May 7, 2014 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

UN delegation held talks with IJA leaders in Kismayo

06 May – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan – 115 words

A United Nations delegation led by Assistant Secretary-General for Peace-building Support Judy-Cheng Hopkins has on Tuesday arrived in the Somali port city of Kismayo. Mrs. Judy-Cheng Hopkins and the United Nations Deputy Special Representative to Somalia Fatiha Serour were received at the airport by members from the Interim Jubba Administration and military officers from the African Union forces in Somalia (AMISOM). The two officials held talks with the Interim Jubba Administration officials shortly after they arrived in the city. Judy-Cheng Hopkins briefed the local media along with IJA deputy leader Abdullahi Sheikh Ismail after the talks and promised that the United Nations will assist the interim administration on security and stabilization efforts in Jubba regions.

Key Headlines

UN delegation held talks with IJA leaders in Kismayo (Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan)
Somali lawmakers to get two bodyguards each (Garowe Online)
EU Ambassadors offer support to the federal government (Bar-kulan)
Let KDF stay in Somalia says Majority Leader Aden Duale (Standard Media)
Somaliland President Appoints new Envoy to Turkey (Somaliland Informer)
Terrorists won’t derail us says Kenyatta (AFP)
4 al Shabaab fighters killed in Bulo-burte Hiran region (Bar-kulan)
Mombasa hotels malls resort to private security (Turkish Press)
Bus crew charged over Thika Road blasts (Daily Nation)
Four days workshop of reviving and promoting research in Somalia ends in Mogadishu (Al Shahid)

SOMALI MEDIA

UN delegation held talks with IJA leaders in Kismayo

06 May – Source: Radio Mogadishu/Bar-kulan – 115 words

Somali lawmakers to get two bodyguards each

06 May – Source: Garowe Online – 99 words

The second deputy speaker of Federal Parliament of Somalia Mahad Abdalla Awad has announced that two bodyguards will be allotted for each and every MP amid planned assassinations targeting key figures within the government, Garowe Online reports. On Tuesday, speaking to reporters at the parliament building in Mogadishu Awad said the lawmakers in 275-seat-chamber of Somali parliament have a full right to enjoy secure environment. “Of the 275 Members of Parliament, 33 are serving as ministers and deputy ministers and have security unit while 239 are unguarded,” Awad noted with the exception of Parliament speaker and his two deputies.

EU Ambassadors offer support to the federal government

06 May – Source: Bar-kulan – 104 words

The Ambassadors for Somalia of the EU, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom met on 5 May Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed and offered their sympathies to the victims of the terror attack of 3rd May. The Ambassadors welcomed the Federal Government presentation of the work programme to Parliament and the Government intention to have broad consultations on the Vision that will lead to a Federated Somalia, finalisation of the Constitution and elections in 2016. They encouraged the Government to establish the relevant Constitutional and other Commissions as quickly as possible, and hoped for the passage of key legislation during the current Parliamentary session.

Somaliland President Appoints new Envoy to Turkey

06 May – Source: Somaliland Informer – 66 words

The head of state H.E Ahmed Mohamed Mohamud alias Silanyo in a presidential decree named H.E Ali Ahmed Osman alias Tuuhe as the new ambassador to Ankara. This news reached journalists through a press release by the presidential Mansion spokesman Mr. Ahmed Sulieman Dhuhul who confirmed the presidential decree number RSL/M/XERM/249-2467/052014 made the appointment which is to take effect immediately.

4 al Shabaab fighters killed in Bulo-burte, Hiran region

06 May – Source: Bar-kulan – 103 words

Somali security forces and AMISOM officials in Bulo-burte town have claimed to have resisted an offensive launched by al Shabaab fighters on a military base in the outskirts of the town. The commander of the government forces in Bulo-burte, Abdullahi Barre told Bar-kulan that four al Shabaab fighters were killed in the attack. He confirmed that seven others from the militant group were also injured and are now being treated at Buq-aqable area, according to the commander. Somali government forces and the African Union troops in Bulo-burte in Hiran region have previously resisted similar al Shabaab attacks in the area on several occasions.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Let KDF stay in Somalia, says Majority Leader Aden Duale

06 May – Source: Standard Media – 75 words

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale says Kenyan soldiers should not be withdrawn from Somalia. Duale dismissed calls for an exit plan for Kenya Defence Forces troops serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), saying peace has to be restored. “We must stand by our troops serving in Somalia. The security personnel need support of all Kenyans in the face of rising terror threats. We are not going to leave Somalia,” said Duale.

Four days workshop of reviving and promoting research in Somalia ends in Mogadishu

06 May – Source: Al Shahid – 86 words

On Monday noon, four days workshop of reviving and promoting research in Somalia has been concluded in Mogadishu’ Jazeera hotel. Facilitated by Arab league of educational, science and cultural organization, Somali national committee of educational, science and culture implemented the discussion which some universities of Somalia, research centers and institution, including Alshahid institute for training and human development attended. Mahmud Ahmed Kulan, Somali high education deputy minister who addressed at the conclusion of the workshop appointed workshop as the first of its kind happens in Somalia.

Bus crew charged over Thika Road blasts

06 May – Source: Daily Nation – 124 words

Five matatu bus crew have been charged with failing to screen passengers in connection with the explosions in ill-fated buses on the Thika Road on Sunday. They were charged with failure to prevent a felony, namely murder and were ordered to deposit personal bonds of Sh5 million each with two sureties of similar amounts. The prosecution told the Makadara Chief Magistrate Emily Ominde that the crew failed to screen passengers “thereby allowing the buses to be blown up by an unknown passenger.” Mr Robert Gakuru and Mr Joshua Wambugu, both drivers, and Mr James Munene, Mr Geoffrey Mwangi and Mr Antony Muthee who were conductors all denied the charge. The case will be heard on July 17. A mention was set for May 20.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Terrorists won’t derail us, says Kenyatta

06 May – Source: AFP – 192 words

Kenya’s president vowed that “attackers will not derail us” following a deadly weekend in which suspected Shabaab militants killed seven people in a spate of bombings. Speaking during a state visit to Nigeria, President Uhuru Kenyatta said: “My presence here is indication that these people will not derail us. We will continue and we shall fight this battle and we shall win this battle.” Kenya’s capital Nairobi was hit by twin bombings on Sunday that killed three and left 86 injured. That came one day after a double attack in the port city of Mombasa that killed four. Somalia’s Shabaab militants have been implicated in both attacks. “Cowardly terrorists” Speaking at a joint news conference with Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan, Kenyatta said both countries “have suffered at the hands of cowardly terrorists, people who have no value for life, who continue to wreak wanton havoc on lives and property in our two countries.” Nigeria has experienced a series of brutal attacks by Islamist Boko Haram militants that have killed an estimated 1 500 people since the start of the year, including 75 killed in a car bombing in Abuja on 14 April.

Mombasa hotels, malls resort to private security

06 May – Source: Turkish Press – 139 words

Hotels and upscale shopping malls in Mombasa, Kenya’s second largest city, have resorted to hiring private security guards, accusing the government of failing to provide adequate protection. “We have had to hire more security guards in our hotels to ensure that tourists are safe,” Mohamed Hersi, hotelier and head of the Mombasa and Coast Tourist Association, told Anadolu Agency. On Saturday night, a bomb went off at the Reef Beach Hotel in Nyali, a popular resort destination for high-end western tourists. No one was injured. Mwenda Njoka, spokesman for Kenya’s Internal Security Ministry, told AA at the time that a person “who looked like an Asian” had entered the hotel shortly before the blast. “He had a bag like somebody who just came in casually to swim. He left the bag at the beach and it exploded,” Njoka said.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“#someonetelluhurukenyatta may be well meaning, and does raise serious and legitimate questions about President Kenyatta’s handling of the security docket in the face of mounting terrorist attacks. However, too many of the comments will sound like sweet music to the ears of al Shabaab, for they betray a frightened, terrified nation that is starting to turn on itself.”

#SomeonetellKenyans to stop aiding al Shabaab by turning on each other

06 May – Source: Daily Nation – 683 words

Kenya is at war. If anyone is in doubt, the twin bomb attacks in Nairobi and Mombasa should serve to disabuse us of any notion that we are safe and secure. One factor we have to contend with is that the kind of war we face is not restricted to the men and women bearings arms on some frontline, but all of us going about our mundane daily routines. The soldier facing the enemy knows very well the threat he confronts and the terrain and environment in which he operates. Now the rest of us have been put in an even more dangerous situation where unseen, unknown foes within are out to violently disrupt normal human intercourse. We are not part of the Kenya Defence Force troops taking the battle to al Shabaab terrorists in Somalia, but all of us face even more mortal danger on the streets, clubs, shopping malls, bars, churches, and wherever else we may congregate, commute or commune. This is a beast we must confront as a united nation with one resolve. The moment we show fear and division and start finger-pointing and recriminations, the enemy wins. As a regular on social network, I am proud Kenyans are already world champions at waging war on Twitter. Kenyan on Twitter, #KOT, will wage vicious, and humorous battles on the #someonetell… — it could be south Africa, Tanzania, the United States or any other country that gets on the wrong side of our hashtag, but when al Shabaab atrocities make us turn the barrels inwards, we are definitely on the wrong foot.