February 14, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

President Mohamud meets Annadif in Mogadishu

13 Feb- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu/Hiiraan Online-130 words

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Wednesday held talks with the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif in Mogadishu.

During their talk, the two leaders discussed the current security situation in Somalia and ways forward in strengthening AMISOM activities in the country.

Speaking to reporters in Mogadishu shortly after the meeting, Annadif said they resolved to immediately implement all issued agreed during the meeting.

Key Headlines

Ahlu Sunna leader dies in Mogadishu hospital (Radio Bar-Kulan)
Somaliland Khatumo forces clash in Hudun district (Radio Bar-kulan)
Somalia report: patients speak of violence and hunger (MSF)
Journalist freed but may face charges (ABC News)
Al Shabaab bans polio exercise in southern region of Lower Shabeelle (Radio Mustaqbal)

SOMALI MEDIA

President Mohamud meets Annadif in Mogadishu

13 Feb- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu/Hiiraan Online-130 words

During their talk, the two leaders discussed the current security situation in Somalia and ways forward in strengthening AMISOM activities in the country.

Speaking to reporters in Mogadishu shortly after the meeting, Annadif said they resolved to immediately implement all issued agreed during the meeting.

Al Shabaab bans polio exercise in southern region of Lower Shabeelle

13 Feb- Source: Radio Mustaqbal- 63 words

Somalia’s Islamists fighters have reportedly banned polio in southern regions of Lower Shabelle Region.
The Islamists said they threatened to kill WHO officials if they continued polio exercise in the region.

This is not the first time that al Shabaab have banned aid organizations in areas under their control.

Somaliland, Khatumo forces clash in Hudun district

13 Feb- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 121 words

Heavy fighting between militias loyal to the newly formed Khatumo administration and Somaliland forces has reportedly erupted West of Hudun district, Sool region, late on Tuesday night.

The reason behind the fight is not yet known but reports say the fighting, which took place in Lafweyn settlement, some 20 kilometres west of Hudun town, occurred when Somaliland troops attacked Khatumo military base in the area.

Khatumo’s Internal Security minister Mohamed Duale Abdi told Bar-kulan that they inflicted heavy casualties on Somaliland troops and repelled them, claiming that their forces suffered no casualties.

Ahlu Sunna leader dies in Mogadishu hospital

13 Feb- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Jowhar Online/Radio Risaala/Kulmiye- 143 words

Ahlu Sunna’s executive committee chairman Mohamed Yussuf Hefow has died in a hospital in Mogadishu aged 50, the group’s top official has told Bar-kulan.

Hefow died in Halene Hospital in Mogadishu where he had been taken for treatment after his diabetic condition worsened.
The group’s top decision-making leader Olow Sheikh Abdulkadir Adan has confirmed to Bar-kulan the death of the leader.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somali militia group leader dead

13 Feb- Source: Africa Review- 167 words

The leader of Ahlu Sunna wal-Jamea (ASWJ), Sheikh Mohamed Yusuf Hefow, is dead.

The moderate militia group chief died in Mogadishu Wednesday, according to the Somali government and ASWJ officials.

The Sheikh had been airlifted from his base in Guri’el town in Galgadud region, 450km north of Mogadishu to a medical facility run by the African Union Mission in Somalia at Halane in the capital.

Ethiopian FM Tedros confers with UK Minister for Africa

12 Feb- SOurce: Walta Information Centre /ENA- 131 words

Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Tedros Adhanom held talks with UK Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds on bilateral issues.
The UK Minister told journalists after the talks that the discussion was mainly on bilateral ties as well as current security issues in East Africa.

Simmonds lauded Ethiopia’s role in the Somalia Peace Conference held in London in February 2012, which displays the country’s commitment for peace and stability of that country.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia report: patients speak of violence and hunger

13 Feb- Source:MSF-369 words

In a report released today, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) highlights violence, displacement and food shortages as salient features of Somalia’s humanitarian landscape. The report, Hear My Voice, draws on the testimonies of more than 800 Somali patients attending MSF medical facilities in Somalia and in Ethiopian refugee camps.

Journalist freed but may face charges

13 Feb – Source: ABC News – 500 words

A Somali journalist was freed after being detained without charges for more than a week for speaking out against the imprisonment of a fellow reporter.

Daud Abdi Daud was released but he said Wednesday that the Somali government wants to charge him in court with “offending the president’s wife.” Government officials declined to comment on Daud’s claim that he will be charged.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“The government in Somalia will hope to use the greater legitimacy that comes from the US’s recognition to roll out reforms throughout the country. But they will also have to find a solution to the question of Somaliland’s independence, something that seems to be an ever more impossible task as neither side dares go against their polarised electorate.”

Somalia: Can US recognition bring stability?

13 Feb- Source: The Foreign Report-1014 Words

After over two decades of famine, Islamic extremism and piracy, Somalia may be showing signs of revival.
The country seems to have turned the corner, creating an inkling of hope for many Somalis who have never seen a meaningful peace, but rather bullet holes. For years, the country has been the perfect example of a failed state, but things are looking up for the war-torn nation.

Since 2007, the extremist Islamist group al-Shabaab controlled much of southern Somalia, and large part of the Capital Mogadishu. It imposed strict Sharia law, banning aspects of western culture such as sport, films and art. Many experts were surprised, however, when they withdrew from Mogadishu in 2011, paving the way to the first democratic elections in 42 years.