June 19, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somali PM meets Kenyan vice president in Nairobi

18 Jun – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Goobjoog – 130 words

Somali Prime Minister of Federal Republic of Somalia Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed and delegates who reached Nairobi, the capital of Kenya on Tuesday took meeting with Kenyan vice president William Ruto. During the meeting the sides discussed many issues including the bilateral relations between the two nations and the security of Somalia and Kenya. The Prime Minister on his side welcomed the support of Kenyan government to the federal government of Somalia. After the meeting the two officials held joint press conference, William Ruto, Kenyan vice president said the two countries share the same interest as security and trade relations but there are groups which are opposed to co-operation between the two nations. Prime minister Abdiweli stated the co-operation between the two countries will boost the fight against terrorism in the region.

Key Headlines

Somali PM meets Kenyan vice president in Nairobi (Radio Mogadishu/Goobjoog)
Hodan administration begins cleaning exercises in the district (Radio Shabelle)
Suspect arrested for operating ‘al Shabaab’ social media accounts (Daily Nation)
Gunmen kill security officer in Mogadishu (Radio Goobjoog/Bar-kulan)
Doctor killed in Somalia hospital car bomb blast (Standard Media)
Himan and Heeb administration takes steps to beef up its security (Bar-kulan)
Kenya detains two over attacks stoking political tensions (Reuters)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali PM meets Kenyan vice president in Nairobi

18 Jun – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Goobjoog – 130 words

Hodan administration begins cleaning exercises in the district

18 Jun – Source: Radio Shabelle – 102 words

The Hodan district administration has commenced cleaning operations on one of Mogadishu’s main roads, Via Heart. The administration has said that they are exercising cleaning operations in a bid to beautify the capital city. Deputy Hodan district commissioner for social affairs reported to the press that the community and administration are engaging together on delivering better services to the social community as well as cleaning the neighborhoods. In addition the deputy Hodan District Commissioner for Security and Political Affairs, Ali Abdi Abdulle, said that the Hodan district administration will strive to ensure there is peace in all towns of the district.

Gunmen kill security officer in Mogadishu

18 Jun – Source: Radio Goobjoog/Bar-kulan – 72 words

Gunmen have killed a senior security official named Asey Hassan in Wadajir district of Banadir region earlier today. Witness confirmed to the media that three men armed with pistols shot the officer several times before escaping from the scene. The security forces reached the scene and immediately launched searches and investigations in the area though one was arrested for the act. No group has yet claimed the responsibility of the murder.

Himan and Heeb administration takes steps to beef up its security

18 Jun – Source: Bar-kulan – 114 words

Himan and Heeb administration in central Somalia has taken new steps in a bid to beef up security in the areas under its control according to the officials. Arays Mohamed Haji, spokesman of Himan and Heeb administration who spoke to Bar-kulan said that his administration has issued a new decree banning people from carrying illegal weapons in Himan and Heeb administered areas to ensure law and order are maintained. Haji warned that anyone who violates the new order will face the full force of the law. He added that a large number of special forces have been deployed in Adado, Godinlaba and Bahdo towns in order to maintain peace and security in the area.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Suspect arrested for operating ‘al Shabaab’ social media accounts

18 Jun – Source: Daily Nation – 126 words

Police have arrested a Kenyan suspect operating social media accounts that posted al Shabaab claim of responsibility for Mpeketoni attacks in Lamu County. Interior Principal Secretary Mutea Iringo confirmed that Ismail Omondi had been arrested in Nairobi on Wednesday. He said the suspect was “just an impostor and al Shabaab sympathiser who was linking Mpeketoni killings to Al Shabaab.” “You can see the person claiming responsibility for the attacks is not al Shabaab leadership. We are going to arraign him in court,” Principal Secretary Mutea Iringo said. Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo had earlier said on his official Twitter handle that “in police custody is a suspect who was operating social media accounts purportedly used by al Shabaab to claim responsibility” without giving further details.

Doctor killed in Somalia hospital car bomb blast

18 Jun – Source: Standard Media – 112 words

A doctor was killed on Wednesday and two others wounded when a car bomb exploded at a hospital in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, staff and witnesses said. The bomb, believed to have been attached to a car belonging to a doctor, blew up at Keysansey hospital in northern Mogadishu, which is run by the Somali Red Crescent Society with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The doctor died and two colleges were injured in the explosion. Other civilians were also wounded. “We are really devastated about the explosion inside the hospital, a medical doctor died and two others were seriously wounded in the attack,” said hospital worker Mohamed Ali.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Kenya detains two over attacks stoking political tensions

18 Jun – Source: Reuters – 115 words

Police said they detained two men for questioning on Wednesday linked to attacks this week along Kenya’s coast that killed about 65 people and fuelled a political row over security. Islamist militants from neighbouring Somalia claimed responsibility for the attacks and execution-style killings but Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta has dismissed their account, saying the assaults were the work of his political rivals. Gunmen launched the first raid on town of Mpeketoni on Sunday night, killing 49 people, some of them gathered to watch World Cup soccer matches on television. Just 24 hours later, they attacked a nearby village and torched homes. Survivors said they were held at gunpoint and told to prove they were Muslims.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“In the current environment, we can expect partisan divisions over issues like the KDF in Somalia, a position that makes it difficult to maintain Kenya’s current policy on Somalia in the long run. Whether or not they did Mpeketoni, this week Kenyan politics (and venomous Kenyan-on-Kenyan attacks on social media) finally gave al Shabaab the prize that had long eluded it.”

Finally, our politics gave al Shabaab a gift they have been seeking all along

18 Jun – Source: Daily Nation – 729 words

In September last year when al Shabaab terrorists attacked the Westgate Mall, killing nearly 70 and wounding over 100, Kenya rallied like never before. When President Kenyatta and other leaders and commentators said the attack had been a “failure” and that it had only succeeded in bringing out the best in the country, they were right. Then the Mpeketoni attack happened on Sunday and Monday nights, and the tone has changed. It has set off a divisive debate, after Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku, then later, President Kenyatta said it was the work of “local politicians”, not al Shabaab — who actually claimed it. Some have understood that to mean he was pointing a finger at the opposition, Cord. The opposition has pushed back angrily, with Senator Moses Wetangula labelling the accusations a “joke”. In one sense, it is not important who is right or wrong here. The more critical issues are two: first, how did we get to this pass? Secondly, what is al Shabaab thinking as it looks on? There is no doubt that the Westgate victims were more “politically correct” than the Mpeketoni ones. There was no obvious attempt by the killers to discriminate against their victims on the basis of race, tribe, age, or sex — they killed them regardless. The only attempt they made was to find out who were “good Muslims” or not.