June 16, 2017 | Morning Headlines
3 Soldiers Killed In Landmine Blast In Somalia
15 June – Source : Xinhuanet – Words
At least three Somalia soldiers were on Thursday killed and seven others wounded in a landmine blast in the southern region of Middle Shabelle. The soldiers from Hirshabelle State, about 30 km north of Mogadishu, were killed after their vehicle ran over a landmine near Balcad town. Hirshabelle Minister for Information Mahad Hassan told Xinhua by phone that landmine destroyed the vehicle. “I can confirm that three of our soldiers were killed and seven others injured in a remote control landmine blast near Balcad town in Middle Shabelle region this morning.
The incident prompted fighting between Hirshabelle forces and Al-Shabaab militants,” Hassan said. The fighting came hours after Somalia security forces ended a siege on hotel and restaurant after the bombing incident in Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab militants have claimed responsibility for the latest attack in the region, saying that it killed four soldiers and wounded seven others.
Key Headlines
- 3 Soldiers Killed In Landmine Blast In Somalia (Xinhuanet)
- Puntland President Addresses Parliament As 39th Session Kicks Off (Garowe Online)
- President Farmajo: The Elimination Of Al-Shabaab Is Attached To The Solidarity Of The Security Agents And Citizens (Goobjoog News)
- Turkish Aid Ship Carrying 13000 Tons Of Supplies Arrives In Somalia (Daily Sabah)
- Detained Somaliland Journalist In Poor Health: Wife (All East African)
- Wall Street-Sponsored School In Somaliland Finds Its Way In The Age Of Trump (Forbes
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland President Addresses Parliament As 39th Session Kicks Off
15 June – Source : Garowe Online – 316 Words
The President of Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali “Gaas” has officially opened the 39th session of parliament. Following the event of opening the new refurbished Hall. Cabinet ministers, international delegates, traditional leaders and members of the civil society participated the opening of the new session. The President delivered a lengthy speech focusing on security, politics, institutional reforms, promotion of trade, economy, and management of maritime resources, international cooperation and infrastructure development in the region. During his speech the President claimed that his government has achieved most of its agenda in the past years.
Ali addressed the 66-seats-chamber about latest security incidents including terror attack against the military forces in Af urur outpost. Ali said the region is facing huge security challenges from different fronts that are aimed to undermine the existence of the state. He vowed the government will carry out an anti-terror offensive that will eradicate Al-Shabaab group from their hideouts in Puntland. Additionally, Ali promised to reward the security personnel who successfully seized cache of bomb-making materials from a truck bond to Bosaso city. The President revealed that his government will be responsible for providing welfare for the soldiers’ family who died in the suicide bombing in Bosaso last month. He later indicated that joint security forces are carrying out security sweeps in major cities in the region to flush out militants and deter possible terror attacks.
Speaking about the infrastructure projects in Puntland, Ali said the construction work on Garowe Airport will be completed soon in the coming three months. Similarly, the work on Galkayo Airport will kicks off shortly, whereas Bosaso Airport is currently upgraded with new equipment and firefighting trucks that are necessary for its operations, added the President. The parliamentary session ended without the members of the Parliament had the chance to ask the President questions about his government’s shortcomings in the area of economy and security.
President Farmajo: The Elimination Of Al-Shabaab Is Attached To The Solidarity Of The Security Agents And Citizen
15 June – Source : Goobjoog News – 227 Words
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo spoke harshly on the attack carried out last night by Al-Shabaab fighters on Pizza House in Hodan District in Mogadishu. Addressing the media President Farmajo said “I send my condolence on the people who died last night following the inhuman attack by Al-Shabaab fighters on a place where civilians converge. These civilians were martyrs in the holy month of Ramadan especially when they were elated due to breaking their fast at that time”.
“This enemy is one that is refusing us to be happy, to get peace, to be in par with the communities of the world, Somali societies”. The president added “The place they attacked last night is where mostly congregated by youths from high schools and universities aged 15-25 years. Let us ask ourselves: why kill these youths? Are they security forces? Are they government members? The reply is no. They are killed of being happy, why you feel the anticipation of governance? This is why you should never entertain militant views”. “There are security forces standing along the streets day and night ensuring security of the civilians. Similar planned attacks have been thwarted. This was achieved on teamwork between the citizens and the security organs. Teamwork has to be strengthened further. The elimination of Al-shabaab is attached to the solidarity of the security agents and the citizens” the President concluded.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Turkish Aid Ship Carrying 13,000 Tons Of Supplies Arrives In Somalia
15 June – Source : Daily Sabah – 295 Words
An aid ship belonging to the Turkish Red Crescent aid organization, Kızılay has arrived in the Somali capital Mogadishu with 13,000 tons of aid to be distributed across the country. The “Sebat” ship is part of a Kızılay campaign started by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to relieve the risk of famine in East Africa and Yemen, where humanitarian crisis is looming. The ship left the Turkish port of Mersin on June 4 for Mogadishu, arriving 11 days later on June 15. Kızılay stated that the 13,000 tons of aid will be unloaded on June 17, after which they will be distributed to the needy.
The aid supplies were collected and donated by Kızılay, the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and civil society organizations. Supplies include sugar, flour and other necessities, sufficient to feed 3 million people for one month. The ship is also carrying medicines, medical supplies, a diagnostic laboratory and construction equipment. The supplies will be distributed throughout Somalia, with a focus on the areas that have been stricken by drought.
Aid agencies report that up to 6 million Somalis are in need of aid, as some areas of the country have not seen rain in two years. Hundreds have died of cholera, a disease that the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates will affect 50,000 people in Somalia this summer. Thirteen of Somalia’s 18 regions have been touched by the disease. At the same time around 500,000 Somalis have been internally displaced by the drought.
Detained Somaliland Journalist In Poor Health: Wife
14 June – Source : All East African – 479 Words
A Somali journalist held in detention for asking the health minister a question about his work attendance problems that frustrated many including patients seeking medical attention abroad who subsequently missed important appointments with the minister is in poor health and has been refused visits from his family, according to his wife. Mohamed Adan Dirir, the editor of the online portal Horseed media was arrested last month after Somaliland’s minister Saleban Isse Ahmed who was apparently angered by the reporter’s question ordered his arrest.
Fahima Salah, the journalist’s wife says that Mr. Dirir is suffering complications from the horrendous conditions in addition to serious sanitation and medical care problems in the central prison in Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital. “His health is not so good and more worse, he cannot even get a single tablet let alone health care,” the mother of two said in an interview with All East Africa. Mrs. Salah who has managed to reach her husband through phones smuggled into the prison by guards twice since he was arrested said that her husband had also developed skin rashes, due to the poor sanitation in the prison.
Meanwhile, local journalists who interviewed former inmates who were released from the prison told All East Africa that “a culture of abuse” exists, with groups of guards conducting organized beatings of inmates in retaliation for verbal insults. Prisoners were also not protected against violence from other inmates, they said. It’s unclear if the journalist is among inmates who were subjected to the alleged torture which is common in the usually overcrowded central prison. No charges have so far been brought against the journalist who was arrested on 27th May.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Each year, Abaarso School sends a few students to finish high school in the U.S. and around a dozen students to attend American universities, where the students have been able to obtain scholarships. But since February, when President Trump issued an executive order that seeks to ban travel from certain countries – including Somalia, Abaarso’s students have been more uncertain about a future in the U.S.. Somaliland, which is not recognized by the U.S. as a sovereign state, was included in the ban as well.”
Wall Street-Sponsored School In Somaliland Finds Its Way In The Age Of Trump
15 June – Source : Forbes – 1119 Words
Herding goats and camels in Somalia as a teenager, Mubarik Mohamoud had no idea he would go to college – let alone attend one of the world’s most prestigious universities, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mohamoud is one of the few students who have come to the U.S. from Somaliland, an autonomous region of Somalia that is not yet internationally recognized as a sovereign state. Mohamoud grew up in a poor village on the border of Kenya and Somalia. Against the odds, he attended a public school until 9th grade – when he was accepted to Abaarso School of Science and Technology, an educational institution founded by ex-hedge fund manager Jonathan Starr and funded, in part, by Wall Street donors.
Born and raised in Worcester, Mass., Starr started his career at Fidelity Investments and then founded his own hedge fund, Flagg Street Capital, in 2004. Four years later, he visited Somaliland, his aunt’s husband’s home country, and decided to found a school where the country’s top students could prepare to attend international universities, mostly in the U.S.. Starr says he wanted to give young minds like Mohamoud the opportunity to get a well-rounded education in English, then go back and build their country back up after all the destruction it’s faced after a three-year long civil war that ended in 1991. “When the next Mubarik comes around, he doesn’t have to work for Google,” Starr says. “He can work for Mubarik.” Starr’s ultimate goal is a self-sustaining Somaliland.
Abaarso takes its name from the village where it’s located; “abaar” also means “drought” in Somali. Abaarso is like no other school in Somaliland: once accepted, Somali students pay as much (or as little) as they can afford of the annual $1,800 tuition. The rest is covered by Starr and his Wall Street connections. “I dare you to come meet these kids and not think that it is worth investing in them,” Starr says. Abaarso’s supporters include USAID, as well as big Wall Street firms like JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse, Bank of America, billionaire David Einhorn’s GreenLight Capital hedge fund, and executives from Goldman Sachs and from other hedge funds. Since 2009 the school has raised a little over $3 million, and in Somaliland, where GDP per capita is $347, that pays the bills for around 210 students in grades 7 to 12. Starr, however, wants to reach out to donors outside of Wall Street. He is preparing to launch a women-only teacher’s college in Somaliland this fall and hopes the project will morph into an all-encompassing university for women.
Each year, Abaarso School sends a few students to finish high school in the U.S. and around a dozen students to attend American universities, where the students have been able to obtain scholarships. But since February, when President Trump issued an executive order that seeks to ban travel from certain countries – including Somalia, Abaarso’s students have been more uncertain about a future in the U.S.. Somaliland, which is not recognized by the U.S. as a sovereign state, was included in the ban as well.