May 27, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

President “we must forget our differences and work together to retain hard-won peace”

26 May – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV – 97 words

While condemning Saturday’s terrorist attack on the country’s Federal Parliament, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Somali people to forget their differences and work together to achieve a peace and stable nation. Speaking on arrival at Aden Abdulle Airport, Mogadishu, The President said, “It is with a heavy heart that I greet you today. Yesterday, many of the men of the Somali security forces sacrificed their lives to serve their country. They died doing their duty, faithfully exercising their skills and showing their courage to all. I am proud of them; the nation is proud of them.

Key Headlines

President “we must forget our differences and work together to retain hard-won peace” (Radio Mogadishu/SNTV)
Puntland President condoles to Somalia Federal Parliament (RBC/Puntland TV)
Mine blast kills child wounds two others while playing football (Hiiraan Online/Bar-kulan)
Somalia seeks to reclaim agricultural export markets (Africa Review)
72 cases of measles reported in Afmadow Lower Jubba region (Bar-kulan)
Suspected militants kill 2 Kenyan soldiers near Somali border (Reuters)
UAE donates tractors & trucks to Somaliland (Somaliland Informer)
Arab League condemns terrorist acts in Djibouti Somalia (Qatar News Agency)

SOMALI MEDIA

President “we must forget our differences and work together to retain hard-won peace”

26 May – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV – 97 words

Puntland President condoles to Somalia Federal Parliament

26 May – Source: RBC/Puntland TV – 121 words

The President of Somalia’s Semi-autonomous State of Puntland Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has condoled to the Members of Somalia’s Federal Parliament over the attack on their seat in Mogadishu on Saturday where at least 10 people were killed. President Ali said he was very outraged the attack on the country’s Parliament and shocked that many of those killed in the attack were the members of the security forces defending the parliament. The President of Puntland State also condemned the attack on a cafe in the neighboring tiny country of Djibouti where at least three people– including two attackers were killed. “This enemy is continuing to be more dangerous. They have attacked Somali Parliament building in Mogadishu and Djibouti killing innocents,” he added.

Mine blast kills child, wounds two others while playing football

26 May – Source: Hiiraan Online/Bar-kulan – 125 words

A child has died and two others were seriously injured after an old land mine exploded as they were playing football in the town of Balanbale on Monday morning, a district official confirmed to local media. Rujaal Ahmed Mohamed, head of public services at the district administration told local media that the blast occurred in the early hours of the day, as children between 7-10 years of age were playing football in an open ground in the town. “It was an old land mine which was buried in the area during the Somalia-Ethiopia war decades of years ago” the official said adding that a child died on the spot while two others who sustained serious injuries were rushed to the city of Galkayo for treatment.

72 cases of measles reported in Afmadow, Lower Jubba region

26 May – Source: Bar-kulan – 110 words

Medical officials at Afmadow district hospital in Lower Jubba region have said that new cases of measles outbreak have been reported in the area which affected at least 72 people including children so far. Dr. Hassan Mursal, the Director-General of Afmadow Hospital who talked to Bar-kulan said that at least 50 of those affected are children, most of them under the age of five years. He added that the children in the area have not been given measles vaccination in the last two years. Mursal further stated that new cases of cholera outbreak have also been spotted in the area which already affected at least six people including two children.

UAE donates tractors & trucks to Somaliland

26 May – Source: Somaliland Informer – 123 words

UAE ambassador to Somalia and Somaliland Mr. Mohammed Al-Osmani has arrived in Hargeisa, and once his delegation touched down at Egal airport was greeted by the Minister of Energy & Minerals Mr. Hussein Abdi Duale, Assistant Relocation Minister and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Mowlid Mohamed Ibrahm. Minister spoke on the UAE ambassador’s visit to Hargeisa very briefly and revealed that he wants to hand over donations that the United Arab Emirates pledged to the government of Somaliland. On the other hand, president Silanyo has held dinner banquet in honor of the visiting UAE delegation headed by Ambassador Mohamed Al-Osmani who is on an official visit to Somaliland. The dinner banquet was held in the office of the president in the presidential palace.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somalia seeks to reclaim agricultural export markets

26 May – Source: Africa Review – 127 words

Somalia is looking to jumpstart its agricultural export business after it last week sent out its first consignment of bananas in more than two decades. The shipment was destined for Kuwait. It was flagged off at the port of Mogadishu by Agriculture minister Abdi Ahmed Mohamed. Mr Mohamed said the six containers weighing 78 tonnes were meant to test the international market. The produce was grown by farmers in the Lower Shabelle and Middle Shabelle regions, respectively to the north and south of Mogadishu. The minister said value addition was key to more market growth. “We shall do everything to restore the exportation of Somalia’s famed banana to its traditional markets,” he said. An exporter said the bananas being exported were derived from farms in different districts.

Arab League condemns terrorist acts in Djibouti, Somalia

26 May – Source: Qatar News Agency – 99 words

The Arab League Secretary-General Dr. Nabil Al-Arabi strongly condemned the terrorist attacks carried by the al Shabaab Group which targeted the Somali Parliament and left 15 killed and dozens injured. The Secretary-General expressed in a statement today the Arab League’s condolences to families of the victims and to the people and government of Somalia, reiterating support for the federal government in Somalia in building the state institutions and achieving peace and stability. Dr. Al-Arabi, in another statement, condemned the terrorist attack which was carried by two suicide attackers on a restaurant in Djibouti’s capital leaving 15 people killed and injured.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Suspected militants kill 2 Kenyan soldiers near Somali border

26 May – Source: Reuters – 81 words

Two Kenyan soldiers transporting food supplies into Somalia were shot dead in a gunfight near the countries’ border, a senior police official said on Monday. Leonard Omolo, police commander in the coastal county of Lamu, said suspected militants ambushed the soldiers late on Sunday as they pushed their car out of mud after heavy rains in the area. The soldiers, who were transporting food to the Somali town of Ras Kamboni, killed one of their attackers, Omolo told Reuters by phone.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Embattled country’s politics are stabilizing, but terror and insurgent group al Shabaab is dangerously transforming”

Somalia Is at Peace—Somalia Is at War

25 May – Source: Medium – 1459 Words

Somalia is the archetypal failed state. A nation that has fractured so completely that for 20 years no central authority was able to control more than a few square kilometers of the capital. For many outsiders, the word “Somalia” evoked images of Black Hawk Down, pirates and Islamist rebels stoning civilians found guilty of adultery. An attack on the Somali parliament that killed 18 people on May 24 only reinforced the stereotype of a country gone to Hell. But there are reasons to hope for Somalia. A robust intervention by the African Union, manned mostly by Ugandan troops, improved security and helped protect the fledgling government starting in 2007. A complex succession of interim governments produced a new constitution and a new president in 2012. Now Somalia stands at a crossroads. And while the future holds considerable promise, there are grave threats, as well.