January 19, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Saudi Arabia Names First Envoy To Somalia Since 1990
18 January – Source: Goobjoog News – 132 Words
President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has on Wednesday received credentials from Saudi-Arabia’s first ambassador to Somalia since 1990s, Dr Mohamed Abdi-kani Al-Khayat at the presidential palace in Mogadishu. President Hassan and the new envoy discussed ways to enhance and strengthen ties between the two states after accepting his diplomatic documents at the presidential palace.
Al-Khayat conveyed president Mohamud a message from the Kingdom Saudi during the meeting. The Ambassador said that Saudi-Arabia will support building Somali Army, establishing rehabilitation centers for the defected militias from Al-Shabaab group and refugees returning home back.
President Mohamud said such cooperation ties between Somalia and Saudi-Arabia will have a great role in the reconstruction of the country. Riyadh had no diplomatic or consular representation in Somalia since Somalia’s central government was overthrown.
Key Headlines
- Saudi Arabia Names First Envoy To Somalia Since 1990 (Goobjoog News)
- Two Dead Three Injured In Bardere Grenade Explosion (Garowe Online)
- Somali Fishermen In Elbur Complain About Illegal Vessels (Goobjoog News)
- River Shabelle Is Drying Up (Goobjoog News)
- Somalia Urged To Enforce Law On Sexual Offences After Gang Rape Of 16-year-old (The Guardian)
- Former Somali President ‘Confident’ In Election Victory (All East Africa)
- Closing The World’s Largest Refugee Camp Is A Complicated Process (MPR)
- We Want Real Justice Warns Mother Of Teenage Somali Girl Gang-raped By Six Youths (Radio Ergo)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Two Dead, Three Injured In Bardere Grenade Explosion
18 January – Source: Garowe Online – 187 Words
At least two soldiers were killed, and three wounded in a deadly grenade explosion in the southern town of Bardere in Gedo region on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports. Capt. Abdulkadir Hussein, a Somali Police officer in the town said the attack took place after assailants suspected to be Al-Shabaab members have tossed a grenade bomb at a security checkpoint manned by Somali National Army (SNA).
The security forces have shot dead one of the attackers shortly after the blast, Hussein added. Several civilians who were nearby the scene were injured and taken to hospital. The Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militants have claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they targeted senior army officers in the checkpoint, according to statement aired by the pro-media Andalus Radio.
In the aftermath of the blast, Somali Federal government forces beefed up security as they launched an operation to arrest the suspected Al-Shabaab members hiding out in the southern town. Al-Shabaab militants who have been driven out of large swathes of areas in Gedo by Somali and AMISOM troops in the past four years, still continue launching sporadic attacks against allied forces in the region.
Somali Fishermen In Elbur Complain About Illegal Vessels
18 January – Source: Goobjoog News – 235 Words
Fishermen in El-Buur Coastal town of north-eastern Somalia have complained about illegal fishing vessels that are proliferating at an alarming rate. They have said that they are to stop their work after facing “dangerous threats’’ from illegal foreign fishing vessels, who are illegally plundering region’s resources. Ali Abdi Omar said that trawlers, dhows and other fishing vessels have begun to maintain increased presence in territorial waters.
He added that trawlers are not only depleting marine resources but destroyed fishing gears and nets of local fishermen. Omar said the fishermen organised themselves to curb illegal fishing, which is threatening fishing stocks and lives of hundreds of local fishermen. “After long struggle, we finally armed ourselves and seized two illegal foreign fishing vessels together with several crew for illegally fishing in our waters,” said Omar.
Local Fishermen have continuously complained about foreign trawlers who are doing the illegal fishing and dumping waste. Some fishermen have gone missing while others are tortured by the trawlers who at times spray boiling water from cannons. Since the collapse of the Somali government in 1991, Somalia has struggled to protect its fishery resources. Foreign fishing corporations have taken advantage of the instability of the region and have been fishing in the Somali’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) unhindered. The illegal fishing threatens Somalia’s coastal communities and many analysts have pointed to illegal fishing to be the impetus that drives piracy in Somalia.
River Shabelle Is Drying Up
18 January – Source: Goobjoog News – 204 Words
Somalia’s Shabelle river which passes through Hiiraan, Middle Shabelle and Lower Shabelle regions is running dry amid severe drought in the war-torn country. Hundreds of thousands and their livestock suffer food shortages in many parts of Somalia. One of Lower Shabelle farmers who have been relying on the products from the river-fed farmlands said water shortages in the river gets worst day after day.
“The level of river water changed and river still has water flowing but it has changed in colour and the taste,” said the farmer.
According to United Nation, an estimated five million Somalis are in need of food aid after sparse rains triggered drought in much of the country. Severe water shortages have been the trend for the last few months as water sources in remote areas have dried up and people now fear for the loss of human life due to the escalating drought.
Shabelle River extends from Ethiopian highlands and enters Somalia in Hiiraan region where it passes Baladweyne, Bulabarde, Jalalaqsi and dozens of villages before disappearing into the ocean. The farmers use to produce maize, bananas, sesame and other fruits and vegetables, with the once broad waters of the river a lifeline for thousands of Somali families.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Urged To Enforce Law On Sexual Offences After Gang Rape Of 16-year-old
18 January – Source: The Guardian – 578 Words
The gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in Somalia, which sparked outrage after a video of the alleged incident was posted on social media, will be the first substantial test of a law aimed at tackling pervasive sexual violence in the country. Women’s groups have urged the authorities to enforce legislation passed last year in Puntland, the semi-autonomous region of Somalia where the rape took place. The law, launched in November and hailed as a vital step towards lasting change, criminalises all sexual offences for the first time.
Five men have been arrested in connection with the alleged rape near Galdogob, a town close to the Ethiopia border, last December. Two girls were involved in the attack, one of whom was left one with serious injuries, according to reports. The 16-year-old girl, who was stabbed, remains in hospital. A government adviser urged members of the Somali diaspora and others to report to the relevant authorities any sharing of the video on social media, which reportedly shows the young girl being tortured, stabbed and sexually assaulted.
Ifrah Ahmed, gender adviser to Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, the Somali prime minister, said: “The federal government have condemned the rape and are requiring justice. This little girl is in hospital and there is a film on social media. It affects her dignity. I would urge Somalis in the diaspora not to look on social media and to report it.” Campaigners have set up a social media funding page to raise funds for the girl and her family, who have fled their home. A spokesman for Somali Faces, an online platform aimed at telling stories of Somali people from around the world, said they have raised £8,000. A statement on the site said the girl’s family had been forced to flee “due to fears of being ostracised”.
Former Somali President ‘Confident’ In Election Victory
18 January – Source: All East Africa – 400 Words
The former Somali president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed expressed confidence that he would win this year’s presidential election, even with the potential stiff challenges from his key challenger, the incumbent leader who is seeking to win a second term election. Somalia is expected to hold presidential elections next month, with over 18 candidates are running for the country’s top seat. “I am hundred percent confident that I shall become the president of Somalia this year.” Mr. Ahmed said at a press conference in Mogadishu on Wednesday.
“No matter how much money (bribes) he pays – your (MPs) votes will me mine.” He said of the incumbent Somali president. Mr. Ahmed also took aim at the Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, accusing him of failing to deliver on promises he made after winning the presidential election in 2012. Mr. Mohamud defeated Mr. Ahmed in the election. “None of the Six Pillar Policy he promises were delivered – you see how bad the security is, the city’s main roads remain closed which complicated the lives of the people, and you know the revenues collected from the port and airport remain unaccounted for.” He noted.
Mr. Mohamud, 61 who was elected as Somali president in 2012 to lead the first non-interim government for the horn of Africa nation since 1991 when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre is trying to defend his seat amid tough challenges from heavyweight rival candidates including his predecessor Sharif Sheikh Ahmed who vowed a ‘new development’ page for Somalia if he is elected for presidency for the second time.
Closing The World’s Largest Refugee Camp Is A Complicated Process
18 January – Source: MPR – Audio: 11: 17 Minutes
Kenya has been pushing to shut down Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world. The camp, which is located in eastern Kenya, was opened in 1991 as a temporary home for people fleeing war in Somalia. It’s since grown into a huge city, housing almost 300,000 refugees and asylum seekers as of last August.
In November, Kenya said it would delay the camp’s closure by several months after the United Nations warned of humanitarian concerns. MPR News host Tom Weber talked with Ben Rawlence, author of “City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp,” for an update.
OPINION, CULTURE & ANALYSIS
“We will not accept elders to interfere in this issue because this incident ruined our family. We are neither alive nor dead. We don’t know where to go; our hearts sank, even our children have become confused and traumatized. We can’t send them out anywhere and they don’t even go to school.”
We Want Real Justice, Warns Mother Of Teenage Somali Girl Gang-raped By Six Youths
17 January – Source: Radio Ergo – 1,344 Words
Two teenage girls gang-raped by a group of six youths armed with knives in Galdogob district in central Somalia’s Mudug region are being treated in Dhaga’ade hospital in Galkayo town. A video clip recorded by the men showing how it happened has gone viral on Somali social media, leading to widespread condemnation and sparking a hot debate over what should happen to the rapists. The family of the girl most brutally attacked is demanding that justice be done. They are refusing to submit to pressure from the local elders, who use traditional ways of resolving such cases that often involves making a rapist marry his victim.
Fowzia Omar Barre of Radio Ergo interviewed Shukri Abdullahi, the mother of one of the girls, by phone. The interview is transcribed below.
Radio Ergo: When and where did the rape occur?
Shukri: It took place on 7 December. At around 8 pm, she [my daughter] was abducted and put in a car and taken to a rural area on the outskirts of the town. They raped and tortured her. She also has two stab wounds: one in the back and the other one in her private parts. She suffered beatings at the hands of the rapists and she has wounds all over her body; the worst being the chest and the stab wounds, especially the one in her back that penetrated deep inside the skin. The other wound, they used the knife to cut and open the scar from circumcision over her vagina but the doctor repaired it now. She has been in this hospital for the last 28 days. Apart from the pain, she is mentally unstable and not herself anymore.
Radio Ergo: How many people were involved in the rape of the two girls?
Shukri: We have learnt that the act was committed by six men between 18 and 20 years old. My daughter is 14 years old. They were mature people who knew what they were doing. They abducted her in the evening and took her to the outskirts of Galdogob town where they committed the crime. My daughter and the other girl left home around sunset to escort and accompany her friend who had visited her at home. When they were coming back, they were confronted by two men who stopped them. Then a car came and four men got out and pushed her and the other girl into the car and drove off.