December 19, 2016 | Morning Headlines
12 Killed In Al-Shabaab Clashes With Locals In Somalia
18 December – Source: Xinhua- 175 Words
Twelve people were killed, including nine civilians and three Al-Shabaab militants, in their clashes in south Somalia on Saturday, officials said. Ahmed Mohamud Ahmed, spokesman for Jubaland State security agency, said their forces backed locals near Kismayo town who were fighting Al-Shabaab.”Al-Shabaab militants killed nine livestock owners. They also stole 2,000 camels from the locals. Later the locals backed by the military fought back the militants where the forces killed three Al-Shabaab fighters and injured several others,” Ahmed said. The spokesman said Jubaland State forces captured three key locations from Al-Shabaab militants in Saturday’s operation.”Our forces made progress in the fight against terrorists. We captured three key areas including Janay-Abdale and Ber-hano, about some 60 kilometers west of Kismayo town. We are in full control of those locations and we remain there and continue the liberation,” he added. Al-Shabaab militants have not commented on the latest clashes in Lower Juba region in southern Somalia. Similar confrontation happened in central Somalia on November after locals rejected to pay taxes (Zakawat) imposed by Al-Shabaab.
Key Headlines
- 12 Killed In Al-Shabaab Clashes With Locals In Somalia (Xinhua)
- AU Launches Operation Antelope To Open Up Roads In HirShabelle State (Goobjoog News)
- Differences Continues In NLF Conference In Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
- Somalia to Reapply To Join EAC Bloc In 2017 (Xinhua)
- UN starts Mass Measles Vaccination In Southern Somalia (Xinhua)
- Somali Government Vows To Enact Strict Laws Against Gender-Based Violence (AMISOM)
- ‘This Is My Home’ Somali Refugees Adjust To Owensboro Life (Herald Leader)
NATIONAL MEDIA
AU Launches Operation Antelope To Open Up Roads In HirShabelle State
18 December – Source: Goobjoog News – 144 Words
The African Union Mission in Somalia’s (AMISOM) Burundi contingent have embarked on an operation code named “antelope” to open up key supply routes in Somalia’s youngest regional state, HirShabelle. In press statement, AMISOM Sector 5 Commander in AU’s Forward Operating Bases (FOB) in Middle Shabelle, Venuste Nduwayo said Antelope operation which is already underway will see more than 150 kilometres of roads rehabilitated in the agricultural rich region of Somalia. Nduwayo said the roads included the Jowhar Airfield to Jowhar Town, Biyo-Adde to Jowhar Town, Mahadaay to Elbaraf, Biyo-Adde to Raga-elle, and Raga-elle to Mogadishu, among others will be cleared. The statement further highlighted that the operation is intended to open the roads to facilitate humanitarian access, support the local population to move their crops from farms to markets, and assist the military to get access to forward operating bases (FOB) in the sector.
Differences Continues In NLF Conference In Mogadishu
18 December – Source: Garowe Online – 439 Words
Differences over key outstanding issues relating to the election process, between leaders from the Somali Federal government and regional administrations have left crucial talks in the Somali capital of Mogadishu deadlocked. Somali leaders are convening the National Leadership Forum in Mogadishu, to ensure the completion of the electoral process in 2016, amid fears of further delays to the presidential election scheduled on December 28. Yesterday, the Somali leaders held meetings with the country’s electoral dispute body (IEDRM) to get further explanations on the 24 seats that were considered for nullification but later were reduced to 11 seats. The move sparked heavy criticism from the international community, who called IEDRM to present its reports on the basis of its decisions for the 24 cases. Earlier, International community has warned IEDRM, if the seats that were viewed as most contentious cases were not included in the list of seats to be re-contested, it could undermine the credibility of the electoral process.
However, differences emerged between the Somali leaders in regard to the cases considered for nullification, as some urged to drop the cases, whereas others supported the decision to re-contest the seats, according to close sources. The parliamentary elections in the regional states and particularly in Galmudug and Hirshabelle, were reported to be marred with vote rigging, favoritism and corruption, which included controversial seats that were won by outgoing Sports and Youth Minister and Abdulqadir Gaafow in Jowhar and Adado towns respectively. Outgoing Sports and Youth Minister was accused of flaring up violence at the election venue that resulted in the injury of several delegates, whereas Gaafow who is brother to Abdullahi Gaafow, the Head of Somalia Intelligence Agency (NISA), were reported to have abused power and used NISA’s forces to arrest candidates and elders in Adado town.
On the other hand, close sources tell Garowe Online that disputes still remain over the distribution of Upper House seats allocated to the Somaliland community and particularly for seats from Sool, Sanag and Ayn regions. Another moot point has come up between the Somali leaders over the date of the presidential election. Continuous delay to the swearing-in of the new parliamentarians and the election of Speakers of the Lower and Upper Houses, indicate additional delays to the presidential election. Ongoing political talks critical to finalize the election process, already overshadowed by disputes between Somali leaders, who are pushing efforts to maintain their interests in the process, as the conference is set to be the last before the presidential election. This comes amid the slow progress to certify the new parliamentarians in the capital Mogadishu that was scheduled to conclude in December 15.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia to Re-apply To Join EAC Bloc In 2017
18 December- Source: Xinhua – 191 Words
Somalia plans to re-apply to join the six-member East African Community (EAC) bloc in 2017, the country’s ambassador said Sunday. Somali Ambassador to Kenya Gamal Hassan told journalists in Nairobi that its application in 2016 was postponed as it had not met all the requirements of admission.”Hopefully our application to join the EAC will receive a positive response during the EAC summit in 2017,” Hassan said during the Eastleigh Business Summit, which brought together business people from the Somali business community in Kenya. EAC partner states include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan.Hassan said Somalia’s membership will help boost trade between Somalia and its EAC neighbors. “It will also help provide employment opportunities for youth in the region,” he added.The envoy also said his country was seeking to re-establish direct flights between Kenya’s capital of Nairobi and Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu.Currently, flights have to stop over in Kenya’s northeast city of Wajir.Hassan also noted that the voluntary repatriation of Somalia refugees who are based in Kenya is proceeding smoothly. “Every month, we are recording thousands of refugees who are going back home,” he added.
UN starts Mass Measles Vaccination In Southern Somalia
18 December- Source: Xinhua – 265 Words
The UN children’s fund and its partners have kicked off mass measles vaccination drive, aiming to vaccinate 54,000 children under 10 in Kismayo, southern Somalia.The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative for Somalia Jeremy Hopkins said in a statement received on Sunday that the vaccination drive follows a serious outbreak in southern Somalia.”Measles is one of the most deadly vaccine-preventable diseases but sadly it is far from being the only one in Somalia,” Hopkins said. Hopkins said many of the children suspected to be suffering from measles are sleeping on the floor of Kismayo General Hospital. Most were not vaccinated against measles although there are 16 free vaccination posts in Kismayo.”We are most grateful to our donors, but we need increased support to ensure we have nationwide immunization coverage and engagement with local communities to ensure every child is fully vaccinated,” Hopkins said. The UN agency has supported the swift delivery of 55,000 doses of measles vaccine to Kismayo along with Vitamin A supplementation to boost immunity. The vaccines are funded by the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and Japan. According to UNICEF, measles is a key indicator of the strength of a country’s immunization systems while Somalia has one of the lowest immunization rates in the world. It is a highly contagious viral disease and a leading cause of death among young children in Somalia.
Somali Government Vows To Enact Strict Laws Against Gender-Based Violence
18 December – Source: AMISOM – 540 Word
The federal government will enact strict laws to curb cases of gender-based violence in Somalia. Attorney General, Ahmed Ali Dahir, said the government was in the process of reviewing the Penal Code to include harsher penalties on crimes such as gender-based violence. “The laws have to be constantly reviewed and amended to make them relevant with the times. We are now reviewing the Penal Code Act and the process is going on well. We are in the process of reviewing and amending many sections and this will create appropriate penalties,” the Attorney General said during a symposium on gender-based violence held in Mogadishu, Saturday. He said the amendments will, among others, criminalize female genital mutilation (FGM), which is rife in Somalia, and help tackle other vices such as cybercrime. Mr. Dahir urged the public to cooperate with the government to make the process successful by obeying the new laws once they come into force.
The symposium, which is part of the Safe Cities Campaign, was attended by youths, federal and regional administration officials and members of the civil society. It was organized by IFRAH Foundation in collaboration with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Banaadir Youth Association, Somali Youth Cluster and the Ministry of Information. Speaking at the same function, Ahmed Mane, AMISOM Gender Officer, thanked participants for turning up in large numbers, noting that their presence signified the interest many residents had on human rights issues. “Let us discuss and explore avenues of how we can eradicate violence against women. Let us fight and eradicate sexual and gender-based violence in Somalia, especially abuses that target the Somali woman. Let us know the various roles that the government, the community and the youth can play in order to curb this vice,” Ms. Mane said.
OPINION , CULTURE & ANALYSIS
“It caused people to leave for their lives, but Hassan, 28, didn’t always understand why as a child. He left with his father and grandmother in 1994, landing in the Kenyan settlement. There, he met his wife, who is now 29; she had fled there with her parents two years earlier.”
‘This Is My Home’ Somali Refugees Adjust To Owensboro Life
18 December – Source: Herald Leader – 1407 Words
Hamza Ibrahim Ahmed cried his little heart out on a recent Wednesday morning. The 4-year-old had a doctor’s appointment to attend, but he would rather have stuck with his usual routine at Hager Preschool. “Yesterday, he was telling me, ‘Papa, they’re teaching us songs today!'” Ibrahim Hassan said from his living room the next day. He communicates with his son and daughter, Hafsa Ibrahim Ahmed, 2, in their native Somali tongue. “He only had to miss school one day, but he came crying when he knew he couldn’t go,” Hassan said. “He has good friends there.” While a change in the routine may not move Hassan and his wife Sahara Amin Nekow to tears, the couple are just as fond of their new lives in Owensboro. They moved here two months ago from Dadaab, a refugee camp in northeast Kenya — with about 350,000 refugees from various African countries, it’s the largest refugee camp in the world. Of those, nearly 330,000 are from Somalia. Situated in the Horn of Africa — a peninsula in the continent’s northeast that goes hundreds of miles into the Arabian Sea — Somalia is bordered by Djibouti to the north, Ethiopia to the central west, and Kenya to the southwest, with Yemen lying just north, across the Gulf of Aden.
Many Somalis fled in 1991 or soon after, when the country was wrecked by civil war. “In Somalia, the main problem is inter clan violence,” Hassan said, noting two of the most powerful clans as the Hawiye, who generally live in the capital Mogadishu and other south central areas, and the Daarood (commonly Darod), who mainly live in the north. “Problems depended on which tribe you come from,” he said. Of course, most descendants of those clans, or any clan, are not involved in nor approve of the violent acts. For those who were, though, “It was not only a matter of shooting; some would organize as troops and shoot, take things, force people from their apartment and takeover things they didn’t own.” It caused people to leave for their lives, but Hassan, 28, didn’t always understand why as a child. He left with his father and grandmother in 1994, landing in the Kenyan settlement. There, he met his wife, who is now 29; she had fled there with her parents two years earlier. Throughout his time at Dadaab, Hassan worked with two of the many non-government organizations (NGOs) that provided services to the camp: the National Council of Churches of Kenya, with which he was a peace promoter; and Care International, with which he was a hygiene promoter. He also attended high school there.