UN Urges Eritrea to Withdraw from a Buffer Zone!

UN warns Eritrea and calls for immediate withdrawal to Eritrean troops from a buffer zone between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Meanwhile, Ethiopia says it is carefully monitoring Eritrean incursion into a buffer zone between the two countries.

The UN Secretary-General described the Eritrean incursion as a major violation of the ceasefire agreement, and urged Eritrea to withdraw its troops and cooperate with the UN in restoring the ceasefire arrangement. The spokesman for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the Eritrean Defence Forces had taken over one UNMEE checkpoint in the (TSZ)

NEWS from Nairobi the capital of Kenya says Eritrea has deployed 1,500 troops and 14 tanks to a buffering zone along the Eritrean-Ethiopian borders. The buffer zone was created after the last war between the two countries over their disputed frontier.

Eritrean information minister, Ali Abdu said the Eritrean troops had moved to the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) to help harvest crops from the state-run farms there which constitute one-third of Eritrean territory.

Eritrea and Ethiopia has agreed to the ruling of the border commission reached in April 2002. However, Ethiopia stalled the physical demarcation of the border in 2003. The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi accepted finally the boundary demarcation in five-point peace proposal called for a meeting with Eritrea to work out adjustments to the border on both sides, the IRIN said.

Eritrea has rejected calls for fresh talks. Ali Abdu urged that Ethiopia to be blamed for continuous tension over the border, because it refused to abide by the decision of an international border commission.

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Somali Crisis Continues!

UIC Militias Occupy Key Port and Ethiopian Troops March in Baidoa!

The Somali Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) said Ethiopia has declared war against Somalia and the Islamic Courts will defend their land. Ten vehicles of Ethiopian troops have entered South Somalia yesterday in their way to Baidoa to support the very weak transitional government. Ethiopia denied sending troops to occupy Somalia, or to help the government against the UIC.

"The incursion of Ethiopian troops into Somalia territories is a declaration of war on Somalia," said UIC national security chairman Sheikh Yusuf Indahaadde. He calls on international community to urge Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from Somalia. He warns "if that doesn't happen the consequences of insecurity created by Ethiopia will spread to neighbouring countries and to the East Africa as a whole."

The Somali government spokesman Abdurrahman Dinari denied that any Ethiopian had crossed the border and said the reports were being fabricated by the Islamists to distract attention from their advance into Kismayo.

The UIC took control of the key port city of Kismayo on Sunday after the Defence Minister Barre Hilraale and his forces fled their headquarters in the city. Thousands of Somalis are reported to have fled the city. The UIC occupied the city to prevent it being used to bring foreign peacekeepers into the country, as requested by the interim government.

Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Ghedi has appealed for international help against "al-Qaeda" and "terrorists" expansion, as he appealed for regional help saying "I would appeal to the governments of the region to join our efforts and protect the region from the expansion of this al-Qaeda network, these terrorists."

The UIC have repeatedly denied having any links to al-Qaeda and said to only seek restoring security and stability to Somalia. Somalia has never gained effective national government for more than 15 years, and the last government of Siad Barry had built the country nothing than a military dictatorial system.

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SOS Mourns Tragic Death of Italian Sister!

SOS Children's Villages mourns the tragic death of Italian Sister Leonella Sgorbati and her bodyguard who were both shot dead by gunmen in Mogadishu at noon last 17 September 2006.

"The worldwide family of SOS Children's Villages deeply mourns the death of Sister Leonella Sgorbati, who dedicated her life to carrying out humanitarian and development work in Africa. For the past four years and in spite of the dangerous situation in Somalia, Sister Leonella worked tirelessly in the setting up and operating the nursing school of SOS Children's Villages in Mogadishu, which offered you people the opportunity to complete a nursing course," said Helmut Kutin, president SOS Children's Villages.

"The entire SOS Children's Villages family feels the pain of this tragic loss, and our deep condolences go to Sister Leonella's family, to all the Sisters in her Order and her many colleagues and friends at SOS Children's Villages in Mogadishu."

The Italian Sister aged 66, was responsible for setting up operation of the nursing school at SOS Hospital in the Somali capital, which is the only hospital with a functioning maternity ward and gynaecological care facility in Somalia. Following her wish, her body was brought to Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, where she will be buried later this week.

Three Italian nuns working on a voluntary basis for the international children's welfare organization in Mogadishu were immediately evacuated from Somalia on Sunday evening by Willy Huber, the regional director of SOS Children's Villages for East Africa, SOS said.

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Disastrous Future!

I don't know what to say. The future of this land seems disastrous.

Last Collapse of the Interim Somali Government!

The political map in Somalia shows great spread to the Somali areas controlled by the Union of Islamic Courts and their allies, in comparison to those small areas controlled by the Somali government in Baidoa.

Somalia's interim government was formed two years ago to work for unity and bring stability to a country which had been divided among clan based militias since the fall of the Somali dictator Mohammed Siad Barre in 1991.

Although some militia leaders have given posts in interim government but some of them retain control over their own forces. This point makes the government too weak to handle its national integrity tasks.

One of those militia's leader who is the transport minister called on the interim government to leave its based headquarters in Baidoa. Mohammed Ibrahim Habsade told the BBC that militiamen would eject government members by force if they did not withdraw peacefully.

The two top officials of the Islamic Courts (UIC) flew to Libya where an African Union meeting is due to take place, BBC said. News sources speculated that Libya has invited Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys and Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed to Tripoli to arrange talks between them and the Somali government.

According to what the BBC said, a long-delayed second round of peace talks began in Khartoum the capital city of Sudan at the weekend between the government and the UIC, which controls a large part of southern Somalia including the capital Mogadishu.

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First UN Contact with Somali's Islamists!

A UN security team of two members teamed towards Mogadishu for first contact with Somali's Islamists. UN chief security adviser for Somalia Joe Gordon met Sheikh Sheriff Sheikh Ahmed, one of the Islamist leaders and observed the situation in the capital which is put in heavy security by the new control of the Islamist militias.

Meanwhile Sheikh Hassan Dahir commented on a statement attributed to Osama bin Laden which contains a warning to the West not to interfere in Somalia, in which Dahir said it had nothing to do with the Union of Islamic Courts.

Under fighting and destructive atmosphere of violence most aid workers have pulled out of Mogadishu. A Swedish journalist was shot dead at a rally in the city last month BBC said.