December 14, 2015 | Morning Headlines
At Least 10 Killed, 25 Others Injured In Fighting In Central Somalia
13 December – Source: Xinhua News – 282 Words
At least 10 people were killed and more than 25 others, mostly civilians, injured after a fierce fighting broke out in Beledweyne town, the capital of Hiiraan region in central Somalia on Sunday, locals and medical officials said. Residents said the fighting broke out between two heavily armed clan militias who were using machine guns and artillery weapons at Hawl-wadag neigbourhood in the center of the town.
“I can confirm that death toll is increasing from that number because of injuries,” one of the residents told Xinhua by telephone. Director of general hospital in Beledweyne Ahmed Mohamud Khalif told reporters the facility has received 29 casualties who had sustained several injuries in the ongoing clashes in the Hiiran region: “We are extending emergency health care to wounded people who have been hospitalized here. We received 29 victims of the attacks, five of them suffered severe injuries,” Khalif said.
Tribal chief Ugas Adirahman Ugas Khalif who was greatly respected in that region condemned the bloodshed called elders of two warring sides to resolve their differences amicably: “This is aimless fighting, bloodshed in Galkayo recently and today in Beledweyne. It is unfortunate this time after being in the civil war for over 25 years. I am calling for peace and I say concerned elders should dialogue and stop the bloodshed now,” Khalif said.
The African Union peacekeeping force especially the Djiboutian contingent tried to intervene to end the conflict, but reportedly lost one soldier in their attempt to calm the situation. Businesses and schools have been disrupted as a result of the fighting. The fighting was still continuing and comes two days after two soldiers were killed in the same area where clashes started.
Key Headlines
- At Least 10 Killed 25 Others Injured In Fighting In Central Somalia (Xinhua)
- National Consultative Forum Officially Kicks Off (Goobjoog News)
- Puntland Khaatumo Leaders Meet In Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
- Renowned Poet Who Supports Paris Terror Attack Placed Behind Bars (Radio Dalsan)
- PM Calls On Galmudug And Ahlu Sunna To Open Talks (Shabelle News)
- Money-Transfer Company Sued For ‘Aiding Al-Shabaab Terrorists’ (New York Post)
- Somalia Forces Recapture Village From Militants (Xinhua)
- The Success Story Of CEEBLA Crisis Line (AMISOM)
NATIONAL MEDIA
National Consultative Forum Officially Kicks Off
13 November – Source: Goobjoog News – 169 Words
The National Consultative Forum on the electoral process officially kicked off on Sunday in Mogadishu capital, following the conclusion of the regional consultative forums on the 2016 electoral process last month. The forum, which is a follow up to the outcomes of the regional meetings, is set to arrive at the most appropriate mode of electing political leaders in the 2016 elections.
The meeting was officially opened by the President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. The Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmark, Deputy Prime Minister, Speaker, and the presidents of Somalia’s existing and emerging federal member states, will also take part in the proceedings, as will a select number of Members of Parliament, regional ministers and members of the civil society.
International partners of Somalia, led by the United Nations’ Special Envoy to Somalia, Nicholas Kay, are also in attendance. This being a significant and historic event for the country, there is web and TV live streaming of plenary sessions for the next two days.
Puntland, Khaatumo Leaders Meet In Mogadishu
13 December – Source: Garowe Online – 187 Words
Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has held a surprise meeting with the leader of self-declared Khaatumo administration Ali Khalif Galaydh in Mogadishu, Garowe Online has learned. The two men met in the presence of Federal Members of Parliament and Jubaland leader Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe) at the Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke’s residence. The meeting took place amid speculations over a new push to install an interim administration in the disputed Sool and Sanaag regions.
During the encounter, Galaydh reportedly criticised Puntland for becoming a stumbling block to the progression of Khaatumo administration and asked Ali to recognize his state. On his part, Ali told the former university professor and Federal MP, to first of all win over support and confidence of the locals in the phantom state. The meeting comes amid unconfirmed reports that the Somalia Federal Government plans to recognize the Khaatumo administration ahead of 2016 elections. Galaydh was elected as president of the region by delegates in August 2014. The controversial politician carved Khaatumo out of the larger Puntland.
Renowned Poet Who Supports Paris Terror Attack Placed Behind Bars
13 December – Source: Radio Dalsan – 190 Words
Police in the breakaway state of Somaliland on Saturday arrested poet Abdiwahid Gamadiid, who is well known for supporting activities of Islamist groups, after composing a new poem in support of the terror attack in Paris, France, last month. Gamadiid has previously composed and recited a poem in support of the terror attack at Westgate Mall in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in late 2013. He was arrested at that time but later released from jail in February 2014. He switched base from Somaliland for Puntland.
But on arrival in Puntland, the authorities did not offer him immunity and instead re-arrested him in the coastal town of Bosasso. He was accused of supporting the terror attack in the Kenyan capital in which over 70 innocent civilians were killed. .After staying in detention for six months the current President of Puntland Abdiweli Gaas offered him amnesty in July 2015, after traditional elders from Puntland and Somaliland met with the President in Garowe.Since President Gaas took the office in 2014, he has offered official pardon to several people jailed for various reasons.
PM Calls On Galmudug And Ahlu Sunna To Open Talks
13 December – Source:Shabelle News – 100 Words
Somali Prime Minister, Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke has called on the Galmudug administration and leaders of the Ahlu Sunna group to open peace talks to put an end to the battle over the control of the central regions.The Premier expressed hope about the prospective talks between Galmudug and Ahlu Sunna in Dhusamareb town, the capital of Galgaduud region: “My government will play a big role in the negotiations and both sides should come up with new avenues of ending the long-running conflict in central Somalia,” said the Prime Minister. He urged the local elders, politicians, and scholars to help the rival sides to open talks aimed at ending their differences.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Money-Transfer Company Sued For ‘Aiding Al-Shabaab Terrorists’
13 December – Source: New York Post – 192 Words
The New York son of Somali singer and politician Saado Ali Warsame is suing the US arm of a money-transfer business, claiming it helped fund the assassination of his mother. Warsame was shot and killed by Al-Shabaab terrorists in Mogadishu, Somalia, in July 2014. Her son, Harbi Hussein, who was born in New York but now lives in Minnesota, filed the case in Manhattan federal court last week against Dahabshiil, the largest money-transfer company in Africa.
Dahabshiil has been accused of funding terrorism by allowing people to send and receive money anonymously.Warsame even wrote a song about Dahabshiil (whose name means “gold smelter” in Somali) called “Don’t Do Business With The Blood Smelter.” She moved to Minneapolis, Minn., in the early 1990s, during the Somali civil war, later returning to Mogadishu in 2012 to work as a member of parliament. Hussein says his mother’s activist songs and strong feminism made her a target for terrorists: “She was one of the few Somali female musicians to go on stage without covering her head and she sometimes wore pants, which is unusual for women in Somalia,” reads the lawsuit. Hussein seeks unspecified damages.
Somalia Forces Recapture Village From Militants
12 December – Source: Xinhua News – 195 Words
Security forces from Somalia’s regional administration of Jubba have recaptured Barwaqo village, about 12 km from Dhobley town in Southern Somalia near the Kenyan border. Col. Haybe Ahmed Abdullahi, one of the commanders of Jubba Administration in Dhobley town, told journalists on Saturday that they rooted out the militants from Barwaqo neighborhood in lower Jubba region on Friday.
The control of this area fell into Pro-Islamic States militants on Tuesday this week, according to the officials and residents in the region earlier: “Our forces are in the area now. We removed Da’esh (pro-Islamic States) militants who defected from Al-Shabaab fighters. They were a small group who has run away,” Haybe said. A small group from Al-Shabaab claiming to be Islamic States emerged recently, bringing deadly war between the two terrorist groups in Somalia.
For months, a struggle has brewed within Somali militant group Al-Shabaab over whether to shift loyalties from longtime ally Al-Qaida to Islamic State. The dispute intensified in November after Al-Shabaab fighters ambushed and shot dead one of the group’s veteran officials Sheikh Hussein Abdi Gedi after he reportedly tried to convince members to make the switch. Four others died in the attack.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Cases of sexual and gender-based violence are rampant in Somalia, with young girls and women as the main victims. Many of these have suffered in silence for fear of stigmatization, perpetrated by a culture that makes it taboo for women to speak out on any issues of sexuality.”
The Success Story Of CEEBLA Crisis Line
11 December – Source: AMISOM – Video: 8:40 Minutes
“Two teenage boys came to our house; they locked me in a room. One of them put clothes in my mouth and the other held a knife to my neck. Dare to tell anyone, and you are dead-they threatened me. I didn’t tell my mum because I was also afraid of her,” narrates a victim of rape. She is not alone. On the day of our visit to the Somali Women Development Centre, there are several other girls that have endured ordeals such as this that have shattered their innocence.
Another victim, a 14 year old was attacked in her own neighborhood.“I was raped by four boys that live in my neighborhood. They raped me in a house close to ours. I informed my mum and dad about the incident and they were reported to Howlwadaag District Police Station. The police connected us to CEEBLA Hotline, which we called and they helped in getting the boys arrested. I was also given employment by SWDC in this center. The incident happened a month ago. They boys have since been released and we don’t sleep well at night as they walk around in groups. They four of them are always together,” says the traumatized victim.
Cases of sexual and gender-based violence are rampant in Somalia, with young girls and women as the main victims. Many of these have suffered in silence for fear of stigmatization, perpetrated by a culture that makes it taboo for women to speak out on any issues of sexuality: “In Somalia, we have a culture which is very tight for us as women. We cannot say what we want especially when what has happened to the woman is sexual violence. She cannot go to the hospital directly and cannot even tell the mother what happened. She can’t tell anyone because she is afraid for her future, once a woman is raped, she cannot marry again,” explains Amina Abdulkadir, a Project Coordinator with the Somali Women Development Centre (SWDC).