October 11, 2018 | Morning Headlines

Somali And AU Forces Capture Villages From Al-Shabaab

10 October – Source: Halbeeeg News – 210 Words

Somali forces backed by AMISOM have captured several villages in southern Somalia from Al-Shabaab, an official said on Wednesday. In a well-coordinated operation, the allied forces took control of Dibiley, Fahale and Burweyn villages in Hiiraan region. Mr. Ibrahim Madobe Nur, Jalalaqsi District Commissioner said, the operations are still underway to liberate more areas under Al-Shabaab control.

“The government liberated villages in the region and the operations against Al-Shabaab will continue,” he said. Mr. Nur said, the areas was captured after an operation was conducted by the security forces, noting that there was no resistance from Al-Shabaab militants and vacated the area.  Somali forces and AMISOM jointly carried out an operation against the militants in the region and recaptured key villages. There was no resistance from the militants  and our forces are making some advances at the moment,” the official stated.

Mr. Nur noted that fighters from self-organized local militia took part in the operations to defeat Al-Shabaab in the region. “Local residents took part in this operation against Al-Shabaab fighters,” he said. The group did not comment on the recapturing of the villages in the region. The latest attack came amid increased military operations in the southern regions of the country, conducted jointly by AMISOM and the Somali National Army.

Key Headlines

• Somali And AU Forces Capture Villages From Al-Shabaab (Halbeeg News)
• President Of HirShabelle Lashes Out At CIC Leaders (Jowhar News)
• Somali PM Meets Saudi Foreign Minister In Riyadh (Halbeeg News)
• Al-Shabaab Attack Kills Two Kenyan Teachers (Reuters)
• Abdifatah Hassan Ali: Blogging The Untold Stories Of Survival And Resilience (UNSOM)

NATIONAL MEDIA

President Of HirShabelle Lashes Out At CIC Leaders

10 October – Source: Jowhar News – 187 Words

After breaking ranks with his fellow regional presidents, HirShabelle President announced that his administration will not be attending the scheduled Council of Interstate Cooperation (CIC) meeting in Garowe. He stated that his administration was not represented in the recent meeting in Nairobi among regional state leaders.

Speaking with reporters in Jowhar, President Ware described recent CIC meeting in Nairobi as illegal since his state was not part of the meeting. He cautioned his colleagues against reaching any decisions on behalf of HirShabelle in the name of CIC but rather called on them to work on the interests of their respective regions. “My colleagues have every rights to reach decisions for their respective states, but they cannot reach decisions for us and discuss HirShabelle interests in their meetings,” he said.

President Ware, who was the former Deputy Chairman of the CIC broke the pact with his fellow regional states and opened channels of dialogue with the Federal government. The CIC was formed on October last year in a bid to strengthen cooperation among the Federal States and work on the development of the interests of the regional states.

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Somali PM Meets Saudi Foreign Minister In Riyadh

10 October – Source: Halbeeg News – 137 Words

Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire met with Saudi Arabia Foreign Affairs Minister in the capital city in Riyadh. A high-level delegation led by Somali Prime Minister on Tuesday arrived in Riyadh. The delegation was received by Prince Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz at King Khalid International Airport.

The meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir and Somali Prime Minister took place at government’s guest house, where Somali delegation was accommodated. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations and means to promote cooperation between both countries.

According to Saudi’s news agency SPA, the meeting was attended by the Minister of State of the Foreign Ministry for African Countries’ Affairs Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Qattan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Adel Mirdad and Saudi Ambassador to Kenya and Somalia Mohammed bin Abdulghani Khayyat.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Al-Shabaab Attack Kills Two Kenyan Teachers

10 October – Source: Reuters – 144 Words

Two Kenyan teachers were killed when suspected al Shabaab militants threw an explosive device at a house at a school in Mandera county near the Somali border, police said. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack overnight.

“Last night we killed two non-Muslim Kenyan teachers after we attacked their school in Arabow village of Mandera county”, Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operations spokesman, told Reuters on Wednesday. The teachers were killed in a fire caused by the explosion in the attack at Arabia Boys Secondary School, police said on Twitter.

Police reservists guarding the school “engaged the attackers who then fled as more reinforcements were mobilised”, police said.  The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab aims to topple Somalia’s U.N.-backed government and impose its own strict interpretation of Islam. They have intensified attacks in Kenya since it sent troops into Somalia in 2011.

OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE

“We dream of the day when we have equality in Somalia. We dream of the day when we have peace and justice that will be served to all and sundry,”

Abdifatah Hassan Ali: Blogging The Untold Stories Of Survival And Resilience

09 October – Source: UNSOM – 683 Words

Abdifatah Hassan Ali’s childhood was forged in a crucible of civil war and violence. By his own account, he fled the chaos and insecurity of Mogadishu on ten occasions, only to find his way back to the war-torn city each time. “During 2007 and 2008 I wanted to leave this country, but I was persuaded by my relatives and friends to stay,” he says, looking back on that life-altering decision.

The 31-year-old native of the Somali capital finished his studies in 2012 when he obtained a degree in Information Technology from SIMAD University. He then joined a civil society organization that promoted women’s rights. An avid blogger, Abdifatah writes about human rights issues and related matters such as Somalia’s slow recovery from years of conflict between 2007 and 2017.

“The year 2007 was the worst of times to live in Mogadishu. The war ravaged the city. Also, on 14 October 2017 a national disaster occurred [when a truck bomb in Zoobe Junction killed over 500 people]. I blog about social issues. I don’t blog about politics,” he says. “I want to tell the stories of civil war survivors that are not covered in the media or social media platforms,” Abdifatah adds.  “I represent the voiceless in my writings. Also, it is the only way that I can heal my traumas of war.” In January 2015 he and three friends founded a civil society organization called Witness Somalia, which documents human rights abuses by state and non-state actors.  “We do human rights documentation and archiving so the perpetrators are held accountable,” he says.

Although Somalia has made considerable progress towards rebuilding judicial institutions, serious human rights violations continue according to Abdifatah. “There are extrajudicial arrests or killings by security forces, explosions and bombs, gender-based violence and sexual exploitation, together with continuous displacement of people by conflicts and natural calamities,” he adds. “The textbook case of egregious human rights violations in Mogadishu was the mob lynching and torching of a Somali Bantu man in September. The minority groups in Somalia face many hurdles that need to be addressed by human rights defenders.”

Abdifatah also notes that the government and the international community should do more to protect those who work to promote human rights. “The human rights defenders in Somalia are doing tremendous work and putting their lives at risk. They too should be defended,” he says.
‘It is the implementation that is way behind’

The federal government of Somalia has addressed some human rights issues, such as its ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in October 2015.  The country also acceded to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities earlier this month, thus becoming the 178th sovereign state to do so. In Abdifatah’s view, these two initiatives are essential to the enhancement of the government’s ability to protect and fulfil the rights of all people in Somalia. But he also adds a word of caution. “In terms of signing conventions, the government is doing well. It is the implementation that is way behind,” Abdifatah notes.