July 16, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Southwest State Forces Rescue Ten Abducted Locals From Al-Shabaab
15 July – Source: Halbeeg News – 220 Words
Southwest State forces have freed 10 locals, who were reportedly kidnapped by Al-Shabaab fighters, in southern Somalia. Somali government and the Human Rights Watch had previously accused the group of forcing locals to join its armed struggle. Speaking to the media, Shine Moalim Nuriyow, a military commander in Diinsoor town, said that the state’s forces rescued the locals from Al-Shabaab controlled area in Bay region.
According to Nuriyow, the operation took place in a locality, 75 km outside Diinsoor town: “We rescued ten people from Al-Shabaab fighters. Some of the rescued people were forced by Al-Shabaab to pay money or AK47 weapons and face imprisonment,” the commander said. He said government forces had killed four fighters in the operation after the group attempted to resist. “After we rescued the locals, some of Al-Shabaab fighters tried to block our way but we defeated them, four of them were killed,” Nuriyow said. No comment was immediately available from the Al-Shabaab group on the incident.
The operation comes just six months after Somali troops stormed a school run by Al-Shabab and rescued 32 children who had been taken as recruits by the group. Al-Shabaab, which has been fighting the Somali military for over a decade, wants to overthrow the Somali government. The group carries out deadly attacks against the Somali government and its troops
Key Headlines
- Southwest State Forces Rescue Ten Abducted Locals From Al-Shabaab (Halbeeg News)
- Farmaajo In Brussels For International Summit On Somalia (Garowe Online)
- Southwest Official Survives Assassination Attempt (Halbeeg News)
- AU Set To Launch Road Safety Sensitization Campaign In Somalia (Xinhua)
- Six Dead After Attackers Target Somalia´s Presidential Palace (Prensa Latina)
- Mustaf Yusuf Ibrahim: Vocational Training Changed My Life (UNSOM)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Farmaajo In Brussels For International Summit On Somalia
15 July – Source: Garowe Online – 310 Words
A high-level delegation led by President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo arrived in Brussels on Saturday night ahead of an International conference on Somalia. The President, accompanied by deputy Prime Minister, Mahdi Mohamed Guled and several Federal Ministers, leaders of Galmudug and HirShabelle regional administrations, received a warm welcome at Brussels airport upon arrival.
The President made the trip on the very day the Al-Shabaab militia group carried out twin car bombings and gun attacks near his presidential palace, in Mogadishu. The attack, which was the second of its kind around the State House in a week, left at least ten people, including the attackers, dead.
The President was joined at the Brussels event by other regional leaders, including Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali who, along with members of his government, left Garowe on Saturday for Brussels. The Brussels Forum on Somalia, which will run for two days, brings together the leaders from the Federal Government, regional states and international partners, and will focus mainly on security, AMISOM withdrawal and the 2020 polls.
“The Federal Government of Somalia and international partners, including the UK will meet in Brussels on the 16th & 17th July to take stock of progress since the London Conference, and agree with next steps to support security, stability & prosperity for the benefit of all,” UK Embassy in Mogadishu tweeted.
Somali leaders are expected to present a security plan to the donors and international partners during the High-Level Partnership Forum to seek financial support for its implementation. In the security architecture, Somalia is preparing a strong national army capable of taking over the country’s security responsibility from the African Union forces ahead of their planned exit in 2020. The European Union’s (EU) Political and Security Committee pledged €100 million support for the Somali government during a meeting in Brussels last May, which was attended by Somali PM, Hassan Ali Khaire.
Southwest Official Survives Assassination Attempt
15 July – Source: Halbeeg News – 134 Words
The administrator of Awdiinle town in Bay region, Ali Hussein Dukow, narrowly escaped a landmine blast which targeted his convoy while on his way to Baidoa town on Sunday. The attack occurred at Midow locality, 20 kilometers outside Baidoa, the headquarters of Bay region.
Witnesses say the landmine hit one of the cars in the convoy, but no one was hurt in the attack.
The administrator and his convoy reached Baidoa town safely. Sources in the area have also confirmed that the forces that were escorting the official defused the explosive device after the incident. Dukow did not give any comment on this incident.
No group has yet claimed responsibility of the attack, although Al Shabab fighters have previously carried out such attacks against Somali government officials and African Union troops in the country.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AU Set To Launch Road Safety Sensitization Campaign In Somalia
15 July – Source: Xinhua – 285 Words
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said on Sunday that it plans to launch a road safety sensitization campaign in the Horn of Africa nation targeting various road users. Christine Alalo, Acting AMISOM Police Commissioner, also said the AU mission will also intensify training of traffic police officers in Mogadishu and the federal states on managing road traffic which is on the increase in major towns.
Alalo noted in a statement issued in Mogadishu that the traffic police officers will play a major role in the sensitization campaign both at the federal and state levels. “Depending on funding, we intend to extend this training to every traffic police officer in Mogadishu and the federal member states,” Alalo said while closing a 10-day training organized for 25 traffic police officers, drawn from various police stations in the city. Alalo said the objective of the training was to address the traffic challenges currently faced due to increased number of vehicles and other modes of transport on the city’s roads. “When you see so many vehicles; Bajajs (motorcycle cabs) and donkeys in the town, it comes with challenges and the challenge is the indiscipline on the road,” she added.
Alalo urged the officers to work closely with community members to not only help in strengthening the rule of law but also promoting peace and security. Bashir Abdi Mohamed Somali, Police Force Commissioner said the training will help the officers in enforcing traffic rules. It is expected that the training will enable the officers enforce traffic laws to curb indiscipline on roads and also minimize accidents. The training came at a time when the capital city is experiencing increased traffic on its roads partly due to improved security.
Six Dead After Attackers Target Somalia´s Presidential Palace
15 July – Souce: Prensa Latina – 348 Words
The Somali police reported today that six people were killed during an attack by two explosive devices and firearms on Saturday on the Presidential Palace, which was allegedly claimed by the terrorist group Al Shabaab. The security forces lost three men and killed an equal number of attackers, including one who detonated a car bomb near the government headquarters, according to U.S. Army Captain Mohamed Hussein.
The first explosion was the one of the vehicle against a palace post and the second one shortly after in a nearby place, both preceded by intense shootings, said the soldier. The attack followed a similar one on July 7 against the Interior Ministry building, with 9 people killed.
Al-Shabaab, who years ago controlled this capital along with other territories and was later expelled by the army and pan-African troops, acknowledged in a statement that now focuses its actions on high-profile positions.
The extremist organization, considered the most deadly in sub-Saharan Africa, was blamed for a bloody attack last October in this city with more than 500 deaths, through the explosion of more than 500 kilograms of explosives.
Al Shabaab, which in Arabic means ‘young people’, emerged in 2006 as the radical wing of the defunct Council of Islamic Courts, joined Al Qaeda in 2012 and struggles to impose a caliphate based on Islamic or Sharia law. The organization controls territories in central and southern Somalia, from where it conducts frequent operations against civilian and government facilities.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Somalia has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world due to its many years of conflict. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), around 47 per cent of the active population is unemployed, with 75 percent of young females being illiterate. Vocational training is widely seen as helping to ease unemployment pressures”.
Mustaf Yusuf Ibrahim: Vocational Training Changed My Life
15 July – Source: UNSOM – 829 Words
Mustaf Yusuf Ibrahim’s experiences as a migrant seeking a better life abroad differ little from those of so many others – hunger, fear, mistreatment and abuse. At the age of 17, he and two friends left Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, where they saw no future for themselves.
“I had lost all hope in life and I could not pay for my education. I wanted to be a breadwinner for my family but things were difficult. It is what pushed me to make that risky journey to Saudi Arabia,” says the 23-year-old.
The trio set off from the port city of Bosaso in Puntland. After a 36-hour boat ride, they reached Yemen, from where they hoped to enter Saudi Arabia. But in the end, only Mustaf made it that far, and that was after enduring three months of hardship, including living rough and doing menial jobs for survival.
“One of my friends was arrested as he attempted to enter Saudi Arabia, while the other opted to remain in Yemen – so I was the only one who reached Saudi Arabia,” he explains. Though Mustaf finally managed to land a low-paying job as a carpenter in Jeddah, his dreams of a better life were cut short in 2015 when he was arrested for entering the country illegally. He was detained by immigration officials and deported back to Somalia.
“I was heartbroken and didn’t know what to do, knowing the hardship that awaited me back home,” he says. After enduring months of hardship in Mogadishu, Mustaf’s life and future prospects changed. A friend advised him to seek vocational training at SHARDO (Shabelle Relief and Development Organization) to help him take charge of his life as well as improve his chances in the job market.
SHARDO, a non-governmental organization that operates in the regions of Middle Shabelle, Benadir, Galgaduud, Hiraan and Lower Shabelle in south-central Somalia, offers vocational training to poor and vulnerable young men and women that is tailored to the demands of the local job market.
Mustaf undertook a nine-month training course in computer and graphic design. The studies also boosted his self-esteem and helped to improve his job prospects: “When I completed my training, Bilan [a Mogadishu-based printing company] expressed interest in me, and I immediately took the job offer,” Mustaf says.
Starting out as a graphic designer, Mustaf, now a father of three, rose to become the firm’s sales and marketing manager through hard work and effort. He credits his transformation, from a desperate economic migrant to a young adult full of hope and energy, to the vocational training he received at SHARDO.
“The skills acquired through vocational training are essential for any youth, even to those with university degrees,” he says, adding that in a situation where jobs are scarce, employers are likely to look for a person who has additional training. With Somalia recovering from decades of civil war, youth unemployment remains high due to a lack of opportunities and skills that are appropriate to the job market.