With longstanding economic disparity and ongoing racial tension, the nation of South Africa has six of the ten most dangerous cities on the continent.

Most Dangerous Cities In Africa

Police in Cape Town, South Africa block the road to deal with a public disturbance on the city's streets.

As the African continent offers ever more economic opportunities and unique places to visit, many of its burgeoning major cities are concurrently becoming more susceptible to crime. Furthermore, in countries such as South Africa, where apartheid (the legal segregation of ethnic groups and races there from 1948 to 1994) was a once deeply ingrained practice, racial tension remains high, and xenophobia-related violence (that out of fear of those different than one's own self) often still occurs. Using the sets of crime indices Numbeo.com has created to compare global cities based on relative levels of crime, safety, law, and order, we have ranked some of the most dangerous cities in Africa. Numbeo's multi-factorial analyses take into account such considerations as people feelings on the level of crime therein, recent changes in crime levels, safety walking alone, fears of muggings or robberies, vehicular security, perceived threat of assault and/or battery, being annoyed, harassed, insulted, or solicited by locals, racial, ethnic, and religious intolerance, and the threat of property theft. In many cases, these cities' relatively high danger levels are validated by their listing by the US Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) as "critical" in terms of crime. Using those Numbeo composite crime indices, here are some of the most dangerous cities to live in, visit, and conduct business in Africa today.

10. Nairobi, Kenya

As Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi is the hub of the country’s economy, thereby making it attractive to both foreign and investments, and vulnerable to criminal activity. The US Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) rates Nairobi’s crime levels as being "critical". Also, Numbeo,com, as of March 2016, ranked the crime levels at of city as high, and ended up giving it a rating of 78.49 out of 100. Serious crimes common in Nairobi, according to OSAC, are armed carjackings, home and business burglaries, kidnappings, pick-pocketing, muggings, and snatch- and grab-thefts. Other criminal threats include grenade attacks and terrorism, which in recent years Kenya has bore the brunt of. However, those victims of robbery who cooperate without resisting are likely to be unharmed in the city, according to OSAC. Cyber-crime and credit card skimming are other forms of criminal activities on the rise in Nairobi that its foreign visitors need to be aware of.

9. Luanda, Angola

Luanda, Angola’s capital city, has a high crime rate, and one which the OSAC reports as being "critical". Out of a possible crime score of 100, Numbeo rates it at 76.39 as of February 2016. According to the UK Government service Gov.UK, common crimes in the city are inclusive of carjackings, assaults, homicides, muggings for valuables such as mobile phones, armed robberies at either night or day (especially in areas popular with foreigners), and rape incidences both in nightlife areas and even private homes. Lone night travel or walks within the city are not recommended, as crimes mostly happen at night in Luanda, according to the OSAC. There also are crime hot-spots in Luanda that the OSAC particularly warns against venturing into, like the Rua Nehru, the Rua Houari Boumedienne, and the traffic circle in the last part of Rua Gamal Abdel Nasser. Thefts from stationary or slow-moving vehicles stuck in traffic also happen. It’s thereby wise to close the windows when stuck in such traffic situations there. Furthermore, visitors are also advised to avoid changing or withdrawing money in public places, or handling money in very crowded places.

8. Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Port Elizabeth is a coastal city in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. As a port city, it’s vibrant with tourism and is dubbed the "Windy City" for its windy coastal clime. Port Elizabeth has a rich cultural heritage, and is among the cities early explorers like Vasco Da Gama passed through. However, crime is very high there, and Numbeo, as of February 2016, rates the crime levels there at 80.56 out of a possible crime score of 100. Muggings and street crimes are common at Port Elizabeth like in the rest of South Africa. Xenophobic attacks against foreigners also flare up in Port Elizabeth when there is unrest in South Africa. In 2014, Port Elizabeth was ranked number 35 by the Mexican Citizens' Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice among the world’s 50 most dangerous cities, and, in 2013, it was number 41. Murders per 100,000 people in 2014 were 34.8, slightly down from 36 in 2013.

7. Cape Town, South Africa

Crime levels in Cape Town, a port city in South Africa and the capital of Western Cape Province, are very high, even though it’s the country’s legislative capital. In recent years, several news wires have labeled it as being among the most violent cities in the world. Numbeo gives the city a crime rating of 82.45 out of a possible crime score of 100, as of March 2016, having increased over the course of the previous 3 years. From April 2011 to March 2012, Cape Town recorded more murders than both Johannesburg and Pretoria combined, according to Africa Check. Criminal activities like drug dealing, mugging, vandalism, theft, assault, armed robbery, and bribery are especially common there, according to Numbeo. Taking nighttime walks is also risky in and of itself. Much of the violence in Cape Town is fueled by drug-related gang activity and the economic inequality still prevalent in non-white territories. According to a 2014 report by the Institute for Security Studies, annual income in a white household was just over 6 times more than a black household in Cape Town.

6. Lagos, Nigeria

With an estimated population of 21 million, Lagos is Nigeria’s largest city. Crime levels are also very high, with Numbeo giving the city a rating of 80.88 out of a possible crime score of 100. The OSAC gives Lagos a crime rating of "critical". Locals and expatriates living in Lagos are prone to muggings, armed robberies, home or business burglaries, carjackings, assaults, rapes, kidnappings, and extortion. Armed robbers in the city are known to even climb up perimeter fences and subdue guards, and others have invaded waterfront compounds by way of boats. Criminals also target vehicle occupants in traffic, and break into stationary cars. Some of Lagos' crime hot-spots are airport roads in the days or evenings, as well as banks and grocery stores. Street gangs dubbed "area boys" cause terror in the mainland of the city when they clash. Lagos is also an e-mail scam hotbed, from where dubious cyber criminal prey on people under the pretension that they can receive huge compensation in return some time later after parting with some money by way of electronic transactions.

5. Durban, South Africa

Durban is the largest city in Kwa-Zulu-Natal Province in South Africa. It’s a coastal city that is popular with local and international tourists who visit it annually by the hundreds of thousands. Economically, the city hosts the biggest container and commodity port in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the OSAC. But crime and criminal-related deaths have been on the rise. According to a 2014 report by the Mexican Citizens' Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice, Durban City was 38th among the 50 most violent cities in the world. Homicides per 100,000 people stood at 34.5 in 2014, up from in 2013 when they were at 32 per 100,000. As of March 2016, Numbeo rated the crime in Durban at 87.89 out of a possible crime score of 100, indicating it as being very high. Beyond Durban's city limits, Kwa-Zulu-Natal province in 2015 was reported as the most dangerous province in South Africa. Taking personal precautions, like avoiding nighttime travel or walking alone, is recommended to avoid falling victim.

4. Johannesburg, South Africa

Johannesburg is South Africa’s largest city, with an estimated population of over 4 million people, and it’s also the capital of Gauteng province. In recent years it has achieved notoriety for the high numbers of crime and rape cases seen there as well. Numbeo ranks crime levels in Johannesburg as being very high, achieving a 91.61 out of a possible crime score of 100 as of March 2016. Due to the many incidences of rape reported there, it has also been dubbed as the "World’s Rape Capital". Recently, Johannesburg has had xenophobic attacks springing up in the low income townships with frequency. In 2014-2015, according to Africa Check, the murder rate in Johannesburg per 100,000 was 28.2 people. Yet, according to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the average global homicide rate per 100,000 people was 6.2, less than a fourth of that seen in Johannesburg.

3. Benghazi, Libya

Since Muammar Gaddafi’s oust from power as the leader of Libya in 2011, the whole country, including the second largest city of Benghazi, has been engulfed in a civil war. The city is ever at risk of radical Islamic terrorist attacks. In September of 2012, the US Embassy in Libya was attacked by violent extremists, and 4 US government employees, the US Ambassador to Libya included, died in the chaos. According to the OSAC, crime levels across the whole country are still rising. Incidences of carjackings, robberies, burglaries, and gun attacks are now more prevalent, largely due to the looting of government artillery that ensued in a mad scramble for economic and military gains after Gaddafi’s removal. Sexual harassment of women is also rising, as well as petty and hardcore street crimes alike. Even stricter laws on people's dress make expatriate women who don’t dress conservatively susceptible to attacks from Islamic extremist militias.

2. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

Pietermaritzburg is both the province's second largest city (after Durban) and the capital of Kwa-Zulu-Natal Province in the nation of South Africa. It has very high crime levels, with a crime rating of 87.5 out of a possible crime score of 100, according to Numbeo as of January 2016. Armed robbery, sexual assault, arson, drug dealing, house break-ins, carjackings, and car theft are some crimes that are rife in Pietermaritzburg. In the 3 years leading up to 2015, crimes levels in the city rose significantly According to Crime Statistics South Africa, in 2015 there were 15,720 criminal incidences in the city. This was an increase on the previous years, as in 2014 there were 14,794 reported incidents of criminal activities, and in 2013 there were 13,596. When xenophobic attacks flare up elsewhere in South Africa, they also tend to quickly spread to Pietermaritzburg as well.

1. Rustenburg, South Africa

Rustenburg City is in the North West Province of South Africa. It has very high crime levels, and is rated at 85.71 out of a possible crime score of 100, according to a 2015 Numbeo report. Of all of the cities in the North West Province in 2015, Rustenburg had the highest total cases of criminal activities with 11,117 cases in 2015, according to Crime Statistics South Africa. Household burglary, kidnapping, hijacking, and political violence are but some of the crimes that frequently occur in this city. According to South Africa Dialogue, street crimes and muggings are also high in Rustenburg, and caution is necessary each and everyday. At night, car break-ins are common, and it’s not advisable to leave one's valuables inside a vehicle. When driving on the freeways at night, stops in undesignated areas make one an easy target for robbers, and hence it’s wise to avoid making them.

Halkaan Ka DaaWo MuuQaalKa

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Eritrean men are being threatened with jail unless they marry more than one wife, reports say.

A statement allegedly  issued by the government of Eritrea is reportedly ordering men to marry at least two wives due to acute shortage of men caused by enormous casualties suffered during the civil war with Ethiopia. In the statement written in Arabic the  government gave the assurance that it will give financial support to the polygamous marriages.

A translation of the statement states: 

“Based on the law of God in polygamy, and given the circumstances in which the country is experiencing in terms of men shortage, the Eritrean department of Religious Affairs has decided on the following .”

First that every man shall marry at least two women and the man who refuses to do so shall be subjected to life imprisonment with hard labour.

“The woman who tries to prevent her husband from marrying another wife shall be punished to life imprisonment,” alleges the activists in their translation.

May 1998 to June 2000 Eritrean-Ethiopian war saw 150,000 soldiers killed from either sides but having a bigger impact on male population in the tiny Eritrea nation who were then just 4million people in total. 

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Business is booming in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. There is construction almost everywhere, a symbol of Ethiopia's impressive economic growth over the past decade.

Gone are the days of famine and grinding poverty, the government story goes. This is Ethiopia 2015, which they say, is on course to becoming a middle-income country by 2025. 

Let our people judge us, not somebody from outside. After all, a democratic, credible, fair and free election should be credible in the eyes of our people, who are responsible for electing all of us. Hailemariam Desalegn, prime minister of Ethiopia

To add to this remarkably rosy picture, Ethiopia's 90 million citizens are part of a healthy, multi-party democracy that holds elections every five years, the government says. 

But not everyone agrees with this inspirational story of growth and democracy in what remains one of the poorest countries in Africa. 

They ask why, if everything is so good at home, are thousands of Ethiopians among the tidal wave of desperate people who make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean in search of freedom and jobs.

The government has been deemed one of the most heavily censored countries in the world, and has been accused of mercilessly stifling political opposition and civil liberties, and of imprisoning those who do not toe the line. Its critics say those who do not go to jail are intimidated into voting for the ruling party.

Ahead of Ethiopia's May 24 parliamentary elections,we travelled to Addis Ababa to ask Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn about his party's record, the global criticism of his government, and the reports on human rights abuses. We also talk to him about democracy, Ethiopia's economy and foreign policy.

Source: Al Jazeera

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Fadumo Dayib is a Mason Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University and doctoral student at the University of Helsinki. Dayib has decided to run for President of Somalia in 2016. She will campaign on a platform of Pan-Somalism, education, gender equality, minority protection, and youth employment.

When Fadumo Dayib announced her bid to run for President of Somalia on national TV last year, people thought she was crazy. Somalia's violent history and the life-threatening conditions that the country's politicians and activists face on a daily basis makes Dayib's choice to run for office— especially as a woman in a patriarchal culture—a brave one. "People just can't understand why I would do such a thing," Dayib says.

Somalia's 2016 elections will be the first democratic elections held since 1967, when President Abdirashid Ali Shermarke rose to power. He was assassinated two years later and the Somali Army quickly took control, declaring a military coup d'état. A civil war followed in the early 1990s, as well as severe famine and political upheaval. A federal, democratic president was finally elected by the Parliament in 2012 to replace a series of transitional governments. And if all goes according to Vision 2016, Somalia's citizens will officially elect its first democratic President next year.

If anyone can become Somalia's first female president, it is this articulate, highly successful Finnish woman of Somali origin. Born to illiterate Somali parents in the mid-1970s, Dayib had a turbulent childhood full of financial difficulties. Her single mother, who often had to go to great lengths to make ends meet, mainly raised her. But despite the disadvantages she faced early on in life, her résumé boasts an impressive list of credentials: After receiving several degrees in international public health, Dayib is currently a MC/MPA Mason fellow at Harvard and a doctoral candidate with a focus on women, peace, and security at the University of Helsinki. She also has over a decade of experience working for the UN. An especially notable feat considering Dayib didn't become fully literate until about the age of 14.

"Throughout my childhood, I was constantly moving back and forth between Kenya and Somalia. At the age of 11, I really started to concentrate on my studies and I fully became literate at 14, having less than five years of primary schooling," she says.

At around 17 years old, she and her two younger siblings moved to Finland as refugees, and there Dayib was able to build take advantage of academic opportunities and build a successful career. Dayib's husband and four children are still based in Finland today.

Dayib was deemed resilient from the moment she entered the world. She is her mother's first surviving child after the loss of eleven children to treatable diseases. Perhaps that's why, despite not having an extensive political background, connections, or a privileged upbringing, Dayib truly believes she can lead her homeland to a better future.

"I've been waiting for 25 years, and nobody is taking that responsibility seriously, and I have decided to do it," Dayib says.

She's hoping her clean reputation, education, and international policy-making experience will bring the refreshing change that Somalia needs today. She also hopes that having a woman lead the country will bring about much needed social change to the everyday life of a Somali woman.

"We currently have a 30 percent quota requirement for women in Parliament but it's only at 14 percent today," Dayib explains. "And even that 14 percent are women who probably don't have a lot of say in real issues."

Dayib will focus her policies on security and economic development, particularly for women and girls, who are doing much worse than their male peers, she says. "We have an entire generation that doesn't know any other life other than violence. You have four years to effect change, you can't do everything. The priorities are too many."

But her roadblocks to winning the election are substantial—the biggest, of course, being that she's a woman. "They say that my place is in the private sphere, not in the public space," she says of her detractors. "They tell me it's un-Islamic, 'how dare you step out of your place.'"

Sexual violence for women and girls has been a major cause of concern in Somalia. The UN reported nearly 800 cases of sexual and gender-based violence in Mogadishu alone for the first six months of 2013. When asked what steps she would take to combat this problem, Dayib responded that there's a desperate need for good governance.

"Somali women and their children face a lot of challenges including sexual violence," she says. "I think if people were dealt with according to the law, that would make a huge difference."

So far, Dayib is the only female candidate for the 2016 presidential election. "I hope there will be others," she says.

But Dayib might have more to contend with than just detractors. There are rumors that the current administration might ask for a two-year extension—even though the UN recently dismissed the idea of it.

In spite of this uncertainty, Dayib is currently preparing as best she can, and is ready to fight hard for her chance to lead her country—no matter the odds. "You know you're going into a boxing match even though your hands are tied behind your back," she says. "The people have to have a say."

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Museveni: If premature going to heaven is such a good thing, why don't terrorist leaders set an example by blowing themselves up instead of only sending poor children to die?

Shabaab and European colonialists share one thing in common; they consider other Africans “Kaffir” (primitive people that do not know God).

ON April 24, 2015 Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni released an article on the fortunes and misfortunes of the Somalia extremist group Al-Shabaab:

THE most atrocious, criminal, cowardly and monstrous attacks by Al-Shabaab against soft and innocent targets such as shoppers in Nairobi’s Westgate Mall in September 2013; young students in northeast Kenya’s Garissa  University on April 2 in which 148 were killed, or football fans watching the World Cup matches at the Rugby Club in Kampala in July 2010, may look very frightening to those that are not used to war or that are not well informed. However, those attacks, in fact, prove three things.

Somalis today things that were unimaginable just 5 years ago - have fun at the beach. 

They prove that Al-Shabaab is sectarian which is obvious because it only targets non-Muslims. Secondly, it proves that Al-Shabaab is bankrupt both morally and ideologically. Why attack non-combatants? Why not attack soldiers if you want to fight? Why attack only non-Muslims? Thirdly, however, it also proves that Al-Shabaab is already defeated. Why do I say this?

I say this because it is that bankrupt Al-Shabaab that initiated attacks against the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) who were part of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force AMISOM in the month of May in the year 2009 in Mogadishu.

The UPDF had gone to Mogadishu, not to fight anybody, but, to stabilise the situation there and to guard the Port and the airforce. This was after the Somali factions had agreed to a shared government in Djibouti and after the American mistakes of manipulating the warlords had failed. We went there under the African Union Flag. You know that flag. It consists of the conspicuously huge map of Africa. Nobody that is not blind can mistake this for anything else.

What the [Horn and East African grouping] Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and AU wanted was negotiations to include anybody that had been left of out the interim government - especially the groups that had been in Eritrea.

In any case, we were in just a small portion of Somalia, at Mogadishu port, at the airport and, later on, on the request of the Interim Somali Government, State House and Kilometre 4 (linking the different positions) was added.

Not wise to attack Uganda, Burundi

Even if the Al-Shabaab did not want to negotiate with the Interim Government for any obscure reason, it was not wise to attack the Ugandan and Burundian troops carrying the AU flag. Why do you attack the AU flag? Do you not belong to Africa? If you do not belong to Africa, where do you belong? In any case, big chunks of Somalia, including ports and airports, were under their control. They could build capacity there if they had any ambitions to do so.

However, intoxicated with their bankrupt ideology of Islamic chauvinism (arrogance and narrow-mindedness), they attacked our troops calling them “Kaffir” (primitive people that do not know God) just like the European imperialists used to call us.

Well, the “Kaffirs” taught those idiots that we know how to defend the African soil and the African flag. Our well-trained and well-disciplined army smashed the fanatical attacks of these misled people.

This was especially so in the Ramadhan of August 2010; we smashed the mass attacks of these confused people and advanced to Barawe, Marka, Juba Hotel, Bondhere, Florencia, Telebunka, Elhindi, Santa gate Shigare, Bakara Market, National Stadium, Mogadishu University, Dayinley, Afugoye, Kilometre 50, Elsaalini and Shalambot beyond our original positions at the airport, Sea-Port, Kilometre - 4 and State House.

Shabaab drill outside Mogadishu after they were beaten out of the city.

They, then, started sniping our troops from the built up areas. We brought in commandos that were experts in counter sniping. Between May 2011 and September 2011, at least, 320 Al-Shabaab fighters were killed by UPDF snipers. With other attacks and movements, the Al-Shabaab fled from Mogadishu on August 6, 2011.

The manipulation of the young Muslim youth by their cowardly and criminal leaders promising them heaven (janah) by dying fighting the “Kaffirs” could no longer persuade these poor children to face the might of the UPDF.

I sometimes wonder about the moral standing of these leaders. If pre-mature going to heaven is such a good thing, why don’t some of these leaders set an example by blowing themselves up instead of only sending these poor children to die?

“Defeated” Al-Shabaab

After that Al-Shabaab was defeated in Baidoa, Afgooye, Marka, Beledweyne, Kismayu. Therefore, the Al-Shabaab is now attacking shopping Malls, football fans, university students and so forth, because they are already defeated. They cannot attack anything else - not even a well- guarded Police Station let alone a battalion of the AU forces.

In their bankruptcy and ignorance of war, they miscalculate that attacking soft targets will frighten Africa and cause it to abandon the Somali people to these idiots. That will not happen.

Uganda soldiers walk through the bushes in Somalia. (Photo/AFP).

I have not talked about the concept of the Armed Population in recent times in public. In 1980s, 1990s, when some actors were threatening to invade Uganda, we had trained a militia of 2 million men and women. All high school leavers used to get military training.

 However, with increased Secondary School and University enrollment, the numbers became too big. We, therefore, suspended that generalised mass training and, instead, concentrated on the areas that had insecurity at that time. In (northeastern) Teso region we had a militia (Local Defence Units - LDUs) of 8,000 known as the Arrow Boys; in (northern) Lango we had another 8,000 and they were called Amuka.

Now that the Al-Shabaab can no longer either fight conventional or guerilla battles against the AU force and they are only relying on terrorist attacks against the soft, innocent targets, we can harden the soft targets with the concept of the Armed population, maybe, initially, in the threatened areas as defined by intelligence.

The bloodied hand of a victim of the 2013 Westgate mall terror attack. (Photo/AFP).

It involves the cost of feeding, clothing, equipping, transporting, training (the bullets), etc. Since we need that money for roads, electricity and other infrastructure, we had to scale down on the concept of the Armed People - Povo armada as Mozambique’s Frelimo used to call the strategy. However, it is there and it can be re-activated at any time.

That is why we have Reserve Force Commanders in all the districts. That is their purpose. I have, actually, already given confidential instructions to the security forces to re-activate that strategy as guided by intelligence.

When the idiots in Mogadishu were calling us “Kaffir”, they, probably (in their ignorance), did not know that the UPDF has got thousands of Muslims and that, under the NRM revolution, we pour scorn and contempt sectarianism. It is the ideology of the traitors who hope to weaken the African People by that scheme of dividing us so as to dominate us (divide and rule).

Somalis ancient Africans

The Somali People are part of the ancient Cushitic people of Africa. Some of these people live in Ethiopia, Sudan, Southern Egypt, East Africa, to name a few areas.

Somalis are ancient Cushite people of Africa. (Photo/ G. A. Hussein/flickr).

Some of them are Muslims and others belong to other religions. What right do these sectarian elements have to seek to separate them from the other Cushitic peoples and, indeed, from the other Africans? To hell with the sectarianists.

The sectarian chauvinists are, first and foremost, the enemies of the Muslim people even before they become enemies of the generality of Africans.

Why? Take a look at the map of East Africa, including the Horn of Africa. The Muslims live, mainly, near the coast (Pwani). Even in the pre-colonial times, not to mention the present capitalist world, the coast (Pwani) depended for prosperity on the mainland (Bara) and vice-versa. The pre-colonial peoples of the Great Lakes depended for textiles, glass beads, guns, et al on the Coast, including Zanzibar.

The coast depended on the hinterland for ivory, especially and, unfortunately, for slaves also (a responsibility of the criminal chiefs in many cases).

In modern times, by our coastal people providing services at the sea ports (Djibouti, Mogadishu, Kismayu, Mombasa, Tanga, Dar-es-Salaam), even if they did not do anything else (and there are many things they are better positioned to do e.g. manufacturing using imported inputs), they would be very prosperous on account of the huge volumes of merchandise from and to the interior of the continent.

Whose enemy are you when you interfere with this mutually beneficial arrangement? Certainly, the non-Muslims would lose but so would the Muslims of both the interior and the coast. The whole of Africa would lose.

Muslims and Shabaab

Finally, the criminals in Kenya have been killing non-Muslims and sparing Muslims. Does it mean that all Muslims support these criminals? Certainly not. How do I know this? There are 2.5m Somali Muslims in Mogadishu who selected to stay with the AU force instead of going with the Al-Shabaab terrorists.

Honour masks with the names of the over 140 Kenyans killed in the April 2 Garissa attack by Shabaab. (Photo/AFP).

That is the same story in Baidoa, Kisimayu, Afgooye, Beledweyne, Marka. How many Somalis are with the terrorists out of the total population of Somalis of 10.5 million? According to the 2002 census of Uganda, the Muslim population of Uganda was 12% of the whole population.

How many joined the criminal (Uganda Islamist rebel leader Jamil) Mukulu (of the Allied Democratic Front)? Very few. During the war in Uganda against military dictator Idi Amin, although Amin was pretending to use Islam while he was an alcohol drinker, (as a rebel leader) I was always harboured in Kampala by my Muslim comrades. Therefore, anybody who suspects all Muslims because a few Muslim criminals are involved in atrocities is wrong.

It is like saying that since (Uganda fundamentalist Christian rebel leader Joseph) Kony (of the Lord’s Resistance Army) was pretending to be a Christian in his crimes, we should suspect all Christians.

I wish to inform those that have a propensity to get confused, that the African populations are always symbiotic. When I was growing up in Ntungamo (a district in western Uganda), I would see this symbiosis.

We were cattle keepers in my family. We would exchange products with the cultivators (okucurika-barter trade). However, the few Muslims in the area would also provide a service which the non-Muslim Banyankore people of the area were not doing at that time - running butcheries and eating houses.

 They were providing services that were vital to the other Banyankore (mainly non-Muslim) but which the latter were not providing. Who was the loser in this partnership? Long live the partnership of the wealth creators and down with the parasites.

As for the security issue that we started with, be informed, again, that Al-Shabaab is already defeated. They can no longer attack the army or even the Police, they cannot fight conventional warfare or guerrilla warfare and, being ideologically bankrupt, they go for terrorism (attacking soft targets). This is curable as already pointed out by the concept of “Povo Armada’’ the Armed People.

The Al-Shabaab are in a very vulnerable situation.

On account of the defeats, they can no longer move in big groups - platoon size (30-40) or more because they will be detected and destroyed by the Army. They can only move, by concealment, in small groups (4 or 5).

These can easily be dealt with by the LDUs (Local Defence Units) with potential for re-enforcement by the Police and Army. The one factor that we must emphasize is intelligence - tactical (in a locality) and strategic (in the whole country and the region).

Disciplined violence

This will simplify the work. The Al-Shabaab is already defeated. The brutality they exhibit may scare people but it is defeatable and it is the last desperate card.

If I were in their position, I would not have played that card having been defeated in conventional and guerilla battles because terrorism stigmatises and delegitimises you forever. I would have negotiated with the other stake holders if I had any legitimate concerns.

Kenyan soldier after the fall of Kismayo. (Photo/AFP).

In any case, even before you start a war, you must be sure that you intend to fight a just war - a war that is for justice and not for aggression or oppression. Also, you should be sure that there is no other peaceful way of solving that problem other than war.

Otherwise, if you start a war for purposes of aggression or oppression or you start a just war before you have exhausted peaceful means, you are a criminal.

Then having started a just war on account of having no other option for having justice, you must fight a war where violence is used in a disciplined way. The main element here is to target combatants, especially the armed combatants. Killing non-combatants (shoppers, students, football fans, bar-goers like the ones of Kabalagala) or kidnapping people like Kony and Boko Haram do, are war crimes.

Also fighting a war on a sectarian basis is a mistake even if you consider a section of the population to be oppressed. South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC) guided the black people, through the Freedom charter of 1955, not to wage a racist struggle against the whites who were oppressing the blacks. This was because, among the whites, there were people who did not support Apartheid. I saw many of them with my own eyes - Ben Turok, Joe Slovo, Ruth First. The Indians, the Coloureds all joined.

It was a national struggle - not a sectarian one - although the oppressors were targeting blacks.

-The author is president of Uganda. The article has been edited to make it easier for audiences beyond Uganda to understand, but some “local fingerprints” peculiar to Museveni’s style of writing have been maintained to preserve its original flavour.

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The Star

Police are holding six suspected al Shabaab returnees who surrendered following the 10-day amnesty issued by government.

The six suspects surrendered to police in Mombasa this week.

They are being interrogated by officers from different security agencies, including the Anti-Terror Police Unit and National Intelligence Service.

The government has extended the amnesty period for Kenyan youth who joined al Shabaab to register within10 days.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery yesterday said the period has been extended by 10 days during which the youth are supposed to surrender to Nairobi, Mombasa and Garissa county commissioners.

A senior NIS officer told the Star the six are mainly youth from Mombasa.

They confessed to having crossed over to Somalia and being trained to join the militia group.

“The youth have shared crucial information that will assist in the investigations of terror networks in Kenya,” said the NIS officer.

Regional CID boss Henry Ondiek said his department is yet to officially receive the youth for interrogation.

The NIS officer said the youth fear they will be victimised and charged in court.

“The government will support them,” said the officer.

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Fourteen migrants believed to be from Afghanistan and Somalia who were heading north toward the European Union were killed by an express train as they walked along tracks in central Macedonia at night, police said Friday.

The group had been walking along tracks in a narrow gorge near the central Macedonian town of Veles at around 10:30 p.m. (2030 GMT) Thursday night when they were hit by an express passenger train heading from the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki to the Serbian capital of Belgrade.

Police spokesman Ivo Kotevski said the migrants were believed to have been part of a larger group of about 30-40 people. He said authorities had detained eight other migrants who were uninjured but remained in the area until police arrived. They were taken to Veles, where they were to be questioned by a prosecutor. The remaining survivors are believed to have fled.

Migrants and refugees using the overland route from Greece to central and Western Europe often use train tracks to guide them along their way and to evade police. Local media have reported five similar incidents along train tracks in Macedonia which left six migrants dead in November and December last year.

Tens of thousands of migrants and refugees attempt to reach the more prosperous central and western European countries by heading from Turkey to nearby Greek islands, then either try to sneak onto Italy-bound ferries, or head overland through Macedonia.

Although short, the sea journey from the Turkish coast is perilous, with smugglers overloading unseaworthy boats and often abandoning vessels after entering Greek waters so as to evade arrest. On Monday, a wooden yacht packed with about 90 migrants ran aground on the shore of the Greek island of Rhodes, leaving three people dead, including a young boy.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SOURCE: WashingtonPost

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HOL

Somalia's cabinet has taken an unusual step aimed at curbing the flow of foreign workers arriving in the war-torn country, passing a draft law prioritizing locals more willingly than foreigners.

In a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Somalia's cabinet minister passed a draft law ordering all employers to avoid hiring foreigners for job that can be covered by Somalis.

The development is parts of series of steps aimed at stemming the high rate of unemployment in the horn of African nation which is recovering from decades of war.

In a statement issued after the meeting, foreign workers were instructed to obtain visas and licenses before undertaking any work in Somalia.

The draft law which is awaiting for parliamentary approval is a major step by the Somali government which is struggling to contain deadly insurgency by the al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab group in Somalia.

The news has positive reactions across Somalia, with many hailed the government for the new draft law which they said can help them to get jobs, and reduce the high number of foreigners working in Somalia.

Extreme poverty and lack of employment opportunities leave many young Somalis with few prospects for the future. Over 70% of Somalia's population is under the age of thirty. However, the unemployment rate for youth in Somalia is 67% --one of the highest in the world, according to the World Bank.

Development indicators in Somalia remain among the worst in the world. One in seven children die before their first birthday; one in eighteen women die in childbirth; and only one in three people have access to safe drinking water. Global acute malnutrition levels among internally displaced persons are above global emergency levels of 15 per cent.

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The America’s first black President Barack Obama is expected to visit his native Kenya for a highly anticipated landmark visit on July. The white house press secretary Josh Earnest has announced the president’s trip in a statement on Monday.

The president is planning to attend a summit on entrepreneurship and meet with his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta.  Kenya security has been in a messy situation since Al-shabab’s attack on Westgate mall in 2013.

“His trip will build on the success of the August 2014 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit and continue our efforts to work with countries in sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya, to accelerate economic growth, strengthen democratic institutions, and improve security,” Press Secretary Josh said in a statement.

Obama has visited Africa four times since becoming US president in 2009.  The Al-Qaeda affiliated militants, Al-shabaab killed more than 500 people including government officials and civilians in 2014.

Source : 

Radio Dalsan

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Multiple social media reports in Iraq say that a young Calgary man who appeared in an ISIS video four months ago has been killed in Iraq.

Farah Mohamed Shirdon, a Calgarian fighting overseas with the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, was seen in the video burning his Canadian passport and threatening to destroy Iraq's oppressors.

The Department of Foreign Affairs says it is aware of reports that a Canadian was killed in Iraq and is following the situation closely.

A man claiming to be Shirdon's brother has been tweeting online — asking jihadi contacts for information on how Shirdon died.

Shirdon, who had been enrolled in the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology until at least 2012, came from a prominent and well-educated Somali family.

Farah Mohamed Shirdon

Farah Mohamed Shirdon, a Calgarian in his early 20s, was fighting overseas with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. (CBC)

His father’s brother, Abdi Farah Shirdon, was a former prime minister of Somalia who has survived numerous attempts on his life by al-Shabab militants fighting for an Islamic state in Somalia under the banner of al-Qaeda.

Shirdon’s mother and sister currently live in Calgary and are deeply involved in the religious life of their community. 

Attempts by CBC News to reach Shirdon's family have so far been unsuccessful.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird told reporters following a news conference in London, Ont., he was aware of the reports but could not speak to the specific facts of the case.

"It's a sad reality that, from time to time, a small number of Canadians — radicalized — participate in these type of activities," Baird added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is advising Canadians "against all non-essential travel to Iraq due to the dangerous and unpredictable security situation.”

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Mohamed Abdi

A bomb exploded outside the headquarters of Somalia’s biggest bank on Tuesday, wounding at least two people hours after al Qaeda-linked militants ordered the company cease operations in areas under their control.

The blast outside Dahabshiil’s office in Mogadishu shattered its doors and littered the area with debris, police said.

“A remote-controlled bomb planted in front of Mogadishu’s Dahabshiil bank and money transfer headquarters injured two guards,” police captain Nur Hassan told Reuters.

Earlier, members of Islamist group al Shabaab walked into Dahabshiil branches in areas of Somalia under their control and demanded they close, accusing the company of working for aid agencies they have banned in their territories, according to a statement on the movement’s website.

Money transfer firms like Dahabshiil are vital to the Horn of Africa country’s fractured economy, which lacks a developed banking sector after 20 years of civil conflict.

Security in the coastal capital Mogadishu has improved greatly since al Shabaab fled the city after a military offensive in August 2011. But bombings and assassinations – blamed on militants – are still frequent.

Police said they had yet to identify who was behind the blast, but that a mobile phone attached to the device was used to detonate it. It was the first such attack to target a bank.

“The explosion crashed open the main entrance glass window but good luck it was dark, and customers were not near,” a Dahabshiil worker, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.

Somalis typically transfer money via “hawala” agents, an informal system based on trust, including $2 billion the Mogadishu government says Somalis abroad send home every year.

Dahabshiil declined to comment on the threats by Shabaab, which in 2010 briefly banned money transfers by mobile phone, saying it helped feed Western capitalism.

“I heard they accused us of allowing aid agencies to send cash through our bank,” Dahabshiil employee Sabdow Ali said from the al Shabaab-controlled southern town of Hudur.

Al Shabaab has thrown out more than a dozen humanitarian groups from areas under its control in the past three years, including the United Nations’ food agency, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Islamic Relief.

The militants say aid creates dependency.

In control of much of the capital Mogadishu between 2009 and 2011, the group has been driven from most major cities in central and southern Somalia by African Union peacekeepers.

But in rural areas its fighters are notorious for amputating thieves’ limbs and stoning to death women suspected of adultery, under a strict interpretation of sharia, Islamic law.

Source: Reuters 

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