May 24, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Security Forces Kill Two Al-Shabaab Suspects In Mogadishu
23 May – Source: Halbeeg News – 159 Words
Somali forces have gunned down two suspected Al-Shabaab assassins in Bakaro Market in the capital city, Mogadishu. Witnesses have confirmed the suspects were shot dead by officers from the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA.
A source who spoke to Halbeeg said, the officers clashed with four suspects prompting a brief gunfire. “Armed men, who identified themselves as security officers, have been chasing after four suspects. Two of the suspects were gunned down, as the rest escaped,” said a witness. The District Commissioner of Hodan District, Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Antobo, confirmed that NISA officers killed two suspects in Bakara market.
Somali security forces have been conducting operations to secure the city over the last two days. The incident comes less than 24 hours after a young man armed with a pistol killed a police officer in Bakara Market. The ISIS terror gang claimed responsibility for the attack and later posted graphic details of the killing on it’s Facebook account.
Key Headlines
- Security Forces Kill Two Al-Shabaab Suspects In Mogadishu (Halbeeg News)
- Puntland MP Dahir And Bodyguard Shot Dead In Galkayo (Radio Dalsan)
- Second Reading Of Armed Forces Pension Due To Start In Parliament (Halbeeg News)
- Across Somalia Thousands Of Students Brave The Elements To Sit Crucial Exams For University Entrance (UNSOM)
- Pakistan Somalia Ink $10.5m Agreement For ID System (Pakistan Today)
- The Young Somalis Recreating Mogadishu’s Prewar Splendour (The Guardian)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland MP Dahir And Bodyguard Shot Dead In Galkayo
23 May – Source: Radio Dalsan – 92 Words
A Puntland regional MP Abdirahman Maalim Dahir was on Wednesday night shot dead by unknown gunmen in Garowe, according to reports. His bodyguard was also killed in the shooting. Two gunmen fired at the lawmaker and his guard before fleeing from the scene. The incident occurred outside a hotel in the central Somalia city.
Mr. Dahir was rushed to Galkayo hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for his killing. There have been 12 cases of assassinations in Somalia since the start of Ramadan, 11 of them in the Capital city of Mogadishu alone.
Second Reading Of Armed Forces Pension Due To Start In Parliament
23 – Source: Halbeeg News – 277 Words
A bill on Somali Armed Forces pension, which seeks to create a conducive environment for the country’s retired servicemen and women, will be taken before Parliament for the second reading. The bill, which was drafted by the Ministry of Defense, was unanimously endorsed in September 2017, by the Cabinet.
The parliamentary committee on defense will give details of the proposed military veteran bill to the lawmakers of the Federal Parliament. Despite their limited military hardware, the forces have been fighting Al-Shabaab fighters for last one decade. Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who pledged reforms and regular payment for the armed forces is working round the clock to revive the country’s strong army.
If it is approved, a new law will be put in place to allow the veterans of the country’s armed forces to get pension and care. It is yet unclear if the bill will also cover and support the war veterans, who served the country before the civil war broke out. Many military officers upon retirement feel abandoned as they live in abject poverty due to lack of clear legislations defining their retirement benefits. Also adversely affected are families of gallant officers, left behind after their breadwinners died in the line of duty.
There is quite a good number of veteran soldiers of Somali National Army, who participated in the war of 1977 between Somalia and Ethiopia, and are living from hand to mouth in Mogadishu. The current war veterans, who are estimated to be more than 310 officers, reside in Martinu Hospital in Mogadishu. Somalia, which once boasted of a formidable military in the continent, is struggling to assemble a powerful force after decades of a dysfunctional government.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Across Somalia, Thousands Of Students Brave The Elements To Sit Crucial Exams For University Entrance
23 May – Source: UNSOM – 580 Words
With cyclones bearing down on Somalia, causing flooding and upheaval throughout various parts of the country this past week, it seemed natural for much of daily life to come to a halt. That was not the case for more than 27,000 students from 120 secondary schools across most of the country’s southern half.
The students braved the adverse conditions to undertake one of the most important steps in their education and overall futures: the government-administered Unified National Examinations. Organized by the federal and regional ministries of education and administered in the areas of Benadir, Jubbaland, Southwest, Galmudug and HirShabelle, the exams covered a range of subjects which include languages such as English, Arabic and Somali, as well as mathematics, history, geography, biology and Islamic studies.
A good result can help ensure a brighter future for the students, allowing them to continue their studies in their chosen fields at university: “The government standardized and unified the examinations three years ago. We expect the students to produce good results,” said an examinations supervisor at the Somali National University, Abdikadir Mohamed Ahmed.
Until 2015, there had been no central exams for 25 years due to the collapse of the central government in 1991 and the ensuing civil war and violence. There has been a steady increase in students registering for the exam these past four years – between 2017 and 2018, the number rose of students registering for them rose by 4,600, from 23,000 students to 27,600 students.
Officials and educators say the growth in enrolment confirms the integrity of the exam process, and is indicative that reforms in Somalia’s education sector are effective. In Mogadishu, where the examinations were launched by Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire last Saturday, candidates from more than 300 secondary schools around the city undertook the testing in 63 examination centres across the capital.
In the capital, issues of security, safety and access were some of the considerations used to select the examination centres: “As a result of the relative peace and steady political, the process is now streamlined,” noted Abdifatah Barre Issack, an 18-year-old student from Super Commercial Secondary School, with hopes of pursuing a degree in agriculture.
Pakistan, Somalia Ink $10.5 Million Agreement For ID system
23 May – Source: Pakistan Today – 168 Words
Pakistan and Somalia have inked an agreement for a grant of 10.500 million dollars and provision of technical assistance for the development of Somalia’s National Identification System. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi witnessed the signing ceremony here Wednesday.
As part of the initiative, National Database and Registration Authority will develop and supply technology, software and equipment which will enable the Government of Somalia to have a state-of-the-art national data and citizen registration system. The ‘knowledge and technology’ transfer would also help Somalia in Border Management and Elections Management system.
Speaking on the occasion, the Somalian State Minister for Interior Mr. Abdullahi Farah Wehliye thanked the Government of Pakistan for its assistance in the development of National ID System of Somalia. He said the opening of Pakistan’s Embassy in Mogadishu would further strengthen the friendly relations of the two countries. Minister for Finance Dr. Miftah Ismail reciprocated the warm sentiments of the Somalia’s Minister and said, that Pakistan values its ties with the Government and people of Somalia.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The Somali project does not have the benefit of 3D cameras; the damage in Mogadishu is already done. Shegow and his team rely heavily on archival and crowd sourced photographs. An appeal for such images has drawn responses from across the vast global Somali diaspora, estimated to be over a million people. Most left the country in the war-torn 1990s.”
The Young Somalis Recreating Mogadishu’s Prewar Splendour
23 May – Source: The Guardian – 772 Words
Five years ago, Yusuf Shegow visited the ruins of the once-grand Al-Uruba hotel overlooking the Indian Ocean on Mogadishu’s waterfront. His grandfather had worked at a nearby hotel in the 1970s, and shared stories with Shegow of the diplomats and dignitaries who stayed there on frequent visits to the country then known as the “Switzerland of Africa”.
After decades of civil war, Al-Uruba’s arched windows and white plaster facade were in tatters. The entire fourth floor was gone, levelled by mortar fire. For Shegow, a recent graduate of the Manchester School of Architecture, “buildings were an education” that taught him about a country he left for the UK when he was a child. They connected him to the stories of his parents and grandparents. “There were roads and buildings as good as anywhere else,” he says. “It could have been one of the biggest cities in Africa.”
Shegow is the founder of Somali Architecture, a project that digitally recreates buildings and monuments from Mogadishu’s prewar age, presenting a positive vision of a city that was once a flourishing economic and cultural capital – and could be again. Their work includes an ambitious set of 3D digital models of prominent buildings now largely destroyed, created by Shegow after years of archival research. There’s also a popular Instagram account featuring hundreds of images of the city’s former grandeur.
“By focusing on how the city used to be, we’re also asking where the city is going now,” he says. He hopes the 3D models could serve as a guide for future development, reminding planners of the city’s architectural heritage. Shegow’s project is only the latest initiative that uses digital technology to preserve and recreate the architectural splendour of the past.