August 7, 2015 | Morning Headlines

Main Story

Al-Shabaab Suffers Huge Damages As Ethiopian Warplanes Hit Their Bases In Galgaduud Region

06 August – Source: Wacaal Media – 112 Words

Ethiopian war planes have carried out air raids in several areas in Galgaduud region on Thursday. Local residents told the media that Warhoole location near Elbur which is still under Al-Shabaab was among areas targeted in the heavy shelling with civilian casualties reported. Elbur district commissioner Nur Hassan Guutale told the local media that the aerial raids caused a lot of damage to the militants whose bases were hit. He urged locals to stay away from areas frequented by the militants. Ethiopian forces who are part of the AMISOM mission were of late carrying out aerial raids to supplement efforts by the ground forces in Bay, Bakool and Galgaduud regions.

Key Headlines

Al-Shabaab Suffers Huge Damages As Ethiopian Warplanes Hit Their Bases In Galgaduud region(Wacaal Media)
Election Committee Sets Out Criteria For Jubaland Presidency (Garowe Online)
Yemen Fishing Vessel Sinks Off Somalia Coast (Horseed Media)
Somalia Set To Join League Of Countries That Banned FGM (Somali Current)
Nothing To Celebrate So Far As Jubbaland Delegation Continues With Series Of Closed Door Meetings In Doolow (Wacaal Media)
Kenyan Troops Should Stay In Somalia Says Maman Sidikou (Daily Nation)
Kenya Gets US Funds For Counter-terror War (Defence News)
Voluntary Repatriation of Somali Refugees Begins (Voice of America)
Puntland Seeks Resources As Somali Militants Enter Its Territory (Reuters)
Ice Cream And ATMs: A Glimpse Of Hope For War-torn Mogadishu (Dalje.com)
AMISOM Head of Mission Speaks On The Progress In Somalia (AMISOM)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Election Committee Sets Out Criteria For Jubaland Presidency

06 August – Source: Garowe Online – 257 Words

Eight-member parliamentary election committee has unveiled criteria for candidates vying for Jubaland presidency on Thursday, Garowe Online reports. With nine days left to the date set for presidential election, electoral board members set 10 requirements that candidates must fulfill. A letter by the parliamentary committee reads that candidates should be Jubaland natives, practicing Muslims, mentality sane, never indicted with crime in the past, must have educational and leadership credentials, not younger than the age of 40 and ethically sound. Electoral board chairperson MP Habibo Mohamed Abdulle also set out the collection of a registration fee amounting to USD 7000.00 for candidates seeking the office the president.

Jubaland presidential election is due to be held on August 15 in the southern port city of Kismayo. On Tuesday, parliament selected eight commissioners for the election commission. 300 delegates representing Lower Jubba, Middle Jubba and Gedo regions unanimously passed a regional constitution, paving the way for the first-ever draft to be adopted since Jubaland inception on Saturday. Jubaland leader Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe) has in advance written to the parliament, asking that election date be postponed from August 15. Madobe and Gen. Abdullahi Sheikh Ismael (Fartag) were elected President and Vice President respectively following a month-long convention in Kismayo in May 2013. As a result of IGAD-brokered bilateral talks in Addis Ababa, Jubaland officially gained its recognition from Mogadishu-based Federal Government in August 2013. Incumbent Madobe whose forces along with Kenyan-AMISOM peacekeepers liberated strategic Kismayo port city is said to be planning re-election bid.

Yemen Fishing Vessel Sinks Off Somalia Coast

06 August – Source: Horseed Media – 225 Words

A Yemeni-owned fishing vessel has sank off the coast of Somalia’s semi-autonomous state of Puntland. Efforts to rescue crew members is reported to be going on, authorities have said.The Al-Amal trawler — a commercial fishing vessel with North Korean flag — with 34 crew members from Yemen, Kenya, Indonesia and Vietnam sunk on Wednesday evening in an area which is some 5-miles from the former pirate stronghold of Eyl, said Abdirizak Mohammed Dirir, Puntland’s Director of Anti-piracy agency.

He added that the ship was illegally doing fishing activities in Somalia waters since last year and had been granted a ‘’false license’’. Puntland’s Marine Forces managed to reach the scene after few hours, with the coast guard investigating reasons behind the sinking of the vessel. Little is known about the situation of the 34 crew members. Rescue efforts are still been carried out by the Puntland coast guard.

For decades, foreign trawlers from Europe and other parts of the world have traveled to Somalia waters to take what they can without permission or licenses. They use efficient mechanical equipment, taking massive numbers of fish stocks. It is estimated that Somalia loses more than $200 million per year because of illegal fishing. Puntland is battling to curb illegal fishing, which is threatening fishing stocks and the lives of hundreds of local fishermen.

Somalia Set To Join League Of Countries That Banned FGM

06 August – Source: Somali Current – 235 Words

The federal government of Somalia is planning to abolish Female Genital Mutilation in the country after it emerged that a worrying number of girls under the age of puberty meet the knife. Speaking to the media in the capital Mogadishu, the minister for gender Sahra Mohamed Ali Samatar hinted that there was a bill in the pipeline seeking to ban the practice in the country. The practice which is seen as a rite of passage in many countries across the world is overwhelmingly practised in the developing world. In May this year, 18 African countries banned the exercise among them Benin, Mali, Central African republic, Egypt and South Africa.

“Time has come for us to eradicate this disaster of a national proportion in order to save our girls and women,” Sahra said, adding that a bill to be presented to the Federal Parliament was on the making. If the federal government passes the law, it will follow in the footsteps of Puntland, a federal region in Somalia that banned the practice last year after the top religious leaders passed a Fatwa declaring the exercise as a forbidden practice, saying amputating part of a human body without a medical reason was haraam. Female Genital Mutilation is also banned in the neighbouring Kenya where the practice can result in a jail term of at least 15 years.

Nothing To Celebrate So Far As Jubbaland Delegation Continues With Series Of Closed Door Meetings In Doolow

06 August – Source: Wacaal Media – 146 Words

A high level delegation from Jubbaland led by head of State Ahmed Mohamed Islam has been camping in Gedo region’s Doolow district for the last two days holding a series of meetings with stakeholders in the area. Sources indicate that the team are meeting the elders, women and the youth as well as local politicians, religious and opinion leaders in a bid to convince them to rally behind the Madoobe led administration. However it is understood that a section of the locals are opposed to the Jubbaland administration. The delegation was also paving the way for the creation of both district and provincial administration in Gedo region after getting the green light from the locals. There were no tangible results on the issues under consideration at the time of going to press as both sides did not speak to the media about the progress of the meeting.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Kenyan Troops Should Stay In Somalia, Says Maman Sidikou

06 August – Source: Daily Nation -499 Words

The withdrawal of Kenyan troops from Somalia will compromise the fight against terrorism in the Horn of Africa, an African Union special envoy said on Thursday. Dr Maman Sidikou, the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia, said Kenyan troops were an integral part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom). Kenya Defence Forces, he said, have played a major role in liberating parts of Somalia from the control of Al-Shabaab extremists. “The Kenyan soldiers and those from other countries are playing their part in stabilising and bringing peace to Somalia not only for the benefit of the country but also for Africa as a whole. This is not the time to politicise the issue, our soldiers need our support and we must remain united,” said Dr Sidikou.

The Kenyan troops were instrumental in the recent recapture of key towns of Bardhere and Dinsoor, which were formerly under the control of Al-Shabaab. Dr Sidikou’s remarks mirror those made by the US President Barrack Obama, who while visiting Kenya, thanked the government for donating troops to Amisom to help fight terrorism and stabilise Somalia. Mr Obama also promised US support to Amisom, saying defeating terrorists in Somalia was one of the top agenda of the international community. The US government gave the Kenya Defence Forces Sh9.5 billion this financial year to enhance the fight against Al-Shabaab. Members of the opposition, led by Cord leader Raila Odinga, have been calling for the withdrawal of KDF from Somalia, saying Kenya’s participation in the war is attracting attacks from Al-Shabaab.

Kenya Gets US Funds For Counter-terror War

06 August – Source: Defence News – 506 Words

The US has donated 9.5 billion Kenyan shillings (US $92.4 million) to the Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF) to fund soldier training and new equipment acquisitions and sustain the counter-terror war against Somali militant group al-Shabab. Speaking at a joint press conference with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at the end of his visit to Nairobi, US President Barrack Obama said July 25 that the fund is part of a broader bilateral security cooperation project meant to increase US military support for the KDF fight against terrorism in Somalia. “Today we discussed deepening security cooperation between our governments and signed an action plan in which we will support Kenya’s judiciary, police and border security,” Obama said. “We also discussed broader efforts to counter violent extremism here in Kenya and around the world.”

The new allocation is a 163 percent increase in US funding for the KDF counter-terror war, up from 3.8 billion shillings donated for the same purpose last year. From the 9.5 billion shillings, an estimated 2.52 billion shillings will be used to provide for the Kenyan Rangers Regiment, a KDF special operatsions unit which is leading the fight against al-Shabab. Among other projects, the money will be used to train, equip and provide logistical support for border security forces; support interagency intelligence sharing and gathering; and improve force protection by providing explosives detection equipment and troop carriers built to withstand improvised bomb attacks.

Unnamed KDF officials told media in Nairobi that 1.9 billion shillings will be used to buy UAVs for use in border surveillance operations along the Somali border. Kenya says the porous border allows al-Shabab gunmen to enter Kenyan territory and carry out attacks such as the June 2013 siege of a Nairobi shopping mall, in which 67 people were killed. A similar attack at Garissa University near to the northeastern border with Somalia killed 147 people in April. Al-Shabab says the attacks are aimed at forcing the KDF to withdraw from Somalia. Apart from the US package, the KDF has an acquisition plan reflected in Kenya’s 2014-2015 budget, which allocated $205.6 million for the procurement of 10 new military helicopters. An additional $12.6 million is for the refurbishment of three grounded Russian-made Mi-17 attack helicopters, while $11.4 million will be spent on leasing 10 helicopters for the Kenyan Police Service Air Wing to widen national airspace surveillance operations.

Voluntary Repatriation of Somali Refugees Begins

06 August – Source: Voice of America – 467 Words

The arrival Wednesday at Mogadishu International airport of 116 Somali refugees from a Kenyan camp marks a first step in efforts to repatriate greater numbers of Somali refugees from Kenya, the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said. An agreement by a Tripartite Commission, made up of the UNHCR, Kenya and Somalia, envisions the voluntary repatriation of some 425,000 Somali refugees from Kenya over a five-year period. Most of the refugees – 330,000 – are living in Dadaab, the largest refugee settlement in the world.

Many of the refugees have been there since the 1990s and have given birth to children who have never been to Somalia. The return of the 116 Somali refugees follows a pilot repatriation program begun in December, which has successfully returned 3,000 refugees to the relatively safe districts of Luuq, Baidoa and Kismayo. UNHCR spokeswoman Karin de Gruijl told VOA the refugees are receiving some money, food, seeds and other assistance. But, she acknowledges the situation in Somalia is far from ideal. “The social-economic situation is very, very difficult and the situation is not there yet for loads and loads of people to return at this moment,” de Gruijl said. “The security situation in Somalia remains precarious. That is why we are targeting the returns to specific areas where we feel that there is more stability and we hope with development projects, with the return of refugees these areas of stability may grow and counter that,” she said.

Under the new Tripartite Commission agreement, de Gruijl said these areas have been increased to nine districts in south central regions of Somalia. Refugees who voluntarily return there and to areas in Somaliland and Puntland will receive assistance to help them integrate in their new lives, she added. De Gruijl said one of the reasons some refugees want to return to their homes of origin is that life in the Dadaab refugee camp is becoming more difficult. She said aid agencies, such as the World Food Program (WFP), are running out of money and have to cut back on their assistance. “WFP has just announced that it is going to reduce or has actually already reduced its food rations by 30 percent. Refugees in the camps are not allowed to leave the camps, so it definitely is not a good living situation and there is very little hope for the future,” de Gruijl said.

Puntland Seeks Resources As Somali Militants Enter Its Territory

06 August – Source: Reuters – 357 Words

Somalia’s Puntland region needs more help from the central government and the African Union to fight al Shabaab militants, especially equipment and ammunition, the president of the semi-autonomous region has said. Al Shabaab, which controlled Mogadishu and southern Somalia until it was driven out of the capital in 2011, has been pushed out of major strongholds by the Somali army and the African Union peacekeeping force AMISOM. It has regrouped in the Galgala hills of Puntland, outside the AMISOM area of operation.

AMISOM is largely funded by Western powers who want the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, which aims to overthrow the government and impose its strict version of sharia law, to be driven out.”We do not need AMISOM forces because Puntland forces have the ability to fight al Shabaab,” President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali told Reuters in an interview. “But we need to be assisted with military equipment, telecommunication, military vehicles, weapons and ammunitions.” “These are what we need from AMISOM and we have the right to get all these,” Ali said on Tuesday. “Why are Mogadishu forces assisted and why are Puntland forces not assisted? This shows the unfairness in Somalia’s federal government.”

OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE

“We are presently carrying out an operation which, as you may be aware, is code-named operation juba corridor. It involves removing Al Shabaab from the Juba Corridor which lies within the Gedo, Bay and Bakool regions. This operation will further weaken Al Shabaab as we recover more towns and villages from them. Even more important is the fact that we will be liberating the residents of these towns and villages from the agony of living under the tyranny of Al-Shabaab.”

AMISOM Head of Mission Speaks On The Progress In Somalia

06 August – Source: AMISOM – Video – 5:17 Minutes

The Special Representative of the AU Commission Chairperson for Somalia and Head of AMISOM Amb. Maman Sidikou has today noted the tremendous progress Somalia has made on the political, economic and security fronts. He was speaking today during a media engagement meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. Since it was deployed in 2007, he noted, AMISOM has progressively changed the face of the country, not just by creating an increasingly more secure environment, but also by enabling significant progress in the political development of the country.

“For the first time since 1991, modern imported products like energy drinks are for sale here. ‘Security has improved greatly. That gave the people, especially the business community, confidence to keep their places open, even at night time’.”

Ice Cream And ATMs: A glimpse of hope for war-torn Mogadishu

06 August – Source: Dalje.com – 724 Words

After two decades of anarchy and fighting between rival warlords, Somalia is a failed state. But in the capital Mogadishu, gradual economic recovery has started to normalize people’s lives previously dominated by conflict. After two decades of anarchy and fighting between rival warlords, Somalia is a failed state. But in the capital Mogadishu, gradual economic recovery has started to normalize people’s lives previously dominated by conflict. Mogadishu (dpa) – Couples are walking leisurely along the rocky shoreline, bathers splash in the waves, young boys kick a ball in the sand. Under a row of shady umbrellas, beachfront restaurants serve seafood and tea. Only four years ago, Lido Beach was a dangerous no-go zone in Somalia’s war-torn capital, Mogadishu. Islamist militant group al-Shabaab partially controlled the city. Violence and bloodshed confined people to their homes.

Today, hundreds of families come to relax on Mogadishu’s coastline each weekend. Hotels are being built along the shore and restaurants have opened, while vendors sell ice cream on the beach. “I was born and raised in a hostile environment, in Mogadishu, now we see a promising future,” Asho Elmi tells dpa while lugging a heavy cooler box filled with soft drinks and ice cream along Lido Beach. “The fear has gone. We work here until 9:30 pm” when the sun goes down, the 20-year-old says. Somalia suffered two decades of anarchy and fighting between rival warlords after the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991. Only since an internationally-backed government was installed in 2012 and al-Shabaab pushed out of Mogadishu and other strongholds has the East African nation of roughly 10 million people become more stable.

Its economy grew by 3.7 per cent in 2014, with growth projected to reach 2.7 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). “Even though the political and security situations remain challenging, Somalia has made tremendous progress,” the IMF announced in late July. Mogadishu’s construction industry is booming. Multi-storey buildings are being erected in the city centre, while the bullet-riddled facades the capital was famous for are disappearing behind new coats of plaster and paint. Visitors now have a choice of more than 200 hotels in Mogadishu, up from a mere 12 in 2012. In the heart of the city, Bakaraha Market with its hundreds of shops selling fruit and vegetables, clothes and household goods – once a battlefield between peacekeeping troops and al-Shabaab terrorists – has again become a bustling commercial district where residents do their daily shopping and chat in small restaurants and coffee houses.