09 Jun 2011- Morning headlines

Key Headlines:

  • MSF is denied access to drought-affected areas
  • Somali Canadian among six killed in Mogadishu incidents
  • Somali PM denounces speaker for working against country’s interest
  • Somali militants aiming to attack abroad: CIA chief
  • Somali pirates release Chinese-owned cargo vessel

Titres Principaux:

  • MSF empêche d’accéder aux régions affectées par la sécheresse
  • Un Somali-Canadien parmi six tués dans un incident à Mogadiscio
  • Le premier ministre Somalien dénonce le porte-parole du parlement pour avoir travaillé contre les intérêts nationaux
  • Des militants Somaliens planifient des attaques à l’etranger selon le chef de la CIA
  • Des pirates Somaliens libèrent un cargo appartenant à des Chinois

PRESS RELEASE

International Contact Group on Somalia Communiqué

08 June – ICG – 1665 words

(…) The International Contact Group made the following recommendations:

End of the current transition: The ICG encourages all efforts to further the consultative process amongst Somalis with the aim of ending the transition and defining the post-transitional arrangements, in consultation with regional actors and the rest of the international community and within the framework of the Transitional Federal Charter and Djibouti Agreement. In this regard, the ICG welcomes the initiative of high-level consultative meetings which are aimed at facilitating Somali-led political decisions, and are inclusive of all segments of society, elders, women and youth. The ICG expresses its grave concern over the continuing protracted political crisis within the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) and notes that changes must occur throughout the entire spectrum of TFIs. In this respect the ICG:

• Recalls the obligations of the TFIs to act in accordance with the Transitional Federal Charter and the Djibouti Agreement;

• Recalls that the transition period will end in August 2011;

• Recalls the United Nations Security Council’s Presidential Statement of 11 May 2011, which “urges the TFIs to focus on implementing reforms to build their legitimacy, representativeness and credibility, and to reach agreement as soon as possible on the holding elections for the positions of President and Speaker of Parliament, without which there can be no extension”.

• Notes with serious concern the existing political impasse and the need to complete critical transitional tasks to end the transition, most notably the constitution making process, as quickly as possible through a credible and inclusive consultation process.

• Welcomes the commitments made by the President and the Speaker to the UN Security Council (Nairobi of 25 May 2011) that they will reach agreement on the timing of elections for the TFI leadership and the nature and sequence of reforms, and that they will abide by that agreement;

• Welcomes the requirement mandated by the UN Security Council for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Mahiga to convene the consultative meeting in Mogadishu in June 2011, and to report back its conclusions;

• Reiterates that failure to reach agreement by the TFIs in a timely manner will lead to decreased or suspended support from the international community, and possible sanctions;

• Welcomes the development of a joint UN/AU/IGAD political Roadmap with benchmarks, timelines and compliance requirements, which could be applied once the current political impasse has been overcome.

. Continued support for the security institutions: The ICG urges the TFG to continue its work on reorganizing its military, police and justice institutions, and the accompanying oversight and accountability mechanisms.

. Urgent support for the AMISOM Troops: The ICG notes the urgent need for adequate, predictable and sustainable support to AMISOM in order to enable it to effectively discharge its mandate.

. Improved access for humanitarian operations, protection of civilians and human rights: Acknowledging the deepening humanitarian crises in Somalia as a result of conflict and drought which led to large scale displacement, the ICG urgently calls for increased funding to support humanitarian operations.

SOMALI MEDIA

MSF is denied access to drought-affected areas

08 Jun – Source: Shabelle – 187 words

After weeks of negotiations, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says it has been blocked last April by local authorities from conducting emergency medical activities in Burhakaba district in the Bay region of South Central Somalia, where drought-affected population need nutritional support and clean water.

http://www.shabelle.net/article.php?id=7351

Somali president, Prime Minister meet in Kampala

08 Jun – Source: Shabelle – 133 words

One day after his travel to Uganda, the TFG’s Prime Minister has met the president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in Kampala in an effort to reduce the deteriorating bickering in the government. Being a closed door meeting, the state of the discussions between the two heads is still not known.

http://www.shabelle.net/article.php?id=7343

Somali military blames al Shabaab over closure of main market in capital

08 Jun – Source: Radio Mogadishu – 77 words

The top commander for the TFG’s Somalia Military, Gen Abdikarin Yusuf Adan Dhagabadan said that al Shabaab are responsible for the closure of the Bakara market. Gen Dhagabadan said their forces were not the reason businesses in the market have been halted.

Al Shabaab face serious financial crisis in Juba region

08 Jun- Source: Radio Bar-kulan, Somalia Report- 35 words

A senior al Shabaab leader of Juba region, Mustapha Yusuf Abu Yonis, has declared that al Shabaab face a serious financial crisis in the region and urged farmers to contribute grains and financial support to the insurgents.

Somali Canadian among six killed in Mogadishu incidents

08 Jun – Source: Shabelle, AHN – 272 words

At least six persons, including a Somali Canadian militant, were killed in a series of unrelated clashes Wednesday in Mogadishu, according to witnesses and officials. The Somali Canadian is reported to have been an al Shabaab leader.

http://www.shabelle.net/article.php?id=7341

TFG forces display bodies of al Shabaab leaders

08 Jun – Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 29 words

TFG forces officials displayed the bodies of al-Shabaab leaders, including one who they say is a Canadian national named Abdurrahman Abdullahi and leader of al Shabaab fighters in Lower Juba.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somali PM denounces speaker for working against country’s interest

08 Jun – Source: APA, Afrique Avenir – 254 words

Somali Prime Minister, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Tuesday denounced in a press conference held in his office at the presidential palace, that the parliament speaker is violating the ongoing development achieved by the country’s security forces and was working for personal interest instead than for the nation.

http://www.afriqueavenir.org/en/2011/06/08/somali-pm-denounces-speaker-for-working-againstcountry% E2%80%99s-interest/

AU commission chief calls for the need for a speedy solution to security conditions in Somalia

08 Jun – Source: Sudan Vision -118 words

The Head of AU Commission Jean Ping has affirmed the commission’s commitment to achieving security and peace in Somalia, calling on the Committee on Intelligence and Security Services for Africa (CISSA) to intervene.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali militants aiming to attack abroad: CIA chief

08 Jun- Source: AFP- 320 words

Al Shabaab militants who control much of Somalia are looking to extend their operations and carry out attacks abroad, CIA chief Leon Panetta has said to US lawmakers. Panetta is to attend today’s hearing as the Senate considers his nomination to be the next secretary of defense to replace Robert Gates.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jlB8EJCjB8gGJTv02aIFK1JnTTg? docId=CNG.e3a9d5e807ecdf4c688c40ef9ac6acc5.601

Somali pirates release Chinese-owned cargo vessel

08 Jun – Source: Reuters – 177 words

Somali pirates have freed a Chinese-owned cargo vessel they had held for nearly seven months off the lawless Horn of Africa country, pirates and a regional maritime expert said on Wednesday. The Panama-flagged cargo carrier Yuan Xiang was seized on Nov. 12 and its 29- strong Chinese crew taken hostage.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/08/somalia-piracy-china-idUSLDE75701W20110608

The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of AMISOM, and neither does their inclusion in the bulletin/website constitute an endorsement by AMISOM.