February 2, 2017 | Morning Headlines
PM Sharmarke Accuses Neighbouring Countries Of Interfering In Somali Elections
01 February – Source: Hiiraan Online – 146 Words
Incumbent Somali Prime Minister and Presidential hopeful Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke held a press conference today in Mogadishu to voice his concerns about interference in Somalia’s presidential elections.
During his speech, he said that Somalia’s elections are rife with international meddling, specifically from its neighbours. He said they were directly involved in the selection, financing and controlling of a particular candidate.Although he did not single out a single candidate by name, many believe his comments were directed at President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud; insinuating that he is enjoying the support from neighbouring Ethiopia.
A recent analysis published by the Ethiopia-based Centre for Dialogue Research, and Cooperation (CDRC) on the elections directly endorsed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for the presidency. The report was widely dismissed by Somali pundits and analysts as Ethiopia’s not-so-veiled attempt influencing the elections.He called for an election free from interference from Somalia’s neighbours.
Key Headlines
- PM Sharmarke Accuses Neighbouring Countries Of Interfering In Somali Elections (Hiiraan Online)
- Official From Presidential Election Committee Resigns Over Endorsement (Garowe Online)
- Ethiopian Migrants Stream Into Puntland VP Of Puntland Says (Goobjoog News)
- 3 Decapitated Bodies Found in Somalia After Abduction (Associated Press)
- Reopen Liboi Border Point For Trade – MP (The Star Kenya)
- UN: Somalia Needs Urgent Aid To Avert Famine (VOA)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Official From Presidential Election Committee Resigns Over Endorsement
01 February – Source : Garowe Online – 151 Words Words
The Deputy Chairperson of presidential Election Committee, Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail Fartaag has announced on Wednesday his resignation after he was accused of supporting Somalia’s caretaker President, Garowe Online reports. Senator Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail Fartaag has submitted his letter of resignation to the presidential election committee chairman in Mogadishu on Wednesday, saying he left the post over integrity.
Fartaag who was elected as a member in the Somali Senate from Jubbaland region, has been accused of publicly endorsing caretaker President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who is seeking to retain his seat in the forthcoming election.. He participated in an event hosted by Mohamud in Mogadishu, aimed to encourage MPs’ and Senators’ support for his presidential campaign.The presidential election committee (PEC) that was appointed in January by the newly inaugurated Somali Parliament, is tasked to oversee the upcoming ballot to pick a new Somali President which is expected to be held on February 8.
Ethiopian Migrants Stream Into Puntland, VP Of Puntland Says
01 February – Source : Goobjoog News – 218 Words
Influx of Hundreds of Ethiopian migrants heading to Yemen continue to stream into the towns of the Somalia’s autonomous regional state of Puntland. These migrants are determined to risk their lives to try and enter Yemen on unseaworthy boats in search for a better life in Saudi Arabia. Puntland deputy president, Abdihakim Abdullahi Omar said the administration of Puntland has no ability to stop the influx though the security forces launch operation against the migrants. “They use Puntland, Somalia as a transit territory to Yemen and the Gulf States but Puntland cannot host all these people,” said Omar. Omar said Operations to stop these migrants will be ongoing until human smuggling from this region is eradicated.
Puntland was known to be a departure point for migrants trying to reach Yemen for decades, but this has stopped since the breakout of war in Yemen. Every year, Tens of thousands of African migrants risk their lives to try and enter Europe on unseaworthy boats in search for a better life. Many die atrocious deaths – beaten, thrown overboard, eaten by sharks, drowned or asphyxiated in the hold of crowded smuggler boats. Impoverished Yemen is mainly used as a transit country, with African migrants often aiming to move on to neighbouring oil-rich Gulf nations and Europe to find work and better life.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
3 Decapitated Bodies Found in Somalia After Abduction
01 February – Source:Associated Press – 130 Words
Somalia residents say they have found three decapitated bodies just days after Islamic State group-linked fighters abducted nine people.Hassan Adan, an elder in Qandala town in the semi autonomous state of Puntland, says the bodies found along a road near the town showed signs of torture.Puntland officials were not immediately available for comment.
Heavily armed fighters on Saturday stopped a truck carrying nearly two dozen passengers about 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Qandala and abducted nine people.The abducted included off-duty soldiers returning from areas where troops are battling the IS-linked fighters who had briefly captured Qandala.It was not immediately clear if the decapitated bodies were those of soldiers.Somalia’s homegrown Al-Shabaab extremist group sees the IS-linked group as a threat to its operations in this long-chaotic nation.
Reopen Liboi Border Point For Trade – MP
01 February – Source: The Star, Kenya – 359 Words
Dadaab MP Mohamed Dahiye has urged the government to reopen the customs and immigration border point in Liboi to monitor the movement of people and goods from Somalia.Speaking to reporters yesterday on the border pont, Dahiye said the government is losing millions of shillings as a result of the continued closure of the checkpoint.
The checkpoint, less than a kilometre from Doble in Somalia, was closed 10 years ago for refurbishment but has since stalled.The government allocated the project Sh300 million.The initial plan was to have a fully-equipped boarder control unit, with immigration officers, custom, revenue team and police.The project was expected to refurbish immigration and administration office blocks as well as residential houses.
These were the houses those expected to fight smuggling would work from and live in.Dahiye said the continued closure of the border was only on paper but in the real sense, it has remained open through use of illegal routes.He said there is a wide divide between what government officials say and what actually happens on the ground.“People are bringing in goods, vehicles and all sorts of things and the government is not getting any revenue. This is despite Liboi being gazetted as a customs and immigration point,” he said.
OPINION, CULTURE & ANALYSIS
“Brady said OCHA had appealed for about $300 million in aid for the first three months of 2017, but only about a third of the sum has so far been identified.“What we spend now is going to be a minor amount of money compared to [what we would need] if we allow the situation to get further out of hand,” he said, urging more donors to come forward,”
UN: Somalia Needs Urgent Aid To Avert Famine
01 February – Source: VOA – 445 Words
Drought-ridden Somalia is at risk of a repeat of the famine that killed nearly 260,000 people in 2011 if aid is not stepped up over the next two months, United Nations agencies said Wednesday, calling for more funds.
Five million Somalis do not have enough to eat because of a lack of rain that has led to poor harvests and livestock deaths, according to the U.N.With initial forecasts predicting a third consecutive poor rainy season in April, early action is key to prevent the situation from getting as bad as in 2011, experts at three U.N. aid agencies said in phone interviews.“We really need to move now before we see the catastrophe of 2011 [repeated],” Shukri Ahmed of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.In 2011 the humanitarian response was too slow and tens of thousands of people died before the famine was officially declared in July, Ahmed said.The crisis was worsened by conflict and a ban on food aid in areas held by Islamist militant group Al-Shabab.
The current drought is more extensive than in 2011, affecting the whole of Somalia as well as parts of Ethiopia and Kenya, said Arif Husain, chief economist of the World Food Program (WFP).Agencies are better placed to respond now because improvements in security and governance allow access to more regions, said the head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Somalia, Justin Brady.Preparations started early, with two drought warnings and a pre-famine alert issued over the past 12 months, but more funds are needed, he added.“We have a very good chance to avert a famine in Somalia
if the resources are there,” he said.