February 3, 2017 | Morning Headlines
First Group Of Presidential Hopefuls Make Their Case To Somalia’s Parliament
02 February – Source : Hiiraan Online – 199 Words
The first group of candidates vying for Somalia’s top job are in Parliament today delivering speeches, a last-minute effort to sway undecided voters ahead of the February 8 elections. Somalia’s indirect elections will be decided by the 329 members of Somalia’s bi-cameral parliament. Although many analysts believe loose alliances have already been formed heading into the polls; if past elections are any indication of what’s to come, we can expect several promises to be broken as candidates forge new pacts in the eleventh hour through backroom deals.
The speeches are being aired on state-owned SNTV in the hopes of reaching millions of Somali’s around the globe. All 24 candidates will present their case to Parliament in groups of eight until the final speeches are read on February 5th. Among the presidential hopefuls that pitched their manifesto the parliamentarians include: Zakariye Mohamud Haji Abdi, Bashir Rage Shirar, Jibril Ibrahim Abdulle, the incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Saed Abdullahi Dani, Dr. Saed Isse Mohamud and former president Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. Another group of 8 aspirants will pitch their speeches on saturday while the final group speech concludes on sunday before the main ballot which will be on 8th of february.
Key Headlines
- First Group Of Presidential Hopefuls Make Their Case To Somalia’s Parliament (Hiiraan Online)
- Civilian Injured In Explosion In The Somali Capital (Garowe Online)
- Attack On Military Checkpoint In Bosaso Leaves Two Dead Three Injured (Hiiraan Online)
- U.N.’s Court Says It Can Rule On Somalia-Kenya Boundary Case (Reuters)
- UN Warns Against Possible Famine In Somalia (Anadolu)
- Blocked By Trump Unwanted By Kenya Somali Refugees Face New Crisis As Famine Looms (IRIN)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Civilian Injured In Explosion In The Somali Capital
02 February – Source : Garowe Online – 202 Words
One person was critically wounded in a car bomb blast which occurred in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Thursday. Confirming the incident, Banadir region’s spokesman Abdifatah Omar Halane, told local media that the explosion has resulted from an improvised explosive device (IED) placed in the car and detonated in Shibis district. The blast injured Mustaf Jaylani Abu Sheikh, a man said to be working for Mogadishu seaport, as he was on his way to his house in Kaaraan district, according to the Benadir regional administration spokesman. “A magnetic bomb was placed under the seat of his vehicle that exploded while he was on his way to his residence near the university, where the bomb exploded,” Halane said.
Gruesome pictures taken from the area shows car’s seat ripped off by the bomb which took place as the city’s main streets blocked by security forces for the ongoing session at the Parliament hall. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Police officers say the Al Qaida-linked terror group Al-Shabaab is suspected to carry out the attack. Mogadishu security is deteriorating ahead of the upcoming presidential election slated for February 8, with 24 presidential hopefuls vying to compete for the presidency.
Attack On Military Checkpoint In Bosaso Leaves Two Dead, Three Injured
02 February – Source : Hiiraan Online – 102 Words
An attack at a military checkpoint outside Bosaso left two civilians dead and six government soldiers wounded, according to police and local residents. Unidentified gunmen opened fire on soldiers and civilians on a checkpoint on the main road 30km outside the port city of Bosaso. The military responded with gunfire and residents reported that an hour-long firefight took place. A military official told Hiiraan Online that the attackers managed to escape. Targeted killings have become more frequent in Bosaso, the government has ramped up the security presence in response to the uptick in killings. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
One Dead As Soldier Opens Fire On Bus In Mogadishu
02 February – Source : Shabelle News – 108 Words
A civilian is confirmed dead after a Somali government soldier has opened fire on a passenger bus in Mogadishu on Thursday, police and witnesses said. A witness who insisted to remain anonymous has confirmed to Radio Shabelle that slain civilian was the driver of bus that was sprayed with bullets near Bakaro junction. Separately, several gunmen dressed in military uniform were shot dead by armed local residents in Mogadishu’s Yaqshid district after they were found in robbery acts. Mogadishu has seen frequent attacks and killings by Al shabaab and freelance gunmen over the past few weeks, as the city is preparing to host a presidential election next week.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
U.N.’s Court Says It Can Rule On Somalia-Kenya Boundary Case
02 February – Source: Reuters – 320 Words
The United Nations’ highest court ruled on Thursday it has the authority to adjudicate in a maritime boundary dispute between Kenya and Somalia over stretches of the Indian Ocean potentially rich in oil and gas.
Somalia asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to rule on the maritime boundaries between the two coastal nations in 2014 after negotiations over the 100,000 square kilometer stretch of sea floor broke down.The ruling means Somalia’s boundary demarcation claim against Kenya can proceed, potentially affecting hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation rights Kenya has already granted in the roughly triangular area of contested ocean.
Companies that have been awarded Indian Ocean exploration blocks by Kenya include Tullow, Erin Energy, FAR and Dominion, though it is not clear if their parcels lie within the affected area.Judges rejected Kenya’s claim that a 2009 agreement between the two countries amounted to a commitment to settle the matter out of court, depriving the court of jurisdiction.”The court finds that Kenya’s preliminary objection to the jurisdiction of the court must be rejected,” presiding judge Ronny Abraham said, reading from the judgment in the tribunal’s ornate courtroom.
Speaking outside the court, Kenya’s Attorney General Githu Muigai said his country would “vigorously prosecute its case” in the upcoming hearings on the demarcation dispute, which have yet to be scheduled.Kenya had a central role to play in fighting the maritime security risk from the Al Shabaab Islamist militant group in the pirate-infested waters, he added, and said the court case would not change this.”Kenya maintains the view that litigation can resolve only one aspect of a wide range of complex issues the parties must agree upon,” he said.
UN Warns Against Possible Famine In Somalia
02 February – Source: Anadolu Agency – 276 Words
The United Nations on Thursday warned of a possible famine in Somalia after the number of people in need of food aid doubled in 6 months to hit 6 million.A new report launched at the Food and Agriculture Office (FAO) in the Kenyan capital Nairobi revealed that a severe drought has gripped most parts of Somalia leading more than 6 million people to face daily hunger.Dick Trenchard, FAO Representative in Somalia warned that thousands will die from lack of food unless something is done urgently to scale up humanitarian assistance and avert famine in the war-torn country facing drought.”The warning could not be clearer and it could not be more stark. What worries most is the projected speed of deterioration, the scale – in terms of number of people at risk, the geography and the very real risk of a significant worsening,” Trenchard said.
The looming famine might occur in the second half of 2017, Trenchard warned.”Mitigation will reduce the scale of potential crisis. Urgent support in nutrition, health support, food supply and sanitation will reduce the depth of crisis. And vital life-saving support will keep those facing famine and death alive,” he added.
The report, which was compiled by FAO, the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), calls on donor nations to step in to avert the looming famine in Somalia.According to the report, findings from a countrywide seasonal assessment in July last year showed that more than 3.3 million people were facing acute food insecurity across Somalia. The number has doubled to over 6.2 million people today.
OPINION, CULTURE & ANALYSIS
“Somali refugees have no good options any more. With Kenya vowing to close the Dadaab refugee camp within months and resettlement to the United States suspended, many will succumb to growing pressure to return home, where al-Shabab militants and a potential famine await,”
Blocked By Trump, Unwanted By Kenya, Somali Refugees Face New Crisis As Famine Looms
02 February – Source: IRIN- 1366 Words
Mulki Mahmood lives in a busy tenement block of two-bedroom apartments, narrow corridors, and billowing lines of washing in Nairobi’s working class suburb of Eastleigh. As a Somali refugee and single mum, life has not been easy. The one bright spot was that she had finally been accepted for resettlement in the United States, and was expecting to swap her down-at-heal neighbourhood, with its criminal gangs and hand-to-mouth existence, for a new life with her daughter in Ohio.
But US President Donald Trump’s executive order on Friday, suspending refugee admissions for four months, has put Mahmood’s plans – like so many others – on hold.“We’ve been vetted, and vetting is good,” she told IRIN. “I’m just asking for our humanity to be respected, because we are not related to any group causing mayhem or instability.”
Mahmood, 30, has twice been a refugee. First as a child in 1992, escaping the start of the Somali Civil War. Then in 2003, after she had returned home, she was forced to flee again to Kenya, ending up in the Kakuma refugee camp.Mahmood got married in Kakuma, but as soon as she gave birth, her husband divorced her. She had little choice but to come to Nairobi to look for work to support her child. She got set up selling snacks on the streets; always having to dodge the police demanding money, the threat being they can send you back to Kakuma.Mahmood has also survived rape, attacked by a man until she fainted, according to the medical report from the Médecins Sans Frontières clinic she visited.
All she wants, she says, is a future for herself and her daughter.“Men here don’t respect you as a single mother, they misuse you,” she told IRIN. “America is a great country. People’s rights and women’s rights are respected. I can educate my daughter and maybe get married.”Mahmood has been chasing resettlement for nine years. “I used to sleep outside the [UN refugee agency] UNHCR office in Westlands,” she laughed, her niqab off her face, relaxed. “Now my resettlement process is due, Don… I can’t even say his name, has put me on hold!”Mahmood has a resettlement number but has not been given a travel date, so she is yet to properly begin the process of packing up her life in Kenya.