August 30, 2018 | Morning Headlines.
US Military Airstrike In Somalia Against Al-Shabaab Kills 3
29 August – Source: Daily Mail – 116 Words
The U.S. military says it has carried out an airstrike in Somalia against Al-Shabaab extremists, killing three fighters. The U.S. Africa Command statement says the strike was carried out on Monday about 40 kilometers (24 miles) southwest of the capital, Mogadishu.
The U.S. has carried out 21 such strikes this year against the Somalia-based Al-Shabaab. The al-Qaida-linked group is the deadliest Islamic extremist organization in sub-Saharan Africa and it often targets Mogadishu with deadly attacks.The U.S. since late last year also has carried out a number of drone strikes against a small presence of fighters linked to the Islamic State organization in the northern part of the Horn of Africa nation.
Key Headlines
- US Military Airstrike In Somalia Against Al-Shabaab Kills 3 (Daily Mail)
- Former Somali President To Return Home (Dhacdo.com)
- Hiiraan Administration Impose Curfew Following Violence In Beledweyne (Halbeeg News)
- Police Deployed In Recently Liberated Marka Town (Dhacdo.com)
- Bomb Kills 5 Kenyan Soldiers Near Somali Border (Daily Mail)
- Somali Stadium Refocuses On Sports Not Combat (VOA)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Former Somali President To Return Home
29 August – Source: Dhacdo.com – 171 Words
The immediate former Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is expected to arrive in Mogadishu on Thursday, according to some of the Federal Members of Parliament close to him. The former head of state has been outside the country since he lost the presidential election to President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo on February 2017.
Sources say there are ongoing preparations to welcome the former President. The welcoming party is spearheaded by some of his close confidants, who also happen to be current lawmakers, among them Mahad Salad. The former President’s motive of returning to the country has not yet been revealed. But it will come days before the opening of the next parliamentary session on September 10. Sheikh Mohamud is also a Member of Parliament.
Other reports indicate that during his return to Mogadishu, the former President will hold meetings with the opposition political parties to convince them to embrace his plan to form an alliance for opposition political parties. This month he met with the vocal opposition leader, Abdirahman Abdishakur, in Turkey.
Hiiraan Administration Impose Curfew Following Violence In Beledweyne
29 August – Source: Halbeeg News – 278 Words
The Hiiraan administration has announced plans to impose curfew on Beledweyne town after violence in the town claimed the lives of three people. Making the announcement following a security meeting held at a police station in the town, the governor of Hiiraan region Abdulahi Ahmed Malin, on Wednesday stated the curfew will be imposed for three nights effective from tonight.
“Hiiraan administration has decided to impose a three nights curfew on Beledweyne town so as to safeguard the overall security of the town. No one will be allowed to carry weapons along the streets of Beledweyne and I call upon the residents to abide by this decision,” said the governor.
Addressing the media after the security meeting, the commander of Beledweyne police forces, Col. Isak Ali Abdulle, explained that security would be beefed up the security in the region “to prevent anything that might hamper the security situation.” “The security forces have full orders to take stern action against anyone who violates the decisions reached aimed at improving security. We have taken this action to reduce the violence in the town.” said Col. Isak. The commander warned the public from carrying illegal weapons in the town.
At least three people were killed and five others wounded after gunfight erupted between heavily armed clan militias and security forces at Beledweyne police station on Tuesday. The clashes erupted after clan militias stormed Beledweyne police station in an attempt to abduct a soldier who was detained at the police after he killed a rickshaw driver on Monday. Angry protesters blocked main roads leading to the police station and the general hospital bringing transportation and business in the town to standstill.
Police Deployed In Recently Liberated Marka Town
29 August – Source: Dhacdo.com – 146 Words
Units of the Somali Police Forces were deployed in the recently liberated town of Marka in Lower Shabelle region. The first initial batch of the police will pave the way for more police deployment to the town, according to Lower Shabelle authorities. The police will take over security responsibility and restore law and order.
The police deployment and the improved security situation in the town have seen the return of dozens of people, who had fled from the town during the clashes between the Somali National Army and members of the militant Al-Shabaab group.
Lower Shabelle authorities expressed optimism that the deployment of the police would bring positive change to the security and order of the town. They called on the Federal Government to deploy more police officers. Yesterday, the town hosted senior government and foreign security officials, who gathered to inspect the area police station.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Bomb Kills 5 Kenyan Soldiers Near Somali Border
29 August – Source: Daily Mail – 152 Words
Five Kenyan soldiers were killed and 10 injured Wednesday when their vehicle hit a landmine on a road in a coastal area close to the Somali border: “Soldiers operating in Lamu County, while on a humanitarian civil assignment to fetch and distribute water to the residents in the area, hit an Improvised Explosive Device (IED),” the military said in a statement.
It said five soldiers “succumbed to their injuries” while 10 were being treated for injuries.
The incident occurred on a dirt road a few kilometres from the border, between the coastal village of Kiunga, where there is an airstrip, and Sankuri.
The Kenyan army has for years been present in the area in a bid to disrupt attacks by al-Qaeda linked jihadists from the Shabaab group which is fighting to overthrow the internationally-backed government in Mogadishu.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“I started my training here before joining a first division soccer team, but for many years we have been deprived off our rights to exercise, compete and train here,”
Somali Stadium Refocuses On Sports, Not Combat
29 August – Source: Voice of America – 535 Words
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has withdrawn from Mogadishu’s largest sports village, vacating what once served as a main training base for Islamist militants and returning the site’s focus to athletics.
“We are extremely happy that African Union troops have finally heard the youth requests for vacating the national stadium so it can be used again for sports events,” Khadiijo Mohamed Diirie, minister of youth and sports, said at a handover ceremony Tuesday. She also announced the government’s plans to start rebuilding the war-damaged complex “to contribute to the country’s sports, peace and youth integration.”
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed said the government would spare no effort on the restoration “in order for Somalia to regain its sporting status in Africa and at the international level.” The sports village, known as Mogadishu Stadium, is the largest in the Horn of Africa nation. Its stadium has capacity for 65,000 people.
AMISOM had stationed at least 1,200 of its 22,000 troops at the complex, but relocated them to some 20 other bases around the country to bolster military operations against al-Shabab militants.
The complex, built by Chinese in the 1970s, has witnessed less athletic competition than military training and armed combat. When civil war broke out in 1991, militia moved in. The site served as a base for various armed groups, including al-Shabab militants who recruited and trained there in 2006. They were dislodged by U.S.-backed Ethiopian troops who supported the Somali government, but returned after the troops’ 2009 withdrawal. African Union forces drove out the militants from the capital in 2011.
Hundreds of combatants have died in fighting in and near the complex, according to Somali government officials and human rights groups’ records. On Tuesday, hundreds of jubilant young people trooped into the complex to see its sports fields, swimming pools and other recreational facilities for the first time in seven years.
Some voluntarily began cleaning the grounds, littered in some places with spent bullets and the remains of disabled rocket-propelled grenades: “I was 13 years old when I last set my foot on this field, and now after seven years I am back,” said Zakariye Hassan, one of the visitors. “I was going to a faraway sports field while this stadium is only two blocks from my house.” As security improves in Mogadishu, demand for access to the facility has grown. Many young athletes and local and national sports groups hope to train there.