March 31, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Two Wounded As Mortars Land Near Villa Somalia In Mogadishu
30 March – Source : Garowe Online – 176 Words
Several mortar rounds fired at Somalia’s Presidential palace in the capital Mogadishu has left at least two civilians wounded. Police captain Abdi Ali said loud explosions were heard around the heavily protected presidential palace area in the capital at around mid day, as the new cabinet was set to hold its first meeting following their endorsement yesterday. “Two women sustained slight wounds when mortars struck a residential area around the Presidential Palace in Mogadishu. We are investigating the incident,” Ali said, while speaking to Garowe Online over the phone. There were no immediate reports of deaths, Capt. Ali said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the mortar attack on Villa Somalia. Villa Somalia is a heavily fortified compound in the heart of the city, where top Somali government officials, including the president, PM and Parliament Speaker have their offices in the complex. Despite being flushed out of Mogadishu in 2011, Al-Shabaab militants still continue to carry out deadly sporadic attacks in the capital and elsewhere in the country to topple the Federal government.
Key Headlines
- Two Wounded As Mortars Land Near Villa Somalia In Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
- Embrace Dialogue To End Perennial Conflicts Somali President Tells The Arab World (Goobjoog News)
- Trump Expands War Authorities To Target Militants In Somalia (Foreign Policy)
- Kenya Arrests Suspected Islamic State Militant Who Trafficked Recruits (Reuters)
- As Famine Looms Malnutrition And Disease Rise Sharply Among Somali Children – UNICEF (UN News Centre)
- A Solution To Somali Piracy Is In Sight Local Communities Hold The Key (The Conversation)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Embrace Dialogue To End Perennial Conflicts, Somali President Tells The Arab World
30 March – Source : Goobjoog News – 300 Words
President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed ‘Farmaajo’ has urged the Arab world to embrace dialogue in dealing with conflict. The President warned of the future of the bloc, citing Yemen and Syria as an example. In a speech during the one day Summit in Jordan, President Farmaajo challenged the Arab leaders to learn from Somalia noting that viable solutions can be reached through dialogue. “My brotherly advice to the Arab nations embroiled in disputes is to learn from Somalia, viable solution can only be gained throught dialogue,” said Farmaajo.
While calling for an immediate end to the ongoing conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Libya and Iraq, the President said democratic practices could open pathways to ensuring stability in the region observing Somalia’s electoral process in 2016/17 which signaled a positive start not only for Somalia but also to the Arab world. “Though there are many challenges in the Arab world, it’s not all gloom. Somalia had free and fair elections. That is good news for a start,” the President noted. He told the gathering to put together efforts to deal with the challenges facing the Arab world which he observed is crucial in safeguarding their future.
“We need to unite our efforts to overcome these challenges and galvanize support for our people and safeguard our future…We call for immediate end to the fighting and violence in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen.” President Farmaajo who alongside his Lebanon counterpart, Michel Aoun were attending the Summit for the first time also appealed for support in addressing the ongoing drought ravaging most parts of the country. “To overcome these challenges, we need to have realistic plans and unyielding support from our brothers and friends.”
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Trump Expands War Authorities To Target Militants In Somalia
30 March – Source : Foreign Policy – 438 Words
The White House has signed off on a Pentagon proposal to allow the head of the U.S. Africa Command to launch an offensive campaign against the Al-Shabaaab militant group in Somalia, clearing the way for more airstrikes and a more active presence of U.S. Special Operations Forces on the ground. The order clears the way for a stepped-up military campaign in the country where American aircraft and ground forces have for years launched intermittent strikes against the group, claiming they were in “self-defense” of U.S. advisors or their Somali counterparts.
Two defense officials confirmed to Foreign Policy that parts of Somalia are now considered what the Pentagon calls an “Area of Active Hostility,” which allows commanders more leeway to strike targets they believe are affiliated with the group. It remains to be seen how active American forces will be in Somalia, where dozens of U.S. commandos already operate. But the order, first reported Thursday by the New York Times, gels with an increasingly forward-leaning posture in Yemen, where President Donald Trump also recently signed an order allowing for more U.S. military action.
American forces have been increasingly active in Somalia in recent years. The Obama administration never abandoned its “signature strike” bombing program in either Somalia or Yemen, which allowed for U.S. drones and manned aircraft to target groups of men who merely showed signs and behaviors of belonging to terrorist groups. The largest of those strikes came in March 2016, when U.S. warplanes bombed an Al-Shabaab training camp north of Mogadishu, killing what the Pentagon estimated were about 150 militants.
Kenya Arrests Suspected Islamic State Militant Who Trafficked Recruits
30 March – Source : Reuters – 207 Words
Kenya has arrested a suspected Islamic State militant on the country’s “most wanted” list who allegedly helped send recruits to Libya and Somalia, police said on Thursday. Police seized Ali Hussein Ali, who is nicknamed “Trusted One”, and two accomplices in the coastal town of Malindi on Monday. In a statement, the police said Ali had helped smuggle recruits to Islamic State in Libya where he has ties with a human trafficking ring, and to the al Shabaab militant group in Somalia. He also moved money around East Africa and beyond for Islamic State, police said.
Kenya has in recent years suffered a series of attacks by al Shabaab, which is waging an insurgency against the U.N.-backed government in Somalia, where Kenya has deployed peacekeepers. Islamic State has also claimed at least two low-level attacks in Kenya. Kenyan police said Ali was born in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and moved to Kenya in 2010 under the guise of being a tourist. He then moved to Libya, via South Africa and Sudan, where he joined IS, before returning to Kenya last November, police added. The two men he was arrested with are also suspected of having links to Islamic State and al Shabaab, the police said.
As Famine Looms, Malnutrition And Disease Rise Sharply Among Somali Children – UNICEF
30 March – Source : UN News Centre – 436 Words
As the spectre of famine hangs once again over Somalia, early numbers show an increasing number of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition and cholera or acute watery diarrhoea – a combination that killed many children in the famine of 2011, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said today. “Children are dying from malnutrition, hunger, thirst and disease. During the 2011 famine, around 130,000 young children died, about half of them before famine was declared. We are working with partners around the clock to make sure that doesn’t happen again,” said Leila Pakkala, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa.
More than 35,400 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition were treated with life-saving therapeutic food at hundreds of nutrition centres across Somalia in January and February, a 58 per cent increase over the same period in 2016. As of 28 March, more than 18,400 cases of cholera/acute watery diarrhoea had been reported since the beginning of the year, far surpassing the 15,600 cases reported in all of 2016. The majority of the cases are among young children. “These numbers are a wake-up call,” said Ms. Pakkala, after speaking with displaced families and patients at a cholera treatment centre in Baidoa, Somalia.
There are no precise figures currently available for the number of children who have died due to hunger or malnutrition, in part because many succumb to disease and infection. But children suffering from SAM are nine times more likely to die of disease than a well-nourished child. During the 2011 famine, the biggest killers were diarrhoea and measles. Six years since famine was declared in parts of south-central Somalia, the country is once again on the brink of catastrophe. This time, the drought is more widespread, affecting Somaliland, Puntland and the country’s pastoral areas, in addition to the centre and southern parts of Somalia, which were hardest-hit in 2011.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Fostering local capacity through greater maritime law enforcement and strengthening legal infrastructure arguably offers the best solution. Bolstering marine law enforcement not only affords the community the ability to address piracy but also to other forms of maritime crime, such as illegal fishing. Indeed, the release of the Aris 13 was initiated by the Puntland Maritime Police Force intervening and engaging the pirates in a gunfight that saw the vessel’s release”
A Solution To Somali Piracy Is In Sight: Local Communities Hold The Key
29 March – Source : The Conversation – 993 Words
The recent hijacking of an oil tanker by alleged Somali pirates raises a number of important questions. The MT Aris 13 was the first commercial vessel to be hijacked since 2012. For the international community, the question is whether this represents a new spectre of piracy on the horizon. The attack also raises serious doubt over the long-term effectiveness of current counter-piracy measures. Billions of dollars have been spent on eradicating the menace. Anti-piracy organisation Oceans Beyond Piracy analysis suggests that in 2012 alone about USD$6 billion was spent on mitigating pirate activity around Somalia.
There’s little indication of an imminent large-scale return to piracy off the Somali coast. But there’s no ruling out the possibility of more frequent attacks in the future. The real danger is that, should piracy gain a footing again, the pirates will have considerable skill and expertise to draw on. What prospective pirate gangs cannot count on is the support of the local communities. This isn’t a recent revelation. Strides have been made in this direction by various members of the international community. The aim has been to increase local capacity to provide an alternative to the economic benefits that piracy brings. Increasing capacity both in the prevention and apprehension of pirates and criminals at sea has strengthened the maritime law enforcement authorities through the construction of the Bosasso Port Police headquarters in Puntland – the region where the Aris 13 was held.
The recent attack demonstrates exactly why the international community needs to pursue this line of defence more aggressively and why it cannot afford to take its foot off the pedal. Pirates waiting in the wings: Numerous pirates are serving out prison sentences – in Somalia as well as abroad. And there are many more waiting to seize any opportunity to return to the seas. This pool of pirate talent will have already considerable expertise to draw on, having already acquired their sea-legs and seafaring knowledge. There’s no shortage of people familiar with the process and routine of pirate attacks.