March 5, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somalia forms joint security operations bureau

04 Mar – Source: Hiiraan Online/Radio Mogadishu/Shabelle/Dalsan – 137 words

Director of the National Security and intelligence Agency, General Bashir Mohamed Jama told the media in Mogadishu on Monday that the launching of such office will help tight grip on the capital city’s security situation which has been deteriorating for the past several weeks.

“The joint security operations coordination bureau has been established to help coordinate security operations which the African Union peacekeepers, Police, intelligence services and Somali military are all involved in” General Bashir Mohamed Jama said adding that the formation of such bureau was part of a huge security operations.

Key Headlines

Somalia forms joint security operations bureau (Hiiraan Online)
New Mogadishu mayor takes over office today (Radio Mogadishu/SNTV)
Bomb hit Heliwaa’s livestock market (Radio Shabelle)
UN Security Council urged to tighten arms embargo on Somalia (Amnesty International)
Al Shabaab suspects arrested along Kenyan-Somalia Border (Radio Dalsan)
Somali Police Force deploys extra officers at Mogadishu’s checkpoints (Al Shahid)
Al Shabaab fighters seen in Raage Ceelle village near Jowhar town (Raxanreeb)

PRESS STATEMENT

Prime Minister meets with Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates to discuss increased support to Somalia

04 Mar – Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 223 words

His Excellency Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed who is in Abu Dhabi on an official three day visit to the United Arab Emirates Tuesday met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential affairs, H.E Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to discuss strengthening bilateral co-operation between the two countries.

During the talks, both leaders emphasised the importance to the region and wider world of Somalia’s continued return to stability and the rebuilding of its institutions. The UAE is ready to further its support and contributions to Somalia by assisting in the capacity building and rebuilding of government institutions.

“Somalia and the UAE have a long relationship going back centuries, they stand with us today just as they did through 22 years of lawlessness after Somalia collapsed in 1991. I thank this brotherly country of the UAE for their ongoing support Somalia and their commitment to help rebuild and develop our government institutions,” said Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed.

“We are ready to extend our support to the government of Somalia in this significant moment, UAE is ready to intensely contribute and give more attentions to the foundations of Somalia’s government institutions. Peace and stability is vital for the country’s development,” said Deputy Prime minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs H.E Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

SOMALI MEDIA

Somalia forms joint security operations bureau

04 Mar – Source: Hiiraan Online/Radio Mogadishu/Shabelle/Dalsan – 137 words

In response to the increasing insecurity in the capital Mogadishu, the Somali government has launched a joint security operations office whose duty will be the co-ordination of joint security operations by Somali government forces and the African Union Peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Director of the National Security and intelligence Agency, General Bashir Mohamed Jama told the media in Mogadishu on Monday that the launching of such office will help tight grip on the capital city’s security situation which has been deteriorating for the past several weeks. “The joint security operations coordination bureau has been established to help coordinate security operations which the African Union peacekeepers, Police, intelligence services and Somali military are all involved in” General Bashir Mohamed Jama said adding that the formation of such bureau was part of a huge security operations.

New Mogadishu mayor takes over office today

04 Mar – Source: Radio Mogadishu/RBC//SNTV – 86 words

The outgoing Mogadishu mayor Mohamud Ahmed Nuur Tarzan on Tuesday handed over the office to his successor General Hassan Mohamed Hussein Mungab. Well organized handing over ceremony was attended by some of Somali government cabinet and parliament members, politicians and traditional elders. The two officials have both welcomed this handing over ceremony. The new mayor of Banadir region had praised the achievements of the outgoing mayor Tarzan while he was in the office and assured to keep the progress continue.

Bomb hit Heliwaa’s livestock market

04 Mar – Source: Radio Shabelle – 80 words

An explosion was targeted on troops from the Somali Federal government in the Suuqa Xoolaha neighbourhood in the Heliwaa district of Banaadir. The IED bomb was buried underground and detonated at a public area in Suuqa Xoolaha. The numbers of fatalities are unknown but the operation at the market were haltered soon after the explosion with many businesses closing their shops. There have been no comments from officials or heads of the Heliwaa district administration in Banadir.

Al Shabaab fighters seen in Raage Ceelle village near Jowhar town

04 Mar – Source: Raxanreeb – 108 words

Fighters of the militant group of al Shabaab were seen in Raage Ceelle village near Jowhar town, the provincial capital of Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region. Raage Ceelle is about 100km north of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. Heavily armed fighters on pick-up vehicles entered the small village on Monday, residents in the village told Raxanreeb Online. The government forces and allied militia vacated the area a day before, the residents confirmed. “The government forces left the village yesterday morning [Monday] and al Shabaab fighters came in. There is no problem now as the situation is calm.” one resident who did not provide his name for security issues said.

Al Shabaab suspects arrested along Kenyan-Somalia Border

04 Mar – Source; Radio Dalsan – 89 words

Somali police in Beled Hawa town along Kenyan Somalia border have arrested two Zanzibari nationals suspected to be members of al Shabaab militant group. According to Mohamed Abdinoor a government official in the area the two were arrested while trying to cross the border and are now in the police custody. He said the two will be soon transferred to Mogadishu after request from the government to do so. The two are suspected to be members of al Shabaab who wanted to cross the border to fight alongside the militant group.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somali Police Force deploys extra officers at Mogadishu’s checkpoints

04 Mar – Source: Al Shahid – 137 words

Chief of the Somali Police Force, General Abdikhakiin Dahir Saciid Saacid spoke to the press and revealed that extra troops of the Police Force have been deployed at checkpoints in their dozens to strengthen the security of Banaadir where sometimes attacks and insecurities happen in Mogadishu. General Saacid said that their forces are conducting search sweeps to capture al Shabaab suspects that cause harm to the city’s wellbeing and at the same time urged the civilians to work with the peacekeeping squad of the Somali government Recently in Mogadishu, there have been many search crackdowns by the Somali Police Force to ensure that the capital city Mogadishu’s security situation returns back to normal very soon after there was a surge in explosions and planned murders although the Somali government have vowed to restore order and stability in Mogadishu.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

UN Security Council urged to tighten arms embargo on Somalia

04 Mar – Source: Amnesty International – 155 words

The UN Security Council’s relaxing of the international arms embargo on Somalia last year appears to have contributed to a rise in insecurity and human rights abuses that has resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths each month, Amnesty International said as it called for a robust embargo to be restored. In March 2013, the 21-year-old arms embargo on Somalia was partially lifted by the UN Security Council for one year, allowing the Somali government to import small arms and light weapons but not larger weapons and munitions. The Security Council is due to review this embargo by 6 March 2014 and the government has requested the embargo to be lifted. “The facts speak for themselves – security for Somalia’s people remains extremely volatile, and the ongoing flow of arms into the country is fanning the flames of armed violence and grave human rights abuses against civilians,” said Michelle Kagari, Africa Deputy Director at Amnesty International.

Uganda to ‘send troops to Somalia to protect UN’

04 Mar – Source: BBC – 72 words

Uganda will send a 410-strong special force to guard UN installations in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, a Ugandan army spokesman has said. The protection squad will free up thousands of UN-backed troops to pursue militant Islamists in the city, Paddy Ankunda said. The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group has stepped up attacks in Mogadishu in recent weeks. At least 12 people were killed in a suicide bombing last Thursday. Last June, it carried out a major assault on the main UN base in Mogadishu, leaving at least 22 people dead.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Even though the spoken Somali language is thriving, experts believe measures need to be taken to strengthen the written Somali language as the number of people who can properly write in the language is dwindling.”

The Challenges of the Written Somali Language

04 Feb – Source: Translation Africa Blog – 708 Words

In an article on Sabahi Online, Abdi Moalim gives us an insight into the state of the Somali language. He says that as most schools in Somalia do not have a language curriculum, experts have urged the Somali government and educational institutions to encourage of the use of Somali in written documents. In the previous century, big steps were made toward the preservation of the written Somali language, Moalim explains. In 1972, an adapted Latin script created by Shire Jama Ahmed was chosen to be the official script of the language. In the years to follow, the Somali government made great efforts to teach the new script to the Somali people. However, according to Moalim, language experts believe the collapse of the government, the wars that have been going on in the country and the collapse of the higher educational institutions that used Somali as their language of instruction have led to serious problems for the language in written form. According to Professor Mastafe Abdullahi Feynus, the spoken Somali language is very unlikely to become extinct – after all, the number of Somali speakers is increasing. The professor, who is also a researcher and a member of the Intergovernmental Academy of Somali Language, says the problem lies in the written language. When the civil war put the development of new grammar and spelling books to a halt, he says, Somali was no longer used as the official language of instruction. This is why Feynus believes the number of children who learn to write proper Somali is very small.