October 27, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Suspected ISIL Fighters Seize Town In Puntland, Somalia
26 October – Source: Goobjoog News – 154 Words
More than fifty fighters believed to be ISIL group affiliates in Somalia on Wednesday took control of the ancient port city of Qandala in Puntland state. Local district commissioner Mohamed Khurshe told Goobjoog News the fighters appeared on foot from the western part of the town and matched through the centre of the town at about 10 am local time.“They matched through the centre of the town carrying what appears to be ISIS flags and planted them at the district police station,” said Khurshe. Civilians fled from the town, the official added.
A faction of the militant group Al-Shabaab announced its allegiance last year to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, ISIS. The surrogate led by former British based preacher Abdulkadir Mumin however face stiff resistance from Puntland forces and mainstream Al-Shabaab which has vigorously fought to maintain its allegiance to Al-Qaeda. Puntland authorities are yet to comment on the development.
Key Headlines
- Suspected ISIL fighters seize town in Puntland Somalia (Goobjoog News)
- Ahlu Sunna Says Readied Anti-Al-Shabaab Offensive (Shabelle News)U
- UN Speaks Out On Attacks On Media Freedom In Somalia (Shabelle News)
- Home Office Fails In Bid To Deport Double Rapist To Somalia (STV)
- AU Lauds Soldiers For Foiling Terror Attacks On Base In Somalia (Xinhua)
- Eight Reasons To Be Concerned About The Somalia Elections (African Arguments)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Ahlu Sunna Says Readied Anti-Al-Shabaab Offensive
26 October – Source: Shabelle News – 147 Words
Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a (ASWJ) said it will launch a new offensive against the Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab militants battling the Somali and African Union troops in the country. The announcement was made by Sheikh Isack Hussein Mursal, the defense secretary of ASWJ and he said they are preparing fresh forces in Jubbaland territory to execute the planned anti-Al-shabaab offensive.
ASWJ, is a central Somalia-based paramilitary group consisting of moderate Sufis fighting Al-shabaab. The group is now controlling swathes of ground, including Dhusamareb town, Galmudug state capital. Mursal said the awaiting offensive is aimed to push out Al-shabaab from the whole country after the federal government and AMISOM have failed to defeat the militants in a decade-long combat.
On the other hand, the Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a (ASWJ) official said it doesn’t recognize the Kenya-backed Jubbaland administration based in southern port city of Kismayo that is led by Ahmed Madobe.
UN Speaks Out On Attacks On Media Freedom In Somalia
26 October – Source: Shabelle News – 104 Words
United Nations assistance mission in Somalia (UNSOM) has spoken out on attacks on Media Freedom in Somalia’s Radio Shabelle marks 3rd anniversary of its shut down. Joseph Contreras, the spokesman of UNSOM said in an interview with Radio Shabelle that he is saddened and sorry about the intimidations against Shabelle Media Network.Mr. Contreras said UNSOM has recently released a report on attacks on Media Freedom in Somalia in which they condemned the killings and arrests of journalists and media houses.He has strongly condemned the murders and others abuse against Radio Shabelle and its employees who are risking their lives to inform their people.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Home Office Fails In Bid To Deport Double Rapist To Somalia
26 October – Source: STV – 379 Words
The Home Office has failed in a legal bid to deport a Somalian double rapist who subjected four women to violent sex attacks in Scotland.Abdalla Ali Hemed, 52, was found guilty at the High Court in Glasgow in 2008 of two counts of rape and two sexual assaults with intent to rape. He was jailed for nine years for the attacks.Then-home secretary Theresa May launched a legal bid in 2013 to have Hemed removed from the UK.
He launched an appeal and won on the grounds that he would be in danger if he was returned to Somalia because he is from the Bajuni minority ethnic group.
The Home Office then launched a legal challenge against the ruling but judges at the Court of Session in Edinburgh this week ruled in favour of the sex offender again and refused the appeal.The refugee came to the UK on a false passport in 2002 and was granted leave to stay in Scotland after fleeing the military regime on Somalia.In 2004, Hemed and a gang of men subjected his first victim to serious sexual assault in a flat in Aberdeen then raped another woman at knifepoint at his flat in the city in 2006 after giving her drugs.
Later the same year, he launched a sex attack on another woman at his flat and did the same less than a week later.At the time of his conviction, the Home Office wrote to Hemed saying he would be deported because he had been convicted of a “particularly serious crime and constituted a danger to the community of the United Kingdom”.He was then told in October 2014 his refugee status had been “cancelled” but he was allowed to remain in Britain under the European Convention on Human Rights.Judge Lord Carloway issued a judgment this week on the Home Office’s appeal against the previous ruling.
AU Lauds Soldiers For Foiling Terror Attacks On Base In Somalia
26 October – Source:Xinhua – 216 Words
The Africa Union envoy in Somalia on Wednesday lauded the pan African body’s troops for thwarting a deadly terror attack on the AU base in Beledweyne on Tuesday by suspected Al-Shabaab militants.Francisco Caetano Madeira, the Special Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson (SRCC) for Somalia, said the response by AMISOM soldiers was timely.”We commend the troops for their swift reaction in neutralizing this deadly attack and will continue to stand against these terrorists whose sole purpose is to spread terror and perpetuate a timetable of destabilization for Somalia,” Madeira said in a statement issued in Mogadishu.
Ten attackers drove up in a vehicle at about midday which detonated at the gates of the camp, after which the militants forced their way in.AMISOM troops responded swiftly with the aid of reinforcements from a nearby base and the situation was brought under control.All 10 militants were killed, while two AMISOM soldiers succumbed to injuries during the fight. Another five AMISOM troops are injured.Madeira extended heartfelt condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers, empathized with the injured and wished them quick recovery, while reiterating AMISOM’s commitment to protect lives and safeguard peace.The militants have stepped up their terror attacks with the aim of disrupting the election process now underway in Somalia.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“For a country still emerging from a quarter century of conflict, security is a vital concern. The Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab has launched a number of high-profile attacks in recent months, expressed their determination to disrupt the process, and threatened elders who participate in the election. The group still looms over the process and could unsettle it over the coming weeks,”
Eight Reasons To Be Concerned About The Somalia Elections
26 October – Source: African Arguments – 1257 Words
After various delays, Somalia’s elections are now underway. Four regional states have now completed the election of their Upper House members. The selection of the 275 members of the Lower House is awaited. And if all goes according to the latest schedule, the president will finally be appointed on 30 November.
This stage has not been easy to reach. Since the electoral process was agreed to and signed into law in May 2016, there have been several delays. And it is likely that there could be more before the process is completed.While trying to remain positive, these postponements have raised concerns amongst both Somalis and the likes of the UN and European Union, which warned the delays “put in question the Somali authorities’ unequivocal commitment to the electoral process”.But why have the elections faced repeated interruptions and why are many Somalis and observers getting increasingly wary about the process and how it is being run?