September 19, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Somali General, 7 Bodyguards Killed In Car Bomb Attack In Mogadishu
18 September – Source: Hiiraan Online – 114 Words
A Somali National Army general and at least seven of his bodyguards were killed when a car bomb targeting their convoy detonated, a police colonel said. Abdikadir Farah, a senior police officer told Reuters that “General Mohamed Roble Jimale (Goobaanle)” and at least seven of his bodyguards were killed.”
Although it is not immediately clear who is behind the attack, the attack resembles similar assaults perpetrated by Al-Shabaab insurgents. This attack comes a day after Somali and African Union forces recaptured El Wak after it was briefly seized by Al-Shabaab. The group has ramped up attacks in a bid to disrupt parliamentary and presidential elections.
Key Headlines
- Somali General 7 Bodyguards Killed In Car Bomb Attack In Mogadishu (Hiiraan Online)
- Military Officer Killed In Mogadishu 2nd In A Day (Shabelle News)
- Mogadishu Mayor Says No To Opposition Plans For Demonstrations (Radio Dalsan)
- International Community Lauds Electoral Process In Somalia (Xinhua News)
- UNHCR Denies Abuse Of Somali Refugees In Kenyan Camp (Xinhua News)
- Kenya Somalia Term As misleading Reports By Human Rights Groups On Refugee Repatriation (The Star)
- Kenya Somalia Spat Goes To Hague Court (The Standard)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Military Officer Killed In Mogadishu, 2nd In A Day
18 September – Source: Shabelle News – 109 Words
Suspected Al-Shabaab assassins have shot and killed a senior Somali military officer in Somali capital, Mogadishu on Sunday night, a district official confirmed. The officer – Abdullah Sabriye Abdulle was killed near Tarabunka junction in Hodan district, becoming the second Somali military force member assassinated in the capital in a day.
Confirming the incident, Hodan district commissioner Ahmed Salad, told Radio Shabelle that the killers escaped the scene, shortly before police arrived and launched manhunt. No group or individual has claimed credit for the killing of the officer, but it comes hours after Al shabaab killed top general in a car bomb attack in Mogadishu on Sunday noon.
Mogadishu Mayor Says No To Opposition Plans For Demonstrations
18 September – Source: Radio Dalsan – 122 Words
Mogadishu city authority has warned the members of the opposition political parties against any demonstration in the capital without the legal permission from the mayor’s office. Meeting between the governor of Banadir and the 17 district commissioners of Mogadishu have resolved strict measures on protest in the capital.
Spokesperson of Banadir region Abdifatah Halane told the reporters that legal action will be taken against any party that violates the decision of the regional administration. Members of Coalition for Change which brings together main political parties in Somalia have called for peaceful protest against President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud government. They say Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s government is illegally in the office and its constitutional period in power is over.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
International Community Lauds Electoral Process In Somalia
18 September – Source: Xinhua News – 372 Words
Somalia’s international partners on Sunday lauded the ongoing process for the country’s upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections, and called for it to be transparent and credible. In a joint statement issued in Mogadishu, the UN, African Union, European Union, the regional bloc Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the U.S. and Britain said that implementation of the electoral process had begun in many parts of the country.
“Maximum technical integrity, uniformity, and transparency are critical yardsticks for the credibility of the 2016 electoral process,” the statement said. The partners encouraged Somali leaders to finalize the establishment of a transparent, independent and fair electoral dispute resolution mechanism without delay.
“International partners will contribute through the deployment of electoral experts and observers to the mechanism, as well as through support for Somali organizations monitoring the implementation of the electoral process,” the statement said. The international partners also stressed the urgency of ensuring that the Somali people were sufficiently informed about the process.
They called on the Federal Indirect Elections Implementation Team (FIEIT), the country’s electoral body, to expeditiously publish a detailed explanation of the electoral model as well as the roles and responsibilities of all implementation bodies and polling procedures.
UNHCR Denies Abuse Of Somali Refugees In Kenyan Camp
19 September – Source: Xinhua – 517 Words
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) on Saturday denied allegations by the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch that the agency and the Kenyan government were harassing and intimidating Somali refugees in Kenya to let them return home.
UNHCR’s Representative in Kenya, Raouf Mazou, said in a statement that the agency was working closely with Kenya to ensure that Somali refugees’ rights were upheld and that solutions were found to enable them to live in peace and security, including voluntary repatriation in conditions of safety and dignity.
The UNHCR and Kenya are repatriating Somali refugees living in northern Kenya’s Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camp currently harboring more than 300,000 Somalis, as Kenya said it would close the camp in November, citing mainly security concerns.
Dadaab was set up over 20 years ago to house Somalis fleeing civil conflict. The Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that Kenya was not giving the Somalis a real choice between being repatriated or staying, and that Kenya’s repatriation program does not meet international standards for voluntary return of refugees.
Kenya, Somalia Term As misleading Reports By Human Rights Groups On Refugee Repatriation
17 September – Source: The Star – 308 Words
The Kenyan and Somali governments have moved to dispel reports by a section of human rights groups, particularly the Human Rights Watch, about the ongoing refugee repatriation process as being full of disinformation. In a joint communiqué released on Saturday by the Interior Ministry, the two governments said the Somali government is appreciative of efforts to humanely repatriate Somali refugees back home.
The communiqué further said that the two governments have also appealed to donors to honour their pledges and support the repatriation process particularly in regards to basic services such as housing education and health. The signing of the communiqué followed a meeting in Nairobi between the Kenyan and Somali governments and the UNHCR on Thursday.
The meeting assessed the efforts of the National Multi-Agency Refugee Repatriation Team, (NMARRT) the Somalia Technical Committee (STC) and UNHCR in the repatriation and re-reintegration of Somali refugees since the exercise kicked off in May last year. The communiqué sought to clarify that so far, 13,604 refugees have voluntarily returned home in Somalia from Kenya’s Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps, while 439 have been resettled to third countries.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“According to information posted on the court’s website, the hearings, which end on Friday, will solely deal with the preliminary objections raised by Kenya to the substantive case.”
Kenya, Somalia Spat Goes To Hague Court
18 September – Source: The Standard – 681 Words
Kenya could forfeit three of its 20 oil blocks in the Indian Ocean to Somalia if it loses a maritime territorial dispute brought against it. Tomorrow, Kenya begins an epic fight at the international justice city of The Hague, Netherlands, to fight claims of grabbing part of Somali’s maritime territory where oil blocks L-21, L-23 and L-24 are located. This time round, the duel will be located at the historic Peace Palace where the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is hearing the case, is located.
The building is located a few miles away from the International Criminal Court. Somalia’s Foreign Affairs and Investment Promotion minister Abdirahman Dualeh filed the dispute on August 28, 2014 on behalf of the Somali government. Lawyers Paul Reichler of Foley Hoag LLP, New York and Prof Allain Pellet, a Frenchman, are representing Somalia.
Attorney General Githu Muigai is leading the team of Kenya’s defence which also includes British lawyer Karim Khan who represented Deputy President William Ruto at the ICC. “Attorney General Githu Muigai is today leading the Kenyan delegation to the ICJ in The Hague to present Kenya’s submissions to the court on the Maritime Delimitation in the Indian Ocean (Somalia vs. Kenya) Case,” a statement from the AG’s office issued yesterday said.
Besides the pair, Kenya has hired a constellation of legal minds – Prof Payam Akhavan (American), Prof Vaughan Lowe QC (British), Prof Alan Boyle (British), Prof Mathias Forteau (French) and Ms Amy Sanders (British). The point of disagreement between Kenya and Somalia is the nature of the line of the maritime boundary. While Somali insists on a median line from Kenya/Somali land boundary terminus, Kenya insists on a straight line.