June 14, 2016 | Morning Headlines
UN: Time Frame Short for Returning Somali Refugees
13 June – Source: Associated Press – 249 Words
The United Nations refugee agency chief says repatriation is the best solution for hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees that Kenya’s government says have become a security liability. But Filippo Grandi says Kenya’s time frame for the move is “very short” to put in place structures for a safe and voluntary return.
Grandi spoke Monday after visiting the sprawling Dadaab camp. Kenya says 328,000 Somali refugees there must go home by November. The refugee chief says the refugees will need support for six months to a year, as much of war-torn Somalia lacks infrastructure to convince them to voluntarily go back home.
Grandi says most of the areas in Somalia the refugees came from are still insecure and without basic infrastructure: “We don’t want to help people go back and then they become internally displaced; otherwise, it’s just transferring the problem from one place to another whereby the way, it is more difficult to help them.”
“To create infrastructure in Somalia will take years, but we have worked in many situations in the world where you can do some quick fixes so that some initial activities can start, and that will go a long way in ensuring the sustainability of returnees,” Grandi said.
Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta, asked the U.N. refugee agency to come up with a plan for the repatriation, Grandi said. He said a committee including the foreign ministers of Somalia and Kenya and representatives of his agency will meet to talk to discuss it.
Key Headlines
- UN: Time Frame Short for Returning Somali Refugees (Associated Press)
- Gunmen Open Fire On Lorry Three People Dead In Somalia (Goobjoog News)
- Female District Official Killed In Mogadishu (Shabelle News)
- Ahlu Suna Militants Detain Universal TV Journalist (Radio Dalsan)
- The World Bank Appoints Abyrint To Improve Remittance Flows To Somalia (Footprint To Africa)
- Turkey Defies Odds To Change Somalia’s Fortunes (The EastAfrican)
- Security Heightened In Mombasa As High Tourist Season Sets In (Daily Nation)
- Editorial: Global Extremism (Afghanistan times)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Gunmen Open Fire On Lorry, Three People Dead In Somalia
13 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 139 Words
Unidentified gunmen clad in Somali National Army (SNA) uniform opened fire on a lorry near Bulu Gumurey village in Middle Shabelle region killing at least three passengers, according to witness.
Witnesses said that the gunmen indiscriminately fired at the passengers, who were travelling in a lorry. The armed men, who carried the shooting, reportedly fled from the scene before the security forces arrived.
However, the situation has returned to normal and the manhunt for the killers is underway, according to SNA officials in Jowhar town. The development follows previous other incidents in which gunmen in SNA uniform randomly killed civilians in the horn of Africa nation. The lorry was travelling from Jowhar en route to Somalia’s capital city, Mogadishu at the time of the attack.
Female District Official Killed In Mogadishu
13 June – Source: Shabelle News – 110 Words
Unidentified assailants gunned down a female district official in the capital city of Somalia, Mogadishu, on Monday afternoon. Saynab Muheydin, who was working for Shibis District administration, was shot dead by pistol-wielding men at Mana-Bolyo market, near her home, relatives said.
The attackers fled right away after the targeted murder. Somali security forces afterwards arrived at the scene and conducted a search operation in the area. However they did not succeed in arresting the culprits. Such targeted murders on security and government officials carried out by unknown gunmen in Mogadishu have been on increase since the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
Ahlu Suna Militants Detain Universal TV Journalist
13 June – Source: Radio Dalsan – 117 Words
The Sufi armed group Ahlu Suna Wal Jamaa have arrested a Universal TV journalist in Dhuusamareeb. Mohamed Abdiweli Tohow was detained on Monday by Ahlu Suna militants while on duty. It is not clear why he was arrested.
Tohow was based in the central Somali town, which is headquarter for the self declared unrecognized regional administration. He was also a freelancer for Goobjoog radio. National Union for Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) and Somali Independent Media Houses Association (SIMHA) have both condemned the arrest.
They called for the immediate release of the journalist. The moderate Islamist group Ahlu Suna Wal Jama has previously arrested several journalists operating in the area under their control.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
The World Bank Appoints Abyrint To Improve Remittance Flows To Somalia
13 June – Source: Footprint To Africa – 327 Words
The past two years have seen closure of bank accounts of Somali remittance companies by many banks in the US, UK, Canada and Australia due to the purported risk of money laundering and links to terrorism.
The World Bank started working with the UK in 2015 to develop mechanisms in case of severe disruption of remittances flows between the UK and Somalia. Activities are currently focused on formalizing and improving the transparency and compliance Somalia’s money transfer business sector.
The Bank is now working with the Federal Government of Somalia to ensure the continued flow of remittances, a critical source of income, to people in the Horn of Africa country. Remittances to Somalia support 23 per cent of the GDP and were estimated to reach a total of $1.4 billion in 2015. The World Bank has appointed management consulting firm Abyrint as the Central Bank of Somalia’s (CBS) “Trusted Agent” to regulate and supervise money transfer businesses.
Abyrint helps to rebuild institutions and systems, especially finance governance, in failed or fragile states: “The deployment of the Trusted Agent is a critical step toward improving supervision and formalizing the money transfer business sector in Somalia,” said Bella Bird, World Bank Country Director for Somalia, Tanzania, Burundi and Malawi.
Turkey Defies Odds To Change Somalia’s Fortunes
13 June – Source: The EastAfrican – 877 Words
On June 3, Somali received a game changing delegation from Turkey. The plane carrying President Recep Tayyip Erdogan together with his wife, Emine, and a large delegation landed at the city’s sea front airport.
The dignitaries were received by a galaxy of Somali officials, led by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud. The occasion was akin to a homecoming of long-lost nationals. Besides President Mohamoud, those who lined up to shake the hands of the Turkish delegation included the Speaker of the Federal Parliament, Mr Mohamed Osman Jawari, the Prime Minister Mr Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, Cabinet ministers and MPs.
Even regional leaders from Puntland, Jubaland, Southwest and Galmudug states lined up to welcome President Erdogan and his delegation: “Kudos and keep the good spirit,” chanted the people lining up along the road and waving both the Somali and the Turkish flags.
The story of the good fortunes was taking another turn. Amid tight security by the Somali law enforcers and the peacekeepers serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) and a unit of Turkish law enforcers, the Turkish delegation was driven to Mogadishu’s northern Abdulaziz District where President Erdogan and his Somali counterpart jointly opened a gigantic premise meant to house the Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu.
The new premise, which overlooks the popular Lido Beach, is the largest Turkish embassy in the world. It’s sheer size is a statement about the growing relations between Somalia and Turkey.
Ministers from both sides, including Somalia’s Foreign minister Abdisalam Hadliye Omar and his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, signed for both governments.
The occasion offered President Erdogan an opportunity to underscore the amicable relations between Turkey and Somalia, asserting that such bonds would be strengthened: “Turkey is going to build a 10km road in Mogadishu, extending the network built by Turkish agencies,” remarked President Erdogan.
Security Heightened In Mombasa As High Tourist Season Sets In
12 June – Source: Daily Nation – 465 Words
The Kenya government has assured local and international visitors to Mombasa County of adequate security as the high tourist season begins in July. The assurance comes a week after the National Police Service issued a terror alert calling on Kenyans to be extra vigilant and report suspicious characters to the security agencies for action.
The police warned that Al-Shabaab terrorists of Kenyan origin, who trained in Somalia and were now returning into the country, might have sneaked into towns such as Mombasa, Malindi and Nairobi. Mombasa County Commissioner Mohamed Maalim Sunday said the government had heightened security in Mombasa Town and across the county to safeguard locals, visitors and property.
He added that the government had intensified security on vital installations such as Moi International Airport, the Likoni crossing channel, beaches, hotels, shopping malls and places of worship to prevent attacks. Mr Maalim said the government had deployed both uniformed and civilian police officers in Mombasa Town and its outskirts to protect people and property against terrorism and general crime.
At the Likoni channel, the commissioner said, ferries will now be given armed escort as part of measures to prevent terror attacks. He ordered that all vehicles be screened before being allowed into the ferries to avert attacks or transportation of deadly weapons.
On the beaches, including the popular Jomo Kenyatta public beach, he said, tourist police and Kenya Wildlife Service rangers would enhance patrols to accord protection to beachgoers. Mr Maalim directed hotels, supermarkets and busy outlets to search all vehicles including those with GK, parastatal and UN registration number plates before allowing them in to avoid attacks.
“Nowadays, Al-Shabaab attackers use vehicles with GK and UN number plates to evade police dragnets and therefore guards must screen all vehicles before they get into hotels and malls,” he said. He went on: “Every person must be subjected to body search irrespective of his or her status in society to prevent terror attacks.”
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“What happened on Sunday morning in Florida, US, is a reminder that the war against terrorism demands more efforts. It is very important that the major global players should join hands to fight terrorism and extremism on every front. Individual efforts and conflicting interests would benefit only the militants.”
Editorial: Global Extremism
13 June – Source: Afghanistan Times – 404 Words
Terrorism and extremism is a serious threat to global peace and humanity. The United States and its NATO allies have dropped hundreds of bombs in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia and other parts of the world to eliminate fanatics and dismantle notorious terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda, Al Shabab, the Islamic State (also known as Daesh) and others.
The policy to contain extremism in the developing countries has failed badly, because extremists have made their way to Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States. Even people who had lived there for several decades are standing against their respective governments. They are finding different ways to express their anger against the repressive or liberal policies of the states.
Unfortunately, extremism is linked to certain ethnic groups and religion in the Europe and the US. But as a matter of fact, no religion or group promotes extremism. People of different faith are found to have inclination towards certain fanatic groups. They are brainwashed by a few individuals for their personal benefits.
Terrorism has become a profitable industry that’s why there is no end in sight to this business. The terror wave would continue to spread and claim more lives if global efforts were not initiated. Extremists are recruiting people in every part of the world. Sadly, the developed countries are focused on Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, Libya, Tunis, Egypt and Somalia. They are unaware of the growing support for terrorism on their own soil. Terrorism has not crossed the oceans, but it was bred there under the very nose of the intelligence agencies.
Omar Mateen, an Afghan American, was born in the US but the modern state system and education cannot prevent him from mass killing. He killed 50 people at a nightclub and injured 53 others on early Sunday morning.