July 21, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Puntland To Pay Three Months Salaries To The Newly Formed Puntland-Galmudug Security Unit
20 July – Source: RBC Radio – 180 Words
Puntland State of Somalia will pay wages and salaries of three months to the newly recruited and trained security unit jointly established by Puntland and Galmudug authorities.Puntland’s Deputy President Abdihakim Haji Amey announced his administration agreed to pay the salaries to the joint security forces currently operating in Galkayo, the provincial capital of Mudug, a region in central Somalia.
The newly recruited and trained security unit will be in charge of security in Galkayo and nearby locations under Mudug region within Puntland and Galmudug jurisdictions.“As Puntland, we have taken responsibility of paying the new forces for the coming three months.” Mr. Amey said as he commissioned the end of the training of the joint forces in Galkayo. “After that period, we have asked UNSOM (United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia) to take over the responsibility of the salaries.” the Puntland Deputy President added. The initiative of launching joint security forces came amid joint efforts by Puntland and Galmudug leaders to pave the way for peace and stability for residents in Galkayo, a town ravaged by recurrent clan-based conflict.
Key Headlines
- Puntland To Pay Three Months Salaries To The Newly Formed Puntland-Galmudug Security Unit (RBC Radio)
- People In Galkayo Turn Down Somali Shilling Use Foreign Currency Instead (Horn Observer)
- South West State Education Minister Applauds Federal Government For Endorsing Education Bill (Goobjoog News)
- Kenyan Police Question Varsity Student On Terror List (Xinhua)
- Somalia Leases Land To AU Mission After University Handover (Africa News)
- How Boni Forest Became The Warzone It Is Today (Daily Nation)
NATIONAL MEDIA
People In Galkayo Turn Down Somali Shilling Use Foreign Currency Instead
20 July- Source: Horn Observer – 169 Words
Traders in Galkacyo have started to reject the use of the Somali Shilling note, making the city the second major city to reject the Somali currency in a matter of weeks. “We have the money, but we can’t buy anything.” Isse Abdi, a resident in the town said. The Galmudug administration which controls part of the town of Galkayo where traders refused the Somali shillings said that it’s working in finding an amicable solution for the refusal of the money and urged the people to take in assisting the drought stricken areas of the region.
Many analysts contend that the use of mobile money transfers and the printing of new Somali shillings are the leading factors forcing the people to refuse the Somali shillings, making the money unreliable. The Al-Shabaab, which is affiliated to Al-Qaeda has been putting pressure on the business community in Central Somalia to refuse the Somali notes, resulting several towns in Central Somalia to start the use of the Ethiopian Birr as an alternative currency.
South West State Education Minister Applauds Federal Government For Endorsing Education Bill
20 July – Source: Goobjoog News -284 Words
South West State Minister of Education, Mohamed Noor has hailed the new education bill noting it was crucial in transforming the education sector in the country and creating a unified national curriculum. The Minister said the bill which was approved by the Cabinet last week and is yet to be tabled in parliament will be instrumental in streamlining the teaching and training of students in the country in addition to rooting out unwanted education systems.“The education law will regulate the education system in the country and provide clear guidelines now and into the future. It will also be instrumental in eradicating misleading education programmes,” said Noor.
The education bill seeks to among others standardise the education system in the country, set a framework for a national curriculum and set standards for teaching and training in the country among others. Once the bill become an act and comes into effect, private schools will be required to adopt a unified curriculum set by the government in place of their own systems which have been in use since the collapse of government in 1991. Noor said the South West State was building the capacity of its teachers to be able to meet the expected changes in the education system and enhance quality service delivery.“We are in the process of training our teachers ahead of the school opening period which is coming soon. We have made little progress in the education sector but we expect to improve the more,” the minister added. Meanwhile, results of the national examinations were set to be released Thursday according to sources from the ministry of education. A total of 23,000 students sat for the form four exams in May.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Kenyan Police Question Varsity Student On Terror List
20 July -Source:Xinhua – 395 Words
Kenyan police said Thursday they are questioning a university student wanted over a series of terror incidents in the country. Salad Tarif Gufu surrendered to police in Nairobi maintaining he is not a terrorist as claimed by police who on Wednesday circulated his name and photographs urging the public to give information that may lead to his arrest and four others. “As a citizen and a student, am being suspected for a crime that I am not even capable of. My friends know me and attest to my innocence. I therefore encourage you all to spread this message of truth: Salad wasn’t, isn’t and won’t be a terrorist,” he said in his Facebook.
The suspect was later handed over to the anti-terror police unit who took him in for questioning. Salad denied police claims he is a terrorist and had planned attacks in parts of Lamu County. Police and intelligence officials said the terrorists are trooping to Lakta belt near Boni Forest in Lamu with an aim of attacking locals.”I am not involved in any terror activities and I am not armed like the police are saying. I am a student at the Moi University and I just completed my attachment waiting to resume my studies in September after the elections,” Salad said.
The police report released on Wednesday says Gufu had opened a studio at the Marsabit town market secretly selling VCDs and DVDs of radical sheikhs who propagate jihad. “He is also affiliated to Mohammed Abdi Ali aka Abu Fidaa, an online Islamic State recruiter. Abu Fidaa was arrested before he could launch an Anthrax attack in Kenya in 2016,”the police said. The police said terrorists who are fleeing increased attacks in Somalia have reportedly dispatched five militants to lead the planned attacks and police believe some of their relatives are involved in helping them sneak and hide in the country.
Somalia Leases Land To AU Mission After University Handover
20 July – Source: Africa News – 203 Words
Somalia’s HirShabelle state has signed a land lease agreement with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The agreement, signed on Tuesday, covers the two lands hosting AMISOM command bases in Johwar and Belet Weyne. This was signed by the Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson for Somalia (SRCC), Ambassador Francisco Caetano Madeira, days after the mission handed over the Somali National University – which has served as its base since 2007 – to the government.
He thanked the government for helping relocate the troops from the university to the base in the HirShabelle state. “We welcome your government’s continued commitment towards ensuring that AMISOM achieves its objectives in contributing to the stabilization of Somalia. That is a sign of progress; that is a sign that we are achieving our objective of stabilizing the country,” Madeira said. HirShabelle Minister of Interior Mohamed Ali Adle, who signed on behalf of the state, expressed gratitude to AMISOM for securing the country. “Am really happy with the signing of this agreement and would like to thank our AMISOM brothers for their sacrifices, those who have spilled their blood and stood day and night by us, to secure this country from the enemy,” he said.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The recent attacks occurred almost one year after they had retreated to Somalia following the prolonged drought. The group and local sympathisers set up training bases between Boni, Gorji and Belasange on the border with Somalia,”
How Boni Forest Became The Warzone It Is Today
19 July – Source: The Daily Nation
After the sun goes down, Boni Forest, the exceptionally rich Kenyan coastal forest ecosystem turns into something that sounds like a warzone. The thick expansive forest in Lamu, previously frequented by researchers and conservationists for research purposes due to its rich ecosystem, is now a no-go zone. Local community members who used to depend on it for their livelihood are also bearing the brunt since Al-Shabaab militants made the forest their home. Last week, the government enhanced security operations in the forest and its environs to flush out the terrorists.
In the recent past, the region has remained volatile, with frequent attacks reported. The forest, which extends to the Somali border, has been a notorious sanctuary for the extremists, who use it as a launching pad for incursions into Lamu and neighbouring counties such as Garissa and Tana River.In an interview with the Nation, a source from the National Intelligence Service said Al-Shabaab moved into Boni Forest to avenge the deployment of Kenyan soldiers to Somalia to fight them. “They surveyed many parts of the country bordering Somalia with short and long-term plans. The short-term plan included sporadic grenade attacks in major towns like Mombasa, Garissa and Nairobi to keep security agencies busy,” said the source on condition of anonymity.
Security personnel say Al-Shabaab set up permanent training bases in the forest in mid-2012 and the National Intelligence Service sent periodic briefings to police and the military. His comments were echoed by sources at western intelligence agencies, which identified the Boni Forest-based militants as members of the Jeysh Ayman fighters formed by the Al Shabaab elite group to engage Kenyan security forces within the country after Kenya deployed its soldiers inside Somalia. Jaysh Ayman, Saleh Nahbahn and Abu Zubeyr brigades were three Al Shabaab elite groups formed to carry out attacks against KDF and African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
But Jaysh Ayman militants largely comprised of Kenyans and other foreign jihadists and were deployed to Boni Forest to target military and Kenyan police on the Hindi–Kiunga road, a key operation route for Kenya military operations inside Somalia. The groups are mainly made up of Kenyans from the coastal counties of Mombasa, Lamu, Kilifi and Kwale who joined Al Shabaab and were deployed to wage war on their own mother land, as most of them knew the targeted region well. “When they started moving inside the forest, their local operatives purchased food, GPS and night-vision goggles from Mombasa,” said the sources. A senior security officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, suggested that the forest serves as a training ground for the militants as they sneak back into Somalia through the porous border during dry seasons.