Somalia
Current Operations
EUTM
EU Military Mission to Contribute to the Training of Somali Security Forces (EU)
Since: 05/10
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AMISOM
African Union Mission in Somalia (Other)
Since: 01/07
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UNPOS
United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UN-Peacebuilding)
Since: 04/95
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Somali president's home attacked (13.03.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) Insurgents have fired mortars at the Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf's residence in Mogadishu, a few hours after his arrival in the capital. President Yusuf is unharmed but a boy died when some of the mortars landed on a house nearby. A BBC correspondent says gun battles between Ethiopian troops and insurgents erupted soon after the attack. … Somali MPs on Monday voted for the government to relocate to Mogadishu from Baidoa its current seat.
Somali envoy reveals Mogadishu peace plan (11.03.2007)
(Quelle: allAfrica) African Union peacekeeping forces and the Somali Transitional Federal Government have embarked on an ambitious six-month plan to restore peace in the capital Mogadishu, the Somali Charge d'Affairs to Uganda has revealed. Ambassador Abdulkadir Farah Guleed told Daily Monitor in an interview yesterday that the plan includes deploying the African Union (AU) troops and three battalions of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces in the city, sea patrols, coast guards and a forceful disarmament drive.
AU troops 'may spark Somalia war' (09.03.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) Eritrea has warned of dire consequences unless Uganda pulls its peacekeeping troops out of war-torn Somalia. Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu said that unless Uganda withdrew the situation would be increasingly dangerous for the entire region. Mr Abdu said the Ugandan troops, who arrived in Somalia this week as part of an African Union peacekeeping mission, would only worsen the situation. The deployment could prompt war between Somalis and external forces, he said.
African force ambushed in Somalia (08.03.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) At least nine Somalis have been killed in a restaurant in the capital, Mogadishu, in an attack aimed at newly arrived African Union troops. A BBC correspondent says insurgents fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an AU convoy but it missed the target. … The AU said the deployment would continue, despite the threat.
'We'll fight back if attacked,' AU troops say (07.03.2007)
(Quelle: allAfrica) Peacekeepers deployed by the African Union (AU) to Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, will fight back if they are attacked by the insurgents who launched strikes near the airport on Tuesday, the spokesman for the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Assane Ba, said. 'The attacks could force a review [of operations], but right now getting the troops in is not the problem,' Ba said in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. About '350 Ugandan troops arrived on Tuesday and we expect more to be deployed in the next few days'. Noting that Tuesday's mortar attacks at the airport may be designed to force a review of deployment strategies for the AU forces, Ba told IRIN that, so far, plans were going ahead as agreed with the countries providing troops.
Somali Islamists suspected of trying to enter Kenya (04.03.2007)
(Quelle: Sudan Tribune) Twenty suspected members of a radical Islamic militia that was driven out of the Somali capital late last year have been spotted along the Kenyan border, and were suspected of trying to enter the country, Kenyan police said. The report, dated Thursday, said the men had 'sophisticated machine guns' and were getting their food and water supplies from the southern town of Kolbio, near the Kenyan border. The report comes as this restive Horn of Africa nation appears to be sliding back toward chaos, less than three months after the Somali government, with the help of troops from neighboring Ethiopia, drove out the Islamic militants.
Yemen to convince Arab nations to help Somalia financially (03.03.2007)
(Quelle: allAfrica) The government of Yemen has disclosed that it was planning to prepare projects for Somalia reconstruction meeting while asking Arab countries to contribute finances to the war-torn country. According to Althawranews, Yemeni foreign minister Abu Bakr al-Qurbi, who was speaking in the Arab foreign ministers meeting, said the situation in Somalia and how it would be assisted would be dissected in the upcoming of Arab League assembly. He stresses that Islamic Courts leaders who are currently in Yemen would be attending Somalia's national reconciliation conference due to happen on 16 April. The minister's remarks comes hours after Somali president Abdulahi Yusuf traveled to Kuwait to convince Arab leaders to finance Somalia as it was going to hold a national reconciliation conference.
Odds against AU peacekeepers (03.03.2007)
(Quelle: allAfrica) Despite inadequate funding and equipment, Uganda sent 1,700 troops, 200 more than it had pledged to contribute to the peacekeeping force in Somalia. The troops arrived in the southern city of Baidoa, the temporary seat of the government, unannounced on Friday morning to a lukewarm reception, pointing to the potential hostility they are likely to face. The deployment of the African Union peacekeepers came just after a team of 30 senior military officers sneaked into the war-torn country on Thursday morning. The deployment of the troops was devoid of any attempts to spell out their mandate to the public to stem the growing perception that the peacekeepers are an occupation force. Mr Mohammed Guled, a member of a London-based Somali think-tank, expressed the fears on Friday, saying the Ugandan peacekeepers - to be joined by Nigerians later this month - risked being slaughtered by the fiercely nationalistic Somalis and supporters of the ousted Islamic Courts Union (ICU).
Burundi seeks assistance for Somalia peace mission (02.03.2007)
(Quelle: Reliefweb) Burundi is ready to send peacekeepers to help stabilise Somalia but appealed for weapons and assistance to move troops to the volatile country, the defence minister said on Friday. The African Union wants to send 8,000 peacekeepers into Somalia to help the government restore order and relieve Ethiopian troops patrolling the capital Mogadishu, one of the world's most dangerous cities, after a brief war that ousted Islamist fighters. Burundi has pledged 1,700 troops toward the effort. 'On the technical level, we are ready. The major problem we have is related to equipment. We need heavy weaponry and evacuation equipment,' Burundi Defence Minister Lieutenant-General Germain Niyoyankana told reporters after meeting with U.S. Army General William E. Ward in Bujumbura. Ward promised the United States would help Burundi.
Exodus from capital escalates in face of violence, nearing 20,000 – UN (02.03.2007)
(Quelle: allAfrica) The flight of civilians from Somalia's strife-torn capital, Mogadishu, has escalated over the past week, bringing the total number of those displaced from the city to nearly 20,000, sparking mounting concerns for their health and sanitation, the United Nations reported today. 'Available social services, particularly water supply systems, are limited,' the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.
Uganda troops 'arrive in Somalia' (01.03.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) A small advance team of African Union peacekeepers has arrived in Somalia, Somali officials have said. Police sources and airport staff in the southern town of Baidoa told a BBC correspondent that 30 Ugandan soldiers had arrived in the town by plane. However, a Ugandan military spokesman denied the report. A total of about 8,000 African Union (AU) peacekeepers are due to be sent to Somalia to replace Ethiopian troops, who helped oust Islamists last year.
More attacks in Somalia's capital (28.02.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) Five people have been killed in several attacks in Somalia's capital, including a relative of the prime minister. An in-law of Ali Mohamed Ghedi was waylaid by armed gunmen near a main market in Mogadishu though it is unclear if this was a political attack. African Union representatives are in Mogadishu to lay the groundwork for its planned deployment of peacekeepers. The UN says 15,000 people have fled Mogadishu in February as violent attacks have escalated.
UN envoy appeals to Muslim States to help bring peace and reconciliation (26.02.2007)
(Quelle: UN News) The top United Nations envoy for Somalia today called on Muslim countries to redouble their efforts to promote stability and reconciliation in the war-ravaged State which has seen a sharp rise in fighting, especially in Mogadishu, since the Transitional Government ousted Islamist groups with Ethiopian help two months ago. At a meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Contact Group on Somalia in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative François Lonsény Fall urged OIC States with contacts with the leaders of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), especially Yemen, to encourage the Islamist leaders to accept the Transitional Federal Charter and join in national reconciliation.
Shelling in Somali capital kills 15 (21.02.2007)
(Quelle: Washington Post) Mortar rounds and rockets hit Somalia's capital early Tuesday in a series of attacks that killed 15 people and wounded more than 40, doctors and witnesses said. The violence was among the worst since a two-week war in December, in which Ethiopian troops helped government forces drive out an Islamic militia that had taken over much of the country. Somalia's weak interim government then moved into the capital. The presidential palace and seaport were targeted in Tuesday's attacks.
Ethiopian troops takeover control of Kismayu (20.02.2007)
(Quelle: allAfrica) Ethiopian troops have reportedly taken over control of many government military bases in the coastal town of Kismayu, about 500 km south of the capital Mogadishu on Tuesday after Somali government soldiers who were in the positions have been deployed to a military camp for training. Reports say the Ethiopian troops have also occupied the biggest prison compound in the port town. The government soldiers have been deployed in Luglow military camp to finalize their military training. The news comes as rival clan leaders in the area were challenging over administering Kismayu, which is the third largest city in Somalia. Before the takeover, senior Ethiopian and Somali government officials have had a closed door meeting in the town in which a decision that Ethiopians should take control of the won was issued.
Security Council authorizes African-led peace mission in Somalia (20.02.2007)
(Quelle: UN News) The United Nations Security Council today authorized the African Union to establish a mission in Somalia aimed at helping the war-ravaged country, which has not had a functioning government for over a decade and a half, to achieve national reconciliation and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. Through a unanimous resolution adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter – which allows for enforcement measures – the Council decided that the operation, to be known as AMISOM, will support dialogue and reconciliation in Somalia by assisting with the free movement, safe passage and protection of all those involved with the process.
Nigeria to deploy 850 troops for Somalia AU force (20.02.2007)
(Quelle: Reliefweb) Nigeria announced Tuesday it would deploy 850 troops in Somalia by mid-April as part of an 8,000-strong African Union (AU) peacekeeping force. The 850 troops had completed training exercise in preparation for deployment, the military said in a statement. 'The induction is planned to be carried out in three phases. Barring any unforeseen development, the troops are expected to arrive in Somalia by mid-April 2007 at the latest,' the statement said.
Somali government limits liberty of the press - new attacks (20.02.2007)
(Quelle: Reliefweb) The Somali government on Monday limited the freedom of the press in Somalia. Reports on military operations and refugees would be prohibited in future, Security Officer Nour Mohammed Mohmoud told representatives of several radio stations. The government would name their own editors for the stations that were to work closely with the government.
'Anti-terror force' for Somalia (19.02.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) Somalia's transitional government has set up a joint police and military unit to counter attacks by suspected Islamists in the capital, Mogadishu. Dozens of people have been killed during attacks this year, since Islamists were ousted from the city. … 'It is a government plan to fight terrorists and bring them to justice,' Deputy Defence Minister Salad Ali Jelle told the AP news agency. He would not give further details but AP quotes an unnamed government official as saying the Ethiopian-trained unit would be 700-strong.
Mortar bombs hit Mogadishu camp, residential area (15.02.2007)
(Quelle: Washington Post) Mortar bombs struck a refugee camp and residential area in eastern Mogadishu on Thursday, wounding at least six people in the latest in a string of almost daily attacks in Somalia's capital, residents said. Attackers also bombed the port area of the city where the bloodshed has forced hundreds of residents to flee as the interim administration struggles to impose security after defeating Islamist rivals in a December war. It was not clear who carried out the attacks, but the government blames them on remnants of Islamist forces, some of whom have vowed to wage holy war since being ousted from the capital and much of the south they had controlled since June.
African Union discusses peacekeeping mission (13.02.2007)
(Quelle: Irinnews) Plans to deploy peacekeepers in Somalia have moved into top gear, with the African Union looking at initially deploying three operational battalions from Uganda and Nigeria, officials said. 'Our focus is on the deployment of those three first battalions,' Said Djinnit, AU commissioner for Peace and Security, said on Monday. 'If we start deploying, if it creates, as we hope, a positive dynamic on the ground, I think the problem of finding troops will not be the biggest challenge for us,' Djinnit told reporters ahead of meetings at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa to prepare the operational phase of the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM). 'The biggest challenge remains finance and logistics,' he added.
Ugandan approval for Somali force (13.02.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) Ugandan MPs have approved the deployment of 1,500 peacekeepers to Somalia as part of an African Union force to replace Ethiopian troops. The soldiers are mandated to shoot back if attacked. A date for their deployment is expected within 24 hours. Meanwhile, Somalia's prime minister has vowed to bring the leaders of the ousted Islamist movement to justice. His comments come a day after a fresh outbreak of fighting in the Somali capital blamed on Islamist remnants.
UN rights expert calls for release of arrested journalists, end of threats to media (12.02.2007)
(Quelle: UN News) An independent United Nations human rights expert today called for the unconditional release of three journalists arrested in Somalia and voiced “deep concern” at the temporary closing of radio and television stations, stressing the vital importance of free media in bringing peace to the war-torn country. “Threats to journalists and media outlets constitute serious violations of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, Ghanim Alnajjar, said in a statement today.
U.S. official pledges immediate help for stabilization (10.02.2007)
(Quelle: allAfrica) The United States is prepared to provide immediate support for the deployment of an African stabilization force in Somalia following the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops who helped Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) wrest control of the country from radical Islamists, says U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer. On February 6, Frazer told the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs that Somalia was facing some 'decisive moments' in a turbulent history beset by 16 years of internal conflict. … Uganda was first, she said, and volunteered 1,500 troops for the Somali stabilization effort. The United States will follow up with 'support with strategic transportation [airlift], equipment and other logistics.' This means immediate aid of two million dollars for transport and $8 million for equipment for the Ugandan soldiers, she said.
Peacekeeping protests in Somalia (09.02.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) Hundreds of protesters have burned flags and threatened to attack African troops set to be deployed to Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. The 800 demonstrators, in the north of Mogadishu, a stronghold of the ousted Islamists, set fire to Ethiopian, Ugandan and US flags. Meanwhile, diplomats from Europe, Africa and the US have called for the peacekeepers to be deployed urgently.
AU team visits Mogadishu ahead of troop deployment (05.02.2007)
(Quelle: Reliefweb) An African Union delegation assessed security in Mogadishu and met with officials of the interim Somali government ahead of a proposed deployment of a peacekeeping force, officials said on Sunday. African leaders meeting in Addis Ababa last week scrambled to find thousands more African Union troops for a peacekeeping force in Somalia fearing failure to deploy in time could plunge the Horn of Africa country back into anarchy. With only 4,000 troops pledged out of the required 8,000, leaders urged more countries to raise more troops. On Sunday, an AU team comprising of military experts visited several installations in the anarchic city where the would-be deployed troops are expected to be based.
Security Council calls for UN technical visit to Somalia ahead of peace mission (02.02.2007)
(Quelle: UN News) Renewing its support for the planned deployment of African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Somalia, the Security Council today called for the rapid dispatch of a United Nations technical mission to assess security needs in the war-wracked country. In a statement to the press following a closed-door meeting on the issue, Ambassador Peter Burian of Slovakia, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, said the 15-member panel wanted the assessment mission team to report back with recommendations on how to bring durable peace to Somalia. The Council also backed by the proposal by Somali President Abdulahi Yusuf to convene a national reconciliation congress as part of broader efforts to promote peace and reconciliation.
Government calls for assistance to rehabilitate child soldiers (02.02.2007)
(Quelle: Irinnews) About 70,000 children have been conscripted into Somalia’s fighting factions, exposing them to attacks and separating them from their families, a Somali government official said on Friday in Nairobi. 'These children have been recruited over time and now about 70,000 are involved in this conflict, on all sides,' said Qamar Aden, the chairwoman of Somalia’s parliamentary committee on human rights. This figure was provided by the United Nations Joint Needs Assessment team for Somalia, she said. … Aden said the government had released all child soldiers captured in the fighting with the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC). However, those released do not undergo any form of rehabilitation due to a lack of capacity in the Transitional Federal Government.
Burundi joins Somalia peace force (01.02.2007)
(Quelle: BBC) Burundi has offered to contribute to the proposed African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, following an AU appeal for soldiers. Foreign Minister Antoinette Batumubwira told the BBC that Burundi could send up to 1,000 troops. The AU has struggled to raise the 8,000 troops it wants to send to Somalia, to replace Ethiopian soldiers, who have started to withdraw. Earlier, Malawi denied reports that it had agreed to contribute. Meanwhile, a protest against their deployment has been held in an ex-Islamist stronghold in the capital.
Le déploiement d'une force de paix africaine en Somalie prend du retard (31.01.2007)
(Quelle: Le Monde) En clôture du sommet de l'Union africaine (UA), le nouveau président de l'organisation, le Ghanéen John Kufuor, a appelé, mardi 30 janvier, les chefs d'Etat du continent à fournir des troupes pour constituer une force de paix de 8 000 hommes en Somalie. Le projet de l'UA prévoit le remplacement, après six mois de déploiement, de cette force africaine par des casques bleus - une décision qui reviendra au Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies. 'Nous ne sommes pas enthousiastes à l'idée d'aller en Somalie', admet un haut responsable de l'ONU.