September 21, 2016 | Morning Headlines
Theresa May: UK Will Send More Troops To Somalia To Fight Al-Shabaab
20 September – Source: ITV News – 283 Words
British Prime Minister Theresa May has called on the United Nations to “modernise and adapt” in order to fight the challenges of the 21st Century especially terrorism. In her maiden speech to the General Assembly in New York she said no country had been “left untouched by global terrorism”.
Referencing the fight against Al-Shabaab in Somalia, Mrs May said that Britain had played a “leading role” in the fight against the militants. She pledged to increase UK support including sending more troops to train local forces to fight militants.
Since 2010, with huge support from across the region, and critically the commitment of Somalis themselves, al-Shabaab has been driven from all the major cities it used to control. It is vital that as an international community we continue to support countries in the region that are contributing thousands of troops, and that we continue to build the capacity of Somali security forces.
The plan involves £7 million of funding to improve the skills of Somali and African Union mission in Somalia (Amisom) forces on tasks ranging from tackling improvised explosive devices to building roads to help improve security in areas outside of the capital Mogadishu.
Key Headlines
- Theresa May: UK Will Send More Troops To Somalia To Fight Al-Shabaab (ITV News)
- Hiiraan Governor Impeached For Diversion Of Aid (Goobjoog News)
- Military Court In Puntland Sentence Large Number Of Al-Shabaab Fighters To Jail (Goobjoog News)
- Jubbaland Authorities And UN Agree To Form Joint Committee On Dadaab Camp Returnees (UNSOM)
- The Terrorism Risk Of Asylum-Seekers and Refugees: The Minnesota New York And New Jersey Terrorist Attacks (Cato Institute)
NATIONAL MEDIA
Hiiraan Governor Impeached For Diversion Of Aid
20 September – Source: Goobjoog News – 168 Words
The Governor of Hiiraan Yussuf Ahmed Hagar Dabageed has been accused of diversion of aid which was intended to be distributed to residents of Hiiraan region. The head of Bulo-burde humanitarian coordinator, Adan Mohumed Hambe said the governor was responsible for the diversion of aid which was due to be distributed to the locals.
“It is unfortunate that someone claiming to be a government official has plundered food aid intended to be given to needy people which was donated by the Turkish government,” Hambe said. He noted some of the aid supplies went to the black market when people of Bulo-burde are facing food shortage.
Bulo-burde, which is some 200 km north of Mogadishu, has been under a crisis humanitarian situation after Al-Shabaab militants were pushed out from the town two years ago. Al-Shabaab blocked roads leading into the towns and refused the transportation of goods. Turkey recently dispatched a ship carrying food aid to Somalia. After the ship docked in the port of Mogadishu the Somali government distributed the aid throughout the country’s regions.
Military Court In Puntland Sentence Large Number Of Al-Shabaab Fighters To Jail
20 September – Source: GoobJoog News: – 146 Words
A military court in Puntland State of Somalia has sentenced 54 Al-Shabaab members to jail for a long time. “The members of the group were captured in fighting between Puntland security forces and Al-Shabaab in March of this year. The court sentenced 28 members aged between 15-18 years to a jail sentences ranging from 15-20 years. 26 others aged between 10-15 were sent to rehabilitation centers of the state.” said Puntland Military prosecutor Hassan Fidiye.
The sentenced members were part of 97 Al-Shabaab fighters captured during the deadly fighting between Puntland government forces and Al-Shabaab group in Mudug and Nugal regions in March this year. In June, Puntland military court also sentenced 43 Al-Shabaab fighters to death who were above the age of 18, according to the government. Previously in 2013, 13 Al-Shabaab fighters were also sentenced to death and shot by a firing squad in Puntland State.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Jubbaland Authorities And UN Agree To Form Joint Committee On Dadaab Camp Returnees
20 September – Source: UNSOM – 329 Words
Jubbaland authorities, the United Nations and other key international partners have agreed to form a joint committee to address the humanitarian needs of returnees from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya.
The Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia Peter de Clercq led a delegation consisting of representatives of UN agencies, the World Bank and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation who met today with Jubbaland’s second deputy President Abdulkadir Haji Mohamud-Luga Dhere to discuss the reintegration of returnees. The meeting also addressed durable solutions for internally displaced persons living in Kismaayo town.
“We just spent a very important mission here, to discuss with the Jubbaland authorities the return and reintegration of refugees from Dadaab, but at the same time, also durable solutions that include the internally displaced persons, as well as the host communities that have to bear the burden of these big challenges that are coming at them. We have had very good discussions, we will have continued co-operation.We will have a coordination committee that will be based here in Kismaayo, where we will discuss concrete programmes that we will go to the donors with, to increase our co-operation with Jubbaland authorities, to increase activities around the reintegration of displaced persons and of refugees,” said Mr. de Clercq.
OPINION, ANALYSIS, AND CULTURE
“The chance of being murdered in a terrorist attack committed by an asylum-seeker was one in 2.7 billion a year. The chance of being murdered in a terrorist attack committed by a refugee is one in 3.4 billion a year.”
The Terrorism Risk Of Asylum-Seekers and Refugees: The Minnesota, New York, And New Jersey Terrorist Attacks
20 September – Source: Cato Institute – 534 Words
News stories are now reporting that the Minnesota stabber Dahir Adan entered the United States as a Somali refugee when he was 2 years old. Ahmad Khan Rahami, the suspected bomber in New York and New Jersey, entered as an Afghan asylum-seeker with his parents when he was 7 years old. The asylum and refugee systems are the bedrocks of the humanitarian immigration system and they are under intense scrutiny already because of fears over Syrian refugees.
The vetting procedure for refugees, especially Syrians, is necessarily intense because they are overseas while they are being processed. The security protocols have been updated and expanded for them. This security screening should be intense. The process for vetting asylum-seekers, who show up at American ports of entry and ask for asylum based on numerous criteria, is different.
Regardless, no vetting system will prevent or detect child asylum-seekers or child refugees from growing up and becoming terrorists any more than a child screening program for U.S.-born children will be able to prevent or detect those among us will grow up to be a terrorist. Adan and Rahami didn’t manage to murder anyone due to their incompetence, poor planning, potential mental health issues, luck, armed Americans, and the quick responses by law enforcement.
Regardless, some may want to stop all refugees and asylum seekers unless they are 100 percent guaranteed not to be terrorists or to ever become terrorists. Others are more explicit in their calls for a moratorium on all immigration due to terrorism. These folks should know that precautionary principle is an inappropriate standard for virtually every area of public policy, even refugee screening.