February 28, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

President Hassan names new Mogadishu mayor

27 Feb – Source: Radio Mogadishu/SNTV – 93 words
Federal Government of Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud Thursday named Hassan Mohamed Hussein ‘Mungab’ as the new Mogadishu mayor and the governor of Banadir region. The former military court chairman was appointed following consultations with Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed and the Interior Minister.

Key Headlines

Prime Minister: Al Shabaab’s agenda is a betrayal of Islam and of peaceful Somali communities (Office of the Prime Minister)
President Hassan names new Mogadishu mayor (Radio Mogadishu/SNTV)
More than 12 dead in Mogadishu Suicide attack (Hiiraan Online)
Jubaland puts condition on handover of Kismayo seaport (Garowe online)
Al Shabaab bomber targeting security forces kills seven(Standard Media)
Islamist group says behind car bomb in Somalia( Reuters)
Car bomb kills 12 in Mogadishu Somalia (CNN/BBC)

PRESS STATEMENT

Prime Minister: Al Shabaab’s agenda is a betrayal of Islam and of peaceful Somali communities

27 Feb – Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 171 words

His Excellency Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed sends his condolences to the victims and their families of those killed in today’s car bomb attack on a tea shop in the Abdiasis district of Mogadishu.

The Prime Minister, said: “I send my personal condolences to the families who have lost loved ones in today’s bombing of a tea shop in Abdiasis district, and wish those injured a quick and full recovery.

“Today’s indiscriminate attack on a tea shop filled with civilians going about their lives has only resulted in the further tragic loss of innocent Somali lives. Al Shabaab’s agenda is a betrayal of Islam and of the peaceful Somali communities who want to see a new secure, stable and united Somalia.

“My government has set out steps in recent days aimed at eliminating the threat of terrorism in our country. This government together with the people of Somalia and the international community will remain steadfast and work hand in hand in the fight against terrorism, ensuring safety and security on our streets.”

SOMALI MEDIA

President Hassan names new Mogadishu mayor

More than 12 dead in Mogadishu Suicide attack

27 Feb – Source: Hiiraan Online – 169 words

Initial reports indicate that at least 12 people have been killed while nearly 15 others were wounded in a suicide attack in Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday. The attack targeted a restaurant very close to the Bar FIAT where scores of people were drinking coffee on Thursday. Some witnesses who were reached for comment by the media said they have counted the deaths of 12 people adding that nearly 15 others sustained different injuries. According to the witnesses a car laden with explosives was used for the attack. “I was drinking tea at the Bar when a man driving a car full of explosives hit the wall and then a very huge blast followed— most people at the Bar were either dead or wounded, it was really a very shocking experience,” the witness told the media on condition of anonymity.

Reports claim presence of two Somali legislators in Hargeisa

27 Feb – Source: Somaliland Informer – 153 words

Members of Somalia’s new transitional parliament has been seen in Hargeisa for the past couple of weeks. Somali legislators are said to have sneaked into Somaliland from Ethiopia. The two lawmakers are said to hail from Awdal region but reports said that the government of Somaliland does not know the purpose of the visit embarked by the two Somali parliamentarians. It is the overall duty of the current government to put in place zero tolerance policy and that those Somali legislators must be brought to court and must be deported from the country having gone against the wishes and the will of their people. The law enforcement agencies are urged to act immediately and launch police manhunt to arrest and lock up the two parliamentarians who have been seen in Hargeisa, Somaliland capital. The names of Somali legislators are said to be Mr. Sitin Hussein Af Gudud and Mr. Ina Shoodhe.

Jubaland puts condition on handover of Kismayo seaport

27 Feb – Source: Garowe Online – 139 words

Somalia’s Jubaland administration has put condition on the handover of Kismayo seaport and airport as the clock ticks towards the deadline when Federal government of Somalia would take the control of the lucrative sites, Garowe Online reports. Speaking on Kismayo-based radio station on Wednesday, State Minister for Presidency Abdiqani Abdi Jamac declared that the implementation of Jubba agreement which was signed by Mogadishu-based Federal Government and Jubaland in August 2013 under the auspices of IGAD in Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa still remains outstanding precondition. “People do not understand that [Jubba agreement] was a bunch of points that required implementation but it wasn’t intended several points to be hand-picked,” said Jama, adding that Somalia Federal Government on its side failed to fulfill key issues including militias integration due to political infighting and the looming threats of instability in Mogadishu.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Al Shabaab bomber targeting security forces kills seven

27 Feb – Source: Standard Media – 141 words

Somalia’s al Shabab said it had carried out a car bombing that killed at least seven people Thursday in the capital Mogadishu, targeting security forces at a cafe close to the intelligence headquarters. Police said seven people had been killed, but some witnesses said they had counted eight corpses among the charred wreckage of the tea shop. The blast is part of a surge of attacks in the dangerous capital, where the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab is fighting to topple the internationally backed government. Recent al Shabaab attacks have targeted key areas of government or the security forces, in an apparent bid to discredit claims by the authorities that they are winning the war against the Islamist fighters. “We carried out the bombing against officers of the national security,” Al Shabaab spokesman Abdiaziz Abu Musab told AFP, boasting of having killed 11 people, including senior officers.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Islamist group says behind car bomb in Somalia

27 Feb – Source: Reuters – 91 words

Islamist group al Shabaab claimed responsibility for a car bombing on Thursday that police said killed at least 10 people in the Somali capital Mogadishu and threatened more attacks. “We are responsible for the car bomb blast,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman, told Reuters, saying the attack had killed 11 members of the security forces and injured 15 others. “We targeted the national security forces who were sitting in the tea shop. Today’s blast was part of our operations in Mogadishu and we shall continue,” he added.

Car bomb kills 12 in Mogadishu, Somalia

27 Feb – Source: CNN/BBC – 137 words

A car bomb exploded Thursday, killing at least 12 people near Somalia’s national intelligence headquarters in the capital of Mogadishu, security spokesman Idris Aden said. Most of them were government soldiers. At least 10 other people were injured in the blast after a minivan packed with explosives crashed into a restaurant and blew up, sending flames and black smoke into the air. Al Shabaab rebels claimed responsibility for the attack, which spokesman Sheikh Abdiaziz Abu Musab said killed 15 security force members. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital, Aden said. The restaurant is popular with Somali security forces. Last week, militants carried out a deadly attack on Somalia’s presidential palace, exploding a bomb and then opening fire. At least 12 died, including two government officials and seven al Shabaab attackers, but President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was unharmed.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“It is high time that the US and other countries stop trying to pick winners and losers in Somalia’s internecine conflicts—not that they ever had much success in that endeavor—and let proven effectiveness and legitimacy that flows from really governing (as opposed to merely mimicking the external trappings of a state) determine who deserves to be recognized.”

Let’s Give Somalia’s Government the Non-Recognition It Deserves

26 Feb- Source: Atlantic Council-1381 Words
One year ago the Obama administration broke with the Somalia policy of its three predecessors by according diplomatic recognition to the government of the Federal Republic of Somalia. Last month, in his annual Worldwide Threat Assessment report to Congress, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper bemoaned that the Somali regime’s “persistent political infighting, weak leadership from President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, ill-equipped government institutions, and pervasive technical, political, and administrative shortfalls” provided an opening for al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab militants to continue targeting Western interests. Indeed, Mohamud’s regime is itself perhaps the greatest obstacle to security and progress in the Horn of Africa, and the most effective US policy on Somalia would begin by reversing the decision to recognize it. But in the world of Washington decision making, policy reversals that appear to concede significant errors of judgment are seldom made quickly. Even though the latest Somali government has proven to be as feckless and corrupt as its predecessors, the US administration is unlikely to abandon it as an object of state building until it completes its current spiral into collapse. Still, policymakers should do what they can at the margins to back America away from this failed choice and require all Somali actors to earn their engagement by the United States through their performance.