February 27, 2015 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Mortar Shells Land By Somalia’s Presidential Palace

26 Feb – Source: AP – 99 Words

A Somali police officer says that at least three mortars landed inside Somalia’s heavily fortified presidential palace compound. Al-Shabab claimed the responsibility for the shelling, according the group’s radio station, Andulus. Al-Shabab is an Islamic extremist group in Somalia. There was no immediate word if Thursday’s attack caused any casualties or damage. The area was sealed off by security forces and journalists could not approach Capt. Mohamed Hussein says that two more mortars struck a residential area near the state house which houses Somali president, prime minister and speaker of the parliament.

Key Headlines

Somali Gov’t Meets International Partners To Review Security Under The New Deal Compact (Radio Bar-Kulan)
Federal MPs Call For End To Clan Violence In Central Somalia (Garowe Online)
Meeting On Harmful Effects Of Khat Held In Mogadishu (Radio Bar-Kulan)
Immigrants Want Government Help To Restart Money Transfers To Somalia (Midnimo)
Beledweyn IDPs In Desperate Situation (Radio Goobjoog)
Finance Ministry Official Survives Explosion (Radio Danan)
One Killed Two Injured by Gunmen In Mandera Attack (Daily Nation)
Untrained Teachers Hired To Avert Crisis (Standard Media)
Inside Somalia’s Eyl Families Pay For Piracy Crackdown (Al Jazeera)
Disruption In Sending Cash Home Distresses Somali Immigrants (VOA)
The Rise Of Somali Women (Anniversary Films)
The Other Side Of Somalia’s Pirates (Al Jazeera)
BBC Somali Social-Media Audiences To Interview EU Ambassador To Somalia (BBC)

PRESS STATEMENT

The United Nations Provides Weapons Marking And Recordkeeping Training For The Somali National Army

26 Feb – Source: UN – 381 Words

The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) launched a two-week training course for 12 members of the Somali National Army (SNA) on weapons marking and recordkeeping. The course, which started on 16 February 2015, ends today. It will facilitate the registration of weapons by the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) in the country. The partial lifting of the arms embargo to Somalia has enabled the delivery of weapons, military equipment and training, solely to help develop the Somali Security Forces. Continued international support for the partial lifting of this embargo is contingent upon the Somali Government making substantial progress in developing the infrastructure to ensure the safe storage, registration, maintenance and distribution of military equipment by Somali security forces. That would entail establishing standardized procedures for the registration, distribution, the use and storage of weapons.

The FGS has expressed its commitment to fulfilling these responsibilities. It has requested assistance from the United Nations and Member States to implement a comprehensive Weapons and Ammunition Management (WAM) System in compliance with international standards and sanction obligations set by the United Nations Security Council. In December 2014, the FGS National Security Advisor, Abdirahman Sheikh Issa, made an urgent request for support from the United Nations to train officers in weapons marking and recordkeeping, in order to register new weapons imported to Somalia before they are distributed to personnel from Somali security forces.

The United Nations trained soldiers on how to set up the marking machine, correctly securing the weapon in a vice, as well as basic marking and recordkeeping techniques. The training aimed to establish an SNA team capable of conducting independent weapons marking and registration in Mogadishu. Today, to mark the end of the event, the United Nations provided a marking machine, along with accessories as well as a recordkeeping device for the FGS. Additional training and equipment will be required for the FGS to make substantial progress and for it to comply with sanction obligations. The United Nations acknowledges that this is only one component of a broader approach. The United Nations also recognizes that this course is a key step towards assisting the FGS in establishing a comprehensive WAM system in Somalia. To that end, it will continue to support the FGS.

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali Gov’t Meets International Partners To Review Security Under The New Deal Compact

26 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 203 Words

A preliminary meeting on security in Somalia took place in Mogadishu on Wednesday with officials from the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and international partners led by the United States including the European Union, Turkey, and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). Abdikadir Sheikh Ali Dini, Somalia’s Minister of Defense and Abdirisak Omar Mohamed, Minister of Internal Security co-chaired the meeting, as a follow-up to the Somalia security conference held in London in September 2014.

Participants considered commitments made by the FGS and international partners in London in order to help build the capacity of state security institutions for recovering territory, providing stability and, basic safety and security in Somalia. The preparatory meeting focused primarily on United Nations Security Council Resolution 2124. It recognized the need to provide logistical support for 10,900 Somali National Army personnel in the fight against Al-Shabaab as well as the integration of state security forces into federal institutions. Building the capacity of Somali armed forces and the Somali Police Force remains one of the top priorities of the New Deal Compact’s goals on security. Those aim to establish unified Somali federal institutions that can provide basic safety and security for their citizens, from a human rights perspective.

Federal MPs Call For End To Clan Violence In Central Somalia

26 Feb – Source: Garowe Online – 176 Words

Some lawmakers in Somalia’s Federal parliament called on warring sides in the town of Guri’el, in Galgadud region, to come to the negotiating table and abandon violence on Thursday, Garowe Online reports. During a press conference in Mogadishu, parliamentarians Abdisamad Moallim Mohamud and Ubah Talil said it is not a time for brothers to shed blood in a meaningless way. They stressed the need for inclusive participation in the ongoing Dhusamareb reconciliation conference. “I call on intellectuals, traditional leaders and local communities to de-escalate conflict,” urged female MP Ubah Tahlil. On Tuesday, Somali government forces and Ahlu Sunna militias engaged in brief gun battle in the outskirts of Guri’el after the UN-backed, weak, central government troops fled earlier this month. A mediation committee led by former Galmudug leader Mohamed Ahmed Allim have since been pushing ahead with mediation efforts. The deadlock over the control of Guri’el is likely to drag into its second month amid concerns over the fate of the country’s timetable towards election by 2016, analysts warned.

Meeting On Harmful Effects Of Khat Held In Mogadishu

26 Feb – Source: Radio Bar-Kulan – 134 Words

A meeting on the harmful effects of khat, a stimulant drug, was held in Mogadishu on Thursday. Speaking at the meeting, former Benadir governor and Mogadishu mayor, Mohamud Ahmed Nur (Tarsan) said the use of khat continues to cause serious problems in the country, especially amongst youth. Tarsan called on the Somali government to impose tougher measures on the sale of khat by increasing tax on it. He said the stimulant drug has a huge negative impact on the youth.The meeting was organized by the Somali Drug Addiction Awareness organization, and was attended by government officials from the health ministry and officials from women organizations based in Mogadishu. The meeting comes at a time when similar campaigns are underway in parts of Puntland, spearheaded by Abukar Awale (Qaaddiid), a prominent anti-khat campaigner from the UK.

Immigrants Want Government Help To Restart Money Transfers To Somalia

26 Feb – Source: Midnimo – 266 Words

Somali immigrants living in Washington hope the federal government will help them restart the flow of money to relatives in Somalia. Those remittances have ground to a halt since a California bank announced last month it would stop handling them. That leaves an uncertain future for many families in Somalia who depend on money from relatives abroad. Mohammed Jama, executive director of the Abu Bakr Islamic Center in Tukwila, said in the devastated Somali economy, his relatives have hardly any income. “My dad and my brothers rely on whatever I send there every month for their food, shelter, education, medicine and anything else that they need in their life. So I don’t know how they will survive,” he said.

Rep. Adam Smith, joined by other members of Congress, is to meet with Obama administration officials from nine different agencies Thursday to work on a short-term solution. Jama said he hopes the government will take over some of the services the California bank used to handle, connecting wire-transfer businesses here with distributors in Somalia. Without a change, Ahmed Jama (no relation to Mohammed), head of the Somali Community Service Coalition, says his family members might have to move into a refugee camp. “Imagine those families who have no other income. There are no banks in the country, no financial institutions. It may create immeasurable pain and suffering,” he said. Ahmed Jama said nearly everyone in the Puget Sound Somali community — about 10,000, according to the U.S. Census — is affected by the remittance crisis.

Beledweyn IDPs In Desperate Situation

26 Feb – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 136 Words

The Beledweyn district administration has expressed concern over the humanitarian crisis in IDP camps in Beledweyn town. Deputy Commissioner of Beledweyn district, Abdifatah Dahir, who toured IDP camps in Beledweyn, told the media that situation facing IDPs requires a quick response. “Their living conditions are dire due to shortage of food and other basic needs in these camps,” Mr. Dahir said. He noted that if emergency support is not delivered to the IDPs, the crisis might become tragic. He called on well-wishers, the Federal Government of Somalia, and local and international humanitarian aid agencies to deliver emergency support to the vulnerable people. Over 400 families are currently in Beledweyn camps, and are living in deplorable conditions after they were displaced by local conflicts in the region.

Finance Ministry Official Survives Explosion

26 Feb – Source: Radio Danan – 311 Words

Authorities in Mogadishu’s Hodan District said a Finance Ministry official survived an explosion last night after attackers planted Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in his car. The car exploded while he was parked at his house behind Maka Al Mukaram Hotel in Hodan District. Security forces near the house subsequently opened fire. There was no one who was injured in the explosion. It is the second explosion to go off in Hodan District in two consecutive nights. A heavy explosion rocked parts of Mogadishu on Tuesday evening, after another vehicle planted with explosives went off near Masjid Ramadhan in Taleeh neighbourhood.

Sources say the car in which the explosives were planted was carrying two engineers who were working at the tall storey building in Hodan District. The duo were reportedly wounded in the explosion, and were rushed to Daarul Shifaa Hospital where Abdishakuur, one of the engineers, was pronounced dead on arrival. Doctors confirmed that two more people were wounded in the incident, including a cyclist who was nearby the car when the explosion went off and was discharged after receiving minor treatment. The other, Adan Nuur Ali, a well-known man in Taleeh neighbourhood,and one of the Tabligh Islamic Propagators at Masjid Ramadhan, was severely wounded in the explosion. Sources say, Adan Nuur Ali was a street boy prior to the time he joined the Tabligh and has no known relatives.

REGIONAL MEDIA

One Killed, Two Injured by Gunmen In Mandera Attack

26 Feb – Source: Daily Nation – 597 Words

One person was killed and two others injured in an attack by suspected Al-Shabaab gunmen in Mandera Townon Wednesday night. The trio were ambushed by gunmen and sprayed with bullets as they were heading home from a hotel in the town at around 8pm. Mandera County Commissioner Alex ole Nkoyo said the three were attacked by suspected Al-Shabaab gunmen who crossed into the country from Somalia’s Bula Hawa. “There is some tension in the town because all the victims of the attack were non-locals and we have information that Al-Shabaab have been planning attacks in the same town,” said Mr Nkoyo. He said all the three are masons working with a contractor building the Mandera Stadium. “These three men were walking home from a hotel where they always have supper but were shot from behind by three gunmen who were trailing them. They killed one of the masons and wounded two others,” said Mr Nkoyo.

Mr Nkoyo said police on patrol responded to the gunshots but were unable to arrest any suspect as the attackers were said to have disappeared into the estates in the town. “No one has been arrested so far but the Directorate of Criminal Investigations has taken up the matter and very soon we will know the motive of the shooting and who did it,” said Mr Nkoyo. He appealed to the public to volunteer information that could help in arresting the suspects. He at the same time urged tham to report any suspicious persons to the police. Speaking from Mandera Referral Hospital, Mr Joseph Maina, 36, a victim of the shooting, said the attack happened a few minutes to 8pm. “I had just left the hotel after supper and followed two of my friends when I heard gunshots and I lay down,” said Mr Maina.
He said on raising his head to see what was happening, one of the attackers shot at him twice injuring his right hand and leg. “I thank God the bullet missed me getting just part of my hand and slightly bruising my leg. After the attacker left I ran back to the hotel where the police found me,” said Mr Maina who has been in Mandera for four years.

Untrained Teachers Hired To Avert Crisis

26 Feb – Source: Standard Media – 330 Words

Governor Ali Roba’s administration is recruiting school leavers to take up teaching jobs. This after more than 2,000 teachers defied an order by the national government to return to their stations in North Eastern over insecurity. Speaking during a workshop on health, Governor Roba said the move was aimed at ensuring that learning continues even as the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) solves the impasse. “We had to find a solution to this intricate challenge facing us,” Mr Roba noted. The governor said due to the stand-off, pupils were being forced to attend school on weekends to compensate for the lost time. “Currently, only 400 teachers employed by the TSC are yet to report to their places of work, but we are optimistic about their return,”Roba added. More than 1,000 teachers have been camping at the TSC headquarters in Nairobi, demanding to be moved to other areas over rising insecurity in the region and alleged harassment by locals.

“About 250 teachers have reported back in the last two weeks and we hope the few who are remaining will follow suit,” he said. See Also: Hard lessons through 1,135 kilometres and 3 days to Mandera Increased patrols He said ward representatives, who were former teachers, and other residents with a teaching background have taken up teaching duties at the institutions to bridge the deficit. He said security has been stepped up in the region and urged the teachers who have not reported to their stations to do so. “The Government has increased police patrols and deployed more security officers to the area to avert possible attacks by Al-Shahaab militants,” he stated. The governor at the same time said the county government has so far spent Sh1.2 billion, which translates to 15 per cent of its total budget, on the health sector in the current financial year. “We have rehabilitated our health centres, equipped them and hired the staff to ensure our people get better healthcare,” he said.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Inside Somalia’s Eyl, Families Pay For Piracy Crackdown

26 Feb – Source: Al Jazeera – 50 Words – Video – 2:15 Minutes

Piracy in Somalia has dropped sharply after an International crackdown off the coast of East Africa.More than one thousand pirates languish in foreign prisons, leaving behind families to fend for themselves. Al Jazeera’s Hamza Mohamed reports from the town of Eyl.

Disruption In Sending Cash Home Distresses Somali Immigrants

25 Feb – Source: VOA 531 Words

Once a month for years, Ahmed Ahmed has been going to Dahabshil, a money service agency catering to the Somali community outside Washington. The taxi driver has sent $200 every month to his family of eight left behind at home — until recently. The service has been stopped, leaving Ahmed very worried. “Forget the medicine or anything else,” he said. “The priority is food. If they don’t get the money, they don’t have food. They don’t have any jobs.” After years of civil war and anarchy, there is no formal banking system in Somalia, so families overseas rely on informal money transfer networks known as hawalas to deliver cash to their needy relatives. Merchants Bank of California was the last U.S. bank to handle wire transfers to Somalia. In early February, the bank announced that it would shut the service down. The reason most likely pertains to the U.S. fight to stop the flow of money that helps fund extremist groups in the region, such as al-Shabab.

Census data show that 80,000 Somali immigrants live in the U.S. A majority of them send money to their families in their impoverished homeland. Osman Yusuf, manager of the Dahabshil money transfer agency, said the customers send about $200 to $300 on average. “We also have a lot of people who send $20, $30, $50,” he said. In all, more than $215 million in U.S. remittances went to Somalia last year. Now, without cash transfers, Somali community leaders worry about the future for Somalia’s chlidren. Farah Mohamed, a Somali community leader, and his group have been building a school with donations from Somali immigrants. “The school will definitely stop,” he said. “There is no way we can build a school or we can do anything. There are a huge number of Somali kids that are just growing up. Unless they get the right education, right assistance, we don’t know what their life will be.” Some lawmakers and aid groups have raised concerns about the humanitarian consequences and have called for an emergency plan.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“Somalia has survived because of its women. Somali women have struggled for their country, they brought over and placed our national flag, and throughout the war it was the women who were teh breadwinners.”

The Rise Of Somali Women

26 Feb – Source: Anniversary Films – Video – 9:20 Minutes

A country that has been on the verge of a war for years is now slowly breathing peace.The economy has gained back its lost respect whereas the Political class is on its way to implement and formulate agendas for the Country. However the Somali women who took part in the Reconstruction of the country.

“Still waiting for her son to call, Hawa said the international community doesn’t care about the fate of Somalis here. “They don’t care if we starve to death – that is what they prefer. They will never arrest anyone for fishing illegally in Somali waters but will arrest anyone for taking a gun to fight the trawlers,” Hawa said.”

The Other Side Of Somalia’s Pirates

26 Feb – Source: Al Jazeera – 1,1,75

Hawa Mohamed Saeed recites a prayer in a barely audible voice as she waits for the phone to ring with news of her imprisoned son. This has been her daily routine for the past five years. Dressed in red flowing garment from top-to-toe, Hawa, 80, paces gingerly back and forth in front of a white-washed stone house with a corrugated tin roof perched on top of a mountain in the picturesque town of Eyl, in Somalia’s northeast. Colourful prayer beads play in one hand, an old battered mobile phone in the other. The elderly woman is awaiting news of her son who is jailed in Yemen. Farhan Mohamed Jaama – a convicted Somali pirate serving life behind bars – hasn’t called in months. Once in a while when the waiting gets unbearable, Hawa finds the courage to call him on the smuggled phone he hides, taking a chance the no-nonsense Yemeni prison guards won’t find him answering her call.

“He was a seaman just like most people in this town, he used to go out to sea and sell the catch,” Hawa told Al Jazeera. “Our life was good. He did not only provide for us, but also for his relatives who live in towns and villages far from here. He used to pay for their rent and school fees.” Farhan is one of more than 200 men from this town who have been hauled off to prisons far from this Horn of Africa country. More than 1,300 young Somali men have been jailed in prisons abroad for piracy since 2005. Most have been sentenced to life in jail. Eyl – an ancient town sandwiched between the blue warm waters of the Indian Ocean on one side, and the rolling Nugaal mountains on the other – was until recently known as Somalia’s piracy capital. his once well-to-do town has fallen on hard times. Eyl has paid the heaviest price, and continues to do so.

With the seas empty of fish because of toxic waste dumping and illegal fishing by foreign trawlers – and the soil too rocky and barren to support farming – residents have run out of ideas on how to support themselves. They have exhausted all options. Prayers at the local mosque are all that is left in their armour. The abandoned crumbling homes are a clear sign that many have given up and left. “Life has turned for the worst, first our central government collapsed, then the sea got polluted by foreigners using it as dump site that killed most of the fish,” Hawa said. “Life became tough not only for us but most of the people in this town. Then the little fish that was left was swept clean by the trawlers – illegal trawlers.”

BBC Somali Social-Media Audiences To Interview EU Ambassador To Somalia

26 Feb – Source: BBC – 325 Words

In a pioneering development for Somali-language broadcasting, BBC Somali will conduct a social-media question-and-answer session with the EU Ambassador to Somalia, Michele Cervone d’Urso. Between 15.00 and 16.30 EAT (12.00-13.30 GMT) on Friday 27 February, the BBC Somali audiences on Facebook and Twitter will have a chance to directly ask the EU representative the most pressing questions to do with the EU involvement in Somalia, including politics, security, economy and development. The Q&A session on social media will build on BBC Somali’s radio interview with the EU Ambassador, which will be aired earlier in the day. In the radio interview, the BBC will discuss EU operations in Somalia and question the EU’s involvement in the fight against al-Shabab. The debate about the EU’s role in Somalia has included criticism by some of the country’s politicians.