28 Oct 2011 – Morning headlines
Key Headlines:
- Somali embassy in Kenya is to register its nationals
- Kenya tells UN Security Council Somalia approved its incursion
- Burundi reiterates commitment to help restore peace to Somalia
- Danes held hostage in Somalia regret sailing route
- Al Shabaab leader in Somalia calls for attacks against Kenya
- Somali Islamist militants rally against Kenya
- Is US behind Kenya’s invasion of Somalia?
- US accused of politicizing Somalia famine aid
PRESS RELEASE
27 Oct – Source: Office of the TFG’s Prime Minister – 290 words
H.E Dr Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, Prime Minister of the TFG held a press conference to deliberate the government’s position on the war against al Shabaab and military activities carried by Somali forces trained in Kenya, and noted as follows: a) I am appalled by the misquotations made by some media members regarding the Somali government’s position on events unfolding in the south of the country
b) Somalia and Kenya issued a Joint Communique on October 18th, 2011 at the conclusion of a meeting between the two governments, signed in Mogadishu, Somalia
c) On October 26th, 2011, the Somali Government repeated its stated position at a press conference held in Villa Somalia and the Somali Government reaffirmed its position on the Joint Communique signed with the brotherly country of Kenya.
d) The aim of yesterday’s press conference was to dispel any doubts made on the position of the Somali government on the Joint Communique issued on October 18th, 2011. Unfortunately, members of the media wrongly misquoted and reported the government’s position.
e) Somalia and Kenya share a common strategy against al Shabaab and its terrorist affiliates
f) Somalia and Kenya agreed to cooperate in undertaking security and military operations and to take coordinated measures to defeat al Shabaab
g) Somali government views the fight against al Shabaab extremists as direct support extended to the Somali people, and as an action that will improve the security of Somalia, Kenya and of the entire Horn of Africa.
h) Somali government commends its forces who are engaged in the war against al Shabaab and are continuing to wage this war to free the country from al Shabaab’s tyranny
i) Somali government welcomes support from IGAD member states and AMISOM troops. Done in Mogadishu, on this 27th day of October, 2011
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali embassy in Kenya is to register its nationals
27 Oct – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Shabelle and Bar-kulan – 123 words
The Somalia embassy in Kenya proclaimed it is to register its citizens after grenade attacks targeted Nairobi as Kenyan government is conducting combat operations against al Shabaab in the horn of African nation. Speaking to the media, Mohamed Adam Issa, a Somali diplomat in Kenya said they are planning to book all Somali nationals to protect them.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Kenya tells UN Security Council Somalia approved its incursion
27 Oct – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 273 words
Kenya has informed the U.N. Security Council that it had permission from the Somali government to cross their shared border and pursue al Shabaab militants. Kenya’s U.N. Ambassador Macharia Kamau said in a letter circulated on Tuesday that his government decided to take pre-emptive actions “in direct consultations and liaison with the TFG in Mogadishu”.
8 killed in northeastern Kenya bomb blast
27 Oct – Source: Mareeg Online – 103 words
At least 8 people have been killed in Mandera town, northeastern Kenya. Teachers from the Ministry of Education and Kenyan soldiers were among those killed in the attack. The bomb attack was targeting a car traveling inside the border town of Mandera.
http://www.shabelle.net/
REGIONAL MEDIA
Burundi reiterates commitment to help restore peace to Somalia
27 Oct – Source: Afrique Jet – 250 words
The Burundi government reiterated its commitment to support the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia, less than a week after 10 Burundian soldiers died in fighting against al Shabaab for the control of Mogadishu. Last Thursday’s fighting for control of the strategic district of Daynille reportedly left at least 10 people dead and 18 others wounded, according to the Burundi Ministry of National Defence and Veterans Affairs.
http://www.afriquejet.com/
Danes held hostage in Somalia regret sailing route
27 Oct – Source: Arab News – 130 words
The father of a Danish yachting family held captive by armed Somali gunmen for more than six months says he wished they never had sailed into the pirate-infested waters off the Horn of Africa. In the first interview after their release, Jan Quist Johansen says it was “the decision of my life that I regret the most.” His wife Marie told the Politiken newspaper that their Somali captors never hit them.
http://arabnews.com/world/
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Al Shabaab leader in Somalia calls for attacks against Kenya
27 Oct – Source: VOA News – 231 words
An al Shabaab militant leader in Somalia is calling on his followers to carry out huge explosions inside Kenya, in retaliation for Kenyan troops going into Somalia to try and stop the Islamic militants. Sheikh Muktar Robow says tossing grenades is not enough; he is urging the militants to strike what he calls big painful blows.
Somalia, Libya, Uganda: US increases Africa focus
27 Oct – Source: AP – 1,322 words
While putting few U.S. troops at risk, the United States is playing a growing role in Africa’s military battles, using special forces advisers, drones and tens of millions of dollars in military aid to combat a growing and multifaceted security threat. Once again, the focus is Somalia, the lawless nation that was the site of America’s last large-scale military intervention in Africa in the early 1990s.
Somali Islamist militants rally against Kenya
27 Oct – Source: The New York Times – 725 words
Islamist militants rallied hundreds of supporters outside Somalia’s capital on Thursday to call for attacks on Kenya, saying, “We want huge blasts,” while Kenyan authorities reported an assault inside Kenya, with at least four people killed in an ambush near the Somali border.
Is US behind Kenya’s invasion of Somalia?
28 Oct – Source: Herald Scotland News – 250 words
But as Kenya’s army continues its push into neighbouring Somalia in pursuit of insurgents from Islamist group al Shabab, a picture is emerging that suggests this is much more than an attempt by the Kenyan Government to prevent the al Qaeda franchise from reaching its own turf.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/
US accused of politicizing Somalia famine aid
The U.S. government is defending itself against new accusations that it has politicized aid to victims of Somalia’s ongoing famine, as well as failed to help the long-term situation in the conflict-wracked country. U.S. officials blame the al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab group for restricting outside aid.