March 2, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Four Somali Soldiers Killed In Roadside Bomb Outside Capital
01 March – Source: Hiiraan Online – 190 Words
Four Somali military soldiers were killed and three others were wounded when a roadside bomb destroyed a military vehicle travelling to the agricultural town of Afgoye, near Mogadishu, officials said Tuesday.The blast occurred as the soldiers were on their way to a military camp in the town where Al-Shabaab targeted with major attacks last months. Security officials said that several suspected militants were arrested at the scene in connection with the blast which largely destroyed the military pick up.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, however, the Al-Qaeda linked Al Shabab continues to carry out steady attacks on Somali troops and African Union forces backing them in fighting militants in Somalia.
Despite being ousted from large swathes in south and central Somalia, the Al Shabab group continues to carry out guerilla attacks across Somalia, in the face of a major military offensive that saw troops seized most of militants’ key strongholds often carries out such attacks.Somali prime minister had vowed his government would oust militants from the areas still under their in 2016, a year the government proposed to hold a presidential election.
Key Headlines
- Four Somali Soldiers Killed In Roadside Bomb Outside Capital (Hiiraan Online)
- Galmudug Forces Battle Al-Shabaab In Southern Mudug (Wacaal Media)
- Karkaar Women Ask Jubbaland To Release Detained Elders (Wacaal Media)
- Intelligence And Police Chiefs Turn Down Somali Federal Parliament’s Call (Goobjoog News)
- Interim South West Administration Seeks AMISOM’s Intervention In Reconciling Warring Clans and Cushioning Communities Against Al Shabaab (AMISOM)
- IOM Uses New Technology to Respond to Increasing Food Insecurity in Puntland Somalia (Relief Web)
- Meet Ilhan Omar Who Could Be The First Somali- American Woman Elected To Public Office (Fusion.net)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Galmudug Forces Battle Al-Shabaab In Southern Mudug
01 March – Source: Wacaal Media- 67 Words
Reports reaching our news desk indicate Galmudug forces today battled Al-shabaab at El-Abdi and Aad locations of southern Mudug. The battle came after Galmudug forces launched an offensive against the militants raiding their camps in these rural towns. El-Abdi and Aad fall under Harardheere town of Mudug region and recently witnessed bloody clashes between local residents and Al-shabaab over collection of Zakat – Islamic levy on wealth.
Karkaar Women Ask Jubbaland To Release Detained Elders
01 March – Source: Wacaal Media- 92 Words
Women from Karkaar region of Puntland have asked the Jubbaland administration to unconditionally release three people including two elders currently being held in Kismayu. Those in detention are Sultan Mohamed Gele Omar, Caqil Abdullahi Bille Said and Drs. Idil Abdikarim and it was not clear why they were being held.Converging at a local hotel, the women said those arrested were innocent and demanded their immediate release asking the Jubbaland administration to stop interfering with the affairs of the Harti clan in Jubbaland. The women also demanded an apology from the administration.
Intelligence And Police Chiefs Turn Down Somali Federal Parliament’s Call
01 March – Source: Goobjoog News- 92 Words
Somali intelligence and police chiefs missed to turn up today’s scheduled meeting with Somali legislature for unspecified reasons following the assembly’s call for grilling.The two chiefs Abdirhman Turyare, National Intelligence and Security Agency director and General Mohmmad Sheikh Hamud Somali Police commander were invited by Federal parliament to take questions about the national security.
The federal security Minister Abdirzaq Omar Mohammad briefed the parliament on the latest development of security situaation in the country and said he came to take all necessary questions about security from MPs. Parliament angered by the snub of the police and intelligence chiefs rejected to question the minister and called private session to deliberate what will the next step for Parliament. Federal Parliament did not issue any statement what could be next for the affair with security chiefs. Meanwhile security meeting chaired by the Somali president Hassan Shiekh Mahmoud took place at the presidential palace to address the urgent security matters in the country.
Interim South West Administration Seeks AMISOM’s Intervention In Reconciling Warring Clans and Cushioning Communities Against Al Shabaab
01 March – Source: AMISOM – 487 Words
The Interim South West Administration (ISWA) and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) are making concerted and sustained efforts at degrading Al Shabaab from the Lower Shabelle region.ISWA Minister of Interior Mr. Abdirahman Ibrahim Aden accompanied by Governor of Lower Shabelle Mr. Ibrahim Aden Ali and a respected elder Sultan Aliyow Warsame, held a meeting at AMISOM headquarters on Tuesday 1 March 2016 with officials from the Political Unit, to seek enhanced protection of communities living in the region from Al Shabaab attacks. They also sought help with reconciliation efforts among the warring clans.The meeting discussed progress made in areas that are experiencing relative peace such as Qoryoley and Barawe but also focused on areas experiencing intermittent security breakdown such as Marka and Afgooye
.Both AMISOM and the ISWA delegation were in agreement that the situation in the Lower Shabelle region was of great concern. The ISWA Minister of Interior stressed the importance of troop integration, composition and formation of a strong Somali National Army and Somali Police Force.“ISWA has done a lot for the community in the short time it has existed. AMISOM has also been supporting the ISWA community programs all along. We work with AMISOM Sector 1 and Sector 3. AMISOM Sector 3 has partnered with us and done a lot for South West State, for example training of troops as well as carrying out security operations. In Lower Shebelle AMISOM has equally done a great job but we didn’t get the same opportunity in Bay and Bakool regions due the pressure from the enemy. We are requesting for recruitment of troops from the local communities. We also ask that areas still under the control of Al Shabaab be liberated,” he stated.
On his part, Governor Aden Ali pleaded for more support from AMISOM and the international community in addressing security challenges in the middle Shabelle region.“We need a lot of support, advice and partnerships because ISWA is a new administration which is just over a year old. We are also working in a region with multifaceted challenges; for instance my administration was named 3 months ago. We need advice, collaboration and close working relationship with both the community and AMISOM. As the leaders, we are the link between the community and AMISOM and we want to forge a closer relationship between the two. We have requested for training of local police in every district to enhance security,” he said. Elder Sultan Aliyow Warsame Ibrow spoke of the need for a fact-finding mission to unearth the causes of the clan conflicts in the region. “The need for a fact finding mission to find the root cause of the clan disputes in Marka is important. It is only then that real reconciliation can take place,” stressed the elder
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
IOM Uses New Technology to Respond to Increasing Food Insecurity in Puntland, Somalia
01 March – Source: Relief Web- 190 Words
IOM is supporting the Puntland Ministry of Agriculture to introduce roll planter technology in the Onqor area, south of Bossaso, with the intended goal of increasing food production among internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host community members and introduce more efficient farming techniques.
The ground-breaking project, which was launched in November 2015, is the first of its kind in Bossaso and seeks to combine new technology with traditional farming practices and determine whether it can be replicated in other parts of Puntland.
Mohamed Abdalla Waberi, Regional Agriculture Officer said: “Unlike our traditional farming techniques, the roll planter requires minimal amounts of water; is not harmful to the environment, and protects plants from insects. Many farmers in Bossaso stand to improve their livelihoods.”
Amina Shire Ahmed (45), a mother of six, was one of the farmers who was introduced to the roll planter technology. “I learned many new things at the training, and if you come to my small farm, you will see the difference. My plants grow faster with less water, and I spend less time on the farm,” she said.
This project is funded by the Government of Japan.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“My initial memories of the refugee camp are that we didn’t have adequate water, food, and shelter. And the inability to access education. And the loss of stability and a sense of normalcy. My dad, a single father, would tell us that one day, we were going to America and that all of that would change because we would have access to free education, economic security, and America was the place that we were all going to blend in and that some day we would all become Americans and we would have access to everything that was available to Americans. That was the dream,”
Meet Ilhan Omar, Who Could Be The First Somali- American Woman Elected To Public Office
01 March – Source: Fusion.net – 1516 Words
Ilhan Omar, 33, is a Somali-American refugee, and she’s running to be a state representative in Minnesota. She was 14 years old when she began taking her Somali grandfather to state caucuses, acting as his translator. After earning her degree in political science and international studies at North Dakota State University, she’s worked in local politics for the past 10 years.
In 2014, she was physically attacked by eight men while serving as the Vice Chair for her senate district at a Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party caucus, after she says she tried to enforce caucus voting rules. Despite that, she’s returning to caucus this year as a candidate, running to represent Minneapolis House District 60B. If she’s elected, she may be the first Somali-American Muslim woman to be elected to public office.Omar spoke to us on the eve of Super Tuesday about being a woman of color in politics, about what she wants to do for her community, and returning to politics after being attacked. The following has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Being attacked wasn’t a deterrent for me. I don’t think I looked at it as a thing where I needed to step back or distance myself from this process. Every single election cycle I make a request of people who have dealt with this system that has been oppressive for a lot of minority communities for over 100 years: I ask them to believe in the system and to work and make the effort in changing it, because things are changeable in this country. Our democracy allows us to be active and to be full participants and to make the process work for us. And so for me to say that because this one thing happened to me that I am going to step back is sort of doing disservice and being hypocritical. And that wasn’t something I was interested in.
My daughter [who was 11 years old at the time] said to me, “Mommy it’s really important that you go back to work tomorrow morning, and that you actually arrive super early, with all your scars and everything, and people get to see you, and that they don’t get to win. They don’t get to have control over you—know what you’re capable of.” And so I started sobbing and I knew that no matter how much pain I was in and that fact that I suffered a concussion and could barely remember my name that I needed to go to work the next day—for the people who were involved in this process, who worked with me at city hall. I was very adamant that I went to work and I sat in the committees and made sure that they saw me and that they knew that they couldn’t silence me, and that I was stronger than they think I am.