France 24 —Piracy is a thriving business in spite of the presence of many foreign warships in the Gulf of Aden. Last year, the income from piracy reached a staggering 40 million dollars. The pirates use the money to buy villas and cars at home in Somalia, but UN experts say the money is also flooding the neighbouring Kenyan property market. According to Bruno Schiemsky,...Continue reading »
Author Archives: News Desk
Ilka Ase Mohamed says he lost the tall, bright-eyed love of his life to a Somali pirate who paid a $50,000 cash dowry to her mother. (Miguel Juarez - For The Washington Post) By Stephanie McCrummen Washington Post — (NAIROBI) The young Somali couple had plans. Ilka Ase Mohamed and the love of his life, tall, bright-eyed Fatima Mukhtar, were going to leave their...Continue reading »
By Ibrahim Mohamed MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Gunmen have demanded a $1 million ransom for the release of three aid workers taken over the weekend in Somalia, a local elder said on Monday. “We came back this morning with empty hands,” said elder Aden Isak Ali from Rabdhure town, near where gunmen seized a medical team from the charity MSF-Belgium. “The...Continue reading »
In this video screengrab a speedboat filled with Somali pirates approaches one of its mother ships. Craig Offman, National Post  — Using a successful formula of shooting, kidnapping and extortion, seafaring bandits off the Somali coast are causing panic in the Gulf of Aden. But as the international community scrambles to deal with the high seas...Continue reading »
MOGADISHU, April 19 (Reuters) – Gunmen kidnapped two aid workers, believed to be Belgian and Danish, in central Somalia on Sunday, a local elder and another relief worker said. “Unidentified armed men kidnapped two MSF-Belgium aid workers in Bakol region,” local elder Hassan Maalin told Reuters by telephone from the area. A local MSF worker who asked...Continue reading »
Columbus, Ohio By JAMES WALSH and RICHARD MERYHEW, Star Tribune staff writers COLUMBUS, OHIO – In a corner office of a strip mall here, Somali leaders are working on a mission that has its roots in a string of sudden disappearances more than 700 miles away. While federal agents and Somali leaders in the Twin Cities struggle to find answers to whether up to 20 young...Continue reading »
Give the people of Somalia a reason not to be pirates. The only reason there is piracy in Somalia is because of lawlessness and extreme poverty. What would you do if you were in their shoes? You’re bored, jobless and hungry. You see huge tankers float by with huge cargoes for other destinations. Why wouldn’t they try to take the ships for ransom? Are...Continue reading »
Ayaanle Daad (Poet and Frequent Bartamaha Blogger) - Photo by Bartamaha Here are four poems (My people are Tribalistic, Be Cynical, Our Foreign Policy, A Little Bit) written by Ayanle Daad, all of which are copyrighted. Several more are on the way. My People are Tribalistic Our Foreign Policy Be Cynical A Little Bit ...
Pirates in Slow Motion The 20/20 program that aired friday april 17 described the Somali Pirates With rusted AK-47 rifles slung across their backs, the emaciated, barefoot pirates cruise the vast waters off the coast of Puntland, Somalia, into the Gulf of Aden in decayed motorboats, like sharks hunting their next meal. The program was well produced but lacks truth, in...Continue reading »
Last year Somali pirates were responsible for more than 100 attacks on shipping and although attempts are being made to tackle the problem, finding a solution is not straightforward reports Karen Allen in Kenya. When pirates attacked, the crew disabled the Maersk Alabama’s power I had come straight from covering the 15th anniversary of the genocide in...Continue reading »
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali parliamentarians unanimously endorsed a proposal to implement Islamic law in the Horn of Africa nation. Lawmakers say they hope the vote Saturday will help drain support from Islamist insurgents battling the U.N.-backed government. Implementation of Shariah law has been one of their key demands. Information Minister Farhan Ali...Continue reading »
The ship captain rescued by Navy snipers from the clutches of Somali pirates said upon his triumphant arrival back in his home state Friday that he was just an ordinary seaman doing his job and he’s not a hero – the military is. Captain Richard Phillips arrived in Vermont a week and a half after being taken by pirates who attacked his cargo ship, the Maersk...Continue reading »
Water Reservoir was the cause of a tribal war between two clans in central Somalia (Omar Mohamoud and Bah Hararsame), Its the story of the reconciliation process between the tribes and ending the conflict. This documentary shows you how Somali elders reconcile each other under a tree, which is a fading culture in Somalia. Leading this process is the clan leaders of both...Continue reading »
Two Somali men who are longtime Minnesota residents discuss the major concerns of Somalis living in Minnesota, including whether young men are being recruited to fight with terrorists. Guests Ahmed Samatar: Dean of the Institute for Global Citizenship at Macalester College in St. Paul. He is a native of Somalia and a U.S. citizen. Hussein Samatar: Founder and executive...Continue reading »
Somalia's Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday April 16, 2009. Somalia's prime minister says his government has identified many pirate leaders but needs more resources to go after them. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi) By MICHELLE FAUL and KATHARINE HOURELD – NAIROBI, Kenya...Continue reading »
The only surviving Somali pirate that kidnapped Richard Phillips, the American cargo ship captain, will be tried in the US, it was reported on Friday. The teenage suspect, identified as Abduhl Wal-i-Musi, surrendered to the US Navy hours before its snipers shot dead his three comrades to free Mr Phillips. Britain, the EU and the US have signed agreements for Kenya to...Continue reading »
NAIROBI, April 16 (Reuters) – Foreign navies have agreed to protect a vessel installing an undersea high-speed Internet cable from pirates off the coast of Somalia, a Kenyan minister said on Thursday. Sea gangs from lawless Somalia have been increasingly striking the Indian Ocean shipping lanes and strategic Gulf of Aden, capturing dozens of vessels and hundreds...Continue reading »
By Roger Middleton (BBC)Â — Searching for satellite images of the pirate village of Eyl in Somalia, you are confronted not with palaces and piles of arms but a few crumbling houses and rows of battered boats along the beach. Even here, where pirate millions first reach Somalia, desperate poverty is everywhere and insecurity is the norm. US President Barack...Continue reading »
