May 6, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Former Al-Shabaab Combatant Calls On Other Women To Renounce Terrorism
05 May – Source: UNSOM – 511 Words
She endured six years of brutality, combat and child-rearing as a wife of an Al-Shabaab leader, but Batula, (name changed), 23, has put the living nightmare behind her with the help of a rehabilitation programme in the Somali city of Baidoa.
The 23-year-old Batula (not her real name) was still an adolescent when a friend persuaded her to join the militant group that was controlling the southwestern town where she attended school. “I cooked food for them, washed their clothes. I loved Al-Shabaab and I used to respect them very much because if someone invoking religion asks you to do something for the sake of God, you will definitely do it”, Batula said.
Batula married an al-Shabaab emir (leader) and traveled with him wherever he went. “I never left his side. I used to train with him. I now have two children, a boy and a girl”, she added.
But disillusionment set in after the birth of her second child. Fed up with the harsh living conditions, having to be “on the run” all the time, and never-ending fights and attacks, Batula decided to escape and go back to Baidoa. “Life became unbearable,” she said.
Key Headlines
- Former Al-Shabaab Combatant Calls On Other Women To Renounce Terrorism
- (UNSOM)
- Puntland Security Minister wounded in Bossaso gunfire Exchange (Garowe Online)
- Islamic State Says It Carried Out Second Attack In Somalia (Shabelle News)
- AMISOM Claims Killing 25 Al-Shabaab Militants In Central Somalia (Shabelle News)
- Somali MP Calls For Inclusion Of Minorities In Power Sharing (Radio Dalsan)
- Somalia: Puntland To Address Street Children Welfare (Horseed Media)
- NUSOJ Elections Postponed Over Puntland Delegates Delay (Radio Dalsan)
- ISIS Trying To Set Up Base In Somalia (Standard Media)
- Homeland Security Investigating Alleged Somali Profiling By TSA (MPR News)
- An Unlikely Early Adopter Of Paris Climate Agreement: Somalia (Public Radio International – PRI)
- Somaliland Is A Different Country From Somalia – CNN-Anderson Cooper (Wardheer News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Puntland Security Minister Wounded In Bossaso Gunfire Exchange
05 May – Source: Garowe Online- 228 Words
Somalia-Puntland Security Minister Abdi Hirsi Ali (Qarjab) has sustained gunshot wounds to his leg after being caught in a cross fire of a shootout in Bossaso port city on Thursday, Garowe Online reports.
Bari regional Police Commander Abdihakin Yusuf noted that several people were wounded in “exchange of fire” by bodyguards of Puntland Police Chief Abdirizak Mohamud Yusufand the commander of paramilitary Birmadka forces Colonel Afdalow.
Qarjab is said to be in a good condition, with reports indicating that he could be airlifted for further treatment. “May Allah make it easier, a shot penetrated into his thigh. His health condition is getting better for now,” said Yusuf.”
A Deputy Commander [Ali Iman] shot in the kidneys is now in critical condition, there were also other security officers who are recuperating gradually following surgical treatments.”
The soldiers fired at each other, wounding six people including the Security Minister who toured Birmadka forces base for authorized government inspection. “Paramilitary Birmadka forces commander arrived at the scene where the counting regarding actual number of soldiers was underway, and he subsequently traded punches with the Police Chief. [Qarjab was injured] by ensuing shots fired by bodyguards of the two commanders,” a security official said, under condition of anonymity. Sources say the gunfire exchange was likely triggered by an order that could have stripped Colonel Afdalow of post. The shootout comes amid Puntland.
Islamic State Says It Carried Out 2nd Attack In Somalia
05 May – Source: Shabelle News- 206 Words
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed to have carried out an attack on NISA forces near Mogadishu, the second attack in Somalia in two weeks.
ISIL said in a statement carried by Amaq News Agency, Islamic state fighters assaulted National intelligence agency (NISA) troops with “light weapons” in Sinkadir area in the outskirts of Mogadishu.
Islamic State didn’t reveal when the attack on NISA took place and any casualties, but the assault becomes the second of its kind in Somalia since the group announced its presence in the horn of Africa country in 2015. In April 24, ISIL said in a statement that they targeted a convoy of African Union troops (AMISOM) with a landmine at Taredishe area in the outskirts of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
AMISOM Claims Killing 25 Al-Shabaab Militants In Central Somalia
05 May – Source: Shabelle News – 121 Words
The African Union mission in Somalia has claimed killing at least 25 militants in an offensive against Al Shabaab in Galgaduud region, in central Somalia. The twenty five militants have been killed in a joint SNA and AMISOM assault in Elqoohle and Bud-bud villages in Elbur district of Galgaduud region On 22 April, 2016, the mission has said on its official Twitter account.
In another offensive on 28 April 2016, AMISOM and SNA troops have liberated Galcad and Bud bud villages in the same Galgaduud region from Al Shabaab militants. Since the AU mission in Somalia began in 2007, AMISOM and Somali national army (SNA) troops have pushed Al-Shabaab out of large swathes of territories, including Mogadishu, Baidoa and Kismayo.
Somali MP Calls For Inclusion Of Minorities In Power Sharing
05 May – Source: Radio Dalsan- 146 Words
A member of parliament at federal level has called upon the government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohmaud to include minority groups in power-sharing government.
Mohamed Mohamud Ibrahim who spoke to Radio Dalsan on Thursday in Mogadishu said there are several Somali minority groups in the country that do not have representation in the government.
He said those from minority times have not been given the chance at national level especially in the parliament since the collapse of the central government in early 1990s.
The Member of Parliament added that more than 65 members of parliament have signed document expected to be submitted in the house in support of allocating more seats to minority tribes in the recuperating state. Honourable Ibrahim said he is confident that the next government will cater for the needs of minority groups in the country as far as political representation is concerned.
Puntland To Address Street Children Welfare
05 May – Source: Horseed Media- 239 Words
Puntland would soon develop a policy to address welfare of street children, a top official said.
A large number of children in the region remain exploited in various forms and most of them who should be in schools are in the streets, majority of them aged between 5-17 years old.
Puntland’s Vice President Abdihakim Abdullahi Amey said that his administration will put emphasis on addressing the issues of street children. ‘’There is really a need to address these children’s issue, we will cooperate with international donors to tackle it.’’
Minister of Women and Social Affairs of Puntland, Anisa Abdulkadir, disclosed that her Ministry has been working on enacting a new policy to address the welfare of street children since 2014.
She added that a delegation from the United States of America who recently visited the region was interested to help resolve this issue. Following civil war that erupted in the country in 1991, many children became orphans. Others faced displacement and met financial difficulties which necessitated that many move to urban areas with and without parents and some escaped broken or abusive family environments. According to local NGOs, over 20,000 children remain in the streets of the country’s biggest cities, including Mogadishu.
NUSOJ Elections Postponed Over Puntland Delegates Delay
05 May- Source: Radio Dalsan – 104 Words
National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) has announced the postponement of national elections scheduled on Thursday (5th May).
The deputy chair of interim media committee formed to oversee the elections of the national union of Somali Journalists has made the announcement. Ismail Sheikh Khalifa said elections process that was expected to be conducted on Thursday was delayed due to the absence of delegates from Puntland region state of Somalia.
All other delegates from other regions of Somalia are in the capital Mogadishu. Somali high court has disbanded NUSOJ and called for immediate transparent national elections on early April after power wrangles between two factions
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
ISIS Trying To Set Up Base In Somalia
06 May – Source: Standard Media- 230 Words
Kenyan security agencies have stepped up vigilance following reports that Islamic State militants (ISIS) are trying to set up base in Somalia. A senior security official said the militants have been crossing from Yemen and are training in readiness for mass attacks. The source said the militants have also been receiving arsenal and financial support.
“The weapons’ shipment was delivered to the group from Mukallah City in Hadhramaut (Yemen). They also include uniforms, weapons and trainers,” said the official who asked not to be named.
On Tuesday, Somali commandos overran an ISIS training base in Janale, in Middle Shabelle region and destroyed it. A number of foreign militants who were there were killed.
According to the Somali media reports, many pro-ISIS trainees in the camp were killed. The commandos are still hunting down their trainers and leaders believed to be within the vicinity.
Homeland Security Investigating Alleged Somali Profiling By TSA
05 May – Source: MPR News – 268 Words
The Department of Homeland Security is investigating an allegation of racial profiling against the Somali community by the Transportation Security Administration.
The announcement comes one week after Andrew Rhoades, a senior TSA manager at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, said his bosses asked him to profile Somali people in Minnesota — including imams and other community members. The DHS’s Office of Inspector General will conduct the investigation and release a report if appropriate, the department said Thursday in a statement.
The allegations, initially published by The New York Times, spurred calls for an immediate, independent investigationfrom Somali leaders in Minnesota.
Minnesota’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in astatement that it welcomed the decision to investigate.
“[We] hope it results in the accountability and transparency needed to rebuild trust in the Minnesota TSA,” said CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein in the statement. “Racial and religious profiling is unconstitutional, immoral, ineffective, and undermines the core principals of our democracy.”
An Unlikely Early Adopter Of Paris Climate Agreement: Somalia
05 May – Source: Public Radio International (PRI)- 546 Words
Since the global climate agreement was negotiated in Paris last December, we’ve heard a lot about the importance of big polluters like the US and China stepping up to actually put that agreement into force.
So it was a bit of a surprise to hear that one of the first countries to fully commit to the Paris plan is not a big power. In fact, it’s a country that until recently was barely functioning: Somalia.
“We used to be a failed state, now we’re called a fragile state. If we can do this, anyone can,” said Foreign Minister Abdusalam Omer.
Somalia joined a dozen small island states and Belize that ratified the Paris climate agreement on April 22 at a ceremony in New York. So did Palestinian delegates.
To date, 16 nations have become parties to the agreement and 177 have signed on. Countries representing 55 percent of global emissions must sign on for the agreement to go into force.
Small island nations, including the Marshall Islands, Fiji and the Maldives are especially vulnerable to sea level rise. They ratified early after pushing hard for the agreement in Paris back in December.
Now, Omer said it is his country’s turn to send a message.
“Somalia is telling the world, stop denying that climate change is here, that the world is changing, and we are the cause of it,” Omer said.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
Anderson Cooper is a prominent journalist, and it’s distressful to see him propagating such an idea that has already caused many lives, and it could be another source of more conflicts within Somali people who have been suffering for so long from the intrusions of outside interest individuals and entities.
Somaliland Is A Different Country From Somalia – CNN-Anderson Cooper
05 May – Source: Wardheer News – 641 Words
Arbitrarily, Europeans clustered the post-colonial borders of Africa which left Africans into countries that don’t represent their heritage. Their bunching has extremely contributed the ongoing conflicts and troubles in the countries that don’t characterize their ethnicity. If you closely look at the most nations in Africa, who are having conflicts within or each other, have ethnic conflicts and boarder disputes due to the European boarder formation. For that partitioning, Africans have deepened into further disparities, hunger and civil war for so long, and no hope is visible in the horizon.
The title of this piece, Somaliland Is a Different Country from Somalia by CNN-Anderson Cooper, is the same title of a video from CNN-Anderson Cooper’s visit to Hargeisa for a program about the ABAARSO School. On one hand, it was enlightening to see the progresses and efforts made to educate the future generation of Somali children, however, on the other hand, it was a very disappointing and disturbing to watch and listen to a man with so much experience and knowledge on World’s geopolitics from his long time broadcasting from many parts of the world, yet to see him misinforming in a such embarrassing way for presenting Somaliland as a country that is different from Somalia. For the benefit of the doubt, I assumed a lack of information on his part to depict Somaliland as its own country, but in later part of the video, he was very well aware of that Somaliland is not a recognized country and of course it’s still a region/state within the parcel of Somalia. I am not here to go about the legality and accordance of the World Nations and boarders because there is no discrepancy on that and never being a question about the fact on Somaliland’s status. Knowledgeably, Mr. Cooper went on ahead and described as such to mislead his audiences and cause further confusion and potentially create source of new conflicts by telling this incorrect information.
Then wonders came to mind that what was his actual purpose of knowingly saying that “Somaliland is a different country from Somalia” and eloquently explaining it more than the owners of this project could do. Does he have a new side gig as lobbyist? Or is this another all over again mission of the same yester- century‘s Europeans dividing Africa furthermore? These are the mind boggling thoughts and questions one might has to seek for answers to pinpoint the real reason behind his new endeavors.