April 17, 2012 | Morning Headlines.
US scrambles to confirm reports of American terror leader’s death in Somalia
16 Apr- Source: New York Post- 303 words
US intelligence officials were scrambling Monday to confirm reports that Omar Hammami, the American-born leader of an al Qaeda-aligned terror group in Somalia, has been executed.
Unconfirmed reports surfaced in Somali media claiming the al Shabaab jihadist was hunted down and beheaded on orders from a rival leader in the network.
Key Headlines
- MSF demands release of its staffs before opening any non-emergency projects in Somalia (Source: Bar-kulan)
- Regional development courses end in Gal-Mudug state (Source: Raxanreeb)
- Khat traders banned from relocating their business to Mogadishu (Source: Bar-kulan)
- German Ambassador and President Farole discuss increased support for counter piracy ( Source: Garowe Online)
- Al Shabaab suspects ‘must be terrorists’ security court told (Source: the National (UAE))
SOMALI MEDIA
MSF demands release of its staffs before opening any non-emergency projects in Somalia
16 Apr – Source: Bar-kulan – 226 words
The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has said it will put on hold the opening of new non-emergency projects and expansion of existing ones in Somalia until two of its staffs are released. In a press statement, the organisation said it will however continue responding to life-saving emergencies in the chaotic Horn of African country.
Angry soldiers in Puntland disrupt traffic
16 Apr- Source: Radio Shabelle- 100 words
Soldiers of Puntland have disrupted the movement of vehicles and people in Boosaaso town as they complain about non-payment of salaries in recent months. The soldiers were at times reportedly shooting into the air, causing panic among the civilians in Boosaaso town, capital of Bari Region.
German Ambassador and President Farole discuss increased support for counter-piracy
16 Apr – Source: Garowe Online – 124 words
Germany’s Deputy Ambassador to Kenya and Somalia Michael Hasenau met with President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole. Ambassador Hasenau arrived in Garowe on Sunday for the Puntland constitutional convention and met with president Farole privately following the convention. Local sources say that president Farole and ambassador Hasenau spoke about how Germany could boost support for counter-piracy projects in Puntland.
Khat traders banned from relocating their business to Mogadishu
16 Apr – Source: Bar-kulan – 254 words
Al Shabaab militants in the Port City of Kismayo have banned local khat traders from relocating their business to Mogadishu after the rebel group banned the commodity in the city. Militants reportedly barred local vendors getting out of the city to avoid any relocation of their businesses.
Hassan Yakub Ali, an al Shabaab leader in the city was quoted as saying that they will not allow Khat traders either to sell their supplies or relocate to other parts of the country.
Regional development courses end in Gal-Mudug state
16 Apr – Source: Raxanreeb – 534 words
Despite the continuation of sadness and shock over the sudden death of the late president of the Somali Football Federation Said Mahmoud Nur, the SFF successfully concluded different football-related courses as part of its regional development program in the Gal-mudug state over the weekend.
The development courses assembled 80 persons including 40 future referees, 20 coaches and 20 football administrators with the assistance from the semi-autonomous state of Gal-mudug.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Somalia war leaves Kenya with Sh12bn Budget gap
16 Apr- Source: Business Daily Africa -415 words
Kenya’s seven-month long incursion in neighbouring Somalia widened the government’s Budget gap by a whopping Sh12 billion, a fresh report on the state of public finances has shown.
Supplementary estimates submitted to Parliament on Mondayindicate that the Treasury is seeking an additional Sh12.5 billion “to meet increasing administration and planning expenses of the Kenya Defence Forces”, directly linking the item to the Somalia war.
Al Shabaab suspects ‘must be terrorists’, security court told
16 Apr- Source: the National (UAE)- 444 words
The advocate general yesterday responded to claims by the lawyer of three men accused of joining Al Shabaab that the group was not officially recognised as a terrorist entity.
A H and A A, both Sudanese, and M M, a Somali, are accused of joining the group and raising funds for it. Their lawyer has argued that they were merely philanthropic businessmen.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
US scrambles to confirm reports of American terror leader’s death in Somalia
16 Apr- Source: New York Post- 303 words
US intelligence officials were scrambling Monday to confirm reports that Omar Hammami, the American-born leader of an al Qaeda-aligned terror group in Somalia, has been executed.
Unconfirmed reports surfaced in Somali media claiming the al Shabaab jihadist was hunted down and beheaded on orders from a rival leader in the network.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“At the end of their hunger strike, the Somalis wanted to lodge appeals against their detention. But lodging an appeal with the court is going to be difficult – they were never told that they had only 5 days to do so, and few did so in time. The courts may now refuse to accept any late appeals against detention. Legal experts in Ukraine say that even if the Somalis appeal against their detention, it may take at least 6 months to get their case to court, and that even then, they are not assured a fair court procedure.”
Illegal detention of Somalis in Ukraine continues
16 Apr – Source: New Internationalist Blog – 639 Words
Although the hunger strike of 83 Somalis in detention in Ukraine ended on 17 February, the campaign to fight against the violations of human rights of these detainees, and other asylum seekers, continues. Eighty-one Somalis (two of the original 83 have been released after serving their ‘sentence’), who were on hunger strike from 6 January to 17 February, are still detained within the nightmare of Ukraine’s ‘asylum procedure’.