April 11, 2017 | Morning Headlines
KDF Soldiers Kill 15 Shabaab Terrorists In Dawn Attack
April – Source – Daily Nation – 276 Words
Fifteen Al-Shabaab terrorists are the latest casualties in the ongoing Kenya Defence Forces-Amisom operation in Somalia that left many more injured. According to a press statement from the KDF, the terrorists met their death today at dawn at a camp four kilometres West of Catamaa, approximately 104 kilometres from the border town of El wak, Gedo region, following a well-organised attack on their camp. Military spokesman Joseph Owuoth said “KDF Amisom detachment from a nearby location engaged the terrorists using artillery and mortar fire and successfully destroyed the terrorists’ camp”.
Colonel Owuoth assured Kenyans that operations against Shabaab will continue “until all the terrorists are eliminated to ensure that locals continue to enjoy peace and security”. The KDF soldiers operating under the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) have in the last few months conducted heavy attacks on the terrorists, which left them with many casualties. Over the weekend, the Al-Shabaab terrorists were forced to execute some of their members whom they believed could be ‘enemies from within’ who were leaking secrets of their operations to the Amisom.
On Saturday, KDF killed the group’s commander (Bashe Nure Hassan) as troops moved to protect a camp occupied by Somalia National Army in Kuday. He was killed alongside one of his lieutenants. Kenya first deployed soldiers in Somalia in October 2011 in Operation Linda Nchi before they were amalgamated into Amisom the following year.
Key Headlines
- KDF Soldiers Kill 15 Shabaab Terrorists In Dawn Attack(Daily Nation)
- New Batch Of UAE-trained Soldiers Graduate In Mogadishu (Shabelle News)
- ISWA President Lambasts Al-Shabaab For Its Refusal To Allow Food Aid Reach Drought Victims (Jowhar.com)
- Somalia Forces Take Over Boat Seized By Pirates (VOA News)
- BBC Somali Launches TV News Programme (BBC)
- Drought Took Their Animals And Land – Now Hunger Is Taking Somalia’s Children (The Guardian)
NATIONAL MEDIA
New Batch Of UAE-trained Soldiers Graduate In Mogadishu
10 April – Source : Shabelle News – 146 Words
Over 400 Somali soldiers, including new batch of commandos have successfully completed a 6-month UAE military training in the capital, Mogadishu on Monday, April 10.Somali defense minister Abdirashid Abdullahi, along with top government officials, diplomats attended the closing ceremony held in a UAE-funded Military Training Centre in Mogadishu.
In his address to the audience, the defense minister has thanked the government of the United Arab Emirates for its outstanding role in rebuilding the Somali National Army (SNA).The new soldiers who completed the training courses were given certificate of honour.
Abdullahi encouraged the newly trained soldiers to execute their duties and fight against the Al Qaeda-linked Al shabaab militants threatening the country’s security and stability.UAE has dramatically stepped up its unwavering assistance to Somalia, and had played a key role in the international anti famine campaign in the horn of Africa country in 2011.
ISWA President Lambasts Al-Shabaab For Its Refusal To Allow Food Aid Reach Drought Victims
10 April – Source : Jowhar.com – 138 Words
Interim South West President Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden said Al-Shabaab was the biggest problem facing drought relief campaign in the region, accusing the militant group of doing all it can to prevent aid from reaching its intended people. President Aden said the extremist group is against that any aid reaches the drought victims, thus leading to mass displacement of people from territories held by the group.
President Aden said his administration would now give a priority on how to dislodge Al-Shabaab from key supply routes in a bid to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid to drought-affected communities in the region. “Opening supply routes is very crucial to alleviate the humanitarian crisis and save the lives of the drought-affected people,” he said. Thousands of people displaced from Al-Shabaab held areas have been stationed in IDP camps near Mogadishu.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Forces Take Over Boat Seized By Pirates
10 April – Source : VOA News – 341 Words
Somali security forces have taken over an Indian-owned commercial boat held by Somali pirates during an operation overnight, officials said.The mayor of Hobyo, Abdullahi Ahmed Ali, told VOA’s Somali service that his forces seized the boat after they surrounded the vessel off the coast of Hin-Barwaaqo village, south of Hobyo.
He said the pirates abandoned the boat after elders warned that security forces were approaching and planning to storm the vessel. Pirates seized the boat, MSV Al Kausar, earlier this month.Mayor Ali said only two of the crew members were found on board the boat and authorities believe the remaining nine sailors were moved to land by the pirates.
Officials said security forces are pursuing the pirates who are holding the Indian sailors hostage.“They took the sailors to Qarafaow village; we exchanged gunfire, we have seized a vehicle carrying food and supplies for the pirates,” Ali said.MSV Al Kausar and its crew members were seized in the Indian Ocean en route to the southern port town of Kismayo.The boat was chartered by a Somali businessman and was carrying commercial goods.Meanwhile on Sunday, Indian and Chinese sailors freed a cargo ship after pirates briefly seized the vessel. The incident marked the fifth pirate attack this year off the Somali coast.
Security officials say piracy is reemerging in Somali waters following an increase in illegal fishing.The former director of intelligence in Somalia’s Puntland region, Abdi Hassan Hussein, told VOA organized groups are preparing to conduct attacks.“There are more than eight groups who want to engage piracy activities; some of them already went into the sea, some are in preparation and some have already carried out attacks,” Hussein told VOA Somali.At their peak in the early 2010’s, Somali pirate gangs were responsible for hundreds of attacks on commercial ships traveling in the Gulf of Aden, the western Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea.In all of 2016, the International Maritime Bureau recorded only two pirate attacks near Somalia, neither of which resulted in a hijacking.
BBC Somali Launches TV News Programme
10 April – Source : BBC – 284 Words
As part of its growing investment in Africa, the BBC is launching a TV news programme for its Somali-speaking audience. The 15-minute daily (Monday to Friday) programme will cover global and regional news, business, technology sport and entertainment. It will be aired on some local free-to-air TV stations, bringing impartial, independent and objective information and analysis to millions of Somali speakers in the region and the diaspora.
The TV programme will offer an international perspective on how global developments affect Somalia – and how events within the region are seen by the rest of the world. It will benefit from a growing network of journalists based in the region and overseas in countries such as the UK and the US. Broadcast from London, it will offer balanced and trusted news and the best of the BBC’s original journalism in a dynamic and engaging style. Viewers can interact with the programme online @bbcsomali and bbcsomali.com
Presenter Farhan Jimale says: “It’s the perfect moment to launch a TV news offer for our audience because BBC Somali service is this year celebrating its 60th anniversary. Our aim is to reach young and aspirational Somalis who are increasingly consuming news via TV, digital and social media platforms. We hope this TV programme will soon become essential viewing for Somali audiences globally.”
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“The UN has estimated that up to half a million children will suffer acute malnutrition in the country this year. Many who survive will face related health problems throughout their lives,”
Drought Took Their Animals And Land – Now Hunger Is Taking Somalia’s Children
10 April – Source : The Guardian, UK – 368 Words
Niman Adan Gabus is two years old. He was one of 363,000 Somali children suffering from acute malnutrition. Niman will now survive after he reached help at Hargeisa group hospital. Those who don’t reach the main hospitals are likely to die, says William Babumba of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. “We have mobile clinics, which are very effective, but severely malnourished children need to reach hospital and this is very difficult, very few can,” says Babumba, in charge of the Somalia region. “We have already lost around 10,000 people to the drought.”
Shukra Awal Ali, five, seen here last week, is one of six daughters in a family that had no food to eat that day. In the worst-hit villages, one cup of rice is being cooked each day, stretched to feed six people or more. Gathering firewood to build cooking fires is a struggle. Even so, people are sharing what they have with others who have nothing to eat. Mothers have reported eating just one square meal a week so that their children have food.“Drought didn’t come overnight. It was a build up of various factors,” says Babuma. “The rains failed in 2015, then the situation really became a concern in 2016. Now things have escalated. Now we have 6.2 million people across Somalia who are urgently in need of food, so at least one in two people in the whole country are affected.”