Middle East crisis continues Published: 17 Jul 2006 By: Jonathan Miller; Jon Snow & Faisal Islam Israeli pIanes attack lebanese army posts on the countrys coast killing nine Lebanese soldiers. Six days into this crisis the US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice says she'll visit the Middle East. Tonight Lebanon's Prime Minister tells Channel 4 News the UN must intervene now. He accuses Israel of a pre-prepared plan to invade Lebanon. We are Live in Beirut, in northern Israel, here in Tel Aviv and at the G8 Summit in St Petersburg with the latest: In Northern Israel a Hezbollah missile destroys a building, injuring two, as Israel continues to bombard Gaza and Lebanon. Caught at the G8 summit: who Bush really blames for the crisis Amid the first evacuations of international citizens, Britain prepares to bring out more than twenty thousand by sea. In Tel Aviv, they're digesting the news that the American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is planning to travel to the Middle East to calm tensions. It's not clear when that will be, but the Israeli Prime Minister said the offensive in Lebanon was set to continue. He was speaking after the sixth day of air strikes in Lebanon. Hezbollah militants continued to fire dozens of rockets at northern Israel - and promised more "surprises." Overnight, Israel bombed Beirut airport again, along with an area in the south of Beirut, killing seven. An air strike on a Lebanese army base in Tripoli killed nine soldiers - another killed 10 people driving from south Lebanon towards Beirut - yet another flattened the Palestinian Foreign Ministry in Gaza. Yet Hezbollah militants continued to fire hundreds of rockets at northern Israel up to 33 miles away - several hit Haifa. Our Foreign Affairs Correspondent Jonathan Miller - in Beirut - has been to the scene of that bombing in Tripoli. He reports now on the feelings among the Lebanese - and examines exactly who Hezbollah are: who are their backers - what is their strategy?

^^^I am not blind dear sir, the TFG have been outwited, nor do I agree that we need to ignite an all out war, if the TFG losses the political game it should not fight. Who benefits from an all out war? Somaliland right.. No my son I would like a negotiated settlement, the titles of men are not worth the lives of the people... If nothing matters as you said why the press conference, why the unity between two opposing political parties? Its because they and you fear the restoration of the republic. If these courts win, you will lose, if the TFg wins you will lose. Its a no win situation for the secesionists..

Xisbiyada Mucaaridka Somaliland KULMIYE iyo UCID Ka Deyriyey Go’aankii ay Qaramada Midoobay ay Cuno Qabateynta Hubka kaga Qaadayeen Somaliya -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Calaamada Labada Xisbi Mucaarid) hadhwanaag 2006-07-16 (Hadhwanaagnews) Hargeysa(HWN):-Xisbiyada Mucaaridka Somaliland (Ucid iyo Kulmiye ayaa si weyn walaaac uga muujiyay Go,aankii Lambarkisu ahaa 5486 ee ka soo Baxay Golaha amaanka ee Qaramada Midoobay ee ku taariikhaysnaa 13/7/2006 ee xayiraada hubka kaga qaadaayay Dawlada embegaati ee degen magaalada Baydhabo , taasoo ay ku tilmaameen in ay horseedi karto BurBur iyo dagaalo cusub oo ka bilaabma mandaqada geeska Afrika ,gaar ahaana waxa laysku odhan jiray Jamhuuriyadi Somalia ee burburtay arligeedee. Go,aankaas ay labada xisbi ku tilmaameen in ay khatar ku tahay qaranimada iyo horumarkii Somaliland gaadhay 16 sanadood ee u danbeeyay , waxaanay dhiirigalinaysaa maamulka Cabdilaahi Yuusuf ee degen Baydhabo , sidaana waxa lagu sheegay shir jaraa’id oo ay wada jir u qabteen labada xisbi mucaarid ee Somaliland Hoteel Hadhwanaag ee magaalada Hargeysa Waxa kale oo shirkooda jaraid walwal kaga muujiyeen labada xisbi mucaarid Ciidama shisheeye oo loo keeno Dawlada Cabdilaahi Yuusuf oo keeni karta kooxihi iyo maamulkii ka dhashay burburka oo laga baxay xalkii ku dhisnaa dib uheshiisinta oo xoogagii wax kala tirsanaayay ee Somalia , lana go’aansaday in lays maquuniyo , taasoo ay dawlada Somaliland ka fiirsanayso si feejigana ay iskaga ilaalin doonto khatar kasta oo ka soo muuqata dawlada embagaati ee Cabdilaahi Yuusuf madaxda ka yahay SHirka jaraa’id oo uu akhriyay Maxamed Cismaan Fadal Waxaanu ku bilaabmay sidatan:-“Xisbiyadda mucaaridka ah ee Kulmiye iyo Ucid, Xooggaga siyaasadeed, iyo shacbiga Somaliland waxay si weyn uga walaacsan yihiin go’aankii lambarkiisu ahaa 5486 ee ka soo baxay Golaha Ammaanka ee qaramada Miidoobay 13/07/2006â€. . Hubka qaadis somaliya waxay geeska Afrika u horseedi kartaa Burur iyo dagaalo ka soo cusuoonaadaa “Xoogaggaasi waxay u arkaan in haddii aan go’aankaas ku dhaqankiisa beelsha caalamku ka digtoonaan oo ay dawladda Imbagati u qaadato warqad cad oo loo shaabadayeey uu horrseedayo, burbur iyo dagaalo cusub oo ka bilaalbma, guud haan, Geeska Afrika iyo gaar ahaan wixii la isku odhan jiray Jamuuuriyadda Soomaaliya†Ayey UCID iyo KULMIYE ku yidhaahdeen shirkooda jaraa’iid. .Waxyaabaha walaaca abuurey ayey kul maameen inay tahay dawlada Baydhabo degen in laga qaado xayiraada Hubka “1.In beelsha caalamku taageero buuxda siiso maamulka Imbagati ee Baydhabo deggan 2.In Maamulka Baydhabo si gaar ah looga qaado xayiraadda hubka. 3.In midnimada Somaliya muqadas tahay 4.In la keeno Ciidamo Shisheeye oo u adeegaya Cabdillahi Yuusuf Haddaba, Xisbiyada mucaaridka ah†ayey yidhaadeen labada xisbi mucaarid ,Waxay labada Xisbi Mucaarid (KULMIYE iyo UCID) waxay u arkaan go’aanka ay qaramada midoobay xayiraada hubka gaka qaadayaan “Xoogagga siyaasadeed iyo shacbiga Soomaliland waxay u arkaan in go’aanka Golaha Ammaanka ee QM uu xayiraadda hubka kaga qaadayo Maamlka Cabdillahi Yuusuf yahay mid ay dagaal ugu iclamisay gobolka, kuna riixaya Somaliland inay is difaacaan. Waxay xoogagga Siyaasadeed, iyo shacbiga Somaliland oo ay hormood ka yihiin labad xisbi qaran ee UCID iyo Kulmiye u arkaan in go’aankaasi khatar ku yahay qaranimadeeda iyo wax allaale wixii horumar ahaa ee dalkani ku taallabsaday intii uu jiray†Ayey ku yidhaadeen shirkooda jaraa’iid mucaaridka Somaliland. Ciidamo shisheeye oo loo keeno dawlada C/laahi Yuusuf ay keenayso in kooxihii ka soo doogay Bururkii in koox kaliya loo afaduubayo “Ciidamo shisheeye oo Cabdillahi Yuususf loo keenaa, waxay horseedaysaa in koox keliya loo jareeyo kooxihii iyo maamualdii ka dhashay burburkii Soomaaliya. Waxay u egtahay in laga guuray xalkii ku dhisnaa wada hadalka iyo dib-u-heshiisiinta xoogaggii wax`kala tirsanayey ee Soomaliya lana go’aansaday in la is muquuniyo†ayey ku yidhaahdeen shirkooda jaraa’iid . MowqifkiiSomaliland ee ahaa in uu koonfurta Soomaliya ka dhismo maamul sharciyad dadweyne leh oo ay Somaliland wada xaajoon karaan “Waxa shacbiga Somaliland u fasiranayaan in go’aankani duudsiyayo mawqafkii Somaliland ee ahaa in uu koonfurta Soomaliya ka dhismo maamul sharciyad dadweyne leh oo ay Somaliland wada xaajoon karaan Ku dawaaqidda muqdisnimada midnimada Soomaaliya aan jrini waxay marin habaabinaysaa wax ka qabashada hawlaha yaalla. Waxayna dhiirrigelinaysaa in Cabdillahi Yuusuf khakhal ku abuuro nabadda iyo horumarka Somaliland iyo guud ahaan gobolka†Ayey ku yidhaadeen shirkooda jaraa’iid.

'm not involved in Range Resources but the reason, why I support the exploration/explotation of you natural resources is because, I want to see the infrastructre developed, the economy diversified, jobs created, hospitals built, schools built, universites built, feeding centres for the hungry built, assisstance for the drought affected Somalis, the sanitation improved, wells built in the countryside, airports built, railways built, roads built, ports built and cities redeveloped and regenerated! Brother you speak for all of the people of Puntlans, enough with wasting time...

^^^stop with the bull. Can he not make a phone call, or even sedn them an email. The trip to Puntland is all business, the governemnt will order its wepons, remember the arms embargo is getting relaxed soon. As for the insult, even your courts recognise il-President, so follow them and behave..

Somali govt says will form team to meet Islamists By Guled Mohamed MOGADISHU, July 16 (Reuters) - Somalia's government agreed on Sunday to form a committee to attend future peace talks with the country's newly powerful Islamists, after rejecting a round of planned negotiations over the weekend. The deal to form the committee was brokered among Somalia's parliamentary speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi. It means the government will create a reconciliation team to meet the Islamists in a continuation of the Arab League-brokered talks. "They will form a joint committee now. We don't know when," Deputy Speaker Mohamed Omar Dalha, who attended the meeting, told Reuters. Yusuf had rejected Saturday's planned talks with the Islamists in the Sudanese capital, saying they had broken an earlier agreement and sent low-level officials who could not make decisions. The Islamists, who were formed from an alliance of sharia courts, are the main threat to the fragile authority of Yusuf's government. The Islamists kicked U.S.-backed warlords out of the capital Mogadishu and took over a swathe of the country last month. Many fear the Islamists -- led by Yusuf foe and hardline cleric Hassan Dahir Aweys -- and the government will fight for supremacy of the Horn of Africa country of 10 million people. Militia sources on Sunday said the Islamists cut a deal with fighters who guard Baledogle airport, the midway point on the road between the capital and the government's base in Baidoa, 240 km (150 miles) northwest. "Senior Islamic courts officials yesterday met with us to discuss a joint defence line," a senior Baledogle militiaman who declined to be named told Reuters. "The defence line seeks to prevent any possible attacks on Mogadishu. They will join us anytime." The Islamists could not be immediately reached for comment. Security sources last week told Reuters that the government planned to send militiamen as far as Baledogle, to advance their forward outpost in case of attack. The government said it has no plans of marching towards Mogadishu. "We are for dialogue and want the agreement reached to be strictly guarded in order to create an atmosphere of dialogue," spokesman Abdirahman Dinari said. Four years after the 1991 ouster of former president Mohamed Siad Barre turned Somalia into a byword for statelessness, Baledogle -- once Somalia's largest military airfield -- became a popular landing site for civilian aircraft. Source: Reuters, July 16, 2006

Madaxda Puntland iyo federaalka oo la shiray Shirkad Shidaal oo laga leeyahay China Updated::2006-07-16 23:49:44 Garowe:- Waxaa caawa hoolka shirarka ee Madaxtooyada Garowe shir ku yeeshay wefdigii uu hogaaminayey Madaxweynaha Dawladda Federaalka ah, Golaha Xukuumadda Puntland, Golaha Wakiiladada Puntland iyo shirkad lagga leeyahay dalka Shiinaha oo ah shirkad shidaal. Shirka ayaa waxa lagaga hadlayey qaybta ay wax ka soo saarayso shirkadani iyo meelaha ay danayso. M/kuxigeenka Puntland, Madaxweynaha Federaalka iyo Madaxweynaha Puntland Intaasi ka dib ayaa Madaxweynaha Puntland guddi oo hore u magacaabay in ay kala hadlaan shirkadda shiinaha qaybaha ay danayso in ay ka soo saarto iyo sida ay rabto in ay wax u soo saarto, ayaa waxa uu soo jeediyey Madaxweynuhu in ay isla caawa shir la qaataan go'aankana ay keenaan. Madaxweynaha DFKMG Md.C/laahi Yusuf Ahmed iyo Madaxweynaha Puntland Md.Cadde Musse Shirkadan shiinaha ah ayaa waxa ay tahay shirkadaha ka qayb qaaadanaya soo saarida shidaalka haddi ay isku afgartaan shirkadan Dawladda Puntland heshiiska. Wasiirada iyo Xildhibaanada Dowlad Puntland iyo Federaalka Sidaa darteed ilaa iyo hada weli wax go'aan ah oo ka soo baxay ma jirto shirkii ay wada yeesheen guddiga Puntland iyo shirkada shiinuhu. Siihayaha Xilka Guddoomiyaha Baarlamaanka Puntland iyo Mas'uuliyiin kale. Shirkadda shiinaha ayaa beryahanba ku sugnayd magaalada Garowe ee caasimada Puntland. Dowlada Puntland ayaa indhawaale waday qorshe ay kusoo baareyso Khayraadkeeda oo uu ku jiro baarida iyo soo saarida Shidaalka. Wafdiga ka socda Dawlada Federaalka ayaa Puntland u yimid casumaad ay ka heleen Madaxweynaha Puntland oo ka codsaday dowlada Federaalka in ay talo iyo wadaxaajood ku lahaato arrimaha heshiisyada soo saarida Khayraadka. Faisa Cabdi Dhalac Wariyaha Madaxtooyada PL HorseedNet.com

Garoowe: Wafdigii C/laahi Yuusuf hogaaminayay oo si diiran loogu soo dhaweeyay Garoowe Sunday, July 16, 2006 Garoowe(AllPuntland)- Madaxwaynaha Soomaaliya C/laahi Yuusuf Axmed iyo wafdi uu hor kacayo oo socod diyaarad ah kasoo bilaabay magaalada Baydhabo maanta barqanimadii ayaa si diiran loogu soo dhaweeyay magaalada Garoowe duhurnimadii. Wafdiga ayaa saacad joogay magaalada Gaalkacyo oo ay kusoo hor mareen, waxayna markaasi diyaaraddii wadday usii raaceen magaalada Garoowe oo socdaalkoodu ku jihaysnaa. Md: Yuusuf waxaa socdaalkiisa ku weheliya xubno aad u badan oo isugu jira wasiiro, xildhibaanno iyo waliba aqoon yahanno kasoo raacay magaalada Baydhabo. Wasiirka kalluumaysiga Xasan Abshir Faarax, Wasiirka warfaafinta Maareeye, iyo Taliyaha ciidanka booliska Soomaaliyeed Cali Madoobe iyo xubno kale oo dawladda ka tirsan ayaa waxaa looga hortagay halka laga soo galo magaalada Garoowe, dadwaynaha soo dhaweeyay ayaa u muuqday inay ahaayeen kuwii ugu tirada badnaa ee Puntland iminka kasoo dhaweeyay. Madaxwaynaha Puntland Cadde Muuse, kuxigeenkiisa Afqurac, wasiirka dawladaha hoose Awaare, wasiirka maaliyadda Gaagaab iyo wasiiro iyo xildhibaanno ayaa maanta wafdigan kusoo dhaweeyay Garoowe. Wafdiga ayaa la kala dajiyay goobo ay ugu talo galeen guddiga soo dhawaynta , kuwaasoo kala ah madaxtooyada, guryaha martida iyo hotello loo qoondeeyay. Si rasmi ah kulamada wafdiga dawladda Federaalka ayaa naloo xaqiijiyay inay fiidkii u bilaaban doonaan, lamana caddayn karo inta ay sii joogi doonaan wafdigan Puntland. CCC Farayaamo AllPuntland

Paragon you know nothing about Puntland state, it is moving forward with the grace of Allah..........Just in the Chinese are coming... GAROOWE : Mid ka mid ah Shirkadaha ugu waawayn dalka China ee Macdan-baarista oo ku soo biiray loolanka shirkadaha ee Macdan-baarista Puntland Posted to the Web Jul 16, 20:10 Garoowe:-Waxaa maanta magaalada Garoowe ee xarunta Maamulka Puntland soo gaaray mid ka mid ah shirkadaha Macdan-baarista (Mineral and Petroleum ) ee dalka China oo lagu magacaabo China National Offshore Oil Corp , shirkadan ayaa waxay ku soo biiraysaa Shirkadaha loolanka ugujira in ay Puntland ka baaraan Khayraadkeeda dabiiciga ah gaar ahaan Shidaalka iyo Macdanta. Xassan Aloore Agaasimaha Guud ee Wakaalada Macdanta Puntland General Direct of Mineral (DG) , ayaa qaabilay Wafdigaan oo maanta magaalada soo gaaray xili ay socoto qaban-qaabada soo dhawayna M/wayne Yuusuf. Mr : Aloore , ayaa Puntlandpost u sheegay in caawa Wafdiga ka socda Shirkadan laga leeyahay China (Government Owner) ay caawa kulan la qaadanayaan Wakaalada iyo Masuuliyiinta sarsare ee dawlada oo ay ugu horeeyaan M/wayne Cadde Muuse iyo kuxigeenkisia Xassan Daahir. Axmed C/salaam Puntlandpost.com

^^^Olol, Inda Cade will end up even worse than what happened to Qayanyare and Co, if he was a moral persone he would not be pilliging the poor people of souther Somalia. He is the achiles heel of these courts, he reduces their claim to being Islam to a silly joke, because his actions are based on nothing but empowering himself through what ever means. There was a speech he made a while back when the courts were fighting Qaynyare,he said he was fighting for his clan and was not a member of these courts, lord be hold today he gives himself a title of head of security.... Paragon. Innocent till proven guilty. The same applies to Indha-Cade Who's words are you parroting now? Inda CADE has beeen found guilty by the people he oppresses... I have noticed Paragon attacks the elected TFG, the elected Puntland state and yet defends the likes of IndaCade, amazing.............

The President needs to get a better team around him and to change the focus of the government. Also any negotiation should centre on, disarming the armed millitias, return of national institution, looted properties and local governments for all.. The statement from Shiekh Sharif also needs clarification. Is it just another nice sound bite or do they mean it?????

Lebanon exodus gathers pace Sunday 16 July 2006, 4:42 Makka Time, 1:42 GMT Foreign governments were drawing up plans for a voluntary evacuation of their nationals from Lebanon as Israel kept up air strikes against its neighbour. Britain is to send two Royal Navy warships to the Middle East as part of the contingency plans for a possible evacuation, the ministry of defence said in London on Saturday. A ministry of defence spokeswoman said the aircraft carrier Illustrious and the warship Bulwark would shortly be sent to the Middle East, but she would not comment on news reports that they would be used to evacuate Britons from the area. "As you would expect we are monitoring the situation closely and are engaging in prudent contingency planning," said the spokeswoman, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government policy. "As part of this HMS Illustrious and HMS Bulwark will shortly head toward the region. They have been given no specific tasking." Britain also advised its citizens not to attempt to leave Lebanon under their own steam and said it had not yet made a decision on whether to evacuate its nationals. There are 10,000 Britons in Lebanon, plus a further 10,000 with joint nationality. France, Italy and Sweden followed Britain's lead in preparing to evacuate their citizens, mainly by land to Syria or by ferry to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. US says it is working on a plan to move Americans to Cyprus The US State Department said it was working on a plan with the Pentagon to transport Americans to Cyprus, where they can board commercial aircraft for onward travel. There were around 25,000 US citizens in Lebanon. Air travel from Beirut was made impossible after the international airport was shut down on Thursday after Israeli air strikes blew craters in the runways.Dominique de Villepin, the French prime minister, announced that "sea and air facilities, both civilian and military" would be made available for any French national who wished to leave. France began deploying about 800 military personnel plus aircraft to Lebanon, chartered a ferry and dispatched two warships as part of its operation to evacuate its own citizens and others to Cyprus. Cyprus as a European Union member said on Friday that it was ready to support a joint EU-co-ordinated mass evacuation of Europeans stranded in Lebanon.Naval sources in Toulon said France was sending a landing-craft transporter with four helicopters and equipped with a hospital and operating rooms, should they be needed. A French frigate was also due to arrive in the area on Thursday. France is sending a landingcraft with hospital facilities Up to 20,000 French, including residents, tourists and business travellers are currently in Lebanon, according to a foreign ministry estimate.Italy said the foreign ministry had already organised with its embassy in Beirut a convoy of 410 Italian citizens and other nationals, mainly from the European Union, heading for Syria. However, witnesses reported that an Israeli bombardment forced the convoy to stop at Tripoli, Lebanon's second city located about 90kms (60 miles) north of Beirut. About 15 buses carrying European nationals were stopped at Tripoli until security conditions allowed them to continue on the route to Syria, witnesses said.

Hezbollah rockets kill eight in Haifa Sunday 16 July 2006, 11:54 Makka Time, 8:54 GMT Smoke rises from a train station in Haifa after a rocket attack Rockets fired by Hezbollah have killed eight people in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, according to medics. Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, warned Lebanon of "far-reaching" consequences after the attacks by the armed Lebanese group on Sunday morning. An Aljazeera reporter in Haifa reported that Israeli authorities had declared a state of emergency in the city. Israeli medics said more than a dozen people had also been wounded in the attacks. The city of 260,000 was hit by at least 20 rockets, including one that struck a train station. Hezbollah said the latest attacks were in retaliation for Israel's killing of civilians and destruction of Lebanese infrastructure during the past five days. "After the Zionist enemy exceeded all limits killing and destroying ... the Islamic Resistance announces that it bombarded the city of Haifa with dozens of Raad 2 and Raad 3 rockets at 9am (0600 GMT)," Hezbollah said in a statement. The attacks are Hezbollah's deadliest rocket strike in at least 10 years. Hezbollah usually hits Israeli border towns and this is the first time that Haifa has been reached. In the last five days Hezbollah has fired about 400 rockets into Israel, killing at least 16 civilians. Israel has killed at least 80 Lebanese civilians since Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed two others in a cross-border raid on Wednesday. On Friday and Saturday the Israeli air force also struck several Hezbollah targets across Lebanon. The attacks levelled the group's headquarters in south Beirut and hit the movement's television station Al-Manar. Aljazeera + Agencies

^^^lol, Give us a break mate, the Middle East is a specially important region, Here is some previous posts of mine... Shiekh Ahmed Yassin Hamas stands its ground Hamas Contribution on Fallujah arafat profile ....The news that the Hizbullah movement could strike the third largest city of Israel it changes everything. LEBANON is ablaze the infrustructure of that nation is being taken out by the zionists state. Do not forget that Gaza is also under siege....More news to come

^^^Horn, I disagree with you on this, lets be objective I belive that the President is not a problem an enjoys a great deal of support in Somalia still. Though you might say with the same breath that Hiiraale is not occupaying Kismayu and never was elected to that position, thus our differences continues. As for this topic, individual properties matters little I welcome this first statment ever on looted propert by any faction in souther somalia. It is important that this is central to what these courts do in order to gain legitimacy... Islam = justice for all...

Rockets hit northern Israeli city of Haifa, killing nine(updated 03:31 p.m.) 2006/7/16 JERUSALEM (AP) Lebanese guerillas fired a relentless barrage of rockets into the northern Israeli city of Haifa on Sunday, killing nine people and wounding dozens of others, police said. A subsequent attack hit a major street in the city, causing further casualties, police said. The attack was the worst strike on Israel since violence broke out along the border with Lebanon last week after Hezbollah guerillas captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid. Israel was almost certain to increase its already intense campaign of airstrikes on Lebanon in response. Hezbollah guerillas said they hit the city with Raad-2 and Raad-3 rockets, which have a longer range than the hundreds of Katyusha rockets they had been firing into Israel in recent days. The group said it intentionally avoided hitting petrochemical installations in Haifa, which houses Israel's major oil refinery, according to a statement read on Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station. "But the next time, it (Hezbollah) will not spare anything in Haifa and its surroundings," the statement said. Footage shown on Israel's Channel 10 showed smoke rising over Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, and air raid sirens could be heard wailing. The attacks came after Israeli warplanes bombed a major power station south of Beirut. Hezbollah said in a statement read on it Al-Manar television station that it fired dozens of rockets at Haifa at 9 a.m. Rockets continued to pound the city after the initial attack, landing in major areas of the city. "After the enemy continued all night their destructive shelling of (Beirut's) southern suburb and other areas ... the resistance movement fired dozens of rockets on Haifa," the Hezbollah statement said. Some of the rockets landed near the oil refinery, gas storage tanks and the train station, Israeli police and emergency officials said. The dead were all at a train station in Haifa, where a rocket hit a storage room, police said. Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said at least nine people were killed in the attacks. Rockets fired by Lebanese militants also hit Acco and Nahariya and several other northern towns, and residents of the region were told to head to bomb shelters. The rocket attacks came after a relatively quiet night along Israel's northern border, which had been pounded by hundreds of rockets fired from Lebanon in recent days. Israel deployed a Patriot missile battery in Haifa on Saturday to protect the city against surface-to-surface missiles. But the defense system is useless to stop the rocket fire. Hezbollah guerillas hit Haifa with a rocket for the first time ever Thursday. Israel responded by stepping up its airstrikes in Lebanon, which it began last week after militants captured. The attack on Haifa raised Israel's death toll from the fighting to at least 24, 11 soldiers and 13 civilians. Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have killed 106 people, mostly civilians.

Israel rains bombs on Lebanon Sunday 16 July 2006, 4:25 Makka Time, 1:25 GMT Israeli offensive does not look like ending soon Israel continued to pound Beirut's southern suburb on Sunday, the fifth successive day of an offensive on Lebanon. The air strikes, which killed 35 civilians on Saturday, including 15 children, were meant to punish the Lebanese government for failing to disarm the resistance group Hezbollah. Israel says this has allowed Hezbollah to menace Israel's northern border, where measures just short of a state of emergency have been ordered. Israel has said it aims not just to force Hezbollah to free the soldiers, whom the Shia group wants to trade for prisoners in Israel, but to destroy its ability to fire rockets into Israel. The bombing of Lebanese roads, bridges, ports and airports, as well as Hezbollah targets, is Israel's most destructive onslaught since an invasion to expel Palestinian forces in 1982 The attacks started after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border operation on Wednesday. Air strikes in the early hours of Sunday damaged a flyover linking the southern suburb with the eastern part of Beirut, Hezbollah's al-Manar television reported, and the loud blasts were heard throughout the capital. Israeli aircraft have already flattened Hezbollah's nine-storey headquarters. The campaign in Lebanon coincided with an offensive Israel started in the Gaza Strip on June 28 to try to retrieve another captured soldier and halt Palestinian rocket fire. Israeli forces clashed with fighters in Gaza on Sunday as tanks moved back into the north of the Gaza Strip. Tanks and armoured personnel carriers, backed by helicopter gunships, moved into farmland near Beit Hanoun, an area often used by fighters for launching rockets. Small groups of fighters opened fire at the Israeli forces, but there was no report of casualties. Appeals for aid Fouad Siniora, the Lebanese prime minister, repeated his demands for an immediate UN-backed ceasefire on Saturday. He denounced Israel for turning his country into a "disaster zone" and appealed for foreign aid. His speech came hours after Israel bombarded ports in Christian areas for the first time and a helicopter missile hit a lighthouse on Beirut's seafront. Israel has said the way out will be for Lebanon to implement a UN resolution demanding that Hezbollah be disarmed. The Beirut government, led by an anti-Syrian coalition, lacks the unity and firepower to disarm Hezbollah, the only Lebanese faction to keep its guns after the 1975-90 civil war. George Bush, the US president, who has declined to urge Israel to curb its military operations, said Syria should tell Hezbollah, also backed by Iran, to stop cross-border attacks. Meanwhile, an Israeli missile incinerated a van in southern Lebanon, killing 20 people, among them 15 children, in the deadliest single attack of the campaign. Police said the van was carrying two families fleeing the village of Marwaheen after Israeli loudspeaker warnings to leave their homes. At least 104 people, all but four of them civilians, have been killed in the five-day assault, which has choked Lebanon's economy and forced tourists and foreigners to flee. Four Israelis, including a five-year-old child, have been killed and 300 wounded by about 700 rockets fired since Wednesday at more than 20 towns. The offensive has forced families to flee their homes The Israeli offensive has forced hundreds of families to flee their homes in south Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburb, and they are sheltering in schools across the capital. Human rights activists said the makeshift shelters lacked basic services. "They don't have enough blankets and medical supplies," Ghassan Makarem, one activist, told Reuters on Sunday. "The situation is disgusting." The Israeli government gave authorities the power to shut schools, factories and public institutions in the north in a move that falls just short of a full state of emergency. Israel has deployed Patriot missile batteries in the northern city of Haifa to intercept rockets. It also warned the Lebanese army on Sunday against shooting at its aircraft and said it would not hesitate to strike "at any party operating against it". Israel says it aims not just to force Hezbollah to free the soldiers, whom the Shia group wants to trade for prisoners in Israel, but to destroy its ability to fire rockets into Israel.

Deadly Hezbollah attack on Haifa It is the worst attack on Israel since the violence began Rockets fired by Hezbollah militants in Lebanon have killed at least nine people and wounded dozens of others in the coastal Israeli city of Haifa. Meanwhile, Israeli jets have hit targets in the south of the Lebanese capital Beirut, including Hezbollah's al-Manar TV and a power station. At least 100 Lebanese, most of them civilians, have been killed in five days of Israeli air strikes. The Israeli air raids began after Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers. Cars abandoned The rocket attack on Haifa is the worst attack on Israel since hostilities with Lebanon broke out, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has warned it could have "far-reaching consequences". "Our government is determined to do everything necessary to reach our objectives. Nothing will prevent us," Mr Olmert said. It is the second time Haifa has been hit by Hezbollah rockets in recent days. Mid-East crisis map Voices from the conflict Who are Hezbollah? In a first salvo at least 13 rockets were reported to have landed in the city. The majority of those killed and injured were at a train station which was hit. According to Israel Radio a second wave of four rockets then hit, one landing in city street. People driving on the roads in Haifa reportedly abandoned their cars as they fled from the onslaught. The BBC's Bethany Bell in Jerusalem says that until now it had been thought that towns like Haifa, which is some 30km (19 miles) south of the Lebanese border and, Tiberias, on the Sea of Galilee, which was attacked on Saturday, had been out of range of Hezbollah's rockets. More than 400 rockets have been fired into Israel by Hezbollah since Wednesday and, with the rockets penetrating ever further into the country, Israelis living all the way south to Tel Aviv have now been told to be on the alert, says the BBC's Mike Wooldridge in Jerusalem. The militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was retaliation for the deaths of Lebanese civilians and the destruction of the country's infrastructure during the Israeli air raids.

^^^lol. He proclaimed himself, his own portfolio and the BBC announced it today.. He is the security cheif of the courts.. Funny think, people need security from him and not by him...

Here is a link to a new story coming from Mogadishu in which Sharif Ahmed, makes a statement on the issue of looted property, in his words " we must forgive each other and calls on people to return looted homes and farms, in order to get lasting peace" This is a monumental remark... Looted property mentioned..

^^^A/qaybdeed and Aydeed there is no love for these men in Puntland. Their fight is not the fight of Puntland, they caused a great deal of harm to many people including those who hail from Puntland.... The TFG is making mistake after mistake since last week..

It has come to pass that the TFG and in particular President Yusuf have been outclassed by his opponenets. They have defeated the despised warlords, the job of the governemnt. They have brought a reality missing from Somalia for the past 16 years, a single power now runs Mogadishu. Also the job of the government. They the courts have become the champions of the people while the goverment who have the mandate and the support of external and internal players is still stuck in the past, they have not yet adapted to the new shift in power. Today there is no excuse for using the same tactics that one used when facing the warlords. The government must change or die.. Recomendations.. 1. Get rid of the cabinet 2. Negotiate with these courts, this will clear any doubts people hold.. 3. Adapt the security policy to include the courts as active part of the new national security policy...

i'm sure Paragon, being an expatriat, lives in a life of relative luxury unlike his brethren in Somalia. Range will share their rewards with the local people, one wonders how much Paragon contributes to the betterment of his mother country. I wonder indeed,

Duufaan is closer to the truth, though one must understand that there are bad apples on both sides. The courts have done well, but need to rid themselves of the warlord elements in them. The TFG needs to replace the PM and whole cabinet, with a more effective and less incompetent fellows. Those who do not want to lose their positions will try everything to stop a comprehensive peace... The door should be open for negotiations with the people of Mogadishu, Jubas and so on and not with Indacade, AWAYS and others.,