May 25, 2018 | Morning Headlines
PM Khaire: District Commissioners Will be Held Accountable For Insecurity Cases in Their Areas
24 May – Source: Halbeeg News – 211 Words
The seventeen District Commissioners in Somali capital of Mogadishu will be held accountable for the insecurity in their respective areas, Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire has said. The government has been struggling to improve security in the capital city in recent days, with Al-Shabaab plotting assassinations and bomb attacks in and around the capital.
Speaking at a security meeting in Mogadishu, the Prime Minister said his government was committed to restore peace in the capital and other parts of the country. Mr Khaire directed security officials to work hand in hand with the the district commissioners.
“The commanders of armed forces, Minister for Security and Benadir Governor should hand over the security responsibility to the district commissioners,” said the Premier. He ordered security forces to work under the command of the DCs. The meeting comes as the government deployed hundreds of security forces to intensify the security of the city.
Over the last two days, the forces have launched security operations in several parts of Mogadishu where dozens of suspects have been nabbed in connection with Al-Shabaab activities. The government has vowed to beef up the security of Mogadishu, during the month of Ramadan with support from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Despite few insecurity cases, the city has been relatively peaceful since the beginning of the Ramadan.
Key Headlines
- PM Khaire: District Commissioners Will be Held Accountable For Insecurity Cases in Their Areas (Halbeeg News)
- Nasa-Habalood II Terror Attack Suspects Plead Guilty (Goobjoog News)
- MP Nur Escapes Unhurt In Gunfight Between Guards And NISA Agents (Radio Dalsan)
- US Airstrike In Somalia Against Al-Shabab Kills 10 Fighters (Washington Post)
- Families Urgently Need Food Clean Water Medical Support After Somaliland Cyclone (Relief Web)
- From War-torn Somalia To Maine: An Immigrant’s Story Of Hope (Boston Globe)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Nasa-Hablood II Terror Attack Suspects Plead Guilty
24 May – Source: Goobjoog News – 154 Words
Suspects accused of being involved in the deadly bombing of Nasa-Hablood II hotel, in Mogadishu, pleaded guilty on Thursday during hearing in a military court in Mogadishu. The blast claimed 29 lives. The three, Mr. Farhan Mohamed Samar, Mr. Abdinasir Dhaqane Hassan and Mr. Abshir Mahad Haji Bule, admitted to being involved in the attack, and told the court their bullets ran out during the attack.
The attack, which happened in October 28 last year, barely two weeks after the October 14 truck bombing which claimed over 500 lives, stretched into the night as Al-Shabaab militants went from room to room killing occupants. Defense lawyers of the accused, told the court that the accused were misled by Al-Shabaab to participate in this heinous act, which also injured 40 people. The defendants pleaded for pardon. Witnesses among them were security officers and members of the public who presented their testimonies before the Level 1 military court.
MP Nur Escapes Unhurt In Gunfight Between Guards And NISA Agents
23 May – Source: Radio Dalsan – 157 Words
Somalia’s MP and opposition figure Abdullahi Mahamed Nur on Wednesday night was caught up in a gunfight between his bodyguards and National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) officers in the capital Mogadishu, according to reports.
According to an aide of the politician, his vehicle was shot at after he passed through the Fiat security check in Abdiaziz district. His bodyguards reacted by firing back and a gun fight ensued. The MP was unhurt in the incident and convened a meeting with opposition lawmakers at the Hotel Makkah- al-Mukaraman to protest the ugly drama.
In a post on his Facebook account, Nur said that he had earlier reported to the Speaker of Parliament concerning “threats” he had received allegedly from security agents. “Today 5:10pm my driver stopped by NISA & I promptly identified myself, as soon as they let us go a NISA guard started shooting at us without any provocation but luckily we survived, Alhamdullah” he posted. Mahad Salat, an MP, has demanded an explanation from the government on the incident terming it attempted assassination. Police are yet to issue a statement on the incident. Mr Nur is the leader of opposition aligned MPs in the Somalia Parliament.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
US Airstrike In Somalia Against Al-Shabab Kills 10 Fighters
24 May – Source: Washington Post – 133 Words
The U.S. military says it has carried out an airstrike outside Somalia’s capital that killed 10 extremists. The U.S. Africa Command says it has carried out 14 such airstrikes so far this year against the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group, which continues to hold some rural areas of the Horn of Africa nation.
Dozens of U.S. airstrikes were carried out last year after the Trump administration approved expanded military operations against al-Shabab, which was blamed for an October truck bombing in Mogadishu that killed more than 500 people.
The new statement says the U.S. military assesses that no civilians were killed in Wednesday’s strike about 15 miles southwest of Mogadishu. The U.S. has faced accusations in recent months of killing civilians in joint operations with Somali forces against al-Shabab.
Families Urgently Need Food, Clean Water, Medical Support After Somaliland Cyclone
24 May – Source: Relief Web – 524 Words
Thousands of people remain in urgent need of food, clean water, health services and essential household items along the north-western coastline of Somaliland in the wake of last Saturday’s Cyclone Sagar, the strongest storm that has ever made landfall in this part of the country. Hundreds are homeless, 47 deaths have been reported and a massive number of livestock have been killed.
“The cyclone comes on the heels of a series of natural disasters – severe drought that had left more than half the population in need of humanitarian support and ongoing floods that has destroyed crops, homes and businesses,” said Simon Nyabwengi, Country Director of World Vision’s programmes in Somalia and Somaliland. “We’re concerned about the high number of people who have been displaced by natural disasters and about an outbreak of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD/cholera) that is threatening people’s lives.”
“People urgently need food, shelter, essential household items like blankets and soap, health services and clean water, particularly the families that are displaced and being hosted in schools and temporary camps,” he adds. Mohamed Abdi, a 57-year-old father of two boys in Warabe Dareeray village, is one of those displaced by the cyclone that has affected 1.2 million people leaving them in need of immediate humanitarian assistance. “I have been living in this village for the last 37 years and have never seen such kind of rain with storms.
It was so new to me and my family, we thought it was the last day of our lives, we prayed and ran to the mosque when the heavy rain started. We have nothing, no food, no water, no blankets, no household items. My wife also died. But we have hope from our God.” According to a World Vision emergency response team that visited affected areas, Cyclone Sagar caused massive livestock deaths, property damage and destroyed roads forcing many families to be displaced.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“She thought I had become arrogant, that my newfound wealth had changed me. I had no way to convince her that life could also be hard in America. But her problems were bigger than mine; she and Nima needed money to survive and buy food.”
From War-torn Somalia To Maine: An Immigrant’s Story Of Hope
23 May – Source: Boston Globe – 4064 Words
MY HEART WAS BEATING FAST as the plane banked over downtown Boston and descended to Logan Airport. My face was glued to the window as I looked at the skyscrapers of America, then the blue waters of the Atlantic. Even though we were going down, I felt like I was going up to heaven. When the wheels bumped on the runway, I couldn’t control myself. “I am in America!” I shouted.
Even the bored lady next to me found a way to smile. “Welcome!” she said. As we taxied to the gate, I thought of my brother in Kenya, my mom on the dusty streets of Mogadishu waiting for the good news, my friends in the tea shop in Little Mogadishu who applied for the visa lottery when I forced them, all the while assuring me it was hogwash. But I had no thought of saying “I told you so.” I was overwhelmed with joy, with tears melting down my cheeks.
Exiting the plane felt like a historic moment, like when the first man walked on the moon. I wondered if gravity felt different in America, but it seemed about the same as in Africa. People poured out of the flight; they were in some sort of a hurry. It seemed like everyone knew what to do and they knew where they were going. I just felt like standing there and watching everything. I looked around the immigration hall. So far no Hollywood, no Disney World, no Statue of Liberty or Harvard University, not even Walmart or KFC. I saw people who looked a little like Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Eddie Murphy, Oprah, or Tom Cruise, and I couldn’t take my eyes off them. But I was not the only stranger there. A group of Asians speaking a strange language were lined up in front of me. People of other colors were everywhere. A black man right behind me in the line was glued to his phone.
“Hi!” I said. “Hello.” To my surprise he had a thick African accent. “I’m from Somalia. Where are you from?” “Nigeria,” he replied, barely looking up from his phone. It was the first time in my entire life I had seen a Nigerian. He told me he had lived in America for 10 years. So many different kinds of people in America! I expected big, muscly white guys to be in charge at the airport, like the Marines I knew from Mogadishu. But lots of the airport staff were Asian, short with round faces. As the line moved on slowly, I gazed up at the huge television screens flashing the news: ….Actor Robin Williams has committed suicide . . . Violent protests erupted in Ferguson, Missouri, after the killing of a black man .