After two days of deliberation, members of Somalia’s Bari region consisting of civil servants and clan elders announced on Tuesday the formation of a new semi-autonomous region in northern Somalia.

It will be created inside the borders of the already existing Somali enclave of Puntland. They claim the new semi-autonomous region will be independent from Puntland and Somalia’s weak transitional federal government. Called Rasa-Asayr State, it comprises of towns and villages near the old historical-coastal town of Bargal in the mountainous eastern Bari region. The town will also serve as the administrative capital.

Speaking to VOA Somali Services, the new interim president, Farah Mohamud Yusuf (Dooha), a former founding member of Puntland, said they decided to establish the new semi-autonomous state after they lost confidence in Puntland government over its performance, security and services.

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Somali politicians on Sunday announced the creation of a new state in the battle-scarred nation, a move condemned by Somalia’s fragile government, which said it could further fracture the already chaotic Horn of Africa country.
The creation of Azania was celebrated Sunday in a colorful ceremony in Kenya’s capital. Its creation brings the total number of new states to more than 10.

Kenya supports the new administration as it creates a buffer zone near its border with Somalia.

Azania President Mohamed Abdi Gandhi said his first duty is to retake his territory from al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabaab.
“Our aim of establishing this administration is to first liberate these regions,” he said. “We are not breaking away from Somalia.”

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The Sultanate of Oman became the 75th country to recognize Kosovo’s independence on Friday by forging diplomatic relations with the government in Prishtina.

The Republic of Kosovo has established diplomatic relations with the Sultanate of Oman”, Kosovo’s deputy foreign minister Vlora Citaku, told reporters.

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With the announcement of final voting results, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan said Monday that his government would accept the choice of the long-embattled region of southern Sudan to separate from the north, setting the stage for the creation of the world’s newest country this summer.

According to the final count, announced in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, 98.83 percent of the more than 3.8 million registered voters in southern Sudan chose to separate from the north. In many parts of the country the vote was over 99 percent.

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Guyana has become the sixth Latin American country to recognise an independent Palestinian state.

“It is Guyana’s hope that the increasing recognition of the state of Palestine will contribute to a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the creation of lasting peace and stability in the region,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Guyana’s decision, the statement said, “is in keeping with Guyana’s long-standing and unwavering solidarity with, and commitment to, the just and legitimate aspirations of the people of Palestine for the exercise of their right to self-determination and to achieve a homeland of their own, independent, free, prosperous and at peace.”

Guyana joins Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Ecuador in recognising Palestine as an independent state within the borders that existed before Israel captured the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war.

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