July 18, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

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Somalia Federal Government, AMISOM and Troop Contributing Countries Begin a three-day Information Sharing Meeting

17 Jul- Source: AMISOM- 313 words

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in collaboration with its partners has today started a meeting on information sharing in Mombasa, Kenya. The objective of the meeting is to set in motion and sustain a process of regular exchange of information and intelligence between AMISOM, the Somali security agencies and all relevant regional and continental structures.
The three-day meeting will be attended by the Somali National Security Agencies (Army, Police and National Intelligence Agency); the troops and police contributing countries; representatives from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Mali, Chad, IGAD, the African Union , the African Center for the Research and Study on Terrorism (ACRST) and the Center for Intelligence and Security Services in Africa (CISSA).

Speaking during the opening ceremony, the AU Special Representative for Somalia-Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif reminded the participants that the acts perpetrated by terrorists have no boundaries. Therefore the fight against terrorism must be well coordinated.

Key Headlines

Somalia is on track for success at Brussels Prime Minister says (Office of the Prime Minister)
Mogadishu port busy with livestock for export (Radio Ergo)
Puntland court sentences 11 people to death ( Radio Bar-kulan)
Somalia: Mortar shells hit Mogadishu’s Digfer Hospital ( Garowe Online)
New UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator arrives in Somaliland (Somaliland Informer)
Kenya in talks to send 600000 refugees home (Daily Nation)
Al Shabaab Amniyat branch tasked with protecting Godane (Sabahi online)
Exclusive-Eritrea pays warlord to influence Somalia -U.N. experts (Reuters)

PRESS STATEMENT

Somalia Federal Government, AMISOM and Troop Contributing Countries Begin a three-day Information Sharing Meeting

17 Jul- Source: AMISOM- 313 words

“After suffering major setbacks, al Shabaab has now adopted the method of asymmetric warfare. The right way to deal with this new threat is the mastering of information in terms of intelligence gathering. And I am confident that this meeting will help you in identifying the proper mechanisms for information gathering and information sharing,” said Ambassador Annadif.

The meeting which is a platform for information exchange, is expected to produce the following results: (i) a better appreciation of the current situation in Somalia, a country facing serious security challenges linked to terrorism, organized crimes and the proliferation of weapons; (ii) the strengthening of the Mission’s relevant structures as well as those in the region to exchange information and intelligence; (iii) the elaboration of modalities for enhanced cooperation among all actors, including production of alerts, briefs and assessments on the prevailing situation; and (iv) the identification of practical steps to enhance the capacity of the National Security and Intelligence Agency (NISA), Somalia National Police (SNP) and Somalia National Army (SNA) to collect, analyze and respond to threats.

Somalia is on track for success at Brussels, Prime Minister says

17 Jul- Source: Office of the Prime Minister- 233 words
His Excellency Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon today congratulated the New Deal High Level Task Force (HLTF) for the “tremendous work” undertaken in preparation for the forthcoming international conference on Somalia at Brussels.
After listening to reports from the HLTF, the Prime Minister congratulated the team for the progress it had made and reiterated the government’s full commitment to the New Deal for Somalia Conference in Brussels, set for 16 September.
“I congratulate you for the tremendous work you have done in a short period of time. It’s a formidable challenge,” the Prime Minister said. “We will be going to Brussels with our own plan for development and we expect the full support of the international community, so that Somalia can bounce back from the huge destruction of the civil war.”
The Prime Minister set out his government’s long-term development plan leading to the end of its term in 2016 and beyond. He said the New Deal represented a genuine opportunity for Somalia to present its needs and priorities to the world.
“We see it as an important opportunity for the international community to provide support based on our identified needs and priorities,” the Prime Minister said. “With the full consultation of our people we are in the process of fully identifying those priorities and we will have one plan in place.”

SOMALI MEDIA

Puntland court sentences 11 people to death

17 Jul- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Halgan Online-174 words

Six people charged with the murder of Sheikh Abdikadir Nur Farah and some other officials who have been shot dead in Garowe from 2010 to 2013, were today sentenced to death after Puntland’s court of appeal found them guilty. In an interview, chief of Puntland military court Abdikarin Hassan Firdhiye told Bar-kulan that the military’s court of appeal has sentenced six perpetrator of Sheikh Abdikadir killing. The court prosecutor said the 2 of the 6 who were captured are Abdirahman Hussein Jama Bille and Abdillahi Hussein Ahmed Ayne while the other 4 people are being actively pursued.

Somalia: Mortar shells hit Mogadishu’s Digfer Hospital

17 Jul- Source: Garowe Online- 256 words

Mortar shells hit Mogadishu’s Digfer Hospital as mortars were fired from nearby built up areaon Tuesday night. No one was killed or injured by the mortar attack but independent sources in Mogadishu confirmed Garowe Online that mortar shells fell on the hospital left some parts of the hospital walls wrecked. Digfer General Hospital, a public facility and funded by Turkish government has been under construction for the last four months and looks forward to become operational in the coming two months. it was one of the biggest public hospitals in Mogadishu but it has not been used for more than a decade and once housed internationally displaced families.

Mogadishu port busy with livestock for export

17 Jul- Source: Radio Ergo- 178 words

Mogadishu’s main port has seen an upsurge in activity as huge numbers of camels, goats and sheep are processed for export to Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Gulf. The animals are kept at the Jazeera pre-export livestock facility, south of the city, for veterinary health screening and treatment ahead of export. Veterinarian at the centre, Yusuf Ali Raage, said 16,000 goats and sheep were currently waiting to be loaded onto a Saudi-bound cargo ship, and a further 3,500 head of camels were waiting for another vessel to dock. Many pastoralists are hoping to capitalize on the increased demand for meat in Arabian markets in the month of Ramadan. They have brought their animals to the market for sale from far and wide. Livestock-rearing and sale is the backbone of the country’s economy. Herds are just recovering from the effects of the prolonged droughts of 2010-2012. Yusuf Ali Raage said animals coming from regions hit hard by the recent drought. Some 70,000 animals are expected to pass through the Jazeera centre ahead of the coming Hajj period.

New UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator arrives in Somaliland

17 Jul- Source: Somaliland Informer- 217 words

The New United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) for Somalia and Somaliland, Philippe Lazzarini has paid his first official visit to Hargeisa on Tuesday since he took office in April. According to a press Release stated that Philippe will hold talks with Somaliland president Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo, National Planning Minister, Foreign Minister, Commerce and International Investment Minister and Interior Minister.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Kenya in talks to send 600,000 refugees home

17 Jul- Source: Daily Nation- 305 words
The Cabinet has approved the return of more than 600,000 refugees to their countries from January next year. The six months before the exercise will be sufficient time to prepare for the relocations, according to Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia. “We are preparing and negotiating with countries where the refugees come from before we begin the official relocation. Kenya has to be freed of the 600,000 refugees from next year,” said Mr Kimemia.

Al Shabaab Amniyat branch tasked with protecting Godane

17 Jul- Source: Sabahi online- 731 words

Al Shabaab’s elite Amniyat branch may be the last force keeping the militant group’s leader Ahmed Abdi Godane in power as the organisation continues to suffer territorial losses and rival commanders press on in their dissent against his rule, observers say. Amniyat members are highly trained and specialised operatives whose roles vary from gathering intelligence to carrying out assassinations and bombing missions.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Exclusive-Eritrea pays warlord to influence Somalia -U.N. experts

17 Jul- Source: Reuters- 707 words

Eritrea is undermining stability in conflict-ravaged Somalia by paying political agents and a warlord linked to Islamist militants to influence the Mogadishu government, U.N. sanctions experts said in a confidential report. The Eritrean government has long denied playing any negative role in Somalia, saying it has no links to Islamist al Shabaab militants fighting to overthrow the Somali government. It says the U.N. sanctions imposed on it in 2009 for supporting al Shabaab were based on lies and has called for the sanctions to be lifted.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“If one tries to summarize the substance of former UN coordinator’s interview, the federal government should forget Somaliland and Jubbaland and look for imaginary or failure tasks like the preparation of political elections and constitutional referendum in a fragmented society or concentration on Mogadishu and surrounding areas. This kind of suggestion is a trap for another”

Former UN coordinator came down hard on the Somali Federal Government

17 July- Source: Hiiraan Online-1577 Words

In an interview (Somalia: lights and Shadows) published Saturday 22, 2013 in the Kenya Daily Nation, Mr. Matt Bryden, former coordinator of UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, came down hard on the federal government of Somalia (FGS). He lambasted the federal government for “delusional” performance, supported the unconstitutional ‘Jubbaland’ regional state announced in Kismaio with the blessing of Kenya Government, and pitched for the “status quo” of the northwestern regions of Somalia renamed “Somaliland.” He attributed the failure of the federal government to not meeting the expectations raised by what he described an ambitious six pillar program- the political platform of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The platform mirrors the “New Deal” strategy that promotes nationally owned plan for peacebuilding and statebuiling.