August 15, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

AMISOM will work closely with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) to investigate allegation of rape against its soldiers in Maslah

15 Aug – Source: AMISOM – 284 words

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is investigating allegations of rape made against its soldiers in the Somali town of Maslah. AMISOM and the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) have formed a joint team to investigate the matter and appropriate action will be taken once the facts of the case have been established.

The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia and Head of AMISOM, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif said AMISOM takes the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse seriously.

“Our primary role is to protect the civilian population. AMISOM personnel are ambassadors of peace in Somalia and are expected to demonstrate the highest levels of integrity” he said. Ambassador Annadif noted that the majority of AMISOM troops have conducted themselves honourably in Somalia and have contributed to improving the well being of ordinary Somalis.

“Issues of sexual exploitation and abuse as well as the utmost respect for Somali culture are a crucially important part of the training every AMISOM personnel receives prior to deployment. This is reinforced during the course of our stay in the country” he added.

“As we have done in the past, we will take appropriate action against any soldier found to have contravened the African Union Code of Conduct,” said Ambassador Annadif, while at the same time appealing to the Somali people for patience as the investigations are being carried out in close collaboration with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS).

He further noted that the support of AMISOM troops have been crucial in helping the Somalia National Security Forces push the al Qaeda-affiliated terror group, al Shabaab, out of most of the major towns and cities of south and central Somalia.

Key Headlines

At least two wounded in Mogadishu car explosion ( Radio Bar-kulan)
MSF decision to leave Somalia ‘impacts health sector in Puntland’: Minister
AU troops accused of Somalia gang rape ( New Vision)
Confrontations between armed men and al Shabaab in Galgadud region (Shabelle)
Somali NOC new headquarters under construction (Somaliweyn)
Somalia ‘gang rape’ investigated by African Union (BBC)
MSF wIthdraws from Somalia accuses government of complicity of attacks on aid workers
( AFP)

PRESS RELEASE

AMISOM will work closely with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) to investigate allegation of rape against its soldiers in Maslah

15 Aug – Source: AMISOM – 284 words

SOMALI MEDIA

At least two wounded in Mogadishu car explosion

15 Aug – Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Shabelle – 84 words

A blast took place at Bakara market in the Somali capital, Mogadishu after an explosive device placed in a car detonated on Wednesday, wounding at least two. Smoke rising from the scene of the blast could be seen in many parts of the city. Traders in Bakara market confirmed that the car belonged to a well-known businessman who is among those injured. Reports add that Somali Federal government immediately arrived and cordoned off the scene of the incident.

MSF decision to leave Somalia ‘impacts health sector in Puntland’: Minister

15 Aug – Source: Garowe Online – 97 words

The Health Ministry of Somalia’s northern Puntland state has expressed concern about the closure of Medecins Sans Frontieres’ (MSF) medical programs in Somalia, Garowe Online reports. Speaking to the media in Garowe on Wednesday evening, Puntland Health Minister Dr. Ali Abdullahi Warsame said that the suspension of MSF assistance will “impact health sector in Puntland”, as MSF has been providing medical assistance to Galkayo General Hospital and other health facilities in Puntland for many years. Minister Warsame said the MSF decision might “hamper our efforts” of upgrading the region’s health services including to extend medical programs.

Confrontations between armed men and al Shabaab in Galgadud region

15 Aug – Source: Shabelle – 81 words

News from El bur town in Galgadud region confirm that armed men and al Shabaab fighters fought each otheron Wednesday. Residents have confirmed that at least 3 fighters have been killed during the fighting and three others sustained serious injuries. Other sources report that those killed were all al Shabaab fighters including a high ranking official known as Dega yare. Reports added that al Shabaab fighters attacked the armed men who recently ambushed a truck transporting goods.

Somali NOC new headquarters under construction

15 Aug – Source: Somaliweyn – 86 words

Somali National Olympic committee officials have visited the new headquarters of the country’s highest sports-governing body which is under construction. Somali NOC secretary General Duran Ahmed Farah who briefed the media on the construction said that this will be the first ever Somali NOC headquarters built in the country. The officials include: Somali NOC president Abdullahi Ahmed Tarabi, his secretary General Duran Ahmed Farah, Somali Boxing Federation President Haji Mohamed Ahmed Olow, Gal-Mudug Semiautonomous State sports Minister Sadeq Dahir Mire and his regional sports chair Ayanle Dualeh.

REGIONAL MEDIA

AU troops accused of Somalia gang rape

15 Aug- Source: New Vision-238 Words
The African Union force fighting in Somalia is investigating the alleged gang rape of a woman by its soldiers, a case that has sparked outrage in Mogadishu, the AU said Thursday. A Somali woman has alleged she was abducted, drugged and then repeatedly raped earlier this month by soldiers from both the Somali national army and from AMISOM, the 17,700-strong African Union force that supports the internationally-backed government. “AMISOM is aware of the allegations levelled against its troops,” the force said in a statement. A joint AMISOM and Somali army team has been set up “to investigate the matter and appropriate action will be taken once the facts of the case have been established,” the statement added. The AU mission “strongly condemns any incidents of alleged sexual abuse or exploitation”, it said. AU troops, including soldiers from five nations — Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Uganda — have been fighting against al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgents in Somalia since 2007.

MSF pulls out of Somalia

15 Aug – Source: Arab News – 114 words

Medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) closed all its operations in war-torn Somalia on Wednesday, warning of growing insecurity, after 22 years of working in the Horn of Africa troubles pot. “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,” MSF president Unni Karunakara told reporters. The pullout by MSF, an aid agency that has earned a reputation for working in the toughest of conditions, is major blow to the reputation of the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu and will affect hundreds of thousands of people.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia ‘gang rape’ investigated by African Union

15 Aug – Source: BBC – 104 words

The African Union force in Somalia has said it is investigating an alleged gang rape involving its troops in the capital, Mogadishu. A Somali woman has alleged she was abducted, drugged and repeatedly raped earlier this month by officers from the national army and the AU force. The allegation has caused outrage in Mogadishu, and there have been protests by women activists. Rights groups says rape and sexual abuse is a growing problem in Somalia. Those living in camps for people displaced by conflict and the 2011 famine are most vulnerable, with many cases of rape going unreported because women fear stigma and reprisal.

MSF wIthdraws from Somalia, accuses government of complicity of attacks on aid workers

15 Aug – Source: AFP – 123 words

For more than two decades, despite war and chaos and the murder of 16 of its aid workers, Doctors Without Borders has maintained its crucial medical aid to Somalia. But now a new wave of extreme attacks has pushed it into an unprecedented response: closing down all of its clinics and hospitals in the impoverished country. The agency, also known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said the “last straw” came when it discovered that some of Somalia’s official authorities were supporting or condoning the lethal attacks on its aid workers. In one shocking case, the convicted killer of two MSF aid workers was mysteriously freed from prison and vanished into the streets after serving only three months of a 30-year sentence, it said.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Somalis fare much worse than other immigrants; what holds them back?”

Britain’s Somalis: The road is long

155 Aug- Source: The Economist-822 Words
BARBER shops are excellent places for gossip. Hassan Ali’s place in Kentish Town is no different. The north Londoner arrived in Britain from Somalia with dreams of becoming a mechanic. But he was good at cutting hair: you do whatever work you can, he says. Most Somalis—Britain’s largest refugee population—do not work. They are among the poorest, worst-educated and least-employed in Britain. In a country where other refugees have flourished, why do Somalis do so badly? The first Somalis to arrive in Britain, over a century ago, were economic migrants. Merchant seamen settled in cities with docks: Cardiff, Liverpool and London. As civil war ravaged Somalia in the 1990s, refugees flocked to Britain. In 1999, the high-water mark, 7,495 Somalis arrived (11% of the refugees that arrived in Britain that year). Since then, the influx has slowed (see first chart); it still leaves a large community. The 2011 census identified 101,370 people in England and Wales who were born in Somalia.