July 15, 2015 | Morning Headlines

Main Story

6 Killed In Heavy Clashes In Southern Somalia

14 July – Source: Xinhua – 197 Words

At least six people, including four Al-Shabaab militants and two Somali military officers were killed on Tuesday after attacks by Al-Shabaab in Bay town in southern Somalia, officials and witnesses said. Senior military officer Adow Jim’ale said the deceased were killed in an attack on a military base in Kulmis village, about 8 kilometers from Badio town of Bay region. “During the attack, we lost two soldiers and we also killed four fighters from Al-Shabaab,” Jim’ale told Xinhua by telephone. The military officer said the Somali government troops forced the attackers to escape the scene. “After a brief battle they fled away because of the bravery of our troops,” said the officer of the latest incident which has sparked tension in Bay town. Salad Madey, one of the residents in Kulmis, told Xinhua that he heard a heavy gunfire in the village and the clashes lasted for several hours. “We could not get out because the battle was very fierce, the clashes had ended, but the situation remains tense,” Salad said. The Al-Qaida linked group Al-Shabaab which vowed to intensify attacks during the holy month of Ramadan later claimed responsibility, saying its militants killed many Somali troops.

Key Headlines

6 Killed In Heavy Clashes In Southern Somalia (Xinhua)
Kenya Accused Of Killing Somali Government Soldiers In Airstrikes (Garowe Online)
General Manager Of Somali Civil Aviation And Meteorology Authority (SCAMA) Resigns (Goobjoog News)
Severe Drought Reported Near Bargal Coastal Town (Garowe Online)
Deadly Clan Battle Kills 4 People In Central Somalia (Shabelle News)
National Police Commissioner Promoted To Brigadier General (Goobjoog News)
Mortar Rounds Rain Down On Kismayo (Shabelle News)
Nairobi’s Westgate Mall To Reopen Nearly 2 Years After Deadly Al-Shabaab Attack (CTV News)
Somali Pirate Releases Raise Concerns (IHS Maritime 360)
Federalism In Somalia Is At A Crossroads (RBC Radio)
Good Literary Citizens: An Interview With Ladan Osman (The Paris Review)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Kenya Accused Of Killing Somali Government Soldiers In Airstrikes

14 June – Source: Garowe Online – 151 Words

Somali government official has accused Kenya of killing close to 50 people in deadly airstrikes over the last two days, Garowe Online reports. Somali National Army (SNA) commander Col. Adan Ahmed Hirsi said, Kenyan fighter jets made strikes against military bases, killing government soldiers and civilians caught unprepared in the aerial bombardment. “Kenyan forces inflicted countless losses on our people, even they killed soldiers serving with Somali military after missile strikes on their base, and nobody will bring Kenya’s flagrant violation to account,” Hirsi told the media on Tuesday. Apart from the commander’s claims, Mogadishu-based federal government and independent sources have not verified civilian casualties. Airstrikes have targeted rural areas where Al-Shabaab is believed to have stashed its meager supplies. Kenya has suffered from unrelenting violence since its troops crossed the border to battle Al-Shabaab militants in border regions in 2011.

General Manager Of Somali Civil Aviation And Meteorology Authority (SCAMA) Resigns

14 July – Source: Goobjoog News – 141 Words

Mohamud Farah who was the acting manager of Somali civil aviation has today resigned from his post. The resigned manager has explained the rationale of his resignation as personal frustration of Transportation and Aviation Ministry policy towards SCAMA. “Although I enjoyed my job tremendously, I am terribly disappointed that after I carefully considered and studied of the cost and duration of ICAO project Som14801 and SOM14801. I have reasoned why numerous agreements signed by the government and ICAO did not produce any result,” he said in his resignation letter. He also complained that ministry paralyzed the ability of Somali Aviation and Meteorology to function properly. This comes after months of difficult relationship between Minister of Transportation and Civil Aviation and the manager of Somali civil aviation and other metrology managers.

Severe Drought Reported Near Bargal Coastal Town

14 June – Source: Garowe Online – 234 Words

Severe drought has endangered the lives of hundreds of pastoralists in far flung areas in Bari region of northeastern Somalia, Garowe Online reports. Female councilor in Bargal coastal town, Jawahir Musse Mohamed on Tuesday told Puntland-based independent station, Radio Garowe that currently barrel of water si valued at 200,000 Somali Shilling ($10), an increase from 10,000 So.Sh ($0.5) per barrel of water at normal price. “There’s a drought in Bargal but it is less drastic. The water became saline, also several villages have been affected,” said Mohamed. The worst-hit villages include Qorahad, Conqoro and Nudiya where livelihood of pastoralists is also at risk.

Most of these areas, people are dependent on frankincense and earnings of fishing in nearby Bargal coastal town. Nevertheless, she is worried about the emaciated livestock and soaring prices of water as well as diesel. “Deyr and Gu’ rainy seasons were erratic and faded without adequate pasture. Water trucks wade along rough earthen roads, mostly in poor condition and there has been hiking fuel price of petrol” Jawahir noted, adding that illegal trawlers affected day-to-day activities of local fishermen in the coastal waters. Puntland government and international aid agencies have not reached out to the remote areas. About 60% of population is reliant on raising of goats, sheep, camels and cattle for their livelihoods, however many households were left more destitute in recent famines.

Deadly Clan Battle Kills 4 People In Central Somalia

14 June – Source: Shabelle News – 80 Words

Heavy tribal gun-battle broke out between two armed clan militias outside Harardhere town in central Somalia’s Mudug province, leaving at least 4 people dead, witnesses said. The clashes erupted when armed group launched an attack on another militia in Gumar area over worsening clan retaliation. Both warring sides reportedly used heavy and light weapons during the skirmishes. Neither Somalia officials nor both clan leaders have commented on the fighting so far.

National Police Commissioner Promoted To Brigadier General

14 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 87 Words

The president of Somalia has promoted the National Police Commander Mohamed Sheik Hassan Hamud to the rank of Brigadier General, the highest military rank for a police offcier in Somalia ever attained. In a ceremony, Somalia’s security minister Abdirisak Omar Mohamed attached the new rank to the commissioner. The minister said “the president of the republic has bestowed the rank of Brigadier General to the commissioner under section 87 of the constitution in accordance with the competence of Hon. Mohamed Hamud”. The top cop who took at the helm recently has been tasked with restructuring the beleaguered national military force and the new rank would enable him to work effectively.

Mortar Rounds Rain Down On Kismayo

14 July – Source: Shabelle News – 101 Words

Several mortar rounds rained down on Kismayo airport and other key bases in the town which lies 328 miles (528 km) southwest of Mogadishu, reportedly killing dozens of people, witnesses said. The mortars were fired from unknown locations, according to Jubaland police officials who spoke to Shabelle Media in Mogadishu. The police declined to comment on the incident. The casualties resulted from the shelling are yet to be established. The Islamist group Al-Shaab is believed to have carried out the attacks against airport and bases manned by Kenya forces serving under Africa Union Mission for Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeepers.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Nairobi’s Westgate Mall To Reopen Nearly 2 Years After Deadly Al-Shabaab Attack

14 July – Source: CTV News – 279 Words

Nairobi’s Westgate Mall is to re-open Saturday, nearly two years after it was attacked by Somalia’ Islamic extremist rebels who killed at least 67 people, Kenyan officials said Tuesday. The mall has been extensively refurbished since the devastating four-day siege. The violence erupted on Sept. 21, 2013 when four Islamic militants entered the mall and fired on shoppers. Kenyan police and army responded but the gunmen held the building for four days. The four attackers are believed to have died from smoke inhalation from a fire that collapsed a central roof. The mall was left in shambles, with bullet-scarred walls, shattered windows, flooded floors and bloodstains. Kenyan army soldiers were also accused of looting shops. But Kenya has rebounded from the violence, said Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero, who toured the mall on Tuesday.

“The indomitable Kenyan spirit prevailed, they didn’t break our spirit,” Kidero said. Every business that had a shop in the mall is back, Kidero said. Nairobi is safe and U.S .President Barack Obama’s visit to the country later this month is testimony to Kenya’s security, said Kidero who urged shoppers to turn out Saturday for the re-opening. One of those returning will be Charlse Kimondo, a worker at the Nakumatt Supermarket in the mall. On the day of the attack he was in the storeroom when he heard gunshots accompanied by screams. He escaped but was shocked by the bloodbath. Numerous counselling sessions helped him get over the ordeal and return to work. Al-Shabaab said the Westgate attack was in retaliation for Kenya sending troops to Somalia in 2011 to fight the Islamic extremist rebels. Kenya sent its forces in after cross-border attacks by al-Shabab.

Somali Pirate Releases Raise Concerns

14 July – Source: IHS Maritime 360 – 285 Words

The release of a group of Somali pirates from Kenyan prisons has sparked concerns about where they are likely to go next. Fourteen of the 164 Somali pirates currently serving time in Kenya prisons are to be released and repatriated next month. They follow 64 others recently sent back to Somalia after completing their terms in Shimo la Tewa maximum security prison. There are fears, however, that the released pirates might not go back to Somalia but may settle with other Somalis in Kenya instead. Mombasa-based maritime consultant Mwinyi Jahazi told IHS Maritime that “releasing them with no clear rehabilitation plan raises concern. We are likely to see them going back to sea in the near future. Pirates find it hard to retire because of the debts they accrued.”

Somali pirate gangs in search of new sources of revenue are now providing armed protection for ships illegally fishing Somali waters, Jahazi said. Local fishermen there report that the pirates join ‘private security teams’, often co-ordinated by a ring of pirate leaders and associated businessmen operating in Iran, Kenya, Oman, Puntland, Somaliland, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen. These teams then help vessels cast nets and open fire on local fishermen in order to drive away competition. From 1 February 2006 to 12 October 2013 a total of 227 suspected pirates of Somali origin have been handed over to Kenyan authorities. All were arrested by foreign naval ships operating along the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. The Kenya justice system is already overburdened. Its backlog of cases stands at 875,000. In addition, prison facilities are overstretched, with a population of 53,000 in facilities designed to have a capacity of 16,000.

OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE

“The rift between the federal government and federal states is yet another example of the difficulty of getting Somali political classes to cooperate on national development and peace. The federal government, under President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, is first fully recognised Somali government since 1991 but his leadership has been weakened by inability to leave the comfort zone of a clique to rule as a national leader able to build consensus and prevent unnecessary political setbacks such as Glamudug-Puntland dispute and ongoing clashes in Lower Shabelle.”

Federalism In Somalia Is At A crossroads

14 July – Source: RBC Radio – 711 Words
Relations between the Somali Federal Government and Puntland State is at an all-time low. According to Puntland Parliament the Constitutional Review Commission, Independent National Electoral Board, and Boundary and Federation Commission have been formed in Mogadishu without consultation with federal states in contravention of Article 111 of the Provisional Federal Constitution. The article was included in the draft constitution to promote consensus-building among Somali political leaders at different levels. Political and structural factors cause the failure of Somali political elite to cooperate. The political factor manifests itself in politicians’ reluctance to avoid accentuation of mistrust among clans and lack of commitment to resolving struggles for land and resources. The structural factor ranges from reluctance on the part of federal leaders to build on existing political capital in peaceful regions, and failure to honour agreements with the international community.

Somalia is like a major corporation with business units ( federal states ) underperforming not because of weak products but because of a wrong corporate strategy. In 2012 a change of leadership at the CEO level (presidency) was seen as conduit for recapitalising business units to recapture lost market share. Somalia’s partners ( investors) organised a conference in 2013 to raise funds for Somalia under the New Deal but its impact has been negligible; only Somaliland administration, praised for durable political processes, has benefited from the New Deal under its Somaliland Compact. Leaders of federal institutions ( presidency, parliament and the prime minster’s office) have not put their weight behind the Joint Financial Management Board aimed at ensuring “transparency and accountability in the collection and efficient use of public revenues, as well as international development aid.”

The United Nations’ role in Somalia has been like that of a credit rating agency, keeping Somalia’s partners updated on progress in security, transparency and elite cooperation in order not to lose gains made since 2012. The UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea has criticised the Somali federal government for corruption. Allegations about corruption within the Somali federal government dented donors’ trust in federal leaders. This has has implications for donor assistance for Somalia. Donors face accusations from federal leaders for violating Somali sovereignty if they channel resources to federal states; if they channel resources through the federal government they will be accused of condoning corruption. In such a situation it is Somali federal states like Puntland that suffer despite facilitating the end of the transition and committing to the common security framework for Somalia under a federal government.

“Kitchen-dweller is my translation of two things. A jiko muufo is a traditional Somali clay oven. It’s also a joke about a woman who really loves domestic work. The way I understood it as a child is that this kind of woman loves the work so much, she stands over the bread watching it rise.”

Good Literary Citizens: An Interview With Ladan Osman

13 July – Source: The Paris Review – 2,160 Words

The past two years have been eventful for Ladan Osman. Last year, her chapbook, Ordinary Heaven, was selected for inclusion in the box set Seven New Generation African Poets, a project of the African Poetry Book Fund, and she received the 2014 Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets for her manuscript The Kitchen-Dweller’s Testimony, which was published in April by the University of Nebraska Press. “I have rarely encountered a young poet whose work was so completely its own thing,” writes Ted Kooser in his preface to Ordinary Heaven. The speakers in Osman’s poems are often women, and the book tackles themes of love and loss, displacement and authority. At its heart is the notion of bearing witness and what that means both in a larger political sense and in very intimate ways. The language is rich and playful and can be both brutal and transformative—sometimes in the same poem. Osman spoke with me recently by phone from her home in Chicago about metaphor, translation, and family influence.

How has your background informed your work?
My parents are from Mogadishu, Somalia. I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, in neighborhoods that were largely populated, if not by Somalis, then by East Africans. So many different elements go into my work, but there’s a very direct link to the way my parents would tell stories—their comfort using parables, making leaps in language, speaking in metaphors. My father would often point to a complex image or something strange and say, Look, it’s a metaphor. But he wouldn’t explain further. My parents speak English and other languages, but they’re most comfortable speaking Somali and they would speak Somali to us. So I always felt like I was doing some kind of translating. And things that are untranslatable—that’s poetry, too.

Being a first-generation immigrant puts you in a unique position—you have a deep connection with Somalia and to your parents’ experiences, but most of it is secondhand.
That’s an act of translation as well. The stakes are much higher because there’s always something about my identity that feels fluid. There are often questions—if not from myself, then from outside myself—that have to do with loyalty and where I’m rooted. I was educated in the States. I have loved and matured here in the States. I’m rooted to America, and specifically to Ohio, but cellular memory calls to places I haven’t seen in my adult life. Sometimes negotiating that feels like a challenge. In my poems, too—trying to figure out who the work is for, what the work is for, what it is meant to do. Those considerations are definitely worthwhile, but they go far beyond poetry.