January 14, 2014| Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Saudi Arabia deports 2,000 Somali migrants

13 Jan- Source: Somalicurrent/Radio Shabelle- 112 words

More than 2,000 Somali migrants deported from Saudi Arabia arrived at Mogadishu’s Aden Abdulle Airport in the last 48 hours, officials said on Monday. Somali Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee said that the number of Somali migrants deported from Saudi has increased in the last two months. Prof. Mohamed Omar Dalha, member of the Foreign Affair Committee of the parliament, said that 8,500 Somalis were deported from Saudi Kingdom in December last year, stating that 2,000 more deportees arrived in Mogadishu in the last 48 hours. Somalia’s federal government did not comment on the issue, but Dalha said that Somali Government made efforts to find a solution for the deportation.

Key Headlines

Saudi Arabia deports 2000 Somali migrants (Somalicurrent/Radio Shabelle)
Politicians in Baidoa Conference call for government backing (Radio Bar-kulan)
Al Shabab vows to counter U.S forces based in Mogadishu (Radio RBC/Somalilmemo)
Hiiran officials negotiate peace agreement between warring clans (Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu)
Kenyan MP asks state to deploy more police Liboi town (Star- Kenya)
Political infighting threatens Somalia’s government (IRIN News)
Iran Somalia Vow to Expand Ties (Fars News)

SOMALI MEDIA

Saudi Arabia deports 2,000 Somali migrants

13 Jan- Source: Somalicurrent/Radio Shabelle- 112 words

Politicians in Baidoa Conference call for government backing

13 Jan- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 142 words

Some sections of the Somali politicians attending Baidoa Conference which is aimed at forming a semi-autonomous state in the south-western regions have called on the government to support the conference. Abdullahi Mohamed Idris Lesto, a member of the federal parliament has urged Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to give his backing to the conference in which he said will be comprised of five regions. Sheikh Mohamed Adow, a politician in Baidoa also said that the conference is in compliance with the Somali Provisional Constitution and needs the full backing of the federal government leaders to achieve its goals. Meanwhile, politicians participating in the conference have expressed different opinions over the number of regions to include in the formation of the semi-autonomous state. Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has recently suggested that the delegates should focus on forming a three-region semi-autonomous state.

Al Shabab vows to counter U.S forces based in Mogadishu

13 Jan- Source: Radio RBC/Somalilmemo Online/Somalimidnimo- 170 words

The militant group in Somalia has vowed that they will fight against a special unit of the U.S army in Mogadishu, pro-militants websites said Monday. U.S State Department has revealed this week that small number of U.S forces are operating in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu to help train and advise Somalia Federal Government forces. The small unit of the U.S army is based at Mogadishu airport, which is the biggest base for the African Union led peacekeeping mission of AMISOM. “We again call on the residents in Mogadishu to refrain from the bases of the foreign army, those are our targets,” Al Shabab commander named Sheikh Ali Jabal said in a voice record that was posted online. The group vowed that they will attack the bases of the U.S forces in Mogadishu saying that U.S has been long time hiding its interest to invade Somalia since 1993 after the Black-hawk down. Somalia’s Federal Government said nothing about the new threat from the militant group of al Shabaab.

Hiiran officials negotiate peace agreement between warring clans

13 Jan- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu- 108 words

Hiiran region officials have on Monday stated that they have successfully brokered a peace pact between warring clans after spending three days in Defow, Kabhanley and Jerrey areas in Hiiran region. Hiran Governor, Abdi Farah Laqanyo said that the officials have brokered the agreement between the sides after three days of intense negotiations. He added that government security forces have been dispatched to the area in order to maintain law and order. Laqanyo urged all sides to work on the peace and security process of the region. The delegation has on Monday returned to Beledweyne, the administrative capital of Hiran region.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Kenyan MP asks state to deploy more police Liboi town

13 Jan- Source: Star- Kenya- 42 words

Dadaab MP Mohamed Dahiye has appealed to the national government to deploy security personnel in Libio area to fight insecurity. He said this will stop attacks by terrorist groups from the neighboring Somalia. “Libio division which is prone to insecurity and has few local administrators. This makes it vulnerable to attacks from the vengeful Islamist group,” Dahiye said. He was speaking to the Star in Dadaab on Saturday. Dahiye said the government should recruit more chiefs and their assistants in Libio division.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Political infighting threatens Somalia’s government

13 Jan- Source: IRIN News- 434 words

As Somalia’s new prime minister, Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, gets ready to announce his new cabinet, analysts warn that the fragile Somali administration could come unstuck if further conflicts hit the executive. Ahmed assumed office on 26 December following a no-confidence vote against his predecessor Abdi Farah Shirdon ‘Saa’id’ on 2 December. “The removal of the former PM [Prime Minister] Shirdon has, in fact, created a loss of credibility, because internal political crisis has been a norm for Somalia’s transitional governments since the year 2000,” Abukar Sanei, the director of the Center for Policy Analysis and Research, a Somali think-tank, told IRIN by email. “The expectations of the people from this ‘permanent government’ was to avoid internal political clashes, and move the country forward in the peace-building and state-building processes.”

Iran, Somalia Vow to Expand Ties

13 Jan- Source: Fars News- 175 words

Senior parliamentarians from Iran and Somalia, in a meeting in Tehran on Monday, expressed hope that the bilateral ties between the two friendly states would witness further enhancement in various sectors, particularly in parliamentary fields. During the meeting, First Vice-Speaker of the Iranian parliament Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi Fard said Tehran and Mogadishu should use the existing opportunities to expand their bilateral relations. The Iranian parliament, he said, supports expansion of cooperation with the African countries in industrial and economic fields.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“This is a critical moment in Somalia’s national rebuild and we can help tip the scales towards something very positive. But it requires a serious rethink on how we wage war. In Somalia, a war on poverty and unemployment would go a lot farther in meeting our objectives than our current strategy and for a lot less money. The time for that rethink is now.”

Somalia Needs a War on Poverty

13 Jan- Source: US News Opinion Blog-926 Words

That the Pentagon admitted, this month, to sending its military back into Somalia after a 20 year absence of explicit involvement (never mind the extensive covert operations in the country), should trouble anyone who cares about security on the Horn of Africa. This move will secure little. It’s an easy announcement for the Defense Department to make and will likely ruffle few feathers in Washington. When pundits and politicos in Washington think of Somalia, the first thing they likely think of is al Shabaab, the violent rebel group that sprung from the military wing of the Islamic Courts Union that once ran the country. The al Shabaab fit nicely into the characteristics of the West’s war on terrorism, as well as the conservative narrative about Islam and violence. But there is much that is misunderstood about this movement and the country that is trying to quell it.