July 5, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Somali Villagers Resist Al-Shabaab Militants Recruiting Children
04 July – Source: Voice of America – 361 Words
At least 15 people were killed in central Somalia when villagers clashed with Al-Shabaab militants trying to recruit their children as fighters. According to local sources, 10 militants and five villagers died in the fighting in Aad village, in the central Galmudug administration. A villager who requested anonymity told VOA’s Somali Service that the militants met with local elders two days ago and sought help with the recruitment. “The fighting came after they demanded that we provide young children to fight alongside them,” he said.
He said the villagers organized themselves and decided to resist, but Al-Shabaab moved into the village, and took control. “They are using power, they want to take kids, they want livestock, the fighting is not over,” he said. Galmudug regional deputy security minister Mahad Hassan Mohamed told VOA Somali the villagers are defending themselves. “They [Al-Shabaab] want to take away their children and take them to their madrassas. The people have rejected this,” Mohamed said.
The Al-Shabaab militants say they defended the village after an attack by regional forces and killed 15 regional troops. VOA reported last September that Al-Shabaab militants have been meeting with clan elders and Koran school teachers, ordering them to provide young recruits for Al-Shabaab training camps and madrassas. The move has forced hundreds of children to flee Shabaab-controlled areas in Bay and Bakool regions of southwest Somalia.
Key Headlines
- Somali Villagers Resist Al-Shabaab Militants Recruiting Children (Voice of America)
- Somali PM Says Inclusive Decision-Making Is Essential In Resolving The Country’s Current Problems (Halbeeg News)
- Security Chiefs Gather In Mogadishu For Meeting (Shabelle Media)
- Suspected Shabaab Attackers Injure Four Officers In Garissa (Daily Nation)
- Somaliland: IFJ Calls For Release Of Jailed Journalist (IFJ)
- Somali Refugee Model Graces Cover Of Teen Vogue In A Hijab (SBS News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali PM Says Inclusive Decision-Making Is Essential In Resolving The Country’s Current Problems
04 July – Source: Halbeeg News – 236 Words
Genuine political accommodation, inclusivity and consultative decision making are essential ingredients for Somalia’s success, Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheire said on Wednesday. Speaking during a Consultative Political Conference which kicked off in the Somali capital Mogadishu, the PM told participants that the conference was very crucial for the country and its people in general, as it will steer Somalia towards prosperity and better future. “The objective behind your gathering here, is basically to stand for the future of Somali people. We are convened here to come up with strategies of a better future for our people,” Mr. Kheire said.
The Premier said the outcome the conference would form part of the solutions to Somalia’s political problems. He challenged participants to come up with sustainable solutions to some of the country’s longtime problems: “Your participation of this conference indicates that you are among the key actors and you are part of those who are drafting our Constitution, which the Somali people will depend on for next one hundred years,” he stated.
Mr. Kheire hinted at the possibility of holding one person one vote in 2020: “Your meeting is an indication that are preparing ground for the much desired one man one vote polling system, which also signifies your readiness to conclude the constitutional review process,” he said. The conference which has brought together delegates from ministries of Interior and Constitutional Affairs, will run for four days.
Security Chiefs Gather In Mogadishu For Meeting
04 July – Source: Shabelle Media – 142 Words
The country’s top security chiefs held a meeting in Mogadishu amid the rising number of attacks by Al-Shabaab militants in the capital city. The meeting, which took place at the Police headquarters in Mogadishu,focused on the security gains made in the past months as well as avenues of overcoming challenges ahead.
Sources told Shabelle Media that the Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, who chaired the session, praised the government security agencies for their valuable efforts in securing the capital, which has been relatively calm since Ramadan. The government has established a special security force, dubbed “Mogadishu stabilization troops” that has beefed up the city’s overall security and which also conduct routine operations.
Somali government backed by 22,000 African Union forces is fighting against the Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militants, who still continue to control a large swathe of the Somali territory.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Suspected Shabaab Attackers Injure Four Officers In Garissa
04 July – Source: Daily Nation – 232 Words
Four police officers have been injured when they were ambushed by suspected Al-Shabaab militants in Garissa’s Ijara Sub-County on Tuesday evening. Garissa County Police Commander David Kerina told the Nation that the officers were escorting a grader when they were ambushed between Sangailu and Handaro in Ijara by heavily armed suspected members of Al-Shabaab. He said police officers exchanged heavy gun fire with the suspected militants who fled after they were overpowered.
The injured officers received first aid at Ijara Dispensary before being transferred to Masalani and later flown to Nairobi. There were seven officers at the time of the ambush. Ijara is located near the dense Boni Forest which has been a hideout for Al-Shabaab militants. “Four of our officers have been injured although they are all out of danger. Just slight injuries and they have been airlifted to Nairobi for specialised treatment,” the county police boss told the Nation. Mr Kerina said they are yet to establish whether there were casualties on the attackers’ side, adding that more security officers had been sent to the area to pursue the militants.
The militants have in the recent past targeted security officers on patrol along the Kenya-Somalia border by planting explosives on the road. Five GSU officers were killed on June 6 at the Liboi border when their vehicle was hit by a landmine. The officers were patrol along the porous border.
Somaliland: IFJ Calls For Release Of Jailed Journalist
04 July – Source: IFJ – 246 Words
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has backed calls by its affiliate, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), for the authorities in Somaliland to stop the persecution of independent journalists following the arrest of TV reporter in Borame (Somaliland), on Tuesday, 3 July.
The arrest of Ahmed Horri a reporter for privately owned Horn Cable TV was ordered by the Governor of Awdil region Mr. Abdirahman Ahmed Ali. According to local journalists, he was infuriated by a question posed by Horri in a press conference on 30 June. The journalist had questioned the governor about the activities of a secessionist armed movement in the Awdal region.
Consistent with the information given by the same sources, the governor rang the journalist on the night of 30 June and threatened him with arrest. He was arrested three days later when he was returning home. The journalist is still detained at Borama police station and has not been officially charged with any crime.
The IFJ strongly condemned the arbitrary detention and urges the Somaliland authorities to unconditionally release Horri: “The IFJ is deeply concerned about recent attacks against journalists by Somaliland authorities which have the effect of silencing criticism, public protests and suppressing the dissemination of information on the territorial conflict”.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“We don’t really showcase all these incredible women who are doing positive things and who are a part of your community. We should all strive for inclusivity and to invite people who are different from us to hear our stories and to listen to theirs.”
Somali Refugee Model Graces Cover Of Teen Vogue In A Hijab
04 July – Source: SBS News – 804 Words
Twenty-year-old Halima Aden is making her mark as a Somali-American model who has made it a point of keeping true to her roots in her work as a cover girl and now ambassador for humanitarian organisation UNICEF. Aden’s family fled their home during Somalia’s civil war, relocating to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. She remained there for seven years before heading to the United States and settling in St. Cloud, Minnesota, with her mother and younger brother.
From the start, Aden says she was determined to have a better life, taking on two jobs by the age of 16. Landing a modelling contract happened by chance when she decided to enter the Miss Minnesota pageant as a 19-year-old. Her decision to wear a hijab in the pageant received publicity and photos soon went viral.
The photo was taken while she advocating against the string of mall stabbings involving a Somali man. A chance photo of her with a baby named Jayse playing with her hijab was posted on a state senator’s social media account, and it went viral. Soon the story switched focus from the anti-violence protest to being about Halima’s journey as the first contestant wearing a hijab in the Miss Minnesota pageant 2016.
She later decided to also wear a burkini for the swimsuit segment of the competition. Soon CR Fashion Book was knocking on the door for cover magazine shoot and a contract with international modelling agency IMG soon followed. She said setting her own terms, including the condition of wearing a hijab in her modelling work, was a key focus for her as she negotiated the modelling contract.
In the past 18 months as a model, the first to wear a hijab on the runway, she has been on nine covers. Two years ago, she struggled to find a picture of somebody wearing a hijab inside the magazine, let alone on the cover. “When I got that opportunity to sign with IMG models, I made sure I wasn’t conforming,” she told American television program, CBS This Morning. Seven months into her modelling career she was still working as a housekeeper.