March 23, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Deadly Car Bomb Blast Rocks Somalia’s Capital Mogadishu
22 March – Source: Aljazeera – 231 Words
At least 14 people have been killed in a car bomb blast outside a popular hotel in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, according to a government official. The explosion on Thursday happened near Weheliye hotel on the busy Maka-Al-Mukarrama Road. A spokesman for the Somali interior ministry confirmed the death toll to Al Jazeera, adding that 10 others were wounded in the blast.
Witnesses at the scene said the powerful blast struck a street filled with civilians. “Most of the casualties were people who were spending time to take tea, there was devastation and buildings were damaged,” Mohamednur Abdirahman told AFP News Agency. “The blast was so huge, a vehicle containing explosives went off near a tea shop in front of Weheliye hotel, leaving more than 10 people dead. I saw people being rushed to hospital and some of them were already dead,” another witness, Abdulahi Moalim, told AFP.
The attack was claimed by al-Shabaab, Reuters news agency reported, citing the armed group’s military operation spokesman. Al-Shabab, which is fighting to overthrow Somalia’s internationally recognised government, is frequently carrying out attacks in and around the capital. The east African country continues to grapple with a delicate security situation. An African Union Mission to Somalia (known as AMISOM) is expected to withdraw its last troops by 2020. Thursday’s attack comes about a month after a twin car bombing in Mogadishu left 38 people killed.
Key Headlines
- Deadly Car Bomb Blast Rocks Somalia’s Capital Mogadishu (Al-Jazeera)
- Somalia Invites Four African Presidents To Visit Mogadishu (Halbeeg News)
- Four Killed In A Clan Revenge Attack In Laanta Buuro Lower Shabelle
- East African Ministers Work To End Somalia’s Refugee Crisis (Xinhuanet)
- Genel Might Starting Drilling In Somaliland in 2019 – CEO (Reuters)
- Invisibilia: They Risked Their Lives To Bring Music Back (National Public Radio)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somalia Invites Four African Presidents To Visit Mogadishu
22 March – Source: Halbeeg News – 194 Words
The presidents from Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda and Gabon will make their first state visit to Somalia since 1990s, Foreign Ministry said. Mr. Ahmed Issa Awad, Somali Foreign Minister, made the announcement on Wednesday during his stay in Kigali, Rwanda. “On the sidelines of the mini-meetings at the AU summit in #Kigali, #Somalia has extended an official invitation to the presidents of #Rwanda, #South Africa, #Gabon and #Ghana to visit the country,” said Awad in his twitter post.
The Minister said enhancing co-operation and partnership would be discussed during the presidents’ visit. Mr. Awad noted that he held separate fruitful talks with President Mr.Paul Kigame of Rwanda, Kenyan President, Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta, Djibouti’s leader, Mr. Ismail Osman Gueleh, South Africa’s president Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, and among others. He said, Somalia is looking forward to strong multilateral engagements and enhancing partnerships to improve country’s relations with countries in the region, as well as the whole continent. Mr. Awad who was attending the conference for the African Continental Free Trade in Kigali city, on behalf of Somali President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, signed the protocol paving the way for the establishment of the new trade bloc.
Four Killed In A Clan Revenge Attack In Laanta Buuro, Lower Shabelle
22 March – Source: Jowhar.com – 108 Words
Four people have reportedly died when gunmen ambushed a passenger vehicle travelling in Laanta Buuro area in Lower Shabelle killing four civilians and abducting three others. The gunmen waylaid the vehicle and then shot dead four of its occupants, according to area residents who spoke to the local media. The incident has been related to a recent killing of a woman in Lower Shabelle. In recent years conflict between two of the area clans have affected the free movement between Afgooye and Marka area. The region has recently seen a rise in clan conflict. Security agencies and regional administration officials are yet to comment on this latest incident.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
East African Ministers Work To End Somalia’s Refugee Crisis
22 March – Source: Xinhuanet – 396 Words
Security ministers drawn from Eastern Africa region on Thursday renewed support for far-reaching interventions aimed at ending the refugee crisis in Somalia. The InterGovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) ministers who met in Nairobi to review progress in the implementation of a regional pact on finding durable solution to the refugee crisis in Somalia vowed to mobilize resources and political capital to realize that goal.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Internal Security Fred Matiangi stressed that robust financing, partnerships and political goodwill is key to sustaining progress achieved in reducing the suffering of an estimated 900,000 Somalia refugees scattered in the region. “I’m confident that with concerted relentless efforts, we will eventually meet all our pledges and ultimately deliver our promise for durable solution to Somali refugees,” said Matiangi in a speech read on his behalf by the Chief Administrative Secretary in the Interior Ministry Patrick Ole Ntutu.
The security ministers were joined by representatives of UN and multilateral lending agencies to review progress in the implementation of Nairobi Declaration and Action Plan adopted by Heads of State from the region in March last year to find long-term solution to refugee crisis in Somalia. Matiangi hailed progress that has been achieved since the adoption of the regional pact to end the refugee challenge in Somalia that has worsened against a backdrop of clan based skirmishes, terrorism and climatic shocks. It is gratifying to note that remarkable progress has been registered over the past one year towards realization of the objectives of the Nairobi Declaration and comprehensive plan of Action,” Matiangi said. “We commend the Federal Government of Somalia for measures taken to create conditions for safe, sustainable and voluntary return of refugees,” he added.
Matiangi noted that restoration of civil authority, economic recovery reconciliation and response to natural disasters has improved the plight of Somalia refugees. He reiterated Kenya’s commitment to transforming the lives of an estimated 450,000 Somalia refugees living in the country through provision of basic education, health, vocational skills and employment. Pan African blocs have rallied behind home-grown solution to Somalia refugee crisis that has undermined stability and development in a significant portion of the continent. Mahboub Maalim, the Executive Secretary of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), noted that a holistic approach that combines humanitarian aid, provision of social services and security has enhanced the capacity of Somalia refugees to rebuild their lives.
Genel Might Starting Drilling In Somaliland in 2019 – CEO
22 March – Source: Reuters – 100 Words
Kurdistan-focused Genel Energy (GENL.L) might start drilling in Somaliland next year, Chief Executive Murat Ozgul said on Thursday, as the group reported 2017 results broadly in line with expectations. “For the long term, I really like (our) Somaliland exploration assets. It’s giving me a sense of Kurdistan 15 years ago,” Ozgul said in a phone interview. “In 2019 we may be (starting) the drilling activities.” Chief Financial Officer Esa Ikaheimonen said Genel will focus spending money from its $162 million cash pile on its existing assets in Kurdistan but added: “You might see us finding opportunities… somewhere outside Kurdistan.”
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Yes, my mom tried to stop me, told me you can get killed for this, but I told her, ‘It’s ok! Don’t stop me! What’s meant for me will happen!’ And she gave me the permission.” And so the morning of the audition Hassan put on her fanciest dress and carefully did her makeup. Obviously she was nervous. Who wouldn’t be on the day of a big audition?”
Invisibilia: They Risked Their Lives To Bring Music Back
21 March – Source: National Public Radio (NPR) – 2170 Words
Welcome to Invisibilia Season 4! The NPR program and podcast explores the invisible forces that shape human behavior, and we here at Goats and Soda are joining in for the podcast’s look at how a reality show in Somalia tried to do far more than crown a winning singer. The ultimate goal: to change human behavior. Once upon a time there was music in Somalia, but then the music started fading out. First one music radio station, then another, then another, until there was almost no music to hear and people started MacGyvering workarounds.
One of the people who came up with a workaround was Xawa Abdi Hassan, a young woman who lived in a village outside Mogadishu. “We used to use a memory card, fill the memory card with music and listen to it from our phones,” Hassan says. In her house, as she cooked and cleaned, Hassan would sing along with the great Somali singers. But even in this private space she says she was careful. “I used to turn the volume down low, so no one could hear it.”
The problem was al-Shabab, the Islamic extremist group that dominated large parts of the country. Al-Shabab didn’t like music. In 2009 it banned music at weddings, banished musical ringtones and starting punishing people who listened to music on their mobile phones by making them swallow their memory cards. Eventually the musicians themselves were targeted. The famous soloist Aden Hasan Salad was shot and killed in a tea shop, and others were murdered in the street.
Through all of that, Xawa Abdi Hassan kept listening and practicing. Because she had a dream: “I just wanted to sing and become an entertainer.” For most of her life though — because of al-Shabab — this was a pretty far-fetched dream. Then in 2013 an unexpected and interesting opportunity emerged: There was going to be a new reality television show in Somalia, an American Idol-style show with singers competing. “As soon as I heard about it I knew I wanted to join,” Hassan says. What she didn’t know — what she couldn’t possibly know — was that this reality show was part of a much larger political plan.
The plan was to create a musical reality show that could undermine the power of al-Shabab, or, in the language of the memo distributed to the people involved in the show’s creation, “undercut the messaging and brand appeal of armed extremist groups.” The United Nations, which was providing the money and support for the show, had concluded that a vivid display of Somali musical culture could serve “as a kind of inoculation against the austerity of Shabab,” Ben Parker told me. Parker was the head of communications for the U.N. in Mogadishu. He says that at this point — 2013 — al-Shabab had finally been pushed out of the capital, Mogadishu. But the situation in Somalia was far from stable.
There were still regular attacks, so the new government (which had U.N. backing) needed to prove to Somalis that the power of the extremist group really was fading. This is why, Parker says, a musical reality show that challenged the power of the music-hating group was so appealing. “The beauty of a reality show is that the form itself achieves some of your goals,” he explains. After all, not only is there music in a musical reality show, there’s democratic voting and individual expression. So even in its form it communicates to its audience a very different way of being.