September 4, 2014 | Morning Headlines.
Government forces seize Jalalaqsi town, Hiran region
03 Sept – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan/Dalsan/
Somali government forces backed by African Union troops in Somalia Wednesdaycaptured the town of Jalalaqsi, which lies approximately 200 KM north of the capital, Mogadishu. Area residents said the allied forces took full control of the town without any resistance. Al Shabaab fighters reportedly withdrew from the town before Somali and AMISOM forces moved in. Jalalaqsi becomes the latest town to fall into the hands of the Somali and AMISOM forces as e military offensive dubbed Operation Indian Ocean which kicked off last week gains momentum. Al Shabaab militant group controlled the agricultural rich town of jalalaqsi which is also the third largest town in Hiran region over the past few years. The Operation Indian Ocean is aimed at defeating al Shabaab militant group.
Key Headlines
- President Mohamud returns to Mogadishu (Radio Mogadishu)
- Government forces seize Jalalaqsi town Hiran region (Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan)
- Somali Leaders Welcome US Drone Strike Against al-Shabab (VOA)
- Al Shabaab ambushes convoy carrying food aid near Buloburde (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Two radio journalists arrested in Mogadishu (VOA Somali Service)
- Government vows to step up military offensive against al Shabaab (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Westgate suspects accuse state of Kamiti torture cover-up (Daily Nation)
- Hospitals in Galgadud region hit by acute drug shortages (Radio Goobjoog)
PRESS STATEMENT
Federal Government of Somalia issues important resolutions on the ongoing security operations
03 Sept- Source: Office of the Prime Minister- 313 words
The Council of Ministers of the Federal Government of Somalia convened tonight for an extraordinary session chaired by Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed.
The Cabinet discussed the security situation in the country and issued important resolutions on the ongoing security operations. The government has offered a 45-day amnesty window for militants who surrender and lay down their arm.
During a joint media briefing at the end of the meeting, National Security Minister H.E Khalif Ahmed Ereg and Government Spokesperson Ridwaan Hajji Abdiweli elaborated on the resolutions passed by the Council.
1.The government will continue and enhance the ongoing offensive to eradicate the terrorist group;
2. The government is offering a 45-day amnesty to those misled into joining terror groups. Anyone who does not take up the clemency will be regarded as a criminal and will face the law. Those who take up the offer will have the opportunity of a new start in life and opportunities to better their future;
3. The government calls on the Somali people to stand by their gallant forces as they battle the enemy; and
4. The government calls on Somali religious scholars to play their role in this important initiative and to debunk the fallacies and misinterpretation of Islam.
In his response to questions from the media, Government Spokesperson Ridwaan Hajji Abdiweli asserted that the current offensive which includes targeted airstrikes is aimed at rooting out terror groups in Somalia.
“The aim of this offensive is to weed out Al Shabaab. The airstrikes in the Lower Shabelle Region were targeted at the Al Shabaab leadership and it has had debilitating effects on the group and this will be sustained,” said Ridwaan Hajji.
The meeting ended on a positive note with a prayer for the Somali people and the country to finally overcome chronic challenges.
SOMALI MEDIA
Government forces seize Jalalaqsi town, Hiran region
03 Sept- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan/Dalsan/
Somali government forces backed by African Union troops in Somalia Wednesday captured the town of Jalalaqsi, which lies approximately 200 KM north of the capital, Mogadishu. Area residents said the allied forces took full control of the town without any resistance. Al Shabaab fighters reportedly withdrew from the town before Somali and AMISOM forces moved in. Jalalaqsi becomes the latest town to fall into the hands of the Somali and AMISOM forces as e military offensive dubbed Operation Indian Ocean which kicked off last week gains momentum. Al Shabaab militant group controlled the agricultural rich town of jalalaqsi which is also the third largest town in Hiran region over the past few years. The Operation Indian Ocean is aimed at defeating al Shabaab militant group.
President Mohamud returns to Mogadishu
03 Sept- Source: Radio Mogadishu/Radio RBC/Radio Dalsan- 120 words
The president of the federal government of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud along with a delegation has returned back to the country. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud accompanied by senior Somali government officials has jetted in from Kenyan capital city of Nairobi after attending a summit in which African countries heads discussed threats emerging from terrorist groups operating in some parts of the continent. Somali foreign minister while briefing the media at Adden Adde International Airport stated that they have attended the inauguration of Turkish new president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and later travelled to Kenyan capital of Nairobi to play their role in a African Union conference on terrorism in Africa and how they can tackle its emerging threats.
Al Shabaab ambushes convoy carrying food aid near Buloburde
03 Sept- source: Radio Bar-kulan- 166 words
Al Shabaab militant group fighters have reportedly attacked a convoy carrying food aid to residents of Buloburde town in Somalia’s central Hiran region. African Union forces and Somali government troops were escorting the convoy to Buloburde town when they came under attack from al Shabaab fighters. Hiiraan Governor, Abdifatah Hassan Afrah who was travelling with the convoy told Bar-kulan that the allied forces killed seven al Shabaab fighters in clashes with the militant fighters. He said the armed confrontations occurred in an area between Nur Fanah and Garsani villages in Hiiraan region after a group of al Shabaab fighters ambushed the convoy. He also added one government soldier was killed in the clashes. The governor said that they have so far managed to supply food aid to residents of Nur Fanah and Halgan villages and promised the food aid will soon reach the town of Buloburde and its environs. The food aid was recently donated to the people of Buloburde town by the government of Djibouti.
Two radio journalists arrested in Mogadishu
03 Sept- Source: VOA Somali Service/ Radio RBC/Dalsan- 215 words
The National Security and Intelligence Agency [NISA] on Wednesday arrested two journalists a day after the NISA imposed strict orders against the independent media in Mogadishu, Somalia capital. Hassan Ali Gesey, the director of Radio Dalsan and Abukar Muhyadin, a news reporter of for the radio were detained from their station’s premise early on Wednesday after members of NISA entered the radio station. “Members of NISA accompanied by Colonel Mohamed Aden Koofi, the head of NISA Benadir region came to the radio station this morning. They called on Hassan Ali Gesey and the journalist Abukar Muhyadin and went away with them,” a journalist at radio Dalsan who asked not to be named told RBC Radio. The two journalists are reportedly held in the NISA detention at Godka Jila’ow, a place where al Shabaab fighters recently attacked.
Government vows to step up military offensive against al Shabaab
03 Sept- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 150 words
Somalia’s federal government has vowed to step up the military offensive dubbed Operation Indian Ocean which is aimed at defeating al Shabaab militant group. The statement was made on Tuesday after Somali cabinet held an extraordinary session in the capital and agreed to step up the military offensive jointly launched by Somali and AMISOM troops last week. Somali Minister of National Security, Khalif Ahmed Ereg who spoke to the press after the session said that the government offers a 45-day amnesty to al Shabaab fighters and urged the youth fighting along with the militant group to heed the government’s calls. The minister urged Somali religious scholars to offer counseling and guidance to the Somali youth misled by the militant group. He further called on Somali people to support government’s efforts to defeat al Shabaab militant group as the military offensive against the militants intensifies in many parts of the country.
Hospitals in Galgadud region hit by acute drug shortages
03 Sept- Source: Radio Goobjoog- 178 words
Shortage of drugs in most of hospitals in South-Central Somalia has crippled the essential services the health centers use to offer to the residents. Istarlin hospital in Gurieel district of Galgadud region is one of the hospitals hit by the severe shortage of drugs in the region. The director of Istarlin Omar Tarabi says the hospital is on the verge of closure due drugs shortage and increasing number of patients that reach the center everyday adding that many inpatients who came from far areas. The director sent appeal to the aid agencies to deliver emergency support meant to save the lives of the residents. Istarlin hospital in Guri Eel, Galgaduud region use to get medical assistance, financial and technical support from MSF, the support stopped after MSF withdrew from Somalia before one year. MSF first started working in Istarlin in 2006, with the aim of providing free quality healthcare in all departments of the hospital. The organization has also invested in the training of medical staff in the region.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Westgate suspects accuse state of Kamiti torture cover-up
04 Sept- Source: Daily Nation- 306 words
Fourteen terror suspects being held at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison have accused the government of covering up their alleged torture at the detention facility. The accusation came after the prisons department ignored a court directive to present them in court for trial on Wednesday. The terror suspects claim to have suffered broken bones, dislocations and deep cuts during an incident at the Kamiti prison on August 27. The suspects include four men charged in connection with the attack on Westgate shopping mall in September 2013. Others are an Israeli and a Moroccan linked to al Shabaab, and a father and son held over the twin explosions on Thika Road.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Leaders Welcome US Drone Strike Against al-Shabab
03 Sept- Source: VOA- 422 words
Somalia’s government welcomed Monday’s drone strike that targeted leaders of the militant group al Shabaab.The U.S. military confirmed Tuesday that the air strike targeted al Shabaab’s number-one commander, Ahmed Abdi Godane, but it’s not yet confirmed whether he was killed.Hours after the U.S. claimed responsibility for the attack, authorities in the capital, Mogadishu, held an urgent Cabinet meeting to discuss the latest security operations. After the meeting the officials said they welcomed the drone strike. Government spokesman Ridwaan Hajji Abdiweli told reporters the government supports any operations against the militant group.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Drone strikes aimed at al Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane reportedly hit their target, but no one’s sure if he’s actually dead or not. A lot rides on the outcome – and not just the future of Somalia. SIMON ALLISON looks at what this could mean for east Africa’s most dangerous terrorist organisation, and for the American drone programme designed to contain them.”
Analysis: Did drones kill Al-Shabaab’s leader, and why does it matter?
03 Sept- Source: Daily Maverick-874 Words
On Monday, American drones struck deep in Somalia. They targeted a convoy of vehicles in the Lower Shabelle region, not too far from Mogadishu. Eight people died. Travelling in the convoy was Ahmed Abdi Godane, undisputed leader of the radical Islamist group known as Harakat al Shabaab al Mujahideen – or more commonly just al Shabaab, ‘the youth’. He was the principal target, but no one knows yet if he was among the victims, not even the Americans with their sophisticated eyes-in-the-sky and global eavesdropping capability. “If he was killed, this is a very significant blow to their network, to their organisation, and, we believe, to their ability to continue to conduct terrorist attacks,” said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. A lot rides on that ‘if’. For one thing, Kirby is right. Godane’s death really would be a huge setback for al Shabaab, one that it may struggle to recover from. “If confirmed, the death of Ahmed Godane could deal a major blow to al Shabaab and could be the beginning of the end,” said analyst, Abdi Aynte, on Twitter. For this, Godane only has himself to blame. The al Shabaab leader spent much of last year consolidating his position within the organisation. A brutal purge of top lieutenants left him as al Shabaab’s undisputed emir.