January 30, 2015 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Joint forces take more rebel-held villages

29 Jan – Source: Hiiraan Online – 155 Words

In a further squeeze to the militants’ shrinking strongholds, Somali troops backed by the African Union forces have seized two more villages from the Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabab group in southern Somalia, officials said on Thursday. As parts of the relentless offensive against Al-Shabab group which is waging a deadly insurgency in Somalia, the troops have taken Janay-Abdalla and Farwamo villages along the Jubba river in Middle Jubba region after a brief battle with the group’s fighters. No causalities from the clashes have so far been reported. No comments could be reached from Al-Shabab on the latest developments. However, the group which lost most of its key strongholds has stepped up guerilla attack, largely in rural areas in central and southern Somalia.

Key Headlines

Joint forces take more rebel-held villages (Hiiraan Online)
Hamarjajab district won Benadir sanitation campaign contest (Radio Bar-kulan)
The installation of solar-powered lights kicks off on Industrial Road.(Radio Goobjoog)
Somali lawmakers unanimously pass national treasury bill (Radio RBC)
Somali writers showcase their works at Cairo Book Fair (Radio Danan)
Police arrest suspected mastermind of deadly Mandera attacks (Daily Nation)
Sh2 billion for irrigation in North Kenya (Star)
UN: Somalia’s food situation improving but still at risk (Voice of America English)
US court in Virginia to hear two Somali pirates’ appeals (AP/Washington top news)

SOMALI MEDIA

Joint forces take more rebel-held villages

29 Jan – Source: Hiiraan Online – 155 Words

Hamarjajab district won Benadir sanitation campaign contest

29 JAN – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 140 words

Benadir governor and Mogadishu mayor Hassan Mohamed Hussein (Mungab) on Thursday named Hamarjajab the cleanest district of the 16 districts in Mogadishu. The district won a sanitation campaign contest organized by the Mogadishu municipality held for all the districts in the capital. Hamarjajab district commissioner Ahmed Osman Dhorre congratulated residents of the district for their achievement and called on them to double their efforts in improving sanitation and keeping their districts clean and safe. Ahmed said the success was a result of unity and hard work and promised to do more in order to improve the district’s sanitation, security and social interactivity. The commissioner said the district recently hosted several of the country’s top leaders. He urged other districts to follow suit and work hard in improving sanitation and other essential public services.

The installation of solar-powered lights kicks off in Industrial Road.

29 JAN – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 145 words

The administration of Benadir started installing solar-powered lights in of one the main streets of the capital city, Industrial Road (wadada Warshadaha ) so as improve security and allow business activities along the roads to boom during the night. The governor of Benadir region and mayor of the city Hassan Mohamed Hussein Muungaab has officially cut ribbon of the illumination project of that street on Thursday. The governor stated the lighting project which is implementing by the administration Benadir region will erect 333 solar lights along the road for a distance about 10 kilometres. The mayor lastly called upon people living round Industrial Road to make use of lights and to take responsibility to handle them. The projects to illuminate the streets of Mogagishu have been going on for the past few years and it has successfully installed solar-power lights in Makka Al-mukarrama, wadnaha and Sodonka streets.

Somali Lawmakers unanimously pass national treasury bill

29 JAN – Source: Radio RBC – 78 words

Somali Members of Parliament have today unanimously approved the country’s national treasury bill after days of debate.The lawmakers have today ended three-days debate before passing the national treasury bill that was brought before the parliament three days ago. A hundred and fifty four lawmakers out of hundred and fifty eight lawmakers have voted for this new bill. Somali National General Auditor who was present in today’s parliamentary session thanked members of the parliament for their approval.

Somali writers showcase their works at Cairo Book Fair

29 JAN – Source: Radio Danan – 168 words

For nearly 25 years, book writers from Somalia didn’t take part in the Cairo Book Exhibition which is an international annual book fair. However, this year, Somali book writers were present. They were part of those who exhibited their works in Cairo, Egypt. Also, representatives of bookshop owners in Somalia were there at the Expo. The event was held in Cairo yesterday. The event was kick off by the Egyptian Prime Minister and other senior Egyptian government officials. The Egyptian premier paid a courtesy call to the Somali stand where he praised their works and said that they shined at the Expo. He added that they play a pivotal role in the development of Somalia. Ahmed Mohamed Bukhari, a Somali researcher who attended the expo told the media that Somalia has come back to the international platform and the attendance of the Somali writers is a good sign for the country. Somali writers were among other writers from 26 countries around the world especially from the Arab nations. The Somali flag was shown at that expo for the first time in nearly a quarter century.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Police arrest suspected mastermind of deadly Mandera attacks

28 JAN – Source: Daily Nation – 521 words

A man believed to be behind the 2014 terrorist attacks in Mandera that left 64 people dead has been arrested. The man, who was arrested in Mandera Town on Thursday, is also believed to be a member of Al-Shabaab militant group. Following the arrest, security was beefed up in Mandera Town. Local schools have borne the effects of the attacks, after teachers from outside the county refused to resume duty in January, citing security fears. The suspect, Salim Abubakar Kitonga, is a Kenyan by birth and police said he was actively involved in Al-Shabaab operations in Mandera County. Mandera Police Commander Job Boronjo said the suspect was cooperating well with the police and that other wanted Al-Shabaab sympathisers and sponsors would soon be arrested and arraigned in court.“This man Salim is a Kenyan and he has been on our list for long, as reports indicate he is behind the recruitment of Kenyans, Ugandans and Tanzanians into Al-Shabaab group based in Somalia,” said Mr Boronjo. He added that Kitonga had been facilitating the movement of new non-Somali recruits into Somalia through Bula Hawa and that he had been living at a mosque in Mandera Town that he refused to disclose. “There is enough information that he planned the two attacks that left 64 people dead late last year, but he is with us for further interrogations before he is taken to court,” said Mr Boronjo.

Sh2 billion for irrigation in North Kenya

28 JAN – Source: Star – 257 words

The government will spend Sh2 billion on irrigation projects in Mandera, Wajir and Garissa counties, Agriculture Cbinet Secretary Felix Koskei said yesterday. Koskei said plans are underway to ensure irrigation farming is practiced in the three counties. He was speaking at Khone Farm in Jarajara location, Garissa county, while inspecting the Rahole irrigation project. Koskei said Kenya will also partner with Egypt and Ethiopia, which have succeeded in irrigation farming and are food secure. The partnership will also target the war-torn Somalia, he said. Kosgei said the Rahole irrigation scheme will be used for rice production.In the irrigation project, the drilling of the canal is set to be completed next month and the River Tana water diverted to the farms. Koskei said surveys have shown that rice can do well in the 500-acre farm. He said in Mandera, the government will make use of River Dawa while in Wajir, boreholes are already being drilled for irrigation. “North Eastern has a great potential to be the country’s food basket if we get our priorities right. We have to go the irrigation way like Israel because drought is a perennial problem in this region,” Koskei said. He urged residents to practise mixed farming, which involves keeping livestock and crop production. Koskei said part of the problem in the region is as a result of over relying on livestock keeping. He urged the residents to support the projects, saying they stand to benefit a lot from them. More than 4,000 families will benefit from the Rahole irrigation scheme.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

UN: Somali’s food situation improving, but still at risk

29 Jan – Source: Voice of America, English – 390 Words

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization says food security in Somalia has actually improved of late, following years of drought. But as experts point out, Somalia’s food situation is still far from normal. The disastrous dry spells that have wracked war-torn Somalia for years seem to have loosened their grip on the country, at least for the moment. New figures released by the FAO on Wednesday shows that the most recent rains in Somalia were normal, and that the number of people facing a food crisis has declined over the past six months by around 30 percent.

But these improvements may be temporary. Nina Dodd, who works with the U.N. Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit, pointed out that other key indicators, such as child malnutrition, have not been improving. In some places, she said, they have actually been getting worse. “Food security is not only responsible for nutrition. Malnutrition can be caused by a lot of factors. In south-central Somalia the situation is worse. We see critical levels of malnutrition,” said Dodd. The devastating famine that struck Somalia between 2010 and 2012 killed more than a quarter of a million people — half of them children under the age of five. The country’s U.N. humanitarian coordinator at the time said the international community was partly to blame, having not acted quickly enough to counter the effects of a severe drought.

US court in Virginia to hear two Somali pirates’ appeals

29 Jan – Source: Associated Press/Washington top news – 430 Words

Two Somali pirates convicted in the shooting deaths of four Americans aboard a yacht will have their appeals heard in a Virginia courtroom. Abukar Osman Beyle and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar were sentenced to 21 life terms for their roles in the February 2011 attack off the coast of Africa. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Thursday morning in Richmond. Beyle and Abrar were among 19 men who boarded the 58-foot yacht in hopes of holding the Americans for ransom. The plan fell apart when the U.S. Navy intervened. Yacht owners Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, Calif., and their friends, Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay of Seattle, were killed. Four pirates also died.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“The Somali government missed key opportunities in 2014 to enact reforms that would curtail rights violations. Civilians again bore the brunt of the government’s failure to rein in abusive forces and make justice a priority.”

Somalia: limited progress in protecting civilians

29 Jan – Source; Human Rights Watch – 461 Words

The Somali government made limited progress in 2014 in protecting civilians from abusive armed forces in the country’s long conflict, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2015. Displaced populations were most vulnerable to sexual violence and forced evictions, while the armed Islamist group Al-Shabaab targeted civilians for attack. “The Somali government missed key opportunities in 2014 to enact reforms that would curtail rights violations,” said Leslie Lefkow, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Civilians again bore the brunt of the government’s failure to rein in abusive forces and make justice a priority.”

In the 656-page world report, its 25th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries. In his introductory essay, Executive Director Kenneth Roth urges governments to recognize that human rights offer an effective moral guide in turbulent times, and that violating rights can spark or aggravate serious security challenges. The short-term gains of undermining core values of freedom and non-discrimination are rarely worth the long-term price. In Somalia, proposed judicial reforms and other government plans to improve accountability for the security forces were hampered by political infighting and reshuffles in senior posts, tensions over federalism, and ongoing insecurity in government-controlled areas.

The government failed to protect hundreds of thousands of displaced people living in dire conditions around the capital, Mogadishu, who are at risk of forced evictions and other serious abuses. While the government endorsed a comprehensive plan to tackle the alarming levels of sexual violence across the country, implementation was slow and there was no basic protection for those most vulnerable to abuse. The government prosecuted suspected Al-Shabaab members and supporters, as well as Somali military personnel, in military courts, though military court proceedings do not meet international fair trial standards. The court frequently imposes the death penalty, and at least 15 people were executed in 2014.