NATIONAL MEDIA
President Farmajo Questioned Top Security Bosses about Wednesday’s BRA Headquarters Attack
26 July – Source: Hiiraan Online – 162 Words
On Thursday, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed ‘Farmajo’ met with the commanders of the security agencies in charge of security in the capital and grilled them on the deadly Wednesday attack against Banadir Regional Administration Headquarters. The President listened to a brief on the security lapses at the Mayor’s office and the status of the ongoing investigation by the police command. The president instructed the government to quickly come up with a comprehensive plan on the fight against Al-Shabaab and its secretive accomplices. “It is unacceptable that Al-Shabaab elements remain amidst ourselves. The government should come up with strategies that can deal with the menace,” the statement from the Villa said.
Meanwhile, members of a team coordinating emergency support to the victims, who were present at the meeting, briefed the president on the health situation of the people hurt in the attack. They said some of the airlifted people for further treatment included victims injured in separate terrorist attacks in Bosaso and Kismayo.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
26 July – Source: UNSOS – Words
The United Nations in Somalia yesterday marked the arrival of a new contingent of Ugandan peacekeepers charged with ensuring the safety of the world body’s staff in their compound in the capital city, Mogadishu.
At a handover ceremony, the arrival of hundreds of new soldiers who will serve in the UN Guard Unit (UNGU), replacing an outgoing contingent was welcomed by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, James Swan, and Commander of Uganda’s land forces, Lieutenant General Peter Elwelu.“Do your work. It is about the mission all the time. For the next one year that you are going to be here, please focus on the mission. What I want you to promote here is the spirit of comradeship. When you have teamwork, I assure you that you will find your mission very simple,” the senior Ugandan officer told members of the new contingent after the handover.
The ceremony saw the UN and Ugandan flags received by Mr. Swan and Lieutenant General Elwelu, from the outgoing UNGU commander, Colonel Stuart Agaba, and handed over to his successor, Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Bainomugisha. “I thank the army leadership under the Chief of Defence Forces, and in particular the Commander of Land Forces for the trust placed in me,” Lt. Col. Bainomugisha said. “I will lead professionally and effectively.”
The incoming protection unit – known as UNGU VI, due to it being the sixth such rotation – is made up of soldiers from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces with 625 officers and enlisted troops, and includes 86 women among them. UNGU contingents are tasked with protecting UN staff and installations in Mogadishu in order to assist staff of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) and other parts of the UN system to carry out their work in the Horn of Africa country’s capital.
25 July – Source: Anadolu Agency – 178 Words
Some 152 soldiers graduated from Turkey’s largest overseas military training camp in Somalia, Turkish Defense Ministry announced Thursday. The graduates included 81 Somalian lieutenants and 71 sergeants, according to a statement by the Ministry.
“I believe that the brotherly people of Somalia who are dealing with drought, hunger, civil war and terror will march to the future more confidently thanks to the qualified graduates of this campus, who will contribute to the security of their country,” said Hulusi Akar, Turkish defense minister, in his message to graduates, as quoted by the statement. “Our brothers who have graduated today will take the deep historical bonds of brotherhood among us even further,” he added.
Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo attended the ceremony along with Turkish and Somali military and civilian personnel. Turkey opened its largest overseas military training camp in Mogadishu in September 2017. The facility is spread over 4 square kilometres (1.54 square miles) and has the capacity to train more than 1,500 troops at a time. It also holds three military residential complexes and schools.
25 July – Source: World Health Organisation – 479 Word
The second synchronized Horn of Africa cross-border polio coordination and micro planning meeting which was organized for district level health officials of Ethiopia and Somaliland and Puntland held from 16-18, July 2019 in Jigjiga city of Somali region in Ethiopia. The first synchronized cross border micro planning meeting was held in Hargeisa Somaliland from 12 to 13 June 2019 with great success where the lower level staffs were fully involved and engaged in the process of cross-border micro plan.
This second synchronized cross-border meeting was attended by Ministry of Health National, Regional, zonal and woreda level officers, CORE Group, CDC, Rotary, WHO and UNICEF. The overall objectives of this meeting were to review the 1st round implementation of synchronized cross-border activities between Somaliland, Puntland and Ethiopia; to identify the gaps and challenges and discuss and develop the way forward to address the challenges; to review the preparedness activities of the cross border for the upcoming extended campaign of monovalent oral polio vaccine type2 (mOPV2) and to further update the cross border micro plans for both side of the borders to ensure all children would be reached.
The Somali Regional Health Bureau (RHB) Head, Dr. Yusuf Mohammed Ali in his welcoming remark said that “The RHB looks forward to continue working closely with the multitude of partners in Ethiopia and abroad, to make sure that every child is vaccinated to protect our children from Polio and other Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPD).” Dr Anand Saumya from UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) in his remark also underlined the importance of this joint planning meeting and the synchronized campaign for a better outcome. Mr. Christopher Alexander Kamugisha, the Coordinator for the global polio eradication initiative (GPEI) Horn of Africa Office on his behalf congratulated the Ethiopia and Somali Region teams for the successful completion of the first round mOPV2 vaccination and urged to use this planning meeting as an opportunity to share lessons learned and discuss how best to get prepared for the upcoming next rounds.
On the first day of this meeting that intended to review the first round mOPV2 implementation, the Somali Regional health bureau presented the first round mOPV2 campaign implementation activities, challenges and way forwards in Jarar and Dollo zones which was officially launched on both zones on 24 and 25 June respectively and followed by the Somaliland and Puntland teams’ response presentation.
The next two days will focus on reviewing and updating the synchronized micro plans for the cross border areas for the next campaign. Some of the outcomes expected from this meeting includes updating synchronized micro plan at border crossing points, to reach a common understanding and agreement on the dates for the cross-border polio outbreak response, strengthening the cross border community based surveillance for AFP and other diseases surveillance and strengthen the mechanism for timely sharing of AFP surveillance data and other disease events.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“UNHCR and humanitarian partners fear that severe climatic conditions combined with armed conflict and protracted displacement could push the country into a far bigger humanitarian emergency,” said UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch.”
25 July – Source: Reuters – 399 Words
East Africa could suffer a repeat of a 2011 famine that killed hundreds of thousands of people unless foreign donors stump up funds to help drought-hit communities in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia now, aid agencies warned on Thursday. More than 15 million people across the Horn of Africa are struggling to access basics such as food and water after consecutive poor rainy seasons destroyed their crops and left reservoirs and rivers dry, British charity Oxfam said.
A famine in Somalia in 2011 caused by drought and war killed more than 260,000 people. “We cannot wait until images of malnourished people and dead animals fill our television screens. We need to act now to avert disaster,” said Oxfam’s regional director for the Horn of Africa Lydia Zigomo in a statement. “Once again it is the poorest and most vulnerable who are bearing the brunt.”
Kenya, Somalia, Uganda and Ethiopia are among the countries suffering increasingly erratic weather linked to climate change. The resulting dry spells have destroyed crops and pastures, leaving animals starving and pushing millions of people to the brink of extreme hunger. Drought is affecting more than eight million people in Ethiopia, more than five million in Somalia and more than 1.5 million in Kenya, said Oxfam.
The plea came after the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) warned last month of a worsening crisis in Somalia, where more than a million people had been forced to leave their homes following the failure of the last two rainy seasons. “UNHCR and humanitarian partners fear that severe climatic conditions combined with armed conflict and protracted displacement could push the country into a far bigger humanitarian emergency,” said UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch.
Following the 2011 famine, donors including the United States, Britain and the European Commission rallied speedily to avert a famine when the next drought struck East Africa in 2017 – providing almost 75 percent of the $1.8 billion needed. But two years on, Oxfam said donors had met just 35 percent of the $2.4 billion needed. Local aid agencies in Somalia said they were struggling to support drought-hit communities with limited resources. “We are face-to-face with this crisis every day and scraping together all possible resources to ensure the best possible response,” said Halima Adan, deputy director of Save Somali Women and Children. “Without enough funds and the right kind of support, our hands are tied.” |
