21 Jul 2011 – Morning headlines
Key Headlines:
- Somali Prime Minister welcomes help given so far but highlights ongoing conflict as fundamental cause of famine
- Somali PM names his cabinet ministers
- Doctors offer free medical services at a camp in Mogadishu
- AU calls for urgent humanitarian aid
- UN steps in to address refugee crisis
- Ban Ki-moon appeals for Somalia drought aid
- Aid agencies deal with terrorists to reach Somalia’s starving
PRESS STATEMENT
Somali Prime Minister welcomes help given so far but highlights ongoing conflict as fundamental cause of famine
20 Jul – Source: TFG – 678 words
During a joint visit with President Jerry Rawlings today to a camp for displaced Somalis, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense H. E. Abdihakim Fiqi called attention to the fundamental causes of the famine that has hit the people of the war-torn country. He highlighted what his government is doing for the country but also outlined the fragility of the state and the enduring conflict which hinders the provision of basic services.
Twenty years of conflict have devastated the state institutions of Somalia. Nine thousand troops from the African Union Mission for Somalia are supporting the Transitional Federal Government as it seeks to defeat an Al Qaeda-linked insurgency, design a constitution for all the Somali people and transition the country to full sovereignty.
Within two days of being sworn in as the new Prime Minister of the Transitional Government, Dr Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, established an emergency National Humanitarian Committee to direct the government’s response to the humanitarian crisis in the country. Shortly after being appointed the Prime Minister met with key UN agencies and continues to work with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to help the delivery of aid in Somalia.
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali PM names his cabinet ministers
20 Jul – Source: Mareeg Online – 94 words
The prime minister has named his cabinet who are new members excluding members of former prime minister’s executive council, reports said.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.
Somali government, Ahlu-Suna sentences a soldier to death
20 Jul – Source: Mareeg Online – 132 words
The TFG administration and Ahlu Sunna wa Jamaa in Gedo region reportedly sentenced a soldier to execution for killing another soldier deliberately yesterday in Garbaharey city of Gedo region, officials said.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.
Doctors offer free medical services at a camp in Mogadishu
20 Jul – Source: Hiiraan Online – 266 words
Medical practitioners operating in Mogadishu on Wednesday provided free medical consultations and dietary counseling to assist thousands of drought-stricken families.
http://www.hiiraan.com/news2/
South African court acquits 13 Somali nationals
20 Jul – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan -164 words
A South African court has acquitted thirteen Somali nationals charged with illegal possession of Khat (narcotic leaves) that was intercepted at a checkpoint in Cape Town early this week.
AU calls for urgent humanitarian aid
20 Jul – Source: Shabelle – 234 words
The African Union on Wednesday called on the international community to urgently respond to the deteriorating situation affecting drought displaced Somalis who have poured into Mogadishu in search of food and water.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Anti-piracy forces foil pirate attacks
20 Jul – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan -165 words
India’s anti-piracy forces in the Gulf of Aden have successfully thwarted a bid by Somali sea pirates to seize a Greek ship in pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden.
REGIONAL MEDIA
UN steps in to address refugee crisis
20 Jul – Source: KBC – 219 words
The United Nations on Wednesday pledged to increase food rations in Somalia to deal with the massive influx of refugees to the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya.
http://www.kbc.co.ke/news.asp?
Ojodeh, Raila differ over border
20 Jul – Source: Daily Nation – 363 words
A tug of war has erupted between the President’s and the Prime Ministers’ offices over the reopening of the Somali-Kenya border to let in refugees. Last week, Prime Minister Raila Odinga ordered the Liboi entry point re-opened. He also said the Ifo II refugee camp in Dadaab should be opened, a move opposed by the Internal Security ministry.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Aid agencies deal with terrorists to reach Somalia’s starving
21 Jul – Source: CNN – 248 words
For aid donors and humanitarian agencies, it is a Faustian bargain: reach and save tens of thousands of people on the verge of starving to death. The price: come to an “understanding” with one of the most active affiliates of al Qaeda, and perhaps help it retain control of large swathes of Somalia.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/
Ban Ki-moon appeals for Somalia drought aid
20 Jul – Source: AFP, Wall Street Journal – 214 words
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday called on donor countries to immediately come up with $1.6 billion in aid for two regions in Somalia declared famine zones.
Millions facing misery in Somalia
20 Jul – Source: News24 – 613 words
Struggling through parched bush and baking heat, Rahmo Mohammed brought her severely malnourished son Saeed to Ethiopia’s Kobe refugee camp to save him. That was three weeks ago, and he is still not better, his frail body too sick to accept medicine.
http://www.news24.com/Africa/
U.N.: Famine in Somalia is killing tens of thousands
20 Jul – Source: Washington Post – 899 words
Famine in parts of southern Somalia has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly children, the United Nations said Wednesday in an official declaration of what aid officials describe as the worst humanitarian crisis in the troubled country in two decades.