June 23, 2016 | Morning Headlines
7 Militants Killed In Operation, NISA Commander Killer Apprehended
23 June – Source: Garowe Online – 187 Words
Somali National Army (SNA) commander in central Galgadud region Col. Ahmed Taredisho has confirmed to the media that troops killed seven Al-Shabaab militants in an anti-terror operation on Wednesday.
The military also wounded eight other militants and seized weapons and ammunition during the raid on the militants’ hideout in Masagaw area: “We raided and dismantled the Al-Shabaab hotbed in Masagaway area. We killed seven of them and wounded eight in the operation,” Taredisho told the media.
He added that the terror Chief identified as “Adkar”, who has been responsible for the killing of innocent civilians in Galgadud survived arrest. The operation is said to be part of the wider plans to liberate eastern Galgadud bastions remaining under the control of Al Shabaab.
Security forces also captured the fleeing killer of National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) Middle Shabelle commander, Abdiweli Ibrahim. The killer, is a former Al-Shabaab fighter. Deputy Middle Shabelle Governor Ahmed Meyre Karaam said in an interview with a Mogadishu-based radio station that the assailant will face justice very soon. NISA is known for recruiting Al-Shabaab defectors.
Key Headlines
- 7 Militants Killed In Operation NISA Commander Killer Apprehended (Garowe Online)
- Somali Leaders Kick Off Key Election Talks In Baidoa (Shabelle News)
- IGAD On State Formation Mission In Beled Weyne (Hiiraan Online)
- Al-Shabaab Claims Killing Somali Security Chief (Shabelle News)
- AMISOM Official Urges Somalis To Return Home To Build Nation (AMISOM)
- Displacement Terrorism And FGM In Somalia (Deutsche Welle TV)
- Kenya Beefs Up Security Along Somali Border Amid Terror Threats (Xinhua News)
- How Boy Ditched Big Dreams In IT To Join Al-Shabaab In Somalia (The Standard)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Leaders Kick Off Key Election Talks In Baidoa
22 June – Source: Shabelle News – 128 Words
Somali leaders are expected today to convene at South West State presidential palace in Baidoa for a key election meeting to on the electoral model of 2016 election.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid and Federal Parliament Speaker Mohamed Osman Jowari are set to spearhead the high-level meeting in Baidoa city. The status of the capital of Mogadishu and national security will be top on the agenda during the deliberations. Baidoa city’s security situation has been tightened.
There have been differences within the regional states leaders and federal government of Somalia over whether Mogadishu should be allocated seats in the Upper House of the next Parliament. Somalia heads into a crucial period of elections in August/September.
IGAD On State Formation Mission In Beled Weyne
22 June – Source: Hiiraan Online – 252 Words
A delegation led by the The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) envoy to Somalia, Amb. Mohamed Abdi Affey, arrived in Beled Weyne to facilitate the inter- state formation of Hiiraan and the Middle Shabelle.
The delegation also included senior officials from the Ethiopian foreign ministry. The group met with Ugas Hassan and clan elders to discuss inter-regional state formation of Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle, which has been in a deadlock for quite some time. Speaking to reporters, Amb. Affey said “We have agreed on most of the issues that we have discussed but there are still issues we are yet to resolve.”
He explained that IGAD’s sole aim was to facilitate the state formation of Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle, which is lagging behind compared to the rest of the country. Ugas Hassan reported that they had had fruitful discussions on major issues and would continue with the process. The Federal government led by President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has previously made several attempts to facilitate the inter-regional state formation of Hiiraan and Middle Shabelle with little success.
Al-Shabaab Claims Killing Somali Security Chief
22 June – Source: Shabelle News – 172 Words
Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for the killing of a senior Somali security official, who was was gunned down late on Tuesday by one of his own bodyguards.
Abdiweli Ibrahim Mohamed, the head of national security in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region, was shot dead in Jowhar, a town 90 kilometres north of Mogadishu: “Two other bodyguards were wounded,” Ahmed Mohamud, a police officer in Jowhar, said.
Residents said the bodyguard, who shot the security chief was a former member of Al-Shabaab who had defected to the government. A spokesman for Al-Shabaab, an al Qaeda linked group which seeks to topple the western backed government in Mogadishu, claimed responsibility.
“We are behind the killing of the head of the national security for Middle Shebelle region,” Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, spokesman for the group’s military operations, told Reuters late on Tuesday.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
AMISOM Official Urges Somalis To Return Home To Build Nation
22 June – Source: AMISOM – 406 Words
A senior official of the African Union Mission In Somalia (AMISOM) has urged Somalis in the regional diaspora to return home and help rebuild the nation.
Maj. Gen. Fidza Dludlu, AMISOM’s Head of Mission Support, who led a delegation of officials of the mission to meet with representatives of Somali diaspora communities in Kampala, Tuesday, said he believed this present moment was timely.
“Advances have been made in Somalia and there is need for people with skills to come back and help rebuild the country. Due to the many years suffered in civil war, there is now an urgent need for highly skilled people in Somalia,” the General said.
Dludlu, who stood in for the African Union Special Representative for Somalia (SRCC), Francisco Madeira, shared the gains AMISOM has made in the fight against Al-Shabaab terrorists who have been waging an insurgency against the Federal government and highlighted efforts being made to restore peace and security.
Somalia is slowly emerging from decades of war and instability, evidenced by a booming construction sector, livestock trade, fisheries and service industries, telecommunication and money remittance services and an estimated growing GDP, Dludlu said.
With the help of the United Nations, AMISOM and other international partners, the country has successfully established federal administrations and plans to conduct legislative and presidential ballots before the end of the year.
Responding to queries about security of the country, the AMISOM Deputy Force Commander, Maj. Gen. Mohammedesha Zeyinu, said Somalia is relatively secure due to sacrifices made by the AMISOM forces.
There are about 2,000 Somali youth currently enrolled in various Ugandan universities, according to Abdinasir Hashi Hirsi, a representative of the Somali Students’ Association in Uganda, who was present at the meeting.
Displacement, Terrorism And FGM In Somalia
22 June – Source: Deutsche Welle TV – Video: 26:04 Minutes
No longer a failed state, though struggling to rise from the ashes. Mohamed Omer Arteh, Somalia’s Deputy Prime Minister, is Michel Friedman’s guest on Conflict Zone this week.
Kenya Beefs Up Security Along Somali Border Amid Terror Threats
22 June – Source: Xinhua News – 315 Words
Kenyan authorities have beefed up security along the Somali border following attacks by suspected Al-Shabaab militants in the northeastern region earlier this week.
Northeastern Regional Coordinator, Mohamud Saleh, said on Wednesday that security had been heightened in major government installations, social gatherings and along the border with Somalia, following two attacks in Elwak, Mandera county and Hulugho, Garissa county respectively this week.
Kenya’s intelligence reports say the Al-Shabaab Islamist group plans to carry out major attacks in Kenya during the month of Ramadan: “Because we had enhanced our security, they (Al-Shabaab militants) were unable to penetrate some of their targets,” Saleh told journalists in Garissa town.
Saleh said Al-Shabaab’s major targets were social places, key government installations, police stations, police and military convoys in the northeastern region, adding the capital Nairobi was also their target. The East African nation has previously witnessed terror attacks during the month of Ramadhan. Police have urged Kenyans to report any suspicious activities.
Saleh further disclosed the attacks had been planned by the Garissa University massacre mastermind, Mohamed Kuno, before the Al-Shabaab commander was killed in May by the Somali army in Bulo Gudud, Somalia. He said that following the death of Kuno, the militants wanted to “prove that they have not been weekend by carrying out the attacks we saw in Elwak and Hulugho.”
“We suspect they will keep on harassing us in the remaining of days of this Ramadhan period. We have however prepared ourselves for them and the remaining days are very crucial in our security surveillance,” Saleh said.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“But Abdulaziz’s story had one final twist. He was beheaded by Al Shabaab on suspicion of spying for Kenyan security agencies. Police believe he may have been unhappy in Somalia and could have attempted to come back home”.
How Boy Ditched Big Dreams In IT To Join Al-Shabaab In Somalia
22 June – Source: The Standard – 672 Words
Jared Mokaya Omambia had big dreams, just like any other child. Mokaya’s eyes were set on Information Technology, so much so that he could not have a conversation without IT coming up. Everything seemed to be falling into place for the man described as calm and quiet when he joined Kenya’s Moi University to pursue a degree in Information Science.
When he completed his undergraduate studies, Jared joined the Immigration head office in Nairobi in 2012 as an intern, his brother James says. But this IT guru-in-waiting surprised many, including his family, when he converted to Islam three years ago and henceforth became Abdulaziz. His father, Enock Omambia, says the move raised eyebrows within the family but there were no immediate tell-tale signs that there were ulterior motives.
Since the Constitution gives him the right of worship and association, they let him be. Little did they know that everything would go south after that. In 2014, Abdulaziz was arrested in Isebania after allegedly calling his friends ‘kafir’. Muslims use this term to refer to a person or society that has read and rejected the message of the Holy Qur’an.
He was released on a Sh10,000 bond and ordered to be reporting to Isebania police station every month. Police were not about to take the kafir saga lightly, so they started investigations immediately. Later that year Abdulaziz disappeared.
But on May 22 this year, hope was restored when Abdulaziz called his father. But the call raised more questions than it provided answers as it ended abruptly: “Jared asked me how we were faring but did not disclose his whereabouts. His mobile phone number was not registered under the Kenyan network. Attempts to call back were futile as his phone remained off,” Mr Omambia recalls.
As fate would have it, this is the last time Omambia would talk to his second-born son. His father was perturbed so he shared his phone number with the Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) based in Eldoret after learning that his son was calling from Somalia. “The phone network was from Somalia but how and when our son made friends there is something we are still coming to terms with,” said the father of three. A parent’s worst nightmare was confirmed – Abdulaziz had ditched his IT dream for Al Shabaab. And had travelled to Somalia to join other fighters.