26 Oct 2011 – Morning headlines
Key Headlines:
- Somali Women Peace Day celebrated in Mogadishu
- MPs welcome Somali president’s statement against Kenyan intervention
- More air strikes as Somali PM calls for peace
- Gunmen abduct three aid workers in Somalia
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali Women Peace Day celebrated in Mogadishu
25 Oct- Source: Radio Bar-kulan, Shabelle, Radio Mogadishu- 148 words
A ceremony to mark Somalia’s Women Peace Day was yesterday held in the National Women Group headquarters in Mogadishu. The ceremony was attended by Women Affairs minister Maryan Aweys, members of the Somali parliament and other civil society groups.
MPs welcome Somali president’s statement against Kenyan intervention
25 Oct – Source: Radio Shabelle, Kulmiye – 101 words
A Somali parliamentarian on Monday hailed the statement of Somali president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed who opposed Kenya’s military intervention in the Horn of African nation. Mowlid Ma’ane Mohamoud, a Somali lawmaker, said in an interview with Shabelle Radio that it is illegal for Kenyan military forces to enter Somalia.
Locals flee Bardera as tension looms in the area
25 Oct- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 161 words
Tension is reportedly high in Bardera town of Gedo as locals flee for their safety in fear of deadly fight between government forces and al Shabaab rebel group. Reports say tension remained high as rebel fighters make military maneuvers as clashes in the area remain imminent after government forces and ASWJ militias took over Busar village, 40 km from El-wak town on Monday.
Pro-government militias back Kenya incursion
25 Oct- Source: Somaliareport, BBC Somali Service, Kismaayonews- 67 words
The pro-government militias of Ahlu Sunnah wal Jamaa and Ras Kamboni have accused President Sharif of not being committed to ousting al Shabaab and called on the international community to act. Meanwhile, hundreds of demonstrators marched yesterday through Dhobley, carrying placards condemning Sheikh Sharif’s stance.
Somaliland’s Lower House lowers age of candidacy
25 Oct – Source: Somaliland Press – 141 words
Somaliland’s Lower House of Parliament on Tuesday approved amendments to the constitution that will reinforce the role of youth in public and parliamentary life. Only half of the 82 members were present for the vote and 34 endorsed the new bill that will determine the age at which a person may be eligible to stand for general election.
http://somalilandpress.com/
Somalia plans to free its jailed nationals in Angola
25 Oct – Source: Shabelle – 113 words
The TFG is planning to release its jailed citizens from Angola prisons. Speaking at a ceremony held by CRD and UNDP in Mogadishu, Somalia’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Abdullahi Godah Barre said that plans to free Somalis jailed in Angola are underway. Those jailed young Somalis had been arrested while escaping the current conflict and violence in Somalia.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Fighting looming as al Shabaab fighters pour into Afmadow
25 Oct – Source: Shabelle – 119 words
Fighting is feared as more al Shabaab fighters are pouring into the town of Afmadow in Lower Jubba region to defend key port town of Kismayo from Somalis forces backed by Kenyan military. Reports say hundreds of al Shabaab reinforcement from Kismayo, Salagle, and Bu’ale in southern Somalia arrived at Afmadow and some reached Kamboni as local residents said there is enormous fear.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Kenyan police conducts search operations in Nairobi’s Eastleigh
26 Oct – Source: Shabelle – 90 words
The police forces of Kenya started conducting security crackdown in the area of Eastleigh in Nairobi following two grenade attacks. Mohamed Ibrahim Ayanle, a Somali who lives in Eastleigh, told Shabelle the security of Kenya was tight and people’s ordinary movement curbed.
http://shabelle.net/article.
REGIONAL MEDIA
More air strikes as Somali PM calls for peace
25 Oct- Source: Daily Monitor- 276 words
Residents in Kismayu, 500 kilometers south of Mogadishu, confirmed that two fighter aircrafts were fired on several occasions on positions in and around the town on Sunday. “It was around 3:32 in the afternoon when I heard a bang,†said a resident who preferred anonymity. “I then saw two fighter air crafts hovering over Isola Serpente (an island next to the town’s port).â€
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/
Somali President criticised for anti-Kenya comments
25 Oct- Source: the Standard, Reuters- 593 words
Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed came under fire on Tuesday for casting doubt on his government’s support for a Kenyan incursion into the south of the Horn of Africa nation to take on Islamist rebels. Ahmed said on Monday the Somali government was not happy with the deployment of Kenyan soldiers across the border because the incursion went beyond an initial agreement for logistical support for Somali soldiers.
http://www.standardmedia.co.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Gunmen abduct three aid workers in Somalia
25 Oct- Source: AFP- 437 words
Gunmen on Tuesday kidnapped an American, a Dane and Somali working for the Danish Demining Group in central Somalia, the latest abductions by militia groups in the war-torn nation. “Three staff members from the Danish Demining Group have been kidnapped,” said Klaus Ljoerring Pedersen, the group’s regional chief. “One is a Somali man, two are international staff members, an American woman and a Danish man.”
Somali President criticised for anti-Kenya comments
25 Oct – Source: Reuters – 340 words
Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed came under fire on Tuesday for casting doubt on the government’s support for a Kenyan incursion into the south of the Horn of Africa nation to take on Islamist rebels. Ahmed said on Monday the Somali government was not happy with the deployment of Kenyan soldiers across the border because the incursion went beyond an initial agreement for logistical support for Somali soldiers.
http://af.reuters.com/article/
3 aid workers kidnapped in Somalia
25 Oct – Source: New York Times – 543 words
An American aid worker and two colleagues were kidnapped by Somali gunmen Tuesday in the Somali region of Puntland, a Danish organization said. Three staff members from the Danish Refugee Council — an American woman, a Danish man and a Somali man — were abducted near the town of Galkayo at around 3 p.m., the organization said, adding that it had suspended all of its activities in the area.
A complete review of today’s articles will appear in the Afternoon Report