November 26, 2018 | Morning Headlines
AMISOM Plans Joint Military Operations With Somali Army
25 November – Source: Halbeeg News – 296 Words
Head of AMISOM, Francisco Caetano Madeira has said the African Union (AU) plans to launch a joint military operation with the Somali security forces. In a meeting with Uganda’s Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF), General David Muhoozi, Madeira stated the troops would soon embark on operations to free new areas which are currently occupied by the Al-Shabaab militia group.
“Most importantly, we need to create space for the government to occupy and be present in much wider areas than is currently the case and make sure that the checkpoints and tax collection points of Al-Shabaab are dismantled,” said Madeira, reiterating that the visit by Gen. Muhoozi offers reassurance to the mission’s leadership and troops.
Madeira and Muhoozi agreed to accelerate AMISOM’s activities and operations for the 2018-2021 period, which marks the final phase of the AU mission’s transition and eventual exit from Somalia: “We talked about how we can move ahead in the coming times. How we can, together, implement the transition, (and) Resolution 2431 of the UN Security Council, which gives us the mandate up to May next year,” remarked Ambassador Madeira. “We both agreed that we need to continue to move together, we need to ensure that Somali troops are ready to take over from us. We need also, to make sure that Al-Shabaab is further degraded,” he said.
Mr. Madeira said Leego will be freed sooner than later and will be back into the hands of the government. Al-Shabaab took over control of Leego in Lower Shabelle region in August 2017, after AMISOM troops withdrew from a Forward Operating Base, situated in the area. The town lies about 120 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu and is of strategic importance to Somalia, because it links Mogadishu to the western regions of Bay and Bakool.
Key Headlines
- AMISOM Plans Joint Military Operations With Somali Army (Halbeeg News)
- South West State Begins Registration Of The Presidential Candidates (Radio Shabelle)
- At least 10 Soldiers Killed In Al-Shabaab Ambush (Garowe Online)
- Kenya Identifies Suspects In Italian Woman’s Kidnapping (News24)
- New US Ambassador To Somalia Sees Path To Peace Prosperity (VOA)
NATIONAL MEDIA
South West State Begins Registration Of The Presidential Candidates
25 November – Source: Radio Shabelle – 189 Words
The race to occupy the office left by the immediate former South West president, Sharif Hassan, officially kicked off on Sunday with all the presidential aspirants expected to present their nomination papers to the state’s electoral coordinating committee.
About eight presidential hopefuls are expected to present their nomination papers for clearance in an exercise that stretches to Monday. The commission has advised the candidates to try and beat the deadline by submitting their applications to participate in the elections scheduled for December 5th. The aspirants were urged to comply with the timelines as there would be no extension, according to a statement from the electoral committee.
The regional electoral coordinating committee of the South West state is expected to hold the state’s presidential election on 5th of next month. The winner will replace the state’s former President Sharif Hassan, who resigned on November 7th and withdrew from the race citing widespread interference in the poll by the central government. Major contenders in the poll include former Finance Minister Mohamed Aden Fargeti and Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, a co-founder of the Al-Shabaab militia group. Robow has since disowned the Al-Shabaab group.
At least 10 Soldiers Killed In Al-Shabaab Ambush
25 November – Source: Garowe Online – 211 Words
At least 10 Somali soldiers have been killed in an ambush carried out by the armed extremist group Al-Shabaab in the country’s southern area on Saturday. According to a senior regional official, the soldiers who were travelling in a convoy came under roadside bomb attack outside Balad town shortly after leaving Jowhar for Mogadishu, the Somali capital.
Locals confirmed to Garowe Online that the improvised explosive device (IED) blast was followed by a gunfight between the soldiers and members of the militia group at Gololey, a hotly contested area in Middle Shabelle region, where Al-Shabaab stages regular ambushes: “Fighting broke out and continued for about one hour”, said Ali Osman, a witness to the battle, who added that both sides exchanged heavy weaponry during the skirmish.
Reports said the commander of the first division of the Somali National Army [SNA] identified as General Ibrahim Yusuf (Tabakweyne) was wounded in the landmine explosion that struck his vehicle. Last June, two lawmakers from Somalia’s Hirshabelle state were killed along with several of their bodyguards in an Al-Shabaab ambush in the same vicinity in the Jowhar-Balad corridor.
Saturday’s deadly attack was claimed by the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabaab group, which has fought successive Somali governments in Mogadishu and also carried out attacks in Kenya and Uganda.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Kenya Identifies Suspects In Italian Woman’s Kidnapping
25 November – Source: News24 – 136 Words
Kenyan police have identified three suspects in the kidnapping of an Italian woman and are offering a reward of one million shillings ($9,750) for information leading to their arrest. There has been no claim of responsibility for the first kidnapping of a foreigner in the East African nation in several years. Police have said they are optimistic the aid worker will be found “within the shortest time possible.”
The 23-year-old Italian Silvia Costanza Romano was seized on Tuesday from a coastal community by gunmen who also wounded five people, including children. Such attacks had become rare after 2011, when Kenya deployed forces to neighboring Somalia in a bid to stop the Al-Shabaab extremist group from kidnapping foreigners. Police said the suspects in Tuesday’s attack are Ibrahim Adan Omar, Yusuf Kuno Adan and Said Adan Abdi.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“In testimony to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations this summer, Yamamoto said he would, as ambassador, strengthen institutions and governance; shift security responsibilities from AMISOM, the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia, to Somali forces; build economic opportunities, particularly for Somalia’s young labor force; and address humanitarian food and health crises.”
New US Ambassador To Somalia Sees Path To Peace, Prosperity
24 November – Source: VOA – 796 Words
A week before Donald Yamamoto arrived in Mogadishu, three car bombs exploded in the heart of the city, just outside the Sahafi Hotel. Dozens of nearby motorists and pedestrians were killed or maimed. A fourth bomb went off when first responders arrived, bringing the death toll to at least 52, with more than 100 casualties.
It was the latest in a string of attacks by the Islamist terror group al-Shabab, which for more than a decade has sought to dismantle the Somali federal government. But Yamamoto, the United States’ new ambassador to Somalia, isn’t deterred. By strengthening its institutions and economy, Somalia can achieve security and stability, Yamamoto told VOA’s Somali service.
“We see hope. I think, for the first time in a long time, we’re seeing opportunities that are expanding and growing,” Yamamoto said. Yamamoto brings 20 years of experience, both in Somalia and the broader East Africa region, to his new post. He has held top diplomatic positions in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
In Somalia, his experiences include engagement with both the Islamic Courts Union and the Somali Transitional Government, competing factions that preceded the current federal government. Yamamoto hopes to use his experiences to build on unprecedented rapprochements among East African neighbors to create new opportunities for Somalia.
Now, the goal is to establish a permanent diplomatic presence in the capital, Mogadishu, and find ways to support the Somali people in their efforts to build peace and prosperity. “What is the old American adage? It’s ‘90 percent is to be seen’? And so we’ve got to be seen. We’ve got to be present. And I travel through most of Somalia, so I think I’d like to do that as well,” Yamamoto said.
He plans to be operating out of Mogadishu on a permanent basis, with a small team, in the next few weeks. Yamamoto acknowledges the work ahead won’t be easy. Despite an international presence, routine U.S. airstrikes, and elections in 2016 and 2017, security remains elusive. “Is it dangerous? Sure. Is it challenging? I think it is. But we need to do it because it’s important,” he said.