February 12, 2013 | Morning Headlines.
Street light installation project to kick off in Mogadishu
11 Feb- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 95 words
Benadir regional administration Monday said it is planning to install solar-powered streetlights after successfully installing the first phase of the project.
Regional administration secretary Abdifatah Hilowle Osman told reporters in Mogadishu that the project aims lighting Sodonka, Wadnaha roads and the Bakara main market.
Osman said the Norway funded project will give the city a major facelift and boost security in the city.
There has been massive rehabilitation of roads and other developmental projects in the war-ravaged city in recent months. In late last year solar-powered street lights were installed along the Maka Al-Mukarama road.
Key Headlines
- AMISOM Civilian components tour Baidoa Beletweyne and Kismayo (AMISOMHQ)
- Investigation finds that African Union troops in Somalia killed 7 civilians in self-defense (Washington Post/AP)
- Al Shabaab claims responsibility for deadly Galkayo blast (Radio Bar-kulan/)
- Somali PM condemns Galkayo bombing pledges national security mission continues undaunted (Mareeg Online)
- Suicide bomber kills four in central Somalia: police (Africa Review/AFP)
- UNWFP to aid famine-stricken people in Somalia ( PressTV)
- Government displays body of killer (Radio Kulmiye)
- Somaliland President Silanyo meets with UK Foreign Secretary William Hague in London (Somalilandpress)
PRESS STATEMENT
AMISOM Civilian components tour Baidoa, Beletweyne and Kismayo
10 Feb- Source: AMISOM,HQ- 256 words
The African Union Mission in Somalia’s civilian component this week made its initial foray into the sectors. A team comprising the Political, Civil Affairs and Gender units toured Baidoa, Beletweyne and Kismayo and held a series of assessments and engagements. The team met with political leaders, civil society and women groups from the regions as well as AMISOM personnel on the ground.
The Political Team met with the governors of the regions and discussed establishment and capacity building for the local administrations, disengagements of fighters, enhancement of security in support of the gains made by SNSF and AMISOM, reconciliation initiatives among other issues. On their part the Civil Affairs Unit met youth leaders, elders, women groups and civil society. The meetings centered on mobilization of the communities towards engaging on reconciliation, restoration of basic livelihood activities and local level outreach.
The Gender Unit conducted assessments of AMISOM troops during these visits. The assessments are a prelude to training of AMISOM personnel on Gender sensitization expected to be conducted later this month. The units will continue to visit these areas to further station officers to solidify the gains made by the AMISOM military component.
The visits are in line with the implementation of UN security council resolution 2073 (2012), AMISOM is expected to deploy additional 50 civilian personnel to all the sectors to continue working with the Federal government of Somalia in their efforts to build transparent and accountable public institutions at the national and local levels based on the principles of civic responsibility and good governance.
SOMALI MEDIA
Al Shabaab claims responsibility for deadly Galkayo blast
11 Feb- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Shabelle/Kulmiye/
Al Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility of the deadly Monday suicide bombing in central Somalia town of Galkayo that reportedly killed several people and injuring dozen others including the deputy police Chief Gen. Muhyadin Ahmed Muse.
In a statement posted on its new twitter account, the group said they carried out a “Martyrdom Operation” in Galkayo, targeting Senior Puntland officials.
The group claimed it has killed at least six Puntland officers and injured nine others in the attack.
On Monday morning a suicide bomber drove a car laden with explosives and struck at a convoy of police vehicles carrying the deputy police chief outside the central police station in Galkayo, killing six.
Somali PM condemns Galkayo bombing, pledges national security mission continues undaunted
11 Feb- Source: Mareeg Online/Jowhar Online- 140 words
Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon condemned the attack in Galkayo which resulted in a number of casualties.
The suicide bombing targeted senior police officials in the central town of Galkayo. Al Shabaab, the foreign-led, al Qaeda-allied group, claimed responsibility for the attack.
“While we work hard on national security and stabilisation to build a better future for Somalis, al Shabaab has once again demonstrated by this cowardly attack that it has nothing positive to offer our country,” the Prime Minister said. “It is a foreign agenda that has no place in Somalia. I send my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives today.”
Government displays body of killer
11 Feb- Source: Radio Kulmiye- 171 words
The national intelligence service agency displayed the body of a man whom they said was behind the killings of a government official gunned down Sunday night in Mogadishu’s Shibis district.
Mr. Khaliif Ahmed Ereg who is the chief of the spy agency in the capital, Mogadishu indentified the killer as Abdirizak Gelleh, who was reportedly a member of al Shabaab militant group.
Ereg has called on the public to work with the security officers to maintain the security of the capital.
Street light installation project to kick off in Mogadishu
11 Feb- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 95 words
Benadir regional administration Monday said it is planning to install solar-powered streetlights after successfully installing the first phase of the project.
Regional administration secretary Abdifatah Hilowle Osman told reporters in Mogadishu that the project aims lighting Sodonka, Wadnaha roads and the Bakara main market.
Osman said the Norway funded project will give the city a major facelift and boost security in the city.
There has been massive rehabilitation of roads and other developmental projects in the war-ravaged city in recent months. In late last year solar-powered street lights were installed along the Maka Al-Mukarama road.
Somaliland President Silanyo meets with UK Foreign Secretary William Hague in London
11 Feb- Source: Somalilandpress- 289 words
A delegation from the Republic of Somaliland led by President Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud Silanyo met with the UK Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon William Hague, at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London on 11 February. The President was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Omar, and the Minister of National Planning Dr. Sa’ad Shire.
President Silanyo took the opportunity to brief the Foreign Secretary about the present security situation in Somaliland, highlighting both the historic record of peace and stability that the country has enjoyed for over 21 years as well as the specific measures his administration has taken to consolidate and expand on these achievements.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Suicide bomber kills four in central Somalia: police
11 Feb- Source: Africa Review/AFP- 273 words
At least four people were killed Monday when a suicide bomber blew himself up in his car in an attack aimed at a senior police officer in Somalia’s central Galkayo region, police said.
“There are at least five people dead, including the bomber,” said Mohamed Abdullahi, a police officer in the town, which straddles the border between the northern breakaway state of Puntland and the self-proclaimed region of Galmudug.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
UNWFP to aid famine-stricken people in Somalia
11 Feb- Source: PressTV- 271 words
The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has set plans to feed 1.6 million people in Somalia, who are in a dire need of food, Press TV reports.
The UN world food body said more than one million of these people are in a state of crisis, living in areas formerly controlled by the Somali al Shabaab fighters.
The WFP said it was optimistic of commencing its aid programs in the town of Kismayo, by shipping in aid through the port of Kismayo after many years.
Investigation finds that African Union troops in Somalia killed 7 civilians in self-defense
11 Feb- Source: Washington Post/AP- 119 words
A joint Somali-African Union investigation into a case of civilian casualties found that African Union troops killed seven civilians, including five children.
The investigation, though, found that the troops acted within internationally accepted rules of engagement during the mid-January incident. It said that the al Qaeda-linked group, al Shabab, attacked an African Union patrol near a village, and that the soldiers defended themselves appropriately.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“There is much to celebrate, genuine hope, and the good news is finally outweighing the bad. But Somalia continues to be a complicated country in a complicated region and it may be some time before Mogadishu migrates from Foreign Policy’s index to Lonely Planet’s “Best in Travel.” Unless of course you’re Andy and Nigel, that is.”
All inclusive sunny Somalia
11 Feb- Source: The Star-389 Words
Don’t try this at home – or rather, please don’t leave home to try this.
The U.K.’s Daily Mail published a story this weekend about cousins Andy Drury, 47, and Nigel Green, 50, who are “disaster tourists.”
Forget such old school amenities like beachfront, pool, WiFi in your hotel room, these guys are seeking war zones, dictatorships or natural disasters. Their vacations have included Afghanistan, Chechnya, Sudan, and recently, a 48-hour weekend in Mogadishu, or as they call it, “The Mog.”
The men may have benefited from first reading the 2006 New York Times story by Jeffrey Gettleman about the “Black Hawk Down” lady and her “tourist” site, before claiming they discovered a piece of the downed Black Hawk from the disastrous 1993 U.S. mission.