July 12, 2018 | Morning Headlines
European Union To Co-host The Somalia Partnership Forum In Brussels
11 July – Source: EU – 171 Words
The European Union together with the Federal Government of Somalia and Sweden will host the Somalia Partnership Forum, scheduled for July 16-17, in Brussels, Belgium. The event aims to mobilise the international community to step up support for Somalia’s efforts to build a more secure and prosperous future following years of conflict.
High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini will co-chair the conference with Mr Hassan Ali Khayre, Prime Minister of Federal Government Somalia and Ms Margot Wallström, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden. Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides will also attend.
The opening remarks of the ministerial level session on 17 July will be broadcast live. The EU is a leading supporter of Somalia in a wide range of areas, in particular on security with 3 Common Security and Defence Policy missions in the country. For the period 2015-2020, the EU and its Member States will provide €3.5 billion to the country in development and humanitarian aid as well as peacekeeping operations.
Key Headlines
- European Union To Co-host The Somalia Partnership Forum In Brussels (EU)
- Somali Parliament Goes On Two Months Recess (Halbeeg News)
- Farmajo Returns Home After Week-Long Trip (Garowe Online)
- Somalia And Djibouti Receive €89.5 Million In EU Humanitarian Assistance (EU)
- Uhuru Top US Commander Renew Commitment To Peace In Somalia S.Sudan (Capital News)
- Families Fleeing From Galmudug Conflict Sleeping Under Trees And In School (Radio Ergo)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Parliament Goes On Two Months Recess
11 July – Source: Halbeeg News – 139 Words
Lawmakers of Somalia’s Federal Parliament have started a two months recess on Wednesday. The Speaker of the Federal Parliament, Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdirahman, announced that the third session of the Parliament was officially closed. According to a statement shared with the presidency and Cabinet ministers, the third session came to a close on 10th July.
According to the official communication, Members of Parliament are expected to resume sittings on the 10 day of September. During the recess, the MPs are expected to visit their respective constituencies to assess development projects and interact with their constituents.
During the last parliamentary session, lawmakers approved several bills including the telecommunication bill, and also voted unanimously for the bill banning United Arab Emirates owned company, DP World, from operating in Somalia, after signing a controversial deal on Berbera port with Somaliland and Ethiopia.
Farmajo Returns Home After Week-Long Trip
11 July – Source: Garowe Online – 180 Words
Somali President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo returned to the country on Wednesday after trips to neighbouring Djibouti and Turkey, which lasted several days. The President was warmly welcomed by government officials, ministers and Federal MPs, upon arriving at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu.
Farmajo held no media briefing at the airport upon arrival. The President, who was accompanied by Foreign Affairs, Trade and Finance ministers, left the country for Djibouti last Thursday for the Africa-China Economic Forum which was held between 5th and 7th July. He, along with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Rwandan President Paul Kagame also participated in the opening ceremony of the first phase of Chinese-built International Free Trade Zone.
From Djibouti, Farmajo’s entourage landed in Turkey last Sunday, where he joined other Heads of States in witnessing the inauguration of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex on July 9, following his recent re-election as President.
The President held separate meetings with several leaders and the ruling Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of Erdogan’s oath-taking ceremony.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia And Djibouti Receive €89.5 Million In EU Humanitarian Assistance
11 July – Source: EU – 260 Words
Somalia and Djibouti will receive €89.5 million in European Union humanitarian assistance, as millions of people in the two countries grapple with the consequences of prolonged extreme weather.
“The devastating effects of two years of drought and the recent intense flooding are taking their toll on the livelihood of millions of people in Somalia,” said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides. “Our aid will target the most vulnerable and provides life-saving support to those affected by climatic shocks and internal conflict.”
Out of the aid package, Somalia will receive €89 million in emergency assistance to reach communities displaced by severe drought, focussing on the prevention and treatment of malnutrition, water supply and livestock protection, as well as health measures against epidemics. About half of Somalia’s 12 million inhabitants are food insecure and in need of humanitarian assistance, while an estimated 1.2 million children are expected to be acutely malnourished during the course of 2018.
With €119 million allocated to Somalia in 2017 alone, the EU has drastically scaled up its humanitarian assistance to the country, helping to avert a catastrophe similar to the 2011 famine which resulted in 260,000 deaths.
Uhuru, Top US Commander Renew Commitment To Peace In Somalia, S.Sudan
11 July – Source: Capital News – 595 Words
Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta held a meeting with General Thomas Waldhauser, the US-Africa Command Commander Wednesday morning where they discussed regional security including the situation in Somalia and South Sudan. During the meeting, President Kenyatta who has been at the forefront in the efforts to restore peace and stability in the two East African countries told General Waldhauser that Kenya is firmly committed to the cause of finding peace in Somalia, an aspiration that has in the past been negated by lack of adequate capacity, and proper military commands.
Political turmoil in South Sudan, said President Kenyatta, has been made worse by unwarranted fear and mistrust between supporters of President Salva Kiir and Dr Riek Machar. President Kenyatta however said hope to restore stability in both countries is not lost and partner-states working towards peace in the region will remain committed to the cause: “We shall give it everything we can. But it is not going to be easy”, President Kenyatta said in reference to South Sudan.
President Kenyatta said Somalia faces further challenges of mistrust and internal politics between the Federal Government (TFG) and regional governments: “The deteriorating relationships between the Federal government and the regional governments is of major concern to us,” said President Kenyatta adding that the conflict is a major security threat to Kenya and the region.
He called for structures that will enable the federal government to work with the regional governments. The President counselled that for peace and stability to be restored in Somalia, its leadership needs to refocus its attention and energies into addressing issues that cause national divisions and avoid being drawn into partisan distractions.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Nur told Radio Ergo they have been collecting money and food from residents in the town to give to the displaced families, who are mainly pastoralists and business people.”
Families Fleeing From Galmudug Conflict Sleeping Under Trees And In School
11 July – Source: Radio Ergo – 400 Words
Single mother Hawo Osman Abdi and her nine children have been sleeping outside under a tree for several days and night since running away from their home in Aad, in central Somalia’s Galmudug state, after conflict erupted between local people and Al-Shabab fighters. Hawo told Radio Ergo’s local reporter that they fled for fear of their lives, without picking up any of their belongings from their house.
The left on Sunday 1 July at around two o’clock in the morning as the noise and commotion of conflict spread around them. They reached the town of Amara to the north in the afternoon of Tuesday 3 July: “We trekked for three days and two nights, and there was no one who even managed to carry shoes. We have all got cuts and blisters on our feet. We abandoned everything we had, we didn’t eat, we are barely alive,” said Hawo, still highly stressed from the recent events. Hawo, her children, and her elderly father walked together. They only got water along the way. She said they stopped occasionally to eat some plant leaves to avoid starving. They ended up in Amara with only the clothes they are wearing. The children have to sleep on the bare ground.
Hawo’s family is one of 480 families displaced from Aad, El-Abdi, Gabhale, Wable, and Dhex-kaxiran, which all come under Harar-dhere administration in Mudug region. They scattered and fled to Amara, Hobyo, El-hur, and Ba’adweyne. Nur Salah Hussien has been appointed by the Amara administration to organize relief aid for the people displaced by the armed conflict. Nur told Radio Ergo they have been collecting money and food from residents in the town to give to the displaced families, who are mainly pastoralists and business people. Hawo said she was given six kg of flour and rice by the Amara administration.
Some families have been moved to a school in Amara, which is closed for the holidays until August 5th. Nesteho Elimi and her eight children are camping at the school, after walking from Wable, 26 km from Amara, and spending a day and night on the road. Nesteho said they have been eating just one meal provided by relatives. She turned to her relatives after the little food they had been given by the administration ran out. Other families fleeing the conflict have moved to the rural areas or are putting up with relatives.