July 18, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Somali Forces Nab Al-Shabaab Militants, Recapture Four Bases
17 July – Source: Xinhua – 294 Words
Somali security forces and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) troops have arrested 10 Al-Shabaab militants and recaptured four bases during an operation conducted in Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia. Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Mohamed Abdi Hayir told journalists in Mogadishu on Sunday that the Horn of Africa has stepped up efforts of local security forces and AMISOM to defeat terrorist groups in the country.
Hayir said the security operation which was conducted on Saturday evening was very successful in eliminating terror threats in the country. “Our national army, accompanied by AMISOM conducted operations and recaptured four Al-Shabaab bases, including an illegal detention center and administrative building in Beled Amin, Lower Shabelle region of Somalia,” the minister said. He noted that the security forces will continue their operation in order to eliminate the threat posed by terrorists groups in Somalia. “The security operation resulted in our security forces arresting nearly 10 suspected al-Shabaab terrorists,” Hayir added.
The minister urged the security forces to continue helping needy people during such operations in the country. “Somalia forces have retaken the buildings and disrupted Al-Shabaab’s operations with no resistance. Our forces also conducted awareness and humanitarian needs meetings with nearby village elders and passed out much needed medical supplies to the community,” he added.
The minister said the illegal detention station in Beled Amin was used to terrorize and illegally tax the people of the town. “Al-Shabaab works to strike fear in the local people, yet they run in fear of the Somalia National Army (SNA) and AMISOM. This is definitely a victory for our forces and for the people of Lower Shabelle. This yet again proves that the SNA is a strong military force prepared to take the fight to Al-Shabaab,” Hayir said.
Key Headlines
- Somali Forces Nab Al-Shabaab Militants Recapture Four Bases (Xinhua)
- Somalia Government Signs Agreement To Purchase Warships (Nep Journal)
- Somalia Condemns Coup Attempt In Turkey Closes Projects Linked To Gulen (VOA News)
- Turkish Ambassador To Somalia Thanks Somalia For Solidarity During Failed Coup In Turkey (Goobjoog News)
- Galmudug Forces Push Al-Shabaab Out Of Amara Area (Shabelle News)
- Kenya To Thwart Al-Shabaab’s New Attack Scheme (The Star)
- Car Accident Kills Galmudug State Ministers And Elder (Shabelle News)
- Acting Spy Chief Abdullahi Mohamud Confirmed As New NISA Boss (Goobjoog News)
- Student Crosses Border For A Third Time In Pursuit Of Education (Standard Digital)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Turkish Ambassador To Somalia Thanks Somalia For Solidarity During Failed Coup In Turkey
17 July – Source: Goobjoog News – 253 Words
The Turkish ambassador to Somalia has paid tribute to the people of Somalia for their unwavering support and solidarity during the failed coup attempt in his country. Ambassador Olga Baker said the response from Somali people and government was overwhelming noting the move showed the well-established relations and brotherhood between the people of Somalia and Turkey.
In a video message Saturday, Baker said Somalia was one of the first countries to react to the attempted coup joining in solidarity with the Turkish people and its government. “We really appreciate the attitude of Somalis people and its leadership against the coup attempt in Turkey. During the whole night yesterday I received numerous messages and calls from different people representing different segments of the population. This shows the well-established relations between Somalia and Turkey and the strong brotherhood between Turkey and Somalia,” said Baker.
“The huge demonstrations in the streets of Mogadishu shows the sincere reaction of the Somali people. We really appreciate. All the cabinet members visited me to show the solidarity of Somali government. This is brotherhood,” the envoy noted. Thousands of Somalis took to the streets Saturday in solidarity with the Turkish government following the failed coup attempt.
The government and opposition parties in the country also joined in solidarity to condemn the failed coup and stood with the Turkish people for peace and order in Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Saturday the coup had been foiled and that all those involved would face the full force of the law.
Galmudug Forces Push Al-Shabaab Out Of Amara Area
17 July – Source: Shabelle News- 113 Words
A military commander says Interim Galmudug interim administration forces wrested control of Amara locality in southern Mudug region on Sunday from Al-Shabaab. Col Abdikarim Mohamed, a senior Galmudug forces commander said they are currently in full control of the area, after Al-Shabaab retreated from the village without battle.
“The victory of Galmudug forces over Al-Shabaab fighters and recapture of Amara is the beginning of our Administration’s plan to wipe out Al-Shabab fighters,” said Mohamed. The army commander says normalcy has returned to the locality, and residents go out for business, to continue their daily life activities after the Al Shabaab withdrawal. Al-Shabaab retook the area from Galmudug state troops on Saturday.
Car Accident Kills Galmudug State Ministers And Elder
17 July – Source: Shabelle News- 176 Words
Two state minister at the interim Galmudug administration and a local traditional elder have lost their lives in a fatal car accident in central Somalia on Saturday, medics and police said. The tragic incident took place at a locality near Galkayo town, the provincial capital of Mudug after a minivan they were travelling in overturned on a rough road in Saddex-Xigle village.
Eye witnessed told the Radio Shabelle by phone that Saturday’s Car accident was one of the worst fatal incidents they have witnessed in their lives, describing it “heartbreaking and shock.” The late two state ministers who died in the mishap have been identified as only Bashir and Aweys Ali and their bodies are expected to be laid in rest in their hometowns in Mudug region.
Abdullah Yusuf Guled, a renowned traditional elder was among the dead, according to Galmudug State officials who confirmed the car accident’s casualties to Radio Shabelle. Most drivers in Somalia have no more experience for driving, whilst roads linking between regions in the country were not repaired since late 1980s.
Acting Spy Chief Abdullahi Mohamud Confirmed As New NISA Boss
17 July – Source: Goobjoog News- 130 Words
Acting National Intelligence Agency, NISA Abdullahi Gafow Mohamud has been confirmed the substantive head of the spy agency after serving for two months in acting capacity. In a statement from a cabinet meeting last evening, the cabinet confirmed Mohamud’s appointing to spearhead the intelligence agency at a time Mogadishu has witnessed a spate of security lapses.
Mohamud who was until his appointment in acting capacity last month was the director of immigration. He replaces Abdirahman Mohamed Tuuryare who was fired mid last month following the Ambassador hotel deadly suicide attack which claimed 30 lives among them two MPs and NISA officers.
Muhamud’s appointment comes a time the country is preparing for elections in August and security remains one of the critical issues to ensure a peaceful and safe polls exercise.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Government Signs Agreement To Purchase Warships
17 July – Nep Journal – 277 Words
Federal Republic of Somalia establishes its first war ships in its coastlines to safeguard country from external attacks and combat threats of Somali pirates for the first time since the Country went into civil war. The war ships are also targeted to combat foreign ships decomposing wastes onto the Somalia’s coastlines and those illegally fishing territorial waters.
Somalia government has for over 25 years remained in civil war and lacked the capacity to combat threats to its coastal lines. This gave pirates to hijack ships and foreign ships go moldy wasting territorial waters regularly.
Somalia’s ambassador to the European Union Dr. Ali said Faqi visited Atlantic Marine offshore company Manufacturing Center for Somalia’s War ships. He said that establishing war ships for the Somalia government to protect its territorial waters is a history for the Republic of Somalia and will help protect any threat to Somalia from the sea that include illegal fishing, illegal importation of fire arms and pirates among others.
On July 28, 2013 Somalia’s defense minister Abdihakim Mohamoud Haji-Faqi and Ships manufacturing company Atlantic Marine offshore representative signed agreement to manufacture war ships to the Country with the presence of Federal government of Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and former Prime Minister Dr. Saaid Farah.
Somalia Condemns Coup Attempt In Turkey, Closes Projects Linked To Gulen
16 July – Voice of America – 489 Words
Somalia has ordered organizations linked to a U.S.-based Turkish cleric shut down after Turkey’s president said Fethullah Gulen was involved Friday’s coup attempt. The decision came in an extraordinary session of the Somali cabinet on Saturday. The government ordered Turkish citizens working for Gulen-linked organizations to leave the country within seven days. The government said the services the organizations provided, such as education and health care, will continue under new administration.
The cabinet said the decision was in response to a request from the Turkish government. The two countries have close ties. President Hassan Mohamud was one of the first world leaders to oppose the coup attempt as it developed.
“It is unacceptable to reverse the democratic path that the people of Turkey enjoyed in the recent times of their history. This was unfortunate and we are very glad to hear that the evil forces who tried to turn Turkey into a violence ground have been defeated,” he said. On Saturday, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Mogadishu in a government-organized rally against the military coup attempt.
Fethullah Gulen denied involvement in the coup attempt and has condemned it. He was a former ally of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but had a falling out years ago. Gulen now lives in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. His movement advocates service and interfaith dialogue and has millions of adherents in Turkey and abroad. “Our position on what happened in Turkey is never to support the forceful change of a democratically elected government,” Somalia Foreign Minister Abdusalam Hadliye Omer told VOA’s Somali service.
Kenya To Thwart Al-Shabaab’s New Attack Scheme
16 July – The Star – 307 Words
The al Shabaab militants in Mandera have infiltrated almost every major Mandera town and renewed their attacks, security agents have said. Speaking to the press at his office on Wednesday, county commissioner Fredrick Shisia said the militants are campaigning to divide the locals from non-locals.
“They have created fear. They intimidate residents into joining the group. and incite them against the government, which they accuse of failing to provide protection,” he said. Shisia said the group has a strong intelligence network, but added measures are in place to counter their renewed approach.
He said the militants target security officers and non-locals. The group has increased attacks on passenger buses plying the Mandera-Wajir road. Mandera has been the scene of frequent al Shabaab attacks in which dozens of civilians and security personnel have been killed.
At least six people were killed when suspected al Shabaab militants sprayed two buses with bullets on July 1. Many al Shabaab cells have been destroyed inside Somalia, especially in Gedo. This has forced them to move in small groups towards the porous Kenya-Somalia border. Amisom forces continue with heavy aerial bombardments inside Somalia.
“We will work with locals to flush them out. We have won the locals’ support,” Shisia said.The county commissioner said the government has opted to use modern approaches to thwart the group’s attack.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
For now, Rahma continues to hold on to her hopes and dreams of striving to live life on her own terms in a country that is really not hers. She, like many others in the same situation, waits for her sunrise, eager to see what new things dawn will bring.
Student Crosses Border For A Third Time In Pursuit Of Education
17 July – Source: Standard Digital – 764 Words
As she lay in bed waiting for sunrise, Rahma Hussein Noor (pictured) had already made up her mind. She wouldn’t let her hopes and dreams remain buried deep inside her. She was determined to live life on her own terms. So at sunrise, she left her father’s house and crossed the border for a third time, and returned to a more familiar life. The problem though, was that her previous life didn’t really want her. Neither did it expect her back. Rahma and her family fled Somalia in 2009. Their search for safety led them to Daadab Refuge Complex where they were to spend the next six-year phase of their lives. “For a while life was good at the camps. There was no threat of bombings or arbitrary killings,” Rahma says.
Then in 2013, the government, the UNHCR and the Somali government set in motion events that would encourage Somali refugees to go back to their country. Two years later, in August 2015, Rahma’s father decided to take them back home and start over a new leaf. After all, they had a home to go back to. “He just told us to pack up and we were on the next flight to Mogadishu,” Rahma says.
That same year, she was to sit her KCSE examinations. Rahma is just one of the many refugees whose education will be disrupted by the ongoing repatriation programme. “We have students who have been through the 8-4-4 system since birth. What system will they use once in Somalia?” Jennifer Katiwa of education non-governmental organisation Windle Trust asked The Standard on Sunday. Currently, her organisation employs more than 240 teachers spread across the five camps in Dadaab.
Their seven schools offer instruction to over 6000 students. The education options east of the Kenyan border may not be palatable for many of the refugees. “First of all, the fee is too high. Here we pay nothing. But in Somalia, it ranges from Sh4,000 to Sh15,000 per term. My father was unable to afford this,” Rahma said. As a sendoff package, refugees receive food rations, medicines as well as a cash incentive of Sh15,000 per person.
“With such amounts, school fees is not a priority. Survival becomes the only priority,” she says, adding that for her father, part of the survival strategy included marrying her off. “He said I had to marry for my own protection. He’d rather I got married than get raped,” she says. So she got in touch with former classmates who quickly fundraised for her trip back to Kenya.
“Rahma came back for an education. Life on the other side is not the same as at the camps,” Katiwa says. Rahma says that already, a thriving black market has taken root in Somalia. Its main business is to facilitate re-entry of returnees into Kenya.