January 22, 2016 | Morning Headlines
At Least 5 People Killed In Beach Restaurant Attacks In Mogadishu
22 January – Source: Xinhua News – 253 Words
At least five people were killed, seven others injured, in suicide attacks at a restaurant located at the Liddo Beach in Mogadishu, Somalia, local police confirmed. Police officer Ahmed Qalinle told Xinhua Thursday night that they had established the number of casualties, but were expecting a possible increase as the battle between Somalia’s Special Forces and Al-shabaab militants is still going on.
“The first car exploded in front of the gate adjacent to the street as a number of heavily armed attackers made way to the restaurant from the seaside. Then shortly another car bomb went off in front of the restaurant,” said Qalinle. A former BBC journalist and now director of the London based Somali Cable TV Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimu was among the injured in the attacks. A number of people including journalists, musicians and politicians are reported to have been in the hotel at the time of the attacks.
The police have indicated they expected casualty figures to rise since some of those who tried to escape were caught in the second explosion. Sources say there was a wedding ceremony in the restaurant which also hosts live music bands. Witnesses told Xinhua they heard the explosions near the hotel, but could not establish any developments since it was already dark.
“We heard explosions from the Liddo Beach area, but we have not got any information about the situation yet,” said Abshir Hirsi. The Al-Qaeda linked group Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had killed many on the Lido beach.
Key Headlines
- At Least 5 People Killed In Beach Restaurant Attacks In Mogadishu (Xinhua)
- Somalia Cabinet Discuss El Adde Attack In Weekly Meeting (Horseed Media)
- Despite Deal Failure Puntland President Says There Was Breakthrough In Kismayo Talks (Garowe Online)
- EU Announces €29 Million In Humanitarian Aid For Somalia (Hiiraan Online)
- Kenyan Military Says Mastermind Behind Somalia Attack Believed Killed (Reuters)
- Somalia Calls For Preservation Of Its Mother Tongue (Xinhua)
- OIC Denounces Iran’s Sectarian Agenda (Saudi Gazette)
- The Refugee Camp That Became A City (IRIN)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Cabinet Discuss El Adde Attack In Weekly Meeting
21 January – Source: Horseed Media – 153 Words
Somalia’s Federal Cabinet held its weekly-meeting on Thursday chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister Mohamed Omar Arte in the absence of Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke. Horseed Media has reliably established that among the key issues on the agenda of the meeting was last week’s deadly attack on the Kenyan peacekeeping force base by Al-Shabaab militants in the South-western village of El Adde.Minister of Internal Security Abdirisak Omar Mohamed briefed the Cabinet on the attack stating that the Kenyan troops managed to immediately regain control of the camp.
The Deputy PM condemned the attack and condoled with the Kenyan government and families of the soldiers who died in the attack.Mr Arte lauded Kenya’s support towards Somalia and encouraged the troops to continue their mission in the country.Kenyan officials are yet release details on the number of casualties, although Al-Shabaab claims to have killed over 100-soldiers.
Despite Deal Failure, Puntland President Says There Was Breakthrough In Kismayo Talks
21 January – Source: Garowe Online – 241 Words
Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has said there was a breakthrough in the recent talks in Kismayo on the electoral process, despite the failure to agree on a model of election that the country will adopt in polls later this year. The talks attended by the country’s key stakeholders failed to proceed, following disagreements over the power sharing approach and selection method of the country’s next Parliament.
However in an interview with Voice of America’s (VoA) Somali service, Mr. Ali insisted the talks were successful as the leaders narrowed their divisive issues. Puntland, for instance, agreed to holding elections based on 4.5 clan-based power sharing formula despite resistance by rival regional states: “It’s void to say that the upper and lower houses are in each other’s pocket and that each one can separately be formed, therefore, we have to be clear: Puntland agreed to the formation of the lower house, so the upper house argument is invalid,” he said.
The Puntland leader insisted that proceeding to the next stage requires good governance and an administration that could bring all sides together, in an apparent reference to the Somali government-led efforts to end the dispute on the model of the upcoming elections. Asked if he would attend the next round of talks which are due to take place in Mogadishu, Ali said he had not received invitation yet. He nonetheless declined to confirm whether or not he would attend if invited.
EU Announces €29 Million In Humanitarian Aid For Somalia
21 January – Source: Hiiraan Online – 362 Words
One day after aid agencies declared that as nearly five million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and over one million people remain displaced inside the country, the European Commission has announced €29 million in humanitarian support for the most vulnerable populations in Somalia for 2016.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, EU said that the funding would help provide support in the areas of food, health services, water, sanitation and hygiene, shelter, protection and education in emergencies:”The EU will continue to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches the most vulnerable populations in Somalia. Despite the challenging security conditions for humanitarian workers to deliver aid,” said Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management during a visit to the Somali capital Mogadishu.
“We cannot overlook long lasting and complex crises like that of Somalia. Today I have met with key humanitarian partners, beneficiaries and authorities. Our humanitarian aid remains most needed, yet a conducive political environment is the only solution that can end the humanitarian crisis.” he said. According to aid agencies, the ongoing conflict and complex emergency in Somalia has displaced millions from their homes while over a million people have been internally displaced. According to EU, almost a similar number of Somalis have fled to neighbouring countries, mostly Kenya, Ethiopia and Yemen. The country has also been weakened by years of consecutive crises: famine, poor harvests, droughts and other natural disasters.
Meanwhile, safe and free humanitarian access to people in need remains difficult in certain areas.Somalia is also currently being affected by the extreme weather phenomenon ‘El Niño’. In the north.of the country, EU says that over 340 000 people affected by droughts are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. Last month, the EU announced support worth €79 million for the Greater Horn of Africa region, including Somalia, to deal with the consequences of ‘El Niño’.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Kenyan Military Says Mastermind Behind Somalia Attack Believed Killed
21 January – Source: Reuters – 417 Words
The Al- Shabaab commander, who masterminded an assault on a Kenyan army base in Somalia last week, is believed to have been killed in air raids by Kenyan warplanes, the country’s armed forces chief said on Thursday.The strikes over the weekend targeted two al Shabaab camps where the militants were hiding, General Samson Mwathethe, head of Kenya Defence Forces, said.”It is believed Mwalimu Janow, the leader of (an al Shabaab) brigade, who led this attack, was killed,” Mwathethe told reporters.Al-Shabaab, which is aligned with Al Qaeda, said its fighters killed more than 100 Kenyan soldiers when they overrun the base in Ceel Cadde, near the Kenyan border, on Jan.15.
The Islamist militants also claim to have captured some Kenyan soldiers belonging to an African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.Kenyan officials have not yet revealed the death toll but newspaper pictures of coffins draped with Kenyan flags bringing back dead soldiers has increased pressure on President Uhuru Kenyatta and his military chiefs.
Al Shabaab, which wants to impose a strict version of Islamic law in Somalia, said it has not lost any fighters since Friday’s attack.”This is merely propaganda meant to soothe Kenyans’ minds after the recent shocking massacre of Kenyan troops,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al Shabaab’s military spokesman, told Reuters.Al Shabaab on Wednesday published gruesome photos which purport to show the bullet-riddled bodies of dozens of Kenyan soldiers. Most appear to have been shot in the head.
Somalia Calls For Preservation Of Its Mother Tongue
21 January – Source: Xinhua – 198 Words
Somalia on Thursday marked the 43rd anniversary of the Somali Language Script which was formally written and adopted in the Horn of African country in 1972.President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud led other national leaders including the Speaker of Federal Parliament Mohamed Osman Jawari and ministers in celebrating the occasion which was renewed last year after several years interrupted by the civil war.
Speaking during the ceremony, Mohamud noted it was imperative for Somalia to adopt and promote its mother tongue.The president said it was imperative that all government offices adopted the Somali language in order to promote and encourage many others to learn the language.He said the Somali Language and Research Academy whose foundation stone was laid last year in the presence of Djibouti President Ismail Omar Gelleh will soon be opened to the public to promote the language in the larger Horn and East Africa. But the language has also faced enormous challenges from other foreign languages notably English and Arabic.
The Somali Diaspora which is located mainly in Europe and the U.S. have also contributed to diversification of languages in Somalia.Somali language is spoken in Djibouti, some parts of Kenya and Somalia.
OIC Denounces Iran’s Sectarian Agenda
21 January – Source: Saudi Gazette – 413 Words
An extraordinary meeting of the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Thursday denounced Iran’s interference in the internal affairs of the states in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria and Somalia, as well as its continued support for terrorism.
In a communiqué adopted at the end of the meeting held at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah, the pan Islamic body called for denouncing the sectarian and denominational agenda as it carries destructive impacts and serious repercussions for the security and stability of the member states and for international peace and security.
Ministers and senior officials from 37 member countries of the 57-member OIC attended the meeting, which was convened following a request from Saudi Arabia to discuss the repercussions of the attacks on its embassy and consulate in Iran. The meeting condemned the aggressions against the Saudi missions in Tehran and Mashhad, which constitute a flagrant violation of the Vienna Conventions and international law that guarantee the inviolability of diplomatic missions and respect for diplomatic missions accredited to any state in a clear and binding manner.
The meeting also noted that these aggressions contravene the OIC Charter and the Charter of the United Nations, which call for promoting trust and fostering friendly relations, mutual respect and cooperation among member states, resolving conflicts through peaceful means, and abstaining from interfering in the internal affairs of states. The meeting supported the legislative and legal measures taken by Saudi Arabia to counter aggressions against its diplomatic and consular missions in Iran.
The meeting also called on member states and the international community to take serious and effective steps to prevent the occurrence and recurrence of such aggressions on diplomatic and consular missions in Iran in the future. The OIC roundly rejected Iran’s inflammatory statements on the execution of judicial decisions against the perpetrators of terrorist crimes in the Kingdom, considering those statements as a blatant interference in the Kingdom’s internal affairs and a contravention of the UN and OIC Charters.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Viewing Dadaab as a problem ignores its potential. It is a commercial hub, with refugees running successful businesses from bakeries to designer boutiques. It provides services and a ready market for locals, and a huge tax return to the Kenyan government,”
The Refugee Camp That Became A City
21 January – Source: IRIN – 1142 Words
When Halima Abdi fled the civil war in Somalia with her young daughter, she hoped her stay across the border in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camp would be short-lived.Twenty-five years on, her granddaughter, Mihiyo, is breastfeeding her fourth child. Three generations of refugees in one family: just like the other 350,000 Somalis, they are forced to call this barren, dusty settlement some kind of home.“Even my parents spent most of their lives here. All we know is Dadaab, although we don’t belong to Kenya,” Mihiyo told IRIN.
Dadaab was initially established as a temporary haven for some 90,000 refugees fleeing the 1991 clan fighting. It is now a sprawling, bustling complex of five camps, boasting makeshift cinemas and soccer leagues – the third largest city in Kenya, after Nairobi and Mombasa.One reason for Dadaab’s growth is the Kenyan government’s strict encampment policy, which prevents refugees from settling outside. Most governments have traditionally seen this as convenient logistically, and as a way to reduce potential friction with host communities.
But it’s increasingly argued that camps should only be a last resort as they create more problems than they solve. They are not only unsustainable over the long term – damaging to the environment and a turn-off for donors – but in corralling refugees behind their gates, they also deny them basic rights and freedoms. As the humanitarian system looks to debate how to reshape the way aid is delivered, Dadaab seemingly offers some practical examples of how camp-based communities can play a positive role in the management of their own affairs.
Dadaab is under the overall control of the Kenyan government and UN refugee agency, UNHCR. But its five camps – Dagahaley, Hagadera, Ifo and more recent additions Ifo II and Kambioos – are in practical terms run by democratically-elected community volunteers. “We work hand in hand with the aid agencies. We have developed a very smooth system where we coordinate all the activities of the camps ranging from sanitation to security,” explained Rukia Ali Rage, the chairwoman of Ifo camp.
Dadaab is the world’s largest refugee complex. “It would be impossible for UNHCR and its partner agencies to implement their programmes without the support of the community leaders,” she told IRIN. Rage took over the leadership of Ifo in a camp-wide election in 2014, and is due to step down when her term ends later this year. It’s a lesson in democracy that the Somali government in Mogadishu, where elections are also due this year, will hopefully emulate.