April 17, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Somalia Forces Kill Two Militants Firing Mortars In Mogadishu
16 April – Source : Associated Press – 195 Words
Two men were killed in the Somali capital after they were spotted firing mortars that appeared to be aimed at the international airport on Sunday, police and officials said. The heavily guarded, sprawling airport base is the site of many U.N. agencies, African Union peacekeepers and embassies. “Two militants firing mortars were killed and then their car bomb exploded. There was no other casualty,” said Abdifatah Omar Halane, the spokesman for the Mogadishu mayor. “When they were spotted they fought police and so they were shot dead,” said police Major Mohamed Nur. “Then their car exploded on its own. So far there are no casualties.”
A Reuters photographer saw the two dead militants and their burnt car. Islamist militant group al Shabaab, which carries most of the bomb and mortar attacks in the capital, could not be reached for comment. Al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab wants to overthrow the Somali government and impose their own strict interpretation of Islam. The group is carrying out increasingly large bomb attacks. Somalia has been riven by civil war since 1991 and the Mogadishu-based government relies heavily on foreign funding for its military and 22,000 African Union peacekeepers.
Key Headlines
- Somalia Forces Kill Two Militants Firing Mortars In Mogadishu (Associated Press)
- Family Of Five Succumb To Hunger As Situation Escalates In Galgaduud Region (Goobjoog News)
- New Mogadishu Mayor Takes Office Vows Reform (Shabelle News)
- Beletweyne Youths Resolve To Work With AMISOM And Somali Security Forces To Enhance Security (AMISOM)
- 2 Pirates Killed While Trying To Hijack Ship Near Somalia (VOA)
- In Crisis-Stricken Somalia No Safe Haven (Open Democracy)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Family Of Five Succumb To Hunger As Situation Escalates In Galgaduud Region
6 April – Source : Goobjoog News – 303 Words
Five people from the same family have perished of starvation in Galgadud region as thousands others are in dire need of emergency food relief as hunger bites most of Somali regions. According to local elder in Tifafley village which lies 150 km away from Bahdo town, the deceased, lost their lives due to lack of food. “The family die of hunger, their bodies were seen by another family which was living some kilometers away from scene,” said elder Ali. He said the lack of water and pasture has sent livestock prices plummeting.
The elder says that prior to the drought, water was plentifully available, and but now the locality has affected by water shortage which killed many animals and forced residents to shift with their livestock. “The price of a drum of water reached som shs 180000 (9 US dollars) which is unaffordable price to the locals who are pastoralists. People started moving away with their livestock in search of water from the neighbouring regions” he said. Ali said that many locals are at risk of dying of hunger-related incidences as the number of people in need of food has hit the ceiling following harsh weather.
“Several other people especially the aging, women and children are helpless and most of them have been left alone in their houses as the able members of the families look for water and food and the death toll might rise if no action is urgently done to save the situation, “said Ali. Pastoralist families are facing a serious shortage of water and pastures after several water points dried up the last few months as a result of dry spell that has hit Somalia. Thousands of Somalis have fled the countryside in search of food and water, trekking for days under scorching sun toward camps in major towns.
New Mogadishu Mayor Takes Office, Vows Reform
16 April – Source : Shabelle News – 105 Words
The new mayor of Mogadishu and the governor of Benadir region Thabit Abdi Mohamed has assumed office during a handover ceremony held in Mogadishu on Saturday night. Somalia’s Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire and other high-ranking government officials, including the interior minister Abdi Farah Sa’iid Juha have witnessed the handover event. Mohamed took office smoothly from Yusuf Hussein Jimale who has been sacked by Somali President H.E. Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo last week in a major shake-up. The new Mayor has pledged to reform the institution and tackle the city’s many crises, including corruption and insecurity which marred the country in the past two decades.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Beletweyne Youths Resolve To Work With AMISOM And Somali Security Forces To Enhance Security
16 April – Source – AMISOM – 324 Words
Youths in Beletwayne have resolved to work closely with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and Somali security forces to improve security in the region. The resolution was made last Friday during a two-day conference organized by Hiran Youth, an umbrella youth organization in collaboration with HirShabelle administration. The meeting, which attracted over 100 participants from the five districts that form Hiiraan region, discussed the role of the youth role in ensuring peace and security in Somalia and the importance of their collaboration with security agencies.
Sadik Omar Arte, a member of Hiran Youth, welcomed the meeting, describing the resolution to work closely with security forces as important for peace and stability of Somalia. “It was about security, collaboration with the administration and the role youth can take in ensuring peace. As an outcome, we agreed to strengthen the collaboration between AMISOM, Hiraan administration and the youth so as to intensify security.
The security and stability here is due to the collaboration between the youth and the security agencies,” Mr. Arte said. HirShabelle Youth and Sports Minister Abdikani Abdullahi also applauded the role played by AMISOM not only in ensuring security but also in tackling challenges such as seasonal floods and the ongoing drought.
2 Pirates Killed While Trying To Hijack Ship Near Somalia
16 April – Source : VOA – Words
A Somali official says foreign naval forces in international waters shot dead two pirates and wounded another when the bandits attempted to hijack a ship on Saturday. Ahmed Abdullahi, an official with the anti-piracy force in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, said the two killed men were part of a group of nine pirates in a boat approaching an unidentified ship near the Gulf of Aden when a naval force opened fire on them.
He said the six other pirates survived the attack and escaped. Residents in Durduri, a coastal village in Sanaag region, said that on Sunday morning they found two dead bodies, apparently left by the pirates, near the coast. In recent weeks there has been a resurgence of piracy off Somalia’s coast, after five years of inactivity.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“For people who are already hungry and in very precarious situations, evictions often mean losing the few belongings they have, including basic shelter, access to day labor opportunities and greater insecurity and hunger. Limited job opportunities put displaced women and girls at particular risk of sexual violence and exploitation including the longer and often hazardous journeys they have to take to find firewood or water, secure day labor, or beg.”
In Crisis-Stricken Somalia, No Safe Haven
16 April – Source : Open Democracy – 892 Words
During Somalia’s 2011 famine, in which a quarter of a million people died, Hassan lost many of his cattle. With the few that survived, he managed to stay at home in Qansahdheere, in southwestern Somalia. Six years on, as Somalia faces yet another humanitarian disaster, Hassan and his family have fled to Mogadishu hoping to find aid. Hassan and his family made it to the capital city’s only government-managed camp, Badbaado. Half of Somalia’s population of 12.3 million people currently need humanitarian assistance. Legal, political and security restrictions and limited funding are restricting the access of international aid agencies to parts of the country, including areas controlled by the Islamist armed group Al-Shabab.
Every day thousands of people like Hassan are moving into urban areas under government control, where international assistance is more likely to arrive. According to the United Nations, just under half a million people have fled their homes since November largely because of the drought, many arriving in Mogadishu and Baidoa, a town at the epicenter of the crisis. But there are no quick solutions. The reality awaiting those like Hassan is often hostile and sometimes abusive.
Hundreds of thousands of people are in informal displacement camps, 400,000 in Mogadishu alone. Most arrived during the 2011 famine or due to ongoing clan fighting, military operations and insecurity in regions bordering the capital. Recent arrivals also include people who are returning from Kenya’s sprawling Dadaab refugee camp after the authorities said they would shut the camp down and started coercing refugees to leave.
Since the 2011 famine, people living in these settlements have faced serious abuse at the hands of government and private actors, including camp managers known as “gatekeepers,” who often have links to local authorities, business people and militias. Beatings, rape, including at times by African Union peace support forces, plus the diversion of food aid, restrictions on movement, and discrimination based on clan affiliation have marked their everyday lives.