By Andrew Gilligan The Government’s programmes for developing countries sound impressive – but many of its claims start to unravel under scrutiny Once again last week, the Department for International Development (DFID) found itself fighting a small crisis in Africa. After The Sunday Telegraph revealed that £480,000 of British aid had been stolen by al‑Shabaab,...
By Michael Shank Aid groups are leaving because of violent attacks. But the biggest problem is that the West is undermining any progress. By Michael Shank Despite the news that Doctors Without Borders is quitting Somalia after 20-plus years in the country, due to an increase in violent attacks, the biggest war waged in Somalia...
An Ethiopian housemaid committed a suicide by hanging herself inside the bathroom at her employer’s house in the Gulf Kingdom, police said on Saturday. The Saudi employer found the maid, in her 30s, hanging in the bathroom at his house in the eastern Saudi province of Ihsa, they said. “Forensic examination showed the maid had...
NAIROBI — Somalia is suffering an “explosive” outbreak of polio and now has more cases than the rest of the world combined, an official said Friday. Vaccination teams face a daunting challenge: accessing areas of Somalia controlled by al-Qaeda-linked militants, where seven of 10 children aren’t fully immunized. Polio is considered mostly eliminated globally, except...
GENEVA — The United Nations says that rape and sexual abuse is widespread throughout Somalia, though cases remain seriously underreported. A new report notes during the first half of the year, from January to June, some 800 cases of sexual and gender-based violence were reported in the capital, Mogadishu, alone. Sexual and gender-based violence has been...
Somalis fare much worse than other immigrants; what holds them back? BARBER shops are excellent places for gossip. Hassan Ali’s place in Kentish Town is no different. The north Londoner arrived in Britain from Somalia with dreams of becoming a mechanic. But he was good at cutting hair: you do whatever work you can, he...
By Faisal Roble Every government that came to Mogadishu since the Barre regime had claimed to be legitimate. The loudest noise and more intense claim for legitimacy had been echoed by the current government. On the contrary, the current government is less legitimate than its predecessor. Given how much it erred and abused the recently...
By Jessica Elgot The medical aid charity, Médecins Sans Frontières, reputed for working in some of the world’s most dangerous areas, is to pull out from Somalia, saying it can no longer stand the killing, kidnapping and intimidation of its staff. ‘Doctors Without Borders’ has spent 22 years in the country, blamed the country’s authorities in south...
The African Union force in Somalia has said it is investigating an alleged gang rape involving its troops in the capital, Mogadishu. A Somali woman has alleged she was abducted, drugged and repeatedly raped earlier this month by officers from the national army and the AU force. The allegation has caused outrage in Mogadishu, and...
Mogadishu-August 15th, 2013; The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is investigating allegations of rape made against its soldiers in the Somali town of Maslah. AMISOM and the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) have formed a joint team to investigate the matter and appropriate action will be taken once the facts of the case have...