October 2, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

President Mohamud visits Baidoa city, Bay region

01 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan/Shabelle/Mareeg Online/Radio Mogadishu – 82 words
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Monday visited southwest Somali town of Baidoa, the first official trip the president has made since he assumed office early last month. The president and his entourage were warmly received at the area’s airport by area government official and African union troops. His trip to Baidoa is reportedly aimed at assessing security and general situation in the city.

Key Headlines

Somali troops roll into once rebel bastion of Kismayu (Reuters)
Somali troops enter former militant-held port city of Kismayo; Kenyan troop position unclear (Washington Post/AP/)
Members of the Somali Civil Society Coalition condemn violence in Mogadishu (Hiiraan Online)
Coalition forces finally enter Kismayo (Bar-Kulan)
MSF opposes repatriation of Somali refugees (Capital News)
Kenya port to benefit as rebels quit Somalia’s Kismayu: minister (Reuters)

SOMALI MEDIA

President Mohamud visits Baidoa city, Bay region

01 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan/Shabelle/Mareeg Online/Radio Mogadishu – 82 words

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Monday visited southwest Somali town of Baidoa, the first official trip the president has made since he assumed office early last month. The president and his entourage were warmly received at the area’s airport by area government official and African union troops. His trip to Baidoa is reportedly aimed at assessing security and general situation in the city.

Turkish officials meet with Puntland President

01 Oct – Source: Garowe Online – 74 words

A delegation from Turkey met with Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole in Garowe, the capital of Puntland state of Somalia, on Monday, Garowe Online reports. Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA)’s Head of East Africa Operations Mustafa Hashimi Pulat accompanied by other officials met with President Farole and Puntland ministers on Monday.

Members of the Somali Civil Society Coalition condemn violence in Mogadishu

01 Oct – Source: Hiiraan Online/Shabelle – 96 word

Members of the Somalia Civil Society Coalition (SCSC), a network of 120 organisations, have been meeting in Mogadishu for the last four days to talk about the security issues alarming many of the cities residents. The group condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the spike of violence in the last few weeks, such as the IDP mortar attack in Mogadishu. The suicide bombing that took place at ‘The Village’ restaurant, killing children, elderly people and women.

Coalition forces finally enter Kismayo

01 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan – 110 words

Somali and African Union forces on Monday entered the port city of Kismayo after few days of surrounding the city following the withdrawal of al Shabaab militant group. Residents who spoke to Bar-kulan on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal said they saw government troops in groups patrolling the main roads of the city. Meanwhile, al Shabaab militants have allegedly emptied their bases in Jamame, Kamsuma, Mugambow and other outlying villages north of the city and fled towards densely forested area near Bulo Gadud settlement.

REGIONAL MEDIA

MSF opposes repatriation of Somali refugees

01 Oct – Source: Capital News – 149 words

An international non-governmental organisation is raising a storm over plans by the Kenyan government to repatriate Somali refugees, saying the security conditions on the ground are not yet conducive for their well being. At a press briefing on Monday, Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) argued that Somalia, which last month voted a new President to take over from the UN backed transitional government, was still witnessing a military offensive that would hamper delivery of aid to refugees returning home.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali troops roll into once rebel bastion of Kismayu

01 Oct- Source: Reuters World Service – 900 words

Hundreds of Somali government troops and allied militia fighters deployed throughout the former al Shabaab rebel stronghold of Kismayu on Monday, sending panicked locals scrambling for cover.
Residents said some soldiers took up positions on rooftops and that there was no immediate retaliation from the al Qaeda-linked militants who fled the port city on Friday after Kenyan and Somali troops launched an assault by sea, air and land.
“We have now seen troops walking in the town. We are running into houses and shops have closed. We are afraid of explosions,” said resident Ismail Nur.

Somali troops enter former militant-held port city of Kismayo; Kenyan troop position unclear

01 Oct – Source: The Washington Post/AP/ 7000 words
Mogadishu, Somalia — Hundreds of Somali troops on Monday entered the port city of Kismayo for the first time since Kenyan troops carried out an amphibious assault on the coastal port city last week, a military offensive that caused al-Shabab militants to flee.
Residents in Kismayo said that Somali troops drove into the port city and met little or no military resistance. Residents largely remained indoors and businesses were closed.

Kenya port to benefit as rebels quit Somalia’s Kismayu: minister

01 Oct – Source: Reuters – 101 words

Kenya’s main port of Mombasa, East Africa’s chief trade gateway, expects more business after an offensive that has driven rebels out of Somalia’s Kismayu port and is therefore likely to reduce offshore piracy further, the Kenyan transport minister said. Attacks by Somali gangs on commercial cargo vessels destined for Mombasa and beyond had forced some companies to re-route their ships from the pirate-infested waters and pushed insurance and security costs sky-high.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“The only solutions to Somalia’s decades-old crisis are political and developmental. Somalia’s friends, even as far afield as the Arabian Peninsula, have a crucial interest in the country’s stability, but Mogadishu finally has its opportunity to lead. The country needs a stronger government, swiftly, or the gains at Kismayo could too easily be rolled back.”

Military gains in Somalia are only the groundwork

01 Oct – Source: The National – 417 Words

The Islamists of Al Shabaab may have left their southern stronghold of Kismayo, but “the youth” still cast a long shadow across Somalia and the region. On Friday, an African Union seaborne assault pushed Al Shabaab – which held most of the capital Mogadishu last year – out of its last major stronghold. The port city of Kismayo has been a primary lifeline of revenues and weapons for the militant group.

This is welcome news. Al Shabaab has been a deeply destabilising force for the entire Horn of Africa and, until relatively recently, seemed clearly on the ascendant. But for more than a year, the African Union force in Somalia (AMISOM) has made steady military gains on the ground, while the newly formed Somali government is – painfully slowly – getting organised in Mogadishu.