January 3, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somali Police, AMISOM conduct night patrols in Mogadishu

02 Jan- Source: Al Shahid- 99 words
Somalia police force and AU troops have started night patrols in the capital, Mogadishu.
The partols are aimed at ensuring the security of the city which is emerging from long wars.
Somalia Police spokesman Gen. Abdullahi Hassan Barise said the operations will continue till the security of the city is ensured.
Recents in some districts of Mogadishu reported AMISOM troops in their armoured vehicles conducting security checks in the main roads of the capital.
Since the ousting of al Shabaab militants from Mogadishu in early August 2011, there has been significant improvement in the security of the war ton capital.

Key Headlines

Government delegation in Baidoa observes the livelihood of National Forces people ( Radio Mogadishu)
Benadir admin disowns man behind Mayor Tarsan’s assassination attempt (Radio Bar-kulan)
Former Puntland President: Farole’s term extension is illegal (Radio Kulmiye)
Two burnt to death in yet another deadly fire in Mahas district (Radio Bar-Kulan)
MSF warns of new influx of refugees in Kenya’s Dadaab camp (Coastweek)
Ethiopia says breaks up Islamist militant cell ( Reuters)

SOMALI MEDIA

Government delegation in Baidoa observes the livelihood of National Forces, people

02 Jan- Source: Radio Mogadishu/SONNA- 190 words
A delegation led by Defense Minister of the Somali Federal Government, Abdulhakim Haji Mohamud has reached Baidoa city, the capital of Bay region, where he is expected to hold talks with officials of the region and African union peacekeeping forces.

The defense minister said that they are very pleased with their visit to Baidoa, adding that president Hassan Sh. Mohamud and premier of the Somali Federal Government, Abdi Farah Shirdon sent them there to observe the conditions of the people and soldiers.

The minister said that Baidoa is safe and even took a walk along the streets in Baidoa without fear

Benadir admin disowns man behind Mayor Tarsan’s assassination attempt

02 Jan- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Jowhar Online- 160 words
Benadir regional administration has disowned a suspect who is in the national spy agency’s custody for allegedly conspiring to assassinate Mogadishu mayor Mohamud Ahmed Tarsan as one of its employees.
The administration said in a press statement on Wednesday that after conducting a thorough investigation into the issue, they have established the suspect in custody, Tahlil Abdullahi Noor, was not one of their own, contrary to earlier reports that Noor is an employee of regional administration.
According to earlier reports by the national security services (NSS), Noor was sent by al Shabaab militant group to help the group assassinate the regional governor Mohamoud Tarsan.
The statement however confirms that Noor used to be a driver with Mogadishu municipal council and a workmate of the former Director General of the council.
The suspect allegedly confessed that he was sent by the militant group to plant explosives inside the mayor’s office in bid to eliminate him with a promise of kickbacks.

Former Puntland President: Farole’s term extension is illegal

02 Jan- Source: Radio Kulmiye- 136 words
The former president of the Puntland State of Somalia Adde Muse Hersi who on Wednesday reached Galkayo town of the capital of Mudug expressed that it is illegitimate for the current president Abdirahman Mohamud Farole to extend period his presidency term.

Adde Muse called on all responsible people in the Puntland administration to vacate the places of their work, urging President Farole to reconsider his move.

It was recently since the Puntland administration added a 1 year period to its tenure since the period of the government ended.

Two burnt to death in yet another deadly fire in Mahas district

02 Jan- Source: Radio Bar-Kulan- 132 words
At least two people died, seven others injured and several makeshift houses destroyed when a huge fire razed down three villages, near central Somali town of Mahas, Hiran region.
Reports say the fire which gutted Kheyranle, Dibbugal and Haloshinley villages under unknown circumstances, also caused massive property loss, with reports of number of livestock burnt to death.
Most of the victims are said to be pastoralist families living around these ill-fated villages. It is not yet clear what caused the fire.
Exiled Mahas district commissioner, Mu’min Mohamed Halane, told Bar-kulan that locals managed to put out Kheyranle fire but the two other villages are still on fire.
The incident comes just few days after three children died and 20 people were injured in a similar incident in Gal’ad village, near Mahas town.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somali Police, AMISOM conduct night patrols in Mogadishu

MSF warns of new influx of refugees in Kenya’s Dadaab camp

02 Jan- Source: Coastweek/Xinhua 634 words
The international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has warned a new influx of refugees in Kenya’s Dadaab camp after the East African country ordered refugees and asylum seekers living in urban areas to return to the camp.
In a statement received in Nairobi on Tuesday, the medical charity expressed deep concern about the medical consequences following the recent public statements from Kenyan authorities exhorting thousands of Somali refugees in Kenya to leave urban areas and go to remote and already saturated camps.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Ethiopia says breaks up Islamist militant cell

02 Jan- Source: Reuters- 340 words
Ethiopian police have arrested 15 suspected militants allegedly trained by Islamist rebels in neighboring Somalia and who were plotting attacks in Ethiopia, the country’s intelligence agency said on Wednesday.
The arrests were the latest in a crackdown on what senior officials say is a growing threat from militant Islam in Ethiopia, a Horn of Africa nation predominantly comprised of Orthodox Christians and a large minority of Muslims.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“The two perspectives are, needless to say, quite different in tone. The heart of the difference, though, may lie in the very different ways in which the statements characterize the relationship between the government and its external partners/donors. For Mahiga, the support of the international community can constitute a critical resource in propelling a successful political transition in Somalia. For Weinstein, if I am reading him right, the international donors undermine the government’s sovereignty at the same time that they enable its existence, and their choices with regard to allocation of resources leave the government weak and dependent.”

Two Perspectives on Somalia’s Government and Its Prospects

02 Jan- Source: Sahel Blog-1036 Words
United Nations Special Representative to Somalia Augustine Mahiga, in his “Year End Letter” to the people of Somalia:
We have come to the end of an historic year for Somalia, for the region and for the rest of the international community. On 10 September 2012 a new Somali Parliament, sitting in Mogadishu, elected a President—the first such democratic exercise in over twenty years. Holding such an election in the Somali capital would have been unthinkable just months before, and it sent an unambiguous signal to Somalis, to the region and to the international community that the winds of change were blowing. In Mogadishu, the sound of gunfire and explosions has been replaced with the noise of construction and the hum of commerce. Flights into the city are booked solid months in advance. New restaurants and hotels open every day and the city’s building boom produces frequent concrete shortages. Fresh produce from the countryside and fish from the ocean spill from the city’s bustling markets and scores of Somalis from the diaspora return to Mogadishu each day. Similar stories are being played out in other cities recently recovered from the insurgents. Hope and progress have returned to Somalia.