Locals flee Bardera as tension looms in the area

Tension is reportedly high in Bardera town of Gedo as locals flee for their safety in fear of deadly fight between government forces and Al-Shabaab rebel group.

Reports say tension remained high as rebel fighter make military maneuvers as clashes in the area remains imminent after government forces and ASWJ militias took over Busar village, 40 km from El-wak town without facing any confrontations on Monday.

Government forces are reportedly trooping up in Busar as they prepare a full scale attack on rebel held position in the region.

Locals have started fleeing the area after realizing potential danger as the two warring side prepare for deadly clashes.

The town is said to be tenses on Tuesday morning, with rebel fighters on high alert to respond to any attack the allied forces in Busar.

An official with the Somali forces in Gedo Ismail Sheikh Abdi told Bar-kulan that they are planning to attack all rebel bases in the region as soonest possible.

Somali Women Peace Day celebrated in Mogadishu

A ceremony to mark Somalia’s Women Peace Day was on Tuesday held in national women group headquarters in Mogadishu.

The ceremony was attended by women Affairs minister Maryan Aweys, members of the Somali parliament and other civil society groups.

Somali National Women Group chairlady Dr. Asho Omar Gesadir who spoke at the ceremony said the day was earmarked for Somali women three years ago after several days of meeting in Puntland.

Gesadir said Somali women have shown the world that they are advocating for a lasting peace in the country as they are the valuables of any conflicts in the country.

Speaking at the ceremony, Women Affairs minister Maryan Aweys, urged Somali women to push for a lasting peace in the country.

She said just like other women in a war-ravaged country in the world, Somali Women have been bearing the brunt of the 20 year old conflict.

A good number of women thronged the area in marking their day, making the world hear their voices in calling for a lasting solution into Somalia’s two-decades-old conflict.

ASWJ call for diaspora support in restoring local Airstrip

ASWJ authorities in Abud-wak district have appealed to the diaspora people to help them restore Abud-wak Airstrip into its original face.

Area district commissioner Hassan Ali Alas called on natives in the diaspora to take part renovating the Airstrip.

He said ICRC is currently undertaking renovation initiative but called for diaspora participation in fully restoring the facility.

The DC said the diaspora people are needed in developmental projects like renovating the Airstrip as well as supporting drought and famine-hit locals in the region.

The Airstrip was set in place by the former Somalia central government but has been badly damaged by the 20 year old conflict that ravaged the country since 1991.

UN delivers medical aid to Somaliland authorities

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has delivered medical aid to Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland.

The UNFPA delivered 42 tonnes of medical aid supplies to Somaliland’s ministry of health officials in Awdal region in efforts to support Mother and Child health care in the region.

Awdal regional medical coordinator Dr. Abdirahman Jamaa Ali received the aid from the UN officials.

The coordinator thanked the UN officials for their support, saying that it was a timely help as the supply was much needed in the area.

UNFPA official Elmi Ahmed who handed over the medical aid to Somaliland authorities said the aid is meant to boost Mother and Child health care in the region.

US pledges extra $100 million for East Africa hunger aid

The United States has on Monday pledged $100 million in food aid to drought-hit East Africa, where millions of people are reportedly facing starvation, mostly in the lawless Somalia.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that food security was a critical priority for President Barack Obama’s administration whose “Feed the Future” initiative aims to address long-term reasons for global hunger.

Clinton said that the US would also boost immediate food assistance by adding to the $647 million it has already committed to address the crisis on the Horn of Africa, adding that the US is providing an additional $100 million, primarily in food assistance for drought-affected areas in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

She told a forum held at the State Department on food assistance that this new funding will help them reach more people and support their humanitarian commitment well into 2012.

The United Nations estimates that more than 13 million people are in need of food assistance in East Africa. The region is suffering from its worst drought in 60 years.

UN Security Council asks all member states to criminalise piracy

The UN Security Council on Monday called on its member states to make piracy a crime as the problem surges in Somalia.

In it’s resolution, the 15-member body urged countries that have not already done so to criminalise piracy under their domestic laws and to implement prosecution methods in accordance with international human rights law.

The resolution calls for international cooperation in sharing information for the purpose of law enforcement and effective prosecution.

It calls for prosecution of those who illicitly plan, organize, facilitate, or finance and profit from such attacks.

The resolution recognizes the increasing scope of piracy beyond the coast of Somalia, which affects not only the states in the region but also those far beyond.

The resolution also emphasized the need to establish specialized anti-piracy courts in Somalia and other countries in the region.