31 Oct 2011 – Morning headlines
Key Headlines:
- Mogadishu business community thanks AMISOM
- AMISOM beats back extremist attack on Mogadishu
- Somali premier Abdiweli Gaas flies to Nairobi Kenya
- Kenyan jets bomb southern Somali town 12 killed
- Government optimistic of the outcome of Mogadishu’s security meeting
- Kenyan air raid ‘kills civilians’ in Somalia
- Gov’t soldiers in southern Somalia arrest over 20 Al Shabaab fighters
- Kenyan police arrest 20 suspects over terror attack near Somalia
- American identified as bomber in attack on African Union in Somalia
- U.S. denies role in Kenya’s Somalia operation
- No exit date for Kenyan mission in Somalia
- Troops will not leave until al Shabaab is defeated – Saitoti
- Kenya to pull out of Somalia after taming al Shabaab
- Aid workers kidnapped in Somalia are alive and well
- Crisis continues 100 days after famine was declared in SomaliaBomber targeted Nyayo stadium
- Senior al Shabaab leader defects to government side
- Somali rebel group attack AU military base in Mogadishu with grenades
- 10 al Shabaab fighters killed in Gedo region
- Somali militants post tape they claim made by American who blew himself up in AU base attack
- Somali traders pledge support in terror war
- Rwanda SA back Kenya’s Somalia operation
- Tanzania backs Kenya on war against al Shabaab
PRESS RELEASE
AMISOM beats back extremist attack on Mogadishu
29 Oct – Source: AMISOM Force HQ – 113 words
African Union troops helping to defend the Somali capital, Mogadishu, have today beaten off an attack by al Qaeda-linked terrorists on one of their positions in the outskirts of the city.
At noon, armed terrorists, including 2 suicide bombers disguised as Somali Army troops, attempted to take the position, which is near the German Steel Factory.
During the failed attack, the suicide bombers blew themselves but the extremists were unable to take control of the AMISOM position.
The position guards the Industrial Road, an important city artery, which marks Mogadishu’s northern border. The area was formerly under the control of the extremists before they were forced out by Somali Army troops, supported by AMISOM, in August.
Mogadishu business community thanks AMISOM
30 Oct – Source: AMISOM Force HQ – 337 words
The business community in the Somali capial, Mogadishu, this morning presented a total of thirty animals to AMISOM in appreciation of the Mission’s effort in securing the capital from Al Qaeda-linked terrorists. The gift, which included 14 cows and 16 camels, was presented during a function at the Somali parliamentary square, presided over by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Hussein Arab Isse. Also in attendance were the Chief of Staff of the Somali National Army, Gen. Abdikadir Sheikh Ali Diini, several members of Parliament, and representatives of the Mogadishu business community. AMISOM was represented by the Chief of Civil Military Cooperation, Lt Col Katwekire Kamurali, and other senior officers. Delivering a speech on behalf of the AMISOM Force Commander, Col. Kamurali thanked the Somali business community for their appreciation. He said AMISOM would continue to do its best to secure the people of Mogadishu and create an environment for businesses to thrive. He assured the gathering that AMISOM would work towards extending security to the entire country.
On his part, the Minister of Defence thanked the AMISOM force for the sacrifices they are making to liberate Somalia. He paid tribute to those who have lost their lives in the line of duty and wished quick recovery to all those who have been injured. He assured the people that the Transitional Federal Government would continue to work with AMISOM. Since the extremists were forced out of Mogadishu by the Somali Army with the support of AMISOM, economic activity has grown rapidly as the local authorities take advantage of the relative peace to repair roads, clear rubble and reopen markets. The two biggest markets in the city, Bakara and Suuq Baad are busy once more and sport newly refurbished buildings. Real estate prices along Via Moscow, one of Mogadishu’s major arteries within Waberi and Hamar-jabjab, have doubled following the reopening of the road and municipal authorities have launched a pilot project in Yakshid district to register businesses for the purpose of revenue collection and service provision.
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali premier, Abdiweli Gaas flies to Nairobi, Kenya
30 Oct – Source: Radio Mogadishu – 138 words
Somali prime minister, Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali heading a large delegation has on Sunday gone to the neighbouring country to discuss the latest issues between the states, reports said. Somali premier, Dr. Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, his home affairs minister, defence minister and other members of the Somali transitional federal government went to Kenya yesterday for talks between the heads two countries.
Government optimistic of the outcome of Mogadishu’s security meeting 28 Oct – Source: Radio Mogadishu, Radio Bar-Kulan – 161 words The government has said it is optimistic that the current security meeting in Mogadishu will be fruitful. Deputy Prime Minister who is also the defence minister Hussein Arab Isse said that his government hopes that the outcome of the meeting will boost security situation in the country. Isse said the meeting which kicked off yesterday is expected to end today and that the outcome will be of great importance to the Somali people.
Gov’t soldiers in southern Somalia arrest over 20 Al Shabaab fighters
29 Oct – Source: Radio Mogadishu – 99 words
The Somali government’s administration in Gedo region in the south of the country said that it has seized more than 20 al Shabaab fighters in security operations conducted by government soldiers. Speaking at a news conference held in Mogadishu, the spokesman of Somali forces in Gedo region Ahmed Adam Hirsi said the arrested ones will be brought to justice as soon as possible.
Kenyan police arrest 20 suspects over terror attack near Somalia
29 Oct- Source: Radio Shabelle- 80 words
Police in the Kenyan border town of Mandera have arrested 20 suspects in connection with Friday’s attack on a government vehicle. Residents of Mandera town told Radio Shabelle that “those arrested were Somalis of Kenyan origin as well as Somali nationals”. SomaliaReport.com, quoting an al Shabaab official, said “the group was behind the attack” on the Kenyan government vehicle in which “four government employees died”.
Al Shabaab recruit new fighters in Hiiraan region
29 Oct- Source: Somaliareport- 46 words
Al Shabaab hves embarked on a new recruitment exercise aimed at enlisting new fighters in Hiiraan region, Somalia Report has reliably learned. According to the reliable sources, the militant group has enlisted at least 300 new fighters including women, over the last two days.
Official: al Shabaab leaders contact Kenyan government to negotiate
28 Oct- Source: Radio Mogadishu- 128 words
A senior Kenyan government official said today that al Shabaab leaders are seeking negotiations as the Kenya pursues the Islamist militants deeper into Somalia. “They want to talk,” said the official, who did not want to be named because he is not authorized to talk to the media. Kenyan troops struck several al Shabaab training sites in Somalia early Thursday, a military spokesman said.
U.S. denies role in Kenya’s Somalia operation
29 Oct – Source: Radio Mogadishu, SONNA – 278 words
The U.S. ambassador to Kenya denied any American involvement in Kenya’s military operation in Somalia, which is designed to drive al Shabaab out of its bases in the south of that conflict-ridden nation. But the U.S. was continuing to provide help to ensure Kenya’s internal security, Ambassador Scott Gration said Friday: “we have been providing our assistance in an overt way through the Kenya navy, army and air force for a long time, and we will continue. We are not in Somalia. Our support is through equipment.”
10 al Shabaab fighters killed in Gedo region
30 Oct- Source: Somaliareport- 42 words
At least 10 al Shabaab fighters were killed in Busar and Modaale villages on the outskirts of El-wak town following a fierce battle between the TFG and al Shabaab late on Saturday, Somali Government officials said on Sunday.
Somaliland police beat journalist in Hargeysa
28 Oct – Source: Somaliweyn – 229 words
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) strongly condemns the violations against journalist which continues as Somaliland police has beaten seriously a TV journalist in Hargeysa. Mohamed Abdi Kahin aka Boosh, who works for a Somali news website Ramaas and Royal TV was seriously beaten by Somaliland police on Thursday Oct. 27, 2011 at Shacabka neighborhood in Hargeysa, in broad daylight.
http://www.somaliweyn.org/
Several killed in an aerial bombardment in Jilib, Middle Juba
30 Oct – Source: Radio Bar-kulan, Shabelle – 190 words
At least 14 have been killed and several others wounded after unknown foreign helicopters on Sunday attacked al Shabaab bases in Jilib district of Middle Juba, reports say. Locals told Bar-kulan that two foreign helicopters attacked the two rebel bases and a refugee camp hosting IDP’s in Jilib town.
Somali rebel group attack AU military base in Mogadishu with grenades 29 Oct – Source: Mareeg Online, Shabelle and Garowe Online – 96 words Huge blasts heard from the AU peace keeping forces and Somali national army base at former Germany Camp in Mogadishu after al Shabaab took attack against that base, reports said. The number of casualties is not yet known.
http://www.mareeg.com/fidsan.
Al Shabaab warn people to avoid AU bases
30 Oct- Source: Diirad Online, Radio Andilus, Radio Al Furqaan- 94 words
The al Shabaab movement on Saturday warned civilians to avoid government and AU military bases where they vowed to commit more suicide attacks. Sheikh Ali Mohamoud Rage, the spokesman of al Shabaab told reporters that they targeted two suicide attacks and direct combat operations at Hero Jarmal near to Warshadaha Street of Mogadishu.
http://www.diirad.com/news-in-
Somali envoy to Kenya meets Somali community in Nairobi
30 Oct- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 182 words
Somalia’s ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Ali Noor is today meeting Somali community representatives in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi to discuss the impact of recent Kenyan security swoop targeting Somalis in the country. The meeting is expected to focus much on the fear griping the community following Kenya’s recent promise that it will crackdown the alleged sympathisers of al Shabaab rebel fighters within the community.
Senior al Shabaab leader defects to government side
28 Oct – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 102 words
A senior al Shabaab leader and seven of his militias have on Friday reportedly surrendered to the Somali government forces in Qoqani, Lower Juba. Yussuf Ahmed Liban, who used to operate in Afmadow, defected with his militias to the government side a time the Somali government are advancing on the rebel-held port city of Kismayo.
Somali sports authorities attend management workshop
29 Oct – Source: Somaliweyn – 332 words
The Somali National Olympic committee on Friday concluded a two-day sports administration workshop for authorities from national federations and regional zones. The workshop was held at the Sahafi hotel where the Somali NOC mostly organizes its courses.
http://www.somaliweyn.org/
Rebel leaders differ on lifting the ban on khat in Jowhar, Middle Shabelle
28 Oct – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 143 words
A row has reportedly erupted between two senior al Shabaab leaders in Jowhar town a day after the militia lifted the ban on Khat in the area. The rift emerged after al Shabaab’s area station commander Abu Qamsa protested against the regional rebel commander’s green light for khat traders in Jowhar.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Rwanda, SA back Kenya’s Somalia operation
30 Oct- Source: Capital FM- 458 words
Kenya on Sunday got the support of Rwanda and South Africa in her cause in Somalia. At separate meetings with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Jacob Zuma of South Africa in Perth, Western Australia, President Mwai Kibaki briefed the two leaders on the security situation in the war-torn Somalia.
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/
Kenya courts neigbours to oust al Shabaab
29 Oct – Source: Monitor (Uganda) – 633 words
After a surprise decision by Kenya to go after the al Shabaab militia deep into Somalia, the government has embarked on a diplomatic charm offensive to seek support from the region. Sources within Kenyan government say the move, which saw its Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula and Defence Minister Yusuf Haji visit Somalia and Ethiopia, was aimed at rallying the countries in the region behind Kenya.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/
Tanzania backs Kenya on war against al Shabaab
29 Oct – Source: Standard – 250 words
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has supported Kenya’s decision to invoke Article 51 of the United Nations Charter to defend its economic and security interests against al Shabaab insurgents. President Kikwete said Kenya is justified in taking action against the militants who have blatantly violated its territorial integrity through escalated cross-border raids.
http://www.standardmedia.co.
Kenyan air raid ‘kills civilians’ in Somalia
31 Oct – Source: Aljezeera news – 718 words
A Kenyan air strike on a camp packed with displaced women and children killed at least three and wounded scores in southern Somalia, witnesses and an aid group said. The Kenyan army denied killing civilians and said that its strike on Sunday had taken out 10 fighters from the Islamist group Shebab, the main target of its two-week-old military operation in Somalia.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Inside al Shabaab’s network in Kenya
29 Oct – Source: Daily Nation – 489 words
Hundreds of Kenyan youth have been recruited into al Shabaab over the last six years in a process that has complicated efforts to tackle extremism in the region and which the government is now urgently seeking to reverse.Internal Security PS Francis Kimemia on Saturday called on recruits to turn themselves over to the government and request amnesty so that they could be put under a rehabilitation programme.
Police tighten border security
29 Oct – Source: Monitor ( Uganda) – 277 words
Security has been tightened at Uganda-Kenya border points of Busia and Malaba following three separate attacks and kidnappings in Nairobi this week that left more than five dead and several injured. Somali insurgents al Shabaab, have claimed responsibility for some of the attacks. Several arrests have also been made, among them nine Ugandans.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/
Kenya to pull out of Somalia after taming al Shabaab
29 Oct – Source: Capital FM – 612 words
Kenyan troops will remain in Somalia until the common border with Somalia is secured from the threats of al Shabaab. Speaking during press briefing at the Department of Defence on Saturday, Chief of Defence Forces General Julius Karangi said al Shabaab posed a serious threat to the country and that the military will continue to pursue them.
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/
Sheikh Sharif: A history of balancing acts
30 Oct- Source: the Eastern Africa- 540 words
Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, Somalia’s 47-year old president, is a media savvy politician who has inculcated a sophisticated image on the global media scene as a moderate reformist who is doing the most difficult job on earth — trying to bring peace to his country. To Ethiopia and Kenya, who helped him get elected the president of the Transition Federal Government in Somalia, Sheikh Sharif is the man of the struggle, a former schoolteacher who was drawn to fight al Shabaab after his pupils were kidnapped by the terrorists.
Nine al Shabaab suspects arrested
31 Oct – Source: The Star – 50 words
Nine people suspected to be al Shabaab militia were yesterday arrested at Ras Ngome area in Magarini for allegedly sailing at night without a permit. Three of the suspects were Germans, on Swiss and five Kenyans.
Somali PM arrives to explain position
31 Oct – Source: The Star/Daily Nation – 200 words
Somali PM Abdiweli Mohamed Ali arrived in Nairobi yesterday to clarify his government’s position on Kenya’s involvement in the war against al Shabaab militants. The PM is here at the invitation of the government.
Troops will not leave until al Shabaab is defeated – Saitoti
31 Oct – Source: The Star – 100 words
Kenya army troops fighting al Shabaab in Somalia will not return until they wipe out the group, Internal Security minister George Saitori declared yesterday during the opening of the Holy Rosary Catholic church in Mwanda, Taita district.
Bomber targeted Nyayo stadium
31 Oct – Source: The Standard – 200 words
Bwire confessed that on Mashujaa Day, he had sneaked a grenade into the venue posing as a sweets hawker. A call that Elgiva Bwire Oliacha, alia Mohamed Saif placed to one of his accomplices enabled police to track him before his arrest a few meters from his house in Nairobi’s Kayole estate.
Somali traders pledge support in terror war
31 Oct – Source: The Standard – 100 words
A group of Somali businessmen who operate in Eastleigh, Nairobi have supported the ongoing military offensive in Somalia saying al Shabaab poses a security threat to Kenya and the entire region.
Kenya Navy to join battle for Kismayu
31 Oct – Source: Daily Nation – 300 words
Kenya’s naval forces are likely to be in action this week, as the next phase of the military operation targetting al Shabaab in Somalia gets under way. The Navy has largely been missing in action for the two weeks of the incursion as the Army and Air force pounded al Shabaab strongholds.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
No exit date for Kenyan mission in Somalia
29 Oct – al Jazeera News – 2,064 words
The Kenyan military has no firm date for a withdrawal from Somalia, where it is battling al Shabaab fighters, the country’s military chief has said. General Julius Karanga was speaking to a news briefing in Nairobi on Saturday, as at least 10 people were killed in an attack on an African Union base in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Aid workers kidnapped in Somalia are alive and well
31 Oct – Source: CNN – 235 words
Two foreign aid workers kidnapped last week in Somalia are alive and well, a Danish aid group said Sunday. Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, were abducted by gunmen Tuesday after visiting humanitarian projects in the northern Galkayo area, the Danish Refugee Council said.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/
Kenyan jets bomb southern Somali town, 12 killed
30 Oct – Source: Reuters – 179 words
At least 12 people were killed on Sunday when two Kenyan jets bombed the southern Somali town of Jilib, residents and officials said, as the east African nation’s fights to rid Somalia of Islamist al Shabaab rebels. Kenya moved its troops into Somalia in mid-October in pursuit of Somali insurgents it blames for a series of kidnappings on Kenyan soil and frequent assaults on its security forces in the border province of North Eastern.
http://af.reuters.com/article/
Kenya-Somalia tension rises amidst drought
30 Oct – NPR – 200 words
Two weeks ago, Kenya sent forces across the border to chase down al-Shabaab militants. The rising hostilities come as the region is dealing with a crippling drought and famine. NPR’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton joins host Audie Cornish to talk about the situation on the Horn of Africa.
Somali militants post tape they claim made by American who blew himself up in AU base attack
30 Oct – AP / Washington post – 436 words
An al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group on Sunday posted a tape allegedly made by an American citizen who blew himself up during an attack on an African Union base in Somalia’s capital that left at least 10 people dead. The young man, who would be at least the fourth American to become a suicide bomber in Somalia, urges other young people not to “just chill all day” and instead fight nonbelievers around the world.
Turkey sticks to promise of sustainable Somalia
30 Oct – Source: Todays Zaman News – 46 words
Turkey continues to invest in Somalia’s infrastructure, demonstrating Turkey’s commitment to help the drought-afflicted nation establish a foundation for a sustainable, prosperous future. The Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ) plans to build a mosque, a hospital, two elementary schools and three prayer rooms in Mogadishu.
American identified as bomber in attack on African Union in Somalia
30 Oct – Source: New York Times – 1,269 words
The voice in the recording sounds unmistakably familiar — the tenor, the colloquialisms — a boy who grew up in America. The recording was a suicide message, posted online on Sunday by an Islamist militia aligned with al Qaeda. The voice was said to be that of Abdisalan Hussein Ali, 22, who was born in Somalia but spent his formative years in Minneapolis.
Somali militia: Suicide bomber was Somali-American
29 Oct – Source: AJC – 659 words
Al Shabaab say one of the suicide bombers who attacked an African Union peacekeepers’ base in Mogadishu was Somali-American. The claim posted on Somalimemo.net, a website frequently used by the al-Shabaab militants, could not be immediately verified.
http://www.ajc.com/news/
Crisis continues 100 days after famine was declared in Somalia
28 Oct – Source: UNICEF – 450 words
Just two months ago, three-year-old Moktar Mohamed was on the verge of death. After his parents lost their livestock and crops to the drought, they travelled by foot and truck from Middle Shabelle to Mogadishu, a trek of over 100 kilometres. When they arrived, little Moktar was just skin and bones, one of the hundreds of thousands of children in Somalia suffering from serious malnutrition.