Somalia

Somali Refugees Trapped in Camps 'Barely Fit for Humans' - Oxfam

NAIROBI - Hundreds of thousands of Somalis fleeing unrest are now living in camps that Oxfam said on Thursday were horrifically overcrowded and unfit for humans.

Two years of Islamist insurgency have created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises in the Horn of Africa nation, with one million internally displaced people and thousands more fleeing across borders to Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.

Oxfam said poor sanitation and little access to basic services such as water and medicine have created a public health emergency in camps.

Posted in Human Rights, refugees, Somalia

Clinton Sprinkles US Military Aid Across Africa

WASHINGTON - On Aug. 6, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed in Kenya and pledged to provide more military aid and training to the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG).

At a joint press conference after the meeting, Clinton said that the U.S. will "continue to provide equipment and training to the TFG."

Posted in africom, Africa, Somalia

UN Food Stolen From the Starving in Somalia Fake Camp Fraud

One of the UN’s largest international relief efforts is under investigation after it emerged that thousands of sacks of food aid were being diverted from starving refugees and openly sold for profit.

The head of the UN’s $955 million (£580 million) aid operation in Somalia has launched an inquiry after being shown footage showing tonnes of food bearing the World Food Programme (WFP) logo widely on sale in Mogadishu, the capital.

Posted in food, Human Rights, Somalia

US Turned Blind Eye to Somalia Abuses: Rights Group

ADDIS ABABA - The United States has turned a blind eye to abuses by its allies in Somalia and worsened the situation there by reducing a complex conflict to a front in its "war on terror," a leading human rights group said.

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said in a letter to African Union Commission chairman Jean Ping that the policies of many governments had been destructive in Somalia.

Posted in Human Rights, War/Empire, Somalia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 13, 2009
4:50 PM

CONTACT: Doctors Without Borders (MSF)

Wounded Treated, Civilians on the Run Following Fighting in Galgaduud Region of Somalia

NAIROBI - January 13 - A new surge in fighting in the Galgaduud region of central Somalia has led to many casualties and forced thousands to flee. Following heavy fighting between two groups last Sunday, Somali medical teams of the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have treated 46 casualties at Istarlin hospital in Guri El. This brings the total of wounded treated there since fighting broke out in the area more than two weeks ago to 86.

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Posted in healthcare, Human Rights, Somalia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2008
9:00 AM

CONTACT: Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Somalia: War Crimes Devastate Population

Outside Powers Exacerbate Crisis Through Failed Policies

NAIROBI - December 8 - All parties in the escalating conflict in Somalia have regularly committed war crimes and other serious abuses during the past year that have contributed to the country's humanitarian catastrophe, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch urged the United States, the European Union, and other major international actors to rethink their flawed approaches to the crisis and support efforts to ensure accountability.

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Posted in Human Rights, Somalia

What the Pirates Say

The word "pirate" has come into the news for the first time in memory, as raiders armed with grenade launchers and grappling hooks take over vessels headed through waters off Somalia for the Suez Canal. Last week, four ships were captured, including a massive Saudi oil tanker, the Sirius Star. More than 3 million barrels of oil pass through those waters every day en route to markets in Europe and the United States. On Thursday, the pirates announced that they wanted $25 million for ransom for the Saudi tanker.

Posted in foreign policy, Militarism, Somalia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 14, 2008
2:47 PM

CONTACT: Amnesty International USA

For interviews with the Somali activists, please contact Suzanne Trimel, 212-633-4150, strimel@aiusa.org

Amnesty International Hosts US Speaking Tour for Somali Human Rights Activists

Meetings Planned With US Government Leaders, U.N. Representatives, International Media, Somali Immigrant and Refugee Communities

NEW YORK - November 14 - Two Somali human rights activists will speak about the desperate plight of the Somali people on a tour of U.S. cities Nov. 20-26 organized by Amnesty International. Media interviews are available in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis-St. Paul.

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Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

Posted in Human Rights, Somalia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2008
12:02 PM

CONTACT: Amnesty International

Somalia: Stop Attacks So Help Can Get Through

- November 6 - The deaths of at least 40 humanitarian or human rights workers this year, and the ever growing threat of attack by armed groups and militias, is putting at least three million Somalis at even greater risk of malnutrition and disease, Amnesty International said today.

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Posted in Somalia

F Is for Failure

On the brief occasions when the President now appears in the Rose Garden to "comfort" or "reassure" a shock-and-awed nation, you can almost hear those legions of ducks quacking lamely in the background. Once upon a time, George W. Bush, along with his top officials and advisors, hoped to preside over a global Pax Americana and a domestic Pax Republicana -- a legacy for the generations. More recently, their highest hope seems to have been to slip out of town in January before the you-know-what hits the fan. No such luck.

Posted in empire, Human Rights, military industrial complex, Politics, War/Empire, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, Iran, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Nuclear Power, Pakistan, Somalia, Torture

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