August 25, 2015 | Morning Headlines
UN Envoy: Somalia Can’t Afford More Political Bickering
24 August – Source: Voice of America – 307 Words
The United Nations envoy to Somalia, Nicholas Kay, is criticizing an effort by some Somali lawmakers to impeach the president. He said with an election coming up and Al-Shabaab militants still active, Somalia cannot lose time to the political bickering that has brought down governments in the past. In recent days, members of Somalia’s parliament have been working around the clock to impeach President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud. The lawmakers accuse him of violating the constitution. The crisis has the international community worried that Somalia may not be able to hold national elections scheduled for next year. In an interview with VOA, Kay said that while the U.N. respects the right of any parliament to hold institutions to account, Somalia cannot afford to lose more time on another political crisis.
“We also recognize that the United Nations Security Council has expressed a very clear view that Somalia should have an electoral process in 2016, it should not extend of the mandate, and from where I sit it’s very difficult to see how an impeachment motion will allow those targets to be met because of the delay and protracted crisis that it will cause,” said Kay. Political disputes often tied to power struggles and clan rivalries have brought down several Somali presidents and prime ministers over the past decade. The current crisis began when some legislators called for the president to step down for failing to address growing insecurity and the killing of several lawmakers by Al-Shabaab. Many Somalis say they hope that in the 2016 election, they will have a chance to elect leaders of their choice, but Kay said that seems increasingly unlikely. The envoy calls on Somali government institutions to keep functioning and work on priorities they set for themselves, like the constitutional review process, which he says are crucial to state-building and good governance.
Key Headlines
- UN Envoy: Somalia Can’t Afford More Political Bickering
- Security Forces Arrest Al-Shabaab Fighters Amid Attack On Lower Shabelle Village (Somali Update)
- Mogadishu’s Mayor Officially Opens New Tarmac Road In Warta-Nabada (Goobjoog News )
- Puntland President Meets Ethiopian Traders On Economic Integration (Villa Puntland)
- Combat Between Government Soldiers And Al-Shabaab In Gedo Region (Radio Dalsan)
- Somalia Police Steps Up Security Measures In Jowhar (Shabelle News)
- AU Says Terror Attacks Will Not Derail Efforts To Stabilize Somalia (Shanghai Daily)
- Kenya Accused Of Ethnically Profiling Somali Minority (World Bulletin )
- Somali-American Helps Others Adjust To Life In US (The Boston Globe)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Security Forces Arrest Al-Shabaab Fighters Amid Attack On Lower Shabelle Village
24 August – Source: Somali Update – 133 Words
Somalia’s security forces foiled an attack on a remote village in Lower Shabelle region on Sunday and arrested a number of Al-Shabaab fighters during an operation to secure the area, Governor Abdikadir Mohamed Nur Siidii said. He said the militants ambushed Mareerey, a small village outside Afgooye town but were foiled by the security forces.”National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) reinforcement made possible to foil the terrorist attack. We have now a number of the fighters in jail.” he added. Al-Shabaab militants on Sundayafternoon took control of villages near Mareerey, according to local sources but were repulsed by the security forces. In a propaganda website, Al-Shabaab claimed its fighters scaled up operation in Mogadishu suburbs.
Mogadishu’s Mayor Officially Opens New Tarmac Road In Warta-Nabada
24 August – Source: Goobjoog News – 159 Words
The Mayor of Mogadishu, Hassan Hussein (Mungaab) and the Banadir region officials have laid out a foundation for a new paved road in Warta-Nabadda district in the Somali capital. The event was attended by a high level government delegation comprising of ministers, district and provincial administration officers, elders and the general public who were excited about the new road. This new road is set to be implemented in the town has been funded by the local government of Banadir.The district is also expected to have several other new paved tarmac roads in the coming years.“Roads play a major role in security, it also changes the flow of traffic and people which is very important,” said the mayor. “Several other roads are under construction and will soon be launched” he added.The new road is expected to take part of the beauty and the image of the town and is part of ongoing developments in the city.
Puntland President Meets Ethiopian Traders On Economic Integration
24 August – Source: Villa Puntland – 115 Words
The President of Puntland Government Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas has today received a delegation from Ethiopia. The delegation led by Ethiopian envoy to Somalia, among them Ethiopian diplomats and traders, met with the president in his official residence in Galkayo. The delegation were cordially welcomed in Puntland following invitation extended by Puntland’s Ministry of Commerce. According to a statement released from the state house, the president conferred with the delegation on important matters pertaining economic integration between Puntland and Ethiopia.The Delegation and the president have agreed on terms intended to enhance the economic amalgamation between the two sides.
Combat Between Government Soldiers And Al-Shabaab In Gedo Region
24 August – Source: Radio Dalsan – 127 Words
Reports coming in from Gedo region southwest of the capital Mogadishu say that heavy fighting has on Monday morning taken place at Qodaxey location in the region. Qodaxey which comes under Bardhere district was recently liberated from Al-Shabaab after having been in control for more than 8 years. “The fight erupted just immediately after daybreak and it lasted for some hours. “So far I have seen 7 bodies and wounded persons of 10, the casualties might be more than that, but that is what I have witnessed” a local resident in Qodaxey who requested anonymity told Radio Dalsan. The witness also added that there were no civilian casualties at all. So far the two battling sides have not given out comments regarding the fight between them.
Somalia Police Steps Up Security Measures In Jowhar
24 August – Source: Shabelle News – 125 Words
The Somali Police Force have launched an operation in an agricultural-rich town of Jowhar which lies 90km north of Somalia capital, Mogadishu.The crackdown took place in several villages in the town where the police have been checking private owned cars and pedestrians, in a bid to thwart Al-Shabaab attempts. Jowhar District Commissioner, Abdukadir Abdulle Mohamed told Shabelle Media based in Mogadishu that the investigation was successfully carried out in the neighborhoods of the town.“No one was arrested during the crackdown because this operation is conducted 2 days in the week in order to improve security in the town” Mohamed said. Jowhar is currently under the control of Somalia troops, along with African Union forces from Uganda and Burundi.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AU Says Terror Attacks Will Not Derail Efforts To Stabilize Somalia
24 August – Source: Shanghai Daily – 253 Words
The African Union envoy to Somalia on Sunday condemned Saturday’s terror attack in southern port city of Kismayo which left at least 16 people dead and 30 others injured. The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the AU Commission (SRCC) for Somalia Maman Sidikou said the attacks on Somali army recruits at their training camp and others will not derail their efforts to stabilize the Horn of Africa nation. “This barbaric act confirms that the aim of ‘Al-Shabaab’ which is to destroy and not to build. “I commiserate with the families of those killed and wounded,” Sidikou said in a statement released in Mogadishu. The AU envoy who is also the head of AMISOM described the attack as a heinous act, meant to derail the government’s efforts to build strong security institutions.
He said the attack has yet again robbed Somalia, which has been struggling to reconstruct, of some of the country’s most productive youths. “To Al-Shabaab, I say, we will not relent. “We will continue with the momentum to rebuild Somali National Army and other security institutions until the country becomes self-reliant in that regard,” Sidikou said. A Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) was hurled in the compound where newly recruited soldiers are being trained in southern port city of Kismayo, killing several of them and injuring others. Somali militants ‘al-Shabaab’ claimed responsibility for the latest attack after a few days lull in southern part of the country where Africa Union and Somali forces have intensified air strikes in the past weeks.
Kenya Accused Of Ethnically Profiling Somali Minority
24 August – Source: World Bulletin – 583
When a series of terror attacks hit Kenya in 2014, the government launched a security operation aimed at unmasking terror cells and sympathizers in Kenya. The operation saw some 4,000 ethnic Somalis detained in the capital Nairobi, leading to an outcry from human rights activists. “I was arrested just because I am an ethnic Somali, despite being a Kenyan citizen. I was detained at the Kasarani detention camp,” said Saadiq Mohamed, 21, a professional Kenyan-Somali footballer, recalling the 2014 crackdown. Mohamed was reportedly arrested in his neighborhood for not having his ID on him. Kenya has been threatened by the Somali militant group Al-Shabaab since sending troops into Somalia in 2011. The crackdown targeted Somali refugees living in Nairobi’s Eastleigh district, but some Kenyan-ethnic Somalis were also caught up in the operation and detained by their own government.
The Kenyan-Somali population was over two million in the 2010 census making it the sixth largest ethnic group in Kenya. Somali refugees and nationals on the other hand are estimated to be about half a million, according to the United Nations. Kenyan-Somalis make up almost a third of the population in the northeastern region, an area that has remained marginalized for years. Kenya suspended the issuance of national IDs in the ethnic Somali region of the country to put a stop to the alleged illegal registration of Somali refugees as Kenyan citizens. “We know our government is concerned about criminal elements from Somalia acquiring Kenyan IDs, but doing this at the expense of its citizens is uncalled for and is against their rights as citizens of Kenya,” said Mohamed Nurdin, a Kenyan-Somali human rights activist.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Twice a week, the youths learn in a Harvard classroom — for free. Participating in Pre-Texts, a Harvard-affiliated literacy program, the teens use creative techniques to interpret literature and lead classes themselves, under the supervision of Pre-Text facilitators. Raekwon Rogers, 15, directed a class last month, dividing his peers into groups who then scrawled tweets across a chalkboard. Each message was written from the perspective of a character that appeared in an excerpt from a novel about refugees.”
Somali-American Helps Others Adjust To Life In US
24 August – Source: The Boston Globe – 983 Words
Said Ahmed remembers the desert winds of Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya surrounded by miles of sand and scrub. He remembers arriving in Boston when he was a boy of 12, dazzled by the city skyline and by joggers along the Charles River. Now 32, the former track star helps a new generation adjust to America. United Somali Youth, founded by Ahmed in 2009, provides support systems and life skills to children of African immigrants. The program has grown from 100 youngsters in 2009 to 500 this summer with 35 teen employees. The organization, funded by Boston Centers for Youth & Families, the Boston Foundation, and donations from Somali-American businesses, has drawn a range of children — the majority of them Somali, Ahmed said, but many hailing from other countries across Africa. Most are boys, but there are some girls.
Ahmed escaped his small Somali town in 1990, when warring clans pitched the country into a power struggle. Leaving behind a land on the brink of civil war, Ahmed, then 7 years old, fled with his family to Ethiopia, bouncing to two Kenyan refugee camps before heading to Boston. But after enduring desert climes where food and shoes were scarce, he had another hurdle to face: He “couldn’t speak a word of English.” While Ahmed, who became a two-time Olympic trials finalist, developed a support system through involvement in high school sports, other immigrant children haven’t been so lucky. Now a student and family engagement coordinator at Excel High School, Ahmed said he sees African students get labeled as “slow” learners simply because their level of English isn’t up to par. “I couldn’t stand to have kids in my community struggling with life, school, work, and court systems,” Ahmed said. “If we don’t invest in the leaders of tomorrow, then how would we have a bright future?”