September 21, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Suicide bombings kill 15 people in Somali capital-police

20 Sept- Source: Reuters- 74 words

At least 15 people were killed when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a restaurant in the centre of the Somali capital on Thursday, a senior police official said.

“So far we have confirmed 15 dead people including two local journalists and two policemen,” General Abdullahi Barise, police spokesman and the head of criminal investigation department, told Reuters.”We are still counting the wounded ones. They were rushed to various hospitals,” he said.

Key Headlines

Somalia: UN envoy condemns deadly suicide attacks in capital (UN News)
Three Somali journalists killed in suicide bomb attacks (Bar-Kulan)
President Mohamud meets ambassadors in Mogadishu (Raxanreeb)
Number 50 Airport re-opens (Radio Mogadishu)
Somali migrants incarcerated in Libya prisons supposed to return to Somalia (Radio Mustaqbal)
Al Shabaab rebels pour back into Kismayu (The Star)
Sierra Leonean colonel to head Amisom training in Somalia (Africa Review)
Somali Shabaab say ‘sympathisers’ carry out suicide attack (AFP)

PRESS RELEASE

AMISOM urges all forces in Somalia to spare civilians

20 Sept – Source: AMISOM – 316 words

The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia, Ambassador Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra, has once again reiterated AMISOM’s commitment to minimizing the impact of its operations on the civilian population in Somalia and urged all forces active in the country to follow its example.

“AMISOM takes its responsibility for the safety of the people of Somalia very seriously and fully understands its obligations to conduct operations without causing undue risk to the local population,” Ambassador Diarra said, adding that it was only with the support of the Somali people that AMISOM had been able to achieve success in the capital, Mogadishu, and elsewhere.

AMISOM’s overall objective is to enhance security of the population, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance and free Somalis from Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabaab’s inhumane treatment. “The nearest AMISOM forces are about 50km from Kismayo at Janaa Cabdalla,” he said. “We urge all other military forces active in southern Somalia to exercise due restraint in areas with a substantial civilian population,” he said.

“On our part, we will investigate any credible reports of AMISOM troop’s indiscriminately harming civilians and take appropriate action where this is proven to be the case,” he added.He said that all AMISOM personnel had been trained in the relevant aspects of International Humanitarian Law and that the Mission had adopted a policy on the use of indirect fire which establishes No-Fire Zones in areas of civilian concentration.

He added that AMISOM’s successful efforts to reduce harm to civilians, including steps to establish a Civilian Casualties Tracking Cell, had been recognized by the UN Security Council as well as by international human rights agencies. Amb. Diarra also expressed his concern for the humanitarian plight of those displaced by the fighting in Kismayo. “AMISOM, as per its UN Security Council mandate, stands ready to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to areas under its control,” he said.

SOMALI MEDIA

Three Somali journalists killed in suicide bomb attacks

20 Sept – Source: Raxanreeb/Shabelle/Bar-kulan – 124 words

At least three Somali journalists were killed and two others injured after two suicide bombers blew out themselves in a cafeteria where the journalists regularly gather near the Mogadishu National Theatre on Thursday, RBC reports. Abdirahman Yasin Ali, the director of Radio Hamar (known as VOD), Abdisatar Dahir Sabriye, news anchor for the state-run SNTV and Liban Ali Nur, a reporter for Radio Mogadishu were killed in the attack. Also Abdulahi Suldan, reporter for Radio Kulmiye and Mohamed Biibaaye, sports reporter for Radio Muqdisho were seriously wounded in the attack and are being hospitalised.

President Mohamud meets ambassadors in Mogadishu

20 Sept – Source: Bar-kulan/Raxanreeb – 102 words

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Thursday met several ambassadors from across the globe at Mogadishu’s main airport. The president held talks with 14 visiting ambassadors from Italy, France, Spain, Holland, Denmark and several other countries that are to be interested in Somalia.

Number 50 Airport re-opens

20 Sept – Source: Raxanreeb/Radio Mogadishu – 174 words

The authorities of lower Shabelle province of Somalia mentioned that the Number 50 airport was re-opened this week after years of being a training compound for al Shabaab militants. The president of the lower shabelle region Abdulkadir Mohamed Noor who talked to the local radios announced that the airport was reopened for the first time after years of inactivity.

Somali migrants incarcerated in Libya prisons supposed to return to Somalia

20 Sept – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 160 words

Abdikani Mohamed, ambassador of Somalia for Libya told Mustaqbal radio that the Libyan government and the embassy of Somalia’s government in Libya are planning to send back the people arrested in the prisons of Libya. The flight that will take the migrants from Libya to Somalia is being planned according to the ambassador Abdikani Mohamed.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somali TV director killed in Mogadishu suicide blast

20 Sept- Source: Africa Review- 158 words

Mr Liban Ali Nur, and several other people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in Mogadishu.At least 20 people perished in the the two successive blasts at Village Cafeteria, next to Mogadishu’s landmark Women’s Building on Thursday afternoon.

Initial reports indicate that two people wearing suicide belts exploded themselves in the popular cafeteria, killing among others, many media professionals.

Reports immediately confirmed the death of Mr Nur.

Al Shabaab member jailed for 59 years

20 Sept- Source: Standard- 293 words

A Kenyan court has jailed for 59 years a man who admitted to being a member of Al Shabaab terror group. Nairobi Chief Magistrate Lucy Nyambura on Thursday convicted Abdimajid Yasin Mohamed alias Hussein after he pleaded guilty to nine out of 10 counts.The suspect had appeared in court last week and was charged alongside Abdi Adan alias Salman Abdi who denied the charges.

Al Shabaab rebels pour back into Kismayu

20 Sept- Source: Star- 234 words

Hundreds of Somali al Shabaab militants poured into the southern port city of Kismayu on Wednesday raising fears of a bloody showdown with African Union soliders for control of the rebels’ last bastion, residents said. The al Qaeda-linked insurgents drove convoys of machinegun-mounted pickup trucks into the city and set about building defences, witnesses said.

Sierra Leonean colonel to head Amisom training in Somalia

20 Sept- Source: Africa Review- 236 words

The AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia (Amisom) has named Sierra Leone`s Colonel Mamadi Mohamed Keita as the new Chief Training Officer of the mission, the Defence ministry in Freetown has announced.

The ministry also named Col Keita as the West African country`s national contingent commander in war-torn Somalia.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia: UN envoy condemns deadly suicide attacks in capital

20 Sept – Source: UN News – 250 words
The top United Nations political official for Somalia today condemned a suicide attack in the Horn of Africa nation’s capital, and called for the country’s progress towards stability to remain on course.
“I strongly condemn this cowardly and senseless attack. These acts of terrorism cannot reverse the recent achievements that Somalia has witnessed – such incidents can only reinforce the determination of the Somali people to reject violence and engage in peaceful resolution of conflict,” the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), Augustine P. Mahiga, said in a news release.

Suicide bombings kill 15 people in Somali capital-police

20 Sept- Source: Reuters- 74 words

At least 15 people were killed when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a restaurant in the centre of the Somali capital on Thursday, a senior police official said.

Somalia suicide blast hits Mogadishu

20 Sept – Source: BBC/Sky News Australia – 103 words

At least one suicide bomb blast has hit Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, killing at least six people, witnesses say. The attack was carried out in or near a restaurant in the city centre, with witnesses saying that a number of people were injured. No group has so far said it carried out the attack. It comes as Somali government troops say they are advancing on the port of Kismayo – the key stronghold of the Islamist group al-Shabaab. The UN refugee agency has reported a sudden spike in the number of civilians fleeing Kismayo, from a few dozen to more than 1,000 a day.

Somali Shabaab say ‘sympathisers’ carry out suicide attack

20 Sept- Source: AFP- 62 words

Somalia’s Al-Qaeda linked Shebab insurgents said Thursday that supporters of the extremist group had carried out a double suicide bombing that killed 14 in the capital Mogadishu.

“Action has been taken by sympathisers of the Shabaab, who were angry with the situation in Somalia,” militant spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage told AFP. But the group had not directly ordered the attacks, he added.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“Somalia needs a Middle Class if it is to succeed in rebuilding and rejoining the International Community. We all know that Somalia lost its middle class after the Somali government collapsed. Those who were not killed, sought refuge in foreign lands. The thousands of internally displaced, and the unemployed youth in Somalia will not contribute much to the rebuilding effort.”

Somalia: The new President needs a Middle Class to succeed

19 Sept – Source: Wardheer News – 984 words

The new president has already proved his aptitude for the highest office in Somalia and has given us a hint about the way he plans to handle the intricate problems of Somalia. In a recent interview with the voice of America Somali Service, he talked about the lingering problem of Somaliland and the way he plans to tackle this thorny issue. Unlike his predecessors who either skirted around the issue or used terms that angered our folks in Somaliland, he politely emphasized the need for Somali Unity in a manner that satisfied all Somalis who listened to the interview including those in Somaliland.