September 18, 2015 | Morning Headlines
Three Soldiers Killed By Blast At Camp
17 September – Source: Horseed Media – 157 Words
An explosion at a military camp in Southern Somalia killed at least three soldiers and injured other dozens, Horseed Media reports.The device appeared to have been planted at the Shirkole military camp in the strategic port town of Kismayo, which is some 500-kilometers south of Mogadishu capital city. “Three army officers died in the blast. We are still investigating how it happened,’’ said one official from the Jubba administration, who remained anonymous. Somali militant group Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility of the attack and said that it had killed army officials “that we have been ‘hunting for’’. Last month, at least 25 people died in a suicide bomb attack on a military academy carried out by an Al-Shabaab bomber in Kismayo. Al-Shabaab has been weakened considerably by African Union troops and the Somali army, losing swathes of territory in the south of the country, but it has been carrying out hit-and-run style attacks to demonstrate it has not been totally vanquished.
Key Headlines
- Three Soldiers Killed By Blast At Camp (Horseed Media)
- Over A Dozen Die From Drought In Somaliland (Garowe Online)
- Puntland Forces Seize Central Bank Branch Over Missing Pays (Garowe Online)
- AMISOM Youth Sensitization And Mobilization For Vision 2016 (AMISOM)
- MP Commends Security Officers For Repulsing Al-Shabaab (Wacaal Media)
- INTERVIEW-Somali President Says Rebel Attacks Don’t Mean Resurgence (Reuters)
- A Year’s Jail For Illegal Entry (The Star Online)
- In Reviving Torture Claims Somali Man Argues That US Harbors War Criminals (Associated Press)
- Abrogated Destiny (Hiiraan Online)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Over A Dozen Die From Drought In Somaliland
17 September – Source: Garowe Online – 242 Words
Malnutrition and food shortages have claimed lives of thirteen, mainly children and elderly people in breakaway Somaliland region, NGOs revealed on Thursday. More than 40,000 households are also severely food insecure due to erratic Gu’ rainy seasons in two consecutive years, 2014 and 2015.
Awdal, Maroodijeeh and Gabiley are the worst-hit regions by the drought, with malnutrition standing at the highest peak among infants, small children, the elderly, sick and other vulnerable groups. François Batalingaya, World Vision Country Director stressed that agencies need to take note of the warning and address the urgent needs of the affected people in Somaliland.“As NGOs we need to work together with our donors to build communities’ resilience so that they can withstand the drought,” said Batalingaya.
The death may rise if no immediate assistance is provided. Drought Response Committee appointed by Somaliland government said that an estimated 35 to 40 pc of livestock perished from water shortage and drying pasture in a rapid assessment report conducted in collaboration with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Humanitarian Coordination Office.
Given the fear of further humanitarian crisis, agencies indicated that the current assistance doesn’t meet the needs, and appealed for support.“This is especially important for the thousands of women, children and vulnerable groups that are bearing the brunt of the drought,” noted Hassan Noor, Save the Children Somalia Country Director. Somaliland Government in northwestern Somalia has already aided 3200 households with USD 150,000.
Puntland Forces Seize Central Bank Branch Over Missing Pays
17 September – Source: Garowe Online – 144 Words
Puntland Defence Forces (PDFs) have gone on strike over lack of salaries, seizing Central Bank Branch in Galkayo on Thursday, Garowe Online reports. The troops stationed in Godad base entered Galkayo, which straddles the border between Puntland and Galmudug, early in the morning according to correspondents in the city. The striking soldiers, who subsequently seized presidential palace site, are still in control of the bank, saying they have not been paid for up to seven months. Troops were quoted as saying that it is ironic for the government to start construction of various state and government buildings, while security forces are suffering from lack of pay. Construction workers on the site were reportedly dispersed. The strike comes in open defiance of Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali in Galkayo city. On September 10, paramilitary units dubbed ‘Birmadka’ set up roadblock near Bossaso port city for unpaid salaries.
AMISOM Youth Sensitization And Mobilization For Vision 2016
17 September – Source: AMISOM – 402 Words
The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has today convened a youth conference aimed to enhance civic awareness and encourage their participation in the on-going political processes. The meeting convened by the AMISOM Civil Affairs Unit sought to enable the youth familiarize themselves with government programs and policies, engage in debate on radicalization and also discuss means for their positive participation in the political processes.
Speaking during the conference, Somali Minister for Youth and Sports Mohamed Abdulahi Hassan noted that realization of government plans and programmes is highly dependent on youth participation, reiterating the need for continuous engagement: “In 2016 the goals we can achieve include unity and education. These goals can be achieved by establishing objectives and sharing them with other stakeholders. The youth cannot be expected to achieve these goals by themselves because money and power is required, but by working together from the districts level, Mogadishu, to the Somali regions,” he said.
The Special Representative of the AU Commission Chairperson for Somalia and Head of AMISOM, Amb. Maman Sidikou observed that youths are the cornerstone for the growth of any society and should be empowered to play their role in the rebuilding of Somalia. He said, “Any society that forgets to include its youth is doomed to fail. In addition, any society that is fearful of what its youth can propose for changes is doomed to fail. The future of Somalia is its youth and therefore we need the participation of youths in all processes, political, development, security to make sure this place goes back to its past glory.”
The meeting also drew participation from civil society organizations working with youths in Somalia. The Chairperson of the Somali National Youth Council Fatuma Abdi Warsame noted that the youth have a lot of power and need to be supported to exercise it, especially in the ongoing political processes: “We want the youth to participate more in politics. We need to start with seeking more representation in the consultative forum. When it comes to the presidential elections we are the ones who will emerge victorious because we form 80% of the Somali population.” This is part of the continuous process by AMISOM to support the Federal Government of Somalia through such efforts including capacity building of various institutions, training of the manpower and enhancing civic awareness, for the population to ably participate in the reconstruction of the country.
MP Commends Security Officers For Repulsing Al-Shabaab
17 September – Source: Wacaal Media – 139 Words
An MP who survived yesterday’s ambush by Al-Shabaab has commended security officers escorting them for their bravery that saved their lives. Daahir Amin Jesow said the brave officers managed to kill 6 militants whose bodies he said lie in El-Ali location. “They wanted to jeopardize our tour of Beledweyn and surrounding areas in Hiiraan region but were met with full force that led to big damages on their side. I salute the officers for warding off the terrorists,” he said. The MPs and a host of other local leaders were on their way to Beledweyn when they came under fire from the militants. Two members of the Somali National Army sustained injuries in the attack and are currently in stable condition as confirmed by Jeesow. By the time of going to the press, Al-Shabaab had not commented on the incident.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
INTERVIEW-Somali President Says Rebel Attacks Don’t Mean Resurgence
17 September – Source: Reuters – 376 Words
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has dismissed the capture of settlements by Al-Shabaab militants this month, saying they had no strategic value and it did not signal a resurgence of the Islamist group. Al-Shabaab, which wants to topple Mohamud and his Western-backed government, retook the central Somali town of Buqda and two other southern settlements this month and has attacked African troops.
The raids follow a military campaign by the African Union’s AMISOM forces and Somali troops that pushed the rebels out of towns on the coast and drove them into increasingly small pockets of countryside mostly in the south of Somalia: “AMISOM and Somali National Army have liberated most of the major towns in Somalia and have taken over the strategic locations,” Mohamud told Reuters in an interview in the capital Mogadishu.
“In the remote areas, Al-Shabaab may move around to take over some smaller towns, but these are not strategic.”He said the group that had once ruled much of Somalia, now had limited had access to the sea, which experts said had been used in the past to generate cash for the group from smuggling or importing arms. Al-Shabaab controls the Haradheere port town in central Somalia but it lost control of Kismayu port in 2012.
A Year’s Jail For Illegal Entry
17 September – Source: The Star Online – 290 Words
A 32-year-old Somali national will spend a year in jail for trying to sneak out from the Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex to Singapore by hiding inside a bus. Sessions Court judge Salawati Djambri fined Mustfa Salad Jama RM16,000 or in default 12 months’ imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to two separate charges. As he was unable to raise the RM16,000, Mustfa will have to go to prison.
In mitigation during a special court case at the Pekan Nenas detention camp, he pleaded for a lighter sentence saying he had a family and wanted to return home. Mustfa was arrested on Sept 1 by immigration officers on board a bus heading to Singapore. He was nabbed at the Johor CIQ with a passport, which was tampered with two pages torn out. This offence came under Section 12(1) (a) of the Passport Act. His second charge under Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act was about him overstaying in Malaysia for two months and 12 days after his social visa expired on June 20. He was not represented while Immigration prosecuting officer A. Vikneswaran prosecuted the case.
In Reviving Torture Claims, Somali Man Argues That US Harbors War Criminals
16 September – Source: Associated Press – 613 Words
A key claim in a Somali farmer’s lawsuit alleging torture at the hands of an ex-officer who now lives in Virginia must be allowed to stand, or the United States will become a safe haven for war criminals, the plaintiff’s lawyer told a federal appeals court Wednesday. An attorney for former Somali military officer Yusuf Abdi Ali, however, argued that the judge correctly applied a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in tossing out Alien Tort Statute claims against Ali.
The judge allowed Farhan Warfaa’s claims under another law, the Torture Victim Protection Act, to move forward. Warfaa claims in his lawsuit that Ali presided over his torture for three months in 1987 and 1988 and then shot him five times. According to the complaint, Ali left Warfaa for dead and ordered jail guards to bury him — but Warfaa, who survived, bribed the guards to free him. Ali moved to Canada in 1990 but was deported after his “gross human rights abuses” came to light, Warfaa says in court papers. Ali settled in northern Virginia in 1992.Arguments before a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals focused on whether Ali’s residency in the United States means he can be sued under the 1789 Alien Tort Statute. Warfaa’s attorney, Tara Lee, said that since 1980 courts have allowed foreign residents to pursue claims under that law for atrocities committed outside the U.S.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“The culture of nomads cannot host and shelter the weak and dependent because this creates a burden on meager resources and hinders the constant mobility.”
Abrogated Destiny
17 September – Source: Hiiraan Online – 2,100 Words
There is a lot of suffering and despair in the pupil of an eye of a Somali person. First the Somalis were proud, pastoral and nomadic moving around the camel wilderness of the Horn of Africa. They were free of the governmental rules and regulations that were associated with modern governance. A nomad is free and independent and only subject to his environs and consciously aware of his personal limits. Pride and self-indulgence is culturally imbedded in a nomadic society. His needs are basic, never worries about affluence of material wealth.
The land is the source of sustenance that provides nourishment and sets his behavior toward one another. Integrity and bravery are associated with leadership and revered. The nomadic culture discourages and disdains theft and lies and anyone associated with it has no moral turpitude and is regarded as worthless. Cowardice has no place in the nomadic life and any person associated with it loses respect and place of dignity. Generosity and adherence of the cultural norms are traits that have been enshrined and passed to the young.
An elder woman teaches the young girls in early ages how to care a child and build houses. Young girls run the household starting at seven years of age. A nomadic family gives a young girl considerable amount of responsibilities around the house. Young boys are assigned daily work such as herding and learning Quran. Masculine culture and virtue of manhood during tough times is highly regarded as the best way to protect and make sure the continuity of the kin group to the next generation.