July 30, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somalia: Security agencies thwart car laden with explosives in Lido beach

29 Jul – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan/Goobjoog – 119 words

Somali Security Agencies have on Tuesday put a stop to a car laden with explosives in Liido beach of Mogadishu a time when hundreds of people were enjoying themselves. Mohamed Yussuf Osman, the Spokesman for the Ministry of National Security who held press conference in Lido beach praised the individuals who provided the valuable information that led the foiling of the planned attack by the security agencies. He encouraged Somali people to double their efforts and collaborate with security forces so as to maintain the overall security of the country. This comes a time when federal government forces backed by AMISOM police on Sunday presented weapons and explosives seized in a planned security crackdown from Hodan district in Mogadishu.

Key Headlines

Somalia: Security agencies thwart car laden with explosives in Lido beach (Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan/Goobjoog)
Al Shabaab threatens to shoot down AMISOM planes (Somali Current)
Kenya arrests Tanzanians in terror dragnet (Citizen TZ)
Extreme hunger and water shortage reported in parts of Gedo region (Bar-kulan)
Terror suspects in Tanzania remanded to police custody for investigations (Sabahi Online)
Central regions of Somalia observe Eidul fitri (Radio Goobjoog)
Al Qaeda-linked attacks crush Kenya’s coastal tourism industry (Helsinki Times)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somalia: Security agencies thwart car laden with explosives in Lido beach

29 Jul – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan/Goobjoog – 119 words

Al Shabaab threatens to shoot down AMISOM planes

29 Jul – Source: Somali Current – 101 words

Somali al Qaeda linked militant group al Shabaab has vowed to target planes supplying AMISOM peacekeeping troops in the country.Speaking after Eid prayers in the stronghold port city of Barawe in southern Somalia al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Dere has vowed to target AMISOM air transport to cut the supply line of the troops in the areas previously controlled by the group. He said they have recently succeeded downing troop’s plane in Galgadud saying they are planning to target several other planes along the route. “We have besieged in their areas, they are unable to move out,” He said.

Extreme hunger and water shortage reported in parts of Gedo region

29 Jul – Source: Bar-kulan – 101 words

Local administration of Beled-hawa town in Gedo region has expressed concerns over the living conditions of rural populations in the areas near the Kenya-Somalia border town. Beled-hawa administration’s head of social services Abdulkadir Hussein said that there is extreme hunger in villages near Beled-hawa including Malkariyey, Awido, Jiraale and many others in the region. He added that people and their livestock are at great risk of dying due to extreme hunger and water shortage in the area. He called on relief agencies and Somali diaspora communities to immediately provide aid supplies to the most affected and vulnerable communities in the region.

Central regions of Somalia observe Eidul fitri

29 Jul – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 121 words

Many people in Central Somalia regions under the administration of Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa who were fasting the first day Shawal have today come out in large numbers to celebrate Eidul fitri. Reports from Dusamareb, the headquarters of Galgadud region, Guriel, Abudwak and Northern Galkayo state that Muslims gathered in the mosques to mark the important day as they extend special greetings “Eid Mubarak’ to one another- men, women and well clad children were seen in Galgadud region. The top leaders of Ahlu Sunna wal Jamaa in Central Somalia addressing the crowds sent congratulations to the Muslim community all the world on this important occasion they commended the community of the region how they abide their orders and unity they showed.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Kenya arrests Tanzanians in terror dragnet

29 Jul – Source: Citizen TZ – 96 ords

Police in Tanzania have confirmed the arrest of three Tanzanian nationals by Kenyan security forces in connection with terror attacks. The suspects, believed to have been involved in a string of deadly attacks in the coastal towns of Lamu and Mombasa, were arrested by the Kenya Defence Forces. However, unconfirmed reports last night put the number of Tanzanians who had been arrested at six. The Director of Criminal Investigation (DCI), Mr Issaya Mngulu, confirmed to The Citizenyesterday that the suspects were being interrogated and were due to appear in court to be charged with illegal stay.

Terror suspects in Tanzania remanded to police custody for investigations

29 Jul – Source: Sabahi Online – 133 words

Sixteen suspected al-Shabaab members charged together earlier this month with terrorism were transferred back to police custody on Friday, for further questioning following a request from the prosecution, Tanzania’s Daily News reported. The prosecution requested that police be allowed to interrogate the suspects for at least one more day on their alleged roles in the terror cell. “They will be returned to the court’s custody immediately after interrogation,” said Senior State Attorney Leonard Chalo in a request submitted to the Kisutu Resident Magistrate Court in Dar es Salam. The 16 suspects first appeared in court July 17th and were charged for conspiracy and recruitment of people to commit acts of terror throughout Tanzania between January and June 2014. A seventeenth suspect was charged separately and is due back in court on July 30th.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Al Qaeda-linked attacks crush Kenya’s coastal tourism industry

29 Jul – Source: Helsinki Times – 140 words

As Robert Mutuku hangs “Out of Africa” T-shirts in his craft shop in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa, he worries that the scarcity of tourists because of Islamist-militant attacks may doom his chances of keeping his five children in school. Mutuku, 47, has had to fire three people who made souvenirs at his workshop for the tourists who once crowded the alleys of the city’s Old Town to savor its spice aromas and admire its Portuguese and Islamic architecture. Now Mutuku is certain he won’t be able to fulfill the dream of his eldest daughter, Catherine Ndinya, 21, to attend college. “I have spent three days without selling anything,” Mutuku said in a July 25 interview. “I already took a bank loan to send the others back to school this term. I don’t know what I’ll do next term.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Given Somalia’s weak government, insecurity and instability will continue to be a problem. These will continue to intensify famine conditions. The starting point for mitigation lies with aid organisations helping to resettle victims that originate from peaceful areas. Mismanagement and diversion of food aid should be monitored and sanctioned.”

Somalia food shortages worsened by NGO policy and anti-terrorism laws

29 Jul – Source: African Arguments – 843 words

As the UN warns of an impending famine in Somalia, it is important to look at the track record of aid organisations in responding to emergencies in the country. This will help explain what should be done to aid local communities in becoming better prepared. The work of aid organisations in Somalia is partly to blame for the over-reliance of many former-farmers on food aid, rather than maintaining a more sustainable self-sufficiency through continued cultivation of their farms. A popular criticism is that aid organisations bring in imported food and give it away for free when farmers are about to harvest their crops. This has helped discourage the farming of cheap staple foods, and has also contributed to the bankrupting of small-scale farmers. This also happens to be the reason al Shabaab said it had banned the World Food Programme (WFP) from operating in its territory. During the last famine in 2011, al Shabaab was heavily criticised for banning WFP from operating in its territory. While reprehensible, this alone did not cause the shortage of food in large areas controlled by the group. The US government’s anti-terrorism laws have also made it extremely difficult for aid organisations to work in al Shabaab territory without breaking US law. This led to many aid groups opting to concentrate on Mogadishu. The result was a huge wastage and stealing of food aid, with much of the aid going straight to the commercial markets in the capital.