February 23, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somalia government captures Baidoa from al Shabaab militants

22 Feb – Source: Shabelle, Radio Mogadishu, Hiiraan Online – 154 words
Somalia government soldiers along with Ethiopian forces took over the control of parts of Baidoa town, a strategic stronghold of Islamist militants in western Somalia, an official said on Wednesday. Mohamed Ibrahim Habsade, a parliamentarian, confirmed by phone while he was at the fighting zone that TFG soldiers backed by Ethiopian troops have seized parts of the town which is just 250 Km away from Mogadishu after fierce battle from the militants.

Key Headlines

Al Shabaab shuts down aid centers in Kismayo (Source: Radio Bar-kulan)
Galmudug Security Force to be boosted to counter insecurity in the region says minister (Source: Radio Bar-kulan)
UN Council increases Somalia force to 17731(Source: Daily Nation)
David Cameron: Somalia should be enjoying its own Arab spring (BBC Somali Service)
ICG urges int’l community to enhance Turkey’s role in Somalia 9Source: Todays Zaman)
UK to double military aid for Somalia(Source: Independent News)
Somalia conference seeks to galvanise peace push (Source: Reuters)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somalia government captures Baidoa from al Shabaab militants

Al Shabaab shuts down aid centers in Kismayo

22 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 157 words

Al Shabaab rebel fighters in the Port city of Kismayo have reportedly closed down four aid distribution centres in the city on Tuesday. The centers were used to distribute humanitarian aid for hundreds of needy people who have been displaced by the recent human tragedy in the chaotic Horn of African country.
Locals who spoke to Bar-kulan on condition of anonymity said the centres- two in Farjano neighbourhood, one in Shaqalaha and the other one in Gulwade neighbourhood were very important for their lives.

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys designated to lead al Shabaab fight in southern Somalia

22 Feb- Source: Hadhwanaag Times, Somalia Report- 80 words

Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aways, a high-ranking al Shabaab official, was designated to lead the group’s fight in southern Somalia. his designation came after fighting and pressure on the al Qaeda-linked group increased in the last few months.

Mr Aways is now needed to contemplate and organize al Shabaab militants to recapture areas they lost late last year. Al Shabaab has not released any comments about the designation of Hassan Dahir Aways, who is now in the US’s black list of terrorism.

Cameron speaks on Somalia conference and Somaliland independence

22 Feb – Source: Garowe Online, BBC Somali Service – 355 words

The British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the upcoming conference will not deal with states looking for independence but that the one day conference being held in London will deal with security dilemmas that have plagued the country and its future, Garowe Online reports.

Galmudug Security Force to be boosted to counter insecurity in the region, says minister

22 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 119 words

Galmudug will double the number of its security forces in effort to bolster security situation in areas under its jurisdiction, says a minister. Interior Minister Abshir Dini Awale said they will boost the number of security officers as well as establish an efficient judicial system in the region.
The minister was speaking at a security meeting held in Galkayo where the area’s regional government officials, religious leaders and elders met to discuss the way forward in securing the region.
Awale, whose task also involves region’s internal security, urged locals to work with the security apparatus in the region in order to allow them to fight crime. Participants stressed the need to bolster security in the region as insecurity will undermine any development.

Somali government, al Shabaab militants battle in Bardale town

22 Feb – Source: Shabelle – 168 words

Heavy fighting and shells between pro-government soldiers and al Shabaab resumes in the southern Somali town of Bardale, a day after the rebels withdrew from it, an official says Wednesday. The battle which lasted for hours broke out on the outskirts of Bardale town in Bay region, a town which is just 250 Km away from Mogadishu.

REGIONAL MEDIA

UN Council increases Somalia force to 17,731

22 Feb – Source: Daily Nation – 240 words

The UN Security Council unanimously agreed Wednesday to increase the African Union force in Somalia from 12,000 to 17,731 troops.
A resolution passed by the 15-nation council gave the African force a tougher mandate to attack Shebab Islamist militants and substantially increased international funding for the military operation.

The resolution was prepared by Britain ahead of an international conference in London on boosting support for efforts by Somalia’s transitional government to re-establish control in the country.

David Cameron: Somalia should be enjoying its own Arab spring

22 Feb- Source: Al Shahid, BBC Somali Service- 260 words

Somalia should be enjoying an Arab Spring of its own but its alshabaab insurgents are fomenting jihad both in and out of the country, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday. Interviewed for the BBC’s Somali service, Mr Cameron stressed the importance of restoring order in Somalia.

“The security threat is real, it is substantial,” he said. “It is based on the fact that al Shabaab is an organisation that has now explicitly linked itself to Al-Qaida, and it encourages violent jihad not just in Somalia but also outside Somalia.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

AU Official welcomes London Somali conference, capture of Baidoa

22 Feb – Source: VOA News – 443 words

An official of the African Union [AU] has said the capture of a rebel stronghold, and the U.N. Security Council’s decision to increase troop levels, bolsters security ahead of the London Conference on Somalia Thursday.

El-Ghassim Wane said AU special envoy and former Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings, and other senior officials, will represent the continental body at the London Conference.

Somalia’s fearsome pirates: unbeaten but under pressure

22 Feb – Source: AFP – 684 words

Foreign navies and armed guards on boats have badly dented the cutthroat capabilities of marauding Somali pirates, but ending the scourge requires land-based solutions, analysts warn.

Somalia’s pirates remain a fearsome force prowling far across the Indian Ocean seizing ships for ransom, costing the world billions of dollars each year and now branching out to increasing land-based attacks.

ICG urges int’l community to enhance Turkey’s role in Somalia

22 Feb – Source: Todays Zaman – 589 words

The world’s largest advocacy group has urged the international community to enhance the role of Turkey and other Muslim nations in stabilization effort in Somalia and to build Somali confidence in the process.

The International Crisis Group released a report on Wednesday regarding the political situation in Somalia, where it said the country faces a crucial six months as the mandate of the “feeble and dysfunctional” TFG expires in August of this year.

UK to double military aid for Somalia

23 Feb – Source: Independent News – 177 words

British backing for African forces tackling Islamist insurgents will be doubled today as more than 50 countries head to London to discuss ways of stabilising the country.

David Cameron will open the conference with a warning that the turbulence in the failed state threatens the security both of Africa and of Western nations.

Kenya bogged down in fight against al Shabaab

22 Feb- Source: AFP- 4:20 min

As world leaders meet in London to discuss ways of bringing stability to Somalia, which has been at civil war for over 20 years, AFPTV visited the South of the country. Four months ago Kenyan troops invaded their neighbours, but progress has been slow.

PM: Somalia needs a second chance

22 Feb- Source: AP- 311 words

David Cameron will appeal to international leaders to step up support for Somalia in an effort to stabilise the country described as “the world’s most failed state”.

Representatives of more than 50 countries are gathering in London for a high level international conference amid fears the east African nation is becoming the new breeding ground for international terrorism.

Mr Cameron said he wanted to “forge a new momentum” and put in place the “building blocks” to create a stronger and safer Somalia after two decades blighted by war, piracy, terrorism and famine.

Somalia conference seeks to galvanise peace push

22 Feb – Source: Reuters – 759 words

African, Arab and Western nations worried by Somalia’s turmoil meet on Thursday to coordinate efforts against militants and pirates seen as growing threats to global security and ramp up measures to end famine and clan violence.

Sceptics say the London conference of 40 countries including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon risks producing fine words but no action:

Somalia’s instability is lucrative for some

23 Feb – Reuters, el Arabiya, The Standard – 500 words
Amid blown out houses, failed state offers opportunities to those who have survived the terror group’s mortars. Life got easier for trader Siad Hussein when Somali Islamist militants pulled out of the capital. He no longer pays a Jihad tax nor does he have to watch mortars kill his customers.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“There will be no lasting solution to Somalia’s problems unless it is owned by the Somali people. Decades of international interference focused primarily on security and counter terrorism concerns have inadvertently fuelled instability and increased humanitarian needs. The international community can play a positive role, but it must support Somali-led solutions putting the interests of Somalis first.”

Somalia is much more than just terrorism and piracy

22 Feb – Oxam East Africa Blog -756 Words
On 23 February, Heads of State, officials and Ban Ki-moon will meet in London to discuss the security threats posed by Somalia, and the future of its Government.
Although the causes of the problems that Somalia faces lie primarily in the country itself, where warring factions are accused of impeding and diverting aid flows, policies of other countries have also had a major impact. These policies – focused more on international security concerns than on the needs, interests and wishes of the Somali people – have inadvertently fuelled both the conflict and the humanitarian crisis.
You may remember seeing the pictures last year, as people in Somalia tried to deal with the worst food crisis the country has faced for years. Although the images have largely left our screens, the bare numbers from the crisis reveal starkly what Somalis have faced. Tens of thousands of people have died over the last few months. 2.4 million people are still in need of urgent aid while 325,000 children are still suffering from acute malnutrition.

“In view of the expansion of regional military forces in Somalia and the conflagration of the conflict, it is also essential that participants in the London conference prioritize the protection of civilians and clearly state that all parties in the conflict will be held accountable under international human rights and humanitarian law. In the absence of a government with the capability to provide such protection, Somalis deserve nothing less from the international community.”

Curing Africa’s ‘biggest headache’

22 Feb – Source: New Internationalist Blog – 978 Words

Forty heads of state convene in London this week for a conference on Africa’s biggest headache: Somalia. For Britain and the other countries represented at the conference, Somalia is a security problem, a ‘failed state’, a haven for terrorists and pirates, a threat to the well-being of the Global North. But the main threat that misgovernment in Somalia represents is to Somalis themselves, constantly at risk of famine and displacement.

Although Britain responded generously to the famine that ravaged Somalia last year, there was no mention of the humanitarian crisis when the Prime Minister announced the conference, which is focused purely on the political question of the country as a ‘failed state’. (Discussion of the humanitarian crisis affecting Somalis is relegated to an oddly-named ‘humanitarian breakfast’.)