NATIONAL MEDIA
7 November – Source: Hiiraan Online – 276 Words
One hundred and thirty-four Somalia soldiers passed out Wednesday after a two months training in the UK funded military academy in Baidoa. The soldiers drawn from the 60th division of the Somali National Army graduated from the training facility in South West capital Baidoa. The UK embassy in Somalia said in a statement, the soldiers, a full company, acquired skills in field-craft, leadership, human rights, first-aid treatment, patrolling and the delivery of defensive operations. The UK ambassador to Somalia Ben Fender praised the soldiers for completing the training and reiterated his country’s commitment to rebuilding Somalia’s security forces. “Congratulations to you all on successfully completing this important training. We hope the new skills you have learnt will be of great benefit to you as you join other men and women on the frontline to support long-term security in Somalia,” Ambassador Fender said.
“The UK is committed to helping build the capacity of the Somali National Army and Somali Police Force so that you will eventually be able to assume full responsibility for the nation’s security.” South West state president Abdiazia Hassan Laftagareen implored upon the soldiers to utilised the skills well and train fellow soldiers. “I urge all of you to work hard and protect our country, please implement the lessons you have learnt during the training and pass on the knowledge to your colleagues. I would also like to thank the UK government for providing support to the Somali people,” the South West leader said. According to the statement, the UK has trained over 900 Somali soldiers since 2017 in areas such as medical skills, leadership development, equipment care, logistics and the rule of law.
7 November – Source: Hiiraan Online – 70 Words
Security in Afgooye Wednesday night nabbed several suspects in connection with the killing of Lower Shabelle deputy district commissioner Omar Mohamud Arabey. Sources in Afgooye which is located some 30 kilometres south-west of Mogadishu told Goobjoog News the security forces conducted an overnight operation arresting several people. Some were released Thursday morning. Arabey was killed Monday in a grenade attack at his home and the militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
7 November – Source: US Embassy in Somalia – 61 Words
The United States calls on the Federal Government of Somalia, all Federal Member States, and citizens of Somalia to work towards political reconciliation, cooperation, and unity through peaceful dialogue. Somalia has made impressive progress in key areas. We encourage all actors to come together and remain focused on working with Somalia’s international partners to bring peace, stability, and prosperity to Somalia.
7 November – Source: Save the Children – 496 Words
Until the recent floods which landed in Beledweyne town of Hiran region, Somalia, Halimo Isaq had an ok life. She lived in Hassan Qurac settlement for Internally Displaced People. (IDP) in Beledweyne town, doing the best to survive. Although life was tough for her, she worked hard to feed her children and grand-children. Halima raises 13 children—eight grand-children from her late eldest son and five of her own. She survived by doing house work, including washing closes for families in Beledweyne town. Each day she would earn a few dollars to get some food for her family.
Now, Halima is devastated. She was forced to relocate to a temporary IDP site when the floods came and destroyed their settlement. They were able to escape with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Most of her clients and the people who supported her have also been displaced. Now she has nothing to keep her going. “Our lives depended on me working. Each day I would get some money after washing clothes and doing other household chores. I used the money to buy food for the family. I lost everything. I don’t even know what to do anymore.” To ease their harsh conditions, one of Halimo’s grandchildren, nine-year-old Abdihakim Mohamed goes out to collect crops washed away by the floods and sales them to the other displaced families. He makes one or two Dollars a day. But Halimo knows this is risky and not sustainable. Soon there will be nothing to find and she fears for the safety of his grandson. “It pains me to see my children suffer like this. We need food and clean water, just to survive here as we wait for our fate.” Before the flood, Abdihakim used to go to school. “I saw my school filled with water. We all had to escape and come to this place to save ourselves. Most of my classmates are in this camp, others escaped to the other side of town. I really miss school. I hope I will go back there soon. Now I have to help my grandmother, we have to survive,” says Abdihakim……
6 November – Source: Xinhua – 495 Words
UN agencies are scaling up disaster relief efforts to help Somalis who are being affected by severe flooding in many regions across the country. Floods have killed at least 17 people and displaced more than 370,000 in Somalia, destroying farmland and infrastructure in the Horn of Africa nation, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Wednesday. The World Food Programme, the food-assistance branch of the United Nations, and other partners facilitated by OCHA have scaled up humanitarian response, providing food to address the short-term nutrition needs of flood-affected families, as well as potable water, sanitation, shelter and health assistance. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Wednesday that flooding in Somalia increases risk of malnutrition and disease outbreaks. It said that food insecurity, lack of healthcare and access to safe water and sanitation will result in spikes in malnutrition among Somali children and cause a deadly cycle of fast-spreading waterborne diseases. UNICEF said 33,000 hygiene kits are being distributed to enhance access to safe water and prevent waterborne diseases. The supplies will be preemptively dispatched to treat 90,000 people for acute watery diarrhea, noting that nutrition teams are already on the ground to treat children with severe acute malnutrition
According to the UN, the floods have affected more than 540,000 people, of whom 370,000 have been displaced. Many of the displaced are in dire need of clean water, sanitation and hygiene services, safe shelter, health and food supplies. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) also said Tuesday it has mobilized 2.58 million U.S. dollars with its partners to ramp up humanitarian supplies to thousands of Somalis cut off by flooding. The UNHCR said an airplane, a Fokker 50 cargo freighter, carrying six metric tons of aid items landed on Monday in Beletweyne in Somalia’s Hiirshabelle state to assist people displaced by the country’s worst flooding in years. Flood victims are seen at their camp on the outskirts of Beledweyne, central Somalia, Nov. 4, 2019. The UN agencies and other partners said Monday they have scaled up humanitarian response, providing food to address the short-term nutrition needs of flood-affected families across Somalia. (Xinhua/Hassan Bashi) “We are scheduling up to 10 flights – three a day – to airlift a total of 60 metric tons of urgently needed humanitarian relief kits, including jerry cans, soap, blankets, kitchen sets and plastic sheets,” the UN refugee agency said in a statement…..
6 November – Source: Daily Nation – 118 Words
Ten people among them two police officers have been killed in fresh bandit attacks in Jaldesa, Marsabit County. The attacks are said to have happened on Tuesday night when bandits ambushed a vehicle leaving three people dead. The other seven are said to have been killed in a retaliatory attack, among them two police officers who were on patrol. A senior security official who sought anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, told the Nation that tensions are high in the area. “The reports are true but I cannot comment further as this is a fluid situation that is still ongoing,” the official said. Security authorities are currently holed up in a crisis meeting in Marsabit Town.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Ibado Elmi, a parent with three children in grade 12 and three in Koranic school, is trying to cope and keep the family safe in a miserable IDP camp. She says the children cannot possibly sit exams in this situation. “They have nowhere to study. No one is going out anywhere – we are all here in one place. Only the father goes to the town, the rest are all here,” Ibado told Radio Ergo.”
7 November – Source: Radio Ergo – 342 Words
Thousands of Somali children have been out of school for the last few weeks and risk missing their exams due to heavy flooding in the southern district of Beletweyne, in the river Shabelle valley. A total of 27,471 students from 87 schools in Beletweyne have been affected, according to the local authorities. In addition, 766 teachers are unable to get to work or get paid as schools are closed and they themselves are among the affected families. Osman Mohamud Elmi, the head of education in Hiran region, told Radio Ergo that children’s lives were disrupted as they were about to sit for the national examinations. “The families have fled to wherever they believe to be safe. The situation is not calm,” Osman said. “Students can only learn in peace.” Osman Sanay Muhumed, a fourth-year student at Sigma high school, said he had lost all his books. “In our house, my books were placed up on a high shelf but were still soaked in the floods. We shifted to a second house and still the floods reached us there. We all came together in a third place, but yet again the floodwaters found us,” Osman told Radio Ergo. Osman is one of six children, whose father ran a shop in Hawotako village in Beletweyne. The shop was submerged and the family moved to El-Jalle, where thousands of displaced families have sought refuge on higher ground. Luckily, Osman’s father managed to rescue his goods from the shop before they fled, but so far he has lost two weeks of business and the family’s income is currently zero.
Ahmad Daqane Ali, the principal of Sheikh Moxamed Macalim school, with 1,050 students including 392 girls, said the school buildings in Hawotako were severely damaged. “Water has filled the school, it went everywhere! All the classrooms, outside the classrooms, even the toilets are all filled with water. Everything will need renovation,” said Ahmad. The 35 teachers have not been paid their salaries as the school depends on student fees to pay staff. Jama’ Suley is a biology teacher at Mujamac school, usually earning $200 per month. He and his family of nine were also victims of the floods in Koshin village and had to move to an IDP camp. He has not been paid and is struggling for cash. Most school administrations want to reopen as soon as possible and arrange catch-up classes for students to sit national exams…. |
