November 7, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Al-Qaida Leader Urges Guerrilla Warfare in Somalia

06 Nov- Source: VOA- 147 words

A purported message from al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri calls for a campaign of guerrilla warfare against foreign troops in Somalia. The alleged message from Zawahiri appeared Tuesday on the website of Somali militant group al Shabaab, which is fighting African forces that support Somalia’s government. The speaker, talking in Arabic, references al Shabaab’s loss of the port of Kismayo, an indicator the recording was made recently. He urges jihadist fighters to disregard the number of troops and attack them through ambushes and suicide bombings.

Key Headlines

UN delegation visits Kismayo (Radio Bar-kulan)
Govt. forces carry out massive crackdown in Mogadishu (Shabelle/Bar-kulan/radio Kulmiye)
Somali festival celebrates East London and African ties (Somalilandpress)
Puntland claims killing terrorist in Dahar (Bar-kulan/Garowe Online)
AMISOM Statement on the issue of charcoal (AMISOM)
Al-Qaida leader urges guerrilla warfare in Somalia (VOA)

PRESS STATEMENT

AMISOM Statement on the issue of charcoal

06 Nov – Source: AMISOM – 71 words

AMISOM regrets reports that charcoal is being exported out of Somalia in violation of United Nations Security Council resolution 2036 and Somali national law.

Although AMISOM is not mandated to scrutinize commercial activities in Somalia, the Mission is cognizant of its responsibilities in contributing to restore peace, security and law and order in the country.

In this regard, AMISOM reaffirms its commitment to support the Federal Government of Somalia in its efforts to stamp out this illegal trade in charcoal.

AMISOM welcomes the Somali government’s decision in forming a Task Force to deal with the issue. The Mission will fully cooperate with the Task Force and do all that it is necessary to facilitate its work.

SOMALI MEDIA

UN delegation visits Kismayo town

06 Nov – Source: Bar-kulan – 83 words

A delegation of UN officials on Tuesday visited the recently captured port city of Kismayo to assess the situation on the ground since the fall of the militant administration in the city late last September. The officials from WFP and Mine Action held talks with the area government and military officials to discuss humanitarian and security situation in the area. Adan Ibrahim Ilyas of the Somali army told Bar-kulan renovation of key government installations in the city was also discussed during the meeting.

Govt. forces carry out massive crackdown in Mogadishu

06 Nov – Source: Shabelle/Bar-kulan/radio Kulmiye- 99 words

Somali security forces carried out on Tuesday a house to house search in Mogadishu, arresting dozens of suspected al Shabaab militants together with their weapons, police said. The operations occurred in Yaqshid district early on Tuesday morning as pacification operations continue in the Horn of Africa nation after the capture of the city last year in 2011 from al Shabaab militants. Mogadishu, Somali capital has seen series of massive arrests since last September when Somali MPs elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as a president for a federal republic government, for the first time in Somali history for more than 42 years.

Puntland claims killing terrorist in Dahar

06 Nov – Source: Bar-kulan/Garowe Online- 133 words

Puntland authorities on Tuesday claimed that police have gunned down a terrorist in Dahar town after a brief gunfire on Monday. In a press statement, Puntland said its Police Mobile Unit shot dead Hassan Ismail Sardheye, 34, at a public location after resisting arrest. “After obtaining intelligence information, Puntland security forces approached Mr. Hassan Ismail Sardheye, 34, at a public location. Armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, he immediately began firing at security forces as they approached to arrest him, “reads the statement in part. It said another civilian was also killed in the ensuing gunfire between the militant man and the police. Sardheye was a prominent member of al Shabaab group based in Golis Mountain Range and he was among the group’s commanders during the Galgala conflict in mid-2010, according to the statement.

Somali festival celebrates East London and African ties

06 Nov – Source: Somaliland Press – 105 words

East London celebrated its ties with Somalia with a week-long festival of Somali arts and culture put on as part of Black History Month in October. The festival attracted high-profile Somalis including author Cabdalla Mansuur and poet and musician Mahamed Ibrahim Warsame, better known as Hadraawi. He said: “Through different artistic forms, the Somali Week Festival explores a variety of socio-cultural themes. “The festival is a platform to exchange ideas and to experience the richness of Somali history and celebrate hopes for the future. The theme for this year’s festival was courage, and the hopes of peace and development that we have for the region.”

REGIONAL MEDIA

Lift travel alerts on Kenya, US urged

06 Nov – Source: Daily Nation – 139 words

Tourist source markets in Europe and the US have been asked to lift travel advisories against Kenya following improved security in the country. Tourism Minister Dan Mwazo said travel bans, which were imposed by the West following security concerns across the Coast and al Shabaab threats, were hurting the sector. He said the government was engaging the United Kingdom and the US in efforts to have travel restrictions lifted so that Europeans and Americans could come to Kenya for holidays in large numbers. Mr Mwazo said the government had played a key role in addressing the al Shabaab threat in Somalia, which had caused insecurity in East Africa. He said efforts by the Kenya Defence Forces to capture al Shabaab strongholds such as Kismayo had helped contain piracy off Somalia coast. The government, he said, had also contained violent crimes in Coast.

Illegal Somali charcoal shipments continue

06 Nov – Source: Al Jazeera – 129 words

African Union peacekeepers who control one of Somalia’s most strategically important ports have allowed ships carrying charcoal to leave, violating a UN Security Council ban, a presidential order and Somalia’s own laws. Local witnesses and security sources said at least three freighters and 10 dhows departed from Kismayo on Monday, most carrying charcoal, under the watch of Kenyan soldiers who are serving with the peacekeeping force AMISOM. The Kenyan troops and fighters from Ras Kamboni – a local militia – seized Kismayo from al-Shabab fighters early in September. Al Shabaab profited from the charcoal trade that environmentalists say has done enormous damage to the fragile ecosystem.

Wolokoso: Withdrawing from Somalia is a hoax!

04 Nov- Source: Observer- 749 words

When officials announced last week that Uganda would withdraw from the peace-keeping mission in Somalia, among other regional efforts, in protest at a UN report accusing Kampala of supporting Congolese M23 rebels, the news sent shock-waves across the world. Uganda is seen as the country which almost single handedly restored relative security in volatile Mogadishu having entered Somalia in 2007, and threats to withdraw her estimated 5,000 soldiers had to be taken seriously. But diplomatic sources have told Wolokoso that the announcement made by the Prime Minister, Amama Mbabazi, was meant to pile pressure on the UN to withdraw the report implicating Uganda in the DR Congo conflict.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Al-Qaida Leader Urges Guerrilla Warfare in Somalia

06 Nov- Source: VOA- 147 words

Syria could turn into a new Somalia – UN’s Brahimi

06 Nov – Source: BBC – 129 words

The UN and Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, has said he fears the country could “turn into a new Somalia” unless the crisis does not end soon. In an interview with the newspaper al-Hayat, Mr Brahimi warned of a scenario in which warlords and militia filled a void left by a collapsed state.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991. Meanwhile, the UK said it would support offering President Bashar al-Assad a safe exit if it ended the bloodshed. Prime Minister David Cameron told al-Arabiya TV that the international community should consider anything “to get that man out of the country”. But he also said he would favour Mr Assad “facing the full force of international law and justice for what he has done”.

SOCIALMEDIA

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

“With the south completing its political process from transitional rule to permanent government, it is now time to extend the rule to the north and unroll the transitional Somaliland rule for good. It is time the international community backed the extending of the Somali authority over all its territorial boundaries. We must not focus our entire resources and time on the south alone otherwise the tribal divide will continue for decades to come.”

Time to end transition rule in north Somalia (Somaliland)

06 Nov – Source: Hiran Online – 2859 Words

The green, white, and red flag with a centered black star, inspired by Ethiopia’s regional flag of Gambela, has been flying in some parts of northern Somalia since the collapse of the central government more than two decades ago. Proclaiming itself as an independent state from the rest of the country and the successor state of British Somaliland protectorate, Somaliland has failed to gain international recognition after long 21 years of self-imposed isolations.