March 27, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

AMISOM and Somali National Army capture Eel Buur Town

26 Mar – Source: AMISOM – 183 words

In an operation that lasted three days, Somali National Army backed by African Union forces captured the strategic town of Eel Buur town in Galgadud region of Somalia.

The joint forces left Galgadud headquarters, Dhusamareeb three days ago capturing a number of small towns on the way, these include Ceel-lahele, Ceel-Garas and Ceel-Qoxle. Al Shabaab ambushed the joint forces in several towns in desperate attempts to prevent AMISOM and SNA troops from reaching Eel buur but they were repulsed.

The African Union Special Representative for Somalia Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif said the capture of Eel Buur town is a welcome victory for Somali security forces and AMISOM.

“The joint operation undertaken by AMISOM and SNA is a great achievement worth celebrating. The people in the Galgadud region can now feel safe and begin to rebuild their lives unencumbered by the al Shabaab terrorists”.

This is the tenth major town that AMISOM and SNA have liberated since the offensive started a month ago. Yesterday, after 5 days on the road, African Union AMISOM troops and Somali Forces also captured Mahas town located in Galgadud region.

Key Headlines

Prime Minister meets with South Sudan special envoy (Office of the Prime Minister)
AU Somali Forces seize al Shabab’s biggest stronghold in central Somalia (Hiiraan Online)
Somali government urged to respect rights of Journalists (Bar-kulan)
Roadside explosion hits AMISOM vehicle in Kismayo (Garowe Online)
UAE Ambassador to Somalia Visits Puntland (Horseed Media/Puntland TV)
Kenya: Plan to Force 50000 Refugees Into Camps (Human Rights Watch)
Somalia May See Shell Return in 2015 as Soma Tests Waters (Bloomberg)

PRESS STATEMENT

AMISOM and Somali National Army capture Eel Buur Town

26 Mar – Source: AMISOM – 183 words

In an operation that lasted three days, Somali National Army backed by African Union forces captured the strategic town of Eel Buur town in Galgadud region of Somalia.

The African Union Special Representative for Somalia Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif said the capture of Eel Buur town is a welcome victory for Somali security forces and AMISOM.

Prime Minister meets with South Sudan special envoy

26 Mar – Source: Office of the Prime Minister – 204 words

His Excellency Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed today held a side meeting with special envoy for the Republic of South Sudan Minister Kwong Danhier Gatluak, to discuss the ongoing situation in South Sudan.

The Prime Minister reiterated that there is a moral responsibility for the safety and lives of all civilians. The pair highlighted the importance of humanitarian aid to be distributed in all regions of South Sudan including regions outside of government control and to continue the process of healing and reconciliation.

The Prime Minister and Special envoy also discussed their hopes for a more stabilized and developed Somalia. The Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed, said:

“As a government and a community we understand and sympathise with the ongoing conflict in South Sudan.

“I stress the urgency in which the international community needs to respond and mobilise in order to effectively respond to growing concerns over food shortages, which if not addressed could turn into a humanitarian crisis. All parties must ensure the safe delivery of humanitarian supplies to ensure they reach all communities in need.

“Somalia knows the impact the collapse of state institutions and law and order can have on a nation and emphasizes the importance of inclusive dialogue and reconciliation.”

SOMALI MEDIA

AU, Somali Forces seize al Shabab’s biggest stronghold in central Somalia

26 Mar – Source: Hiiraan Online – 117 words

The Somali National Army and the Ethiopian contingent of African Union Peacekeepers have on Wednesdayreclaimed the strategic City of Elbur in the central Galgadud region which is about 376 kilometres north of the capital Mogadishu. The allied forces happened to enter the city after engaging in a fierce fighting with al Shabaab militants in the Washaqo neighbourhood about three kilometres north of Elbur. “The situation is now calm, the Somali national Army and the AU peacekeepers entered the city at about 1: 30 PM local time” a Somali military official in the city told the media. The militants fled toward the village of Jacar which is about 52 kilometres from Elbur along the road to Mogadishu.

Roadside explosion hits AMISOM vehicle in Kismayo

26 Mar – Source: Garowe Online – 98 words

Roadside Improvised Explosive Device (IED) hit a vehicle carrying African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) peacekeepers in the southern port city of Kismayo on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports. The explosion occurred after the armored vehicle waded into a main field laid by unidentified assailants in Kismayo’s Dal’ada neighborhood, leading to volleys of gunfire that left one dead and three others wounded. “Shortly after the roadside bomb blast happened, I heard sounds of gunfire. A bystander died while three civilians sustained injuries,” said Kismayo resident.”The wounded are being treated at Kismayo General Hospital and security operations are underway”.

Somali government urged to respect rights of Journalists

26 Mar – Source: Bar-kulan – 128 words

Human Rights Commission for African Union (ACHPR) urged the federal government of Somalia and other opposing political parties to adhere to the rights of the media staff in a report withdrawn from the meeting of the commission held in Banjul the capital of Gambia. The commission denounced the ruthless crimes against the rights of the media in Somalia where sometimes journalists are killed while on duty. The commission also criticized the pressure imposed on the rights of the Somali national journalist federation members who advocates the rights of their fellow journalists. ACPHR Condemned the killings and all the other crimes committed against the journalists in Somalia and called on Somali federal Government and AMISOM to carry out investigations against those involved in the offenses committed against Somali journalists..

UAE Ambassador to Somalia Visits Puntland

26 Mar – Source: Horseed Media/Puntland TV – 84 words

A delegation led by the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Somalia Mohamed Al Osmani arrived in the Puntland’s port town of Bosaso on Wednesday. The Ambassador was warmly welcomed and received in the Bosaso airport by Puntland senior officials led by Puntland’s minister for Planning and International Co-operation Mr Ali Ahmed Fatah. Speaking to the media afterwards, the ambassador said that he is delighted to have reached Puntland and will be meeting the semi-autonomous region President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali to discuss on several issues.

Sharif Hassan back to Mogadishu

26 Mar – Source: Radio Goobjoog – 106 words

The former Speaker of the Transitional Parliament of Somalia Sharif Hassan sheikh Adan and delegates who have been in Baidoa the last few days came back to Mogadishu after angry protesters against his presence took to the streets of Baidoa. The protesters denied Sharif Hassan and delegates access to important areas of the town as they were planning to elect the leader of the three regional state in south west Somalia. To end the tensions and prevent further confrontations between the sides in Baidoa, the federal government of Somalia sent a special plane to airlift Sharif Hassan and his delegates to Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

REGIONAL MEDIA

AU forces capture town from Somali insurgents

26 Mar – Source: Africa Review – 174 words

The African Union peacekeepers in Somalia have confirmed capturing a town from the Islamic al Shabaab militants. The African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) spokesman, Col Ali Aden Hamud, confirmed that Eel Bur, 320km north of Mogadishu, in Galgadud region, had fallen into the hands of the pro-government forces after mid-day on Wednesday. The seizure was achieved following an offensive by Ethiopian troops together with the forces of the Somali National Army against fighters loyal to al Shabaab, the al Qaeda linked Islamist group. A couple of days earlier, the allied forces captured Mahas District in Hiran region, about 260km north of Mogadishu and only 60km west of Eel Bur town. The offensive waged over the last four days allowed the allied forced to seize several villages and pastoral lands, according to Mr Abdihakim Abdullahi Warsame, the Somali Government’s Deputy Governor of Galgadud region. “Since the 22nd of March, we have been clearing al Shabaab militants from Dusamareb (the regional capital) to Eel Bur. We have finally reached our target, which is Eel Bur town,” said Mr Warsame.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali, African troops take central town from Islamists

26 Mar – Source: AFP – 195 words

Somali government forces fighting alongside African Union troops said they had taken back control of a key town Wednesday, driving al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab rebels from a major central bastion. El-Bur, some 350 kilometres (220 miles) northeast of the capital Mogadishu in the Galgadud region, is the latest town taken since the UN-backed AMISOM force launched a fresh offensive against the al Shabaab this month. The gunmen have largely fled ahead of the assaults, only to later stage guerrilla attacks. “El-Bur town has fallen, and the soldiers supported by the AU have secured control peacefully,” Somali army Colonel Mohamed Adan said by telephone, adding that the “terrorists fled the town prior to the arrival of the national army.” AMISOM said al Shabaab fighters had tried to ambush them in “several villages” surrounding the town but were fought off, celebrating in a statement the capture of a town they said was a “commercial hub” for the Islamists. Residents confirmed the town’s capture, saying that Ethiopian troops with the AU force were setting about reinforcing strategic sites. “Ethiopian soldiers armed with tanks and other armoured trucks entered the town, and have taken positions around key areas,” said El-Bur resident Mohamed Hashi.

Kenya: Plan to Force 50,000 Refugees Into Camps

26 Mar – Source: Human Rights Watch -136 words

The Kenyan authorities should reconsider a new plan to forcibly move 50,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers from cities to overcrowded and underserviced refugee camps. News media reported that Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku made the announcement on March 25, 2014, two days after unidentified attackers killed six people in a church near Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa. Such a move would violate a July 26, 2013 Kenyan High Court ruling, which quashed an identical government refugee relocation plan from December 2012. The court said the relocation would violate refugees’ dignity and free movement rights, and would risk indirectly forcing them back to Somalia. It also said the authorities had not proved that the move, which followed a series of grenade and other attacks in Kenya by unidentified people, would help protect national security.

Somalia May See Shell Return in 2015 as Soma Tests Waters

26 Mar – Source: Bloomberg – 150 words

Somalia is conducting offshore surveys in hopes of attracting explorers including Royal Dutch Shell Plc two decades after the outbreak of a bloody civil war drove foreign investors away. The East African country plans to hold a licensing tender next year after Soma Oil and Gas, funded by Russian billionaire Alexander Djaparidze, completes the seismic study, according to Abdullahi Haider, a federal government adviser. Somalia, with no proven reserves, has been in talks with Shell about resuming work suspended at the start of the war in 1991, said Abdirizak Omar Mohamed, an adviser to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud. “Once we settle all the issues between the federal-central government and regional authorities, the petroleum law, the establishment of the regulatory framework, then optimistically there will be full-scale exploration,” Haider said in an interview from Mogadishu. “This time next year we could have the possibility of seeing major oil companies coming in.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“Al Shabaab, by their sheer daring, funding and could be argued, desperation, have managed to grab our attention. But as the world packs and leaves, as more and more swoops are carried out in Eastleigh, Mombasa and beyond, as more security checks are erected around the city, as time makes scars of healing wounds, the usual disease of Kenyan forgetfulness begins to return.”

Digging Trenches – al Shabaab in Kenya

26 Mar – Source: The Star-Kenya/AllAfrica – 2574 words

Saturday, September 21, 2013 changed the way we think, the way we speak, the way we carry ourselves. It happened: armed gunmen in a shopping mall in Nairobi. The Westgate, popular, up-market, part Israeli-owned and frequented by Western diplomats, was expected to be one of the city’s more secure locations. But with expectation came assumption and with assumption a calming, carefree lull — a lull swiftly broken by the clip and sting of endless bullets. On that warm September afternoon, Ayman al-Zawahiri, international bogeyman, wanted fugitive, de facto leader of global al Qaeda and commander-in-chief of the Harakat al Shabaab al-Mujahideen (more commonly and simply known as al Shabaab – The Youth – a rag-tag Somali based youth militia that has evolved into one of the most complex militant ideological groups the world has yet seen) shook the tassels of his invisible cloak of terror over Nairobi. Within minutes, the carefully constructed we-have-made-it utopia of upper crust Nairobians was shattered. Bodies lay across the floor, blood pooled in front of shops.