Barnaamijka oo dhameystira qeybta hoose ka dhageyso.

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Special Envoy Rawlings appealed first and foremost to African leaders and businesses to aid the multitude of people in need, encouraging others to offer support as quickly as possible.  Rawlings stated that the situation is deteriorating quickly and “We face an imminent difficulty that is going to claim too many lives.”

Rawlings stressed that other African governments and international organizations need to see beyond Somalia’s reputation as simply a place of violence between rebel groups.  He suggests that these prejudices should not impede or deter countries from giving support in this dire situation.

During his appeal, Rawlings also offered thanks to Al-Shabab “for providing a safe pathway through which the aid could be delivered to the most needy.”

By offering support to the millions of victims of the drought, Rawlings states that donors will demonstrate their “respect [for] the dignity of humanity.”

The Somali Minister of Education reported that these 1100 Somali secondary school graduates took the exam in Nairobi, Addis Ababa, and Mogadishu at precisely the same time this morning.

One Somali test-taker told VOA that he has high hopes that he will score in the top 25 percent.  This scholarship program, funded by Somali initiatives and businesses, will provide a great opportunity for the winners.

Under pressure from the United Nations, Kenya agreed to extend the over-crowded refugee camp in order to accommodate the large influx of Somalis arriving in Kenya each day.  More than one thousand Somali refugees are reported to cross the border into Kenya per day in search of relief from the worst East African drought in decades.

According to yesterday’s UNICEF press release, “Over half a million children in Somalia are acutely malnourished and are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.”

UNICEF Representative to Somalia, Rozanne Chorlton reported that “Yesterday UNICEF airlifted to Baidoa 5 metric tons of essential nutrition supplies, including therapeutic food and medicine to treat severely malnourished children, and equipment to supply clean water to the camp for displaced people in Baidoa. Health supplies are also en-route via Mogadishu, consisting of health kits with essential medicines to treat common childhood illnesses, such as respiratory tract infections, diarrhea, minor injuries and worm infestation, for 10 health facilities to reach up to 100,000 people over a period of 3 months.”

According to UNICEF, Children are most at risk in this situation, as malnutrition can affect a child’s physical and intellectual development while lower their immune system, making them more susceptible to disease.

UNICEF annouced that it will continue its services in over 500 therapeutic and supplementary feeding centers for treating acutely malnourished children, but also plans to increase its relief efforts to address the worsening situation in southern Somalia.

Bowden estimates that there are 2.85 million people in need of food assistance presently, but this number continues to rise.

During a visit to Dolow, a Somali-Ethiopia border town, Bowden reports that about one hundred households cross the border each day—mainly women and children.  Upon arrival, none are in good condition and most families have walked about three weeks to reach the town.

Bowden reports that most families made the long journey in search of better access to relief supplies.

Bowden has welcomed Al-Shabab’s recent announcement to allow humanitarian assistance for Somalis affected by the draught.  Bowden said he is looking forward to hearing from al-Shabab of “more specific details of guarantees that humanitarian assistance can be carried out under the humanitarian principles…to make sure that it goes to people in need.”

Bowden also hopes for a guarantee from al-Shabab of humanitarian worker’s safety and that the assistance will not be taxed of misused in any other way.

Bowden stresses the need for additional assistance.  He reported that the UN and other international organizations are running out of funds and resources.  He says that there is an urgent need to “increase the levels of assistance, very rapidly, if we’re going to be able to step up the programs that are being run in Somalia.”

According to the IGAD press release, various Somali related issues were discussed in depth.  The Assembly welcomed the recent signing of the Kampala Accord and expressed support for all decisions outlined in the KA.

The Assembly also encouraged the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to complete all tasks within the given timeframe, while accepting the new Prime Minister and encouraging him to complete his cabinet in a reasonable amount of time.

As stated in the press realease, the Assembly acknowledged the AMISOM troops (especially of Uganda and Burundi) for their work thus far to promote peace and stability within Somalia.  The African leaders and governments also encouraged the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) to immediately relocate their posts to Mogadishu in order to promote peace in Somalia more effectively.

The Assembly made it clear that IGAD should be considered in each arrangement made regarding Somalia.  The Assembly also called for further human and material resources from international partners in pursuit of a stable in Somalia.

According to press release, the Assembly beleives that the current drought in Somalia should also be addressed further by the international community, as it has become a serious humanitarian crisis.

The Assembly also offered the idea of creating a reconciliation commission, comprised of various African government leaders, to aid in promoting national reconciliation and peace within Somalia.

“Knowing that children are dying along their journey to safety breaks our hearts.” UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres said. “This is turning one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises into a human tragedy of unimaginable proportions.”a

The United Nations and international relief groups say persistent drought in the Horn of Africa has left up to 10 million needing food aid.  The British groups Oxfam and Save the Children launched an emergency appeal this week.

The groups are also raising alarm about conditions at the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya.  The U.N. says the camps, originally built to hold 90,000 people, now hold more than 380,000.  

The U.N. refugee agency reported a clash between residents and police near a food distribution point in Dadaab last Thursday.  It called the incident "symptomatic" of the pressures at the overcrowded camps.

The two people killed, both refugees were hit by bullets, according to the witness. There has been no comment from Kenya security forces at the camp.

Osman said, "The Council of Ministers, first of all, would like to make an extreme appeal to the international community, in particular agencies responsible for humanitarian aid and assistance. They are calling for them urgently to reach to Somalis inside the country as well as those who fled the country."

The international humanitarian community has been sounding alarms for Somalia and northern Kenya as a deepening drought is pushing the region into what have been called "pre-famine conditions."  Wednesday, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the failure of the past two seasonal rains have caused one of the driest periods since 1950. The agency forecast a similarly bleak picture through 2012.

The drought has been building since the failure of the region's seasonal rains last October and November. Now, after yet another dry season the situation has become dire. Osman estimated that as many as 10,000 people have arrived in Mogadishu over the past week seeking assistance.  While Somalia's Transitional Federal Government has established centers to accommodate the needs of internally displaced people, the spokesman says the massive influx in recent weeks has overwhelmed the facilities.

According to Osman, "If the situation continues, the Council of Ministers believe this is worse than 1992 when the international community came to help the country. They don't want the situation to deteriorate any further."

Between 1991 and 1992 Somalia experienced a famine which killed an estimated 300,000 people. A prolonged drought was aggravated by warlords who seized humanitarian aid and sold it in Mogadishu's markets. In August of 1992, the United States led a military intervention in an attempt to remove the warlords and end the famine.

Somalia's current drought is being exacerbated by the Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab. The al-Qaida-linked group, which controls much of southern Somalia, has denied humanitarian organizations access to much of the region and its people.

Osman told VOA that an intervention, similar to 1992, could help prevent the current drought from worsening. The spokesman said any and all assistance was needed immediately to avoid disaster.

The problem is not limited to Somalia.  The relief agency Save the Children has reported that about 1,300 people - including nearly 800 children - are crossing the Somali-Kenyan border each day to seek relief. Kenya's main refugee camp, Dadaab, is now severely overcrowded, with an estimated 350,000 refugees living in camps designed for approximately 90,000.  According to the U.N. Refugee agency  a further 31,000 Somali refugees have fled to Ethiopia in the past five months.

Somalia has not had a functioning central government since the fall of Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991.

However, Marchal believes that Al Shabaab has “already won the war.”  Beginning with just “a few dozens of radical militants,” Al Shabaab has now grown to somewhere between ten and twelve thousand, has incorporated its Islamic values into Somali culture, and has radicalized the Somali political arena like no other faction has done before.

Marchal states that “What [Al Shabaab] has done over the past six or seven years is going to be felt for the next generation.  This is politically what we call a success.”

Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has chosen Abdiweli Mohamed Ali to replace Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed as prime minister.  Mr. Ali has been serving as acting prime minister since the resignation of Mohamed on Sunday.

Speaking in Mogadishu, President Ahmed called Mr. Ali “a good man” and said he hoped he would improve the situation in Somalia.

A spokesman for the Somali government, Abdifatah Abdinur, told VOA that Mr. Ali was chosen for his experience in the government and his extensive qualifications.

Abdinur said, "He is a very charismatic leader.  He is one of the best educated men that we have in our country.  He is experienced in the whole situation in Somalia and he was also playing a big role for the last administration.  He is exactly what the country needs."

Mr. Ali served as Minister for Planning and International Cooperation and as Deputy Prime Minister.

Mr. Ali, like his predecessor, is an American citizen who earned a living teaching in the Buffalo, New York area before returning to Somalia.  He was a professor of economics at Niagara University, holds a masters degree from Harvard University and earned his doctorate in Economics from George Mason University.

Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed was forced out of the office by a deal struck in Kampala between President Ahmed and Speaker of Parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden.

Mr. Ahmed and Aden had been engaged in a power-struggle over the future of the Somalia government.  The TFG's mandate was originally set to expire in August of this year, but the two agreed on a one-year extension on the mandates of both Parliament and the Federal Institutions in order to move the Somali government out of its transitional phase.

Mohamed's resignation was reportedly a key demand made by the speaker, who was often at odds with the former prime minister during his seven-month tenure.

The deal provoked riots and demonstrations throughout southern Somalia, with many citizens angry over Mohamed's ouster.  While initially unwilling to resign, the popular prime minister eventually capitulated to pressure from the president and speaker and stepped down Sunday.
Mohamed was seen by average Somalis as a serious reformer who regularized pay for soldiers and civil servants and reopened schools within the war-torn capital, Mogadishu.  But some observers believe he provoked the ire of Speaker Aden by failing to involve him in the formation of the Somali Cabinet.

Internationally, Mohamed received praise for abandoning the traditional clan-balancing formula and building a small, technocrat-heavy team.

A statement released by the Somali government said the new prime minister was "expected to consult with members of parliament and clan elders" as he forms his own Cabinet in the coming weeks.

The attack was aimed at a convoy of Burundian troops traveling on the road between Benadir Hospital and Afgoi district in the Lower Shabelle region. The troops are part of the AMISOM forces in Mogadishu. The convoy escaped the attack. However, the explosion destroyed a minibus used by the public. At least four people are believed to have died while 21 others have been wounded, although medical team has not confirmed these figures yet.

No one claimed the attack and the Somali TFG has yet to comment on the incident.

The main purpose of the Consultative Meeting is to advance the peace process, building on the High Level Consultative Meeting in April convened by the UN Special Representative for Somalia, Dr Augustine P. Mahiga and the Kampala Accord as well, in order to adopt a roadmap to end the Transition.

The Preparatory Committee is determined to ensure that the Consultative Meeting will be as inclusive as possible. In addition to the TFG, TFP and the Governments of Puntland and Galmudug, the meeting will include representatives from Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa and a broad range of stakeholders from Somali society.

The meeting will agree on a roadmap and an implementation plan outlining the key tasks that need to be completed within the coming months. These tasks include the reform of the TFIs, finalization and adoption of a new constitution, restoring security and building national security institutions, outreach and reconciliation, delivering basic administrative and social services, improving accountability and preparing for a constitutional referendum and national elections.
The final decision on the location, date and number of participants will be taken in light of an ongoing security assessment.