The Second Istanbul Conference on Somalia, under the theme 'Preparing Somalia's Future: Goals for 2015', took place on 31st May and 1st June 2012. Maintaining the multi-dimensional and multi-layered approach of the first Istanbul Conference in 2010 onSomalia, it was attended by high level representatives from 57 countries and 11 international and regional organizations, as well as by the TFG leadership, the regional administrations, and representatives from wide-ranging segments of Somali society, including youth, women, business community, elders, religious leaders and the Diaspora.

Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has escaped unscathed from an ambush by al-Shabab fighters during a visit to the al-Qaeda-linked group's former stronghold of Afgoye. Ahmed was making a rare trip out of Mogadishu on Tuesday when the convoy was attacked by gunmen in the Afgoye corridor, a key road about 30km north of the capital.

Assailants in Mogadishu have gunned down the host of a critical radio program, further punctuating what has already been a deadly year for the Somali press corps and for the journalist's employer, the Shabelle Media Network. Four unidentified men fired repeatedly at Ahmed Addow Anshur while he was in Bo'le Market, in Dharkenley District, local journalists said.

The governments of Puntland and Galmudug have withdrawn from a planned trip to the Republic of Turkey, where the Istanbul Conference Il on Somalia is supposed to take place 31 May 2012 - 1 June 2012. A press release said the event was not a Somali-owned process and the purpose and agenda of the conference was ambiguous.

Saferworld is an independent non-governmental organisation that works to prevent and reduce violent conflict and promote co-operative approaches to security. We work with governments, international organisations and civil society to encourage and support effective policies and practices through advocacy, research and policy development and through supporting the actions of others. We are seeking a country manager with experience in the areas of conflict prevention, peace- and security- building to manage Saferworld’s Somalia/Somaliland programme.

Somalia’s Roadmap, including the proposed constitution, is anti-democratic and should be abandoned. It will probably produce another illegitimate, unworkable transitional entity and lead to further violence.

A combined Amisom force comprised of Ugandan, Burundian and Somali Transitional Federal Government troops launched a massive dawn assault on al-Shabaab positions outside Mogadishu, marking the second phase of the Somalia war. Sources said an estimated 5,000 Ugandan, 1,500 Burundian and 2,000 Somali soldiers were still advancing to Afgoye and areas of Shabelle with tanks and motorised infantry fighting vehicles, including armoured mambas and tanks.

Widespread opposition to the document stems from the way it was formulated in secret without public mandate or the input of Somali civil society, intellectuals and constitutional experts.

The Washington Post reports that since 2007, the US State Department has trained about 35,000 African soldiers for an international force in Somalia, mostly deployed to Mogadishu. The African Union is planning to expand its Somalia force from 12,000 to 18,000, the majority of the troops US-trained. Training has occurred at these three primary sites.

Sending troops to Somalia will be seen as furthering the agenda of imperialists. The idea of Africans fighting Africans is abhorrent.

An exhibition to be held in Nairobi aims to allow present and future generations of Somalis to learn about their rich heritage so that they can work towards restoring and preserving it.

The proposed constitution serves the interests of the Transitional Federal Government and its international backers, not the people of Somalia.

The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network has welcomed two resolutions adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) raising concerns about the situation of journalists in Somalia and Ethiopia. The 51st Ordinary Session of the ACHPR that took place in Banjul, The Gambia, began on 18th April and concluded 2 May 2012. Members of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network (EHAHRD-Net) and its secretariat actively participated in the Commission session, as well as the NGO Forum that took place on 14th-16th April.

Gunmen have shot dead a journalist in Somalia - the fifth such killing this year. Farhan Jeemis Abdulle, a reporter for Radio Daljir, was shot by masked men as he left his office in the north-central town of Galkayo, his colleagues say.

It is immoral and a political crime to purport to draft a new constitution under the prevailing political and security conditions in Somalia.

To novelist Nuruddin Farah, his homeland city is not the ‘most dangerous in the world;’ it’s the prettiest and most colourful — once you’ve tasted its waters, you will always go back.

The proposed Somali constitution is a hurried job, with the latest version available only in Somali language while various outdated or fake versions are circulating on the web.

The draft constitution is a considerable improvement from the Transitional Federal Charter. However, there are serious flaws in the draft which would make the operation of the system of government difficult and controversial.

The UN refugee agency has said that heavy rains have hit Somali refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, damaging tents, flooding roads and affecting aid delivery. This comes as the refugee population in southern Ethiopia swells to more than 150,000. 'In recent weeks, Dollo Ado in southern Ethiopia has been receiving a weekly average of 450 new Somali refugees. More than 8,500 have been registered so far this year, pushing the refugee population in the area's five camps past the 150,000 mark,' said a UNHCR spokesman.

A journalist working with the independent Shabelle broadcaster in Mogadishu, Mr Mohydin Hassan Mohamed alias Husni, was Sunday attacked by two men armed with pistols. The attackers struck as Mr Mohamed was walking along Madina Avenue, near his home in Wadajir District in south Mogadishu. One bullet brazed Mohamed's chest as he fled.