June 15, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Suicide Car Bomber Detonates Outside Somalia Restaurant
14 June – Source : Associated Press – 302 Words
suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at the gate of a popular restaurant in Somalia’s capital, police said Wednesday night. There was no immediate word on any casualties. Capt. Mohamed Hussein said there was confusion over whether gunmen had fought their way inside after the blast and whether a hostage situation was underway at the Pizza House restaurant. The Somalia-based extremist group al-Shabab often targets high-profile areas of Mogadishu, including hotels, military checkpoints and areas near the presidential palace. It has vowed to step up attacks after the recently elected government launched a new military offensive against it.
Al-Shabab last year became the deadliest Islamic extremist group in Africa, with more than 4,200 people killed in 2016, according to the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies. The extremist group also faces a new military push from the United States after President Donald Trump approved expanded operations, including airstrikes, against al-Shabab. On Sunday, the U.S. military in Africa said it carried out an airstrike in southern Somalia that killed eight Islamic extremists at a rebel command and logistics camp.
Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed confirmed that airstrike and said such attacks would disrupt the group’s ability to conduct new attacks. With a new federal government established, pressure is growing on Somalia’s military to assume full responsibility for the country’s security. The 22,000-strong African Union multinational force, AMISOM, which has been supporting the fragile central government, plans to start withdrawing in 2018 and leave by the end of 2020.
Key Headlines
- Suicide Car Bomber Detonates Outside Somalia Restaurant (Associated Press)
- Information Minister:No Economic Matters Discussed On Meetings With Gulf Officials(Goobjoog News)
- Somali Military Court Concludes Hearing Death Of Former Minister (Somali Update)
- Federal Ministry of Labour Targets 35000 Youths for Job Creation Programs(Goobjoog News)
- Security Council Backs UN Efforts To Promote Somalia Peace (Associated Press)
- The Somali Government Commits To Reconcile And Unify The Country (UNSOM)
- Lobster In The Time Of Famine (Euronews )
NATIONAL MEDIA
Information Minister: No Economic Matters Discussed On Meetings With Gulf Officials
14 June – Source : Goobjoog News – 189 Words
The Federal Minister for Information, Abdirahman Yarisow has distanced the government from monetary debates taking part on the diplomatic crisis between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.Additionally he mentioned no economic issues discussed in the meetings related to the gulf crisis in the least possible way.This information from the Minister was a response to the news written by some media houses indicating money matters were raised with the federal government for exchange for its support on either side.
Minister Yarisow cited the deep fraternal relationship between Somalia and countries in the Middle East as well as multiple interests based on cooperation and mutual work.As written on the government media, the Minister appealed to the media houses to be vigilant of wrong information that is against the reputation and protocol of the diplomatic arena. At the same he enjoined them not to circulate baseless news that can damage the honour and status of Somalia as well as our brotherly nations.The Federal government of Somalia chose a neutral position on the diplomatic crisis between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, a position that portrayed a similar stand with the Somali citizens.
Somali Military Court Concludes Hearing Death Of Former Minister
14 June- Source: Somali Update – 134 Words
Somali military tribunal concludes hearing the case of the death of the late Public Works Minister Abbas Siraji, with the court mentioning that a verdict is expected at later date.The two men accused of killing late Public Works Minister are Identified as Ahmed Abdi Aydid (army) and Osman Salad Barre (from custodial corps).Ahmed Abdi Aydid is alleged to have fired the bullet that killed Minister Abbas Siraji; Osman Salad Barre is accused of dereliction of duty.
Late Minister Siraji was the youngest Minister in the Somali Cabinet who rose to limelight when at 31, and ex-refugee at Dadaab camp in Kenya, trounced a minister to be elected into parliament was killed on the 3rd of Maythis year.He was shot dead near Villa Somalia by government soldiers guarding the Auditor General on May 3.
Federal Ministry of Labour Targets 35,000 Youths for Job Creation Programs
14 June – Source : Goobjoog News – 274 Words
Assistant Minister of Labour and Social Services Abdiaziz Salah said his Ministry is planning within this year to provide job creation opportunities for Somali youths. The target number for the Ministry is 35,940 to be initiated in the current year in Mogadishu and the rest of the country. According to the Assistance Minister Abdiaziz , they believe the youths to be the backbone of the country and are doing all their efforts to save them from drowning in far oceans seeking better life and being receptive to wrong ideologies thus the idea of job creation.
The Ministry of Labour requires the Federal government to set aside funds for the job creation to be invested in the areas deemed right for youths to find work. “Our biggest policy is to prevent youths drowning in high seas and those utilized for wrong ideologies. Most Somalis are youths. We need to start create job activities for 35,940 youths. We have to get little investment from the government in order to fund small programs like farming, fishing and handcraft” said Assistant Minister Abdiaziz. Additionally the Assistance Minister reiterated to exert a lot of effort on how to create jobs for the youth within a period of one year with the cooperation of non-governmental organizations who are ready to help the Ministry.
Many Somali youths are faced with numerous social problems which drive them to seek better life on the outside and end up drowning in Mediterranean and other high seas while those who remain behind are susceptible to incline towards joining local clan militia or religious fanaticism which the federal government believes to be detrimental to nationhood.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Security Council Backs UN Efforts To Promote Somalia Peace
14 June – Source : Associated Press – 405 Words
The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Wednesday underscoring the importance of the United Nations in promoting peace and reconciliation efforts by Somalia’s new government and strongly condemning attacks by the al-Shabab extremist group. The resolution extends the U.N. political mission in the Horn of Africa nation, which is trying to rebuild after more than two decades as a failed state, until March 31, 2018.It urges the U.N. mission to support the new federal government’s efforts to consolidate the country, review the constitution, improve the fight against corruption, and develop effective federal political and justice systems. It also reaffirms the council’s determination to support a comprehensive approach to reduce the threat posed by Al-Shabab.
Britain’s deputy U.N. ambassador Peter Wilson said the resolution is “a vote of confidence in the new government” and reinforces commitments at last month’s London conference to promote security and political stability in the country.Somalia began to fall apart in 1991, when warlords ousted dictator Siad Barre and then turned on each other. Years of conflict and attacks by al-Shabab, along with famine, shattered the country of some 12 million people. It has been trying to rebuild since establishing its first functioning transitional government in 2012 and electing a new president Feb. 8.
With a new federal government established, pressure is growing on Somalia’s military to assume full responsibility for the country’s security. The 22,000-strong African Union multinational force, AMISOM, which has been supporting the fragile central government, plans to start withdrawing in 2018 and leave by the end of 2020.
The Somali Government Commits To Reconcile And Unify The Country
14 June – Source : UNSOM – 405 Words
The Federal Government of Somalia has reiterated its commitment to unify the country to achieve lasting peace and stability.Speaking at the opening ceremony of the National Reconciliation Conference held in Mogadishu on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Ahmed Guled said Somalia needs political and religious reconciliation, which has remained elusive because of conflict.Addressing the religious leaders attending the conference, Mr. Guled said, “With regard to religious reconciliation we are counting on you, the religious leaders, to engage in dialogue and give us a positive interpretation of what religion provides for. This will save us from the dangers of imported ideology which have been behind all this bloodshed.”
The five-day conference will chart out the development of a reconciliation strategy. The delegates will map conflict zones, identify types, causes, and levels of conflict in the country, and will also hear the views of key stakeholders on conflict and dispute resolution mechanisms that will aid the formulation of a strategic reconciliation policy.The conference is organized by the federal Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation. The United Nations and UN Development Programme’s State Formation/SteFS project and the UN International Organization for Migration’s Somalia Stabilization Initiative made it possible with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Representatives from the Federal Government, regional states, minority groups, civil society, academia, and traditional and religious leaders are also attending the five-day reconciliation conference.At the London Conference in May, Somalia’s Federal President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo promised that his administration would work to reconcile and unify communities to realize peace and security in the country.Mr. Guled appealed to the delegates to engage in open and honest discussions to avoid a repeat of mistakes that led to the collapse of numerous reconciliation efforts in the past.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“One of our Somali partners tells us that one of the biggest problems in Somalia is that ‘we let our fish die of old age’. Yes, they have 3,000 kilometres of coastline, most of it sandy beaches that run onto the sparkling sapphire waters of the Indian Ocean. Waters that contain a hell of a lot of fish. And not just food, but energy too: wind and wave power could produce electricity, the sulphur-coloured sands could seduce many tourists. Ok, so security is an issue right now, but it is a reasonable long-term prospect.”
Lobster In The Time Of Famine
14 June – Source : Euronews – 2245 Words
They come out on four plates, piled high: chaotic scrap yards of pink, grenadine and peach shards of chitin, the amalgam of cellulose and calcium that make up the shells of crustaceans, in this case, lobster. The limbs akimbo and askew, the colour of pomegranate peel, excite ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ all around the table, as was the servers’ intent, and they are gratified that we react exactly as we should have – especially since this pièce de la résistance has come after rounds of succulent chicken and steak, cooked to perfection on an open-air grill. I’ve never seen so many lobsters on the same table before. When I scoop out the white flesh from the orange armour plating and eat it, it is sweet and satisfying. I don’t need to eat it, I already had had enough at the first course (parma ham, salad and garlic flatbread), so I didn’t even eat any chicken or beef. However, as I said to my fellow-guest, at home lobster is such an expensive treat that we eat so rarely, so if it’s put in front of me I feel obliged to eat it.
I can’t help asking the person next to me: ‘how can we be eating lobster, when only 200 kilometres away, in the last 48 hours, 100 people died of starvation?’. It’s a bizarre moment, on many levels. One of those is that it’s not actually a Marie-Antoinette moment: the lobster hasn’t been expensively imported. Its local lobster, fished (immaturely, and probably not sustainably) in Mogadishu Bay. I’m in Somalia, where all the indications are that a great famine is imminent. Yes, there hasn’t been rain for three years. Yes, half the country’s livestock (cattle, camels and goats) have died. Yes, there’s no water in the usual nomadic pastoral areas. But it’s not as if there is no food. So, at least in part, this is a distribution problem. And, as I will learn later, a cultural one too.
Coincidentally I had listened to (or Josh and Chuck had broadcast) the Stuff You Should Know (can’t recommend it enough!) podcast on famine the week before I travelled. This was one of the key points they’d raised – the majority of famines are as much a political event as an environmental one. The causes are multiple, the contexts are complex, and things are never black and white.
This is certainly the case with the Irish famine (An Gorta Mór, [The Big Hunger] as we still refer to it). The headline statistics are staggering: Ireland lost half of its 8m population to famine or emigration between 1845 and 1849. But within that there was variation, for example in the numbers of families going to the workhouses, or the proportion of persons emigrating as a percentage of the local ward population. There are actually examples of wards where the population rose during the Famine. The ward where I’m from, Killeavy, in Co. Armagh, is one of those. And there’s a reason – or at least a theory – as to why. Again, it concerns human intervention. In Killeavy, like many other places, there was a dominant landlord, who lived in a ‘Big House’, or, in my case, literally a castle (about to be transformed into a boutique hotel, by the way).