Yemen conflict affects Somaliland & nearby countries

Djibouti, Somaliland and Puntland already host tens of thousands of refugees, according to the UNHCR. Djibouti is home to about 24,000 refugees, while Somaliland hosts roughly 9,000 displaced people. Somaliland, a self-declared country in northern Somalia, has received 270 migrants from Yemen. A further 389 people have arrived in Puntland, another Somali breakaway state, according to the IOM.

Somaliland’s foreign minister, Mohamed Yonis, said he is expecting to receive up to 2,000 Yemeni refugees and is in talks with the EU and USAid about providing assistance for them. “It will be a challenge – we have a lot of Ethiopian refugees in Somaliland, we have a lot of internally displaced people. But we hope the international community will come to the rescue,” said Yonis. Read Full Article

Somali nurse to work with Ebola victims

Christchurch nurse Sahra Ahmed, originally from Somalia, concedes she is "either brave or silly" as she starts work next week with Ebola victims in Sierra Leone.  

Sahra, a refugee nurse at Piki Te Ora health centre in Linwood, is on a two-month assignment with the International Red Cross Ebola response.

She says she wants to give back to the continent of her origin. 

Sahra, the only African aid worker with the New Zealand Red Cross, admits to "moments of nervousness".

"I love New Zealand. I always say New Zealand is my official parent. I had the privilege of being educated here and doing what I wanted to do. For me it's really humanity first."

She will be based in Kenema, a rugged five-hour drive from the capital Freetown, helping patients who have been been treated successfully, discharging them into their communities with the right support from social workers – or helping someone who may have lost a parent, reassuring them and equipping them with all the information they need
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Is the US overseeing torture in Somalia? -

Senate report on CIA torture program

An exhaustive report by the Senate Intelligence Committee found the CIA tortured suspected terrorists in a brutal and mismanaged program that produced little valuable intelligence. This is the 525-page summary released by the committee. The full report is more than 6,000 pages and remains classified.

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