Africa.gm - Africa news and information community - News - RSS

Syndicated content powered by .geographical media

RSS syndication makes it easy to receive content updates in My Yahoo!, Newsgator, Bloglines, and other news readers.

Current Feed Content

---

Ethiopia begins withdrawal from Somalia

Ethiopia has started pulling its troops out of Somalia, where they have been helping the Western-backed government fight an Islamist insurgency for the past two years, a senior official said on Friday.A convoy of trucks laden with Ethiopian soldiers, mattresses and other equipment left Mogadishu earlier, although some troops remained in Somalia's capital, witnesses said.

An innovative approach to prevent child malnutrition in Somalia

UNICEF has introduced an emergency food supplement to prevent malnutrition in over 100,000 of the most vulnerable children in Somalia. ‘Plumpy’Doz’, is the latest generation of nutritious, safe, convenient, and ready-to-use food designed to satisfy the nutritional needs of children aged six to 36 months and supplement food distributions by partners such as the World Food Programme (WFP) as well as other home food sources.

$150M in ransoms paid to pirates

More than $150 million have been paid to pirates around the Horn of Africa over the past 12 months.The money is encouraging them to continue and become more brazen in their attacks, Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula told a news conference in the Kenyan capital.

Islamic rebels grab key Somali port

Somali security forces and Islamic insurgents engaged in one of the fiercest gunbattles in recent weeks in the capital on Friday. At least 17 people were killed and six were wounded according to police and witnesses.

SOMALIA: “TFG on brink of collapse”

The widening split between Somalia's leaders could lead to the total collapse of the transitional federal government (TFG), a Nairobi-based regional analyst, who requested anonymity, has warned. The split has widened as insurgents gain ground across Somalia, taking control in recent days of large parts of south and central regions, according to civil society sources. Insurgents comprising Islamist Al-Shabab, nationalists and militia clans opposed to foreign forces have over the past two...

Millions at risk in Somalia as attacks on aid workers escalate

An escalation of attacks on aid workers and human rights defenders in southern and central Somalia is putting at least 3 million Somalis at even greater risk of malnutrition and disease. Many organizations have suspended programmes and withdrawn staff. At least 40 humanitarian and human rights workers have been killed so far this year, as highlighted in Fatal Insecurity: Attacks on Aid Workers and HRDs in Somalia, a new report by Amnesty International. This is at a time when Somalia is in the...

UNICEF deplores stoning of child rape victim

UNICEF has described last week's stoning of a 13-year old girl in Somalia as 'deplorable.' The girl was stoned to death in a stadium of spectators in Kismayo on 27 October 2008 after having been found guilty of adultery. Reports indicate that she had been raped by three men while traveling on foot to visit her grandmother in the war-torn capital, Mogadishu. Following the assault, she sought protection from the authorities, who then accused her of adultery and sentenced her to death. “This...

Abducted UNHCR staff member released unharmed in Somalia

The UN refugee agency is pleased to announce the release of Hassan Mohammed Ali, head of UNHCR's office in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, after two months in captivity. Ali, who is also known as Keynaan, is in good health and preparations are underway to reunite him with his family. He was abducted from his home near the Somali capital on June 21 by an unknown armed group. UNHCR would like to thank all Somali organizations and members of civil society who organized demonstrations to...

SOMALIA: "Country months away from major crisis"

Drought, conflict, hyperinflation, high food and fuel prices, the weakness of the Somali shilling and a succession of poor harvests have increased the number of people needing food and other assistance to 2.6 million – up 40 percent from January. At a news conference in Nairobi on 22 July, Mark Bowden, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, called the situation “fluid” and warned that “we are months before a major crisis” as the situation was likely to deteriorate further,...

UNICEF and partners continue delivering nutritional services for Somali children

While security conditions continue to deteriorate particularly in the Southern parts of Somalia, UNICEF and partners completed the second round of distributing UNIMIX- food supplement rich with vitamins and minerals- to 54,000 under-five children in the IDP camps of Afgoye Corridor and Mogadishu. The blanket feeding scheme is part of UNICEF’s nutrition programme which addresses the alarming high malnutrition rates in the country. UNICEF has scaled up its nutrition interventions to reach...