August 8, 2016 | Morning Headlines
The Date For The Next Election In Somalia Is Proclaimed
07 August – Source: Somali National News Agency – 106 Words
The Chairman of the Federal Indirect Election Technical Committee of Somalia, Omar Mohamed Abdulle on Sunday addressed the media, sharing details about the elections during a press conference held in Mogadishu. Abdulle announced that Upper House elections will take place on the 25th of September, a day after the Lower House is scheduled to be elected. He added that the Speaker of the House will be elected on the 25th of October, while the presidential election will take place on the 30th of October 2016.
Key Headlines
- The Date For The Next Election In Somalia Is Proclaimed (SONNA)
- Middle Shabelle And Hiiraan State To Be Formed Before September Polls-Interior Minister (Goobjoog News)
- Huge Blast Heard In Mogadishu (Shabelle News)
- Somali President Calls For Enhanced Coordination Between AMISOM And Somali Forces (Goobjoog News)
- Jubbaland Police Officers Undergo Training On Gender-based Violence (AMISOM)
- AU Somali Troops Map Out New Strategies To Fight Al-Shabaab (Xinhua)
- Emotions Mixed For Two-Person Somali Olympic Team (Voice of America)
PRESS STATEMENT
African Union Special Representative Congratulates The People Of Somalia For Agreeing On Election Dates
07 August – Source: AMISOM – 213 Words
The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC), Ambassador Francisco Madeira, has congratulated the Somali people for agreeing on an electoral process timetable that will culminate in the election of a new president on October 30, 2016. The SRCC, who is also the head of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), said the Mission would work with the people of Somalia in ensuring the process is held in an atmosphere of peace and stability.
“AMISOM will use its resources to support the people of Somalia and ensure that the Federal Indirect Electoral Implementation Team (FIEIT) carries out a credible and transparent process that will result in a new parliament, speaker and president for Somalia,” Ambassador Madeira said. The SRCC also called on the Somali people to take advantage of the electoral schedule to fully participate in the election of a new parliament that will be a foundation for the next poll in 2020 when one-person one-vote system will be fully implemented.
NATIONAL MEDIA
Middle Shabelle And Hiiraan State To Be Formed Before September Polls-Interior Minister
07 August – Source: Goobjoog News – 107 Words
Mohamed Hussein Odowaa the Minister of Interior for the Federal Government of Somalia, has said that the regional state for Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions will be formed before the country heads for the polls later this year. “I am very optimistic that this will be concluded before the forthcoming national election.”
The minister noted that his ministry was highly committed to the process of forming a regional state for the two states. “We are still engaged in the formation of a regional administration for Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions and the Somali government is giving high consideration to this issue, ” said Minister Odowa. The Minister added that his ministry will arrange meetings between the politicians and the intellectuals from the two regions to discuss the formation process.
Huge Blast Heard In Mogadishu
08 August – Source: Shabelle News – 112 Words
A huge explosion was heard on Sunday night in the downtown of Mogadishu’s busiest street known as Makka Al Mukarama road. Initial reports suggest that a bomb concealed under a luxury car’s seat exploded on the street. Other reports of the blast being caused by a hand grenade were also reported.
The details of the casualty figures is still unclear as local police officers sealed off the area around the blast site as they launched a manhunt to trace the culprits. No group or individual has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb attack. However Al-Shabaab militants have in the past carried out similar attacks in the city.
Somali President Calls For Enhanced Coordination Between AMISOM And Somali Forces
07 August – Source: Goobjoog News – 203 Words
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has called for enhanced coordination between AMISOM and Somali forces to better execute security operations in the country. President Mohamud, who received AMISOM Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Osman Soubagleh and SNA Chief of Defence Forces, Mohamed Aden Ahmed at the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu, emphasized on the need to support stabilization of the newly recovered towns, especially clearing access routes to facilitate free movement of people and goods.
Mohamud thanked AMISOM for the sacrifice and commitment it has exhibited towards supporting the people of Somalia. He spoke of the extensive progress made so far, with massive security gains made, which can be built on to ensure stability in the country. The President noted that improving the security of the country and institutional building for the Somali National Army and Somali Police Force both at national level and regional level are key priorities for government. He called for more support towards empowering them to grow into strong bodies capable of defending the country.
AMISOM and SNA have recently carried out attacks on Al-Shabaab bases in a bid to recover Al-Shabaab held areas. Al-Shabaab was pushed out of Mogadishu by African Union peacekeeping forces in 2011. Despite the push, Al-Shabaab has remained a potent threat in Somalia, launching frequent attacks aimed at overthrowing the Western-backed government. In the most recent attacks, Al-Shabaab late last month used vehicle-borne suicide bombers to launch assaults on an AMISOM base and the headquarters of Police’s Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) both in Mogadishu.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Jubbaland Police Officers Undergo Training On Gender-based Violence
07 August – Source: AMISOM – 368 Words
Jubbaland police officers have completed a six-day training course on sexual gender-based violence organized by AMISOM Gender Unit in conjunction with Somali Police Force (SPF). The training, which also focused on human rights and child protection, was aimed at creating awareness against gender-based violence among law enforcement officers. It was conducted by AMISOM Police Training Coordinator, Francis Aryee, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Lydia Otu-Nyarko and officials from AMISOM Gender Unit.
African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has been at the forefront of helping SPF establish gender departments to fight violence against women and children, which is rife in some parts of the country. Jubbaland Police Commissioner, Lt. Colonel Hassan Kheyre Ahmed, thanked AMISOM for organizing the training. “I am so glad Jubbaland police officers, comprising five men and five women have been taught about human rights issues and sexual and gender-based violence. I am also happy that AMISOM has donated equipment to the Jubbaland administration,” said Lt. Col. Ahmed.
Ms Otu-Nyarko, who is also a Gender Officer, said participants were taught various topics, among them, types of sexual gender-based violence, child abuse and how to handle under-age criminals. The participants were also taught how to prepare for a court case and how to manage court files.
AU, Somali Troops Map Out New Strategies To Fight Al-Shabaab
07 August -Source: Xinhua – 254 Words
Top military commanders from Somalia and African Union peacekeeping forces (AMISOM) have mapped out new strategies aimed at defeating Al-Shabaab terrorists. The commanders, who wrapped up a five-day conference in Mogadishu on Saturday, agreed on key resolutions aimed at enhancing cooperation and efficiency in military operations targeting Al-Shabaab militants.
“The commanders proposed speeding up of lethal and non-lethal support to Somalia National Army (SNA) to enable it operate effectively alongside AMISOM,” they said in a joint statement. The resolutions are also aimed at building the capacity of the SNA and turning it into a professional and competent outfit, capable of handling Somalia’s security once the term of AMISOM ends, it added.
The conference recommended that AMISOM and SNA must engage with the UN at the early stages of planning to address logistical challenges, and with partners to expand the paying of stipends to SNA soldiers serving in all the sectors. Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia, Francisco Madeira, said key recommendations would yield tangible results in the fight against Al-Shabaab and secure the forthcoming elections if fully implemented.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Nur, herself a former national basketball player, said the team is small “because of the civil war, because of the lack of infrastructure, because of the lack of talented Somali athletes.They run away from the country, and they’re spread all over the world,” Nur told VOA.
Emotions Mixed For Two-Person Somali Olympic Team
07 August – Source: Voice of America – 505 Words
Worldwide coverage of the Rio Olympics’ opening ceremony was dominated by the countries with the biggest teams and those with the most glamorous uniforms. In contrast to the 554 men and women from the U.S. team, the largest group in Rio, Somalia’s team of two athletes was the second smallest at the games, but Somalis at home and around the world are following them closely.
The head of the Somali Olympic team, Fadumo Ali Nur, said the gala ceremony in Rio left her with mixed emotions. “In one way, I was very happy to see Somalia’s flag flying before the whole world,” she told VOA’s Somali service. “And in another way I was so sad, because we don’t have enough athletes, qualified athletes. We cannot participate in all the sports.”
Somalia is competing in just two events — the women’s 400 meters, with 19-year-old Maryam Nuh Muse running, and the men’s 5,000 meters, with 20-year-old Mohamed Daud Mohamed. Somalia’s entire Olympic delegation consists of eight people — the two athletes, a coach, a doctor and members of the nation’s Olympic committee.
Nur, herself a former national basketball player, said the team is small “because of the civil war, because of the lack of infrastructure, because of the lack of talented Somali athletes.They run away from the country, and they’re spread all over the world,” Nur told VOA.
For example, she said, “look at Mo Farah” — Mohamed Farah, 33, born in Mogadishu, who lived in Britain as a child. Competing for Britain for the past 10 years, he became famous by winning gold medals in both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races at the London Olympics, and again at both the 2013 and 2015 world track championships. There are lots of talented athletes born in Somalia, Nur said, but they now live abroad and don’t want to come back because of the violence that has ravaged their homeland.
Apart from security, Somali sports organizations simply lack the resources and proper facilities to produce competitive athletes. A sad footnote to the makeup of this year’s Somali Olympic squad was the loss of Samiya Yusuf Omar, a 200-meter sprinter who competed in the 2008 Beijing Games but died in April 2012 in the Mediterranean Sea while trying to reach Europe.