October 10, 2013 | Morning Headlines.
Sierra Leone takes precautions against al Shabaab
09 Oct- Source: AP- 134 words
Sierra Leone officials say they are bolstering security in response to the heightened threat posed by the extremist rebels of al Shabaab, expressing concern the West African nation could be targeted because of its support for peacekeeping operations in Somalia. Francis Munu, police inspector general, said at a meeting Wednesday that new security measures would require government offices to issue identity cards for their staff and maintain visitors’ logs, while petty traders would be kept away from government buildings. Sierra Leone deployed an 850-member battalion to the African Union mission in Somalia earlier this year.
Key Headlines
- Al Shabaab arrests businessman in connection to Barawe attack (Radio Shabelle)
- Somali Prime Minister congratulates the people of Uganda for their 51st Independence Day (OPM)
- Somali Defense minister faces parliament inquiry over security (Raxanreeb)
- Tanzania arrests 11 al Shabaab ‘recruits’ (Citizen/Africa Review)
- Animal diseases affect livestock in Mudug Galgadud and Gedo regions (Radio Ergo)
- Kenyan MP roots for closure of refugee camps over terror (Standard)
- Sierra Leone takes precautions against al Shabaab (AP)
- A Somali imam declares war on al Shabaab in Somalia and at his mosque in Minnesota (Public Radio International)
PRESS STATEMENT
Somali Prime Minister congratulates the people of Uganda for their 51st Independency Day
09 Oct- Source: Office of the Prime Minister- 123 words
The Prime Minister of Somalia H.E. Abdi Farah Shirdon congratulates to the people of Uganda and their government as they mark their 51st Independence Day.
Prime Minister Shirdon commended the support by the Ugandan Government and its people towards the African Union Mission in Somalia.
“Our gratitude to the people of Uganda and their Government as they are celebrating in this great day for their tireless commitment to contribute peace and stability in Somalia” Said Prime Minister Shirdon.
The government of Somalia recognizes that Uganda extended a hand to the people of Somalia under AMISOM , Uganda was also the first country to deploy their armed forces in Somalia under AMISOM in order to fight against al Shabaab and terrorist groups in the country.
SOMALI MEDIA
Al Shabaab arrests businessman in connection to Barawe attack
09 Oct- Source: Radio Shabelle- 146 words
Reports from Barawe town say that Somalia’s al Qaeda linked group, al Shabaab has detained a businessman in relation to an attack by US commands launched on Saturday at a beach house belonging to al Shabab top leader in Barawe town of lower Shabelle province The detained man named Kasim Gandeele has internet cafe in Barawe town and he was sent to prison by al Shabaab following the predawn attack by US special commands from the sea. Reliable sources stated that al Shabaab accused the businessman that he has direct links with US special commands who attacked Barawe coastal town and was aware of the attack. Al Shabab is yet tp comment on the detention of the businessman.
Somali Defense minister faces parliament inquiry over security
09 Oct- Source: Raxanreeb- 194 words
Somalia defense minister Abdihakim Haji Mohamud has on Wednesday went to answer questions on security by the country’s federal parliament, RBC Radio reports. The inquiry session started around 10.00 a.mlocal time ended around noon as the members of the parliament’s sub-committee of defense raised several questions on the re-equipping the National Army and launching operations against al Shabaab. “We have set up new mechanism to establish strict rules for the army as we also finished registering the personals in service,” the minister said.
Animal diseases affect livestock in Mudug, Galgadud and Gedo regions
09 Oct- Source: Radio Ergo- 135 words
Pastoralists in Mudug, Galgadud and Gedo regions have reported the outbreak of various animal diseases affecting cattle, goats and sheep. Ahmed Mohamed, a cattle herder in Dumaye village in Mudug’s Harardhere district, said more than 50 cows had died of diseases in the area in the past week. He identified the diseases as “Garab-goye” and “Qanje” in Somali. A veterinary specialist working with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said these names refer to Black Quarter and Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP). Both diseases affect cattle. In Abudwaq, a 62-year-old cattle herder in Sarman village, Ahmed Hashi, said 15 cattle had died in his village. “The cattle are dying every day from these diseases and we are afraid that we will lose all of our cattle to the disease,” Hashi told Radio Ergo’s local reporter.
REGIONAL MEDIA
Kenyan MP roots for closure of refugee camps over terror
09 Oct- Source: Standard-283 Words
A Kenyan Member of Parliament now wants the House Committee on Administration and National Security to give the country a status report on refugees in the country. Mr David Wafula (Saboti) also asked the committee to tell Kenyans when the refugee camps in the country will be closed down. Wafula said revelations in intelligence reports that some camps were being used as training grounds for terrorists should make Kenya probe “what really happens in the camps” and the value, if any, of the country opening our borders to refugees from neighbouring countries. “This open-door policy has exposed the country to a terrorism threat mainly from al Shabaab militia from Somalia,” said Wafula. The chairperson of the committee Asman Kamama (Tiaty) has already hinted that closure of the refugee camps will be among the things the committee will be looking into as they dig into the security lapse that led to al Shabaab attacking Westgate Mall last month.
Tanzania arrests 11 al Shabaab ‘recruits’
08 Oct- Source: The Citizen/Africa Review- 325 words
Police in Tanzania are holding eleven people on suspicion of taking part in al Shabaab sponsored guerrilla training. The suspects were arrested at Makolionga Mountain in Nanyumbu District following a tip-off from members of the public, who saw them in the forest performing military drills. Mtwara Regional Police Commander Zelothe Stephen told a news conference yesterday that the 11 were arrested in possession of 25 digital video discs (DVDs) featuring al Shabaab training manuals. According to him, the suspects were also in possession of locally made firearms.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Sierra Leone takes precautions against al Shabaab
09 Oct- Source: AP- 134 words
Sierra Leone officials say they are bolstering security in response to the heightened threat posed by the extremist rebels of al Shabaab, expressing concern the West African nation could be targeted because of its support for peacekeeping operations in Somalia. Francis Munu, police inspector general, said at a meetingWednesday that new security measures would require government offices to issue identity cards for their staff and maintain visitors’ logs, while petty traders would be kept away from government buildings. Sierra Leone deployed an 850-member battalion to the African Union mission in Somalia earlier this year.
Life in chains: the plight of Somalia’s mentally ill
09 Oct- Source: Channel 4-967 Words
Living in a tin shack by the roadside, Abdullahi is isolated, barely washed and poorly fed. For the last 17 years he has been chained up by his own family in Hargeisa, Somaliland. He spends most of his days watching the world moving before him – placing his chest on a cemented floor, his elbows supporting his hands under his chin. In all those years he’s been there, Abdullahi watched children who were born during his chained-life become adults. The whole neighbourhood is built up. The sun rises and sets over him. His best companions are family-owned goats, who are free to move around.
A Somali imam declares war on al Shabaab, in Somalia and at his mosque in Minnesota
09 Oct- Source: Public Radio International-710 Words
Last month, when news broke about the deadly attack on a Kenya mall by Somalia’s al Shabaab group, one place in the United States braced itself for media attention: Minnesota. That’s because the state houses America’s largest Somali community and, in recent years, al Shabaab has recruited small groups of young Somali men from Minnesota. Many Somalis reject the terrorist group, including one Somali-American imam determined to counter any hint of extremist talk. Meet Hassan Ali Mohamud. He is an imam, and it’s just one of many roles he’s taken up since moving to the United States. He is also a law professor, a soccer player, the father of seven, and a leader within Minnesota’s large Somali community.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Somalia and Kenya have a common border of 800km, so our destinies are inextricably linked. Our appeal is not to let extremists divide us, but instead to join forces to fight the common enemy and focus our attention on longer-term interests, based on respect for each other’s sovereignty, and the benefits for our future generations of living in peace, stability and prosperity.”
Westgate attack must not divide Kenya and Somalia
09 Oct- Source: The Guardian-547 Words
The massacre at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi has shocked Somalis throughout the world. The most senior politicians in the Somali government and parliament, as well as the Somali people at home and abroad, have condemned it in the strongest terms and sent their condolences to the Kenyan people. The attack was intended to sow discord and friction among Kenyans and to damage the country’s economic success story. But its consequences for Somalia are potentially even more destructive. As a result of al Shabaab being driven out of Somalia’s major cities, Somalis are returning from abroad, the economy is booming, the main roads in Mogadishu are being reconstructed, and the airport and port are expanding. Westgate was al Shabaab’s revenge on Somalia and the international community that backed it, for defeating them. It was an attempt to persuade the international community not to go on helping Somalia, and thus give al Shabaab the chance to regain power.