April 1, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Explosion kills six in Eastleigh

31 Mar – Source: Daily Nation – 183 words

Six people have been reported dead Monday evening following an explosion in Eastleigh, Nairobi. The explosion happened at around 7.30pm. Police are securing the area for emergency response services. The cause of the blast is yet to be confirmed. The injured have been taken to several hospitals including the Kenyatta National Hospital, Guru Nanak hospital and Mother and Child Hospital in Eastleigh.

Key Headlines

Somalia Captures Suspect in ’09 AU Base Bombing (VOA)
Somali Military Court sentences a man to death (Radio Goobjoog)
5 killed in blasts in Somali area of Kenya capital (AP)
Puntland security forces arrest 20 al Shabaab members (Radio RBC)
Somali Police Officers trained in Italy Return Home (Horseed Media/SNTV)
PM Parliament address postponed (Radio Bar-kulan)
Kenya tourism reels under terror threats (Turkish Press)
Puntland Galmudug create a united police force to counter al Shabab’s threat (RBC)

PRESS STATEMENT

UNSOM offers support as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud holds consultations in Baidoa with supporters of local state formation initiatives

31 Mar – Source: UNSOM – 181 words

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, has welcomed the visit by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to Baidoa to meet with supporters of opposing state formation processes.

Last week the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) called for urgent consultations with all political and traditional leaders in Baidoa to ease tensions between supporters of different state formation initiatives in the region.

“The United Nations Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) will continue to support the Federal Government of Somalia’s consultations with political and traditional leaders in Baidoa. This important visit underlines the commitment of the Federal Government to maintaining peace and stability in the region,” said SRSG Kay.

“I call on all parties to work constructively with the Government to find a peaceful and inclusive solution and avoid any actions that could pose a security threat or undermine stability. We will continue to work closely with international partners, particularly the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to foster reconciliation and state formation processes under the leadership of the FGS,” Mr Kay concluded.

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali Military Court sentences a man to death

31 Mar – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 95 words

The military court of federal government of Somalia sentenced to death a man found guilty of murdering a soldier. Mohamed Issack Abdi was convicted Monday morning of deliberately shooting and killing Gen.Hussein Omar Hilowle aka Moja Moja in Mogadishu as the military court chief Liiban Yarrow told the media. The chief added that they reached the judgment after thorough investigation that took month where the accused was found guilty. The lawyer of the of the accused man stated that they appeal as they are not satisfied with the verdict of the court.

Puntland security forces arrest 20 al Shabaab members

31 Mar – Source: Radio RBC – 167 words

Puntland security forces on Monday said they have apprehended 20 al Shabaab members fled from the country’s southern regions and entered into Puntland towns. In a press conference in the port town of Bosasso, the security minister of Puntland Hassan Osman Alore said the 20 young men were caught during an operation in Bosasso, Garowe and Galkayo in the past days. “There are more number of al Shabaab fighters fleeing into Puntland.” he said. The minister added that following investigation questions, some of those arrested admitted to be al Shabaab fighters and were found with explosive devices, false amount of U.S Dollars and fabricated ID cards to infiltrate into the society. “We are investigating other suspected members of the group” the minister added.

Somali Police Officers trained in Italy Return Home

31 Mar – Source: Horseed Media/SNTV – 274 words

Twenty Somali Police Officers who received training course in Italy have on Monday returned back home to continue their national duties. The training course which took place in Italian town of Orvieto was organized by the ‘’Guardia di Finanza’’, in collaboration with the Italian Foreign Ministry. The Officers we were welcomed in Mogadishu Airport by the Italian Ambassador to Somalia Mr Andrea Mazzella and the Somali Federal Government Minister of Finance Hussein Abdi Halane.

PM Parliament address postponed

31 Mar – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 79 words

Prime minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed schedule to address the national assembly today was postponed. According to Deputy Speaker Mahad Abdallah Awad the quorum for the PM to address the house was not met. The main content of the PM address to the parliament is said to be the ongoing plan of the 2014-2015 budget and his government’s strategies. Minister for Finance who Hussein Abdi Halane has presented the 2014-2015 budget plans to the parliament yesterday.

Puntland, Galmudug create a united police force to counter al Shabab’s threat

31 Mar – Source: Radio RBC – 205 words

Puntland and Galmudug states on Monday announced the creation of a united police force to counter the threats that al Shabaab is posing against both states. Regional heads and police officers from the two administrations held a joint event to declare the union of the force at Galmudug’s police commanding center in the south of Galkayo, Somalia’s central region of Mudug. Both states have recently called for more vigilance following the ongoing military operation in south and central regions of the country by the Somali National Army and the African Union Forces in Somalia known as AMISOM. Puntland police commissioner Abdullahi Shire said the initiative came both Puntland and Galmudug faced imminent threat from the al Qaeda linked group of al Shabaab whose fighters were fleeing from southern Somalia regions towards the north. “It is to unite for this threat which is real and very complex.”

REGIONAL MEDIA

Q&A: Somalia PM’s zero tolerance policy

31 Mar – Source: Aljazeera – 1226 words

Four years ago, al Shabaab controlled large parts of central and southern Somalia, including most of the capital, Mogadishu. Security forces have since pushed the armed group out of Somalia’s major cities, but al Shabaab continues to launch periodic attacks, including an assault on the presidential palace in Mogadishu last month. Al Jazeera talks to Somalia’s Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, whose government is struggling to provide security and tackle corruption. Al Jazeera: How do you rate the success of this offensive that started earlier this month? Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed: This is a significant success and we’re quite happy with what the Somali national forces and AMISOM [African Union Mission to Somalia] forces have managed to do. They have taken nine key towns in south-central Somalia which were controlled by al Shabaab, which they used to recruit people, indoctrinate young people and to raise funds.

Explosion kills six in Eastleigh

31 Mar – Source: Daily Nation – 183 words

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia Captures Suspect in ’09 AU Base Bombing

31 Mar – Source: VOA – 239 words

The government of Somalia says it has captured two senior al Shabaab commanders, one of them a suspect in a bombing that killed more than 20 people. Officials displayed the two men to reporters Monday in the town of Qoryoley, but withheld their names, pending what it called further investigations. Deputy Security Minister Ibrahim Isak Yarow told VOA’s Somali Service that one of the men is suspected of involvement in the September 2009 suicide bombing of the African Union peacekeepers’ base in Mogadishu.

5 killed in blasts in Somali area of Kenya capital

31 Mar – Source: AP – 194 words

Explosions in central Nairobi killed at least five people and injured several others, officials said Monday. The explosions occurred in a neighborhood known for its large Somali population, the National Disaster Operation Center said on Twitter. Sometimes called Kenya’s “Little Mogadishu,” Eastleigh has seen several grenade attacks over the last year. Five people were killed in one of the blasts, the agency said. Officials did not immediately say what caused the blasts.

Kenya tourism reels under terror threats

31 Mar – Source:Turkish Press – 572 words

Stakeholders in Kenya’s lucrative tourism industry are suffering a dearth of tourist arrivals in the country’s coastal region – especially in the seaside city of Mombasa – after a security alert was issued following the discovery of an explosive-laden vehicle and a deadly attack on a local church last week. “We are feeling the impact of insecurity on tourism,” Mohamed Hersi, chairman of the Mombasa and Coast Tourists Association, told Anadolu Agency. He confirmed that most hotels on the coast, a region renowned for its sandy beaches, have seen their bookings – for both tourists and conferences – put on hold.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“….when Kenyan authorities deport Somali refugee youths living, studying and trading in Kenyan main towns to Somalia, where there are no dependable education and also employments to earn daily bread, probably the militants can have an easy access to new recruits to brain wash by offering small incentives as motivation.”

Behind the veil: Kenya, al Shabaab and the Somali refugee

31 Mar – Source: Raxanreeb – 1000 words

The urgent Somali refugee residing in Kenyan towns repatriation can offer window of hope for the al Qaeda affiliated militants losing battle in south and central of Somalia. Kenyan government withdrew a directive banning all Somali refugees from its soil except two designated camps of Kakuma and dhadhab were over half million Somali refugees are queuing for a daily bread. Since the cross of Kenyan defense force into Somali borders, terror attacks had been increasing a big damage to the relatively stable security of Kenyan soil. The defense forces crossed into Somalia in pursuit of the al Qaeda linked militant al Shabaab who they accused of been behind killing and abductions of Kenyan and international aid organization workers in the Kenyan Somali bordering regions. The forces backed by Rakamboni, Somali forces engaged direct fights with the militants in Jubba regions thus led to capture of Kismayo town, Lower Jubba region, and al Shabaab’s biggest stronghold in Somalia lately. The militants from there onward vowed to plot terror attack in Kenya targeting senior individuals and even the public.