Somalia – 31 Oct 2014

Somali Govt Co-Ordinates Aid Distribution in Former Al-Shabaab-Held Areas
Amid warnings of a worsening humanitarian crisis in Somalia and the dire need for assistance in areas liberated from al-Shabaab, the Somali government and international aid agencies are reaching out to residents in southern and central Somalia.

So far, the federal government has provided food aid to more than 10,000 families in Lower and Middle Shabelle regions who lived under the control of al-Shabaab militants for years, said Mukhtar Sheikh Hussein, director of the Ministry of Interior and Federalism’s department of co-ordination of humanitarian agencies.
“We intend to give the food, which was donated by the Turkish Red Crescent, to all the districts that the government regains control of,” he told Sabahi. “We began this work October 6th and we are STILL going.”
“The food we distributed consisted of flour and sugar, and each family received 25 kilogrammes of flour and 25 kilogrammes of sugar,” Hussein said, adding that they reached 4,000 families in Barawe, 3,400 in War Sheikh and 3,500 in Adale.
Sabahi

UAE, Somali Leaders Address Anti-Piracy Conference in Dubai
The 4th International Counter-Piracy conference opened Wednesday (October 29th) in Dubai, with more than 600 government officials, maritime officials and industry leaders in attendance.

Ahead of the two-day conference, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said stakeholders should focus on tackling the root causes of piracy and long-term prevention strategies, the UAE’s Gulf News reported.
There has been a drop in piracy off the coast of Somalia since 2011, when 236 attacks were recorded, with only two unsuccessful attacks recorded this year.
“This remarkable success is testimony to the effectiveness of international counter-piracy co-operation in the Horn of Africa,” Al Nahyan said. “Despite recent successes, there is no room for complacency.”
Sabahi