September 21, 2015 | Morning Headlines

Main Story

Policewoman Shot Dead In Mogadishu Capital

20 September – Source: Horseed Media – 132 Words

Unidentified gunmen shot dead a Somali policewoman in the Somali capital, Mogadishu,on Sunday morning, witnesses have confirmed. According to residents of Hamar Jajab neighbourhood, two gunmen shot dead Anshuro Ali, who was also running a part-time business in a mini-market. Immediately, the gunmen fled away from the scene of the incident before police arrived to carry out investigations.

Mogadishu has lately witnessed numerous assassinations of security and government officials carried out by unknown gunmen, with Al-Shabaab claiming responsibility for most of the attacks.But no group had claimed responsibility for the latest killing by the time we went to press. It’s not the first time a security officer has been killed in Mogadishu.Since the al-Qaeda-linked militant group was pushed out of the capital, it has carried a number of bloody hit and run murders and suicide attacks mainly targeting government and security officers.

Key Headlines

Policewoman Shot Dead In Mogadishu Capital (Horseed Media)
Puntland Delegation Pulls Out From Crucial Consultative Forum (Radio Dalsan)
Mogadishu Consultative Conference Is Not Inclusive Says Somali MP (Goobjoog News)
Al-Shabaab In Heightened Military Activity And Buildup In Lower Jubba Region (Wacaal Media)
Puntland Coastguards Detain Smugglers (Goobjoog News)
UNHCR Repatriates Over 4000 Somali Refugees From Kenya (Xinhua)
Somali Bantu Celebrate Harvest (Sun Journal)
Kenyan Soldiers Kill 8 Al-Shabaab In Foiled Attacks (Xinhua)
Traditional Game Of Archery In Mogadishu (AMISOM)

NATIONAL MEDIA

Puntland Delegation Pulls Out From Crucial Consultative Forum

20 September – Source: Radio Dalsan – 147 Words

The delegation from the semi-autonomous state of Puntland in eastern Somalia has left the hall, where the consultative meeting on the electoral process ahead of next year’s planned polls was going on. The reason for pulling out is the delegation’s disapproval of the presence of a team from the newly formed regional state of Galmudug at the meeting.

The international community is said to be engaged in efforts to convince the Puntland delegation to take part in the crucial forum intended to discuss the future of the country, but it is not known whether they will give in to pleas from them as well as development partners. Since after the formation of Galmudug state, the regional state of Puntland has protested at how it was formed, owing to the fact that part of Mudug region is contested by both regional administrations.

Mogadishu Consultative Conference Is Not Inclusive, Says Somali MP

20 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 180 Words

A Somali parliamentarian, Abdirashid Mohamed Abdullahi, has criticised the technical committee of the on-going consultative conference in Villa Somalia, saying the conference is not all-inclusive as some of regional states were not invited to participate. He pointed out that some regions in the country such as Awal, North-West, Sool and Sanaag, have not been invited to take part the crucial conference: “We have self-declared regional states including Maakhir, Awadal, Khaatumo states and even the breakaway Somaliland, that are all part of the country, which the government is claiming to have started a consultative meeting to discuss on its future,” he said.

This comes hours after Puntland delegation reportedly pulled out of the on-going consultative conference in Villa Somalia opposing the presence of the Galmudug leadership.The delegation led by the state President, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, is said to have decided last night to cancel its participation over concerns that it was sharing the same platform with Galmudug state, which Puntland has vehemently declined to acknowledge since its formation.

Al-Shabaab In Heightened Military Activity And Buildup In Lower Jubba Region

20 September – Source: Wacaal Media – 192 Words

Al-Shabaab militants are currently engaged in high military activity in several settlements in the lower Jubba region, Wacaal Media has learnt. Farmers from settlements along the Jubba River and who take their fresh produce to Kismayu say the militants have intensified military activities in the areas under their control. Jilib, Makamooni, Kamsuuma and Baneeni are some of the areas where the militants are amassing their strength with residents reporting long walking queues of the militants along major roads.

A driver who transports fresh produce to Kismayu told Wacaal media that he normally spots a huge presence of the militants with sophisticated weapons along the route but that they cause no harm to the travelers. The reports come days after Ahmed Madoobe was inaugurated as the Jubbaland head of state after a landslide win in an election by a Parliament that was slapped with a vote of no confidence by its Federal Parent house. During the inauguration, Jubbaland officials disclosed that major offensives against the militants were bound to happen once Madoobe takes oath of office. It was not however clear whether Al-Shabaab’s military buildup is a response to the remarks by Jubbaland State.

Puntland Coastguards Detain Smugglers

20 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 316 Words

Puntland’s coastguard has detained people who smuggle immigrants and several immigrants in its waters as they tried to illegally cross to neighbouring Yemen in small boats, officials have said on Sunday.The smugglers and immigrants of Somali and Ethiopia origins were caught by the coastguard as they prepared to embark on their risky journey from Bari region waters.Bari Governor, Yussuf Mohamed Wa’ays told reporters that they have arrested the smugglers who were taken to custody and might face charges of human trafficking.“Operations against human trafficking will go ahead until we eradicate it from our region,’’ he said. Among the rescued are women of mostly in their early-20s and children.

Every year, tens of thousands of African migrants risk their lives to try and enter Europe on unseaworthy boats in search for a better life. Many die atrocious deaths – beaten, thrown overboard, eaten by sharks, drowned or asphyxiated in the hold of crowded smuggler boats. Impoverished Yemen is mainly used as a transit country, with African migrants often aiming to move on to neighbouring oil-rich Gulf nations and Europe to find work and better life.It was mid last month when Puntland coastal guard forces launched an operation hunting down people who smuggle immigrants to Sudan.

Admiral Abdirizak Diriye, the head of the coastal guards has told Goobjoog News that the smugglers have got a new route whereby they ferry people to Sudan, then from there they are taken to Libya where they cross the Mediterranean sea to Europe.He however denied the existence of Puntland youths recruited by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) or better known in its Arabic acronym, Daesh: “It’s a lie that Deash recruits youths here, but I can tell you new smugglers have emerged with a new route to Sudan,” said the commander. He said there was someone who masterminded all this, but now he is on the run.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

UNHCR Repatriates Over 4,000 Somali Refugees From Kenya

20 September – Source: Xinhua – 339 Words

The UN refugee agency said that it has so far repatriated 4,108 Somali refugees from Dadaab refugee camp in northeast Kenya to Somalia since December last year. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in its bi-Weekly Update received in Nairobi Saturday that 250 individuals returned to the Horn of Africa nation by road convoy while 224 returnees were assisted to return to Mogadishu by flight in the first half of September.

“The total number of returnees assisted under the voluntary return process stood at 4,108 as of Sept. 15 (3,510 by road and 598 by flight),” the UN refugee agency said in its latest report. It said some 4,878 refugees have confirmed their intention to return to Somalia as of Sept. 15, adding that it has strengthened the identification and assessment of people with special needs under the voluntary return process: “Their details and needs will be shared with UNHCR Somalia for further follow up upon arrival in Somalia,” the UN agency said. It also said that with the anticipated rains in October and November, the number of flights carrying returnees to Mogadishu will be increased to six flight rotations per week.

Somali Bantu Celebrate Harvest

20 September – Source: Sun Journal – 393 Words

A soft breeze brought sway to dancing lines of tall corn ready to harvest at the Intervale Farm along Route 231, marking the seasonal bounty celebration of five months of intense farming labor from members of the Somali Bantu community of Lewiston. Saturday marked the Harvest Festival at the former pumpkin farm where 3.3 acres were leased to the Somali Bantu Community Association of Maine to serve 39 families on 36 plots this first year of the project’s New Gloucester operation.

In celebration, traditional dancers and music formed the backdrop for those who came to share the chance to see how hard work can bring success and joy to many. With a $20,000 budget, Muhadin Libah, executive director of the Somali Bantu Community Association of Maine said the project has been an overwhelming success. His organization, a nonprofit, helps refugees transition to life in Maine. The Somali Bantu fled Somalia from a brutal civil war, arriving in America as refugees in the early 2000s. Traditionally farmers, the community members who live in Lewiston brought themselves back to the earth to recapture their roots to practice traditional farming as they had in bygone days as farmers in Somalia.I

Kenyan Soldiers Kill 8 Al-Shabaab In Foiled Attacks

19 September – Source: Xinhua – 310 Words

Kenyan military said Saturday its soldiers operating under African Union peacekeeping mission killed eight Al-Shabaab militants while the rest fled in foiled three separate attacks in southern Somalia and coastal Kenya. Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) spokesman, David Obonyo, said the early Saturday attack in the area of Damasa in Gedo region of southern Somalia also saw the troops recover two rifles, a mobile phone and a radio: “The troops were engaged in a firefight with an estimated 20 Al-Shabaab militia, killing three while the rest fled. Two AK 47 rifles, a mobile phone and a radio were recovered after the incident,” he said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

In another Saturday attack in Taraka, also southern Somalia, according to Obonyo, an Improvised Explosive Device targeting KDF detonated prematurely: “KDF troops disembarked and pursued the militia, killing two of them. Three AK 47 rifles and a mobile phone were recovered from the militia,” he said. The military spokesman said the latest incidents came after KDF troops taking part in the ongoing security operation in Boni forest, in Kenya’s coastal region of Lamu foiled an attack on their operation base on Thursday by suspected Al-Shabaab militia.

OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE

“Mogadishu, previously torn by years of civil war is now slowly being rebuilt. Traditional games, fun and leisure can now be enjoyed freely.”

Traditional Game Of Archery In Mogadishu

19 September – Source: AMISOM – 348 Words

On a bright, sunny afternoon, in one of Mogadishu’s neighborhoods, tens of youths and elders are gathered for a traditional game of archery. Their art and skill in the use of bows and arrows is tested here. This is one of the fun traditional activities that the residents of Mogadishu engage in, in gatherings permitted by the relative peace the country now enjoys. The participants are divided into two groups competing against each other. Winners earn ranks and losers could be asked to collect all arrows shot during the competition as their charge. It is a game that both the young and old enjoy and attracts sizable groups of people as spectators and cheerleaders.

Abdifitah Omar Halane, spokesperson of Banadir Regional administration, says such forms of entertainment keep communities engaged and away from mischief: “This is an entertainment game. It is not like gambling where you lose something and it is not prohibited by religion. It is a Sunnah inherited from our prophet. It is good to know how to play this game as well as swimming. It helps you to have the skill to hit your target. Above all, it is a good game,” he says.