Somali Rural News

Somaliland Needs Own Plan for Climate Change

The human and environmental disruption wreaked by drought in Somaliland, where more than 60 percent of people raise livestock for a living, means the self-declared, but barely recognized, independent state should draw up its own plan for climate change adaptation, according to a new report.

'World Food Program (WFP) Will Not Operate in Southern Somalia' - Al-Shabab

Officials of Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen have Saturday said that the World Food Program (WFP) will not operate in the areas under the control of their administration in Somalia until it takes commandments ordered earlier.

Plan to Integrate Ex-Militias Into Security Forces in Somalia

Mogadishu residents have welcomed plans by the interim government to step up the integration of an earlier, ousted, regime's security forces into its own army.

Somalia's Al-Shabaab Capture Strategic Central Town

Somalia's Al-Shabaab insurgent group has reportedly seized the control of central town of Dhusamareb, the capital of Galgadud region 500km north of capital Mogadishu.

Reports say heavily armed Al-Shabaab militia attacked the town on Saturday morning and overpowered militia loyal to Ahul-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa, who controlled the strategic town.

More Ethiopian Troops Reach Central Somalia

Hundreds of Ethiopian troops have reportedly reached at Kalaber intersection about 25 km north of Beledweyne town in central Somalia, witnesses said on Saturday.

Residents say the Ethiopian troops armed with armed vehicles and other military trucks made a base in Kalaber, a strategic junction that connects central and southern regions of Somalia.

Kenya Closes Its Border With Somalia

MOMBASA (Sh. M. Network) - The government has ordered the closure of the 600km Kenya-Somalia border to stop refugees crossing over to Kenya.

The Minister for Internal Security and Provincial Administration Prof George Saitoti directed administrators at the Coast Province to ensure that the border remains closed so that Islamist fighters do not cross the border disguised as refugees.

Somali Pirates Conduct Low-Key Maritime War Off Coast

Somali pirates and commercial shipping are engaged in a low-key maritime war off the East African coast.

Since the end of the region's monsoon season more than two months ago, the European Union Naval Force (EU Navfor) has been reporting new encounters between pirates and merchant ships nearly every week.

Donor Caution Alarms Aid Workers in Somalia

Aid agencies operating in Somalia say they need more money but that some donors are holding back, concerned at where resources might end up in areas too dangerous for international staff.

"Some of the largest donors in 2008 have given much less or almost no support so far this year," said Kiki Gbeho, head of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for Somalia.

Rising Numbers of Illegal Immigrants Enter Somaliland

Immigration officials in the self-declared republic of Somaliland have expressed concern over the increase in the number of illegal Ethiopian migrants entering the region, with claims that up to 90 people are arriving daily, against 50 in 2008.

A British Warship Saves Yemeni Fishing Boat From Somali Pirates 17 October 2009

A British warship has Saturday managed to save Yemeni fishing boat from Somali pirates who were trying to hijack it as it was traveling through the water according to Yemani officials.

An Ethiopian army contingent has entered parts of central Somalia Region - Report

An Ethiopian army contingent has entered parts of central Somalia where deadly clashes have raged in recent days among rival factions of Somali Islamists, Radio Garowe reports.

Ethiopian troops backed by 18 military trucks entered the central Hiran region Tuesday morning, where they set up a base at the strategic Kala-Beyr junction, witnesses said.

Refugees Returning to 'Risky' Mogadishu

Hawa Salad Halane and her two children are among the families returning to Heliwa district of north Mogadishu after 18 months in an overcrowded camp on the outskirts of the capital.

"We came back five days ago but found most of our homes destroyed by shells; everything is either destroyed or looted," Halane told IRIN on 4 March.

Flood In Somalia Displaces Thousands, Destroy Farmlands

Flash floods in south-western Gedo region have displaced hundreds of families and inundated hectares of farmland in and around Bardera, the regional capital.

Abdirisaaq Mohamed Geriyow, executive director of the Social and Agricultural Development Organisation (SADO), an NGO based in Bardera, said the floods followed heavy rains in the town and in the hilly areas around it.

Somali minority people's plea for food aid

Somalia: Officials in Somalia's Middle Shabelle Region have raised the alarm over the plight of a community of drought-stricken hunter-gatherers there, who are in urgent need of food and water.

Somalia: UNDP stop operation in Baidoa town

Somalia: The UNDP has pulled out its staff from Baidoa town, the HQ of Bay Region on reasons related to security Bay regional administration has commented on the matter.