December 4, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Somalia To Host High-level Conference On Security
03 December – Source: AMISOM – 278 Words
A high-level meeting on security opens in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, tomorrow, to discuss a comprehensive approach to security in the country, as a follow-up to the London Conference on Somalia, held in May this year. The African Union Mission in Somalia, AMISOM, is co-convening the conference with the Federal Government of Somalia. H.E. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “Farmaajo”, the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia will officially open the conference, which will be attended by representatives of the Federal Government and federal member states, the AU, UN, European Union and other international partners. High on the agenda of the conference will be the implementation of the National Security Architecture plan, which is central to achieving sustainable security reform and a transition of a primary responsibility of security from AMISOM to Somali security forces. Also on the agenda will be the financing of the Somali security sector and the next steps on AMISOM’s transition.
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission (SRCC), for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Caetano Madeira says the conference will be critical in reviewing progress made so far, in the security and political fronts, in Somalia. “The success will be measured in terms of what important decisions will be taken to enable AMISOM undertake effective, robust operations against Al-Shabaab, to enable AMISOM to be able to implement the new mandate that was given to it through the security council resolution, to allow us to carry out mop-up operations against Al-Shabaab, secure main supply routes, protect population centers, mentor the Somali forces that are available to us, and start effectively, to empower them, to be able to take over from us,” Ambassador Madeira said.
Key Headlines
- Somalia To Host High-level Conference On Security (AMISOM)
- Farmaajo Orders Repatriation Of Somali Migrants In Libya (Radio Dalsan)
- Donors To Commit Funding For Security Pact In Monday Conference (Goobjoog News)
- How Lethal Al-Shabaab Spy Was Caught (Daily Nation)
- Final Death Toll In Somalia’s Worst Attack Is 512 People (The Washington Post)
- Mogadishu’s iHub Offers An Optimistic Innovative Hi-tech Future For Somalia (RFI.fr)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Farmaajo Orders Repatriation Of Somali Migrants In Libya
03 December – Source: Radio Dalsan -141 Words
Somalia government is expected to repatriate hundreds of Somali migrants allegedly enslaved in Libya, following shocking reports of slavery in that country. President Mohamed Abdullahi personally ordered Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Garad to facilitate the repatriation process. Mr. Garad through a statement had tasked Somalia’s Ambassador to the European Union Mr. Ali Faqi to submit a full report on the logistics of the repatriation to take place.
Ambassador Mr. Faqi has two weeks to submit the report. “The minister is ordering the ambassador to prepare a report within two weeks regarding the Somalis in Libya and also recommendations on the way forward for Somalia.” said a statement from Minister Yusuf Garad office. The ministry further said that a diplomatic delegation led by Somalia’s envoy to the AU Mr. Mohamed Haji will be in Libya to assess the situation of Somali migrants.
Donors To Commit Funding For Security Pact In Monday Conference
03 December – Source: Goobjoog News – 314 Words
Somali government and international donors will converge in Mogadishu tomorrow for a security conference, in what is expected they will commit to fund the Security Pact inked during the London conference back in May. Information Minister Abdirahman Yarisow said on Sunday, the meeting will review the progress made so far since the conference in May, that brought 42 international donors. “This 4th December national security meeting has special importance for Somalia which follows the London meeting in which we agreed to collectively tackle the Somali security in collaboration with the international community,” said Yarisow. “A Comprehensive Approach to Security was adopted to secure Somalia and region as well as the entire globe,” the minister added. The minister noted the conference will assess the implementation and review agreed pledges on the Security Pact.
The conference which was supposed to be held in October according to timelines set in May will also review progress made by the federal government during the seven months period, which among others include an agreement with the Federal and regional administrations on the composition of the National Security Architecture (NSA). The NSA envisages the formation of a 22,000 strong Somali army including 4,000 special forces. It also created 32,000 police force to be distributed between the federal and regional governments. The London Conference endorsed the NSA which forms the core of rebuilding Somalia’s security forces. The donors meeting in London asked Somalia to finalise the remaining aspects of the NSA ahead of funding which was to be held back in October and now scheduled on 4th December. The Federal and Member State governments last week endorsed a revised Prevention/Counter Violent Extremist national strategy which is a component of the Security Pact. The PCVE is co-chaired by the federal government and Sweden. The co-chairs of PCVE will present a six months action and progress report in tomorrow’s conference.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
How Lethal Al-Shabaab Spy Was Caught
03 December – Source: Daily Nation – 1087 Words
Hawk-eyed guards at Mandera prison on September 14 spotted a man squeezing through a small opening at the perimeter wall then moved swiftly and arrested him. Two months later, after rigorous interrogation and an intense legal process, the court in the north eastern town established that he was an Al-Shabaab spy sent to survey the local police station, prison and military camp ahead of an impending terrorist attack. Abdirahman Abdi Takow was jailed for 30 years by the court on Wednesday last week.
In court, Takow remained defiant and refused to divulge the bigger plot by Al-Shabaab forcing Kenyan security agencies to be on high alert to protect citizens from the Somali-based terrorist organisation, a partner of Al-Qaeda. The terrorist, who travelled from Mogadishu for the espionage mission three days prior to his arrest, also refused to reveal the identity of an accomplice who outran the prison guards and disappeared into thickets while he was arrested. Mr Hussein Osman Mursal, a prison officer, was on the watchtower when he spotted two men moving close to the stone wall that secured the penal institution. One of the men squeezed through a small opening which had been drilled by masons contracted to carry out repairs at the facility while the other stayed outside, apparently to keep watch.
Final Death Toll In Somalia’s Worst Attack Is 512 People
02 December -Source: The Washington Post – 336 Words
The final death toll in October’s massive truck bombing in Somalia’s capital is 512 people, according to the committee tasked with looking into the country’s worst-ever attack. The final toll is a dramatic increase from previous estimates of more than 350 killed. The committee’s report, obtained by The Associated Press, says another 312 people were wounded in the Mogadishu bombing and 62 people remain missing. Only a few attacks since the ones on Sept. 11, 2001 have killed as many people, according to the Global Terrorism Database at the University of Maryland. Somalia’s government has blamed the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group for the Oct. 14 attack, which struck a crowded street. Security officials said the bomb weighed between 600 kilograms and 800 kilograms (1,300 pounds and 1,700 pounds) as the extremist group’s bomb-making capabilities grow.
The attack appalled Somalis, with some calling it their “9/11.” The hundreds of wounded overwhelmed Mogadishu’s hospitals, where many people defied traditional hesitations and rushed to donate blood. Bewildered family members picked through the rubble days afterward as hopes of finding survivors faded. Thousands of Somalis later marched through the capital in defiance against the extremist group, while the Somali-American president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, announced a new military offensive and asked regional neighbors for assistance.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“It is a space where people get extra skills, whether technical or business. We always make sure that before someone joins the space, they will add a value to our tech community,” explains 27-year-old Awil Osman. Osman is the Hub’s CEO and co-founder along with Abdihakim Ainte. iRise provides a stable internet connection and un-interrupted electricity, something that is taken for granted in many parts of the world but a rarity in Somalia where power cuts are frequent and where there is only one internet provider with one undersea fiber optic cable connecting the country to the net.”
Mogadishu’s iHub Offers An Optimistic, Innovative, Hi-tech Future For Somalia
02 December – Source: RFI.fr – 603 Words
iRise Hub is a tech incubator for start-ups and a co-working space for young tech entrepreneurs. A tech hub offers innovators, developers, investors, techies, and startups the working space to share ideas, connect and collaborate with each other iRise Hub was launched in September this year in the Hodan district of Mogadishu and now houses some 20 young Somalis working on their respective projects. Ayaan is a Somali who lived in the United States before she decided to move back to Somalia in 2014. She is particularly fond of the atmosphere at iRise’s co-working space : “Once you are in that space you can really forget the chaos outside and the hustle and bustle of the city. It brings you to a different mindset where you are much more focused.” Tech ecosystem Members pay a monthly fee of €25 per month. For €85 per month, subscribers can use all the facilities the company provides, including a postal address, secretarial services and meeting rooms.
iRise is also opened to investors – both local and international – who may be interested in what is being developed at the Hub. “It is a space where people get extra skills, whether technical or business. We always make sure that before someone joins the space, they will add a value to our tech community,” explains 27-year-old Awil Osman. Osman is the Hub’s CEO and co-founder along with Abdihakim Ainte. iRise provides a stable internet connection and un-interrupted electricity, something that is taken for granted in many parts of the world but a rarity in Somalia where power cuts are frequent and where there is only one internet provider with one undersea fiber optic cable connecting the country to the net. When the cable was damaged in June this year, the country went without internet for nearly a month and resulted of losses of €8.4 million every day for the fragile national economy.
The monopoly partly explains the high price Somalis pay to access internet. iRise pays €2,100 per month for internet access. “The Somali government just passed the telecommunication bill recently. They have not yet [clarified] the regulations over pricing for this product. Maybe other players will come into the market and stabilise the price,” Osman says. Osman used to live in Kenya and, as a computer science student, he frequently used the services provided by iHub in Nairobi, an innovation hub and hacker space for the technology community that was started in March 2010 by Erik Hersman a blogger, TED fellow and entrepreneur. Osman continued to use the Nairobi hub as he was setting up the Mogadishu hub. “Because I learnt the impact [iHub] had in my journey to become an entrepreneur, I realised when I came to Mogadishu that [it] also needs a place like iHub,” Osman says.