Oromo>>Clashes Over Pasture Continue

Ali Abdi
Nairobi

Peace initiatives from civil society Groups in the northern frontier yet to bear fruits

The Marsabit plane crash in which six MPs and eight other people died.

Almost two years have passed since the infamous Turbi massacre and little has been done to end the frequent clashes between the Borana and Gabra.

The conflict between the two tribes, found in Marsabit, Moyale and southern Ethiopia, is caused by competition for scarce resources - pasture and water.

The communities criss-cross Kenya and Ethiopia in search of pasture and water. Conflicts occur when rival clans try to control water points and grazing fields.

During the Turbi massacre that occurred in July 2005, 70 people were killed when raiders attacked villages. Since then, more than 200 people have been killed and thousands of livestock stolen in conflicts pitting the two communities against each other.

Thirty others have been killed since July, last year. In the latest incident, two people were killed in Saku at a borehole near the airstrip, 5km from Marsabit town. Police say the bandits carried out the attack after being denied access to a water point.

Community Initiative Facilitation and Assistance (Cifa), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working among the warring communities, says the current conflict had enormous effect on the lives of the people.

In its 2006 annual report, the NGO says access by locals to pasture and water had been "reduced to the home range due to fear of raids".

"Peace initiatives from community representatives, civil society groups and the provincial administration from both countries are yet to fully bear fruits," says Cifa Chief Executive, Chachu Tadicha.

Ancient practice

Tadicha says movement by the herdsmen between lowland Kenya and the Ethiopian highlands is an ancient practice and stopping it is difficult. Subsistence farming is practised in high altitude areas while the lower region, that is in Kenya, is suitable for livestock rearing.

Kenyan lowlands have abundant water and pasture, especially during the rainy season while the Ethiopian plateau has a permanent source of water during the dry season.

The pastoralists' economy in the region had been aggravated by the drought in the last two years where it is estimated that 60 per cent of livestock died.

In an interview with The Saturday Standard, locals said if they had enough pasture, water points and livestock markets, there would be no clashes.

Those on the Kenyan side blamed the Government for doing nothing to address the underlying issues. MPs from the area say the Government must address development issues in the volatile area to bring about long lasting peace among the residents.

They say so far, only NGOs and the Kenya Red Cross Society are addressing the issues that contributed to the unending conflict.

Cifa partners with Concern Worldwide, Oxfam, Cordaid, Caritas, and the Kenyan and Ethiopian governments in an attempt to end the conflict and assist the pastoralists in social economic development.

Officials of Cifa recently toured Laisamis, Saku, North Horr, Moyale and parts of southern Ethiopia during the launch of development projects by the NGO.

Cifa together with other NGOs and the Kenya and Ethiopian governments, sponsored peace meetings between the warring sides after the Turbi massacre. The first meeting was held in Yabello, Ethiopia, while Borana and Gabra spiritual leaders in Moyale attended the second one.

Peace-building initiative

The third and final peace meeting that was to be attended by area MPs and top government officials in Marsabit did not take place after the plane carrying the legislators crashed in Marsabit.

Tadicha says peace building is important but not enough to end the conflict. He says what is needed most is water, access to pasture and a stable livestock market.

The latest peace-building initiative was held early last month in Moyale, where participants included elders from the Borana and Gabra. Other peace initiatives between various Oromo speaking communities were held in Miyo, Mega and Moyale, all in Ethiopia's Region Five Province.

During the meeting, the elders called on pastoralists to seek permission before moving with their animals into their rivals' areas.

"Conflict occurs when rival communities move into one another's areas, in search of pasture and water. The influx leads to clashes," a Borana elder observed.

Both the Kenyan and Ethiopian Governments were condemned for failing to support the peace initiatives and instead resorted to military actions.

"They should resort to the "dedha" system which is the traditional way of pasture management. They have pasture and water zone preserved only for use during drought," Tadicha says.

Apart from peace initiatives, Cifa has been drilling boreholes in North Horr, Moyale and some parts of southern Ethiopia.

THEY ARE STILL OUR SLAVES ...

This an article one of my friend in US forward to me. I thought I would share with you guys. Might speak to my Oromo people also.

Please Note: For those of you who heard it, this is the article Dee Lee was reading
this morning on a New York radio station. For those of you who didn't hear it, this is very deep. This is a heavy piece and a Caucasian wrote it.

Dee Lee, CFP
Harvard Financial Educators
Dee Lee

THEY ARE STILL OUR SLAVES We can continue to reap profits from the Blacks without the effort of physical slavery Look at the current methods of containment that they use on themselves: IGNORANCE, GREED, and SELFISHNESS.

Their IGNORANCE is the primary weapon of containment. A great man once said, "The best way to hide something from Black people is to put it in a book." We now live in the Information Age. They have gained the opportunity to read any book on any subject through the efforts of their fight for freedom, yet they refuse to read. There are numerous books readily available at Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.com, not to mention their own Black Bookstores that provide solid blueprints to reach economic equality (which should have been their fight all along), but few read consistently, if at all.

GREED is another powerful weapon of containment. Blacks, since the abolition of slavery, have had large amounts of money at their disposal. Last year they spent 10 billion dollars during Christmas, out of their 450 billion dollars in total yearly income (2.22%).

Any of us can use them as our target market, for any business venture we care to dream up, no matter how outlandish, they will buy into it. Being primarily a consumer people, they function totally by greed. They continually want more, with little thought for saving or investing.

They would rather buy some new sneaker than invest in starting a business. Some even neglect their children to have the latest Tommy or FUBU, And they still think that having a Mercedes, and a big house gives them "Status" or that they have achieved their Dream.

They are fools! The vast majority of their people are still in poverty because their greed holds them back from collectively making better communities.

With the help of BET, and the rest of their black media that often broadcasts destructive images into their own homes, we will continue to see huge profits like those of Tommy and Nike. (Tommy Hilfiger has even jeered them, saying he doesn't want their money, and look at how the fools spend more with him than ever before!). They'll continue to show off to each other while we build solid communities with the profits from our businesses that we market to them.

SELFISHNESS, ingrained in their minds through slavery, is one of the major ways we can continue to contain them. One of their own, Dubois said that there was an innate division in their culture. A "Talented Tenth" he called it. He was correct in his deduction that there are segments of their culture that has achieved some "form" of success.

However, that segment missed the fullness of his work. They didn't read that the "Talented Tenth" was then responsible to aid The Non-Talented Ninety Percent in achieving a better life. Instead, that segment has created another class, a Buppie class that looks down on their people or aids them in a condescending manner.

They will never achieve what we have. Their selfishness does not allow them to be able to work together on any project or endeavor of substance. When they do get together, their selfishness lets their egos get in the way of their goal Their so-called help organizations seem to only want to promote their name without making any real change in their community.

They are content to sit in conferences and conventions in our hotels, and talk about what they will do, while they award plaques to the best speakers, not to the best doers. Is there no end to their selfishness? They steadfastly refuse to see that TOGETHER EACH ACHIEVES MORE (TEAM)

They do not understand that they are no better than each other because of what they own, as a matter of fact, most of those Buppies are but one or two pay checks away from poverty. All of which is under the control of our pens in our offices and our rooms.

Yes, we will continue to contain them as long as they refuse to re ad, continue to buy anything they want, and keep thinking they are "helping" their communities by paying dues to organizations which do little other than hold lavish conventions in our hotels. By the way, don't worry about any of them reading this letter, remember, 'THEY DON'T READ!!!!

(Prove them wrong. Please point other to this blog to read it...)

Oromo>>Release of Maccaa Tuulamaa Association Leaders

The Ethiopian high Court gave verdict to release the incarcerated MTA Leaders on bell. It is my believ that they will have no problem for the amount of bell required. It is our responsibility to help them out because they deserve it. We Oromos are blessed to have such determined leaders, who would go to any length to save the Oromo causes.

More than Fifteen of the Macha Tulama leaders were killed by the Ethiopian regimes since 1968.

African force ambushed in Somalia

African Union troops have still not deployed onto the streets

At least nine Somalis have been killed in a restaurant in the capital, Mogadishu, in an attack aimed at newly arrived African Union troops.

A BBC correspondent says insurgents fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an AU convoy but it missed the target.

A third contingent of 400 Ugandan troops has arrived, bringing the total to 1,200. The first group came under fire at their airport base on Tuesday.

The troops have been sent to back up Somalia's transitional government.

The mood is tense in the capital, with many shops and businesses shut and roadblocks preventing civilians moving about, especially in the south of Mogadishu.

The AU force is taking over from Ethiopian troops who intervened to help the government oust the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which had held power for six months and restored some order to the anarchic country.

But violence has escalated in the past two months, with dozens of people being killed by insurgents, and now the AU is being targeted.

"Convoys of Ugandan troops were ambushed as they were passing the main junction in Mogadishu, and they exchanged heavy gunfire with the insurgents," said Shino Abdukadir, an eyewitness.

The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says at least three civilians were wounded during the gunfight and the casualty toll at local hospitals may increase.

Unconfirmed reports say two Ugandan soldiers were injured when their car hit a land mine.

Call to attack

The AU said the deployment would continue, despite the threat.

"The AU has promised to deploy in Somalia and in Mogadishu. The attacks and threats do not set back the deployment," said the AU's Assane Ba.

However a Mogadishu radio station broadcast a call by a UIC commander, Aden Hashi Ayro, for attacks on the peacekeepers.

"It is time for the Somali youth to fight the occupation by Ethiopia and others," he said.

"The Muslims shall not surrender to non-believers," he added.

The BBC's Karen Allen in Uganda says the fear is that, just as happened in Sudan's Darfur region, the AU force might not have the numbers or resources to cope with the threat.

So far, the AU has managed to raise only about half of the 8,000 troops required. Burundi, Nigeria and Ghana are also expected to contribute.

The targeting of Ugandan troops by insurgents in Somalia could give other troop-contributing nations cold feet, derailing the mission, our correspondent adds.

Ethiopia>>Beckett 'concerned' at kidnapping

Beckett 'concerned' at kidnapping

Mrs Beckett said she hoped the situation would be resolved soon

The government is "deeply concerned" about five Britons kidnapped a week ago in northern Ethiopia, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett has said.

Mrs Beckett said: "We hope that those holding them will release them safely."

British embassy staff and their relatives were sightseeing in the Afar region when they disappeared.

Eritrea has denied claims its troops took them across its disputed border with Ethiopia, close to where the group went missing on 1 March.

'Round the clock'

BBC East Africa correspondent Adam Mynott said the British embassy is working to establish who the hostage-takers are, with Afar rebel groups and their splinter factions coming under suspicion.

Senior Foreign Office officials met families of the missing on Wednesday to brief them on the situation, she added.

Our paramount concern is for everybody's safety Margaret Beckett Foreign Secretary

"Obviously, this has been a very difficult time for the families of those who are missing," she said.

"Our staff in London and in Ethiopia have been working round the clock and we have reinforced our Embassy, as is usual in these circumstances.

"We hope that the situation will be resolved soon. Our paramount concern is for everybody's safety."

She paid tribute to the efforts of the British ambassador, Bob Dewar, and thanked governments in the region for their assistance - including those of both Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Mr Dewar has said the group may have been victims of mistaken identity. The five Britons were accompanied by 13 Ethiopian guides when they went missing in the early hours of 1 March.

One witness said "around 50 men" came into the camp where the Britons were staying that night.

Vehicles used by the party were found in the town of Hamedali, near the Eritrean border, on Monday.

A Toyota Land Cruiser and a Land Rover Discovery were discovered with shoes, luggage and mobile phones inside. Both showed signs of damage from either by shrapnel or an explosion.

'United front'

Ethiopia's relationship with Eritrea has been uneasy since Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war.

Tourists are required by the Ethiopian government to travel with armed guards in the region.

BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut said that a faction of Afar nationalists who stumbled across the Britons are most likely to be behind the kidnappings, rather than Islamic fundamentalists.

He added that a united front of groups seeking autonomy for two-million-strong Afar opposed Eritrean independence and sided with Ethiopia in a 1998 border war; but that some elements were opposed to participation within the Ethiopian government.

Ethiopian troops warn to shell residential area after meeting with Somalis

March.07 ( Sh.M.Network) Results have come out after senior Ethiopian military officials in Mogadishu and Somali civil society members and government officials have convened in the capital on Wednesday.

Deputy Mogadishu mayor, Ibrahim Shawiye, told Shabelle by phone last night that Ethiopians threatened they would shell residential neighborhoods in the capital if the unknown Somali gunmen used the neighborhood as their hideout and fired mortars at the Ethiopian bases.

He said the meeting was organized by Ethiopian officers and was attended by senior Somali government officials and civil society leaders.

Shawiye also indicated that the Ethiopians made clear they would remain in Somalia until it is peaceful and no threat comes to the Somali transitional federal government (TFG).

Insecurity alarmingly rages in the capital. At least 14 people were killed after the first contingent of AU forces and Somali insurgents clashed at KM4 junction at center of the capital on Wednesday evening. The convoy was attacked while patrolling the city.

Government deputy Defense Minister, Salad Ali Jelle, has told Shabelle by phone Thursday that Ugandan military convoy was attacked at KM4 Street, adding that the tires of their armored vehicles were punctured by bullets.

He said the government will seize the people who were responsible for the attacks.

Despite last night’s incident, two large cargo planes landed at Mogadishu airport this morning bringing a contingent of armed Ugandan troops and military equipments, Shabelle reporters outside the airport said.

I am a Gaayyaa Man!

I am a Gayyaa Man!


I am a Gaayyaa Man! who enjoys his Ragadaa
I am a Raagaa man, the lover of Oromo Aadaa
I can Jaime and Jaime my Hiyasee and Shaggoyye
just like my forefather who love dhichisa & Follee!

Hey! I am a Raagaa man hell with Habasha madness,
Take it is man! Just keep it up with your oneness!
Just sing and Jaime with "Bar ni dabartti" songs,
keeping up with Raagaa, even at colony times,
helps you to hush up their twisted ironies,
because it reminds you those Walabummaa days!

The days before Calanqoo, the Harmma Muraa Anolee
The days of abbaa Mudaa, the days of Dhichisaa Follee!

So, just jump up and down while dancing your Ragadaa
just belive in yourself, forget the spirit of ijollee Aradaa
let them cry... Ediyaa... ediyaa!

Look at me, I am jumping here and there,
'cause I am a Raagaa man forever!.
And I am a Gayyaa Man remember!
I am also the king of Finfinnee-Shaggar!

See, I love the sound of my Gayyaa,
just like my abbaa and my Ayyaa,
who sit far away from it,
putting some Timbboo and fire on it,
with Irra busaa and Cacabssa on their side,
A little Caat and Bookaa on the left,
A nice Boraatii on the right,
just enjoying all they might,
while thinking about Oromian past,
Cris-crossing it south to east,
imagining it from north to west,
with anger holding to their Gayyaa so tight,
with silenced scream! Freedom! freedom! my natural right!.

Yet, while enjoying the sound of Gayyaa.....
Coo-roo-roor...... Coo-roo-roor...
Koo-roo-roor...... Koo-roo-roor....

But for me! My Ragaa treats my emotional tender,
as I starched my arms big and big, wider and wider,
with a huge passion to make Oromia a little wider,
wishing my passion to reach every Oromian up in the
air.

So, I am a Ragaa-Ragadaa man
the dhichisaa expert Gayyaa Maan!
dreaming in a broad day light,
with the sprit of my Gayyaa, I think I might,
be able to crash the arm that holds me so tight!
Because I am not depressed,
when ever I danced,
"o-yee Raagaa... Maan... Gayyaa!
O-yee!Raagaa... Maan... Gayyaa!
Bar ni darbba, ilmma abba, ilmma Ayyaa!"

And hence, enjoy your Ragadaa with pleasurable thought,
for that it helps see, your past and future so bright,
with no marginal error of any slight.!

Rundassa Ashete Hunde
March 2007

utah,USA

Ethiopia accuses Eritrea over kidnapped Brits

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A shot-up British Embassy vehicle abandoned by the side of the road in the remote Ethiopian village of Hamedali. Photo: Ap

March 8, 2007 - 11:50AM

A missing tour group linked to the British Embassy, which was kidnapped in Ethiopia last week, was taken by 30 men who took them into neighbouring Eritrea, Ethiopia's arch-rival, according to news reports.

The five Europeans, along with 13 Ethiopian drivers and translators, went missing while travelling in Ethiopia's Afar region, a barren expanse of salt mines and volcanoes 800 kilometres northeast of the capital, Addis Ababa.

Cmdr. Ali Dani, the Deputy Police Commissioner in Afar, said investigators have determined there were 30 kidnappers carrying "heavy military equipment". He did not say what the equipment was or what evidence he had

"What police found out about the situation is that the hostages have been taken to the Eritrean territory," Dani told Radio Fana, a private radio station with ties to the government, during its 7 pm news bulletin.

Eritrea has denied any involvement in the kidnapping.

A statement today from the Eritrean Foreign Affairs ministry called the allegations a "blatant lie".

Ethiopian government officials have blamed Eritrea before, but played down the allegations over the weekend.

Relations between the countries have been strained since Eritrea gained independence from the Addis Ababa government in 1993 following a 30-year guerrilla war.

The state-owned Ethiopian News Agency reported Wednesday that elders in Afar had reported that the group was being held in Eritrea. Afar tribesmen frequently cross the border between the two countries.

The elders said the abductors were armed with automatic guns and radio communication equipment, and set fire to a local finance office in a remote Ethiopian village, Hamedali, after taking cash and property. The agency named the elders as Ahmed Hussien Mohammed, Abdu Ali and Ali Mohammed Ibrahim.

British Foreign Office officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with ministry policy, have said no one has claimed responsibility or made any demands.

The five Europeans are employees of the British Embassy in Addis Ababa, or their relatives. Four are believed to be British citizens; the other is French.

Communication and travel into Afar are extremely difficult. The region is not heavily travelled by foreigners - in part because of its proximity to Ethiopia's disputed border with Eritrea.

Its moonlike landscape, though, draws adventure tourists. The famous Ethiopian fossil of Lucy, the earliest known hominid, was discovered in Afar 1974.

Travellers in Afar are required to have armed guards. Bandits and a small rebel group operate there.

AP

Ethiopian rebels kill 19 regular soldiers

March 6, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — An armed opposition group which mainly operates in northwestern Ethiopia killed 19 Ethiopian soldiers during February 2007, a press statement published by the military command of the group said today.

The rebel Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front (EPPF) in an attack it carried out in northern Ethiopia in the month of February alone killed 19 Ethiopian soldiers, wounded four others and burnt down one military vehicle.

On 1 February, EPPF carried out an attack at a place called Wedem and killed six Ethiopian soldiers, wounded four others and took their arms.

On the same day, EPPF troops attacked a military vehicle, which was heading to Nedad Bahri from Maserigala, and burnt down the vehicle with 13 Ethiopian soldiers on board.

Somalia: Ethiopian forces kill civilians in Mogadishu

Aweys Osman Yusuf
Mogadishu

Two people were killed and more than 10 were wounded on Tuesday after Ethiopian troops searching buses in Shirkole neighborhood, southeast of the capital opened fire at a passenger bus.

Insurgents and Ethiopian troops clashed in the neighborhood yesterday. 6 civilians were killed in the cross-fire.

Halima Abukar, who was slightly wounded in the gunfire, has told Shabelle on Wednesday that 14 people were heavily wounded. "14 wounded people, including me, were admitted to Medina hospital.

Two have instantly died from their wounds and there was one woman whose left foot was cut by the bullets," she said, adding that her wound was minor and that she was doing ok.

Halima said they were stranded in the road while they were wounded. "The Ethiopians blocked the road after the incident," she said.

The incident occurred as heavy fighting between the insurgents and Ethiopian & government troops took place in Shirkola neighborhood, which is closer to former Somali defense compound where a large number of Ethiopian troops are base.

Witnesses said the Ethiopian and government forces were searching cars and passenger buses on the road when unknown gunmen wearing masks on their faces attacked the Ethiopians.

Also on Tuesday, at least 8 mortars fired by the insurgents hit inside Mogadishu international airport, while the first contingents of the AU peacekeepers from Uganda were landing at the airport.

Three Military cargo planes from Algeria brought the heavily armed Ugandan troops in Mogadishu.

A huge ceremony intended to welcome the arrival of the first AU peacekeepers from Uganda was underway when the explosions happed, Shabelle reporter said.

African force greeted with mortars in Somalia

afrol News, 6 March - The African Union (AU) peacekeepers deployed in the Somalian capital, Mogadishu, have been greeted with mortar attacks. During a welcome ceremony at the Mogadishu airport, unidentified militia fired 8 mortars at the first batch of 400 Ugandan troops under the aegis of the AU.

None of the mortars met the target, although one person was wounded as a result.

The Ugandan government has offered to send 1,500 troops to keep peace in Somalia, a country that does not know peace since 1991.

Shortly before they left for Somalia, the Ugandan troops were asked by their Chief of Staff, General Aronda Nyakairima, to be on alert for all kinds of dangers they were likely to encounter while on the AU mission because there are remnants of Islamists, war-loads and other militia fighters who are yet to integrate in the Somali government.

Insurgency has become common in Somalia after the Islamic Courts Union leadership was ousted by the Ethiopian-backed government forces. It resulted to the killing of several people.

The AU force is expected to replace the Ethiopian troops in Somalia.

In his farewell bid to the Ugandan troops, President Yoweri Museveni asked his soldiers to be wary of meddling with the internal affairs of Somalia. He said they should serve as teachers and trainers of the Somali national army.

Mr Museveni said the Somalian army has the discretion to disarm armed groups and not the Ugandan troops.

The Ugandan troops form part of an 8,000-strong force to be deployed by the AU and the regional East African body – the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) – in Somali to restore law and order there.

President Museveni also argued that his troops are not mandated to impose peace on Somalis. Rather, he advised them to help in the rebuilding of a robust army for the country.

On Tuesday, a gun battle between the Ethiopian-backed interim government forces and masked insurgent group in the Mogadishu killed four and wounded six people. All the victims were believed to be civilians who have been hit by exchange fired bullets.

Angered by a search for weapons in houses close to the former defence ministry compound by the Ethiopian-led troops sparked the clash between the loyal forces and masked insurgents.

The attack, which lasted for some minutes, was described as the first of its kind to happen between insurgents and the Ethiopian troops.

2 U.S. troops killed in traffic accident in eastern Ethiopia

NAIROBI, Kenya: Two U.S. troops were killed and another injured in a single-vehicle traffic accident in eastern Ethiopia, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

An Ethiopian civilian was also injured in the accident, which occurred near Camp Hurso, 350 kilometers (215 miles) northeast of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the statement from the Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa said. The injured soldier and the Ethiopian driver were flown to a military medical center at the task force's headquarters in Djibouti.

The names and units of those involved were withheld pending notification of their families, the task force said.

The task force said it may convene an accident investigation board to determine the cause of the incident.

U.S. solider and Marines assigned to the Horn of Africa task force train Ethiopian troops at Camp Hurso in small-unit tactics and counterterrorism operations.

First AU peacekeepers arrive in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, March 6 (Reuters) - Ugandan soldiers landed in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, the first African Union peacekeepers to arrive in a city where the interim government and its Ethiopian allies face almost daily guerrilla attacks. The Ugandans are the first peacekeepers to enter Mogadishu city since a well-funded U.S. and U.N. peacekeeping mission in the 1990s failed and ended in a bloody withdrawal after constant fighting with heavily armed militiamen. About 370 Ugandan soldiers landed at Mogadishu's international airport on Tuesday, most flown in by the Algerian air force in American-made C-130 cargo planes. Last week, 35 Ugandan officers landed in Baidoa, the government's temporary capital in south-central Somalia. The Ugandans are the vanguard of an AU force designed to help Somalia's interim government secure the Horn of Africa country. More are expected to arrive in the coming days to bring the Ugandan contingent to about 1,600. "We are happy that we are here ... we were not attacked as some people expected. We are ready to deploy and defend the Somali people," said Ugandan army Captain Paddy Ankunda, also a spokesman for the AU mission. Two unmarked Russian-made Antonov cargo aircraft also brought three white military vehicles emblazoned with AU markings and two armoured personnel carriers. The AU force, proposed to eventually number about 8,000, is expected to replace Ethiopian troops who helped the government mount a successful December offensive against an Islamist group that seized power in most of southern Somalia for six months. SHORT ON MONEY But as with its first peacekeeping foray, in Sudan's Darfur region, the AU is facing a shortage of money and equipment. "I hope our partners would help us overcome the funding and logistic problems facing the AU," said Said Dijinit, AU's commissioner for peace and security in Addis Ababa. Officials from President Abdullahi Yusuf's government and warlords who had once ruled Mogadishu were at the airport, which was under heavy security. Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi and Burundi are also expected to send troops to join the AU force. The Ugandans are assigned to patrol Mogadishu, one of the world's most dangerous and gun-infested cities. None of the previous 13 attempts at a central government since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre have succeeded in taming the city. Somalia has been in anarchy since the coup. Guerrillas who mount almost daily attacks on joint government-Ethiopian forces in Mogadishu have threatened to attack any peacekeepers or government allies. The guerrillas are suspected to be a mix of Islamists and clan militiamen who feel the government does not represent their interests, or who stand to lose control of their fiefdoms if central authority is finally imposed. "Our mission is not to fight, but if the lives of troops are endangered, they have the right to fight back," Djinnit said.

Ethio>>UK Ethiopian kidnap

The British Foreign Office has confirmed two bullet-riddled cars found in a remote Ethiopian village belonged to a group of Britons kidnapped last week.

It appears the vehicles were damaged by gunshot or shrapnel.

Five UK embassy staff and their relatives went missing while sightseeing with 13 Ethiopian drivers and translators in the Afar region, a barren expanse northeast of the capital.

British authorities say the kidnapping may be a case of mistaken identity.

Locals say they have seen and spoken to members of Britain's elite special operations forces in the region working to secure the release of the Britons.

The British Foreign Office has refused to comment on reports a possible military rescue operation is being planned.

OROMO

Anaa-nyatu saba koo
Saba dhiigaan tokkoo
Saba Afaan tokkoo
Saba aadaan bal'aa!
Mee of keessaa baasi
Muka qottoo jal'aa
Qabsoo faffaca'aa
Warri itichaa jirtan
Bishaan miila gaye
Mataa hin anqatuu
Yeroo Baale reeban
Shawaan maaf hin kaatuu
Yoo Arsii xuqan
Wallagga maa hin kaatuu
Yoo Arargeen xuqan
Booranni maaf teessaa?
Nuti dhiiga tokkoo
Oromoo dhageessaa?
Akka ilmaan Hoolotaa
Tokko yoo qalatan
Kaan, alala nyaatan
Jedhan yoo mammaakan
Qabsoo itichinaa
Nuti ilmaan namaatii
Yoo Amboo jalqabe
Jalqabaa jimmatti
Wallaggatti dabarsaa
Qaarsisaa baaletti
Harargettis himaa
Warra Haroo maayaatti
Hin dagatin dhaamaa
Ijoollee Booreetti
Wallo hin irraafatin
Warra goraadeetii
Qabdanii nu hin qaltan
Hooftanii nu hin hiitan
Nuti ilmaan namaatii
Nuti Hoolota mitii
Wal irratti lolaa
Oromoon ka'aatii
Ijaarsa, ijaarsa
Ijaarsa barbaadaa
Qabsoon ta'uu qabaa
Oromootaaf aadaa
Mirga koo hin dhiitin
Qabeenyaa koo hin saamin
Aadaa koon tifkadhaa
Mirga koon eeggadha
Ani ana malee
Eenyumalleen mitii
Ta'uullee hin dandayuu
Gara fuulduraatti.
Ani yoon of tuffadhee
Jarattis makame
Kan isaaniirra hin jiruu
Kan koo irraas haqamee
Waan nama feesisu
Namaaf barbaachisu
Mantaafii Aadaa
Afaaniifii biyya
Nan qabaafan iyyaa
Kan namaatiif mitii
Maafan dhiisa kiyyaa?
Maan callisee laalaa
Akkuma wallaalaa
Daljeessi abbaa maasaa
Akkamittiin dhaalaa?
Hattuu alaa dhufee
Mana sitti diigu
Yoo ati irribaa... dammaqixe
Kan fiigu
Dabeessa abbaa garaa
Isa onnee hin qabne
Mataa irrtti baannaa
Ari'uu dadhabnee?
 

From Oromo's mail to ona@oromiannationalacademy.com September 14, 2006

UK team plans trip to kidnap site

British diplomats say they are attempting to secure access to the site where five Britons were kidnapped in the Afar region of Ethiopia.

The UK team is negotiating with the Ethiopian authorities, who have sealed off the kidnap zone.

Another team of officials is in discussions with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

UK embassy staff and their relatives were sightseeing with 13 Ethiopian guides when they went missing.

Eritrea has denied claims its forces took them over the disputed border, which is close to where the party disappeared.

Officials 'working hard'

A team of UK officials is in the remote town of Berahle, about 37 miles (60km) from the abduction site.

The BBC's Adam Mynott, also in the town, said the diplomats were attempting to gain clearance to visit the site, which is a four-hour drive away.

The state-run Ethiopian News Agency said five of the Ethiopians who were with the kidnapped group were found near the Eritrean border late on Saturday.

It was not clear whether they had escaped or were released.

I would not rule out that this is some kind of staged drama cooked up by the regime in Addis Ababa Ali Abdul Eritrean information minister 'I was kidnapped in Afar' Tourism in Ethiopia

Foreign Office Minister Geoff Hoon told ITV1's The Sunday Edition that the department was "working as hard as we possibly can" to resolve the situation.

"It is a matter of grave importance... as it would be with any British tourist," he said.

"But obviously staff in the Foreign Office feel particularly strongly because it is their people."

Head of the Afar region Ismael Ali Sero said cars used by the sightseers were set on fire in the early-morning raid on their camp, about 800km (500 miles) north-east of Addis Ababa.

Kidnapping denied

He said about 25 Eritreans in military uniform marched the group 12-18 miles (20-30 km) to Waime in Eritrea, and a local herder reportedly saw them at the Ara-ta military camp in Eritrea.

The area is one of hottest places on Earth (picture: Sam Vader)

Yemane Gebremeskel, of Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki's office, said Mr Ismael's claim was "crazy".

"No-one is involved in any business of kidnapping," he told the AFP news agency.

Eritrea's Information Minister Ali Abdul also denied allegations that his government was responsible for the kidnappings.

"They have that kind of habit, to blame Eritrea for whatever things that happen. I would not rule out that this is some kind of staged drama cooked up by the regime in Addis Ababa," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

The BBC World Service's Africa Editor, David Bamford, said the claims of Eritrean involvement were being met with scepticism.

"It doesn't seem to be in the Eritrean government's interest at all to be engaged in anything like this."

He said the allegations were coming from local party officials in Ethiopia, who could be seen as having an "axe to grind".

It was more likely a local rebel group had abducted the Britons.

Tourists visit the area mainly to see the Danakil Depression, one of the lowest and hottest places on Earth known for its salt mines and active volcanoes.

But bandits and rebel groups operate there and travellers are advised to travel with an armed guard.

Eritrea denies kidnap accusation

The area is one of hottest places on Earth(Picture:Sam Vader)


Eritrea has denied claims its forces were behind the kidnap of five British people in Ethiopia on Thursday.
The embassy staff and their relatives were sightseeing near the disputed border region between the countries when they went missing.
The president of Ethiopia's Afar region said Eritrean troops had taken them to a military camp in Eritrea.

The Foreign Office did not confirm the report, and the Ethiopian ambassador to the UK refused to "finger point".
Several Ethiopian drivers and translators who had been accompanying the Britons are also missing.
Ismael Ali Sero, head of the Afar region in the north of Ethiopia, said cars used by the sightseers were set on fire in the early-morning raid on their camp.
We are not in the business of finger pointing at any group or individual or any country
Berharnu Kebede, Ethiopian ambassador to the UK
Tourism in Ethiopia
He said about 25 Eritreans in military uniform marched the group 12-18 miles (20-30 km) to the town of Waime in Eritrea.
Money, mobile and satellite phones were also stolen, he added.
A senior Ethiopian official in the ruling party, who asked not to be named, said a herder saw the British group at the Ara-ta military camp in Eritrea and reported it to the Ethiopians.
But Berharnu Kebede, Ethiopian ambassador to the UK, told Sky News: "We are not in the business of finger pointing at any group or individual or any country.
"For us the priority is to secure the safe return of these people, so no official from the Ethiopian government has said that."
Yemane Gebremeskel, the director of Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki's office, said Mr Ismael's claim was "crazy".
"No one is involved in any business of kidnapping," he told AFP.
"Of course there are no Eritrean soldiers in Ethiopia."
A peace deal was struck in 2000 but the two countries have yet to define the status of the border, patrolled by UN observers.
French nationals 'safe'
About 10 British officials, thought to include an expert hostage negotiator, have been meeting at the British embassy in the capital, Addis Ababa, in an attempt to find the missing Britons.
Whitehall officials earlier told the BBC there was "a national security dimension" to British group's disappearance.


The government emergency planning committee Cobra met on Friday to discuss the issue.
Ethiopian police said the tourists were kidnapped, along with 13 Ethiopian drivers and interpreters, about 800km (500 miles) north-east of Addis Ababa.
The Italian foreign ministry told the AFP news agency that one of those kidnapped had dual British-Italian nationality.
Seven French nationals who had been thought to be among the kidnapped group are safe and well, the group's travel company, Origins Ethiopia, has said.
More intrepid visitors to the Afar region like to tour the Danakil Depression, one of the lowest and hottest places on Earth known for its salt mines and active volcanoes.
But bandits and rebel groups operate there and tourists are advised to travel there with an armed guard.
The Britons' tour operator Tony Hickey said local reports suggested three of his vehicles were hit by anti-tank grenade launchers in Hamed Ela near the border.
He told the BBC many foreign tourists had visited the area in the last year and the Eritrean authorities could have acted to "embarrass" the Ethiopian government.

Ethiopia accuses Eritrea in kidnappings

French Embassy in Ethiopia official Dominique Gautier, after he disembarked from an aircraft upon his arrival in Mekele. Ethiopia, Friday, March 2, 2007. At least a dozen Western tourists were kidnapped in remote northeastern Ethiopia, a spectacular yet barren expanse of volcanoes and ancient salt mines where bandits and rebels operate, diplomats and local businessmen said Friday. The tourists _ between seven and 10 French in one group and five British citizens in another _ were seized Thursday in Dalol, 800 kilometers (500 miles) northeast of Addis Ababa, according to a businessman and a tour operator who work in the area. They asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. (AP Photo/Les Neuhaus)

By Les Neuhaus, Associated Press Writer March 3, 2007
MEKELE, Ethiopia --Ethiopian officials on Saturday accused forces from archrival Eritrea of kidnapping five British citizens and 13 Ethiopians who were touring a remote region near the African countries' long-disputed border, then taking the group to a military camp in Eritrea.

The claims could not be independently verified. The group went missing Thursday while traveling in Ethiopia's Afar region, a barren expanse of ancient salt mines and volcanoes some 500 miles northeast of the capital, Addis Ababa.
Calls to Eritrea's government spokesman rang unanswered Saturday.
Relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been consistently strained since Eritrea gained independence from the Addis Ababa government in 1993 following a 30-year guerrilla war. Communications to Afar are extremely difficult, but the otherworldly, moonlike landscape draws adventure travelers.
The British Broadcasting Corp., quoting unidentified government sources, said there was a "national security dimension" to the disappearance of the Britons, all of whom are employees of the British Embassy in Addis Ababa or their relatives. The British Foreign Office and the British Defense Ministry would not comment on the BBC report.
Esmal Ali Sero, head of the Afar administrative region, said about 25 Eritrean "commandoes" kidnapped the British citizens along with their Ethiopian drivers and translators Thursday night. He did not say how he knew those details.
A senior Ethiopian official in the ruling party, who asked not to be named, also said Eritreans were behind the kidnapping. He said a herder saw the British group at the Ara-ta military camp in Eritrea and reported it to the Ethiopians. Herders in Afar frequently travel between the two countries.
Tour operators in the area also said they were told by police that Eritreans in military uniforms kidnapped the Britons and burned down the house where they were staying, along with several vehicles.
A spokeswoman for the British Embassy in Addis Ababa, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said she had no information on the kidnappers: "We do not know where they are or who is holding them. We are not prepared to speculate."
Also Saturday, the head of an Afar tour agency said the driver for seven missing French tourists has called his company to say everyone was "safe and well" and had not been kidnapped. Sources including French diplomats and local businessmen had been reporting that the French were kidnapped.
"They were not kidnapped but they heard there had been some trouble so they avoided the area. That is why we thought they had been kidnapped, because we had lost contact altogether," said Samson Teshome, head of the Origins Ethiopia tour group.
Dominique Gautier, spokesman for the French Embassy in Addis Ababa, said he could not confirm the account. "We know many people are saying they are safe but I have no direct contact with them so I cannot confirm this," he said.
Bandits and a small rebel group operate in Afar, where the famous Ethiopian fossil of Lucy, the earliest known hominid, was discovered in 1974. The Ethiopian government requires tourists to travel in Afar with armed guards; the British and French groups were believed to have complied.
Britain sent a crisis team to Ethiopia earlier Saturday in an effort to obtain the release of the five Britons.
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AP writers Tom Maliti in Addis Ababa and Anthony Mitchell in Djibouti contributed to this report.

Ugandan troops arrive in Somalia

Publication Date: 3/2/2007

BAIDOA (Somalia), Thursday A group of Ugandan army officers arrived in Somalia today, the vanguard of an African Union force being formed to help the interim government tighten its tenuous grip on the country. The uniformed Ugandans disembarked from a cargo plane which landed at the government stronghold of Baidoa early in the morning, a customs officer told Reuters. “Thirty-five officers from Uganda came out and the plane left,” customs officer Ali Mohamed Adan told Reuters. “I have seen Ugandan officers arrive in Baidoa airport,” police officer Isak Hassan Warsame told Reuters. A security source, who declined to be named, said he expected the rest of the Ugandan contingent to arrive in the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, amid pomp and military music, President Yoweri Museveni waved off two battalions of Ugandan peacekeepers today as they prepared to deploy in Somalia. Officials said the 1,635 troops would land in the lawless capital, Mogadishu, as soon as some expected equipment arrived from overseas – probably next week. They include an infantry battalion, a tank battalion and various support staff, Museveni said in a speech. “This is a fully capable force to undertake any task within (its) mandate,” Museveni shouted out to silent rows of soldiers in bright green AU berets at a barracks in Jinja, east of Kampala, where they underwent peacekeeping training. As a brass band’s trumpet melodies and drum beats picked up tempo, white-armoured AU personal carriers laden with waving soldiers drove through the main square. Mr Museveni warned the peacekeepers in his speech that their mandate was not to engage in combat with Islamist or any other fighters hostile to Somalia’s transitional government. “We are not going to disarm Somali militias. That’s not our job,” he said. “Once we empower the Somalis, if they think the guns should be removed, they will be the ones to do it.” (Reuters)

Tourists 'go missing' in Ethiopia

A group of 15 foreign tourists has gone missing in north-east Ethiopia, sources in the country say.

They include 10 French nationals. Unconfirmed reports suggest a number of Britons are among the missing.

They were travelling to the remote Afar desert region, about 800km (500 miles) from the capital, Addis Ababa.

A businessman told AP news agency the group had been kidnapped, but the Ethiopian government said it could not confirm reports of an abduction.

"The government is monitoring the situation," a spokesman for the Information Ministry said, adding that a statement would be released later in the day.

French diplomats in Ethiopia said the tourists had been kidnapped.

"There has been a kidnapping, that's certain... It happened the evening before yesterday (Wednesday)," the French ambassador to Ethiopia, Stephane Gompertz told AFP news agency.

According to the businessman, one member of the group managed to escape and use a satellite phone to alert the authorities.

Thieves and a small rebel group are active in the Afar region.