to the resuscitation of the Somali state. It was completely shocking and unbelievable that Abdihayi Garaad suffered brain hemorrhage yesterday and was rushed [...]

Mogadishu, May 8, 2012 “Foreign Meddlers Into the internal business of Somalia Journalists- Worse than Al-Shabab”, NUSOJ ExCom and Supreme Council Warns in a Meeting in Mogadishu The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) is offended by the continued oppression on its legitimacy, its right to democratically elect its leadership through the union’s internal rules [...]

The UK has had to scale back its commitment to counter-piracy because the Royal Navy no longer has enough warships to dedicate one to Somalia all year round. While the US, France, Italy, Denmark and other nations still send frigates to thwart criminals who cause havoc with international trade, the Guardian has learned that Britain [...]

This article appeared in Soomaalo’s Constitution Making Blog Written by: Mahad Abdalle Awad  (MP) Deputy-Minister Ministry of Planning International Cooperation  Last ditch attempt to block the ‘Roadmap to end the Transition’ has been made by fearmongers, Naysayers , and assortment of TFG ex-officio members, all of them keen of spreading distorted facts aimed at manipulating the public [...]

This article appeared in Soomaalo’s ConstitutionMaking Blog Written by: Mahad Abdalle Awad  (MP) Deputy-Minister Ministry of Planning International Cooperation  Last ditch attempt to block the ‘Roadmap to end the Transition’ has been made by fearmongers, Naysayers , and assortment of TFG ex-officio members, all of them keen of spreading distorted facts aimed at manipulating the public perception, [...]

The government of Japan gave out donations meant for the Somali Police Force (SPF) to the transitional federal government of Somalia. The donations included 16 Land cruisers, two ambulance vehicles, two vehicles of personnel carriers, bullet proof jackets and combat helmets. The commissioner of the Somali Police Force General Sharif Sheikhuna spoke at the handover [...]

Paris (RBC) UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova today deplored the murder of Somali radio journalist Farhan James Abdulle, who was shot dead on 2 May by unidentified gunmen in the village of Garsoor in Central Somalia. “Farhan James Abdulle was a fervent defender of press freedom, and fought for improved security for journalists,” the Director-General said. [...]

Valletta, Malta Malt (RBC) – A group of 88 African migrants on Monday arrived in Malta and said several of their compatriots had died at sea during a voyage from Libya. Four of the survivors, including a pregnant woman, were in poor health and were hospitalized for treatment, Maltese officials said. The migrants, most of [...]

SANAA, May 7 (RBC) Yemen’s Costal Guard forces on Sunday captured 14 Somali pirates off the country’s island of Socotra in the Gulf of Aden, the defense ministry said. On April 19, the Yemeni interior ministry said nine Yemeni fishermen captured by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea were rescued by a Spanish warship, Xinhua [...]

Freetown(RBC) A Freetown-based NGO, Pan-African Community Movement, has condemned the pending deployment of Sierra Leonean troops in Somalia. Over 800 Sierra Leonean troops are at an advanced stage of preparation for deployment in restive southern Somalia as part of the UN-backed African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom). A few weeks back the Somali militant group, [...]

SANAA, (RBC)- Al-Qaeda leader Fahd Al-Quso was killed on Sunday in an airstrike in the eastern Yemeni province of Shabwa, security sources said. According to the sources, al-Quso was killed when an airstrike targeted a car which al-Quso was on board along with several militants who were also killed in the attack. Al-Quso was convicted [...]

Paris (RBC) French socialist Francois Hollande has been celebrating victory in the country’s presidential election just under 52% of votes in Sunday’s run-off election – said he was “proud to have been capable of giving people hope again”. Centre-right incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy is the first French president not to win a second term since 1981. [...]