June 12, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somali MPs to visit South Africa

11 Jun- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 109 words

Somali Federal Parliament speaker Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari has said that some members of the Somali Federal Parliament will be sent to South Africa for an issue related to the recent killings of Somali nationals in South Africa. Speaking to Somali lawmakers in Mogadishu, Jawari said a delegation of lawmakers will be sent to South Africa to overlook the situation of Somali nationals who have been recently targeted by South African. He urged the Somali Federal government to take a diplomatic step to end this prolonged targeting of Somali people. Jawari also appealed to the South African authority to protect the Somali nationals and their properties in South Africa.

Key Headlines

Major security crackdown conducted in Mogadishu (Mogadishu/SNTV)
“Somalia government will address Kismayo turmoil through dialogue” says Prime Minister (Hiiraan Online)
President Mahmud pledges support for new UN mission in Somalia (Shabelle )
Somalia accepted in EU-ACP partnership deal (Nvonews)
Somali government says will not tolerate continuation of Kismayo fighting (Radio Mogadishu)
Somali MPs to visit South Africa (Radio Bar-kulan)
Somalia’s Health ministry warns of Polio outbreak (Radio Kulmiye)
4 million targeted in Somali polio campaign (Africa Review)

SOMALI MEDIA

Major security crackdown conducted in Mogadishu

11 Jun- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mogadishu/SNTV/Radio Mustaqbal- 132 words

Security operations were conducted at Suqa-Holaha market suburbs in Somali capital, Mogadishu earlyTuesday by Somali police forces aided by the AMISOM troops. Many youths suspected to be members of al Shabaab militants were arrested during the operation. These door-to-door security operation carried out by the joint troops in Mogadishu was meant to eliminate the al Qaeda affiliated al Shabaab group. A witness told Bar-kulan that the police received intelligence lead about some al Shabaab hide outs, adding that many youths were arrested and a lot of them were released without charges after they were interrogated by the police. The Somali Federal government troops backed by AU forces have been carrying out search operations in Mogadishu which was set to wipe al Shabaab out of the capital city in the past couple of days.

“Somalia government will address Kismayo turmoil through dialogue” says Prime Minister

11 Jun- Source: Hiiraan Online- 223 words

In a reconciliatory tone, Somalia’s Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon has now announced his government’s commitment to defuse the tensions in Somalia’s port city of Kismayo through dialogue and peaceful resolution after months of political turmoil and fierce fighting in the past few days. Rival militias waged two days of fighting leading to the death of at least twenty people and injuring dozens which have displaced hundreds of families. Ahmed Madobe, the newly elected regional president’s loyalties are in full control of the city while overpowered rivals are regrouping, according to residents in Kismayo.

Somalia’s Health ministry warns of Polio outbreak

11 Jun- Source: Radio Kulmiye- 124 words

Somalia’s ministry of health has warned of Polio outbreak in the capital, Mogadishu. The ministry has advised the residents to take up precautions such as vaccines. Yemeni government has also declared that it is alert to prevent the outbreak from crossing into its territories through the movement of Somali refugees. There is campaign to vaccinate children of Somalia against the Polio virus.

Somali government says will not tolerate continuation of Kismayo fighting

11 Jun -Source: Radio Shabeelle/Radio Mogadishu – 195 words

Somalia’s government said it will no longer tolerate the continuation of hostilities in Kismaayo between rival political sides fighting for the control of the southern strategic port. Speaking to reporters in the capital, Mogadishu, Minister of Defence Abdihakim Haji Mahmud Fiqi, said the government would not accept the resumption of fighting in the port, days after at least 13 people were killed and many others injured in fighting between rival militias. Fiqi said “The government will focus on bringing about a negotiated settlement to any disagreement that may exist”.Meanwhile, local elders reconciling the warring sides said they succeeded in creating a cease-fire in the city. Adan Garab, one of the elders, said elders were trying to bring the rival presidents in the city to talks. At least five politicians declared themselves “president” of a newly-created autonomous region known as Jubbaland. Jubbaland consists of three administrative Somali regions that border Kenya and Ethiopia and that are home to an estimated 1.3 million people.

Somali MPs to visit South Africa

11 Jun- Source: Radio Bar-kulan- 109 words

President Mahmud pledges support for new UN mission in Somalia

11 Jun – Source: Shabelle – 161 words

Somali President Hasan Shaykh Mahmud has pledged to work with the new United Nations mission in the country. Speaking during a ceremony to bid farewell to the former UN envoy to Somalia, Augustine Mahiga, the Somali president said he “wished the new mission success. We will work with it as we worked with other missions”. President Mahmud said the Somali government “will stand with the new mission so that it could support Somalia”. The UN Security Council recently adopted a resolution setting up an integrated mission in Somalia, the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), to be based in Mogadishu. The mission will be set up for an initial one-year period beginning on 3 June.Nicholas Kay, a renowned British diplomat, replaced Tanzanian Augustine Mahiga as the new UN envoy to Somalia, to lead the United Nations post-transition mission in Somalia.

REGIONAL MEDIA

4 million targeted in Somali polio campaign

11 Jun- Source: Africa Review- 252 words

Top Somali leaders were Tuesday vaccinated against polio at Villa Somalia, the state house in Mogadishu. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, Parliament Speaker Mohamed Osman Jawari and Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon all received doses of the vaccine against the dilapidating polio virus.

Mombasa attackers used Russia made grenade

11 Jun- Source: Star (Kenya)- 256 words

A hand grenade hurled at the Likoni church on Sunday that led to 17 people being injured was Russian made, police have said. Likoni DCIO George Mutonya said the class F1 devise, can kill within minutes.

“It is of Russian make and can kill several people within a minute. We have good links and soon the suspects are going to be arrested,” he said. A contingent of General Service Unit and Anti-terrorism Unit officers cordoned the area as they collected evidence. Mrima and Majengo Mapya Likoni are among regions in Coast region that are under tight police surveillance. Police say most al Shabaab returnees from Somalia are hiding in the region with dangerous weapons.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia accepted in EU-ACP partnership deal

11 Jun- Source: Nvonews- 267 words

The ministerial meeting between the European Union and the countries of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)Friday approved Somalia’s request to access the Cotonou Agreement. “The decision in relation to Somalia’s accession opens a new chapter in relations between the EU and Somalia and constitutes a visible sign that Somalia has regained its status as a fully-fledged member of the international community,” Irish Minister of State for Trade and Development, Joe Costello, told a press conference after the meeting in Brussels this afternoon.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“With a substantial number of warlords now in parliament, yet another patronage state with a thin veneer of democracy seems to be forming. It is as yet unclear whether technologies such as digital maps of Mogadishu will aid or hinder the reconstruction of the city, and nation.”

Mapping Mogadishu and the Problem of Warlord Politicians

11 June- Source: Council on Foreign Relations Blog-422 Words

Somalia is clawing its way out of twenty years of war-torn chaos. Some are proposing initiatives that use innovative technology to assist in state building and recovery, but they face a struggle against Somalia’s warlord-dominated past. Many former warlords remain in power at various levels of government and civil society. This dynamic of warlord versus technology is therefore becoming a lively discussion. In the June 2013 issue of Wired Magazine, Adam Rogers’s article ”Life After Warfare: How a Digital Map Could Revive A Devastated Mogadishu,” examines urban planner Mitchell Sipus’s effort to digitally map Mogadishu. With no birth certificates, no business registrations, and no tax collection system, Sipus hopes to encode businesses, infrastructure, and people.