July 29, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

President Hassan: Attack on Turkish allies “ an act of cowardly desperatin”

28 Jul – Source: Office of the Somali President – 227 words

H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, has condemned the attack on Turkish civilians in Mogadishu and offered his condolences to the Government of Turkey, the victims and the families of those who have lost loved ones.

The President said, “Today’s attack is an act of cowardly desperation by terrorists who care nothing for peace and stability in Somalia. The Turkish Government is one of our most determined and dependable allies, and an attack on its citizens here in Mogadishu is deplorable. I wish to convey my deepest sympathies to all those injured or affected by the blast, and I offer my sincere condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.

“Many Turks have come to Somalia to help our recovery. They have shown immense commitment and leadership and the people of Somalia are very grateful for their tireless efforts over the past two years. We have new schools and hospitals because of their extraordinary work.

“I condemn this criminal act of terrorism and my government and security forces will do everything it can to catch those who planned and directed it. We must continue to stand firm against those who seek to destroy this country and, with the brave support of our allies, we must double our efforts to deliver the peaceful future the Somali people so desperately want.”

Key Headlines

Prime Minister condemns terrorist attack at Turkish Consulate in Mogadishu ( Prime Minister’s Media Office)
UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Somalia Nicholas Kay on the attack against Turkish targets in Mogadishu (UNSOM)
Somali PM tours bomb-hit Turkish staff building in Mogadishu ( Growe online)
AMISOM soldier wounded in Marka explosion (Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu)
Somali Federal govt executes soldiers car bomb explosion kills one (Radio Mogadishu )
Somalia Universities up their game (Africa Review)
Davutoglu wishes speedy recovery after Somalia attack (World Bulletin)
President Silanyo Meets with Top Islamic Scholars (Somaliland Press )
Puntland ‘to attend Brussels Conference with own status’: Farole (Garowe Online)
Police: 6 killed in attack on Turkish embassy in Somalia ( CNN/World Bulletin News)
Al Shabaab claim attack on Turkish mission in Somalia three dead ( Reuters )

PRESS STATEMENT

President Hassan: Attack on Turkish allies “ an act of cowardly desperatin”

28 Jul – Source: Office of the Somali President – 227 words

Prime Minister condemns terrorist attack at Turkish Consulate in Mogadishu

28 Jul – Source: Prime Minister’s Media Office – 186 words

His Excellency Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon condemned the terrorist attack targeted at Turkish Consulate in Mogadishu and sent his condolences to the Turkish government, and all those affected by this terrorist attack.

“I condemn the attack in the strongest terms and send my condolences to the families of the Turkish security personnel and the Somali student who were killed and all those innocent civilians wounded,” the Prime Minister said. “These acts of terrorism will not change the good relationship between the two sister countries”.

Prime Minister visited the Turkish Consulate in Mogadishu that was attacked by three suicide bombers, killing a Turkish diplomatic security personnel and Somali student, and wounding several civilians.

“The terrorist attack against the Turkish diplomatic and relief mission in Somalia was an attack against all of us,” said the Prime Minister. “Our friends and partners station in Mogadishu are very important for the speedy recovery of Somalia and we have to protect them by all means. Our Somali security forces are stepping up operations to prevent such attacks and we will leave no stone unturned to keep our citizens safe.”

UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Nicholas Kay on the attack against Turkish targets in Mogadishu

27 Jul – Source: UNSOM – 128 words

SRSG Nicholas Kay strongly condemns the suicide attack against an office housing Turkish staff earlier today in Mogadishu which reportedly ended in deaths and injuries. This is one of the several attacks that al Shabaab has carried out during the holy month of Ramadan.

SRSG Kay said “My deep sympathy and sincere condolences go to the Turkish government, the victims and those who have lost their loved ones. Turkey has been working tirelessly and bravely to help the Somali people over the last few years.”

“I condemn all acts of terrorism. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and international partners will stand firm in our efforts to help the Somali people to enjoy the peace and development they so desperately want and need” SRSG Kay added.

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali PM tours bomb-hit Turkish staff building in Mogadishu

28 Jul – Source: Garowe Online – 152 words

Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon has toured a bomb-hit Turkish staff building in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu, where a suicide car bomb killed three persons and wounded several more including Turkish security personnel on Saturday afternoon, Garowe Online reports. Prime Minister Shirdon was accompanied by Interior Minister Abdikarin Hussein Gulled, Defense Minister Abdihakin Haji Mohamud Fiqi, Finance Minister Mohamud Awil Suleiman and other Somali Federal Government officials in his tour at the blast site and the Prime Minister’s delegation was received by Turkish Ambassador to Somalia Kani Torun at the bomb-hit Turkish residency in Mogadishu. In a joint press conference at the building by Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon and Turkish Ambassador to Somalia Kani Torun, Prime Minister Shirdon expressed his profound concern over yesterday’s suicide attack and sent his condolence to the families of the victims who were killed or wounded in what he described “Futile and terrorist attack”.

AMISOM soldier wounded in Marka explosion

28 Jul – Source: Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu – 82 words

At least one African Union peacekeeper is reportedly wounded after a grenade was hurled into a convoy in Bulo-Jan neighborhood of Marka town, capital of Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia. Confirming the incident, Marka commissioner Mohamed Osman Yirisow said that the blast damaged one of AMISOM’s vehicles. The area commissioner added that no causality apart from that has been caused by the grenade explosion. Somali Federal government forces together with AMISOM troops immediately cordoned off the scene, launching investigations.

Somali Federal govt executes soldiers, car bomb explosion kills one

27 Jul – Source: Garowe Online/Radio Mogadishu – 112 words

The Somali Military Court has executed four federal government soldiers at Mogadishu police academy on Saturday morning, Garowe Online reports. The four men — Ali Mohamed Aden, Osman Mohamed Dirie, Ibrahim Mohamed Hussein and Hassan Mohamud Abukar — were convicted of murder and they were executed by the Somali Federal Government firing squad with court, police and military officials present. Speaking to the media at the spot, the chairman of Somalia’s Military court Col. Liban Ali Yarow said three of the executed soldiers were charged with murder of military official named Afdhere in Mogadishu on 7 July 2009 while the other one was charged with murder of a civilian in May 2012.

President Silanyo Meets with Top Islamic Scholars

28 Jul – Source: Somaliland Press – 106 words

President Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud last night at the Presidential palace received Sheik Hussein Nuur Qalinle religious scholar who recently was awarded one of the highest awards in the Islamic world for his work in teaching the Quran and Islamic theory by the Muslim World League (in Arabic, Rabitat al-Alam al-Islami), headquartered in Mecca and funded by the government of Saudi Arabia, was founded under the auspices of King Faisal ibn Abd al-Aziz Al Saʿud in 1966. The league promotes the cause of Islam throughout the world by holding conferences, distributing classical Islamic texts and modern religious publications, and paying the salaries of mosque preachers and missionaries.

Puntland ‘to attend Brussels Conference with own status’: Farole

27 Jul – Source: Garowe Online – 112 words

A high-level European Union delegation visited Puntland region in northern Somalia on Thursday, as the EU prepares to host the Brussels conference for Somalia in September, Garowe Online reports.The 10-member EU delegation included Mr. Nick Westcott, EU Managing Director for Africa, Mr. Marcus Cornaro, Deputy Director for Development Cooperation of the European Commission, Amb. Michele Cervone, the EU’s Special Envoy to Somalia, and Amb. Etienne de Poncins, Head of Mission for EUCAP Nestor maritime security initiative. Puntland Cabinet ministers received the EU delegation at Garowe airport, and the delegation was escorted to the State House, where they met with Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole and Vice President Gen. Abdisamad Ali Shire.

Somalia expects huge changes if its soccer leagues gets int’l class facility

27 Jul – Source: Radio Risaala – 127 words

The technical department of Somali Football Federation says the SFF was very hopeful of huge changes to come in place in terms of its players’ skills, techniques and performances if the country’s local league is played on an international style facility and the Ocean stars get the chance to train on such sophisticated field as expected by September this year. Somali Football Federation technical director and former national team coach Mr. Awil Ismail Mohamed said he believed that what Somali footballers are lacking was a world class facility to train and play their local league matches adding that Somali national team members who haven’t got such playground in their country have more difficulties in the adaptation of sophisticated facilities while playing against foreign teams during international competitions.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Somalia PM: Turkish official died in car blast

28 Jul – Source: Arab News – 103 words

Somalia’s prime minister says a Turkish security official and a Somali student were killed in a terrorist attack on the Turkish consulate and relief mission. Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon said Sunday that three suicide bombers also died in the attack Saturday, which he condemned. He said acts of terrorism will not affect Somalia’s relationship with Turkey. Somali militant group al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter saying they were targeting a group of Turkish diplomats. The group said the operation was not a suicide attack and that those who carried out the attack had safely gone back to their bases.

Somalia Universities up their game

28 Jul – Source: Africa Review – 128 words

After years of instability, Somalia is experiencing some relative calm and surge in demand for better quality services. This has forced service providers to innovate, sometimes within very tight budgets. In the education sector, most of the universities- in a country where higher education is in the hands of the private sector- are turning to their regional peers for support. Last Tuesday, July 23, Simad University, one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning in the Somalia capital Mogadishu, concluded a week-long seminar. Jointly organised with Uganda’s Makerere University, the event laid a strong foundation for a future relationship. At the symbolic event, lecturers from Makerere University Business School (MUBS) delivered a lecture to signal the beginning of collaboration between the two institutions signed earlier in March.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Police: 6 killed in attack on Turkish embassy in Somalia

28 Jul – Source: CNN/World Bulletin News – 140 words

Blood and body parts littered the ground outside Turkey’s embassy in Somalia on Saturday afternoon, the grisly result of a blast that police said left six dead and nine wounded. A minivan packed with explosives went off around 5 p.m. in the heart of Mogadishu, just a few meters from the Turkish diplomatic post, said police Col. Ahmed Mohamud. When it was over, two Somali security guards, a university student and three attackers were dead, according to Mohamud. Turkish embassy sources said that two of its staff members were among the wounded. Somali police and Turkish embassy guards, meanwhile, converged on the scene. Mangled buses and cars ended up in a disfigured heap, while the windows of numerous nearby apartments were shattered. Al Shabaab — a militant Islamist group with connections to al Qaeda — claimed responsibility for the attack.

Davutoglu wishes speedy recovery after Somalia attack

28 Jul – Source: World Bulletin – 168 words

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu wished a speedy recovery after suicide attack in Somalia and said “May Allah rest his soul” after the death of a Turkish security official by a suicide attack against Turkish Embassy in Somali capital in Mogadishu on Saturday. Davutoglu in his official social networking account, said, a Turkish security official was martyred in a suicide attack in front of staff building of Turkish Embassy in Somali capital in Mogadishu on Saturday. “My only consolation is that we have not had more martyrs thanks to preventive safety measures,” Davutoglu added. Davutoglu said, Turkish ambulance airplane took off to bring injured Turkish security officials to Turkey. Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Levent Gumrukcu had said, Davutoglu called the Turkish envoy to Somalia Kani Torun after the attack. Earlier, one Turkish security guard was killed and three others were injured on Saturday while two suicide bombers were killed as another suicide bomber blew himself up in front of staff building of Turkey’s Embassy in Somali capital Mogadishu.

Al Shabaab claim attack on Turkish mission in Somalia, three dead

28 Jul – Source: Reuters – 136 words

A car loaded with explosives rammed into an office housing Turkish embassy staff in the Somali capital, killing three people, witnesses and officials said on Saturday, the latest in a series of blasts claimed by Islamist al Shabaab rebels. Al Shabaab was pushed out of bases in Mogadishu by Somali and African forces about two years ago, raising hopes of a return to relative security in a city hit by years of war. But the militants have kept up guerrilla-style attacks and continue to control large rural areas, challenging the authority of a government less than a year old. The group has carried out several brazen attacks in the past two months, including one on an African peacekeeping convoy that killed eight and another on the main U.N. compound in Mogadishu that killed 22 people.

U.S. condemns deadly attack on Turkish center in Mogadishu

27 Jul – Source: Xinhua News – 140 words

The United States on Saturday denounced the terrorist attack on a Turkish center in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, which left two people dead. “The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack on the Turkish diplomatic residences in Mogadishu, Somalia,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement. “Turkey has played an important role in helping Somalia emerge from two decades of conflict,” she added. “We stand firmly with the people of Somalia, with our Turkish ally, and all members of the international community who are working for peace and stability in Somalia.” Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group al Shabaab claimed that its gunmen stormed the Turkish center, used by staff of Turkey’s Red Crescent and diplomatic mission. Two people including one guard were killed and several others injured in the attack, the first on a Turkish target, press reports said.

Human Rights NGO denied access to Somali Detainees

27 Jul – Source: Human Rights Watch – 178 words

Human rights non-governmental organisation DiS MoI (Droits huMains dans l’Océean Indien) has been denied access to the twelve Somali detainees at the Beau Bassin Prison. Last month, the director of DiS MoI Mr. Lyndley Couronne wrote to the Commissioner of Prisons Mr. Jean Bruneau to seek his permission to visit the prisoners but he was told that there was already a Somali who is looking after the prisoners and that a legislation prevented access to the detainees. “I firmly denounce the attitude of the Commissioner of Prisons Mr. Bruneau. He is refusing to communicate and there seems to be double standards in terms of visit to prisoners. He should understand that the prisons are not his private properties”, Mr.Couronne told News on Sunday. He added that he was intrigued by the legislation (or regulation) evoked by Mr. Bruneau. “ I gather that it is the Prime Minister’s Office which always take the final decision. Mr. Bruneau’s argument are quite absurd. I wonder whether the Somali to whom he is referring is exempt from that legislation”, stated Mr. Couronne.

Somali pirates now protecting illegal fishing ships, says UN report

26 Jul – Source: AP – 167 words

Frustrated by a string of failed hijacking attempts, Somali pirates have turned to a new business model: providing “security” for ships illegally plundering Somalia’s fish stocks — the same scourge that launched the Horn of Africa’s piracy era eight years ago. Somali piracy was recently a fearsome trend that saw dozens of ships and hundreds of hostages taken yearly, but the success rate of the maritime hijackers has fallen dramatically over the last year thanks to increased security on ships and more effective international naval patrols. Somali pirate gangs in search of new revenue are now providing armed protection for ships illegally fishing Somali waters. Erstwhile pirates are also trafficking in arms, drugs and humans, according to a report published this month by the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea. The security services for fishermen bring piracy full circle. Somali pirate attacks were originally a defensive response to illegal fishing and toxic waste dumping off Somalia’s cost. Attacks later evolved into a clan-based, ransom-driven business.

Somaliland to stiffen human trafficking penalties

26 Jul – Source: IRIN News – 124 words

The government of the self-declared republic of Somaliland will stiffen penalties for human trafficking to stem illegal migration, particularly by the region’s youths. “Of course there is an article in Somaliland’s penal code dealing with this issue, but we think it is not deterrent enough. For this reason, the government plans to pass new laws to prevent human smuggling,” Mohamed Osman Dube, Somaliland’s administrative director in the interior ministry, told IRIN. At present, Article 457 of Somaliland’s penal code identifies the selling and purchasing of humans as slaves as offences punishable by prison terms of 3 to 12 years. Article 466 further provides for a three-year prison term for those found guilty of engaging in physical abuse, according to Mustafe Mahdi, a Somaliland lawyer.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“In the two weeks that I spent moving around both regions, I met slum dwellers in Hargeisa and Mogadishu, and subsistence farmers in Gabiley, all with hopes, aspirations and a determination to make their lives better.”

Living on the edge of a forgotten land

28 Jul – Source: Herald Scotland – 1896 Words

Faded from the searing sun, snagged on bushes, fences, tumbling on the dusty breeze or lying in clusters across waste ground, the turquoise and pink plastic bags so nicknamed by locals litter the city of Hargeisa. Their presence in Somaliland’s capital is no respecter of rich or poor, uptown or downtown life, though inevitably it is the poorest communities where the worst garbage is to be found. Daami neighbourhood is one such place. In this sprawling slum that is home to some 3500 people, many belong to Somaliland’s minority clans, and are among the most marginalised in the region.

“On the issue of mass migration and people smuggling everyone has a role to play in deterring it, especially the government, international organisations and more importantly, the families who sometimes openly encourage it. If these key stakeholders turn a blind eye, remain deaf or continue to be politically incompetent for much longer, they will be complicit in the deaths of many Somalis in the deserts of Africa or in the rough lonely seas of the wider world.”

Somaliland: Life is not always greener on the other side

27 Jul – Source: Somaliland press – 1679 Words

It was sad to see the plight of a family friend in London. She had always smiled and laughed about everything but on my last visit it appeared as though she was possessed by misery. Between uncontrollable sobbing and long periods of pause she finally made me understand. It was indeed the worst case of abuse of refugees I have heard recently. Fatumo (not her real name) has been supporting her sister’s family in Mogadishu Somalia since she came to the UK in 1996. She works as a cleaner and uses her meager wages to split in so many ways in an effort to feed her extended family which she left behind. A few months earlier her sister’s eldest son, Ahmed, decided he could no longer remain at home and stole the family’s entire savings to pay people traffickers to take him first to Libya and then across the sea to Italy and into, as he put it, “More friendlier European nations.”