22 Sept 2011 – Morning headlines
Key Headlines:
- AMISOM receives USIU’s International Peace Advocate Award
- Turkish doctors in Somalia treat 15000 people in a month
- Interior Minister calls on Bakara Market traders to resume trade
- Boy 12 carrying explosives arrested in restive Mogadishu
- Cholera measles to hit Somalia famine victims groups warn as they call for more aid
- Famine-hit Somalis face health risks from rains
- Mahiga praises current political and security in Somalia
PRESS STATMENT
AMISOM receives USIU’s International Peace Advocate Award
21 Sept- Source: AMISOM- 409 words
On the occasion of the celebration of the International Peace Day, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Boubacar Gaoussou Diarra, welcomes the progress made by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in helping the Transitional Federal Institutions to stabilize the country. He said due to the bravery and dedication of Ugandan and Burundian troops serving in AMISOM, the security situation has improved tremendously in recent months. In August this year he says, the AU soldiers supported the Somali transitional government forces to drive Al Shabaab militants from almost all of Mogadishu. More than 90% of the capital has now been secured. Pro-government forces have also secured other areas in the south-central regions of the country.
It is in recognition of its enormous contributions towards peace in Somalia that AMISOM was selected by the Kenya based United States International University (USIU) to receive an International Peace Advocate Award. Receiving the award on behalf of the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Honourable Wafula Wamunyinyi, Deputy Special Representative, urged the people of Africa, governments, regional mechanisms, private sector, civil society, students and researchers, and other individuals or groups to use this year’s commemoration of International Day of Peace to rededicate themselves to constructive initiatives at all levels for the attainment of durable peace on the continent.
Honourable Wafula Wamunyinyi expressed his gratitude on behalf of the African Union Commission to USIU for selecting AMISOM to receive this coveted peace award. “I am convinced that your choice of the African Union is in recognition of its invaluable contributions to the pursuit of peace and security on the African continent and to global peace as well. We are proud to have been recognized in this way.” He said. The AU’s engagement in Somalia is pursued in partnership with the UN, the regional economic communities of IGAD and the EAC, and the larger international community. The African Union, the United Nations, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, the East African Community and other international partners facilitated a very successful consultative meeting of all main Somali stakeholders in Mogadishu from 4-6 September 2011, which culminated in the signing of a Roadmap by TFG and other key Somali groups to end the transition by 20 August 2012. The conference concluded with the adoption of a Roadmap for the transitional process which ends on 20 August 2012, with clear benchmarks and timelines for accomplishing the tasks outlined in the document.
SOMALI MEDIA
Interior Minister calls on Bakara market traders to resume trade
21 Sept – Source: Radio Mogadishu, SONNA – 166 words A high level delegation led by the interior minister and the Deputy Minister of Women Development and Welfare went on a visit of Bakara Market on Tuesday to oversee the security situation and appealed on the traders to assist the Somali police in maintaining the security of the market.
Boy, 12, carrying explosives arrested in restive Mogadishu
21 Sept – Source: Shabelle – 270 words
An al Shabaab-linked 12-year-old boy carrying explosives has been arrested by TFG security forces in a security crackdown in Mogadishu, an official said on Wednesday. Adan Fidow Barre, the director of explosives prevention for the Somali National Security Agency (NSA) said the boy, Jabril Mohamed Ali, was intercepted while carrying an explosive device and cellphones.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Mahiga praises current security in Somalia
21 Sept- Source: SONNA- 320 words
Dr Augustine Mahiga on the occasion of International Peace Day New York, 21 September 2011 – United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/282 called on all Member States and organizations the world over to commemorate the International Peace Day in an appropriate manner, through various activities, including public awareness.
http://www.sonnanews.net/en/
Landmines seized in Mogadishu security crackdown
21 Sept – Source: Shabelle, Mareeg Online – 96 words
The TFG have seized landmines during a security crackdown they conducted in Mogadishu. The operations were conducted at Ex-Control Afgoi checkpoint overnight where the Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) were found.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Rights groups seek Somalia detention answers from U.S president
21 Sept – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 380 words
A coalition of eight leading human rights groups has written a letter to the U.S president Barack Obama, demanding for clarification regarding the U.S role in potentially unlawful detention and interrogation operations in Somalia. In a press release, rights groups organized by Human Rights First asked the U.S president to come clear.
Somali gov’t calls on people help fight al Shabaab
21 Sept – Source: Shabelle – 130 words
Speaking at a ceremony held in Mogadishu’s Wadajir district with the presence of district’s administration and hundreds of people on Wednesday, Abdisamad Moallim Mohamoud, Somalia’s minister of interior and home security said that the people in Mogadishu are needed to help the government in preventing al Shabaab to assure the internal security.
http://www.shabelle.net/
REGIONAL MEDIA
MRMHCE digs artesian wells in Somalia
21 Sept- Source: Emirates News Agency- 95 words
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment (MRMHCE) has launched a project to dig artesian wells in several provinces of Somalia to help solve the scarcity of drinking water caused by continuing draught.
Somali archaeologist makes major discoveries
21 Sept- Source: Africa Review- 219 words
Sada Mire fled Somalia’s civil war as a child, and lived as a refugee in Sweden. But now she is back in the Horn of Africa as an archaeologist, making some incredible discoveries. Sada Mire is only 35, but she has already revealed a dozen sites that could be candidates for Unesco world heritage status.
http://www.africareview.com/
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Turkish doctors in Somalia treat 15,000 people in a month
21 Sept- Source: Todays Zaman- 247 words
Turkish doctors treated nearly 15,000 patients in the past month in famine-stricken Somalia, the Anatolia news agency reported Wednesday.
http://www.todayszaman.com/
AU to add 3,000 more troops in Somalia
21 Sept – Source: China Daily – 373 words
Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (DSCRCC) for Somalia Wafula Wamunyinyi said in Nairobi that the additional soldiers will help implement the current roadmap that seeks to put the entire nation under effective control of the Transitional Federal Government.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/
Cholera, measles to hit Somalia famine victims, groups warn as they call for more aid
21 Sept – Source: The Washington Post / AP – 453 words
Seasonal rains in Somalia threaten to spread disease among the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced residents who have fled famine conditions in hopes of finding food, 20 aid groups said Wednesday.
Famine-hit Somalis face health risks from rains
21 Sept – Source: Reuters Alert Net News – 395 words
Aid agencies are slowly reaching more Somalis hit by famine, but restrictions on access and the approaching rainy season mean hundreds are likely to continue dying each day. Some four millions Somalis are in need of emergency assistance due to the combined impact of drought and conflict, with 750,000 facing death due to famine
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/
Exile sheds new light on home for Somali author
21 Sept – Source: Reuters – 934 words
Farah spoke about writing, exile and his hopes for Somalia.Q: How much of this trilogy is based on real life? A: “Much of it is, in the sense that obviously the names change, the situations change. But the story, the basic narrative, remains unaltered. The reason is, I try as much as I can to follow the story of Somalia before it becomes history.
http://in.reuters.com/article/