May 30, 2018 | Morning Headlines

Kenya Launches Manhunt For Al-Shabaab Returnees In Coast Region

29 May – Source: Xinhua – 412 Words

Kenya’s security officers in coastal Lamu County have started an operation to flush out Al-Shabaab returnees who have secretly come back and refused to surrender to authorities for rehabilitation. Lamu County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri said on Tuesday that relatives and other community members who are found guilty of hiding the returnees are also targeted in the new operation. “We are glad that a considerable number of communities have cooperated with security officers, but it’s unfortunate that there are some communities that have been hiding and aiding al-Shabab,” Kanyiri told journalists in Lamu.

“These communities have also remained tight-lipped whenever Al-Shabaab returnees come back from Somalia,” he added. “We told them to surrender such people to us for rehabilitation. Investigations are at a critical stage and people shall be prosecuted soon enough.” The authorities insist that the normal procedure is for the community to surrender any returnees to the police for rehabilitation after which they can be incorporated back into society.

The east African nation has announced amnesty for all Al-Shabaab returnees who shall surrender to the police. Despite the assurance, not many have heeded as fears rise that it could be a trick by police to capture and eliminate the returnees. Kanyiri said the government has adequate intelligence that many of those posing as returnees are in fact spies for the militant group.

In addition to Lamu, the coastal county of Tana River and Garissa county in northeastern Kenya are also notorious for hiding al-Shabab returnees, Kanyiri said. Some community members in those counties have been working with militants by giving them such information as movements of security officers, he said. Kanyiri insisted that the returnees have in fact been helping militants launch terror attacks across the region. He warned that anyone found culpable of aiding terrorism shall be treated like a terrorist and face the full force of the law. The militants’ spies are also responsible for spreading propaganda leaflets across the region with the intent to mislead, intimidate and instill fear in residents, he said.

Locals have been asked to stay put and not allow themselves be divided along religious or tribal lines. “People wake up to propaganda leaflets strewn all over villages in which the militants claim they have no issues with Muslims and that their main target are the Christians and tribes from outside the coastal region. We must be aware of such intentions and vow to remain sober-minded and united so we can win against them,” said Kanyiri.

Key Headlines

• Kenya Launches Manhunt For Al-Shabaab Returnees In Coast Region (Xinhua)
• Somali Deputy PM Meets Denmark Ambassador in Mogadishu (Halbeeg News)
• Lack Of Rule Of Law An Impediment To Human Rights Protection In Somalia – EU report (Goobjoog News)
• Somaliland Authorities Arrest Demonstrators Journalists Covering Protest (Reuters)
• Getting Medicine To Flood Victims In Somalia No Matter What (Relief Web)
• Welcome To Puntland: Where Many Men Don’t Consider Rape A Crime (Elle.com)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Somali Deputy PM Meets Denmark Ambassador in Mogadishu

29 May – Source: Halbeeg News – 162 Words

Somali Deputy Prime Minister, Mahdi Mohamed Guled on Tuesday held talks with Denmark Ambassador to Somalia, Mette Knudsen in Mogadishu. The two leaders discussed a wide range of issues, including bilateral relations and development projects. Ambassador Knudsen pledged her government’s support for the Somali government in restoring peace and stability.

“The Danish government wishes to see a stable and strong Somalia,” she said. Guled separately told the media that they held discussions on the implementation of development projects. He said that the Scandinavian nation will help Somalia in the nation rebuilding process. The talks, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, also touched the two countries’ long relations.

On Monday Ambassador Knudsen held discussions with officials from the African Union Mission in Somalia  (AMISOM) where she pledged support for the continental forces. The ambassador commended the mission saying AU had played a very crucial role in the helping stabilise Somalia. She underscored the need for strong Somali forces that can take responsibility of the country’s security.

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Lack Of Rule Of Law An Impediment To Human Rights Protection In Somalia – EU report

29 May – Source: Goobjoog News – 223 Words

Lack of rule of law in Somalia remains the biggest obstacle to protection of basic human rights, a report by the European Union has noted. According to the report, gender based violence in the Horn of Africa country remained widespread.

The EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy 2017 observes that Federal and State authorities had limited control of the country coupled with limited policing functions, access to justice and correctional facilities. As a result, the report states, leaders prioritise political power over protection of human rights.

“Regional leaders continued to show more interest in ensuring their own political power than protecting the rights of the people or groups in their constituencies,” the report released Monday says. Sexual and gender based violence remain rampant in Somalia, the report says adding that despite ratification of Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2015, recruitment and use of children in armed conflict by state and non- state actors continues.

The proliferation of regional security forces/militias continues to constitute a concern due to inadequate civilian control and apparent lack of compliance with international humanitarian law, the report adds. Despite efforts to bolster human rights protection through capacity injection and funding, the EU notes, the death penalty in Somalia remains difficult to advocate against ‘since there is near universal support in the country for capital punishment.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somaliland Authorities Arrest Demonstrators, Journalists Covering Protest

29 May – Source: Reuters – 238 Words

Police in Somalia’s breakaway Somaliland region arrested more than 40 protesters and two journalists at a demonstration in a town whose ownership is disputed by a neighbouring region, a police officer said.  Protesters marched through the town of Las Anod on Monday, shouting in support of rejoining the federal government, based in Mogadishu, residents said.

“We arrested 47 demonstrators including women and youth who were misled,” said Abdirisak Mohamed Faarah, police commander for Somaliland’s Sool region, said at a news conference in Las Anod on Monday. “There are also two reporters in jail for creating chaos. We are also looking for others and we shall arrest them.  “We arrested them because they were destabilising peace and we shall take measures against those who masterminded it.”

Last week, fighting between Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region and breakaway Somaliland killed dozens of soldiers.  The fighting appeared to be a resumption of more than 10 years of periodic conflict between Puntland and Somaliland over the disputed region of Sool.

A week earlier, clashes between the two sides over the ownership of Tukaraq village, taken by Somaliland last month, killed at least 45 people. Forces from Puntland and Somaliland remain stationed on opposite sides of Tukaraq.  “We shall continue fighting till we liberate Las Anod town. We urge Somaliland to stop suppressing the residents,” Abdihakim Abdullahi, deputy president of Puntland, told Reuters on Monday.  Other Somaliland officials could not be reached for comment.

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Getting Medicine To Flood Victims In Somalia, No Matter What

29 May – Source: Relief Web – 382 Words

Recent flash and river flooding in Somalia has affected an estimated 772 000 people and displaced nearly 230 000 people from their homes. The World Health Organization in Somalia is responding to the health needs of the most vulnerable, including by airlifting emergency medical supplies to different parts of the country.

The Gu rainy season, which runs from late March to June, began with regular rainfall. However, in the first half of April, rain levels increased to some of the highest on record for the past nearly 40 years. In some places, nearly twice the normal average amount of rain came down, causing flash and river flooding across central and southern Somalia – an area that is already vulnerable because of repeated droughts and ongoing conflict. At least 25 people have been killed. The destruction caused by water has been widespread and devastating affecting farming, schools, roads and shelters for internally displaced people.

“We haven’t seen this kind of rain in decades. Now, hundreds of thousands of very vulnerable people are being hit again,” says Dr Ghulam Rabani Popal, WHO Representative for Somalia. An estimated 772 000 people are in need of humanitarian aid, including food, clean water, and health care. The risk of water and vector-borne diseases like cholera, malaria, dengue fever, and chikungunya has also increased. To respond, WHO is leading health partners to work together on detecting disease outbreaks, building cholera treatment centres, training health workers, providing mosquito nets, and distributing medical supplies.

Since road transport is near impossible, this month WHO staff have successfully airlifted 45 tonnes of medical supplies to different states in the country, including Hirshebelle, South West, Jubaland, Galmudug, and Puntland. The supplies will have an immediate positive impact on the health needs of flood-affected Somalis, while longer term response plans are being put into place.

As the Global Health Cluster lead Agency, WHO is also coordinating the response of all health partners, to ensure the work gets done as efficiently and effectively as possible. Dr Popal added: “These shipments of medicine and other medical materials will address the immediate needs of vulnerable people. WHO’s staff and all our partners in health are working around the clock to save lives, as well as plan for the long term health of all the people of Somalia.”

OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE

“Bile even knows how to shoot — she learned at the police academy — but the police station has limited weapons available and as a woman, Bile is the lowest priority. ‘She doesn’t need one,’ her superior officer jokes. ‘I’m her bodyguard.’ Bile rolls her eyes, smiling with practiced patience”

Welcome To Puntland: Where Many Men Don’t Consider Rape A Crime

29 May – Source: Elle.com – 1779 Words

Every morning, 28-year-old Officer Shamis Abdi Bile rises before dawn to make breakfast for her husband and three young children.  She bustles around the house, fulfilling the traditional role of homemaker, something that is still expected of Somali women. But once her family has eaten, Bile takes on an unexpected role.

Bile becomes a warrior; almost single-handedly fighting for the prosecution of rape and sexual violence in Puntland, Somalia. She changes into her khaki police uniform, neatly pressed and spotless, and walks several miles through the dusty streets of Garowe — the small capital city of Somalia’s vast, barren Puntland state — to the local police station. Bile is the only female officer in her unit, and the only woman handling issues of sexual violence in the area.  Waiting for Bile in the hot, stuffy interview room is a terrified teenage girl. She grips the hands of her friend so tightly that her knuckles turn white.

The girl’s angry sobs are barely audible over the sound of dozens of flies buzzing around the tiny space. It has no doors or windows to ensure privacy; any number of the men in the office will be able to overhear the girl’s testimony.  A young boy from her neighbourhood held her down for the purpose of raping her, tearing at her clothes as she screamed. The girl has been once to the police station already, several days ago, but when she tried to report the crime, nobody seemed to care. Instead, the male officers mocked her, advising her to go home and forget about it because she would not find the justice she was seeking. This is why Bile gets up every morning and goes to a job that can barely pay her a living wage (she hasn’t been properly paid in a year). She’s furious, and she’s the only one determined to help.

‘I feel driven to help when a woman is being abused,’ Bile says passionately. ‘And do whatever I can do to catch those who are harassing her.’  The girl’s dark eyes glint as she keeps the rest of her face covered. She won’t give her name, afraid that being labeled a rape survivor in Somalia’s ultra-conservative society would ruin her and her family’s reputation.

Bile, a fierce and unconventional woman, summons the male colleague originally assigned to the case into her office for a public scolding, stamping her neon orange sneakers and bellowing loudly.  She doesn’t care that the officer outranks her, nor that here, in Somalia, his status as a man makes him her social superior. She may be the only female officer, but she commands the respect of the men around her.

As Bile berates him, the male officer places his hands on his portly belly and tries to look ashamed. He attempts to defend himself, weakly protesting that the teenage girl would be better off if she just forgot the incident altogether. After all, he says, rape is common here and nobody takes that sort of thing seriously. Nobody, it seems, except Officer Bile. Brimming with frustration, Bile promptly takes over the case. ‘Some officers say rape is not a big deal,’ Bile says. ‘They say it has been happening for ages and it’s nothing new.’