As if Somalia didn't have enough trouble...

Locusts devastate orchards of north Somalia

As if war and hunger were not enough, swarms of locusts have appeared in Somalia, blotting out the sky and destroying orchards.

Millions of the insects appeared three days ago in the semi-autonomous northeastern province of Puntland, stripping bare hundreds of acres of mango, orange and pawpaw farms.

Cutting the rose - Somalia's the place.

Somaliland now center for illegal female cutting.

Hargeisa, the peaceful capital of the self-proclaimed state of Somaliland, has become a new centre for the Somali Diaspora wanting to perform female genital mutilation (FGM) on their daughters. Most live in countries where FGM is strictly forbidden, including when this is done abroad.

A team from the Norwegian public broadcaster 'NRK' last week visited Hargeisa, where it easily found practitioners of the outlawed practice of FGM (also referred to as "female circumcision" or "female cutting"), which is widely condemned as strongly harmful to women and girls, also by many Muslim religious leaders.

The Somalilander women performing FGM did so privately or in open cooperation with public health facilities in Hargeisa, where most worked as midwifes. Among Somalis, female genital mutilation is very widespread and the UN estimates that 98 percent of women in Somaliland and Somalia have been subjected to the harmful practice.

In most countries where the large Somali Diaspora is represented, however, FGM is strictly outlawed. Research nevertheless shows that a majority of Somali parents living abroad ignore the laws of their host country and continue exposing their daughters to this culturally based practice.

And as southern Somalia remains an unsafe destination, peaceful Somaliland has emerged a safe haven for Somalis wanting to visit friends and family. Or wanting to stick to traditions.

The 'NRK' team met with ten FGM practitioners in Hargeisa saying they had performed the cut on at least 185 Somali girls living in Norway. The practitioners further confirmed that Norway-based parents were popular clients as they paid "well", typically euro 20 each girl. European summer holidays were seen as the top season for these women performing FGM.

Based on these data, it is estimated that thousands of young girls are brought to Hargeisa each year from Europe alone to undergo the mutilation. Somali women rights organisations all over Europe and North America have for years tried to address this practice, knowing that each summer holiday, hundreds of young girls are taken to Hargeisa for just this reason.

In Norway, this revelation caused a public outcry and fuelled the debate about how to better enforce national legislation outlawing FGM. Politicians have proposed anything from information campaigns targeting Somalis in Norway, to obliging medics to report cases they come over to the police and introducing obligatory health tests for girls returning from summer holidays in Somalia.

While Somali parents living abroad can be taken to court for child abuse after having taken their daughters to Somaliland to undergo FGM, the Hargeisa practitioners operate in full legality. Attempts to outlaw FGM in Somaliland have so far failed.

Hijacked Danes run out of food and water

Remember these guys? Danish sailors "doing well" after Somali hijacking. Well, the situation is not looking too good for them after their weeks of captivity.

"Hijacked Danes "run out of supplies" off Somalia.


A Danish cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates earlier this month has run out of food and fresh water at sea, a Kenyan maritime official said on Monday.

The MV Danica White and its five Danish crew members were carrying building materials from Dubai to Kenya when it was seized off Somalia in the world's most dangerous waterway.

"The news we are getting is that food has run out in that ship and there is no water," said Andrew Mwangura, director of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers Assistance Programme. The vessel's generator had apparently broken down, Mwangura told Reuters, so its water purification equipment also failed.

Around the Horn - Somalia 06.19.07

The Somali Islamists are granted amnesty, unless they have international connections. Whatever that means. Then the Islamists turn around and dis the reconciliation process. Islamists Oppose Reconciliation Conference, Discredit Ethiopia's Role And there's an assasination attempt on the Somali President. His spokesman is shot twice.


I was going to post something really snarky about Jonathan Edelstein and his bio but had second thoughts and have decided I will leave you to your own devices in: Somaliland? The Kurds of Somalia.


MSNBC shills for Ted Turner and the UN here: Shortfall will hit UN missions


The Religion of Peace up to their old tricks. Hiding bombs in garbage to kill innocents. What pillar of Islam is that again? Bomb kills 2 children in Somalia.

From Somalipress a blog on the Islamic Coarts (sic):

Sadly, by a mere donning of the ghutrah (head-covering) we witnessed former anarchists, murderers, and thugs ushered in as Mujahidiin! It was at this point that people began to wonder about the Courts' credibility. And it was at this point that I was jolted out of my pleasant anticipations. A rude awakening! And to have thought the Courts were Allah's gift to the long suffering people of our nation! Cheated and heartbroken, the country once again plunged deep into yet another round of hopelessness. Somalia's sorrow can not be summed up in a few lines, however, the following lines should give a glimpse of the heartache I personally felt at the realization that ‘the men of God' were anything but mindful, being as keen for the world as their ignorant counterparts.

Out of Africa

Somalia in the eye of the storm. It's the Beeb so the US is to blame of course. The money quote:

"Washington's approach to Islamism seems to involve containing, or attempting to contain, Islamist organisations while targeting individual terrorist suspects."

Meanwhile, the janjaweed continue to spread their unique brand of terror into Chad. But no one wants to admit it just yet. From Chad: Protection is the issue but from whom?

It was typical of countless acts of violence that have taken place in eastern Chad over the last three years. Armed men on horseback rode through Goz Amir refugee camp last December, hacking and shooting at least 15 men and women to death. And like many of the attacks, it was not immediately clear who the attackers were and what had motivated them to kill.

Yesterday, we had Russ Feingold. Today Bill Nelson weighs in: Swath of Africa could become terrorist haven.

A prime minister's office scarred by a recent al-Qaeda bomb attack. Families separated while fleeing from genocidal murderers in their hometowns. And employees of an international company kidnapped from a heavily guarded oil-rich area. No, this isn't Iraq or the Middle East -- it's an impoverished region of Africa where chaos is breeding a new brand of Islamic terrorism allied with Osama bin Laden.

British charity OxFam pulls out of Darfur region. It's the largest camp in Darfur and get this - "this report does not reflect the view of the United Nations." Sweet Jesus! These people wouldn't say shit if they had a mouthful!

Oxfam has decided to permanently close down its humanitarian operation in the town of Gereida in Sudan's western region of Darfur, citing reluctance by authorities there to improve security and stop attacks on aid workers.

Out of Africa - Somalia

Danish sailors kidnapped off Somali coast doing well. Although really - how well would YOU be if YOU were kidnapped by Muslim pirates?

40 Sheiks apprehended in Mogadishu. "Frog-marched" them out of the mosque, too. (The only time I've ever seen frog marched in a sentence without Karl Rove in it.)

On Friday there was a grenade attack on a Somali cinema. 5 people were killed, 9 injured. 'Eyewitnesses say the video hall, known to have shown films that have had naked scenes, was packed with people."

Russ Feingold speaks. I wonder, how do you say yadda-yadda-yadda in Somali?

Somalia Islamists show missile in video. No doubt they were aiming it at a UN aid plane or something. That's the Religion of Peace for ya.

Somalia to extend olive branch to Islamists?

And the US is paying for it???? Big MISTAKE.

The Somali interim government has proposed to pardon Islamists who were jailed after government forces, with help from the Ethiopian army, launched a military operation against them in January. Under the proposal, the government would pardon Islamists who have been fighting the government for months, and release jailed Islamists.

Government spokesman Abdi Haji Gobdon told the media this plan had been discussed by cabinet ministers in order to “extend an olive branch” to former fighters from the Union of Islamic Courts, other anti-government fighters and politicians from the opposition.

The decision for a pardon would likely require parliamentary approval. The number of imprisoned Islamist fighters is unknown. Somali has not had a stable government since 1991.

Last week a United Nations-backed reconciliation conference between the government and the Islamists was postponed for a month for the third time, due to insecurity and lack of funds.

Washington has released $1.25 million to fund the July 15 conference.

More in the Hijab Wars - this time Somalia.

Well, technically they are the niqab, not the hijab...

Somali gov't forces begin to seize women hijab in Mogadishu

Security forces of the Somali transitional government have begun seizing and burning women's face veils in the country's capital Mogadishu in an attempt to stop insurgents from disguising them for the sake of carrying out attacks.

Residents said the soldiers were ordering women in burkas to remove their face veils on Wednesday but the operation was later stopped by their superior.

"Every policeman and government soldier has orders to confiscate veils from veiled women," Somali police spokesman Ali Nur reportedly said.

Somali news portal Shabelle News reported on Thursday a woman was injured when two hand grenades went off in the Somali capital on Wednesday where government soldiers were confiscating and burning face veils worn by women near the city's main Bakara market.

The Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC) which was driven out of Mogadishu at the beginning of this year encouraged wearing of face veils by women.

Traditionally Somali women tend to just cover their heads, but in recent years burkas which cover the entire face and body and niqabs - a veil for the face that leaves the area around the eyes clear - have become more popular.

The Somali authorities say some of the SCIC remnants have been caught wearing veils to masquerade as women so as to carry attacks on government troops.

Out of Africa

Calling all Muznuts! Abu Yahya al-Libi wants you to get busy in Somalia. He even makes a special shout out to all those "mujahedin on the information frontline" urging them to keep up their contribution to the fighting - "inciting violence" and claiming it to be "among the most honorable of devotions and loftiest acts of obedience."

I guess he means acts of devotion and lofty acts of obedience like this out of Ethiopia: Wahhabi Islamists drag Christian Evangelist into Mosque and beat him to death.

And in South Africa? The Muslim camp where they learn to handle firearms, ride horses etc? Why that's nothing more than Club Muz so buzz off and mind your own business.

I'm glad to see that one more bad actor is off the streets in Eastern Africa: Terrorism Suspect Transferred to Guantanamo Bay.

Puntland threatens to free UN ship hijacked off Somalia

Just a little reminder of the last time Somali pirates tangled with a US warship. Before and after.















The latest on the MV Rosen from SomaliNet News:

Authorities of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in northeastern Somalia have threatened on monday that they would forcefully release the UN world Food Program chartered ship in which pirates hijacked it off Puntland coast yesterday.

Saed Mohamed Rage, the minister of ports and ocean resources in Puntland told the local media that his regional government is engaging efforts to free the ship and its crew which was anchored Bargal coast.

Mr. Rage added that Puntland would never discuss with the pirates over the hijacked ship saying that Puntland coast guard will find the pirates and free the ship without ransom. “We will not negotiate with the hijackers. We will use our force to free the ship,” he said.

He said if the pirates are caught, they would be brought before justice. Some reports say that Puntland coast guards with speedy boats surrounded the ship which is now in the international waters.