Britain 'botched rescue attempt' for Somalia hostages

LONDON — British special forces have attempted to rescue a couple seized by Somali pirates almost three months ago but the mission was aborted amid "bungling" delays, a report has said.

Citing a government official, the BBC reported on Friday that a Special Boat Service team was deployed from Britain to rescue Paul and Rachel Chandler but they were delayed by technical problems and slow decision-making in London.

The team finally arrived near where the pirates were holding the Chandlers, who were seized from their yacht in the Indian Ocean on October 23, but were not in time to rescue them, the BBC said.

"There was some bungling here," the official was quoted as saying. It was not clear when the attempted rescue took place.

In an interview with British television on Thursday, Paul Chandler said they were being treated like "captive animals" and warned their kidnappers were becoming frustrated that their demands for a ransom had not been met.

"They've lost patience. They set a deadline of three or four days. If they don't hear then they say they will let us die," he told ITV News.

The pirates have demanded £4.3 million (seven million dollars) but the Foreign Office in London said it does not pay ransoms.

Source:AFP

Make Somalia a Priority

Last month, a Somali man who had lived in Denmark dressed himself in women’s clothes, positioned himself at a graduation ceremony in Mogadishu and then blew himself up. He killed 22 people, including three government ministers and many young medical graduates and professors, who had hoped to dedicate their lives to the alleviation of suffering in Somalia.

The terrible events of Dec. 3 reverberated around the world. Somali doctors, information technology and engineering graduates, alongside their families, began the morning full of hope and pride, yet many were not to see the sun set that day. They were among the brightest and the best of Somalia, and so were the ministers who lost their lives.

But as the recent events in Aarhus, Denmark, Mogadishu and over the skies of Detroit on Dec. 25 show, the current situation in Somalia and across the Gulf of Aden in Yemen not only threatens the lives of Somalis, but also people beyond its borders.

However, Somalia is not the ultimate failed state of popular perception. Its people are resilient and manage to survive in conditions that are probably well beyond the imagination of most readers. In Mogadishu, a city of two million, people carry on, despite the fighting, the shelling, the displacement. Over 100 Somali-led reconciliation processes have taken place at local and regional levels since 1991 — and they’ve proved the basis for stability in Somaliland, Puntland and Galmudug state in central Somalia.

While Somali reconciliation and mediation efforts will be the key to sustainable peace and stability, the international community — including the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the African Union, the Arab League, the European Union and the United Nations — has an important role to play. Somalia and Yemen must be properly on the agenda at the London conference at the end of this month.

As 2010 unfolds, our collective vision should be to see the beginnings of a secure, stable and prosperous Somalia, at peace with itself and its neighbors, where its citizens can go about their lives in safety and provide for their families with confidence and dignity. Let us strive for a resurgent, tolerant society, built on respect for traditional Somali cultural and religious values.

The Transitional Federal Government, as its name suggests, is a temporary structure for developing the environment necessary to achieve this objective. It is a transitional mechanism that will enable the people to decide for themselves how they want to be governed, free from outside interference and coercion.

The transitional government’s principle purpose is to prepare the way for the establishment of legitimate and accountable public institutions. (We have already taken the initiative and hired Price Waterhouse Coopers to ensure the accountability of international donor funds.) These institutions will form the basis of a stable, representative government that can begin to alleviate the trauma of the last 20 years.

We will achieve this by building professional, representative security forces; creating transparent and accountable public institutions based on the principles of civic responsibility and good governance; developing a fair and impartial judicial system; and increasing economic opportunity through investment, training, health and education.

Given the complex and extremely difficult circumstances that recent events have so graphically illustrated, achieving all this will be an extraordinary challenge. It will require the combined effort of the whole Somali people, as well as assistance from outside. Only in partnership with all Somalis and the support of the international community will success be possible. It will take time, determination and patience but it can be done. Let us all take up this challenge. Let 2010 be the start of something new.

Source:nytimes.com/

Will U.S. troops leave Haiti too soon?

WASHINGTON — As the number of U.S. soldiers in Haiti and aboard a small armada floating offshore builds toward 18,000, the question of how and when they will leave remains unanswered.

While past humanitarian missions, most notably in Somalia in the 1990s, have morphed into protracted — and bloody — "peacemaking" exercises, experts say there are many reasons that Haiti is unlikely to turn into a quagmire for U.S. forces.

If anything, said a half-dozen officials with long experience in humanitarian relief and peacekeeping operations, the danger is that the troops, ships and helicopters will leave too soon, before security is re-established. With ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Obama administration has little appetite for an extended military mission in the Caribbean.

"The risk is the opposite: that they will leave too quickly, and we will have chaos," said Andrew Natsios, who led the U.S. Agency for International Development from 2001 to 2005. "They've got their hands full in Iraq, Afghanistan-Pakistan. The U.S. military does not want to do this, in terms of anything beyond the humanitarian response."

The Haiti earthquake Jan. 12 devastated the country's capital, Port-au-Prince, left as many as 200,000 dead and crippled both an existing U.N. peacekeeping mission and the country's government.

There are about 13,000 U.S. military personnel in Haiti — roughly 4,000 ashore and 9,000 aboard ship — and that number will grow to 17,000 to 18,000 by this weekend with the arrival of a second Marine Expeditionary Unit, said Marine Col. David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman. Twenty-two ships and 66 military helicopters are participating in the relief effort, he said.

Lapan said, "There hasn't been an impact to this point" on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, although military planners are keeping a close eye on the flow of forces.

If all goes as planned, U.S. troops will begin departing after United Nations agencies and private aid groups are ready to fully take on the task of recovery and rebuilding. A U.N. peacekeeping force, which is being enlarged with 2,000 more peacekeepers and 1,500 policemen, will provide security alongside Haitian security forces.

"As we get through this initial crisis, as those other organizations bring up their capacity, we will work with all those organizations to determine when the right time is to transition our capabilities out of Haiti," Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser, the commander of the military's Southern Command, said Thursday.

Neither the White House nor the Pentagon has spelled out the details of when and how that will happen, however.

Large-scale violence, which has been sporadic so far, or thousands of desperate Haitians taking to the seas to try to reach U.S. shores could upend the Obama administration's plans.

It also remains to be seen who'll coordinate the task of rebuilding Haiti, which will take years, cost billions of dollars and involve hundreds of agencies and charities.

Private aid groups have complained that the U.S. military has wrested too much control of the relief effort.

"There's a lot of pitfalls to all this well-meaning compassion," said Elizabeth Ferris, an expert on humanitarian issues at the Washington-based Brookings Institution, a research center.

The U.S. military's role "is still not clear to me," Ferris said, questioning whether American forces are focused on their own security, setting up logistics supply lines or directly delivering relief supplies. Once international and nongovernment agencies stand up their operations, "are there plans for it to exit in a reasonable period of time?" she asked.

The United States and the U.N. signed an agreement Friday clarifying the world body's lead role in earthquake relief efforts, the Reuters news agency reported.

A senior State Department official said the chances of Somalia-like "mission creep," with U.S. forces staying in Haiti as political arbiters, "are zero. ... What's the strategic rationale?"

Who'll lead the huge reconstruction effort "is a reasonable question," however, said the official, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity in order to speak more frankly.

The United States has a long, troubled history of intervention in Haiti. U.S. Marines occupied the country from 1915 to 1934. President Bill Clinton sent in U.S. troops in 1994 to restore democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A decade later, U.S. Marines were back as part of an international stabilization force sent in after Aristide fled the capital.

James Dobbins, who was Clinton's special envoy to Haiti and helped organize the 1994 intervention, said he didn't foresee a lengthy stay for U.S. forces in the wake of the earthquake. Haiti's long-standing political tensions have been muted since Aristide departed, he said.

The U.N. peacekeeping mission, despite losing 70 staff members in the earthquake and having its headquarters collapse, is well-established in Haiti and has a clear job mandate, Dobbins and other specialists said.

"Ideally, I'd like to see U.S. troops stay as part of the U.N. force ... but I don't think that's likely to happen because of our other priorities," Dobbins said.

Source:mcclatchydc.com/

Obama: No Plan to Send US Troops to Yemen, Somalia

U.S. President Barack Obama says he has no intention to send American troops to battle extremists in Yemen or Somalia.

In an interview with People magazine to be published this Friday, Mr. Obama said he believes the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan remains the "epicenter" of al-Qaida's leadership and activity.

Mr. Obama said he would never rule out any possibility in what he called a "complex world," but said the most effective approach in dealing with lawless areas around the globe is for the U.S. to work with "international partners."

A Yemen-based al-Qaida branch claimed responsibility for the failed Christmas Day, December 25, bombing of a U.S.-bound jetliner, prompting concerns about rising terrorist activity in Yemen.

Mr. Obama says he knows al-Qaida in Yemen has become a more serious problem, and that the U.S. is working with Yemen's government to root out terrorist training camps and cells.

But despite U.S. pressure to crack down on the terrorist group, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said Sunday he is open to dialogue with al-Qaida militants.

In an interview with Abu Dhabi television, Mr. Saleh said he is ready to deal with any al-Qaida members who lay down their arms, renounce violence and "return to reason," as he put it.

Yemen's government says it has been successful in conducting operations against what it says are al-Qaida targets. Sana'a says air strikes last month killed at least 34 militants, but conflicting reports from witnesses say at least some of those killed had no connection to al-Qaida.

Source:voanews.com/

Somalia: Top UN delegation lands in Puntland state in Somalia

A high delegation from Human Rights Watch spearheaded by Dr. Shamsul Bari has reached in the semiautonomous state of Puntland in eastern Somalia in a mission to asses the fact on the ground after there has been instability in the region in the past couple of months.

“During my days in Puntland I will have meet some officials in the administration of Puntland and as well have deep discussions with the different sectors of the community including, the civil society and the humanitarian organizations, and we shall be mainly focusing on the humanitarian situation in the region as whole” said Shamsul Bari speaking to Somaliweyn Website on Friday.

On the other hand Dr. Abdi Hassan Jimale the constitution Minister of Puntland speaking to one of the local radio stations in Mogadishu has confirmed the presence of the UN delegation.

“In fact the arrival of the UN delegation in Puntland was very significant, and I hope all what we have discussed upon will be fruitful” said the Minister.

Puntland state has been lately experiencing instability in the region and some two nights ago a Member of Parliament of Puntland was gunned down in Bossaso town. Somaliweyn English News Desk.

Mohammed Omar Hussein+2521-5519235 shiinetown@hotail.com

Source:somaliweyn.org/

Somalia Press Day celebrated in Puntland State

The annual 21st January Somali Press Day was on today Wednesday celebrated in Somalia's autonomous state of Puntand with the ceremony held at the office of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation in the administrative capital Garowe.

The ceremony was attended by Puntland government officials including Vice President Gen. Abdisamad Ali Shire, Ministers, MPs, poetries and journalists from different parts of Puntland.

Vice President Shire who was addressing the guests said the media is important for the community, society welfare, specifically expressing his gratitude to journalist operating from the region for their role in covering political change when the new president was elected 8th of January, 2009.

He however appealed to the journalists the strengthen and uphold the good relation between Puntland media and the government agencies.

"I am requesting from Puntland journalists not to broadcast everything against the stability and development, Puntland respects the rights of the journalists, and we are waiting from the journalists to work on how they can help in Puntland growth," said the Vice President.

Media Association of Puntland (MAP) deputy chairman and the director of Radio Garowe Mohamed Dahir Yusuf (Salim) who addressed the participants, condemned the last year's violence against Puntland journalists.

Mr. Salim pointed that the region are better if compared to what their colleagues in southern Somalia are going through

Puntland Information Minister Abdihakin Ahmed Guled said: "I am sure that Puntland journalists are intelligent and know their work, but they need to upgrade their education and to point the right way they can go forward, we wish to make new college of journalism in Puntland."

He added: "We want to make Television, Radio and Newspaper which talks the voice of the government."

The ceremony, which was attended by 7 different radios and two newspapers, was concluded with common stand and pledge for better working conditions for media.

Source:garoweonline.com/

U.S. Extends Reevaluation of Security Threats to Yemen and Somalia

Somali-born geography professor Abdi Samatar of the University of Minnesota says that the intensification of fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the Christmas Day airline bombing attempt by Nigerian-born Umar Abdulmutallab have helped shift the focus of conflict to al-Qaida in the Arabian peninsula, particularly to Yemen. But he notes that reports of recent arms shipments from Yemeni rebels to Somalia’s Islamist al-Shabab fighters have so far had little impact on the rebel insurgency against Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG).



CIA

“I don’t think that the amount of weapons that are going from Yemen through al-Qaida to al-Shabab is significant. Shabab has many other sources of weapons, both in the domestic market, and, remember, Somalia has one of the largest small weapons markets in Mogadishu itself,” he said.

Despite al-Shabab claims of sending fighters to help al-Qaida resist Yemeni and foreign-assisted efforts to quash its insurgency, Professor Samatar says a Somali presence in Yemen is limited to longtime refugees who have lived in northern Yemen for decades, but not a significant infusion of terrorists or resistance fighters.

“Containing refugees and others in particular localities I don’t think is going to be a significant element in tackling the terror matter,” he noted.

As for Yemenis operating in Somalia, Samatar says the security threat is also low. But he does acknowledge that the stepped up fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan have expanded the arena of doing battle with al-Qaida back to the Gulf region, where it was extremely active ten years ago.

“The military pressures in Pakistan and Afghanistan are having a significant effect on al-Qaida’s ability to further decentralize itself so that they cannot be holed in one particular locality. And this is a fact that should be taken into account in both Somalia and in Yemen,” he observed.

Does this mean a more intensified struggle in Somalia at this point? Samatar says not as far as expecting an infusion of fighters from Yemen to add to Somalia’s woes. He says al-Shabab continues to lead insurgents’ attempts to bring down the internationally endorsed TFG.



AP
Islamist al-Shabab fighters conduct military exercise in northern Mogadishu's Suqaholaha neighborhood, 01 Jan 2010

“I think Shabab controls much of southern Somalia at the present, and in the last week or so, they have had military celebrations in Mogadishu itself, to show the caliber of their troops and the size of their troops. So they are already what they are, and they control what’s left of Somalia….small strips in south Mogadishu and a few other pockets. And I just don’t think further pressures are going to make any difference in those spots because those are where the African Union forces are, and I don’t think al-Shabab will have the wherewithal to confront them head-on,” he said.


Al-Shabab insurgents control much of southern Somalia, including the city of Kismayo.

The answer to U.S. and British efforts to bring greater stability to both Somalia and Yemen can be found in new initiatives to democratize both countries rather than focusing on the anti-terror threat, according to Professor Samatar. He warns that stepped up foreign military involvement can foment resentment among local populations in both countries, which have long been discontent with the authoritarian qualities of their own failed states’ leaderships.

“I think the Somali people would welcome a very genuine support from the United (States) government to help themselves rebuild their country. I think the project that the United States helped take part in in Djibouti, which ultimately produced the Transitional Federal Government was both illegitimate and incompetent. And so what the Somali people are looking for is support from Britain and the United States people and governments that are genuinely democratic, that will support civil society, and Islamic movement that is also democratic,” he maintains.

Samatar asserts that Yemeni and Somali resentment are stirred up against western interference when it is being engineered to serve outside interests.

“Genuine democratization of the political process in Somalia, pushing the Transitional Federal Government into becoming more inclusive, more accountable, more effective, and bringing on board people with capacity who are Somalis who can deliver for the local population, if the U.S. and Britain push things in that direction, the Somali people will genuinely welcome that, in my opinion,” he noted.

Source:voanews.com/

EU set to OK Somali troop plan

Brussels - EU foreign ministers will on Monday give the green light for European instructors to train some 2 000 Somali soldiers to reinforce the embryonic government army, diplomatic sources said.

"The plan is to train 2 000 members of the Somali security forces in Uganda, one diplomat said on Friday.

The operation, in which around 100 European military personnel will take part, could begin in May, another diplomat said, adding that it had not yet been determined which EU nations would contribute, on a voluntary basis.

"We are in the process of discussing the national contributions," he said.

Somalia has been gripped by civil wars and insurgencies and bereft of stable government since the overthrow of President Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Uganda was chosen because its troops constitute the lion's share of the African Union mission in Somalia, AMISOM.

Off the coast of Somalia, the EU is running an anti-piracy mission in the waters of the Gulf of Aden, but senior officials say the real way to combat the problem is on Somali territory.

The EU has given substantial political support to the interim government, as well as funding the AMISOM mission.

The idea was discussed by EU defence ministers in November with France and Spain in particular strongly in favour.

The European foreign ministers on Monday will also discuss "what equipment, and pay the Somali troops will need", a diplomat said.

source:news24.com/