10 Jun 2011 – Morning headlines

Key Headlines:

  • Somali PM president return home
  • Al Shabaab claims suicide attacks in Mogadishu
  • AMISOM condemns suicide attacks on Mogadishu Sea Port
  • Mass demonstration rock Mogadishu against PM quitting
  • Kenyan refugee camp facing emergency

Titres Principaux:

  • Le premier ministre et le président Somalien retournent au pays
  • Al Shabaab revendique les attaques-suicides à Mogadiscio
  • L’AMISOM condamne les attaques-suicides du port de Mogadiscio
  • Une vaste manifestation prend place à Mogadiscio contre le départ du premier minister
  • Un camp de réfugiés Kenyan dans une situation d’urgence

PRESS RELEASE

AMISOM condemns suicide attacks on Mogadishu Sea Port

09 Jun – Source: AMISOM Force HQ – 239 words

Mogadishu’s busy Sea Port was today attacked by two extremist suicide bombers. One civilian was killed, and three AMISOM soldiers were injured in the blasts. The injured are being treated at the AMISOM Field Hospital.

Several insurgents carrying pistols, two of whom were wearing suicide vests, infiltrated the area and directed an attack against the business community trading through the port. They failed to get very far into the port and after an exchange of fire with AMISOM soldiers, two bombers were put out of action.

AMISOM Spokesman, Major Paddy Ankunda, said:

“This is a callous attack on the civilian population designed to frighten them and disrupt the flow of trade. Al Shabaab know their time in Bakara is coming to an end and they are trying to bring trade to its knees as they go.

“The men blended in with the constant flow of civilian traders entering and leaving the port. The Port is Mogadishu’s commercial lifeline and AMISOM offer the best protection possible whilst allowing trade to flow freely.

“Our security picked up the threat quickly and dealt with it effectively, preventing the men from reaching the dockside and causing extensive injuries to workers unloading ships.

“AMISOM will not be intimidated and will continue to provide the best security we can. The people of Mogadishu can be reassured that we will keep the port open and businesses trading wherever possible.

“Our thoughts are with the family of the deceased, and with the injured.”

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali PM, president return home

09 Source: Diirad Online – 121 words

The Somali PM and President, Mohamed Abdullah Mohamed and Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed returned to Mogadishu yesterday after having attended a meeting in Kampala. Source at the international airport in Mogadishu confirmed that the Somali PM and president have been escorted to Villa Somalia.

http://www.diirad.com/news-in-english/3161-somali-pm-president-return-home-.html

Somali PM’s office denies claims of impending resignation

09 Jun- Source: Radio Shabelle- 237 words

Ali Wardhere who is a Representative of the Somali Prime Minister’s office in IGAD said that reports claiming that Prime Minister Farmajo is planning to resign from his position are false.

Al Shabaab claim suicide attackz in Mogadishu

09 Jun – Source Diirad Online – 121 words

Al Shabaab militant spokesman Ali Mahamud Rage (Ali Dhere) claimed the responsibility for the suicide attacks in Mogadishu’s main sea port.

http://www.diirad.com/news-in-english/3160-al-shabab-claims-suicide-attack-in-mogadishu.html

AU troops in Somali capital targeted with suicide attacks

09 Jun – Source: Radio Shabelle – 180 words

Eye witnesses at Mogadishu’s seaport have said that two young men who armed with pistols and explosives on their bodies launched an ambush attack on an AMISOM base and that after a short confrontation with AMISOM soldiers, a series of explosions were heard.

Mass demonstration rock Mogadishu against PM quitting

09 Jun – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 180 words

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Mogadishu yesterday demonstrating against the stepping down of Prime Minister who is widely expected to announce his resignation. The Maka Al-mukarana road was overflowing with demonstrators carrying pictures of the prime minister.

Al Shabaab ban khat business in Jowhar

09 Jun – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 134 words

The militia group al Shabaab have set a deadline of four days for the businessmen selling Khat, Tobacco and cigarette in Jowhar, the regional head of middle Shabelle in Somalia. The militias yesterday flogged three people, one of them being a member of al Shabaab.

Al Shabaab start to register homes with TV

09 Jun – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 126 words

Al Shabaab militias have started to register homes with TV in Jowhar, middle Shabelle region, barely a day after having arrestes families watching the national Somali TV.

Somali Transitional leaders extend terms by a year

09 Jun – Source: Shabelle, AFP – 521 words

TFG’s President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and the parliament speaker on Thursday signed a deal extending their term for a year and got international approval for the move, a UN statement said. They agreed ‘to defer elections of the President and the Speaker and his deputies for twelve months from August, 2011 in order to adequately prepare and complete priority transitional tasks,’ the accord said.

http://www.shabelle.net/article.php?id=7381

REGIONAL MEDIA

Demos in Mogadishu to stop PM’s exit

09 Jun – Source: Africa Review – 166 words

Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Mogadishu yesterday to protest against an alleged conspiracy against the Prime Minister. The demonstrators covered almost all the sections of the city under the control of the TFG.

http://www.africareview.com/News/Demos+in+Mogadishu+to+stop+PMs+exit/- /979180/1177976/-/xim2a1z/-/index.html

Kenyan refugee camp facing emergency

09 Jun – Source: Capital FM, AFP – 223 words

The Dabaab refugee camp in Kenya is facing a humanitarian emergency due to severe overcrowding, as a result of Somalis who have fled fighting back home, Doctors Without Borders said on Thursday. “More refugees are on their way,” nurse Nenna Arnold is quoted as saying in a new report published by the humanitarian organisation. “We are already at bursting point, but the figures keep growing. This situation is a humanitarian emergency.”

http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/Kenyanews/Kenyan-refugee-camp-facing-emergency- 13140.html

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia extends government; Premier fired

9 June – Source: New York Times – 634 words

Somalia’s bickering leaders on Thursday agreed on a compromise that extends the transitional government for one more year but, at the same time, led to the dismissal of the popular prime minister.(…) Many soldiers called him the only honest person in the government and said that under him they had been paid for the first time. “We have enemies, whom we have been fighting against every day at the front lines, but now we have got another enemy behind us, which is very disappointing,” said Omar Hassan Mohamed, a government soldier, alluding to the rivalries within the Somali government. (…) The cost of the agreement could be steep, analysts said. Mr. Mohamed, the prime minister, was widely considered one of the most professional and capable prime ministers Somalia has had for years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/10/world/africa/10somalia.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Suicide bombers strike Mogadishu port, four killed

09 Jun – Source: AFP – 225 words

Two suicide bombers attacked the port in the Somalia capital Mogadishu Thursday, killing two civilian workers and losing their own lives, witnesses and officials said. One of the suicide bombers blew himself up and security forces shot the other dead, they said. “Two suicide bombers attacked the port, sneaking in through a side entrance,” said Mohamed Ibrahim, a Somali security officer.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5heSsehYdrp_stsTuemLlkr5N3eXA?docI d=CNG.925986234069db6ee49dca8c96a256e3.591

UN envoy welcomes deal ending political stalemate in Somalia

09 Jun – Source: UN News Centre – 373 words

The United Nations envoy for Somalia today welcomed the agreement reached to extend the terms of the country’s President and the Speaker of Parliament for another year as a breakthrough in ending the political impasse over the current transition period.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38667&Cr=Somali&Cr1=

Somali man faces terror-related charges in Minnesota

09 Jun- Source: AP- 764 words

A Somali man who lived in Minnesota until a few months ago has been accused of providing money and people to al Shabaab in Somalia, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5joa-vEIRdHipx60NHGMA- 48tcUQw?docId=f3d8b1970c6c4a6892d26a5e99b5c49d

CULTURE, BLOGS, EDITORIALS

Dual track policy in Somalia misses the point

9 June – Source: Al Jazeera website – 1043 words

The Obama administration’s dual track policy toward Somalia has had disturbing consequences on the efforts of building peace and a functioning state in Somalia. US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson revealed the Obama administration’s long awaited US foreign policy toward Somalia in September 2010: The “dual track approach”.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/06/2011688620396244.html

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.