October 17, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Thousands of additional troops urged for force in Somalia

16 Oct – Source: Washington Post – 117 words

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is calling for a surge of thousands of African troops in Somalia to stem the threat of terrorism posed by Somali insurgents and ensure the survival of a U.N.-backed government, whose success Washington believes is crucial to defeating extremist groups in the region, according a previously undisclosed appeal. In a letter to the U.N. Security Council, Ban urged member nations to provide the African Union Mission in Somalia financial and military support, including attack helicopters and advanced logistical and intelligence equipment. He warned that there was an urgent need to strengthen the military campaign against al-Shabab, a Somali militant group linked to al Qaeda, and to “avoid further reversals.”

Key Headlines

Somali president urges youth to renounce extremism (Bar-kulan/SNTV)
Djibouti vows to carry on peace operation in Somalia (Hiiraan Online)
Puntland raises alert over al Shabaab terror plot (Bar-kulan)
Somaliland government sets up Anti Terrorism Law(Somaliland Informer)
Terrorists prayed as Westgate massacre took place(Daily Nation/NTV)
EU states urged to cooperate on drones cyber defence(Reuters)
U.S. builds up military bases in Italy for African ops(UPI News)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali president urges youth to renounce extremism
16 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan/SNTV – 85 words

Somali federal president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has once again urged Somali youth who are fighting alongside al Shabaab militant group to renounce extremism and radicalization acts. President Mohamud advised the youth to defect from the al Qaeda-inspired group and join the Federal government as his administration is ready to welcome them. “We don’t want you to leave the country; we don’t want you to kill or to be killed, we want you to stay safe and be among the ordinary civilians,” said the President.

Djibouti vows to carry on peace operation in Somalia

16 Oct – Source: Somali Current/Hiiraan Online – 65 words

Djibouti President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh on Tuesday reaffirmed that his country’s troops will carry on peacekeeping operation in Somalia, after al Shabaab threatened attacks on neighboring countries. Troops from Djibouti are working under African Union’s Mission in Somalia known as AMISOM, helping stabilizing the horn of Africa Nation. President Guelleh praised his country’s troops in Somalia for their role in restoring peace in the neighboring country.

Puntland raises alert over al Shabaab terror plot

16 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan – 75 words

Northeastern autonomous state of Puntland has stated that it has received information relating to a number planned attacks by the radical extremist al Shabaab group, a government official said. Puntland security minister Khalif Isse on Wendesday said that the state’s security apparatus had received information on planned al Shabaab attacks. He further added that meetings are underway at the Somali coastal town of Barawe, an al Shabaab stronghold, which is reportedly discussing plans to launch suicide mission and assassination plots, among other acts of terror.

Somaliland government sets up Anti Terrorism Law

16 Oct – Source: Somaliland Informer – 89 words

Somaliland government under the leadership of president of Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud Silanyo has established the combating of terrorism law where cases linking to terrorism can now be heard in Somaliland courts. The expectation is that the terrorism law will be debated within the coming meeting where the council of ministers meet with the president and his vice president. It is supposed that within the meeting that the council of ministers is expected to approve it after criminal investigation department encountered several barriers regarding making decisions on terrorism cases.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Terrorists prayed as Westgate massacre took place

16 Oct – Source: Daily Nation/NTV- 113 words

Terrorists who attacked the Westgate Mall last month took turns to pray in between their bloody mission, new footage shows. Video clips seen by the NTV show one of the terrorists taking time off to pray as two of his accomplices stand guard inside what appears to be a store inside the Mall. A separate clip shows five of the terrorists taking position inside a supermarket within the mall during the attack. All five appear to be in their late teens or early twenties and of Somali origin. They are all heavily armed. In the 11-minute clip which is devoid of sound, the terrorists are seen pacing up and down, occasionally firing indiscriminately.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Thousands of additional troops urged for force in Somalia

16 Oct – Source: Washington Post – 117 words

EU states urged to cooperate on drones, cyber defence

16 Oct – Source: Reuters – 122 words

European Union states should work together in four areas of defence technology, including developing drones, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said in a report on Tuesday. In a report commissioned ahead of an EU summit in December, Catherine Ashton said European governments should commit to cooperative projects in drones, a new satellite communications system, cyber defence and plugging a shortfall in air tankers. Though primarily a civilian organisation, the EU plays a growing military and security role, ranging from an anti-piracy naval force off Somalia to training the army in Mali, and the December summit aims to strengthen that role. Weaknesses in areas such as air-to-air refuelling planes and surveillance drones were shown up during NATO’s bombing campaign of Libya in 2011.

U.S. builds up military bases in Italy for African ops

16 Oct – Source: UPI News – 115 words

The U.S. deployment of 200 Marines to a naval base in Sicily for possible operations in Libya, a short hop across the Mediterranean, underlines how the Americans have been building a network of bases in Italy as launch pads for military interventions in Africa and the Mideast. The signs are that 20 years after the American military’s first, and costly, encounter with Muslim militants in Mogadishu, Somalia, U.S. operations in Africa are growing as the militant threat expands. Another key factor is U.S. President Barack Obama’s switch in his counter-terror strategy from drone strikes against al Qaeda to pinpoint raids by small Special Forces teams, as seen in Somalia and Libya Oct. 5.

SOCIAL MEDIA

CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“When I spoke to Big Mouth earlier this year, it wasn’t long after he claimed to have given up the game. We chatted ransoms, hostages, and putting me on his list of people to “deal with.”

Talking to Somalia’s “Most Notorious Pirate”

16 Oct- Source: VICE-1110 Words
If you read about Somali piracy for any length of time, one name is bound to come up: Mohammed Abdi “Big Mouth” Hassan. Except he just got busted. I spoke with him a couple of months ago and decided this might be the time to dig it out. Hassan, or “Afweyne” as he was previously known, famously hijacked the biggest vessel in history, a $100 million Saudi-owned supertanker, which he recieved $3 million to return. A “founding father” of modern buccaneering off the Horn of Africa, Hassan made the headlines back in January, when he held a press conference to announce his “retirement” from the game. Despite this, an INTERPOL Red Notice issued in his name in 2012 stuck, and a couple of days ago his pirate reign came to an official end.