April 4, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Kenya MPs of Somali ethnic meets to discuss Kenyan security authorities harassment on Somalis

03 Apr – Source: BBC Somali Service – 102 words

Kenyan parliamentarians of Somali origin call for a meeting Thursday to discuss the increasing harassment acts of Kenyan security authorities on Somali community in Kenya. Below Kerow, an elected Senator from Mandera County said in this meeting they discuss the recurrent persecution of Somalis living in Kenya. “Today as Kenyan member of parliaments, we want to talk about the harassment and terrorist allegations on Somali ethnics in Kenya,” he said while speaking to BBC Somali service. He accused Kenyan government of targeting Somali ethnics whenever a terror attacks happen in Kenya and level innocent Somali communities with terror activities.

Key Headlines

Somali cabinet ministers meeting discuss security issues (Radio Mogadishu/SNTV)
Kenya MPs of Somali ethnic meets to discuss Kenyan security authorities harassment on Somalis(BBC News)
Second member of Somalia’s federal parliament resigns while outside Mogadishu (BBC News)
Puntland doctors create new umbrella after two days meeting (Puntland TV )
Police destroy live grenade unearthed in garden near hospital (Standard Media)
Terror leader suspected of recruiting White Widow Samantha Lewthwaite to al Qaeda shot dead (Mirror News)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali cabinet ministers meeting discuss security issues

03 Apr – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV – 126 words

The cabinet Ministers of the Federal Government of Somalia had their regular meeting in Mogadishu on Thursday. The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister of Somalia Abdweli Sheikh Ahmed. In their meeting they discussed wide range issues including the security of the country, joint operations going on in some parts of the country and ways of sending emergency relief to some parts of the country especially the areas taken over by the federal government of Somalia backed by AMISOM. Assistant Minister for Information and Telecommunication Abdullahi Olad Roble briefed the media after the meeting, stating that the cabinet first heard reports presented by the ministry of national security about the recent security improvements by the government forces and AMISOM troops who took over many areas from al Shabaab.

Kenya MPs of Somali ethnic meets to discuss Kenyan security authorities harassment on Somalis

03 Apr – Source: BBC Somali Service – 102 words

Second member of Somalia’s federal parliament resigns while outside Mogadishu

03 Apr – Source: BBC Somali Service/Hiiraan Online – 111 words

A member of federal Parliament of Somalia Abdullahi Mohamed Hirsi resigned. While speaking to BBC Somali Service in Bulo Hawo the MP stated that his resignation came after the federal parliament of Somalia failed to fulfil the promises they made before ending the transition period. He noted that the people whom he was representing in parliament did not get their rightful share from the federal government of Somalia, a move which disappointed him and finally forced him to submit his resignation letter to the speaker of federal parliament of Somalia. Abdullahi Mohamed stated that he consulted many people including members of the federal parliament of Somalia before finally resigning from his membership.

Puntland doctors create new umbrella after two days meeting

03 Apr – Source: Puntland TV – 112 words

The doctors in regional state of puntland concluded two days meeting in Garowe, doctors from within and outside the country attended the meeting. The doctors agreed to cooperate with Puntland government so as to solve the health problems in the region. They also agreed to unite all doctor and establish Puntland doctors umbrella to promote the co-operation between doctors. Dr. Artan, a famous doctor who works in Garowe was elected as the new chairman of Puntland doctors umbrella. The doctors said they will take full scale action and awareness campaign against polio and HIV Aids.
The public welcomed the move of Puntland doctors and described it as a positive step towards development.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Police destroy live grenade unearthed in garden near hospital

03 Apr – Source: Standard Media – 117 words

There was panic at a private residence off Ngong Road, Nairobi when a gardener discovered a live grenade buried in a shallow garden next to where children usually play. The grenade was discovered by a worker who was working on a flower garden in the morning hours Thursday and later alerted police. The explosive devise was buried in the garden of the house that is next to the Nairobi Women’s Hospital, Adams Arcade branch. Officers from CID’s Bomb Disposal Unit arrived there minutes later and carried it away in a container while covered with soil. Unit head Mr Eliud Langat confirmed the grenade was real and could have caused death had it been tampered with or triggered.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Terror leader suspected of recruiting White Widow Samantha Lewthwaite to al Qaeda shot dead

03 Apr – Source: Mirror News – 158 words

An al Qaeda leader who is believed to have recruited White Widow Samantha Lewthwaite has been killed in a drive by shooting. Police said that Abubakar Shariff, also known as Makaburi, was shot dead as he left a court compound 10 miles from Mombasa, Kenya, on Tuesday. He was waiting outside a court with another man when they were sprayed with bullets from a vehicle that pulled up nearby.
Makaburi was accused by the UN Security Council and U.S. of supporting Somali militant group al Shabaab. “Our brother Abubakar Shariff Makaburi has left us. He is dead,” a preacher at a mosque in Kisauni, a Muslim-dominated area near Mombasa, said through a loudspeaker. “May his soul rest in peace. He has died a brave death.” A witness said Makaburi’s had bullet wounds to the body and head. Dozens of Makaburi’s supporters gathered nearby demanding police hand over the corpse. Police fired in the air to disperse the crowd.

Burka escape: Teenager arrested over terror suspect disappearance

03 Apr – Source: BBC – 117 words

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested over the disappearance of a terror suspect, who absconded after changing into a burka at a London mosque. Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed, who is still missing, escaped from government minders in November while subject to an order restricting his movements. Mr Mohamed had been linked to Somali militant group al-Shabaab. The 17-year-old was arrested on on suspicion of conspiring with another to breach a so-called TPim order. Scotland Yard said he had been taken to a south London police station where he remained in custody. TPims – made under the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Act – are used to restrict movement, the use of computers and mobile phones and meetings with others.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“It is possible that al Shabaab will retaliate against Kenya for Sheikh Hassaan’s arrest. After all, the cleric has been the fatwa machine for the terror group because he has issued edicts that provided the religious justification for the radical group’s criminal activities.”

Finally, Kenya Arrests Radical Cleric Sheikh Hassaan

03 Apr- Source: African Arguments-896 Words

Two days ago, Kenyan security officers raided the house of Sheikh Hassaan Hussein Adam ‘Abu Salman’, a radical cleric known for his support of al Shabaab. The cleric and his wife were interrogated in Nairobi’s Eastleigh neighborhood before being taken into custody. Prior to his detention, the Kenyan authorities were aware of the cleric’s influential role among Somali jihadists. Sheikh Hassaan has been the informal mufti of al Shabaab, issuing fatwas that justified the terror group’s killings and carnage in Somalia. Last year, the cleric issued his famous fatwa in which he propagated the killing of jihadists who sowed discord among the mujahidin in Somalia. Ahmed Abdi Godane, the Emir of al Shabaab, used that same fatwa as a pretext to terminate his rivals in the radical group. Two founders of the militant group—Ibrahim Al-Afghani and Abdihamid Olhaye ‘Moalim Burhan’—were killed in the coastal town of Baraawe in Somalia last June. Sheikh Hassaan has been on the United Nations sanctions list for providing material support to al Shabaab by raising funds for the group and recruiting new members. In 2011, a UN Security Council report accused the cleric of orchestrating “acts that threaten the peace and security of Somalia.” Over the years, Shaikh Hassaan has been arrested, but was detained for a short period and then released thanks to powerful interlocutors who made sure he was not kept in custody.