June 24, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

AMISOM commences training for 100 Somali Police officers

23 Jun- Source: AMISOM- 202 words

AMISOM’s Police Component today began a training of trainers exercise for 100 members of the Somali Police Force (SPF) at the Police Transport Centre. The officers will undergo a 13-day training aimed at equipping them with the skills to facilitate future trainings and capacity building exercises earmarked for the force.

AMISOM’s Police Training Co-ordinator Dr. Benjamin Agordzo commended the commitment displayed by the Somali Police Force officers and affirmed AMISOM’s continued support and partnership with the force.

“We are here as partners, ready to work side by side with members of the Somali Police Force with whom we share common goals and objectives,” he said.

The training is part of a long-term plan to engrain a robust training element in the local police force through the training of its own members as facilitators and trainers. Over the course of the next two weeks, the trainees will be introduced to facilitation skills, management of training environments and other concepts central to their work.

“At the end of this training, the officers will be able to conduct trainings of their own across the country and this will be a boost for the force,” concluded Dr. Benjamin.

Key Headlines

AMISOM commences training for 100 Somali Police officers (AMISOM)
Al Shabaab attacks Sierra Leone troops’ bases in lower Juba region (Radio Shabelle)
Tawakal IDP women in need of emergency and maternal health services (Radio Ergo)
Somali government slaps heavy charges on illegal fishing companies ( Radio Shabelle)
Demining operation conducted in Kismayo ( Radio Bar-kulan)
Britain builds £14m prison in Somalia ( the Sun)
Aid agencies start projects to feed internal refugees in Somaliland (East African)
Somaliland Aviation Minister meets with Ethiopian Counterpart (Somaliland Informer)
Puntland Speaker requests peaceful resolution to conflict (Garowe Online)
IGAD member states to combat militia groups jointly (Daily Nation)
Iraq FM to assist in starting Somali embassy in Baghdad (Iraqi News)
Six al Shabaab members killed in internal clashes (Business Ghana)
Grenade attack in Kenya kills 10 (BBC/AFP)

PRESS STATEMENT

AMISOM commences training for 100 Somali Police officers

23 Jun- Source: AMISOM- 202 words

“We are here as partners, ready to work side by side with members of the Somali Police Force with whom we share common goals and objectives,” he said.

“At the end of this training, the officers will be able to conduct trainings of their own across the country and this will be a boost for the force,” concluded Dr. Benjamin.

SOMALI MEDIA

Al Shabaab attacks Sierra Leone troops’ bases in lower Juba region

23 Jun- Source: Radio Shabelle-100 words

Heavy artilleries hit bases belonging to the Sierra Leone troops in the lower Juba regions as al Shabaab militants attack the new AMISOM peacekeeping force. Residents in the town of Taabta said that they heard sounds of artillery during the attacks followed by gun battles. The casualties resulting from the attacks have not yet been confirmed as for now. However al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attacks through a post on a website.

Somaliland Aviation Minister meets with Ethiopian Counterpart

23 Jun- Source: Somaliland Informer- 239 words

Somaliland Minister of Aviation and Air Transport, Mr. Mohamoud Hashi Abdi embarked on working visit to Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia this week and has received warn and cordial reception upon setting foot in Ethiopia. Country’s Aviation minister has met with his Ethiopian counterpart, Mr. Gitaju Migiste, Ethiopia’s State Minister for Transportation and Telecommunication. The two Ministers discussed various civil aviation issues and the way forward, with the view to strengthen bilateral ties.

Demining operation conducted in Kismayo

23 Jun- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Radio Mustaqbal- 86 words

The Kismayo police have today conducted demining activities in the southern port city of Kismayo, capital of Lower region. In an interview with Bar-kulan, Kismayo police boss Mohamed Abdi Bulle Sugow stated that the police have successfully removed two mines planted along Umbulutoria road. The police boss has praised the locals for their information and urged them to continue working with the security forces. He accused al Shabaab militant

group of planting the mines in busy roads to harm the innocent civilians.

Tawakal IDP women in need of emergency and maternal health services

23 Jun- Source: Radio Ergo- 203 words

Residents of Tawakal IDP centre, located on the outskirts of Galkayo town, say they live in unacceptably poor conditions without access to health services. The camp accommodates about 1,180 persons, mostly women, children and elderly people. Tirik Osman Mohamed, a member of the Tawakal camp committee, said there was no health facility in the camp, and women in childbirth and other emergency cases could only get treatment by finding transport to hospital in Galkayo town. Bilan Abdi Halane, who looks after 18 children, said women were in particular danger due to the lack of accessible maternity services. “The most terrifying experience for me was when a young woman struggled in labour for three days and died on the way to the hospital,” she said. Dr Mohamed Hussein Aden, medical coordinator of Mudug regional hospital, said: “We are aware of the problems of people living in Tawakal camp, but we don’t have the capacity to take medical services there to treat each case.” Asked if there was a possibility of providing an ambulance vehicle to bring emergency cases to the hospital Dr Mohamed said they were hoping to be able to do so.

Puntland Speaker requests peaceful resolution to conflict

22 Jun- Source: Garowe Online- 212 words

Speaker of Puntland’s Parliament Abdirashid Mohamed Hersi requested that clan fighting in Karaar and Bari region cease imploring that the clans evoke the previous peace agreement, Garowe Online reports. Two clans who reside in Bari and Karaar region in north eastern Puntland have been clashing during the week dissolving the previous peace talks brokered by Puntland President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole and other government officials. Speaker Abdirashid who held a press conference at the parliament building in Garoweon Saturday requested that the clans stop the conflict and reach a peaceful agreement.

Somali government slaps heavy charges on illegal fishing companies

23 Jun- Source: Radio Shabelle- 127 words

The federal government of Somalia has decided to charge huge amounts of money on any illegal ships that are found at the country’s coastline. This follows as international fishing companies illegally fish at the country’s long coastline exploit resources without seeking permission from the authorities. Somalia’s mineral resources minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed who addressed the Somalia’s parliament warned international fishing companies which exploit the countries fisheries. The minister added that Somalia’s long coastline has been exploited for decades by international fishing fleets as there was no government to watch over it.

Somaliland: Berbera port assistant General Manager resigns

23 Jun- Source: Somaliland Informer- 94 words

Mustafe Ahmed Yusu “Mustafe Wahdad”, Berbera port assistant city General Manager has announced his resignation on Sunday and said that he fallout with his boss. The assistant manager has cited reasons for his departure that it became very hard to work with the port’s General Manager. The resigned assistant Manager has held press conference in the port city of Berbera and scathingly accused Mr. Ali Weasel Weasel that he neglected to discharge the national duty bestowed upon him by the head of state and engaged in hypocrisy.

REGIONAL MEDIA

IGAD member states to combat militia groups jointly

23 Jun- Source: Daily Nation- 432 words

The Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) will cooperate in the fight against militia groups that have launched cross border attacks in the region, a senior official said on Saturday. IGAD Executive Secretary Mahabub Maalim told journalists in Nairobi that this is due to the fact that some of the militia groups operate across borders and have been inflicting atrocities in member countries. “Some of the militia groups have multiple identities across the borders and so member states will have to upgrade regional cooperation,” Maalim said when IGAD signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The Consulting House.

Kenyan Navy gets Sh21m boost from British government

23 Jun- Source: Star- 200 words

Patrol and surveillance of the Kenyan Coastline by the Navy has received a major boost after the British government flagged off a Sh21 million support project. British high commissioner to Kenya Christian Turner yesterday handed over a three-year deal that will see the Navy benefit in marine patrol training and support from the UK. Speaking during the handing over ceremony at the Kenya Navy Mtongwe base, Tuner said the move is part of UK’s support in the fight against piracy in the Indian Ocean.

Aid agencies start projects to feed internal refugees in Somaliland

22 Jun- Source: East African- 436 words

In Ainabo, about 400km from the Somaliland capital Hargeisa, half of the population is comprised of internal refugees displaced by conflict and drought. Hassan Sa’ed, the mayor of Oog, a small town within Ainabo, says the resources in the area have been strained by the influx of the IDPs. “Our main needs are water and pasture,” he said. “But we, the host community, and the IDPs are also in dire need of health and educational facilities, and a means of earning a livelihood.

Iraq FM to assist in starting Somali embassy in Baghdad

21 Jun- Source: Iraqi News- 117 words

The Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari discussed with the Somali Charge d’affaires, Khadija Al-Makhzoumi, bilateral relations between Iraq and Somalia. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry pointed out in a statement received by Iraqi News (IraqiNews.com) “Zebari, during a meeting with the Somali official, discussed bilateral relations between the two countries,” noting that “Zebari expressed his ministry’s readiness to provide all necessary facilitations to open a Somali embassy in Iraq.” For her part, Al-Makhzoumi, according to the statement of the Foreign Ministry, thanked Zebari and briefed him on the situation in Somalia.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Britain builds £14m prison in Somalia

23 Jun- Source: the Sun- 167 words

Britain is spending £14 million on a jail to lock up terrorists and pirates — in Somalia. Taxpayers’ money will also go to fund mobile criminal courts in lawless states currently plagued by al Qaeda. The prison in Mogadishu will ensure dangerous warlords are kept behind bars. It will also make it easier for Britain to deport foreign criminals and terror suspects. More than 400 Somali criminals are in UK jails because there is nowhere to detain them back home in Africa.

Grenade attack in Kenya kills 10

23 Jun- Source: BBC/AFP- 155 words

A grenade attack has killed at least 10 people in the north-east of Kenya, close to the Somalia and Ethiopia borders. More than 12 people were injured in the attack, some 30km (18 miles) from the town of Banisa, in Mandera county. One report said it happened in a camp for displaced people.

Six al Shabaab members killed in internal clashes

21 Jun- Source: Business Ghana -207 words

Six members of a Somali militant were killed Thursday in internal violence in Barawe, a port town south of Mogadishu under the group’s control, witnesses said, one day after the group attacked a UN compound. The internal warfare was a sign of worsening tensions within the al Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab militant. Signs have been growing of a split with an alliance forming against leader Ahmed Abdi Godane. Two of the dead militants were foreigners, residents said by telephone.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“The failure to undermine the legitimate grievances in Kismayo carries a staggering cost: Somalia at war with itself again, at war with its neighbors, and at war, once again, with al Shabaab.”

The Cost Of Ignoring The Kismayo Crisis

21 June- Source: Hiiraan Online-1111 Words

Though often caricatured as a violent failed state, over the last year Somalia has reached a state of relative calm. Despite this week’s heinous bombing of a UN compound in Mogadishu, the al Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group al Shabaab, which once controlled vast areas of the country, is now in retreat. Piracy has also dwindled dramatically and now, according to a new report, is less significant than the growing problem in the Gulf of Guinea. The international community is also showing increasing confidence in the country: the UK has just re-opened its embassy in Mogadishu and US government has provided the stamp of diplomatic recognition for the newly formed Federal Government. But despite this modicum of progress, there remain many unresolved issues threatening the country’s future. One of the most troubling is the growing debate over the status of Kismayo, Somalia’s third city.

“The prolonged civil war changed everything for Somali youth. Hopeless, they became prey to a host of unscrupulous warlords, politicians and religious fanatics. Hundreds of young Somalis are today languishing in jails all overall the world.”

Youth of Somalia: From heroes to criminals and victims

20 June- Source: Pampazuka/All Africa-1943 Words

It is hard to mull over the history of Somali Youth and not first feel pride and then despair and sadness because of the bright past and tragic present. First, thanks to the mass mobilization and effective leadership of a small group of young Somalis, the British Somaliland protectorate and Italian Somaliland trusteeship gained their independence and formed the Republic of Somalia on July 1, 1960. On May 13, 1943, a group of thirteen young Somalis got together and decided to form a political organization called Somali Youth Club (SYC) later renamed Somali Youth League (SYL) on May 15, 1947. They penned down the indelible principles of their political platform based on nationalism, unity, education, equality and justice for a prosperous and strong Somalia which was divided at that time into five parts under different colonial powers as a result of Berlin Conference of 1884-85 on the scramble for Africa.