Clashes in Sudan's Abyei kill at least 33: rival chiefs JUBA, January 10, 2011 (AFP) - The feuding Misseriya Arab and Ngok Dinka peoples of the disputed Sudan district of Abyei on Monday both reported heavy losses in clashes over the past three days totalling at least 33 dead. "Thirteen Misseriya have been killed and 38 wounded since Friday," Misseriya tribal leader Hamid al-Ansari said. Abyei chief administrator Deng Arop Kuol said: "The total for these three days, we lost about 20 to 22 Dinka. "They attacked us three times already and we are expecting them to attack again today." UN peacekeepers have been sent to Abyei to investigate, UN Mission in Sudan spokesman Kouider Zerrouk said. Tensions in the district on the north-south border have been rising with the launch of a landmark independence referendum in the south on Sunday. Abyei had been due to hold a simultaneous plebiscite on its own future but it has been indefinitely postponed amid deadlock between northern and southern leaders over who should be eligible to take part in the vote on remaining part of the north or joining an autonomous or independent south. Right to Vote The Misseriya, heavily armed nomads who migrate to Abyei each dry season to find water and pasture for their livestock, insist they should have the same right to vote as the Dinka, settled agriculturalists who live in the district all year and are sympathetic to the south. Threats by the Dinka to take unilateral action over the plebiscite delay have sparked warnings of retaliation from the Misseriya. "Security is not in place right now, because the Arabs are attacking us," Kuol said. "We don't know whether it is the government, the militias or the Misseriya. "It began on Friday, and continued on Saturday and Sunday," he said. "The Misseriya have been seen by our people, and they're setting the stage for another attack." South Kordofan state governor Ahmed Haroun visited the district on Sunday to try to calm tensions but Kuol said the visit had had no impact. "I don't know what he agreed. He only wanted to know if the cows of the Misseriya will be allowed to drink in Abyei," Kuol said. "He didn't speak to us because we were busy with these attacks." Daily Nation

You don't even see how the Arab guy is kneeling ,,,,

WORCESTER — Spend an hour with Jonathan M. Starr, and you might forget the city where you’re sitting. His descriptions of life in Somaliland and the school he founded there are so engrossing and different from life here that he can barely get it all in. Mr. Starr, a 34-year-old Worcester native, Worcester Academy alumnus and former investment banker, was in the city last week to visit his mother, to speak at the academy and to help announce a sister school relationship between the academy and his school, Abaarso Tech. The students at Abaarso Tech are the same age as Worcester Academy’s high school students and they know how to use Facebook and Skype, but there’s also a world of difference between them. All of Abaarso’s students are Arabic, and the girls must cover almost all of their bodies except their faces when they’re in class. During girls’ basketball games, there are always a couple players adjusting their veils, Mr. Starr said. Abaarso is co-ed, but contact between the genders — even speaking — is strictly limited. On the other hand, the boys and girls treat each other better within their own gender groups than you would typically see in the U.S., Mr. Starr said. On Friday, he visited John Murnane’s advanced placement world history class and, with Abaarso student Sulekha Hashi Elmi on speakerphone, told the class a little about Somaliland, a section of Somalia that has its own government but which the United States has not recognized as a separate nation. Somaliland has a president but is largely overseen by clans, who are a check on the president, run their own welfare systems and oversee even minor things, such as how Abaarso will replace two of its cooks. They will probably have to hire two others from the same subclan, Mr. Starr said. “It’s Wild West,” he said. Mr. Starr, whose uncle is from Somaliland, has a healthy respect for practices that have helped keep the peace in Somaliland, such as dividing top political posts among the clans rather than the president bringing in a full slate of his own people. Read more: http://www.telegram.com/article/20110110/NEWS/101100387/1101#ixzz1AddggUXD

It is funny British comedy ,,,,,,,,,,

Interview with Col. Sabareey & Caaqil Abdirahman Olol on the President's Decree ..... http://laasqoray.net/wararka-somalia/spr-oo-wareysi-la-yeelatey-col-cali-sabareey-iyo-caaqil-craxmaan-axmed-olol-oo-ka-waramay-war-saxaafadeedkii-kasoo-baxay-sland/

COLUMBIA, Mo. — On the field, T. J. Moe is one of Mizzou Football’s finest: a star Wide Receiver, who just finished his second season with the Tigers. But off the field, Moe and family channel that passion to individuals who may never have watched a Tigers football game. Over 8,000 miles away from Faurot Field is a region in the horn of Africa called Somaliland. In 1991, Somaliland seceded from Somalia after a violent civil war tore apart the region. Though the nation is not recognizd by the State Department, it has maintained a stable existence and continues efforts to establish a constitutional democracy, including elections. With that status comes huge problems which are even larger for children, including a lack of educational institutions, poor health care, high orphanage rates, and hunger. T.J’s brother Scotty Moe, now 26, decided to reach out. Following a short stint as an accountant in downtown Chicago, he packed up and went to the region in 2008. He completed his MBA with emphasis on International Development, and then, with a group of friends started an organization called ‘Root Awakening,’ RA, in January 2010. RA, according to their website, seeks to empower individuals and institutions to meet needs. “We found ways to join together in bringing hope to communities by partnering with local institutions, building relationships with the government and working with street kids,” says the website. “When community development and relief efforts are approached in this manner, impoverished people are transformed into thriving, self-sustaining individuals. A love-based strategy assists in inspiring the hearts of activists and donors, prompting them to do more to combat extreme poverty,” the website says on another page. T.J. decided to use his social network base — followed by almost 9,000 people coupling his Facebook and Twitter account — to make a difference. “I have been involved in raising awareness for Root Awakening by using my social networks and connections to tell others about the organization and its needs. My goal is to mobilize thousands of people to get involved and help impoverished people in Somaliland,” he said in an interview with PoliticMo. T.J. says people can make a difference by spreading the word about the organization. He said a future step might be to mention RA to some teammates. Those interested can learn more, network, and contribute financially online. Using specific forms in the ‘Get Involved’ section, donors can specify exactly where they want their contribution spent. Source: http://politicmo.com/2011/01/10/t-j-moe-channels-off-field-ambition-toward-root-awakening/

M/weynaha ayaa markii uu gaadhay magaalada Berbera waxa uu booqday Gegida Diyaraadaha ee Berbera waxaanu uga sii gudbay Dekeda magaalada Berbera isaga oo xadhiga ka jaray Dhisme cusub oo laga dhisay Dekeda sidoo kalena waxa uu xadhiga ka jaray laba wado oo laga sameeyey badhtamaha magaalada Berbera. Ehem ...

Somaliland who is already independant, will be recongnized one day.

Wafti uu hogaaminayo Madaxweynaha Jamhuuriyada Somaliland Md Axmed Maxamed Siilanyo ayaa Safar Shaqo ku tagay Magaalo Madaxda Gobolka Saaxil ee Berbera . M/weynaha Iyo waftigiisa ayaa ka kooban Wasiirada Qorsheynta Qaranka, Duulista Hawada, Kaluumaysiga, Cheif Of Cabinet ka , Taliyaha Guud ee Ciidamada Booliska iyo Marwada koowaad, ayaa saaka subaxdii Hore gaadhay Magaalada Berbera iyaga oo ka anbabaxay magaalada Hargeysa waxaana lagu sheegay ujeedada Booqashada M/weynaha iyo Waftigiisa xog ogogaal u noqoshada arimaha ka jira deegamada uu booqashada ku marayo. M/weynaha ayaa markii uu gaadhay magaalada Berbera waxa uu booqday Gegida Diyaraadaha ee Berbera waxaanu uga sii gudbay Dekeda magaalada Berbera isaga oo xadhiga ka jaray Dhisme cusub oo laga dhisay Dekeda sidoo kalena waxa uu xadhiga ka jaray laba wado oo laga sameeyey badhtamaha magaalada Berbera. Booqashada M/weynaha ayaa noqonaysa tii ugu horeysay ee ugu baxo Gobolada dalka tan iyo intii la doortay lamana oga in uu dhaafi doono magaalada Berbera iyo in uu ku soo noqon doono caasimada Hargeysa.

Morning/Afternoon Juxa ........... it is a bit warm here today i mean not really warm but less cold. Still sunny as usual though

Kenya set on economic benefits of S. Sudan independence One of the greatest economic gains Kenya is likely to get from an autonomous Southern Sudan, with a population of about 8.5 million people, is the market for the proposed Lamu port. The port of Mombasa and the existing road and rail network cannot handle the massive volume and weight of materials that will be required for the Southern Sudan reconstruction, maritime experts say. Although Southern Sudan has several options of seaports to choose from, consideration for the right choice will take into account factors such as security, number of borders to cross, nature of the terrain, length of route, and accessibility to the West and East by sea, says the second transport corridor inter-ministerial lead consultant Dr Mutule Kilonzo. The Mombasa port has inadequate capacity to handle Southern Sudan cargo. The investment required to increase the capacity at the port and support infrastructure would be enormous. “As it is, the port of Mombasa is struggling to keep up with the demands of its present clientele – Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Kenya,” Dr Kilonzo said. A second option that has been considered is the port of Dar es Salaam. This would involve goods transiting two countries, Tanzania and Uganda. Dar’s capacity to handle additional loads is also in question, according to the consultant. But a new port at Lamu would offer the best option. The distance between Juba and Port Sudan in the North is about 4,000 kilometres, while the distance between Juba and Lamu is only 1,500 kilometres. Southern Sudan is all set to become a major exporter of oil. Political and strategic imperatives rule out Southern Sudan’s sole dependence on Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast based on the history of the two countries, Dr Kilonzo said. It is proposed that the Port of Lamu be made a free port which will be connected to the proposed Free Port at Dongo Kundu in Mombasa by a railway line and an access road. “The free port will be a port in which goods can transit through or be stored for up to 5 years, without the complications of customs formalities. Southern Sudan and Ethiopia bound goods, as well as the exports from them, will require this expeditious utility,” says the consultant. New generation vessels With the feasibility studies of the second transport corridor expected to be ready by March this year, Lamu has many advantages as a potential alternative port to serve the sub-region as well. It has a water depth of 18 metres making it ideal for fast construction. It also has a capacity to accommodate new generation vessels carrying over 10,000 Teus. Mombasa port can handle less than 3,000 Teus ships. Other components of the second transport corridor include a superhighway that will connect Lamu to Addis Ababa and Juba. The three regions will also be connected with a standard gauge railway line to allow faster trains. It is envisaged that a merchant oil refinery will be constructed in Lamu and will be connected by an oil pipeline to Juba to refine crude oil from Southern Sudan before shipment. An Optic fibre infrastructure to link the corridor will also be laid down. International airports will also be constructed in Lamu, Isiolo and Lokichoggio, three important points along the corridor. Daily Nation

Ma intaasaad ka soo fekeraysay ?? ,,,

Source: The National

Arab fears about Sudan's split have roots closer to home Voters in southern Sudan may well opt for independence from the north today and obtain prompt international recognition for their state. Should this happen (and many things can go awry in the process), it won't be a repeat of the peaceful break-up of Czechoslovakia in 1992, an oddity in world history. Still, it won't necessarily reignite the 20 year-long civil war that was fought over the south's future. Sudan may sit at the geographic and political periphery of the Arab world, yet the prospect of the break-up of a member state of the Arab League is unnerving many across the region. The Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi warned of "a contagious disease" that would affect its neighbours. A few months ago, Prince Saud Al Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, remarked: "Sudan, a member of the Arab League, is facing the threat of division. No Arab League member can justify its neutral stand on the issue. We have to support Sudan to overcome these dangers." Bad timing and fear of Sudan setting a precedent are the main reasons for this angst. For one, Sudan would be breaking up just as Kurdish self-determination sentiments in Iraq are rising. The prospect of seeing Iraq dissolve is still far-fetched but a few weeks ago, the Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani made a provocative plea for the right to self-determination. This may have been political manoeuvring during the formation of the Iraqi government, but Mr Barzani still got enthusiastic applause from the audience. The Arab world already lost much balance since Iraq's political transformation - its disintegration would be too disruptive. In truth, the Arab world has faced many such crises: the Polisario insurgency opposes Morocco in the Western Sahara; Saddam Hussein attempted to annex Kuwait in 1990; and a failed unification process led to the short-lived secession of South Yemen in 1994. Arab officialdom never parted with its principled opposition to re-drawing the region's borders but has done little to address the root causes of separatism and secessionism. Indeed, those crises are rooted as much in unsettled and disputed borders as in the failure of governance throughout the Arab world. Fixated on building strong, centralised states and perpetuating their rule, Arab leaders have failed to develop models of decentralisation and federalism more in sync with today's developmental needs. The UAE is truly a unique case in this regard. Its founding fathers designed a federation despite the odds. They understood that this arrangement better protected the survival and development of their emirates rather than the typical go-it-alone approach. The other federal model was born out of trauma and blood in Iraq, once the epitome of the strong Arab state. Then there is the matter of foreign interference. On blogs and in op-ed pages across the region, there is a conviction that the West is maliciously encouraging Sudanese southerners in their quest for independence in order to weaken the Arab world. Kurds are also suspected of similar western manipulation. Both southern Sudan and Iraqi Kurdistan are resource-rich, so the argument goes that foreign greed explains this suspected interest. In fact, both southern Sudan and Kurdistan are land-locked and politically risky, so western companies have mostly stayed away. And communities that sit on these resources often compete for their control. Saad Mehio, a columnist for Al Khaleej, goes even further. He blames the coming Sudanese separation on a grand Israeli design to divide the region along sectarian lines and sees a pernicious Israeli hand from Sudan to Iraq. But the Arab world has proven quite adept at dividing itself without external help. Blaming Israel and the West smacks of a desire to have scapegoats rather than progress. One cannot deny that the Ottoman Empire, and more importantly, the western powers, drew the borders of the modern Middle East. For the overwhelming majority of Arabs, the partition of Palestine remains the ultimate instance of such Machiavellian engineering. That memory runs deep but often obfuscates unpleasant realities. The thinking goes that a unified Arab nation could have risen from the Ottoman-era wilayet without such interference, leaving conveniently aside the fact that Arabs were deeply divided after the First World War. The Druze and the Alawi of Syria lobbied the French occupiers to set up their own distinct states. Promises of statehood were made to the Kurds and then reneged on. Only the Christians of Lebanon were successful in their efforts. To be true, some Westerners have yet to give up their re-engineering fantasies, taking comfort in the simplistic view that ethnic and religious identity is carved in stone. When he was a US senator, the US Vice-President Joseph Biden advocated a partition of Iraq into a loose three-region sectarian federation. His proposal got little traction inside the US government but interestingly it echoed a proposal by a senior Iraqi political and Shia leader, Abdul Aziz al Hakim, to create a Shia-super region in Iraq. And when a fringe US military analyst, Ralph Peters, redrew all the borders in the Middle East in a privately-owned defence journal, many Arabs assumed - wrongly - that his views reflected the nefarious designs of the US administration. Mr Peters created homogenous sectarian and ethnic entities, including a Greater Kurdistan, Baluchistan and a Shia state that extends from Baghdad to the Shia-dominated eastern region of Saudi Arabia. Ultimately, the coming split of Sudan has less to do with foreign machinations than with bad governance in Khartoum - Sudan ranks third on the Failed States Index - and the rise of sub-and supra-national loyalties throughout the region. Arab states may have centralised political control but they rarely have fostered a sense of citizenship - witness the tensions in Egypt between the Copts and the state. Even cosmopolitan and promising states like Lebanon and Iraq have failed to build modern institutions that combine cultural diversity and a feeling of national belonging. The Sudanese scission will hopefully be a wake-up call to avert similar crises in the future. By Emile Hokayem _____________________ Emile Hokayem is the senior fellow for regional security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies - Middle East

Go’aannada uu Madaxweyne Siilaanyo ka soo saaray Colaaddii Kalshaale iyo Jawaabaha labada Beeleed ka bixiyeen “Waxaanu Daadafaynayaa hadal ka soo baxday xafiiska Madaxtooyadda , Degmadda Kalshaale maaha saldhig militari ee waa deegaan Beesha Qurilugud Besha Qorilugud “Arinta waa laysku khilaafsanyahay oo dadka qaar waxay u arkaan in sidani xal noqonayso,dadna waxay wataan fikrad kale oo ka duwan” Beesha Buuhoodle

Where is the report ???

ZOOMING INTO THE PAST ........... Interesting analysis of the said Saracen http://www.biyokulule.com/Marauding_Saracen.htm

Countdown begins to a free Southern Sudan Millions of Southern Sudanese on Sunday turned up in large numbers to vote in a referendum that could see the region become Africa’s youngest state. South Sudan President Salva Kiir declared the referendum a “historic moment” as he cast his ballot at the Dr John Garang Mausoleum in Juba, a few minutes after 8am. And thousands of Sudanese living Kenya cast their votes in various towns, expressing their joy at finally voting to separate from the Khartoum government. Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, former President Daniel arap Moi and Lt Gen (Rtd) Lazarus Sumbeiywo basked in the fruits of their efforts to find a long-lasting solution to decades of war in the Sudan. In Southern Sudan, jubilant residents had queued through the night to be among the first to cast the vote they have yearned for for the last 50 years. “This is the historic moment the people of south Sudan have been waiting for,” Mr Kiir said, holding up his finger to display indelible ink that showed he had voted. He appealed to the region’s security machinery to ensure protection of the Northerners living in South Sudan, asserting that he expected Khartoum to reciprocate the gesture. “It was wonderful to see Salva Kiir vote. It was the culmination of a lot of negotiation and a lot of hurdles that had to be got over,” said senator John Kerry, who had shuttled between northern and southern leaders for months to pave the way for the vote to proceed on schedule. Renegade However, the celebrations were overshadowed by clashes with renegade militiamen in two remote oil-producing districts on the north-south border that were bitterly contested in the 1983-2005 civil war. Clashes between Misseriya Arabs and Ngok Dinka in the disputed border district of Abyei killed at least eight people on Sunday, sources on both sides said. About 3.9 million people were registered to vote in the referendum which ends on January 15, with the final results expected 10 days later. The separation must be endorsed by at least 60 per cent of the registered voters to be valid. It is widely expected that most Southerners would vote overwhelmingly to separate from their mostly Arab and Muslim compatriots. Though Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, on a recent visit to Juba, promised to respect the will of the majority if they voted for secession, his sentiments on return to Khartoum have raised questions over his sincerity. He told al-Jazeera TV that South Sudan was ill-prepared for independence and was destined to face instability if it voted to secede. US President Barack Obama, in an opinion article published by the New York Times on Saturday, said voters must be allowed to make their choice free from intimidation. Former UN chief Kofi Annan, who monitored the voting with ex-US President Jimmy Carter said the enthusiasm shown by voters should be rewarded with concrete results. “It is important that the energy and enthusiasm lead to solid results that are accepted by everybody,” he said. Mr Carter, who held talks with northern leaders in Khartoum before heading to Juba for the vote, said he believed the prospects for the referendum to result in new violence had greatly receded in recent days. Polling stations in Khartoum in the early hours of voting remained largely deserted in stark contrast with the jubilant scenes in the south. Daily Nation

U can always ask such question ............. who knows maybe your daughter hides from the camera. Just ask

Take a book of just 13 pages, written by a relatively obscure 93-year-old man, which contains no sex, no jokes, no fine writing and no startlingly original message. A publishing disaster? No, a publishing phenomenon. Indignez vous! (Cry out!), a slim pamphlet by a wartime French resistance hero, Stéphane Hessel, is smashing all publishing records in France. The book urges the French, and everyone else, to recapture the wartime spirit of resistance to the Nazis by rejecting the "insolent, selfish" power of money and markets and by defending the social "values of modern democracy". The book, which costs €3, has sold 600,000 copies in three months and another 200,000 have just been printed. Its original print run was 8,000. In the run-up to Christmas, Mr Hessel's call for a "peaceful insurrection" not only topped the French bestsellers list, it sold eight times more copies than the second most popular book, a Goncourt prize-winning novel by Michel Houellebecq. The extraordinary success of the book can be interpreted in several ways. Its low price and slender size – 29 pages including blurbs and notes but just 13 pages of text – has made it a popular stocking-filler among left-wing members of the French chattering classes. Bookshops report many instances of people buying a dozen copies for family and friends. But Mr Hessel and his small left-wing publisher (which is used to print runs in the hundreds) say that he has evidently struck a national, and international nerve, at a time of market tyranny, bankers' bonuses and budget threats to the survival of the post-war welfare state. They also suggest that the success of the book could be an important straw in the wind as France enters a political cycle leading to the presidential elections of May 2012. Read More On: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-little-red-book-that-swept-france-2174676.html