November 7, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

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Juba Regions Reconciliation Conference Communiqué

06 Nov- Source: Office of the Prime Minister- 472 words
Preamble
In reference to the implementation of the Addis Ababa agreement on August 27, 2012, the Somali Federal Government organised and hosted Juba people’s reconciliation conference.
The Conference continued between 3 and 6 November 2013, with the participation of 200 delegates from the Juba regions. Delegates genuinely discussed on how to reach lasting peace agreement among the Juba citizens, supplement to the previous agreement signed in Addis Ababa.
Points raised and discussed in the conference deemed essential to peace-building reconciliation process for Juba regions were:-
• Enhance on-going peace building and reconciliation efforts.
• Increase security, re-integration of armed groups and the fight against terrorists.
• Move forward economic progress and social development.
After extensive discussion conference participants suggested the following:
On Peace-building and reconciliation

Key Headlines

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visits Jowhar town(Radio Bar-kulan)
Somali and foreign doctors arrived in Mogadishu(Radio Mustaqba)
Prime Minister heralds conclusion of Reconciliation Conference for Jubba Communities as “huge opportunity”(Office of the Prime Minister)
No justice for rape victims in Bosaso(Radio Ergo)
Task Force hunts for missing burka terror suspect(BBC)
Kenya: Al-Salaam School in Gilgil teaches radical Islam Investigator says(Standard Media)

PRESS STATEMENT

Juba Regions Reconciliation Conference Communiqué

2. That, people of Juba strive to build consensus, forgive each other, settle property issues, restrain provocations that can lead to conflict and send peace message to the residents.
3. That, all stakeholders support the interim administration’s inclusive structure to be completed in respect of the minority rights, and the Federal Government should take a lead role on this issue.
4. That, the final phase of the reconciliation conference to be held in Kismayo.
5. That, the role of civil society in Juba regions to be strengthened.
On Security Issues
1. That, build the security institutions including; police force, military and guards. Other sources of employment should be created for those who are not ready to join the security apparatus.

2. That, a peaceful re-integration and redeployment of the Juba armed groups to form unified force.
3. That, it is of the utmost important to meet the needs of the armed forces i.e. salaries paid in a timely manner, provide appropriate training, advance equipment provided, and re-establish the military courts.
4. That, operation to liberate areas controlled by al Shabaab carried out jointly by the Juba interim administration, Federal Government of Somalia and AMISOM forces.
5. That, it is necessary to establish ex-militants demobilisation, disarmament and re-integration canters.
On Social Affairs
1. That, develop and mobilise local available resources such as livestock, agricultural, fishery and other natural resources, and encourage trade and private industries.
2. That, re-establish education centres and vocational training centers.
3. That, establish quality public health services at the district and village level.
4. That, the Federal Government and the International Community give support to Juba regions to meet its residents’ basic social services.
Appreciations
The conference delegates acknowledge the efforts of the Federal Government of Somalia for its important role during the preparation of this particular peace and reconciliation conference for the people of Juba Regions.
The conference delegates acknowledge the support by the international community and specially the Government of Ethiopia for its tireless support throughout the peace process.

Prime Minister heralds conclusion of Reconciliation Conference for Jubba Communities as “huge opportunity”

06 Nov-Source: Office of the Prime Minister- 177 words

Speaking at the successful conclusion of the Reconciliation Conference for Jubba Communities, His Excellency Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon, heralded the agreement as an “opportunity for all the communities of Jubba to move forward together as a united region”.

The communique signed by all delegations commits to continued reconciliation, an inclusive Interim Jubba Administration, amalgamating all local forces into the SNA and alongside the Somali Federal Government and AMISOM working to clear al Shabaab from the remainder of the region.

The Prime Minister, said: “After three days of open and inclusive reconciliation talks between the communities of the Jubba region today’s agreement is a great achievement and huge opportunity for the Jubba region. This agreement gives all the communities of Jubba the opportunity to move forward towards a peaceful and united region.

“I want the Interim Jubba Administration to be the stepping stone to a full-fledged Jubaland federal state and the symbol of federal success in Somalia. This agreement gives Jubaland and Somalia that opportunity.”

SOMALI MEDIA

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud visits Jowhar town

07 Nov- Source: Jowhar Online/Radio Bar-kulan/Mogadishu- 97 words

Somalia president visited Jowhar town, in Lower Shabelle region to have a firsthand assessment of the situation in the area after severe flooding left many people in dire living conditions. AMISOM and Somali government troops have heightened up the security following the president’s visit. Local administration officials as well as residents welcomed the president. Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon has previously declared the flooding of the Shabelle River a national disaster and called on joint efforts to assist the victims.

Somali and foreign doctors arrived in Mogadishu

06 Nov- Source: Radio Mustaqbal- 143 words

At least 30 doctors both foreigners and Somalis have arrived in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia on Wednesday. Directors from the ministries of Somali government, Legislators and the chairman of Doctors Council of Somalia welcomed the doctors. The doctors are expected to participate in conference that will open in the capital. The chairman of Somali Doctors council Osman Abdulle Osman speaking to the Journalists in Mogadishu said that it was great pleasure to welcome several doctors, especially those have been away from the country for more than two decades. A conference on the health issues will soon open in Mogadishu and several medical experts and Somali diaspora doctors were invited.

Ethiopian foreign minister urges Somalis to work together

06 Nov- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 73 words

Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Tedros Adhanom, who is currently in the Somali capital, calls on Somali people to put national interests ahead of personal gains. He calls on Somali political elite as well as Somali people in the country to work together for the betterment of their own country. Adhanom hopes that a positive outcome will come out of the Jubba Reconciliation Conference in which is expected to be concluded later today in Mogadishu.

No justice for rape victims in Bosaso

06 Nov- Source: Radio Ergo- 257 words

Displaced women in the IDP camps of Bosaso, the commercial hub of Puntland, say they suffer sexual abuses in silence because they have no faith in the police and justice system that never presents their cases to the courts. Ahado Ibrahim, a 26-year-old mother with four children, was gang-raped by unidentified armed men last month when she was nine-months pregnant. As a result, Ibrahim has been suffering from stress and anxiety which she believes complicated the delivery of her baby several days ago. “I was suffering for two days in labour and lost a lot of blood,” Ibrahim told Radio Ergo’s local reporter. She had to undergo surgery to deliver the baby. “No one will be held accountable for what happened to me,” she added. Displaced women and their leaders in the Buraha camp, east of Bosasso, said that when such cases are reported to the police, the police will usually investigate the case, but nothing else will happen and no perpetrators are brought to book.“We have reported several rape cases to the police, but no case was brought to the court. We are now forced to help rape victims through medical treatment. There is nothing else we could do,” said Ali Barre Ismail, the chairman of the displaced people in Bosasso. He said rape leads to such shame and social stigma that it had forced several women who were rape victims to migrate to Yemen by sea crossing, and caused others to move away to another town to find anonymity after their stories become known.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Kenya: Al-Salaam School in Gilgil teaches radical Islam, Investigator says

06 Nov- Source: Standard Media- 395 words

Most parents who had enrolled their children at Al-Salaam Integrated School in Gilgil, Nakuru County were unaware of exactly what their children were being taught. An Investigator with the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit has told The Standard that for the past eight months the Islamic curriculum at the school, that was shut down by the government on Tuesday, was based on pure Wahhabism – a radical form of Islam. “ Wahhabism-exported from Saudi Arabia, teaches children that all those who are not Wahhabi are non-believers,” said an officer privy to the investigations and who sought anonymity.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Task Force hunts for missing burka terror suspect

06 Nov- Source: BBC- 252 words
A taskforce has been assembled to try to locate and catch a terror suspect who escaped from his government minders by disguising himself in a burka. Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, 27, who was subject to an order restricting his movements, left a London mosque on Friday with his face and body covered. The Met Police’s Counter Terrorism Command, MI5 and the UK’s Border Force are now joining forces to find him. He is the second terror suspect under a so-called TPim order to go missing.

Ethiopia accuses Eritrea over links to al Shabaab

06 Nov- Source:.worldbulletin- 142 words

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea for supporting al Shabaab, planning to conduct attacks in the country.
“Ethiopia has reached the information that al Shabaab will conduct a terrorist attack in the country with the support of Eritrea,” it was stated on an Ethiopian television channel. All security units were asked to report any suspicious acts and to declare high level alert status in the country’s entrances, checkpoints and crowded areas. Ethiopia has the “power to fight against terrorism,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman of Ethiopia, Dina Mufti said. Ethiopian security forces are ready for the attack of al-Shabaab which represents al Qaeda in Horn of Africa, containing the countries of Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea, Yemen, Mufti also said. Mufti stated that Ethiopia is cooperating with Kenya and Uganda against al Qaeda. Also these three countries are sharing information as a part of military training exercise against al Shabaab, Mufti added

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Though we are seeing an extension of the Somali civil war into Kenya, the Westgate attack results from the internal conflict that tore al Shabaab apart between this April and July. These clashes came after military defeats at the hands of AMISOM.”

Somalia’s Civil War Intensifies the Tragedy of Kenya

06 Nov- Source: Middle East Online-1529 Words

The Westgate shopping centre attack in Nairobi seems to have been an exported event in the disintegration of Somalia, and an audition for al Qaeda financing. And Kenya, which is not a highly militarized country, is in a profound political crisis, stresses Gérard Prunier. A small group acting in the name of al Shabaab—the Somali Islamist organization Harakat al Shabaab al-Mujahidin—entered the crowded Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi on 21 September and opened fire on Saturday shoppers. They managed to withstand a four-day siege, and killed anyone who came within range. Not only did the Kenyan authorities fail to prevent the massacre, they have also been unable to identify the killers, stop them fleeing or make a single arrest. More than a month later, the picture remains confused, including the number of victims.