February 26, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Somali Police Official:Mortar Attack Kills 3 In Capital
25 February – Source:Associated Press – 113 Words
A Somali official says a mortar attack targeting the Somali presidential palace has killed three civilians, including a child.Police Capt. Mohamed Hussein said Thursday the mortars hit a residential area of the capital, Mogadishu. Al-Shabab militant group, an al-Qaida affiliate claimed the responsibility for the attack.
Al-Shabaab wants to overthrow Somalia’s weak- U.N.-backed government and govern Somalia under a harsh interpretation of Islamic law.Al-Shabab is waging a guerrilla war after being pushed out by African Union peacekeeping forces from major cities and towns the group once occupied in 2008. The group routinely carries out attacks in Somalia and has launched attacks in countries contributing troops to the AU forces.
Key Headlines
- Somali Police Official:Mortar Attack Kills 3 In Capital (Associated Press)
- Somali Military Court Sentences Alleged Al-Shabaab Members (Goobjoog News )
- Four Al-Shabaab Commanders Killed In KDF Airstrike In Southern Somalia (Shabelle News)
- Puntland Receives More Refugees From Yemen (Villa Puntland)
- Parliament Speaker’s Attendance At Arab League Summit Was unlawful Says MP (Shabelle News)
- Turkey’s Helping Hands Builds Maternity And Children’s Hospital In Somalia (Daily Sabah)
- Somalia Organizes CAF License C Course ( CAF Online)
- Somalia Sixth High-Level Partnership Forum (Today’s Zaman)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Military Court Sentences Alleged Al-Shabaab Members
25 February – Source: Goobjoog – 150 Words
A Somali Military court has on this Thursday sentenced six defendant accused for being members of Alshabab assassin squad. the military court gave mixed sentences including death and life incarceration.The six suspects are accused to have prepared and carried out the assignation which killed Somali Female Journalist Hindiya Haji Mohamed on December last year.
The six men all Somali Nationals are, Abdirzaq Mohammad Barrow Adow, Hassan Nour Ali Farah, Mo’alim Mohmmad Aboukar Ali, Mohmmad Mohmmad Sheikh Yusuf Wardere, Mohayadin Osman Mohmmad Awale and Ali Hassan Adan Tonni Mohmmad Barrow Adow was sentenced to death by the court for planting the bomb that killed Somali Female Journalist Hindiya Haji Mohmmad. Mohayadin Osman Mohmmad Awale, Ali Hassan Adan Tonni got five years sentence prison while remaining three sentenced to life incarceration. The Somali military court’s chairman, Hassan Ali Shuute announced the court’s verdict. The entire defendants were given the chance to appeal.
Four Al-Shabaab Commanders Killed In KDF Airstrike In Southern Somalia
25 February – Source: Shabelle Media Network- 132 Words
At least four Al shabaab commanders are reportedly killed in a fresh KDF airstrike in militants’ stronghold in south-west of Somalia on Thursday, a military source said.
Confirming the incident, a senior Somali army officer in Gedo said Kenyan jets pounded an Al-Shabaab base in Tulo Barwaqo village which lies in the outskirts of Garbaharey, the region’s capital city.
Osman Abdullahi Hajji, the military commander identified two of the four Al shabaab commanders killed in Thursday’s aerial bombardment in Gedo region as Abdullah Hussein Hassan and Luqman.Continuing, Mr Hajji said Kenyan jets hit a camp, where senior Al shabaab leaders were having a secret meeting to discuss on their operations against SNA and AMISOM troops in Somalia.Al -Shabaab did not comment of the airstrike and the Somali military’s claim.
Puntland Receives More Refugees From Yemen
25 February – Source: Villa Puntland- 118 Words
More than three hundreds refugees from Mukalah, a Yemeni port town adjacent to Puntland commercial town, welcomed in Bossaso on Wednesday, Villa Puntland Reports.Boatload of refugees of Somali and Yemen nationals who fled Yemen docked Bossaso port on Wednesday.
Shortly after arriving, the refugees who many of them were women and children were taken to designated camps in Bossaso.The regional and district authorities and the ministry of health have readied medical facilities at seaport prior to the arrival of these refugees.Puntland, Stable Somali autonomous in Northern Somalia, hosted tens of thousands of refugees of Somali and Yemen origins who fled the infighting and conflict between the government and the Huthi rebels in Yemen.
Parliament Speaker’s Attendance At Arab League Summit Was unlawful, Says MP
25 February – Source: Shabelle Media Network- 109 Words
Mohamed Omar Dalha, a member of Somali parliament described the speaker’s attendance at Arab league summit in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, as unlawful.The MP argues that the speaker left for Cairo with delegates who are not the right lawmakers in the two-day Arab league summit which was focused on security and terrorism matters.“The members of security committee of the parliament were left behind and the speaker picked up his ally lawmakers to participate the Cairo meeting,” said parliamentarian Dalha.The federal government president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and parliament speaker have both attended in Istanbul HLPF and Arab league summit in Cairo respectively, to represent Somalia this week.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Turkey’s Helping Hands Builds Maternity And Children’s Hospital In Somalia
25 February- Source: Daily Sabah – 213 Words
A maternity and children’s hospital in Somalia’s capital built by a Turkish aid organization has opened.Turkey’s Helping Hands International Humanitarian Aid Association laid the foundation of the hospital in 2011 and today the hospital building is completed, Sadık Danışman, the association of the president said on Thursday.
The 27,000-square meter hospital in Mogadishu has been stocked with equipment and medicines from Turkey.The facility will provide operations, emergency and neonatal care, intensive care and management services.Danisman touched on the Humanium international child sponsorship NGO statistic that Somalia’s infant mortality rate is traumatically high “with an average of 180 deaths for every 1,000 births”.Somali children mainly die from dehydration and illnesses like diarrhea, malaria, and pneumonia and cholera epidemics, Danışman added.
According to the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), Turkey has carried out humanitarian work across over 40 countries in four continents to help those in need after an earthquake, flood, fire, civil war or famine hit a region.The total amount of Turkish aid for Somalia thus far has reached $500 million.The UN has said an estimated 857,000 people inside Somalia are currently “in crisis and emergency conditions”, while almost two million Somalis suffer from food insecurity. Another million are refugees in neighboring countries.
Somalia Organizes CAF License C Course
25 February – Source : CAF Online – 170 Words
For the first time, Somalia has successfully staged a CAF License C coaching course, conducted by indigenous instructors.A total of 24 coaches were awarded with the CAF “C” License certificates after successfully passing both practical and theoretical sessions under the supervision of instructors, Awil Ismail Mohamed and Mohamed Abdulle Farayare were teaching at the course which was held at the SFF headquarters in the capital Mogadishu.
Somali Football Federation (SFF) senior vice president, Ali Abdi Mohamed, who addressed at the closing ceremony this week, said Somalia has now come of age and was hopeful that the number of qualified Somali instructors will soar in years to come.“Now we have two Somali experts who have successfully organized this CAF Coaching course. We are now hopeful that Somalia will soon have its FIFA level instructors and I am sure that will happen because Somalia’s knowledge and experience of football is growing” said Mohamed congratulating the participants on the successful completion.The course was held from 20-25 December 2015 in Mogadishu.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“2016 is an important year for Somalia. It is going through a critical process to restructure the state that is expected to be completed this year. There are three important issues that are expected to be completed in 2016: an election, the federal structure and the constitution. Turkey supports Somalia in this challenging process as well, ”
Somalia Sixth High-Level Partnership Forum
25 February – Source: Today’s Zaman – 698 Words
The Somalia sixth High-Level Partnership Forum was held in İstanbul on Feb. 23 and 24 with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud. The international community renewed its support for Somalia at the meeting.
Turkey is experiencing the agonies of its quest to regain its big state reflexes. It is making great errors in restoring those reflexes. Yet, there are moments when it is successful. The best case of this was its acceptance of 3 million Syrians as refugees. The second instance is in the case of Somalia. A country that has been suffering due to lack of a state system, terrorism, famine and poverty since 1991, Somalia has been helped to stand on its feet again by Turkey. There is no longer chaos or conflict in Somalia. In the wake of the 2011 famine, Prime Minister Erdoğan visited Somalia. Westerners were managing their humanitarian efforts from Kenya while Erdoğan walked the streets of Mogadishu without a bulletproof vest. Somalia is the mirror of Turkey’s Africa policy and, at the same time, a manifestation of its desire to become a big state once again.
The Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, is currently under construction and it will be a 10,000-square-meter building in a 61,000-square-meter compound. Construction is expected to be completed in spring and the embassy building is expected to be officially opened by President Erdoğan. This embassy will be Turkey’s largest mission abroad. Turkey is supporting the construction of military training facilities for the Somali military forces. These facilities were reported by some in the Turkish press to be a Turkey military training base, but they are actually part of a military academy. The first phase of this military academy will be operational in 2016. The academy will train military officers, petty officers and private soldiers according to European standards. Turkey will build a new building for the Somali parliament as well. This building will be its gift to Somalis and its groundbreaking ceremony is expected to be held in 2016. Turkey allocates funds worth $2 million annually from its budget. Thanks to these funds, the Somali government can pay the salaries of public servants in a timely manner and pay for the state’s needs. The Mogadishu municipality was able to start clearing garbage after 20 years thanks to garbage trucks given by Turkey as a gift. This year, the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality will give the Mogadishu municipality 30 municipal buses.