August 10, 2015 | Morning Headlines
NISA Along With AU Troops Seize Al-Shabaab Members
09 August – Source: Shabelle News – 124 Words
A joint cordon and search operation by the Somali National Intelligence Agency backed by African Union troops and Police in Hodan District in Mogadishu resulted in the capturing of sophisticated military equipment and the arrests of Al-Shabaab suspects.The operation also saw the troops raid the residence of an Al-Shabaab prime operative identified as Abduladif Osman Mohamed, where a cache of weaponry was found. The weapons captured include an assortment of guns including RPG shells, AK47s, a PK barrel and several rounds of ammunitions, one vehicle, mobile phones, solar panel, key documents, a pile of Somali currency and 5 operatives belonging to Al-Shabaab. AMISOM troops together with their Somali counterparts will continue with tactical operations to ensure that Mogadishu and other areas are free of terror activities.
Key Headlines
- NISA Along With AU Troops Seize Al-Shabaab Members (Shabelle News)
- Uneasy Calm Returns In Marka Following Ceasefire Brokered By Local Elders (Wacaal Media)
- Hiiraan & Middle Shabelle Gear Up For Federal State (Garowe Online)
- Ahlu-Sunna Waljama’a Accuses Somali Government Of Deploying Troops In Adado (Goobjoog News)
- Southwest States Members Of Parliament To Be Elected Within 30 Days (Dalsan Radio)
- US Donates $1.5 Million For Somalia’s Police Force Rebuilding (Hiiraan Online)
- Clan Militias Clash In Marka (Garowe Online)
- Kenyan President Arrives In Uganda For Regional Security Talks (Coastweek)
- Kenya Detains A Woman Due To Somalia’s Al-Shabaab Links (Diplomatic News Network)
- Kenya’s Coastal Resorts See Signs Of Tourism Picking Up (Standard Digital)
- Two Somali Refugees Reach Winnipeg After Swimming Down The Red (Winnipeg Free Press)
- We Are Winning The Battle Against Terrorism In Somalia (Hiiraan Online)
- AMISOM Commits To Gender Mainstreaming In Its Operations (AMISOM)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Uneasy Calm Returns In Marka Following Ceasefire Brokered By Local Elders
09 August – Source: Wacaal Media – 99 Words
Latest reports reaching us from Marka town in Lower Shabelle region indicate that uneasy calm has returned to the town after ceasefire was brokered between several clan militias that fought a bloody gun battles in the area in the last two days. Up to five people were killed while four others sustained injuries in the clashes that first broke out in Unaaye neighborhood of the town. Business and schools have reopened today as local elders intensify efforts to end the tribal animosity fueled by ownership of land in the area.
Hiiraan & Middle Shabelle Gear Up For Federal State
09 August – Source: Garowe Online – 281 Words
Despite unraveling proposals, Somalia’s Federal Government is pushing ahead with the formation of second federal state for Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions. Political and community leaders representing the local communities are set to gather for the state formation convention in September, according to a deal brokered by the Mogadishu-based Federal Government on Saturday. A 31-member technical committee that will be appointed in fourteen days will oversee the state formation process. The agreement comes after Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle Governors –Abdifatah Hassan Afrah and Ali Gudlawe Hussein-respectively clashed on the venue of the conference.
Eleven Ministers hailing from the regions and the two governors were picked as signatories, with United Nations envoy to Somalia, Ambassador Nicholas Kay present. Mogadishu-based federal government shouldered more responsibilities including financial, logistical and technical support for the endeavor.“The next step would be capacitating the existing federal states, we encourage competition in development and reconciliation fronts,” Somalia President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said at the ceremony authorizing the fresh push at the heavily fortified compound, Villa Somalia. He called for national healing and understanding on differences across Somalia.
Middle Shabelle Governor Hussein called remarks by Hiiraan governor ‘hasty’ shortly after stakeholders signed Mogadishu blueprint.“I think, my friend [Hiiraan Governor] impelled to swift decision, the people of the two regions will discuss and agree the venue and the regional capital,” he told a Mogadishu-based radio station. The deal was struck on the heels of a move in which the Somalia President ruled out the possibility of holding popular elections by late 2016. Critics allege that the president and his allies are engaging in Machiavellian efforts in a bid to score big against rival parties in 2016 elections.
Ahlu-Sunna Waljama’a Accuses Somali Government Of Deploying Troops In Adado
09 August – Source: Goobjoog News – 202 Words
The Somali moderate Islamist group Ahlu-Sunna Wal Jama’a has accused Somali federal government of adding fuel to the hot situation in Somali central regions. The group’s local administration of Dhusa-Mareb said that they have information about the number of troops recently deployed in Adado in a bid to engage in fighting with Ahlu-Sunna. Earlier this month, Forces loyal to armed group Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaah have entered the town of Abudwak, Galgudud region and taken control, a move described by some as a calculated pre-emptive move against newly formed administration of Galmudug.
The group publicised that it has nominated president for areas under its rule whereby Somali central state formation conference spearheaded by Somali government, is progressing towards its final stages. On 10th June, Somali moderate Islamist group, Ahlu-Sunna Waljamaa, declared that its delegates would vacate the conference within 24 hours. Speaking to Goobjoog News, its leader Sheikh Ibrahim Gurre, who was among the signatories to Somali central State formation conference put blame on Somali minister for internal affairs, Abdirahman Odawaa.
Southwest States Members Of Parliament To Be Elected Within 30 Days
09 August – Source: Dalsan Radio – 148 Words
On Sunday, the president of the semiautonomous state of Southwest State of Somalia , Shariff Hassan Sheikh Adan, has officially announced in Baidoa town, the current headquarters of Southwest State of Somalia that the members of the national assembly of Southwest States of Somalia will be elected within 30 days.“The legislators of our national assembly will be selected by the traditional elders within 30 days” said President, Shariff Hassan.
In addition to the announcement the president has added that the he is appealing to the traditional elders to select good number of women to be part of the representatives in the parliament. President Hassan was flanked by the Minister for Internal Affairs of the Federal Government of Somalia Honorable Odowa and IGAD representative for Somalia Mohamed Abdi Afey. The Somali government has recently being highly engaged in motivating the establishments and the accomplishment of the regional autonomous states in Somalia ahead of the upcoming elections in 2016.
US donates $1.5 Million For Somalia’s Police Force Rebuilding
08 August – Source: Hiiraan Online – 319 Words
The United States government has donated $1.5 million to help efforts to rebuild Somalia’s police force to maintain security for the horn of Africa nation which is facing a stubborn deadly insurgency by the Al-Qaeda linked group of Al-Shabaab. The donation will help Somali police to receive trainings and material aid in a bid to fight crimes and terrorism as Somalia is recovering from decades civil war. The United States envoy to Somalia James P. McAnulty who signed the donation package from the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs with Somalia’s finance minister Mohamed Aden Ibrahim in Mogadishu on Saturdaysaid that the contribution signals the US government’s commitment in helping the rebuilding of Somali security forces. The agreement, the second of its kind is part of US efforts to fight militant groups, mainly Al-Shabaab which is trying to oust the western-backed Somali government which is under the protection of the African Union forces.
Somalia’s police chief Gen. Mohamed Hassan Hamud described the agreement as ‘helpful; which he said will help police to improve its performances. In 2014, The Somali and U.S. governments reached an agreement in Washington, stipulating that the United States would contribute $1.9 million toward security sector reform, development and capacity-building efforts in Somalia. As parts of the new army overhaul, Somalia’s government has also signed a bilateral treaty with the Turkish government this year to ramp up the rebuilding of Somali police. Mogadishu has experienced a relative stability since 2011 when Al-Shabaab fighters were pushed out of the city with an estimated population of 2.5 million. African Union and Somali troops have since extended their areas of control, ousting militants from most of its key strongholds in the south and central Somalia, however, the rebels continue to carry out sporadic attacks on the government and African Union forces in Somalia.
Clan Militias Clash In Marka
08 August – Source: Garowe Online – 106 Words
At least three people have been reported killed in armed confrontation between two clan militias in Lower Shabelle regional capital of Marka of Southern Somalia on Saturday, Garowe Online reports. Local reports say, the fighting raged in some neighborhoods following the mysterious murder of a person. Volleys of gunfire disrupted businesses and commuters movement, with the situation remaining tense. Somali government forces and African Union peacekeepers are co-located in the coastal town known for white buildings and exotic beachs. Violence has surged in the southern town which once was a springboard for the beleaguered Al-Shabaab group over the last few weeks.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Kenyan President Arrives In Uganda For Regional Security Talks
09 August – Source: Coastweek – 327 Words
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta have arrived in Uganda for regional talks on the political crisis in Burundi, the conflict in South Sudan and security situation in Somalia. James Mugume, the permanent secretary, ministry of foreign affairs told reporters here at State House, Entebbe, 40 kilometers south of the capital, Kampala that the talks between Kenyatta and President Yoweri Museveni will focus on finding solutions to solve the political crisis in Burundi, the conflict in South Sudan and the security situation in Somalia.” The two leaders will discuss a long range of regional issues.
“This include the situation in Burundi, the conflict in South Sudan and deployment of the IGAD [The Intergovernmental Authority on Development] force in the country,” said Mugume. “Of course the leaders will also deliberate on the security situation in Somalia and seeing how to end the threat posed by Al Shabaab militants,” he said. President Kenyatta, wife, Margret and his delegation who arrived in the East African countryon Saturday were received by President Museveni at State House, Entebbe. He received 21 gun salute. The two East African country leaders will on Monday be joined by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir to discuss the conflict in South Sudan.
The conflict in the world’s newest nation started which started in Mid December 2013 after troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar, now opposition and rebel leader clashed in the capital, Juba left at least 1,000 people dead and hundreds displaced to the neighboring countries. President Kenyatta will on Sunday morning visit Quality Chemicals Factory Limited, the manufacturers of Anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) and malaria drugs in the capital, Kampala and later in the afternoon address Uganda-Kenya Business Forum and Kenyan community resident in Uganda. The visiting Kenyan head of state will on Mondayaddress a special sitting of Uganda’s parliament on various regional issues.
Kenya Detains A Woman Due To Somalia’s Al-Shabaab Links
09 August – Source: Diplomat News Network – 372 Words
Kenyan police are interrogating two suspects two terror suspects who were arrested while en route to Somalia to joint the Islamist militants. The country’s anti-terrorism police officers have arrested a man and a woman in Madogo area in the coastal region, some 3kms from Garissa County. “Zacharia Omwenga alias Salma together with her accomplice Abdi Hussein Ali alias Blacky were arrested by officers from the anti terror police unit,” a senior police officer told Xinhua in Garissa on Friday. The officer said they suspect the Kenyan woman who hails from Mombasa was en route to Somalia will be subjected to through interrogations.
The two suspects who appeared before Garissa Chief Magistrate told the court that Omwenga was being trafficked to Somalia to be married off to a member of the ‘al-Shabaab’ terror group. The court also heard that Hussein was to pick her upon arrival at Garissa and then hand her over to another person who was still at large and who would later facilitate her travel to Somalia. The Mombasa police officers had informed their counterparts in Garissa who laid an ambush for her and later arrested her on Wednesday evening upon arrival. The police said that upon interrogation, Omwenga admitted that she did not know Garissa and that she was to be picked by a person (Hussein) she did not know but had only communicated with over the phone.
The police later in the evening laid a trap and subsequently arrested Hussein as he went to pick Omwenga who was then due to travel to Somalia to join the militants who have waging a string of terror attacks on both Kenya and Somali governments. The police requested the court to give them seven days to complete investigations before formally charging the two. They were granted the request. ‘Al-Shabaab’ militants have vowed to stage more attacks on Kenya after the east African nation soldiers made cross border incursion into southern Somalia in 2011 to flush out the insurgents it blamed for kidnappings of tourists. But Kenya’s security officials have pointed at a possibility that other interests were orchestrating the attacks under the guise of ‘al-Shabaab’, which usually claim responsibility for such attacks.
Kenya’s Coastal Resorts See Signs Of Tourism Picking Up
09 August – Source: Standard Digital – 488 Words
Kenya’s coastal resorts have seen a rise in bookings by western visitors, suggesting a tourist industry devastated by terror attacks may be starting to recover, tourism executives have said. Holidaymakers shunned Kenya’s beaches and wildlife safaris after attacks blamed on al Shabaab militants from neighbouring Somalia triggered warnings against nonessential travel to the coast by Western governments. Britain, the source of more than half the country’s tourists, lifted a travel advisory covering most of the coast in June, setting the stage for recovery. Visitor arrivals to Kenya fell by a quarter in the first five months of this year, to 284,313 from 381,278 in the same period last year. The country received 1.168 million visitors in its fiscal year ended June 2013. It aims to attract 3 million tourists a year by 2017.
The slump in tourism, Kenya’s main source of hard currency, has contributed to an 11.5 per cent fall in the shilling against the dollar this year. Finance Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said last month that the bookings outlook for the tourism sector was improving. July’s visit by President Barack Obama, whose father was Kenyan, may also help raise the country’s profile as a travel destination, especially among Americans. “It is looking better,” said Mohammed Hersi, chairman of the Kenya Coast Tourism Association and a veteran hotelier. “The Kenyan coast is back.” Hersi, also the chief executive of Heritage Hotels, said the chain’s flagship Voyager Beach Resort in Mombasa, was 65 per cent full last month, double the rate of a year ago.
Turnaround Forward bookings were even better, with this month’s occupancy rate at 70 percent, mainly due to domestic tourists. Bookings from foreigners are already coming in for October and November, Hersi said, adding some resorts that had shut down were reopening and some air charter operators from Italy were flying in visitors. International tour operators were offering holidays on the Kenyan coast after the lifting of the British travel advisory, which meant holidaymakers could buy travel insurance. “When the British government advises against non-essential travel, we get cancellations from as far away as Denmark, yet their own country has not told them Mombasa is not safe,” Hersi said. Western countries warned against travel to Kenya following the September 2013 attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall in which at least 67 people were killed by Al-Shabaab gunmen, with some warnings tightened last year after attacks on the coast.
Two Somali Refugees Reach Winnipeg After Swimming Down The Red
08 August – Source: Winnipeg Free Press – 1,289 Words
Two Somalian refugee claimants crossed the border into Canada the hard way this week — in the Red River.On Wednesday, Yahya Samatar, who was shivering and soaking wet, climbed out of the Red River in Emerson, and into the pickup truck of a Good Samaritan who cranked up the heat, gave him a sweater and called 911. “I didn’t know where to go,” said Samatar, a 32-year-old English-speaking aid worker from Somalia. In an interview with the Free Press Thursday, he said he and a companion were dropped off just south of the Canadian border crossing after midnight Tuesday. “I saw the lights of the port” at Emerson, he said. They were both afraid U.S. border patrols would pick them up and send them back to Somalia, so they headed for the bush. “I crossed the farms and saw the bushes. I went in the bushes and saw the river.” Disoriented and in the dark, they figured the river ran east to west rather than south to north and, if they waded across it, they’d be safe in Canada, he said. His companion entered the river with a backpack containing Samatar’s wallet and phone. He was quickly swept up by the current and carried downstream, he said. “I wasn’t seeing him,” Samatar said.
He thought his friend had drowned. “I didn’t hear him calling my name.” By that time, Samatar had already taken three steps into the mighty Red. Realizing it wasn’t a lazy river they could just wade across, he scrambled back up on the bank. “I slept in the bush.” In the morning, he took a chance. “I thought I could cross if I left my trousers and shoes behind.” He learned to swim as a kid growing up in Kismaayo, a port city south of Mogadishu on the Indian Ocean, but he was not prepared for the cold, fast-moving river. After two or three terrifying minutes in the water, Samatar said he swam back to shore and pulled himself out of the river. Shivering and shoeless, wearing nothing but shorts and a T-shirt, he walked into Emerson. “I didn’t know if I’m in Canadian territory,” Samatar said. “I met a guy parking a truck… He was shocked by me when he saw my condition… He was a very nice guy.” He told Samatar he was in Canada, gave him a sweater, put him in the cab of his truck with the heater running full blast and called 911. Paramedics and RCMP arrived.
After determining he wasn’t hypothermic, Samatar was arrested, handcuffed, draped in a blanket and taken to the Canada Border Services Agency office nearby. “They gave me food and trousers and a sweatshirt — they gave me what they had.” The refugee claimant was interviewed, photographed, fingerprinted and given an October date for an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing. Then he was released. But with no money, no one to call to pick him up, and nowhere to go, Canada Border Services Agency officials called Welcome Place in Winnipeg to get help for Samatar. Their offices had already closed, so they called Hospitality House Refugee Ministry. It handles private sponsorships of refugees, not refugee claimants, but their settlement manager jumped in her car and drove south to Emerson to get Samatar and put him up at Hospitality House residence in Winnipeg.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Terrorism is an international phenomenon which feeds off poverty and the exploitation of young people and marginalised communities. While the impact of terrorism is painfully obvious globally at present, it is crucial to remember that we can, and must, defeat it to create a safer, tolerant and prosperous world.”
We Are Winning The Battle Against Terrorism In Somalia
08 August – Source: Hiiraan Online – 987 Words
It is always difficult to lose someone. Whether is a family member, friend or a nation losing a son or daughter engaged in active public duty, the pain of loss touches us all. Last Saturday afternoon the body of Zhang Nan, who was killed in the terrorists attack on Jazeera Hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu where the Chinese Embassy was based, was returned home to rest. For us all in Somalia, we followed with great sadness. Mr. Nan Zhang had died on our soil and two of his colleagues were injured at the hands of terrorists whilst serving a cause that was most worthy. The death of Zhang Nan was an unforgivable tragedy carried out by those who fraudulently claim to be representing Islam but are nothing more than evil terrorists transgressing against both the people of Somalia and their beautiful religion.
The terrorist group Al-Shabaab betrays all Islamic teachings which prohibit violence and promotes peace, stability and unity among people regardless of their differences. These are the values the terrorists, whom our nation is defeating with the assistance of the African Union Peace Keeping Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), betray with every opportunistic act of mindless violence against innocent civilians, private property and Government employees. The Government of Somalia, with its partners including the Government of China, have been working together to rebuild a nation once labelled the worst failed state in the world. Today, that label could not be further from the truth. While it is true that we are still fighting the last pockets of terrorism, the fact is that we are winning. Today, Alshabaab is militarily defeated and they now resort to carrying out opportunistic attacks against innocent civilians, government employees and private property. The Somali National army and AMISOM are working tirelessly to rid this scourge of evil from Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa where they have also caused much misery with their mindless violence against innocent shoppers, students and citizens getting on with the daily lives.
The Government of Somalia is working with regional partners and organisations as well as the international community, including the Government of China, to rebuild the nation. This is not an easy task but today normality is returning to our country. Schools are opening, confidence is returning to the economy, the Diaspora are returning to work, invest and rebuild our public and private institutions and our state building process is taking shape. Turning around a country like Somalia which experienced a catastrophic near quarter century civil war is never easy. The challenges are, and have been, enormous at times. However, with patience, perseverance, sacrifice and the assistance and support of valuable partner nations like China, we are slowly turning the corner. This was evidenced and communicated to the wider world at the High Level Partnership Forum meeting held in Mogadishu last week.
“The African Union remains highly committed to taking concrete actions implementing the African Union Gender Policy and ensure the advancement and protection of women rights including Somali women and girls.”
AMISOM Commits To Gender Mainstreaming In Its Operations
08 August – Source: AMISOM – Video – 3:09 Minutes
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has today reiterated its commitment to strengthen gender mainstreaming in Somalia’s peace processes ahead of Somalia’s 2016 elections, and ultimately contribute to the protection of women, girls, boys and men in Somalia.