NATIONAL MEDIA
22 July – Source: Halbeeg – 306 Words
Mogadishu Mayor, H.E. Eng. Abdirahman Omar Osman (Eng. Yarisow) held a public consultation and roundtable discussion with IDPs in Warta Nabadda district. This follows the successful roundtable discussion held earlier this month in Kahda and Daynile districts where the Mayor met refugee returnees from neighbouring countries and IDPs. The discussion in Warta Nabadda gave the IDPs the opportunity to directly engage the Mayor and ask questions on the role of Banadir Regional Administration (BRA) in ensuring that the rights of displaced people are met. The Mayor addressed the IDPs and reiterated that his administration is working closely with the Durable Solutions Unit and will not relent till their concerns are addressed.
“My office has opened a unit that is specifically in charge of addressing the plight of IDPs amidst Mogadishu’s rapid urbanization,” said the Mayor. Mayor Yarisow told guests that everyone needs to work closely with BRA to ensure service delivery will have the intended impact for all. “We are all Somalis. This country belongs to all of us. No one here has more rights than the other. Let’s work towards achieving brotherhood and prosperity,” Mayor Yarisow said.
The IDPs and the host community had one-on-one discussions with the Mayor and there was an obvious need for a sustainable and dignified life. “This was my first time engaging a Mayor and asking him some key questions. I hope he will address our housing challenges, water issues, and give us quality healthcare and education for our families,” Ahmed Ali, an IDP.
Mogadishu is home to approximately 600,000 IDPs, a number that is close to an overall of one-third of the overall population in Somalia. The Durable Solutions Unit under BRA is working toward improving the living conditions of IDPs and returnees in Mogadishu through the establishment of governance systems, increased housing, land and property rights and social, economic and political inclusion.
22 July – Source: Halbeeg – 254 Words
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has vowed that the Horn of Africa nation will bounce back on its feet to reclaim its role in Africa continent. On a Twitter post, President Farmajo lauded the African Union for its commitment to give Somalia the chance to participate in decision-making issues affecting the continent.
“Our great nation will reclaim its status that once made it the Pride of Africa and Pioneers of Pan-Africanism,” the tweet reads in part. “We are glad H.E Thabo Mbeki backs and believes in Somalia’s vision because he witnessed it in 1974 when he was in Mogadishu to attend the OAU Summit.”
On Saturday, African Union High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) led by former South African President, Thabo Mbeki, arrived in Mogadishu for high-level talks with Somali President, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo and other top government officials to pursue the objective of regional integration in the Horn of Africa.
The visit was part of the delegation’s mission to ensure that the countries of the Horn of Africa deal with matters of peace and security and economic integration in a holistic manner. According to H.E Mbeki, the planned integration of the Horn of Africa countries would be hinged on three pillars, which would culminate in the countries of the region developing a common security architecture. The panel, comprising officials from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the United Nations, also interacted with the leadership of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the United Nations Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), the diplomatic community, civil society and other stakeholders.
22 July – Source: Halbeeg – 123 Words
The Somali government opened training for the recently integrated local forces into the national army in Dhusamareeb on Monday. Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire led an event attended by the representatives of the international community in Galmudug’s administrative capital.
The premier urged the trainees to fully utilize the capacity building training in order to serve their people and country by liberating areas still under the control of the Al-Shabaab militant group. Khaire also thanked the leaders of Galmudug and their people for the significant role they played in the progress that has already been made. Ambassadors from Turkey, Qatar, Norway, Ethiopia, Kenya, Italy and envoys representing UN, EU and IGAD were present during an official event to integrate local forces into the national army.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
22 July – Source: VOA News – 170 Words
At least 17 people were killed in a car bombing in Mogadishu on Monday, medical sources tell VOA’s Somali service. The director of Mogadishu’s largest hospital, Dr. Mohamed Yusuf, said another 28 people were taken to the hospital with injuries.
The explosion occurred when a suspected suicide bomber detonated a vehicle near a hotel close to the busy K-4 junction in Mogadishu. Witnesses told VOA Somali that the vehicle was turned back from a security checkpoint that leads to Mogadishu’s Aden Abdulle International Airport. Al-Shabaab militants claimed responsibility for the attack.
The explosion comes just four days after the killing of a senior Al-Shabaab intelligence officer. Security sources told VOA Somali that Mohamed Nur Ikhlaas, head of Al-Shabaab’s domestic intelligence, was killed in an apparent U.S. airstrike near the town of Kunyo Barrow in the Lower Shabelle region on Thursday night. Ikhlaas was well known to the security branches, as he held the post for a long time. He was Al-Shabaab’s top political officer, according to security sources.
22 July – Source: Anadolu Agency – 86 Words
Turkey strongly condemned Monday’s terror attack in the Somali capital Mogadishu. “We strongly condemn the terrorist attack perpetrated this morning by a car bomb targeting a hotel in Mogadishu, causing death and injury of numerous people,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The bombing killed at least 10 people and wounded several others. “We wish Allah’s mercy upon those who lost their lives, a speedy recovery to the wounded and convey our condolences to the friendly and brotherly Government and people of Somalia,” it added.
22 July – Source: Xinhua – 156 Words
Somali forces have apprehended three al-Shabab militants in a security operation conducted on Sunday in Kismayo town, southern Somalia, an official said on Monday. Somali National Army (SNA)’s Division 11th commander Mohamed Hassan Badal said the arrests were made after the forces got reliable intelligence on the militants’ presence on the road outside of Kismayo city. “The militants sneaked in a public bus en route to the city and our forces intercepted them. We detained three militants and confiscated explosive materials in their possession,” Badal said.
The army man added the captured militants are now in government prison set for militants in Kismayo town. On July 12 , the militants carried out a terrorist attack at a hotel in Kismayo town killing at least 26 people including foreign nationals and injured 56 others. The Somali government has vowed to avenge the killings and has so far conducted a series of operations in the Lower Juba region.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“It is no secret that journalism can get you killed in Somalia. Nalayeh’s death symbolises the threat journalists are to al-Shabaab. Even media workers who steer clear of politics portray a people trying to survive and move forward under a cloud of death and destruction.”
21 July – Source: The Guardian – 790 Words
Numb. The defining emotion that comes to mind every time I hear of a bomb blast or another instance of tribal conflict the east African nation of Somalia has endured over 30 years. The homeland where my parents were born and raised has either been at war, under the threat of extremist attacks or famine for longer than I have been alive. I was born in Australia, the only one of four siblings, all of whom were born in the capital Mogadishu. My family, however, as most Somali families do, consistently teach their children about the language, culture and tradition they were forced to leave behind. Where Somali and African youth face instances of racism and discrimination on an almost daily basis, often resulting in rebelling against a society that has essentially rejected them because of the colour of their skin, Somali parents continue to implore their children to return to their cultural, traditional, linguistic and religious roots. It is not an isolation tactic, but nearly all immigrants in Australia teach their children the importance of knowing where you came from.
Hodan Nalayeh, the Canadian-Somali journalist who was killed in a recent bomb blast in the city of Kismayo, wanted the same for her future children – not only an understanding of a brutal war, but to be proud of a rich history cultivated by their ancestors, and to ultimately be proud of their heritage. “Fadlan ku soo noqo xididada dhaqanka.” This is a common phrase used by Somali mothers who beg their children to return to their traditions, a practice they believe will instil discipline and respect for Somalis that came before them, as well as becoming productive members of Australian society.
While immensely appreciative in retrospect, one grows accustomed to suffering. It is just how the cookie crumbles when trying to make sense of a devastated country, that, according to the United Nations, continues to win the ever so coveted title of the world’s most corrupt nation, year after year. When I heard about the death of Nalayeh, I didn’t know just how much of an impact it would have on me as a journalist of over 20 years and now an academic. Media workers reporting from the developing world and conflict zones like myself are a tight-knit community. We are still reeling by her passing. I never met Nalayeh (we do have mutual friends, however).
What made this especially difficult for me was that my late father, while involved in very different professions, had a similar life trajectory – to return to their homeland with the sole aim of helping and healing their people, and in Nalayeh’s case, telling Somali stories in the process. They both paid the ultimate price. Nalayeh was killed along with her husband, Farid Jama Suleiman, and at least 24 others after a bomb exploded outside the Asasey Hotel. Like my father, politics was of no interest to her. Integration TV, an online media platform she founded, aimed to showcase a different side of a nation that has been consistently the butt of every joke regarding failed states. She wanted to show the resilience of the Somali people – if they can live through a war, they can live through the barbaric antics of al-Shabaab, a group that claims to be Muslim yet regularly kills those of the same faith. Sound familiar? That may well be because they have aligned themselves with ISIS.
It is no secret that journalism can get you killed in Somalia. Nalayeh’s death symbolises the threat journalists are to Al-Shabaab. Even media workers who steer clear of politics portray a people trying to survive and move forward under a cloud of death and destruction. Nalayeh’s depiction of communities that wake up each morning knowing it may be their last sends out a message to these cowards that you may kill many, but you will never take away our traditions. This scares Al-Shabaab. My hope is that Nalayeh’s passing will not be in vain. Somali journalists will carry on her legacy; one of peace, respect and integrity Somalia and its people deserve. The time of her death comes amid a focus on refugees, and Somalis in particular…. |
