Agencies sound the alarm over ‘climate crisis’ after devastation of crops and livestock
More than 2 million people could face starvation by the end of the summer, unless there are urgent efforts to respond to the drought in Somalia.
Mark Lowcock, the UN’s humanitarian chief, said the country is facing one of the driest rainy seasons in more than three decades, and a “rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation”.
Continue reading...International organisations accused of ignoring local people’s knowledge and expertise and promoting foreigners to top jobs
When Sahra Koshin first returned to Somalia from the Netherlands in 2008, she was full of hope and courage.
Eager to use her expertise in gender development to rebuild her wartorn country, she immediately started work with one of the many UN agencies in Mogadishu.
Continue reading...In the 1970s and 80s Mogadishu's airwaves were filled with Somali funk, disco, soul and reggae. Musicians rocking afros and bell-bottom trousers would perform at the city's trendiest nightclubs during the height of the country's golden era of music. But it was short-lived: a brutal civil war began, musicians fled to all corners of the world and the vibrant music scene came to an end.
Habib and Abdulkadir, two former band mates and best friends, lost touch after the war started, and neither knew if the other was alive. But both kept playing music.
Somali Night Fever tells the story of the people keeping Somali music alive, including these two friends, separated by war but united by the music of the golden era.
Continue reading...The extremist group’s enduring influence in Mogadishu makes the Somali capital a dangerous place to live and work
Once every other month, journalist Hassan Dahir, 28, leaves his hostel in central Mogadishu under the cover of darkness to visit his mother in Yaqshid district, north-east of the capital.
He will spend the night with her and return to his rented room before dawn.
Continue reading...Mother is on trial in Brisbane after girls were allegedly taken from grandmother’s house and subjected to procedure
Two Queensland girls were playing outside their grandmother’s house in Somalia when they were allegedly taken away to have their genitals mutilated, a court has heard.
Their mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is on trial in Brisbane district court.
Continue reading...Al-Shabaab says it carried out Mogadishu bombing and shot manager of Bossaso port
Islamic militants in Somalia have shot dead a senior manager running the port of Bossaso in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, and a car bomb has killed at least 11 in Mogadishu.
The assassination of Paul Anthony Formosa, a Maltese citizen who worked for the Dubai government-owned P&O Ports, and the bombing in the capital, were both claimed by the extremist group al-Shabaab extremist group.
Continue reading...Attack follows extremist group’s assault on hotel complex in Nairobi, which killed 21 people
A US airstrike in Somalia has killed 52 Islamic militants from al-Shabaab, military officials have said.
The strike comes days after a deadly attack by the extremist organisation on a luxury hotel complex in Nairobi, Kenya.
Continue reading...The US military said it carried out an airstrike in Somalia that killed 52 al-Shabaab extremists, in response to an attack on Somali forces.
Related: Al-Shabaab's Nairobi attack is a reminder that tit-for-tat terror never succeeds | Mukoma wa Ngugi
Continue reading...Unsafe in Somalia and unwanted in Kenya, refugees increasingly risk abduction in search of a better life
Two months after he went missing from the Dadaab refugee complex, Abdullahi Mohamed called his mother, Ubah, from a detention centre in Libya where he was being been held by armed gangs. The men asked his mother to pay a ransom of up to $10,000 (£7,850) for the 19-year-old.
Relieved but distraught, Ubah started fundraising for his release, talking to family members in the diaspora and in Somalia.
Continue reading...Though Abiy Ahmed’s record to date is impressive, the developments he has set in train need a proper political roadmap and institutional backing
Ethiopians could be forgiven for their scepticism when their new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, promised sweeping reforms last spring. The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front coalition which appointed him toyed with change in 2005 – only to revert to its usual autocratic form. Now wariness has been replaced by genuine enthusiasm; the transformation is happening at dizzying speed. But the obstacles and perils are also clearer.
Mr Abiy, 42, has followed symbolic shifts with more substantive action. His president, chief justice and half of his ministers are female. He freed thousands of political prisoners and journalists, before arresting senior officials for human rights abuses and corruption. He overturned bans on opposition groups and invited an exiled dissident home to head the election board. The next polls are scheduled for 2020. Last time, not one opposition MP was elected. Mr Abiy’s overtures to Eritrea led to the end of a long-running conflict. He oversaw the meeting of South Sudanese leaders that produced a fragile but desperately needed peace deal. This – along with Eritrea’s ensuing rapprochement with Somalia and Djibouti – led the UN secretary general António Guterres to speak of “a wind of hope blowing in the Horn of Africa”.
Continue reading...Nicholas Haysom told to leave after urging inquiry into civilian casualties during protests over former al-Shabaab leader’s arrest
Somalia has asked the UN secretary general’s special envoy to leave the country “as soon as possible” after accusing him of “interfering with the country’s internal affairs”.
A statement from the ministry of foreign affairs on Tuesday declared top UN official Nicholas Haysom persona non grata. The ministry said that Haysom “is not required and cannot work in this country”.
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