NATIONAL MEDIA
23 July – Source: Halbeeg – 82 Words
Ethiopian troops in Somalia’s southern region Gedo have clashed with fighters from the militant group, Al-Shabaab. The clashes reportedly erupted after the militants tried to ambush an Ethiopian convoy traveling in a remote area between Bohol-Bashir and Luq town.
The incident happened at around 11 am local time (0830 GMT) with the two sides engaging in a sustained gunfight. However, it is not known if there were casualties or not. AMISOM and Ethiopian government did not comment on the incident.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
23 July – Source: EU NAVFOR – 462 Words
In a handover/takeover ceremony this morning on board the EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation ATALANTA warship ESPS NAVARRA, EU NAVFOR Deputy Operation Commander Rear Admiral Giovanni Battista Piegaja welcomed the operation’s new Force Commander, Rear Admiral Simi and his Flag Ship the ITS MARCEGLIA as the new Force Headquarters (FHQ) for the 32nd rotation of Operation ATALANTA. EU NAVFOR also welcomed the ESPS CANARIAS as a new addition to the 32nd rotation of Operation ATALANTA. Both vessels will sail with Operation ATALANTA from the end of July 2019 until early November 2019, countering piracy and monitoring fishing activity off the Somali coast under the mandate of the European Union.
The Force Command of Operation ATALANTA was transferred to R. Adm. Simi today from R. Adm. Ricardo HERNANDEZ (Spanish Navy). Last April, under R. Adm. Hernandez’s command, EU NAVFOR’s ESPS NAVARRA was able to approach, intercept and board a fishing vessel captured by pirates off the Somali coast. With the support of the private armed security teams and EU NAVFOR’s various active assets in the region—including the frigate ESPS NAVARRA and MPRAs German JESTER and Spanish CISNE—Operation Atalanta was able to control the situation and prevent any further imminent attacks.
Operation ATALANTA’s new Deputy Operation Commander Rear Admiral Giovanni Battista Piegaja delivered a speech during today’s ceremony in which he thanked R. Adm. Hernandez for his diligent service, and congratulated and welcomed R. Adm. Simi. “The EU flag has been flying for more than 10 years in the Western Indian Ocean with all of us present here today, working together to uphold Freedom of Navigation and Maritime Security,” he said.
The European Union (EU) Ambassador in Djibouti Adam Kulach, local Djiboutian authorities and international partners in Djibouti all attended the ceremony. EU Common Security and Defence representatives also took the ceremony as an opportunity to award two Djiboutian officers, a Colonel and a Capitaine with CSDP Service Medals for their exceptional job in support of Operation Atalanta. The sterling support provided to the Operation from the Djiboutian authorities and the French Forces Stationed at Djibouti (FFDJ) continues to act as a force multiplier reinforcing the success of the mission in the region.
EU NAVFOR has designed a Cooperation Concept for Atalanta (COCOA), which aims to increase synergies with regional states and military actors present and complement each other’s efforts in a pragmatic, flexible but predictable way. EU NAVFOR and its international partners—such as the Combined Maritime Forces and other independent deployers—has reduced the impact of piracy in off the Horn of Africa to a minimum. EU NAVFOR remains committed to deterring, preventing and suppressing piracy and emphasizes that the Maritime Industry must adhere to BMP measures in order to maximize the safety of the ship and their crews whilst transiting the high-risk area.
23 July – Source: Xinhua – 207 Words
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Tuesday urged closer cooperation with China in regional peace and security initiatives targeting the eastern Africa region. The East African bloc made the call on strengthening partnership with China, with particular emphasis on cooperation in the peace and security sector, in a statement on Tuesday that followed a recent meeting between IGAD officials and a Chinese delegation from the Institute of African Studies at the Zhejiang Normal University in China.
IGAD’s Director of Agriculture and Environment Division and Officer-in-Charge of the Secretariat, Mohamed Moussa, briefed the Chinese delegation “on the current situation in the region, in particular in South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia, including the new developments in the Red Sea region,” an IGAD statement read.
“After an in-depth deliberation, the two sides emphasized the need for a balanced approach in enhancing peace and security and development efforts in the region,” IGAD said. According to IGAD, the delegation’s visit, among other things, aimed “to discuss areas of cooperation between IGAD and China, particularly in the areas of peace and security in the Horn of Africa.” The Chinese delegation from the Zhejiang Normal University, headed by Shu Zhan, paid a courtesy visit to the IGAD Secretariat in Djibouti on late Monday.
23 July – Source: CAJ News – 220 Words
Thousands of children that have initially been forced out of education due to recruitment by terror groups, conflict and drought are to receive education following a new programme launched northeast of Somalia. Non-governmental organisations – Education Cannot Wait and Save the Children- launched the programme at a cost of US$5,6 million (R78 million) to improve learning and wellbeing of children affected by crises in Puntland.
Many of these children are recovering from being recruited by Al-Shabaab or have suffered significant psychological distress as a result of the on-going drought and conflict in the region. Girls are especially at risk for gender-based violence and early marriage.
The programme puts special emphasis on reaching children with disabilities. “It is our collective moral obligation to fulfil every child’s right to education. Girls and boys in Puntland deserve no less,” said Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait.
Said Abdullahi Deni, President of Puntland, said the programme was a new beginning for local children. It is a critical part of the state’s education in emergency strategy, which was finalised in December 2018. “Puntland welcomes the new funds which bridge the humanitarian and developmental gaps within the education sector in the region,” he said. The funds cover $54,4 million (R758 million) required to implement the full programme over the next three years.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
22 July – Source: MinnPost – 886 Words
It’s hard not to get caught up in the calculated train wreck President Trump created by urging U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and three other new, progressive women in Congress to “go home” and fix “broken” societies. But since he brought it up, let’s look beyond the rhetoric at a crisis looming in one of those countries — and at what the president’s approach is. Trump probably doesn’t think Omar, the only one of the four who had a home other than the United States, really ought to go back to Somalia, where she was born. Maybe he didn’t think it though at all. In any case, that’s not the point. While the president does prefer his immigrants white and wealthy, this was all about stirring the pot. The ensuing uproar has focused on race and domestic politics, and it provides a preview of Trump’s reelection campaign. In addition to feeding the “incredible patriots” who chanted “Send her back!” about Omar, Politico reports that the administration is weighing a plan to drop legal immigration next year to zero.
So the controversy, even though it has a foreign angle, is almost totally domestic. While Omar’s native land has been far more important for Americans — and Minnesotans in particular — than most African countries of 15 million people, it still tends to get lost. In the rare moment when everything’s not all about Trump, however, this also is an opportunity to focus on the fact that hunger, worsened by climate change that this White House won’t acknowledge, is once again stalking Somalia.
The U.N. said last month that Somalia’s spring rainy season was one of the driest of the last 35 years. The terminology can be hard to grasp, but the maps and the statistics are pretty clear: By midsummer (i.e. now) 5 million people would be facing some level of “food insecurity,” and almost half of those would be dealing with a crisis, a situation that can easily tip into famine. The U.N.’s aid chief spoke of an impending “horror.” From the outside, it can be easy to get fatigued with Somalia’s seemingly endless violence and bouts of hunger, of which there have been three just in the past decade. The worst was a famine in 2010-2012 killed an estimated quarter-million people.
If Omar had never left Somalia, World Bank statistics indicate her life would be something like this: She could expect to live 57 years. She would have six children, one of whom would die before the age of 5. She would have less than a one in three chance of having access to clean water, and a one in two chance of not having enough to eat. According to the Borgen Project, there is only a one in four chance that she would be able to read. But if you dig into those statistics, you find a number of them actually have been heading in the right direction. For instance, just since 2010, infant mortality has dropped from 96.9 per 1,000 births to 79.7. Life expectancy increased three years….. |
