August 15, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

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Ambassador Annadif Reiterates Need For Women Empowerment, Somalia

14 Aug- Source: Citizen TV-304 Words
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif has insisted on the need to eliminate unfortunate abuse of women and other vulnerable members of society in the country. Through a courtesy call on the Minister for Human Development & Public Services in the Federal Government, H.E. Dr Maryam Qasim reiterated the need for establishing gender safety nets in order to eliminate unfortunate abuse of women and other vulnerable members of society in the country. The leaders discussed on the areas of cooperation between AMISOM and the ministry in particular issues of human rights and Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.

Key Headlines

MSF ceases Somalia operations over ‘extreme attacks’ (Hiiraan Online)
Soldiers open fire on protesters in Mogadishu (Hiiraan Online)
District commissioner decries blockade on Mogadishu’s main roads (Radio Dalsan)
Fire destroys properties in Mogadishu ( Radio Shabelle/Dalsan)
Doctors Without Borders pulls out of Somalia due to attacks (Reuters)
Somaliland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation visits Kenya to discuss the New Deal with donor countries (Somalilandpress)
Somaliland: Toghdeer Resident Urged to Support for Benefit Phase II of Oil Exploration (Somalilandsun)
Kuwait donates ambulance to Somalia (Kuwait News Agency)

SOMALI MEDIA

MSF ceases Somalia operations over ‘extreme attacks’

14 Aug- Source: Bar-kulan/Hiiraan Online/Raxanreeb-110 Words
Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is closing all its programmes in Somalia after 22 years working in the war-torn country. It had taken the decision because of “extreme attacks on its staff”.
Armed groups and civilian leaders increasingly “support, tolerate or condone the killing, assaulting, and abducting of humanitarian aid workers,” the organization said in a statement.
More than 1,500 staff have provided a range of services across Somalia.
Unni Karunakara, MSF’s international president, said it has been one of the hardest decisions MSF has ever had to make.
Meanwhile, al Shabaab militants stormed a MSF Swiss-run hospital in Dinsoor district of Bay region and make away with equipments. The incident happened late Wednesday.

Soldiers open fire on protesters in Mogadishu

14 Aug- Source: Radio Shabelle/Dalsan/Hiiraan Online-100 Words
Somali government soldiers reportedly shot indiscriminately at protesters in Hodan district in Mogadishu, killing civilians, witness said.
The violence erupted after people living in government owned buildings begun to demonstrate against government order to leave the buildings in Hodan.
Two civilians died on the spot including a female demonstrator and an equal number sustained injuries.
“Government soldiers tried to disperse the protesters which resulted the death of two protesters,” said a witness.
The Hodan district administration issued warnings for people to vacate the structures belonging to government.

District commissioner decries blockade on Mogadishu’s main roads

14 Aug- Source: Radio Dalsan/Shabelle-140 Words
Wadajir District commissioner has strongly condemn setting up of security roadblocks on the main roads in the capital, Mogadishu.
“I call on the security forces and the business owners to open the access for the people and stop blocking main roads.” Ahmed Hassan Addow said in a press conference in his office in Mogadishu.
The district commissioner said that he does not see blocking roads or setting up roadblocks as security improvement.
He has called on security officials of the government to come up with mechanisms to ensure security in the country and establish strong intelligence to prevent terrorist attacks in the capital.
His statement came after security forces and owners of the private businesses including hotels, guest houses and NGO offices set up roadblocks to protect their compounds following al Shabaab’s recent attack against Turkish embassy in Mogadishu three weeks ago.

Fire destroys properties in Mogadishu

14 Aug- Source: Radio Dalsan/Hiiraan Online-90 Words
A fire has burnt down and destroyed a commercial building in Hodan neighborhood of Mogadishu on Wednesday, residents confirmed. The fire broke out after a man threw a live cigarette into a petrol station near Bar Ubah junction and soon the fire spread into the nearby houses. The Mogadishu firefighting teams and security forces soon reached the area to contain the fire. No one was killed in the fire despite heavy loss of property, the district commissioner told radio Dalsan.

Somaliland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation visits Kenya to discuss the New Deal with donor countries

14 Aug- Source: Somalilandpress/Somalilandsun-145 Words
Hon. Mohamed Behi Yonis, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Somaliland, travels to Kenya today on his first official visit since taking office on 27 July 2013. Minister of Foreign Affairs flew to Nairobi at the invitation of the European Union Special Envoy to Somalia, H.E. Ambassador Michele Cervone d’Urso, to continue discussions over a possible partnership between Somaliland and donor countries based on the principles of the “New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States.” The Foreign Minister will also hold meetings with the UN Resident Coordinators Office, EU member states and other donor governments. His discussions with the donor counterparts will center on the more effective use of aid in addressing Somaliland’s core development needs, with emphasis placed on promoting ownership and accountability.

Somaliland: Toghdeer Resident Urged to Support for Benefit Phase II of Oil Exploration

14 Aug- Source: Somalilandsun-241 Words
The second phase of oil exploration activities has ensued in earnest in various districts of Toghdeer Region in Somaliland.
This was revealed by the regional governor Ahmed Omar Abdilahi ‘Hamarje’ during a press briefing in his offices in the Toghdeer regional capital of Burao where he also urged resident s to accrue maximum benefits from the employment opportunities now abundant.
Said he, “I urge the resident s of Toghdeer to support ongoing oil exploration thus benefit from the various skilled and unskilled employment opportunities available”
Several international companies among them Genel energy, Petrosoma and Jacka resources are in intense activities geared towards phasing out exploration to drilling for oil of proven existence in billions of barrels of oil mostly in Toghdeer region.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Ambassador Annadif Reiterates Need For Women Empowerment, Somalia

Kuwait donates ambulance to Somalia

14 Aug- Source: Kuwait News Agency-90 Words
Kuwait Red Crescent Society has dispatched an equipped ambulance and six tons of dates by air to Somalia to help those in need for aid following wide-scale drought in the African nation. The society said in a statementon Wednesday it dug water wells, last month, in Somalia to help the natives suffering from scarcity of water. The ambulance and the dates will be delivered to a relief authority in Senak province. The Red Crescent Society thanked the Ministry of Defense for providing a military aircraft to transport the aid.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Doctors Without Borders pulls out of Somalia due to attacks

14 Aug- Source: Reuters/Yahoo News/The Star/JPost-273 Words
The international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) began closing all its humanitarian operations in Somalia on Wednesday because of attacks on its staff, the organisation said.
The withdrawal of MSF – also known as Doctors Without Borders – is a blow to the government’s effort to persuade Somalis and foreign donors that security is improving despite a stubborn Islamist insurgency. Unni Karunakara, MSF’s international president, acknowledged the charity’s departure would cut off hundreds of thousands of Somalis from medical help.
“The closure of our activities is a direct result of extreme attacks on our staff, in an environment where armed groups and civilian leaders increasingly support, tolerate or condone the killing, assaulting and abducting of humanitarian aid workers,” Karunakara told reporters in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“The withdrawal of MSF from Somalia is certainly a tragedy for all those who will no longer receive its lifesaving care. It must also be a wake-up call for the international community. The success of Somalia’s transition is far from guaranteed.”

MSF Somalia Withdrawal: A blow to Somalia’s “success story”

14 Aug- Source: Medium Blog-568 Words
In a dramatic move, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) announced today that, after 22 years, it is ending its work in Somalia. The international medical relief organization cited “extreme attacks on its staff in an environment where armed groups and civilian leaders increasingly support, tolerate, or condone the killing, assaulting, and abducting of humanitarian aid workers.” Over the past two decades, 16 MSF employees have been killed in Somalia, including two who were murdered in Mogadishu in December 2011. For years, MSF has had to negotiate with myriad armed actors in Somalia to gain both access to conflict zones and the acceptance of its work. But, according to MSF’s statement, “This acceptance…no longer exists in Somalia today.” This is a major blow to humanitarian response efforts throughout Somalia.