March 14, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

AU troops look beyond Mogadishu

14 Mar – Source: IOL News – 547 words

The African Union’s peacekeeping force in Somalia hopes to drive Somali Islamist militants out of the country’s central and southern regions by August, when the United Nations-backed government’s mandate expires, Uganda’s top army general said on Tuesday.

Since its inception in 2007, the force, known as AMISOM, has focused its military campaign against al-Shabaab rebels on the capital, Mogadishu.

Key Headlines

President Sharif travels to Addis Ababa for talks with Meles Zenawi (Source: Radio Bar-kulan)
UN Official: Give Somalia children protection education to bring peace after decades of war (Source: AP/Washington Post)
AU troops look beyond Mogadishu (Source: IOL News)
2nd phase of Abudwak airstrip renovation kicks off ( Source: Radio Bar-kulan)
KDF to take critical duties in AMISOM (Source: Star (Nairobi)
Turkey to rehabilitate urban infrastructure in Somalia (Source: World Bulletin)
Somalia insurgents expel aid group Save the Children say organization gave out expired food(Source: The Washington Post /AP)

SOMALI MEDIA

President Sharif travels to Addis Ababa for talks with Meles Zenawi

13 Mar – Source: Radio Bar-kulan, Radio Mogadishu – 144 words

Somalia’s president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Tuesday travelled to Addis Ababa following a formal invitation from the Ethiopian government. During his stay in Addis Ababa, the president will hold talks with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on a range of issues including bilateral relations between the two countries, according to Abdirahim Abdikarim, State minister for the Somali presidential palace.

TFG re-assures its support to Khatumo state, letter says

13 Mar – Source: Raxanreeb – 196 words

The Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia Transitional government as well the Minister of Agriculture Mohamed Mahamud Haji Ibrahin re-assured today that the government will continue to support and recognize the new born state of Khatumo in the north of Somalia. The deputy PM for the TFG declared his decision in an official letter from his office which dated on 10th March 2012.

President Farole meets with clan leaders in Gardo

13 Mar – Source: Garowe Online – 209 words

President Abdirahman Mohamed Farole who visited Gardo on Monday mainly to calm growing tension between two clans in the region, had a closed door meeting with respective clan leaders in Gardo on Tuesday, Garowe Online reports.

Farole had a closed door meeting with clan leaders, religious leaders and community leaders in the region and spent many hours discussing how and why the conflict began and how a peaceful resolution could be reached.

Elders condemn al Shabaab’s wedding attack in Middle Shabelle

13 Mar – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 128 words

Elders in Run-nirgod settlement, Middle Shabelle region, have strongly condemned al Shabaab militant group for allegedly attacking a wedding ceremony in the area on Sunday night, where at least two people were killed and several other injured. Elders who sought anonymity for fear of reprisals told Bar-kulan that heavily armed militants fired at innocent people playing a local dance popularly known as “Shirib” at the ceremony.

Puntland Health Minister visits Dahar

13 Mar – Source: Garowe Online – 287 words

Puntland Health Minister Dr. Ali Abdullahi Warsame and his delegation visited Dahar, the capital city of Haylan region.

The minister and his delegation were warmly received by a huge number of Dahar residents that included clan leaders, district authorities and different civil society groups.

2nd phase of Abudwak airstrip renovation kicks off

13 Mar – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 140 words

The second phase of the renovation of Abudqwak airfield has officially kicked off today in Abudwak town, Galgadud region, officials say. Ahlu Sunna’s Deputy District Commissioner, Ahmed Adan Dhere told Bar-kulan that the process is now underway, adding that they intend to turn the airstrip into an international Airport to accommodate large airlines.

A construction company owned by a member of the Somali parliament, Osman Hassan Ali Atto is currently undertaking the renovation initiative which is aimed to be concluded the soonest possible, according to Dhere. The ASWJ authorities in the district have been appealing to the diaspora people who have roots in the region to help them restore this airstrip into its original face.

REGIONAL MEDIA

KDF to take critical duties in AMISOM

13 Mar – Source: Star (Nairobi) – 383 words

Kenya Defence Force will now assume more critical duties within Amisom as it officially becomes part of the African Union troops fighting al Shabaab. Following an intergovernmental meeting of senior officials and military officers held in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, senior officers from KDF will be led by an officer of the rank of a Lieutenant General. He will be assisted by two deputies, one in charge of operations and the other in charge of personnel and logistics.

Al Shabaab denies Kenya blast

13 Mar – Source: Africa Review – 171 words

Somali Islamists have denied being behind Saturday’s grenade blasts in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, in which at least six people were killed. The militant al Shabaab “bears no responsibility whatsoever for the turbulence”, a press release says. Kenya’s Internal Security Minister George Saitoti had accused the group of throwing four grenades from a passing car at a busy bus station.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

UN Official: Give Somalia children protection, education to bring peace after decades of war

13 Mar – Source: AP/Washington Post – 696 words

Adan Abdi worries that the students in his class show too little interest in education. That might be a common complaint among teachers, but Abdi’s concerns go further: His students are interested in playing war. Abdi is a teacher in southern Somalia, a region that has been dominated by militia violence for years.

AU troops look beyond Mogadishu

14 Mar – Source: IOL News – 547 words

Since its inception in 2007, the force, known as AMISOM, has focused its military campaign against al-Shabaab rebels on the capital, Mogadishu.

Somalia insurgents expel aid group Save the Children, say organization gave out expired food

13 Mar – Source: The Washington Post /AP- 136 words

Al-Qaida-linked Somali insurgents say they are expelling British aid group Save the Children from areas under their control.

A Tuesday statement from the al-Shabab militia says Save the Children distributed 4,470 cartons of expired porridge to children, was corrupt and offered bribes.

Save the Children officials were not immediately available for comment.

South Africa opens Somalia diplomatic ties

13 Mar – Source: CBC News – 119 words
South Africa says it is establishing its first diplomatic relations with Somalia in hopes it can assist in the war torn east African nation’s search for peace and democracy.
The South African Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane reached an agreement to exchange diplomats with her Somali counterpart in that country’s transitional government.

Turkey to rehabilitate urban infrastructure in Somalia

13 Mar – Source: World Bulletin – 128 words

Turkish Red Crescent and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality will rehabilitate urban infrastructure of Somali capital of Mogadishu, which has turned into a ruin due to the civil war and famine.

A solid waste treatment facility and a concrete facility will be constructed in Mogadishu within the scope of a project to reconstruct the capital city.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Contrary to our expectations, our President has yet to display any of the qualities that you would expect from a true leader of authority and wisdom. Instead his Excellency has mutated into alamb, soft and timid, in the face of the very excesses he was supposed to challenge, while yet roaring like a lion against his own people, the very constituency that brought him into office.”

Puntland; All Talk No Action

13 Mar- Source: Raxanreeb-1336 Words

January 8, 2009 was an extraordinary day for Puntland and so it was for mudane Abdirahman Mohamed Farole. After years of a downward spiral, a change of direction became inevitable and that was the day our people ushered in Abdirahman Farole as Puntland’s fourth President.

To judge for yourself my dear readers just how excited we Puntlanders were on that day let me please draw your attention to a short article that I posted on this very site

To be fair, what our new President inherited January 8, 2009 was not a Puntland that was intact nor was it a functioning state by any sense of the word.Rather it was a leftover of sorts and our new President’s primary assignment was to pick up the remaining pieces…And bring back home the stolen goods…Not the best of legacies, you’ll agree, but that was a legacy our President came into freely and without coercion. In other words, our President knew exactly what he was getting into. It was our understanding that anyone who moved into this house was coming in first and foremost as a humble servant of the people. What Puntland needed then (and still needs) was a statesman of high caliber who knew exactly what his job demanded of him.

Is Somalia’s Peace in London?

13 Mar- Source: Book Diplomacy-178 Words

A recent conference held in London aimed to bring global attention to the crisis plagued state of Somalia. Various donor groups, Somali politicians, and regional allies gathered in London to discuss the troubled country that is garnering increased international attention.

The Guardian is reporting that the British government is considering air strikes on Al Shabab and the United Nations voted to send 5,700 peacekeepers to Somalia. The fear of Western governments is that Somalia expatriates in their countries will continue to live without hope of peace, making them recruits for Al Qaeda or pirates.

Although a big conference in London may make good headlines, I doubt that Western governments have the political will to do anything about Somalia, particularly with so much on domestic agendas. Somalia needs a complex exercise in nation building and peace keeping that will likely cost millions.

I’m not sure if heavily indebted Western powers have the stomach for such activity considering that fifteen years of the same problems have compelled little more than nice rhetoric. The people of Somalia deserve better than words.