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Inferno in Panchang

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:17:01 GMT

Thursday, April 24, 2008

A fire disaster recently engulfed one compound in the village of Panchang in the Upper Salaam District. The compound is said to belong to Mr. Muhammad Jabbie (aka Daffed). The incident is said to have been disastrous.

According to the victims, the fire lasted for an hour and a half before the community were able to put it out and it has ruined the compound. Mr. Jabbie said that he is a goldsmith and he had “a lot of jewellery as trustee by one Demba Sey of the Njau Sey Kunda” but it has all been ruined. He further explained that he had cash of over D3,000, foodstuffs and other valuables stored in the compound, all of which have been destroyed.

Mr. Jabbie called on the Government, NGOs, philanthropists and even individuals to assist him to begin a new life as all his work over the past years was engulfed in fire.

He thanked and commended his community for their assistance in putting out the flames. Without their help it would have been much worse and could have spread to neighboring compounds.

Efforts were made to find the cause of the fire but so far it has been to no avail.

Author: By Abdou Rahman Sallah in CRR

Ex-Sohm Alkalo at Centre of Allegations Again

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 06:54:12 GMT

Friday, April 18, 2008

Momodou Jarju, who lost his exalted position as the Alkalo of Sohm village, is once again at the centre of allegations.

Momodou Jarju, recently sacked for complicity with seven others to cut trees and burn charcoal, was this time around accused by one Mamadou Yassin Jallow for sanctioning their activities. Mamadou startlingly told the Kombo East District Tribunal that they were given the go-ahead by the disgraced former Alkalo to cut trees and burn charcoal.

According to Mamadou, he was caught by the Sohm Alkalo cutting down trees.

“ The Alkalo insisted that I should stop but as I decided to go home, he called me back and asked me to pay D5000 to continue. I asked him to reduce this amount to D3,800 to which he agreed. I gave him D2000 on the spot. However, my failure to pay up the outstanding amount led the Alkalo to cart away my 72 pieces of timber to his compound for his personal use.”

“23 of the 72 pieces were recovered in the Alkalo’s compound whilst the rest were said to have been sold out.”

Jallow’s statement was corroborated by two others facing similar charges at the district tribunal.

Under cross-examination, the Alkalo admitted carting away the timber but insisted that the chief of Kombo East was in the picture. Chief Jarju have however denied the allegation.

Author: By Abdoulie Nyockeh

Three Houses Burnt to Ashes

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 02:30:21 GMT

Friday, February 01, 2008

At least three houses were over the weekend engulfed by fire at the village of Pallang Madinka in Niani District in CRR North.

According to the head of the compound, Mr Bubacarr Kanteh, the fire, which emanated from the kitchen, razed everything in the compound including cash, small ruminants and fowls. He further explained that the fire lasted four hours before the community and the neighbours could put it out.

According to Adama Camara, wife of Mr Kanteh, the fire left nothing for them in its trail, having incinerated foodstuff, clothes, cash and documents.

The councillor of Kuntaur ward, Mr Sibity Jallow, appealed to government, NGOs and individuals philanthropists for assistance.

Author: By Abdou Rahman Sallah

Source: The Point

Fire ravages Bakau compound

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 03:31:26 GMT

Thursday, January 31, 2008

A compound in Bakau belonging to one Momodou Minteh, who is currently living abroad, was, on Sunday, ravaged by a serious fire outbreak, which destroyed all the household materials.

Jarra Jaiteh, a resident suffered serious burns to her hands.

Lamin Jawara, an eye witness who lives in the compound, told the Daily Observer that the cause of the fire is unknown. He narrated “we were sitting in the compound when we heard Jarra Jaiteh, a 32-year old who was sick and lying inside the house, screaming.

When we went to see what happened, we saw smoke coming from the bedroom. But before we were able to rescue her, she got severe burns on her arms” he explained.

He added that they tried to put off the fire and succeeded in reducing the strength but the heat emanating from it broke down the glass windows.

Another eye witness who begged anonymity said that the unprecedented number of fire disasters happening nowadays is very disturbing and should be a major concern in the country. He called on the authorities to look into the matter to curb the situation.

Author: by Ebrima Jatta

18-month-old Baby Boy Disappears

Fri, 07 Dec 2007 01:15:55 GMT

Friday, December 07, 2007

One Mamadou Lamin Kamara, an 18-month-old boy, over the weekend reportedly disappeared in Kunting whiles playing with his mates under a mango tree in the village of Kunting, CRR North.

According to Lamin Kamara and Hawa Jatta, the parents of the missing boy, they were away in their rice fields in the bush after entrusting the boy in the care of his grandfather in a nearby compound. But, they added, upon their return from the bush, they were told that the boy had gone missing.

When contacted, the grandfather, Mr. Karalang Jatta, confirmed the little boy’s disappearance. He explained that he always took care of the children whenever their parents go to the fields. He added that in the case of Mamadou Lamin Kamara, the child was playing with other kids under a mango tree while he was inside his house. On coming out, he recounted, he could not see the boy anywhere. A subsequent frantic search was done in vain.

Other villagers testified that this is not the first time of such a strange occurrence, noting that it is now becoming commonplace for children less than 2 years to disappear without trace. They intimated that mysterious beings, known in local parlance as Jinns, are responsible for such acts.

Author: By Abdou Rahman Sallah

Source: The Point

SOMALIA: UN compound stormed amid escalating violence in Mogadishu

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 02:22:06 GMT

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Dozens of heavily armed government security officials detained the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) office in Mogadishu, Somalia, on 17 October, an act decried by the UN organisation as a violation of international law.

In a statement, WFP called for “the immediate release of Mr Idris Osman, WFP's officer-in-charge of our Mogadishu office, who was taken at gunpoint by the Somali National Security Service (NSS) after the storming of a UN compound in Mogadishu this morning at 0815 local time by 50-60 heavily armed and uniformed members of the NSS.

“Mr Osman is being held in a cell at NSS headquarters near the presidential palace. WFP has not received any explanation for this action, which violates international law. International law also bars authorities from entering UN premises without prior UN permission,” the statement said.

No shots were fired during the incident, it added.

"WFP is urgently taking up his detention with the government," WFP spokesman Marcus Prior told IRIN.

A civil society source described the detention as “another indication of the government's unwillingness to allow for unfettered aid to reach the population.".

Following the incident, WFP suspended food distribution in Mogadishu, where 75,000 people have been receiving its aid.

The incident occurred a day after armed insurgents opposed to Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) mounted a major offensive against targets in Mogadishu.

Local sources said fighting was most intense in Hawl Wadag district, south Mogadishu, with government reinforcements unable to dislodge the insurgents. The insurgents captured Hawl Wadag police station but left early in the morning.

The attacks and response from Ethiopian-backed government troops with heavy artillery fire forced families to flee their homes. "We are getting reports of many families leaving the three districts affected [Hawl Wadag, Hodan and Wardigley]," one Mogadishu resident said.

A doctor told IRIN that at least 10 people had been killed, including a six-year-old child, and more than 30 were injured in the attacks.

"Last night, the city experienced some of the heaviest attacks by the insurgents since April," a local journalist told IRIN. "Normally they [insurgents] target one base or camp in a hit and run, but last night the attacks targeted three districts, Hawl Wadag, Hodan and Wardigley, at the same time."

The violence came as parliament, meeting in Baidoa, 240km northwest of the capital, debated the future of Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi after 22 ministers allied to President Abdullahi Yusuf signed a letter demanding a vote of no confidence in the government.

Justice Minister Hassan Dhimbil Warsame and a supporter of Yusuf said they took the action "after it became very clear that this government was not up to the job and has failed to deliver what the Somali people wanted".

Gedi and his supporters dismissed the move as "unprocedural" and were lobbying parliament to reject the motion. "We have the numbers on our side and we will defeat any motion brought before the parliament," said Salad Ali Jeele, deputy defence minister.

But an analyst said the vote may be averted "by international players like Ethiopia and the US", who would also put pressure on the two to sort out their differences.

"The clash is over power and control for resources," said Timothy Othieno, Horn of Africa analyst at the Institute for Global Dialogue in Johannesburg.

Source: IRIN

“I was seriously beaten” Complainant revealed in court

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 06:10:51 GMT

Friday, August 31, 2007

Amie Jaiteh, a native of Lamin village and the complainant in the assault case involving Neneh Jallow, Ousman Gaye, Awa Jallow and Oumie Bahum, on Tuesday told Brikama Magistrates’ Court, presided over by Magistrate EF M’Bai that she was seriously beaten by the four accused persons right from her compound gate to the kitchen.

According to her, on the day of the incident she left her compound to visit a friend in town when one of her daughters came to inform her that the fourth accused person’s child came to their compound and insulted them.

“When I came back home, I met the four accused persons at my compound gate insulting my children. I then told the accused persons to leave my home. Then Ousman Gaye, the second accused person, hit me and the other three joined him and beat me up to my kitchen gate, causing me bodily harm,” she explained.

She concluded that she then reported the matter to the Alkalo of Lamin, and then to Yundum Police Station, where she gave her statement.

Mariama Konateh, a house mate of the complainant, who also testified in the case, expressed similar sentiment.

Magistrate M’Bai then told the court that such disputes are internal cases between neighbours and should be amicably resolved by the village Alkalo, in order not to breach the neighbourhood-relation. He then adjourned the case to Wednesday 12 September, 2007, for continuation.

Police Prosecutor Cpl 413 Sanyang, represented the IGP.

Author: Written by Amadou Jallow

Source: The Daily Observer Newspaper