May 5, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Somalia Orders Investigation Into Minister’s Killing
04 May – Source: Anadolu Agency – 200 Words
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Thursday directed an investigation into the killing of a minister by government forces.“I have ordered the security heads to immediately investigate this unfortunate tragedy and make sure the perpetrators are brought to book,” Mohamed said in a statement.“I am deeply saddened by the death of minister Abbas. He was young and patriotic,” he added.
Abbas Siraj, the 31-year-old Minister of Public Works and Reconstruction, was killed after forces belonging to Somali government opened fire on his car after mistaking him for a militant near the presidential palace in Mogadishu on Wednesday.Abbas, a former humanitarian worker, was the youngest minister in Somali cabinet of ministers. He grew up and studied in Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya and was elected from Kismayo as member of Somali parliament in 2016.
The president cut short his visit to Ethiopia to take part in the state burial of the minister.Meanwhile, African Union Commission’s Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat offered condolence over the killing.“My sincere condolences to the family of Minister Abbas Abdullahi Siraj, the government and people of Somalia. The AU stands in solidarity with you,” Mahamat said in a statement posted on his twitter account.
Key Headlines
- Somalia Orders Investigation Into Minister’s Killing(Anadolu Agency)
- Somalia And Ethiopia Urge Joint Position By IGAD In London Conference( Goobjoog News)
- Slain Minister of Public Works Laid To Rest In Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
- Two Somali Soldiers Arrested After Minister Shot Dead – Officials (Reuters )
- The Women Trying To Keep Somalia Safe( BBC)
- Aid Worker Kidnaps And Roadblocks Soar In Famine-threatened Somalia (Reuters)
- They Killed My Dearest Friend The Hope Of Somali Youth And My Heart Is Broken (The Guardian UK)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia And Ethiopia Urge Joint Position By IGAD In London Conference
04 May -Source: Goobjoog News – 329 Words
Regional bloc IGAD must speak with one voice to champion a Somali led and Somali owned process in the upcoming London Conference, the leaders of Ethiopia and Somalia have said.In a statement following the conclusion of a one day visit in Ethiopia, President Mohamed Farmaajo and his host Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the London Conference must mainstream ‘Somalia’s peace and development objectives’.The two leaders added the conference must also consider a New Partnership Agreement between Somalia and the international community.
Somalia will be pitching support on three thematic areas notably security, economic recovery and political process which includes the completion of the constitutional review process and build up towards the 2020 elections which are expected to be held on a one-person-one vote basis.The two leaders also called for international support to deal with piracy which they noted its return was a worrying development.“Both leaders expressed their concern on the return of piracy in the Indian Ocean and urged the international community to redouble efforts to support the Somalia National Coast Guard and to increase the capability of the Somalia Police Forces to enforce the rule of law in order to control the criminal activities both on shore and off shore,” the communique read in part.
A report released by the a piracy watchdog Oceans Beyond Piracy last month said the threat of a return of piracy now real noting ‘the tumultuous socio-political environment in Somalia that initially allowed piracy to flourish remains largely unchanged, particularly in the original pirate safe havens’.On the security front, Somalia and Ethiopia affirmed the urgent need to build the Somalia National Army to enable it deal with the militant group Al-Shabaab as Amisom starts a draw-down next year. Prime Minister Desalegn hailed Somalia’s adoption of a national security architecture.President Farmaajo had to cut short his three days visit following the killing of Public Works and Reconstruction Minister Abbas Siraj Wednesday evening at the entrance of Villa Somalia.
Slain Minister of Public Works Laid To Rest In Mogadishu
04 May – Source: Garowe Online: 261Words
The body of the slain Minister of Public works and Reconstruction Abbas Abdullahi Siraj, was laid to rest in the capital Mogadishu in a state funeral on Thursday, Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and Parliament speaker Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari, attended the funeral of late Siraj which was performed in a mosque at the Presidential Palace “Villa Somalia”.
His body was then taken to a cemetery in the Medina hospital in Mogadishu, where he was laid to rest, with the attendance of Prime MInister Hassan Ali Khayre, cabinet ministers, lawmakers and family members. Somali Government leaders sent heartfelt condolences to the family and people of Somalia at large on the death of the official and urged Police to make sure that the perpetrators are brought to the justice. PM Khayre said he is deeply saddened by the devastating death of Minister Siraj and passionately grieving with his family as they pass through this difficult time. President Farmajo cut short his state visit to Ethiopia and returned home, to mourn the death of Siraj.
The official was killed on Wednesday evening when his car was mistakenly shot at by the security guards of the Auditor General near Villa Somalia. An investigation is now underway as some of the bodyguards were arrested by the security forces.Siraj was born in Afmadow in 1986, raised and educated in Dadaab camp, the world’s largest refugee camps in Kenya. He was elected as lawmaker from Jubbaland, last year and appointed as Minister of Public works in last February.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Two Somali Soldiers Arrested After Minister Shot Dead – Officials
04 May – Source: Reuters – 219 words
The Somali government arrested two soldiers on Thursday in connection with the killing a government minister in a suspected case of mistaken identity, the minister of information said.Public works minister Abbas Abdullahi Sheikh Siraji died in his car on Wednesday when security forces on patrol in the capital Mogadishu opened fire on the vehicle, believing it was being driven by militants, officials said.
The country’s youngest minister, the 31-year-old was an inspiration to many Somalis having grown up in a Kenyan refugee camp, and his death caused an outpouring of grief online.”Two bodyguards of the auditor general are now in the central cell in Mogadishu. We are investigating them over who killed the minister,” the deputy prosecutor of Somalia’s military court, Mumin Hussein Abdullahi, told Reuters.
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed cut short a visit to neighbouring Ethiopia to fly home and attend the burial. “The public works minister was patriotic and was known for his ability and efficiency,” said a statement from the president’s office.Militants from the al Qaeda-affiliated group al Shabaab have carried out frequent attacks in Mogadishu as they fight to topple Somalia’s Western-backed government and drive out African Union peacekeeping troops. Somalia has been at war since 1991, when clan-based warlords overthrew dictator Siad Barre and then turned on each other.
The Women Trying To Keep Somalia Safe
04 May – Source:BBC News – Video – 1.43 Mins
Being a police officer in Mogadishu is one of the most dangerous beats in the world, and it is even harder for women.
Aid Worker Kidnaps And Roadblocks Soar In Famine-threatened Somalia
04 May- Source: Reuters – 377 Words
Kidnapping of aid workers and extortion at checkpoints are on the rise in Somalia, the United Nations said on Thursday, hindering efforts to prevent the country slipping into renewed famine.In the first 27 days of April, 13 humanitarian workers were abducted, the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update, the highest monthly figure since 2011.”The affected personnel are all frontline responders,” it said, without giving further details.
Four aid workers carrying out vaccinations were kidnapped by al Shabaab jihadist militants, who are fighting to topple the government, in early April, according to media reports.The U.N. is racing to avoid a repeat of the 2011 famine in the drought-hit Horn of African nation, when more than 250,000 people died of starvation.An estimated 2.9 million people in Somalia are facing famine, along with 17 million in northeast Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen, the United Nations says.
There were more than 30 violent incidents in Somalia, such as attacks and killings, affecting humanitarian organizations in April, almost equal to the total for the first three months of 2017, the U.N. said.Looting and rowdy crowds disrupting aid distributions have led to 12 deaths so far in 2017, it said, without giving details.”It’s mainly to do with people being hungry and differences of opinion over who should receive what,” Tapiwa Gomo, a spokesman for U.N. OCHA in Somalia told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.More than 620,000 people have left their homes because of the drought since November, the U.N. said, slowing down farmers’ land preparation as the rainy season starts.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“He mastered the tactics of the city by driving slowly, giving way to the speeding military vehicles that often escort politicians. They would shoot civilians who didn’t clear the way. The same trigger-happy thugs in government uniforms shot him dead. Whether it is a reckless killing by the indisciplined security forces, or a targeted assassination portrayed as an accident, the death of Abass has broken our hearts. It will take time to raise the hopes of the millions of young people who looked up to him as a role model,”
They Killed My Dearest Friend, The Hope Of Somali Youth, And My Heart Is Broken
04 May- Source:The Guardian, UK -951 Words
I have known Abbas Siraji since childhood. We grew up together in Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp, in north-east Kenya. We went to the same school. He was more than just a friend, he was a brother with whom I shared dreams and goals in life. After finishing university, Abbas became an active member of the community, joining voluntary youth groups that helped advocate for the rights of refugees in Dadaab. He was a humble young man who always smiled.
Life in the camp was like a prison. We could not go anywhere – the Kenyan government does not allow refugees to move out of the camps – and we had no access to employment rights. In 2011, Abbas decided to return to Somalia, where he could work, move freely and earn a decent living despite the insecurity. At the time, Somalia was a no-go zone. Al-Shabaab militants controlled most parts of the country, including the capital, Mogadishu. But Abbas defied everyone and accepted a job offer from the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation. He never looked back, working with the World Food Programme and other international humanitarian organisations and travelling throughout Somalia.
Already a hero to the refugees of Dadaab, Abbas became a national symbol when he was elected as a member of the federal parliament last November. Somali leaders are predominantly elected through traditional clan elders, leaving young people little chance of entering politics. But Abbas won the parliamentary seat, defeating a long-serving MP, and became the youngest minister in Somalia’s history in March, when he was appointed head of the public works and reconstruction department.
I called him when he was elected to congratulate him, but also to warn him of the potential risks. “Bro, you cannot change anything when you are not in the system, we have to be part of the government to achieve our goals but, inshallah, I will try my best and hopefully we will make it,” he told me.
On Wednesday night his life and dreams were cut short. Bodyguards of Somalia’s auditor general opened fire on his car near the presidential palace, killing him and wounding some of his security guards. He was only 31. His death was received with shock and horror across Somalia and across the diaspora. I could not believe my ears when I first heard the news. I am still shaking now, as I write about the tragic death of my friend. He was a beacon of hope for us. The whole country is mourning today, but especially the young people who make up 75% of Somalia’s population. The killing of Abbas was an attack on their hopes and visions.