October 15, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Somali, AU forces secure more southern towns from rebels

14 Oct- Source: Xinhua- 331 words

Somali government forces backed by African Union peacekeeping forces are spreading their control over territory run by al Shabaab rebels in the south of the Horn of Africa country. The allied forces last week consolidated their control over the Wanla Weyn town, 93 km south of the Somali capital Mogadishu, as well as a former Somali air force base, 15 km away from the Wanla Wein.

Key Headlines

Members of the parliament meet in Mogadishu (SONNA)
Somaliland appoints secessionist leader minister (Bar-Kulan)
Al Shabaab representative for Benadir region fired (Radio Mogadishu)
Two dead as Somali forces and al Shabaab battle near Baidoa (Shabelle)
KDF marks first anniversary since entering Somalia (Daily Nation)
African Union urges UN Security Council to lift Somali arms embargo (Afriquejet)
Somalia says will not cancel new oil contracts (Reuters)

SOMALI MEDIA

Members of the parliament meet in Mogadishu

14 Oct- Source: Radio Mogadishu/SONNA/SNTV/Universal TV- 116 words

Members of the Somali federal parliament on Sunday met in Mogadishu to discuss issues concerning their duties, also calling president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to make the new premier of Somalia stand before parliamentarians. Documents were given to lawmakers for them to read for the coming five days; the documents cover topics due to be debated in the next meeting. The meeting concluded in a very good atmosphere.

Allied forces in Somalia move closer to another rebel-held town

14 Oct- Source: Radio Shabelle- 121 words

Somalia’s National Army (SNA) together with the African Union forces, primarily the Kenyan contingent, on Sunday marched closer towards to Jilib district in Middle Jubba region controlled by al Shabaab militants, reports said. Military officials say the allied forces on Sunday flocked to the main rebel-held town of Jilib, securing several villages located on the corridor from Kismayo to Mogadishu; it is the most populous town in the Middle Juba Region.

Somaliland appoints secessionist leader minister

14 Oct- Source: Radio Bar-kulan/Somaliland Press/Horseed Media/Togdheernews- 113 words

Somaliland regional president Ahmed Mohamed Silanyo has appointed a former SSC leader Saleban Isse Ahmed as resettlement minister. In his appointment, Silanyo said Ahmed is worth the docket given his abilities and his level of education, adding the appointment meets the constitutional requirement to do so. The SSC has been at loggerheads with Somaliland administration since the beginning of this year when leaders of the northern regions of Sool, Sanaag and Cayn decided to band together into a new state called Khatumo and declared they wanted to be an independent region within Somalia.

Roadside blast hits Somali forces in Lower Shabelle region

14 Oct- Source: Radio Shabelle/Radio Kulmiye/Radio Risaala- 145 words

A roadside bomb blast on Sunday tore through a military vehicle carrying Somali forces in the recently captured city of Shalanbod, located 110 Km south of Mogadishu, reports said. Eyewitnesses said unconfirmed soldiers were killed and several others were injured in the attack caused by IED’s.

Somalia’s President: the International Community is ready to collaborate with Somalia

13 Oct- Source: Radio Mustaqbal- 126 words

President Hassan Sheik Mohamud has claimed that the international community is ready to work with Somalia’s new government in order to assist civilians. The president indicated that the officials of Somalia’s government can’t allow any interference from the any group or international countries, but are willing to collaborate with the international community. “The international community is ready to support Somalia’s new federal government” told Hassan to local journalists.

Two dead as Somali forces and al Shabaab battle near Baidoa

14 Oct- Source: Shabelle- 153 words

Al Shabaab militants on Saturday afternoon launched a heavy attack on Somali forces in Bay region in north-western Somalia, reports said. Al Shabaab are said to have ambushed government forces stationed at the village of Gof-gadud located on the outskirts of Baidoa city, some 256 kilometres (159 miles) northwest of the capital Mogadishu, reports said. A witness said at least two persons, both combatants, were killed and dozens more injured during the confrontation.

Two armed militias battle in Galka’yo town

13 Oct- Source: Radio Mustaqbal- 84 words

Reports from Galka’yo said a clash between two unidentified armed militias took place inside of Galka’yo, causing casualties. The clash killed 3 persons and wounded 2 others as the two sides fought inside of the town. Some reports said the combatants were pirates in dispute over ransom money.

Al Shabaab representative for Benadir region fired

14 Oct- Source: Radio Mogadishu/SONNA/Hiiraan Online- 141 words

Al Shabaab leader Ahmed Godane has fired the group’s representative for Benadir regiona, Abu Abdirahman after the group met consecutive failures in the battle with Somali national forces backed by the African Union peacekeeping forces in Mogadishu and the rest of the region. Abu Abdirahman, whose real name is Anshur, was dismissed and replaced with Ali Jesto who had once held this position in Benadir when al Shabaab used to control some districts in Mogadishu.

Puntland donates food aid to victims of IDP campfire

13 Oct- Source: Garowe Online- 210 words

Government officials in Somalia’s Puntland region say they have donated food aid and other materials to victims of a fire that burned two camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Mr. Abdiaziz Elmi Nur Koor, the mayor of Garowe, capital of Puntland State, told independent station Radio Garowe that the aid was delivered to victims of Friday’s fire at two IDP camps on the outskirts of Garowe.

Gov’t forces carry out security operations in central Somalia

13 Oct- Source: Shabelle- 91 words

Somali government forces on Saturday carried out massive security operations in the central town of Beledweyne in order to boost up the overall security situation in the city, reports said. Col. Ali Dhuh Abdi, the police chief of Hiiran province told Shabelle radio that the operations aimed to counter the alarming insecurity acts by armed groups in the past few weeks.

REGIONAL MEDIA

KDF marks first anniversary since entering Somalia

14 Oct- Source: Capital News/Daily Nation- 271 words

The Kenyan military was commemorating the Kenya Defense Forces Day on Sunday to mark one year since entering Somalia. The event was held at the 10 Engineers, Nanyuki Garrison where Chief of Defense Forces General Julius Karangi was expected to unveil a monument and lay wreaths for all soldiers killed since the war on Al Shabaab started.

Mogadishu property boom stirs concern

14 Oct- Source: Aljazeera- 02:12 min

The property market in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, has boomed since the government pushed out al-Shabab fighters. The most peaceful period in the city in over two decades has brought thousands of Somali expatriates back to their homeland. But with speculators hoping to turn a profit behind most of the investments in new properties, prices are skyrocketing while hundreds of thousands of internally displaced, only kilometres away, live in poverty.

Somalis ‘free’ but have no food, water

13 Oct- Source: East African- 413 words

As October dawned, Abdi Rashid Hiraat decided it was time. He packed his things and booked himself a one way ticket from Nairobi to Mogadishu. He was going home. Hiraat is part of a growing number of Somali refugees buoyed by the setting up of a new government and the flight of Al Shabaab from their former stronghold Kismayu.

Why these young men are ready to die for religion

13 Oct- Source: Daily Nation- 640 words

The six Al-Shabaab recruits looked anything but the fighters they claimed they were. They were young, slight in build, shy with forlorn, distant looks in their eyes and seemingly unsure of themselves. On a sunny Sunday afternoon, two weeks after the Kenyan troops had conquered Somalia’s port town of Kismayu, the militants’ last urban stronghold, the young Kenyan men told the Sunday Nation of their desire to cross the border and join the war in Somalia.

Eastleigh explosion wounds 3 officers

13 Oct- Source: Standard/ KTN TV- 166 words

Three police officers were wounded last evening when twin explosions went off in nairobi’s Eastleigh area. Nairobi provincial police chief Moses Nyakwama said the officer in charge of Pangani police station was among those wounded in the attack and has since been admitted to the Aga khan University Hospital.

Threats fail to deter young Somali reporters

13 Oct- Source: Al Jazeera- 958 words

The assailants grabbed the Somali sports writer, bound his hands behind his back, and proceeded to torture him. They later dumped his body outside a Mogadishu restaurant, placing the severed head on his chest. Another reporter was gunned down a day later as he walked to work, bringing to 15 the number of journalists killed in Somalia this year in an unprecedented spate of violence targeting the press.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somali, AU forces secure more southern towns from rebels

14 Oct- Source: Xinhua- 331 words

Somali government forces backed by African Union (AU) peacekeeping forces are spreading their control over territory run by Al-Shabaab rebels in the south of the Horn of Africa country. The allied forces this week consolidated their control over the Wanla Weyn town, 93 km south of the Somali capital Mogadishu, as well as a former Somali air force base, 15 km away from the Wanla Wein.

Dutch court jails Somali pirates

13 Oct- Source: The News International- 293 words

A Dutch court sentenced nine Somalis to four-and-a-half years in prison on Friday for hijacking an Iranian ship in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden last year.
“The suspects have been found guilty of piracy and sentenced to four-and-a-half years,” the Rotterdam District Court said in a statement.

African Union urges UN Security Council to lift Somali arms embargo

12 Oct- Source: Afriquejet-369 words

The African Union (AU) has revived its push for the lifting of the UN arms embargo on Somalia, to facilitate the proper arming of its forces and called on the world body to authorize the deployment of additional military capacity. In a communique issued Thursday, weeks after major political and military developments in Somalia, the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the AU said the lifting of the arms embargo and the deployment of additional military capacity were critical.

Somalia says will not cancel new oil contracts

12 Oct- Source: Reuters- 393 words

Somalia does not plan to nullify oil and gas exploration contracts made in recent years in favour of those that were signed prior to the toppling of the government in 1991, a senior state official said on Friday. There are concerns by investors that deals signed by companies in Somalia could be affected now that it has a new government, after electing a new permanent president for the first time in over 20 years. When the government of the Horn of African nation fell in 1991, around a dozen companies, including many multinational oil and gas majors, had licences to explore Somalia.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS

“Somalia is the most dangerous country in Africa for journalists, but refugees learning in Kenya vow a return to report.”

Threats fail to deter young Somali reporters

13 Oct- Source: Aljazeera-956 Words

“At this critical juncture in the history of our country, what matters most is to get to first base in the coming four years. Even if we are saddled with leaders perceived by some of us as being below par, we need to give them a hand so that we can extricate ourselves from the miserable situation in which our people languish.”

Getting to First Base with rebuilding Somalia

13 Oct- Source: Wardheernews-955 Words

Optimists see the cup as half full while pessimists see it as half empty. Somali optimists wholeheartedly supported the new President of Somalia. They have taken into consideration the difficult situation that the country is in and the need to move forward with what the roadmap offered. Pessimists have taken a different view of the President and the moderate religious group that he personifies. Some have given him the nickname of “Gurguurte”, a Somali euphemism for being slow, given the snail-paced process that the selection of the Prime Minister had gone through. After taking almost a month to name the new Prime Minister, many were disappointed with the outcome and conjured the Arabic saying “Tamakhada Al-Jabalu, Fa Walada Faran”, the mountain labored but gave birth to a mouse.