NATIONAL MEDIA
13 September – Source; Halbeeg – 180 Words
Somali military has repelled an al-Shabaab attack on their Forward Operating Base FOB on the outskirts of Marka town of Lower Shabelle region. According to military-owned Radio SNA, al-Shabaab invaded the base from different directions prompting half an hour clashes between the sides. The fighting took place on Thursday afternoon. Officials told the Radio that the group was defeated and the base under the control of Somali military. The official did not comment on the casualties of the fighting on Somali military and al-Shabaab.
The attack comes amid Somali military Army (SNA), backed by African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), intensified operations liberate villages manned by al-Shabaab in Lower Shabelle region. In recent months, Somali forces recaptured several villages in southern from al-Shabaab fighters. The villages include Sabiid, Bariire, Awdhegle. Al-Shabaab which once controlled large swarth of land in southern including the capital was defeated by Somali forces and AU troops. The group now controls few towns and villages in remote areas. Its fighters carry out hit and run attack on the military bases in the south and central Somalia.
12 September – Souce: Hiiraan Online – 205 Words
A standoff is building up in Hiiraan region following a tussle between the Federal Government and elders in the region over the planned transfer of military recruits from Beletweyne to Galgaduud region. According to multiple sources in Hiiraan, negotiations are underway to resolve the stalemate, even as elders warn the Federal Government against the planned move. The crux of the disputes, HOL has learnt is the proposal to move about 600 recruits who have been undergoing training in Hiiraan region to join SNA troops in liberating Elbur locality from Al-Shabaab control.
However, the elders have objected to the transfer, noting the recruits drawn from the self-style Maa’wisley brigade had not completed the training. The elders also cited a lack of equipment for the recruits. Prime Minister Hassan Khaire is understood to have asked for the 600 recruits in Lam Galay training camp to be incorporated into the national army to help in the liberation operations in the region. Further, the Prime Minister reportedly threatened to strike out the recruits from any government records if they fail to move to Dhusamareb for redeployment. Sources have also intimated to HOL that some of the recruits have left the camp while others are protesting the Federal Government directive.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
13 September – Source: Standard Media – 397 Words
Five security officers were killed when their armoured vehicles were hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Elwak, Mandera County. About 20 other personnel from the Kenya Defence Forces and Anti-Stock Theft (ASTU) Unit were injured during the 1 pm incident on Tuesday. The teams were travelling between Farhama and Elram when their two armoured vehicles and a lorry were hit by the rocket fired by suspected Al Shabaab militants.
The attack badly damaged the vehicles, killing three KDF soldiers and two ASTU personnel. Those injured were evacuated to Nairobi for treatment. The team was patrolling the area near the Kenya-Somali border when the incident occurred. The attack has once again reignited the debate on the suitability and safety of some of the military equipment procured for security operations. This is the latest such incident that has left security personnel dead and others seriously wounded inside vehicles that are supposed to protect them. “It is a shame that they died in such an attack in a vehicle that is supposed to protect them. It raises questions on the suitability of these carriers,” said an official aware of the incident…….
12 September – Souce: World Bank and OCHA – 772 Words
On a mission to Somalia, the Emergency Relief Coordinator and senior officials from the World Bank and the UN Peacebuilding Support Office say that early action and joined-up approaches are key to ending the country’s cyclical crises With the latest analysis showing that Somalia’s main harvest was the worst since the famine in 2011, Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock today called for sustained funding to protect recent gains made in beating back hunger and reiterated the importance of the Government’s Resilience and Recovery Framework, which is at the centre of efforts to break the paradigm of recurring humanitarian crises in Somalia.
He was speaking at the end of a two-day mission to Somalia undertaken with the World Bank Group’s Senior Vice President for the 2030 Development Agenda, United Nations Relations, and Partnerships, Mahmoud Mohieldin, and the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco. “The latest food security analysis for Somalia shows that our response is working. One million fewer Somalis are hungry today than had been projected because we acted early when we saw the situation could deteriorate and because aid workers are able to deliver,” Mr. Lowcock said. “The analysis also showed that the harvest from the April-June cropping season is the worst since 2011 because of poor and erratic rains, followed by flooding at the end of the rainy season.
As a result, up to six million people are now projected to be food insecure over the coming months. A third of them will be severely food insecure without sustained aid. And climate-related events will continue to have deleterious effects on the humanitarian situation in Somalia.” Over the past 30 years, droughts have become more intense and frequent in Somalia, which also faces recurring flooding during the rainy seasons. Much of Somalia’s infrastructure is dilapidated as a result of the decades-long conflict and lack of investment, which further undermines the country’s ability to cope. Together with ongoing conflict, these shocks continue to drive people from their homes. The 2.6 million people already displaced are often marginalized on the fringes of society, facing evictions and other indignities.
The delegation visited Baidoa where nearly 360,000 people who fled slow-onset drought, terrorist attacks and armed conflict over the past three years living in 400 sites in and around the town. “Conflict and marginalization perpetuate drivers of fragility and fuels displacement. A sustained humanitarian response must be combined with government-led developmental and peacebuilding approaches to promote reconciliation and to assist people to rebuild their country,” said Mr. Fernandez-Taranco. The Peacebuilding Fund that his office manages is supporting the Midnimo project that brings together humanitarian, development and peacebuilding elements to address the impact of displacement in Baidoa……..
12 September – Source: Global Polio Eradication Initiative – 162 Words
In Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, dedicated environmental surveillance teams search for the poliovirus in the city’s drains. Environmental surveillance teams in Mogadishu access the underground closed drainage system to collect sewage-waste water samples, which they package and send to the laboratory for testing. If poliovirus is identified in a sample, epidemiologists know that the disease is likely to be circulating amongst the community whose sewage drains into that part of the system. This process is called environmental surveillance and is one of the most important tools for the polio programme to help detect poliovirus. Vaccinating every child and conducting disease surveillance to know where the poliovirus is circulating are key strategies to end the outbreak. Low immunization coverage has led to an outbreak of vaccine-derived poliovirus in Somalia. This can occur in places where not enough children have received their full vaccine doses. The teams must follow best practice to collect samples, to ensure that any poliovirus present can be detected……
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Each time I raise my security concerns, they keep telling me I have been given resettlement. Yes, resettlement is a durable solution but where will I be kept? I was taken to Kiryandongo (refugee settlement), I was threatened, I was taken to Kyaka (settlement), my daughter was poisoned,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.” She says the little money she had got is now over and she is stranded. In Uganda, a country with a sizeable population of Somalis, she says nowhere feels safe for her. “They say I will be safe in the camp. The camp isn’t safe. How did my daughter get poisoned?”
13 September – Source: Soft Power News – 848 Words
A refugee family – a Somali female and her Congolese husband – who claims they are facing cultural persecution – have camped outside the UNHCR Uganda offices in Kololo, Kampala seeking protection for their lives which they say are under threat. Yasmiin (not real name), a Somali woman says she fled Somalia and stayed in Kenya as a refugee for 22 years. She had been raised by foster parents after losing her parents. She married a Congolese man, Pierre (not real name) with whom she has two daughters. However, she says this marriage is why she is now facing life-threatening persecution from the Somali community. “I could no longer live in Nairobi because I was facing persecution. I went through a lot, you can see I lost my teeth, I was sexually abused. I faced many problems. My husband was stabbed,” she narrated to reporters outside the UNHCR offices.
She and her family have been camped there for a week. The four sleep under a small mosquito net which they cover with a tarpaulin at night. They have no food, she said, and as risky as the condition (sleeping out in the open) is, especially for her little children is, she says that is all they have for now. When she sought refuge in Uganda, UNHCR and the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) helped her especially in securing the documents that gave her refugee status, she said. At the moment, her case has been submitted to Canada for resettlement. The problem Yasmiin, Pierre and their children face however is, they are uncertain when this process (of resettlement) will be finalised and whether their lives will be safe by then. They have been waiting for two months now.
“I am waiting for Canada to reply. But now, my issue is – I’m still facing problems – security issues. As you can see, this is a [mosquito] net. My house is a mobile house. Today I sleep here, tomorrow I sleep there”. “My daughters are two years and four years. They need to be in a warm place. The security (Police) here (UNHCR offices) are chasing us. Where do we go?” “Each time I raise my security concerns, they keep telling me I have been given resettlement. Yes, resettlement is a durable solution but where will I be kept? I was taken to Kiryandongo (refugee settlement), I was threatened, I was taken to Kyaka (settlement), my daughter was poisoned,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.” She says the little money she had got is now over and she is stranded. In Uganda, a country with a sizeable population of Somalis, she says nowhere feels safe for her. “They say I will be safe in the camp. The camp isn’t safe. How did my daughter get poisoned?”…… |
