January 26, 2016 | Morning Headlines
EALA Says It Stands With Kenya, Somalia, Against Terrorism
25 January – Source: New Times – 483 Words
The East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) sitting in Arusha, Tanzania, has expressed its solidarity with Kenya following an Al Shabaab terrorist attack that killed its troops in Somalia last week. At a news conference on Monday, EALA Speaker Daniel F. Kidega said, EALA would like to see the East African Community (EAC) find permanent solution to “the despicable acts of terrorism.”
Before commencing the media briefing, lawmakers stood and observed a moment of silence in memory of the fallen members of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and Somali civilians killed at a Mogadishu beach hotel: “We condemn in the strongest terms possible, the recent attacks by Al Shabaab terrorists. On behalf of the Assembly and on my own behalf, I wish to express solidarity with the families of the deceased, missing and injured KDF soldiers,” Kidega said.
“The Assembly also urges the International community to equally stand with Kenya and Somalia to fight against these evil forces. It should be remembered that the Republic of Kenya is yet to recover from the effects of last year’s attack by the Al-Shabaab on Garissa University.” At least 147 people, mostly students, were killed in an attack by Al-Shabaab militants on the university in north-eastern Kenya. Over 80 other people were injured in the attack.
During the two-week sitting, EALA will also consider other issues, including committee reports arising from various petitions forwarded to the Assembly. Petitions are one of the ways by which the Assembly enhances collaboration with regional citizens. Over the last few months, the Assembly received several petitions from various EAC stakeholders.
Key Headlines
- EALA Says It Stands With Kenya Somalia Against Terrorism (New Times)
- Somalia Election Talks Collapse Again (Garowe Online)
- South West State To Hold Talks With Opposition (Goobjoog News)
- Unarmed Civilian Shot Dead In Marko Town (Shabelle News)
- Report Of Death Toll False KDF Says (Daily Nation)
- Piracy Threat Rises for Ships Off Somalia This Year IHS Says (Bloomberg News)
- Somali Refugee Children Excited For 1st Day Of Classes In Winnipeg (CBC News)
- Waging A Secretive War Runs The Risk Of Turning Somalia Into Iraq (Daily Nation)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Election Talks Collapse Again
25 January – Source: Garowe Online – 183 Words
Political talks in Mogadishu have not led to any breakthrough as differences are still looming large over electoral transition, Garowe Online has reliably established. Puntland Environment Minister Ali Abdullahi Warsame has confirmed to Garowe Online that Monday’s deliberations ended in disarray after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud came up with new proposals of selecting Members of Parliament.
The President is reported to have suggested that the Lower House should have representatives on the basis of 4.5 (clan) power sharing formula, while seats in the Upper House should evenly be distributed to Federal Member States and interim administrations, with additional three seats being allotted for Puntland and Somaliland. However, the suggestion was immediately objected by Galmudug President Abdikarin Hussein Gulled. He maintained that no concessions should be made in favor of Puntland and Somaliland.
Disappointed representatives of the international community have told the disputing Somali leaders to sort out their differences within 48 hours. Somaliland, which declared its independence from the rest of the country in 1991 has not been officially represented in the long dragging National Consultative Forum (NCF). Puntland wants that district-based and region-based models be adopted for the Lower House and Upper House respectively. Earlier this month, Somali leaders sitting in Kismayo failed to agree on the political roadmap ahead of this year’s polls.
South West State To Hold Talks With Opposition
25 January – Source: Goobjoog News – 130 Words
The President of the Interim South West Administration( ISWA), Shariff Adan, says his government is ready to hold talks with the opposition following his recent visit to some parts of Bakool region. While in Bakool, Shariff Hassan held talks with traditional elders and politicians from the region where he discussed a wide range of issues including the newly named regional state of Upper Bakool State.
According to the Rehabilitation Minister, Hassan Hussien, President Shariff is ready to hold talks with those who are dissatisfied with his administration, with a view to ironing out any existing differences: “ The President went to Bakool region to hold talks with all those who were unhappy with how the administration was formed, ” said Hassan. The move comes after reports emerged that some MPs were contemplating impeaching President Shariff.
Unarmed Civilian Shot Dead In Marko Town
25 January – Source: Shabelle News – 99 Words
Unknown gunmen on Monday night shot dead a civilian in the southern coastal town of Marko. Eyewitness said hooded pistol-wielding men killed the man, who was identified only as Sadik, at the city’s money exchange market. The gunmen managed to escape from the scene. The motive behind the killing of the civilian and the identity of the killers remain unclear. Investigation are ongoing to determine those behind the ugly drama. Marko, a seaside city, is located approximately 110 kilometers south of Somali capital, Mogadishu. The city has in the recent past witnessed a series of murders and Al Shabaab related attacks.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Report Of Death Toll False, KDF Says
26 January – Source: Daily Nation – 223 Words
The Defence headquarters has distanced itself from reports attributed to its allies following the El-Adde attack. The reports range from purported death toll to whether there was intelligence before the bloody January 15 attack in which many soldiers died.
Military spokesman David Obonyo responded to latest claims by Governor Nur Burale of Garbaharey Town in Gedo region who said 200 Kenyan soldiers died in the dawn attack: “That is propaganda. The figure is way beyond the number expected in a company which has 120 people. There are many soldiers who survived. Some were airlifted to Nairobi while others are in Wajir awaiting deployment,” he said.
Col Obonyo, however, declined to give the death toll or the number of survivors and missing soldiers. Last week, Chief of Defence Forces Samson Mwathethe said the figures would be established by a board of inquiry. He also disputed reports attributed to a Somali general who said Kenya had received intelligence that the camp would be attacked. Al-Shabaab militants gained entry into the camp using three vehicles full of explosives. The camp was finally recaptured by reinforcements from Wajir, Mandera and El-Wak.
Piracy Threat Rises for Ships Off Somalia This Year, IHS Says
25 January – Source: Bloomberg News – 220 Words
Ships traveling through waters off the coast of Somalia face an increased risk of piracy this year, fostered by deteriorating political conditions in the center of the Horn of Africa nation, IHS Inc. said.
Conditions that led regional politicians to provide safe havens between 2005 and 2012 for hijacked ships to be stored during lengthy ransom negotiations are being recreated in Somalia’s Galmudug region, the Englewood, Colorado-based risk adviser said Monday in an e-mailed report.“This means that Somali pirates, who still have the technical capabilities, manpower, weaponry and financing networks to organize deep-water hijacks, may soon regain the secure ship-storage locations required to resume operations,” IHS said.
There were no attacks on vessels in waters patrolled by the European Union Naval Force, known as EU Navfor, last year, compared with two the year before, according to data on its website. At their peak, the number of attacks totaled 176 in 2011, it said. In addition to Somalia’s coastal territory, EU Navfor patrols cover the southern Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and areas of the Indian Ocean including the Seychelles, Mauritius and Comoros.About 60 percent of commercial shipping traveling through the “historic piracy zone” no longer carry privately contracted armed security personnel on board because of costs and perceptions that piracy is not a significant risk, IHS said.
Somali Refugee Children Excited For 1st Day Of Classes In Winnipeg
25 January – Source: CBC News – 263 Words
Ten brothers and sisters from a newly-landed family of Somali refugees are getting excited and impatient waiting for classes to begin at their new schools in Winnipeg. The family of 11 siblings — one of them an 18-month-old baby — travelled from Saudi Arabia and touched down at Winnipeg’s James Armstrong Richardson International Airport on Jan. 14. The children range in age from eight to 16.
Hospitality House Refugee Ministry and the Anglican Diocese of Rupert’s Land sponsored the family, who had been hiding in Saudi Arabia for months under the threat of deportation. They’ve since reunited with their brother in Winnipeg. He made it to North America using a false passport more than a year ago at the age of 16. He eventually made his way to the U.S. border crossing in southern Manitoba, where he made an asylum claim.
Left to right, top to bottom: Kinda, 18 months; Nasiimo, 14; Mustafa, 10; Muna, 16; Amal, 11; Mohamed, 12; Huda, 13; Nima, 8; Yassin, 9; Ayan, 15; and Fahmi, 10. (Supplied) Karin Gordon, executive director of settlement with Hospitality House Refugee Ministry, said the children are becoming more comfortable in Winnipeg every day.
“They’re very happy. They finally are no longer afraid and are feeling confident and, you know, they’re just like normal kids,” Gordon said. The children have been out of school for several years and are getting eager to get back into the classroom, Gordon said: “They’re just gangbusters, ready to go,” Gordon said. “There are two children, the youngest children, who have never been to school at all.”
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“However, refusal to release such information allows Al-Shabaab to become the main source of such information, which is ridiculous because it allows the terrorist organisation to mould the narrative about its activities according to its own warped agenda”.
Waging A Secretive War Runs The Risk Of Turning Somalia Into Iraq
24 January – Source: Daily Nation – 703 Words
The brutal attack by Al-Shabaab militants on the Kenyan Defence Forces based at the El-Adde camp in the Gedo region of Somalia has not only dealt a severe blow to the morale of Kenyan forces serving under Amisom, but has also laid bare how little Kenyans know about what our soldiers are doing in Somalia and under what conditions.
The paucity of official information from the Commander-in-Chief, President Uhuru Kenyatta, and his Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo about the number or identities of the casualties has left many families in a state of deep anxiety. It has also denied the Kenyan people from properly mourning their dead. To date, no state funeral or memorial has been held for the KDF soldiers who have died in Somalia, and it is unlikely that these will be held for those who perished at the El-Adde camp.
Kenyans do not know how to honour their true heroes. That is why the death last week of Salah Farah, one of the “Mandera heroes”, who shielded Christians during a terrorist attack in December, was barely reported in the media. Nor were there any condolences sent to the family by senior government officials. KDF has been justifying its silence on the number of casualties in Somalia on the grounds that releasing details about its military operations and casualties would embolden Al-Shabaab and reduce troop morale.
However, refusal to release such information allows Al-Shabaab to become the main source of such information, which is ridiculous because it allows the terrorist organisation to mould the narrative about its activities according to its own warped agenda. The recent attack has also re-ignited debate about whether Kenyan forces should continue being dispatched to Somalia and whether it is time for an exit strategy.
The attack has also exposed the fault lines within Amisom. In June last year, Vanda Felbab-Brown, writing in Foreign Policy magazine, said that despite some success in rooting out Al-Shabaab in many parts of southern and central Somalia, Amisom has been unable to completely vanquish the terrorist organisation as there is a weak command structure within Amisom and little coordination between the different countries whose soldiers are serving under the mission.