14 Jun 2011 – Morning headlines
Key Headlines:
- Journalist civilians detained in Mogadishu
- Government cracks down protesters
- Somali troops AMISOM reportedly seized ship carrying weapons at Mogadishu port
- 1000 Somali soldiers complete training course in Dolow Ethiopia
- Toddlers perish of measles in southern Somalia
Titres Principaux:
- Un journaliste et des civils arrêtés à Mogadiscio
- Le gouvernement pourchasse des manifestants
- Des troupes Somaliennes AMISOM saisissent un navire tranportant des armes au port de Mogadiscio
- 1000 soldats Somaliens concluent leur entraînement à Dolow en Ethiopie
- Des nourrissons meurent de la rougeole dans le Sud de la Somalie
PRESS STATEMENT
Journalist, civilians detained in Mogadishu
13 Jun – Source: Mogadishu Media House – 223 words
The Somali Security National Agency (SSNA) has today detained Mohamed-amiin Abukar Abdi, (20 years old) a journalist working for independent Kulmiye Radio in Mogadishu.
Abwan Osman Guure, the director of Kulmiye Radio said, “Mohamed-Amin was arrested at 9:30 am along with dozens of protestors on Monday morning while covering a protest at KM4 area in Mogadishu”. Adding “these days we faced pressures coming from some of the Mogadishu district commissioners to silence us, but make no mistake we’ll cover the events independently without bias to any group”. There have recently been continued protests in Mogadishu in support of the current Prime Minister, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed.
Mohamed-Amin still remains at the custody of the SSNA. A Mogadishu Media House officer requested the SSNA to let officials from the centre to meet with the journalist to observe his condition and well being but that has yet to materialize. The Mogadishu Media House strongly condemns the arrest of the journalist while covering the Mogadishu events.
“We have zero tolerance for the arrest of the journalists and civilians who are exercising the rights,” said Abdulahi Mohamed Hassan, Director of the Mogadishu Media House. Last week Wadajir district commissioner Ahmed-Da’i sent 15 armed men to Jubba radio and closed down the station for about 7 hours. In the last 6 weeks there were several closures of media outlets in Mogadishu by the National Security Agency.
SOMALI MEDIA
Government cracks down protesters
13 Jun – Source Diirad Online – 117 words
After the Somali president threatened yesterday that his government would stop the protests in Mogadishu by force, security forces arrested on the same day some contributors to the protests. At least 10 of the alleged demonstration were jailed as they were planning another rally in Mogadishu, an eyewitness confirmed.
http://www.diirad.com/news-in-english/3185-government-cracks-down-protesters-.html
Somali troops, AMISOM reportedly seized ship carrying weapons at Mogadishu port
13 Jun Source: Radio Galka’yo – 112 words
The TFG forces and AMISOM have seized a ship carrying military weapons, uniforms, water tanks and other supplies at Mogadishu’s port. According to an eyewitness at the port, the troops were yesterday informed about the cargo and launched investigations directly, searching any suspects on board.
Somalia’s military commander warns al Shabaab and foreign fighters
13 Jun – Source: Bariga Afrika – 151 words
The Commander of Somalia’s armed forces has pointed out that his troops will target anybody who is a threat to the National Security of Somalia. Abdikadir Sheikh Ali Diini said that they have beefed up security in the areas under the TFG’s control and alerted their forces and the general public over possible reprisal attacks in response to the death Fazul Abdullah Mohamed.
http://www.barigaafrika.com/en/read.php?id=4361#axzz1P8JWznuk
Somali volunteer doctors provide free medical treatment to Somalis in Nairobi
13 Jun – Source: Somali Channel TV – 27 words
Somali volunteer doctors provide free medical treatment to the vulnerable Somali people in East Leigh, Nairobi. Video footage shows patients in queue, doctors making medical tests, and drugs being distributed.
Wajir-Born al Qaeda man killed with Fazul was a former footballer
13 Jun – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1169 words
A Kenyan-born al-Qaeda man was reportedly killed in action last week during a security operation conducted by TFG forces. According to Radio Mogadishu, the man identified as Musa Hussein was shot dead together with Fazul Abdullahi.
http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/2011/Jun/wajir_born_al_qaeda_man_killed_together_with_fazul_ was_a_former_footballer.aspx
Dozens arrested in Bosaso search operations
13 Jun – Source: Shabelle – 142 words
After a massive security crackdown in Bosaso port town, Puntland, more than a hundred people were arrested, reports said yesterday. The operations came after unknown armed men on Sunday night gunned down a retired Puntland police officer at the center of Bosaso, Puntland’s commercial hub.
http://www.shabelle.net/article.php?id=7547
1000 Somali soldiers complete training course in Dolow Ethiopia
14 June – Source: Shabelle – 181 words
Some 1000 Somali soldiers, who were undergoing training in Ethiopia, have completed the course as the ceremony of the conclusion was held on Monday in Dolow. Speaking at the ceremony, Abdihakim Hajji Mohamoud Fiqi, Somalia’s minister of defense, said that the soldiers are well-trained and ready to take on al Shabaab fighters.
http://www.shabelle.net/article.php?id=7550
Toddlers perish of measles in southern Somalia
14 June – Source: Shabelle – 195 words
At least five children have died of measles in Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia, witnesses said yesterday. More than 50 children are suffering from the disease as there are no free heath care centers in the region, under the control of al Shabaab, who has banned more than 20 aid agencies from operating in southern and central Somalia.
http://www.shabelle.net/article.php?id=7549
REGIONAL MEDIA
Somalia to keep Sh300m ransom cash
13 Jun – Source: Daily Nation – 364 words
The Sh300 million ransoms intercepted at Mogadishu airport two weeks ago will be forfeited to the Somali government. The Head of the Somalia Anti-Piracy Task Force, Prof Muhyadin Ali Yusuf, said the Somali government was treating the six people arrested during the incident as piracy masterminds. They include two Kenyans, three Britons and one American.
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/Somalia+to+keep+Sh300m+ransom+cash+/- /1066/1180530/-/c12vorz/-/
Kenyans hunt for business in Somalia
13 Jun – Source: Daily Nation – 178 words
Dozens of Kenyans are trooping to Somalia in search of jobs and business opportunities. Perceived as a deadly destination by the international community, the war-torn Horn of Africa nation of just about 10 million people is fast turning into the next land of opportunity for Kenyans.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Killing of embassy bombings mastermind deprives al Qaeda of key figure
13 Jun – Source: CNN – 871 words
At midnight last Tuesday, two men were traveling in a black four-wheel drive through the Somali capital, Mogadishu. One was Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, the most wanted terrorist in Africa. Mohammed had survived more than a decade on the run, at least one attempt on his life, and a $5 million price on his head for planning the 1998 attacks on the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
But his luck was about to run out in the chaos of Mogadishu, where the frontlines in the battle between the weak transitional government and al Qaeda affiliate al-Shabaab shift almost weekly. His vehicle headed toward a government checkpoint, possibly after taking a wrong turn. According to several accounts it tried to speed through, setting off a firefight with police.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/06/13/somalia.mastermind/
Al Shabaab: the American connection
14 June – Source: The Guardian – 870 words
The news of another American suicide bomber shows, once again, the deadly allure of jihadism among a small number of young US citizens, but it also casts a light on the potential danger that allowing the conflict in Somalia to continue unabated poses. Now that we are at the third possible American suicide bomber in Somalia, it is time to take stronger measures to solve this problem – before it comes back to haunt us in the west.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jun/13/somalia-shabaab-terrorism