February 24, 2016 | Morning Headlines
The Sixth High-Level Partnership Forum On Somalia Opens In Istanbul, Turkey
23 February – Source: AMISOM – 575 Words
Istanbul, 23 February 2016 – The sixth High-Level Partnership Forum opened in Istanbul, Turkey today, where Somalia’s partners acknowledged the massive strides the country has made in the security, political and economic fronts. The Forum was officially opened by the President of Turkey H.E Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Somali President H.E Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and UN Deputy Secretary-General H.E Jan Eliasson.
Ambassador Smail Chergui, the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security and the AU Special Representative for Somalia and Head of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Ambassador Francisco Madeira, are leading the AU delegation at the forum that has attracted over 200 delegations from over 50 countries. In his remarks during the opening ceremony, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted that due to improved security, Somalia had made tremendous progress over the last five years. He rallied support for the country in the fight against terror organization Al Shabaab.
“Somalia needs support in the fight against terrorism. From this angle, all of us have to support the positive developments attained so far because the stability of Somalia is not only important for Somalia, but also for the region and the continent,” emphasized President Erdogan. The President of the Federal Government of Somalia H.E Hassan Sheikh Mohamud outlined the gains Somalia has made to date.
Key Headlines
- The Sixth High-Level Partnership Forum On Somalia Opens In Istanbul Turkey (AMISOM)
- Somali Women And Youth Empowering Conference Concluded In Istanbul Today (Goobjoog News)
- SNA And AMISOM Forces ‘Repel’ Militants In Attack (Shabelle News)
- Somalia Passes Law On Anti-money Laundering Terrorism (Xinhua)
- Muslim Council Of Elders In UAE Seeks Peace In Somalia (The National UAE)
- Aid Cuts Trigger Health Crisis In Somalia (Voice of America)
- Conservation: Meet The Antelope Flourishing Under Community Conservation (Capital FM)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Women And Youth Empowering Conference Concluded In Istanbul Today
23 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 103 Words
Somali youth and women entrepreneurs, representing different regions of Somalia, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid , sports & youth Minister of Turkey Republic and his Somali counterpart attended the side event conference that mainly discussed ways to invest on Somali youth. Active Participation in the economic and social life of the youth and women was main theme of the conference. Fadumo Abdi Ali Deputy Chair of Somali Universities students unions in the opening remarks presented the challenges that face Somali youth and women inside the country. Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid and Peter de Clercq, DSRSG of the United Nations also gave speeches at the conference.
SNA And AMISOM Forces ‘Repel’ Militants In Attack
23 February – Source: Shabelle News – 122 Words
Fighting between Al-Shabaab and AMISOM troops erupted on Tuesday in the outskirts of Leego village in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region, an official said. The administrator of Leego village Abukar Isack popularly known as (Al Adala) said several Al-Shabaab fighters died in the skirmish and 10 AK-47 riffle assaults seized during the clash. He added The forces however managed to repulse the attackers.
“The SNA and AMISOM troops launched an operation to cleans-up Al-Shabaab between Leego and Yaqbari-weyne village following Monday roadside bomb attack on AU peacekeepers,” said Leego ruler. Al-Shabaab looks re-energized as they have recently intensified ambush attacks on government forces and AMISOM bases in their convoy in the volatile Lower Shabelle region, south of the country.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Passes Law On Anti-money Laundering, Terrorism
23 February – Source: Xinhua – 311 Words
Somalia has signed into law a Bill on the money laundering and financing of terrorism activities. A statement from the Central Bank of Somalia said Tuesday that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed the Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill into law after the Cabinet’s approval. The Bill empowers the apex bank to implement AML/CFT regulations and an examination regime to improve and strengthen the nascent financial sector in the country.
It addresses a wide range of activities and weaknesses, including money laundering and terrorism financing activities and offenses, customer verification, due diligence, and prohibited relationships and anonymous accounts. “The AML/CFT Law is part of a broader initiative by the Central Bank of Somalia to formalize the financial sector and provide a more conducive environment for international transactions, including remittances from abroad,” the statement said.
“The Central Bank of Somalia will continue its efforts to improve the country’s finance sector by developing stronger relations with partners and the financial sector,” it said. The central bank said the AML/CFT Law was drafted with assistance from UN anti-drug agency (UNDOC) and in consultation with relevant Somali government institutions as well as international partners.
Muslim Council Of Elders In UAE Seeks Peace In Somalia
23 February – Source: The National, UAE – 619 Words
The Muslim Council of Elders is conducting a reconciliation and peace intervention in Somalia between leaders of clashing religious groups. The council, based in Abu Dhabi, already started implementing the initiative by having thorough discussions with the Somali minister of religious affairs. The next step will involve sending experts from Al Azhar to talk to the groups’ leaders and to Somalis themselves. “This has been on our agenda from a long time, and we started implementing it last November,” explained council member Dr Abu Lubaba Al Taher, a Tunisian higher education professor at UAE University, and former chancellor of Zitouna University in Tunisia.
“Somalia has been suffering from clashes since 1999, and has been the concern of Muslims everywhere, and as the council made it their responsibility to bring security to Muslims, it is spending all its power and effort to bring peace back to the Somali society.” The minister was invited to Al Azhar to speak to the council thoroughly about all the obstacles standing in the way of peace, and the concerns of the people of his country. How much longer it will take to actually reach a resolution depends on the receptiveness of Somalis to accept peace and end their disputes. “Even if they are not receptive of the idea, we shall not lose hope no matter how long it takes, because it is in the nature of Muslims to have a desire for reconciliation,” said Dr Al Taher.
Aid Cuts Trigger Health Crisis In Somalia
23 February – Source: Voice of America – 406 Words
Some 1.5 million Somalis have lost access to healthcare over the last two years as around 10 hospitals have closed or cut back their services due to aid shortages, relief agencies said on Monday. The figure includes 300,000 children under five who can no longer get vaccinated against major childhood killers like measles or treated for diarrhea, which is often fatal, the agencies said. Donor funding for healthcare has fallen by nearly two-thirds to $29 million in 2015 from $72 million in 2011, they said, citing United Nations data.
“The Somali health system is at the moment in a state of crisis,” said Abdurahman Sharif, director of the Somalia NGO Consortium, a group of local and international aid agencies including Save the Children and Norwegian Refugee Council. Somalia has been mired in conflict since civil war broke out in 1991.
Many health facilities have been damaged or looted during the conflict and medics and drugs are in short supply. They are almost entirely dependent on donor funding, Sharif said. “They [aid agencies] will face difficulties in continuing to provide lifesaving health services at the scale that is required as a result mainly of the declining humanitarian funding,” he said in a phone interview.
Important regional hospitals in Galkayo South and Jowhar are on the verge of suspending key services, such as maternity and outpatient care, he said. Famine triggered by drought and war killed 260,000 people in Somalia in 2011. Funding has since waned as the government, backed by African Union troops, has made gains against the Islamist militant group al-Shabab.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“In January 2016, an aerial and ground survey revealed an estimated 97 hirola were found within the Sanctuary, and several heavily pregnant female’s promise to bring this number into the hundreds very soon. From an initial population of just 48, hirola numbers have doubled in just three and a half years.”
Conservation: Meet The Antelope Flourishing Under Community Conservation
23 February – Source: Capital FM – 530 Words
Most people have never heard of the hirola. The fawn coloured antelope is a shy animal, with a long thin face and spectacled eyes. And yet this unassuming creature is the centre of what may be one of the most successful conservation efforts in recent history. And the heroes – the equally unassuming Somali pastoralists who live alongside them on the East bank of the Tana River.
The Abdullah Somali community that run the Ishaqbini Conservancy in north-east Kenya have always had a fondness for the hirola, whose docile nature has earned it the nickname of ‘the stupid antelope’ in other communities. It is endemic to north-east Kenya and south-west Somalia, but populations have declined by over 80% since 1990. Numerous factors, including disease, hunting and loss of grasslands, have contributed to this.
Ishaqbini is part of a network of 33 community conservancies in northern Kenya, operating under the umbrella of the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT). Together they are managing over 44,000 km² of land, stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Great Rift Valley. Not only are they conserving wildlife, but they are securing peace and building resilient livelihoods for rural communities on the back of it.
Sourcing the funding and support they needed through Northern Rangelands Trust, the Kenya Wildlife Service and others, the Ishaqbini community built a 3,000 hectare, predator-proof enclosure in an attempt to protect the last remaining hirola in their area. In August 2012, 48 hirola were herded up from surrounding areas and moved into the sanctuary. This was the first fenced sanctuary on community land in Kenya dedicated for the conservation of a critically endangered species.