Basrans describe life under fire Two residents in Basra describe conditions in the city and what they know of the fighting between Iraqi forces and local militia. RAAD, BASRA I think the worst fighting is in Hayania district, it's the poorest area of Basra and a stronghold of the Mehdi Army, but it's a bit far from us to know what's really going on. There is not much fighting where we live in al-Janina district, but we can hear the fighting in al-Jumhouriya - a poor neighbourhood a couple of miles away. The government started this operation without warning, so we were caught off guard. We are stuck in our house, unable to go out and buy food. No shops are open anyway. People have already started to ration their food. The water supply has been cut. I don't know why - maybe it's because the water engineers are staying at home like everyone else. I think the state forces are winning the battle, but they are fighting from a distance and not going in house to house yet. The troops fighting now came from Baghdad. I think the national forces don't trust the local men to crack down on the militia We definitely support the government in trying to enforce the law. The only way they can do it at the moment is through force. I think they have left it too long, actually. Over the last few months the militias have become really unruly, they have been getting away with whatever they want. The Mehdi Army is the worst - especially the breakaway elements. The militia which belongs to the Mayor's Fadhila party is also very bad. The current head of police is a good person who wants to confront them, he is just unable to do so. The troops fighting now came from Baghdad. I think the national forces don't trust the local men to crack down on the militia. ALI AHMAD, BASRA CITY CENTRE The Iraqi army has imposed a curfew, so we can hardly leave the house. We live in the city centre; it seems the Iraqi army is in control around here. We welcome the Iraqi army, we think they will be able to take full control of Basra, and restore law and order From what I have gathered from people I know in the Mehdi Army, their men don't have enough ammunition to hold out for very long. The gunfire and artillery fire around the city intensifies every two hours. I live close to a hospital, and though I haven’t seen any of the killed or wounded, I can hear lots of ambulance sirens. I phoned members of my family who live in other areas of the city. They say they have seen lots of casualties in areas like Hayania and Tamimia. We still have electricity here, however, the cost of food and fuel has risen dramatically. For example, a gas canister used to cost 6,000 Iraqi Dinars and now it is 15,000 Dinars. My family was ready for this, we managed to store fuel and food before the fighting began. However, many others didn't and so they are struggling to get the basics for their families. The Mehdi Army men are only here out of self-interest. They wanted to take control over every aspect of life in Basra for no reason except gaining more power and control. My family and I welcome the Iraqi army in the area. We believe they will be able to take full control of Basra, and restore law and order. Interview carried out and translated by BBCArabic.com Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/talking_point/7314818.stm Published: 2008/03/26 15:19:48 GMT © BBC MMVIII

^Thanks for the link, me. It's very informative. Somalitalk, Garowe, Biyokulule iyo Nugaal and other sites have been covering this issue in a greater depth. Very appreciated. Thanks Caamir.

Originally posted by NGONGE: ^^ Practical, Isseh, practical. Aren't we all dreamers to some degree? Practical isn't so appealing to the masses...

^^Badhasabnimuu doonayaa dee .

^Yeah. Absolutimo!

NAFTII HURE Nidirbaan hore u galay Niyadayda waa meel Haddii aanan soo noqon Calankayga Nuuroow Allahayoow ku nabad geli...

^^ I had to get the record straight horta. We're there first, ma'ahino?

Hmm, history IS repeating itself mate. In a semilar colonial manner, local leaders/elders are selling themselves to the highest bidder, and I wouldn't be surprised if what you ponder actually turns out to be the case. But I must question: external interventionism, should you expect anything positive from it? I don't know about such arrangements, but every fibre in my body equally detests and distrusts Ethiopia/US as cheparones. I just can not hear their names and not get psyched up!

^Caamir, let's give credit where its due sxb. It was the courts that brought back the main port into operation. Paste that right above the article .

Iraqi Troops, Militias Clash in Basra By RYAN LENZ – 39 minutes ago BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi forces clashed with Shiite militiamen Tuesday in the southern oil port of Basra and rockets rained down on the U.S.-protected Green Zone in Baghdad as followers of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr expanded a nationwide backlash against government crackdowns . The U.S. Embassy said no deaths or serious casualties were reported in the Green Zone attacks — the second major barrage this week launched from Shiite areas. Two rockets landed on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's compound, but did not explode, an Iraqi government security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to disclose the information. Al-Maliki was in Basra, where he is supervising the operation against the Shiite militia fighters. At least 22 people were killed in the Basra fighting, officials said. The violence marked a stunning escalation in the confrontation between the Shiite-run government and al-Sadr's forces, who have bitterly complained about the recent arrests of hundreds of backers. The clashes also threaten to reverse the security gains achieved by U.S. and Iraqi forces — which have been hailed by Washington as key signs that Iraq was headed for better days. Al-Sadr declared a unilateral cease-fire last August. That move — along with a U.S. troop buildup and a Sunni alliance with the American forces — has contributed to a steep drop in violence over the past several months. But the truce is now under serious pressure. Al-Sadr's allies have grown increasingly angry over U.S. and Iraqi raids and detentions — demanding the release of followers. The cleric recently told his followers that the cease-fire remains in effect, but they were free to defend themselves against attacks. Al-Sadr's headquarters in Najaf also ordered field commanders with his Mahdi Army militia to go on maximum alert and prepare "to strike the occupiers" — a term used to describe U.S. forces — and their Iraqi allies, a militia officer said. He declined to be identified because he wasn't supposed to release the information. Lawmakers from al-Sadr's movement announced in a Baghdad press conference that a general strike campaign — which began in selected neighborhoods of the capital and included the closure of businesses and schools — was being expanded nationwide. Stores and schools were closed in several other predominantly Shiite neighborhoods in the capital, and armed Mahdi Army members were seen patrolling the streets in some Shiite neighborhoods of the capital. In Basra, Iraqi soldiers and police battled Mahdi fighters for control of key neighborhoods in Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad. The fighting erupted a day after al-Maliki flew there and announced the security crackdown against the militias. AP Television News video showed smoke from explosions rising over the city and Iraqi soldiers exchanging gunfire with militia members. Basra accounts for most of Iraq's oil exports, but an oil ministry official, declining to be identified because he wasn't supposed to publicly discuss the sensitive issue, said production and exports had not been affected by the fighting. Oil futures fell below $100 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Curfews were also imposed in the Shiite cities of Kut, where a large number of Mahdi Army gunmen were seen deploying on the streets, and Nasiriyah. In Baghdad, suspected Mahdi Army gunmen exchanged gunfire with security guards of the rival Shiite Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council in Sadr City, police said. The rising tension led many people in Shiite neighborhoods to stay at home rather than venture into contested streets. Athra Ali, 27, a government employee who lives in the Hurriyah neighborhood, said she decided not to go to work after seeing many shops closed and streets abandoned. A university lecturer at Baghdad's Mustansiriyah University also said the institution had closed early and sent students home. Security in Basra had been steadily declining well before the British handed over responsibility for security to the Iraqis on Dec. 16. Col. Karim al-Zaidi, spokesman for the Iraq military, said security forces were encountering stiff resistance from Mahdi Army gunmen in the city. The U.S. military said Tuesday that five suspected militants were killed in Basra while attempting to place a roadside bomb. Ten others were injured after being spotted conducting suspicious activity, the statement said. British troops remained at their base at the airport outside Basra and were not involved in the ground fighting Tuesday, according to the British Ministry of Defense. But three British jets provided aerial surveillance for the Iraqi forces, said Maj. Tom Holloway, a military spokesman in Basra. He said the British jets had not dropped any bombs adding: "They haven't yet asked." U.S. officials have insisted they are not going after Sadrists who respect the cease-fire but are targeting rogue elements, known as "special groups," that the military believes have ties to Iran. Tehran denies allegations it is fueling the violence. The U.S. military blamed Iranian-backed Shiite militia factions for a spate of rocket attacks that struck the Green Zone and surrounding areas on Monday. The Sadrists allege that rival militia factions have infiltrated the security forces and are targeting the movement to gain advantage in provincial elections expected this fall. Associated Press writers Bushra Juhi, Sinan Salaheddin and Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report.

^^I'll have you know that I like dreaming up visionary success in the case of my country's future. I'd rather believe in an illusion than a secession.

Editorial Somalia: Puntland leadership undermining national order By Mar 23, 2008 - 10:16:44 AM SUNDAY EDITORIAL | The Somali leader's dubious silence on the exploration matter is a testament either to his lack of control (over Muse) or his complicity in the illegal affair. The men who resist the Ethiopian-imposed project in south Somalia are targeted with tanks, artillery shells and the full onslaught of the joint Somali-Ethiopian military. Granted, that many such men are responsible for a relentless wave of guerrilla attacks on government positions, especially in the national capital Mogadishu . But there are others in the resistance who do not wield weapons, but speak loudly of their condemnation of Ethiopian soldiers on Somali soil. The Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has arrested several men for speaking out against the Ethiopian army, or shut down media houses for voicing the civilians' enduring misery. The war in Mogadishu is primarily aimed at flushing out extremist groups and establishing the framework for a federal government system in Somalia , following 17 years of civil war. The TFG is mandated to institute regional governments that fall under its jurisdiction and pay taxes to Mogadishu . The State of Puntland , in Somalia 's northeast, has been a self-governing region since 1998. Locals clans allied to form a regional autonomy with the aspiration of being a "building block" for a future federal Somalia . Thus, the image of Puntland has been enshrined to represent the first prototype federal state in the country; a state that upholds federal laws, defends the nation's sovereignty and assists would-be regional governments establish the foundations of governance. Muse and Yusuf But the cast of characters in Garowe, the capital of Puntland, has no desire to help Somalia recover from years of war, poverty and suffering. The Puntland leadership – men like President Adde Muse, VP Hassan Dahir Afqura and Finance Minister Mohamed "Gaagaab" Ali – would rather collect a quick buck before they help feed a poor family of four, with no father to speak of. Today's drastic situation in the Puntland regions is a testament to the catastrophic leadership failure of Muse and his cronies. The economy is on the brink of collapse, with record-prices for food and other necessary goods, mainly due to the illegal practice of printing counterfeit Somali Shillings. The Puntland government's complicity in the counterfeit currency scandal is another worrying indication of these men's aberrant hunger for money. The security situation is at its worst level since the breakdown of central government in 1991; in Garowe, the heart of Puntland, women are afraid to walk at night for fear of robbers and rapists. In the fields of education and healthcare, the Muse administration has continued on its disappointing track of empty promises and hollow speeches. Yet, this administration of remarkable incompetence continues to daydream of striking gold – or oil, to be more precise. Since mid-2005, the government of Puntland has pursued every avenue to legitimize an agreement permitting foreign companies to explore the region's rumored natural resources wealth, including unproven oil reserves. This agreement was first signed with Maldives-registered Consort Private, Ltd., but transferred to an Australian company, which in turn sold shares to a Canadian firm. All these "deals" are taking place in foreign capitals, as if the Berlin Conference is still in session and the rights of the Somali people are not recognized, or worse, represented by an ineffective ruler like Adde Muse. The facts on the ground have not changed since 2005. Nor did they change since 1998, when the State of Puntland was established as a transitional authority by local clans until federal governance is restored. Contrary to what Puntland government officials often claim, natural resources found in Puntland, or in Mogadishu for that matter, do not "belong" to the government. The land that Somalis have been fighting each other for belongs to the various clans; this, essentially, is the deep roots of the Somali conflict. This is the main reason the Puntland government and its Australian partners, Range Resources, Ltd., failed in their first endeavor to collect mineral samples in parts of Sanaag region. In March and April 2006, Sanaag clans fought bitterly against Puntland security forces that were dispatched to the remote mountains to protect a team of foreign scientists conducting geologic work for Range. The deadly skirmishes forced Puntland and Range officials to suspend operations, due to the high risk for more violence. The most astonishing thing about the whole episode is that there had never been any report of battles in the village of Majiyahan , Sanaag, before the Puntland-Range push for exploration. The local clan, the Warsangeli, felt alienated by the Muse administration and its unilateral drive to encroach on clan lands without permission and attempt to exploit its resources. When Puntland was formed following the Garowe Conference, the Warsangeli clan, like other Puntland clans, did not sign an agreement stating that the land (i.e. Sanaag) belongs to the government of Puntland. The founding points of the regional autonomy did not grant such grand authority to the government, or to its corruptible leaders. Many conflicts in Somalia are rooted at the question: Who owns the land? The southern port of Kismayo , the country's third-largest city, is a living example relating to the conflict of land ownership. The Puntland leadership is undermining national order by continually disobeying the constitution of the Transitional Federal Government, to which Puntland is a signatory. Thousands of people are dying in Mogadishu because the TFG wants to impose a federal system, while the Puntland leadership is allowed to offer supportive lip service to the TFG but conduct business independently. As officials from foreign companies and the Ethiopian military meet exclusively with Puntland leaders, one wonders if the TFG controls anything. It is commendable that TFG Energy Minister Mohamud Ali Salah publicly denounced Muse and his illegal activities, including making an oil law for Puntland. But Muse needs a more forceful exertion of pressure, namely from his former nemesis, President Abdullahi Yusuf. The Somali leader's dubious silence on the exploration matter is a testament either to his lack of control (over Muse) or his complicity in the illegal affair. When one compares the armed suppression of Mogadishu for failing to tow federalism, and the free hand granted to Puntland, one wonders if Yusuf is really genuine about the federalism project. If Yusuf does not rein in Muse quickly, armed resistance might not be limited to Mogadishu alone. Garowe Online Editorial, editorial@garoweonline.com

Extra Info. Somalia: illegal $45 Million deal in Puntland to Drill oil ogadishu (HAN) March 23, 2008- Range Resources Corporation announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock. A dividend of $0.04 per common share is payable on March 31, 2008 to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 17, 2008.. Because of Range Resources Ltd said its joint venture partner on the Nogal and Dharoor Blocks Africa Oil Corp has committed to spending 45 mln usd on a four-well drilling programme. Range said the funding will allow the joint venture to earn its 80 pct interest in the blocks, which are located in the Puntland concession in Africa. Last month, Africa Oil secured a rig contract with Singapore's Energi Tata Related Products Persada for the drilling of two wells, with a two well option. No financial details were disclosed at the time. According to the MP, the Puntland leader introduced a bill - "The Oil and Minerals Law of Puntland State Government" - which he expects lawmakers to debate and ratify, so that foreign firms can be drilling in the region. There are deep divisions within parliament regarding the new oil law, which some lawmakers see as illegal, since only the Somali federal government has the constitutional authority to sign international agreements. Somalia`s Prime Minister, Nur Adde, directly addressed the illegal oil drilling issue in Puntland and his close associates told HAN (Horn of Africa Newsline) & Geeska Afrika magazine, it is illegal any Puntland`s unilateral agreements with any foreign oil companies; the PM will take any diplomatic and local action to stop such illegal drilling, sources added. Reason: The drill start date is scheduled for Aug 1 this year, although Range said it is confident drilling will begin before this date. Range Corp. and its farm in partner, Canada-based Africa Oil, issued a press release last month detailing drilling plans in Puntland, which the companies hope to begin by August. Range Resources, an ASX and AIM-listed explorer, also released its first half results today, which showed pretax loss from continuing operations nearly doubled in the period to 8.3 mln aud from 4.2 mln aud a year ago. In the second-half of 2008, the company said it plans to start a seismic programme in the northern Darfoor block, finalise a contract to commence an initial seismic program and mobilize a drill rig into Puntland to initiate more comprehensive mineral exploration activities by Range The deep divisions within parliament regarding the new oil law, which some lawmakers see as illegal, since only the Somali federal government has the constitutional authority to sign international agreements. Somalia`s Prime Minister, Nur Adde, directly addressed the illegal oil drilling issue in Puntland Sources: Geeska Africa Magazine & HAN reporter in Baidao The HAN & Geeska Afrika Online - a regional nonprofits IGAD2020 Center for Media and Democracy works to strengthen stability by promoting IGAD sustainable media that are "of, by and for the people." Our projects include regional security watch, a weekly investigative journal; which offers daily reporting on spin and propaganda in the news; and the Horn of Africa Newsline, HAN watch, a weekly-based investigative journalism resource to which anyone-real able, including you - Geeska Afrika Online readers and HAN, can contribute.

^^NGONGE, don't worry mate. The SL case has never held an appeal I must say. We're are putting together a new package from the South soon as the TFG is kicked to the curb. So we'll lay that before you when tis done - I get the feeling that you'll buy into it . Aaliyah, good one .

Things are heating up...and the lousy blame games are afoot .

Madaxda isbahaysiga ee Tuulada Asmara oo ... That's summink .

Lol@Illustrious leader. Who's been responsible for your indoctrination? Works .

Originally posted by Jimcaale: Ciisoow: It's unfortunate in this time and age, in meesha ay noqoto sida masqul. Basically take a dump at people's face or drop a bomb. As much as I deplore Yeey's policies in PL, mostly the place was stable. Jimcaale , I know it comes across as all doom and gloom, and what makes it even more unfortunate, is the fact that the common man on the ground doesn't have much regard for good leadership, as opposed to who can be the better bidder for his vote. As such, hadduu Cade lacag ku filan helo, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets re-elected. He might as well buy'em out . When one looks at Cade's Admin it is somehow strange that Yey's time at the PL helm now seems like THE golden era. For shame. Originally posted by Caamir: Isseh, salan sare, do you think these exploration deals and projects would be viable since the secessionists are as well flexing their muscles to probably send troops to Al Mado basin and Nogal? Is it possible a tactical collaboration between the two entities with the blessings of the United States and Ethiopia? Caamir , I think these exploration projects are going to the dogs this time around. What is somehow hidden from instant view is that the tensions over these projects does not only involve locals and Puntland admin, but rather supra-regional states and super-powers. I think the reason why PL figures have invited Ethiopians into the table isn't what most people would think it is. I have a gut feeling that Ethiopia's involvement is really about the appropriation of possible mining incomes PL might gain from prospecting companies, due to the fact that the Ethiopians have recently expressed misgiving about suspected ONLF use of Bosaaso port. The Ethiopians are skeptical of Cade and Cade himself is frightened that in addition to their primary concerns, the Ethiopians might simply take over control and put him on a leash. Furthermore, Ethiopians are getting all the more reasons to station their troops in that region as long as PL and SL's muscle flexing continues. On collaboration, I think that is somewhat hard to foresee. Meesha lacag baa laga hadlayaa and those who think they have the proper controls over the matter would play a zero-sum game, owing to their out-standing hostilities. As for Ethiopia and the US, hmmm, why would they collaboration with un-equal partners when they have it all?

Horta ma Somaliland elections baa soo dhow?

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^^I think cade knows his time is up but could be looking for two things: 1- to either assure the mining companies that work starts while he's still in office to get paid...or 2- if he gets paid handsomely to forcefully extend time in office. After all, Yey did the same thing, hasn't he? Why not him?

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