April 26, 2016 | Morning Headlines

Main Story

Ethiopian Delegation To Hold Talks With Galmudug State Amid Killings By Liyuu Police

25 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 278 Words

A delegation from Ethiopia will visit Adado town to hold talks with leaders of the Galmudug state in Somalia following a week of bloody killings, which has left 20 people dead and displaced several families.

Locals interviewed by Goobjoog News painfully recounted episodes of the killings and torture at the hands of a police squad from Ethiopia, known as Liyuu. There have been several accusations levelled against Liyuu police for alleged killings and destruction of property. At least 50 people died last in combat circumstances associated with Liyuu police. Two hundred houses were also set on fire. The Human Rights Watch has severally accused Liyuu Police, which is a paramilitary group created in 2007 in response to the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), of killings and gross violation of human rights.

An elder in a rural area, who declined to be identified, claimed Liyuu police had killed 20 people in the last two days and displaced many families. Hashi Abdi, an elder from Mirowled village, told Goobjoog News that heavy weapons were used in the latest fight. The elder accused Liyuu police of the murder of innocent women and children.

Adado Hospital director Dr. Mohmmad Omar confirmed that 24 people injured from the fight had been admitted to the hospital. Eight of wounded victims had been transferred to hospitals in the capital city of Somalia, Mogadishu. Aid and Humanitarian minister of Galmudg state, Shire Hirsi, told Goobjoog News that Liyuu Police committed gross violations against the people of Somali residing along the border areas. He called for investigations by an international body over “continued killings of our women and children”.

Key Headlines

Ethiopian Delegation To Hold Talks With Galmudug State Amid Killings By Liyuu Police Goobjoog News)
Reconciliation Conference Kicks Off In Marka (Goobjoog News)
Malaria Prevalence In Somalia Has Reduced – UNICEF (Horseed Media)
Uganda Picks Tanzania For Oil Pipeline Drops Kenya Plan (Shabelle/BBC News)
Somalia: Sexual Violence Must Be Subject To Criminal Justice Not Traditional Xeer Systems Says UN Expert (United Nations Human Rights News)
Somali President Mohamud: Charlie Rose (Bloomberg)
#DontBuyDeath Encourages Somalis To Stay Home (Deutsche Welle)
Interior CS Nkaissery meets the Mare-han clan leaders (NTV Kenya)
Here’s What You May Not Know About The Migrant Boat That Capsized Two Weeks Ago (BuzzFeed News)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Reconciliation Conference Kicks Off In Marka

25 April – Source: Goobjoog News – 238 Words

A reconciliation conference for members of the warring clans within Marka town kicked off on Monday in the town following deadly clashes in and around the town that have claimed lives of over thirteen people. The conference aims at ending the current hostilities and tensions among the clan members and strengthen the brotherly bond among the communities in the region.

The traditional elders and the administration of Southwest state are expected to attend the conference. The conference comes less than two weeks after six children and their mother died when their house was burnt down by armed people. The incident happened on 19th this month at a village in the outskirt of Marka town of Lower Shabelle region.

Marka town, which is the epicenter of the conflict pitting two Somali clans, has become a deserted town, with members of the rival clans leaving the area to avoid been caught in retaliatory raids by marauding militia from the rival clan. The two warring clans have over the years been fighting for supremacy and control of the administrative district. Tension and conflict between the two clans have historically resulted from competition for natural resources, but recently the emerging tensions are attributed to political disagreements over governance related issues.

Malaria Prevalence In Somalia Has Reduced – UNICEF

25 April – Source: Horseed Media – 375 Words

As the world marks the World Malaria Day, The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund has said that it will support Somalia in reducing the threats of the tropical disease in the horn of Africa nation. The World Malaria day is set aside by the World Health Assembly to be commemorated on the 25th April of every year with the aim of creating awareness and mobilizing support for the malaria elimination programme.

UNICEF Somalia’s head of health, Dr Anirban Chatterjee, said the prevalence of the disease in the country has been reducing since 2009: “On this World Malaria Day, we would like to remind everyone of the need to keep up the fight against malaria even though it has been decreasing,” said Dr Anirban Chatterjee, UNICEF Somalia’s Chief of Health. “We advise all Somalis particularly pregnant women and children under-fives to always sleep under bed nets and to seek treatment as soon as they have any symptoms.”

In a statement, UNICEF said that it will increase coverage of malaria prevention and case treatment intervention in order to reach less than one percent of prevalence in central and southern areas and near zero prevalence in northern parts of the country. This will be achieved with World Health Organization (WHO) and local partners under the leadership of the Ministries of Health together with other UNICEF programmes.

According to the international body, malaria prevalence in Somalia has dropped dramatically since 2009 when more than a quarter of Somalis (27.3) were infected to fewer than two percent of the population in 2014. In 2015 more than 20,000 of confirmed malaria cases were treated with anti malaria drugs. In locations prone to epidemics 22 villages in Somaliland, 3062 households in the south and central areas and 4,658 households in Puntland have been sprayed with insecticides and populations given information about protecting themselves from mosquitoes bites.

Uganda Picks Tanzania For Oil Pipeline, Drops Kenya Plan

24 April – Source: Shabelle/BBC News – 311 Words

Landlocked Uganda has announced it will build a major pipeline to export its oil through Tanzania. Uganda had planned to send the pipeline through Kenya, which wanted a joint facility for oil from its own fields that are under development.

The pipeline will now be routed further south, with concerns about possible attacks by Somalia’s Al-Shabaab Islamists said to be a factor. The group has previously attacked targets close to where the pipeline would have passed. Uganda announced its decision in Kampala at a summit of the East African Community bloc, which groups Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan.

The 1,400km (800 miles) pipeline will connect Uganda’s western region near Hoima, where big oil reserves have been discovered, with Tanzania’s port of Tanga. The project is expected to cost about $4bn (£2.8bn) and create 15,000 jobs. The discovered oil reserves in Uganda are estimated at some 6.5bn barrels, and the country expects to start production in 2018. France’s Total, China’s CNOOC and Britain’s Tullow hold most of the licences.

Kenya, which has also struck oil, had wanted the pipeline to pass through its territory. Uganda had initially signed such a deal, but Total later questioned the plan over security concerns, the BBC’s Catherine Byaruhanga in Kampala reports. Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa said on Saturday that the cost was also a factor in choosing the project.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia: Sexual Violence Must Be Subject To Criminal Justice, Not Traditional Xeer Systems, Says UN Expert

25 April – Source: United Nations Human Rights News – 669 Words

The UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, Bahame Tom Nyanduga, has called on the Government to enhance the capacity of the judiciary and police force in handling cases of sexual and gender-based violence, and to prohibit the handling of such cases by traditional clan elders. He also urged the Government to implement the recommendations arising from Somalia’s 2016 Universal Periodic Review before the Human Rights Council, including the adoption of a moratorium on the death penalty.

At the end of his third mission to the country, Nyanduga noted that the Xeer Somali traditional dispute resolution system continues to play a key role in the country, given that rule of law institutions are still being established. However, he was concerned to learn that traditional elders adjudicate sexual and gender-based violence cases, such as rape, due to the absence of a fully functioning criminal justice system in many parts of Somalia.

“I call on the Government to prioritize the creation and implementation of a twin strategy: to enhance the capacity of the judiciary and the Somali Police force, and to prohibit clan and traditional elders from resolving or adjudicating such cases,” Nyanduga said. “There is also a crucial need to create human rights awareness among clan elders and religious leaders about women’s rights, as one way of facilitating change within communities.”

The Independent Expert also called for the adoption of the Sexual Offences Bill during the forthcoming session of Parliament to further guarantee the protection of women’s rights. Nyanduga commended the Federal and regional authorities and Parliament for committing themselves to holding elections later this year, widening the electoral base and ensuring that a 30 per cent women representation is met. However, he expressed concern that representation of youth, minorities and persons with disabilities, is not similarly guaranteed.

The Independent Expert commended the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) for the role it continues to play in Somalia. He noted its commitment to comply with human rights and international humanitarian law, including ensuring accountability for violations committed by its forces. Nyanduga began his visit to Somalia on 16 April. During his mission, he visited Mogadishu, Kismayo and Baidoa, and met the Speaker of the Federal Parliament, Federal Government authorities in Mogadishu, representatives of Jubbaland State, and the South West State.

Somali President Mohamud: Charlie Rose

25 April – Source: Bloomberg – Video: 6:32 Mins

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is the President of Somalia. His administration is Somalia’s first internationally-recognized government in over 20 years. He has been widely credited for his record on combating corruption, piracy and terrorism.

#DontBuyDeath Encourages Somalis To Stay Home

25 April – Source: Deutsche Welle – 398 Words

After a migrant tragedy in the Mediterranean, a Twitter user from Somalia is calling on his compatriots to stay home. The hashtag #DontBuyDeath has become a rallying cry and a warning. As reports began circulating that a boat filled with migrants, many of them from Somalia, had disappeared in the Mediterranean, Abdinur Mohamed Ahmed took to Twitter.

With that tweet, the journalist from Mogadishu created the hashtag #DhimashoHaGadan. In Somali, the message means “Don’t buy death” – a call for Somalis to stop paying thousands of dollars on a high-risk journey towards Europe: “I have a friend who suggested this hashtag,” Ahmed told DW. “We agreed to do something on our dying youth in the Mediterranean Sea in their pursuit of a better life in Europe.”

Ahmed’s words resonated. Roughly one in seven Somalis has left the country. Though accurate unemployment statistics are difficult to come by in Somalia, estimates are 50 percent or higher.
Many desperate Somalis take dangerous routes toward North Africa, where human smugglers attempt to ferry them across the Mediterranean. Those voyages typically launch from Libya or Egypt and aim for Italy.

This year alone, a combined 25,000 refugees have attempted the sea voyage. An estimated one in 30 has died en route. Ahmed as a “survivor of two terrorist attacks,” does not see a point in risking one’s life to get abroad. He equates the voyage to suicide and says he would never leave his home country. Online, many Somalis shared Ahmed’s hashtag, expressing their sadness and desire to see fewer people attempting the treacherous crossing.

On April 18, Somalia’s President, Prime Minister and Speaker of Parliament put out a joint statement on the sinking of the migrant ship. On Twitter, many began aiming the “Don’t buy death” hashtag at the politicians they felt had betrayed the citizens through corruption and incompetence. Some of the them even blaming the politicians for the death of the young people.

Interior CS Nkaissery meets the Mare-han clan leaders

25 April – Source: NTV Kenya – Video: 1:43 Mins

Kenya’s Interior Security Cabinet Secretary, Joseph Nkaissery, met with Somalia’s Marehan clan leaders amidst speculations that the clan might have played a role in the El Ade’s attack on Kenya Defence Forces. The Marehan clan lives in the El Adde’s Gedo region where KDF’s camp was located.

OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE

“BBC Arabic published the first story, originally citing a Somali ambassador in Egypt. It suggested that a boat carrying 500 people had capsized and sunk off the Egyptian and not Libyan coast. Further reporting from BBC Somali quoted a Somali woman who lived in Cairo, who claimed she had lost three relatives in the disaster.”

Here’s What You May Not Know About The Migrant Boat That Capsized Two Weeks Ago

25 April – Source: BuzzFeed News – 1,058 Words

Survivors’ accounts of a shipwreck off the coast of Greece last week confirm that a boat carrying refugees capsized and as many as 500 people drowned, making it one of the biggest tragedies involving refugees this year, a United Nations spokesperson told BuzzFeed News.

Thirty-seven men, three women, and one 3-year-old child were rescued from the Mediterranean Sea by a Filipino cargo ship on April 16. However, confusing and conflicting details have emerged surrounding the sinking of the boat, which was carrying mainly non–Arabic-speaking refugees. In an interview with BuzzFeed News, Katerina Kitidi, the U.N. spokesperson, said they believe not all of the refugees departed from Libya. Instead, on April 7 as many as 300 may have departed from an Egyptian port for Italy. However, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) who also spoke with the survivors said that “none of them know the exact name of the port.”

Egypt’s government has said that it is not aware of any boats having left the Egyptian coast. “We have no knowledge of the boat, and you should take all your further questions to the army,” Ahmed Abu Zaied, senior spokesperson at Egypt’s foreign ministry, told BuzzFeed News. U.N. officials said a second vessel had departed from a port in Tobruk, Libya, carrying 200 refugees. However, there are conflicting reports on how many boats left the Libyan port city — one report cites a single 30-foot boat, with 100 to 200 people aboard, while another says roughly 200 people traveled in up to four vessels, carrying 40 people apiece.

But a spokesman for Libya’s coast guard, Ayoub Jassem, told the Associated Press he had no knowledge of the refugees or any of the boats that may have left from Tobruk. Of the 41 survivors who were interviewed in Athens, all confirmed that on or around April 12, somewhere off the coast of Libya, smugglers attempted to transfer the refugees from the smaller boats to a larger one. U.N. officials said that majority of those who survived did not speak Arabic, so details about the smugglers were unclear.

“I saw my wife and my two-month-old child die at sea, together with my brother-in-law,” one of the survivors, Mohamed, from Ethiopia, told the IOM. “The boat was going down…down…all the people died in a matter of minutes.” The IOM believes of the refugees who survived, 30 of them were already onboard the smaller boats and just 11 managed to escape the larger boat and make it to relative safety. After three days of drifting, the group realized one of the smugglers had thrown a cell phone, with a preprogrammed number, into the smaller boat.