September 23, 2013 | Daily Monitoring Report.
Somali Islamist militants threaten to kill Kenya hostages
23 Sept – Source: Reuters/Sky News – 118 words
Somali Islamist group al Shabaab said hostages held by militants holed up in a Nairobi shopping mall would be killed if force was used, according to an audio statement carried by a website linked to the group.
“Israelis and Kenyan forces have tried to enter Westgate (mall) by force but they could not, the mujahideen (fighters) will kill the hostages if the enemies use force,” Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, al Shabaab’s spokesman said in clip posted on www.somalimemo.net.
Israeli advisers are helping Kenya with strategy to end the siege that began on Saturday, an Israeli security force said. There has been sporadic bursts of gunfire and blasts from the mall.
Key Headlines
- Prof Jawari condoles death of Somali lawmaker assassinated in Mogadishu (Radio Dalsan)
- Prime Minister calls on Barclays CEO to rethink decision on money transfer accounts and prevent “immense and unnecessary harm to Somalia” (Office of the Prime Minister)
- Somali Islamist militants threaten to kill Kenya hostages (Reuters/Sky News)
- Gunmen attack Kismayo police station commander’s house (Kismaayo Online/Shabelle/Hiiraan Online)
- Kenya shopping mall siege enters third day (Financial Times)
- Al Shabaab vacated from Buleberde and Jalalaqsi districts in Hiiran region (Radio Mustaqbal)
- US and Britain condemn Westgate attack (Bar-kulan)
- Westgate Shopping Mall update: Four soldiers injured in exchange of fire in (Standard Media)
- Commercial boat capsizes off between UAE and Oman (Garowe Online/Hiiraan Online)
- Somalia’s Shabaab ‘dangerous when cornered’ (News24/AFP)
- Al Shabaab attackers have no link to Islam clergymen say (Standard Media)
- BBC on patrol with the Somali troops (BBC)
- Kenya siege shows gravity of Somalia threat: Kerry (Capital News/AFP)
PRESS STATEMENT
Prime Minister calls on Barclays CEO to rethink decision on money transfer accounts and prevent “immense and unnecessary harm to Somalia”
23 Sept – Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 549 word
Dear Mr Jenkins,
The decision by Barclays to close down money transfer accounts on 30 Septemberwill cause immense and unnecessary harm to Somalia. It will directly affect millions of entirely innocent Somalis for whom remittances from overseas are absolutely vital. This is how they feed their families, clothe their children and treat their illnesses. This is what keeps them alive. If the accounts closure goes ahead, Barclays will be condemning millions of Somalis to terrible poverty. Somali lives may even be lost as a result.
Money transfers into Somalia stand at more than $1bn a year. They dwarf the total sum of foreign aid coming into the country. These are not only remittances from friends and family. They are also transfers from UN agencies, international charities and many NGOs. Dahabshiil, the largest Somali money transfer company, reports that 95 per cent of the funding for humanitarian projects is transferred through its network. In other words, at a stroke the closure of these accounts will halt the lifeblood of the Somali economy. As Prime Minister David Cameron said at the Somalia Conference in London on 7 May this year, “Somalis make a great contribution to our country here in the UK, and their remittances play a valuable role in Somalia.”
The Barclays decision is extraordinarily unpopular in Somalia. It also directly undermines British policy towards Somalia. Apart from the enormous damage it will cause our country, it will also affect Britain’s reputation and interests as a valued partner.
The Federal Government of Somalia entirely understands Barclays’ legitimate concerns with regards to compliance and illegal activity, such as money-laundering and terrorism. The government understands only too well the costs of terrorism and is deeply engaged in the fight against it. However, closing these money transfer accounts will make no difference to such activity. Indeed, rather than countering terrorist activity, the move will merely play into the hands of groups like Al Shabaab by damaging Somali economic activity and forcing unemployed youth into their arms. The tragedy in Nairobi’s Westgate mall is terrible evidence of this.
Somalia money transfer companies are in the process of tightening their systems, enhancing transparency, improving monitoring and controls and working towards international best practice. They work closely with the industry regulator and HM Revenue and Customs to ensure their operations are fully compliant. The companies will come up with a solution acceptable to all sides if they are given a realistic deadline.
I hope Barclays will be able to agree to meet the industry, as the Somali Money Transfer Association has repeatedly requested. We are often advised by the international community to resolve our differences around the negotiating table. I sincerely hope Barclays will adopt such an approach to discuss the concerns of both sides.
I am hopeful that you will not wish to go ahead with an unecessary decision that is profoundly damaging to innocent Somalis who have suffered far too much for far too long. The solution is not to punish innocent millions, but to crack down on the guilty few. It is not too late to extend the deadline. I am grateful to you for your urgent consideration of this matter, I appeal to you to review the decision and I thank you whole-heartedly for your efforts to resolve this crisis.
Yours sincerely,
SOMALI MEDIA
Gunmen attack Kismayo police station commander’s house
23 Sept – Source: Kismaayo Online/Shabelle/Hiiraan Online – 104 words
Unknown gunmen attacked Sunday night the house of Kismayo police station commander with grenades and automatic weapons. The armed men attacked the house of Mohamed Bulle Sugow in Farjanno neighborhood, Sugow told Hiiran Online.
The wall of the house was damaged in the attack. However no casualty occurred. The attackers have reportedly fled the area immediately after the attack. Sugow accused the al Shabaab militant group of being behind the attack.
The incident comes a day after when a grenade was thrown into the house of a local politician. A young woman was injured in the attack.
Prof Jawari condoles death of Somali lawmaker assassinated in Mogadishu
23 Sept – Source: Radio Dalsan – 138 words
The Speaker of Somali federal parliament Mohamed Osman Jawari has sent his condolences to the family and the members of the parliament following the assassination of Somali lawmaker in Mogadishu. “I am very shocked that I was informed the death of Somali lawmaker Hussein Abdisalam Mohamed who was assassinated in Mogadishu,” Speaker Jawari said in a statement.
The Speaker said the parliament sitting was postponed on Monday due to the funeral of the lawmaker killed in Mogadishu on Sunday afternoon. Lawmaker Hussein Abdisalam Mohamed was shot by two men armed with pistols at Wadajir district.
Parliament director Abdullahi Iyow said the lawmaker was attacked by gunmen who were driving a vehicle. He said the gunmen blocked the road while the car of late MP Hussein Abdisalam was passing the way and heading his home.
Al Shabaab vacated from Buleberde and Jalalaqsi districts in Hiiraan region
23 Sept – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 162 words
Reports from Hiiraan region in the central of Somalia say that the Somali militants of al Shabaab vacated Buleberde and Jalalaqsi districts in Hiiran region where they controlled over 3 years.
Residents in both districts told Mustaqbal radio they could see al Shabaab fighters carrying their weapons vacating the districts. The residents didn’t specify where the militants went, but reports indicate that they heading to Mahas and Ceelbuur areas in Hiiraan region.
Other reports from Beledweyne town, center of Hiiraan region also say that government troops backed by AMISOM particularly Djiboutian troops have begun their military movements and their plan is said to be heading to areas controlled by al Shabaab fighters. Somali president Hassan Sheik Mohamed recently visited Beledweyne town in Hiiraan region and announced war against Shabaab in the region.
US and Britain condemn Westgate attack
22 Sept – Source: Bar-kulan – 119 words
US and Britain have condemned in the strongest terms the Westgate Mall which unidentified gunmen raidedon Saturday morning leaving at least 59 killed, while more than 175 have been wounded.
In a statement issued from US and Britain state houses was expressed how the two western powers are sad about the Westgate incident on Saturday.
The statement further added that the two governments are sending condolence to the families and friends of the victims. Reports say that the rescue operations are still underway.
At least 59 people have been killed in the attacks and 175 injured, Kenya’s interior cabinet secretary, Joseph Lenku, said Sunday. Among the wounded and injured are several foreigners and family members of Kenya’s president.
PMPF distributes UAE food aid to vulnerable communities in Puntland
22 Sept – Source: Garowe Online – 99 words
The Puntland Maritime Police Forces (PMPF) facilitated the distribution of food aid donated by the United Arab Emirates to vulnerable communities including orphan families and mentally handicapped people on Sunday, Garowe Online reports.
The food distribution exercise targeted mental health hospitals, schools for the blind and other vulnerable families in Bossaso and Qardo towns of Puntland region in northern Somalia.
Speaking on an occasion intended for the distribution of food aid, Osman Abdi Mohamed, PMPF humanitarian coordinator said the supplies was donation from his majesty the king of United Arab Emirate H.E Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
One killed over land dispute in Kismayo
22 Sept – Source: Kismaayo Online – 96 words
A man was on Sunday shot dead in Kismayo over a land dispute with another man. The victim, Jama Ali Waash was shot on the head several times by a man who they were in dispute with over the ownership of a piece of land in the outskirts of the town.
The assailant whose name is not yet known has fled after committing the crime, according to our correspondent. Security forces are looking for him. Deadly land dispute has become a commonplace in Kismayo for the last several years.
Fire destroys Godinlabe health centre
22 Sept – Source: Radio Ergo – 254 words
Residents in Godinlabe in Galgadud have no access to health care after a fire on 3 September burnt down the town’s only clinic. Osman Diriye Farah, the clinic director, said the clinic had been serving more than 20 villages around Godinlabe. “The situation is getting worse as we are receiving reports indicating an outbreak of measles in the rural areas, but there is nothing we can do,” he said.
The clinic used to see on average 40 outpatients a day. Officials said the cause of the fire was a gas cooker in the building. Medicines in storage were destroyed in the fire. “Patients must now go all the way to Adado town which is 30km away,” Farah told Radio Ergo’s local reporter.
“At least nine women used to give birth at our hospital daily,” he added, saying these women might now have to use unprofessional traditional midwives. Mohamud Warsame walked all the way to Adado to get medical treatment. He said most of the sick, especially the elderly and women and children, were unable to make the long trek.
The district chief, Abdiyare Moalim Qase, urged the government and aid organizations to help residents in the rebuilding of the clinic. “This was the only health centre we had and the people’s health depends on it,” he told Radio Ergo. The hospital was built in 2012 with funds from the diaspora. It used to provide free health services to residents.
Commercial boat capsizes off between UAE and Oman
22 Sept – Source: Garowe Online/Hiiraan Online – 100 words
Tajudin Baba, a commercial boat carrying business consignment for Somalia’s Puntland traders capsized off the coast between UAE and Oman on Saturday, Garowe Online reports.
According to businessmen in Dubai who spoke to Garowe Online, the boat-weighting 1200 Ton had been on its way to the port of Bossaso in North-East Somalia when it was overturned by heavy winds and several large waves.
The commercial vessel which was loaded with food items, vehicles, construction equipments and other commodities left the port of Shariqa in UAE on 18 September. However it was reported that all crew members had survived the accident.
Somaliland FM Behi: “We were not Represented in Brussels Conference”
21 Sept – Source: Somaliland Sun – 90 words
The International Community is fully aware of the Distinct Difference Between the two neigbouring countries of Somalia and Somaliland, said Somaliland minister of foreign affairs Mohamed Behi Yonis during a press briefing at the Egal International VIP lounge upon return from a lengthily working visit in the UAE, UK and Ethiopia where he held high level discussions with various authorities as well as with senior officials of Genel Energy the Anglo Turkish Company with oil concessions in the country it withdrew its expatriate staff from recently.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenya siege shows gravity of Somalia threat: Kerry
23 Sept – Source: Capital News/AFP – 184 words
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that the deadly mall siege in Kenya had highlighted the gravity of the threat posed by Somali militants. Kerry said he had spoken with Somalia’s foreign minister and ambassador to Washington earlier in the day about the attack on a Nairobi shopping mall.
“It represents the seriousness and the breadth of the challenge we face with ruthless and completely reckless terrorists,” Kerry told reporters as he started a meeting in New York with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy. “It’s an enormous offense against everybody’s sense of right and wrong.”
Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab fighters have claimed responsibility for the attack on the Nairobi mall in which at least 68 people have been killed and about 200 wounded.
Westgate Shopping Mall update: Four soldiers injured in exchange of fire in
23 Sept – Source: Standard Media – 126 words
Kenya’s rescue efforts to free hostages still holed up inside the ill-fated Westgate shopping Mall entered third day amid heavy gunfire Monday morning which left four Kenyan Defence forces officers slightly injured.
It was not immediately clear if any of the terrorists was a casualty but heavy gunfire between Kenyas Defence Forces and the attackers were heard Monday morning in what the Kenyan military spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna called final push to neutralise the terrorists.
Colonel Oguna confirmed four Kenyan soldiers were slightly injured in the exchange of fire and were receiving treatment and the rest were feeling even more determined to win against the terrorists. “We have secured most of the floors in the building in this delicate operation,” Oguna told  The Standard Digital.
Q&A: Al-Shabab justifies Nairobi attack
23 Sept – Source: Aljazeera – 841 words
Al Shabaab – the al Qaeda-linked Somali Islamist rebel group – has claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. The attack launched on Saturday on the upscale Westgate shopping mall has killed at least 68 people and wounded more than 150 others. Heavy gunfire continued to ring out early Monday.
Al Jazeera’s Hamza Mohamed interviewed al Shabaab’s spokesman for military operations, Sheikh Abulaziz Abu Muscab, as the siege at the mall entered it’s third day. Abulaziz spoke about why the group attacked Nairobi now. He also provided insight into al Shabaab’s relations with the Mombasa Republican Council, a group the Kenyan government designated as a terrorist organisation.
Al Shabaab squad from Kisauni returns home
23 Sept – Source: Star News – 168 words
Five Kenyan youth from Mombasa were on Saturday arrested on their way to join the al Shabaab in Somalia. Multiple police sources said the five, who come from Kisauni and Majengo, were arrested in Kismayo by Somalia authorities and handed over to Kenya security agencies in Garissa town.
A family member of one of the suspects said he disappeared two weeks ago after he was “brainwashed” and recruited into al Shabaab The relative said he had been attending prayers at the Masjid Musa mosque in Majengo. The mosque is linked with slain Muslim cleric Sheikh Aboud Rogo.
“We have been informed that he was among the five arrested and currently held at Garissa prison. We are making arrangements to travel and see him. He started attending prayers at the mosque two months ago with his colleagues,” he said. Further reports indicate the family had informed a human rights group in Mombasa about the disappearance but were directed to report to security agencies.
Al Shabaab back on Twitter
22 Sept – Source: Standard Media – 92 words
Hours after Twitter suspended an account that was used by al Shabaab to claim responsibility for the Westgate attack, the group has created another account which it is using to issue further threats and claims.
The account @HSM_PressOffice updated in fluent English characteristic of previous accounts shut down by Twitter claims that the attackers have refused attempts by government of Kenya officials to negotiate with gunmen who have kept the mall under siege since Saturday afternoon.
Another handle @HSM_PRESS2 gives updates of what it claims to be live tweets from within Westgate.
Oman plays key role in solving piracy problem
21 Sept – Source: Gulf News – 550 words
Piracy in the Indian ocean is on the wane but issues on land in Somalia need to be resolved to completely eradicate the problem and create safe passage for a large part of the world’s maritime traffic that passes through the trade route of the Gulf of Aden, according to a senior Indian naval officer.
Praising Oman’s role during an interaction with media on board the guided missile destroyer, INS Mysore, Rear Admiral Anil Kumar Chawla, Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet of the Indian Navy, said: “Oman is playing a key role in bringing stability in Somalia.”
He also pointed out that Oman’s ports, especially Salalah in the south of the Sultanate, was very handy for the Indian naval vessels dealing with the problem of piracy in the area. “Like naval forces of the other countries in the world, the Indian Navy also provides safe passage to merchant ships in in the Gulf of Aden by escorting ships from the start to the end point of a corridor considered risky,” he pointed out.
Al Shabaab attackers have no link to Islam, clergymen say
22 Sept – Source: Standard Media – 188 words
Muslim leaders have strongly condemned the terror attack by the al Shabaab, terming them barbaric terrorists who do not represent the religion or its faithful. Leaders of major Muslim organisations said the Somali-based militia was trying to spark sectarian conflict between Kenyans of different faiths by claiming they are acting on behalf of Muslims and Islam.
Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims Adan Wachu said the wanton and indiscrimate killings of innocent men, women and children goes against all Islamic teachings and tenets.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Kenya shopping mall siege enters third day
23 Sept – Source: Financial Times – 554 Words
Nairobi woke up to the sounds of explosions and repeated gunfire on Monday, as a terrorist hostage siege at an upmarket shopping mall in the Kenyan capital stretched into a third day.
Gunfire broke out as dawn approached followed by several explosions hours after Kenyan soldiers launched a night-time rescue operation to end the terrorist takeover of the Westgate shopping mall from which 68 bodies have already been recovered.
The terrorist crisis is the worst to hit Kenya, east Africa’s largest economy, in 15 years. Al Qaeda-affiliated militants al-Shabaab in Somalia appeared to claim responsibility for the attack. Kenya sent troops into the neighbouring country two years ago as part of a UN-backed mission to resist al Shabaab.
Al Shabaab on Monday threatened to kill the hostages, blaming Kenya for any loss of life. “The mujahideen will kill the hostages if the enemies use force,” the group said in a statement posted on an Islamic website which in the past has carried messages from the organisation.
The Kenyan Defence Force said overnight it had got “most of the hostages out” and that it controlled “most parts of the building” but it was impossible to verify the claim.
Somalia’s Shabaab ‘dangerous when cornered’
23 Sept – Source: News24/AFP – 663 words
The massacre at a Kenyan shopping mall by Somalia’s Shabaab insurgents has shown the still potent threat of the al Qaeda-linked group even as fighters struggle at home, analysts say.
The attack, which follows bloody strikes by al Shabaab suicide commandos earlier this year, including against a United Nations base in the Somali capital Mogadishu, comes in spite of the group losing a string of key towns in Somalia to African Union troops and bitter infighting.
Dramatic attacks such as Saturday’s brutal siege in Nairobi’s Westgate shopping centre can be seen as an attempt to bolster their struggling reputation and loss of territory at home, experts say.
BBC on patrol with the Somali troops
23 Sept – Source: BBC – 01:32 mins
A year ago the town of Kismayo in Somalia was under the control of insurgents al Shabaab. African troops have now regained control of the area from the militant group – but there are still frequent attacks. The BBC’s Mark Doyle spent time on armoured patrol with African Union peacekeepers in Kismayo to find out what life is like on the streets of the town.
Kenya mall crisis: Hostages not yet released
23 Sept – Source: AP – 605 Words
Hostages being held by al-Qaida-linked terrorists in a Nairobi mall have not been released despite an earlier statement from the military that “most” had been rescued, a person connected to the situation told The Associated Press on Monday.
Military helicopters circled over the mall at daybreak, when about five minutes of sustained gunfire broke out inside the Westgate mall, a clear indication that at least one of the estimated 10 to 15 gunmen who attacked the mall when it was filled with shoppers Saturday was still on the loose. More gunfire rang out later, much as it did throughout the day on Sunday. A military ambulance then sped away from the scene.
Late on Sunday a military spokesman said that “most” of the hostages had been released. But a person with knowledge of the rescue operation told AP that no hostages had been released or rescued overnight. The person insisted on anonymity in order to talk about the rescue response.
Another indication no hostages had been freed: None appeared at the Oshwal Centre, a squat concrete structure that houses a Hindu temple just next to the mall that the Red Cross is using as a triage center. Medical workers attended to at least two wounded Kenyan soldiers there on Monday.
Somali Islamist militants threaten to kill Kenya hostages
23 Sept – Source: Reuters/Sky News – 118 words
Somali Islamist group al Shabaab said hostages held by militants holed up in a Nairobi shopping mall would be killed if force was used, according to an audio statement carried by a website linked to the group.
“Israelis and Kenyan forces have tried to enter Westgate (mall) by force but they could not, the mujahideen (fighters) will kill the hostages if the enemies use force,” Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, al Shabaab’s spokesman said in clip posted on www.somalimemo.net.
Israeli advisers are helping Kenya with strategy to end the siege that began on Saturday, an Israeli security force said. There has been sporadic bursts of gunfire and blasts from the mall.
Terrorists Rob Somalia of Healthcare
23 Sept – Source: IPS News – 933 words
Maryan Yusuf, 39, is weak and barely able to speak because of her excruciating pain. A few hours earlier she delivered a baby at Somalia’s Afgooye Hospital, where essential drugs are dwindling at an alarming rate. “This is my fourth child delivered here. But I cannot get as much care and treatment as I used to. I am in pain now. I don’t know if I will be well again,” Yusuf told IPS as she lay on a hospital bed that had no mattress.
Afgooye Hospital, situated in the agricultural town of Afgooye, 30 km southwest of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, is one of the many health facilities that used to receive support from the international medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders. Because of this support the hospital was able to provide free healthcare to the residents of Afgooye and surrounding areas.
But it has been almost a month since MSF left Somalia because of security concerns for its staff, and the senior nurse at Afgooye Hospital, Aisha Ahmed, told IPS that the hospital was running out of basic drugs and vaccines.
Kenya beefs up security at all entry points after mall attack
22 Sept – Source: Xinhua – 544 words
Kenyan authorities have intensified security across the country, especially along its borders with Somalia, as the security operation to rescue the last batch of hostages entered the second day on Sunday.
Police commanders in the country’s major cities and towns confirmed Sunday that security agencies have sealed off border points and all entry points amid the hostage standoff at the popular Westgate shopping mall since Saturday in the capital Nairobi of the East African country.
Somalia: Al Shabaab remains a potent threat
22 Sept – Source: BBC – 149 words
Somalia’s al Shabaab militants have said they carried out the attack on a Nairobi shopping centre in “retribution” for Kenya’s efforts to help the Somali government.
Kenyan troops are part of the African Union force in the country. Despite losing ground, al Shabaab remains a potent threat as the BBC’s Mark Doyle reports from Kismayo – once the group’s main base. On a bright, moonlit night at Kismayo airport, the crack-and-whizz of high-velocity bullets suddenly pierces the silence.
“Incoming fire!” someone shouts. The “crack-whizz” then gives way to the deeper “thud-thud-thud” of the airport defender’s heavy machine guns. It is probably an attack by the al-Shabab militia.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“SIMON ALLISON explains how Somalia’s messy civil war spilled out of its borders, and wonders if Kenya’s politicians will ask themselves the hard questions, or revert to the bombast that got them involved in the first place.”
Nairobi attack: Why Kenya and why now?
23 Sept – Source: Daily Maverick – 1126 Words
It’s easy to forget, wandering through Nairobi, that this is a nation at war. There are a few clues – the mirror checks for car bombs, the metal detectors in supermarkets and public buildings, the odd grenade outside a nightclub – but the battlefield is far away and the fighting sporadic. In this year’s presidential election, the war wasn’t even a campaign issue, with candidates preferring instead to bicker about parliamentarians’ salaries and the International Criminal Court. There’s no forgetting now.
With 68 people dead in the fancy Westgate shopping mall, at least 175 others nursing bullet injuries and an unknown number being held hostage somewhere in the building, the war has arrived in Nairobi in the most tragic possible way.
Kenya can’t say it wasn’t warned. Ever since October 2011, when 4,000-odd Kenyan troops were summarily dispatched across to the border into Somalia with a mandate to hunt down and destroy al Shabaab, the Somali militant group has been promising a massive, bloody revenge. Although it was always tempting to dismiss al Shabaab’s hyperbole as empty, Comical Ali-style bluster, the group has form when it comes to revenge.
“….the scale and technical sophistication of the Nairobi attack could signal a change in al-Shabab’s aspirations, according to Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.”
Kenya Attack a Shift for Somali Rebels?
23 Sept – Source: AP/ABC News – 973 Words
The White House is under pressure to ramp up counterterrorism action against al Shabaab in Somalia following the al Qaeda-linked group’s deadly attack on an upscale Kenyan shopping mall that has killed and injured dozens, including Americans. Republican lawmakers Sunday said the attack showed al Qaeda is growing in size and strength, belying the Obama administration’s claims that it has grown weaker.
“They’re not on the decline,” said Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” ”They’re on the rise, as you can see from Nairobi.”
Al Shabaab militants launched their assault on Saturday, storming the mall with grenades and gunfire. Kenyan security forces launched a “major” assault late Sunday on the mall, where the militants are still holding an unknown number of hostages, trying to end the two-day standoff that had already killed at least 68 people. The Kenya Defense Forces say their troops have rescued “most” hostages and have taken control of most of the mall in Nairobi.
“…Kenya, and other African countries with troops in Somalia, would be only too pleased to leave the horn-of-Africa country.”
Stability in Somalia critical for peace
22 Sept – Source: The Standard Media – 350 Words
By its own admission, the armed group that stormed Westgate Mall, last Saturday, the act was in retaliation for Kenya Defence Forces’ incursion into Somalia. It is clear once more, therefore, that Kenya’s security is tied to that of Somalia.
And this explains Kenyans’ support for the new European Union initiative unveiled in Brussels last week and aimed at stabilizing Somalia after decades of civil wars that have all too often spilled over the border into Kenya.
Last week’s high-level forum dubbed “ A New Deal for Somalia” and co-chaired by the EU and Somalia representatives follows hot on the heels of similar conferences held in Turkey, last year, and in London, Yokohama, Japan, both in May this year and the re-entry of the United Nations into the country in June. EU’s new deal is supported by a $2.4 billion commitment, eight times as much as the $300 million pledged at the London conference.
“The Somali Ministry of Education should focus on both quantity and quality of schools across the nation. Analytical skills, critical thinking and creativity rather than mere memorization should be supported. Training of teachers and creation of incentive schemes for both teachers and students need to be implemented.”
Why Getting a Million Somali Children to School is Crucial
22 Sept – Source: Wardheernews – 741 Words
The importance of education in any given society and the relationship between economic growth and education are well documented. On the basis of that premise, Somalia needs thousands of schools in terms of both quantity and quality.
A well educated society is more likely to achieve and benefit from higher rates of economic growth thus the ability of the government to eliminate poverty and improve quality of life for millions of its citizens. However, education, per se, doesn’t guarantee economic growth, for example in Egypt a huge chunk of the population is well educated and yet Egypt still remains a poor county.
Various reports and research papers point out the expansion of school attainment doesn’t guarantee improved economic conditions either. Correspondingly, a highly functioning education system requires a supportive institutional structure. Somalia should be simultaneously building schools and institutions.
Top tweets
@BBCAfrica “We send a strong message of solidarity with the Kenyan govt, our valued partners in the campaign to bring peace to #Somalia“- Somali Prez.
@somalianalyst If the list of names of #westgate attackers is legit: unsurprisingly, almost all are from the foreign arm; surprisingly, most are #Somali.
@amisomsomalia PHOTOS OF THE DAY: AMISOM / #SomaliNational Army HQ in #Kismayo http://on.fb.me/QqTSeN.
@Somalia111 Enjoying lively meeting with #Somali UK diaspora. Feeling running high on #Barclays money transfer decision pic.twitter.com/FFaGVIwEYN.
@ACLEDINFO ACLED analysis of #AlShabaab activity to date in#Somalia, #Kenya, #Uganda. #Westgate attack out of character.pic.twitter.com/iRLUihRVrU.
Image of the day
Onlookers gather on a hill to observe the Westgate Mall after a bout of heavy gunfire just after dawn in Nairobi, Kenya Monday, Sept. 23, 2013. Photo: AP.