September 6, 2017 | Morning Headlines

Somalia: MP Survives In A Drive  By Shooting Attack In Mogadishu

05 September – Source: Somali Update – 155 Words

A member of Somalia’s Upper House has narrowly survived an attempt on his life following a drive-by-shooting attack which left at least two injured in Mogadishu.  The lawmaker Hussein Ali Haji Abdalla from South-West State said his car was shot by men in another car in Hodan neighborhood around midday today. “Two people, my driver and my niece were wounded and they are in stable condition” the lawmaker told local media.

The MP said he was unhurt. The attack started shortly after the lawmaker left his residence and a suspected vehicle followed his car. “The car of the attackers drove very fast until they passed ours and then, they started to shoot us ruthlessly” MP Abdalla said. The attack was first in the recent months in the capital. Last year dozen of Somali lawmakers were either killed or wounded through drive-by shooting in Mogadishu.  No group claimed the responsibility of the attack on Tuesday.

Key Headlines

• Somalia: MP Survives in a Drive-by-Shooting Attack in Mogadishu (Somali Update)
• Somalia Discusses With Ethiopia About The Release Of Prisoners In Its Jails (SONNA)
• Puntland Galmudug Officials Kick Off Three-day Peace Conference (RBC Radio )
• US Military Confirms Death Of Al-Shabaab Militant In Airstrikes (Bernama News Agency)
• Somali Military Receives New Vehicles (IHS Jane’s )
• Homeless Children Sniff Glue To Take ‘Away The Pain’ Of Surviving Somalia’s Streets (USA Today)

NATIONAL  MEDIA

Somalia Discusses With Ethiopia About The Release Of Prisoners In Its Jails

05 September – Source: Somali National News Agency – 94 Words

The Prime Minister of the Somali Federal Government, H.E. Hassan Ali Kheyre on Sunday spoke with Ethiopian Prime Minister, H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn on the phone and discussed over the release of  Somali citizens inside Ethiopian jails, according to SONNA report.

Ethiopian Prime Minister, Desalegn accepted the request from the Somali government on setting free the remaining prisoners in his country, saying that his government is ready to stand side by side with the Somali people. The 140 Somali prisoners who were released from the Ethiopia arrived in Somalia on August, this year

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Puntland, Galmudug Officials Kick Off Three-day Peace Conference

05 September- Source: RBC Radio – 155 Words

Officials and delegates from Puntland and Galmidug Somalia states have begun a three-day conference on peace initiatives amid on-going efforts to end clan hostilities in Galkayo, a strategic central Somalia town ravaged by conflict.The conference on Tuesday was officially opened by the Deputy Presidents of Puntland Abdihakim Amey and Galmudug’s Mohamud Hashi.The conference will focus on evaluating the two region’s peace initiatives following since the two presidents signed peace agreement early this year.

Following the peace agreement, The two states launched their first joint police officers in July to carry out joint patrols in Gaalkacyo with 100 newly trained officers. Puntland’s Mr Amey, the conference will analyze the gaps and will explore new ways of forward for the interest of the two states. On his remarks, Mr Hashi highlighted that officials from both states will review reports on the development of their work plan following the Puntland-Gallmudug peace agreement on January 1, this year.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

US Military Confirms Death Of Al-Shabaab Militant In Airstrikes

05 September – Source: Bernama – 201 Words

The US military confirmed on Tuesday its special forces conducted airstrikes in southern Somalia on Aug 31 and killing an Al-Shabaab militant and wounded another, according to the China’s Xinhua news agency reported. The US Africa Command (Africom) spokesman Anthony Falvo said the precision airstrike was carried out in south of Barawe, Somalia. “Al-Shabaab has taken advantage of safe haven. The group has cemented its control of southern and central Somalia, they have used this area to plot and direct terror attacks, steal humanitarian aid, and to shelter other radical terrorists,” Falvo said in a statement.

The US forces, in cooperation with the Somali government, are conducting operations against Al-Shabaab in Somalia to degrade the Al-Qaeda affiliate’s ability to recruit, train and plot external terror attacks throughout the region and in the United States. Africom, which has in the past conducted counterterrorism airstrikes against the terror group in Somalia, said Al-Shabaab’s affiliate, said its forces will continue to use all authorised and appropriate measures to protect Americans and to disable terrorist threats. “This includes partnering with AMISOM and Somali National Security Forces (SNSF); targeting terrorists, their training camps and safe havens throughout Somalia, the region and around the world,” Falvo said

Somali Military Receives New Vehicles

05 September – Source: IHS Jane’s Defence  Weekly – 125 Words

The Somali National Army (SNA) released photographs on 3 September showing new tactical vehicles it has received. A photograph released by the Somalia National Army on 3 September shows 12 Tiger light armoured vehicles in Chinese army camouflage. (Somali National Army)

One photograph showed at least 12 Chinese-made Shaanxi Baoji Special Vehicles Company Tiger 4×4 light armoured vehicles parked in what appeared to be a secure compound in Somalia. A second showed at least 13 Ford Super Duty double cabin pick-up vehicles fitted with weapon mounts. The SNA did not provide details regarding the origin of these vehicles, but it is likely they were donated by foreign countries. The Tigers were painted in the standard People’s Liberation Army camouflage scheme, indicating they are second-hand vehicles.

OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE

“The glue-addicted children beg in the streets and frequently end up fighting each other. Some of the battles turn fatal. The same week USA TODAY visited Mohammed, one of his friends was beaten to death. “We have a lot of problems from the fights. My ribs hurt because of the fighting,” Mohammed said. “When I’m using glue, someone will try and grab me and take the glue from me to have for their own, and then the fights start.”

Homeless Children Sniff Glue To Take ‘Away The Pain’ Of Surviving Somalia’s Streets

05 September – Source: USA Today – 835 Words

Plastic bottles litter the ground as children emerge from an abandoned mud-brick building in this hot, dusty East African city. The dirty bottles used for sniffing glue are a visible clue of what life is like for these homeless kids. “It takes away the pain I have,” Mohammed, 13, said, looking down at his sand-covered feet as other children take a hit of glue nearby. “The glue helps me go to sleep.” Hargeisa is home to hundreds of street kids like Mohammed, who are victims of one of the worst droughts in the region over the past year. These sad-eyed children have nowhere else to go and often suffer from illnesses such as tuberculosis. Poverty-stricken children surviving on the streets of Somali cities is not new but the sheer number is. The government estimates one-fifth of the kids on the streets of Somalia’s second-largest city are there because of the devastating drought.

Teenagers and young homeless adults fiercely guard the dilapidated building where Mohammed sleeps. A putrid stench radiates from the murky hole in the building’s wall that the youngsters enter and exit through. Several of the children interviewed coughed as they lamented that they were getting sicker and their clothes were becoming tattered rags. “Some children leave their homes because the parents have no means to provide for them, others run away because of problems at home like divorce or neglect, but some are also being forced into the cities from rural areas because of the drought,” said Filsam Husein Khalif, director of the social department in Somaliland, the name for the autonomous region here that considers itself an independent country.

“But these rural children have no skills to help them find work in the cities, so they end up living on the street and getting addicted to drugs,” he said. The glue-addicted children beg in the streets and frequently end up fighting each other. Some of the battles turn fatal. The same week USA TODAY visited Mohammed, one of his friends was beaten to death. “We have a lot of problems from the fights. My ribs hurt because of the fighting,” Mohammed said. “When I’m using glue, someone will try and grab me and take the glue from me to have for their own, and then the fights start.” Deaths caused by malnutrition and diarrhea are not uncommon in the worst hit parts of the country. At least 50 people died from diarrhea in recent weeks, according to Adis Salah, the mayor of the nearby Baladiye District. Some poverty-stricken parents have sent their children to urban centers in hopes of giving them a better life.  Sakkari, 14, ended up polishing shoes after being sent to Hargeisa by his parents to escape the drought.