19 Aug 2011 – Morning headlines
Key Headlines:
- Eritrean leader denies support for al Shabaab
- Security beefed up in Mogadishu
- Somali PM: Gov’t has zero tolerance towards aid food looting
- Puntland forces capture 20 pirates in Bargal coastal town
- Somaliland: Interior Ministers resigns to run his own party
- Aid to Somalia tops $20mn
- UNHCR aid makes a difference in Mogadishu but still not enough
- Canadians deliver $20M to African famine relief
SOMALI MEDIA
Security beefed up in Mogadishu
18 Aug – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan, Mogadsihu, Risaala, Kulmiye – 131 words
Security has been tightened in Mogadishu ahead of the Turkish Prime minister’s visit to Mogadishu. Heavily armed security personnel has been deployed into the streets to beef up security in the war-torn capital. Contingents of police and military officers have also sealed off the road between Adan Ade International Airport and the presidential palace.
Somali PM: Gov’t has zero tolerance towards aid food looting
18 Aug – Source: Shabelle – 136 words
The prime minister of Somalia on Wednesday disclosed that his government has a zero tolerance policy for any militias or any other person trying to loot aid food and intimidate the famine-hit people in Mogadishu. The premier made the comments during a news conference held in Mogadishu with a UK delegation led by Andrew Mitchell, international development secretary of the British government.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Djibouti to airlift aid medicine to famine hit Somalis in Mogadishu
18 Aug – Source: Radio Mogadishu – 118 words
The Djibouti government on Wednesday said it will airlift aid medicine at Mogadishu airport and intended to help the famine hit Somalis who are suffering from different diseases including malnourishment, diarrhea and other deadly disorders. The Djibouti ambassador to Somalia, Dayid Dubad Roble made the announcement in Mogadishu after handing over thousands of dollars in cash to famine victims at Benadir Hospital.
Al Shabaab arrest people accused of not fasting
18 Aug – Source: Shabelle – 62 words
Al Shabaab on Thursday arrested at least 15 people, mostly women and young boys, accused of not fasting during the holy month of Ramadan in southern Somalia town. The arrests followed a massive search operation in the town of Afgoi, about 30 kilometers south of the Somali capital, according to local residents.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Puntland forces capture 20 pirates in Bargal coastal town
18 Aug – Source: Radio Garowe – 127 words
Puntland governmental forces have captured at least 20 pirates in a military operation led by Security Minister Gen. Khalif Issa Mudan on Thursday, Radio Garowe reports. “Our forces captured 10 pirates in the outskirts of Bargal town and 10 pirates within the coastal town,” Puntland’s security minister told Radio Garowe.
Djibouti invites Somali National Artists
18 Aug – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 87 words
Djibouti president Ismail Omar Guelleh has officially invited Somali National Artists who are currently in Mogadishu. In a statement from the Djiboutian embassy in Mogadishu, the president has officially invited the Somali national artists to his country.
Somaliland: Interior Ministers resigns to run his own party
18 Aug – Source: Somaliland Press – 97 words
Somaliland’s Interior Minister Dr.Mohamed Abdi Gabose has resigned this evening to concentrate on running his own party. The Minister held a press conference this evening in the capital city where he declared his resignation and his intention on forming his own party, just as the president Ahmed Siilanyo was returning back from China where he signed a trilateral agreement between Somaliland, China and Ethiopia.
http://somalilandpress.com/
REGIONAL MEDIA
Aid to Somalia tops $20mn
18 Aug- Source: Gulf times- 264 words
The State of Qatar has sent a total of 188 tonnes of medical and other relief supplies to Somalia ever since the famine broke out in the country. The Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari said that Qatari search and rescue teams are residing in a number of temporary medical units that were sent to provide medical care to the victims of the famine.
http://www.gulftimes. com/site/topics/article.asp?
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Eritrean leader denies support for al Shabaab
18 Aug – Source: Reuters – 171 words
Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki, accused by the West of supporting Somalia’s Islamist rebellion, denied on Thursday that his country backed the al Qaeda-affiliated group which has been waging a four-year insurgency in Somalia. The diplomatically isolated president, speaking in the Ugandan capital at the end of a three-day trip, denied accusations contained in a U.N. report that said Eritrea was bankrolling al Shabaab.
http://af.reuters.com/article/
UN meeting in Rome discusses ways to tackle Horn of Africa food crisis
18 Aug – Source: UN – 820 words
A United Nations-convened meeting to discuss ways to boost food security in the drought-prone Horn of Africa got under way in Rome today, as humanitarian agencies step up their response to cholera and diarrhoea in Somalia, where famine and water shortages have made people vulnerable to infectious diseases.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/
UNHCR aid makes a difference in Mogadishu, but still not enough
18 Aug – Source: UNHCR – 753 words
Kadija is in shock. Over the past two weeks, the 32-year-old Somali has lost her livelihood, fled her rural home and ended up in a dismal settlement in one of the most dangerous cities on earth.
http://www.unhcr.org/
US charges accused Somali pirate negotiator again
18 Aug – Source: Reuters – 282 words
A Somali man already facing U.S. charges of negotiating a ransom for four Americans later killed by pirates was indicted on Thursday for allegedly playing the same role in another incident with 22 hostages held seven months.
http://www.reuters.com/
Canadians deliver $20M to African famine relief
18 Aug – Source: CTV – 443 words
Canadians have donated approximately $20 million to help the drought and famine-ravaged East Africa, the federal government said on Wednesday. Parliamentary Secretary Lois Brown said that she encourages Canadians to keep donating to the humanitarian coalition set up to combat the effects of famine in East Africa.
http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/