May 1, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Clan Clashes Claim Three Lives In Middle Shabelle
30 – April – Source : Goobjoog News – 110 Words
At least three people were killed and several others wounded in deadly clashes in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region, witness said. Rival clan militias engaged in battle in Jame’a Misra village in the outskirt of Bal’ad town. Most of those wounded are said to be among the combatants who disputed over land. The violence erupted as members of one clan-based faction tried to march into territory controlled by another, provoking battle between the fighters using automatic weapons, heavy machine guns and Rocket-Propelled Grenades(RPGs). Locals says the side torched houses during the fighting which prompted displacement of the villagers. Efforts to mediate the sides are underway, according to local elders in the area.
Key Headlines
- Clan Clashes Claim Three Lives In Middle Shabelle(Goobjoog News)
- Unknown Gunmen Kill Two Civilians Marka City(Shabelle News)
- Puntland President Lays Foundation Stone For Galkaayo Airport Runway(Goobjoog News)
- Dubai Municipality Organises Campaign “For Your Sake Somalia” (Emirates News Agency)
- Somalia Pledges To Review Media Law (Xinhua)
- Children Of Somali Diaspora In Canada Come Together To Fend Off Famine (CBC News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Unknown Gunmen Kill Two Civilians Marka City
30 April – Source : Shabelle News – 93 Words
Unknown gunmen have killed two civilians in the southern port city of Marka, the regional capital of Lower Shabelle region on Saturday night.According to the eyewitnesses, the men who were Khat traders were killed inside their houses in the seaside town by suspected Al shabaab assassins armed with pistols.The culprits managed to escape the area, before the arrival of the security forces.Localpolice authorities cordoned off the scene, and began an investigation into the incident.No group has yet claimed responsibility for the killing of the two civilians in Marka.
Puntland President Lays Foundation Stone For Galkaayo Airport Runway
30 April – Source : Goobjoog News – 117 Words
The President of Somalia’s northeastern state of Puntland Abdiweli Mohamed Ali has laid foundation stone for Galkaayo airport runway on Saturday.Puntland minister for civil aviation, parliamentarians and traditional leaders attended a launch ceremony in the airport complex, with the tender winner, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation putting equipment, and expatriates on display.
In his opening remarks, President Ali expressed his delight with the construction of Galkaayo airport runway and called the project a ‘flagship’ which will contribute to progress in aviation sector.The President said that his administration gave special focus on infrastructure and development projects in the region particularly airports and seaports.He noted that the airport will facilitate bringing foreign investment to the region.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Dubai Municipality Organises Campaign, “For Your Sake, Somalia”
30 April – Source : Emirates News Agency – 251 Words
Dubai Municipality, in partnership with the Emirates Red Crescent in Dubai, launched a solidarity campaign, “For Your Sake, Somalia” to help the Somali people in their current plight due to famine and drought by providing cash contributions during official working hours. The donations will be received in the main building of Dubai Municipality, Al Twar Centre, Al Manara Centre, and Dubai Central Laboratory. The campaign, which was launched on Sunday morning in the presence of Eng. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director- General of Dubai Municipality and other senior officials of the Municipality, will continue until May 4, 2017.
“The move is aimed at enhancing the spirit of social responsibility among the Municipality employees, to alleviate the suffering of our brothers in Somalia, to enhance the spirit of participation among the staff and to encourage them to participate in voluntary and humanitarian initiatives,” said Lootah.”Our rapid response to the relief efforts is due to our belief in the importance of solidarity in difficult times and crises. This is part of our responsibility towards the international and local communities. It reflects a clear and consistent strategy developed by the Municipality to contribute to the efforts of community development at all levels, especially in crises and disasters,” he added.
Lootah stressed the keenness of the Municipality to participate in the relief campaign for the Somali people, even if it is small or little, pointing out that this modest participation reflects the humanitarian solidarity between the people of the UAE and the people of Somalia.
Somalia Pledges To Review Media Law
29 April – Source : Xinhua – 338 Words
Somalia on Saturday promised to review the contentious media law which media practitioners say has harsh restrictions which could put many journalists out of a job. Minister of Information, Abdirahman Omar Osman held a meeting with media leaders in Mogadishu where he discussed the importance of the Media Law and making it one that works with the satisfaction of all parties. “I have listened to the concerns of the media leaders towards a number of articles in the Media Law and promised them that these articles will be reviewed as soon as possible in order to make them more agreeable,” Osman said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.
“The Media Law is already in effect as it had been signed by former president of Somalia in January, 2016. We now give consideration to the proposed amendment by the Media,” he added. The journalists say the law introduces strict media restrictions and heavy fines on media workers. The regulations fail to take into account the years of experience a journalist may have on reporting on Somalia’s complicated clan-based and religious violence.
According to article 7 of the bill, all media houses including newspapers must register at the ministry of information and pay an unspecified annual license fee to get a licence from the ministry. It also stipulates that journalists must all have a university degree in journalism – and also pass a government test when they register with the media commission, which will soon be set up. No universities offered journalism qualifications during the more than two decades of fighting since the Horn of Africa nation lacked a central government.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Unlike in 2011, in 2017 we have the real opportunity to avert famine. Famine has not been declared yet, however there is severe drought that has caused the loss of 80 per cent of livestock,” she said. Abdi says her group is a youth-led initiative linked to a global movement of young people upset at the world’s silence and the slow response six years ago. Anyone in community will know someone affected, activist says”
Children Of Somali Diaspora In Canada Come Together To Fend Off Famine
30 April – Source : CBC News – 770 Words
A new generation of young Somali-Canadians is looking to raise both money and awareness of the looming disaster in their parents’ homeland and hope the international community will act before it’s too late. Samiya Abdi, a member of Fight The Famine Toronto, says she’s part of a wave of young activists and educated professionals who are hoping to prevent a disaster rather than react to it. “Only when there’s so much death and destruction then people are interested in making a difference,” she said. The region’s normal peak rainfall is in April. But since November there has been no significant rainfall and the water that’s left is not drinkable.
‘A real opportunity’ According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs there have been 2,984 new cholera cases and 34 deaths from April 10th to 16th alone. Just six years ago this same region was hit by a famine that killed more than 250,000 people. Abdi says this time around something can be done to save lives.
“Unlike in 2011, in 2017 we have the real opportunity to avert famine. Famine has not been declared yet, however there is severe drought that has caused the loss of 80 per cent of livestock,” she said. Abdi says her group is a youth-led initiative linked to a global movement of young people upset at the world’s silence and the slow response six years ago. Anyone in community will know someone affected, activist says
And many are children of the Somali diaspora people who fled war and natural disaster and emigrated to Canada as refugees and asylum seekers. “A lot of us either grew up outside of Somalia or were born outside of Somalia. Only a few of us have even visited,” Abdi said. She says the impact of the drought is widespread, affecting half the country’s 6.3 million people population. “So if you speak to anyone in the Somali-Canadian community, they will have a relative who has been affected by it,” said Abdi. ‘They have nothing’ Hidaya Hassan, 25, is a student at Wilfred Laurier University studying human rights and criminology. She has family still in Somalia and visits once a year, most recently in January.
“I visited a town and they were selling a goat for three dollars. That was their everything and they were selling it,” she said, adding she feels the international community usually doesn’t pay attention until people start dying. The UN says the total number of displaced people within the country has jumped to 615,000 since November 2016. “Roads are literally littered with dead animals,” said Ahmed. “People are walking five to ten days to get to the next village to look for water. Not just for themselves, but their livestock. To try and save their life savings. Now because of a natural disaster they have nothing.”