December 18, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Al Shabaab denounce American born militant

17 Dec- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Hiiraan Online/Jowhar Online – 208 words
Al Shabaab militants in Somalia have released a statement denouncing one of their foreign fighters as ill intentioned and seeking fame.
The statement called American born Omar Hammami alias Abu Mansur al Amriki as one who is against the unity of al Shabaab.
“Harakat al Shabaab al Mujahideen hereby declares that Abu Mansur al Amriki does not, in any way, shape or form, represent the views of the Muhajireen in Somalia.

Key Headlines

Two Somali Refugees Killed In Northern Kenya (African-bulletin)
Deadly explosion in Baledweyne (Radio Mustaqbal)
Somalia’s Islamist al Shabaab break ties with US jihadist (Capital News/AFP)
NATO: Somali pirates seized no ships for 6 months(WashingtonPost/AP)
Kenya Blames al Shabaab on Nairobi’s grenade attack (Radio Risaala)

SOMALI MEDIA

Al Shabaab denounce American born militant

Deadly explosion in Baledweyne

17 Dec- Source: Radio Mustaqbal- 100 words
Reports coming from Baledweyn city of Hiiraan region says that there was a deadly explosion in the city. Mustaqbal radio’s reporter from Baledweyn Ibraahim Mohamed Ghedi said that the explosion was targeted on local government officials who were collecting Tax from Howlwadaag village of the city.
The reporter also said that an explosive device was buried in the village then remotely controlled.
detonated, killing 2 people and wounded several other people including officials from the local government in the field. After the explosion, units of the police arrived at the scene and embarked on conducting investigations.

Pirate groups clash in Galgudud

17 Dec- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 91 words
Rival Somali Pirate groups overnight clashed in Marer-gur location near Dhusamareb town, central Somalia, according to Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a official.
The fighting allegedly erupted after the two groups disagreed on how to share money that they acquired through ransom.
Abdiwali Haji Diriye, head of public affairs for Ahlu Sunna told Bar-kulan that the sea gangs crossed from Haradhere coastal town in Mudug region.
He said that the clash did not cause any casualties.
Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a forces later reached the scene of the clash, to secure the area, Diriye said.

Kenya Blames al Shabaab on Nairobi’s grenade attack

17 Dec- Source: Radio Risaala- 128 words
Kenya has accused al Shabaab of being behind the latest of a string of deadly grenade attacks in its capital city, Nairobi.
The attack took place in Nairobi’s Eastleigh district late Sunday, killing at least 2 people.
The predominantly Somali district of Eastleigh has being the epicenter of grenade attacks and explosions.
Nairobi Police boss, Moses Nyakwama told AFP News agency that such attacks are alarmingly on the rise.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somalia’s Islamist al Shabaab break ties with US jihadist

17 Dec- Source: Capital News/AFP- 327 words
Somalia’s al Qaeda linked al Shabaab insurgents said on Monday they had broken ties with an US extremist who rose to fame for his rap videos urging fellow Americans to join him to fight.
Omar Hamami – better known as Abu Mansoor al Amriki (the American) – was once viewed as a key foreign leader within al Shabaab, and was placed last month on the FBI’s list of most wanted terrorists.
But al Shabaab on Monday accused Amriki of “spreading discord and disunity” amongst the insurgents, following video release and statements from the 28-year-old alleging he had been threatened by fellow fighters.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

NATO: Somali pirates seized no ships for 6 months

17 Dec- Source: mercurynews/WashingtonPost/AP- – 132 words
NATO officials say no ships have been hijacked off the Somali coast in the second half of this year, reflecting a sharp decrease in piracy along one of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
Commodore Ben Bekkering attributed the success to the continuing efforts of an international fleet along the coastline, combined with better security measures by merchant ships and increased pressure on the pirates within Somalia itself.

Two Somali Refugees Killed In Northern Kenya

17 Dec- Source: African-bulletin-261 words

Two Somali refugees were shot dead by unknown bandits at Kenya’s northern Ifo refugee camp in the neighborhood of war-torn Somalia, police reported on Sunday.

The senior police officer in charge of operations at the sprawling Dadaab refugee complex, Abdalla Sharif, said the two refugees were shot by the bandits who were escaping after committing a robbery within the refugee camp at around 9:00 p.m. local time on Saturday.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Can Kenya’s invasion of Kismayo put an end to al Shabaab for good?”

The Last Stand of Somalia’s Jihad

17 Dec- Source: Foreign Policy Blog-4786 Words

Incredibly, this small port city, a study in ruin in a country that is a parable of ruin, boasts two airports. There is the new airport, as it’s known, laughably to all who touch down there, which lies 10 miles inland and consists of a couple of mostly tarmacked runways and the carcass of a terminal. Kismayo International Airport, in blue block letters, is just barely visible above the building’s sun-bleached cornice. Stencil-painted on the wall below that, and more legible, is the flag of the Islamist insurgent movement that until recently controlled Kismayo, Harakat al Shabaab al Mujahideen, or al Shabaab — a black rectangle over white classical Somali script that reads “There Is No God But God.”