Somalia News Gazette

EARLY WARNING: FURTHER STORMS FORECASTED IN ALREADY FLOODED AREAS IN WESTERN PARTS OF THE COUNTRY

With over 200 mm of rainfall reported during the last ten days of August, torrential downpours continued to turn streets into rivers, paralysing accessibility and flooding agricultural fields, especially in central Marib and much of western Yemen. Ninety-one people were reportedly killed by floods and landslides, while thousands were displaced.

With scores of homes severely damaged, a spike in the total fatalities caused by the ongoing floods has also been reported.

Flood forecast: More storms are forecasted over the already flooded areas of western Yemen up to 10 September, with a high likelihood of reaching mid-month. A 5-day forecast indicates that by the fifth, cumulative rainfall over much of Ibb, western Al Dhale’e, and eastern Taizz will get a high of 100 mm, potentially putting about 8,100 people at risk . Forecast-based action such as livestock evacuation or reinforcement of protective shelters to reduce further losses in livelihoods of vulnerable farming communities is strongly encouraged. Further, where necessary, temporal suspension or relocation of vulnerable farming businesses is also advised. Emergency managers are encouraged to revisit flood management plans and provide necessary reinforcements.

Desert Locusts (DL): The DL situation remained calm throughout much of August apart from low density isolated immature solitarious adults, spotted in Sirwah and Bidbdah districts of Marib governorate. The recent rains favour small-scale breeding, especially in Marib, Al Jawf, Shabwah and Hadramaut governorates. Vigilance and continued surveys remain a necessity.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

United Nations Relief Chief Martin Griffiths has visited Somalia’s South West state, the epicenter of the country’s severe drought. That drought has already displaced more than 1 million people.

In his first visit to Somalia, the most drought-affected country in the Horn of Africa, U.N. relief chief Martin Griffiths said the country needs global support to curb the worst drought in 40 years.

In a news conference in Baidoa, the epicenter of the drought, after he met with South West state President Abdiasiis Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, Griffiths said it is “almost unimaginable” that Baidoa is sheltering 750,000 displaced people.

Somalia’s drought, which devastated 90% of the country, has already displaced more than 1 million people and 7.8 million others need humanitarian assistance.

The U.N. relief chief commended the local community in Baidoa for their efforts to help the displaced.

“One more point, we fear the worst may yet to come, we fear that we will see exponentially increasing need, we fear globally that Baidoa and this South West state is going to need the charity generosity and priority of the world because of the scale of suffering that we anticipate,” he said.

In a brief statement Griffiths posted on Twitter after the visit, he said that he saw babies too weak to cry, and mothers who are still children themselves.

“The silence of the international community is deafening,” he wrote.

For his part, South West state President Laftagareen welcomed the visit by the U.N. delegation.

He says they discussed the current issues such as the drought relief efforts and the way that drought-affected people can be supported. They also spoke of ways to provide emergency relief in South West state.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Somalia office said Saturday that food prices have spiked in the country and hunger is rising.

It said that for the first time since 2017 “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity have been confirmed, with 213,000 people in famine-like conditions.

UNICEF earlier told VOA that drought-related malnutrition has already killed 500 children in Somalia.

Somalia last year declared the three-year drought a national emergency.

According to the prime minister’s office, the drought has also killed more than 2 million livestock and affected 28% of the country’s total livestock population.

Source: Voice of America

In an interview with the BBC, airing Sunday, Ukraine’s first lady noted that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spiked energy prices across Europe, but has come with an additional price for her homeland.

Olena Zelenskyy told Laura Kuenssberg, “I understand the situation is very tough. The prices are going up in Ukraine, as well. But in addition our people get killed. … So when you start counting pennies on your bank account or in your pocket, we do the same and count our casualties.”

The British defense ministry said Sunday in an intelligence update on Twitter that “Russian forces continue to suffer from morale and discipline issues in Ukraine. In addition to combat fatigue and high casualties, one of the main grievances from deployed Russian soldiers probably continues to be problems with their pay.”

The ministry’s statement said that “In the Russian military, troops’ income consists of a modest core salary, augmented by a complex variety of bonuses and allowances. In Ukraine, there has highly likely been significant problems with sizable combat bonuses not being paid. This is probably due to inefficient military bureaucracy, the unusual legal status of the ‘special military operation’, and at least some outright corruption amongst commanders.

“The Russian military has consistently failed to provide basic entitlements to troops deployed in Ukraine, including appropriate uniform, arms and rations, as well as pay,” according to the British ministry. “This has almost certainly contributed to the continued fragile morale of much of the force.”

Saturday, a top European Union leader said amid the intensifying energy battle between Russia and the West over the war in Ukraine that Europe is “well prepared” — thanks to storage capacity and energy conservation measures — if Russia decides to stop all gas deliveries.

“We are well prepared to resist Russia’s extreme use of the gas weapon,” EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni told reporters on the sidelines of an economic forum in Italy. “We are not afraid of Putin’s decisions, we are asking the Russians to respect contracts, but if they don’t, we are ready to react.”

Gentiloni’s remarks come on the heels of Moscow’s decision Friday to delay the reopening of its main gas pipeline to Germany. Russia was reacting to the Group of Seven countries’ agreement to cap the price of Russian oil exports, limiting Moscow’s profits.

Gentiloni said that gas storage in the European Union “is currently at about 80%, thanks to the diversification of supplies,” although the situation varies in each country.

Russian energy giant Gazprom said it could not resume the supply of natural gas to Germany, just hours before it was set to restart deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Russia blamed a technical fault in the pipeline for the move, which is likely to worsen Europe’s energy crisis.

European Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer said Friday on Twitter that Gazprom acted under “fallacious pretenses” to shut down the pipeline.

Turbine-maker Siemens Energy, which supplies and maintains some of the pipeline equipment, said Friday that there was no technical reason to stop shipping natural gas.

Moscow has blamed Western sanctions that took effect after Russia invaded Ukraine for hindering the maintenance of the gas pipeline. Europe accuses Russia of using its leverage over gas supplies to retaliate against European sanctions.

Friday, finance ministers from the G-7 countries said they would work quickly to implement a price cap on Russian oil exports.

The G-7 ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States said the amount of the price cap would be determined later “based on a range of technical inputs.”

“This price cap on Russian oil exports is designed to reduce Putin’s revenues, closing an important source of funding for the war of aggression,” said German Finance Minister Christian Lindner.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the decision by G-7 finance ministers.

“When this mechanism is implemented, it will become an important element of protecting civilized countries and energy markets from Russian hybrid aggression,” Zelenskyy said in his Friday evening video address.

The jockeying for control of energy supplies comes as Russian and Ukrainian forces trade strikes near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where U.N. inspectors are seeking to avert a potential disaster.

Ukraine’s military said Friday it had carried out strikes against a Russian base in the southern town of Enerhodar, near the nuclear power plant.

Russia and Ukraine each accuse the other of shelling near the facility. Kyiv also accuses Moscow of storing ammunition around the plant and using the facility as a shield for carrying out attacks, charges Russia denies.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency visited the Zaporizhzhia plant this week, having braved artillery blasts to reach the facility Thursday.

IAEA head Rafael Mariano Grossi said he and his team saw everything they asked to see at the plant, were not surprised by anything, and he will issue a report early next week on his findings.

Grossi, who has left Ukraine, spoke with reporters after arriving at the airport in Vienna on Friday. He said, “My concern would be the physical integrity – would be the power supply and of course the staff” at Zaporizhzhia.

A team of 13 experts accompanied Grossi to Ukraine, and he said six have remained at Zaporizhzhia. Of those six, two will remain until hostilities cease, which Grossi said will make a huge difference.

“If something happens or if any limitation comes, they are going to be reporting it – report it to us,” Grossi said. “It is no longer a matter of ‘A said this, and B said the contrary.’ Now the IAEA is there.”

Friday, Ukraine’s nuclear agency, Energoatom, accused Russia of “making every effort” to prevent the IAEA mission from learning the real situation at the facility.

The Zaporizhzhia plant has been controlled by Russia since the earliest days of its invasion but remains operated by Ukrainian engineers.

With the nuclear plant in a war zone, world leaders have expressed fears it could be damaged and result in a radiation disaster like that at Ukraine’s Chernobyl plant in 1986.

Grain shipments

Ukrainian grain shipments are continuing. The Joint Coordination Center said Saturday it has cleared two outbound vessels to move Sunday. The ships are carrying a total of 14,250 metric tons of grain and other food products to Turkey.

Another 10 vessels that had been set to move earlier but were delayed by bad weather are also expected to leave Ukrainian ports Sunday for destinations in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Source: Voice of America

Three female Ivorian soldiers arrived home late Saturday after being detained for nearly two months in Mali, while 46 others remain jailed in a case that has heightened tensions between the West African neighbors.

Togolese Foreign Affairs Minister Robert Dusse, whose country has been mediating talks, said the three women were “released as a humanitarian gesture” by Mali’s leader, Col. Assimi Goita.

“We are sad because our friends are still there and we hope to be able to retrieve them very soon,” said one of the soldiers, Sita Bamba, who was released along with Awa Bakayoko and Kangah Badou Adele Bledou.

The Ivorian soldiers were sent to Mali in July to work for Sahelian Aviation Services, a private company contracted by the United Nations.

However, Mali’s government said it considered the Ivorians to be mercenaries because they were not directly employed by the U.N. mission and charged them with undermining state security. Malian authorities said the aviation company should “henceforth entrust its security to the Malian defense and security forces.”

In a statement, Malian Prosecutor Samba Sissoko gave no update about the 46 Ivorians who are still detained, other than to say that “investigations are ongoing.” The Togolese foreign affairs minister indicated discussions about the remaining detainees continue.

The detention of the Ivorian soldiers marked the latest sign of tension between Mali’s leader and the international community. Goita has faced growing isolation after he seized power in a coup two years ago and then failed to meet an international deadline for organizing new democratic elections.

In June, Malian authorities said they would not authorize the U.N. mission to investigate human rights violations in Mali, including the deaths of more than 300 civilians earlier this year. Human rights groups have accused the Malian army of carrying out the killings.

France, the one-time colonial power that had fought Islamic extremism for nine years in Mali, completed its troop withdrawal from the country last month.

Source: Voice of America