August 1, 2014 | Morning Headlines.
Somali President visits Garbaharey town, Gedo region
31 Jul – Source: Bar-kulan/Shabelle – 97 words
A government delegation led by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Thursdayarrived in Garbaharey town, the provincial capital of Gedo region. Garbaharey Governor Iman Addow Karshe who spoke to Bar-kulan said that the president has meetings with local authorities and the traditional elders and discussed various issues including peace and draught in the region. The president said his government is committed to tackling crisis including humanitarian crisis in many parts of the country. This is the first visit of the President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to Gedo region since he came to power some two years ago.
Key Headlines
- Somali President visits Garbaharey town Gedo region (Bar-kulan/Shabelle)
- Puntland expresses concern over central state (Garowe Online)
- US not looking for permanent military presence in Africa (Africa Daily)
- Ahlu Sunna rejects agreement to form new administration in Central Somalia regions (RBC)
- US Welcomes Agreement to Form New Administration in Central Somalia (US Department of State)
- Clan fighting breaks out in Lower Shabelle region (Radio Shabelle)
SOMALI MEDIA
Somali President visits Garbaharey town, Gedo region
31 Jul – Source: Bar-kulan/Shabelle – 97 words
A government delegation led by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Thursday arrived in Garbaharey town, the provincial capital of Gedo region. Garbaharey Governor Iman Addow Karshe who spoke to Bar-kulan said that the president has meetings with local authorities and the traditional elders and discussed various issues including peace and draught in the region. The president said his government is committed to tackling crisis including humanitarian crisis in many parts of the country. This is the first visit of the President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to Gedo region since he came to power some two years ago.
Puntland expresses concern over central state
31 Jul – Source: Garowe Online – 91 words
The formation of central Somalia state spurred mixed reactions in the north eastern state of Puntland, with president Gaas calling for emergency meeting on the renewed issue, Garowe Online reports. Puntland cabinet ministers have been scheduled to gather at the state house on Thursday evening in a bid to discuss government’s position as Mudug region appears in a press statement from Federal Government of Somalia. GO has learned that public outrage in Puntland prompted the meeting after Somalia government recognized a new state consisting of Mudug and Galgaduud regions without demarcations.
Ahlu Sunna rejects agreement to form new administration in Central Somalia regions
31 Jul – Source: RBC – 115 words
The Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama armed function in Somalia rejected to accept a newly signed deal which suggested the formation of new administration for the central regions of Somalia. The Chairperson of Ahlu Sunna Council, Sheikh Abdirisak Ali Mire “Ashcari” has strongly condemned the signing of the agreement which parties from Galmudug, Himan and Heeb and Ahlu Sunna members attended on Wednesday in Mogadishu. “It will not become an effective agreement as it lacks the confidence of the people and the stakeholders,” Al Ashcari said during a press conference in Dhusamareb today. He said Ahlu Sunna function was not part of this agreement as he insisted that the way it was done was totally illegal.
Clan fighting breaks out in Lower Shabelle region
31 Jul – Source: Radio Shabelle – 93 words
According to news reports from Lower Shabelle, two rival clan militias fought Thursday in the region in which casualties and losses were reported. The fight erupted in the Marka district as well as Eel Wareego town in the Lower Shabelle region which was said to have been followed up by clan tensions. Although the fatalities were not specified, locals have said that casualties and losses were reported. Only recently was a peace deal signed in Mogadishu by leaders representing the two rival clans that have been fighting in the Lower Shabelle region.
REGIONAL MEDIA
US not looking for permanent military presence in Africa
31 Jul – Source: Africa Daily – 154 words
The US does not intend to have a permanent military presence in Africa to resolve the continent’s conflicts, but is committed to help its partners confront transnational threats, a top Obama administration official has said. “Contrary to some claims, the US is not looking to militarize Africa or maintain a permanent military presence,” National Security Adviser Susan Rice said at the US Institute for Peace. “But we are committed to helping our partners confront transnational threats to our shared security,” she said. “I say this as the person who got the 4 am phone call 16 years ago when al Qaeda bombed our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.” Rice made the comments just days before almost all of Africa’s leaders descend on Washington for an unprecedented summit. She said al-Qaeda controls parts of Mali, militant Islamist group Boko Haram bombs markets and kidnap young girls, and another extremist group al-Shabaab terrorized a mall in Nairobi.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
US Welcomes Agreement to Form New Administration in Central Somalia
31 Jul – Source: US Department of State – 97 words
Acting U.S. Special Representative for Somalia Brian H. Phipps welcomes the July 30 signing of an agreement to pursue the establishment of a new administration in central Somalia. The United States commends the leadership of all the parties involved for their constructive work and diligence. “The United States welcomes this important agreement and looks forward to continuing progress towards establishing an administration,” stated the Acting Special Representative. The United States Government remains a committed partner to the government and citizens of Somalia and will continue to support Somalia’s path towards a peaceful, stable, and prosperous future.
Local designer uses fashion to help Somalia
31 Jul – Source: Seattle Globalist – 158 words
When Hamdi Mohamed first drew a map of Somalia, with the word “FREE” pushing out against the borders of the country, she wasn’t sure what she would do with it. The Chief Sealth High School student just knew it represented her desire for her home country to be freed of anarchy, violence and the numerous other issues it faced in the midst of the Somali Civil War. Four years later famine hit, quite literally, close to home. Wanting to get involved with the 2011 famine relief effort, she began organizing fundraising events in Seattle and saw her chance to share her design with the world. At a poetry slam fundraiser she helped coordinate, she began selling T-shirts with her “Free Somalia” design emblazoned across the front. The shirts were a huge hit both locally and around the world. She sold hundreds of shirts and raised around $5,000, which she donated to an NGO called The African Future.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
Federal law prohibits American citizens from taking up arms in foreign countries. The law also bars citizens from joining militant and terrorist groups in any part the world. As the list of young people leaving the Somali community in Minnesota to fight foreign wars continues to grow, many are still wondering what could compel their children who were born or who grew up in the U.S. to leave home to join militants and terrorist groups overseas.
What’s Drawing Somali-American Teens To Foreign Militant Groups?
31 Jul – Source: Mint Press News – 2382 words
Abdi Mohamed Nur, a 20-year-old Somali-American, reportedly left his family in Minnesota to travel to Syria to join and fight alongside the Islamic State (formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS) last month. Earlier this month, the FBI’s office in Minneapolis said Nur and about 15 other people from Minnesota drove to New Jersey, where they boarded a flight to Turkey. From Turkey, Nur then allegedly made his way to Syria, and the others to Somalia. Despite the size of the group and the FBI’s involvement, though, few organizations have acknowledged the situation. The leader of the Somali Citizens League, based in Minneapolis said the FBI has not discussed details of the case with the organization. “About these kids that left [Minnesota], as a community and citizens, of course it concerns us. The security and protection of our country, the U.S., it is our obligation,” said Jibril Afyare, president of the Somali Citizens League, to MintPress News. “Therefore, these alleged 15 kids that left — we don’t know. We have not seen any evidence that, indeed, they have left. We have not seen any evidence that, indeed, they are there.”