qurbejoog
Assad ready to quit power ?
On July 20, 2012 · In News
1:27 pm
..
0
Paris- Russia’s ambassador to France Alexandre Orlov, said on Friday he believed that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had accepted he would have to leave power although only in an orderly fashion.
But the Syrian government swiftly denied this.
Orlov said that Assad, facing a surging uprising against his rule, signalled readiness to step down when he accepted a recent international declaration which foresaw a transition towards a more democratic Syria.
“At the Geneva conference, there was a final communique that foresees a transition towards a more democratic system,’’ Orlov said.
“This final communique was accepted by Assad. Assad nominated his representative to lead the negotiations with the opposition for this transition. That means he accepted to leave, but in an orderly way.’’
Syria’s Information Ministry quickly denied this, saying Orlov’s remarks were “completely devoid of truth’’.
Orlov further said his personal opinion Assad would not be able to remain in power.
“I think it will be difficult for him to stay after everything that has happened. But essentially, he has accepted that he will have to leave.’’
Russia on Thursday blocked a Western-backed UN Security Council resolution that would have contained a threat to impose sanctions if Syria did not comply with UN-Arab League Special Envoy Kofi Annan’s peace plan.
Moscow has repeatedly said any deal must follow the principles outlined at talks in Geneva on June 30 between Annan and veto-holding members of the Security Council, which Russia until now had said did not specifically require Assad’s exit.
“What Russia is defending is not Bashar al-Assad’s regime, but international order that was created in 1945 around the UN,’’ Orlov said.
“For us it is a matter of principle that goes beyond what is happening in Syria.’’
A senior Western diplomat recommended caution with respect to Orlov’s comments. “We have not heard Assad say he is willing to step down before,’’ the diplomat said.
“But what does he mean? Does he mean now or in two years time. We have to be cautious.’’ (Reuters/NAN)
MOGADISHU — African Union troops deployed in the Somali city of Baidoa Thursday, the first time the force has dispatched troops outside Mogadishu since it was set up five years ago. The AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) sent 100 Burundian and Ugandan soldiers to the southern town of Baidoa, which Ethiopian troops captured from the…
Troops from Kenya and Somali government on Wednesday killed at least 40 Al-Shabaab fighters and wounded many others in the latest fighting in southern part of the Horn of Africa nation, military official said. Military spokesman Major Emmanuel Chirchir said the early morning raid on an Al-Shabaab base, about 8 km east of Hosingo, was…
Mogadishu — The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ is dismayed by the suicide attack at the National Theatre that wounded thirteen (13) Somali Journalists, including the Union’s Supreme council vice president on Wednesday morning. NUSOJ condemns the incidents its strongest terms possible. A female suicide bomber blew herself up at the National Theatre where…
At least six people, including two of Somalia’s top sports officials, were killed when a female suicide bomber struck a ceremony at Mogadishu’s national theatre in an attack Islamist insurgents said was aimed at killing senior government figures. Al Shabaab rebels claimed responsibility for the blast on Wednesday that killed the heads of Somalia’s soccer…
Prime Resources and its affiliate company, Petrosoma is pleased to announce a joint venture between Petrosoma and Jacka Resources, an Australian oil exploration company quoted on the Australian Stock Exchange. To facilitate the joint venture, Prime assigned it rights in the production sharing agreement with the government of Somaliland for the oil block formally known…
An explosion Wednesday at a ceremony at Somalia’s national theater killed at least 10 people including two top sports officials in an attack by an Islamist group on a site that symbolized the city’s attempt to rise from two decades of war. The explosion at the newly reopened theater happened as Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli…
Lewiston, Maine (MMD Newswire) April 3, 2012 — Originally hailing from one of Somalia’s major clans, Said Issa Mohamud, made official his candidacy for President of Somalia and now plans to help transition his homeland to a fully functioning modern democratic state. Mohamud left Somalia in 1991 when its government collapsed, and moved his family…
MOGADISHU, Somalia — Up until a few weeks ago, all visitors who landed at Aden Abdulle International Airport in Mogadishu were handed a poorly copied, barely readable sheet that asked for name, address — and caliber of weapon. No more. Now visitors get a bright yellow welcome card that has no mention of guns and…
Overview The Republic of Somaliland redeclared its independence from Somalia in 1991. It remains subject to a sovereignty dispute with neighbouring Somalia but is in active diplomatic discussions with surrounding states and the African Union regarding formal recognition of its independence. In April 2003, Rova Energy Corporation Limited (Rova) entered into the Berbera Production…
Australian oil and gas exploration company Jacka Resources announced that it will acquire a 50 per cent operating stake in an onshore block in the breakaway state of Somaliland by paying previous and future license costs. The oil rich Habra Garhajis block, expanded in 2.2 million hectare area, encloses the basin of the same name,…
DUBAI- Somali pirates have released an Iranian bulk carrier after a week, a British naval official based in Dubai said yesterday. The MV Eglantine, a Bolivian-flagged ship with 23 crew members was seized on March 26 off the south-western coast of India. Hijacking this year has spread further east as the waters grow calmer, allowing…
One of al-Shabab’s senior leaders lashed out at the group’s brutality against civilians over the weekend, exposing the deep divides inside the terror group, but a government spokesman on Monday dismissed the outburst and called the leader a “murderer.” Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys and his Islamist group Hizbul Islam merged with al-Shabab in 2010. But…
Australian oil explorer Jacka Resources has entered into an agreement with Petrosoma Limited to take a 50 percent equity stake in an oil block in a breakaway enclave of Somalia, Jacka said on Monday. It said the 22,000 square kilometre Habra Garhajis block -formerly known as block 26 – in southwestern Somaliland was expected to…
TRIPOLI, Libya, 02 April (UNHCR) – Hamda,* a mother of two, was beaten by smugglers, raped by armed men in Chad and jailed for a month in southern Libya. Twelve-year-old Abdul* ended up all on his own in a camp in Tripoli after his uncle died from malaria as they crossed the scorching Sahara. The…
Turkey’s State Waterworks Authority (DSİ) has drilled wells in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, providing clean water to 30,000 Somalis. According to DSİ officials, DSİ drilled wells in Mogadishu so that people staying in tent camps as well as in other parts of the city can access an adequate supply of clean water, the Anatolia…
NAIROBI, Apr 1 – Somalia’s Shabaab Sunday warned Kenya of retribution and revenge attacks for sending tanks and troops across the border almost six months ago to fight the Islamist rebels. “The Kenyan public must be aware that the more Kenyan troops continue to persecute innocent Muslims of Somalia, the less secure Kenyan cities will…
(Reuters) – A senior al Shabaab figure has openly disagreed with the Somali militant group’s leader, in a sign of growing internal divisions that residents fear could lead to violence. The al Qaeda-aligned group wants to remove the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed to impose a strict version of Sharia or…
At least four Somaliland troops and one rebel fighter loyal to the breakaway enclave’s secessionists were killed during clashes on Sunday, both sides said. The fighting first erupted in January after the leaders of the northern regions of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn decided to band together into a new state called Khaatumo and declared they…
ADDIS ABABA, March 30 (Xinhua) — A meeting that deliberates on empowerment of Somali security sector was held at the African Union (AU) Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting has attracted participants from the AU, troop contributing countries to the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), neighboring countries, the United Nations, and the European Union…
African forces backing Somali government troops said they took control of one of the Islamist rebellion’s last strongholds, sparking intense clashes on the outskirts of Mogadishu. Four African Union soldiers were wounded in Friday’s offensive, led by Burundian troops in the force, on the sprawling Deynile neighbourhood northwest of central Mogadishu, which had been an al-Shabab…