July 25, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Somali President Calls For Amisom Reinforcement To Secure August Polls
24 July – Source: Goobjoog News – 293 Words
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has called for urgent deployment of enhanced combative force to crash the Al-Shabaab militant group to ensure the forthcoming elections are secured from any attacks.The President said the threat of Al-Shabaab must be dealt with conclusively, noting that the delay to deploy enhanced capacity for the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces was impeding the war against Al-Shabaab.
The President called for enhanced coordination between AMISOM and Somali National Security Institutions, for better execution of security operations. The President spoke while receiving the new AMISOM force commander Lt. General Osman Noor Soubagleh in Mogadishu. Gen Soubagle is taking over from outgoing force Commander Lt. General Jonathan Rono from Kenya.
Troops and police contributing countries in February called on the United Nations to expedite the finalization of Letters of Assist to allow the deployment of operational enablers and force multipliers including helicopters from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. AMISOM chief Francisco Madeira expressed confidence in the Force Commander’s ability to effectively lead security operations.
“General Soubagleh has worked with AMISOM before; he has extensive knowledge of the Somali culture, the language and more so, of his mandate here. He will use his experience to guide AMISOM operations, with the guidance and support of your government, towards peace and stability of the country,” noted Ambassador Madeira. General Soubagleh is taking the reins of leading the AMISOM forces at a crucial time when Somalia is preparing for elections slated for August this year.
Key Headlines
- Somali President Calls For Amisom Reinforcement To Secure August Polls (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Presidential Elections To Be Held In December Source (Radio Dalsan)
- Somali Intelligence Agency Seizes Explosives Laden Car In Mogadishu (Goobjoog News)
- Turkish Embassy In Somalia To Control Gulen-run Schools (Shabelle News)
- Somaliland Military Court Sentences 8 Soldiers To Death (Goobjoog News)
- Former Somali Lawmaker Survives Bomb Attack (Prensa Latina News Agency)
- Burundi Rotates Two Battalions For Somalia Peacekeeping Mission (Xinhua News)
- AMISOM Stay Should Not Be Time bound – Somali Foreign Minister (New Times)
- The Story Of A Somali Olympian Refugee Who Died At Sea Is The Subject Of A New Graphic Novel(Quartz Africa)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Presidential Elections To Be Held In December, Source
24 July – Source: Radio Dalsan – 136 Words
Unconfirmed reports have hinted to Radio Dalsan that the historic presidential and parliamentary elections in Somalia might after all not be conducted according to the stipulated time table as scheduled by the electoral commission.
A document seen by Radio Dalsan shows that the presidential elections will be conducted on 12th December, thus four months after the expiry of current government’s term. Parliamentary and senate elections are scheduled for October and November this year respectively, according to the document.
The delay in the historic elections is said to have resulted from technical hitches both within the government and the independent electoral commission. The electoral commission committee is set to converge for a meeting in the capital Mogadishu at the end of this month.
If these changes are indeed executed, they will contradict the President’s persistent promise that the elections will be held on time as stipulated and that his government’s term will not be extended.
Somali Intelligence Agency Seizes Explosives Laden Car In Mogadishu
24 July – Source: Goobjoog News – 110 Words
Somali intelligence agency on Sunday seized a car laden with explosives in Bondhere district in Mogadishu following a tip off from members of the public.
Somali News Agency quoted an official from the National Intelligence and security Agency (NISA) noting that security officials had confiscated gas cylinders, rocket propelled grenades and a metals rods loaded in the car. The seizure follows two others in the last one month in Mogadishu.
Bondhere district commissioner Abdullahi Ali Abdulle thanked the residents of the district for their collaboration with the police in efforts to thwart any terror attacks. The use of gas cylinders to make bombs has become a common feature among Al-Shabaab — thanks to the increased use of cooking gas in Mogadishu.
Turkish Embassy In Somalia To Control Gulen-run Schools
24 July – Source: Shabelle News – 415 Words
Three schools and a hospital belonging to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization-linked Nile Academy in Somalia will now operate under control of Turkey’s Mogadishu embassy, according to a diplomatic source.
The news came on Sunday after the Somali government announced on July 16 its support for the elected government of Turkey and its elected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the July 15 coup attempt organized by FETO.
The Somali government has already begun to take some measures against FETO elements in their country, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to not being authorized to talk to the media, said. The Somali government announced on July 16 it is suspending a school linked to the organization behind the failed coup bid, following a request by Ankara.
The government had said a new administrative board would be designated in cooperation with Turkey to resume the school’s educational activities. According to the source, the Somali government had given people working in Gulen-run institutions one week to leave the country, which expired Saturday.
A girls’ primary school, a girls’ high school, a high school, and a hospital will now carry out its activities under the coordination of the embassy in Mogadishu starting on Sunday, the source added. After the Somali government’s decision, 40 staff members have begun to leave the country along with their families. The source said the hospital operated by the Nile Academy will be closed down and its property will pass to the Somalia-Turkey Training and Research Hospital.
According to decrees published in the official gazette Saturday, the Turkish government shutdown more than 2,000 Gulen-linked institutions across Turkey following the deadly July 15 coup attempt. A total of 35 health institutions and organizations as well as 1,043 private educational institutions, organizations, dormitories, and hostels were closed for having links with the FETO; 1,229 foundations and associations, 19 unions, federation and confederation and 15 foundation schools were also closed.
The deadly coup attempt occurred late on Friday, July 15, 2016 when rogue elements of the Turkish military tried to overthrow the country’s democratically-elected government. Turkey’s government has repeatedly said the deadly plot on July 15, which martyred at least 246 people and injured more than 2,100 others, was organized by followers of U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen.
Gulen is also accused of a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the “parallel state”.
Somaliland Military Court Sentences 8 Soldiers To Death
24 July – Source: Goobjoog News – 192 Words
A military court in Hargeisa, the capital of Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland, has sentenced 8 soldiers to death after being convicted of killing Barbera police Commissioner in a broad-daylight attack in Bura’o, court officials said.
Col. Yussuf Farah Sharma’arke, Somaliland’s military court chief, said that the eight were sentenced to death after they were found guilty of murdering Abdirisaaq Mohamud Yusuf: “The court sentenced eight men to death penalty. The court found these defendants guilty of being involved in the killing of the Berbara police commissioner and they confessed to it,” said Sharma’arke.
The judge stated that the convicted soldiers can still take an appeal if they are not satisfied with the verdict. The European Union, the United Nations and human rights campaigners have all urged Somalia authorities to reinstate the moratorium. In 2012, a military court in Somaliland sentenced to death 17 civilians who were accused of attacking a military base.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Former Somali Lawmaker Survives Bomb Attack
24 July – Source: Prensa Latina News Agency – 159 Words
An ex member of the Somali Parliament, Yusuf Aynte, survived an assassination attempt when a bomb exploded in his car in this capital, Hiiraan online.com reported on Sunday.
The former lawmaker was not near the vehicle when the bomb was detonated near the Wehliye Hotel, so he escaped unharmed by sheer chance, the source added. However, media sources and reporters said that the Intelligence Agency of Somalia found the car laden with explosives.
The group behind the attack on the ex lawmaker, who is also a renowned Islamic scholar, is still unknown. Notwithstanding, the website underlined that Somalia is still fighting the anti-government group Al Shabab, which perpetrates this kind of attack.
The latest major attack carried out by that organization was in late June, when one of its commandos broke into a hotel in this capital and killed 15 people, according to police reports. Among the casualties was Somalia’s State minister for the Environment, Buri M. Hamza.
Burundi Rotates Two Battalions For Somalia Peacekeeping Mission
24 July – Source: Xinhua News – 258 Words
The Burundian army Saturday sent two battalions to the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in a takeover, replacing two other battalions that have completed their one-year duty, the Burundian army spokesman has said.
“Since the beginning of this month, we are sending two battalions made up of 1,700 peacekeepers to the AMISOM and another 200 soldiers at the AMISOM headquarters for the Burundian contingent,” said Burundian Army Spokesman Colonel Gaspard Baratuza. According to Baratuza, the two battalions that have been sent to Somalia include the 38th and the 39th battalions that are replacing the 32nd and the 33rd battalions.
“Since 2007 when Burundi started sending peacekeepers to Somalia, achievements are numerous. The situation was chaotic in 2007 with Al Shabaab terrorists shooting aircrafts at Mogadishu Airport, but now the traffic is high at the airport, maritime activities are underway and traffic on roads is also normal thanks to efforts of peacekeepers from Burundi and other countries,” said Col Baratuza. Burundi is among the main contributors of troops in AMISOM.
Since December 2007, the east African nation has deployed six rotating battalions in Somalia. Earlier in June, the Burundian government said that the European Union’s decision to cut funding for the AMISOM was unfair.The EU in April announced it would cut by 20 percent its financial support to AMISOM due to competing priorities in Africa and the world in general.
AMISOM Stay Should Not Be Time bound – Somali Foreign Minister
23 July – Source: New Times – 1,724 Words
Somali Minister for Foreign Affairs and Investment Promotion Abdusalam Omer acknowledges challenges the war-torn nation faces but remains optimistic his motherland will triumph over Al-Shabaab terrorists and eventually become peaceful.
On the sidelines of the just concluded 27th AU Summit, in Kigali, the economist and politician talked to SaturdayTimes’ James Karuhanga and, among other things, expounded on his government’s wish that African Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) troops do not leave before the country’s army can stand on its own.
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Excerpts:
NT: There is talk of timelines for pulling out peacekeeping troops from Somalia. The AU plans to withdraw its forces by end 2020. If that happens, how would you manage?
AO: I think they came for a reason and we are most grateful to our brothers and sisters all the way from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda to Burundi, sending their children to help stabilise Somalia and defeat a nemesis against international terrorism, and people who are raising hell in Somalia. It’s not a Somali problem. It’s a regional and international problem. They came to help Somalia and, we have turned the corner. Militarily, we have defeated al-Shabaab with the help of our AMISOM brothers and sisters and Somali national army. And the work they came for and paid a high price; lives of some of the children, has to be completed. Whether that can be completed in a year or two, or three, is an open question. Somalia totally disintegrated and the rebuilding of Somalia includes rebuilding Somali national army which is at its infancy stage. I don’t think that AMISOM staying or leaving should be time bound. It should be a condition bound.
NT: You don’t want AMISOM to leave soon?
AO: We don’t want AMISOM to leave right now. They came with a job to do. That job is probably 80 percent done and, while they were doing the job they became a nemesis to the whole region. There were attacks in Uganda, there were repeated attacks in Kenya and, it’s done by the same group they are fighting in Somalia.
I think they should leave when the Somali national army is ready to take over the responsibility of protecting their sovereignty and integrity of the Somali nation, and fight international terrorism.Somali troops are doing that right now, except that there is not enough equipment and there are not enough of them out there and they don’t have enough support.
NT: What do you make of reports indicating that Uganda is inclined to withdrawing its troops way earlier than before 2018?
AO: Well, we are very grateful to our Ugandan brothers and sisters who have been with us for seven years. I think Uganda, and Ugandan leadership, are rational people who will see the circumstances and make decisions accordingly. I have not had a discussion between the two governments as regards this issue, but it has been reported. We believe in the final analysis the Ugandan government will finish the job and will support us until we can stand on our feet, and until the arms embargo on Somalia is lifted.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Somalia today is not the country Omar left in 2010; there are signs of a slow recovery underway. Al-Shabaab no longer has a heavy presence in the country’s capital, Mogadishu. Still, her story is a reminder of the hope and heartache experienced by those held back by the country’s decades of unrest.”
The Story Of A Somali Olympian Refugee Who Died At Sea Is The Subject Of A New Graphic Novel
24 July – Source: Quartz Africa – 616 Words
Since 2012, more than 11,300 refugees have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe. Among them: Samia Yusuf Omar, a 21-year-old runner from Somalia who undertook the voyage in the hopes of getting closer to her goal of competing in the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Omar’s remarkable story is captured by German artist Reinhard Kleist in a new graphic novel called An Olympic Dream: The story of Samia Yusuf Omar, which was published in the US this April. The book documents Omar’s childhood in war-torn Somalia, her hopes of becoming a professional runner, and her journey from Somalia through Ethiopia, Sudan, and Libya.
Kleist worked on the book for a year and initially serialized it in a daily comic strip. The artist says he was drawn to the emotional impact of Omar’s story, and her efforts to “fulfill her dream of running as a way to get out of her bad situation in her homeland in Somalia.”
Omar burst onto the international scene during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, where she competed for Somalia in the 200-meter race. Even though she came in last, the race showcased Omar’s determination, and seeing her thin physique among the toned, muscled bodies of her fellow runners was inspiring for Somalis made hopeless by decades of civil war.
Emboldened by her participation in the Beijing games, Omar hoped to represent Somalia in London in 2012. But back home, a different reality awaited her. The conflict in Somalia was undergoing a new twist, as the nascent transitional government faced off against extremist group Al-Shabaab.
In 2010, a then 19-year-old Omar decided to leave Somalia and train in neighboring Ethiopia. “She talked about sports, she watched sports games on YouTube, she played sports when she had any free time,” says Teresa Krug, a journalist who met Omar in Hargeisa, Somaliland, that year.
After traveling through Ethiopia, Sudan, and Libya, Omar got on a boat in the hopes of reaching Italy, finding a coach, and making it to the Olympics. But the boat carrying her ran out of fuel, according to media reports. She failed to grab a rope tossed by an Italian navy ship rescuing passengers, and drowned.
Kleist’s book is well-timed. The 2016 Olympics in Rio, which kick off in August, will host a team of refugees for the first time in Olympic history.