NATIONAL MEDIA
12 September – Source: Somali Affairs – 189 Words
The Mayor of Mogadishu, who is also the Governor of Banadir region, Omar Mohamud Mohamed Filish, has said that his administration will re-open the closed roads in the Somali capital. On Thursday night, Omar Filish appointed a seven-member committee to assess and work on the re-opening of the roads. According to a statement released from his office, a committee led by the Deputy Governor of Banadir region for Security Affairs, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Tulah, is tasked with assessing the road closures and outlining plans to reopen them. Tulah and his team will be assisted by the Heads of Police and Intelligence Agency of Banadir region.
The government has in the past closed several main roads in the capital in a bid to bolster security and prevent terror-related attacks against government installations and business places. Omar Filish was appointed on August by President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo to replace the late Eng Abdirahman Omar Yarisow, who succumbed to injuries he had sustained in a suicide bomb attack at his office last July. In his first speech since taking office, Mayor Omar Filish has vowed to beef up security in Mogadishu and reopen closed doors.
12 September – Source: Halbeeg – 134 Words
The Military Court sentenced Hassan Ali Moallin Barre to death and his maternal uncle, Sayid Ali Adan Nur to life imprisonment for their role in masterminding the November 2018 deadly car bombing in Mogadishu’s Wadajir district which killed at least 12 people and injured many others. Moallin was allegedly the driver of the vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), while his uncle was involved in the smuggling of car bombs in Mogadishu.
The court ordered the release of Muhyaddin Mohamed Ahmed after being acquitted of all the charges laid against him. Their sentence comes a week after they appeared before the court. The Somali military court has recently intensified the number of sentences against suspected Al-Shabaab suspects held for various crimes. The court, which mainly handles terror-related cases experienced condemnation from human rights groups for the death penalty against militant members.
12 September – Source: Somaliland – 174 Words
Somaliland opposition party UCID on Thursday slammed the government for the arbitrary detention of Journalists. In a press conference at the party HQ on Thursday, the information secretary of UCID party denounced the arbitrary detention of journalists in Somaliland and warned the government against slipping into an authoritarian rule.
The information secretary of UCID party, Yusuf Keyse, said the detention of journalists have increased lately and lamented the recent simultaneous closure of two media outlets.UCid party said the increase in the detention of journalists was an evidence of the government’s failure, adding that the suppression of media is not in line with the constitution and values of Somaliland and are detrimental to its image abroad. He urged the government to respect the rule of law and to immediately release the detained journalists and to stop the harassment and suppression of media. The remarks of the opposition official come amid a government crackdown on the independent press which saw the detention of three journalists within a week and the suspension of two media outlets.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
12 September – Source: Anadolu Agency – 134 Words
At least 11 people including 8 women were arrested in Somali capital, Mogadishu, for child smuggling after Somali police launched an operation to dismantle a child smuggling network, officials said on Thursday. Somali police Deputy Commissioner, Brig. Gen. Zakia Hussen, said in a Twitter statement that the police dismantled a child smuggling network in Mogadishu after a month of investigation and operation. “The police have arrested 11 people among them 8 women for child smuggling in Mogadishu after a month of operations led by criminal investigation department,” Zakia said. They seized 11 children, aged from 7 months to 12 years old, are currently under police protection, the statement added. This comes a week after Somali police announced that it had suspended all activities at criminal investigation department headquarters in Mogadishu for reforms and investigation.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“The recurrent climatic shocks during the last several years, particularly the extended impact of the 2016-17 drought, have undermined households’ resilience and social support networks have become overstretched.”
11 September – Souce: Down to Earth – 657 Words
Unreliable weather patterns and ‘climatic shocks’ have led to Somalia’s worst harvest in last eight years, which is likely to force 6.3 million people into food insecurity by December 2019, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Cereal production declined up to 70 per cent below average in the southern parts of the country, stated the Post-Gu 2019 Technical Release, released on September 2, 2019. The rainy season in 2019 has been the third-driest in the east African country since the early 1980s. The main rainy season or gu (April-June) has been below average in the country since late 2015, stated a report by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). UN Humanitarian Coordinator George Conway called the challenge grave. “The scale and urgency of the humanitarian needs in Somalia continue to grow, and the plight of the people demands our attention,” Conway said, in Somalia’s Drought Impact Response Plan (DIRP) from June-December 2019. “If interventions are not scaled up, an estimated 1 million children under five are likely to be acutely malnourished through mid-2020,” warned FSNAU.
The scant rainfall in gu 2019, followed an abnormally dry condition during the jilaal season (January-March) and a poor deyr or the second rainy season in October-December last year. As a result, moderate to severe drought conditions prevailed in most parts of Somalia between March and mid-May, 2019. The levels of Shabelle and Juba rivers too were low in mid-May, the FSNAU reported. The combined impact has caused widespread crop failure and a decline in livestock productivity. The recurrent climatic shocks during the last several years, particularly the extended impact of the 2016-17 drought, have undermined households’ resilience and social support networks have become overstretched. It also led to rise in food inflation. There has been a significant increase in the cost of the minimum expenditure basket (MEB) due to increased food prices in the MEB basket (mainly sorghum) in southern and central Somalia. The current forecast indicates a greater likelihood of above average to average deyr season rainfall in most parts of Somalia. While this is expected to be mostly beneficial in most pastoral and agro pastoral livelihoods, it also increases the risk of flooding in Riverine and low-lying areas. But the October-December 2019 food security situation could get worse than indicated above if the forthcoming deyr rains perform poorly, said FSNAU.
While the decrease in the humanitarian assistance is worrying, building resilience such as strengthening the agricultural system can result in an increase in income of $405 per household per year, according to Justin Brady, the head of office, OCHA Somalia. It will also cut down the net cost of humanitarian response by an estimated $155 million over 15 years, Brady said. Ultimately, when early reaction and resilience-building interventions are combined, they could save up to $794 million, or an average of $53 million per year. This approach is also consistent with the Resilience and Recovery Framework as well as country’s National Development Plan….. |
