Somalia News Gazette

Viktor Bout, the former Russian military officer convicted of illegal arms trafficking in U.S. courts in 2012, and who was serving a 25-year prison sentence, has had his sentence commuted and is being repatriated as part of a prisoner exchange that freed United States basketball star Brittney Griner from prison in Russia.

Bout, nicknamed the “Merchant of Death,” started an air freight business in the years after the fall of the Soviet Union, which prosecutors alleged he used to transport military-grade weapons around the world, often supplying arms to combatants on opposing sides of the same conflicts.

In an indictment of Bout issued in February 2010, the U.S. Justice Department alleged, “Bout, an international weapons trafficker since the 1990s, has carried out a massive weapons-trafficking business by assembling a fleet of cargo airplanes capable of transporting weapons and military equipment to various parts of the world, including Africa, South America, and the Middle East. The arms that Bout has sold or brokered have fueled conflicts and supported regimes in Afghanistan, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Sudan.”

The Russian government has long claimed that Bout was wrongly convicted and unjustly imprisoned. He had, most recently, been held in a federal prison facility in the city of Marion in the U.S. state of Illinois.

Griner had spent 10 months in prison in Russia after being arrested at a Moscow airport with a small amount of cannabis oil in an electronic cigarette cartridge in her luggage. Sentenced to nine years in prison, she was recently transferred to a prison labor camp.

Early life

Little is known for certain about Bout’s early life, other than that he grew up in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, and was conscripted into the Russian military at age 18. He is believed to be multilingual, and is thought to have studied at the Military Institute of Foreign Languages in Moscow. The institute has close ties to Russian intelligence services.

Bout appears to have left military service around the time of the breakup of the Soviet Union, and moved to the United Arab Emirates, where he purchased four Soviet-era Antonov-8 cargo planes and established an air freight firm called Air Cess.

Bout’s fleet of planes eventually numbered around 60, and much of his business was legitimate. According to Douglas Farah and Stephen Braun, authors of the book Merchant of Death: Money, Guns, Planes, and the Man Who Makes War Possible, Bout’s contracts included some with the U.S. government for ferrying reconstruction supplies into Afghanistan and some with the United Nations for delivering humanitarian aid.

Active in Africa

It was arms dealing, however, that made Bout both internationally famous and extremely wealthy. In the years following the breakup of the Soviet Union, vast quantities of military weapons appeared on the black market, and prosecutors and journalists have produced evidence that Bout transported weapons to conflict zones around the globe, often to parties that were subject to international arms embargoes.

Bout was especially active in Africa, and in the 1990s is believed to have supplied arms to both the government of Angola and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) who were fighting against it.

Similarly, Bout is believed to have supplied arms to both sides of the civil war in what was then Zaire, and is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, and to have sold arms used in conflicts in Rwanda, Sudan, and Somalia.

Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia who was convicted of war crimes for his role in the civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone, is also believed to have been one of Bout’s clients.

‘Truly a monster’

David M. Crane, the founding chief prosecutor of the U.N. Special Court for Sierra Leone, saw the results of Bout’s arms dealing in West Africa up close.

“He was truly a monster in his own right,” Crane told VOA. “This is someone who spread his arms and ammunition around the world, in very dark corners of the world, causing pain and suffering wherever he went.”

Crane, who went on to found the non-profit Global Accountability Network, which seeks justice for the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity, said that the destruction wrought in Sierra Leone by the forces Bout armed was extensive.

“He was the main supplier of arms and ammunition…to that terrible conflict in West Africa, which saw the murder, rape, maiming and mutilation of over 1.2 million human beings,” Chase said.

While Africa may have been Bout’s primary focus, he was also active in other parts of the world. For example, he is believed to have sold weapons and equipment to both the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Northern Alliance that opposed it in the late 1990s.

Captured

By the late 2000s, Bout was subject to multiple arrest warrants around the world, and rarely left Russia, where the government of Vladimir Putin refused to extradite him.

In 2008, however, he was lured to Bangkok, Thailand, for a meeting with people he believed to be representatives of Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or FARC, the rebel group that for decades sought to overthrow the Colombian government before a 2016 peace accord. FARC was, at the time, designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. government.

In fact, Bout was actually meeting with informants for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, who recorded him offering to sell them hundreds of surface-to-air missiles and other heavy weaponry. In the conversation, Bout acknowledged that the missiles, in particular, were to be used to bring down U.S. planes flying drug interdiction missions.

Bout was arrested on the spot by Thai law enforcement, and two years later he was extradited to the U.S., where he was charged with several crimes, including breaking weapons embargoes, conspiring to kill U.S. officials, and various money laundering and wire fraud charges.

In 2012, Bout was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Long process

In a statement on Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry characterized the negotiations that led to Bout’s release as long, with the U.S. resisting demands that he be made part of the deal.

“Washington was categorically refusing to engage in dialogue on putting the Russian national on the exchange scheme,” the foreign ministry told the news outlet TASS. “Nevertheless, the Russian Federation continued to actively work towards the release of our fellow countryman.”

In remarks announcing Griner’s release Thursday morning, U.S. President Joe Biden did not mention Bout, but criticized Russia for holding the basketball star. He said that Griner “lost months of her life [and] experienced a needless trauma.” Biden also referred to another high-profile American detainee in Russia, former Marine Paul Whelan, who has been held there for four years.

“We’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan, who has been unjustly detained in Russia for years,” Biden said. “This was not a choice of which American to bring home….Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s. And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up. We will never give up.”

Source: Voice of America

The Desert Locust situation continued to remain calm during November. A small outbreak developed in early November where hoppers, groups, and bands were seen in an area of about 100 km by 70 km in northwestern Mauritania. Ground teams treated 2 298 ha. In Sudan, low numbers of adults were first seen in the winter breeding areas this year along the Red Sea coast where a few copulating had started. Isolated adults were else seen in coastal areas of Eritrea, southeast Egypt, and northwest Somalia. In Yemen, low numbers of adults have been on the coast since September. In the Western Region, the summer breeding area has finished. During the forecast, December and January may have slightly above-normal rainfall in the northern parts of the Red Sea coast in northern Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Sudan while southern areas from Eritrea, southern Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and northern Somalia will be drier than normal. As a result, a single generation of small-scale breeding is likely during the winter area. In northwest Mauritania, groups of adults are likely to form in December but should decrease due to control, vegetation that dries out, and rain which is not likely to occur. No significant development is likely.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) commenced a three-day meeting to promote exchanges and foster collaboration between various national level actors working in the area of forced displacement and host communities in Somalia.

Participants for the workshop drawn from key government line ministries, departments and agencies, humanitarian and development actors, the private sector, and forcibly displaced persons.

In his opening remarks at this Somalia National Dialogue on Forced Displacement, the Prime Minister of Somalia, H.E. Mr. Hamza Abdi Barre, underlined that almost three million Somalis have been forced to flee their homes and their communities due to multiple factors including droughts, poor security. “This is indeed a saddening reality that we must address as a nation”, he said.

Prime Minister Hamza emphasised that many children were born in displacement with poor or no access to Education while missing out on their basic rights such as protection because of displacement.

The Minister of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation of the Federal Government of Somalia, Mr Ahmed Mo’alem Fiqi on his part, reaffirmed that the Ministry of Interior is in charge of providing guidance and leadership, establishing policies and laws, coordinating issues in regard to assistance to refugees and displaced persons.

“We are committed as a government to finding a long-term and comprehensive solution for the IDPs while protecting their rights as citizens”, he noted.

Acknowledging the significant progresses made by the Government of Somalia in developing frameworks to address the root causes of displacement and barriers to solutions, Mr. Jacob Apollo, Protection Officer at IGAD, cited “this workshop seeks to strengthen collaboration, coordination and broaden partnerships to the government-led initiatives.”

Mr. Jacob Apollo added: “We are all in agreement that this is a timely initiative given the continued challenges resulting from forced displacement in Somalia and the pressing need to find sustainable solutions for the affected communities in the face of dwindling resources”.

Somalia Federal Ministries’ of Health, Education, Climate Change, Energy and Water as well as representatives of the Civil Society expressed their commitment to working with the Ministry of Interior Federal Affairs and Reconciliation’s National Commission of Refugees and IDPS on finding durable solutions for Somalia’s refugees and IDPs. Representatives of UNHCR and IOM also gave their remarks in a video message.

The World Bank, the European Union and the Sweden International Development Cooperation Agency financially supported this activity.

Background

The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) stock population was estimated at 2,967,500 people as of October 2022. The IGAD region hosted 592,243 registered Somali refugees and asylum seekers, while Yemen hosted 69,900. Finding sustainable solutions for the longstanding challenge of displacement and ending the exclusion of affected persons is critical to Somalia’s peace and development trajectory.

The Heads of State and Government of IGAD Member States adopted the Nairobi Declaration, and its accompanying Plan of Action in March 2017, which proposed a comprehensive regional approach to deliver durable solutions for the more than 900,000 Somali refugees as well as over a million IDPs within Somalia. The Declaration equally proposed to create an enabling environment for their re-integration when they return home.

Source: Intergovernmental Authority for Development

Somalia is experiencing worsening drought following four consecutive seasons of failed rainy season. According to the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) and Famine Early Warning Network (FEWS NEST), Somalia received suboptimal amount of dyer rains than expected since October 2021. Currently, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) estimates that the number of people affected by extreme drought has risen from 4.9 million in March to 7.8 million in September, with 1 million displaced from their homes in search of water, food, and pasture.

Some 6.8 million people – 45 per cent of the population – are acutely food insecure. For the first time since 2017, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has confirmed pockets of catastrophic food insecurity (Phase 5) affecting more than 300,000 people.2 An estimated 1.8 million children under age 5 face acute malnutrition, including 515 550 who are severely malnourished.3 The current situation including the displacement have led to more people being vulnerable to epidemic prone diseases, particularly acute diarrheal disease, and measles.

The Federal Ministry of Health and WHO monitor the trends of epidemic-prone diseases in drought affected districts using data from the electronic-based EWARN, fever and rash surveillance system and community health workers deployed in drought affected districts. With support from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and in collaboration with state ministries of health, WHO is implementing activities aimed at preventing disease outbreaks, including the timely detection and response to alerts of epidemic-prone diseases reported among vulnerable communities in drought affected districts. To control cholera outbreak, one million people have received at least one dose of oral cholera vaccine in nine drought affected districts, cases are receiving treatment in nine cholera treatment facilities and 15 oral rehydration points supported by WHO. WHO and partners have scaled up the implementation of drought response activities in 29 drought affected districts in collaboration with UN agencies targeting hard to reach communities.

Source: World Health Organization

A third round of peace talks for the Democratic Republic of Congo has ended in Nairobi with no reported progress toward settling conflicts in the country’s volatile eastern provinces. The talks are coming to an end as the Congolese government accuses the M23 rebel group of killing at least 270 civilians.

The talks ended after a week of discussions between the Congolese people and their government on how to bring peace and stability to the country. The only agreement was for continued dialogue between the government and local communities.

However, the chief mediator at the conference, former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, serving as peace envoy from the East African Community regional bloc, said this was the beginning of peace in Congo.

He said both sides agreed a 20-year-old war cannot be solved in one day but said they must start a path that brings long-lasting peace. He said there was discussion about how there have been more peace conferences similar to this one with the government, and yet there has been no implementation of the peace agreement. He said this time around, they should not just talk, but also implement what is possible.

Among other things, participants discussed how local communities could benefit from mineral resources, which have been central to most of the armed conflict in eastern Congo.

The meeting in Nairobi will be followed by a more consultations between the Congolese government, led by President Felix Tshisekedi, and rebel groups across the country.

The main rebel group, M23, which has engaged with the Congolese forces in fierce fighting in the east of the country, was not present in the talks.

The fighting has been going on in recent days, despite both sides agreeing to a cease-fire more than a week ago.

The government of Congo said M23 fighters killed more than 270 people in the town of Kishishe.

The United Nations said it received reports of civilian casualties during fighting between M23 and other militias in Kishishe.

Lawrence Kanyuka, the spokesperson for the M23 group, denies the group is targeting civilians and calls for the international community to investigate the deaths.

“The DRC government, who speculated on the lives of people, one minute 150, 120 goes back to 100 dead, but on all those deaths, there is no one identified, there is no list, no names of the people, that’s why we say we need an investigation to happen,” Kanyuka said. “We want a thorough investigation, insist on an independent inquiry to take place.”

Kanyuka accused the government forces and other rebel groups of attacking their positions.

“All frontlines have been attacked most of the time because the DRC government has another agenda and doesn’t want any peace to happen in the DRC,” he said. “That’s why the coalition forces always attack the M23. If it’s not, it’s going to be somewhere. Basically, all the positions that’s held by M23 are always under attack by these coalitions.”

The East African regional bloc said it will check in on Congo’s dialogue early next year, with the next meeting taking place in the eastern Congolese cities of Bunia and Goma.

Source: Voice of America

The drought situation continues to deteriorate in 21 out of the 23 ASAL counties in Kenya, due to the four failed consecutive rain seasons and the depressed October – December 2022 (short rains) season. Fourteen counties are in ALARM phase; 7 are in ALERT phase and only 2 are at NORMAL phase, and drought is affecting about 4.5 million people, (compared to 2.1 million in September 2021), of these approximately 2.14 million are children.

A total of 10,316 children (5,406 girls and 4,910 boys) were admitted for treatment of severe acute malnutrition and 184,582 caregivers, families and community members were reached with nutrition messages in reporting period in the target counties in October.

A total of 164,715 people (41,152 men, 42,826 women, 39,531 boys and 41,206 girls) were reached with safe water through the rehabilitation of 39 non-functional boreholes and solarization of 6 boreholes in Wajir, Marsabit, Garissa, Mandera and Turkana counties in October.

A total of 25,730 people (4,271 Girls, 4,538 Boys, 10,127 Women and 6,794 Men) were reached with critical life-saving integrated outreach services linked to targeted and supported health facilities in October.

A total of 5,022 out of school children (2,320 girls & 2,702 boys) in the counties of Baringo, Samburu, Kwale, Turkana and West Pokot were supported to re-enroll in school in October. School dropouts due to lack of water and school meals are being reported.

5,555 children (2,903 girls, 2,652 boys) reached with access to mental health and psychosocial support.

2,058 households consisting of 2,606 children (1,324 girls and 1,282 boys) reached with humanitarian cash transfers, integrated with other UNICEF-supported outreach services, such as nutrition and health treatment, plus referrals for child protection cases and disability card registration.

UNICEF’s funding requirements to provide life-saving services in health, nutrition, WASH, protection, and education over the period the period April – December 2022 has been revised to align with the revision of the Kenya Flash appeal and stands at US$ 126.9 million with funding gap of US$ 91.9 million or 72 per cent.

Source: UN Children’s Fund

Acute food insecurity is increasing due to conflict, extreme weather events and rising food prices

Rome – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is seeking USD 1.9 billion by 2023 to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of some of the people most severely affected by acute food insecurity, as This continues to increase throughout the planet.

The announcement was made as part of a broader United Nations humanitarian aid appeal launched by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs at a special event in Geneva, Switzerland today.

With less than 4% of the USD 51.5 billion requested in all aid requests by 2023, FAO can provide urgent livelihood assistance to ensure that 48 million people have a stable supply of nutritious food . Through cash, seed packets for crops and vegetables, livestock feed, animal health campaigns and improvements to essential infrastructure such as irrigation systems and markets, FAO can ensure that families and communities in the most remote and disaster-affected areas conflicts can feed and lay the foundations for resilience to future shocks.

In 2022, FAO’s emergency support to drought-affected communities in the Horn of Africa has protected vital livestock assets, ensuring that 4.4 million children can access milk every day, and has facilitated the production of more than 100,000 tons of cereals and provided more than 1.5 million people with cash to buy food, health care and other essential services.

FAO interventions focus above all on meeting the needs and priorities of the affected communities, who are mostly farmers, fishermen, herders and foresters, allowing them to remain in their homes, when it is safe to do so, to meet their own needs. and direct your own recovery in the future.

Main drivers of acute food insecurity

Extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the proliferation of other conflicts, followed by growing uncertainty around global food and agricultural markets, are driving acute food insecurity to new highs. As 2022 draws to a close, almost one million people face the immediate threat of starvation, or almost twice as many as in 2021. Globally, 222 million people are experiencing elevated levels of acute food insecurity and nearly one in five of them have difficulties accessing enough food on a daily basis.

In the Horn of Africa alone, which is facing unprecedented drought—an intensity not seen for 40 years—an estimated 23-26 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, and acute food insecurity is projected to continue to intensify by February 2023 due to a sixth consecutive season of unprecedented and anticipated dryness.

The cost of food has been rising steadily since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and international food prices were already at 10-year highs before the war in Ukraine further affect the system. Although the prices of international staple foods have fallen recently, consumer prices remain high, which has a significant impact on the purchasing power and access to food of the poorest population.

Conflict and political instability continue to devastate lives and livelihoods around the world, forcing people to leave their homes and abandon their farms, boats and livestock, pushing them into destitution and complete dependence on external assistance.

FAO boosts its response to crises and emergencies

FAO has intensified its efforts to reach those most in need throughout 2022, helping 30 million people with urgent support, focusing on rural populations and those who depend on agriculture for survival.

In Afghanistan alone , where around half of the rural population suffers from high levels of acute food insecurity, FAO expects to reach 9 million people by the end of the year. Some 3.6 million people will benefit from the ongoing winter wheat distribution, which will be completed in December.

In Somalia , more than USD 24 million in cash, plus livelihood assistance, has been provided to rural communities most at risk of famine, while providing feed, water and basic sanitation to more of 11 million head of cattle.

In Ukraine , in addition to offering emergency agricultural support to farmers such as vegetable seeds, seed potatoes and cash aid, FAO is intensifying efforts to safeguard current and future crops and food reserves. FAO has provided a huge storage capacity of up to 6 million tonnes of cereals (around 30% of the country’s needs). This assistance is essential to ensure adequate storage of grains so that farmers can sell and export them when appropriate.

Agriculture in emergencies continues to experience severe funding shortfalls

Agriculture is a frontline humanitarian response and should be considered as such in all requests for humanitarian aid. Urgent agricultural interventions, especially when combined with food and cash assistance, have huge impacts on food availability, nutrition and movement, thus significantly reducing other humanitarian costs.

For example, at a cost of just US$220, the packages of winter wheat being distributed in Afghanistan will allow a family to produce enough food to meet their annual grain needs and keep a surplus to sell.

In 2022, FAO received only 43 percent of the funds requested in humanitarian response plans, leading to a huge funding imbalance. For example, requests for Afghanistan have been completed, while those for Nigeria and the Syrian Arab Republic have barely exceeded 10% of requirements.

Today’s event in Geneva was one of three consecutive events to launch the Global Humanitarian Outlook (2023) report, followed by events in Addis Ababa in collaboration with the African Union and in Riyadh in collaboration with the Center for Humanitarian Aid and King Salman Relief (KSRelief).

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Ongoing attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and the onset of frigid winter temperatures portend danger and worsening hardships for millions of Ukrainians, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today, urging all parties to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law.

Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said that more than 14 million people remain forcibly displaced from their homes in Ukraine, including 6.5 million internally displaced and more than 7.8 million across Europe. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), as of 1 December, 17,023 civilians have been killed since 24 February, including 419 children. Since February, 1,148 children have been killed or injured while millions have fled, been uprooted from their homes, separated from their families or put at risk of violence.

“In Ukraine today, the ability of civilians to survive is under attack,” he said, noting that temperatures are expected to drop to below -20°C. Since October, sustained attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have left millions without heat, electricity and water, he said, adding that Kyiv needs enhanced international support beyond what humanitarians can provide.

“Objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population must be protected and constant care must be taken to spare civilians and civilian objects throughout all military operations,” he added, emphasizing that international humanitarian law must be respected. Underscoring Member State and other donor support to the Ukraine Flash Appeal, he pointed out that more must be done, however, to close the funding shortfall.

In the ensuing debate, speakers once again deplored the Russian Federation’s attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, urged compliance with international humanitarian law and appealed for unimpeded access for humanitarian relief supplies. Several welcomed the renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, but voiced alarm at soaring food prices and growing food insecurity worldwide.

France’s representative, among many others, said the Russian Federation is using winter as a weapon of war. He called on Moscow to respect the order issued by the International Court of Justice on 16 March to end the war and noted that France is co-organizing a conference in Paris on 13 December to mobilize international assistance for Ukraine.

The United States’ representative, commending France’s initiative, said that aid agencies in Ukraine have implemented the largest humanitarian cash assistance programme in history, transferring more than $1 billion to 6 million people. However, more assistance will be needed, she said, adding that her country has provided over $1.5 billion in humanitarian assistance.

Mexico’s representative, noting that 70 per cent of the attacks against health infrastructure around the world in recent months have occurred in Ukraine, said health care workers have had to abandon their posts due to internal displacement made worse by the energy crisis. He called once again for greater efforts to rebuild Ukraine’s power grid to supply electricity to priority services, along with guaranteed energy supplies for nuclear power stations to avert a nuclear disaster.

The United Arab Emirates’ representative said that winter brings new and unforeseen dangers, with snow and ice concealing landmines and unexploded munitions. Pointing to the impacts of war on education, he said that while an estimated 2.6 million children have been learning online since September, even that remote access has been disrupted by blackouts and power cuts.

Kenya’s representative warned that food security in Africa could worsen if fertilizer costs remain high due to the war. Warning that rising food prices could lead to widespread humanitarian suffering, she said that countries through which those food commodities are shipped must reflect their humanitarian responsibility and remove all measures blocking food exports.

The Russian Federation’s representative, giving a different perspective, said the root cause of the crisis is Ukraine’s many years of crimes against civilians and children in Donbass, something that the West is shamefully trying to hide. Moscow is willing to negotiate, but if its aims cannot be achieved peacefully, and if Ukraine cannot become a normal, good-neighbourly State, then it will use all available logistical and military means to protect its interests, he said.

Ukraine’s representative said that while the Russian Federation is trying to convince the Council of its desire for peace, it launched 70 missiles on 5 December to harm Ukrainian infrastructure. Nonetheless, the aggressor will be defeated, the Moscow dictatorship will fail and war criminals will be held to account, he said. He added that the United Nations and the international community must not remain silent on the deportation of 12,300 children to the Russian Federation or occupied territories.

Representatives of countries in the region, including Latvia, Poland and Germany, spotlighted ways in which they are assisting Ukraine. Latvia’s delegate, also speaking for Estonia and Lithuania, added that a special international tribunal for the punishment of the crime of aggression against Ukraine must be established to hold the Russian Federation to account.

Source: UN Security Council