January 9, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has invited Somali refugees back home

08 Jan- Source: Hiiraan Online- 290 words

A press released on Tuesday, the Somalia government stated that it is ready to bring back it’s citizens with the increasing stability in the country.
Somalia has been affected a civil war that last over 20 years. The long years of fighting and instability in the war torn state forced many families, where 70% of the population is women and children, to flee across to neighbouring Kenya, Ethiopia and further abroad.
Since then, about half a million Somalis currently live in and around Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world.

Key Headlines

High level delegation from AU arrives in Mogadishu (Radio Mogadishu/Universal SNTV)
Training ex-Islamist fighters employing returnees top Somali leader UN talks (Shabeelle Media )
Joint security meeting held in Beledweyne (Radio Bar-kulan)
Somali leader calls for mutual cooperation within the government (Shabelle)
Somalia: New displacement and worsening humanitarian and protection crisis for IDPs ( Trust.org)
Ahlu Sunna appeals to gov’t aid agencies for Herale health centre (Radio Bar-kulan)
Trade minister of the Somali federal government goes to India (Universal TV)
Kuwaiti Amir gets letter from Somali President regarding bilateral relations (Kuwait News Agency )
Al-Shabaab suspected admits being in Kenya illegally (Coastweek/Xinhua)
French US forces detain 12 suspected Somali pirates (EU Business)

SOMALI MEDIA

High level delegation from AU arrives in Mogadishu

08 Jan- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Universal SNTV 128 word

A high level delegation from the African Union headed by Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia, Ambassador Mohamed Annadif arrived in Mogadishu on Tuesday receiving a warm welcome at Mogadishu international airport by officials of the Somali federal government and AMISOM.
Ambassador Annadif, the new Special Representative of the African Union Commission and his entourage moved to the presidential palace where he had talks with president of the Somali Federal Government, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has invited Somali refugees back home

08 Jan- Source: Hiiraan Online- 290 words

In a press statement released on Tuesday, the Somalia government stated that it is ready to bring back it’s citizens thanks the increasing stability in the country. The long years of fighting and instability in the war torn state forced many families, where 70% of the population is women and children, to flee across to neighbouring Kenya, Ethiopia and further abroad.

Training ex-Islamist fighters, employing returnees top Somali leader, UN talks

08 Jan – Source: Shabeelle Media – 189 words

The president of the Federal Government has held a special meeting with the UN envoy to Somalia Augustine Mahiga at Villa Somalia in Mogadishu.
Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shidon also attended the meeting.

Mahiga addressed the media after the meeting, saying he discussed the president on the relocation of UN agencies, training for youths who abandoned Al-Shabab and creating employment for Somalis who returned to the country from abroad.
The UN envoy said they will start working on these issues in the coming days.
The president did not speak to the media about the meeting he held with the UN special envoy.

Joint security meeting held in Beledweyne

08 Jan- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 186 words

A security meeting bringing together AMISOM officials, local elders and regional authorities in Hiran region has been held in central Somali town of Beledweyne to discuss ways forward in strengthening security and fostering social interactions among local communities in the region.
The meeting at the area police station was attended by top AMISOM officials in the area and regional administrators as well as local elders.
Speaking at the meeting, AMISOM regional force commander Col. Osman Dubad appealed to the local elders to help them maintain security and prevent illegal roadblocks in the region.

Somali leader calls for mutual cooperation within the government

08 Jan- Source: Shabelle- 159 words

Hassan Shiekh Mohamud, president of the Somali federal republic has called on Somali law makers to cooperate with the executive authorities of the nation after he gave closing address to the Mps in Mogadishu before they went into their vacation after a long working period since the Somali house was selected last year.

Ahlu Sunna appeals to gov’t, aid agencies for Herale health centre

08 Jan- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 129 words

Ahlu Sunna group has appealed to the government and aid agencies to set up a health facility in Herale district, Galgadud region.
Omar Sheikh Abdikadir, chairman of the group’s top decision-making organ, urged the government to help locals get access to healthcare by setting up a health facility in the district to respond to their growing needs.
He said the district has no hospitals where locals can seek treatment for their illness, adding expectant mothers are the worst-hit members of the society since they deliver at their homes.

Trade minister of the Somali federal government goes to India

08 Jan- Source: Radio Mogadishu/SONNA/Jowhar Online/RBC/Universal TV- 123 words

Trade minister of the Somali Federal Government, Mohamud Ahmed Hassan, together with officials from Somali business associations have gone to India after receiving an official invitation from Indian government.

The minister of the trade affairs of the Somali federal government, H.E. Mohamud Ahmed Hassan told the state media that his delegation is heading to Indian country after he received an invitation and would have meeting with officials of Indian industries and other marketers there.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Kuwaiti Amir gets letter from Somali President regarding bilateral relations

08 Jan- Source: Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)- 59 words

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah met here today at Sief Palace with Minister of State in Sudan Farah Abdilqader Sheikh Muhammad.
The minister handed HH the Amir a written message from Somali president Hassan Sheikh Muhammad, dealing with boosting bilateral relations.
Kuwait’s Deputy Minister for Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah al-Sabah attended the meeting.

Al-Shabaab suspected admits being in Kenya illegally

08 Jan- Source: Source: Coastweek/Xinhua-499 words

An Al-Shabaab suspect was arraigned before a Kenyan court on Monday charged with failing to register as a citizen or refugee but residing inside a refugee camp in Dadaab refugee complex without proper documents.

The suspect, Ibrahim Mohamed Khan was also found to have crossed the border from Jilib in Somalia by sneaking out without reporting his departure to the nearest immigration office.
The suspect accepted all charges leveled against him.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

French, US forces detain 12 suspected Somali pirates

08 Jan- Source: EU Business-165 words

French and US warships on patrol off the Somali coast combined to detain 12 suspected pirates after a merchant vessel reported coming under attack at the weekend, a statement said Tuesday.

NATO and the EU’s Atalanta anti-piracy taskforce said the vessel issued a distress call after it was attacked by a boat carrying six suspected pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades.

Somalia: New displacement and worsening humanitarian and protection crisis for IDPs

08 Jan- Source: trust.org/296 words

Two decades of conflict and Somalia’s most severe drought in 60 years have led to the United Nations (UN) declaring famine in parts of southern Somalia. In September, four million people – more than half the country’s population – were in urgent need of food aid and other assistance, and it was feared that some 750,000 people could starve if the funding and security situation did not improve. By November, the short rainy season had begun but the food security of IDPs was expected to remain extremely poor for the remainder of the year.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“My interviews with six native Kenyans who had joined al Shabaab and then deserted confirmed the complicated relationship among ideology, economics, and recruitment. Two of the men claimed that they had joined for purely ideological purposes, having been convinced by either Rogo or Ali; three claimed that they joined for mainly financial reasons; one said he was kidnapped.”

Jihad Comes to Kenya: Interview with a Militant

08 Jan- Source: Foreign Policy-2623 Words

In late October 2011, Elgiva Bwire Oliacha, a member of the militant group al Shabaab, killed six and injured dozens more in central Nairobi. The attack was significant not only because it was part of a sudden upswing in jihadist terrorism in Kenya but also because Oliacha is a native Muslim Kenyan. Until recently, experts assumed that al Shabaab’s recruitment in Kenya was limited to the country’s Somali minority, which numbers roughly a million people. But Oliacha’s assault and others like it have forced a reassessment of the nature of militancy in Kenya.