25 Nov 2011 – Morning headlines
Key Headlines:
- Meeting of the Cabinet Ministers of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia (Source: TFG)
- Fatal attacks tied to raid by Kenya (Source: New York Times)
- Somalis skeptical of Ethiopian incursion (Source: New York Times)
- African Union force makes strides inside Somalia (Source: New York Times)
- U.S. intensifies its proxy fight against al-Shabaab in Somalia(Source: Washington Post)
- Kenyan and Somali troops attack militant bases ( Reuters)
- Air strike hits on Al-shabab bases in Somalia (Source: Shabelle)
- Kenya to brief IGAD summit today(Source: Africa Review)
PRESS STATEMENT
Meeting of the Cabinet Ministers of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia
Nov 24 – Source: TFG – 397 words
The Somali cabinet ministers have today convened in a meeting that was headed by the Prime Minister where they discussed issues of security, the development of the government, the renovation of the police and government ministries and public services. A report about the security situation was tabled and read. The report outlined the significant measures carried out in which security agencies are smoothly putting in place strategies of pacifying the capital Mogadishu. The report also cited some hurdles in the face of the security agencies and recommended an action plan in which they asked the public and government to help the security agencies in maintaining peace. The ministers commended the work of the security agencies and urged them to maintain the tempo in order to bring total peace, stability and development to the city.
The PM asked all the ministries to submit what they accomplished so the public would take them to account. The ministers agreed that the government has done a lot in many areas like security where the pro-government militias Al-shabab were driven out of the city. They acknowledged that state of normalcy is returning to the city where people walk day and night, markets and shops reopened and people are busy rebuilding their houses and business areas. The ministers also affirmed that the relations between the government and local administrations dramatically improved. They also said many efforts are being made towards implementing the roadmap on ending the transition.
Of equal importance was the issue of the humanitarian situation which the ministers said the government has made tangible results. Many students received sponsorships to study abroad which the ministers said would help a lot the people and the country in the future. Another sector that the ministers said was revived is the deliverance of public services like education sector, health and cleanliness of the city. The PM asked the cabinet ministers to forward their accomplishments in two month’s time for public scrutiny. Lastly, the ministers listened to a report from the deputy police commissioner Gen. Saaid who gave a full report on the general security of the city. The report said the police were able to maintain security, law and order. The ministers agreed upon to link each ministry with a police station. They lastly agreed on the date of December 20 to be the day for each ministry to submit its accomplishment and be subjected to public questioning.
SOMALI MEDIA
Air strikes hit al Shabaab bases in Somalia
24 Nov – Source: Shabelle, Jowhar Online, Kulmiye – 127 words
An unidentified fighter jet bombed the outskirts of a Somali rebel-controlled village in the south of the Horn of Africa country yesterday causing unspecified casualties, residents said. The warplanes struck a nomadic village lying on the ground between Qoqani and Tabta nearby Afmadow district in Lower Jubba region of southern Somalia.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Al Shabaab continue forced recruitment
24 Nov- Source: Somalia Report- 55 words
With offers of a few dollars and new mobile phones, al Shabaab are continuing its forced recruitment drive by opening registration offices in Baidoa, Kismayo and Marka, and requiring young men, mainly from minority clans, to register to join their jihad against the Somali and Kenyan governments, according to local al Shabaab officials who spoke to Somalia Report.
Radio Galgudud resumes operation
24 Nov – Source: Radio RBC, NUSJOS – 108 words
The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) welcomes the recommencement of the radio station’s activities recently shut down by the Ahlu Sunna Waljama, Moderate Sufi administration in Central Somalia town of Guri’el. The Radio station was allowed to resume its operations on Wednesday, around 01:00pm local time.
Somali government arrests displaced people in Mogadishu
24 Nov – Source: Shabelle, Garowe Online – 168 words
Soldiers loyal to the TFG jailed yesterday dozens of displaced families accused of having taken part in anti-government protests held in the capital, eyewitnesses said. Local residents said the detainees were among thousands of displaced people who marched at protests yesterday in Howlwadag district in Mogadishu to complain about their living hardships.
http://www.shabelle.net/
Al Shabaab militia ambushed in Jamame district
24 Nov – Source: Radio bar-kulan – 89 words
Two persons were killed and a other four injured in a fight that raged between al Shabaab militias and an unnamed armed group near Jamame district in the lower Jubba of Somalia. The fight started after the armed group attacked al Shabaab-owned tracks heading to Barawe district in lower Shabelle, resulting in injuries at both sides.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenya to brief IGAD summit today
25 Nov- Source: Africa Review- 107 words
Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki will today travel to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa to attend an IGAD Summit of heads of state and government. The summit will address the political and security situation in Somalia. It will also discuss the outstanding issues of the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the renewed tension between the North and South Sudan.
http://www.africareview.com/
10 al Shabaab killed in latest Kenya offensive
24 Nov- Source: Capital FM News- 582 words
Kenyan troops launched both air and ground bombardments on strategic al Shabaab strongholds in Somalia and killed 10 militants in the latest offensive as they advance to capture the port of Kismayu. The Department of Defence in Nairobi said seven of the insurgents were killed when areas of Wamaitho and Kisima on the Southern parts of Somalia were bombed by air force jets yesterday morning. The attacks were carried out by Kenya Defence Forces and TFG troops in the town of Hawina, between the towns of Dobley and Tabda.
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Fatal attacks tied to raid by Kenya
24 Nov – Source: New York Times – 342 words
At least four people, three of them civilians, were killed yesterday in a wave of attacks in northern Kenya that the authorities believe were connected to the country’s recent incursion into Somalia. The first attack happened around dawn near Mandera, a remote outpost that straddles the Kenya-Somalia border. A large military truck carrying several soldiers rolled over a land mine, which killed one soldier and seriously wounded five others, Kenyan officials said.
Somalis skeptical of Ethiopian incursion
24 Nov – Source: VOA – 453 words
Ethiopian troops have apparently crossed over into Somalia, weeks after Kenya launched its own incursion into the country in pursuit of al Shabaab militants. Some analysts say the Kenyan operation can succeed only if Ethiopia cooperates. Witnesses said this week they had seen Ethiopian troops cross the border into Somalia.
http://www.voanews.com/
African Union force makes strides inside Somalia
24 Nov – Source: New York Times – 774 words
When the first batch of AU peacekeepers landed at Mogadishu’s decrepit airport in 2007, they were immediately shelled by insurgents with mortars and given little chance of success. This was Somalia after all, the graveyard of several other doomed interventions, and the AU soldiers were a last resort for a deeply troubled mission.
Kenyan soldier killed after airstrikes on Somali rebels
24 Nov – Source: AP / VOA – 454 words
Kenya said yesterday that its warplanes destroyed two Islamist insurgent bases in neighbouring Somalia, but a bomb back on home soil killed a soldier and wounded four others. The exchanges came six weeks after Nairobi sent troops and tanks into Somalia to fight the Al-Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgents, accused of a series of attacks in Kenya including the abduction of four foreign women.
EU commends Burundi for contribution to peacekeeping mission in Somalia
24 Nov – Source: Xinhua – 196 words The senior coordinator of the European Union (EU) activities in Africa’s Great Lakes region, Koen Vervaeke, says the European bloc “highly” regards Burundi’s contribution to the peacekeeping mission in Somalia. Vervaeke made the comments on Wednesday afternoon after talks with Burundi’s First Vice-President Therence Sinunguruza. http://news.xinhuanet.com/
U.S. intensifies its proxy fight against al-Shabaab in Somalia
25 Nov – Source: Washington Post – 557 words
The Obama administration is intensifying its campaign against an al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia by boosting the number of proxy forces in the war-torn country, expanding drone operations and strengthening military partnerships throughout the region. In many ways, the American role in the long-running conflict in Somalia is shaping up as the opposite of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: relatively inexpensive, with limited or hidden U.S. footprints.http://www.washingtonpost.com/
East Africa tournament begins amid Somalia chaos
24 Nov- Source: Reuters- 317 words
The east African regional soccer tournament kicks off this weekend amid news the Somali government has dissolved its football federation following differences with the sports minister, officials said. Somali Football chief Abdigani Said Arap told the Council of the East and Central African Football Associations Congress yesterday that Sports Minister Mohamed Mohiadin Sheikh dissolved the football body on Tuesday. He did not give reasons.
http://af.reuters.com/article/
Kenyan and Somali troops attack militant bases
24 Nov- Source: Reuters- 417 words
Kenyan and Somali troops jointly attacked al Shabaab hideouts in Somalia on Thursday, killing a number of militants, and a Kenyan soldier was killed by a roadside bomb while on patrol elsewhere along the border warzone, officials said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/