Saudi coalition denies air strike on Iran's Yemen embassy

• 2 hours ago
 
• From the sectionMiddle East

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Image captionThe Saudi-led coalition said no operations had taken place near the embassy

Yemen unrest

• Torn in two: Yemen divided
• Yemen's humanitarian catastrophe
• Yemen crisis: Who is fighting whom?
• The war the world forgot?

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen has rejected Iran's accusation that its warplanes struck Tehran's embassy in the capital, Sanaa.

Iran vowed to complain to the UN, saying a rocket strike on Thursday had "seriously wounded a guard".

The coalition said no operations had been conducted near the embassy.

Saudi Arabia recently cut ties with Iran after its embassy in Tehran was attacked by protesters angry at the Saudi execution of a key Shia cleric.

The regional rivals back opposing sides in Yemen - Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of supporting the Shia Houthis militarily. Tehran denies this.

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More on Saudi-Iran tensions

Image copyrightAP

The Saudi-US-Iran triangle: How crisis reflects deeply fractured Middle East

Great rivalry explained: Why don't Iran and Saudi Arabia get along?

Spiralling tensions: Why crisis is "most dangerous for decades"

Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr: Who was leading Saudi Shia cleric?

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A statement by the Saudi-led coalition on Thursday said Iran's allegations were "false and that no operations were carried out around the embassy or near to it".

It said its investigation "also confirms the embassy building is safe and has not been damaged".

Residents and witnesses in Sanaa had also earlier reported there was no damage to the main embassy building.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari had accused Saudi Arabia of a "deliberate action" in "violation of all international conventions that protect diplomatic missions".

He spoke of damage to the building and injuries to staff.

Later, Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said: "During an air raid by Saudi Arabia against Sanaa, a rocket fell near our embassy and unfortunately one of our guards was seriously wounded."

He added: "We will inform the Security Council of the details of this attack."

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Analysis: BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner

Ever since the Saudi-led air campaign began against Yemen's Houthi rebels last March, there was always a risk that the cold war between the region's two big rivals, Saudi Arabia and Iran, could ignite into something more serious.

The Saudis accuse Iran of smuggling in arms by sea to equip the Shia Houthis, who retain control over the capital and much of the country. Saudi officials have even claimed that Iranian military commanders are on the ground there, helping to direct the Houthis.

Both Iran and the Houthis deny this. The reality is that the Houthis owe most of their military gains to support from renegade Yemeni army units loyal to ousted ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Saudi Arabia's military spokesman says its coalition has asked for precise co-ordinates of foreign embassies in the Yemeni capital so it can avoid hitting them. Angry as the Saudis are about the ransacking of their embassy in Tehran, it would have been a major escalation if they had carried out a deliberate, direct hit on Iran's embassy in retaliation.

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It is not clear whether the Iranian embassy was fully functioning, but a number of countries have withdrawn their staff or relocated missions to the port city of Aden in the past year.

Although the incident may turn out to be less serious than initially feared, the BBC's Arab Affairs Editor Sebastian Usher says the growing row between Saudi Arabia and Iran could derail peace efforts in Syria and Iraq, as well as in Yemen.

The row began after Saudi Arabia executed Shia cleric, Nimr al-Nimr for "terrorism offences"

After the Saudi embassy was attacked, Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran. A number of Saudi allies then followed suit in taking diplomatic action against Tehran.

Dire situation

At least 2,795 civilians have been killed in Yemen since March, when the Saudi-led coalition began a military campaign to restore the government and drive back the Houthis and allied security personnel loyal to ex-President Saleh.

In the past six months, coalition and pro-government forces have retaken Aden, but the rebels still control the capital.

The already dire humanitarian situation has also deteriorated, with more than 21 million people - four-fifths of the population - now requiring aid.

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Saudi Arabia and Iran - key figures

Image copyrightAFP/Getty Images

Population: Iran 81.8m; Saudi Arabia 27.7m

GDP: Iran $416.5bn; Saudi Arabia $746.2bn

Export trade/year: Iran - Saudi Arabia $111m; Saudi Arabia - Iran $79.4m

Active army size: Iran 545,000; Saudi Arabia 233,500

Defence spending: Iran $6.3bn; Saudi Arabia $56bn

(Sources: CIA country guide, World Bank, the OEC, Global Firepower. Figures are for latest available year)

Nations who have now cut ties with Iran: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia

Nations who have taken other diplomatic measures against Iran: UAE (downgraded relations), Qatar, Kuwait (both recalled ambassadors)

Syria government agrees to let aid into beleaguered villages

 

By BASSEM MROUE2 hours ago

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This undated photo posted on the Local Revolutionary Council in Madaya, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, shows a starving boy in Madaya, Syria. The Syrian government has agreed to allow humanitarian assistance into three beleaguered villages following reports of malnutrition in the area, a U.N. official said Thursday.Two of the villages in question are the adjacent Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in the country’s north, which have been besieged by anti-government militants for more than a year. The third is the village of Madaya near the border with Lebanon, which has been under siege by government forces since early July. (Local Revolutionary Council in Madaya via AP)

BEIRUT (AP) — The Syrian government has agreed to allow humanitarian assistance into three beleaguered villages following reports of deaths from malnutrition in that part of the country, a U.N. official said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the aid group Doctors Without Borders said 23 patients have died of starvation at an MSF-supported health center in one of the three villages since Dec. 1 — including six infants under 1 years of age and five adults over the age of 60.

A statement from Yacoub El Hillo, U.N.'s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, said aid will begin entering the villages in the coming days.

Two of the villages in question are the adjacent Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in the country's north, which have been besieged by anti-government militants for more than a year. The third is the village of Madaya near the border with Lebanon, which has been under siege by government forces since early July.

"The UN welcomes today's approval from the government of Syria to access Madaya, Foua and Kfarya and is preparing to deliver humanitarian assistance in the coming days," said El Hillo.

Activists have said that several people have died over the past weeks in both areas because of malnutrition. There are currently some 30,000 people in the two Shiite villages and an even higher number in Madaya.

"Almost 42,000 people remaining in Madaya are at risk of further hunger and starvation," El Hillo warned.

El Hillo said the U.N. is particularly concerned about the plight of nearly 400,000 people besieged by parties to the conflict in areas including the eastern city of Deir el-Zour as well as the Damascus suburbs known as eastern Ghoua.

In the meantime, Syrian President Bashar Assad's government has repeatedly denied U.N. requests to deliver aid to specific areas.

"In the last year, only 10 percent of all requests for U.N. inter-agency convoys to hard-to-reach and besieged areas were approved and delivered," the statement said.

He added that up to 4.5 million people in Syria live in hard-to-reach areas, including nearly 400,000 people in 15 besieged locations who do not have access to the life-saving aid they urgently need.

The conflict that began in March 2011 has killed more than 250,000 people and wounded more than a million. The crisis has also displaces half of Syria's pre-war 23 million people.

From Brussels, Doctors Without Borders also called for an immediate delivery of lifesaving medicine and medical evacuations, in addition to food supplies to Madaya, where it reported the 23 deaths from starvation.

After the last, single food delivery in October, the siege of the village had tightened into a complete stranglehold, MSF said.

"Madaya is now effectively an open-air prison for an estimated 20,000 people, including infants, children and elderly," said Brice de le Vingne, MSF director of operations.

"This is a clear example of the consequences of using siege as a military strategy," de le Vingne added.

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Associated Press writer Cara Anna contributed to this report from the United Nations.

Trump threatens to pull $1 billion investment if he is banned from UK

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has threatened to cancel over 700 million pounds ($1 billion) of planned investments in golf courses in Scotland if Britain slaps him with a travel ban.

The threat from Trump, owner of two golf courses in his mother's homeland of Scotland, comes as British lawmakers prepare to hold a debate on a petition signed by over half a million people calling for him to be barred from the country after his proposal to stop Muslims entering the United States.

The debate will be held on Jan. 18 but will not be followed by a vote. Only interior minister Theresa May can issue an order banning entry into Britain and Prime Minister David Cameron has said he does not favor barring Trump.

The Trump Organization said in a statement that a ban would result in him pulling developments worth 500 million pounds at a golf complex in northeastern Scotland, and a 200 million pound revamp at a resort in the country's southwest.

"Any action to restrict travel would force The Trump Organization to immediately end these and all future investments we are currently contemplating in the United Kingdom," the group said in a statement.

Trump's comments on banning Muslims from entering the United States in December prompted international outrage and led to him being stripped of two Scottish honorary positions.

The proud, half-Scottish billionaire's once-harmonious relationship with Scotland was soured further when he was blocked by a top court in his bid to stop a wind farm being built near his Trump International Golf Links course in Aberdeen.

(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Stephen Addison)

Charlie Hebdo anniversary: Paris police shoot man dead

• 3 hours ago
 
• From the sectionEurope

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Media captionEyewitness Reeka Polonyi: "When the man didn't stop they [police] started shooting"

French police have shot dead a man who was apparently trying to attack a police station on the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

The suspect was carrying a meat cleaver and wearing a dummy suicide vest.

A piece of paper found on his body "pledged allegiance" to so-called Islamic State and vowed revenge for French "attacks in Syria", AFP reported.

Officials have named him as a convicted thief, Sallah Ali, born in Morocco.

Minutes before he was shot, President Francois Hollande had praised police in a speech on last year's killings.

Gunmen murdered 17 people in attacks, including at Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket.

In his address, Mr Hollande said 5,000 extra police and gendarmes would be added to existing forces by 2017 in an "unprecedented" strengthening of French security.

Paris January attacks: Victim obituaries

Three days of terror

Charlie Hebdo lives on but 'in darkness'

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The Paris prosecutor's office says it is opening a terrorism investigation into the incident on Thursday, which took place in the 18th district in northern Paris.

French officials say the suspect, who was wielding the butcher's knife, shouted "Allahu Akbar!" (God is Great) outside a police station in Goutte d'Or, near Montmartre, before police shot and killed him.

Bomb disposal experts were brought in after wires were seen extending from his body, but officials later said a belt he was wearing did not contain any explosives.

His fingerprints were found to match fingerprints on police files after an arrest for theft in the south of France in 2013.

Anti-terror police and French intelligence services are treating the incident as a case of attempted murder.

Following the attack, a cordon was been set up around the area, and security was boosted at schools and on public transport networks in the city.

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Terror fears: By Hugh Schofield, BBC News, Paris

According to the prosecutor, it was at 11:30 that the man approached the police station in the Goutte d'Or before being shot.

According to police accounts, it was also at 11:30 - exactly a year ago - that the Kouachi brothers began their attack on Charlie Hebdo.

The presumption of a link must be very strong, especially after the authorities confirmed that this was for them a terrorist incident.

Was the man intent on striking a deadly counterblow to the commemorations that are going ahead this week?

If so, it was a feeble gesture compared with what happened a year ago - and of course with the 13 November attacks. But that in itself is significant. For a jittery French public, it shows that jihadism comes in all shapes: grand organised conspiracies at one end, small individual acts at the other.

But they too can kill.

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Three days of attacks brought bloodshed to Paris and its surrounding areas last January.

The three attackers were shot dead by police, but questions remain about their jihadist contacts and possible accomplices in the Middle East.

A Paris court sentenced an alleged French IS recruiter in absentia on Thursday to 15 years in prison.

Salim Benghalem, 35, was freed from a French jail in 2010 and is believed to be in Syria. He was said to have been part of a jihadist network in Paris that includedCherif and Said Kouachi, the two Charlie Hebdo gunmen.

Three police officers were among the 17 victims of the gunmen on 7-9 January, 2015.

On Thursday, the French president said the officers had "died so that we could live in freedom".

But with France also still mourning the deaths of 130 people in jihadist attacks in Paris in November, he also used his speech to call for greater co-operation between the security services.

Since a state of emergency was imposed on the night of 13 November, police have brought to light 25 offences related to terrorism, he added.

Image copyrightReuters

Image captionFrench police check a pedestrian as they secure the area after a man was shot dead at a police station in the 18th district in Paris

President Hollande said the rules for police use of firearms were also being revised, so that gunmen could be tackled more effectively.

Earlier, Parisians laid flowers and lit candles at the former office of Charlie Hebdo magazine, where a plaque was unveiled on Tuesday.

A second plaque was installed where a police officer was shot, and a third at the Jewish supermarket.

On Saturday, a fourth plaque will be unveiled in the southern suburb of Montrouge, where one of the gunmen shot dead a policewoman.

The commemorations will culminate in a public event on Sunday in the Place de la Republique, where Parisians gathered in the wake of the attacks.

A 35ft (10m) oak "remembrance tree" will be planted in the square and veteran French musician Johnny Hallyday will perform Un Dimanche de Janvier (One January Sunday), a song recalling the vast march in Paris that followed the attacks.

Kim Jong-un celebrates birthday in week of 'hydrogen bomb' tests

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2 hours ago

Millions of people living in North Korea will be expected to join forces to celebrate the birthday of the man who leads the country, Kim Jong-un.

Little is still known about the elusive leader, including exactly when he was born.

Just days before the occasion, the regime made an as-yet unproven claim that it had successfully carried out its first underground hydrogen bomb test.

That triggered a global outcry and fears that the state, which has few allies, had acquired a more advanced nuclear capability than previously known.

Jawaari “Waxaan ahay Ergay uu soo diray Madaxweynaha, gor-gortan kama galeyno….”

Janaayo 7 (Jowhar)— Wafdi ballaaran uu hogaaminayo Guddoomiyaha Golaha Shacabka Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya Mudane Maxamed Sheekh Cusmaan “Jawaari” ayaa gaaray magaalada Dhuusamareeb ee xarunta gobolka Galgaduud halkaasi ii oo si weyn loogu soo dhaweeyey.

Afhayeenka Baarlamaanka waxaa wehliya Guddoomiye ku xigeenka Labaad ee Golaha Shacabka Mudane Mahad Cabdalla Cawad, 25 Xildhibaan oo ka tirsan Baarlamaanka Federaalka Soomaaliya iyo Xildhibaanno ka tirsan baarlmaanka dowlad goboleedka Galmudug waxaana garoonka diyaaradaha magaalada Dhuusamareeb kusoo dhaweeyey qeybaha kala duwan ee bulshada iyo mas’uuliyiinta Ahlu Suna Wal Jamaaca ee gobollada Dhexe.

Xildhibaanno ka tirsan Baarlamaanka Federaalka Soomaaliya oo ka hadlay munaasabad soo dhaweyn aheyd oo wafdiga loogu sameeyey xarunta Madaxtooyada ee magaalada Dhuusamareeb ayaa u mahad celiyey shacabka iyo maamulka halkan sida ay usoo dhaweeyeen waxaana dhanka kale ay Xildhibaannadu tilmaameen in loo baahan yahay nabad iyo dib u heshiisiin dhab ah.

Sheekh Maxamed Shaakir oo ka mid ah hogaanka Culumaa’udiinka Ahlu Suna Wal Jamaaca ee gobollada Dhexe oo munaasabadda ka hadlay ayaa uga mahad celiyey Guddoomiyaha Baarlamaanka iyo Wafdigiisa sida ay u aqbaleen marti qaad ay u fidiyeen waxaana uu dhanka kale tilmaamay iney soo dhaweynayaan wafdiga wax walba oo ay u keenaanna ay diyaar u yihiin.

Guddoomiye ku xigeenka Labaad ee Golaha Shacabka Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya Mudane Mahad Cabdalla Cawad oo munaasabadda hadal kooban ka jeediyey ayaa ugu horeyn yiri “maanta waa maalin taariikhi ah, uma ahan taariikhi in aan Dhuusomareeb nimid laakiin waxey ku tahay in nin meel ku oodan oo aan u nimid inaan shacabkiisala heshiisiinno uu na cambaareeyo, waxa aan u nimid inaan dhageysano cabashadiinna maadaama aad tihiin shacabka aynu metelno” .

Sidoo kale Guddoomiyaha Baarlamaanka Federaalka Soomaaliya Mudane Maxamed Sheekh Cusmaan “Jawaari” oo gebagebadii jeediyey Khudbaddii ugu dambeysay ayaa u mahad celiyey maamulka iyo shacabka gobollada dhexe sida ay u soo dhaweeyeen wafdigiisa waxaana uu yiri “ waxaan ahay ergey uu soo diray Madaxweynaha Soomaaliya, nabadda iyo midnimadda Umadda Soomaaliyeed marna gor gortan kama galeyno waxaa la joogaa xiligii isku tanaasulka waxaanna codsaneynaa inaad nabadda nagu raacdaan, dowladda diyaar ayey idiin tahay” .

Guddoomiyaha Golaha Shacabka Jamhuuriyadda Federaalka Soomaaliya iyo wafdiga ballaaran ee uu hogaaminayo oo caawa ku hooyan doona magaalada Dhuusamareeb ee xarunta gobolka Galgaduud ayaa kulammo la qaadan doonna qeybaha kala duwan ee bulshada iyo maamulka Ahlu Sunna ee gobollada dhexe.

Ethiopia-ONLF: The 2012 expected peace negotiations

Postby EEGA9 » Sun Jan 01, 2012 6:02 am

“Anyone can give up; it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.“ By anonymous sage.

The students of Ethiopian politics perceive the forth coming peace talks between the ONLF (Ogaden National Liberation Front) and the Ethiopian Government as one of the toughest talks ever entertained by any Ethiopian government. Even though the peace talks weren’t officially proclaimed by the concerned parties, yet there is reliable information to that effect from trustworthy sources that the Ethiopian government informed formally the Kenyan government that it wants to talk to the ONLF in the presence of a third party. The ONLF all the way through its history was maintaining that they are willing to talk to the Ethiopian government, in a neutral country, provided Ethiopia accepts the presence of a third party to witness the progress of the talks.

The Kenyan government received the acceptance of the ONLF without a delay since it was the government of Ethiopia not the ONLF that was dragging its feet for so long from taking the offer of peace talks in the hope that it will wipe out the ONLF through brute military force. The Somali Region’s (Ogaden region) resistance to occupation stretches over a century and the region was and is a battle field between successive Ethiopian governments and national liberation forces. The region has been treated by the Ethiopian governments over the years as a buffer zone and its citizens as strangers that have no right in Ethiopia. 

Ethiopia through its choice tool, military option, to address the genuine occupation question of the Somali region (Ogaden Region) made the region the least developed region in Ethiopia. Substantial number of its citizens grew up in refugee camps or in neighbouring countries for the third generation and whatever left behind either move from one IDP camp to the next at best or loiters in concentration camps called military prisons that are spread throughout the region at worst. 

Human rights organisation’s yearly and daily reports consistently highlight the atrocities and human rights abuses meted against the region by the security forces of Ethiopia. The region is categorized and recognised as famine prone by the international development agencies and yet in pursuit of its military option the Ethiopian government sealed the boarders Ethiopia's starvation strategy of the region from all sides and pronounced it as no go area for international aid agencies, independent reporters and the likes. The Gaza- like status, open prison, is effective to this day and among the latest casualties of the notorious anti terrorist bill are the two Swedish journalists who ventured into the region on a fact finding mission - Ethiopia Jails Swedish Journalists

The people of the region have never been allowed to elect their representatives even at village level let alone at regional level. Since the region is garrison town under perpetual emergency rule, the army hand picks their young informers and crowns them to high offices. The educated and the elite of the region, who grow up in exile through fault of not theirs, were barred from running for public office and thus under - thirty year olds with no experience but loyalty to their appointed Tigrean masters are at the helm of the region. 

The reigning Ethiopian government, under premier Zenawi, which ONLF has to negotiate with, is an authoritarian state that has no tolerance for pluralistic views in any shape or form. The politics, military and the economy of Ethiopia is dominated by his TPLF/EPRDF party which claimed that it won 99.6% of the latest staged election when it is common knowledge that the reality is on the contrary - Total Domination of Ethiopia by Ethnic Tigrean . The most draconian anti – terrorist laws ever was introduced by his party to criminalise any form of decent, repressive press laws that saw the closure of all the independent media outlets is in place and rubber stamp judiciary that are tasked to dish out lengthy prison sentences that underwrites opposition party officials, journalists, human rights activists and the likes are kept behind bars; works round the clock.

Real peace talks, between Ethiopia and the ONLF, that are pencilled to start soon heralds a glimmer of hope for the Somali Region and the horn of African countries. If the Ethiopian government is sincere about the talks and prepared to negotiate within the framework of the Ethiopian constitution, all signs are that a successful deal is within reach. The core of the talks, from the Ethiopian government’s side, should be aimed at permanently wrapping up a century of warfare, sabotage, mistrust and mass upheaval that became the hallmark of Somali region’s relationship with Ethiopia and a gaping sore to the pride and the international image of Ethiopia.

A fool and water will go the way they are diverted but not a leader

The appalling but factual scenario in Ethiopia as mentioned above has the potential to categorically chase away weak leaders that are detached from their background in its entirety but on the contrary; robust pragmatic leaders will always find, in such thorny times, an opportunity to make a difference. UWSLF (small unknown Islamist front) and Eng. Maow’s (expelled from ONLF central committee in 2004)one man show, after protracted and gruesome media coverage finally concluded what the Ethiopian government christened as peace pact with the Ethiopian government – not a single one from the serving central committee members nor a commander was signatory to the so called peace agreement . The terms of the pact fell short of the expectations of many in the Diaspora and received muted reaction from the people of the region. The two purported leaders were offered no demonstrable concessions at all with the exception of the release of hundreds of wrongly incarcerated members of the thousands of the civilian inmates in the military prisons.

The ONLF swiftly condemned the leaders that opted out of the armed struggle for few pence as sell outs. Sizable numbers in the diaspora, who were initially sitting on the fence, after studying the empty pact, lent their support to the ONLF. The push factor that wooed the doubters from the fence to the ONLF camp can be credited to the lack of noticeable and structured fundamental changes as to how the regional government conducts its political businesses. The Ethiopian government, as a goodwill gesture temporarily tuned down its scorched earth campaign, to sell the empty peace agreement - hostilities and arbitrary arrest of the innocent civilians decreased significantly, hundreds of alleged ONLF supporters held in detention for so long were released, the feared and often unaccountable local police were reigned and waves of delegations from Somali regional state visited the diaspora lands to put across their argument which was in essence not more than the prolongation of the current statuesque .The officer’s talks were centred around petty things such as offering tribe X few more political posts but failed to address the fundamentals they were expected to attend to.

A little rain each day will fill the rivers to overflowing

The current peace talks are driven by a third party (Kenyan Politicians) who by all measures have an in-depth knowledge of the issue and have a genuine stake in the success of the talks. The Ethiopian government on its side understands the local and international political gains it could reap from the success of the talks and is in no mode to forgo the opportunity although it is not at any price. The ONLF on their part are eager to reach nothing short of durable and verifiable deal, with the Ethiopian government, that can offer the masses of the vast region their full constitutional rights initially with in Ethiopia. Full constitutional rights as understood by ONLF and the people of the region, is the exercise of their right to freely elect their own representatives without interference from the TPLF/EPRDF dominated federal government with the view of preparing the region for full referendum for independence within a decade along the lines of Eretria and southern Sudan if the need arises. 

The 2012 peace talks calls for ONLF leaders to go to the talk’s venue with open minds and with determination to keep the negotiating going, no matter how many sittings, until a mutual compromise is hammered out. The negotiations won’t be easy as some ONLF members, although few in number, might be susceptible to fall for external interests and could create confusion and distractions as the highs of the talk is reached but the will and the steadfastness of the mainstream genuine nationalists will overcome the mice traps. The failure of the talks will have a lasting effect on the ONLF and the Ethiopian government as this puts their leadership’s diplomatic maturity under the spotlight for everyone to see. 

The ONLF should understand that the goals and history of the opposition movements in the north and Oramio are largely far removed from to that of the Somali Regional State. The mantra sung in the corridors of western government’s power houses by the varied Ethiopian opposition groups can’t be taken at face value as most have ethnic based agendas concealed up their sleeves. No regional state in Ethiopia suffered as much as the Somali regional state so one size fits all paradigms floated by the Ethiopian opposition groups can’t address the grievances of the region but will rather further exasperate the situation. The region’s problems are unique and hence require tailor made solution that can redress in a significant way the long standing grievances at least partially at this instant. 

Conclusion and recommendations

The peace talk on the table is not a riddle but a simple dialogue that only a wise and committed leaders that can put the interest of their people before their ego can save the day. The old adage of the cow “cow gave birth to a fire: she wanted to lick it, but it burned; she wanted to leave it, but she could not because it was her own child.” Our forefathers passed to us clearly points that no problem is insurmountable. Courageous and honest leaders can successfully circumnavigate the hurdles on the road to peace. What the region is waiting is nothing short of able leaders of high calibre that can steer the country from its impending self implosion.

The ONLF leaders ought to understand that the Ethiopian government headed by premier Zenawi and the ONLF are conjoined twins that can’t be separated for the time being as they live in the same body called federal Ethiopia. In the short-term however unattractive Zenawi may appear to some members, the organization is obliged to do business with his government in the long-term therefore necessity dictates that he should appear, in the eyes of the ONLF leadership, more gorgeous than for instance president Isias Afewerki of Eritrea or for that matter any other head of state. Although I am not condoning oppression in any form or shape but at same time I fail to see the compulsion for endless armed struggle that most often than not only harms the same people both claims to striving to better their lives.

The Somali regional state is acknowledged as the key holder to the stability and developmental aspirations of both Ethiopia and Somalia. All the ills of Ethiopia historically stem from the Somali region and its fallouts spoils the political and economic health of the region albeit to different degrees. It is said “Compromise, if not the spice of life, is its solidity. It is what makes nations great and marriages happy.” ONLF at this historical juncture is expected to look at the big picture carefully and to sign the agreement if it confers the people of the region their full constitutional rights or else risk to end up in the museum where failed organisations are safely parked. 

“It is said a proverb is the horse of conversation: when the conversation lags, a proverb revives it.” As a concluding remark I would like to emphasise that the Ethiopian government should understand that the ONLF stands for the aspirations, full constitution rights for all, of the Somali regional state citizens. The ONLF is the current bearer of the torch of struggle that resistance movements have been handing down for generations and should in any way confused with the packaging of the organisation. Those who aren’t members of the front share with it the strategic goal the front is fighting for but might have a little difference on the tactical side that is bound to be ironed in the near future.

Two decades of federal army’s mass killing at industrial scale coupled by five years of Liyu Police(local government armed marauding militia ) and the shadowy peace deals with individuals with no military or political influence didn’t divide the ONLF nor brought the region closer to peace. The Ethiopian regime should understand that century old conflict is a political one and can only be ended with robust political solutions. 

Abdikarim H. Abdi Buh 
WardheerNews
Email: abdikarimbuh@yahoo.com