October 24, 2013 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

AMISOM calls on Jubba administration to fight against al Shabaab fighters

23 Oct – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 120 words

A delegation from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) held a consultative meeting with the Leader of Juba Interim Administration, Mr. Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe. The delegation was tasked by the Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) for Somalia, Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif to discuss issues regarding the implementation of the agreement between the Federal Government of Somalia and Jubba Interim Administration including integration and disengagement of militia. The two parties reviewed the current political and security situation in the Jubba area with a view to enhance peace and stability in the regions and in the country at large.

Key Headlines

Somali envoy defends refugees over terrorism claims(Bar-kulan)
British terror suspect known as ‘White Widow’ had child with former Kenyan navy officer turned terrorist(National Post)
Ahlu Sunna criticises Nairobi conference on central Somalia regions(Raxanreeb)
British links to al Shabaab revealed(BBC)
Puntland court sentences killer wife and accomplice to death(Garowe Online)
Conference on central Somali regions opens in Nairobi(Bar-kulan)
8 suspects still held over Westgate terror – Kimaiyo(Bar-kulan)

SOMALI MEDIA

Somali envoy defends refugees over terrorism claims

23 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan/Garowe Online – 86 words

Somalia has defended its refugees in the Kenyan camp of Dadaab against claims that they take part in terrorism. Somali ambassador in Nairobi Mohamed Ali Nur told journalists on Tuesday that the refugees at the world’s most populous camp are in fact victims and not participants in terrorism. “These refugees who are in the camps are innocent people. I want to say that the refugees themselves have been victims. Some of them were killed, some women were raped, and kids were killed,” he said in Nairobi. “Sometimes I really do not like when I see in the media, in the newspapers, saying that the refugees are themselves terrorists.”

Ahlu Sunna criticises Nairobi conference on central Somalia regions

23 Oct – Source: Raxanreeb – 97 words

The Moderate Islamist group in Somalia has criticized a conference opened in Nairobi, Kenya which the elders and politicians hailing from central Somalia regions were discussing on administration making for Galgadud, Hiiraan and Mudug regions, RBC reports. Sheikh Abdirisak Ali Mire Ashcari, the Chairperson of Ahlu Sunna Executive Council said his group will not attend the conference in Nairobi as he called the participants to withdraw. “This conference is pushed by the Interior Ministry of the Federal Government of Somalia. We will not support any outcome of this conference.” Sheikh Al Ashcari said.

AMISOM calls on Jubba administration to fight against al Shabaab fighters

23 Oct – Source: Radio Mustaqbal – 120 words

Puntland court sentences killer wife and accomplice to death

23 Oct – Source: Garowe Online/Raxanreeb – 136 words

A court in Somalia’s Puntland state sentenced to death a woman and a man who helped her murder her husband in the port city of Bossaso on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports. Iftin Mohamed Osman, 32 and Tamam Hussein Kadid, 28-Ethiopians belonging to Oromo ethnic were convicted of killing Mohamed Bashir Ahmed and then cutting him into pieces on May this year according to the criminal hearings at the first-degree court of Bari region. The judge, Bashir Ismael Hobeley who announced the court decision said that the convicted persons murdered Ahmed, cut him into pieces and then put his body in a sack and dumped at a house where the deceased’s body was discovered by the security forces after two weeks.

Conference on central Somali regions opens in Nairobi

23 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan – 78 words

A conference on the formation of a central administration opened Wednesday in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi with representatives all the central regions in attendance. The two-day conference was attended by central authorities of Galmudug, Himan and Heb and also representatives from Galgadud region. The conference was backed by the interior and security ministry of the Somali Federal government. The conference was also attended by some members of the Somali Federal Parliament and also representatives from the international community.

REGIONAL MEDIA

8 suspects still held over Westgate terror – Kimaiyo

23 Oct – Source: Capital News – 111 words

The Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo has said they are still holding eight suspects who are being investigated over the Westgate terror attack. Kimaiyo said some of the suspects were interrogated and released but they have compelling reasons to continue detaining the remaining eight. “We had very many of them but the numbers keep on reducing according to the information we receive,” he pointed out. “Westgate has been declared a crime scene as we are still continuing with our investigations down there.” No suspect has been charged in court over the attack that occurred on September 21, killing at least 61 civilians, six security agents and at least four terrorists.

Al Shabaab Takes ‘Last Gasps’ in Ethiopia

23 Oct – Source: Awramba Times – 148 words

The explosion went off at 2:40 on a Sunday afternoon, on a tree-lined side street in Ethiopia’s capital city of Addis Ababa. The area was a quiet one – home to foreign diplomats, domestic civil servants and several embassies – and the blast was strong enough to kill two men, startle the neighbours, and demolish a small home. But if the government’s current theory is correct, the carnage could have been much worse. Sunday, Oct. 13, was the day of a big football match – a rare shot at the World Cup playoffs for Ethiopia, which ultimately lost against Nigeria in Addis Ababa. Given the debris found at the site of the explosion, including suicide belts and an Ethiopian team jersey, investigators think the men may have been planning to detonate near the football stadium in central Addis, where thousands of fans and security workers had gathered.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

British links to al Shabaab revealed

23 Oct- Source: BBC-521 Words
The names of almost 50 people from Britain who have links to al Shabaab – and related organisations – have been established by the BBC. Most of those on the list travelled to Somalia to fight or attempted to do so. Somali-based militants al-Shabab carried out the deadly attack on the Westgate mall in neighbouring Kenya. Lawyers for the family of one British recruit known to have died in Somalia are investigating whether he was killed in a raid involving western military. Al Shabaab is fighting to impose a brutal version of Islamic law on the country and the group is linked to al Qaeda. Fate unknown The 47 names compiled by the BBC are based on a combination of sources, including public records from courts in the UK and abroad, and further first-hand research and accounts. It is not a complete list of people from the UK who are suspected of having gone to fight because it is impossible to establish or estimate with any certainty how many Westerners have taken up arms in Somalia. The research found that security chiefs believe at least 32 of the identifiable individuals went to fight. A further seven were named in British court cases as having attempted to enter Somalia, but their plans were discovered and disrupted.

British terror suspect known as ‘White Widow’ had child with former Kenyan navy officer turned terrorist

23 Oct – Source: National Post – 113 words

Samantha Lewthwaite, the British terror suspect known as the ‘White Widow,’ has formed a long-term relationship and had a child with a former Kenyan navy officer who defected to al Shabaab, The Daily Telegraph can disclose. Pictures released Tuesday showed Lewthwaite and Abdi Wahid together for the first time, capturing the moment the pair cradled their new baby, named Surajah. Anti-terrorism investigators in Kenya have confirmed that Wahid is the father of the child. The images also showed Lewthwaite’s other three children – the eldest two of whom were fathered by Germaine Lindsay, the July 7 suicide bomber – and gave an insight into the double life of the world’s most wanted woman.

Eritrea And Somalia Top List of countries with Most Child labor

23 Oct – Source: Open Equal News – 161 words

In a new report issued by Maplecroft, countries were ranked according to where child labor was most prevalent. The countries that ranked highest include: Eritrea, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, and Yemen. In these countries, poverty significantly contributes to child labor rates because families need the income children provide in order to survive. Other contributing factors include recent or ongoing experiences of conflict, a lack of adequate legislation and government enforcement, along with prevalent attitudes and beliefs that encourage and support child labor. Eritrea and Somalia tied for the number one ranking with both countries experiencing high rates of poverty and insufficient legal structures to adequately support efforts to combat child labor. In Eritrea the government supports several child labor practices; not only are children younger than 18 enrolled in compulsory military programs, but a national program also requires ninth through eleventh grade children to work in either agricultural or service jobs during their school breaks.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Those attracted are usually quite young — there’s the usual issue of a clash of cultures — of being stuck between east Africa and Scandinavia and not knowing where they belong”

Why dozens of ethnic Somalis in Scandinavia are embracing jihad

23 Oct- Source: CNN-1204 Words
Scandinavia’s humanitarian generosity in the 1990s appears to have had some unintended, and unwelcome, consequences, as dozens of young ethnic Somalis living there have embraced jihad, returning to the Horn of Africa to join the al Qaeda affiliate al Shabaab. Norway’s Intelligence Agency PST is still investigating whether one of the attackers at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi had lived in Norway. The 23-year old had come to Norway with his family at the age of nine as a refugee, but according to Norwegian media had become unsettled after being unable to find work and begun to frequent jihadist websites. In a statement last week, the PST said it had not yet been determined whether the man took part in the attack, but added: “Based on the information that we have uncovered this far in the investigation … the suspicion of his involvement has been strengthened.”