November 28, 2018 | Morning Headlines

AU Peace And Security Council Delegates Hold Talks With South West Leaders In Baidoa

27 November – Source: Halbeeg News – 167 Words

A delegation from the African Union, Peace and Security Council (AU-PSC), arrived in Baidoa, the administrative capital of South West state on Monday. The delegation was warmly received at the airport by the South West State Minister of Security, Mr. Hasan Hussein Mohamed.

The AU-PSC held closed-door meetings with the acting President, Abdikadir Sharif Shekhuna, and later with the five presidential candidates. The discussions focused on a wide range issues including security and the forthcoming elections. Speaking to the media after the discussions, the AU Special Representative for Somalia Ambassador Francisco Madeira, who accompanied the AU-PSC delegation, explained the visit of the AU officials was to assess the political and security situation of the country.

“The purpose of this visit is to assess the security situation in Baidoa, in light of the upcoming presidential elections. It is our hope that the election will be free and fair,” said Madeira. The delegation was also scheduled to visit the HirShabelle state, for talks with political leaders in that state.

Key Headlines

• AU Peace And Security Council Delegates Hold Talks With Southwest Leaders In Baidoa (Halbeeg News)
• Somali National Army Kills Three Terrorist Fighters (SONNA)
• Somalia Concludes 3 Day Constitutional Conference On Human Rights In Mogadishu (Halbeeg News)
• WHO Technical Team Meets To Assess Anti-polio Campaign (Capital FM)
• Ex-militant Tests Somalia’s Fledgling Democracy (Reuters)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Somali National Army Kills Three Terrorist Fighters

27 November – Source: SONNA – 105 Words

Somali National Army (SNA) on Tuesday killed three Al-Shabaab terrorist militant in Oronto area about 50 kilometer south of Mahas town in Hiiraan region. The army foiled terrorist militants’ plot to carry out an ambush attack against the forces heading to Mahas town.

Farah Koshan, an Army Commander in the region confirmed to the media, that the forces had killed three Al-Shabaab fighters, and recovered weapons from the militants during the clash. “Our forces killed three Al-Shabaab militant fighters and wounded several others and recovered weapons. We will be displaying their bodies and guns to the media in the coming few hours,” said Mr. Koshin.

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Somalia Concludes Three Day Constitutional Conference On Human Rights In Mogadishu

27 November – Source: Halbeeg News – 235 Words

Somali government concluded a three-day conference on human rights within the context of the constitutional review process. The conference, which was jointly organised by the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs and the Ministry of Women, kicked off on Sunday. According to the Ministry of Constitution Affairs, the conference focused on a wide range issues including politically unrepresented citizens and the Constitution.

The participants also discussed the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the political process, gender equity and political representation of women, strategies of achieving equity and the plight of the internally displaced persons. While addressing the participants of the conference, Constitution Affairs Minister, Abdirahman Hosh Jibril, said the process of constitution view will engage all citizens in order to ensure their views are captured in the new Constitution.

On her part, Minister of Women and Human Rights, Deqa Yasin praised the Ministry of Constitution Affairs, for its efforts in conducting the constitutional review rrocess in an inclusive manner. Several individuals from civil society, including people with disability, women and politically underrepresented groups, also addressed the conference.

Ramla Ibrahim, who represented women, welcomed the opportunities given to the society to share their views and ask questions to the panelists. “There has been massive violation of human rights in Somalia over the years (when the country was in civil war), and that is why we need to incorporate a chapter on human rights in our provisional constitution.”

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

WHO Technical Team Meets To Assess Anti-polio Campaign

27 November – Source: Capital FM – 402 Words

World Health Organization’s Polio Technical Advisory Group (TAG) is this week meeting in Nairobi to evaluate progress made in ending outbreaks of polio-virus in Kenya and Somalia. In a three-day conference beginning on Tuesday, the 18th TAG will also review Uganda, Tanzania, Djibouti, South Sudan, Yemen, and Sudan to establish the readiness of respective countries to tackle a polio

A polio outbreak in Somalia last year resulted into the paralysis of several children in the Horn of Africa nation, a situation the global health agency wants to bring under control. Some parts of Kenya have also been reported to be in danger after a vaccine-derived polio virus was traced in a sewage water sample in April last year.

The virus found in Eastleigh was linked to polio-virus samples tested in Mogadishu in October-November last year, and January this year. “The emergence of the vaccine-derived polio virus in southern Somalia in 2017 and in the informal settlements of Nairobi in Eastleigh in 2018 is a confirmation that the polio threat is real and the virus continues to circulate undetected in the sub-region”, WHO Representative Dr Rudi Eggers stated.

The Ministry of Health is currently undertaking a polio campaign covering 12 high risk counties targeting 2.8 million children aged 5 years and below. In Nairobi alone, 800,000 children have been targeted in a previous vaccination campaign in July. 2.5 million children were vaccinated during the campaign in twelve counties.

Following the discovery of the polio-virus at in Eastleigh, the government upscaled vigilance to deter an outbreak of polio broader surveillance and an elaborate immunization programme targeting Nairobi thought a Rapid Results Initiative that lasted 100 days. Kenya also participated in a synchronized polio campaign with Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Somalia, in September.

While lobbying for the joint effort, Eggers said a united approach was critical to suppressing polio. “It also emphasizes the importance of population movements between the countries and the need to address polio eradication activities as a sub-region, not only in a single country like Kenya,” the regional WHO chief said.

Eggers noted progress made in fighting cholera with the number of children paralyzed as a result of cholera declining from 350,000 annually in 1988 to only 22 in 2017. “Only 1 per cent is left to totally eradicate the disease and we can do this by vaccinating children with the two drops of the vaccine,” he said.

OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE

“Robow is campaigning on a security card, promising in an October rally: “If I win, I will eliminate the al Shabaab militants, bandits in government uniforms and other clan militias who disturb our South West state.”

Ex-militant Tests Somalia’s Fledgling Democracy

27 November – Source: Reuters – 716 Words

Last year Mukhtar Robow had a $5 million (4 million pounds) U.S. bounty on his head. Now the former Islamist al Shabaab militant has downed his guns and donned the garb of a democrat. While Robow is not the first ex-militant to enter Somali politics, the momentum behind his bid to become a regional leader has turned his effort into a watershed moment in the stand-off between the federal government and Somalia’s seven semi-autonomous regions.

How Mogadishu and those states ultimately find ways to share power – including via elections such as the Dec. 5 vote in the South West state where Robow is running – is critical. “It’s a pivotal point in the confrontation between the government and federal member states, which is probably a much greater threat to Somalia’s security than al Shabaab itself,” said Matt Bryden, head of the Nairobi-based think tank Sahan Research.

That confrontation is now being played out through Robow, a key figure in the country’s troubled recent history. Somalia has been trying to claw its way out of the civil war that engulfed it in 1991, when clan warlords overthrew a dictator and then turned on each other. Al Shabaab has been fighting for more than a decade to topple the weak central government and implement strict Islamic law, often sending suicide bombers against civilian targets. Once a charismatic spokesman for the group known for his military fatigues and long beard,

Robow fell out with the leadership in 2013 following a power struggle. He laid low with his militia for several years before renouncing violence and recognising the authority of the federal government in August 2017. He is now running as an independent. During this time the U.S. withdrew a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture and removed him from their list of sponsors of terrorism, although other international sanctions remain on him.

The former insurgent, who once spent time training with the Taliban, has cast himself in a civilian role, donning dark suits and a clerical cap. After the Shabaab bombing that killed around 500 people last year, Robow was photographed donating blood. On Sunday, the state electoral commission announced it had accepted his candidature, dismissing federal demands that he be barred because of remaining U.S. Treasury Department sanctions.