May 20, 2016 | Morning Headlines
President Mohamud Urges Parliament To Endorse 2016 Electoral Modalities As UNSC Meets Country’s Leadership
19 May – Source: Goobjoog News – 332 Words
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has called on Parliament to endorse the electoral modalities to clear the way for the 2016 elections. President Mohamud observed that time was running and implored Members of Parliament to take up the challenge and expedite the process fast. He pointed out that most of the proposals had already been agreed upon.
“We have heard what the people said and it is time we made bold decisions. The fate of this nation is before us and we must act now,” the President told Parliament on Thursday. Regarding concerns earlier raised by Parliament such as locking out Banaadir from the Upper House in the July polls, the President reported that they had agreed with the parliamentary select committee reviewing the electoral process to “amicably iron out the matter” without interfering with earlier proposals already passed.
Hundreds of Mogadishu residents had earlier demonstrated in the city demanding for inclusion in the election of the Upper House. Banaadir governor Yusuf Jima’ale questioned the wisdom of the National Leadership Forum in denying close to two million people representation in Parliament. But the President explained that some of these issues “will only have effect on the 2016 polls” and thereafter the country will operate under a different electoral arrangement.
In an apparent reference to the UN Security Council, whose top officials are currently in the country, the President told Parliament that failure to pass a verdict on the electoral process will expose the country to external influence: “We do not want to blame others but if we fail to govern ourselves, they will dictate and govern us and you know this has happened before.”
The President’s call comes a week after the international community said it was deeply concerned by the protracted process in Parliament and urged the House to swiftly adopt the electoral modalities. The UN Security Council was also expected to take up the issue with the country’s leadership later in the day. The UN has stated its unwillingness to support extension of the term in office of the current leadership.
Key Headlines
- President Mohamud Urges Parliament To Endorse 2016 Electoral Modalities As UNSC Meets Country’s Leadership (Goobjoog News)
- UN Security Council In Somalia In Show Of Solidarity (Garowe Online)
- Several Killed In Beledweyne Clan Violence (Shabelle News)
- AMISOM Forces Head To Howlwadaq As Fighting Intensifies In Baledweyne (Goobjoog News)
- Jubaland President Unveils Cabinet (Garowe Online)
- UN Chief Urges Kenyan Leader Not To Close Refugee Camp (Xinhua News)
- Suicide Blast Kills One Injures Eight In Somali Capital (Sputnik News)
- Kenyan President Says Security Wall Along Border With Somalia To Deter Terrorists (Xinhua News)
- US Forces In Combat In Somalia As AFRICOM Plans For War Across Continent (Axis of Logic)
NATIONAL MEDIA
UN Security Council In Somalia In Show Of Solidarity
19 May – Source: Garowe Online – 277 Words
Diplomats from United Nations Security Council (UNSC)’s 15-member States on Thursday landed in Mogadishu in a show of solidarity with the conflict-battered Somalia under tight security, for key talks with the country’s political leaders.
The itinerary that also includes Nairobi and Cairo is touted as critical at a time Somalia prepares to hold parliamentary and presidential elections by the end of the year. On Thursday, Somali Parliament Speaker Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari announced that vote on electoral proposal had been postponed until Saturday in yet another political conundrum which could add to the concerns of western donors. The development partners are unhappy with the slower pace of the country’s transition from clan-based 4.5 power sharing formula to direct poll.
UN Security Council delegates expressed solidarity of international community with Somalia, urging Parliament to adopt election proposal for technical preparations. Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, regional presidents and members from parliament and cabinet joined Mohamud for the meeting with UN Security Council members. Election benchmarks and recent deals on the poll transition were high on the agenda during the discussion at the seaside Mogadishu airport.
Diplomats pressed Somali political leaders on the slated date of parliamentary and presidential election and selection processes. Somali President on his side promised that the country will hold elections on the due date without any delay, and requested for more support for political transition.
Mohamud, who asked parliament to speed up passage of poll module earlier today, noted that security situation is improving in many parts of the country except for ongoing offensives against Al-Shabaab militants. Despite sticking points, international diplomats hope the 275-seat-chamber of Parliament will endorse a blueprint previously marred by months of deadlock.
Several Killed In Beledweyne Clan Violence
19 May – Source: Shabelle News – 134 Words
Unspecified number of people including civilians have been confirmed dead in a fierce combat between two rival clan militia fighters in the central town of Beledweyne. A witness who spoke to Radio Shabelle on condition of anonymity said both sides have been using heavy and small weapons in the clan clashes, which got to a third successive day.
Col Salah Mumin Muse, a former army colonel in the city said they will confirm the exact casualty figures of the battle that forced dozens of families to flee their houses: “There are several people killed and wounded in the clan fighting, but the number remains unclear. The gunfire subsides, but could break out anytime,” said Col Muse. However, the local elders are making efforts to defuse the tension and bring the warring sides into the table, to discuss their differences.
AMISOM Forces Head To Howlwadaq As Fighting Intensifies In Baledweyne
19 May – Source: Goobjoog News – 77 Words
African Union forces have crossed to Howlwadaq area in Baledweyne in a bid to contain the three-day long clan clashes. Goobjoog News correspondent in the area has reported that AMISOM tanks crossed a bridge heading to Howlwadaq as fighting intensified.
The casualty figures cannot be easily established owing to continued floods, which have displaced hundreds of families. The area lacks hospitals making it the more difficult to get any information about deaths or injuries of the battle victims.
Jubaland President Unveils Cabinet
19 May – Source: Garowe Online – 110 Words
The President of Jubaland Administration in southern Somalia Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe) has unveiled his new cabinet lineup, three days after he named two Vice Presidents.
The 17-member cabinet includes both new and old faces, with Interior Minister Mohamed Warsame Farah (Darwiish) retaining his post in the second government since Jubaland’s formation in May, 2013. A woman was able to secure a portfolio in the long-delayed lineup released to the media on Wednesday evening. On May 15, Madobe replaced ally and first Vice President Gen. Abdullahi Sheikh Ismael (Fartag) with former political opponent Mohamud Sayid Adan. Second Vice President Abdulkadir Haji Mohamud (Lugadere) returned to his post.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
UN Chief Urges Kenyan Leader Not To Close Refugee Camp
19 May – Xinhua News – 357 Words
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has urged Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta not to close Dadaab refugee camp that mainly hosts Somali refugees, expressing appreciation for the country’s decades of generosity to asylum seekers.
A statement issued by his spokesman received in Nairobi on Thursday said Ban expressed the UN’s support to Kenya, including the proposal that a high-level bilateral review on the refugee situation in Kenya be conducted by the government and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
“The Secretary-General assured President Kenyatta that he appreciated the enormous task and responsibility involved in hosting large numbers of refugees, amidst daunting security challenges,” the statement said after Ban had telephoned President Kenyatta. The move comes after Kenya had announced that it plans to close Dadaab refugee camp in northeast region due to “very heavy” economic, security and environmental issues.
The East African nation has also cited the influence of terror group Al-Shabaab as among the risks of keeping the camps open. It was not yet clear when the closure will begin, but the government has already disbanded the Department of Refugee Affairs, which worked with humanitarian organizations for the welfare of the refugees.
The closure means Somali asylum seekers, who have been fleeing conflict and severe drought in the Horn of Africa nation, would be forced to return to the situation they fled. In his telephone conversation, Ban expressed deep appreciation to President Kenyatta and the people of Kenya for decades of generous hospitality to significant populations of asylum-seekers and refugees. He urged Kenyatta to continue to use the 2013 Tripartite Agreement, signed with Somalia and the UNHCR as a basis for the voluntary return of Somali refugees in safety and dignity.
Suicide Blast Kills One, Injures Eight In Somali Capital
19 May – Source: Sputnik News – 96 Words
A suicide bomber stormed a restaurant in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday, killing one person and injuring eight, media reported. The terrorist attack was allegedly carried out by a militant from the local jihadist group Al-Shabaab. .
The attack took place as Mogadishu welcomed a delegation of the UN Security Council, who is visiting the country in a show of support for the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in August. Somalia has been mired in an armed conflict with Islamist militants for two decades. It’s government relies heavily on the African Union’s peacekeepers for protection.
Kenyan President Says Security Wall Along Border With Somalia To Deter Terrorists
19 May – Source: Xinhua News – 424 Words
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said Thursday the construction of the security wall along its border with Somalia to help deter terrorists from entering the country.
Kenyatta also clarified that the 440-mile wall along the Kenya-Somalia border is not aimed at deterring movements of people but to enhance security: “There is nothing wrong with Kenya and Somalia establishing a common border entry point. This will help check on people who want to engage in activities which threaten peace in the two countries,” he told local leaders in Mandera county.
The East African nation is building the security wall along its border with Somalia in a bid to keep out Al-Shabaab and boost security after a wave of attacks that have claimed scores of lives and provoked severe criticism of the government’s response.
The wall, a series of concrete barriers, fences, ditches and observation posts overlooked by CCTV stations, is expected to stretch from the Indian Ocean to Mandera, where both countries converge with Ethiopia. Reports say the Somali authorities are concerned about the construction of the wall, saying Nairobi was encroaching on the Horn of African nation’s territory.
Nairobi insists the wall is for security purpose meant to prevent increasing armed group Al-Shabaab attacks inside its soil but Somalia is opposed to the plan which it says will only catalyze Al-Shabaab gruesome attacks. But President Kenyatta who was accompanied by Deputy President William Ruto said the government was committed to peace and stability of the country.
The Kenyan leader said there were no any plans to divide Kenyans and the people of Somalia: “We have no any plans at all to divide the people of Somalia and the people of Kenya. We just want to ensure our people engage in internationally accepted standards of businesses, nothing else,” Kenyatta said.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“The US Army is preparing to intervene throughout Africa. AFRICOM plans to deploy troops against “ISIS in the north, Al Shabab in the east and Boko Haram and A.Q.I.M. in the center and the west,” US General Darryl Williams said on Monday.”
US Forces In Combat In Somalia As AFRICOM Plans For War Across Continent
19 May – Source: Axis of Logic – 898 Words
American military forces launched combat actions in the East African country of Somalia on Tuesday, destroying at least three military vehicles manned by fighters with the militia group Al-Shabaab. US personnel provided “defensive fire,” including salvos of helicopter-based missiles, during fighting near an African Union (AU) checkpoint manned by Ugandan troops.
The US troops, who are deployed to Somalia as “advisors” to the African Union AMISOM force, engaged in other combat operations earlier this week, carrying out a raid against the Somali village of Toratorow. They have been operating from their headquarters inside the fortress-like international airport in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, where they have organized a special proxy unit known as the “Lightning.”
The announcement that there are American “boots on the ground” in Somalia, comes within days of revelations that the US has been waging secret “small wars” in Libya and Yemen. The White House is now considering options drawn up by the Pentagon for expanded attacks against Libya. Washington is preparing to launch or deepen an array of similar interventions throughout sub-Saharan Africa, where the US military’s Africa Command (AFRICOM) is currently examining a dozen locations for new bases. More than 6,000 American Special Operations soldiers are active in at least 26 separate locations throughout the continent.
AFRICOM plans to relocate its central command, originally based in Germany in an effort to dampen accusations of neocolonialism, to an undisclosed site on the continent, with Morocco rumored as the leading choice. In the countries bordering the Lake Chad Basin, recently described as “ground zero for Islamic State in Africa” by AFRICOM’s top special forces officer, the Pentagon is opening an entire new regional war theater, deploying hundreds of ground troops and commando teams to Cameroon and Nigeria and establishing a new drone base in Niger.
Since coming to power with backing from the White House, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has imposed military rule in the northern provinces and carried out brutal atrocities against the civilian population, including the massacre of hundreds of Shia minorities by regular army units early this year.