February 3, 2015 | Morning Headlines.
OIC to assist Somalia in reopening of 21 diplomatic missions
02 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 113 Words
The Somali government and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have on Mondaysigned a deal in Mogadishu that will help Somalia reopen 21 Somali embassies in some of the organization’s member states, according to Somalia’s acting foreign minister, Abdirahman Duale Beyle. The agreement was signed by OIC head of projects Mohamed Yahya and Abdirahman Beyle. Yahya said the agreement will urgently seek to assist the Somali government in re-opening its diplomatic missions in some of the OIC member states. Beyle commended the organization and said it was committed in beefing up the relationship between Somalia and OIC member states. He said the agreement was important for strengthening Somalia’s foreign relations.
Key Headlines
- 100 army recruits commence military training in Mahas ( Radio Bar-kulan)
- Somaliland offloads ‘illegal’ arms on seized ship (Hiraan Online)
- OIC to assist Somalia in reopening of 21 diplomatic missions (Radio Bar-kulan)
- Somaliland responds to allegations by Puntland (Garowe online)
- Forces launch security operations in El-buur district (Radio Goobjoog)
- Seven Mandera terror suspects remanded (Standard media)
- Somalia set for two new development projects (Fifa.com)
- A playground in Somalia lets kids frolic after decades of war (AP/Hiraan online)
SOMALI MEDIA
100 army recruits commence military training in Mahas
02 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 90 Words
A military training for one hundred new army recruits have commenced at a military training camp located in Mahas town in Hiran region. The 30-day military training will be offered by Somali officials in order to boost the military capacity of the Somali troops stationed in the region. Hiran regional army commander Colonel Tawane Ahmed who confirmed the training to Bar-kulan said the officers will be equipped with the necessary military skills. Colonel Tawane said the military equipment being used for the training was donated by the Somali defense ministry.
Somaliland offloads ‘illegal’ arms on seized ship
02 Feb – Source: Hiraan Online -212 Words
Despite concerns of Somalia’s decades-old arms embargo violations, Somaliland forces have unloaded a ship laden with illegal arms it seized last week, sources told HOL on Monday. The mysterious ship’s arms including armored vehicles, mortars and battlewagons were offloaded following a decision by the Somaliland government to take the load off the ship, brushing off calls from different administration, including the neighboring Puntland region which accused Somaliland of arming militants fighting its troops.
There was no immediate comment from Somaliland which kept details of the ship confidential on the status of the ‘illegal’ arms’ it offloaded at Berbera, the breakaway region’s largest port. The development follows accusations from Puntland security minister who warned of a potential war between the two administrations in the wake of the seizure of a ship arms and battlewagons by Somaliland which he said was intended for arming Al-Shabaab fighters fighting Puntland forces in the mountainous Galgala village. Somaliland which declared an independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991 is yet to gain an international recognition. However, Puntland maintains it’s status of being parts of Somalia. The prolonged conflict between Somaliland and Puntland started in 1998, when Puntland was formed and it declared towns claimed by Somaliland as part of its territory.
OIC to assist Somalia in reopening of 21 diplomatic missions
02 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 113 Words
The Somali government and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have on Monday signed a deal in Mogadishu that will help Somalia reopen 21 Somali embassies in some of the organization’s member states, according to Somalia’s acting foreign minister, Abdirahman Duale Beyle. The agreement was signed by OIC head of projects Mohamed Yahya and Abdirahman Beyle. Yahya said the agreement will urgently seek to assist the Somali government in re-opening its diplomatic missions in some of the OIC member states. Beyle commended the organization and said it was committed in beefing up the relationship between Somalia and OIC member states. He said the agreement was important for strengthening Somalia’s foreign relations.
Somaliland responds to allegations by Puntland
02 Feb – Source: Garowe online – 280 Words
Somaliland’s administration in northwestern Somalia has responded to allegations by Puntland of aiding terrorist in Galgala, Garowe Online reports. Addressing reporters in Berbera Port City on Monday, Somaliland’s Minister for Interior Ali Mohamed Waran Adde said remarks by Puntland security minister are inconsistent with what he described ‘ongoing dialogue’ between the two sides, a day after the breakaway region put consignment of illegal arms on public display. He has not spotlighted the nature of the negotiations despite Turkey-brokered bilateral talks between Somalia Federal Government and Somaliland. “The man [Puntland security Minister] who spoke in Garowe is detrimental to the talks between Puntland and Somaliland and revealed filthy hostility to Somaliland people,” he went on.
Meanwhile, Somaliland for the first time unveiled that officials in Sudan are in direct contact with the government. Last Friday, Puntland-neighbor to the east-censured Somaliland over the ownership of the weapons shipment, with security Minister lambasting the separatist administration for throwing financial and military support behind militants operating in hideouts along Golis Mountain Ranges and in the rugged terrain of Galgala. Nevertheless, Somaliland minister called Puntland accusations ‘distorted and unfounded’. Earlier in early 2014, Puntland President Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali accused Somaliland of financing beleaguered Al-Shabaab fighters. Puntland forces have been engaging in sporadic and fierce clashes with militants since mid-2010. Somaliland and Puntland have long vied for the control of vast territories in the disputed Sool and Sanaag regions where politicians carved out the self-declared administration of Khaatumo. UN imposed weapons embargo on the East African country at the height of civil war.
Forces launch security operations in El-buur district
02 Feb – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 82 Words
Reports from Galgaduud region indicate that the security forces of El-buur district has launched operations to beef up the security of the town. The district commissioner of El-buur, Noor Hassan speaking to Goobjoog FM stated that the operations were intended tighten the security of El-buur town. “The security of the district is progressed and I think the district safer than any other place around it” Mr. Noor said. The commissioner did not comment on any suspect person apprehended during the security operations.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Seven Mandera terror suspects remanded
02 Feb – Source: Standard media – 346 Words
The alleged Mandera massacre mastermind and his colleagues are to spend two more weeks in remand to allow police complete investigations. Salim Abubakar Kitonga and six other suspected members of Al-Shabaab were escorted to the Milimani Law Courts under tight security as the public watched from a distance. However, Mr Kitonga who is believed to be behind the December, 2014 terrorist attacks in Mandera wher 64 people died, together with his six accomplices could not plead to the charges after police made an application for more time for investigations.
The other six are Swalleh Mansur, Saeed She, Salim Faraj, Salim Ayub, Abdirizak Ali, and Mohamud Jamal. Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Ellena Nderitu directed Kitonga to be remanded for 14 days and his co-accused to remain in custody for five days, and be presented in court on February 9. Prosecutor Isaiah Mwiranga had requested Kitonga, who has been on police’s most wanted list, be remanded for 30 days saying investigations will be extended to various parts of the country. Mr Mwiranga further told the court that Kitonga was believed to have been sneaking explosives into the country. “The respondent is believed to be an Al-Shabaab agent based at Mandera and responsible for recruiting and organising movement of the sect members in and outside Kenya to execute attacks.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia set for two new development projects
02 Feb – Source: Fifa.com – 245 Words
FIFA is set to kick-off two new development projects in Somalia in the aftermath of the first-ever mission of a FIFA official to Mogadishu since 1986. The Somalia Football Federation (SFF) is now set to plan for the implementation of its second Goal project, a technical centre at Mogadishu’s College University Stadium, as well as for the construction of an artificial turf pitch as part of world’s football governing body Challenger scheme.
In 2013 FIFA hosted its first development course in Mogadishu for 27 years. Somalia’s civil war had a severe impact on football infrastructure as the artificial turf pitch in Mogadishu’s Banadir stadium, funded by FIFA in 2006 was severely damaged as were other facilities. The pitch has now been refurbished and serves as the venue for the matches of the ten-team Somali Football League. During the visit, FIFA’s Development Manager for Africa, Zelkifli Ngoufonja discussed the implementation of more football development and grassroots activities in the country with the country’s FA President, Said Arab Abdiqani.
A playground in Somalia lets kids frolic after decades of war
02 Feb – Source: Associated Press/Hiiraan Online – 348 Words
Somali kids just want to have fun. They climb on a jungle gym, ride bikes, splash in a swimming pool and laugh — a scene normal in many parts of the world, but new in Mogadishu where decades of bloody battles have kept children indoors, their parents hiding them from violence. The Mogadishu Guest House opened a children’s playground recently in hopes of reshaping the lives of children in a city where stability is increasing after the ouster of al-Shabab militants from the capital and surrounding towns. “It’s sort of a strange business, but helps to reshape our children’s lifestyle,” says Salim Salad, the manager of the hotel that invested in a playground, basketball court, gym and children’s toys.
Parents like Sadiya Muhummed say this helps their children grow in an atmosphere free of guns. “A much needed service, our children can have fun finally,” said the Somali-American who returned to Mogadishu with her three children five months ago from the U.S. Weekends are especially busy, with about 60 kids a day, Salad said. But playing doesn’t come cheap. The hotel charges $2 for each child’s one hour entertainment service, a price only very few can afford. About 43 percent of the population lives below $1 a day, and 73 percent below $2 per day, according a 2012 study by the World Bank. Security concerns, however, still prevail. The children get patted down before entering the hotel to play. Weeks ago a suicide car bomber blew himself up at the gate of another hotel which was being used by a delegation of Turkish officials in Somalia’s capital, killing three Somalis and shattering windows.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“There are Ottoman historical artifacts in Somaliland. The irrigation system the Ottoman state built in Berbera, a port city in Somaliland, is still in use. The positive image left by the Ottoman state allows Turkey to be more active in the region. Turkey is achieving in Somalia what the Ottoman state did not in the 16th century.”
Lasting stability with Somalia and Turkey
02 Feb – Source: Todayszaman.com – 599 Words
The Paris attacks showed that we need to think about the jihadist hybrid Salafi ideology and how the environment of poverty and instability that contributes to the emergence of this ideology in the Muslim world can be destroyed. For this reason, Turkey’s humanitarian and developmental aid to Somalia is valuable. To better understand Turkey’s political activities in Somalia, we need to analyze the domestic war in this country. There are three reasons for the ongoing civil war in Somalia. First, a substantial part of the geography known as Somalia is not part of the Somali state. Somalia is a huge geography that comprises five regions. Somalia, Somaliland, Djibouti, the borderlands shared with Kenya and the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. Out of nationalist reflexes, the militant Islamist group al-Shabab emerged as a response to the Ethiopian invasion into Somalia in 2006.
Neighboring countries are normally not allowed to send troops into the area for peacekeeping missions. However, AMISOM (African Union Mission in Somalia) has troops from Kenya and Ethiopia. Somali people and al-Shabab are against the presence of foreign military forces in Mogadishu. And Somalia’s neighboring countries, Kenya and Ethiopia, do not trust Somalia. They hold that if Somalia rises up, new problems will erupt in the region. It is necessary to save Somalia from Kenya and Ethiopia and make it part of the international community.