September 18, 2012 | Morning Headlines.
Somali army spokesman: AMISOM, Gov’t forces capture al Shabaab bases
17 Sept – Source: Shabelle – 158 words
Officials in Somali government says the national army allied with the African Union forces seized several strategic positions that had been under the control of the al Shabaab for the past three years. Mohamed Farah, the spokesman of Somali forces in Jubba regions, told Shabelle Media by phone that the allied forces took full control of the last al Shabaab pockets located on the outskirts of west of the port town of Kismayo during armed confrontations over the last two days.
Key Headlines
- Senior SNA official killed in Mogadishu (Radio Kulmiye)
- Al Shabaab claims to have gunned down a Kenyan helicopter (Raxanreeb)
- Somalia’s government forces conduct operation in Afgoye district (Radio Mustaqbal)
- MP faults Ongeri for ‘careless talk’ on Somalia (Daily Nation)
- Somali President-elect vows to reset security (VOA)
SOMALI MEDIA
AMISOM spokesman: AMISOM is ensuring the entrance to Kismayo
17 Sept – Source: Radio Mustaqbal -194 words
The Spokesman of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) Col. Ali Aden Humed told Mustaqbal radio that AMISOM is ensuring the plan to enter Kismayo. Ali said there is no emergency to enter Kismayol he also added that it is possible that al Shabaab planted landmines inside the town. The Spokesman of AMISOM confirmed that al Shabaab officers have left from the town.
Somali army spokesman: AMISOM, Gov’t forces capture al Shabaab bases
17 Sept – Source: Shabelle – 158 words
Officials in Somali government says the national army allied with the African Union forces seized several strategic positions that had been under the control of al Shabaab for the past three years. Mohamed Farah, the spokesman of Somali forces in Jubba regions, told Shabelle Media by phone that the allied forces took full control of the last al Shabaab pockets located on the Western outskirts of the port town of Kismayo during armed confrontations over the last two days.
Puntland’s newly appointed ministers take oath of office in Garowe
17 Sept – Source: Radio Bar-kulan – 84 words
Puntland swore its newly appointed ministers in Garowe on Monday following the recent cabinet reshuffle by the area’s regional president Abdirahman Farole. Two ministers, four assistant ministers were among the six new cabinet members who took oath of office in front of president Farole. Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony, Puntland President Abdirahman Farole said he took the move to reshuffle the cabinet in order to re-energize his administration.
Al Shabaab claims to have gunned down a Kenyan helicopter
17 Sept – Source: Raxanreeb – 105 words
Al Shabaab militants on Monday claimed that they have gunned down a Kenya helicopter that was flying over Biibi town of lower Jubba region. A statement posted on al Shabaab’s twitter page on late Monday mentioned that the group had gunned down a helicopter flying over an unspecified location. No Kenyan officials has yet commented the claim.
Senior SNA official killed in Mogadishu
17 Sept- Source: Radio Kulmiye- 102 words
Unknown armed men with pistols attacked Mohamed Sheikh Nur Barud Gurhan who was one of the senior officials in the Somali national Security Agency (SNA). An official said that an investigation is still underway in the village of Bullo-Hubey where the men were from, according to an eyewitnesses in the area.
Somalia’s government forces conduct operation in Afgoye district
17 Sept- Source: Radio Mustaqbal- 129 words
Reports from Afgoye district of Lower Shabelle region in southern of Somalia say that Somalia’s forces conducted an operation in the area.
The operation aimed to confirm the security; grenade attacks were thrown n Monday night inside Hawa Tako village in Afgoye district.
During the operation, security forces seized 8 teenagers who were suspected to have links with al Shabaab.
Al Shabaab tackles defense of Kismayo
17 Sept- Source: Radio Kulmiye- 77 words
As heavy fighting is intensifying across Somali’s whealthy Jubba region, al Shabaab millitants are trying to uphold the key port city of Kismayo which is the current stronghold of al Shabaab. An al Shabaab official in Kismayo Hassan Yakub said that fighters will not surrender.
REGIONAL MEDIA
MP faults Ongeri for ‘careless talk’ on Somalia
17 Sept – Source: Daily Nation – 545 words
Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Ongeri was “careless and reckless” when he accused Somalia’s former President Sheikh Sharrif of being behind last week’s attempted assassination of his successor Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, an MP has said. Speaking to the Nation on phone from Brussels, Belgium, nominated MP Mohammed Affey –who was with Prof Ongeri and other Kenyan dignitaries during the attempt in Mogadishu’s Aljazeera Palace Hotel—said the accusations against the former President “were likely to destabilize” the new government.
Terror suspect shocks court with guilty plea
17 Sept – Source: Daily Nation – 459 words
A self-confessed member of the Al-Shabaab terror group found in possession of an arsenal of arms in Nairobi will undergo a psychiatric examination before a court rules on his fate. Mr Abdimajid Yassin Mohammed alias Ali Hussein shocked a parked courtroom on Monday when he pleaded guilty to nine charges linking him to terrorism. He was charged alongside Mr Omar Abdi alias Adan Salman Abdi, a Somali, who denied being a member of banned group but confessed to being in Kenya illegally.
Somalis in Uganda celebrate election of new president
17 Sept – Source: New Vision – 276 words
Hundreds of Somali nationals residing in Kampala took to the streets celebrating the election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as Somalis new president.The Somalis, majority of them women refugees sang songs and danced during the heavy down pour that characterized the day. Uganda is host to over 40,000 Somalis, majority refugees residing in many districts and in leading settlement camps.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Somali President-elect vows to reset security
17 Sept- Source: VOA- 242 words
Incoming Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the target of an assassination attempt earlier this week, says restoring security will be his first order of business once he officially assumes office Sunday.
Mohamud spoke Saturday to VOA from the country’s heavily-fortified presidential palace in Mogadishu. He arrived there Thursday, three days early, under heavy security hours after three suicide bombers attacked a Mogadishu hotel where he was residing.
Terror suspect admits bomb possession and being a member of Somalia’s al-Shabab in Kenya court
17 Sept – Source: Washington Post – 99 words
A Kenyan man pleaded guilty Monday to possession of six bombs including four suicide vests and being a member of al-Shabab, the Somali Islamist extremist group allied to al-Qaida that has threatened terrorist attacks in Kenya. Abdi Majid Yassin Mohammed, 26, also known as Ali Hussein, had no defense attorney with him as he entered a guilty plea before magistrate Lucy Nyambura on charges that he was caught engaging in an organized criminal activity by being a member of al-Shabab, which has been outlawed in Kenya. The U.S. designated Al- Shabaab as a foreign terrorist organization in 2008.
Kenya bails radical preacher charged with deadly riots
17 Sept – Source: AFP – 284 words
A Kenyan court released on bail Monday a radical Kenyan preacher charged with inciting deadly riots, and accused by the US of supporting Somalia’s Al-Qaeda linked militants. Abubaker Shariff Ahmed, also known as Makaburi, is charged with three counts of inciting violent protests in Kenya’s main port city of Mombasa, after the assassination there last month of fellow Islamist cleric Aboud Rogo Mohammed.
SOCIAL MEDIA
CULTURE / OPINION / EDITORIAL / ANALYSIS / BLOGS/ DISCUSSION BOARDS
“Hassan Sheikh will undoubtedly face enmity from the people who have profiteered for so long from Somali politics. He may be overwhelmed by the enormity of the task he confronts. But if he can tap into and draw strength from those enduring civic networks that he has helped to nurture, he stands a better chance of succeeding than any of his predecessors”.
A New President For Somalia – By Sally Healey
17 Sept – Source: African arguments – 700 words
The election of Hassan Sheikh Mohamud by Somalia’s Transitional Parliament is an unexpected success for the hugely discredited political process in the country. It could prove to be a turning point in Somalia’s recovery. With twenty five candidates standing, numerous doubts about the integrity of the new parliament and widespread reports of bribery for their votes, it was widely assumed that the post would go to the highest bidder.
And it seemed a certainty this would be one of the usual suspects: President Sheikh Sharif, Prime Minister Abdi Weli or former Speaker Sherif Hassan. How nice it is to be wrong! Hassan Sheikh’s victory is a useful reminder of the capacity of Somalia to surprise the outside world. Beyond the façade of internationally constructed governments, we know so little about how this country without a national government really works. Hassan Sheikh is largely unknown outside Somalia but he is very well known and respected in Mogadishu where he founded and runs the Somali Institute of Management and Development, now a university.
He has also played a leading role in the various civic and philanthropic forums that provide the backbone of social and economic support so essential to Somali survival. The most important of these was a civic initiative known as the Mogadishu Security and Stabilisation Plan that tried to re-establish administrative structures before the rise of the Islamic Courts. His own account of this period provides a good insight into his political principles, above all a consistent message that without reconciliation no real progress can be made in rebuilding formal institutions.