July 23, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Jubbaland Forces Kill Six Al-Shabab Fighters In Southern Somalia
22 July – Source: Halbeeg News – 195 Words
Jubbaland forces killed six suspected Al-Shabaab fighters in an operation in southern Somalia, a military official confirmed. Al-Shabab, which wants to topple the internationally recognised Somali government, has been engaging the African Union (AU) backed Somali troops, in deadly battles in southern and central Somalia.
Speaking to the media, deputy commander of Jubbaland Dervish forces, Mohamed Ahmed Hirsi, said the state’s forces staged successful opposition against Al-Shabaab fighters in Lower Jubba region. According to Mr. Hirsi, the operation in Badhadhe town eliminated six Al-Shabaab fighters including a top official of the militia group, identified as Shurem Adan Ali. He was the group’s commander for western front. .
The official said the six Al-Shabaab fighters died in a shootout during the operation. The operation comes amid accelerated offensives by Somali and AMISOM forces against Al-Shabaab fighters in southern Somalia.
Since May, when Jubbaland leader Ahmed Madobe alongside forces from the Federal Government intensified the onslaught against the militia group, several Al-Shabaab fighters have defected from the group. Al-Shabaab lost control of major towns including Somali capital after its fighters were defeated in several battlefields in south and central Somalia.
Key Headlines
- Jubbaland Forces Kill Six Al-Shabab Fighters In Southern Somalia (Halbeeg News)
- ISIS Suspect Arraigned In Mogadishu Court (Radio Dalsan)
- UN Envoy Arrives In Galkayo Town To Assess Security (Halbeeg News)
- Somali Forces Nab Suspects After Mogadishu Car Blast (Xinhua)
- Somalia On Stability Path As Donors Pledge Support (The East Africa)
- Irish Behind New Campaign Against FGM In Somalia (The Irish Times)
NATIONAL MEDIA
ISIS Suspect Arraigned In Mogadishu Court
22 July – Source: Radio Dalsan – 134 Words
An ISIS suspect nabbed in April, Jama Hussein Hassan, on Saturday appeared before a military tribunal in Mogadishu charged with planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and being in possession of video recordings of attacks by the militant group. Hassan was captured in April while planting an explosive device at Bodbodka near Afgoye town. He confessed to being an ISIS operative at the time of his arrest. He was found with several bomb assembling equipment.
Hassan told Police that he was a former Al-Shabaab militant before switching allegiance to ISIS. He is said to have been plotting attacks in Afgoye town, which over the last one year has witnessed at least four killings claimed by ISIS. He was based in the rough terrains of Galgaal, a hotbed of pro-ISIS militants led by Sheikh Abdiqadir Mumin.
UN Envoy Arrives In Galkayo Town To Assess Security
22 July – Source: Halbeeg News
A delegation led by UN Special Representative of the Secretary for Somalia, Michael Keating, arrived in Galkayo town in central Somalia on Sunday. The envoy and his entourage was welcomed by local authorities of the town and other leaders at the airport.
Mr. Keating, who is accompanied by Somali Police Chief Bashir Abdi Mohamed, will assess the security situation of the town. Residents of Galkayo have recently experienced deadly inter-state clashes that claimed lives of hundreds civilians.
According to reports, the two leaders will hold talks with the police commanders and local leaders. In 2017, a Galkayo ceasefire deal was signed and over 100 police officers were hired to oversee implementation of the ceasefire agreement last year. Galkayo city is divided into two zones, where the northern portion is part of Puntland state, while the southern part is governed by the Galmudug administration.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Forces Nab Suspects After Mogadishu Car Blast
22 July – Source: Xinhua – 254 Words
Somali security forces on Saturday rounded up several suspects following the car bombing in Mogadishu in which one security official was killed and three others injured. Bondhere District Commissioner Zeinab Yusuf told reporters that the Saturday incident in Bondhere district saw a remote-controlled explosive device go off, resulting in the death of the National Intelligence Service Agency (NISA) official.
“Security forces have arrested several suspects following the blast,” Yusuf said, noting that the victims were people of the same family except a passer-by woman who was injured. “An explosive device fitted into the vehicle caused the blast and he died on the spot,” the commissioner said.
The security forces have not established why the improvised device was fitted in the car with the civilians on board but sources said a senior police officer who is believed to have been the target escaped unhurt. Security officials told Xinhua that the official was carrying his family to the Mogadishu Airport.
Witnesses reported the blast was huge and caused panic in the area. “We heard huge blast this morning and we learnt that it had targeted security official. Heavily armed forces arrived at the scene and arrested some people,” an eyewitness, Amina Abdullahi, told Xinhua.
No group has claimed reasonability for the latest attack but the extremist al-Shabab military group launches regular attacks on government, military and civilian targets in Somalia. The latest attack comes a week after two people were killed when a suicide car bomb detonated at the checkpoint, which is close to the presidential palace.
Somalia On Stability Path As Donors Pledge Support
22 July – Source: The East African – 513 Words
After a two-day high-level meeting on Somalia in Brussels, representatives of 58 countries and six international organisations are convinced that the Horn of Africa country is on the path to recovery. The July 17-18 meeting was co-convened by Federica Mogherini, European Union Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Margot Wallstrom.
Ms Wallstrom told the forum co-chaired by the African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail Chergui, that Sweden would double its development assistance and humanitarian aid to Somalia. The participants, who took stock of political, economic and security reforms undertaken since the last Partnership Forum held in London in 2017, said all these are milestones that augur well for Somalia’s future.
The delegates also set priorities that need to be addressed over the next six to 12 months. Opening the Forum, Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo said the country had made progress since he assumed leadership in February last year, but cautioned his countrymen that they still face a myriad of challenges which must be tackled to achieve lasting peace and security.
“There are no quick fix results for all Somali challenges but strong commitment, hard work and consistent evaluation are needed to achieve tangible results,” President Farmaajo told the gathering that included his Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre, several federal government ministers, federal member states presidents, international partners and diplomats.
Transition plan
President Farmaajo said over the past one year, his government together with international partners had formulated a transition plan for the security framework before taking over security responsibilities from the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) by 2020. Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia Francisco Madeira said the peacekeeping force was working closely with the Federal Government of Somalia to conditionally hand over some of the responsibilities in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution passed last year.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“One in 10 women die in childbirth in Somalia. The reason this happens is that their cervix is badly damaged during mutilation. The cervix needs to stretch during childbirth so the baby can get out.”
Irish Behind New Campaign Against FGM In Somalia
21 July – Source: The Irish Times – 798 Words
A campaign against female genital mutilation (FGM) in Somalia involving Irish people is hopeful of winning a strong endorsement this weekend from religious leaders in Mogadishu. As organisers were putting the final touches to the campaign, its urgency was underlined by reports emerging this week that a 10-year-old Somali girl bled to death as a result of her FGM going “wrong”.
The girl has been named as Deeqa Dahir Nuur. She was brought to a “traditional cutter” in Olol village in Galmudug state. According to activist Hawa Aden Mohamed, reported in the Guardian, one of Deeqa’s veins was severed while mutilation was being carried out and, despite being taken to hospital, the bleeding was not controlled and she died.
Campaign organisers say they will use Deeqa’s tragedy to bring home forcefully why FGM should not be tolerated. The Irish influence behind the new campaign, which starts on Sunday at an event in the Somalia the organisers are calling The Gathering, is strong. The Gathering will include over 100 Somali notables including Zeinab Abdi, wife of the Somali president, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo; the country’s education minister, Abdirahman Dahir Osman, and health minister Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud. Perhaps most significantly, in terms of the campaign aims, a group of significant Somali imams (Islamic religious leaders) will also be present.
Also there will be Ireland’s ambassador to Kenya, Vincent O’Neill, who also represents Ireland in Somalia and whose embassy is strongly supportive of the campaign, and Ifrah Ahmed, the Somali-born Irish woman advising the Somali government on FGM and whose Dublin-based foundation campaigns against the practice world-wide. She and Irish film-maker Mary McGuckian are putting the finishing touches to A Girl From Mogadishu, which will be released in September.
Other Irish interests behind the campaign include Dr John Climax and his Human Dignity Foundation, and journalist Maggie O’Kane, chief executive of the London-based organisation Global Media Campaign to End FGM. Sunday’s gathering will be followed by a week-long campaign against FGM.