May 29, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Government Forces Carry Out Security Sweep in Mogadishu
28 May – Source: Garowe Online – 196 Words
Somali forces carried out security sweep in the capital Mogadishu on Sunday, whereby dozens of suspects linked with Al-Shabaab were arrested, according to reports. Local officials said security forces comprising of Police and Intelligence agency blocked public vehicles from the city’s main roads, including KM4, Tarabunka and industrial streets. The joint forces raided the homes of suspects in northern Mogadishu in the morning, and seized weapons, explosives and arrested young men on suspicion of being Al-Shabaab members.
The detained suspects were taken to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for questioning, however, the Police officials did not comment so far on the massive security operations. Mogadishu has seen an increase of attacks, including targeted assassinations over the past couple of months, as the militant group al-Shabaab vowed to intensify raids during the holy month of Ramadan. National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) forces, along with Police and Military units began last week an anti-terror sweep in Mogadishu as part of “Stabilization Mission” to enforce security in the capital.
Key Headlines
- Government Forces Carry Out Security Sweep in Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
- Gunman Kills Two at Food Aid Distribution Site in Abudwak (Somali Update)
- Prime Minister Meets International Partners In Mogadishu (Garowe Online)
- Construction Company Says Resurfacing Sodonka Road To Cost $5 Million (Goobjoog News)
- Somali Court Sentences 5 Insurgents to Death for Attempted Bombings (Reuters)
- In Somalia Islamist Rebels Are Blocking Starving People From Getting Food (Washington Post)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Gunman Kills Two at Food Aid Distribution Site in Abudwak
28 May – Source: Somali Update – 226 Words
At least two killed and ten others wounded after a lone gunman shot people at a food aid distribution site in Abudwak town in Galgadud region, in central Somalia, District Commissioner said. Abudwak District Commissioner Muse Mohamed Ahmed said the gunman stormed and started shooting at the people who were at the food distribution site where hundreds of drought-displaced people were queuing to receive dry food donated by Islamic Relief. “Two guards of the site died, and unfortunately 10 others, including the recent displaced people injured. Some of them seriously injured.” The District Commissioner said.
According to Suleiman Sharif who survived from the Sunday morning shooting, Frightened people begin running for shelter as the peaceful food distribution scene turned bloody around 7.30 am local time when the ruthless gunman started shooting indiscriminately. The food aid handout was canceled after the shooting. The motive of the attack was unknown as security forces started manhunt to get the murderer. Local sources claim that the gunman’s motive was related to previous clan feud but authorities are yet to confirm such claims. “We have received reports that the gunman escaped. Security forces were sent to arrest him.” The commissioner added. The town in Galgadud region, Abudwak is among local towns where hundreds of drought-affected families fled to seek aid assistance. Abudwak is about 470KM from the country’s capital, Mogadishu.
Prime Minister Meets International Partners In Mogadishu
29 May – Source : Garowe Online – 209 Words
The Prime Minister of Somali Federal government hosted a meeting participated by representatives of Somalia’s international partners in the capital Mogadishu on Sunday. The meeting attended by UN special envoy to Somalia, AU special envoy, EU representatives, and ambassadors of Turkey, Sweden, China and UAE. The meeting was reported to focus on the political progress of the new government and setting up mutual accountability by the two sides. Cabinet ministers of Finance, Defense and Information, and officials from the Prime Minister’s office also joined the meeting along with PM Hasan Ali Khayre.
During the meeting PM Khayre highlighted about Federal government’s progress in the areas of drought relief, security, economy, anti-corruption and good governance. He also indicated that his government is promoting accountability at all levels and called the international community in the country to follow suit to win the trust of the Somali people. On their side, representatives of the intentional community thanked the Somali PM for hosting the meeting and reiterated support for the Federal government to accomplish its agenda in the areas of security, development and economy. Somali PM later urged country’s donors to implement development projects, particularly the infrastructures to help create needed jobs for the Somali youth who are facing high rate of unemployment.
Construction Company Says Resurfacing Sodonka Road To Cost $5 Million
28 May – Source : Goobjoog News – 205 Words
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kherye accompanied by the Governor of Banadir region Thabit Abdi Mohamed have laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of the Sodonka road in Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia. The road is estimated to be 5.5 Km though reconstruction will cover both sides of the road which is a dual carriage road. It will be a total of 11 Km costing more than $5 millions as confirmed by the construction company to Goobjoog News. “The construction of this road will impact positively on the maintenance of the security and uplifting the economy of the country” the Prime Minister said while speaking during the groundbreaking session at the construction site.
On the part of the Governor of Banadir, Mr. Thabit mentioned that the amount to be spent on the reconstruction of the above road will be paid from the coffers of the Local Government and the citizens residing along the Sodonka Road. The newly appointed Hodan District Commissioner, Mohamed Ahmed Antooba who was also present during the ground-breaking ceremony said: “This road is the lifeline of Mogadishu town and connects industrial areas, Fagah and Aanaha Road. It begins from Hodan location, passes through the districts of Howl-Wadaad, Wardhiigley and Yaaqshiid.”
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali Court Sentences 5 Insurgents to Death for Attempted Bombings
27 May – Source : Reuters – 208 words
A Somali court sentenced five men to death on Saturday after they were caught with a vehicle laden with explosives, a court official said, a rare successful prosecution in a country where bombings by the Islamist insurgency are increasing. The five said they were members of the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab Islamist militia. They were arrested as they drove a vehicle carrying three barrels packed with explosives into Bosasso, the capital of the northern semi-autonomous region of Puntland, on April 26. “The five men had been caught red-handed as they entered Bosasso with a car bomb previously.
They admitted before the court they are al Shabaab members and the court sentenced them to death,” Abdifatah Haji Aden, the chairman of Puntland’s military court, told Reuters on Saturday. At the time, officials showed reporters the explosives and said each barrel had been intended to go off separately in three separate explosions. Executions require presidential approval before they can be carried out. Somalia has been riven by civil war since 1991. The al Shabaab insurgency wants to overthrow the weak U.N.-backed government and impose strict Islamic law. The insurgency has lost control of most cities and towns in recent years but is carrying out increasingly deadly bomb attacks.
OPINION/ANALYSIS/CULTURE
“Al-Shabab does not just target aid groups, however. The rebels often retaliate against people who flee to Baidoa’s camps, saying they may be divulging details about the militants’ whereabouts to authorities.”
In Somalia, Islamist Rebels Are Blocking Starving People From Getting Food
27 May – Source: Washington Post – 1124 words
Near a dried-out reservoir on the edge of this village is a dilapidated mud hut. The family that lived there until last month went so far as to strip off its straw roof and feed the material to their emaciated cattle. When the animals died anyway, the family disappeared. Half of Rebey’s 80 families have abandoned their homes, fleeing a drought that has decimated their livestock and withered two years of harvests. But cruel weather is not the main reason hundreds of thousands of people in rural Somalia are on the brink of starving to death. Rebels from the extremist al-Shabab group are blocking vital aid from reaching villages, compounding the effects of the poor rains. Mohamed Ibrahim Hasan, a traditional chief in Rebey, said the deadly combination could spell the end for his lifelong home. “If the rain is bad again this season, that’s it, this village is finished,” he said. “Or, if al-Shabab comes here to fight, then we will not be able to get the aid from outside that is keeping us alive.” That aid agencies can still reach Rebey makes it an exceedingly rare and lucky village. Al-Shabab, an Islamist group that pledges allegiance to al-Qaeda, holds sway over most rural areas in drought-ravaged southern Somalia and opposes the presence of international aid groups, accusing them of colluding with its archenemy, the Somali government.
Without access to food, roughly 160,000 people from across the region have walked, sometimes for days, to disease-ridden camps in government-controlled cities where aid is available. Those who are too weak to make the journey are left at home to teeter on death’s edge. Just six years ago, a famine swept these parts, and more than a quarter of a million people died. It is no coincidence that the worst-affected regions then, as well as now, are where al-Shabab has triggered mass displacement.
The militia is weaker and fragmented now, in part because its obstructionism during the last famine cost the group what popular support it had. But it has still mustered recent attacks on U.N. aid agencies such as the World Food Program. Thirteen aid workers were kidnapped by al-Shabab and other local militias in April, the highest monthly total since 2011. Since the previous famine, government-allied militias together with African Union troops have regained control over Baidoa, a city near the epicenter of the drought. U.N. agencies and African Union troops share a heavily fortified compound next to the city’s airport. Aid workers from private groups such as Save the Children and SOS Children’s Villages travel with truckloads of hired gunmen when they venture into the camps of displaced people in Baidoa or visit hungry towns nearby.
Somali aid workers can travel with greater ease, but their association with aid groups makes them targets for al-Shabab. “If they caught me, they would kill me — it’s that simple,” said a Somali employee of Save the Children, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of security concerns. Al-Shabab does not just target aid groups, however. The rebels often retaliate against people who flee to Baidoa’s camps, saying they may be divulging details about the militants’ whereabouts to authorities. Many villagers, therefore, are reluctant to return to their homes when conditions improve. Aid workers worry that Somalia’s displacement crisis may thus prove intractable.
“If they go back to their villages, they would have to answer to al-Shabab,” said Edmore Tondhlana, who coordinates the United Nations’ drought-relief operation in Baidoa. “[Al-Shabab] will ask: ‘Where were you? Who did you speak to?’ They think that you have become a government informant. They can kill you.” [Trump’s plan to slash foreign aid comes as famine threat is surging] Baidoa is a refuge, for now. The displaced can check in at a government hospital, or fill up jerrycans at a water tank, even if the scattered camps are crowded and makeshift, and perfect breeding grounds for diseases such as cholera. Humanitarian agencies provide cash for people to buy food and materials for shelter.