Friday, July 18, 2003

SOMALIA: Amnesty urges "central role" for human rights activists
NAIROBI, 17 July 2003 (IRIN) - The rights group Amnesty International (AI) has called for human rights defenders to be given a central role in the ongoing peace process in Somalia.

"Civil society in Somalia, and particularly human rights defenders with a track record of activism, must be supported and empowered, and given a strong participatory role in the transitional period," it said in a statement issued on Thursday.

"Faction leaders must be pressed to affirm and demonstrate commitment to human rights," it added.MORE
SOMALIA: Frontline states say they are united
NAIROBI, 18 July 2003 (IRIN) - The frontline states, bordering Somalia, are united in their support for a successful outcome to the Somali peace talks currently underway in Kenya, according to a Kenyan foreign ministry statement. MORE

Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Faction leader rejects "flawed" agreement

NAIROBI, 16 July 2003 (IRIN)-- Mogadishu-based faction leader Muse Sudi Yalahow rejected a peace agreement signed earlier this month by delegates to the peace talks in Nairobi, saying it was "flawed".

"We are for peace but this agreement was signed by people who have no weight or influence on the ground," he told IRIN on Wednesday.

"Most of those who signed cannot make any difference to peace or war on the ground," he added. "What is needed is a peace deal agreed to by all those who can contribute to the peace process." MORE

Sunday, July 13, 2003

Somaliland's baby-delivering minister
HARGEISA, 9 July 2003(BBC)--Somaliland's Foreign Minister Edna Alda Ismail loves delivering babies at her hospital in the capital, Hargeisa.

When she is not at the foreign ministry or representing her country abroad, she spends her time at the hospital she established with her own money.

"I am still a nurse and a midwife. I was doing my midwifery at three o'clock this morning. There was an emergency," she told the BBC's Network Africa programme. MORE
Somali leader lambasts Ethiopia
By Peter Biles
MAPUTO, 12 July 2003 (BBC)--The leader of the transitional government in Somalia has made a strong attack on his country's neighbour, Ethiopia.

Speaking at the African Union summit in Mozambique, President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan accused Ethiopia of destabilising Somalia.

African heads of state have made conflict resolution a top priority at this summit in Mozambique. MORE