November 9, 2015 | Morning Headlines
Kenyan And Somali Leaders Hold Extensive Bilateral Talks In Nairobi
08 November – Source: Xinhua – 298 Words
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Somalia Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke held bilateral talks in Nairobi on Saturday to enhance ties between the two countries. A statement issued after the meeting said the two leaders agreed on the need to fully operationalize the Joint Commission for Cooperation (JCC) which aims to upscale engagements including cross-border security, joint infrastructure development projects as well as cultural exchanges. President Kenyatta and the Somali Prime Minister also discussed bilateral relations between Kenya and Somalia,” the statement said.
The two leaders said the joint commission was an important vehicle for boosting bilateral engagements between the two countries. They also discussed the security situation in Somalia which has faced increased attacks from Islamist militant group, Al-Shabaab and in the region. The Horn of Africa nation has not been in the mainstream regional business since early 1990s when the central administration collapsed, giving way to a civil war that nearly ended following the intervention of the African Union through the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
Key Headlines
- Kenyan And Somali Leaders Hold Extensive Bilateral Talks In Nairobi
- Somali PM Lays Foundation Stone For New Nairobi Embassy Building (Hiiraan Online)
- Militant Surrenders To Government Troops In Afmadow (Kismaayo)
- Jubaland Leader Gedo Politicians To Close Deal (Garowe Online)
- Kenya Security Forces Arrest ‘Al-Shabaab’ Militants In Boni Forest (Xinhua)
- New Battle Group Of UPDF Soldiers Arrive In Somalia For Peacekeeping (AMISOM)
- Why Does Al-Shabaab Target Hotels? (BBC)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali PM Lays Foundation Stone For New Nairobi Embassy Building
08 November – Source: Hiiraan Online – 409 Words
Somalia’s Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the re-building of a new Somali embassy in Nairobi on Saturday, five years after the horn of Africa nation’s government re-claimed the ownership of the premises after Nairobi’s high court annulled the fraudulent sale of the property. Mr. Omar Abdirashid who is currently on a visit to Kenya has toured the dilapidated embassy building and said that his government has committed itself to refurbish the embassy‘s building in order for the Nairobi mission move to that building. Somalia’s Ambassador to Kenya Gamal Mohamed Hassan told reporters that the Kenya-based mission would start rebuilding the embassy in the next few days. As parts of the embassy’s rebuilding process, Somali business community in Nairobi have also started raising funds for the construction which according to officials would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Speaking on behalf of the Somali business community in Nairobi, Fathudin Ali Mohamed told Hiiraan Online that they are committed on rebuilding the embassy with help of all Somali community here in Nairobi. The embassy has remained out of Somalia’s control for 18 years until last year when the sale of the 2.26-acre of land to two Indian businessmen were annulled.Kenya hosts one of the largest Somali refugees who fled their homeland due to war in 1991 after warlords overthrew the central government.
The new central government is struggling to make a diplomatic comeback across the world, battling for the ownership of diplomatic premises dispossessed by foreigners for the last twenty years. In June this year, Somalia has scored another legal victory after a court in Italy ruled the transfer of the building from an Italian firm which bought it after the civil war broke out back to the Somali government. The country has since restored normal diplomatic relations with numerous countries. Many countries including the US severed diplomatic relations with Somalia after a civil war broke out in 1991 that saw warlords fighting for the control of the country. The new diplomatic exercise comes following the ouster of Islamist insurgents from the capital and surrounding regions, a development which allowed partner countries to start a diplomatic presence in the seaside capital, Mogadishu.
Militant Surrenders To Government Troops In Afmadow
08 November – Source : Kismaayo – 129 Words
An alleged Al-Shabaab fighter has surrendered to Jubaland forces in Afmadow district in Lower Juba region on Sunday. Speaking to Kismaayo over the phone, area security boss Aar Sheikh Ali, said the fighter armed with an AK 47 surrendered to their forces at his own accord. He identified the defector as Barkhadle Shugri Adan who was a member of Al-Shabaab for several years. Barkhadle said he defected from the group after he had been arrested and tortured for allegedly spying for Kenyan and Somali troops in the region.This is the second militant to surrender to government forces in Afmadow during this month. Aar said they welcome defectors from the militants group who denounced violence and vowed to protect them as they pursue their normal life within the society.
Jubaland Leader, Gedo Politicians To Close Deal
08 November – Source: Garowe Online -129 Words
Jubaland President Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe) and rival politicians negotiated key terms. Deputy Governor of southwestern Gedo region, Abdirahman Abdullahi Bakal has announced that they have hoisted the Jubaland flag for the first time in the regional capital, Garbaharey. Jubaland Vice President Gen. Abdullahi Sheikh Ismael (Fartag) has brokered the much anticipated agreement as he spent nearly two months in Gedo. Fartag met with political and community leaders to overcome political differences between the two sides. If sealed in the coming days, the deal will break a two-year long deadlock, analysts said. Jubaland gained its recognition from Mogadishu-based Federal Government in August, 2013 following IGAD-brokered bilateral talks in Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Kenya Security Forces Arrest ‘Al-Shabaab’ Militants In Boni Forest
08 November – Source: Xinhua – 551 Words
Kenya’s security forces have arrested several ‘al-Shabaab’ members in the ongoing operation in the vast forest in the coastal town of Lamu which the militants have been using as their hideout. The suspects, who include two Tanzanians, were arrested by security personnel combing Boni Forest and handed over to anti-terrorism police unit officers. Director of operation in Boni James Ole Serian confirmed on Saturday that the police arrested the two who were enroute to Somalia to join the ‘al-Shabaab’ terror group this week.
Ole Serian said five ‘al-Shabaab’ hideouts have been destroyed in the ongoing operation led by Kenya Defense Forces (KDF), noting that the operation is successful and that they have secured the area. “We have arrested a few ‘al-Shabaab’ suspects who we have interrogated and handed them over to the police, people will be able to see them when they are arraigned in court,” said Ole Serian. He added that the government had mapped out 13 areas in the area believed to be a hotbed of jihadists linked to multiple terror attacks in Tana River, Garissa and Lamu counties in the last two years.
New Battle Group Of UPDF Soldiers Arrive In Somalia For Peacekeeping
08 November – Source: AMISOM – 444 Words
The first group of Ugandan soldiers expected to replace their colleagues who have completed a year’s tour of duty at the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have arrived in Somalia. The soldiers, resplendent in their new army uniforms, jetted into Mogadishu Airport at 8:45am today, on board a Boeing 737 and were received by the Acting Ugandan Contingent Commander, Col. Silvio Aguma, who also doubles as the commander of battle group 15, based in Arbiska. The new group is headed by Col. Bob Ogik.
Col. Aguma saluted the outgoing troops for a job well done and expressed optimism that the incoming group will also excel in their duties. “They (outgoing soldiers) did a very commendable job. They were centered around Baraawe, that is where their area of operation was and the new battle group that is coming in, battle group 17, will exactly move to Baraawe and take over the responsibility of conducting security operations, maintaining and making sure that the main supply routes remain open,” said Col. Aguma. The officer said it was very critical that the main supply routes remain open for both AMISOM personnel and people of Somalia to enable them continue with their day-to-day duties uninterrupted.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“Al-Shabaab has a highly sophisticated intelligence network, so it knows who is in which hotel and when. Security officials say the militants usually have sympathisers working inside the hotels, who can inform on key details such as which room a particular individual is staying in. When Central Hotel was attacked on 20 February this year, one of the suicide bombers was Luul Dahir, who worked at the reception, “
Why Does Al-Shabaab Target Hotels?
07 November – Source: BBC News – 752 Words
On 1 November, Al-Shabaab militants attacked a hotel in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing 15 people. It was the latest in a series of attacks on hotels by the Islamist group. The BBC’s Mary Harper explains why hotels are so important to doing business in the Somali capital and how Al-Shabaab targets them.
New Year’s Day in Mogadishu was drawing to a close. I was having supper with friends when an enormous blast thundered through the night air.This was not the usual “Mogadishu music” – as the locals call it – of grenade explosions and gunfire. Everybody, including the senior military advisers, who were eating at a table next to mine, looked frightened. After the first shock, people got on their phones. “It’s the Jazeera Palace Hotel,” said a friend who looks after my security when I’m in town and has contacts all over the city.Some of us ran up on to the roof, and there, just a few hundred metres away, were flames shooting out into the darkness, the remains of a suicide vehicle, which had been driven at high speed towards the thick, high perimeter wall of the hotel.
Ambulances and military vehicles raced down the street, lights flashing, sirens screaming. Shortly after they arrived at the Jazeera Palace, there was another massive explosion.Like many other insurgent groups, Al-Shabab often conducts double suicide attacks, waiting for the emergency services and onlookers to gather at the scene before sending in another vehicle to ensure maximum casualties.Then it sends in the foot soldiers, to occupy the building, usually until all of them are killed by the security forces, and sent, they believe, on their way to Jannah (paradise) as martyrs. About 10 minutes after the second blast, a senior Somali security official and his entourage entered the place where I was. He had been the target of the attack.We collected plastic chairs and put them out in a circle in the courtyard. The men sat there in stunned silence. At least 10 people had been blown up at the hotel, including members of their team.