October 11, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Somaliland Elections On Track For November
10 October – Source: VOA – 389 Words
Somaliland’s National Electoral Commission has released the total number of registered Voters with Identification Cards to vote in the upcoming November election. The data which was released at a news conference Tuesday put the total number of registered and eligible voters in Somaliland at 704,089.
Speaking to VOA Somali, NEC spokesman, Sa’id Ali Muse said the commission has completed the distribution and the cleaning up of voter registration identification cards and released the list to Somaliland’s three political parties and the minister of interior. “Now, 704,089 took their voter registration cards and 169,242 who earlier registered to vote were not able to show up to take the voter registration cards because of the recent drought that hit the region, which created population movement,” said Muse.
This election has suffered several delays, Somaliland’s presidential election was scheduled at one stage to happen last March, but drought, coupled with political disagreement among the political parties, caused that date to be rescheduled. Muse said all preparations have been made and political parties will began their campaigns soon. “We have made all preparations for the election to take place on time. From our side as the Electoral Commission, nothing remains,” he said,
On November 13, voters will cast their ballots at 1,642 polling stations in 21 constituencies across Somaliland. Candidates from the only three political parties vying for the election are, Muse Bihi of the incumbent Peace, Unity and Development party (Kulmiye), Faisal Ali Waraabe of the For Justice and Development party (UCID) and Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi “Irro” of the Wadani party.
Key Headlines
- Somaliland Elections On Track For November (VOA)
- Somali Government Troops Launch A Security Operation In Mogadishu (Shabelle News)
- President El-Sisi Somali Counterpart Discuss Bilateral Ties Via Phone (SONNA)
- Young Innovators Meet In Quest To Find Social Economic Solutions For Somalia (UNSOM)
- Insurgents Kill Two Somali Elders Near Mogadishu (The Messenger)
- Torturing Migrants Gets Somali Man Life Sentence In Italy (News24.com)
- U.S. Turning Its Back On Refugee Leadership Says Utah’s Gandhi Peace Prize Winner (Salt Lake Tribune)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Government Troops Launch A Security Operation In Mogadishu
10 October – Source: Shabelle News – 99 Words
Somali Federal Government Forces were reported to have launched another overnight security operation in Mogadishu, amidst tight security measures in the seaside city. At least 50 people, mostly youths were detained on suspicion of being Al-Shabaab sympathizers during the sweep carried out in some parts of the capital’s Wadajir district.
The security officials of the Somali Government said the sweep was aimed to boost up the city’s security and prevent Al-Shabaab from conducting attacks and assassinations. In the past few months, Mogadishu has seen a surge in Al-Shabaab bombings and targeted killings against security force members and public servants.
President El-Sisi, Somali Counterpart Discuss Bilateral Ties Via Phone
10 October – Source: Somali National Agency News (SONNA) – 170 Words
President AbdulFattah El-Sisi on Monday received a telephone call from Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Faramajo), who expressed his appreciation for the historic relations between the two countries, praising Egypt’s role in supporting Somalia to achieve stability. The Somali President expressed his country’s appreciation for the technical support provided by Egypt to Somalia, as well as its defense of Somali interests in regional and international forums.
President El-Sisi also stressed, during the call, of the strong relations between Egypt and Somalia, stressing Egypt’s position in supporting the unity and sovereignty of Somalia. The President also expressed Egypt’s keenness to activate various aspects of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, confirming that Egypt will continue to provide technical support to the people of Somalia. The Somali President reviewed the latest developments in the internal situation in his country and the steps needed to be taken by the central government to restore security and stability in Somalia in order to overcome the various challenges facing it, especially the threat of terrorism.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Young Innovators Meet In Quest To Find Social, Economic Solutions For Somalia
10 October – Source: UNSOM – 561 Words
A seven-day Social Innovation Camp ended this week with a pledge by the United Nations and the Federal Government of Somalia to help young entrepreneurs develop technological solutions for the dairy industry in Somalia. The Social Innovation Camp, whose theme was ‘innovate for Somalia’, was organized by the Ministry of Planning, Investment and Economic Development and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Somalia.
The Innovation Camp was attended by more than 40 young women and men aged between 19 and 30 years. Also present were the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (DSRSG) for Somalia, Peter de Clercq, and Somalia’s Minister for Planning, Investment and Economic Development, Jamal Hassan.
The Innovation Camp, the first of its kind to be held in Somalia, focused on the dairy industry – a sector critical to the country’s economic growth, but that still struggles with many challenges such as poor storage facilities, disease outbreaks and lack of animal feed that prevent the industry to reach its full potential. Speaking at the Camp’s closing ceremony, Mr. de Clercq challenged the youth to come up with practical solutions to social and economic issues facing the country.
Insurgents Kill Two Somali Elders Near Mogadishu
10 October – Source: The Messenger – 207 Words
Somali forces launched an operation on Tuesday against Al-Shabaab rebels after the latter allegedly killed two traditional elders near Mogadishu. The operation was conducted at Hawo-Abdi area near the capital, leaving 4 militants dead, according to senior government official Ali Nor Mohamed.
Mohamed told The Messenger Africa that Somali military forces killed four armed fighters after launching an attack on Al-Shabaab targets. “We killed four militants earlier on Tuesday. The operation was carried out when the militants killed two renowned elders and a soldier at Hawo Abdi area near Mogadishu,” he said.
He says AK-47 assault rifles, dozens of rounds of ammunition, grenades and other explosives had been confiscated after the operation by the Somali military forces. “Our brave military soldiers will never tolerate callous and senseless killings against civilians which are often carried out by armed fighters belonging to Al-Shabaab,” Mohamed said.
There was no response from Somali-based group Al-Shabaab over the military’s claims. Al-Shabaab fighters fled fixed positions in Mogadishu in 2011 and have since lost most large towns to a 22,000-strong UN-backed African Union force, fighting alongside government soldiers. But the group’s fighters still hold sway in areas of the rural hinterland, from which they regularly launch attacks.
Torturing Migrants Gets Somali Man Life Sentence In Italy
10 October – Source: News24.com – 335 Words
A Somali man who tortured dozens of his compatriots and other migrants in a Libyan camp was sentenced to life in prison by an Italian court on Tuesday. Osman Mahammud, 22, was convicted of murder and multiple counts of torture on the basis of testimony from migrants after he was recognised by chance outside a migrant centre in Milan. Mahammud, who tried to pass himself off as a regular asylum seeker, was arrested in September 2016 after being reported to authorities for using torture to extort money from migrants in a transit camp in Bani Walid, a town in the Libyan desert.
Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa often spend time in such camps while waiting for their families to pay more money to people traffickers who have promised to get them to Europe. Torture is used to speed up and sometimes increase the payments. A total of 17 victims testified against Matammud in the Milan court, with some saying he had beaten people to death and let others die from a lack of food, water or medical treatment.
Two young women told the court he had raped them. “Matammud was a case of someone losing all moral compass, of being overcome by a delirious sense of power as a result of having the lives of others in his hands,” lead prosecutor Marcello Tatangelo told the trial last month.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“If the United States does not lead on this issue, we might see other countries reduce refugee arrivals,” he said. “What the [Trump] administration doesn‘t understand is that, to the rest of the world, we are not meeting our commitment.” The fear, Batar explained, is that countries with huge refugee camps, such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda, will send people back to their countries of origin and into harm’s way.”
U.S. Turning Its Back On Refugee Leadership, Says Utah’s Gandhi Peace Prize Winner
10 October – Source: Salt Lake Tribune – 372 Words
The world has more refugees than at any time since World War II, and the United States is not leading the way toward resettling them. That is among the concerns raised by Aden Batar, director of refugee resettlement for Catholic Community Services of Utah. Earlier this month, he was awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize from the local chapter of the Gandhi Alliance for Peace. The organization gave him the prize because of his yearslong efforts to resettle refugees. Batar, his wife and two children fled Somalia in 1990, when civil war broke out in that country on the Horn of Africa. Their dangerous journey eventually led them to Utah in 1994.
Educated in Africa to practice law, he has worked for Catholic Community Services (CCS) resettlement program since 1996. Batar became the director in 2001. During his tenure at CCS, Batar has been instrumental in helping thousands of refugees begin new lives. Utah now has about 60,000 refugees from countries around the world. The goal, Batar said, is to help them become self-reliant, productive members of society. “Refugees pay it back,” he said. “We make this a better place to live.”
But during the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the U.S. accepted only 52,000 refugees compared with 85,000 the previous year. “If the United States does not lead on this issue, we might see other countries reduce refugee arrivals,” he said. “What the [Trump] administration doesn‘t understand is that, to the rest of the world, we are not meeting our commitment.” The fear, Batar explained, is that countries with huge refugee camps, such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda, will send people back to their countries of origin and into harm’s way.
Presently, the United Nations estimates that 65 million people have been displaced from their homes. Of them, about 22 million are in refugee camps. The U.N. hoped to resettle 1.2 million last year, but only about 200,000 found new homes, Batar noted. That leaves people stranded in camps under poor living conditions or in war-torn zones with little food or water. Batar also serves on the board for the Center for Research on Migration and Refugee Integration, and Utah Refugee Services, among others.