October 26, 2017 | Morning Headlines
We Have Secured Enhanced Support To Fight Al-Shabaab- President Farmaajo
25 October- Source: Goobjoog News – 416 Words
President Mohamed Farmaajo returned to the country Wednesday follow a tour of three countries to marshal support and resources for an expected offensive against the militant group Al-Shabaab in the wake of a deadly terror attack in the city. Addressing the media upon arrival from Djibouti, the President Farmaajo said he had secured the commitment of Uganda, Ethiopia and Djibouti to reinforce the country’s military to counter Al-Shabaab.
The president has laid blame on Al-Shabaab for the October 14 attack at Zope Junction in Mogadishu which claimed over 300 lives but the group has gone silent over it.“We traveled to seek support to double the fight to liberate the country from Al-Shabaab and we succeeded by the grace of God,” the president said adding, “The leaders promised they will respond to our request which is strengthening our army by equipping them with the needed tools.”
He called for unity to fight Al-Shabaab and stabilizing the country reiterating his earlier call for solidarity with the national army.“In order to avoid the sadness of Zope from happening again, we have to stand up for the defense of our country and fight our enemy so that they cannot find the opportunity to continue harming us.” Farmaajo started three country tour in Uganda Sunday where he met his Uganda counterpart Yoweri Museveni.
A tweet from the President’s account noted the two leaders had fruitful discussions on the supporting the offensive.“We agreed that we will continue to work hard and to bring our resources to fight against these terrorists,” said Farmaajo after meeting his Ethiopian host Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.“I am here to seek the solidarity of our brothers here in Ethiopia, and now I will go to Djibouti to do the same thing and to unite in this war against Al-Shabaab which is real threat to the peace and stability of the region,” the President told the media in Addis Ababa.
President Farmaajo is expected to chair the National Security Council Saturday bringing together heads of regional government and army chiefs. Newly appointed army chief Major General Abdiweli Jama Hussein said Monday the extermination of Al-Shabaab was critical to allow exit of Amisom forces. “As time approaches for AMISOM to exit, we will continue to work hard together with AMISOM so that the SNA can assume responsibility for the security of the country and we will say thank you,” he stated, while stressing the need to eradicate Al-Shabaab to pave way for a smooth AMISOM exit.
Key Headlines
- We Have Secured Enhanced Support To Fight Al-Shabaab- President Farmaajo (Goobjoog News)
- Somali National Army Kills Al-Shabaab Fighters In An Operation (SONNA)
- Puntland Parliament Commences Its 40th Session (Garowe Online)
- Massive Bomb Led Somalis To Do Something New — Donate Blood (VOA)
- WHO Enhances Surveillance Capacity In Somalia Ahead Of Nationwide Measles Campaign (Relief web)
- Faiza Dhocob Is Fighting Terror In Somalia In The Face Of Destruction (MS Magazine)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Somali National Army Kills Al-Shabaab Fighters In An Operation
25 October- Source: SONNA – 99 Words
Somali National Army(SNA), together with the Southwest State forces have on Wednesday carried out successful operation in a location near Hudur town in Bakool region, SONNA reported. Ugaas Hassan, Minister of Information of the Southwest State told Somali National News Agency that three Al-Shabaab fighters were killed and another one wounded during the operation.” I can confirm that the joint forces killed three terrorist militants, wounded another one and captured a location about 50 KM southwest of Hudur town,” Mr. Hassan said. He added that a government soldier was killed and two others injured during the operation today.
Puntland Parliament Commences Its 40th Session
25 October – Source: Garowe Online – 260 Words
The Parliament of Somalia’s northeastern semi-autonomous region of Puntland has commenced its 40th session following an opening event held in Garowe, the administrative capital. Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali officially opened the session of the 66-seats chamber of the state Parliament giving his constitutional address to the parliamentarians after the annual break. The speakers of the Senate and House of the People, Federal lawmakers, Senators, including former Puntland President Abdirahman Farole, Nugal governor, members of the civil society participated the opening event. It’s the first time that the leadership of the Federal Parliament attends an opening ceremony for a regional assembly, as the central government has no any running offices in the country’s Federal member states.
The visit by the Senate and Lower house speakers of the house, Abdi Hashi and Mohamed Osman Jawari to Puntland comes amid growing political rift between the central government and regional administrations. Garowe Online has learnt that, citing reliable sources that meeting between Puntland leaders and the parliamentary delegation from Mogadishu is underway in Garowe city over the expansion of the Federal system across the country.
The upcoming consultative forum set to open in Mogadishu on 28th October was reported to be dominating the meeting. President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo invited regional leaders this week to the conference. The Senate has on Monday formed a committee to participate the planned Mogadishu talks aimed to defuse the political wrangle in the country which emerged after several Federal Member States sides with the Saudi led bloc against Qatar while the central government maintained a neutral stand.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Massive Bomb Led Somalis To Do Something New — Donate Blood
25 October – Source: VOA – 498 Words
Something extraordinary happened in the hours after the massive bomb attack that killed 358 people and wounded hundreds more in Mogadishu on Oct. 14: Hundreds of people rushed to hospitals to donate blood for the victims. Such scenes are commonplace in many Western countries after a major disaster, such as the recent hurricane that ravaged the U.S. city of Houston. But in Somalia, a country ravaged by almost constant violence, social stigma and unfounded fears of needles or anemia have long prevented most people from donating blood.
As a result, the nation has lacked blood banks for more than two decades and hospitals have been hard-pressed to provide infusions to victims of blood loss. But a major effort to change those attitudes by a group of young doctors paid off in the wake of the latest terrorist atrocity.Omar Habeeb, one of the recent graduates from Banadir medical school, said the group responded to the bombing by contacting hundreds of pre-registered blood volunteers and launching a social media campaign, including a Facebook appeal for donations from a reticent population. “We have organized our team and many blood donor volunteers we pre-registered. Then, we posted messages and appeals for blood donors on our page — Somali Blood Donation Volunteers — which got half a million views in the same day of the blast. Then hundreds of people voluntarily poured to the hospitals to donate blood,” said Habeeb.
WHO Enhances Surveillance Capacity In Somalia Ahead Of Nationwide Measles Campaign
25 October – Source: Relief Web – 439 Words
The World Health Organization (WHO) and Somali Federal Ministry of Health have conducted a series of trainings to enhance national capacity in early outbreak detection and response for measles ahead of a nationwide measles vaccination campaign in November. The trainings aim to enhance measles case-based surveillance and laboratory confirmation, improve measles case management during seasonal outbreaks, and achieve the minimum routine measles vaccination coverage of 95%.
Somalia is currently facing its worst measles outbreak in several years, with almost 19 000 suspected cases reported in 2017 (as of 24 October) compared to 5000–10 000 cases per year since 2014. More than 80% of those affected by the current outbreak are children under 10 years of age. Minimum routine measles vaccination coverage is only 60%.
In early 2017, WHO and partners, in collaboration with national health authorities, vaccinated almost 600 000 children aged 6 months to 5 years for measles in hard-to-reach and hotspot areas across the country. Despite these efforts, the transmission of measles continues, compounded by the ongoing pre-famine situation, continued mass displacement, and undernourished children living in unhygienic conditions. In order to contain the outbreak, a nationwide campaign is planned for November 2017 to stop transmission of the disease, targeting 4.2 million children. The campaign will also intensify efforts to strengthen routine immunization and reach unvaccinated children to
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Dhocob and her colleagues, a dedicated group of human right defenders and social workers, have been working since January 2015 on monitoring and documenting human rights violations and abuses that are taking place within the country. The organization calls for remedial action, both at a governmental and grassroots level, and demand those behind such violations to be held accountable,”
Faiza Dhocob Is Fighting Terror In Somalia In The Face Of Destruction
25 October – Source: MS Magazine – 881 Words
As smoke and the initial shock cleared from the apocalyptic scene that follows a mass terror act, two little boys were running around in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu looking for their mother. They were eventually led to her. The boys went home carrying pieces of her burnt remains in a small box; she was killed along with more than 300 people on Saturday. 500 more were injured and almost 150 missing.
The ground-shaking attack at a busy junction destroyed hotels, government offices and restaurants. Sadly ironic, the office of Witness Somalia—an organization aiming to help war-torn Somali society pursue peaceful pathways, free from violence, through empowering women and youth—was completely destroyed by the terror attack. “My friends and other colleagues who work in human rights were killed,” said the International Civil Society Action Network’s (ICAN) partner Faiza Dhocob, a Gender Officer at Witness Somalia. “I remain utterly shocked and saddened by this cowardly senseless mass killing.
But despite their despair, Witness Somalia is helping victims and unifying families with their missing loved ones. They are also calling “for all civil society organizations and community volunteers to extend their unconditional support to the affected families by starting fundraising platforms, distribution medical supplies and providing food as well as clothes to the wounded people,” and they want a memorial wall and billboards installed in Mogadishu in memoriam of those who lost their lives.
No group has yet claimed it was behind the bombing. Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo” Mohamed blamed the attack on Al-Shabaab, calling it a “heinous act.” The president, who took power in February, decided to stop all negotiations with Al-Shabaab, rendered them unprotected by the law and gave his forces, and anyone who sees them, the order to kill them on spot instead of bringing them to justice. He had previously vowed to rid the country of the group.
Earlier this year, Al Shabaab vowed to increase its attacks after both the Trump administration and Somalia president announced new military efforts against the group. Some view the attack as revenge against increased drone strikes by the U.S., most notably a July mission in Barire, a strategically significant town on a major road 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the capital. But even though Al Shabaab has been a source of terror for years, the group distanced itself from this attack.
The militant group has done more than enough damage over the years. Hundreds of boys have been kidnapped for recruitment from their schools and from home, according to Dhocob. “For each family with four boys, Al-Shabaab takes two. They threaten clan leaders that if they do not bring those children, they will kill them,” she stated. “So many families are shattered and displaced in the areas under Al-Shabaab control.” Extremism is also taking a toll on education. “Many people have stopped sending their children to schools out of fear of what they might face,” she said, adding that Somalia “lost bright students who were doing really well.”
http://msmagazine.com/blog/