December 29, 2015 | Morning Headlines

Main Story

Parliament Passes Media Bill

28 December – Source:Goobjoog News – 116 Words

The Somali Federal Parliament on Monday passed the media bill unanimously. The bill which was developed by the Somali Cabinet without much input from media houses and local journalists associations, now only awaits the President’s signature to come into force as a law. The bill contains articles which force editors and journalist to disclose source of information if demanded by the state . It also requires journalists to have a degree and pass an exam set by government media commission. The Somali journalists reaction to the bill is mixed with some equating to the repressive law under former military rule while others are cautious not to comment before reading the final version of the proposed law.

Key Headlines

Parliament Passes Media Bill (Goobjoog News)
Seven Wounded In Bomb Explosion In Bardhere Town (Shabelle News)
Hiiraan Elders Reject Inter-regional State Formation Deal With Gov’t (Hiiraan Online)
State To Begin Border Operation To Flush Out Al Shabaab (Standard Digital)
UAE Ambassador In Somalia Meets Minister Of Islamic Affairs (Emirates News Agency)
Al-Shabaab Militants Soldiers Die In S. Somalia Gun Battle (Xinhua)
Somalia’s Second Class Citizens (Hiiraan Online)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Seven Wounded In Bomb Explosion In Bardhere Town

28 December – Source: Shabelle News – 94 Words

A huge roadside bomb explosion targeting a convoy carrying government troops, has wounded at least 7 soldiers in Bardhere town in south of Somalia’s Gedo region, witnesses said.The explosion went off near Kenyan defense forces’ camp in the town, wounding at least 3 soldiers, said, deputy police boss Guhad.Three of the seven victims reportedly to have been in critical condition, witnesses told Radio Shabell.Meanwhile, he said that aid workers freed by Al- Shabaab on Sunday were interrogated in police station in the town.No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Hiiraan Elders Reject Inter-regional State Formation Deal With Gov’t

28 December – Source: Hiiraan Online – 292 Words

Elders in the central Somali region of Hiiraan backed down a recent endorsement for Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions inter-regional formation, raising prospects of fresh feud and conflict related to the initiative being pushed by the Somali president.A faction of the region’s elders agreed on Tuesday to attend the planned inter-regional Hiiraan and Shabelle regions state formation conference which is to be held in Jowhar, the regional capital of Lower Shabelle region, sources said.

However, the elders’ chairperson Da’ar Hirsi Nur dismissed the legitimacy of the endorsement, saying, the president has secured an ‘inconclusive’ endorsement from ‘rogue’ elders who do’ ‘not represent’ the region’s traditional elders, leaving behind the 63-member of the region’s elders board.“The president told the region’s communities that his trip was all about solving tribal conflicts, and that he would hold further consultation talks with us, but we have not attended those talks.” He told BBC Somali service Saturday.
No comment could be reached from Somali government on the development which underscores challenges facing its efforts aimed at spreading the new federalism system initiative across the country.Political analysts have earlier pointed out complexities surrounding the state’s formation process, given lack of consensus, mistrust and rivalry among clans in the two regions.

Hiiraan elders have earlier set tough terms on their endorsement for the formation of an inter-regional state with its neighbouring Middle Shabelle region, demanding that their region’s capital be picked as the proposed state’s capital and conference’s venue, a proposal dismissed by its neighbouring region.Despite challenges on the conference’s venue and power sharing arrangements, political observers say the development would further chip away at the government’s efforts to bring the two sides on the table to neutralize their political tensions if not handled well.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

State To Begin Border Operation To Flush Out Al Shabaab

28 December – Source: Standard Digital- 233 Words

The Government is planning to carry out a security operation to flush out Somali-based insurgents, who are reportedly regrouping along the Kenya-Somali border. According to the Government, the Al Shabaab splinter group allied to Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is planning to carry out major terror attacks in the country. The militants have carried out at least three attacks on vehicles plying the Mandera–Nairobi road during the festive season, killing at least eight people including four police officers.
Mandera County commissioner Fredrick Shisia regretted that the militants have renewed terror attacks in the border county, having been contained for the last six months following a major shake-up of top security officials in the north-eastern region. Shisia said the Al Shabaab hotspots earmarked for the operation are Fino, Omar Jillo, Arabia, Lafey and Dabacity.

The areas have been frequent attack zones as they border Somalia. The security operation will be conducted by a combined team of the military and police officers deployed to the region to track the attackers to their hideouts at the border. On Sunday, two police officers were killed, while two others were injured after the police land cruiser they were travelling in was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade by suspected Al Shabaab gunmen. Mandera Governor Ali Roba said the attacks in the last two weeks could be a precursor to a planned series of major attacks by the militants.

UAE Ambassador In Somalia Meets Minister Of Islamic Affairs

28 December – Source: Emirates News Agency – 89 Words

Mohammed Ahmed Othman Al Hammadi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Somalia, has met with Abdul Razak Sheikh Ali, Minister of Islamic Affairs in the Federal Republic of Somalia.The Minister of Islamic Affairs expressed his thanks and appreciation to the UAE for its prominent support role in various developmental and humanitarian fields in Somalia, while Al Hammadi expressed the UAE ‘s keenness to support Somalia in various fields.During the meeting, which was held at the UAE Embassy in the capital, Mogadishu, the sides also reviewed bilateral relations.

Al-Shabaab Militants, Soldiers Die In S. Somalia Gun Battle

28 December – Source: Xinhua – 150 Words

Nine Al-Shabaab militants and five soldiers died on Sunday night following a heavy gun battle outside Qoroyoley town located in lower Shabelle region of southern Somali.Officials said the Al-Qaida linked militants attempted to capture the town guarded by Somalia national and African Union troops when the fighting ensued.Spokesman of Lower Shabelle region Mohammed Shino told Xinhua that attempts by Al-Shabaab militants to capture Qoroyoley town failed to materialize thanks to stiff resistance from Somalia government and African Union troops. “There was heavy gun fire when Al-Shabaab militants attempted to recapture Qoroyoleytown from government and African Union forces. Independent sources have confirmed that nine Al-Shabaab militants and five soldiers died during the fighting,” Shino told Xinhua. He added that unconfirmed reports had also pointed at possible death of civilians during the night-long gun battle.African Union and Somalia government forces freed Qoroyoley town from Al-Shabaab in March 2014.

OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE

“A recent IDPs profiling in Mogadishu indicates that number of IDPs population increased around 40,000 since last comprehensive enumeration exercise were conducted in 2011. In another survey, the Somali Disaster Management Agency (DMA) found that out of the 9000 households nearly 50,000 persons profiled, 68% originate from the two Shabelles, that is Lower Shabelle and Middle Shabelle, regions with a high proportion of minority groups,”

Somalia’s Second Class Citizens

26 December – Source: Hiiraan Online – 1008 Words

Siteey* is a single mother of four children who squatters in an area of Mogadishu not too far from central area of the city. Since the death of her husband, she is left with the responsibility of bringing up four children without any support. In order to earn and make ends meet, Siteey works as a casual labourer by offering washing and cleaning services to local host families. Like many others, Siteey and her family live in a “Buul’ – a shelter made from cardboard, textiles and tree branches, which are unable to resist a little rain or wind.

Siteey is amongst the estimated 1.2 million population living in similar conditions across Somalia towns and cities. In Mogadishu alone, it is estimated around 400,000 currently live in appalling conditions, conditions that the many humanitarian organisations and the Somali government acknowledge are no longer sustainable. Many others like Siteey in Mogadishu and its outskirts face the regular threat of evictions from public and private spaces with no alternative land or plans for relocation elsewhere.

In case you have not figured, I am referering to Internaly displaced persons (IDPs) locally known as “Barakacayaal”. They are Somalis, displaced internally as a result of conflict or natural disasters similar to the drought and the famine of 2011. Informal settlements particularly in the outskirts of the city are increasingly inhabited by IDP communities despertaly in need of humanitatian assistantce and protection. According to US based consultancy Demographia, Mogadishu is second fastest growing city in the world, therefore as part of any urbanisation process, demand for housing, land and property has already increased, thus many IDPs and the urban poor are relocating to empty lands towards Mogadishu/Afgoye coorridor. Experts warn more and more IDPs, and the urban poor will find themselves living in the outskirts of Mogadishu, and the growing construction of informal settlemetns will soon convert empty lands to slums in the coming months and years.