October 4, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Somali Forces Kill 9 Al-Shabaab Militants In Southern Somalia
03 October – Source: Xinhuanet – 163 Words
Somalia National Army (SNA) killed nine Al-Shabaab militants in an operation occurred at an area about 35 km to Burdhubo town in Gedo region, southern Somalia, officials said on Tuesday. Somali Government commander of 48 Division, Abdirahman Ibrahim Mohamed told state-owned radio that the operation which started on Monday evening was well planned that targeted a stronghold of the militants in the region.
“We killed nine Al-Shabaab militants, three of them senior officials in a successful operation near Burdhubo town in this region. We recovered eight AK47 rifles and one PKM during the operation on Monday, we are also in the area at moment for further investigation,” Ibrahim said. Ibrahim did not confirm the number of casualties on SNA side. There was no comment as well from Al-Shabaab militants on the latest military operation by SNA. Such operation comes three weeks after the militants carried out major attacks at some key towns including Bula-Hawo and El-Wak in Gedo region near the Kenya-Somalia border.
Key Headlines
- Somali Forces Kill 9 Al-Shabaab Militants In Southern Somalia (Xinhuanet)
- Somali Prime Minister Receives EU Ambassador To Somalia (SONNA)
- Al-Shabaab Claims Killing Soldiers In Attack On Army Checkpoint (Shabelle News)
- Somalia Gets New Saudi Aid But Stays Neutral In Gulf Crisis (Reuters)
- Legal ICT Framework Is Pivotal Moment For Somalia (The World Bank Group)
- In Defense of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo (Hiiraan Online)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Prime Minister Receives EU Ambassador To Somalia
03 October – Source: Somali National News Agency (SONNA) – 64 Words
Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia, H.E. Hassan Ali Kheyre on Tuesday received European Union envoy to Somalia, Ms. Veronique Lorenzo at his office in Mogadishu according to reports. President Kheyre and Ms. Lorenzo discussed key issues including European Union’s Support to the Somali People and Government. Furthermore, the two officials agreed on all matters discussed according to reports obtained by SONNA.
Al-Shabaab Claims Killing Soldiers In Attack On Army Checkpoint
03 October – Source: Shabelle News – 97 Words
Al-Shabaab has claimed to kill at least 2 Somali government soldiers in a fresh attack on an army checkpoint near the southern town of Afgoye, about 30Km northwest of Mogadishu. In a statement posted on its affiliated websites, the militants said they launched an ambush against Somali troops manning a checkpoint on the outskirts of Afgoye. The attack has sparked hours-long gunfight ensued between the militants and Somali National Army (SNA) soldiers, which claimed the lives of several people, including civilians. Al Shabaab said it seized a motorcycle and a large amount of cash during the attack.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Gets New Saudi Aid But Stays Neutral In Gulf Crisis
03 October – Source: Reuters – 358 Words
Somalia has received $50 million in new aid from Saudi Arabia but the gesture does not change the central government’s decision to remain neutral in Riyadh’s dispute with fellow Gulf state Qatar, a senior Somali official said on Tuesday. The money follows a visit to Riyadh last week by Somalia’s president and a string of declarations of support for the Saudi side in the Gulf crisis from Somalia’s semi-autonomous regions, into which Riyadh and its Gulf Arab allies have poured money
Somali Information Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman, announcing the $50 million in Saudi aid, told Reuters that the government appreciated Saudi financial support and called the bilateral relationship “brotherly…and deep”. However, he said: “There is no need for us to side with one country over the other”. A Saudi government spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links – including air and shipping routes – with Qatar in June, accusing it of supporting terrorism, a charge it denies. Qatar is the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas and hosts the Gulf’s biggest U.S. military base.
Legal ICT Framework Is Pivotal Moment For Somalia
02 October – Source: The World Bank – 798 Words
After more than two-and-a-half decades of crippling conflict, Somalia faces the considerable challenge of rebuilding its economy and institutions. This process took an important step as Somalia’s President signed into law a Communications Act providing the tools to regulate a sector that, until recently, had made only a limited, formal contribution to the Somali Treasury, but could potentially contribute as much as 11% of Somalia’s GDP.
Somalia’s new president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, was elected to office in February 2017. In August, the draft of the Communications Act received approval from both the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament, having been halted three times at those stages during Somalia’s internationally backed Federal Government, which was first established in 2012.
Compared to some countries in Africa, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have experienced relatively high levels of penetration and low prices in Somalia, with private enterprise leading the way. But while this progress is significant, the absence of any formal regulatory framework or independent regulatory body had resulted in uncertainty, creating vulnerabilities for the development and scalability of ICTs across the country.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“On foreign policy, the president’s vision is to create Somalia that is peaceful with itself and with the rest of the world. Somalia is a sovereign country and its foreign policy is aimed at protecting, promoting and securing Somalia’s interest worldwide through the use of good diplomacy. Concerted effort to undermine the President will not deter his endeavor to pull Somalia out of the mess.”
In Defense of President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo
03 October 3 – Source: Hiiraan Online – 848 Words
After more than a quarter of a century of political and social anarchy, unfounded attacks and allegations are routinely part of our social life and is often used as a gimmick to gain popularity. This was particularly the case following the extradition of Mr. Qalbi Dhagax to Ethiopia by the Somali Government. Many groups have started an open war against the President. In a democratic society, citizens have rights to blast the President’s action, but acting recklessly at a time when the country is trying hard to come together shows lack of maturity. A predominant majority of the Somali people regard President Farmajo as a true messiah. Turning their dreams and realities to look bleak and hopeless undermine the prospect for peace and development.
President Farmajo is barely eight months in office; he is handling lots of critical issues that come to his desk hourly. Leaders everywhere face a daunting task and being a President of Somalia is the most difficult job on earth. The President is working in an increasingly hostile environment and has plans to deliver an expanded set of policy objectives. It is easy for an outsider to criticize and make it look legitimate, but leadership is about taking responsibilities and not making excuses. Some commentators used inflammatory language; their comments were filled with blame, disgrace and mainly based on playing with public emotions. It was merely a combination of populism, and playing the nationalist card. Many people detested the decision made by the government, but nevertheless, remained silent to avoid further polarization of the society and reversing the little progress made since this government came to power.
I must admit that government officials involved in handling the case of Qalbi-Dhagax acted unwisely, but there is no indication that the President was in cahoots with them. It is not secret that the president was unhappy with the way the entire Qalbi Dhagax issue was handled. Nevertheless, there were only two options available for the President: 1) Fire everyone around him and destroy the little progress made or 2) look at the big picture and safe the country from falling apart. The President chose option 2 regardless of its political downfall. His track record of being a true Somali speaks for itself.
Realistically, there is no easy solutions to the problems of Somalia; the president is focused day and night in executing his political agendas. Peace and security is in his list of priorities. Al-Shabaab is the number one enemy of Somalia; its hatred ideology cannot be defeated only militarily; the government will seek the backing of its citizens to help defeat Al-Shabaab which is one of the main obstacles of peace and prosperity in the country. Protracted conflict and weak institutions resulted in chronic instability, mistrust and under development in Somalia.