June 18, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Somali PM Travels To Norway To Attend Oslo Peace Forum
17 June – Source: Halbeeg News – 243 Words
A delegation led by Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire traveled to Norway on Sunday to take part in a high-level peace forum with world leaders. Among the other leaders who will take part in the two-day conference are UN Secretary-General António Guterres, leaders from Algeria, Jordan, Oman, Tanzania and Syria. During the forum which will run on 19th and 20th, the leaders will discuss the situation in Libya, Yemen, Mali, Syria, Colombia and the role of religious groups in peace facilitation are among the topics.
The theme for this year’s Forum is ‘The End of the Big Peace’, which was chosen against the backdrop of the changing conflict landscape. Norway Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide said in a statement that the Oslo Forum has become one of the world’s most important meeting forums for facilitators, mediators, government leaders and other key actors in peace and conflict resolution processes.
“Peace and reconciliation efforts are a key element of Norwegian foreign policy and our work in this area is increasingly linked to security policy considerations. We are living at a time of great uncertainty. We are facing new threats and seeing the rise of new geopolitical power constellations,” said Ms. Eriksen Søreide, “Global security, economy and welfare could be undermined. Working together with the UN for peaceful resolution of conflicts is a way of safeguarding our common interests.”
Key Headlines
- Somali PM Travels To Norway To Attend Oslo Peace Forum (Halbeeg News)
- Suspected KDF Fighter Jets Carry Out Airstrike In Southern Somalia (Shabelle News)
- Galmudug State Leader Due To Announce His Cabinet Line-up (Halbeeg News)
- 8 Security Personnel Killed After Their Vehicle Hit An IED In Bojigaras Area Wajir County (The Standard)
- Ethiopia Somalia Call For Joint Efforts To Fight Terrorism (Xinhua)
- Ethiopia Seeks To Legitimise Port Deals With Somalia (Daily Nation)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Suspected KDF Fighter Jets Carry Out Airstrike In Southern Somalia
17 June – Source: Shabelle News – 117 Words
Suspected Kenyan military warplanes carried out an airstrike in southern Somalia targeting the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militants, sources said. The KDF fighter jets pounded an Al-Shabaab hideout in El-Adde village near Garbaharey town in Gedo region, injuring at least three civilians; two of them in critical condition.
Al-Shabaab has ruled out any casualties on its side as result of the Kenyan air bombardment in its stronghold. The exact number of the fatalities remain disputed. The Kenyan military has been targeting the area since KDF forces were massacred in El Adde attack on January 15, 2016, which claimed the lives of dozens of soldiers.
Galmudug State Leader Due To Announce His Cabinet Line-up
17 June – Source: Halbeeg News – 175 Words
The president of Galmudug regional state Ahmed Duale Gueleh Haaf is expected to announce his new line-up of cabinet ministers, officials confirm. Sources close to the presidency indicate that president Haaf has finalized consultations, on the appointment of the cabinet and is anticipated to announce the cabinet any time. New faces are expected to appear in this line-up after, Ahlu Suna and Galmudug state merged and signed a power sharing deal ending years of political dispute.
The announcement of the new cabinet comes after a new political crisis between the top leaders emerged. The leaders of the state have been at loggerheads after some officials opposed the unification of the assemblies of Ahlu-Sunna Wal jama’a and Galmudug state. citing that some points of the peace deal have been breached.
The two sides merged in a ceremony held in Dhusa-mareeb, the administrative capital of Galmudug state January 2018. Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo, members of federal parliament and international community attended the event to mark the peace agreement, between Ahlu Suna Wal Jama’a and Galmudug state.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
8 Security Personnel Killed After Their Vehicle Hit An IED In Bojigaras Area, Wajir County
17 June – Source: The Standard – 478 Words
At least eight security personnel were Sunday killed after a vehicle they were traveling in hit a set improvised bomb in Bojigaras area, Wajir County. The victims included five Administration Police Officers and three police reservists.
Police authorities said the vehicle that the deceased were using ran over an Improvised Explosive Device which sent it flying. Witnesses said the vehicle was badly damaged killing the victims who are on board. North Eastern regional coordinator Muhammad Saleh said those behind the attack escaped soon after the incident. He said preliminary findings pointed to Somalia’s Al-Shabaab terror gang. “The attackers escaped soon after the blast and we suspect Al-Shabaab is behind it,” he said.
A reinforcement was immediately sent to the scene but nothing was salvaged in terms of life. It came in the wake of warnings of planned attacks by the terror group. Authorities had last week warned the terrorists planned to stage attacks ahead of the end of Ramadan period.
On June 6 at least 6 paramilitary personnel were killed and three others injured when their vehicle ran over an explosive at Liboi, Garissa County. The scene of the attack in Harhar area is less than two kilometers from the main Kenya-Somalia border.
The General Service Unit officers were patrolling the border aboard a truck when it ran over the Improvised Explosive Device (IED). Witnesses said the explosive killed the five and badly damaged the vehicle. The three who survived were badly wounded. They were all from Harhar GSU camp. Other reports said they were pursuing contraband sugar when they were hit. The deaths were the latest and came after a long lull from terror related incidents that has been experienced in the area at large.
There were indications of imminent attacks in the area. Locals reported to authorities of movements that indicated Al-Shabaab terror group was planning an attack. “The indications were there because among others, elderly people had been moved from the area to Garissa and a number of youths had not returned to the area. Al-Shabaab militants were also sighted there,” said an official based in the area.
Ethiopia, Somalia Call For Joint Efforts To Fight Terrorism
16 June – Source: Xinhua – 278 Words
Ethiopian and Somali leaders on Saturday called for joint international efforts to fight terrorism which has claimed innocent lives in Somalia and across the world. Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian Prime Minister and his host, President Abdullahi Mohamed Farmaajo of Somalia noted that peace and stability were crucial for the development and prosperity of both countries and thus agreed to work together to fight terrorism including cross-border security challenges.
Abiy Ahmed who arrived in Mogadishu for a one-day state visit also lauded Mogadishu for the commitment and courage in overcoming security challenges and for tangible progress that has put Somalia on the path to sustainable peace and development. “While appreciating AMISOM’s role in the peace and state building efforts of Somalia, the leaders expressly stated the need to zealously guard against any risks, both internal and external, to the reversal of the gains achieved in Somalia,” the two leaders said in a joint communiqué issued in Mogadishu.
President Farmaajo paid tribute to the sacrifice of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and recognized the prominent role of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces toward stabilization of Somalia. The two leaders also called on regional countries to contribute positively to Somalia’s peace and state building efforts after years of conflict.
The two leaders urged respect for the “sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and the unity of both nations and called upon all Somali actors to relentlessly work towards the unity and cohesiveness of Somalia.” Meanwhile, the two leaders called for an effective multilateral system with a reformed and stronger UN and agreed to advocate for African solutions for African problems and to foster joint positions on international matters of mutual concern.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“With Ethiopia accessing the sea and importing 95 per cent of supplies through the Port of Djibouti, the latest move by Premier Ahmed could be seen as a way of securing and widening access to the ports.”
Ethiopia Seeks To Legitimise Port Deals With Somalia
16 June – Source: Daily Nation – 635 Words
Ethiopia has agreed on a joint investment in Somali ports in what could be seen as Premier Abiy Ahmed’s move to legitimise logistical deals initially questioned by Mogadishu. After a meeting in Mogadishu on Saturday, President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed ‘Farmaajo’ and PM Ahmed said they will be investing in major infrastructure projects including ports and roads. “In an effort to attract and retain foreign investment to the two countries and the Horn of Africa Region, the leaders agreed on the joint investment in four key sea ports between the two countries, and the construction of the main road networks and arteries that would link Somalia to mainland Ethiopia,” a Communiqué from the meeting said.
The two said they will constitute a designated joint technical team to craft the details and timelines for the project. The ports were not named in the dispatch but Ethiopia’s latest move could be seen as correcting the controversy it created earlier in the year by buying a stake in the Port of Berbera in Somaliland. Ethiopia would own 19 per cent but that deal drew the ire of Mogadishu with MPs saying it had violated the Provisional Constitution as well as the sovereignty of Somalia.
Somalia demands that all deals made by breakaway regions of Puntland and Somaliland with foreign entities be endorsed by Mogadishu. And though Somaliland argues the long-term framework is yet to be created, MPs in Mogadishu nullified the deal. The Ministry of Ports and Marine Transport said in a statement that the government was not party to the agreement which it termed as defective. “This so-called agreement is both defective and detrimental to the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia and the unity of the country,” Somalia’s Ports and Marine Ministry said in March.
Somaliland MPs had in 2016 approved the concession for Emirati firm DP World to own 51 per cent of the Port of Berbera. The Dubai firm was also to invest about Sh44 billion and run the Port for the next three decades. In March, Ethiopia bought 19 per cent of the stake, meaning Somaliland would retain 30 per cent. But President Farmajo’s administration did not like being left out.