September 18, 2017 | Morning Headlines
Federal Government Calls On HirShabelle MPs To Support New President
17 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 261 Words
The Federal Government has urged the HirShabelle state assembly to support the newly elected president Mohamed Abdi Ware. Interior Minister Abdi Farah Juha said the state assembly exercised its role in sending home the previous leader Abdullahi Osoble, and subsequently elected a new leader and should therefore provide all the necessary support. “We learnt how to elect a leader and how to depose him. Let us now learn how to work together and provide a shoulder to support President Ware. Leadership is a massive responsibility. We congratulate and it is an action that deserves emulation,” said Juha.
The minister also praised the electoral process as fair and accountable noting, the federal government will support the new leader. “The election occurred in an open and trustworthy manner, and the MPS elected a person of their choice. We congratulate them. The new leader is facing a huge task and a wide responsibility. We pray to Allah to ease for him. We look forward for him to unite people of HirShabelle. We are ready to play our role and appeal to the international community to support them too” added Juha.Ware was elected Saturday after garnering 75 votes out of a possible 97 in a hotly contested vote that ran into the third round. Meanwhile Galmudug state president Ahmed Gelle Haaf has congratulated his newly elected counterpart, and wished him well. Residents in Jowhar broke into celebration on Saturday evening following the announcement of the electoral result expressing optimism in the election of the new leader. President Ware will be inaugurated in September 28.
Key Headlines
- Federal Government Calls On HirShabelle MPs To Support New President (Goobjoog News)
- Top Intelligence Official Killed In Mogadishu Attack (Garowe Online)
- International Community Hails Election Of HirShabelle State President (Goobjoog News)
- Al-Shabaab Kills 4 Soldiers In Central Somalia (Middle East Monitor)
- Mogadishu Readies Airport Godown For More Khat Cargo (The East African)
- Somali Book-Fair To Give Mogadishu A New Cultural Lease On Life (SABC News)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Top Intelligence Official Killed In Mogadishu Attack
17 September – Source: Garowe Online – 185 Words
A senior Somali Intelligence official and his security guard were shot dead in a drive-by shooting in the capital, Mogadishu on Sunday according to reports. Mohamud Hassan Moalim a.k.a (Qooley) has succumbed to severe wounds sustained during the attack carried out by suspected Al-Shabaab gunmen at Hoosh neighbourhood in Mogadishu’s Dharkenlay district. Police said the late Mr. Moalim, who was the head of Intelligence in Kahda district has been critically injured, when gunmen in a car blocked his route and sprayed the car with bullets, killing his bodyguard on the spot.
The assailants sped off in a Toyota NOAH from the crime scene, before the arrival of the Somali security forces, who launched an investigation for the suspects. The incident was the latest in series of assassinations against Somali Federal government officials, civil servants and security force members in the seaside capital, Mogadishu, some claimed by Al-Shabaab. Last week, the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) officers seized a vehicle and a suspected Al-Shabaab member, in connection with the attacks and targeted killings in Mogadishu. The security of the city has been improving.
International Community Hails Election Of HirShabelle State President
17 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 226 Words
The International Community has welcomed the election of HirShabelle President Mohamed Abdi Ware giving the electoral process a clean bill of health. In a joint statement, the UN and other international partners in Somalia said, the election was conducted in accordance with the legal framework and called on all parties to respect its outcome. “Voting took place in an open and public process. International partners welcome the conducting of the elections in an orderly manner according to the legal framework. They continue to urge all parties to respect the outcome of the voting in the regional assembly and refrain from any actions that could undermine the consolidation of the state-building process,” the statement read.
Separately, the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) Chief Francisco Madeira praised Ware’s election and pledged support. “Congratulations to Mohamed Abdi Ware on his election as President of HirShabelle State. We at Amisom stand ready to work with this government,” Madeira said in a tweet.
Meanwhile former HirShabelle president Abdullahi Ali Osoble who was ousted in a no confidence motion dismissed the election claiming he is still the duly elected leader. The UN warned him last month against attempts to form Hiiraan state noting the move to be illegal and violating the spirit and letter of federalization process in Somalia. The new leader was sworn on Saturday immediately after election.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Al-Shabaab Kills 4 Soldiers In Central Somalia
17 September – Source: Middle East Monitor -160 Words
At least four soldiers were killed and three others injured early Sunday when Al-Shabaab militants attacked an army checkpoint in central Somalia, according to a police official.Hiiran Police Commander Col. Issak Ali Abdulle said the attack occurred in Kalabayr, a strategic road junction some 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) away from Beledweyne town and about 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) from Fer-Fer, a town at the border between Ethiopia and Somalia.
Al-Shabaab claimed it killed six troops in the attack. The injured soldiers were taken to Beledweyne town for treatment, the police commander added. Since last week, Al-Shabaab has briefly overrun army checkpoints in Bulagudud, Beled-Hawo, El-wak and Kalabayr. Earlier this month, at least two people were killed in a suspected al-Shabaab suicide bombing at a busy restaurant in Beledweyne town. Beledweyne, 345 kilometers (214miles) north of capital Mogadishu, is the regional capital of Hiran. The town is also a base for African Union troops from Djibouti and Ethiopia.
Mogadishu Readies Airport Godown For More Khat Cargo
16 September – Source:The East African – 208 Words
Somalia-bound khat cargo planes will be required to land at the Aden Abdulle International Airport in Mogadishu, a government official said Friday. The deputy minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr Mohamed Dirie Khalif, made the announcement while inspecting a warehouse at the airport where the leafy stimulant will be stored pending distribution. Mr Khalif was accompanied by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Mr Abukar Mohamed Dahie and the director-general Mr Abdullahi Hayir Duale. “All khat consignments destined for the city (Mogadishu) and Middle and Lower Shabelle regions will be delivered to Aden Abdulle International Airport,” Mr Khalif was quoted by the state-run Mogadishu Radio on Friday.
He said about 14 tonnes of khat is expected at the airport daily. “Khat (cargo) flights to Jowhar town, the capital of Middle Shabelle region have been stopped,” he added. The deputy minister said the decision was reached at after consultations with khat traders. Khat is popular in Somalia but it is grown in neighbouring Kenya, where it is commonly referred to as miraa. Since it has to be taken fresh, it is chewed after lunch and into the evening as a pastime by mainly Somali men. Somalia is Kenya’s largest khat export market, taking in about 50 tonnes of the commodity daily.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“Somalia’s economy is still picking up slowly as efforts to rebuild continue. The African Union peacekeeping force with soldiers from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi and Djibouti continue to fight Al-Shabaab insurgents,”
Somali Book-Fair To Give Mogadishu A New Cultural Lease On Life
16 September- Source: SABC News – 420 Words
The bombed-out cities of Somalia are synonymous with militant insurgency, pirates and famine. But there is hope that the annual Somali book-fair might give the scarred capital Mogadishu, a new cultural lease on life. For the first time since its inception three years ago the Somali book-fair has attracted foreign authors. A sign of slowly improving security as government troops win back territory from militants. “The first year when we started in 2015, some of the authors were a little iffy about appearing in media and coming, especially that there were also non-Somalis coming also to visit and some of the authors were a bit spectacle but, it looks like now almost three years later things are much better,” says Mohamed Diini .
This is despite the 60 guards outside the hotel and the plainclothes security inside. The Al Shabaab militia was pushed out of the capital in 2011, but it continues to mount almost daily bomb attacks and assassinations. However that did not stop 31 authors from presenting their books at the fair. Fartumo Kusow is a Somali-Canadian fiction writer returning home for the first time in 25 years.”The image that I see on TV is not what I saw when I came here. What I see here is actually worse than what I expected to see, so the image of that never ending earthquake that comes to mind. It’s not really a point 5 that kind of destroys everything, it’s a kind of like medium scale kind of like 4.55 but causes enough destruction but not a wipe-out.”
“The ABCs of Rwanda is a book that is teaching not only Rwandans but also people outside Rwanda to appreciate our culture. In Rwanda when you hear Rwanda you hear genocide because many of the books what we were written about Rwanda only talk about the genocide and we wanted to release a book that is talking about other things that is not just focusing on the genocide because Rwanda is now a happy country,” says Rwandan Author Dominik Alonga.