January 20, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Kenyan Troops To Remain In Somalia Despite Attacks: Kenyatta
19 January – Source: SABC News – 177 Words
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta says Kenyan troops will remain in Somalia even after last week’s militant attacks in which a number of Kenyan soldiers were killed.Kenyatta was making a televised address to the nation after last week’s attack on African Union military bases in Somalia.Kenya is yet to give casualty figures for its troops, but the Al-Shabaab militant group has given a figure of 100.
Kenyatta says the attacks have emboldened the East African nation to fight and defeat Al-Shabaab.“Our soldiers did not die in vain. We have over the years relieved citizens of Somalia from the pitiless oppression of terror. Our efforts together with those of other peacekeepers have enabled normal operations in Somalia. We have, as a team, contributed to global security.” The remains of four of the fallen soldiers were on Monday airlifted to Nairobi from Somalia.More bodies are expected in Nairobi within the course of the week.Al-Shabab says it killed 63 of them but the militant group is known to cite higher figures of its casualties than official figures.
Key Headlines
- Kenyan Troops To Remain In Somalia Despite Attacks: Kenyatta (SABC News )
- Somali Minister Of Interior Arrives In Jowhar For State Formation Conference (Radio Muqdisho)
- Minister Diini Hosts EU’s Head Of Military Training For Somalia (Wacaal Media)
- Arab League Condemns Recent Terrorist Attack In Somalia (Shabelle News)
- Somali General: Kenyans Were Warned of Al-Shabab Attack (VoA News)
- $885 Million Needed For Humanitarian Aid In Somalia (Relief Web)
- Somali Children’s Magazine Aims To Boost Integration (Al Jazeera English)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Minister Of Interior Arrives In Jowhar For State Formation Conference
19 January – Source:Radio Muqdisho – 98 Words
A delegation led by Somali Minister of Interior and Federal Affairs on Tuesday arrived in Jowhar, the regional capital of Middle Shabelle region, where they kicked off meetings with local clan elders from the two regions of Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle. The Minister, Abdirahman Mohamed Hussein “Odawa”, is accompanied by other Cabinet colleagues including ministers for Internal Security, Youth and Sports and several members of the Federal Parliament.Their visit is geared at encouraging local elders to speed up the state formation conference aimed at establishing a regional administration for Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle.
Minister Diini Hosts EU’s Head Of Military Training For Somalia
19 January – Source: Wacaal Media – 127 Words
A high level delegation from the European Union’s military training program for Somalia was ton Tuesday hosted by Defence Minister Abdikadir Sheikh Ali Diini in his office in the capital of Mogadishu. Head of the program, General Atonio Maggi, led the delegation. The two sides discussed how to fasttrack the EU assistance to the Somali forces including training and capacity building.
General Maggi said the EU will enhance its program for the Somali forces in 2016 by injecting more resources into the program. Defence Minister, General Diini on his part thanked the European Union for the continued assistance to Somalia’s armed forces, saying the initiative will help the country mould its officers into a professional disciplined force that will serve Somalia and help regain peace and stability.
Arab League Condemns Recent Terrorist Attack In Somalia
19 January – Source: Shabelle News – 148 Words
Arab League Secretary General Dr. Nabil Al-Araby has condemned the recent terrorist attack carried out by Al-Shabaab militant group against an African Union Mission base in the town of El Adde, Gedo region in Somalia, which killed and wounded dozens of Kenyan soldiers: “Arab League confirms its support and stand by African Union’s noble tasks performed at most sincerity and courage by the Union’s missions in various areas in Somalia to face terrorism in that country,” Al-Araby said in a statement on Tuesday.
Such terrorist attacks, aimed at curbing the march to reconstructing Somalia’s state institutions, would fail in accomplishing its goals, he affirmed, reiterating League’s willingness to double its cooperation efforts with the Somali government, African Union, UN, and international and regional organizations to counter terrorism and eradicate its roots. Al-Araby expressed the League’s deep condolences to the Kenyan government and people, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali General: Kenyans Were Warned of Al-Shabab Attack
19 January – Source: Voice of America – 647 Words
A Kenyan army unit reportedly decimated in an attack by al-Shabab militants last Friday had received warning of the assault, according to a Somali general. The commander of Somali troops in the Gedo region, General Abbas Ibrahim Gurey, tells VOA’s Somali service that the unit’s commander was given word of a possible attack hours before the first bullet was fired.
“It was information we knew, the information was received, and they were ready for it,” Gurey said in a telephone interview Sunday. The Gedo region’s deputy governor has said the attack killed at least 40 Kenyan soldiers stationed at an African Union base in El-Adde, a town in southern Somalia, near the border with Kenya. Kenyan soldiers have been in Somalia since 2011, helping the AU mission, known as AMISOM, fight Al-Shabaab. Kenyan officials are investigating what happened in Friday’s attack.
A Somali official says initial warning came from civilians who saw Al-Shabaab massing men in the area for days: “They [Al Shabaab] often sneaked into the town at night and they were well aware of the AU base,” said a journalist in the region who asked not to be named for security reasons. The attack had all the hallmarks of recent major Al-Shabaab operations a suicide explosion at the gate followed by hundreds of heavily armed militants storming the base from different directions.
Al-Shabaab had already done this twice before – first in Leego town on June 25 in which 54 Burundians were killed, and again on September 1 when 19 Ugandan troops were killed. Al-Shabaab says it killed more than 100 Kenyan troops in El-Adde. Neither AMISOM nor the Kenyan government has released a death toll, but the Kenyan secretary of defense said the soldiers affected by the attacked are “a company size force.” Military experts define a company as having between 80 and 200 soldiers, still a small number to withstand several hundred heavily armed militants charging forward.
Former Somali army colonel Mohamed Ibrahim Guber says AMISOM’s strategy of establishing bases across southern Somalia has “failed.”: “These attacks show AU troops are not forging relationship with locals,” he said. He says this is putting them at a disadvantage because they are unable to get information about potential attacks from Al-Shabaab.
$885 Million Needed For Humanitarian Aid In Somalia
19 January – Source: ReliefWeb- 508 Words
The humanitarian community in Somalia today launched a prioritized Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for 2016 in Mogadishu calling on the international community to ensure predictable and timely funding. The new plan is seeking USD $885 million to reach 3.5 million people with urgent life-saving assistance by the end of 2016.The 2016 HRP comes against a backdrop of acute humanitarian needs with an estimated 4.9 million people in need of life-saving and livelihoods support. Over 1.1 million people remain internally displaced and have been waiting for too long for durable solutions to stop their ordeal.
An estimated 308,000 children under the age of 5 years are acutely malnourished, with 56,000 of them facing death if not treated. Poor access to primary health care puts some 1.9 million people at risk of death of preventable diseases. The maternal mortality ratio for Somalia is among the highest in the world. Some 2.8 million people need improved access to water and 1.7 million children are still out of school.
“The 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan represents a collective vision of the entire humanitarian community in Somalia, which aims to bring down the levels of critical vulnerabilities and reduce the risk of people sliding further into crisis by providing life-saving assistance, building resilience and strengthening protection for vulnerable groups,” said Peter de Clercq, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. “We aim to reduce the number of people requiring food assistance from 4.9 million to 3.2 million people and reduce malnutrition prevalence rates by the end of 2016. With adequate support, we can reduce deaths caused by preventable causes.”
Refugees and returnees fleeing the Yemen crisis also continue to arrive in Somalia with almost 30,000 people received so far and more expected in 2016, as well as returnees from Kenya. This has significantly exacerbated the humanitarian needs, along with the El Niño phenomenon that intensified extensive flooding and drought affecting some 145,000 people. Through effective cooperation between the Somali Government and the International Community, including the UN, the impact of El Niño in 2015 the impact could fortunately be curtailed.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“At the initial stage, the magazine will target Somali children in Sweden and other Nordic countries. But eventually, its founders hope to reach Somalis all over Europe”.
Somali Children’s Magazine Aims To Boost Integration
19 January – Source: Al Jazeera English – 389 Words
Northern Europe’s first children’s magazine that caters to Somalis has been launched in Sweden.The first issue was published last week, and the editor, Musa Isse, hopes that the initiative will lead to better integration and help children to build strong identities.”We want to encourage their interest in reading and writing while strengthening their cultural identity,” Isse told Al Jazeera.
The title of the magazine, Carruurteenna, means “our children”. Copies will be available in libraries and schools, as well as in bookstores.”We want the children to learn the Somali language. This will strengthen the communication bond between parents and children to reinforce relations across generations,” Isse added.Somalis constitute one of the largest immigrant groups in Sweden, with up to 100,000 Somali speakers. Many of them fled the Somali civil war in the early 1990s.
Contributors to the magazine include writers, artists and librarians of both Swedish and Somali background. While most texts are in Somali, some are in Swedish or English.Isse said that the magazine’s founders want to support young people who want to read in Somali, about Somali culture and news relating to children and young people.The magazine is published by the Somali Nordic Culture, a non-profit organisation comprising of students, writers, storytellers, librarians, journalists and artists.
It will be published four times a year, and targets children between the ages of 7 and 14.Some sections will focus on historic Somalia, to educate the children about the country before the war.”In order for the children to build strong identities and the ability to integrate in their new home country they must learn about their roots and history,” said Isse.Traditional Somali children’s stories will also be featured. And a special character, Dalmar “the traveller”, has been created. It mirrors a popular Swedish cartoon bear, Bamse, who travels on adventures around the country.