July 23, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somali government names new Banadir intelligence chief

22 Jul – Source: Bar-kulan/SNTV – 112 words

Reports from Somali presidential palace in the capital Mogadishu suggest that Col Mohamed Aden Kofi has been named as the new intelligence agency chief of Banadir region on Monday. Col Kof is set to replace the former intelligent boss Khalif Ahmed Ereg. The new boss is a specialist of on ground forces who has been working in the presidential palace as the deputy head of presidential security for the last five years. Kofi took his courses in Sudanese capital and Kampala international university as well, and has been in the country since the Somali central government led by Mohamed Siad Barre collapsed in 19991.

Key Headlines

Senior UN Humanitarian Official Lauds Additional Funding For Somali Relief Efforts (UN News Service)
Training program on security launched in Puntland (Garowe Online)
Jubaland forces launch security operation in Kismayo (Bar-kulan)
Ethiopian troops quit Somali city but no full withdrawal planned (Reuters )
Puntland Ministry of Livestock welcomes graduate veterinarians (Somali Channel TV)
Scores arrested in Bay region security operations ( Bar-kulan/ Universal TV)
The worst fate: Somalia’s ship wrecked hostages (Fox News/AFP)
Region tries to come to terms with United Kingdom’s miraa ban (Standard Digital Media)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali government names new Banadir intelligence chief

22 Jul – Source: Bar-kulan/SNTV – 112 words

Training program on security launched in Puntland

22 Jul – Source: Garowe Online – 95 words

Somalia’s Puntland Ministry of Security and DDR (Demobilization, Demilitarization and Reintegration) has launched a three-day training program in the capital city of Somalia’s Puntland region of Garowe on Monday, Garowe Online reports. The training which brought together over 50 participants representing different departments of the ministry, security institutions, officials and local peace builders is aimed at strengthening peace and stability of the region, organizers said. The opening event of the training program was attended by Puntland Vice President Gen. Abdisamad Ali Shire, Security Minister Khalif Isse Mudan, and UNDP officials who organized the training program.

Jubaland forces launch security operation in Kismayo

22 Jul – Source: Bar-kulan – 98 words

The security forces of Somalia’s Jubbaland administration launched a huge security operation in the southern key Somali town of Kismayo, capital Lower Jubba region, according to Mohamed Abdi Sugow, a senior police commissioner in the town. Reports add that guns, ammunitions and explosive materials had been recovered during Monday morning operations, arresting dozens of people. Speaking to Bar-kulan, the police official added that they have also arrested soldiers carrying illegal firearms in the main streets of the port city. Mohamed Abdi Sugow stated that operations are intended to go after anti-peace elements and ensure security in Kismayo town.

Puntland Ministry of Livestock welcomes graduate veterinarians

22 Jul – Source: Garowe Online/Somali Channel TV – 123 words

Puntland Ministry of Livestock and Animal Husbandry held a welcoming event on Sundayevening for thirteen graduate veterinarians who successfully completed Sheikh Technical Veterinary School, Garowe Online reports. Speaking at the event, Puntland’s Deputy Minister of Livestock and Animal Husbandry Abdiweli Hirsi Nour stressed the need for new graduates who are capable to put their knowledge into practice and that Puntland government is responsible for the students graduating from veterinary fields. He added that the fresh veterinarians have met the expectation of the government and the pastoral communities in Puntland whose income heavily depends on livestock animals “We will work for your progress and offer you any support that you need so that you can exercise your knowledge effectively and efficiently,” said Mr. Nour.

Scores arrested in Bay region security operations

22 Jul – Source: Bar-kulan/ Universal TV – 104 words

Somali Federal government forces backed by AU peacekeeping forces in southern Somali region of Bay have jointly conducted massive security crackdown in many parts of the region on Monday. Speaking to Bar-kulan, Aw-Dinle area commissioner Mohamed Sheikh Abdillahi said that dozens of people in connection with the insecurity in the area had been arrested amid security crackdown. Aw-Dinle boss added that the detainees will be interrogated, and whoever is innocent will be freed.
“Crimes that are allegedly carried out by al Qaeda-linked militant sympathizers in the region had rapidly increased in the last couple of weeks, and al Shabaab attacked Dhambal area”, said Mohamed Sheikh Abdillahi.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Region tries to come to terms with United Kingdom’s miraa ban

22 Jul – Source: Standard Digital Media – 190 words

The declaration by the British Home Secretary, Theresa May, that the UK government will ban khat, popularly known as miraa, has triggered an uproar, especially among those directly involved with the multi-billion shillings business. Farmers representatives and politicians have vowed to petition the UK in the same way the Mau Mau veterans did a few months ago and won. This is besides going to court in Kenya to force the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) to stop calling the coveted shrub a drug. “The implementation of this ban will be an economic death sentence to not only the hundreds of thousands of miraa growers in Meru County but to many more who depend on the industry like sellers, transporters and exporters,” says the National Treasurer and spokesman for Nyambene Miraa Traders Association (NYAMITA), Kimathi M’munjuri. “It will also crush institutions like schools and churches in Meru that depend on their miraa plantations for economic survival.” More than 60 tonnes of miraa is exported to the United Kingdom weekly, sustaining millions of livelihoods. If implemented the ban will cost Kenya around Sh2 billion per year.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Senior UN Humanitarian Official Lauds Additional Funding For Somali Relief Efforts

22 Jul – Source: UN News Service – 152 words

The top United Nations humanitarian official in Somalia today said that an additional $20 million in crisis funding comes at an opportune time to support the country’s most vulnerable people, particularly children. “The allocation for Somalia will help fill the gaps in key life-saving interventions in critical humanitarian domains,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, expressing his appreciation to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), one of the world’s largest sources of humanitarian funding. Somalia received the highest allocation out of a total $72 million apportioned to 12 countries categorized as ‘neglected crises’ around the world. Midway through this year, the Consolidated Appeal (CAP) had only received one-third of the requested $1.15 billion in funding, with certain humanitarian clusters receiving less than a quarter of their requirements. “This massive shortfall in funding jeopardizes efforts to build Somalis’ resilience to future shocks such as drought,” Mr. Lazzarini warned.

Ethiopian troops quit Somali city, but no full withdrawal planned

22 Jul – Source: Reuters – 187 words

Ethiopia has begun pulling troops out of a former rebel stronghold in Somalia, but it has no plans for a complete withdrawal from the fight against al Qaeda-linked insurgents, its foreign minister said on Monday. Somalia has enjoyed relative calm after military offensives by African Union (AMISOM) peacekeepers and Ethiopian troops, who have pushed al Qaeda-allied al Shabaab from urban strongholds in central and southern Somalia. But suicide attacks have reinforced concerns the militants remain a potent force and Ethiopia’s sudden withdrawal in March from Hudur – the capital of Bakool province near the Ethiopian border – enabled al Shabaab to retake the town. Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom said Ethiopia had begun pulling out of Baidoa – once considered the most important rebel city after the port of Kismayo – because it was now relatively stable and Somali forces were able to take over. “The withdrawal from Baidoa should have been done almost a year ago but AMISOM was not ready and that could not be done,” he told Reuters in an interview. Ethiopia seized the city, about 250 km (150 miles) northwest of Mogadishu, last year.

The worst fate: Somalia’s ship wrecked hostages

22 Jul – Source: Fox News/AFP – 128words

On Somalia’s pirate coast, more than 50 sailors are being held for ransom in grim conditions, many abandoned by their ship’s owner whose willingness to pay to free them sank with their boat. Almost all of the 54 sailors and fishermen that are still being held come from poor families in Asia, who say their pleas for help are falling on deaf ears. Fifteen of the hostages are from the Malaysian-flagged container ship MV Albedo, which was captured in November 2010 and sank this month in rough seas, raising fears about the crew’s fate. “Now that the vessel has sunk, the owner has no interest to pay money and rescue the crew,” families of some of the Albedo sailors wrote in a recent desperate appeal to the pirates.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“Due to the long neglect of mental health issues in Somalia, and the long-held beliefs on mental illness, the country needs Somali community organizations, and community health centers such as the one developed by Dr. Jama, Mr. Esse, and Mr. Habeeb. Somali led mental health treatment, and training is the best hope for Somalia.”

SOMALIA: Somalis Mental Health State.

22 Jul – Source: Raxanreeb -1966 Words

Given the Somalia political and economic turmoil suffered during the civil war, the country’s mental health system collapsed, and mental health disorder became rampant across the country. To date, government in Somalia does not have an official mental health plan of action to combat mental illness, rebuild facilities, and grant funding to support programs. The apparent lack of medicine, and adequately trained staff and professionals have forced families, and mental health centers to chain their patients to beds or rocks as it shows in the picture above, leaving them with permanent trauma and physical injuries.