May 31, 2018 | Morning Headlines

Somalia President Makes Surprise Visit To Kenya For Security Talks

30 May – Source: The Star – 451 Words

Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi today landed in Nairobi for a one-day visit. His communication team said he will discuss bilateral relations and further cooperation on key security, trade and diplomatic ties. He was received by Foreign Affairs CS Monica Juma and her ICT counterpart Joe Mucheru at JKIA, and then headed to State House, Nairobi.

The surprise visit, which caught even senior Foreign Affair officials unaware, came as the Directorate of Criminal Investigations earlier in a press release warned the number of al Shabaab militants along the border with Somalia is “on the rise” and some are trying to cross into the country.

The police say the militants, led by operational commander Ibrahim Mohammed, alias Sharif Layn Kulul, may be planning attacks in Kenya. On Friday, the National Intelligence Service warned of possible terror attacks in Mombasa county by al Shabaab operatives during the month of Ramadan. The NIS warned the militants have dispatched fighters in parts of Northeastern and Coast to carry out sting attacks targeting security agents and civilians.

This is also after the Kenyan government warned that the activities of foreign powers seeking to undermine the government in Mogadishu are a threat to regional security.In his State of the Nation Address, the President Uhuru warned against interference in Somalia. He said, “The region is not at peace. Somalia remains troubled, largely by foreign agents who weaken its government, who divide its peoples, and who threaten to reverse the gains we have so painfully won under Amisom.”

Key Headlines

• Somalia President Makes Surprise Visit To Kenya For Security Talks (The Star)
• Somali Military Court Sentences 3 Over Hotel Attack (Shabelle News)
• New Chief Justice Takes Oath Of Office (Halbeeg News)
• Al-Shabaab Militants On Kenyan Border Are Planning Attacks Police Say (Bloomberg)
• Somaliland Arrests Journalists Closes 2 TV Channels: RSF (News 24)
• People Fleeing Conflict In Northern Somali Town Of Tukaraq Fall Prey To Wild Animals (Radio Ergo)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Somali Military Court Sentences 3 Over Hotel Attack

30 May – Source: Shabelle News – 143 Words

A Somali military court on Wednesday sentenced three men convicted of last October’s devastating siege in a hotel in the capital Mogadishu, which resulted in the death of scores of people. The chief of the military court, General Hassan Ali Shute, sentenced Mr. Abdinasir Dhaqane, Mr. Farhan Mohamed and Mr. Abshir Mohamed to death after being convicted of involvement in the attack.

The trio played a role in the attack at the Nasa Hablod II hotel in the capital but were subsequently detained after being overpowered during a shootout, as they tried to escape from the scene. Dozens of people, including a regional minister, were killed and many others wounded in the attack at the popular hotel in the city on 28th October 2017. The court decision can be appealed, according to the chairman of the military court.

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New Chief Justice Takes Oath Of Office

29 May – Source: Halbeeg News – 188 Words

Bashe Yussuf Ahmed has been sworn in as the new Chief Justice, with President Mohamed Abdullahi asking him to forge better relations with the public. President Farmaajo said through trust and good relations between the Judiciary and the public, justice will prevail.
“In recent past, people have been talking about injustice. We did an assessment of where the problem was and realised the need for reforms. It starts with today’s event and will be followed with the formation of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC),” President Farmajo said during his speech at the swearing-in ceremony held at Villa Somalia.

He said Mr. Ahmed’s first task will be to implement transparent and equitable justice. On his part, the new Chief Justice said he was committed to the fight against injustice. “Whether it is development, security or improving the economy, what is most fundamental is justice — getting justice is the responsibility of every Somali individual,” said Ahmed.

Ahmed, who once served as Chief Executive Officer of Wasabi Party, graduated from Hargeisa University in 2008 before attending a one-year Masters Program at the University of Hertfordshire majoring in commercial and marine law.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Al-Shabaab Militants On Kenyan Border Are Planning Attacks, Police Say

30 May – Source: Bloomberg – 135 Words

Kenyan police said there are rising numbers of Islamist fighters gathering on the country’s border with war-torn Somalia and some are planning attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Some of the militants belonging to the al-Shabaab group have tried to cross into the northeastern Kenyan counties of Wajir, Mandera and Garissa, the National Police Service said Wednesday on Twitter. One group has been hiding in Somalia’s mountainous Gedo region and may be planning attacks on the Kenyan side, it said.

Al-Shabaab, an affiliate of al-Qaeda, has staged attacks that have killed more than 200 people in Kenya since the East African nation sent troops into Somalia in 2011 to prop up the government. Al-Shabaab has waged a more than decade-long insurgency in a bid to impose its version of Islamic law in Somalia.

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Somaliland Arrests Journalists, Closes 2 TV Channels: RSF

30 May – Source: News 24 – 270 Words

The breakaway territory of Somaliland has arrested several journalists and closed two TV stations covering its dispute with the neighbouring Somali region of Puntland, Reporters without Borders (RSF) said on Tuesday. According to the Somaliland authorities, TV channels SBS and SOMNews have been banned for being “involved in political campaigns” and not maintaining “the neutrality they are supposed to observe”, the media watchdog said.

SBS reporter Mohamed Ahmed Jama Bidhanshe was arrested on Tuesday while covering a protest march in Las Anod, the chief town of Sool region in southeastern Somaliland. This happened two days after Bulsho TV journalist Abdirahman Keyse Tungub was detained there, who also had reported on local discontent over the fighting at the border, RSF said.

Somaliland is a self-declared republic in northern Somalia. It has been de facto independent from the rest of the war-torn country since 1991, but is not recognised internationally. In recent months, the Sool region has been the theatre of heavy clashes between Somaliland and Puntland, a semi-autonomous part of Somalia. “We condemn the closure of privately-owned TV stations and we call for the immediate release of these two journalists, who were just doing their job,” said Arnaud Froger, head of RSF’s Africa desk.

“The already deteriorated security environment for journalists covering this conflict has been compounded in recent weeks by growing, unjustified harassment by the Somaliland authorities. The arbitrary arrests and closures must stop and the freedom to inform must be guaranteed.” Earlier this month, freelance journalist Adam Jama Oogle was detained without charge for nine days after reporting on Facebook that people in Sool wanted Somali unity, RSF said.

OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE

“They had to ask for cooked food that other displaced families could spare. They spend their days sheltering under trees and slept under makeshift structures made of sticks and rags. Shugri owned a small stall and used to earn a reasonably comfortable income for her family.”

People Fleeing Conflict In Northern Somali Town Of Tukaraq Fall Prey To Wild Animals

30 May – Source: Radio Ergo – 525 Words

More than 1,000 families in Tukaraq have been forced to flee from their homes, following ongoing conflict in the northern Somali region of Sool. Local leaders told Radio Ergo that most of those fleeing had moved to rural places near Kursu-Dubalay, 18 kilometer west of Tukaraq, and others to Higlo, God-qaboobe and Faleedhayale

Tukaraq is disputed area claimed by both Puntland and Somaliland. The local council of elders told Radio Ergo that displaced families included both Tukaraq town dwellers and people who had already been displaced by the ongoing drought. They said the conflict had left these families homeless, hungry and vulnerable to challenges including attacks by wild animals.

Ibado Ali Farah fled from Higlada, 15 kilometer north of Tukaraq, with her five children looking for a safer place. But the first night they arrived in Kursu-dubaley they were attacked by hyenas. Ibado told Radio Ergo that a 15-year-old boy suffered head injuries after being attacked by a hyena while he slept. His family managed to scare the animal away by throwing rocks at it and shouting. The boy was later taken to Lasanod for medical treatment. Ms. Ibado said they had camped in Kursu-dubaley because there was water for their livestock.

However, wild animals also come to the water source at night to drink, thereby endangering human beings: “Besides lack of shelter and the rains, we have been in constant fear at night, as the hyenas visit the well in search for water,” Ibado said. Some of the families fleeing from Tukaraq moved to Daldhac, Higlada and Beerwayne on the outskirts of the town.

Abdi Mohamed, one of the elders of Tukaraq, told Radio Ergo that 600 drought-hit internally displaced persons (IDPs) who were living in camps are among those displaced — yet again — by the conflict. Shugri Muse Salah, a mother of eight, fled her home in Tukaraq on 15 May. She is staying in Daldhac, 15 km west of Tukaraq, where she can access water. She said she had no time to collect any of her belongings before fleeing her home.

“The biggest problem is that we don’t have shelter, we don’t have food or medical care, and my two youngest children are now sick and there is no health centre or medicine. They have a bad fever and have been vomiting,” Shugri told Radio Ergo. Ms. Shugri said her family was not able to cook for the first three days when they arrived in Daldhac after walking for four hours before getting a ride in a vehicle.