16 Aug 2011 – Morning headlines
Key Headlines:
- AMISOM finds bomb-making factory in Mogadishu
- Somali Government’s statement towards food aid diversion
- Somali PM receives Iranian delegation in Mogadishu
- South Sudan offers Somalia African Union troops
- WFP investigating ‘possible theft of food’ in Somalia
- Somali’s pirate money funding of property boom disputed
- China pledges $55m in food aid to Horn of Africa
PRESS STATEMENT
Somali Government’s statement towards food aid diversion
15 Aug – Source: TFG – 328 words
The Transitional Federal Government of Somalia condemns any diversion of food aid. The TFG insists that there is no evidence to support the allegation concerning the scale of the alleged diversion, which AP reported it today.
The government notes that the media report itself acknowledges that it could not verify its figures. We are investigating the reports and remain committed to bringing those responsible to justice. The Government has zero tolerance policy towards corruption or crimes against food aid. Several people have already been convicted and sentenced for looting in Bakara Market. While disgraceful, this report should not be used as an excuse to slow down aid delivery as that would condemn even more people to death from starvation.
The UN estimates that more than 13 million people are in dire need of emergency assistance in the Horn of Africa, with at least a third of that in Somalia alone.
The Government of Somalia puts a high priority on humanitarian assistance. On 13 August 2011 our President, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, issued a decree imposing a state of emergency in the Internally Displaced Peoples’ camps in Mogadishu. This measure aims to ensure that these camps are free from any criminal activities which include the looting of food aid or property. The Prime Minister of Somalia Dr Abdiweli Moahmed Ali has recently announced the creation of a special force to protect food aid and the distribution of food aid to camps.
The government is committed to ensuring that those people who are desperately in need of humanitarian assistance are able to receive this help and assistance which is their right. The Prime Minister has appointed an independent Somali National Disaster Management Agency and its management committee comprises civil society groups with a view to reaching out to all regions in Somalia, including those regions under the control of Al-Shabaab. This clearly shows the commitment and the political will from the government to help our people at this difficult time.
AMISOM finds bomb-making factory in Mogadishu
15 Aug – Source: AMISOM – 368 words
A large bomb-making factory has been discovered by African Union troops in northern Mogadishu. AMISOM troops yesterday uncovered a cache of bomb-making components including improvised detonators, switches for suicide vests and a considerable amount of explosives.
The find came after a two-day operation to dislodge a number of extremists who were still occupying a former steel factory located north of Wardhigley District. There was clear evidence that the site was being used as a centre for the manufacture of suicide bombs and improvised explosive devices with which extremists have targeted innocent civilians, as well as government and AMISOM troops.
The extremists left behind piles of rusting improvised shrapnel as well chemicals to enhance the explosive power and burning effect of the bombs. A total of 435 items of munitions and bombmaking equipment were found.
Included in the haul were thirty-two improvised detonators, forty-nine mortars, nose fuses for thirty-eight rocket propelled grenades and eight rockets. The extremists were also manufacturing their own hand grenades and hand weapons. At the site of the find Lt Col Paddy Ankunda, the AMISOM Force spokesperson said, “We owe this success to the help and support from the people of Somalia, with whom we continue to rely on for information and tip-offs. This is a serious setback to the extremists who wish to harm the civilian populace.” Unlike the store of weapons that was discovered just a few days ago in Bakara Market, this factory was a place where weapons and bombs were being created for an ongoing campaign of terror. The material, devices and weapons AMISOM found yesterday would have been used to kill and maim innocent men, women and children. Lt Col Ankunda continued, “This find is as a result of the joint operation between Somali government security forces and AMISOM to make the city safer so residents can return, businesses can trade once again and enable humanitarian assistance to be safely delivered in this time of catastrophic famine.” “Areas of Mogadishu vacated by the fleeing insurgents must be cleared of these weapons stores and secured in the longer term so that the city can return to some semblance of normality. “We will continue to make the city safer and safer for the people of Somalia.”
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali PM receives Iranian delegation in Mogadishu
15 Aug – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Bar-Kulan, Shabelle and Kulmiye – 106 words
The TFG Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali on Monday received and welcomed a delegation from the Islamic Republic of Iran in Mogadishu. The Iranian delegation toured some drought displaced people’s camps in Mogadishu to observe their living conditions before meeting with the premier.
Somali MPs warns against bandits, warlords in Mogadishu
15 Aug – Source: Mareeg Online – 124 words
Some of Somali parliamentarians have on Monday warned against creating bandits and warlords in areas where al Shabaab were removed, reports said. Some of the Somali lawmakers who had meeting in Mogadishu today warned that warlords and other bandits robbing civilians may return to the areas.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.
Three killed as deadly clashes continue in Ba’aad village, Hiiraan region
15 Aug – Source: Radio Bar- Kulan – 117 words
At least three people died and four others wounded as a deadly fight between TFG troops and al Shabaab militia continues for the second day in Ba’aad village, 18 KM from Beledweyne town. A TFG soldiers battling the rebels in the region said they lost one soldier while two al Shabaab militias were killed.
Mogadishu residents ask gov’t for mine clearing
15 Aug – Source: Shabelle – 151 words
Some Mogadishu residents, particularly those who returned back to the al-Shabaab liberated areas in the capital, called for the TFG to clear the remnant of explosives and mines. Residents of Bondhere district north of Benadir region, said their lives might be in danger because of mines left there.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Al Shabaab kill businessmen in Hagar town, Lower Jubba
15 Aug – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 121 words
Two businessmen were on Monday killed in Hagar town, Lower Jubba region, when the vehicle they were travelling in was fired at by extremists after allegedly trying to evade an al Shabaab checkpoint, according to an al Shabaab official in the area.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Somali’s pirate money funding of property boom disputed
14 Aug – Source: Eastern Africa – 484 words
Irrespective of whether pirates are hiding out in Eastleigh, writes Jay Bahadur, author of The Pirates of Somalia: Inside Their Hidden World, a rough calculation is sufficient to dismiss the notion that piracy has had anything to do with the skyrocketing demand for Nairobi land.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
South Sudan offers Somalia African Union troops
15 Aug – Source: BBC – 297 words
South Sudan has offered to send African Union troops to Somalia to back the weak interim government. South Sudan, which became independent on 9 July, made the offer on the day it joined the African Union. “It is part of our responsibility to help our Somali brothers and sisters to achieve peace,” Deng Alor Kuol, South Sudan’s Foreign Affairs Minister, told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Rawlings: dialogue with al Shabaab militants is a possibility
15 Aug- Source: Peace FM- 391 words
Ghana’s former President and African Union High Representative for Somalia, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings has praised AU troops in Somalia for the efforts they have made in Mogadishu. The former President told a media briefing after a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday that: “If others on the ground rule that [dialogue with al Shabaab] out I certainly don’t rule that out. I just have to pick my timing carefully and appropriately.”
http://news.peacefmonline.com/
Somali pirates free Maltese bulk carrier
15 Aug – Source: Reuters – 189 words
Somali pirates have freed a Maltese owned and registered bulk carrier after the payment of a ransom by its owners, the European Union anti-piracy force said on Monday. EU Navfor said the 52,466-tonne vessel MV Sinin was released along with its crew of 22 — 12 Iranians and 10 Indians.
http://af.reuters.com/article/
AP: Somalia famine aid stolen; UN investigating
15 Aug – Source: AP – 868 words
Thousands of sacks of food aid meant for Somalia’s famine victims have been stolen and are being sold at markets in the same neighborhoods where skeletal children in filthy refugee camps can’t find enough to eat, an AP investigation has found. Families at the large in the governmentrun Badbado camp, where several aid groups have been distributing food, said they were often forced to hand back aid after journalists had taken photos of them with it.
WFP investigating ‘possible theft of food’ in Somalia
15 Aug – Source: VOA, AP – 300 words
The U.N. World Food Program says it is investigating the alleged theft of food aid brought into famine-stricken Somalia. The WFP released a statement Monday following an AP report that said thousands of sacks of food meant for famine victims have been stolen. The report said the food sacks, stamped as coming from the WFP or the U.S. and Japanese governments, are being sold in markets of the capital, Mogadishu.
China pledges $55m in food aid to Horn of Africa
16 Aug – Source: AFP – 252 words
China’s Premier Wen Jiabao on Monday pledged 353.2 million yuan ($55.3 million) in food aid to African countries suffering their worst drought in years.
http://my.news.yahoo.com/