February 4, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Uganda changes troops in Somalia

03 Feb- Source: New Vision- 112 words

A contingent of UPDF troops serving under the African Union peacekeeping Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has returned. Another contingent has been sent. The Commander of the Land Forces, Maj. Gen. David Muhoozi on Monday received the returning forces of the Uganda Battle Group (UGABAG) 11 led by Col. Joseph Balikuddembe. The first group of about 680 troops touched base at Entebbe International Airport at 10:55am, aboard a UN plane.

Key Headlines

Security forces make arrests over Beled-hawo explosion (Radio Bar-kulan/Universal TV/Shabelle/Radio Kulmiye)
Somaliland suspends Universal TV operations (Radio RBC/BBC Somali Service/ Radio Dalsan)
Crying out for water in villages around Elwaq (Radio Ergo)
4 Somalis charged over JKIA ‘light bulb’ attack (Capital News/Citizen TV/Standard)
Uganda changes troops in Somalia (New Vision)
Kenya charges 129 as al Shabaab members after mosque raid (AFP)

PRESS STATEMENT

Prime Minister chairs Somalia Development and Reconstruction Facility meeting- “We must demonstrate to Somali people that this is an action orientated Government”

03 Feb- Source: Office of the Prime Minister- 440 words
His Excellency Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed today chaired the second meeting of Somalia Development and Reconstruction Facility (SDRF), saying: “We must demonstrate to the Somali people, and Parliament, that this will be an effective, action orientated Government.”
Following the landmark New Deal Conference in Brussels in September 2013, co-hosted by the Somali Federal Government and the European Union (EU), the Compact serves as the basis and overarching framework for Somali engagement with the international community. The SDRF is the centerpiece of the New Deal partnership designed to coordinate between the Federal Government of Somalia and donors to enhance the delivery and effectiveness of assistance to the Somali people.
Addressing members of the SDRF, the Prime Minister, said:
“The Compact’s opening statement suitably captures the essence of what the New Deal is all about and which we as a Steering Committee should continuously be driven by: ‘A new beginning for a sovereign, secure, democratic united and federal Somalia at peace with itself and the world, and for the benefit of its people’.
“This Government, and its development partners, must have an unwavering conviction that the change articulated in the Compact is achievable and that conviction must be reflected in our actions. We must aim to improve the trust of the Somali people that their government is working for the benefit of its people. We cannot prove this trust by words, it can only be achieved by our actions.
“We have to make progress towards the formation of bottom-up local administrations; we have to build a mechanism that allow our people to have greater confidence in the systems of justice; and together put in order our public finance management.
“The Compact goals and their respective priorities are ambitious, but they accurately reflect the most pressing needs of Somalia over the next three years. The Compact will serve as the foundation for each of my ministry’s immediate and three-year programs. My Cabinet will know in-depth this Compact, and will be held accountable to it, and I assure you all that when we convene as a Cabinet, we will refer to these joint goals and priorities and measure progress towards them. Mechanisms established through the Compact will effectively monitor both Government performances and alignment of donor support to the PSGs.
“To our development partners, I express my gratitude, for working alongside the Government to develop a roadmap, and this Somalia Development and Reconstruction Facility. I have a request – hold us accountable and we will expect the same of your side.”

SOMALI MEDIA

Security forces make arrests over Beled-hawo explosion

03 Feb- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Universal TV/Shabelle/Radio Kulmiye- 112 words

Security forces in Beled-hawo town in Gedo region have on Monday arrested a number of people in connection with Sunday’s explosion in the town. The forces carried out a crackdown in the early hours ofMonday following Sunday’s explosion which left three people dead and six others injured. Beled-hawo security chief, Mohamed Weli Yusuf Qorah told Bar-kulan that over 20 people have been arrested in the crackdown. He added that investigations are underway and anyone found guilty will be punished. Qorah accused Al Shabaab militant group of carrying out the attack. Al Shabaab is yet to comment on the incident and the subsequent accusations from the authorities.

Somaliland suspends Universal TV operations

03 Feb- Source: Radio RBC/BBC Somali Service/ Radio Dalsan- 116 words
Somaliland’s minister of information Abdi Mohamed Ali Cakuse declared the suspension of Universal TV operation in Somaliland in press conference he held today in Hargeisa. Cakuse said that Universal TV aired propagated video of the President of Somaliland Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud “Silanyo”. The minister added that they met and signed an agreement with the owner Universal TV prior to this suspension but now he broke the agreement and also said it is not the first time that this TV airs false information from Somaliland. Universal TV Hargeisa office director Mohamed Abi Digale told BBC Somali branch that this decision made by Somaliland administration was unlawful and is hindering the rights of the media in the region.

Crying out for water in villages around Elwaq

03 Feb- Source: Radio Ergo- 270 words

Hundreds of pastoralists and their livestock living around the Elwak-Bardera route are experiencing severe water shortage as the dry season of Jilal intensifies.Bardera-based Radio Ergo reporter Ahmed Omar Salihi, who travelled along the road, said water pans, boreholes and other sources of water had all dried up as the deyr rainy season in November was inadequate water in the area. Ten villages – Takar, Fafah-dhun, Geriley, Garsal, Warhol, Dibiriq, Dhenle, Buralan, Dhaso and War-gududo – situated between Elwak and Bardera are the worst-affected. The pastoralist communities there are relying on water transported from 60 km away. However, the price of water brought from water pans in other villages has dramatically increased since the scarcity began in early January. A traditional elder, Hassan Mude, in Dibiriq about 35 km south of Elwaq told Radio Ergo’s reporter that a barrel of water transported from other villages now costs around 100,000 Somali shillings, up from 20,000 Somali shillings before the crisis. “The village is very thirsty and residents and children are about to die from thirst,” Mude said. He added some residents had moved with their livestock near the river and towards the towns in the region. Radio Ergo’s reporter said some residents stand at the roadside begging water from vehicles travelling from other parts of the region. A 42-year old mother of five children, England Abdikarim, was among dozens of women, children and elderly people standing alongside the road waiting for public transportation to ask for water. “We are very thirsty and we are appealing for an urgent aid of water, otherwise we might die of thirst,” Abdikarim said.

Nairobi business community supplies cash aid to flood survivors

03 Feb- Source: Radio Bar-kulan-103 words
Somali business communities in Eastleigh in the Kenyan capital have supplied cash aid to the Shabelle River flooding survivors in Jowhar, the provincial capital of Middle Shabelle region. A cash aid of over 44 thousand dollars was handed over to the business community in Jowhar. Jowhar business community officials thanked their counterparts in Nairobi for their timely and much needed contributions. Meanwhile, the distribution of the aid has already got underway in Howlwadag camp, one of the biggest camps for the internally displaced families in Jowhar. Some of the displaced families appealed for further assistance from their fellow Somalis in the outside world.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Uganda changes troops in Somalia

03 Feb- Source: New Vision- 112 words

4 Somalis charged over JKIA ‘light bulb’ attack

03 Feb- Source: Capital News/Citizen TV/Standard- 367 words

Four terror suspects believed to have been behind the attack that occurred at a restaurant at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) have been charged in Court. The four Somali nationals appeared in Courton Monday, over suspicions of masterminding the attack two weeks ago which was initially said to be a bulb explosion. They however did not take their plea after it emerged that they could not understand English or Kiswahili. Milimani Magistrate Doreen Mulekyo was forced to defer the plea taking to February 4, to allow the Court provide a Somali Interpreter for the four. Hassan Abdi Mohamed, Mohamed Osman Ali, Yusuf Warsame and Garad Hassan Fer are said to have been found with explosives on January 16, at Shauri Moyo trading centre.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Kenya charges 129 as al Shabaab members after mosque raid

03 Feb- Source: AFP- 191 words
More than 100 people arrested after deadly rioting following a police raid on a Kenyan mosque were chargedMonday for being members of Somalia’s al Qaeda linked al Shabaab insurgents.
“We received information that there was a jihad convention in the mosque and that’s when we moved in,” said local police chief Robert Kitur. The men in the mosque then “turned violent and attacked our officers”. Judge James Ombura ordered the 129 men be held in prison until Friday to allow prosecutors to finish their investigations, when the accused are expected to enter a plea. Four of those charged were not in court as they were receiving treatment for injuries sustained during Sunday’s clashes, in which three people, including a police officer, died.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“To raise awareness of FGM Ifrah Ahmed is returning to Somalia where al Shabaab Islamic militants still hold sway”

Fighting female genital mutilation

04 Feb- Source: Irish Times-883 Words
Ifrah Ahmed will go home to Somalia next month for the first time since she left there as a refugee seven years ago. Then 17, she has achieved a huge amount in the relatively short time she has been in Ireland. Without a word of English when she arrived, she now speaks fluently and knowledgeably about the issue which he has done so much to highlight in her adopted country – female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM was something not many ordinary Irish people or even medical personnel would have heard of a decade ago, but it is now banned under legislation passed in 2012, thanks in no small part to her relentless campaigning on the issue. “I visited Joe Costello on Saturdays and he would say, ‘oh, you again’,” she says with a smile. It is estimated that some 3,170 women in Ireland have been victims of FGM. The process may be banned here, but it is still possible for girls to be subjected to the procedure in their own countries.