June 26, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Former Banadir Ward Officials Arrested In Connection Of Al-Shabaab
25 June – Source: Goobjooge.com – 161 Words
Five previous ward officials, who served in the Yaaqshiid District administration, were arrested in connection with Al-Shabaab and on suspicion of being involved in the recent murder of one of their successors. Upon being sacked, the detained officials allegedly threatened their successors with death. One of the new ward officials was subsequently killed during Ramadan in a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack that targeted his vehicle.
The five are currently held at the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) Godka Jili’iow detention where they are undergoing questioning. They have been identified as Abdikarin Ali, former head of Yaaqshiid’s first ward, Heegan, Abdi Hajir, former head of the second ward, Horseed, Salah Omar Hayow, former head of the third ward, Juungal, Abdi Mahad Hassan Sangaab, former head of the fifth ward, Kowda Luulyo, and Farah Addani Mohamed, former head of the sixth ward, Tawakal. Yaaqshiid District is one of the few Banadir districts where the militant group Al-Shabaab is still relatively efficient and active.
Key Headlines
- Former Banadir Ward Officials Arrested In Connection Of Al-Shabaab (Goobjooge.com)
- MPs Vote To Make Adaado Parliamentary Headquarters (Goobjoog News)
- Galmudug State Detains A Local Journalist In Galkayo (Halbeeg News)
- UAE Delivers Aid To 30000 People In Somalia (The Gulf Today)
- Mandera County Pays The Economic Cost Of Somali Border Closure (Business Daily)
- Somaliland And Puntland Border Dispute Rages On (The East African)
NATIONAL MEDIA
MPs Vote To Make Adaado Parliamentary Headquarters
25 June – Source: Goobjoog News – 130 Words
Galmudug Members of Parliament unanimously endorsed Adaado as the parliamentary seat for the regional state. Forty six members of Parliament participated in the voting session that saw the endorsement of Adaado as the main parliamentary seat for Galmudug regional state. According to a Goobjoog News correspondent, all 46 MPs voted in support of the agenda for the day, which was to confirm Adaado’s status as the headquarter of the state’s Parliament.
Meanwhile, Galmudug Parliament urged the Federal Government of Somalia to intervene in the ongoing political dispute within the top leadership of the regional state. Galmudug Vice President, Mohamed Hashi and the Speaker of Parliament Ali Ga’al Abdi are expected to travel to Mogadishu to take part in a reconciliation meeting that is being organised by the Federal Government.
Galmudug State Detains A Local Journalist In Galkayo
25 June – Source: Halbeeg News – 152 Words
Security forces of Galmudug state in central Somalia have detained a local journalist, who operates in Galkayo, the headquarters of Mudug region. The journalist, identified as Ahmed Khalif Gedi, works for a privately owned RTN TV headquartered in the Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The forces are holding the journalist at the police station where they have launched investigation into his case. The security officials of Galmudug state declined to give details of the reasons behind the journalist’s detention.
Independent sources in the region attribute Gedi’s arrest to a report he prepared on roadblocks set by militias between Galinsor and Galkayo. There are a number of illegal roadblocks set by armed local militias, who extort money from owners of vehicles plying along the main road in the region. Local journalists in region called on the administration to free the journalist.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
UAE Delivers Aid To 30,000 People In Somalia
26 June – Source: The Gulf Today – 147 Words
The Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation has distributed 824 tonnes of food items to 6,000 families — around 30,000 people — in the drought-stricken area of Jubaland in Somalia.
The food aid was distributed as part of the Foundation’s first phase of relief assistance this season and is in line with the directives of President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Chairman of the Khalifa Foundation.
A spokesperson from the organisation said the humanitarian assistance aims to alleviate the burdens of the Somali people in the face of the severe drought affecting the area. The aid was distributed in cooperation with local authorities.
Mandera County Pays The Economic Cost Of Somali Border Closure
25 June – Source: Business Daily – 945 Words
When Kenya closed its border with Somalia in 2014, most Mandera County residents thought it was a short-term measure to curb Shabaab terror attacks. This, however, was not to be the case. Besides the restricted movement of people and goods, the continued closure of the Kenya-Somalia border has affected legitimate businesses in the town.
This has raised the cost of goods and reduced revenue earnings for the county. Hassan Ali Hassan, a businessman in Mandera town, says the local community has paid the price of the move through loss of their business. Before 2014, most businesses in Mandera and Elwak, the two major commercial centres in the vast county, relied on Mogadishu for supplies. “We used to import goods for our shops from the Kismayu port in Somalia and paid tax at the main points in Mandera town and Elwak,” he said.
The shorter distance between Mandera and Mogadishu, compared with Nairobi or Mombasa, made the traders prefer sourcing their goods from the neighbouring country. “It is only 600 kilometres to Mogadishu from Mandera unlike the 1,200 kilometres to Nairobi to get supplies for our shops,” he said.
Goods from Somalia are cheaper compared to same merchandise coming from Nairobi. Mandera, Somalia’s Bulahawa and Ethiopia’s Suftu are conjoined towns that tell a story of same people, same culture but different states. “Closing the border opened an avenue for police to make money from imports coming in through dubious means,” says Mr Hassan.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The two authorities bitterly dispute the ownership of Sool and Sanag in northern Somalia and their two armies have used all sorts of weapons since early May in repeated confrontations at Tukaraq District, about 1,100km northwest of Mogadishu.”
Somaliland And Puntland Border Dispute Rages On
25 June – Source: The East African – 406 Words
The duel between Somaliland and Puntland seems to be far from ending, with each asserting their ownership of the disputed Sool in the latest altercation. Somaliland Information minister Abdurahman Abdullahi Guri-Barwaqo has reacted strongly to Puntland’s claim to the disputed region.
Briefing the Press in Hargeisa, about 1,600km northwest of the Somali capital Mogadishu, Mr Guri-Barwaqo stated that Puntland’s claim was a breach of Somaliland’s sovereignty. The president of Puntland, Dr Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gas, on Saturday stated that Sool was part of his territory.
Somaliland, which unilaterally declared independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991, claims the former British Somaliland Protectorate, which joined with the former Italian Somalia to form the Republic of Somalia on July 1, 1960. President Gas, while addressing the semi-autonomous authority’s parliament in Garowe town, 1,000km northeast of Mogadishu, reiterated that Sool and Sanag were part and parcel of Puntland.
He justified his statement insisting that the clans in the two regions were closely related to the others the in Puntland. “There is no such a thing as Somaliland borders. The inhabitants of Sool and Sanag regions belong to Puntland,” said President Gas. He said further that the British left the region a long time ago and their administrative units could not be allowed to divide the local clans.