April 2, 2015 | Morning Headlines.
Somalis Fleeing Yemen Violence Return Home
01 April – Source: Hiiraan Online – 243 Words
Somali refugees who fled to Yemen away from war and poverty started returning home due to the escalating violence in Yemen, and following Saudi-led airstrikes. Officials in Puntland, a semi autonomous region in northern Somalia, said Tuesday they received dozens of Somalis who fled from Yemen by sea at the port of Bossaso, the region’s commercial hub. Abdisamad Mohamed, the governor for Bari region in Puntland said the government would resettle the returning refugees. He also said the region would assist those willing to voluntarily return to their home regions. The influx of Somali refugees returning home comes at a time when people from their host country of Yemen also fled to Somalia for refuge. Most of the refugees fled from Yemen’s third largest city of Taiz which was hit by Saudi-led air strikes trying to stem advances by Iranian-allied Houthi fighters.
In the capital, Sanaa, which has been under Houthi control since September, the United Nations said most of its 100 international staff were evacuated. Airport officials said up to 250 other foreigners working for international oil companies and NGOs also flew out to Ethiopia and Djibouti. Despite the fact that Somalia is still dangerous due to the deadly insurgency led by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab group, the fleeing refugees have arrived in the peaceful breakaway region of Somaliland and the neighboring semiautonomous region of Puntland. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees said it is prepared to assist the refugees arriving by sea along the Gulf of Aden.
Key Headlines
- Somalis Fleeing Yemen Violence Return Home (Hiiraan Online)
- Central Somalia Journalists Call For Kalga’al’s Unconditional Release And Respect For Freedom Of Expression (Goobjoog News)
- China Donates $13 Million To Somalia (Horseed Media)
- Diarrhoea Outbreak In Wisil Locality And Surrounding Areas (Goobjoog News)
- President Ahmed Madoobe Lays Foundation Stone Of Major Kismayu Road (Wacaal Media)
- UAE Ambassador Somalia’s Minister For Higher Education Discuss Cooperation Relations (Emirates News Agency)
- Police Link Suspect To Clerics’ Killings (Daily Nation)
- One Killed Three Injured In Attack On Dadaab Refugee Camp In Hagadera (Daily Nation)
- Yemenis Seek Refuge In Somalia And Djibouti (BBC)
- Reluctant To Admit Another Failure (The Economist)
SOMALI MEDIA
Central Somalia Journalists Call For Kalga’al’s Unconditional Release And Respect For Freedom Of Expression
01 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 87 Words
Galkayo journalists and journalists from central Somalia who met in Galkayo town called on the government to release the Goobjoog News parliamentary reporter who was arrested on Tuesday. The chairman of the group, Mohamed Saiid, who held a press conference after the meeting told the reporters that they expressed concern over the arrest of Kalga’al. “The Central Somalia Journalists [Organisation] (TAYO) are condemning the arrest of a Radio Goobjoog journalist who was arbitrarily arrested by the security forces,” Saiid said. The chairman called upon the government to release him without condition
China Donates $13 Million To Somalia
01 April – Source: Horseed Media – 154 Words
China and Somalia have signed a new agreement to strengthen their diplomatic relations and cooperation on Wednesday. Somalia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdisalan Hadliye Omer, and China’s Ambassador to Somalia, Wei Hongtian, met in Mogadishu to discuss the countries’ relations. In an agreement signed at the meeting, China donated $13 million to the Somali Federal Government, to boost its efforts on rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, health, education, economy and other development programmes.
“China will continue its support towards the development and stabilisation of Somalia,’’ the Ambassador said in a press conference after signing the agreement, and Somalia’s Foreign minister welcomed the continued support of the Peoples’ Republic of China. Last year, China handed over $20,000 in cash aid to the Somali government, to tackle the emerging drought and food crisis in parts of the country. China re-established diplomatic relations with the Somali government and re-opened its embassy in Mogadishu for the first time in 24 years in 2014.
Diarrhoea Outbreak In Wisil Locality And Surrounding Areas
01 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 129 Words
Reports from Mudug region describe an outbreak of diarrheal disease and malaria in Wisil locality and surrounding areas that has resulted in the overcrowding of the only available health centre. The Chief of Wisil locality, Ali Hassan, told Goobjoog FM that the diarrheal disease has not only affected people but also the livestock in the area. “The hot and dry season has led to the outbreak of the diseases, and the locals who depend on livestock need urgent medical assistance before the situation becomes tragic,” he said. He urged the federal government of Somalia, local and international humanitarian aid agencies and the diaspora community to deliver emergency support to Wisil residents.The locals attributed the outbreak of the disease to a supply of contaminated water.
President Ahmed Madoobe Lays Foundation Stone Of Major Kismayu Road
01 April – Source: Wacaal Media – 107 Words
The President of the Interim Jubaland Administration, Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Islaam ‘Madoobe’, laid the foundation on Monday for the main road in Kismayu which will soon be re-tarmaced– the road has been in a dilapidated state since the collapse of the central government of Somalia. Construction is expected to take six months and will be carried out by two local road construction companies, Waayel and Malmal, and will cover a 17km stretch from Kismayu Airport to Kismayu University in Madhamaato neighbourhood. The project will be sponsored by the US government but the cost was not announced by the time this story went to press.
REGIONAL MEDIA
UAE Ambassador, Somalia’s Minister For Higher Education Discuss Cooperation Relations
01 April – Source: Emirates News Agency – 118 Words
Mohammed Ahmed Othman Al Hammadi, UAE Ambassador to Somalia, and Somalia’s Minister for Higher Education, Khadra Bashir Ali, have discussed ways to boost cooperation relations between the UAE and Somalia in various fields.
During the meeting, which was held at the UAE embassy in Mogadishu, the Minister of Education of Somalia expressed her thanks and appreciation to the UAE for its prominent role in various developmental and humanitarian fields in Somalia. She commended UAE’s efforts in supporting the educational field through the construction of schools and educational institutions in various regions of Somalia. Al Hammadi reciprocated his thanks and appreciation to the Somali Minister for her efforts to strengthen relations between the two countries in the educational field.
Police Link Suspect To Clerics’ Killings
31 March – Source: Daily Nation – 292 Words
Police have arrested a man they claim is connected to last year’s killing of moderate Muslim clerics at the Coast.Mr Said Swaleh Said Awadh was arrested by anti-terrorism officers in Mandera on Monday, allegedly while on his way to join Al-Shabaab in Somalia. He was interrogated over the killing of Sheikh Mohamed Idris who was the chairman of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya in June last year.
Sheikh Idris was killed by gunmen next to a mosque near his home. Before his death, he was at the forefront in the fight against radicalisation of the youth at the Coast.At the time of his death, Al-Shabaab terrorist group had drawn a line between moderate and radical sheikhs, with casualties witnessed on both sides. The radicals were interested in ensuring youths took over mosques in Mombasa while the moderate ones resisted and cooperated with security agencies in carrying out operations to make sure the mosques were administered by elders.
One killed, Three Injured In Attack On Dadaab Refugee Camp In Hagadera
01 April – Source: Daily Nation – 227 Words
At least one person was killed and three others injured on Wednesday morning when masked gunmen attacked a non-governmental organisation’s compound at the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Hagadera, Garissa County. The victim who was killed in the gun attack was a Physics teacher at nearby Hagadera Secondary School.According to an eyewitness, about 10 armed masked men stormed the premises of Windle Trust, an NGO working in the refugee camp, before they were confronted by security guards.
Mr Abdullahi Mohamed, a resident of Hagadera, told the Nation that the attackers opened fire and injured the G4S security officers, who were guarding the compound during the 3am incident. “One of them was seriously injured because one of his kidneys was shot, while the injuries on the other two were not very serious — one had gunshot wounds in his knees and other in his abdomen,” he said.
All the injured were being treated at the Hagadera Hospital. Following the early Wednesday morning incident, all activities undertaken by the non-governmental organisation in the sprawling refugee’s camp were temporarily suspended, the Nation has established. “The attack coincided with food distribution day, which is life-saving to the refugees in these camps but has been suspended until further notice,” said a humanitarian aid worker, who did not want to be identified as he is not allowed to speak on behalf of the agency
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Yemenis Seek Refuge In Somalia And Djibouti
01 April – Source: BBC – 258 Words
Dozens of Yemenis have crossed the Gulf of Aden in small boats to get to Somalia, Djibouti and Somaliland to escape fighting and Saudi air strikes, the UN refugee agency has said.The UNHCR said it was looking for a possible site for the refugees in Djibouti in case the fighting worsens.At the same time Somali refugees are still continuing to arrive in Yemen to escape violence and poverty at home.
Yemen hosts more than 238,000 Somali refugees, the UNHCR says.The UNHCR said that at least 32 Yemenis “fleeing conflict” landed on Somalia’s northern coastline after crossing the treacherous Gulf of Aden and landing in the semi-autonomous regions of Somaliland and Puntland. BBC Africa analyst Mary Harper says that the idea of Yemenis seeking refuge on Somali soil is striking – because it is normally a place to run away from, not towards.
The UN says the authorities in the Somaliland port town of Berbera – on the Gulf of Aden – are doing what they can to help. About 12 Yemeni families recently arrived at Berbera after travelling from Yemeni’s third largest city of Taiz, where Saudi planes targeted Houthi rebels, officials said on Tuesday. In the meantime, hundreds of migrants are continuing to flood in the opposite direction, from Somalia to Yemen. The UN said more than 1,500 arrived last week alone. Concerns are also being raised in Somalia over potential recriminations against Somali refugees in Yemen after the Somali government voiced its support for the Saudi-led air strikes against Houthi fighters.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“The political crisis has been “devastating”, says Abdirashid Hashi of the Heritage Institute for Policy Studies, based in Mogadishu.“It has ruined the leaders’ reputation,” he says. In theory there will be a new constitution and fresh elections by September next year. But despite the constant chivvying of Western governments and international agencies, few think that deadline will now be met.”
Reluctant To Admit Another Failure
01 April – Source: The Economist – 688 Words
When the British and Swedish ambassadors to Somalia recently queued up to meet a new member of the government appointed by the third prime minister in 18 months, the man they met was so new to Somali politics that a government adviser was unsure of his name. But it was not long before Mohamed Omar Arte, the incoming deputy prime minister, found himself in the midst of the bloody turmoil that remains a grim hallmark of politics in Somalia. On February 20th, two days after he met the Western envoys, he narrowly escaped with his life when suicide-bombers from the Shabab, Somalia’s extreme Islamist group linked to al-Qaeda, attacked a hotel in Mogadishu, the capital, during Friday prayers, killing 25 people (plus both bombers). On March 27th gunmen hit another Mogadishu hotel popular with politicians, killing at least 17 people.
Meanwhile, strife within the government continues to damage President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. After his election in 2012 he was greeted as a breath of fresh air. Respected for his record as a human-rights enthusiast, he was free of the blood and murk that stained so many of Somalia’s more seasoned politicians. He was chosen by a 275-strong parliament whose members were nominated by elders from a cross-section of clans. Though it was a flawed method, with plenty of vote-buying and little direct say for ordinary Somalis, it was better than what had gone before.
But Mr Mohamud has since squandered much of the goodwill of war-weary Somalis and vexed foreigners alike. Corruption remains rife. Political progress is glacial. Since late last year the president and prime minister have been locked in an argument over who has the right to hire and fire ministers. The president won, a new prime minister was named, and in February his cabinet was approved at the parliament’s third attempt.