February 29, 2016 | Morning Headlines

Main Story

Death Toll in Mogadishu Blasts Up to 25

28 February – Source: VOA- 224 Words

Authorities in Somalia say the death toll from two explosions near a Mogadishu hotel late Friday has risen to 25 people.Duniya Ali Mohamed of Media Hospital told VOA that eight of 34 people admitted to the hospital died of serious wounds sustained in the blasts.Three more bodies were pulled out from houses damaged by the massive car bombs near the SYL hotel.
Nearly 60 others were wounded in the attack, in which gunmen also forced their way onto the hotel grounds and traded fire with security guards.The hotel is located across the street from Somalia’s presidential palace, Villa Somalia, and is frequented by government officials.Islamist militant group Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attacks. Security sources say that the militants used more than 200 kilograms of explosives in the first bomb, which struck a checkpoint.
Dahir Amin Jeesow, a Somali lawmaker who was in the hotel, described the explosion as “the most powerful, the loudest he has ever witnessed in Mogadishu used by Al-Shabaab.”Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has condemned the bombings.
Al-Shabab, which has links to Al-Qaida, carries out frequent attacks in Somalia, often targeting government officials and African Union troops.The Islamist militant group controlled most of southern Somalia as recently as 2010 but was pushed into the countryside by AU and Somali government forces.

Key Headlines

Death Toll in Mogadishu Blasts Up to 25 (VOA News)
AMISOM Summit Revitalizes Anti-militant Push In Somalia (Garowe Online)
Al-Shabaab Has Links With Pirates: Galmudug Commander (Goobjoog News)
Puntland President Abdiweli Meets With U.S Deputy Foreign Secretary In Washington DC (Villa Puntland)
SNA And AMISOM Troops Recapture Qoordhere From Al-Shabaab (Goobjoog News)
Somali Nationals Detained at JKIA A Week After Somali Delegates Netted There (Goobjoog News)
Uhuru Calls For More Funding For Al- Shabaab War In Djibouti Address (The Star Kenya)
Meet The Female Somali Military Captain Fighting Al – Shabaab (Newsweek)

NATIONAL MEDIA

AMISOM Summit Revitalizes Anti-militant Push In Somalia

28 February – Source: Garowe Online – 208 Words

African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Troop Contributing Countries summit is being held in Djibouti on Sunday, with concrete proposal on table, Garowe Online reports.
Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is attending the key summit that considers proposal on revitalization of ongoing stabilization campaign, securing outstanding force enablers, effective command delivery and coordination across AMISOM sectors in central and southern regions.
Djiboutian leader Ismail Omar Guelleh Saturday received Mohamud, pledging more support for Somalia’s quest for peace upon his counterpart’s request. The Heads of State summit is also expected to seek sustainable financing framework for the peacekeeping mission.

The leaders from Troop Contributing Countries (TCC) among them, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Uganda’s Yuweri Musaveni will be analyzing the recent Al Shabaab attacks , with latest being El Adde night raid. Established on January 19, 2007, AMISOM is operated by the African Union’s Peace and Security Council with the approval of the United Nations. In a preceding meeting, Somalia’s External Affairs Minister Abdisalan Omar Hadliye joined other Foreign Affairs Ministers from TCC. Hadliye thanked AMISOM contributors for their unwavering assistance for security in the East African country. The Heads of State will also focus on strong cooperation between AU peacekeepers and Somali National Army (SNA).

Al-Shabaab Has Links With Pirates: Galmudug Commander

28 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 178 Words

Cooperation between Somalia’s Al-Shabaab fighters and pirate gangs is what becomes clear and obvious as the AlShabaab group becomes more desperate for funding, commander of Galmudug forces said on Sunday. In recent Months Somali government forces backed by AMISOM troops and regional state forces launched attacks to flush out the group from many parts of the seaports town. “AlShabaab and pirates are one and the same and we shall fight and eradicate both them” said Mohamud Mohamed. “We are almost sure about that otherwise in the Shabaab held areas pirates will not operate,” he added. Mohamed said Galmudug, will carry out operations to restrain pirates in its territory although is struggling with a lack of resources, would back any operations against both groups “if required in cooperation with the local Somali authorities”. “Within our limits we will do everything we can but we are appealing to the international community to support us in establishing our marine police force to be operative now,” Mohamed said. Analysts have earlier warned that Somali pirates were likely to turn to softer targets.

Puntland President Abdiweli Meets With U.S Deputy Foreign Secretary In Washington DC
28 February – Source: Villa Puntland – 163 Words

On official duty in the U.S, His Excellency President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has met with senior U.S officials including deputy foreign secretary Linda Thoms-Greendfeild in Washington DC, Villa Puntland Reports.The meeting between the two sides addressed the bilateral relations, security and economic condition, the upcoming Presidential elections in Somalia and as well as the role of Puntland in this process.The President who have arrived in Washington DC on Wednesday for the first official visit since he resumed office two years down the line, received warm reception from senior officials including Somali ambassador to the U.S Ahmed Awad and members of Puntland diaspora in the Washington DC.H:E President Abdiweli along with his delegation are scheduled to leave for Toronto, Canadian capital city to meet members of the diaspora in discussions on matters pertaining the country’s voyage towards stability and recovery.The Delegation of the President will later depart for Minneapolis, Minnesota before wrapping up their visit.

SNA And AMISOM Troops Recapture Qoordhere From Al-Shabaab

28 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 213 Words

After approaching their way into Qoordhere locality of Middle Shabelle region, Somali National Army backed by African Union peacekeepers took control without fighting on Thursday. Residents confirmed to the media that the government forces alongside with AMISOM took over the village early Sunday morning while there was no engagement. Eyewitnesses told Goobjoog News that the allied forces raided the area from different sides with AlShabab reportedly fleeing the area making it possible for the National forces to take over the area without firing a single shot. “The Somali forces and peacekeepers of AMISOM took control of Qoordhere and now the situation has returned to normal. Al-Shabaab fighters ran away,” local resident reached by telephone from Mogadishu told the Goobjoog News. He added “AlShabab fighters abandoned the area last night and shifted to nearby base before SNA and AMISOM troops moved in BiyaAdde.” The seizure comes at a time when state formation conference for Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle regions is going on. AlShabab has yet to comment on the recent loss of BiyaAdde which is part of the areas they use to control. AlShabab lost key strongholds in between 2012 and 2013 to the AU troops and Somali national army, but the group has since carried out deadly attacks in the Somali capital.

Somali Nationals Detained at JKIA A Week After Somali Delegates Netted There

28 February – Source: Goobjoog News – 231 Words

Over ten Somali nationals have been reportedly detained at Jomo Kenyatta airport barely a week after delegates including Federal MPs were detained at Jomo the airport where the delegations were transited on their way to Istanbul, Turkey. The Somali citizens who were heading to Sudan have spent ten days at the airport without specified reasons, according to Mohamed omar Dalha who spoke to Goobjoog News while he was transit at Jomo kenyattta International Aurport this morning. Dalha said Somali nationals were travelling from Mogadishu and heading to Sudanese capital, Khartoum at the time their arrest by Kenyan police at JKIA. “The Somali national detained at JKIA are facing living hardships inside the airport facility, and they don’t have any help from the Somali embassy in Nairobi,” said MP Dalha. Somali government last week condemned the detention of the delegates including Federal MPs at Jomo Kenyatta International airport where the delegations were transited on their way to Istanbul. Somalia demanded that Kenya explain why it detained Somali lawmakers which seems to be the latest diplomatic row between Kenya and Somalia. “The Federal Government of Somalia protests this unwarranted incident at JKIA and expects full justification and explanation from Kenya,” Somalia’s government said in a statement. “Unfortunately, some of the delegates were held at the airport, experiencing delays including Members of our Federal Parliament.” Kenya government has yet to comment on the incident.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Uhuru Calls For More Funding For Al- Shabaab War In Djibouti Address

28 February – Source: The Star, Kenya – 299 Words

President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked the international community to allocate adequate resources to military operations in Somalia against terror group al Shabaab.Uhuru said land, air and maritime capabilities and equipment must be sufficient for the African Union Mission in the country to achieve its objective of stabilising the country.“Denying a mission like Amisom these capabilities is not only unacceptable but untenable,” Uhuru told heads of state and government of troop-contributing countries in Djibouti on Sunday.He noted that the peacekeeping mission lacks requisite force multipliers and regretted that the twelve military helicopters authorised by the UN Security council in 2012 are yet to be deployed.Uhuru also expressed disappointment at the international community’s failure to live up to its obligation, saying the primary mandate of promoting international peace and security world over remains with the United Nations Security Council.”Whereas the continent is footing the bill of stabilising Somalia by blood and flesh, it is disheartening that the international community is contemplating reducing support to Amisom,” he said.

OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE

“Elman says that, in five years’ time, she hopes move into the policy wing of the military and become actively involved in recruiting more women to join. She also wants to function as a mentor for young women interested in joining the military, something she never had,”

Meet The Female Somali Military Captain Fighting Al – Shabaab

28 February – Source: Newsweek – 1268 Words

For Iman Elman, wearing a skirt on the frontline against Al-Shabab was never an option. The 24-year-old, now a captain and one of the most prominent women in the Somali National Army (SNA), has faced numerous challenges since joining the military in 2011. She has brushed off sexist behaviour and ignored discriminatory comments, but the most galling moment came when instead of her regulation uniform she was handed two pairs of trousers to sew together into a skirt.“Many people thought that [a woman wearing trousers] was unacceptable and disrespectful, but I wanted to be at the front with my fellow soldiers and wearing a skirt in that situation was just not realistic,” she says.
Women make up a small percentage of the Somali military—about 1,500 out of 20,000 fighters, or 7.5 percent.

Even fewer have attained the rank of captain, which involves commanding a troop of (mostly male) soldiers. Most are confined to menial roles, such as providing security at police stations, rather than fighting on the frontline. Few are bold enough to go out in pants as Elman does, though she does wear a traditional hijab as a mark of respect.According to Elman, the mindset behind her uniform alteration is a by-product of Al-Shabab’s insurgency in Somalia. Since its emergence in the early 2000s, the Al-Qaeda-affiliated organization has waged war against the federal government in Somalia, as well as the African Union (AU) 22,000-strong peacekeeping force stationed in Somalia—known as AMISOM—and the force’s constituent countries.

Al-Shabab lost control of key Somali towns after an AU offensive in 2011-12, but still holds territory in many rural parts of the country. In the areas under its control, it exercises a harsh version of Sharia law: Al-Shabab imposes a strict dress code for women, insisting they wear a full-face veil—or niqab—to leave nothing exposed except their eyes, and has stoned people accused of committing adultery.“With Al-Shabab’s ideology, they changed the mindset of the people and you can see it’s really affecting the local people because now you have to dress a certain way,” says Elman. “A lot of the ways Somali women are dressed now is not the way they dressed 25 or 30 years ago.” While Somalia is a Muslim majority country—an estimated 99.8 percent of the population ascribe to Islam, the vast majority being Sunni—Elman maintains that, prior to Al-Shabab’s emergence, Somali women were not as oppressed as they are now. Whereas women traditionally wore a light, loose-fitting dress called a guntiino combined with a headdress, now the niqab is often imposed in areas under the insurgents’ control.

Elman’s journey to her current rank is an unusual one. Born in Mogadishu, she left with her older sisters Ilwad and Almas and her mother, Fartuun Adan, for Ottawa, Canada at the age of two after the collapse of the Somali government under Siad Barre in 1991 sparked a decades-long civil war between rival clans. Her father, Elman Ali Ahmed, was a Somali electronics businessman who stayed behind in the country to work as a peace activist, preventing children abandoned or orphaned by war from becoming child soldiers. He is feted in Somalia as a symbol of peace—he even established a football club, Elman FC, in 1993 for street children, which has won a number of Somali league titles since—and is best known for his slogan: “Put down the gun, pick up the pen.” He was assassinated in 1996, possibly by warlords irritated by his activities, though the identities of his killers has never been established.