October 24, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Two Somali Soldiers Wounded In Gun Fight With Fellow Troops
23 October – Source: Reuters – 198 Words
Two Somali soldiers were wounded in a gunfight with other troops on Monday, a police officer said, a worrying internal rift for a military with a history of factionalism that is fighting a resurgence by militant Islamists, the Al-Shabaab group is suspected of being behind the country’s single deadliest attack on civilians this month that killed at least 358 people.
Nur Ali, a police officer, told Reuters the brief fighting took place in the Yaqshid district of the capital Mogadishu and was triggered by a misunderstanding between the district commissioner and security forces. “The district commissioner’s home guards and security forces exchanged gunfire,” Ali said, adding that soldiers briefly seized the commissioner’s office. The dispute was resolved, Ali said, but not before two soldiers were wounded.
Somalia’s military is often troubled by low morale caused by missed salaries, factionalism and defections. The country has been virtually lawless since the early 1990s after dictator Siad Barre was deposed. Al-Shabaab has not claimed responsibility for the twin bombing on Oct. 14 that flattened several buildings but it has carried out attacks on security targets over the years as it fights to topple the western-backed government, often also killing civilians.
Key Headlines
- Two Somali Soldiers Wounded In Gun Fight With Fellow Troops (Reuters)
- President Farmajo Arrives In Addis Ababa (Garowe Online)
- Puntland Police Commissioner Sacked Placed Under House Arrest (Garowe Online)
- Truck Bombing: Turkey To Send Another Doctor To Somalia (Anadolu Agency)
- Somali Diaspora: Blast Won’t Stop Effort To Rebuild Homeland (McClatchy DC Bureau)
- How Many Dead Somalis Does It Take For Us To Care? (The Guardian)
NATIONAL MEDIA
President Farmajo Arrives In Addis Ababa
23 October – Source: Garowe Online – 227 Words
Somali President, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday on his second leg of his three-nation visit. On arrival, at Bole International Airport, President Farmajo and his delegation were warmly welcomed by Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Workneh Gebeyehu, Ambassadors and scores of other government officials.
In his short briefing to the media, Farmajo noted that his second leg to Ethiopia is part of the plan to meet the leaders of troop-contributing countries to Somalia over the fighting against Al-Shabaab group. “The threat of Al Shabaab is not only a threat to Somalia but also to our neighboring countries that is why I am here to seek support and solidarity from our brothers here in Ethiopia,” said Somali President.
Ethiopian PM, Hailemariam Desaleign has received President Farmajo at his residence and was expected to discuss ways of further reinforcing the peace and stability in Somalia and the region. On Sunday, President Farmajo paid a one-day visit to Kampala and held a meeting with his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni, in which they discussed the regional stability and the war on Al-Shabaab. The President will wrap up his historic East African trip in Djibouti. Farmajo is seeking bulk support for an anticipated final military offensive planned to wipe out Al-Shabaab from its remaining strongholds.
Puntland Police Commissioner Sacked, Placed Under House Arrest
23 October – Source: Garowe Online – Words
Puntland Police Chief, Abdikadir Shire Farah has been sacked and put under house arrest through a state presidential decree. Commander Farah is accused of drawing a pistol during a fist fight with Nugal province commissioner Omar Abdullahi Faroole and as a result injuring his deputy Guled Farah Bile two days ago in a hotel in Garowe town during a meeting on security matters.The incident was witnessed by senior Puntland officials including the state security minister as well as the head of state anti-terrorism unit. The decree stated that commander Farah is stopped from his position and placed under house arrest with immediate effect until further notice by Puntland state leader.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Truck Bombing: Turkey To Send Another Doctor To Somalia
October – Source: Anadolu Agency – 303 Words
A charity in Turkey will send third doctor to Somalia to treat people injured by a deadly suicide truck bomb attack in the capital Mogadishu.Doctors Worldwide Turkey (DWWT) had already sent two doctors to Mogadishu, where the deadly attack on Oct. 14 left 358 people dead and 228 others injured.
A day after the attack, Turkey sent a military air ambulance to provide medical aid and to bring wounded people from Somalia to Turkey.
A plastic surgeon and general surgeon from DWWT were among the aid group sent in coordination with Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and Health Ministry, the DWWT said in a statement. The military air ambulance brought 35 injured Somalis to Turkey, it added.
“In accordance with the demand from Recep Tayyip Erdogan Hospital in Somalia, a plastic surgeon and a general surgeon were dispatched to the area to treat the injured soon after the attack,” according to the statement. “The Worldwide Doctors in Turkey will send a gynecologist to the area this evening [Monday]. Our doctor will treat the injured in the region until Nov. 8.”
The statement also described the gruesome picture at the hospital and how doctors devoted themselves to help the victims in the aftermath of the incident. “Dead bodies were lined up at the corridors as morgues were packed. Doctors were terrified because the bodies were burned. Victims’ relatives were nervous as it was difficult to identify [bodies],” a DWWT doctor said in the statement. The statement noted that Recep Tayyip Erdogan Hospital was the only medical facility, which was providing free medical aid to Somalis on the day of the deadly attack. “People do not cry for death anymore. Relatives of the victims take the bodies and leave after thanking us because Somalis are used to deaths,” the DWWT doctor said.
Somali Diaspora: Blast Won’t Stop Effort To Rebuild Homeland
23 October – Source: McClatchy DC Bureau – 825 Words
Like many Somalis displaced by decades of civil war, Mohamoud Elmi felt he had a duty to use what he learned in America to help rebuild his homeland. After getting a business administration degree in Ohio, he fulfilled that calling and returned to Somalia in 2008 to work in government. Elmi, a dual Somali-U.S. citizen, was among at least 358 people killed in the Oct. 14 truck bombing in Mogadishu. He was one of countless members of the Somali diaspora who have returned to the Horn of Africa country in recent years to work as contractors, entrepreneurs, humanitarian workers, government leaders and more, despite the threat of violence.
Many say they won’t be deterred by the recent bombing, which was the deadliest attack in Somalia’s history and one of the world’s worst attacks in years. Some say the bombing, which also left 228 people injured and dozens missing, will actually energize rebuilding efforts. “We don’t want this country to go down the tubes,” said Jibril Afyare, a Minnesota software engineer who is visiting Mogadishu. He went on to add: “I’m an American citizen, but this is my homeland and I won’t let my fellow Somali citizens suffer like this.”Afyare was among a group of diaspora members invited to Somalia by the government to assist in the country’s progress. He was on his way to meet three relatives when he heard the blast from a couple of blocks away.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“I saw humanity and solidarity and didn’t think to ask who hadn’t been moved by this catastrophe – until I realised that London, my home city, had not marked this atrocity the way it has those in western cities: no flags at half-mast, no illumination of the London Eye in the blue and white of the Somali flag – not even a tweet from mayor Sadiq Khan.”
How Many Dead Somalis Does It Take For Us To Care?
23 October – Source: The Guardian – 759 Words
For over a week now, since the shocking attack that killed hundreds of people in Mogadishu, I’ve been seeking to raise money for the only free ambulance service in the Somali capital. But as the days have gone I’ve noticed just how muted the public and official response has been to what – with 358 dead, 56 missing and 228 injured – must count among the world’s worst terror atrocities. On hearing the first reports and seeing pictures of the vast black plume of smoke, I realised this was unlike the typical, low-level terror attacks that have plagued Mogadishu.
The Zoobe district was a lively area shaded by palm trees, full of small traders, businesses, hotels and cafes – with a busy four-lane highway cutting through it. At 3pm on the day, people were shifting gears: from primary school to home, from university to socialising, from siesta to work. Suddenly every building in the district was flattened, ash and dust billowing away to reveal total devastation – as if the district had seen months of war and heavy shelling.
The remains of the first 165 unidentified victims were so badly damaged that what could be found was hastily buried in a mass funeral the next day. The truck bomb went off beside a fuel tanker so there are people who will never be traced, whose disappearance has left families emotionally and financially crippled. You see their names and faces on Gurmad252, a crisis response organisation staffed by volunteers who aim to identify the victims of the attack and raise funds for the survivors.
Many of the missing were just starting their lives, unsurprising for a country where 62% of the population is under 24 years old: they include first division footballers (Mustaf Qoor), medical students just about to qualify (Maryan Cabdullahi), shoe-shiners (Catar Aden) and so many more. The militant group al-Shabaab, which has lost much of the territory it controlled in Somalia over the last few years, continues to snipe away at soft targets. It is yet to take responsibility for the Zoobe attack, but there is little doubt regarding its culpability.
The famed make-do-and-mend resilience of Mogadishu is built on the reputation of groups such as Aamin Ambulance. I had first seen their work online, a few months ago, when they responded to a much smaller attack. They rushed to the scene even though security forces often fire at ambulances in the confusion of smoke and crowds. And when I contacted them via Twitter on the night of the attack their primary concern was not for themselves, but whether there would be another attack that they would not have the resources to deal with.
Led by a dentist, Abdulkadir Adan – who was inspired by the work of the Pakistani humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi the service rushes into danger zones in a fleet of second-hand ambulances that once belonged to the fire service of a tiny Japanese island. They needed radios urgently, Adan said, because they relied on mobile phones to communicate, and the network was jammed with people trying to locate loved ones.