October 30, 2012 | Morning Headlines.

Main Story

Gunmen assassinate a Somali poetry giant in Mogadishu

29 Oct- Source: RBC/Jowhar Online/Radio Risaala/Radio Kulmiye- 123 words

Unidentified assailants have gunned down Warsame Shire Awalle, a Somali poetry giant, late on Monday in the Waberi district of Mogadishu as he was heading to his home. As a journalist who works for Radio Kulmiye confirmed to RBC Radio, the assassinated poet was killed at around 6:00pm local time by unknown gunmen armed with pistols as he was heading to his home.

Key Headlines

Gunmen assassinate a Somali poetry giant in Mogadishu (RBC/Kulmiye/Risaala)
Somalia’s General Farah killed in al Shabaab ambush (BBC)
Al Shabaab fighters attack a district commissioner’s home in Bardale Bai region (Raxanreeb)
Slain Shabelle journalist laid to rest (Shabelle)
Ex-PM arrives in Bosaso town Bari region (Bar-Kulan

SOMALI MEDIA

Ex-PM arrives in Bosaso town, Bari region

29 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan/Raxanreeb/Hiiraan Online – 94 words

Former Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali who is touring Puntland on Monday arrived at the port city of Bosaso, where he was warmly received by local officials and elders. Bari regional governor Abdisamed Mohamed Galan and the mayor of Bosaso were among Puntland officials who received Ali and his entourage. Speaking briefly to the press, Ali thanked locals for welcoming him into Bosaso, saying that he is delighted to visit the port city.

Al Shabaab fighters attack a district commissioner’s home in Bardale, Bai region

29 Oct – Source: Raxanreeb – 132 words

Al Shabaab snipers have attacked the home of Bardale district commissioner, Yoonis Ma’alin Mohamed in the early hours of Monday morning around 1:00Am, in Bardale of Bai region, killing one body guard and wounding the chief. The attack happened in the early hours of Monday, in Bardale district, after a unit of al Shabaab fighters stormed the commissioner’s residential home and exchanged heavy gunshots with his bodyguards. At least five people were confirmed dead in the shoot out, including one body guard and four of al Shabaab fighters; a number of persons were also wounded.

Galmudug police seize explosives in Galkayo

29 Oct – Source: Bar-kulan – 101 words

Galmudug police have seized hand grenades and other explosives after conducting a morning raid in a house in southern Galkayo, official say. Police raided the house after receiving an intelligence report from members of the public; they found an unspecified number of hand grenades and two explosive-laden vests, presumably for suicide bombings. Area police boss Abdi Jamaa Habeb said the raid came after they received information that explosions were being plotted in the house in Horumar neighbourhood. He said two suspects escaped arrest during the raid.

Slain Shabelle journalist laid to rest

29 Oct – Source: Shabelle/Bar-kulan/Raxanreeb – 110 words

Hundreds of mourners stood in the noon heat at Jazeera cemetery in Mogadishu on Monday to offer their final respects to Shabelle Media journalist Mohamed Mohamud Turyare who died in Madina Hospital on Sunday night after suffering gunshot wounds. The burial event was attended by members of Mohamed Mohamud’s family, friends and fellow journalists, as the atmosphere at the Jazeera cemetery was somber. Late Mr. Turyare, 22, was seriously wounded on October 21, 2012 by two unknown assailants in front of his house at Hawo Tako neighborhood in Mogadishu’s Wadajir district.

Gunmen assassinate a Somali poetry giant in Mogadishu

29 Oct- Source: Radio RBC/Jowhar Online- 123 words

REGIONAL MEDIA

Court delays Islamist preacher trial

29 Oct – Source: Daily Nation – 120 words

A Kenyan court delayed Monday the trial of a radical Muslim preacher charged with inciting deadly riots, after prosecution said they needed more time to prepare their case. Abubaker Shariff Ahmed, also known as Makaburi, is charged with three counts of inciting violent protests in Mombasa, after the assassination in August of fellow Islamist cleric Aboud Rogo Mohammed. Ahmed has denied encouraging that violence, which saw two days of running battles, with grenades hurled at two police trucks, killing three officers and wounding over a dozen others.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

Somalia’s General Farah killed in al Shabaab ambush

29 Oct – Source: BBC/Independent Online – 99 words

A top Somali military commander has been killed in an ambush – the first general to be killed by the Islamists. Mohamed Ibrahim Farah, nicknamed “Gordon”, was killed near Merca, a strategic town captured from the al-Shabaab militants in August. The Somali government army and African Union troops have been battling the al-Qaeda-aligned group for several years.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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

“Given the UN bureaucracy and the issues the Security Council already has on its plate, this one is unlikely to come up anytime soon.Even if the Security Council does turn its attention to the charcoal embargo, there’s no guarantee it would lift the ban. There’s no mechanism in place to prevent the profits from finding their way backâ€¨to Al Shabaab. Although Al Shabaab no longer controls Kismayo, no one believes the militants are altogether gone.”

Saving Somalia: A matter of charcoal and UN bureaucracy

29 Oct – Source: Global Post – 803 Words

Kismayo’s southern entrance is flanked by pile after vast pile of charcoal, bagged and stacked in towering blocks on either side of the asphalt road. These stalled shipments now threaten to undermine hopes of a lasting peace in Somalia.Al Shabaab, Somalia’s Al Qaeda-styled militant organization, withdrew from Kismayo late last month as an international military force moved in. It was the group’s last of a string of retreats that began 14 months ago in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital.