The President of the Republic of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi is leaving for Saudi Arabia tomorrow on official invitation from the Kingdom to attend the Hajj.
Sources close to Somaliland Presidency confirm to Somaliland Chronicle that President Bihi and members of his delegation will be travelling on Somaliland passport. This will be President Bihi’s first visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowment Sheikh Khalil Abdillahi Ahmed
Minister of Interior Affairs Mr Mohamed Kahin
President will be accompanied by two members of his cabinet, the Minister of Interior Affairs Mr. Mohamed Kahin Abdi and the Minister of Religious Affairs and Endowment Sheikh Khalil Abdilahi Ahmed.
News of President’s Hajj attendance was widely speculated in Somaliland media where some outlets reported communication between the President and the Kingdom on travel logistics and possible audience with the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia extends invitations to heads of states from muslim countries to attend the Hajj. Last year, Vice President Saylici attended the Hajj on similar invitation.
Lt. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, commanding general for the XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, visits Soldiers from the 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia, Oct. 23. During the visit, Townsend listened to troops within the unit to get a feel for why they chose to join the SFAB, so he could help spread the word to the rest of the force to assist with recruiting efforts. Soldiers interested in joining an SFAB should contact their branch manager for more information.
General Stephen J. Townsend who has taken command of the US Africa Command based in Djibouti on July 28th has described Alshabaab as the deadlist and largest VEO in Africa.
The change-of-command ceremony took place this morning at Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany.
General Townsend is clear eyed about the task ahead of him as the new Head of AFRICOM. In a response to the Senete Armed Service Committee, General Townsend was asked what he considers to be most significant challenges he will face as of USAFRICOM
“Somalia’s al-Shabaab is the deadliest and largest violent extremist organization in Africa and remains a substantial concern. The group is firmly committed to its al-Qa’ida affiliation, continues to control large portions of southern Somalia, and acts as a regional destabilizer in East Africa. Al-Shabaab is responsible for the deadliest terrorist attack in Africa’s history–a November 2017 Mogadishu car bomb that killed over 560 people. The group also continues to demonstrate its ability to conduct regional attacks, most recently in a mid-January armed assault on a hotel in Nairobi, Kenya that left over 20 dead, including one American.” General Townsend responded.
General Townsend in Camp Swift Iraq in 2016
On the Generals Senate confirmation in April, Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic Presidential hopeful, citing the increased airstrikes in Somalia by the United States asked General Townsend if the United States is at war with Somalia. “No, Senator, we are not at war with Somalia, but we are carrying out our operations against violent extremist organizations in Somalia. It is a designated active area of hostilities. ” General Townsend responded.
US Senator Elizabeth Warren.
On The change-of-command ceremony held in Stuttgart, Germany the Acting Secretary of Defense Richard V. Spencer said “General Townsend brings a wealth of experience from his position as former commander of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve,”. Operation Inherent Resolve is the US campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
General Towndsend is the 5th commander to lead the Djibouti based US Africa Command.
General Townsend is taking command of US Africa Command at a time when Alshabaab is resurgent and is taking more territory in Somalia and its sphere of influence is growing despite effort by the United States, AMISOM and other nations operating in Somalia to eradicate Alshabaab.
President of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi has made a minor reshuffle to his administration.
One of the people the President sacked today is Mr. Mohamed Dahir Ahmed, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education. Mr. Ahmed was previously appointed to the Ministry of Finance and was moved to the Ministry of Education on November 10th 2018 when he replaced the entire leadership of the Ministry of Finance.
Former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education.
It is unclear if Mr. Ahmed’s dismissal is related to the ongoing Auditor General investigation in the MOE. Mr. Ahmed is replaced by Ahmed Hassan Nur (Tajir).
Former General Manager of Somalialnd Road Authority Eng. Osman Sh Abdi
President Bihi has also relieved Eng Osman Sh Abdi of his duties as the General Manager of Somaliland Road Authority and replaced him with Ahmed Mohamed Yusuf.
Somaliland Chronicle is unable to substantiate reports of another major reshuffle in the coming days.
While reshuffles and new appointments by previous presidents were known to the public well in advance, President Bihi has been difficult to read and his administration has had a good track record of preventing leaks.
The United Nations Special Representative to Somalia and Head of UNSOM Mr. James Swan paid his first visit to the Republic of Somaliland since United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed him to the post on May 30th 2019.
A busy day in #Hargeisa for @UN envoy James Swan, on his first trip to #Somaliland since taking up his post – a visit to a @UNHCRSom-backed livelihoods project and the @UNDPSomalia-backed Civil Service Institute, and meeting #women leaders to hear about progress and challenges. pic.twitter.com/yZjKeMpkfa
Mr. Swan is scheduled to meet with the President of Somaliland HE Muse Bihi Abdi, the chairmen of Somaliland political parties as well as the Somaliland House of Elders and House Representatives, civil groups, NGOs and business organisations.
On July 24, Mr. Swan was the target of the latest Alshabaab suicide bombing in Municipal building in Mogadishu. The attack claimed the lives of several District Commissioners and other high ranking local council members while gravely wounding Mogadishu Mayor Mr. Abdirahmaan Omar Osman Eng Yariisow .
The Mayor of Mogadishu Mr. Yariisow and other wounded in the attack were evacuated to Qatar for treatment medical treatment.
James Swan, an American diplomat who is the United Nations’ special representative for Somalia, had visited the mayor’s office earlier Wednesday but left before the attack https://t.co/DBqzLo5GQH
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) July 24, 2019
“The UN Special Envoy James Swan, an American, survived an assassination attempt and many government officials were killed and wounded, including Mogadishu’s mayor, after targeting them in an explosion,” said a statement attributed to the Alshabaab terror network.
Nicholas Haysom former head of UNSOM and Special Representative to Somalia with President Muse Bihi Abdi on November 2018
Mr. Swan is a seasoned former US diplomat who has held many positions at the Department of State. He has succeeded Mr. Nicholas Haysom who has been granted a PNG status by Somalia’s Federal Government on January this year.
The three political parties of Wadani, UCID and Kulmiye have agreed to end the stalemate by agreeing to increase the number of Electoral Commissions from the constitutionally mandated 7 members to 9 by amending the relevant election laws that govern the number and composition of the National Election Commission.
Somaliland political parties has been locked in a stalemate that has resulted in delay of elections in Somaliland and a term extension for the Parliament.
Chairman of Somaliland Political Parties, President Muse Bihi Abdi representing Kulmiye, Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi Cirro, Chairman of Waddani and Eng. Faysal Ali Warabe, Chairman of UCID.
The parties agreed to have a motion presented in the parliament by Members of the Parliament from all three parties to have it ratified.
If the amendment to increase the number of Electoral Commission from 7 to 9 fails in the parliament before September 1st, Wadani, UCID and Kulmiye agreed to hold the election on time and revisit the issue after the election in the new parliamentary session.
The agreement is a very positive step. It has some deadlines that need to be respected. It opens windows for youth and women to participate in the political debate. My sincerest thanks to all political leaders of Somaliland https://t.co/jGNQqkWu8v
Disbanding the current Election Commission and increasing their numbers from 7 to 9 has been one of the main points of disagreement between the parties.
Congratulations to all political parties on today’s historic agreement that will facilitate the holding of overdue parliamentary and local council elections in #Somaliland. pic.twitter.com/WVTeQGLpLh
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. warship on Thursday destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz after it threatened the ship, President Donald Trump said. The incident marked a new escalation of tensions between the countries less than one month after Iran downed an American drone in the same waterway and Trump came close to retaliating with a military strike.
Today, on behalf of the American people, I received an American flag that flew aboard a ship carrying the first waves of U.S. Service Members to land in Normandy…https://t.co/f1fLTAj0We
In remarks at the White House, Trump blamed Iran for a “provocative and hostile” action and said the U.S. responded in self-defense. Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, told reporters as he arrived for a meeting at the United Nations that “we have no information about losing a drone today.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
The clash in one of the busiest waterways for international oil traffic highlighted the risk of war between two countries at odds over a wide range of issues. After Trump pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal last year and imposed additional economic sanctions, the Iranians have pushed back on the military front, allegedly sabotaging Saudi and other oil tankers in the Gulf, shooting down a U.S. drone on June 20 and stepping up support for Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Adding to the economic pressure on Tehran, the Treasury Department said Thursday it was imposing sanctions on what it called a network of front companies and agents involved in helping Iran buy sensitive materials for its nuclear program. It said the targeted individuals and entities are based in Iran, China and Belgium.
Trump said the Navy’s USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, took defensive action after the Iranian aircraft closed to within 1,000 yards of the ship and ignored multiple calls to stand down.
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Should Back Global Call to End Xinjiang Repression
(New York) – More than a dozen member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) signed a statement supporting China’s policies in Xinjiang that ignored widespread repression of the region’s Muslims, Human Rights Watch said today. The Chinese government-promoted letter was in response to a joint statement by 22 countries at the United Nations Human Rights Council last week expressing concern at massive rights violations in Xinjiang and urging unfettered access by international monitors.
The Chinese government has subjected 13 million ethnic Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang to mass arbitrary detention, forced political indoctrination, restrictions on movement, and religious oppression. Credible estimates indicate that over one million people are being held in “political education” camps. Chinese authorities have also placed Muslims in Xinjiang under pervasive surveillance and mobilized over a million officials to monitor Muslims, including through various intrusive programs.
“The Chinese government garnered the support of a dozen Muslim-majority countries to help whitewash its abysmal human rights record in Xinjiang,” said Sophie Richardson, China director. “Instead of joining with the many governments denouncing abuses against Xinjiang’s Muslims, these countries have joined Beijing’s repugnant counter narrative.”
Despite the systematic abuses against Muslims in Xinjiang, the countries that joined China’s statement applauded China’s “counter-terrorism and de-radicalization measures in Xinjiang” that have led to a “stronger sense of happiness, fulfillment, and security.” The Muslim-majority countries that signed the letter include: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the United Arab Emirates.
China’s campaign of repression in Xinjiang has been a key test of whether OIC members will press an increasingly powerful China to end its systemic abuses against Muslims. The 57-country body has largely remained silent and at times applauded China’s efforts in recent months. When the OIC foreign ministers met in Abu Dhabi in March, they ignored the plight of Xinjiang’s Muslims, and instead praised China’s efforts “in providing care to its Muslim citizens” and “look[ed] forward to further cooperation” with China.
OIC delegates also took part in one of the Chinese government’s highly controlled, state-managed diplomatic visits to Xinjiang without any criticism of the government’s rights violations. By contrast and in line with its mandate to “safeguard the rights, dignity, and religious and cultural identity” of Muslim minorities, the OIC has been vocal in condemning abuses against and demanding accountability for Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
Several OIC members including Afghanistan, Albania, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey did not sign the China-backed letter. However, no Muslim-majority country has joined the unprecedented global call at the UN Human Rights Council to investigate abuses. OIC countries should urgently sign this joint statement before the July 26 deadline.
“China’s repressive Xinjiang campaign has put the OIC’s credibility on the line,” Richardson said. “If the OIC wants to be the global voice for the rights of oppressed Muslims everywhere, its members need to stop looking the other way and denounce China’s abusive policies in Xinjiang.”
If you need medical attention from one of the publicly run hospitals in Somaliland such as Hargeisa Group Hospital, make sure you bring with you latex gloves, syringes and most of the basic medical provision you will need. Should you be unfortunate not to have these basic medical supplies with you, the nurse of the doctor will simply move on to the next patient.
While government-run hospitals such as Hargeisa Group Hospital are much cheaper than their privately owned counterparts, every service you may need including the hospital stay is a service you will have to pay for separately and if you need white-glove service, obviously it’s an extra charge.
There are public hospitals in most
major cities in Somaliland and Hargeisa Group Hospital is the largest in the
country and was built in 1950 to serve 20 to 30 thousand people now serves more
than half a million a year with no significant changes or upgrades.
We have visited Hargeisa Group
Hospital and spoke to doctors and other medical professionals and patients to
understand their experience of Somaliland’s public hospitals.
In the past, people lost their lives
because basic medical services were inadequate in Hargeisa Group Hospital.
One person we spoke to told us
stated that a relative passed away because the person in charge of the hospital
oxygen supply was unavailable. Another patient died of her gunshot wounds
because lifesaving surgery could not be performed without the anesthesiologist
who went home for the night.
It is important to note that these
incidents particular incidents took place few years ago and we have
confirmed that both departments are manned 24/7.
While many say the conditions at Hargeisa Group Hospital have substantially improved, others point to staff that are focused on ensuring they get paid a fee to place a patient in one of the payment based rooms than the wellbeing and care of patients.
Only 1.3 million dollars is allocated for activities directly related to public hospitals. It is not clear how much the government has earmarked to individual hospitals and specially Hargeisa Group Hospital.
Other agencies fund various
departments of the hospital such as the maternity and neonatal, maternity and
the dialysis departments.
The hospital itself generates significant revenue from various services it provides including hospital stay in the rooms. The prices are 8 US dollars for the older rooms and there are 34 of them and 15 US dollars for the24 newer rooms and according to current employees of the hospital, there are rarely any vacancies. The room occupancy alone could conservatively generate well over 200,000 US dollars a year.
Rooms
Price
Day
Annual
24
$ 15.00
$ 360.00
$ 131,400.00
34
$ 8.00
$ 272.00
$ 99,280.00
Annual room Rental
$ 230,680.00
While there are no free services at
Hargeisa Group Hospital, its fees are substantially cheaper than the privately
owned medical facilities and there is also a waiver system for those that
cannot pay.
According to a midlevel employee of
Hargeisa Group Hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity, none of the
revenue the hospital generates goes into government coffers where it can be
properly accounted for and ensure that hospital running costs are actually paid
and funds set aside to purchase or replace aging equipment.
In fact, according to the same
employee, every Section Manager from the Ministry of Health was drawing a bonus
of 700 US dollars a month from the hospital. Who approved these payments and
how long this has been the case are unknown. The new Manager of Hargeisa Group
Hospital Mr. Yassin Abdi suspended these payments.
Despite the many sources of funding
and revenues to run and improve conditions at Hargeisa Group Hospital has
significant debt to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Only two weeks after the helm as the Director of the Hospital Dr. Yassin Abdi Arab told the Social Affairs Committee of Somaliland Senate that his predecessor Dr. Ahmed Omar Askar has left him with a debt of 423,000 US Dollars for unpaid electric bill and purchase of medicines for the hospital.
Sources with knowledge of the operation
of the Hargeisa hospital who requested anonymity point to widespread corruption
and mismanagement. When asked for proof of the corruption allegation, most have
pointed to the lavish lifestyles of some employees of the hospital.
A medical professional working in
Hargeisa Group Hospital said: “We need a holistic review and a solid plan, I
don’t think adding a new building every few years has worked for us”.
Medical Waste Disposal and Asbestos
One of the most bizarre things we
have learned during our investigation of Hargeisa Group Hospital is that is the
hospital has no incinerator or medical waste disposal facility.
There is no seperate stream to
ensure hazardous waste does not end up in the hospital’s regular refuse. This
could endanger the hospital’s custodial staff and the general public.
What is more alarming is that the
hospital chooses to bury placentas and other human tissues in the back of the
hospital. Multiple employees from the Ministry of Health Development
confirmed the unmistakable smell of decomposition coming from windows that face
the back lot of the hospital where human tissues are allegedly buried.
In addition, the hospital has no process to dispose of an amputated body parts such as limbs they simply ask the patients family members to take it with them and bury it somewhere.
On the handover ceremony, the former Director of the hospital Dr. Ahmed Omar Askar stated that most of the wards that were build by the British have Asbestos and went to explain the dangerous health hazards associated with exposure to it including the fact that it causes lung cancer.
Lack of Confidence
The lack of confidence in public
hospitals has led to the creation to multiple privately owned hospitals
throughout Somaliland where many are staffed by foreigners and the same doctors
who work at the public hospitals such as Hargeisa Group Hospital.
The vast majority of patients who
use the publicly run facilities such as Hargeisa Group Hospital are those who
cannot afford the exorbitant price of the private facilities in Somaliland.
When the former Minister of Health Dr. Hassan Ismail Yusuf fell ill in late January this year, he was taken to Haldoor private hospital and not Hargeisa Group Hospital.President Bihi accepted Dr. Hassan Ismail Yusuf resignation in April 2019 following his illness and replaced him with Mr. Omar Ali Abdillahi Bade as the Minister of Health.
Private hospitals such as Haldoor, Hargeisa International Hospital, and Edna are not affordable to most patients but many believe that they offer the best chance of survival for acute medical conditions.
Those with means avoid seeking
medical care in Somaliland altogether and embark on arduous journeys to
Ethiopia, Djibouti and as far away as Turkey and India to seek medical
attention and potentially spending tens of thousands of dollars because they do
not trust the healthcare system in Somaliland.
There is no data from the Ministry
of Health to show trends and help compare private and public health facilities
in terms of quality of care.
Other public hospitals throughout
Somaliland fare even worse than Hargeisa Group Hospital and most lack even the
most basic of services despite millions of public funding being spent on them
and changing hands from multiple NGOs.
The new Direct of the Hargeisa Group
Hospital Dr. Yassin Abdi has declined to comment for this story citing an
ongoing review of hospital processes.
Efforts to reach his predecessor Dr. Ahmed Omar Askar for comments were unsuccessful.
According to Somaliland government sources, Somaliland and Somalia will meet in Nairobi for a preliminary talks to restart the dialogue between the two countries.
From Somaliland, the listed participants include the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Yasin Hagi Mohamoud Hiir (Faratoon), Somaliland’s Representative to Kenya, Mr. Bashe Omar and the Director of Civil Aviation Captain Abdi Rodol. All three are currently in Nairobi.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Yasin Hagi Mohamoud Hiir (Faratoon), Somaliland’s Representative to Kenya, Mr. Bashe Omar and the Director of Civil Aviation Captain Abdi Rodol and Deputy Representative Mr. Sharmarke Gelle in Nairobi
For Somalia, participants
include, President Mohamed Abdillahi Farmajo’s Chief of Staff Dr. Nur Dirie and
his assistant Mr. Abdisatar Gelle.
In addition to the participants from Somaliland and Somalia, there is a heavy participation of international community including the UK Ambassador to Somalia Mr. Stewart Brown, The EU Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Ambassador Alexander Rondos, USAID Mission Director to Somalia Mr. Jeffery Bakken, the Swedish Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Ambassador Urban Anderrson as well as the Turkish Envoy for Somalia – Somaliland talks Mr. Oglan Bekar.
Members of the Center for Human Dialogue including Somaliland’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Dr. Mohamed Abdillahi Omer will be participating in the meeting.
This is a developing story and we will update as we know more.
ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia’s chief of staff
and at least three other senior officials have been killed during a coup
attempt by an army general in the northern state of Amhara, state television
said on Sunday.
Amhara’s state president Ambachew
Mekonnen and his advisor were also killed, according to state media, which
named the region’s security head, General Asamnew Tsige, as the orchestrator of
the attempted coup.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government
faces growing pressure from regional strongmen, including in Amhara, a
flashpoint in growing ethnic violence in Ethiopia.
The
shooting occurred when federal officials were meeting the state president – an
ally of Abiy – to discuss how to rein in the open recruitment of ethnic
militias by Asamnew, one Addis-based official told Reuters.
A week earlier, Asamnew had openly
advised the Amhara people, one of Ethiopia’s larger ethnic groups, to arm
themselves, in a video spread on Facebook and seen by a Reuters reporter.
Ethiopia, a nation of 100 million
people, is struggling to contain widespread ethnic violence that has displaced
around 2.4 million people, according to the United Nations.
Abiy donned military fatigues to
announce on state television late on Saturday that there had been an attempted
coup in Amhara’s capital Bahir Dar earlier that day and that Ethiopia’s Chief
of Staff General Seare Mekonnen was among the casualties.
“He was shot by people who are
close to him,” Abiy said.
Seare had been shot dead by his
bodyguard, state media reported on Sunday. Most of the perpetrators had been
arrested, a general in charge of special forces in Amhara told state media on
Sunday.
Since
coming to power last year, Abiy has tried to spearhead political reforms in the
Horn of Africa nation. Three years of political violence led to the
unprecedented resignation of Abiy’s predecessor, Hailemariam Desalegn.
Abiy
has released political prisoners, removed bans on political parties and
prosecuted officials accused of gross human rights abuses, but his government
is battling mounting violence.
Ethnic bloodshed – long held in check
by the state’s iron grip – has flared up in many areas, including Amhara, where
the regional government was led by Mekonnen.
On Saturday, the U.S. Embassy said that
it was aware of reports of gunfire in Addis Ababa, and some residents told
Reuters about hearing six shots ring out in a suburb near the country’s Bole
International Airport around 9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday. The government
did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
People in many parts of Ethiopia
reported being unable to access the Internet beginning late Saturday although
the government has not stated whether it had cut it off. Authorities have cut
off the internet several times in the past for security and other reasons.
Early on Sunday, Brigadier General
Tefera Mamo, the head of special forces in Amhara, told state television that
“most of the people who attempted the coup have been arrested, although
there are a few still at large.”
Residents in Amhara’s capital Bahir Dar
said late on Saturday there was gunfire in some neighborhoods and some roads
had been closed off.
Ethiopia is due to hold a national parliamentary election next year. Several opposition groups have called for the polls to be held on time despite the unrest and displacement.
(Additional reporting by Katharine Houreld; Writing by Elias Biryabarema and Katharine Houreld; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
