April 22, 2015 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Car Bomb Explodes Outside Busy Mogadishu Restaurant

21 April – Source: VOA – 377 Words

Witnesses say a car bomb has exploded outside a busy restaurant in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.There was no immediate word on casualties from Tuesday’s blast. The restaurant is near the Hotel Central, the scene of a deadly attack in February by militant group al-Shabab. On Monday Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that killed at least seven people and wounded eight others in northern Somalia. The attackerMonday targeted a minibus carrying staffers of the U.N. Children’s Fund in the town of Garowe, as they traveled from their guest houses to their office. This image made from video shows the scene following a bomb attack on a van carrying U.N. employees in Garowe, in the semi-autonomous Puntland region of northern Somalia, April 20, 2015. That bombing was Al-Shabab’s third deadly attack against international personnel in the span of three days. On Sunday, Al-Shabaab militants killed three African Union peacekeepers from Burundi and wounded several other soldiers in the southern town of Lego. An attackSaturday on a Kenyan convoy killed three soldiers and wounded eight others while they were on a patrol in the Delbio area of Lower Jubba region. Al-Shabaab is attempting to overthrow the Somali government and establish an Islamic state. Earlier this month, al-Shabab staged an attack on Kenya’s Garissa University College, killing 148 people. Al-Shabaab said that attack was revenge for Kenyan military action in neighboring Somalia. Somalia’s government has placed bounties on the heads of 11 Al-Shabaab leaders, including the militant group’s top leader and alleged mastermind of the massacre in Kenya, Mohamed Mohamud, also known as Dulyadin.

Key Headlines

UN Staff held A Commemorative Ceremony At UNSOM Compound (Goobjoog News)
Ethiopian Consulate In Puntland Ceises Visas Issuance (Garowe Online)
President: Al-Shabaab Is Fighting For Its Own Extremist Agenda Not Somali Agenda (Somali Update)
Somaliland Sets Date For Next General Elections (Goobjoog News)
Car Bomb Explodes Outside Busy Mogadishu Restaurant (VOA)
Maine’s Somali Community Fears Loss Of Financial Lifeline To Families Back Home (Maine National Public Radio)
Ugandan Official Killed By Al-Shabaab In Somalia (Daily Monitor)
Kenya Somalia And UNHCR Form Team To Return Somali Refugees (Daily Nation)
Jubaland: An Institutionalized Land Robbing (Hiraan Online)

NATIONAL MEDIA

UN Staff Held A Commemorative Ceremony At UNSOM Compound

21 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 143 Words

United Nations (UN) staff held a commemorative ceremony at the UNSOM compound in Garoowe for the UN staff and Somali partners who tragically lost their lives in Monday’s attack. The participants, led by DSRSG/RC Philip Lazzarini, extended their sympathy and prayers to all UN staff and the Somali people. The staff also came together in support of the families and friends who are today grieving the loss of their loved ones. On Monday, a bomb exploded on a bus carrying UN employees in northern Somalia, killing at least 7 people and wounding 7 others. Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack as its spokesman Abdulaziz Abu Musab confirmed the group had carried out the attack.“We targeted the UN in Garowe, we killed some and wounded others. They are part of the colonization force in Somalia,” he told AFP.

Ethiopian Consulate In Puntland Ceases Visas Issuance

21 April – Source: Garowe Online – 156 Words

Ethiopian consulate in Puntland has ceased issuing visas in the wake of rare terror attack that that left four UNICEF staff and two body guards dead in the state capital of Garowe according to consular officials, Garowe Online reports. People were told that Ethiopian government halted issuing visas for Somalis travelling to the neighboring country amid high terror alerts. It is yet unclear whether the suspension of visas services is temporary until specified date. Addis Ababa previously suspended its consular operations in breakaway Somaliland which shares a border with Ethiopia. Ethiopian-AMISOM forces are battling Al-Shabaab militants in central and southern Somalia.

President: Al-Shabaab Is Fighting For Its Own Extremist Agenda, Not Somali Agenda

21 April – Source: Somali Update – 341 Words

President of the Federal Republic of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud today condemned in the strongest possible terms, the attack on a United Nations convoy in Garowe, Somalia. Speaking from Aqaba, Jordan, where he and other members of the Federal. Government are attending a conference on eradicating terrorism in East Africa. The President said, “I am horrified at this brutal attack targeting the United Nations. I send my deepest sympathies to the families of those who were killed or injured this morning. Those involved will be in my prayers- remembered for their faithful work in support of a peaceful and prosperous Somalia. “I offer my heartfelt condolences to Mr. Ban-Ki Moon, Mr Nicholas Kay, and the leaders of those countries whose citizens were involved. This attack is not just targeted at the United Nations, but in attacking UNICEF, Al-Shabaab has also attacked Somali children. It is an attack against the future of our country and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms…This attack confirms what I have always said, Al-Shabaab is not interested in the future of Somalia; it is only interested in pushing its own extremist agenda for its own perverted purposes. It strikes out at innocent people, indiscriminately killing sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. I, and the Federal Government, stand in solidarity with the United Nations family at this time. We grieve as they grieve. There can be no mistake, as the Somali National Army and our international partners bring back Somalia under the control of the Federal Government, Al-Shabaab is lashing out; thrashing in its death throes. We must be alert and watchful and report any suspicious behaviour that we witness to law enforcement authorities and security agencies. If we want a land free of violence and death, we must work together to bring peace,” the President concluded.

Somaliland Sets Date For Next General Elections

21 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 99 Words

Somalia’s self-declared state of Somaliland has announced that the presidential elections will be held on 1st June 2016. In a press release issued after a press conference held in Hargeisa on Thursday, the election commission has declared that it will hold the elections next year. The election was set to be held in this year but the commission decided to put off elections. Somaliland, a breakaway region in northern Somalia has declared a unilateral independence from the rest of Somalia in 199..

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Ugandan Official Killed By Al-Shabaab In Somalia

21 April – Source: Daily Monitor – 510 Words

One Ugandan is said to have been killed in Monday’s Shabab attack on a UN bus in Garowe, Somalia.United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Communication Specialist Catherine Ntabadde confirmed on Tuesday that Brenda Kyeyune, a Ugandan national, working in the Fund’s communication department was among seven people killed in the attack when Shebab set off a huge bomb which ripped through a staff bus in the northeastern town of Garowe.

Kyeyune had managed social mobilization and communication initiatives in support of polio eradication in Somalia since 2014. Others killed in the attack include Woki Munyui, Stephen Oduor (both Kenyans) and Payenda Gul Abed, an Afghan national.Meanwhile, UNICEF said it is still studying the situation in Somalia before it makes a decision on whether or not to withdraw its services.

UNICEF regional Chief of Communication James Elder said they are constantly monitoring the security situation in the areas where its staff is working and security experts are currently in Garowe and will assess the situation.”Five other UNICEF colleagues are being treated for injuries sustained in the attack, and we hope for their speedy recovery.Two local security personnel, unrelated to UNICEF, were also killed as a result of the attack, and four others injured,” he said in a statement. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned what he said was a “barbaric attack”, saying a total of seven had been left dead and several others wounded.

Kenya, Somalia And UNHCR Form Team To Return Somali Refugees

21 April – Source: Daily Nation – 434 Words

The government has agreed to form a tripartite commission to oversee the repatriation of Somali refugees.On Tuesday, Kenya, Somalia and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said they had formally nominated four representatives each to a team to ” expedite repatriation of refugees at Dadaab.” Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed told reporters in Nairobi that the commission would help the three parties “discuss ideas” that will see a faster return of the refugees. The formation of the commission, which is provided for in the tripartite agreement signed in September 2013, is a result of Ms Mohamed’s meeting with Somali Foreign Minister Abdusalam Omer, UNHCR Representative Raouf Mazou among other stakeholders in Nairobi.

But it was also informed by recent announcement by the Kenyan government that Dadaab camps should be closed within 90 days.On Tuesday, Ms Mohamed refused to say whether the ‘repatriation’ would happen within the three months announced earlier but hinted that the 90-day notice would be the “bottom line.”.”We have agreed today that we are going to do everything in our power to expedite the repatriation of refugees,” she said.”We have agreed that we will do it as quickly as possible. I don’t want to put any timelines on it because a lot will also depend on the resources available,” she said.Signed in 2013, the tripartite pact expires in September 2016.

Both UNHCR and Somalia have argued that the pact should provide the guideline for voluntary repatriation of the more than 330,000 refugees.But Kenya argues the 24-year-old camp, one of the largest in the world, should be closed as soon as possible because it harbours terrorist cells. Some 2,060 refugees have been voluntarily returned through the tripartite agreement even though Kenya says another 50,000 went back on their own. At least Sh9 billion is required to return all the 330,000 refugees to Somalia.The parties say a conference will be held next month to pitch the idea of faster return to donors.But some donors like Germany, which last month gave Sh500 million for the programme, insist the return should be voluntary.

“Anything that has been done has been done within the context of the tripartite agreement signed in 2013,” Mr Mazou told reporters.”We also believe that Somalia needs a lot of support.” For its part, Somalia says it wants all refugees to come home but wants it to be “orderly.” “We want all people in Kenya to understand that 20 years is such a long time for anybody to be a refugee. “We will do everything that we can to ensure refugees come back home. We would like this to be as voluntary, orderly and quick as possible. Quickly means that anytime that they are ready to go, they will go,” Dr Omer said, adding they will cooperate with Kenyan authorities to weed out extremists.

Maine’s Somali Community Fears Loss Of Financial Lifeline To Families Back Home

21 April – Source: Maine National Public Radio – 755 Words

Maine is home to an estimated 5,000 Somali immigrants, many of whom send regular payments to family members back home. This represents an important financial lifeline for many in Somalia, and for that nation’s economy.Recently, however, life got a lot tougher for Somalis trying to send money home. And lawmakers, aid groups and Somali immigrants are concerned that a major crisis could unfold if the situation is not resolved. High school teacher Abdullahi Ahmed of Portland has lived in the U.S. for 16 years. For as long as he’s been able to, he’s been sending between $150 and $200 every month to his sister back in Somalia.Ahmed says she has seven children and few options. “She and her husband do not have any source of income, other than what I send to her.”And that money, he says, is crucial. “That is the only way that she and her kids are surviving and can go to school.”

Ahmed – who’s now a U.S. citizen – says pretty much every Somali in Maine who can afford it wires money back home on a regular basis, “because back in Somalia there is no government or help system out there, so this is a very important aspect of the livelihood of Somalis back home.”And, according to international relief agencies, these types of payments are an important part of the overall Somali economy. “Critical, absolutely critical,” says Scott Paul. It’s an issue familiar to Paul, a senior humanitarian policy adviser with Oxfam America. Paul focuses on east Africa. “Globally, Somalia receives at least $1.3 billion a year from its Diaspora.” he says. That’s more, he says, than the country receives in humanitarian assistance, development aid and foreign direct investment combined. “Most of that money is used to meet people’s basic survival needs – so food, water, shelter, school fees, basic healthcare and the like,” he says. In February Merchants Bank of California closed the accounts of Somali-American money transfer operators, and Merchants was the last major financial institution in the U.S. to offer the service.

OPINION/ANALYSIS/CULTURE

To sustain the progress made so far, it is the task of the federal government to intervene on Madobe’s decision to desist local tribes from having representatives in the Jubaland parliament. Institutionalized robbery is a clear act of denial for the rights of the others,subsequently progress towards peace and stability is halted.

Jubaland: An Institutionalized Land Robbing

19 April – Source: Hiraan Online – 778 Words

The parliament of Jubaland state was inaugurated on April 14, 201 5 in Kismayo and as expected Mr. Ahmed Madoobe has not dared to make it inclusive, but turned the parliament into an exclusive club of his own clan. The Ogaden clan became the predominant tribe in Jubaland securing an overwhelming seats of 21 MPs. The assignment of the parliament seats was not based on a true census, but had a blueprint of robbery of the land of other tribes who lived there for hundreds of years. Anyone who is familiar with the region will only remain shocked as a decision like this could only come from a sick mind. Essentially, this was a robbery which by legal definition is the taking of property in the possession of another by force or intimidation. Most clans resident in the region including Tuni, Dabare, Harti, Mirifle and the Hawiye clans have no representation or were allocated few seats. Politically Somalia is worse than it was 26 years ago and unfortunately, today the dream of Ahmed Madoobe (an Ethnic Somali from Ethiopia)and his exclusive club is funded by the European, and American taxpayers, protected by Kenyan Military and sustained politically by IGAD- gloomy picture indeed!

The international community as stakeholders must question the validity of this illegal parliament and stop the financial support that it provides to Mr. Madobe. Likewise, IGAD must send a fact finding mission to determine whether the outrage from other clans is legitimate or no. Equally, the President, speaker Jawari, the PM, Sharif Hassan and Dr. Abdiweli should all condemn the robbery of Mr. Ahmed Madobe as his political agenda will only derail the peace process in Somalia. The Zero sum game politics is routine in Africa, in particularly Somalia as a result there is always a U-turn to violence. No genuine attempt is made to find a reliable solution for the ailment of the nation; rather every political move is a deliberate injection to spread further conflicts and divisions. What does this parliament mean? Mr. Madoobe taking the advantage of the Kenyan military presence in Kismayo has literally opted to use his power to make his dream come true. From his actions one can deduce, however, that he is not a wise man who could take the advantage of the presence of these troops and transform the artificial peace in Kismayo into a real one. It is certain though in the eyes of personalities like Ahmed Madobe, there is nothing wrong with his illegal parliament as he sees himself as a liberator and no one ought the right to object his ruling. Actually, according to the seat assignments his clan is represented in every village and district of Lower and Middle Jubba even though they are not the residents of the cities and the villages they are representing. Illegitimate process usually weakens the authority of any regime; thus Mr. Madobe may believe he has done a great deal of service for his clan, but believe me he has only weakened his authority while delegitimizing the Jubba administration.