November 27, 2018 | Morning Headlines
Car Bomb Blast Kills 8 In Somali Capital
26 November – Source: The Peninsula – 154 Words
At least eight people were killed, 15 others wounded in a car bomb blast in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, officials said. Hassan Gulled, a police officer in Mogadishu, told Anadolu Agency via phone that the car bomb targeted a crowded marketplace in Kawo Godey area in Wadajir neighborhood.
“What we know so far about the attack is that at least 8 people, mostly civilians, died and 15 others wounded — who were rushed to Madina hospital for treatment,” Gulled said. Aamin Ambulance Service in Mogadishu also confirmed that they transferred more than 15 wounded people to hospitals.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack but officials blamed al-Shabaab for the attack. This attack comes hours after a suicide attack at a religious gathering in the northern town of Galkayo killed more than 15 people and left 20 others wounded, according to Galmudug State officials. Somalia’s terrorist group al-Shabaab had claimed responsibility for that attack.
Key Headlines
- Car Bomb Blast Kills 8 In Somali Capital (The Peninsula)
- Somali President Attends Key Summit In Kenya (Radio Shabelle)
- Clashes Over Water Leave 800 Families In Crisis In Galgaduud (Radio Ergo)
- African Union Peace & Security Council Delegation On An Assessment Mission In Somalia (AMISOM)
- Education Campaign Bears Fruit As Pastoralists Send Children To School In Berbera (Radio Ergo)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali President Attends Key Summit In Kenya
26 November – Source: Radio Shabelle – 231 Words
President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo arrived in the capital city of Kenya, Nairobi, on Monday to attend the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference. The delegation led by President Farmajo was welcomed at the airport by Kenyan authorities. The historic conference, which focuses on environmental protection, will be the first-ever of its kind to be hosted in Nairobi.
The three-day conference has high global support with over twenty world leaders attending the event in Nairobi. A number of environment-friendly civil society organizations are also in attendance. The leaders will discuss ways to harness the potential of the oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers to improve the lives of all, particularly people in developing states, women, and youth and Indigenous communities.
The conference is organized by the governments of Japan, Canada and Kenya and is being attended by over 4000 delegates, including business people and environmental experts representing different countries. The Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) is expected to present its plans towards investment, rebuilding and modernization of its ports given that Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa.
Leverage of the latest innovations, scientific advances and best practices to build prosperity while conserving the waters for future generations is a major task. The Sustainable Blue Economy Conference builds on the momentum of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 2015 Climate Change Conference in Paris and the UN Ocean Conference 2017 “Call to Action”
Clashes Over Water Leave 800 Families In Crisis In Galgaduud
26 November – Source: Radio Ergo – 323 Words
Over 800 families displaced by clashes in Galgaduud region in central Somalia are in dire need of humanitarian help as host communities struggle to provide support. The conflict between armed pastoralists in a remote area along Galgalab-Dhacder road that erupted in mid-November forced the families to flee their homes.
Deqlo chief, Gure Eiynshe, told Radio Ergo the families who are now camping in Galinsoor and Deqlo villages had received only some small handouts from local villagers: “After they arrived in the area, we assisted them with water but now the reservoirs are drying up. These displaced people are facing acute food shortage, and they are yet to receive proper support,” he said.
“Our capacity to help these families is limited so we call on the aid agencies to help them, as soon as possible.”Hamdi Abdullahi and her eight children who fled Galgalab village with 60 goats and three camels, have settled in Deqlo, around 10 km from her village. For the last 11 days she has been surviving on food and water she got from the locals. She told Radio Ergo the communities in her area were fighting over water resources. She has no clean water to drink and no money to buy water.
“We receive 10 litres of water every day. This is not enough for a whole family. In my village we used to consume over 100 litres of water but now we have to make do with this little water.” Abdikadir Geuleh, a father of 10, fled his home this month. He has been surviving on food from the local administration: “Life is very difficult here. We are facing dire conditions, we neither have enough food nor water and the host community has nothing to offer us. We need urgent support,” he said. Clashes over pasture and water resources is a perennial problem among nomadic communities in Somalia displacing thousands and also leading to deaths.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
African Union Peace & Security Council Delegation On An Assessment Mission In Somalia
26 November – Source: AMISOM – 247 Words
A delegation from the African Union Peace and Security Council (AU-PSC) arrived in Somalia on Monday to assess the political and security situation in the Horn of Africa country.
The delegation was received on arrival at the Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, by H. E. Abdulkadir Ahmedkheyr Abdi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, senior government officials and the AU Special Representative for Somalia, Ambassador Francisco Caetano Madeira. While in the country, the delegation will hold talks with leaders from the Federal Government and Federal Member States, AMISOM leadership, UN officials and International Partners.
The delegation’s three-day working visit to Somalia is also aimed at checking the progress made in the transitioning of national security responsibilities from AMISOM to the Somali National Security Forces as per the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2372 of 2017 and 2431 of 2018, as well as the Communique of the 782nd meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council.
The Peace and Security Council is keen to ensure that the implementation of the Transition Plan is carried out as planned, within the framework of the country’s National Security Architecture, without undue strain on national security.
Pivotal to the delegation will be an assurance that the Somali security forces are progressively being trained and capacitated, to take over full responsibility of the Somalia’s security. On the political front, the delegation will be keen to get an update on the state of political situation in the country and the impending regional presidential elections.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“I have taken up the task of looking after the livestock myself and decided to allow the children to go to school, after the elders came to my house and convinced me”
Education Campaign Bears Fruit As Pastoralists Send Children To School In Berbera
26 November – Source: Radio Ergo – 509 Words
When the brand new school built in Magalo-ad village, six km from the Somaliland port of Berbera, finally opened its doors in September, there were just 36 children occupying the eight-classroom building.
Built by the international charity SOS Children’s Villages and run by the Somaliland government, the school brings educational opportunities for the first time to the children of the nomadic pastoralist community in the area. The disappointing rate of enrollment at the new school led the authorities to mobilise rapidly to conduct an awareness campaign in collaboration with SOS Children’s Villages.
As water and pasture are scarce, pastoralist parents with hundreds of livestock are constantly on the move. Children normally move with them and are tasked with taking care of the animals and doing other chores: “Education is important for a village like this one with a large number of children,” said SOS Children’s Village officer, Ayanle Ahmed Mohamed. “SOS constructed this school for the village but parents failed to bring their children at first, so we carried out a three week campaign to create awareness.”
The campaign bore fruit. Eighty two children were enrolled as a result of the community discussions, bringing the current school roll to 118 students. Adan Mohamed Omar, a village council elder involved in the campaign, said they sat with parents to persuade them to allow their children go to the school.
“We went to their homes and discussed with parents on the importance of sending their children to school. Some of them have already taken their children to the school. Lack of knowledge about the importance of education among parents was a major contributing factor to the low enrollment rates,” said Omar.
Nur Farah Igal, the headmaster, commended the campaign for changing the attitude of parents towards education: “Now people seem to have understood the importance of education because since the launch of the campaign, we started receiving new pupils,” he said.
Ibrahim Digale, Somaliland ministry of education coordinator in Sahil region, said the ministry took over management of the school and will meet the running costs: “Our plan is to educate two out of every three children in every pastoralist family. We will do everything to ensure the education of these children is not disrupted,” Ibrahim told Radio Ergo.