October 18, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Amid dangers, Mogadishu residents relish ordinary pleasures

17 Oct- Source: Reuters-779 Words
Street lamps now light up some of Mogadishu’s battle-scarred roads and couples hold hands at the seaside, scenes unthinkable when the militant al Shabaab group was in charge of Somalia. “We feel free,” said 18-year-old Samira Aden, emerging from the Indian Ocean with her boyfriend at Lido beach, where women were banned from swimming until just two years ago when African troops drove the militants out of the capital. Rebuilding a life that many in the world take for granted is a slow and often imperfect process. Islamists still control swathes of countryside and some towns, and have launched several attacks on the city since 2011. Last month they showed their reach by striking a Kenyan shopping mall. But residents of Mogadishu appear determined to enjoy their new freedoms and not be deterred by the threats. With al Shabaab no longer in charge, the city’s youth flock to the beach or gather at coffee shops to chat, testing the boundaries of a still conservative society. Residents savor the new routine of shopping at well-stocked stores, filling up cars at gas stations rather than buying jerry cans from roadside vendors, and even enjoying a night out at the clutch of restaurants and hotels rising from the rubble.

Key Headlines

President Hassan says talks with Somaliland continues(Shabelle/SNTV)
Grenade attacks rock Somali troops’ base in Marka(Shabelle)
Somali government prepares major assault against al Shabaab(Bar-kulan)
Tension high in Beled Hawo town(Shabelle)
Westgate strike ‘proof of al Shabaab might’(Africa Review)
UN food agencies in Somalia promote eating fish to fight hunger(Reliefweb)
Somalia: Children recover from acute malnutrition(ICRC)

SOMALI MEDIA

President Hassan says talks with Somaliland continues

17 Oct – Source: Shabelle/SNTV – 73 words

The president of the federal Republic of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud who addressed the mediaThursday in Mogadishu said that talks with Somaliland will continue and hopes to reconcile and reunite with the Somaliland administration in coming months. Mr. Mohamud added that the rest of Somali regional administrations should trust the federal government on the issue as it is all inclusive and consists of all Somalis regardless of their clans or regions.

Somali government prepares major assault against al Shabaab

17 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan – 94 words

Commanders of the Somali government troops in the southern regions of Bay, Bakol and Gedo said on Thursday they are preparing to launch a major assault on the last strongholds of militant movement al Shabaab. Speaking to Bar-kulan, Gen. Ibrahim Yarow, a senior commander of the Somali Federal government said that they are in the final preparations of the assault which is intended to liberate the areas still controlled by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militant group. Gen. Yarow added that government forces in these three regions are well-equipped and trained to conduct any kind of operation.

Tension high in Beled Hawo town

17 Oct – Source: Radio Dalsan/Shabelle – 115 words

News from Beled Hawa town in Gedo region say that tensions between government troops and Troops loyal to the interim Juba administration from the nearby Dolow town is souring and might lead to war. Sources confirm that the troops from Dolow town who are said to be loyal to Ahmed Madobe, the leader of Juba administration arrived at the outskirts of Beled Hawa town which is controlled by government troops and other militia from Ahlu Sunna. The commander of Ahlu Sunna militia in Southern Somalia Osman Sheikh Abdi Qorah has labelled the advancing troops as spoilers of peace and urged them not to destabilize the sustained peaceful environment enjoyed by the civilians of the border town.

Grenade attacks rock Somali troops’ base in Marka

17 Oct – Source: Radio Shabelle – 67 words

Residents of Marka town located in the lower Shabelle region of Somalia confirmed to Shabelle radio on Thursday that two grenade were hurled at a military base located at the heart of the town. The assailants have not been identified and the degree of casualties caused by the explosions is not yet known. Government officials in Marka town declined to give details about the explosions.

REGIONAL MEDIA

Westgate strike ‘proof of al Shabaab might’

17 Oct – Source: Africa Review – 122 words

The Westgate Mall terror attack in Nairobi last month demonstrated al Shabaab militants growing strength and reach, the group has claimed. The spokesperson for the Somali terror group, Ali Mohamoud Raghe, alias Ali Dhere, claimed the al Shabaab had ‘captured’ Kenya’s capital for four days. Addressing a congregation in Barawe district, 200km south of Mogadishu after holding Eid-ul-Adha prayers, Raghe said: “Nairobi had become very close to being part of our Wilaya (the territories in southern and central Somalia) controlled by al Shabaab.” “The success was that the city was shaken for four days, even without the presence of our mighty fighters,” he added. Raghe said the attack was a warning shot to Kenya, adding that the group was capable of executing worse strikes.

US donates Sh12m bomb disposal kit to Kenya police

17 Oct- Source: Daily Nation-150 Words
The United States has donated bomb disposal equipment worth Sh12.7 million to Kenyan police. The equipment includes three robots that were used to clear the Westgate Mall building of any explosive device after the terror attack. US ambassador to Kenya Mr Robert Godec handed over the equipment to the Bomb Disposal Unit. “The United States stands with Kenya in its fight against terrorism. This donation is a mark of our commitment to work with Kenya to end the threat from al Shabaab,” Mr Godec said on Thursday. The US Department of State’s Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program has been providing training and equipment to the National Police Service’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations Bomb Disposal Unit for six years.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Amid dangers, Mogadishu residents relish ordinary pleasures

UN food agencies in Somalia promote eating fish to fight hunger

17 Oct- Source: Reliefweb-435 Words
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have joined forces with Somali authorities to encourage Somalis to eat more fish as a way to fight hunger in the Horn of Africa country. Despite Somalia’s enormous marine resources, the country’s fishing industry remains largely underdeveloped and its fisheries unexploited. This is partly due to decades of conflict and piracy on the high seas – but also because fish does not form part of the traditional Somali diet. “The major aim of this campaign is to encourage thousands of displaced families living in and around Dolow to start including fish in their diets,” said Luca Alinovi, the FAO representative in Somalia. “The Gedo region has two rivers, the Dawa and Jubba, yet the eating of fresh fish is nearly nonexistent.”

Somalia: Children recover from acute malnutrition

17 Oct – Source: ICRC – 83 words

The ICRC has 33 feeding programmes in south-central Somalia. Each year, we treat over 20,000 children with severe acute malnutrition in the clinics that we are supporting in conjunction with the Somalia Red Crescent Society. As well as feeding these children, we help their families generate an income, spreading the benefit still more widely. Hilary Floate is the nutritionist for our Somalia delegation. She tells us about the programme and how rewarding it is for her to see children recover from malnutrition.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“This latest al Shabaab video comes a week after the head of MI5 warned “there are several thousand Islamist extremists here who see the British people as a legitimate target” and it will fuel concerns about the risk of homegrown lone wolf attacks. We have seen what al Shabaab was capable of in Nairobi. Does this video mean they are turning their sights on the UK?”

A Terrorist Recruitment Video With a Difference

17 Oct- Source: Huffington Post/Shabelle Media-608 Words
He is speaking from Somalia in the name of al Shabaab, but he has an impeccable British accent and he’s appealing directly to Muslims in the UK. He wants another Woolwich-style attack. “If you can’t afford one of these,” he says, shaking an AK47 in the air, “a simple knife from B&Q will do the job.” This is a terrorist recruitment video with a difference. Not only is it in the English language, it is completely focused on Britain. It uses British voices, and British TV news reports. It denounces well known British moderate muslims and TV commentators. It is even executed in the style of a primetime TV docco with slick edits and cool graphics. The man in front of the camera is urging the British viewer to become known as ‘a terrorist, just like me. A modern-day Lord Haw Haw, cementing al Shabaab’s reputation as an international terrorist organisation in the image of al Qaeda.