Somalia

Humanitarian crisis looming in huge Somali refugee camp

Humanitarian crisis looming in huge Somali refugee camp Nairobi - Some 250,000 Somalis living in one of the world's largest refugee camps are on the verge of a humanitarian emergency that can only be averted by urgent action, international charity Oxfam warned Friday.

The Dadaab refugee complex in north-eastern Kenya has become dangerously over-crowded as Somalis continue to flee a bloody insurgency that has claimed the lives of over 15,000 civilians since early 2007.

Oxfam warned that a public health crisis is brewing, with basic services stretched to breaking point by the mass of refugees.

Somali interior minister injured in roadside bomb

Somali interior minister injured in roadside bomb Nairobi/Mogadishu  - Somalia's interior minister was wounded and one of his entourage killed in a roadside bomb attack in the capital Mogadishu Thursday.

Sheikh Abdulkadir Ali Omar, who led the Islamic opposition before he joined the government this year, was leaving the Bakara market area when the bomb went off.

Radio Shabelle reported Sheikh Abdulkadir as saying that the attackers were former allies who did not support the new government led by his close ally President Sheikh Sharif Sheik Ahmed.

UN expert: Somalis are victims of the "most terrible" rights abuses

UN expert: Somalis are victims of the "most terrible" rights abuses Geneva - Somalia is the scene of one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world and its citizens have been victims "of most terrible human rights and humanitarian law abuses," the United Nations expert on the east African country said Wednesday.

Somalia asks for quick UN deployment of peacekeepers

Somalia asks for quick UN deployment of peacekeepersNew York - The two-month-old Somali government has taken steps to meet benchmarks that would allow the deployment of a UN peacekeeping operation in the troubled land known more for piracy than development, a Somali official said Friday.

Foreign Minister Mohamad Abdullahi Omaar told the UN Security Council in an open session that President Shiekh Shariff Shiekh Ahmed, elected on January 30, has taken security measures and steps to mobilize support for the peace process.

Pirates hijack Greek cargo ship off Somali coast

Pirates hijack Greek cargo ship off Somali coast Athens  - Pirates seized a Greek-owned cargo ship off the coast of Somalia late Thursday, Greece's merchant marine ministry said.

The Saint-Vincent-flagged cargo ship Titan, with 24 crew, was loaded with steel and was reportedly sailing from the Black Sea when pirates seized the ship off Somalia.

Three of the crew are of Greek nationality, officials said.

African Union condemns attack on peacekeepers in Somalia

African Union condemns attack on peacekeepers in SomaliaNairobi/Mogadishu - The African Union's special representative for Somalia Nicolas Bwakira on Thursday condemned a roadside bomb attack that killed an AU peacekeeper in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Two bombs exploded near Mogadishu airport on Wednesday, killing one peacekeeper and injuring another three.

Bwakira said that the attack, which he blamed on main insurgent group al-Shabaab, would not "derail" the AU's role in Somalia.

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