15 Aug 2011 – Morning headlines
Key Headlines:
- Al Shabaab weapons discovered in Bakara Market
- State of emergency imposed to Mogadishu for second day
- Al Shabaab leader says it is wrong to go to war with forces armed with tanks
- Villagers abort al Shabaab’s attack on their village in middle Shabelle
- Uganda to send 2000 more troops to Somalia
- WFP expands food distribution in famine-hit Somalia after militants withdraw from capital
- UN says cholera epidemic increasing in Somalia
PRESS STATEMENT
Al Shabaab weapons discovered in Bakara Market
13 Aug – Source: AMISOM – 353 words
Somali Police and African Union troops uncovered a large store of artillery shells in a disused house yesterday in Bakara Market from where the extremist militant group has recently withdrawn. It is believed these munitions were being stockpiled for use in making improvised bombs.
After a tip-off from residents in the city the Somali police went to the shell-damaged house in the centre of Bakara Market. When African Union troops, AMISOM, were called in they discovered 137 artillery shells of 155mm calibre. The extremist group, who until recently had been fighting soldiers of the African Union and Somali government, are not known to have the artillery weapons to fire these shells.
Reacting to the find, Lt Col Paddy Ankunda, the AMISOM Force spokesperson said: “The extremists were storing up large stocks of munitions in order to make improvised bombs to launch a campaign of terror in Mogadishu.
“The discovery shows how Somali government security forces and the African Union troops of AMISOM are working closely together to remove the remaining threat insurgents pose to the city’s inhabitants. It will take time but by improving security in the city, particularly in the commercial heart of Bakara Market, residents will be able to return and businesses can start trading again.”
AMISOM has a force of 9,000 soldiers who are currently redeploying to help secure a city which has a population that is growing every day as displaced Somalis come in search of food, shelter and medical assistance.
“The pressures on the African Union AMISOM force remain incredibly high. Large areas of the city have to be cleared of these types of weapons stores and secured in the longer term so that the city can return to some semblance of normality and to do this we need more troops” The shells were defused and removed by AMISOM troops and are being destroyed. The Al Qaeda linked insurgent group had withdrawn from the city on 6th August. Since then the African Union force has been working closely with TFG forces to clear the newly taken areas of the city of unexploded ordinance and weapons and redeploy to secure the city.
SOMALI MEDIA
Former Somali president endorses al Shabaab’s withdrawal
14 Aug – Source: Radio Shabelle, Kulmiye – 81 words
Former Somali president, Abdi kassim Salaad Hassan warmly endorsed the withdrawal of Shabaab from the capital Mogadishu urging the TFG to keep security.
Somalia receives food aid from Kuwait
13 Aug – Source: Shabelle – 144 words
The TFG on Saturday received food aid from the Kuwaiti government to help the drought-hit people in the horn of African nation. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, the prime minister was handed over the aid by a delegation from Kuwaiti Red Crescent Society. The aid food package was 3,300 metric tonnes including dates and cooking oil, according to Red Crescent Society of Kuwait.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Al Shabaab leader says it is wrong to go to war with forces armed with tanks
12 Aug – Source: Mareeg Online – 112 words
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, one of the official of al Shabaab has on Friday confirmed their withdrawal from the capital was due to conflict among al Shabaab, reports said. Dahir said, “We don’t (have) tanks and it’s wrong to have face to face fighting with troops armed with tanks”.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.
Al Shabaab denies infighting within the group
13 Aug – Source: Radio Shabelle, Radio BBC Somali Service – 142 words
The al Shabaab movement on Friday strongly denied there is infighting and wrangle within the group. Speaking at BBC Somali Service, Sheikh Ali Mohamoud, a spokesman of al Shabaab said the group’s leaders are religious men and that if they cannot agree they will revise back to the Holy Kuran and Hadhith. He said the group has only one adversary which is the transitional federal government of Somalia. The spokesman noted that the government is the one which accustomed to disagree and speak about it publicly.
Villagers abort al Shabaab’s attack on their village in middle Shabelle
12 Aug – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 109 words
Locals in Moyko Village in Middle Shabelle have repulsed al Shabaab militia trying to arrest people in the area. Some villagers told Bar-kulan that the militia failed to enter their village to whisk away some local villagers in the area after they met a stiff resistance from armed locals.
Al Shabaab impose strict orders on traders
12 Aug – Source: Shabelle – 116 words
The al Shabaab movement on Friday imposed strict orders on businessmen in Elasha Biyaha, about 18 kilometers south of Mogadishu. The group said rental money from all business centers beside the main street will be collected by them. An eyewitness said the group also ordered all businesses in Elasha Biyaha area, the villages of Hawa Abdi and Lafole to pay Sakat (charity) to what they called the Mujahideen in advance.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Children die of measles, malnutrition in Mogadishu
12 Aug – Source: Radio Shabelle – 93 words
At least 5 children are repoted to have died of measles and malnutrition in Abagedo refugee camp in Dharkenlay district in the capital Mogadishu yesterday and this morning. 3 children are reported to have died last Thursday while 2 others passed away on Friday according to the had of the camp, Arrabow Ali Hussein.
Somalis forcibly deported from Saudi Arabia arrive in Mogadishu
12 Aug – Source: Shabelle – 175 words
Some 150 Somalis forcibly deported from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Friday arrived at Aden Ade international airport in Mogadishu. Omar Abdulakdir, one of the deportees, told Shabelle Media Network that they had been in Saudi jails for months where they faced harsh torture.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Turkish delegation arrives in Mogadishu
14 Aug- Source: Radio Bar-kulan, Radio Kulmiye, Radio Risaala- 132 words
A delegation from Turkey on Sunday arrived in Mogadishu ahead of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visit to Somalia on August 18 with his spouse Emine Erdogan. ATurkish cargo ship carrying humanitarian aid for the needy people in Somalia is expected to dock in Mogadishu tomorrow.
Somaliland forces arrest suspected persons
13 Aug – Source: Shabelle – 112 words
The security forces of Somaliland on Saturday arrested individuals suspected of planning to destabilize the town of Las Anod, the regional capital of disputed Sool region, witnesses said. Local residents confirmed that at least 10 people were apprehended after heavy security crackdown in the town of Las Anod.
http://www.shabelle.net/
State of emergency imposed in Mogadishu for second day
14 Aug- Source: Radio Kulmiye, Shabelle, Rissaala- 141 words
Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Saturday issued a decree imposing state of emergency in areas vacated last week by Islamists and in camps for drought-displaced people in Mogadishu, a presidential statement said. The state of emergency will be effective for three months starting from the date of issuance, the statement added.
Ex-president: U.S to probe corruption in Somalia’s govt
15 Aug – Source: Shabelle – 110 words
The former president of Somalia, Abdikassim Salad Hassan called for the United States to immediately probe into the allegedly corruption committed against the international financial support for Somalis by the TFG leaders. The comments of Somalia’s former president comes as America’s Atlantic recently issued a report suggesting Somalia’s top government leaders stole more than 75 million dollars destined to help of the Horn of African nation.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Somali President urges ensuring security in rebels abandoned areas
15 Aug – Source: Shabelle – 118 words
The president of the TFG on Sunday urged both national army and Somali people ensuring the overall security and tranquility in the areas abandoned by what he called the militant group al Shabaab.
http://www.shabelle.net/
REGIONAL MEDIA
Uganda to send 2,000 more troops to Somalia
13 Aug – Source: Daily Monitor – 236 words
President Museveni has pledged to send an additional 2,000 Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers to beef up security in Mogadishu. “UPDF will instead increase the number of troops in Somalia. President Museveni has already pledged additional 2,000 soldiers,” Lt. Col. Ankuda said, adding, “UPDF will not withdraw because the mission to liberate Somalia has just started. (Getting al Shabaab out of) Mogadishu was Phase One, there are two more phases.”
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/
Somalis endure suffering in crowded camps
12 Aug – Source: Coast Week – 1136 words
Thousands of hungry, exhausted refugees are still streaming into several refugee camps like Dadaab, not far from the border with Somalia.
http://www.coastweek.com/3432_
WAMY gives SR4 million for Somalia relief
11 Aug – Source: Arab News – 105 words
The World Assembly of Muslim Youth has donated SR4 million for the “Days of Giving” campaign launched by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation at the beginning of Ramadan to deal with the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Somalia. A media campaign was also launched by OIC General Secretariat in Ramadan to raise awareness about the initiative.
http://arabnews.com/
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
WFP expands food distribution in famine-hit Somalia after militants withdraw from capital
13 Aug- Source: Washington Post- 714 words
The World Food Program said Saturday that it is expanding its food distribution efforts in famine-struck Somalia, where the U.N. estimates that only 20 percent of people needing aid are getting it. Some of those from the outlying regions have walked for days to the capital for help, only for it to be too late.
Somali famine: Families flee child conscription
12 Aug – Source: BBC – 127 words
Some Somalis have fled to Ethiopia for fear their children may be forcibly conscripted by Islamist insurgents, a UN refugee official has told the BBC. The UNHCR’s Alison Oman said some mothers at refugee camps in Ethiopia told her they left Somalia as they had nothing left to buy-off the militants.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Nations fall short in helping 12.4M Africans in drought-caused famine
12 Aug – Source: New York Times – 346 words
Warning that famine in Somalia is likely to get worse before it gets better, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton yesterday pledged an additional $17 million in U.S. aid to East African countries, on the heels of a $105 million relief package Obama approved this week, bringing the level of U.S. assistance to the Horn of Africa to $508 million. “Though food shortages may be triggered by drought, they are not caused by drought, but rather by weak or nonexistent agricultural systems that fail to produce enough food or market opportunities in good times and break down completely in the bad times,” Clinton said in a speech at the International Food Policy Research Institute.
Uganda invites reclusive Eritrea leader for visit
12 Aug – Source: Reuters – 221 words
Uganda has invited Eritrea’s leader, President Isaias Afewerki, accused by the West of stoking Somalia’s Islamist rebellion and destabilising the east African region, to a state visit next week, Uganda’s State House said. Eritrea rejoined the East African bloc IGAD last month, four years after it walked out on the body in protest at arch-foe Ethiopia’s invasion of Somalia to oust an Islamist administration.
http://af.reuters.com/article/
Somali army warns about al-Shabaab mines in Mogadishu
12 Aug – Source: BBC – 131 words
The Somali army has warned people not to return home in the parts of Mogadishu, which were recently abandoned by Islamist militants. Gen Abdikarim Yusuf Dhagabadan, the deputy army chief, said the areas were mined and not fully secure. Al Shabaab, which controls much of central and southern Somalia, announced over the weekend it was withdrawing from Mogadishu for tactical reasons.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
UN says cholera epidemic increasing in Somalia
12 Aug – Source: NPR – 326 words
World Health Organization officials said Friday that famine-hit Somalia faces a cholera epidemic as dirty water and poor sanitation are leading to an increase in outbreaks of the disease. Officials say cases of acute watery diarrhea — an important indicator of the risk of cholera — are now at 4,272 in Somalia — an 11 percent rise on last week’s WHO reported figure of 3,839.
http://www.npr.org/templates/
New Somali refugee camp set to open in Kenya
12 Aug – Source: VOA – 115 words
With more than 400,000 Somalis now in Dadaab, Kenya, the opening of a new refugee camp there is welcome news. Somalis begin moving to the Kambioos site Saturday.
http://www.voanews.com/
Somali army warns about al Shabaab mines in Mogadishu
12 Aug – Source: BBC – 466 words
The Somali army has warned people not to return home in the parts of Mogadishu which were recently abandoned by Islamist militants. Gen Abdikarim Yusuf Dhagabadan, the deputy army chief, said the areas were mined and not fully secure. However, civilians are returning to the four northern districts previously occupied by them, despite the army’s warning, he says.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Video: Full length Bono, K’naan interview
10 Aug- Source: CNN- 12: 31 min
Anderson talks to U2 lead singer and cofounder of ONE, Bono, and Somalian singer K’naan about the famine in Somalia.
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/